Posted on 07/10/2009 7:00:34 AM PDT by FrPR
WASHINGTON — Did you know that the Pentagon is urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ban tobacco use by troops? A quick google news search for "Smoking" and "Military" will give you the skinny.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.google.com ...
I wonder if this would effect civilians that work on bases or military buildings. Definitely will hurt tobacco sales at the exchange or commissary.
No peanut butter either...right??
Because women HATE cigars, chewing tobacco..
Even the nonsmokers were coming back from Iraq smoking Newport menthols. Helped the young troops keep their XXXX together from being mortared, IEDs, firefights constantly.
obamma smokes.
One big question here. Does that go for the Commander in Chief?
Didn’t Hitler do the same thing?
Just sayin’
Makes me wonder why Gates and these other sh!theads in the military—both retired and active—are at this time in history opting to serve period!!!!
Have they no shame?
You know the answer to that one—don’cha!
That’s how low we’ve sunk.
Semper Fidelis
Dick G
**********
What next, cussing? Maybe we should also get OSHA involved in their everyday lives to make sure serving as a soldier is not dangerous.
No more smoke & coke breaks? WTF? They’ll probably ban sugary drinks, too.
WE’RE DOOMED.
When I was in the service, I used to say to myself, “I know there are a lot of rules and regulations, but when I’m a civilian, I’ll be free.” Well, every year government clamps down more and more on our liberty. Of course it isn’t wise to smoke, but shouldn’t that decision be up to the individual? Where does this all lead? As technology gives government the power to monitor and control us more and more, we either end up being slaves or free. Which will it be?
BTW, now that I’m out of the service, many of the military rules and regulations have effectively made their way into civilian life, thereby diminishing liberty. Have no doubt. Whatever the military imposes today will eventually find its way into civilian law. The joke used to be that the military “owned” us. Well, are we destined to be owned by our own government?
Dittos! These men are facing possible death every single day as they protect our country. If they want a cig before or after a battle..the country should not only ‘allow’ it, but provide them!!
I have had it with these liberal ninnies!!
My nephew didn’t smoke prior to his first tour in Afghanistan. He is MI. He’s headed to Iraq in a couple of weeks.
God bless him. If it helps him deal with the job, leave him the hell alone.
But if the Dims have their way there’ll be plenty of fudge.
But what are we to do with all those WWII movies where almost all dialog takes place during the smoke breaks!
Dive Bomber
Air Force
...are fine examples.
“Smoke ‘em if you got...erm, never mind. Just stand there.”
This is where I draw the line....If these guys put their asses on the death line for us then I have NO problem with them enjoying a good cigar after the kill.
Very, VERY bad idea.
oh yeah..and for shot out combate troops
these lefties are sadists
This is B.S.!! We expect so much of our military, and many are very young. If smoking is what helps them cope- it is an individual decision and should not be a directive.
That’s where I really got hooked on smoking was the army. That was one pleasure they’d allow us. It still is my only vice.
I’m probably for a smoking ban for the military, but being in combat and not knowing if this your last day on earth screw the regulations. Court marshal me if you want.
Hell the President of the United Sates is a closet smoker.
What next, cussing? Maybe we should also get OSHA involved in their everyday lives to make sure serving as a soldier is not dangerous.
George Washington disapproved of swearing by American troops during the Revolutionary War and even issued an official proclamation against it.
I have for years wondered out loud about the strange alliances on the Left (the Inner City Ghetto and the Virgin Wilderness, eg). Now I am reminded that on our side we have people who won't drink, smoke, or cuss (and who ban them at their religious and educational institutions) allied with whorehouse libertarians who think that Prohibition was supported only by the Communist Party (ever hear of Billy Sunday?).
I am not in favor of the legislation of health or safety, but very much in favor of the legislating of morality--that is, after all, the law's primary purpose. And it strikes me that smoking and cussing are moral vices rather than unhealthy or dangerous.
Smoke if you have ‘em......NOT!
| Europe He Was My Chief: The Memoirs of Hitler’s Secretary
Adolf Hitler's personal secretary Christa Schroeder has revealed the first-hand account of Hitler's secret life in her memoirs "He Was My Chief: The Memoirs of Hitler's Secretary." It was reported by the British media Daily Express. |
Here is the full story by Daily Express.
Hitler was behaving strangely that autumn morning in 1944. The frown that often spread across his face was gone and he was smiling oddly.
Suddenly he flung open his arms and said with emotion: "How lovely it is when two people are in love!"
Those around him were astonished and uneasy. The Führer, whose mood could change in the blink of an eye, was seemingly overwhelmed with a new bonhomie.
Later an aide nervously asked Hitler's doctor, the sinister Theodor Morell, if the Nazi leader was ill. The doctor peered over his glasses and gave a slight, sly smile.
"So you've noticed? Well, I'm giving him hormone injections from bulls' testicles. That should pep him up!"
The astonishing revelation is contained in He Was My Chief: The Memoirs Of Hitler's Secretary by Christa Schroeder. Hired because of her shorthand skill she worked for the Führer from 1933 until the end in May 1945.
She had replied to a tiny advertisement in a newspaper asking for a woman with secretarial skills.
The job turned out to be in the Munich office of the Nazi party and after Hitler had been made Chancellor in 1933 she became his main secretary at just 25.
After seizing power Hitler installed himself in Berlin's Radziwill Palace where he lived and worked and was surrounded by aides, advisers and other officials who were an integral part of the Nazi machine.
Christa Schroeder and the other secretaries worked in the "Ladies' Saloon" and one morning Hitler happened to see the girls sitting there and asked if he might join them.
It was the first time Christa had spoken to him and he would soon call regularly in the office for conversation – what he called "an hour of easy chatter" and tea.
Hitler became so relaxed in Miss Schroeder's company that he would talk with surprising openness about his childhood.
"Our room was a place where he felt unburdened and I always had the impression that what he said there came from a secret memory box which at all other times he kept locked shut," she wrote.
Often he would speak affectionately of his mother, to whom he was very attached, and also of his father's violence: "I never loved my father but feared him," he told her.
"He was prone to rages and would resort to violence. My poor mother would then be afraid for me.
I had read that it was a sign of bravery to hide pain so I decided that when he beat me next time I would make no sound. When it happened – I knew my mother was standing anxiously at the door – I counted each stroke out loud.
"Mother thought I had gone mad when I reported with a beaming smile: ‘Father gave me 32 strokes.' I never needed to repeat the experiment for my father never beat me again."
Working alongside Hitler could be unpredictable – even judging from his eyes. Miss Schroeder found them expressive, even friendly and warm-hearted.
But in the last months of the war they lost all expressiveness and became bulging and watery. She was also able to tell his mood from his voice. It would start off as being unusually calm and clear.
But suddenly it would increase in volume – even during normal conversation – and become overwhelmingly aggressive.
His most frequently used word was "ruthless" and she often heard him say of an order: "Force it through ruthlessly whatever the cost!"
He was also a health fanatic and set great store on personal hygiene. Hitler took as many as nine baths a day, particularly after meetings and speeches from which he would return perspiring.
He prided himself on seemingly endless reserves of energy about which he used to boast to Nazi underlings who could not keep up.
But, as Miss Schroeder observed, from 1944 onwards he was no longer master of his own body and his trembling left hand became a huge embarrassment.
When surprised visitors saw the shaking hand he would cover it instinctively with the other.
She also learned to read his reactions to bad news. Although, to the end, Hitler remained master of his emotions, his reaction to bad news was a slight movement of the jaw.
He clearly enjoyed showing off his knowledge. As a largely self-educated man he had gleaned much information and was obsessive about looking up facts in an encyclopedia.
This way he often managed to convince listeners that he was a profound thinker and the possessor of a sharp analytical brain.
But he could be caught out. Miss Schroeder recalls that one day he launched into a philosophical dissertation on one of his favourite themes.
"To my astonishment I realised he was reciting a page from Schopenhauer which I had just finished reading myself. Summoning all my courage I drew the facts to his attention.
Hitler, taken aback, threw me a glance and explained in fatherly tones: ‘Do not forget, my child, that all knowledge comes from others and that every person only contributes a minute piece to the whole."'
His waffling cover-up silenced his critics.
Taking dictation, often straight to typewriter, posed problems for the spirited Miss Schroeder. Hitler would begin to dictate calmly, with expansive gestures.
Gradually he would speak faster and the keys of Ms Schroeder's typewriter would tangle. But he chose not to notice and kept dictating.
Every so often, while pausing to fix the keys, a sentence might be missed and the text would not flow. Hitler would not be pleased.
Sometimes Miss Schroeder went too far. On one occasion she did not like the way he had phrased something and pointed it out. He just stared at her neither angry nor offended and said: "You are the only person I allow to correct me." And then he added: "We are at war and I must weigh carefully every word for the world is watching and listening. Were I to use the wrong word in a moment of passion, that could have severe implications."
Hitler was also fanatical about smoking and wanted a skull and crossbones printed on every packet of cigarettes made in Germany. He believed soldiers should be given chocolate instead of cigarettes.
But one day after a rather lingering visit to the officers' mess, Miss Schroeder spoke up and declared:
"Ah, mein Führer, let the poor boys have this pleasure, they don't get any others." Hitler looked serious and explained how nicotine and alcohol ruined people's health and addled the mind.
And without another word he walked out giving her an ice-cold aggrieved expression.
She observes: "I no longer existed for him. It was to be many months before Hitler forgave my faux-pas."
Among his other obsessions was a passionate liking for vegetables which he would often eat in large quantities.
This had the unfortunate effect of giving him regular bouts of flatulence – a fact of private amusement to those around him but often deeply unpleasant.
He also insisted on huge vases of flowers on tables, as much apple pie as his chef could make and he would spend hours listening to classical music – Aryan composers only.
In addition to his hatred for smoking and alcohol he deeply disliked meat and, surprisingly, cats. They made him nervous and he would look horrified if he saw one.
One sure way to irritate the Führer was to make an excessive fuss of his pet dogs.
He was noticeably selfish in his desire for their unflinching affection and if they responded to stroking from anyone else, Hitler became visibly irritated.
Miss Schroeder was arrested at the end of the war and after being convicted as a war criminal, was reclassified as a collaborator and released from prison in 1948. She died aged 76 in June 1984.
Although she tended to exclude herself from the Nazism which surrounded her, an American Army interrogator wrote of her: "She was rather stupid, dumpy and an ardent Nazi."
But she knew many of Hitler's secrets – from hormone injections to flatulence.
He Was My Chief: The Memoirs Of Hitler's Secretary by Christa Schroeder (Frontline Books), PO Box 200, Falmouth TR11 4WJ, or call 0871 988 8367 or online at www.expressbookshop.com.
Yup.
See #30.
McGruff: “I’m probably for a smoking ban for the military”
Yeah, and they need strict rules against eating junk food, staying up late, or doing anything else that might diminish their value to Uncle Sam, right? After all, a contract to serve their country in defense of the constitution REALLY means they sold themselves, body and soul, right? Geesh!
From that standpoint, I suppose it makes sense. It'll be a sad day in the Army when that change comes, but it's coming.
As an aside, the Army is evolving into a very puritanical and enlightened organization. I came in under Clinton, and that Army is a caveman compared to what it is today. Smoking will likely be banned sooner than anyone realizes. Same goes with don't ask/don't tell. I sat through an Army briefing on EO/harassment, etc, last week, and there's a lot of new emphasis on not harassing homosexuals. Far more so than you ever saw before, and the intent of the emphasis was clear.
BEER, WINE AND LIQUOR SOON TO FOLLOW...................No more Drunken sailors..............What DO you do with a drunken sailor, ear-lie in the morning?........................
They used to, in the C-RATS and K-RATS........they stopped years ago...................
When I started my Special Forces training at Ft. Bragg there was a Sgt in Pre-phase named Sgt Jenkins. He smoked like a train but ran the most brutal 5 miles I have ever experienced. I took a week before half of the class could keep up with him. Smoking didn’t hurt his performance at all. If he is still around I wonder what he would think of this crap.
It looks like they’re trying to come up with something incremental to be phased in over the next 20 years. It’s not really anything new. Twenty years ago there were no “designated smoking areas” because you could smoke anywhere you pleased. I’m guessing 20 years from now, smoking will have been pretty much eradicated everywhere in this country, not just the military.
The first people who need to be forbidden from smoking are the important ones; Congress, the president, and all the judges. After ALL of them are off the evil weed, they can impose the same rule on the peons.
I hear what you're saying, but consider this. A 24 year old vet with his leg shot off needs expensive treatments. A 65 year old vet with lung cancer from smoking while doing his 20 needs expensive treatments. The government takes money from all of us to pay for that care.
Frankly, smoking is a personal choice, and it should have personal consequences. If you want to smoke and pay your own medical bills, that's what liberty is all about. If you want to smoke and have me pay your bills, especially when combat vets are competing for that dollar, I don't know that I care to support your habit. I don't want to subsidize anyone's behavior, unless it's from a combat or training related injury.
In their eyes, we already are.
...hell, I remember when they used to give you smokes...there were little packs of four in C-rations....the guys who were non smokers would trade them for peaches and pound cake.
Expect more news of mutinies, insubordination, fraggings, and stories about fat soldiers if it passes.
If the military has to stop smoking, will the wartime Commander in Chief be forced to stop smoking too?
“I’m probably for a smoking ban for the military...”
Why? While smoking is a bad habit, and it should be discouraged, we don’t need a lot of sissies - we need a bunch of fire piXXers who go out an kick aXX. Whether they smoke or not seems irrevelent. Personally, I am for giving them the equipment they need, my moral support and prayers and my gratitude. And, when they return the help and care they need. For those who gave all, my profound thanks and my hope that they are resting easy in the arms of a Loving God. I also am a vet, and one thing that concerns me is we seem to be trying to make the military some sort of touchy feely social program. Our military is about killing - on our behalf, so we can live free. That may be harsh, but it is reality. Let’s not lose sight of that fact.-—JM
So please, Mr. Obama — PLEASE ban smoking in the military. We know YOU smoke occasionally, but please ban it for our troops.
PLEASE piss off the people who would have to decide who to support if you try to pull a Zelaya, or order troops in American cities to curb unrest due to financial collapse, reduced food supplies, mutated Swine Flu outbreak, etc.
When enough O-3s through O-6s, and E-5s and above, have figured YOU out -- you're screwed.
Leni
Hopefully that was sarcasm.
Legislating morality is most definitely NOT the law's primary purpose. Its primary purpose is protecting individual rights.
While I'd agree smoking is a vice, it has always been viewed as a trivial one - until the demonization campaigns began.
This kind of crap is just one more sapping of our liberties.
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