So join up?

Now Luckett's unemployed and back home in Harper Woods, Mich. - a victim of the Obama administration's ongoing effort to pull at least 33,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by next fall.

What the fark? Obama victimized this guy by not sending him to a warzone. I have a couple friends I wish had been victimized this bad.

AverageAmericanGuy: So join up?

Say it again.

Weaver95: Unlike active-duty soldiers who are stationed at U.S. military bases across the country and can be sent on a moment's notice to a conflict anywhere in the world - the nation's citizen soldiers have civilian jobs and lives they have to set aside when they get those deployment notices.

And unlike active-duty soldiers, Guard members may have little to go back to, if their country changes its mind.

And by law, if someone is activated by the Guard they *cannot* be fired. If someone tells their boss 'hey - I have to go to war 'cause I just got orders' then the employer is obligated to hold them a spot until they get back. if they DO fire someone who's going on deployment then the Fedgov can and will come down on the employer like the proverbial ton of bricks.

I thought that was the case. Kind of ruins the entire article's premise.

Good God, y'all.

Damn Obama, doesn't he see how bringing an end to international conflicts is affecting unemployment? Why, we could drive employment through the floor if we invaded China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and Kenya on trumped up allegations.

I hear there are ways to improve housing and job situations that don't include lots and lots of killing.
It gives me the creeps whenever someone mentions how good war is for the economy, as if its an acceptable means to an end. There was a point in U.S. history where a byproduct of a massive war was economic growth, but I bet if you ask your average serviceman from that era they'd agree that it wasn't a great trade-off.
War should never be the lesser of two evils.
/better watch my step, almost fell off of my soapbox there

Philip J. Fry: Now Luckett's unemployed and back home in Harper Woods, Mich. - a victim of the Obama administration's ongoing effort to pull at least 33,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by next fall.

What the fark? Obama victimized this guy by not sending him to a warzone. I have a couple friends I wish had been victimized this bad.

I didn't quite get the logic of that either...oh well bad article is bad

U.S. military is the biggest welfare program in the history of the world

Now Luckett's unemployed and back home in Harper Woods, Mich. - a victim of the Obama administration's ongoing effort to pull at least 33,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by next fall.

Oh, for fark's sake.

GOVERNMENT SPENDING DOES NOT CREATE JOBS.

/At least, that's what I've been told.

TravisBickle62: U.S. military is the biggest welfare program in the history of the world

Except for the poor saps who find themselves at the other end of the barrel. They don't fare that well.

I hear it stopped Hitler, and he was a very bad man.

Better title:

"War drawdowns provide ready workforce for capital investment by large corporations"

/But who am I kidding? That would cut into executive profits...

farking Obama. Hurting the job creators any way he can.

WTF is this guy's problem anyway?

Weaver95: And by law, if someone is activated by the Guard they *cannot* be fired. If someone tells their boss 'hey - I have to go to war 'cause I just got orders' then the employer is obligated to hold them a spot until they get back. if they DO fire someone who's going on deployment then the Fedgov can and will come down on the employer like the proverbial ton of bricks.

Worth repeating.

Any Soldier that gets fired as a result of a deployment needs to contact their command let them know what's happening, and enjoy the fireworks that come from it. This doesn't mean that Soldiers getting the jerk around won't end up screwed in some way, but being fired isn't one of the things that reservists / national guard should have to deal with.

got ... absolutely nothing.

If you are in a reserve unit and have nothing to come home to, you might as well just join the military full time. At least then you will have a pay check whether you are deployed or not.

TravisBickle62: U.S. military is the biggest welfare program in the history of the world

Because the part where they can be ordered on missions that will result in almost certain death or face a firing squad is just like collecting social security and medicare.

Why do we even have a National Guard? The implementation of it seems like a bad idea. Let's "create" temp jobs on a national level, leave the "workers" marginally trained, unable to perform long-term assignments, and free from real benefits! Sell them on patriotism. You can do "just a bit" for your country, and your country will do "just a bit for you". Like the government does for the full-time military! Nope, you won't be farked at all...

numbone: got ... absolutely nothing.

Say it again.

War is also a great way to get rid of that pesky depleted uranium.

I have a suggestion...

Get a few National Guard groups to open temporary barracks housing in North Dakota near the oil boomtowns, then provide basic boarding services to any National Guard members who wish to come to work.

I don't know what legal hurdles would be, but I'm sure there are thousands of Guardsmen already there. And this is a temporary solution because the boom and housing shortage is a temporary issue.

And by no means am I suggesting that the Guard should look to flood the boom with tens of thousands of men. But I'm sure there are a few thousand Guardsmen who would appreciate the chance to earn boom wages despite living in arctic tents in North Dakota in winter.

GreatBunzinni: TravisBickle62: U.S. military is the biggest welfare program in the history of the world

Except for the poor saps who find themselves at the other end of the barrel. They don't fare that well.

They aren't hungry anymore.

TravisBickle62: U.S. military is the biggest welfare program in the history of the world

Military actually does stuff. Welfare people don't contribute anything but babies.

Hector Remarkable: I hear it stopped Hitler, and he was a very bad man.

So you are saying that it is a good thing that Hitler started the war?

TrainingWheelsNeeded: Weaver95: Unlike active-duty soldiers who are stationed at U.S. military bases across the country and can be sent on a moment's notice to a conflict anywhere in the world - the nation's citizen soldiers have civilian jobs and lives they have to set aside when they get those deployment notices.

And unlike active-duty soldiers, Guard members may have little to go back to, if their country changes its mind.

And by law, if someone is activated by the Guard they *cannot* be fired. If someone tells their boss 'hey - I have to go to war 'cause I just got orders' then the employer is obligated to hold them a spot until they get back. if they DO fire someone who's going on deployment then the Fedgov can and will come down on the employer like the proverbial ton of bricks.

I thought that was the case. Kind of ruins the entire article's premise.


I think the problem is that some one might make arrangements for a 1-year leave of absence from work. Their job is waiting for them, in a year. The article also mentions other hardships, like transfering your kids to different school because a spouse is going to be staying with the in-laws, not registering for university, letting apartments/car leases lapse.

beta_plus: TravisBickle62: U.S. military is the biggest welfare program in the history of the world

Because the part where they can be ordered on missions that will result in almost certain death or face a firing squad is just like collecting social security and medicare.

Yeah all those soldiers in Germany, South Korea and Japan are ordered to go on suicide missions on a weekly basis

it took me a minute to not read that like 'whar is pudding, WHAR!?" then i got the other joke in there. i still read that thinking of fat Rush.

NkThrasher: Weaver95: And by law, if someone is activated by the Guard they *cannot* be fired. If someone tells their boss 'hey - I have to go to war 'cause I just got orders' then the employer is obligated to hold them a spot until they get back. if they DO fire someone who's going on deployment then the Fedgov can and will come down on the employer like the proverbial ton of bricks.

Worth repeating.

Any Soldier that gets fired as a result of a deployment needs to contact their command let them know what's happening, and enjoy the fireworks that come from it. This doesn't mean that Soldiers getting the jerk around won't end up screwed in some way, but being fired isn't one of the things that reservists / national guard should have to deal with.

It's not quite that straight-forward, especially in this economy. If you're an independent contractor, you have no such protections. If your employer fires others at the same time and calls it a "lay-off" that would have affected you regardless of the deployment, you're boned. Also, it's not like a guardsmen can just pick up a phone and call a "get my job back" hotline. This process can involve litigation and the employer can fight it, so it can take a ton of time and energy that makes it far from automatic.

/this article made me want to puke

NkThrasher: Weaver95: And by law, if someone is activated by the Guard they *cannot* be fired. If someone tells their boss 'hey - I have to go to war 'cause I just got orders' then the employer is obligated to hold them a spot until they get back. if they DO fire someone who's going on deployment then the Fedgov can and will come down on the employer like the proverbial ton of bricks.

Worth repeating.

Any Soldier that gets fired as a result of a deployment needs to contact their command let them know what's happening, and enjoy the fireworks that come from it. This doesn't mean that Soldiers getting the jerk around won't end up screwed in some way, but being fired isn't one of the things that reservists / national guard should have to deal with.


As it stands in NY state the division of human rights also has jurisdiction on adverse employment action in relation to military status.

This is an outrage. I demand that we send these people to war immediately like we promised.

If they cut back on medivac helicopters and all that fancy bullet proof vest crap, and got rid of the military medical people in theater, there would be fewer veterans coming home and it would help the unemployment situation

Fartbongo will do ANYTHING to kill jobs.

There are PLENTY of instances where guardsmen lose their jobs when they deploy and the Fed doesnt do jackshiat to the employers. The government is slow, imprecise and beholden to those with cash. Why would this instance be the one singular moment in which the government gets of its ass and prosecutes the wrong doers to the maximum extent of the law?

No sympathy for the tax parasites here.

Get a real job.

War is not good for jobs or housing...well, I guess you might argue that it could be good for construction companies that get to go in and rebuild after the US government bombs a house, but other than that Frederic Bastiat proved that war is an economic negative in 1850 when he proposed the Broken Window Fallacy.

As Frederic Hayeks character says in the great Hayek vs. Keynes Round 2 video:

Creating employment's a straightforward craft
When the nation's at war, and there's a draft

If every worker was staffed in the army and fleet
We'd have full employment and nothing to eat

Allen. The end.: Why do we even have a National Guard?

In peacetime, it effectively expands the military strength without compromising the workforce, so it's better than a militia. In wartime, it makes the effects of war felt back home. Declaring war is way too easy if the only casualties on your side are mercenaries.

Historically, the most stable nations relied on a combination of mandatory national service terms and a minority of full-time specialists. That America's leaning more toward full-time volunteers and mercenaries is one of the big indications we're a declining empire.

Allen. The end.: Why do we even have a National Guard? The implementation of it seems like a bad idea. Let's "create" temp jobs on a national level, leave the "workers" marginally trained, unable to perform long-term assignments, and free from real benefits! Sell them on patriotism. You can do "just a bit" for your country, and your country will do "just a bit for you". Like the government does for the full-time military! Nope, you won't be farked at all...

The main role of the National Guard is to defend the state in the way that the regular military defends the USA. Its secondary role is to act as a reserve unit, allowing the USA to field a larger military than it needs to maintain in peace time. This beats the hell out of a draft.

Philip J. Fry: Now Luckett's unemployed and back home in Harper Woods, Mich. - a victim of the Obama administration's ongoing effort to pull at least 33,000 U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by next fall.

What the fark? Obama victimized this guy by not sending him to a warzone. I have a couple friends I wish had been victimized this bad.

Methinks the author meant "victim" in the rhetorical sense.

Causarius: No sympathy for the tax parasites here.

Get a real job.

War is not good for jobs or housing...well, I guess you might argue that it could be good for construction companies that get to go in and rebuild after the US government bombs a house, but other than that Frederic Bastiat proved that war is an economic negative in 1850 when he proposed the Broken Window Fallacy.

As Frederic Hayeks character says in the great Hayek vs. Keynes Round 2 video:

Creating employment's a straightforward craft
When the nation's at war, and there's a draft

If every worker was staffed in the army and fleet
We'd have full employment and nothing to eat

And you're a farking douche.

FARTNOISE FARTNOISE JUNIOR: Damn Obama, doesn't he see how bringing an end to international conflicts is affecting unemployment? Why, we could drive employment through the floor if we invaded China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and Kenya on trumped up allegations.

Can you believe it?

Lane83: Thunderpipes: TravisBickle62: U.S. military is the biggest welfare program in the history of the world

Military actually does stuff. Welfare people don't contribute anything but babies.

I thought your god considered every life sacred?

Or is that only rich people's lives?

Your fairy tales are so confusing.

I was going to point out that they need the babies to kill in the military later but then I realized...

Weaver95: Pollexabator:

It's not quite that straight-forward, especially in this economy. If you're an independent contractor, you have no such protections. If your employer fires others at the same time and calls it a "lay-off" that would have affected you regardless of the deployment, you're boned. Also, it's not like a guardsmen can just pick up a phone and call a "get my job back" hotline. This process can involve litigation and the employer can fight it, so it can take a ton of time and energy that makes it far from automatic.

/this article made me want to puke

all I know is that jerking around with National Guard who are on valid military orders is a very bad idea for an employer. sure, some of them might try to play the angles and dump a Guard member...but the military WILL extract a pound of flesh from anyone who tries. And state governments will stand in line to screw over said employer once the military and Fedgov get done with them.

the government knows - right down to it's bone marrow - knows that they need the Guard. If they don't protect Guard members from employers who don't follow the rules on deployment then word will get around to the troops very fast. And moral problems are already an issue for some units.


But what happens if a soldier and their employer agree to a 1-year leave of absence, and they fill the job for that year? The soldiers job is safe and waiting for them, as they agreed, but not until the year is up. The soldier wouldn't have a case, especially if the company had some sort of extended leave paperwork explicitly stating the length of the leave.

TravisBickle62: U.S. military is the biggest welfare program in the history of the world



/Got some bites, 5/10

JWideman: This beats the hell out of a draft.

For you and me, not for the Guard or the country.

Sure, training a bunch of bozos for six weeks and then sending them off to get killed isn't an efficient way to wage war, but it sure makes people think twice before getting their imperialistic hard-on. When even your reserve is less than 1% of the population. . . well, you get bullshiat like Iraq.

Congress made damn sure we didn't have a draft, because it's the ultimate litmus test of public support. The fact that they were politically terrified of a draft was proof the invasion wasn't justified, regardless of what the polls said at the time. It's one thing to say "I support the troops"; it's quite another to actually be one of them.