you're not in the army anymore

 There are many kinds of misconduct that do not consist of issuing an illegal order.  I just wanted to make clear that the particular issue we were talking about was the issuing of an illegal order.

What I was trying to point out was that military rules do not apply in the civilian world.  When the sarge legally orders you to peel potatoes, you don't have the option of saying fuck it, I quit.  It's a powerful thing giving up a job, but once you do your boss is just another guy on the street to you.  Back in my military days, when I was forced into ROTC in my first year of college, once a week I had marching practice, oh wait, they called it drill.  Depending on my schedule I would have to wear that hated uniform to whatever classes I had before and after drill and if anybody, any Tom, Dick, or Harry, who happened to outrank me in ROTC and was wearing their uniform walked by, I had to salute them.  I hated that too, why should I have to salute some jerk who is no better than I am?  Isn't this America? 

When my alderman walks by I don't have to salute him, nor the mayor, or my senator, or the prez.  You know what, I am sure the army has many arcane rules about when you can take you hat off or not, I'm sure the army has many arcane rules about everything, but you know what Private, you're not in the army anymore.  This thing about chain of command and what to do if you are issued an illegal order in the army, has nothing, nada, zilch zero, to do with what goes on in civilian life.

It never came up during my once weekly foray into military life, but i wonder how often this disobeying an illegal order ever actually arises.  If I am the master sergeant I don't think I am giving a shit if the private under the sergeant under me is upset because that sarge ordered him to take off his hat while he was holding onto a flag holder.  I don't think any of those guys under Calley disobeyed.  It sounds like so much window dressing to me.  Not that it matters because I am not wearing my ROTC uniform anymore.

So I guess some of the birchers thought that some of the outsiders thought that they were a commie front.  It didn't matter to the birchers that nobody outside of the birchers actually felt that way, because they read it in their birch newsletter that it was so, so it must be. 

Fox does stuff like this.  They'll run some story about accusations against, oh say the big girl.  And then they'll say the lamestream press refuses to cover this, and I as a non-Foxie know that these accusations are all over the lamestream press, but the Foxies don't know it because all they ever watch is Fox, so it just looks like a deeper conspiracy to them.

I've been wanting to say something about these North Carolina bathroom laws.  Of course the laws themselves are bull goose loony, but this boycott, no Bruce Springsteen, no such and such convention, troubles me a little.  It's a little too much like when the baptists boycotted Proctor and Gamble products or other products whose commercials showed gay couples.  If I didn't like it when they did it, why should I like it when we do it?