I could use a respite right now – I’ve been reading the tortured logic of some folks who claim that being able to fight a limited nuclear war, and believe that it won’t get worse, is absolutely necessary to keep a nuclear war from happening. The assumptions pile up in giant haystacks like Boris Johnson’s hair. (And hey, how about that first vote!)
This is something that my corner of Twitter is having a lot of fun with. A new account, started this month (like yesterday), called Military Giant Cats. They tweet out only photoshops of cats and military scenes. No comments, but others have been adding them. They have 48 tweets and over 14,000 followers. Some of my faves:
The Pentagon pic.twitter.com/wbkyJbykpp
— Giant Military Cats (@giantcat9) September 3, 2019
Trooping the Colour pic.twitter.com/NELA4c6KMf
— Giant Military Cats (@giantcat9) September 3, 2019
Boxer AFV pic.twitter.com/r4Z9n6mIpS
— Giant Military Cats (@giantcat9) September 3, 2019
Moscow pic.twitter.com/FEPV64MiS4
— Giant Military Cats (@giantcat9) September 3, 2019
MV-22B Osprey / HMAS Canberra pic.twitter.com/nsZ4fpLVXr
— Giant Military Cats (@giantcat9) September 3, 2019
French Garde Republicaine pic.twitter.com/PqJI0PQDYg
— Giant Military Cats (@giantcat9) September 3, 2019
LCVP Mk5 pic.twitter.com/nTIVNA2kEd
— Giant Military Cats (@giantcat9) September 3, 2019
Open thread!
trollhattan
! Those are some kind of kittys!
Virginia
Thanks Cheryl, these are hilarious and sorely needed today.
Baud
The 101st Furrborne!
misterpuff
Over the Top, Boys. You wanna live Nine Lives?
rikyrah
Awe???
dexwood
Veni, vidi, vici kitties.
Sab
Thanks Cheryl.
My Dad’s actual cat, age unknown, probably at least 12, had hyperthyroid treatment so went radioactive last year. He has been ok since, but getting bullied this year by other cats. Went from 15 pounds in prime to 10 pounds today. Healthy appetite but bully cats.
Now he is sleeping in my cat bed/laundry basket. Pees everywhere. Cats can be problematic. But he has always been a great guy, which ain’t a cat norm.
Mikeindublin
Boxer AFV is the NEDM cat.
Sm*t Cl*de
Izzat Steve in #2?
Sab
Dump any of those giant cats into whatever cold wet fjord their ship is on and we will see their fortitude. Cold wet cats are wimps, also cold and wet.
Jeffro
‘Amusing Ourselves to Death’…except for the times when we really, really need a break. Thanks Cheryl!
trollhattan
@Sab:
You forgot pissed. Cold and wet and pissed cat.
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
Catherine D.
@Sab: Perhaps have his thyroid and kidney function retested. That’s a lot of weight loss and peeing, which can go with both organs.
(Been there, done that, sigh)
NotMax
Hear about the air base cat who got too close to the jet engine exhaust?
Now known as the furry with the singe on top.
:)
(Try the waiters, tip the veal.)
MomSense
I didn’t know how much I needed Military Giant Cats.
Sab
@trollhattan: Also still cold and wet. That’s always an option with cats. Lots of dogs say ” I’m wet? What’s that?” Cats always say “I am wet? OMG”
Sab
@Catherine D.: Yes I will. I have already, but medical conditions tromp on. Thanks.
Martin
No such thing as a limited nuclear war. Once a nuke goes off, you’re forced to ask where and when the next one will go off. It’s 10 minutes from a sub launch to detonation. You have no time to react to events, you only have proaction, so everything devolves to hitting the big red button ASAP.
trollhattan
@Sab:
Spouse only has to flash the dog shampoo bottle and he jets from the room. “Threaten me, will you!?!”
Sab
@NotMax: Hisssss.
Yarrow
Those cats scare me. They are too big.
NotMax
Repeating here, where it is a better fit.
Belated effusive thanks to whoever it was (and apologies for not remembering the nym) who recommended trying diabetic socks. Bought a pair when in NY (I never wear socks in Hawaii, sandals are the below the calf uniform du jour) and while they did not entirely relieve the discomfort and swelling of ankles and feet that comes with regular socks of any type, there was a significant and noticeable improvement.
Sab
@Yarrow: Tip them into the fjord and they are just wet, not big.
Have five cats, all rescues, several are tough.
?BillinGlendaleCA
The kid(and guest “On the Road” photographer) has been putting up pics on IG of the kitten that she found in her Lexus when she got back from Chicago, she named it Lexi(after the car). The kid’s off in Solvang today with her sister and fam celebrating her b-day.
prostratedragon
They get funnier as you scroll down, and the human parts more ridiculous. Who do we think we’re kidding? Thanks, Cheryl.
piratedan
the Pentagon one does it for me, nothing quite like a kitty snoozing on a raised edge,,,,
Betsy
Hey, did y’all hear about the court ruling on gerrymandering in North Carolina? Looking really good
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/north-carolina-court-rules-partisan-state-legislative-districts-unconstitutional/2019/09/03/4a137034-ce8a-11e9-8c1c-7c8ee785b855_story.html
debbie
Love that Pentagon!
zhena gogolia
I see in WaPo that Drumpf congratulated Poland on the Nazi invasion of 1 September 1939.
Love the kitties!
zhena gogolia
My favorite is the French one.
NotMax
Leave us not forget Hitler Cats.
;)
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: It is fine, but it lacks the horse artillery of the Trooping the Colour one.
Uncle Cosmo
@Martin:
Only if the sub is lurking a couple hundred miles from the target. Soviets feared USN attack subs could take out their boomers in open water & deployed them in close-in waters they could overprotect. Flight time to CONUS from those “bastions” (Barents Sea, Sea of Okhotsk) were roughly the same as land-based ICBMs (20-30 minutes). IIUC the strategic doctrine of “Putinia” is roughly the same.
TenguPhule
But are those cats appropriately fat?
Omnes Omnibus
@Martin: @Uncle Cosmo: Probably a dead thread, but my experience of the concept of a limited nuclear war was based around the concept of a tactical nuclear artillery round being fired. The general run of the exercise would be that the Soviets would come across the IGB at Fulda and Hof and the tripwire units (2ACR and 11ACR (Cole) and their supporting artillery (me in support of 2ACR) and engineer units) would force their units to slow down and deploy into fighting rather than traveling formations. We would then fall back bit by bit as we were inevitably wiped out. The concept was that we would give the units stationed elsewhere in Germany time to get to their fighting positions and our posthumous decorations would be presented to our grieving mothers at a later date. Eventually, the sheer volume of the Soviet advance would begin to overrun our forces. At that point, tactical nukes would be deployed and used against the Soviet troops.
The thought was that even if they were used on the battlefield no one would be dumb enough to launch the big civilization killers and thus the nuclear exchange would be limited.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Omnes Omnibus:
I read this. Thank you for your service.
Boris, Rasputin's Evil Twin
It’s the size of the required litter boxes that disturbs me.