Jace, Extat

Dark thought: If Iran went full-suicide impulse in response to the death of Khamenei and attacked U.S. bases in West Asia that could be the end of NATO. I don't see Europe following America into another regime change campaign in the region.

Watching The Fellowship of the Ring It's just incredible, what love for a book/series can do for a film.

Ya lost me there, playa. Was the girl-child in GoT?

Ghanima looks disturbingly like Zendaya.

Kobe ribeye with shrimp and lobster for Jace tonight. I'm celebratin'.

Jesus, how many seizures have you had? Are you on top of this with a neurologist?

Well, before I get into it I'd just like to say that I appreciate the response. I don't think it's pointless to talk through differences of opinion. You can hate me or think I'm stupid or disgusting, and God knows I've behaved here in ways to be worthy of such reactions, but I always think talking is good. Who knows, by the end of this post I may well be anti-Israel. I read my news, mostly. Though I do listen to podcasts on topical subjects as well. I draw my conclusions from information taken in that seems persuasive. Now, it was an overstatement to say that I don't know what Netanyahu and Trump's positions are, I do, I just don't use them as a basis for my reasoning. It's interesting that you slight me for having a "good guy/bad guy" worldview, which I never intimated, then assert that America can either be Superman or Homelander. Could it be that I believe America is simply the dominant actor on the world stage and wish for it to remain so? Which, admittedly, would be closer to Homelander on your scale. But the way I see it America, and frankly myself, more closely resemble Ashley from The Boys than Homelander. Hair falling out and morally ruined. I'm not trying to win anything. I'm not even trying to argue. I'm just giving you my perspective. Fair enough. To me it's perfectly reasonable to say that all lives have value, and that sometimes states must take actions that end lives of non-citizens in pursuit of certain ends. That doesn't mean I'm happy that innocents in Gaza or Iran are suffering because of the actions of their individual regimes, but it does mean I can live with it. But you're right. I think I have fallen into a nihilistic pit and that certainly informs my reactions to these circumstances. I'm gonna work on that. I'll give you the first part. But as to the bolded, how about you give me a fucking break. I never said anything like that. I am impressed by Israel's capabilities, yes. Because they are impressive. And I've offered my opinion that certain aspects of war can be accomplished entirely from the air, but I have not been self-congratulatory (I haven't done anything to congratulate) and I see no reason to posture. I have opinions and perspectives and I've offered them. Now, do I have a certain insolent tone that I write most of my posts with? Yes. But I haven't been doing that in this thread so gimme a break.

I knew she was a biter.

Sure. I didn't couch it as a virtue. Believe it or not, this is me not being disingenuous. So I must be extremely fucking stupid. For my part, I would say that I don't even know or care what Trump's and Netanyahu's lies are, in specifics. I have no love for Bibi, I just happen to think that this particular action (and Gaza) had to be done. I arrived at that conclusion(s) on my own. I don't need Trump or Netanyahu to tell me why Iran and its proxies must be destroyed. That's just how I feel about the situations. A different opinion than yours. I don't believe that I or America is a standard for anything. America is a fucking mess, and so am I. But... I live here. US interests and Jace's interests are intertwined. There's no moral or "greatness" factor to my feelings on seeing Iran and Hamas destroyed. They simply exist and act in opposition to the interests of the state I'm a citizen of. That's reason enough for me. And that's... pretty horrifying. Or at least I wish it was, horrifying. But the truth is that it doesn't make me feel anything. I don't feel righteous, I don't feel ashamed. I simply think that the costs in human lives for the elimination of Hamas and Iran's regime are necessary for mine and Israel's interests to be furthered. I do blame those lost lives on Hamas and Iran's regime, but not in a way that makes me feel righteous or enlightened. It just is what it is. People made choices, those choices caused responses, and here we are. Now, that being said, I am aware that that is a cold place to be in. Where tens of thousands of deaths simply don't bother me enough to spark some kind of moral revolt. And I don't think I like that I've ended up like this. But, well, here I am. I never said anything like that. C'mon, now.

I haven't seen footage of the march, but I expect they were terrible and out of step. You don't really march after basic training and AIT. When I was at my unit we only ever marched during PT in the mornings on our way to running in formation, when nobody really cared about staying in step because we were just walking onto the street to start running.

I was going for a phonetic rendering of how I'd actually say "motherfucker"- "muhfucker"= "m'fucker". Anyway, it does occur to (and alarm) me that I have developed a level of comfort with mass human suffering as the cost of pursuing strategic interests. I've always known that I have a tendency to lean on glibness to pass over distasteful or contradictory facts. But as I think on the deaths and displacements in Gaza, or the bombing of Iran, it's really easy for me to shrug and say "that's the cost for the outcome". And that's not good. I can see that. I'm not sure what to do about it. I guess at some point I decided that it's better to be seen as callous and cruel than weak. And even as I write this I still believe that. Certainly that describes a deep insecurity that informs my worldview, but that's how I honestly feel. Red lines have to exist, and crossing them has to come with consequences. Consequences even for the unaffiliated and innocent. I do not take anything for granted. Anything. If you were raised like I was you wouldn't either. And that's not to say I possess some critical insight, but rather that I may be incapable of some. Morality is a good and critical virtue, and I'd like to think that I'm mostly a moral actor in my personal and professional life. I don't do things that I think will hurt someone else. But I see morality as a practice, not a law or ultimate ends. I don't take it for granted. And where that leaves me is being able to shrug and look away from horrors such as Gaza as inevitable or necessary to produce conditions better suited to peace. That doesn't make me better than anyone here, probably makes me worse in fact, and the easiest way for me to deal with that fact is through humor and playing the monster. I'll work on that. What's happening in Gaza and Iran is not funny, and I don't think I'm actually a monster even though I play one in these threads. There ya go. That's what I got. Sorry for making the thread about me.

Listen, m'fucker, this is... true. Fair enough. I'm gonna go get some coffee and a donut and get back to you here.

I'd like to apologize. Because my first impulse was to respond by saying "We're America. We don't need allies." But that's fucking horrible. And I'm sorry for it. At its best this country was a fucking champion of democracy and civil liberties. I mean, Jesus. The fact that it even crossed my mind to say that is... uh, dark. So, I don't know. There ya go. Jace is in a dark place. Take that admission and apology for whatever it's worth.

"Oppression of hamas..." Not even 'oppression of Palestinians...' Wow.

C'mon. Do you really think that that is what I think? I have never for a second said anything other than: Iran cannot have nukes. And implicit in that statement is that, because of the actions and pursuits of the Iranian government; Iranians have to die. It's ugly, it's true. Israel is just doing what America should have done. Sorry, sister. But the world is America's oyster and the status quo is ours to enforce. No more nuclear powers. And sure as shit not Iran.

I think they could.

Eh, maybe. I've believed in Sky Law for a while now, so I'm inclined to disagree. No nation has ever completed a nuclear program while under the type of barrage Israel can deploy, I don't think it's as easy as you're suggesting it is to make a nuclear weapon when your country is under attack by a superior enemy. We'll see though. I could be wrong.

I mean, I get what you're sayin'. That the calculus could easily be "they attacked because we don't have nukes, therefore we need nukes". But they were already going for them. They were already putting together the bomb, which is completely unacceptable. Now, this creates long-term obligations for Israel (and USA) to make sure Iran never pursues the bomb again. But that is vastly preferable to simply allowing them to get one.

Yeah, it was not good at all. 2 hours long and basically no character development for anyone but Jeremy Renner. I'd mostly just remembered Renner's scene of slurping on the discarded soda before he dies. That was good. Nothing else was.

Fucking foreigners. We should invade them and give them a proper executive structure when they're done with Iran.

You're not gonna see me defending Bibi. I can't even spell his name. But Israel, and Israeli strategic interests, do exist beyond the isolation of their head of state. Bad actors can make the right decision, even if their motivation is wrong. I mean... maybe? No? I don't think so... I am of the conviction that no more nuclear powers exist anywhere, ever, and attempted grasping of atomic power be answered with whatever means necessary to prevent such. So the fact that Iran wanted nukes is reason enough to go to war with them, a deterrence against proliferation. I feel like, respectfully, you are absolving Iran of responsibility for what's happening to the point of absolving them of agency. Iran's leaders chose to pursue nukes (not without bad faith and fuckery from Trump, it's true). They chose to create proxy forces to constantly attack Israel. This is the consequence of those choices.

LMFAO

Too many. The current regime isn't the future regime. And they struck the military leaders because they're starting a war. Degrading the enemy's command structure is the most common sense thing in the world, when you're in a war.

Yeah, there's a lot of long words in this post and I'm not but a humble observer. Iran can't have nukes. It's very simple, and the "status" "quo" was leading to Iran having nukes. Something had to be done and Trump wasn't doing it. Diplomacy failed. Because of Trump, you can argue, sure. But Israel had to act. How long are you supposed to keep having disarmament conferences when they keep saying no and are weeks away from having nukes?

It is.