Kyle Bailey

The United States hasn’t been in the business of winning wars for a long time

Contempt for one’s enemy in military planning often manifests as an assumption that they are inert bots, incapable of initiative beyond that found on a flow chart.

A lot to say about this tweet, but what stands out to me is how it encapsulates Graham’s (among others) persistent delusion that war is a precision instrument with predictable outcomes.

I think that all of the combat vets I have considered friends (and there are many) all of them would prefer a sober look at war and its consequences over meaningless “support the troops” pablum.

I’ll openly admit that I hate the military and everything it’s come to stand for. I do not support the troops. I do not support their missions. But I’ve got 100X more respect for soldiers than the people sending them off to die or saluting their coffins with baseball caps on.

I think this is the subject I read about the most where I see persistent overcorrections and polemics in both directions, often tainting otherwise decent works.

Asked if the US attacked a desalination plant in Iran, Pres. Trump says Iranians are "among the most evil people ever on earth." "They cut babies' heads off—they chop women in half..." "I know nothing about a desalinization plant, other than to say, if they're complaining about a desalinization plant, we complain about the fact they shouldn't be chopping babies' heads off." Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth can be seen nodding in agreement.

A pretty clear demonstration here of how the lies told to sell the destruction of the Gaza Strip to the public helped to create the structure of impunity required to destroy as much as possible of other countries too

The western elite continue to have their minds blown by the fact Iranians treat war like it's war, instead of a silly fun game to drive up share value and give one's chums in the media something to do.

The most recent If Books Could Kill about Graeber’s “Bullshit Jobs” was…pretty bad! I was hoping for a much more thoughtful discussion from my favorite podcast.

The "median voter" theory of Democratic renewal really needs to have an account for what must be done about right wing propaganda's impact on that median voter. Via @brianbeutler.bsky.social:

www.offmessage.net/p/jasmine-cr...

Military historian and theoreticians can be real sticks in the mud because most want to use their expertise to minimize suffering and save lives. Naturally they are consistently sidelined when killing and destruction is the end of the strategy rather than the means.

This is what you get when the depth of your strategy is “we’re gonna do cool war shit you fuckin wimps”

U.S. and Israel as always determined to show that Iran’s quest for nukes is rational as hell

Ah well that settles that then

the most reliable Dem voters on earth—myself included—are constantly accused of voting third party or not voting by people like this and it’s fucking exhausting

We are At War now, according to President Bush, and I take him at his word. He also says this War might last for "a very long time." Generals and military scholars will tell you that eight or 10 years is actually not such a long time in the span of human history - which is no doubt true - but history also tells us that 10 years of martial law and a wartime economy are going to feel like a Lifetime to people who are in their twenties today. The poor bastards of what will forever be known as Generation Z are doomed to be the first generation of Americans who will grow up with a lower standard of living than their parents enjoyed. That is extremely heavy news, and it will take a while for it to sink in. The 22 babies born in New York City while the World Trade Center burned will never know what they missed. The last half of the 20th century will seem like a wild party for rich kids, compared to what's coming now. The party's over, folks.

From Hunter S. Thompson’s ESPN page 2 column one week after 9/11.

Most corrupt President in history and I don’t think it’s even close. This shit is so galling man.

These were better when I drank

I instantly tried to say it like him so many times my wife told me to shut the fuck up

*insert the “I’m not mad” tweet here*

There is no limit to how far they will go to get us to look away from the Epstein files. They will literally try and nuke it out of the news cycle if they have to. Lutnick standing there only makes the point stronger.

A pretty solid summary of David Graeber’s excellent book “Bullshit Jobs”

The Zone of Interest vibes are strong with this one.

The call is coming from inside the house, etc

I’m tired of pledging my support ahead of time to a party that persistently misrepresents me and lies to me. Yes I will end up voting for the over the nazis, but I’m not gonna go around advertising that it doesn’t matter who they put up.

I’ll choose not. The people who won’t are ridiculous. But this framing in stark terms before we’ve even had a primary is ridiculous. It’s alright if we have infighting that isn’t always dogged by this litmus test. I don’t want to be cornered into saying I’d hypothetically vote Newsom or whatever.

I watched too much cringe music on Instagram again and now it thinks I like it

This is the smart guy talking point version of Trump’s “are we still talking about Jeffery Epstein?”

I wouldn’t call myself a defender of Hasan Piker, or even a fan, but having watched him some in recent times this feels like a caricature.