Artillery is a bitch. If it doesn’t ruin your ears, it ruins your back from lifting shells.
Would Walz’s nickname have been “Top”, or is that for some other enlisted rank?
Sure that’s what I said.
He reenlisted. Then he took the position of CSM knowing it had at least a two year commitment to become permenant. If he didn’t like the current operations he could have retired prior to the unit call up.
Top is reserved for a company First Sergeant. Some hate it and want to be called by their full rank. I didn’t mind it. I’m almost 100% sure Walz was a First Sergeant at some point of his career. Never, ever, call a Sergeant Major “Top.”
Here’s an opinion piece in the NY Times (gift link) from a journalist with a working class, middle america, farm working background about why Walz is an excellent choice to connect with folks like her. The title is “Democrats Have Needed Someone Like Tim Walz for Decades.”
Some choice quotes:
I’ve shared the story before to explain the gulf I’ve long felt between the essence of the rural white working poor who raised me — honest, flawed people who would welcome just about anyone into our home but a liar — and the red-hatted-fool avatar they’ve been assigned in national discourse.
What a relief, then, to see emerge on the national stage the Minnesota governor and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, who embodies the earnest, humane, rural people who shaped me and the prairie populism that shaped the progressive foundations of the Great Plains.
With due respect to political statistics, which convey real and important trends, the rural white working class is not a monolith. Among them remains a large and consequential minority of sensible people who even in their vulnerable economic state remain unmoved by charlatans blaming immigrants while amassing corporate wealth. In recent decades, the Democratic Party has made little direct appeal to them, such that Mr. Walz’s rural background seems downright transgressive on the top ticket.
By selecting as her running mate Mr. Walz — who as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives rightly criticized the party for its coastal bias in naming the caucus’s leadership — Vice President Kamala Harris has changed the course of her party and perhaps our country. At her side, a son of Midwestern farm country can confidently and authentically speak the truths that neither Mr. Trump nor his running mate, JD Vance, will tell you:
That for all the loud racism, homophobia and jingoism of today’s Republican Party — which indeed has dominated elections outside metropolitan areas — the real rural America is diverse, full of immigrants, and people of color, gay and transgender people and native peoples, and even straight white folks who happily work and live alongside them.
[Republican]Yeah, so was Snoop Dogg. I’ll bet Walz smokes like a chimney![/republican]
I like what he said before the couch quip.
“Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland, JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community,” he said.
“That’s not what Middle America is. And I got to tell you. I can’t wait to debate the guy… That is, if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up.”
“See what I did there?” he added, drawing roars of laughter from supporters.
That might not hurt a candidate the way it use to. Only a portion of the Far Right would consider that a major hit any more. Pointing out the Dems are pro-legalization would be doing them a favor with the undecided and the unmotivated.
I’m hearing Minnesotans say “Waltz.” Kind of how Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz (also a Minnesotan) is pronounced Charles “Schultz”
I believe Champaign County is also pretty blue.
It’s all those academic types.
I’ve started reading about Walz. Trying to understand why he’s labeled a progressive.
I’m disappointed that Harris didn’t signal a shift towards the center with a moderate VP. She’s positioned herself squarely towards the far left. I don’t believe that was a good choice in a campaign against Trump.
PBS has a balanced report about Walz record.
This is a ludicrous statement. Name one “far left” position she or Walz have taken.
Harris has always had a reputation for being far left. It doesn’t help that she called for defunding the police.
I was hoping she would have at least tried to move a little towards the center. Trump has to be beaten. A second Trump Presidency would be a disaster.
Forcing voters to accept Harris and a progressive VP is a lot to swallow. This could really hurt her chances and the country.
Harris is generally considered a moderate Democrat except by Trump and his ilk.
When did Harris call for Defunding Police? Please provide the situation in context. I think you are mistaken greatly on this one. If anything, Harris alienated some on the left for her Law and Order record.
Calling for Police Reform does not equal Defund Police. Taking some budget for the Police and using it to improve social services, especially dealing with the mentally unstable is a really reasonable proposal by any standards.
I’m not sure what you’re talking about. The people I know on the “far left” are generally suspicious of her, especially given her prosecutorial background.
I know she said otherwise a couple years later. But it’s hard to take back what she said in 2020.
That is not the same as Defund Police. Read your cite.
My sense is that she is center left just slightly left of Biden. 2016 primaries she struggled (and failed) to find a lane between the far left and Biden’s center left.
In the midst of the movement that stupidly rallied itself around the “defund the police” slogan she supported the actual common sense goals of the movement: providing more towards social services instead of having police tasked with those jobs, and not militarize the police.
As a center left voter I still support those goals even as I cringe at the stupidity of the defunding cry.
ETA the quote.
Same here.
I watched all three speeches at the rally in Philly last night, and came away with these random impressions:
- Shapiro is an excellent orator and knows how to work a crowd; I had never seem him speak before. He’s passionate and energetic. I also found him to be a bit slick, slightly too pleased with himself. If I lived in PA, I’d still vote for him
- Harris’ speech was solid, though I’ve seen bits of it before, so it was less impactful. She’s having fun up there and it shows. I love the enthusiasm.
- Walz is very “authentic,” he’s the “get a beer with this guy” candidate and it doesn’t seem like a put-on at all. He’s not a rousing orator like Shapiro, but he clearly knows what he’s talking about, and his sincerity rings true. He’s pretty good with a zinger, as well.
- All three speeches had moments of sharp/strange transitions, like “Let’s talk about TOPIC A” - [one brief sentence on TOPIC A] - and then “here’s a whole other topic without introducing it.” The speeches felt a little cobbled together (probably because they were) and didn’t have a clear arc. They need better writers who can string their talking points into a more coherent story.
- The “Weird” talking point is starting to get old in the way they are now using it - they are deploying it almost like a crowd-pleasing catchphrase. They need to “show, don’t tell” (in writer’s parlance). Give more examples of the weirdness instead of just saying “Weird” at us.
- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the contrast in tones between the two campaigns could not be sharper, and I’m glad Walz called out Harris’ “joy” specifically. This is shaping up to be hopeful and positive and forward looking vs. dark and apocalyptic and mean, and I’ll take the former as a better choice every time.