Hadad
1mo ago
I agree it's pretty fucked up that our representatives believe insane things. There's many I'd like to be rid of, too! Alas, we cannot police their inner hearts and minds, and we can no more punish them for being religious than we can thinking we live in a patriarchy, or that communism is good, or anything else.
Hadad
1mo ago
The median Republican likely doesn't share my belief that we're rich enough to afford most any program we want, and so is concerned with the budget. They also don't want to fund left-wing pet projects, or else they'd be Democrats. It's not hypocritical at all to think spending on bad causes is frivolous.
Hadad
1mo ago
When someone misrepresents me, I'm going to tell them not to. It's not antagonistic to object to mischaracterization of my stand.
Hadad
1mo ago
You did, in fact, excise the entire post to quote a single line, and in doing so missed the broader message. But if you're willing to back down, then sure, consider it dropped. Just don't do it again next time.
Hadad
1mo ago
Ah, no. Funding is not the reason I oppose any of that. We could have infinite money and I still wouldn't support Ukraine or left-wing pet projects. I do not think wealth is ever what's really holding us back.
Hadad
1mo ago
And it's not even that I disagree with you on the object level. Just - it looks a lot like you did indeed say that.
There is an entire post you had to excise to quote one specific line. Perhaps you could look at the entire thing, and not reduce my message to a single statement!
Hadad
1mo ago
Cruz is openly admitting that his religious fantasies are a primary motivation for his foreign policy, which in my opinion should disqualify him from holding public office.
Why would a man following the edicts of his conscience disqualify him from office? The state isn't to make laws imposing religion; there's nothing at all forbidding individual politicians from being religiously motivated. You probably wouldn't like the end result if we started policing the inner worlds of representatives.
Hadad
1mo ago
hy not just blow it all out in a cocaine-and-hookers weekend and then end it with a 9mm breakfast? Usually, the responses I hear are along the lines of, "I don't want to take such a cowardly way out", "I still want my life to mean something", "You should still try to be a good person." Hmmm, interesting how that kind of sounds like there's actually a higher level moral and ethical framework in play. Maybe these hardcore secular materialists really are trying to both fill and not acknowledge the God Shaped Hole.
They're just flailing around the fact suicide is scary and they'd rather not die, even if the world around them sucks. The self-preservation instinct is quite strong, and has nothing to do with God or higher level morals.
Hadad
1mo ago
It's great that they don't all chant death to America. In the event the nicer ones overthrow the local powers, perhaps relationships could be repaired! Hopefully they manage to do so soon, otherwise it won't matter. No amount of good men will justify letting Iran go nuclear.
Hadad
1mo ago
I vehemently revile Muslims and think they're the greatest threat to myself and the things I care about. I want them wiped out; failing that, I want them globally castrated, and unable to project meaningful power outside their war-torn shithole of a theater.
Jews, for all their purported failings, want to leech off systems, not destroy them entirely with Bronze Age barbarism.
Hadad
1mo ago
The woke have largely backed down from their most extreme positions during the summer of george, on BLM riots, covid restrictions, metoo nonsense, DEI, etc. And the anti-immigration position is getting a lot more play in the halls of power. I wouldn’t say it’s the best of all possible worlds yet, but it’s fine. In time, all problems can be solved.
This is completely false. They haven't backed down even slightly. Every step back they've taken has been forced by people like FC bringing constant attention to their actions, opposing them at every level possible, organizing opposition, securing legal victories, etc., etc., and woke is still trying to escalate relentlessly.
You did say you were going to coerce me, or else the woke (earlier you) would coerce me. So it looked like it will be only the fault of people like you if I can no longer live in the peaceful modern vacuum. But sure, if you're willing to renounce coercion, I can do peaceful coexistence with anyone.
You're free to decide Woke coercion is preferable. Myself, FC, and many others have decided it's not. What are we to do now?
Hadad
1mo ago
That's fine. I don't take responsibility for those future tradcops throwing hoes in the slammer, either.
Hadad
1mo ago
No, the Muslims chanting death to America are not my friends, no matter how much you, I, or anyone else hate Jews.
Hadad
1mo ago
As a lefty, can I have your support on having a robust social safety net? Because I guess the budget doesn't matter now.
You cannot have my support for your pet projects, no. I don't want to fund them.
I'm honestly pretty confused as to how this got communicated so poorly, but you seem to be acting in good faith so I'll take responsibility for the miscommunication.
No, I see what you mean now. You're imagining a much more significant investment of resources into Iran than I've advocated, one that would meaningfully cripple us in the face of China. At no point would I suggest we drain ourselves (comparatively) dry.
There is no universe in which the USA is bombing TSMC facilities. I'm really not sure how I gave that impression, but to be clear that is not happening. There are allegedly "kill switches" in fabs to make the machines not work anymore in the event of an occupation.
No, I'm saying that's what is really keeping China out, and what our munitions would be better purposed for. We would never let them dominate the chip factories utterly, we'd absolutely destroy them. Whether that be kill switches or utter destruction. We can't 'conquer' China, or even do much to stop it absent nuclear armageddon. But Taiwan's much easier pickings. Better to destroy a resource than let an enemy seize it.
Hadad
1mo ago
At no point does nuking Israel become better. The goal isn't to maximize some nebulous human flourishing, it's to keep nukes out of the hands of Islamic zealots.
Hadad
1mo ago
Not true, not convincing
True, and I'm convinced. You might not be, but that's fine.
If stopping proliferation were all Ted wanted to do in Iran maybe youd have a point. But its not. So you dont.
If Ted starts advocating for boots on the ground and a commitment to rebuilding Iran, I will oppose him -- but it still wouldn't matter that he doesn't know the population.
Becauase if there is a civil war, then all of the progressives in America are going to do whatever they can to import a billion refugees.
They will do this anyway. The way forward is to not let progressives have power, not to hope they won't abuse the world to import infinite third worlders.
Hadad
1mo ago
I ask again: do you think the left does not use real coercion to promote their values and ways of life?
Hadad
1mo ago
Yeah its why I said that American superiority doesn't matter. Seems that you should be not confident in American superiority. And yet you are. Ok.
America loves doomed interventions and military misadventures, but it loves them because it has such an overwhelming military and wealth advantage over everyone else it can afford to be reckless and half-ass imperialism.
No, it is not a senator's role to do logistics. Yes, it is a senators role to make informed choices on the people he wants to declare war on. Ted Cruz not knowing basic information about the country he wants to attack is an excellent indication that he is not making informed choices.
I reject that population size is an important factor when deciding to halt nuclear proliferation. It is the military and the President who will handle the logistics of destruction and/or conquest.
The fact that Ted Cruz could not answer those questions, that he didn't know there were large minority populations, is a damning indication that he did not consider that regime change very likely means civil war and refugee crisis.
What? No, of course it means those things. Why do you think Ted Cruz or people who support bombing Iran care about another civil war in the Middle East? So long as they're not nuclear, they're welcome to go full Mad Max.
Hadad
1mo ago
Are you trying to suggest with a straight face that the anti-religious right side, whom are the leftists that oppose FC, don't try to coerce and police other people's behavior?
Hadad
1mo ago
Unfortunately, once they're already in the nation, they get significantly more protections due to the madness of the American left. That's why it's very important to keep them out in the first place, which is something this administration can do -- and, I have faith, will.
Hadad
1mo ago
I'm okay with the Middle East destabilizing itself further and making oil prices more volatile; that's just a more intense version of the Middle East status quo. It is infinitely preferable to nuclear proliferation.
Hadad
1mo ago
Okay. I predict we'll not see people turn away from the idea of bombing Iran over Ted Cruz not knowing the population size. I think we'll probably see approval mildly climb up over the course of the near future, actually, though also not due to Ted Cruz's interview.
Unfortunately, I think both times the problem was you, not me, so I suspect the trajectory will go exactly as we both predict.
More options
Context Copy link