Classic: oh, it's perfectly understandable. I wasn't trying to say that it wouldn't happen. I was trying to say that it would have *implications*. Especially if we took it much further. Yours was freaking out and timing. The Recent Dfficulties In Alaska might have been someone going a little trigger-happy (particularly if it was before the Treaty). Beyond that, though, if we were going to have it be a general rule that lifting out of the US might get you a visit from the USAF... that *means* something.
Fnord: Well, there are some questions there. Mostly, I think you're right. The Courtmartials are going to wind up with [Punishment] and dismissal from the military. They certainly won't be allowed to stay in. The punishments will depend dramatically on how the officers on the Court feel, however.
(Thinking maybe I should try writing this one. We'll see. Don't have enough of a grasp on it yet, anyway.)
The major thing here, though, is the degree to which the handwavium issue has split along party lines. My guess is, once the initial wave of panic subsides, we're going to go back to business as usual and part of that is going to be accusing the current administration of overreacting and reacting inappropriately. The revolution will be blogged. Honestly, I figure that putting military personnel in a position where significant numbers of them are willing to stand up and accept dismissal and charges on moral grounds? It's not good for the credibility of an administration. Politicians are not stupid. If the Public Opinion frenzy is bad enough, they might play McCarthy with it to a degree, but otherwise, they'll want to *limit* the media exposure, either by sweeping it under the rug or by not making that call in the first place. Regardless, we're going to have some crack pilots coming out the other end who will never fly a military aircraft again, but would be accepted into space with open arms.
On the other hand, going too deep into the weeds dirtside may not be in our best interests from a storyline POV. The next step would be to start considering the implications in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that has the potential to get ugly *real* quick.
Fnord: Well, there are some questions there. Mostly, I think you're right. The Courtmartials are going to wind up with [Punishment] and dismissal from the military. They certainly won't be allowed to stay in. The punishments will depend dramatically on how the officers on the Court feel, however.
(Thinking maybe I should try writing this one. We'll see. Don't have enough of a grasp on it yet, anyway.)
The major thing here, though, is the degree to which the handwavium issue has split along party lines. My guess is, once the initial wave of panic subsides, we're going to go back to business as usual and part of that is going to be accusing the current administration of overreacting and reacting inappropriately. The revolution will be blogged. Honestly, I figure that putting military personnel in a position where significant numbers of them are willing to stand up and accept dismissal and charges on moral grounds? It's not good for the credibility of an administration. Politicians are not stupid. If the Public Opinion frenzy is bad enough, they might play McCarthy with it to a degree, but otherwise, they'll want to *limit* the media exposure, either by sweeping it under the rug or by not making that call in the first place. Regardless, we're going to have some crack pilots coming out the other end who will never fly a military aircraft again, but would be accepted into space with open arms.
On the other hand, going too deep into the weeds dirtside may not be in our best interests from a storyline POV. The next step would be to start considering the implications in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that has the potential to get ugly *real* quick.