Warmongers...

Well...there was that.

It's sort of amazing that just when you think, "Okay, maybe I have a little bit of a handle on things" they break the cup completely.

The US bombed Iran. We could see it coming. But then Trump did his "two weeks" thing and so we were like, maybe not? Who knows? But when Brent and I saw the article that they were moving the bombers we were pretty sure it was a go. Just not that it was a go that quickly. That was a bit of a surprise.

And of course he bombed them then screamed PEACE!!! Brent and I joked that it was like a kid "no tag backs!" Sorry, dude, but this isn't a game.

In his speech last night he hit on part of the bigger issue without really understanding what he was saying. That where Iran has done the most damage to outside countries is through terrorist attacks. Roadside bombs. Drone attacks. IEDs. Destroying their nuclear facility will not stop that. I would argue that it's going to make that increase. I believe, firmly, that Trump just made Americans less safe.

The argument you get in push back is "So you think Iran having a nuclear bomb is a good idea?" Of course not. I don't think anyone should have a nuclear bomb. Living in the only country to have ever detonated one (two) is terrible enough. Knowing that many different countries could do the same is the fear of my youth that has never really let go. I mean, honestly, talk to any GenX kid and we all at least somewhat believed we would die in a nuclear war. We had our own personal "what will you do?" scenarios. Me? I was a grab a rum and Coke and head outside to watch the light.

There will be a lot of chatter and opinion piece work and if you don't support the president you aren't really American bullshit that will be going on. The same as during the Iraq war. I got called a lot of names during that particular conflict. I wasn't gung ho about going into Afghanistan (most of the hijackers and Osama bin Laden were from Saudi Arabia, ffs) and I was adamant that going into Iraq was a mistake.

I've written before about working with someone who worked for W when he was in baseball. And that he said, long before W was elected, that if he were elected he would find a reason to go into Iraq. That he had a personal vendetta against them since they wanted to kill his father. Which as far as reasons go, it's a solid one. Too bad a personal vendetta became a countrywide made up reason to go to war. It's why my boss, who was a staunch Republican didn't vote for him (and other things he knew about him). So I wasn't surprised when they marched us to war there. And I wasn't surprised when it turned out they lied to get it done.

I've also talked for years about how Israel seemed determined to drag us into WWIII. I get called a lot of names for that as well. But Israel the country is not the tribe of Israel. It's not all jewish people. My opinion of Netanyahu and the far right contingent in Israel has zero to do with my opinion of all jewish people. It would be to me like someone assuming I'm like Trump just because he is the president of the United States and the United States does some spectacularly shitty things. The people in a country are not their government. And for jewish people as a whole they are not one country. I think conflating the two is actually the bigoted part.

So yeah, you can hold in your head that you are not an antisemite and still condemn the things Israel under Netanyahu does. That what is happening in Gaza is a war crime. That dragging the US into war with Iran is horrific. And also know that Iran having nuclear weapons is a bad idea. All of those ideas can co-exist. Without any conflict or pretzel twists needed.

What you cannot hold in your head that way is thinking that Trump is somehow a peaceful no war president. That we as a country are broke, teetering on financial ruin, while also being able to afford a war in Iran. That bombing Iran is somehow NOT an act of war.

Videos of ICE, masked, unmarked, armed, grabbing people off the streets. Beating them up while they drag them away. The Supreme Court saying that no in fact you as a parent are not in charge of your child's medical care, we the courts are and oh by the way the Trump administration is going to disable the suicide hotline as they also take away your life saving and life affirming health care. Bombing a foreign country when our intelligence reported that there wasn't a reason, but Bibi said so, so we did.

It is fair to say that I do not have a handle on things. That I don't even see the handles to grab. I do not understand how this is my country. How my fellow citizens voted for this. How they will rationalize this. They will pretend that he never said he wouldn't drag us into any more wars, or that this is somehow not a war but a police action maybe? That worked for Vietnam right? They will be told that this is right and they will agree.

We have always been at war with Eastasia...