Speaking of Drones

The Internets are all ablaze with the latest news that the new medal for remote drone pilots outranks other awards, such as the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Since it came out in The Onion about three days ago, it makes me wonder if there's any truth to it at all.

I could go ahead and research it myself, but as we know, I'm too lazy.

But as much as I like The Onion, one of the big problems with it is that people are all too willing to cut and paste shit into alarmist emails, with the source obliterated, and these can turn viral and suddenly everybody believes it.

This actually happens on a regular basis.

Unmanned Drones

I don't really know how I feel about drones, except conflicted. We would have LOVED to have drones in Vietnam, even though the "collateral damage" associated with their use appears to be ... excessive. But in Vietnam the Viet Cong were notorious for using innocent villagers as human shields.

If the US can take out a nest of terrorists without the danger of American servicemen being wounded or killed, then that's good. But if the US takes out said terrorists along with their wives, children, aged parents, neighbors, etc., then that's bad. And the whole killing of so-called American citizens bothers me a lot as well.

As I say, I am conflicted.

The only good news I can see on the drone front is that Seattle mayor Mike McGinn has ordered the Seattle police department not to use them. The SPD will be sending back the drones they've purchased and, hopefully, getting their money back from the Daddy Warbucks "Defense" contractors they bought them from.

No matter that McGinn is up for re-election this year and this move is nothing more than a cynical ploy to avoid serious primary challenges from the Left -- it was still the right thing to do. But how long will this last? Only until some dipshit rightwinger gets elected mayor I would guess. Then those drones will come swooping back.

Hmm... I also wonder what the punishment would be for using a police drone for shotgun skeet-shooting  practice when it buzzes over your back yard... Whatever it is, it would almost be worth it.