stevenkesslar

That is the question. And here is a rant. We better all pray that some Democrat running for President can answer that question in 2028 in a way that 50.1 % or more of voters like. Assuming we get to 2028, with this reckless maniac Trump in control. I think the handwriting is on the wall that the reckless warmonger will get his ass kicked at the polls in 2026. And Democrats will do well just because they are not Republicans. The question is whether Democrats can do well because they are Democrats. That's on us, not Trump. Democrats Need to Face Why Trump Won That's a very long and data-filled (aka boring) interview from about a year ago I stumbled on last night and watched. David Shor is the wunderkind who ran afoul of some woke Democrats by saying things they didn't want to hear. I guess the good news is after Trump winning again many more Democrats are willing to look at who WE are. And why Trump looked better to so many Americans. The fact that you have two very smart and liberal college educated men, one of whom works for the New York Times, discussing this problem is actually part of the problem. Young men watching Tik Tok have no clue who Ezra Klein or David Shor are. And they could care less. They do care about inflation. And they do not want to die in a war. Many of them regret voting for Trump. That is a start. The single most stunning fact Shor has is that if everyone had voted in 2024, Trump would have won the popular vote by 5 % or so. Four years earlier, if everyone had voted, Biden would have won in 2020 by a bigger margin. So it was not about blind loyalty to Trump. It was about high prices, and endless wars, and feeling like the system is broken. In 2024 Trump won 18 year old men. He even won 18 year old men OF COLOR, Shor says. So it is hard to argue non-White young men wanted a racist President. Something else was going on. They were pissed, and they didn't like higher prices. They want good paying jobs and affordable rent or mortgages. And call me old. But it is a problem that they get their news from Tik Tok. Trump knew that and played to it. Selling a brand and being a carnival barker - and liar - is in his skill set. This is why I am watching Gavin Newsom and hoping he, among others, can figure it out. Newsom has a podcast. He invites Charlie Kirk and Scott Galloway on and tries to figure out: what are these guys saying to young men that they find appealing? How can Democrats speak to young men, so they don't line up behind JD Vance in 2028? That is a start, and a vert smart thing to do. Democrats and Independents who don't like Trump should be asking ourselves: who are we? What do we stand for that people care deeply about?

@Barknaway you may hear false things about how JD Vance does not support King Trump and Patriot Pete in killing Iranians to protect you from having Obamacare. Do not believe these lies, @Barknaway. Yes JD Vance once had ideas of his own. But now he is good and loyal and true. He licks King Trump's Testicles as ordered. Nothing about the Iran War is reckless @Barknaway. Just today in the grocery store I overheard dozens of people saying "Isn't Trump the greatest war strategest ever!?" Everyone was talking about how NOT reckless King Trump is. And I live in California. Do not bite or kill JD Vance, @Barknaway. Like you, he is good and loyal and true.

4) Oil spikes to over $90 and Republicans freak out. Trump, the grand strategist, suddenly realizes the Genocide Jew played him. Now he has two choices: make whatever deal he can get by handing his two ugly useless testicles over to the mullahs, or see a Republican wipe out in 2026 thanks to war/oil prices/inflation. 5) Trump thinks: how can I stop the elections? Why do people need to vote anyway? Vote the pro-peace ticket. Vote Trump-Vance

At least now we know why Trump has such a small penis. I was actually worried that @Barknaway bit it off. Accidentally, of course.

Maybe a good blow job could steel him for the task??? Just a suggestion, hermana. 😜

Well we disagree on that last part, hermana It is very explicable. If they don't pledge fealty to Trump, he gives them their head on a platter. And, by the way, they did try to stop Trump in 2016. It didn't work. Jello Boy down in Florida tried again in 2024. It didn't work again. Thank Republican primary voters for that. It just happened, yet again, in Texas. How a feud led a billionaire donor to oust Rep. Crenshaw Mostly the way I read that is that Crenshaw, a military veteran, was kind of like John McCain. Too independent. They are supposed to be like @Barknaway. Good and loyal and true. Now, granted, Sis. We both know that @Barknaway is castrated and stupid. But it's not polite to tell him that, is it? There may be some element of this that is about a personal feud, as the headline suggests. But even that is so Trumpian. Some local ultra-conservative guy with a lot of money who is loyal to Trump trashed a principled conservative who was a bit too independent. All the castrated little pups on Capitol Hill got the memo. @Barknaway may be stupid. But he understands what it means to be castrated. He just yaps and yaps and yaps mindlessly. I welcome it. This is a party of greed and billionaires seeking personal favors and tax cuts. While everyone else feels screwed. They promise help and lower prices. They deliver war and higher gas prices. It won't last. The big question now is whether some Democrat can come along that actually stands for something people want.

Well, in fairness, the war is brilliant. And cheap, too! No one has ever seen a war this cheap. Everyone is talking about how this is the cheapest and best war ever! Republicans confront the massive cost of Trump’s Middle East war The prospect of a ballooning new spending bill has GOP leaders bracing for a messy internal fight. P.S. It is not a war. P.S.S. You really are more secure without health care and no Iranian missiles.

Question: How do I lower gas prices? Answer: Don't start an illegal war in Iran. Susie Wiles sounds the alarm on gas prices White House aides and Cabinet officials are coming under intense pressure to reverse the spike in energy prices caused by the start of the war in the Middle East. So sorry, Susie. But he really is as dumb as a fucking rock. But he has better qualities. He is cruel, and arrogant. Work with it, gal! P.S. By the way, when you figure out the strategy on that whole Iran War thing, please pass it along.

We can say the truth out loud, Sis. We've both always known you are a better woman than me. Exactly for this reason. 😉

I'm am really worried. RUN, @BARKNAWAY, RUN. The evil bitch is gonna be pissed. Who knows what the fuck she will do to Trump's favorite ICE killer dog. RUN, @BARKNAWAY, RUN.

See, Sis. God smiles on us aging queer sisters. I get Robert Irwin, and you get James Talarico. To each her own. It all works out in the end. 😉 That said, be careful with Mamdani now. They are both gorgeous men in different ways. But James is probably not into three ways, I'm guessing. 🫢 But, on a more serious and happy note, the biggest headline out of Texas was the Hispanic vote. Texas Latinos turned out in massive numbers for Democrats And this is not the first time. Same thing with the special election that Democrat Taylor Rehmet won in a red Texas Senate district in January. It probably helped that he is a machinist union leader. If Democrats want to win they should be running lots of union people talking about decent wages and affordability. And no tax cuts and special favors for the rich. En espanol, por favor. One might argue that if Trump were not such an arrogant war mongering raping lying felon un-American total piece of shit, he might have noticed this. Brookings did. So what did Trump do to create more jobs, raise wages, and create affordable housing and new Latino small businesses? He deported their asses. Like Latino men working in construction jobs. You just can't trust those fucking Mexicans, can you? By the way, Sis. Did I mention that Donald Trump is an arrogant war mongering raping lying felon un-American total piece of shit? The implications of this could be vast, for both 2024 and 2028. That is the history of Latino voting in Presidential elections since 1980. Note that Harris did worse than any other Democrat, with one possible exception: Jimmy Carter. So a few things enter here. Without even discussing politics, there is reversion to the mean. If a Democrat in 2028 does as well as the average Democrat since 1980, they will win. Now let's talk inflation. That is what killed Carter. It killed incumbent parties all over the world after COVID. My theory all along has been that Hispanics in general, and Hispanic men in particular, are very much oriented around what Brookings described above: jobs, wages, prices. So are most working class Americans of any race, of course. So Trump benefited from that in 2024. Being the arrogant fuck he is, he took that as a mandate to start Trump Wars. The arrogant piece of shit. In 2026 and 2028 he will learn his lesson. But I digress. Back to your new love James. And please don't call me a cheap bitch. I am sending him only $25 a month, compared to $100 a month for Sherrod Brown, Mary Peltola, and Jon Ossoff. I figure Roy Cooper has it in the bag. And if he can't win North Carolina, Democrats can not win the Senate. North Carlina, Ohio, Alaska, and Maine are the must win Senate seats for Democrats to have a majority in 2028. And Democrats have to hold Georgia and Michigan. All seem possible. Once Michigan and Maine have primaries I'll start sending money to the Democrats who win there, too. James would be nice to have on the team, too. So cute. But we know about Texas, Sis. Everything is big there. And we love our big cocks, of course. But Democrats dream big in Texas, and always fail. So call me a skeptic. Anyhoo, have fun with James, Sis. And Zohran. Robert sends his love. 😉

The Financial Times came up with a nice headline and definition of "some good" for me. The cynical opportunities of ‘Epic Fury’ To set the bar very low, that sounds better to me than World War III. To set the bar a bit higher, it defangs Iran for a while without changing anything fundamental about a bad situation for most Iranians. But it doesn't lead to a bloodbath like when the US took out leaders in Iraq and Libya. This is what other Trump alumni like Anthony Scaramucci have been speculating about already. When it comes to Trump, cynicism is always best. In effect, Trump is saying to Venezuela, and possibly Iran: FUCK DEMOCRACY. You can be an authoritarian. As long as you are my authoritarian. Otherwise you die. Eat your heart out, Vlad. When your buddy Patriot Pete runs a very powerful military, and you have the Genocide Jew as your partner in crime, you can get lots of shit done. Whether it's good shit or not is a different question. The question already on the table is: does America want to be the world's bully? @Moses likes to bring up Hiroshima. My Dad fought in WWII, and was in the Navy near Japan. He spent the rest of his life being proud that America was the world's good cop. In his eyes. That's a different thing than being the world's bully. Although I'm sure these days most MAGA people will argue it's the same thing. My eyes are on Gavin Newsom. He has never lost an election, so far. I think he is a good politician in that he can feel where the wind is blowing. And he has a coherent set of liberal principles. As one example I care about, he was ahead of the curve on same sex marriage. Now he is ranting about how this is a war America did not want. And about how further military support to Israel, which practices genocide, is now in question in his mind. That will be a big debate in the Democratic Party. And a good one. The thing I am most hoping for is that America rejects this course. In others words, Americans don't want to be the world's bully. That will be a huge internal fight. Assuming we continue to be a democracy that has internal fights.

Right now, seems like the world has an overpopulation of authoritarians, theocrats, and American wannabe Kings. Personally, I wouldn't mind if there were a few less of them. 🫢

lesson is, stick to your principles. I think both apply, in general and to this situation. @Moses is not wrong, of course, that every war is shades of grey. You could even argue that about Hitler's Reich, I guess. Although very few Russians, especially, or Americans would defend Hitler. (Other than Trump, naturally.) That said, one difference between Russia and the US is clear. Several polls now show a majority of Americans disapprove of what Trump did. So on the one hand we can disapprove. And it will probably seal the Republicans' fate in the midterms. On the other hand, Trump can do it anyway. It's a problem with democracy, I guess. But it is a democracy. Things don't go so well for people who protest the invasion of Ukraine in Russia. Or try to organize against Putin. Including his former allies. Part of the reason Trump can get away with this is he is picking on authoritarians who have few allies, Other than other authoritarians like Putin. Pretty much everyone on Team Democracy agrees that Iran sponsored horrific acts of terror. And that Khamenei was awful to Gays. And to people who want something other than a theocratic repressive regime. The debate is whether it is worth going to war about it. About 40 % of Americans think it is. Minority rules, in this case. While Ukraine is also a shades of grey situation, it is not an authoritarian state. It may be a corrupt democracy. But who is Putin to talk about corruption? Even China has to pretend it agrees with the idea of national sovereignty as it helps Russia pummel Ukraine. Two things set the tone on Iran for me. The US stock market, and pretty much global stock markets, said, "So what?" Oil prices will rise for a while. But no investor is mourning the loss of Khamenei. Jon Stewart is always a good barometer for the reaction from the (older) Left. He had a hilarious monologue Monday night that made fun of Trump without really attacking the basis of the invasion. Mostly Stewart picked on Trump, appropriately, for not bothering to share his plans with American voters. It's so sad that Trump has these pesky democrats to contend with. But I don't think Jon Stewart would have more freedom or influence in Russia. Stewart then interviewed an Iranian film maker and Oscar nominee who went hard after the savage and repressive nature of the Iranian regime. It was not a call to arms against Trump. If anything, it was a call to disapproval of theocratic authoritarians. So, you are right @Moses. This is shades of grey. I despise Trump. And I think this will make things worse for both the US and the world. This war undercuts basic principles America says it stands for. But I also hope some good will come out of it. I can't say that about Ukraine.

Wow. Who would have thought? You actually made Trump's justification for invading Iran sound sophisticated, compared to Vlad's unprovoked genocide. But I agree with you that once W started the Iraq war, that cat was out of the bag. Putin did what W did in Ukraine, and now Trump is doing what Putin did in Iran. We can make distinctions between the three wars. But they are all basically wars of aggression. None of those three wars make sense to me. But if I had to pick one that makes more sense, it is Iran. Hopefully they cut a deal with the regime to change their behavior. Basically what happened in Venezuela. It is not at all clear that can happen. But I hope so. It would possibly prevent a much bigger bloodbath. Because the chances of getting "real" regime change and democracy are just about zero, it seems. And Trump is clear as can be that he doesn't really give a shit about democracy, anyway.

What is a remarkable and unfortunate accident of history is that W. and Trump are among the worst warmongers in US history. And both got elected because of slavery, and put us into wars in Iraq and Iran. The US electoral college has multiple purposes. But one historical purpose was supporting slave states. It was designed intentionally for that purpose. It enabled Bush to win in 2000, and Trump to win in 2016. In most other democracies that go by popular vote they would have been the losers. Even in 2024, when Trump won the popular vote, he couldn't even get to 50 % in a two way race. Both used the slenderest of victories to do really bold and bad shit. It ruined W.'s legacy, for sure. And I am guessing Iran will ruin whatever legacy Trump actually has left to ruin. There is a good argument that Trump is doing this because he knows he won't ever have to face voters directly again. So this is what he wants his legacy to be. It shows remarkable ego and arrogance. Arguably even dementia or personality disorder. There are no lack of polls saying loud and clear this is NOT what Americans, including many of his own voters, want. And yet he did it anyway.

First, dear @Moses, I will say one thing in the defense of the US, and democracy. We have polls now saying that something like 60 % of Americans oppose what Trump is doing in Iran. We have an election in a matter of months. So this probably seals the deal that Trump gets his ass kicked. That is one good thing about America on a dwindling list of good things about America. Unless Trump tries to stop an election. Again. But this article made me think about your post: Why Khamenei’s killing hit Putin where it hurts Whether Libya was a turning point for Putin is debatable. It's not like he was a fan of democracy beforehand. It's also worth noting that this happened after W. had pushed the brilliant idea that Ukraine should be part of NATO. It's also worth noting that the Libyan disaster happened under Obama, and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And let's recall one of her problems in 2016 is that she had voted to support the Iraq War as a US Senator. It's also worth noting that Obama himself, who most Americans and people around the world still admire and respect, stated that Washington tends to have a bias toward war. And he didn't know what to do about it. Trump is certainly proof of concept. It's a remarkable reversal of what "America First" means. I've always been more of an "America Together" kind of guy. One of the few US wars I strongly supported was what we did in Ukraine. There's no question that a country was invaded, and was actually asking for our help. And that most of the world was on Ukraine's side. That makes a difference. So it is kind of amazing that we went from Trump pissing all over that effort, to Trump deciding to invade a country that didn't ask for our help. The leaders that didn't ask for our help are now dead. This is very fucked up. Like Obama, I don't really know what to think about it. Other than to hope that Americans repudiate this, including at the polls in November. And to realize, like Obama did, that in the long run war begets war.

@Barknaway, I am glad you can not understand this. Erik Prince on Iran: Who Takes Over? How Does The Regime Get Changed? Normally you are very happy and you bark like mad when Steve Bannon and his buddy Erik Prince, former Blackwell CEO and America Firster, open their mouths. But this will not make you happy, poor pup. Erik Price and the America Firsters are not happy with this whole "it is regime change" "no it is not regime change" "is it regime change?" thing. I am glad you are just an obedient pup. I would not want you biting or killing Steve Bannon or Erik Prince. Having never been the CEO of Blackwell, or a Navy SEAL, I could not even begin to imagine how you get all these bad hombres at the IRGC to change themselves. So Prince is probably right. The people who will take over eventually will be just as bad. And maybe worse. Although I am surprised. Prince says it seems like there is no strategy, and no plan. Just like John Bolton is warning. Geez! Who could have seen that coming? But there is an upside. Prince thinks we Americans can't do boots on the ground, but maybe the Iranians can. Like maybe some elements of the regular army and the Kurds could take up arms against the bad regime dudes. Wouldn't that be great, @Barknaway???? It would be just like the good old days, in Iraq. So much blood! So much random violence! So many necks for you to rip open!

@Barknaway you are a good and loyal and true pup. And I hope President Trump told you the truth. Unlike most Americans, who are weak and disloyal and do not deserve to know the truth. Obviously President Trump and Patriot Pete have been planning this war for a long time. "I always thought" is just a figure of speech, of course. But if President Trump did not tell you, please do not feel hurt. I did not know, either. You can't have a debate about these things in a country overrun by WEAK and DISLOYAL socialists and faggots and DEI color people. They come from shit holes and they bring their shit hole values with them. They go to Newscum's California where the state is overridden with CHINA PEOPLE losers who bring their virus and socialism. Worse than Muslim scum! We can not let all of America be like Newscum's California. Or like Europe or weak Asia most of those people are weak and timid and unwilling to stand up for TRUTH. We need to fight, @Barknaway. You are good and loyal and true. And now you know the truth. You live in a country full of weak pussies who are too stupid to obey. It makes obedient dogs like you special, @Barknaway. You are GOOD and LOYAL and TRUE. God bless you and your mother! I spoke to Patriot Pete today and he told me he is very proud of you. Bark! Bite! Kill!

CNN poll: 59% of Americans disapprove of Iran strikes and most think a long-term conflict is likely For once I wish you could speak and think, loyal pup. Because this is complicated. And urgent. America is NOT a shit hole country, dear pup. We are a land of proud patriots. And proud barking dogs like you. But 60 % of Americans are shit hole people who need to go back to the shit holes they came from. @Barknaway, you are a good and loyal and true pup. And now we need you more than ever! Bark! Bite! Kill! You stand for the REAL America, @Barknaway. Not this Muslim scum and Mexican bullshit and stupid raping dumb people without REAL American blood and heritage. This is what you get when you let the DEI people of color bullshit and Gay pussies take control. They have no values! It has now come to this, @Barknaway. We can not lose the REAL America YOU stand for. Bark! Bite! Kill! Try to target the socialists and Democrats first. Tear AOC and her fucking disloyal socialist mouth apart. But if you have to go after these Trump hating Independents and Republicans, that is okay. It is ALL on the line @Barknaway. This is it. We can NOT afford to have Trump and his GLORIOUS BEST WAR EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! be unpopular. Fucking American scum! They all came from some shit hole, didn't they? We need to take action. Bark! Bite! Kill!

I agree. But I think the verdict is in. It is working out badly for Iran. The question is, how bad? This helps explain Trump's reaction when Putin invaded Ukraine. Trump said, "This is genius". At the time he was still in the dog house for his Jubilant Patriotic Cop Beating at the Capitol. So he got a lot of push back. I think we now know "genius" and "savvy" meant something like, "Gosh. I wish I could do that." And now Trump has. So this is a different version of Ukraine. I'm sure Putin and Trump both feel they have a long list of grievances, which we have all heard about. But now the idea of restraint is completely gone. The strong will just pick on the weak. That is the new world order. Putin started it. Trump said, "Me too!" I know my best case scenario. It goes something like this. Which is wishful thinking, but at least conceivably plausible. America is repulsed and rejects MAGA and America First in 2026 and 2028. I am likely to vote for Gavin Newsom. There are downsides of a California liberal. But I think in 2028 I want a proven leader who has high approval in California (like Reagan did back in the day) and has governed one of the biggest, open, and forward looking economies in the world. And is bending over backwards to show he wants to cooperate with the world, not fight it. In a wishful thinking scenario if we wait a few years it is conceivable Iranian reformers could again gain the upper hand, like they have before. Unlikely, but not out of the question. If the timing works right and there is a different US President with a very different agenda, like who isn't itching to start wars, that could potentially lead to better outcomes for two exhausted countries. One can hope.

And I'd agree with @Moses on several of those. VietNam was infamously disastrous for both VietNam and the US. It was definitely a war of aggression. Add to that the unproven theory that JFK wanting to get out of VietNam got him assassinated by the US military industrial complex/Texas oil hawks/etc. Iraq was also infamously disastrous and a war of aggression that ended badly for America and the world. How quickly we forget. I opposed Gulf War I (Bush 41, not Bush 43) at the time. That said, in retrospect it is a model of how to do war, if we choose to do it. Kuwait was invaded. That is a fact. Just like Putin invaded Ukraine. The Powell Doctrine famously limited the military objectives to limited ones, which the US achieved and then left. The verdict is out on Trump's War Of The Week. Venezuela seemingly achieved its limited objectives without opening a bloodbath. In part because Trump did not try regime change. What he is doing now in Iran is a whole different matter. My guess is it only gets worse for him. Whatever rises from the ashes will probably be worse. With much more reason to hate and kill Jews and Americans. I remember a discussion with a Republican friend in the run up to Iraq. Like most Democrats, I strongly opposed Bush 43's Iraq War. A Republican friend of mine supported the idea, but argued Bush 43 would "fuck up" by putting boots on the ground. He was sure right about that. I asked him what he thought the US should do if it didn't want to put boots on the ground. He said, "That's easy. Blow the shit out of them." I asked, "What if what rises from the ashes is even worse?" He said, "That's easy. Blow the shit out of them again." A true American, I guess. Now we'll see how well that works for America.

Moscow gloats over potential oil price spike from Iran war

Of course, Donald Trump himself says his Iran claims are nonsense. Just months ago we destroyed all their nukes, he said. Or not. 🤔 At least Trump is consistent. Nothing he says is ever true, or involves a long term strategy.

Which raises another point. This is the standard the US just set for Putin and others to follow: DROP A BOMB ON THEM. KILL THEM ALL. HE IS EVIL. DROP A BOMB ON THEM. KILL THEM BOTH. SHE IS EVIL. DROP A BOMB ON THEM. KILL THEM ALL. HE IS EVIL. DROP A BOMB ON THEM. KILL THEM ALL. HE IS EVIL. I personally have no problem with the idea that Khamenei launched terror and horror all over the world for decades. I have no problem with the fact that if we choose to blow the fuck out of lots of people and things in Iran, because we can, or because Bibi The Genocide Jew asks us nicely, Khamenei should be at the very top of the list. And I get it. If his daughter and 14 month old granddaughter gotta be blown up too, that is just how The Shining City On The Hill rolls. Fuck with us, and we'll take out your whole fucking family. I'm guessing it's possible some other country might decide Zelensky, or Sheinbaum, or Trudeau, or Trump is evil. Zelensky in particular should be nervous. I'm pretty sure Putin can figure out how to blow him up. I sure hope this is the America all Americans want to be. Because, like it or not, this is who we now are. There ain't no going back. Khamenei's granddaughter urges international community to cut ties with Iran - video "This regime is not faithful to any of its religious principles and does not know any rules except force and holding power," said Farideh Moradkhani, a well-known human rights activist, in the video That's the one who was not blown up by Israel. Kudos to her for speaking out for years, despite being the repeated victim of repression. Still, I'm not sure her intent was to bomb a 14 month girl she's related to. Again, I have no problem with the idea that Khamenei is an asshole and he deserved to die, if we want to go to war with Iran. Did we actually want to go to war with Iran, though? And does anybody want to explain how killing one asshole ends a regime like this? As far as I can tell, unless we want a boots on the ground slaughter like in Iraq, it may actually get worse for Iranians now. The history of US (and other nation's) interventions like this is it usually opens a bloodbath.