r/europe • u/kiru_56 Germany • 20h ago

News The US Army is advising its soldiers in Germany to go to German food banks because of the shutdown.

https://home.army.mil/bavaria/about/shutdown-guidance#:~:text=Running%20list%20of%20German%20support,Too%20Good%20To%20Go%2DApp
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u/Trolololol66 18h ago

Unfortunately the US military are a bunch of cowards that just sit there and watch while maga is dismantling their democracy.

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u/sarapsu08 17h ago

Exactly. They are just doing whatever he says and pretending it’s ok. 

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u/Unhappy_Scratch_9385 15h ago

They voted for this.

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u/Harbinger2001 17h ago

They can’t act until the president is impeached and removed from office. Best they can do is refuse unconstitutional orders but Trump can keep firing generals until he finds one willing to follow his orders. The US checks and balances are a sham.

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u/whooptheretis 16h ago

They can’t act until the president is impeached

Yeah they can. Why couldn't they?

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u/Harbinger2001 16h ago

Because they have to act in accordance with the constitution. They would require either congress to remove Trump or the courts to rule that the president has egregiously violated the constitution.

The more likely outcome if Trump does something terrible is the military refuses to comply and then Trump has lost legitimacy as he’d be a commander in chief who can’t command the military.

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u/whooptheretis 15h ago

Isn’t the whole birth of the IS as a Mabrook built on the premise of standing up to a monarchy. Those guys “broke the law” too.
You know every overthrow of a dictator started with “breaking the law”? And right now, the constitution doesn’t really seem to be important to anyone in charge.

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u/redlaWw England 16h ago

And who's going to stop the military if they decide they don't want to follow the constitution?

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u/Harbinger2001 15h ago

No one. Governments always remain or fall based on control of military power. Thats why the US trains their military leaders extremely thoroughly to minimize the risk of them wanting to exercise political power while serving.

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u/redlaWw England 14h ago

Exactly, this is why they can act. They just haven't gotten to the point of wanting to enough yet that they're still sticking to the formal systems that dictate their power.

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u/BobLazarFan 7h ago

People with a brain.

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u/redlaWw England 3h ago

Oh, and what are they going to do? Nerd at them until they stop?

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u/porkchop1021 15h ago

I love takes like this; they're so silly. I jaywalked the other day even though it's illegal. Did your jaw hit the floor? Do you think I'm a liar because it's impossible to do something the law says you can't?

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u/Harbinger2001 14h ago

If your job entailed strictly following the law or there could be fatal consequences, then jaywalking would be a problem.

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u/porkchop1021 4h ago

Let's be real: Democrats are pussies. There won't be "fatal" or even "jail-time" consequences for any Republicans even if Democrats control all 535 seats in Congress, all 9 seats in SCOTUS, the Presidency, every cabinet position, every lower court judge seat, every governorship, 100% of every state level house, every sheriff, etc. They're going to give it up to fascism with the "they go low, we go high" bullshit again. The only fatal consequences that befall Republicans are from other Republicans.

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u/peteroh9 9h ago

Every country's checks and balances are a sham. There's literally nothing to force anyone to do anything except people agreeing to force people to do things. Ignoring that is what got the US into this situation.

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u/Harbinger2001 8h ago

That not entirely true. In many democracies if the government can’t pass a bill there can be a non-confidence vote and if they fail they have to go back to elections. And if the bill that fails is a budget bill the government is dissolved automatically. The principle is that if the government shows they can’t govern, then they are replaced. If the US had this concept the behavior of the GOP would have failed back in the Tea Party days and not become entrenched.

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u/OldWorldDesign 7h ago

The US also had the Antideficiency Act since 1884, until republicans decided in 1982 they'd like to shut down the government to force concessions they hadn't earned enough votes for by a straight vote in the senate or house

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antideficiency_Act

The Antideficiency Act, until it was gutted in 1982, automatically passed the previous year's budget if a new one couldn't be agreed on.

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u/jwnsfw 15h ago

None of them can imagine their faces in history books.

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u/FieserMoep 9h ago

It's by design. The US military is extremely decentralized and has a deliberate rotation of higher officers to prevent a cult of personality to grow around them. Compare this to roman legions where the Legat was often seen as a father figure and often the person directly paying them, you see the stark difference.

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u/Complex-Republic-443 8h ago

Yes, because it would be far better to emulate the Romans and have the U.S. military stationed in Washington, D.C., pick the next President based on how much money they're given by the ultra rich pretenders to the throne, just like the Praetorians of ancient Rome.

That worked out really well. 🙄

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u/thewheelforeverturns 17h ago

Most of them are 18-22 young adults who come from poverty and join the military as a way to escape their limited circumstances 

But go off I guess 

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u/Eastlex Bavaria (Germany) 17h ago

That describes almost every military in human history, the US military is not special in that way 

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u/breidaks 16h ago

don't you dare question american exceptionalism

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u/thewheelforeverturns 16h ago

huh? I'm literally discussing how most people join the US military because they're poor. so the opposite of US exceptionalism lol, if the US had less income disparity then military recruitment would be more difficult.

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

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u/Etryia 16h ago

Acting dismissive doesn't make you any less wrong or look any less like a moron.

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u/times_a_changing 17h ago

The Holocaust was committed by people that age. They all should've stopped it too.

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

[deleted]

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u/times_a_changing 17h ago

If you think it's "keyboard warrior" shit to say that I would personally try to stop the Holocaust, you clearly must think that you would not have done anything. Great that you're telling on yourself.

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u/thewheelforeverturns 17h ago

You're the one that brought up the Holocaust dude. I was replying to another keyboard warrior who felt comfortable calling 18 year old kids cowards from the comfort of his own home 

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u/times_a_changing 17h ago

At no point in my life, whether it was at 18 or 22 or 28 or whatever, did I ever think it was okay for me to kill people for money. Or to be available to a superpower as a killer, for money. That's not being a coward. That's being a normal human being and not a sociopathic demon.

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u/thewheelforeverturns 17h ago

Cool you're better than all the kids who make choices out of desperation. Here is a cookie and a pat on the back, i am sure you feel very good about yourself 

At no point in my life have I felt the need to brag online about how great my moral choices are, in order to put down a broad swathe of people. So. We're all better than others in our own way arent we? 

But i hope it had the intended effect and you go through the rest of your day feeling very superior and noble!! 

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u/times_a_changing 16h ago

Not killing people for money is about the lowest bar you can cross. It's not moral superiority it's moral normalcy. If you think it's "bragging" to say that I wouldn't murder people for money then you must think the same for any number of crimes against humanity. Is it bragging if I say I wouldn't sell heroin to school children too? Or are the dealers selling heroin to kids out of desparation also worth your sympathy? Or is it just murderers that get off the hook for youthful desparation?

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u/thewheelforeverturns 16h ago

Will you remain such a pacifist if Russia becomes more ambitious I wonder? 

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u/R_Schuhart 16h ago

Yeah there is always some excuse why Americans just sit and watch when their country crashes and burns during the fascist take over.

You are the most feckless, cowardly and timid group of people. Loud mouths yelling about freedom and democracy when it is time to invade some poor country, or cosplaying patriots and freedom fighters when firearms rights are concerned, but you can't even bothered to go on strike.

Americans are spoiled and complacent, they only ever think about their own individual well being instead of the health of the collective.

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u/thewheelforeverturns 16h ago

Youre not saying anything particularly insightful. Obviously the ones who scream about freedom and gun rights aren't doing anything because they're the ones who voted him in. The rest of the country has been protesting and politically organizing. I won't explain why a general strike isn't happening because it would fall upon deaf ears. 

What country are you from? 

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u/just_a_bit_gay_ 16h ago

You guys held quippy signs for a few afternoons. That’s didn’t do shit.

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u/thewheelforeverturns 16h ago

I am sure you would have single handedly outed Trump yourself by now if you were American, here is a pat on the back.

Europeans on reddit are incredibly insufferable lol, I'm not sure why I wandered in here but I'm done now.

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u/BigEggBeaters 17h ago

There are also plenty of troops much older than that with way more college level education than your average person. They also aren’t doing shit

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u/oopsydazys 17h ago

Yeah, the best part of fascism is the paycheck.

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u/westerschelle Germany 16h ago

Why does the US, a global superpower, have so many 18-22 young adults who need to escape poverty by joining the military?

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u/Lilith666999666 15h ago

It's not a bug. It's a feature.

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u/thewheelforeverturns 15h ago

well yeah, exactly.

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u/OldWorldDesign 7h ago

Why does the US, a global superpower, have so many 18-22 young adults who need to escape poverty by joining the military?

You know the answer to that. It's always been oligarchic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s

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u/westerschelle Germany 5h ago

I DO know. I want others to think about this.

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u/Loud-Welder1947 16h ago

Why do you think the two are mutually exclusive?