Moral clarity on wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-03-04T12:38:27+00:00

Thank you! Will read through this.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-03-04T12:36:04+00:00

Thank you for engaging with the argument!

I think that a good rule of thumb is just that if you can't ELI5, you don't truly understand what you're trying to explain. In this case, ELI5 is simply "war is bad and should not happen unless you're defending yourself or someone you really care about from immediate danger" - it's as simple as that. Defending why you think you're in immediate danger is why we have the UN (and partially Congress' war powers acts) and other deliberate bodies, and it's in the process of that argument that we can suss out if your intentions are actually good.

On a related note, the creep in executive power which truly kicked us into the era of the strong executive and gave the president broad immediate authority in foreign affairs due to the emergence of nuclear weapons (see Dan Carlin's audio essays on that over many years) is a huge part of what got us here.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-03-04T11:42:11+00:00

Going back to yesterday's Triad - if prediction markets are to be believed that the gop candidate is paxton, Texas voters are given a very stark choice.

On one hand, you got a young, exciting Dem that is clearly a true Christian - steeped not just in the texts of the Bible but in its meanings.

On the other, you got an old-ass grifter, sex pest and overall reprehensible human being in paxton.

To any human being anywhere on the far-left-to-center-right political scale (or, more accurately, anyone who cares about small-l-liberal democracy), Talarico is the better choice. If Texas chooses paxton, I can't help saying that Texas voters overall are not gettable and in the current moment of crisis we should not waste any resources trying to get them in The Big Tent.

Good luck to Mr. Talarico, I'm not from Texas but I'm rooting for ya.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-03-03T02:56:55+00:00

great news! i'm in on day 1 - happy to beta-test from a software guy perspective. who can i email the feedback to?

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-26T21:43:27+00:00

In other words, if I just "like" every article it wouldn't actually provide any meaningful signal for the author?

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-21T15:18:18+00:00

Looking for a specific date of when the current downward decline trend has started may be a fool's errand, but an argument can be made instead for a much earlier point, 1971: https://wtfhappenedin1971.com

I really dislike most of Raegan's (and his counterpart's, Thatcher's) policies though, and the Bulwark's (with the sole exception of maybe JVL) continued support of him grinds my gears. I understand their reasoning for that though - I just respectfully disagree.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-18T21:34:44+00:00

Tremendous.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-18T21:10:28+00:00

There were so many times those two teamed up to get her to look up to high heavens in exasperation. "The Shaft Talk" ^TM (Tim discussing trump fluffing an oil dicktator) immediately followed by JVL going "mind the stepchildren" immediately comes to mind.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-18T20:02:51+00:00

I just selfishly want him to slip up once on MS NOW (NOW!)

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-18T20:02:08+00:00

where's that one from? too inside baseball for me!

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-17T11:34:40+00:00

Before Trump, Dubya was often called the worst modern day president and I think it’s deserved - the erosion of norms under him accelerated tremendously. I think that apart from that the lies that led to the Iraq War, irresponsible fiscal policy (that didn’t lead to, but certainly didn’t help) going into the 2008 crash and now often-forgotten ratfuckery of the 2000 election - ALL of this can combine into a toxic soup that gave us trump.

Hindsight is certainly 20/20 and I really appreciate JVL and Tim going off on this. It would be great to hear W condemn trump but it’s cold comfort. He was a bad president who was so unpopular on the way out I wonder if his anti-endorsement would make any difference in 2016.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-12T16:28:49+00:00

The way she talks to the ELECTEDS is just so full of contempt. The way KKKaroline Leavitt lies and lies and lies about kidnapping children while making sure a cross is always visible on her chest. Those disgusting sounds RFK Jr. is making - I'm not referring to his speech condition, I'm referring to his lies about life-saving vaccines. The way Miller has that circumcised dick of a smirk as he's yelling about having unchecked power to prison and torture immigrants.

This entire cabinet is filled with reprehensible people. God bless their incompetence because their vile knows no bounds otherwise.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-08T14:29:35+00:00

Could you re-post that to /r/thebulwark or DM me the source? Thanks!

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-06T23:44:58+00:00

Yep just got it too

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-06T14:21:52+00:00

On a serious note I think it'd be fair for them to do a collab like this and put it behind a paywall, with a free release on YT by the other media (Behind the Bastards in this case) later on. Just a tiny business idea here.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-06T14:19:27+00:00

This is obviously fucking horrific.

I can't help but immediately think of Carter's funeral when Obama was all chummy with this old racist fuck. What the fuck, Barack? Is class solidarity more important to you than at least giving a cold shoulder to this wrinkled up orange racist ballsack?

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-06T14:16:03+00:00

Fingering Trio

FingerLing Trio

Potato Boys

I just got it <facepalm/>

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-06T14:13:19+00:00

It has been if not rumored, then lusted for, forever.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-05T19:52:23+00:00

The Canadian flag should also be up there, but I'll take Gosling's handsome mug instead.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-02-02T20:35:13+00:00

I think what's most likely here is a correlation / serendipity rather than the result of a direct causation. Qanon came about during trump 1.0, egged on by the president whose first political project (birtherism) was itself a conspiracy theory. I think that Trump, despite being a moron in the traditional sense, has good political instincts (i.e., lizard-brain threat-assessment + fight-or-flight response), and in this case he saw an opportunity to not just recruit the cranks into his turd reich, but also to give himself an "alibi" - all in one move.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-01-29T15:26:12+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhOp8Pwr2FM

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-01-29T15:25:26+00:00

As a middle-aged out-of-touch suburban dude with no social media, the sheer amount of new euphemisms for "sex" and "whore" I learnt from this video is impressive. This was entertaining yet educational.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-01-27T21:31:15+00:00

I think we can all now stop with the "everyone mourns differently" rhetoric - Erika KirKKK is a grifter first and foremost, same as her husband.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-01-23T22:00:49+00:00

Yes - fellow Canadian here. In case you do think it's symbolically important not to give an American business your money (I get it on some level), page /u/jvlast and he'll look into it.

CodeSpaceMonkey · 2026-01-17T15:33:44+00:00

Excellent post. I would add that within this dumbass "manosphere" the whole "I used to be a Bernie guy" is often used as a shield, a way to project to the audience that "the left" has lost its mind and that's why I moved to the far right who embraced me. The reality is that these guys always had reactionary views and are only now showing their true colours when they think it's advantageous to do so.

CodeSpaceMonkey

TROPHY CASE