Damn. Colin Powell has passed away

[DipodomysDeserti]

I read a biography on him in elementary school, and always thought he seemed like a solid dude. Unfortunately he got caught up with the wrong crowd in the early ‘00s, but none of that matters now.

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/18/1046981056/colin-powell-former-secretary-of-state-dies-at-84

While reading the obituaries, I noticed that Gary Paulson had died a well. Worth a listen.

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/14/1045981769/gary-paulsen-hatchet-author-obituary

[ForSweden]

@dipodomysdeserti rename Ft. Bragg immediately

[facw]

@forsweden Not sure how that is especially relevant here? In any event, Congress has mandated that it be renamed by 2023, which is too slow, but it does seem like it's going to happen. Though I am disappointed that USS Chancellorsville snuck through the cracks at the renaming committee.

[facw]

@dipodomysdeserti The man's mistake was quite costly, I don't know how you can ever make up for something like that.

I really liked Hatchet and Dogsong as a kid, so that's sad to read.

[ForSweden]

@facw Bragg was a Confederate General
Ft. Bragg hosts the 101st Airborne Division.
Powell commanded a brigade of the 101st Airborne Division.

[davesaddiction]

@dipodomysdeserti

I'd heard about Paulson earlier, and listened to this.

Very moving to hear him talk about the librarian who encouraged him.

One person showing just a little bit of care can change a person's life.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@facw said in Damn. Colin Powell has passed away:

@dipodomysdeserti The man's mistake was quite costly, I don't know how you can ever make up for something like that.

I really liked Hatchet and Dogsong as a kid, so that's sad to read.

He made the mistake of trusting the CIA. Not the first guy to be fooled by those assholes. With the revisionist history going on now, I think him leaving the GOP because of Trump will be remembered more than the Iraq War. Not that it matters now, since he’s dead.

Was just talking about Hatchet with some students last week.

[ttyymmnn]

@facw said in Damn. Colin Powell has passed away:

USS Chancellorsville

Chancellorsville is scheduled to be placed Out of Commission in Reserve by 2026, so maybe the Navy is hoping the problem will solve itself.

[facw]

@ttyymmnn Yeah, seems like the plan is to replace the Ticos with Even More Burkes­ in the not so distant future. I'm not sure doubling down on a 30+ year old design is the way to go, but I guess with the failure of the DD(X) and CG(X) programs, it's the only way to go unless you want to adopt a foreign design. Maybe I should be happy the Navy didn't somehow select the Burke for FFG(X).

[foghat1981]

@dipodomysdeserti I heard the news from Paul Tracy's instagram. He immediately jumped to "I wonder how Fauci will spin this" since the headline was sure to mention that he died of COVID complications even though he was vaccinated. I could be wrong, but I don't recall seeing ANYTHING that said the vaccine was 100% foolproof.

Edit to add (also commented below): I do NOT AT ALL agree with Paul Tracy's take here. Just sharing the weirdness of hearing about a high profile death via a racer who immediately had a stupid take about it.

[Chariotoflove]

@foghat1981
Nothing in medicine is foolproof. People that elderly are far more likely to die despite being vaccinated, and on an individual basis, it’s either 100% or 0%. Ask me how I know.

It does present a bit of a public relations dilemma though. The key is to just be forthright.

[ttyymmnn]

@facw said in Damn. Colin Powell has passed away:

Yeah, seems like the plan is to replace the Ticos with Even More Burkes­

I don't know that much about ships and such, but my guess is that it will be far easier and faster to keep building Burkes when we need ships in the Pacific that actually work. Seems to work for the Air Force (see F-15X).

[ranwhenparked]

@foghat1981 Also he was 84, and life expectancy is 79, so vaccinated or not, shit can still happen

[facw]

@foghat1981 Something that's really surprised me about this pandemic is the number of people who seem to believe that things can only be 100% effective or 0% effective. Defense in depth! And yeah, some unlucky people are going to get sick and even die, even with precautions, but it's a much lower percentage than with no precautions. I think right now the unvaccinated are something like five times as likely to be hospitalized and ten times as likely to die.

[facw]

@ttyymmnn I mean, I think spending big money on the F-15X is a terrible idea, and basically a gift to Boeing (who would otherwise be running very low on customers for their St. Louis plant). That thing will be useless for frontline combat against a peer or near peer within a decade (if it isn't already). And while the Air Force says that's ok because it can still be used domestic air defense or operations after enemy air defenses have been dealt with, more F-16s could do that too, for far less money. No need to buy super expensive fighters to be the low part of a high-low mix.

[ttyymmnn]

@facw

Don't worry, the NGAD will be flying in soon to save the day.

[foghat1981]

@facw Oh for sure. I was pretty dumbfounded when I saw his take (and most of his followers/comments agree with him). I don't even know how we talk to people when there's this level of misinformation and "screw you & your side" mentality in our country now.

[A Former User]

@dipodomysdeserti I had no idea he had left the GOP because of Trump, but I definitely associate his name with the Gulf War, so your theory may need some tweaking.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@foghat1981 Moderna and Pfizer were claiming 95% effective rates when they first came out, but those claims turned out to be a bit optimistic, especially once delta rolled around. I remember reading one study that claimed a 99% effective rate, but it seems to have been wiped from the internets.

Either way, it’s a good reminder for people to continue to be cautious around the elderly, even if they’re vaccinated.

[foghat1981]

@ranwhenparked Absolutely....to be clear, I do not AT ALL agree with Paul Tracy's take. It was just sort of surreal to find out about such a profile person's death via a racer and covered in a blanket of such stupidity.

[A Former User]

@ranwhenparked Is it still 79? Covid has definitely caused it to trend downward.

[DipodomysDeserti]

@sovande said in Damn. Colin Powell has passed away:

@ranwhenparked Is it still 79? Covid has definitely caused it to trend downward.

And opioids before covid.

[ranwhenparked]

@sovande Officially yes, but it rises to 84 if you live to 60. But I think the numbers are from 2020, which would be older data, something like 54% of deaths have been over 75, 76% over 65. But, with a large population, that might still not be enough to pull the overall number down that dramatically

[DipodomysDeserti]

@sovande said in Damn. Colin Powell has passed away:

@dipodomysdeserti I had no idea he had left the GOP because of Trump, but I definitely associate his name with the Gulf War, so your theory may need some tweaking.

Really? I thought it was common knowledge after he endorsed Obama twice. I guess that piece of news wasn’t rage inducing enough to make the rounds. He also said he was no longer a republican after the capitol riot.

*Edit It probably wasn’t just because of Trump, but the whole “maybe we could overturn an election” thing seemed to push him over the edge. Getting lied to by the CIA to help the business interests of fellow GOPers probably played a bigger role.

I was a wee lad then, and the only guy I associate with the Gulf War is Chris Farley. I WANT HOLYFIELD!

[ttyymmnn]

@ranwhenparked said in Damn. Colin Powell has passed away:

Also he was 84, and life expectancy is 79

My mother, who is 81, calls pneumonia "the old man's friend" because it allows you to die peacefully in your sleep, and Covid gives you pneumonia. Though vaccinated, any breakthrough may likely have been much more severe for him than for a younger person.