Banned for a piece of paper.

And I suspect that the Marines, being already the smallest branch of the military, are simply desperate for new recruits. Occam's Razor and all that.

Banned because the Marines were having troubles, but last year they exceeded their recruitment goals. The draw-down in Iraq must have helped, and probably the economy has motivated more folks to join up.

Banned again because "a piece of paper" can be more important than a skilled person wielding weapons. Marriage licenses are antiquated nonsense in my opinion, but the Constitution is still a remarkable piece of social software. 

banned for opinions

Banned for it's raining cold, hard facts up in this crib.

banned for facts

Banned for not deflecting the cold hard fact rainfall with a warm, fuzzy umbrella.

banned for wet fuzz gets heavy real fast

Banned because somebody called the Fuzz. But they had brain freeze.

banned for cold, wet fuzz.

Banned because I doubt any of you will have seen Hot Fuzz... A shame.

Banned for a shame.

Hm. Weird. Well, the fact that the military is not actually anything approaching an organized conspiracy means that, as was the case with DADT itself, it often does things contrary to its ideological "agenda." In other news, I learned today from my friend Kevin that the school is required to let the military recruit there, so if I was planning a protest I'd be going up against the army itself. However, I'm worried about finding more support than my core group of maybe 20 people in an 1800-student school, so the odds of us ever managing to make a dent are minimal. I really do have better things to do with my time than correct that particular injustice.

banned because I never got around to it, but I have seen Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz was in the theaters for some time

As I theorized before, it's two organizations supported by the same source. Odds were good that they are required to cooperate with each other.

Banned because they are there to introduce you to the concept of a career in the army, not to force you. If you're not interested they can't make you join. It's like if a bank came to your school in an attempt to recruit, except of course bankers don't usually have wars.

Banned because that's true, but the difference is that the American military is an organization that, in my analysis, promotes a harmful, right-wing agenda. So it's more like an anti-Sharia group was allowed to come in and recruit new members than a bank.

True, and a lot of them expect a certain amount of resistance.

Btw, banned for the funniest shit of the day. See, I would consider a bailout for those guys.

Banned because you should get around to it. Bloody hysterical, that Hot Fuzz.

Banned because you still won't get it through your backwards hat that the U.S. military is not in control of when and where it gets deployed.

It's the wreckage of our government in DC that has been using them to keep alive the idea that war is a good thing. And the pattern of abuse is one of the last strongholds of bipartisanship. You're essentially blaming the tool and not the tool user. And yes, I know that the military is dominated by GOP members and that their subcultures are getting steadily more distinct from us civilians. I'm one of those weird 'liberals' who thinks we need to have the draft restored, with an option for pacifists to join something like Americorps. The all-volunteer military might be more efficient, but it also insulates the nation as a whole from the real costs of war. 

Banned because the military may not be in control of where it is deployed, but it is in control of what it does to the goons who kill civilians while they're over there (nothing, at least 98% of the time, probably much more), what it asks for from the budget (lots, which Congress is more than willing to give it), how it treats women (like a 1950s ad firm), how it treats visiting civilian leaders (with outburts and a sell so hard some Senators likened it to protracted brainwashing), who it calls in for its compulsory "spiritual fitness" program (evangelical talking heads), how many troops it asks for in the aforementioned hard sell and outbursts (always loads more), and how it promotes itself (as a paragon of pure virtue).

Banned for I just think we need to smack around politicians. Let the military guys be who they are. The Democrats aren't doing much more to reduce wartime spending or end conflicts than anyone else. It's rather hypocritical really.

Banned because you've hit on a very, very good point. This isn't a conspiracy. Navy SEALS won't show up at the door of Joe Senator's house if he votes to make speeding tickets apply to soldiers again. The military can only be what it is because the civilian leadership is weak, and the Dems are just as bad as the GOP.

banned for everyone asks for lots. And note that even a non-GOP majority will still approve funding in most cases.

again, everyone does. One of the leaders of anti-gun legislation refused to comment when he blew away an intruder in his house. Funny, right?

I'm not trying to defend everything they do, but they can be right or left wing. Inherently, the majority will be one or the other and the minority won't like it. As for enforcement of rules and political acts behind all that, I think that's something that needs work in all aspects of society, from military to law enforcement and even rent-a-cops.

I really want to unban you for what I'm about to say, but... BANNED for hitting the nail on the head. It always comes down to cutting the head off the snake.

Banned because you again make very good points. The military is not exceptional in its wrongness, but it is not acknowledged or held accountable for said wrongness. It is like a pro-gun lobby... but pro-gun lobbies are not recruiting in my school.

EDIT: You also do well to remind me that I don't really think the military can be directly changed. It'd probably have to be purged top-to-bottom and organize in a way never seen before in the history of the world to meet my concept of an ideal military. But it can be kept on a much tighter leash by the civilian government, which is not happening.

Banned for finally seeming to understand my take on the situation. I've long thought we agree more than you seem to think we do.

Banned for thinking.

Wife and I are banned for doing the Sextember Challenge, starting tonight.

Banned for keep us posted. Twenty bucks says will be you in a few weeks.