Never interrupt your enemy when they're making a mistake.
this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2026
238 points (99.2% liked)
politics
29478 readers
2127 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Look, get your vaccine! It’s, at worst, a waste of time. At best, saves your life.
That said, I went over 15 years never getting one and never ever got the flu. I even worked in pre-clinical pharmacy research for over a decade and know how it all works. I only recently started getting it again because I have a kid and I want to protect our family and be a better citizen to my community.
You probably got it. It was just mild enough or resembled a cold enough that you blew it off as something else.
Look at the nasal mist vaccines for your kid. Slightly less protection, but no needle. And you can get them by mail order and administer at home so that you don't need to organize an outing around the vaccine
This is strategically moronic.
Imagine a 5000 person aircraft carrier crew fighting the flu while trying to work.
We won't have to imagine for long. Don't let your dreams be dreams
I don't need to imagine it cuz I'm not stupid enough to serve the U.S. military.
Sounds like a them problem.
Don't forget about the nuclear subs.
I hear going to war with a sick army is a great idea.
Well there was that time an aircraft carrier was taken off the line because of rona, so not too hard to imagine how it would go.
Also the whole "man flu" thing is actually real. Testosterone has been shown to weaken parts of the immune system - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5075254/
Even just cruise ships, which are much less crowded, get ravaged by things like norovirus. Navy ships are packed with shit and people
Ugh, I don't even want to imagine what it's like being on a cruise ship full of norovirus.
While I am not a big fan of sailing and such, I am one of those rare assholes that absolutely doesn't get sea sick. That said, being surrounded by vomit and shit everywhere would probably be enough to overcome that mild superpower.
Much like this administration is packed with shit people.
Ship crud is just a fact of life, perpetually not quite sick not quite well while your stuck on them. It wouldn't make much difference
A weaker U.S. military.
Probably a win for the world as a whole.
Imagine for a moment, that we were living in some crazy mirror-universe, where the regime's explicit goal was to sabotage America's capacity to project its will into the larger world.
In that scenario, what would we expect Hegseth to do differently?
Be a bit more subtle about it.
“because your body, your faith and your convictions are not negotiable.”
LOL fucking assholes.
what was roe vs wade again
George Washington inoculated the army against smallpox in the revolutionary war.
These idiots don’t realize vaccinating the military is as American as it gets.
Well yeah but that only affected women.
Except your exposure to burn pits.
It's kind of crazy how they just continually do the worst possible thing and in the worst possible way. Always. Even basic common sense shit like we shouldn't let the flu decimate our military overnight. Even fucking George Washington required soldiers to be innoculared for smallpox. Just regression, bigotry, stupidity, and corruption at every single turn. Giving broken clocks a good look.
Decimate would be by 1/10th.
To reduce by 1/10th, yes.
Frustrating waiting for people to realize it's all intentional.
I'm telling you it's going to convert me to believing in the antichrist. Every single time they pick the worst idea.
The stupid drunk is listening to the nutter, RFK.
From that 2019 article:
Fox News host Pete Hegseth has said on air that he has not washed his hands for 10 years because "germs are not a real thing".
Speaking on Fox and Friends, Hegseth said the infectious micro-organisms did not exist because they could not be seen with the naked eye.
This is a man who attended more than one very expensive university and didn't learn a thing, then said this idiocy, immediately after which the world was hit by a pandemic, and again Hegseth didn't learn a thing. The guy must be terminally stupid.
Anyway, if you ever have the misfortune to meet Pete Hegseth, don't shake his shit-covered hand. Although he probably doesn't believe in wiping his ass or showering either. After all, a dirty butthole isn't real because you can't see it without using one of these new-fangled "mirror" gadgets.
The guy must be terminally stupid.
I think the preferred term is "Proudly Ignorant"
Wilful ignorance was a key element in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's theory of stupidity. It was the aggressive resistance to learning that he thought made the stupid person especially dangerous. And we see this characteristic in Trump, his sycophants like Hegseth, and his followers.
100%
Well, that's very fucking stupid.
Like giving Hegseth an axe.
pete has the IQ of a potted palm.
But not the plant, just the pot
Reminds me of that Golden Girls episode where Sofia refers to mistaking two potted palms for the bathroom.
Shouldn't this fall into the category of not telling the enemy your strategy or weaknesses? Pete's not very bright.
George Washington wished he could have had an easy vaccination solution like the military has today. Pete doesn't understand that historically disease often killed more troops than enemy attacks. Good defense starts with a healthy, immune fighting force.
That headline stating “modern influenza originated in Kansas” is bullshit. That is NOT what the article says. The so-called Spanish Flu of 1918 indeed is thought to have crossed over from birds in Kansas. But that is one flu, not the entirety of “modern” flu. Influenza can cross over anywhere at any time from most species. Ascribing human ethnicity or geographical locators associated with human populations is ridiculous.
"So how much are they spending on vaccines? Yeah, no, drop that significantly, we'll get a bigger piece of the pie." -Lockheed CEO
For less than the individual price of some missiles, you could vaccinate the entire military. Vaccines are cheap. You could vaccinate thousands of soldiers for what it will cost to treat one who gets really sick and ends up hospitalized.
This is absolutely not a cost-saving measure, even if you wholly disregard the costs of care after the fact.
Soon to learn what "seasoned" troops means.
I think they're likely to taste dry and stringy due to a lack of food.
Now, it's got a similar meaning to veteran. But it comes from back when all you had against disease were thoughts and prayers.
The seasoned ones were those that were left and well enough to fight after disease spread through camp.
Iran is about to be the first country on earth to weaponize influenza A.
Even the German Nazis supported vaccination (of "worthy" people only), for crying out loud!