It's not gay if you're underway

[MillCreek]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gay-rights-icon-harvey-milk-navy-vessel-named-article-1.2730958

Welcome aboard the USNS Milk!  I did not know that Mr. Milk had served in the Navy.

[AJ Dual]

The seaman jokes are going to write themselves...

[KD5NRH]

The seaman jokes are going to write themselves...

Or each other.

[RevDisk]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/gay-rights-icon-harvey-milk-navy-vessel-named-article-1.2730958

Welcome aboard the USNS Milk!  I did not know that Mr. Milk had served in the Navy.

...

I'm pretty left of most of the folks here, and I'm thinking "what the..." 

This reminds me of the UN stuff from Mike Z's Freehold. Not malicious, per se, but wondering about people's priorities. The US military's job is to kill people and break stuff. Not be an authoritarian social engineering experiment. Oh wait, I wonder why I left the military.

[wmenorr67]

So an oiler will be named after gay rights activist named Milk?

[HeroHog]

The US military's job is to kill people and break stuff.

I am SO stealing this!

[KD5NRH]

I am SO stealing this!

I think it was actually George Carlin who first pointed that out.

[TechMan]

So an oiler will be named after gay rights activist named Milk?

Yep...so not going to say anything.

[HankB]

I'm reminded of a quote allegedly by the inestimable Sir Winston Churchill in reference to the British Navy and its traditions:

"The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, buggery, and the lash."

[French G.]

No worse than the Gabby Giffords, Cesar Chavez, or Carl Levin.  Burke class naming has been generally good, lots of Navy and Marine heroes. Ticonderoga class was perfect for the sense of martial history a warship ought to carry. But now, just a political fapfest in naming.

[Viking]

I'm reminded of a quote allegedly by the inestimable Sir Winston Churchill in reference to the British Navy and its traditions:

"The only traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, buggery, and the lash."

Rum, sodomy and the lash. Of course, since the lash was abolished in 1948, and the rum rations in 1970, these days the Royal Navy runs on sodomy, and sodomy alone.

[230RN]

From what I understand, Dianne Feinstein's horrible experience in discovering Milk's body was what turned her so passionately off firearms in any form.

Just "information" I picked up from somewhere.  Don't know if it's true or not.

Don't know if she ever considered an alternative scenario where the innocent people in that office had been armed, as opposed to it being a victim-rich environment.

I guess anybody with an agenda can push a name for vessels.  Don't know of any ships named after Browning or Garand or Stoner though.

Heh.  "Stoner."  Somehow I can't imagine one named U.S.S. Stoner.

Hey.  Give me some leeway here.  I just woke up from a nap and I haven't got my brain on its leash yet.

(I thought the "kill people and break stuff" was an old time Marine Corps expression.)

(I also thought the tradition of ship-naming after notable individuals was broken when they named a destroyer "The Sullivans.")

(Hm. "Leeway."  That's a nautical expression, isn't it?)

Coffee.  C'mon, coffeepot.  Quit gurgling and give up some of the good stuff.  Need coffee.

Terry, 230RN

ETA (Post-coffee waking-up-enough to look it up):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_The_Sullivans_(DD-537)
(Not enough coffee yet to look up the Feinstein-Milk thing, though.  Terry whistles for his brain to come back, holding its leash in his hands.)

[Perd Hapley]

From what I understand, Dianne Feinstein's horrible experience in discovering Milk's body was what turned her so passionately off firearms in any form.

Just "information" I picked up from somewhere.  Don't know if it's true or not.

Don't know if she ever considered an alternative scenario where the innocent people in that office had been armed, as opposed to it being a victim-rich environment.

Oh, she gets it. She just doesn't think you're worthy of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQMwpbSjC1A

[Hawkmoon]

(I also thought the tradition of ship-naming after notable individuals was broken when they named a destroyer "The Sullivans.")

I don't think The Sullivans exactly broke that tradition:

http://museumships.us/destroyer/the-sullivans

She is a United States Navy ship named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers (George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert) aged 20 to 27 who lost their lives when their ship, USS Juneau, was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. This was the greatest military loss by any one American family during World War II.[1] She was also the first ship commissioned in the Navy that honored more than one person.

[Scout26]

This thread is mis-titled.  Apparently, it IS gay when you are underway.   With the naming of this ship, and the new kindler, gentler, dick smoking, trangendered, female combat-arms, military; things like good order and military discipline are poo-poo'd as asinine social experiments are pushed to the illogical conclusion.  Which will be paid for in blood one day...

Back to naming ships.  
After States and Cities - Okay.  gives each a connection to that ship.
Navy and Marine Heroes - Excellent Choices
Famous Battles - Even better
Political Figures - Pure sucking up to Congress (although I have no problem with ships named after Presidents with a Military/wartime service Background)
Leftist, anti-gun/anti-military Political Figures - You gotta be shitting me....

Although it will never happen, I would name ships thusly, USS We are coming to *expletive deleted*ck up your *expletive deleted*it, USS Deathbringer, USS VIkings ain't got nothing on us, USS If you can read this, you're *expletive deleted*ed , USS Kill them all USS Berserker, USS We will eat your children, etc.  I want our enemies to to fear us, to say "Let's not mess with these guys, they are Nucking Futs."

[HankB]

. . .Although it will never happen, I would to ships named thusly, USS We are coming to *expletive deleted*ck up your *expletive deleted*it, USS Deathbringer, USS VIkings ain't got nothing on us, USS If you can read this, you're *expletive deleted*ed , USS Kill them all USS Berserker, USS We will eat your children, etc.  I want our enemies to to fear us, to say "Let's not mess with these guys, they are Nucking Futs."

Then how about the USS Bacon, the USS Ham, the USS BBQ Pork . . . 

[Scout26]

Then how about the USS Bacon, the USS Ham, the USS BBQ Pork . . . 

Also excellent names for ships permanently stationed in or near the Arabian Gulf...  (Fifth Fleet, IIRC)

[MillCreek]

I would love to have a plankowner certificate from the USS Bacon.

[French G.]

Well, USNS Milk will always be the pitcher and not the catcher. Unreps with two ships alongside and two more waiting astern, sounds like a bad movie.

Favorite unrep story, my carrier was giving fuel to its escorts, not terribly common for the carrier to be the replenishment ship so the navigator had fun with it, flying a Texaco flag along with the usual Bravo flag and ball, diamond, ball day shapes. Pretty common fun flag for a ship giving gas. Uproar ensued. Texaco had been in the news for the racist outrage du jour and now  obviously every commissioned officer was obviously a racist.

[Scout26]

I would love to have a plankowner certificate from the USS Bacon.

You'd be quite a lot older then you currently are...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_William_Bacon_(1863)

As a historical giggle, she was commanded by a Lieutenant Hooker for a while.....

[KD5NRH]

I don't think The Sullivans exactly broke that tradition:

Right; naval personnel killed in action would pretty much always be fair game in ship naming.

[zxcvbob]

I just found out there was a whitehouse.gov petition to change the name of the ship from Harvey Milk to the Harambe (the petition got the class wrong, called it USS instead of USNS)  I would have signed it anyway

[never_retreat]

[White Horseradish]

Rum, sodomy and the lash. Of course, since the lash was abolished in 1948, and the rum rations in 1970, these days the Royal Navy runs on sodomy, and sodomy alone.

The Royal Navy abolished flogging in 1881 and birching in 1906. Rum ration continued until 1970.

US Navy quit flogging in 1850. Rum ration went away in 1862.