I think the “news” was on at the airport when I saw the comment about “not knowing” what motivated the Austin shooter. I think I may have actually laughed out loud.
Nothing surprising in any of these stories, which is a shame. Stupid going to stupid.
Aw, c'mon. That guy was what we once called a spherical whacknoid (ie, a whacknoid no matter how you look at him). Although it's pretty obvious, it is (barely) possible that Something Else was responsible!
Things that make you hmm -- people knew the war with Iran was coming. The protests in Iran, particularly at the universities had restarted. It was more getting a protest out there to try to control the narrative.
And Starmer continues to degrade Britain's reputation. Apparently it was Ed Millipede who really argued for Hermer's view to hold sway. Healey had convinced Starmer to do what Trump wanted. The Millipede, Rachel from Accounts and the fragrant Yvette were the triumverate.
I'm not 'pro-war,' per se, but certainly am not anti-war at all costs as some of my old friends are. I think a big part of it is that they are a bit older and thus were more deeply and personally affected by Vietnam than I was and are still viewing all US involvement in war through what happened there. The other forever wars didn't change that view for them and even tho they do understand Iran is different, they still cannot seem to shake their entrenched opinions. I get it and maybe I am turning into a 'warmonger', but I am still ecstatic about Trump's actions in Iran. I don't see how anyone who watches the Iranians still celebrating around the world doesn't get it. Sometimes you just have to fight, and imo war is an inevitable part of the human condition in spite of those who desperately want to believe it doesn't have to be. I am certainly open to forever peace, that would be lovely, but imo not realistic long term unless something radically changes in human nature.
Because I have read Iran A Modern History and started paying attention -- I too share the excitement of the Iranian people. My fingers are firmly crossed for a responsible government after this war.
Me too. I just re-watched the 'Legend of Tomiris' and it was even more powerful for me this time around. The fierce passionate energy I feel from the amazing Iranian dissident women today seems directly related to the absolute commitment and determination of that ancient warrior queen in defending her homeland. From what I could find, Tomiris's original homelands are part of several different countries today, including Iran.
But I can’t escape the memory of the euphoric Iraqis holding up their ink-stained thumbs after finally having participating in a free election. How sweet it was to see democracy take root… for 1 election.
I know, I know, the Iranians are not Iraqis. We’ll see…
One of the major problems in Iraq was the overt and covert interference of the IR.
Another problem was the lack of understanding about what was needed or how the system operated there as opposed to the US. Once Upon a Time in Iraq is an interesting watch.
I do think the fact that the bulk of the Iraqi army ran away and hid amongst the populace was also a factor.
However the largest factor I believe was the IR's active meddling.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the Pakistan Afghanistan war which is also happening.
I do think that the ideology will be hard to dislodge, but hopefully if the IR goes, the vast majority of the funding will go.
The BMEE which was supposed to be used to better the life of the people of Iran was put malign purposes. The BMEE is what holds most of the disposed shah's wealth -- so most of the oil money etc.
The Iranians are definitely not Iraqis. Part of the problem in Iraq is that the country itself was arbitrarily cobbled together (by the British, with their love of straight lines on maps) from the territory of incompatible groups.
Iranians, on the other hand, are largely the descendants of the ancient Persian Empire. They had a *real* country (with its own customs and religion) long before it was invaded by Arab Muslims.
Zoroastrianism was the earlier state religion of Persia from what I could find- considered by scholars to be a sort of early bluebrint for monotheism, which apparently influenced both Judiasm and later Christianity. I find it fascinating that the Persians liberated the Jews at one point and were quite friendly with them, so lots of crossovers culturally and religiously apparently back then. Now the Jews are liberating the Persians! The wheel of history at work. Not an expert here so if I am interpreting what I am finding wrong- I am open to correction
I agree with you Rainbow. I know several who served in Viet Nam and cannot see outside that lense even though Iran is a completely different situation.
I can understand being angry (to a point) but emptying your mag into the mother of your child is apex-level RAGE. Sounds like a relationship made in hell.
Seriously. I saw a study about police shooting accuracy not too long ago. It was not very good. I want to say around 7/10 shots on target, which sounds good until you consider where the other three rounds might have gone.
I was puzzling over who requested a wellness check after a year. Some relative? God preserve us from such relatives! Jeez, at least check up on me quarterly.
One of my best friends from college has a daughter who was at Buford’s the night of the shooting. She’s fine but knows three people who were shot (but recovering). Before Buford’s, that location was a Steampunk bar I went to once. Before that it was Opal Devine’s, a place I frequented dozens of times as it was kind of an “old school” hangout. I knew the doorman so did not have to pay at SXSW. Another friend had a weekly darts league. While hitting so close to home, that story doesn’t change my view that in the sweep of history Trump’s Iran move if it succeeds will be seen as a catalyst to a long peaceful period. Btw Celia, I tried to send Poetry Posts 3 & 4. Let me know if you received them.
I have no idea if lasting peace will happen, I hope so, but regardless- I am still over the moon regarding the strikes. Not only was action desperately needed and long overdue, but I believe as you do, that this is a pivotal world changing event. How that will all fall out, I don''t know, but now at least there is real opportunity for some serious housecleaning regarding the fanatical Islamists. It's going to be a long and vicious battle for control of public perception for sure, but we are on our way........
Good Morning RMW We seem to be of the minority opinion on this one but to my mind, we would have been better off going after Iran all along. They’ve been our implacable enemies since 1979 and the #1 global troublemaker. Leftists in this case are Pollyanna Peaceniks, unable to see the true nature of the enemy.
And a Top of The Morning to you PK! I'm not completely convinced we are in the minority across america on this one. Maybe we are, but I think media is deliberately confusing what actual public opinion is on this and maybe the public themselves don't really know how they feel about this one and just want the media and their fav politicos to tell them what they should think. So pretty much business as usual.
I agree - the MSM and its opinion polls cannot be trusted at all. Even my liberal daughter is happy about it. Haven't asked my liberal friends though. I don't; want to lose any more respect for them than I already have.
Liberal leaning hubby, with whom I still occasionally duke it out with over ICE and 'palestine' is happy for the Iranian people, even tho he still doesn't like Trump. Which is fine. I hear you about losing respect. I still respect my liberal friends as they have done so many very good things for community for years, but I am, I confess, seriously disappointed in them at this point.
I agree RMW. Though I’m disappointed and often appalled by the extreme left political opinions of some of my siblings and longtime liberal friends, I've had tons of great memories with them and they have been important and helpful in so many ways (as I have been for them I hope) that it would take a seismic event to turn my back on any of them.
Tomorrow I’m meeting a dear liberal friend I’ve known since high school for our monthly coffee and conversation. I usually try to steer away from politics but I’m guessing it will be hard to avoid this time.
Polls are not always reliable and designed much of the time to reach a desired outcome. Hillary’s predicted landslide victory in 2016 is all you need to know about polling.
And the numbers are often manipulated so that anyone in media, either pro or against an issue, can make it look favorable to their position.
Heard about our sub blowing up the Iranian vessel, and the dogfight in which Israel shot down a plane. Was glad.
With luck, the Iranian people can create a better world for themselves.
China will be deprived of Iran's oil, its ports, and its munitions factories. Russia is sitting up and taking notice.
I can only say, Well played!
Over twenty years ago, "Reading Lolita in Tehran" with its horrific true accounts of the Iranian regime's sadism was a bestseller. It was translated into over 30 languages. What happened? No, don't tell me -- I know.
On the one hand, we ought to have done something like this as soon as the hostages were freed. Or at any point since when they were demonstrably making trouble. I'm not convinced that's really a minority opinion. I would guess that it is held by many of us young Boomers/older Gen-X-ers for whom the hostage crisis was THE formative 'foreign policy' experience of our young lives.
But on the other hand, it was probably best to wait until the Iranian population was well and truly DONE with their evil theocratic overlords. If we had acted in the 80s, it's all too likely that there would have been little to no chance at 'regime change.'
This elder millennial and her husband are very pro us taking out Iran. Sadly I can't even with the gymnastics people we knownornare related to trying to make taking out cruel and evil people a bad thing. This includes my husband's boomer uncle. It's just insane.
I managed the mail department of a major weapons manufacturer during the hostage situation (I know I’ve mentioned that before on this page). Business between U.S. and Iran went on as usual throughout the negotiations.
My business was to open the mail, scan the communication to make sure it wound up on the right desk, ask no questions and talk to no one.
My most idealistic self is hoping for a new Middle East in which the Arab nations openly accept Israel. I think that they were very aware of the threat Iran posed to their on existence and yet were not willing to step up to challenge Iran and its nuclear ambitions. I realize I am being very idealistic but one can hope 🙏
The IR made a huge tactical mistake in actually bombing the Arab countries as it gave those Arab leaders the excuse they needed to finally, officially stand against Iran. The other Muslim countries have long feared , rightfully so, that if Iran had nuclear arms they would point them in every direction, not just Israel and the US. The IR leaders just proved them right. So yeah maybe they are finally willing to officially recognize that the jihadists are more to be feared than the Jews.
I heard a guy on a podcast say, a month or so ago. He wondered if when Trump was over there with the different Arab nations. Did those leaders pull him aside and say we'll make deals with you if you'll clean up the neighborhood, wink, wink of the crazies. An interesting thought. I wonder. More going on than meets the eye or ear in the case of Pres Trump.
I wouldn't be surprised to discover that is actually the case. I have long gotten the impression that the Arab leaders ( with the exception of the crazies) relate to Trump and respect him.
I got one email (the same one) at both the Verity address and the jotpurple@usa.com addresses. The one that is a Substack redirect email (which usually goes to my gmail account) did not go through at all.
I noticed today (hoping you received Post #2) that I just hit every email Yahoo automatically gave me for you, but when I hit the third one, it folded the others into the Substack redirect. I wasn’t paying attention Saturday as I was trying to obey your instructions to send multiple posts and I was on a roll as to how I wanted to present the poems. Then I saw Yahoo still isn’t automatically CCing me so my hypothesis is I did that Saturday, it rolled into your redirect which you didn’t get and I never got a CC.
I'm looking forward to having an obese greasy-haired grifting caretaker in my old age who will steal my money after I'm gone and leave my carcass rotting in a chair.
(It was good while it lasted.)
It always amazes me how UPSET the L-side gets when Trump says things like "They're not sending us their best and their brightest" and we get this lunatic from Senegal as proof of that. What a potent specimen of not bright and not best.
I will say, however, that I have a quite charming classroom of students from Haiti, Central America, China...I mean it...on very little sleep yesterday...their performance in the hyperbole, imagery, simile, metaphor, and personification scavenger hunt was heartwarming.
Maybe I don't hate teaching after all.
At the other school, a Columbia doppelganger, I was invited by a union shill to help carry a gargantuan letter of opposition to university restructuring due to financial straits. I fall on the side of believing that the university is suffering financially, though the union claims that they are lying.
The union forced the university to pay for student workers' transgender surgeries, for one thing.
Enrollment is down. Of course it is. Practically none of the millennial women running the union have any children to plant in university seats.
I swear -- what happened to cause and effect? I find myself continuously asking this question.
I have seen assertions about declining IQ in young people, resulting from a combination of too many screens and not enough being expected in educational settings. What do you suspect additional causes might be?
For example, a friend is teaching in Cape Cod. All of the kids are Brazilian migrants. He says that his job mostly involves trying to get them to sit still long enough to write one paragraph.
A ten-year-old came to him one day to say that he just realized his dog has bones. (He got so angry with me when I said that was an indicator of low IQ...)
He says that they reek of piss...
And there are no white children to be found there -- or very few.
They're also not fed, and he blamed that on the parents working too much. Just making excuses for these people while simultaneously seeing with his own eyes that they are dysfunctional.
He thought perhaps the kid didn't know that his dog has bones because he never ate meat on a bone. I asked if the kid never pets the dog?
I can't help wondering why they get so upset over citing IQ as the cause. We all know that there are variations in IQ. If this were acknowledged, we actually might solve the problem by gearing them towards vocations they can actually handle.
In any case, those populations are rising, so of course the IQ averages would decline. When I'm on the subway -- over the past 20 years the scene has drastically changed -- it looks like a third world country.
Democrats love Ndiaga Diagne. Does anyone doubt they'd have protested his expulsion? Cause, ya know, die-versity is our strength. And speaking of protests - Neville Roy Singham is clearly a tool of China. China is our enemy. Treason is defined in the Constitution as giving aid and comfort to our enemies. So what does that make of those protesting the effort to strip Iran of weapons that could have killed your and my kids and grandkids.
And Neville Roy Singham's wife is the execrable Jodie Evans of Code Pink. Truly, two of the worst people on the planet - Maoists that use their considerable resources to undermine the U.S. and the West. If it's terrible, they fund it.
From Clarity Seeker on The Free Press comments section
From Clarity Seeker on another platform
please repost
@avavidan
@RedWhiteBlueJew
@EFischberger
The subject of evil is a large part of the discussions about the Iranian regime. Before I pose a few simple questions I want to emphasize that I do not believe that the US can or should use military force wherever evil exists ( thus no canards here in addressing the questions posed below; but I fully anticipate sophistry to raise its voice).
1. Is there such a thing as evil( and the notion of good v evil)? Moral relavist opinions very welcome especially if they bring the subjects of Hitler ( real nazis) and slavery into the discussion.
2. Is the Iranian regime evil? If not why not. Or is it impossible for any regime to be evil? Do those who oppose the US and Israeli actions believe the Iranian regime is evil? We have heard from countless politicians that no action should be taken so I submit it is fair to at least where they stand on the general question of whether evil exists and if the regime is evil.
3. Now let's get to the meat so to speak. If a regime is evil , how do you negotiate with it? Can you ever trust it's word or its promises not to pursue a weapon or to use certain weapons against those it pledges to annihilate and bring death to? The point isn't will they in fact do it but how do you take their evil into account in assessing what to do with them. How many who oppose action have ever even mentioned questions like this one.
4. Again simply for discussion purposes, is there any reason to believe that evil reforms itself with the evil somehow dissipating? Are there any historical examples of that occurring? If not is there ever a point where preemptive action is warranted? Again a basic question that can and should be answered in the context of an evil regime whose evil has not been limited to human rights abuses against its own people.
All of the foregoing questions could and should have been answered long ago. Whether this is a situation that merits military action can only be answered after everything above was addressed . We had 47 years to do so, and many facts that bear upon all have been in front of our faces since at least 2009. And yet our politicians never asked or debated or answered any of this until Trump made his decision. The last question is : why didn't they do so?
Thank you for your thoughtful comment (Clarity) and the reposting (Disa). Does evil exist. Absolutely. It is the antipode of the ultimate truth we seek: goodness.
Should God’s greatest creation fight against the force that seeks to destroy His ultimate goodness, absolutely. How? Through reconciliation with Him and thereby making Him our fortress.
Interestingly, I always assumed anger entered the world when Adam and Eve succumbed to the serpent’s wiles, not before. However it existed righteously prior to the Fall (part of God’s essence)and A&E should have directed at Satan when he entered the garden. Imagine, Adam & Eve, our first appeasers.
But I digress. To pick and choose battles based on our enemies’ degree of evil is an exercise in futility. We’ll end up waging war against our closest allies and, eventually, ourselves. As a nation, we have to fight according to the threat our enemy poses to our national safety and sovereignty. I believe that is what Trump has done.
Disa dear, There are thousands of volumes of philosophy and theology discussing and attempting to answer your question 1. For instance "The Age of Enlightenment" was put to great test at the incident of the Lisbon Earthquake, 1755. Did the hand of God create evil in the planet itself? 200 years later Hannah Arendt suggested "The Banality of Evil." Study everything between those two things, and I still don't have an answer. As near as I can come is the God in Heaven and the Devil on Earth both answer to Energy. After that it's all Man's doing, to judge as Man will.
EKB from another platform posted this . Kindly repost
@RedWhiteBlueJew
@EFischberger
@koshercockney
@YDBPDHR
Expectations before chiming in about the Iran war;
1. Be able to locate Iran on a map, and explain its strategic location and its effect
2. Name the gulf states
3. Explain what is the Strait of Hormuz
4. Discuss the axis of evil- Iran-Russia-China and how they foment chaos around the world
5. Discuss the history of Iran using proxies to kill Americans, namely in Iraq
6. Discuss the decades of negotiations with Iran and how did that work out for the world?
7. Explain how it is not important that the Iranian IRGC gunned down over 30,000 of their own people because they want to be able to have a functioning economy
8. Explain how Iran uses its proxy Hezbollah to run drugs to the US through South and Latin America and how it is aligned with the drug cartels (you think fentanyl is just about china-learn something)
9. Explain the concept of Twelver Shia Islam that is the sect that is running Iran right now- how does their fundamentalism fuel how they run the country and approach the world- not to be confused with Shia Islam itself, Sunni Islam, and other branches of Islam. Then explain the differences in the different branches of Islam.
10. Explain when did the US give up its sovereign right of self defense to international organizations that gives a veto to the US's enemies
11. Explain US constitutional law, even though you have never opened a law book, never went to law school, and never passed a bar exam, and let everyone know that even though acknowledged US Constitutional law experts are split on the law in this instance you know better. Oh and remember every administration since the War Powers Act has said it was unconstitutional both dem and rep.
Notice none of this has anything to do with Israel. This is all about the interests of the US.
I do not necessarily agree with the idea that you have to be all-knowing to offer an opinion, I do think that you have to at least have a working knowledge of the above-stated subjects if you are to be in the Media and offer your opinion.
I agree, but the less you know, the more open you should be to facts that change your opinion. Right now, we're in a Dunning-Kruger situation where the stupidest among us have the strongest opinions.
Gina English-Wheat cannot take care of herself. Look at her! How could she possibly take of care of anyone else? I wouldn't allow the likes of her to wash my car.
As soon as I saw the picture, I recognized a very common Midwestern 'type'--middling I.Q., probably the product of a century or more of mild inbreeding (the same 'old settler' families marrying among themselves) in a small rural town. I could probably find a dozen like her without any difficulty in my own little town. I'm just baffled at how she ended up with such a 'high-brow' name.
I have seen this same "type" in West Virginia. Not in Morgantown, but in poverty stricken Appalachia. Many women had that Gina Wheat-English "look". These areas were also known as "hotbeds" for methamphetamine production and usage.
Mary, in the same vein, did you see the photograph of actress Emma Watson, late of "Harry Potter," barefooted -- barefooted! -- in a Mexican airport? She was saying goodbye to a boyfriend.
What I get for leafing online through The New York Post.
No, I haven't. I tried to find it, with no success. But that's okay. As a former flight attendant, I've seen plenty of passengers barefoot in-flight. I can understand taking your shoes off on long flights, but wear socks. Put your shoes back on your feet when walking through the cabin. I have even seen people walk into the lavatories barefoot. Disgusting!
Haha! I'd forgotten you were a flight attendant! I suppose on long flights to Greece I might have loosened my laces, but since I'm always in fight-or-flight mode, I like to keep my shoes on.
My niece read it and decided to play white heroine for Muslim women. When the IRC hired her and she said she was going to work on “women’s rights in the Middle East and Islam” I literally laughed in her face. My sister was not amused but as one of my friends says “you’re the Cassandra of your family.” A prophet is without honor in his or her own land 🤷
Read Jupplandia this morning, about Britain’s appalling, official appeasement of the Muslim takeover of their institutions. I have no words.
Do many Muslims simply want to assimilate peacefully into Western society? Of course. But the minority of radical Islamists have ruined things for them.
It was certainly a wake-up call, drawing irrefutable attention to the fact that Muslims--and Muslims alone--have been treated with this kind of fawning respect in the West.
With electronic boarding- how does one “sneak” onto a flight. And where does she sit on these flights? How can the airlines not know she isn’t a ticketed passenger. Makes no sense.
From what I read about this previously, she attaches herself to the back of a group just long enough to get waved through as part of the group, before anyone can specifically link her with a particular boarding pass. On the Paris flight, she spent most of her time in the bathroom, since she had nowhere else to sit. She pretended to be ill to discourage flight attendants from questioning why she stayed in there.
How did she get through Security? Did the TSA drop the ball? Every adult passenger must show an individual passport, if flying internationally. In addition, a boarding pass for a specific flight upon approaching the initial screening officer. This is done on an individual basis. Small group clearance is only permitted for minors or passengers with a disability.
"Judge revokes expulsion of Columbia students"
As I so often post as a response to things like this: Nothing will happen, and no one will pay a price. No one EVER does!
Remember this when Don Lemon serves no time.
Wait til Luigi walks
Hi Clarity Speaker
I reposted your comment from TFPress here
I hope that’s acceptable
Bravo
Very kind. Thank you
A horrifying thought but very possible in Manhattan
Only need one progressive ideologue.and its NYC
No one RESPONSIBLE will pay the price. The general public pays for it all the time.
And then there's the Nashua, New Hampshire shooter:
https://share.google/cMMXPJZU3WC5Kbl6K
He thinks guests at a wedding party are civilians, but people eating at a restaurant are not. And of course, Free Palestine!
Well, well, well....
I think the “news” was on at the airport when I saw the comment about “not knowing” what motivated the Austin shooter. I think I may have actually laughed out loud.
Nothing surprising in any of these stories, which is a shame. Stupid going to stupid.
Aw, c'mon. That guy was what we once called a spherical whacknoid (ie, a whacknoid no matter how you look at him). Although it's pretty obvious, it is (barely) possible that Something Else was responsible!
Interestingly, it is possible to be both a terrorist AND crazy.
Things that make you hmm -- people knew the war with Iran was coming. The protests in Iran, particularly at the universities had restarted. It was more getting a protest out there to try to control the narrative.
The Green Party are being sued after they expelled anyone who was a sex realist. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/green-party-group-sues-gender-trans-zzsxrzr3z or https://archive.ph/xoedl
And Starmer continues to degrade Britain's reputation. Apparently it was Ed Millipede who really argued for Hermer's view to hold sway. Healey had convinced Starmer to do what Trump wanted. The Millipede, Rachel from Accounts and the fragrant Yvette were the triumverate.
This is the Tim Shipman article about the ship of fools who run the British government. https://spectator.com/article/whose-side-are-you-on-how-keir-starmer-alienated-britains-allies-over-iran/ or https://archive.ph/yDfvI
"Sex realist???" "Normal" is eezier to spel; "sane" also, and only has one syllable.
Sanity and the Greens is debatable.
Haha! I’m thinking of traditional marriage humor and of married men saying, “come on, Hon, be a sex realist.”
I much prefer it to "gender critical," which was the term that was previously in vogue to describe those of us who are sane.
I'm not 'pro-war,' per se, but certainly am not anti-war at all costs as some of my old friends are. I think a big part of it is that they are a bit older and thus were more deeply and personally affected by Vietnam than I was and are still viewing all US involvement in war through what happened there. The other forever wars didn't change that view for them and even tho they do understand Iran is different, they still cannot seem to shake their entrenched opinions. I get it and maybe I am turning into a 'warmonger', but I am still ecstatic about Trump's actions in Iran. I don't see how anyone who watches the Iranians still celebrating around the world doesn't get it. Sometimes you just have to fight, and imo war is an inevitable part of the human condition in spite of those who desperately want to believe it doesn't have to be. I am certainly open to forever peace, that would be lovely, but imo not realistic long term unless something radically changes in human nature.
Because I have read Iran A Modern History and started paying attention -- I too share the excitement of the Iranian people. My fingers are firmly crossed for a responsible government after this war.
Me too. I just re-watched the 'Legend of Tomiris' and it was even more powerful for me this time around. The fierce passionate energy I feel from the amazing Iranian dissident women today seems directly related to the absolute commitment and determination of that ancient warrior queen in defending her homeland. From what I could find, Tomiris's original homelands are part of several different countries today, including Iran.
No other thing to hope for.
But I can’t escape the memory of the euphoric Iraqis holding up their ink-stained thumbs after finally having participating in a free election. How sweet it was to see democracy take root… for 1 election.
I know, I know, the Iranians are not Iraqis. We’ll see…
One of the major problems in Iraq was the overt and covert interference of the IR.
Another problem was the lack of understanding about what was needed or how the system operated there as opposed to the US. Once Upon a Time in Iraq is an interesting watch.
I do think the fact that the bulk of the Iraqi army ran away and hid amongst the populace was also a factor.
However the largest factor I believe was the IR's active meddling.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the Pakistan Afghanistan war which is also happening.
Agree concerning IR meddling. Might as well hold on to the dream of a quiescent ME free of the IR’s bane influence.
Sometimes you have to dream.
I do think that the ideology will be hard to dislodge, but hopefully if the IR goes, the vast majority of the funding will go.
The BMEE which was supposed to be used to better the life of the people of Iran was put malign purposes. The BMEE is what holds most of the disposed shah's wealth -- so most of the oil money etc.
The Iranians are definitely not Iraqis. Part of the problem in Iraq is that the country itself was arbitrarily cobbled together (by the British, with their love of straight lines on maps) from the territory of incompatible groups.
Iranians, on the other hand, are largely the descendants of the ancient Persian Empire. They had a *real* country (with its own customs and religion) long before it was invaded by Arab Muslims.
Would that their 2000-year memory could be recovered along with their own cultural and religious heritage, and some pique at their subjugation.
Zoroastrianism was the earlier state religion of Persia from what I could find- considered by scholars to be a sort of early bluebrint for monotheism, which apparently influenced both Judiasm and later Christianity. I find it fascinating that the Persians liberated the Jews at one point and were quite friendly with them, so lots of crossovers culturally and religiously apparently back then. Now the Jews are liberating the Persians! The wheel of history at work. Not an expert here so if I am interpreting what I am finding wrong- I am open to correction
I agree with you Rainbow. I know several who served in Viet Nam and cannot see outside that lense even though Iran is a completely different situation.
Yes it's discouraging to watch old friends become increasingly close minded, but maybe that's just the way it goes with age.
Perfectly stated Rainbow.
I agree.
Alls I can say is, that cop who shot that woman 10 times is a terrible shot. Either that or he used a BB gun.
Wondered meself! "Shot" or "shot at?"
I wonder if he was shooting through the car door? That's the only way I can imagine that he could fire 10 rounds and fail to kill her.
I can understand being angry (to a point) but emptying your mag into the mother of your child is apex-level RAGE. Sounds like a relationship made in hell.
She should sue herself for getting into that relationship. I think you can do that now in Canada.
😆
Seriously. I saw a study about police shooting accuracy not too long ago. It was not very good. I want to say around 7/10 shots on target, which sounds good until you consider where the other three rounds might have gone.
I have a good friend who for many years taught firearms classes for police officers and could probably confirm those statistics.
He said in most police stations you’ll see bullet holes in the walls from accidental firing by officers.
What about those cop shootouts where 100 rounds are fired and nobody’s hurt. 😊
I though those were only in movies😆
Let the Italians keep Svetlana Dali.
You're afire today!
Send her back to Russia if they don't want her. I would waive any charges in the U.S. if it meant she went back to Russia and lost her residency.
I’m puzzling over the significance of the name Gena English-Wheat, and coming up empty.
I was puzzling over who requested a wellness check after a year. Some relative? God preserve us from such relatives! Jeez, at least check up on me quarterly.
I wonder if, rather, the neighbors were getting suspicious.
Her Chanel t-shirt is sending me. Vous êtes élégant.
😂
You found elegance? Just. Wow!
I was quite puzzled to find such an upscale name attached to such a bog-standard Midwestern type.
Does that follow Gen Z?
Maybe so not to confuse with American-wheat, which is typically higher in protein.
One of my best friends from college has a daughter who was at Buford’s the night of the shooting. She’s fine but knows three people who were shot (but recovering). Before Buford’s, that location was a Steampunk bar I went to once. Before that it was Opal Devine’s, a place I frequented dozens of times as it was kind of an “old school” hangout. I knew the doorman so did not have to pay at SXSW. Another friend had a weekly darts league. While hitting so close to home, that story doesn’t change my view that in the sweep of history Trump’s Iran move if it succeeds will be seen as a catalyst to a long peaceful period. Btw Celia, I tried to send Poetry Posts 3 & 4. Let me know if you received them.
I have no idea if lasting peace will happen, I hope so, but regardless- I am still over the moon regarding the strikes. Not only was action desperately needed and long overdue, but I believe as you do, that this is a pivotal world changing event. How that will all fall out, I don''t know, but now at least there is real opportunity for some serious housecleaning regarding the fanatical Islamists. It's going to be a long and vicious battle for control of public perception for sure, but we are on our way........
Good Morning RMW We seem to be of the minority opinion on this one but to my mind, we would have been better off going after Iran all along. They’ve been our implacable enemies since 1979 and the #1 global troublemaker. Leftists in this case are Pollyanna Peaceniks, unable to see the true nature of the enemy.
And a Top of The Morning to you PK! I'm not completely convinced we are in the minority across america on this one. Maybe we are, but I think media is deliberately confusing what actual public opinion is on this and maybe the public themselves don't really know how they feel about this one and just want the media and their fav politicos to tell them what they should think. So pretty much business as usual.
Agree- the real war is with MSM over perception. They have unlimited supply of disinformation drones.
I agree - the MSM and its opinion polls cannot be trusted at all. Even my liberal daughter is happy about it. Haven't asked my liberal friends though. I don't; want to lose any more respect for them than I already have.
I have not discussed this war with anyone who I suspect of being captured by Leftist thinking. Not worth the grief.
I agree...I don't want to know because it would be so distressing. It;s been bad enough with all the trans bs.
Liberal leaning hubby, with whom I still occasionally duke it out with over ICE and 'palestine' is happy for the Iranian people, even tho he still doesn't like Trump. Which is fine. I hear you about losing respect. I still respect my liberal friends as they have done so many very good things for community for years, but I am, I confess, seriously disappointed in them at this point.
My liberal friends do nothing but continue to vote in the corrupt democrats who have destroyed my state.
I agree RMW. Though I’m disappointed and often appalled by the extreme left political opinions of some of my siblings and longtime liberal friends, I've had tons of great memories with them and they have been important and helpful in so many ways (as I have been for them I hope) that it would take a seismic event to turn my back on any of them.
Tomorrow I’m meeting a dear liberal friend I’ve known since high school for our monthly coffee and conversation. I usually try to steer away from politics but I’m guessing it will be hard to avoid this time.
Polls are not always reliable and designed much of the time to reach a desired outcome. Hillary’s predicted landslide victory in 2016 is all you need to know about polling.
And the numbers are often manipulated so that anyone in media, either pro or against an issue, can make it look favorable to their position.
Heard about our sub blowing up the Iranian vessel, and the dogfight in which Israel shot down a plane. Was glad.
With luck, the Iranian people can create a better world for themselves.
China will be deprived of Iran's oil, its ports, and its munitions factories. Russia is sitting up and taking notice.
I can only say, Well played!
Over twenty years ago, "Reading Lolita in Tehran" with its horrific true accounts of the Iranian regime's sadism was a bestseller. It was translated into over 30 languages. What happened? No, don't tell me -- I know.
Oops I meant the my niece read Lolita in Tehran to reply to you, B. My IPad is acting up 😣
On the one hand, we ought to have done something like this as soon as the hostages were freed. Or at any point since when they were demonstrably making trouble. I'm not convinced that's really a minority opinion. I would guess that it is held by many of us young Boomers/older Gen-X-ers for whom the hostage crisis was THE formative 'foreign policy' experience of our young lives.
But on the other hand, it was probably best to wait until the Iranian population was well and truly DONE with their evil theocratic overlords. If we had acted in the 80s, it's all too likely that there would have been little to no chance at 'regime change.'
This elder millennial and her husband are very pro us taking out Iran. Sadly I can't even with the gymnastics people we knownornare related to trying to make taking out cruel and evil people a bad thing. This includes my husband's boomer uncle. It's just insane.
I managed the mail department of a major weapons manufacturer during the hostage situation (I know I’ve mentioned that before on this page). Business between U.S. and Iran went on as usual throughout the negotiations.
My business was to open the mail, scan the communication to make sure it wound up on the right desk, ask no questions and talk to no one.
It was all a show.
In the 1980s, it was also possible Iran would lose the Iran Iraq war.
My most idealistic self is hoping for a new Middle East in which the Arab nations openly accept Israel. I think that they were very aware of the threat Iran posed to their on existence and yet were not willing to step up to challenge Iran and its nuclear ambitions. I realize I am being very idealistic but one can hope 🙏
The IR made a huge tactical mistake in actually bombing the Arab countries as it gave those Arab leaders the excuse they needed to finally, officially stand against Iran. The other Muslim countries have long feared , rightfully so, that if Iran had nuclear arms they would point them in every direction, not just Israel and the US. The IR leaders just proved them right. So yeah maybe they are finally willing to officially recognize that the jihadists are more to be feared than the Jews.
I heard a guy on a podcast say, a month or so ago. He wondered if when Trump was over there with the different Arab nations. Did those leaders pull him aside and say we'll make deals with you if you'll clean up the neighborhood, wink, wink of the crazies. An interesting thought. I wonder. More going on than meets the eye or ear in the case of Pres Trump.
I wouldn't be surprised to discover that is actually the case. I have long gotten the impression that the Arab leaders ( with the exception of the crazies) relate to Trump and respect him.
Yikes!!! I wondered if you had ever been there (since it's in your neck of the woods), but I didn't expect you'd know someone that close to the scene.
I haven't gotten any posts after "The Red Wheelbarrow." Last emails I got from you at either email address were on the 28th.
I just resent to two Celia addresses and Verity. #3 and 4 seems to be lost in the ether
I got one email (the same one) at both the Verity address and the jotpurple@usa.com addresses. The one that is a Substack redirect email (which usually goes to my gmail account) did not go through at all.
I noticed today (hoping you received Post #2) that I just hit every email Yahoo automatically gave me for you, but when I hit the third one, it folded the others into the Substack redirect. I wasn’t paying attention Saturday as I was trying to obey your instructions to send multiple posts and I was on a roll as to how I wanted to present the poems. Then I saw Yahoo still isn’t automatically CCing me so my hypothesis is I did that Saturday, it rolled into your redirect which you didn’t get and I never got a CC.
Makes sense. Sometimes technology is decidedly unhelpful!
I'm looking forward to having an obese greasy-haired grifting caretaker in my old age who will steal my money after I'm gone and leave my carcass rotting in a chair.
(It was good while it lasted.)
It always amazes me how UPSET the L-side gets when Trump says things like "They're not sending us their best and their brightest" and we get this lunatic from Senegal as proof of that. What a potent specimen of not bright and not best.
I will say, however, that I have a quite charming classroom of students from Haiti, Central America, China...I mean it...on very little sleep yesterday...their performance in the hyperbole, imagery, simile, metaphor, and personification scavenger hunt was heartwarming.
Maybe I don't hate teaching after all.
At the other school, a Columbia doppelganger, I was invited by a union shill to help carry a gargantuan letter of opposition to university restructuring due to financial straits. I fall on the side of believing that the university is suffering financially, though the union claims that they are lying.
The union forced the university to pay for student workers' transgender surgeries, for one thing.
Enrollment is down. Of course it is. Practically none of the millennial women running the union have any children to plant in university seats.
I swear -- what happened to cause and effect? I find myself continuously asking this question.
Enjoyed your comment this morn Dog L - may your students continue to charm.
There ARE 'brightest and best' among immigrants. It's just not typical anymore.
Have you seen assertions that the overall IQ is in decline? This is being assigned to tech / I phones etc, but I suspect there's another cause.
I have seen assertions about declining IQ in young people, resulting from a combination of too many screens and not enough being expected in educational settings. What do you suspect additional causes might be?
The changing population.
For example, a friend is teaching in Cape Cod. All of the kids are Brazilian migrants. He says that his job mostly involves trying to get them to sit still long enough to write one paragraph.
A ten-year-old came to him one day to say that he just realized his dog has bones. (He got so angry with me when I said that was an indicator of low IQ...)
He says that they reek of piss...
And there are no white children to be found there -- or very few.
He complains of them reeking of piss and yet he’s offended that you suggested that the student in question has low I.Q.??
They're also not fed, and he blamed that on the parents working too much. Just making excuses for these people while simultaneously seeing with his own eyes that they are dysfunctional.
He thought perhaps the kid didn't know that his dog has bones because he never ate meat on a bone. I asked if the kid never pets the dog?
I can't help wondering why they get so upset over citing IQ as the cause. We all know that there are variations in IQ. If this were acknowledged, we actually might solve the problem by gearing them towards vocations they can actually handle.
In any case, those populations are rising, so of course the IQ averages would decline. When I'm on the subway -- over the past 20 years the scene has drastically changed -- it looks like a third world country.
What happened to cause and effect? Emotions.
Democrats love Ndiaga Diagne. Does anyone doubt they'd have protested his expulsion? Cause, ya know, die-versity is our strength. And speaking of protests - Neville Roy Singham is clearly a tool of China. China is our enemy. Treason is defined in the Constitution as giving aid and comfort to our enemies. So what does that make of those protesting the effort to strip Iran of weapons that could have killed your and my kids and grandkids.
And Neville Roy Singham's wife is the execrable Jodie Evans of Code Pink. Truly, two of the worst people on the planet - Maoists that use their considerable resources to undermine the U.S. and the West. If it's terrible, they fund it.
But will our equally treasonous corporate media ever call them out?????
Not any longer. Before 10/7, there was at least one exposé (see: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/world/europe/neville-roy-singham-china-propaganda.html). After 10/7, he was described by NYT as a "longtime benefactor of far-left causes."
After 10/7, he was described by NYT as a "longtime benefactor of far-left causes.
A love note
From Clarity Seeker on The Free Press comments section
From Clarity Seeker on another platform
please repost
@avavidan
@RedWhiteBlueJew
@EFischberger
The subject of evil is a large part of the discussions about the Iranian regime. Before I pose a few simple questions I want to emphasize that I do not believe that the US can or should use military force wherever evil exists ( thus no canards here in addressing the questions posed below; but I fully anticipate sophistry to raise its voice).
1. Is there such a thing as evil( and the notion of good v evil)? Moral relavist opinions very welcome especially if they bring the subjects of Hitler ( real nazis) and slavery into the discussion.
2. Is the Iranian regime evil? If not why not. Or is it impossible for any regime to be evil? Do those who oppose the US and Israeli actions believe the Iranian regime is evil? We have heard from countless politicians that no action should be taken so I submit it is fair to at least where they stand on the general question of whether evil exists and if the regime is evil.
3. Now let's get to the meat so to speak. If a regime is evil , how do you negotiate with it? Can you ever trust it's word or its promises not to pursue a weapon or to use certain weapons against those it pledges to annihilate and bring death to? The point isn't will they in fact do it but how do you take their evil into account in assessing what to do with them. How many who oppose action have ever even mentioned questions like this one.
4. Again simply for discussion purposes, is there any reason to believe that evil reforms itself with the evil somehow dissipating? Are there any historical examples of that occurring? If not is there ever a point where preemptive action is warranted? Again a basic question that can and should be answered in the context of an evil regime whose evil has not been limited to human rights abuses against its own people.
All of the foregoing questions could and should have been answered long ago. Whether this is a situation that merits military action can only be answered after everything above was addressed . We had 47 years to do so, and many facts that bear upon all have been in front of our faces since at least 2009. And yet our politicians never asked or debated or answered any of this until Trump made his decision. The last question is : why didn't they do so?
Disa & Clarity,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment (Clarity) and the reposting (Disa). Does evil exist. Absolutely. It is the antipode of the ultimate truth we seek: goodness.
Should God’s greatest creation fight against the force that seeks to destroy His ultimate goodness, absolutely. How? Through reconciliation with Him and thereby making Him our fortress.
Interestingly, I always assumed anger entered the world when Adam and Eve succumbed to the serpent’s wiles, not before. However it existed righteously prior to the Fall (part of God’s essence)and A&E should have directed at Satan when he entered the garden. Imagine, Adam & Eve, our first appeasers.
But I digress. To pick and choose battles based on our enemies’ degree of evil is an exercise in futility. We’ll end up waging war against our closest allies and, eventually, ourselves. As a nation, we have to fight according to the threat our enemy poses to our national safety and sovereignty. I believe that is what Trump has done.
Disa dear, There are thousands of volumes of philosophy and theology discussing and attempting to answer your question 1. For instance "The Age of Enlightenment" was put to great test at the incident of the Lisbon Earthquake, 1755. Did the hand of God create evil in the planet itself? 200 years later Hannah Arendt suggested "The Banality of Evil." Study everything between those two things, and I still don't have an answer. As near as I can come is the God in Heaven and the Devil on Earth both answer to Energy. After that it's all Man's doing, to judge as Man will.
As Darkness is the absence of Light (scientifically), is Evil the absence of Good?
That was C.S. Lewis's theory.
Knew I had read it somewhere, but too lazy to look it up😊
From EKB on TFree Press comments section
EKB from another platform posted this . Kindly repost
@RedWhiteBlueJew
@EFischberger
@koshercockney
@YDBPDHR
Expectations before chiming in about the Iran war;
1. Be able to locate Iran on a map, and explain its strategic location and its effect
2. Name the gulf states
3. Explain what is the Strait of Hormuz
4. Discuss the axis of evil- Iran-Russia-China and how they foment chaos around the world
5. Discuss the history of Iran using proxies to kill Americans, namely in Iraq
6. Discuss the decades of negotiations with Iran and how did that work out for the world?
7. Explain how it is not important that the Iranian IRGC gunned down over 30,000 of their own people because they want to be able to have a functioning economy
8. Explain how Iran uses its proxy Hezbollah to run drugs to the US through South and Latin America and how it is aligned with the drug cartels (you think fentanyl is just about china-learn something)
9. Explain the concept of Twelver Shia Islam that is the sect that is running Iran right now- how does their fundamentalism fuel how they run the country and approach the world- not to be confused with Shia Islam itself, Sunni Islam, and other branches of Islam. Then explain the differences in the different branches of Islam.
10. Explain when did the US give up its sovereign right of self defense to international organizations that gives a veto to the US's enemies
11. Explain US constitutional law, even though you have never opened a law book, never went to law school, and never passed a bar exam, and let everyone know that even though acknowledged US Constitutional law experts are split on the law in this instance you know better. Oh and remember every administration since the War Powers Act has said it was unconstitutional both dem and rep.
Notice none of this has anything to do with Israel. This is all about the interests of the US.
Now that you have the basics down, discuss....
I do not necessarily agree with the idea that you have to be all-knowing to offer an opinion, I do think that you have to at least have a working knowledge of the above-stated subjects if you are to be in the Media and offer your opinion.
I agree, but the less you know, the more open you should be to facts that change your opinion. Right now, we're in a Dunning-Kruger situation where the stupidest among us have the strongest opinions.
Real conversation with a dude I know:
Me: What do you think about (subject)?
Him: I’m against it!
Me: Are you against it for (x) reason, or (y) reason, or something else?
Him: I don’t know ANYTHING about (subject).
Me (inside my head): If you don’t know anything about it, why on earth do you have an opinion?!?
This is good!
Gina English-Wheat cannot take care of herself. Look at her! How could she possibly take of care of anyone else? I wouldn't allow the likes of her to wash my car.
It seems she didn’t do a very good job of caretaking.
(Haha! Oh, Mary, I thought the same thing.)
As soon as I saw the picture, I recognized a very common Midwestern 'type'--middling I.Q., probably the product of a century or more of mild inbreeding (the same 'old settler' families marrying among themselves) in a small rural town. I could probably find a dozen like her without any difficulty in my own little town. I'm just baffled at how she ended up with such a 'high-brow' name.
I have seen this same "type" in West Virginia. Not in Morgantown, but in poverty stricken Appalachia. Many women had that Gina Wheat-English "look". These areas were also known as "hotbeds" for methamphetamine production and usage.
Meth is big around here, too.
I obviously don't "like" that fact, however I'm not surprised. I'm running a day behind on JiP. I will get caught up this weekend!
Mary, in the same vein, did you see the photograph of actress Emma Watson, late of "Harry Potter," barefooted -- barefooted! -- in a Mexican airport? She was saying goodbye to a boyfriend.
What I get for leafing online through The New York Post.
No, I haven't. I tried to find it, with no success. But that's okay. As a former flight attendant, I've seen plenty of passengers barefoot in-flight. I can understand taking your shoes off on long flights, but wear socks. Put your shoes back on your feet when walking through the cabin. I have even seen people walk into the lavatories barefoot. Disgusting!
Haha! I'd forgotten you were a flight attendant! I suppose on long flights to Greece I might have loosened my laces, but since I'm always in fight-or-flight mode, I like to keep my shoes on.
In the airport itself near checkout? Woof.
No, while the plane was in-flight!
My niece read it and decided to play white heroine for Muslim women. When the IRC hired her and she said she was going to work on “women’s rights in the Middle East and Islam” I literally laughed in her face. My sister was not amused but as one of my friends says “you’re the Cassandra of your family.” A prophet is without honor in his or her own land 🤷
I would have laughed, too. None of these Leftists actually have any concern for the rights of women in the Middle East.
Read Jupplandia this morning, about Britain’s appalling, official appeasement of the Muslim takeover of their institutions. I have no words.
Do many Muslims simply want to assimilate peacefully into Western society? Of course. But the minority of radical Islamists have ruined things for them.
It was certainly a wake-up call, drawing irrefutable attention to the fact that Muslims--and Muslims alone--have been treated with this kind of fawning respect in the West.
Yeah, no. Pretty sure MOST Muslims have no desire to assimilate into the West.
With electronic boarding- how does one “sneak” onto a flight. And where does she sit on these flights? How can the airlines not know she isn’t a ticketed passenger. Makes no sense.
From what I read about this previously, she attaches herself to the back of a group just long enough to get waved through as part of the group, before anyone can specifically link her with a particular boarding pass. On the Paris flight, she spent most of her time in the bathroom, since she had nowhere else to sit. She pretended to be ill to discourage flight attendants from questioning why she stayed in there.
How did she get through Security? Did the TSA drop the ball? Every adult passenger must show an individual passport, if flying internationally. In addition, a boarding pass for a specific flight upon approaching the initial screening officer. This is done on an individual basis. Small group clearance is only permitted for minors or passengers with a disability.
Exactly. It just doesn’t make sense
Clearly there are problems with procedure and/or competence that are allowing bad actors to slip through.