I to go Twitter this morning and see Space Force is trending.
Why?
Trump’s Space Force launched at Pentagon as a separate armed service
So Twitter is just an orgy of mockery.
As a Hugo-winning scifi writer, I feel qualified to say: The United States needs quality health care for its people far more than it needs a "Space Force." Let's take all the money and effort we'd pour into that silly thing and instead make an actual difference in people's lives.
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) August 9, 2018
Remember, John Scalzi is the guy who reminds white men that they are playing life on the easiest difficulty setting. Also, being a sci-fi writer is no qualification to opine on the future of warfare in space.
If so, I’d make Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn generals in the Space Force for their experience in fighting aliens.
Space Force is a silly but dangerous idea. Medicaid expansion is not silly or dangerous. We should do the second one. Vote!
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 9, 2018
Democrat Socialist being a Democrat Socialist.
So…the douchbag in Chief has the head of Marvel to maralogo for a general cock-sucking session, next thing ya know we’re talkin about a new branch of military called THE SPACE FORCE. And you’ll never guess who’s gonna run it!!!
Can’t make this shit up folks!
— Ron Perlman (@perlmutations) August 9, 2018
He’s just mad the Kiju ate him in Pacific Rim.
So the US is now launching a 6th branch of military, Space Force. To the person that accidentally left “Independence Day” playing in the White House movie room, this is on you.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) August 9, 2018
Now that the Left has had its fun, let us consider the reality.
The United States Air Force was created with the National Security Act of 1947. Justification of the creation of the USAF is as follows:
In general the United States Air Force shall include aviation forces both combat and service not otherwise assigned. It shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The Air Force shall be responsible for the preparation of the air forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war except as otherwise assigned and, in accordance with integrated joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of the peacetime components of the Air Force to meet the needs
of war.
During WWII, combat aviation was either Navy Aviation or Army Air Corps. We learned how vital air combat superiority was to winning war and so the creation of the Air Force was to have a branch of the military with air combat supremacy as it’s singular goal.
Space defense is going to be critical in the future.
The Left made fun of Reagan’s Star Wars but the fact is, every day, ballistic missile technology becomes easier for less developed nations to achieve. Cell phone other consumer technology that is satellite driven can be found all over the world.
GPS guided weaponry used to be the kind of ordinance only the US could bring to the battlefield. Now the Palestinians are using GPS guided drones to take out targets in Israel using off the shelf consumer grade hardware. A quad copter and a cellphone can make a weapon as accurate as what we were dropping out of F-117’s during Desert Shield.
A defensive first strike may very well include blowing up an enemy nations satellites and taking out their GPS and communications network.
Next generation spy satellites, orbiting monitoring systems, preventing enemy nations from weaponizing their own satellites is going to be part of the future of war. It’s not “if” but “when” and you’d expect a sci-fi writer to understand that.
Having a military branch with the singular responsibility of extra-atmospheric intelligence gathering and defense is logical. Especially as private companies develop more advanced space technology.
If Elon Musk can put his convertible in space, how long will it be before some Iran or Pakistan or China has the ability to put an orbiting nuke in space?
I’m not saying I agree with this 100%. What I am saying is that it is not an irrational, crackpot idea.
But trust that Leftists who hate Trump and no nothing about military history, strategy, or tactics are going to demonstrate just how stupid they are making fun of the President for this.
As a long term Science Fiction reader I’m applying for the position of Secretary of the Space Force. My first action will be to remodel the Pentagon into the Hexagon.
Flat-thinker! Clearly it must become the Dodecahedron! This wouldn’t require any changes to the existing structure, just the construction if 11 identical buildings around it!
Gah! You beat me to it!
First of all I would to say that the pentagon is just begging to be upgraded into a battle dodecahedron. That sentiment out of the way I would like to point out the majority of the left’s science fiction experts are actually space fantasy authors .I find they have little understanding of human history and behaviour and a almost nonexistant understanding of science beside making stuff up that sounds cool.
Damn, first liar doesn’t stand a chance around here.
If we did perform that upgrade, we’d be able to meet the Posleen on even terms.
Until the Pentagon manages to land on Joe Buckley, anyway…
I believe the proper description for Scalzi is “failing fan-fic author”. His appeal has been getting more selective and his sales rarer.
I’ve never heard of him, then again as Seth points out there are lots of “trolls and swords” writers who tag themselves SF.
It would be far more interesting to hear the opinion of Sarah Hoyt or Rolf Nelson.
His first couple of books were homages to Heinlein, and not bad. A few sour notes, but readable. Then he decided he enjoyed attention, and turned hard left. After he wrote a book that was literal Star Trek fan fiction (“Redshirts”), his sales waned.
So the left is mocking having a branch operating in space.
Who do they think is going to divert the next asteroid or comet that is straying too close?
Ah, the left! Life is so dull these days because of the predictability of the left. If our previous president had thought up this idea, he would have been praised as a glorious forward- thinking genius. Predictably (as I mentioned) anything Trump says has got to be stupid (according to the left).
On the approach that if it’s done by Trump it must be opposed, there are some good examples of that. One is the “judges” who decided that an executive order about immigration would have been legal if issued by some other president, but those identical words had to be ruled unconstitutional because they had some delusions about knowing Trump’s state of mind when issuing it.
Another is nicely discussed by Sen. Grassley in an op-ed in the WSJ, the Dems starting by saying “Down with Kavanaugh” and then following this by “we want every document he ever was near”. Grassley’s reaction was: if you already decided “no”, then any document demand is obviously in bad faith. Good for him.
OK, missing the point here.
It does not matter whether a Space Force is required, justified, or just plain stupid. It does not matter whether the US budget has more pressing needs for the funds. History does not matter. Funding medicare does not matter.
What matters is that Trump proposed it.
By definition, that means it is ridicule worthy.
If Trump proposed shoring up Medicare at the expense of the Defense Department, the leftists would be all up in arms about how important US dominance in space is, and that the amount of funding provided Medicare is not enough to make any measurable difference.
The twitterverse I visit clamors that universal healthcare should have priority over this.
Opposing Big T aside, these are the same people that believe in 30 genders and a whole host of other new age nonsense. In other words, they are dumb. Actual, living, breathing, voting (shudder) morons who want a lefty world cuz their Masters told them it’d be good for them but the big bad Trump won’t let ’em, so #resist!
First mission of the Space Force should be to eject these lost souls and their handlers to the stars and let the adults finally take over.
I like how Perlman (typical leftist) immediately goes for homoerotic imagery to show his disgust for an idea. Almost like he is a real life homophobe?
Remember these people are superior to us deplorables because of their inclusiveness and understanding!
Perlman is an old school leftest but is to new to the dance floor to have been eaten by his own yet. I was just hoping he was going to say “War, war never changes.”