My son is an Army soldier and his son, a Marine. Thank you Sasha for your heartfelt support for the men and woman of our American military like my son and grandson.
Yes, Elizabeth, we love our military families, esp the multi-generational ones.. Some of us, though, are concerned that we may be on the verge of committing those precious sons and daughters to another quagmire... sigh... And no, I'm not a Leftist Trump-hater...
Yet again, we have the Democrats reflexively opposing Trump, just because "Orange Man Bad." And once again, they will be on the losing side of the polling, on this.
It is almost like Trump has a superpower. He knows that Democrats, without thinking (they rarely do) will express their opposition against whatever Trump has done, or said.
But in automatically opposing WHATEVER Trump does, they paint themselves into a corner, once again finding themselves on the losing side of an 80/20 political issue.
Trump seems to have a true skill at trolling Democrats, and getting them to take the 20% of yet another issue.
1. Defending boys in girls' sports and locker rooms.
2. Defending illegal alien criminals, over American citizens.
3. Defending rioters attacking police.
4. Defending waste in the government.
5. Defending Hamas terrorists, over Israelis. Etc.
Next: Defending Iran?
This is definitely not the Democrat party of JFK. Liberal (open-minded) no more, they are a party of rigid orthodoxy-- toe the line, or else. Moderate Democrats are fleeing the party, which interestingly enough makes the remaining party members even more hard Leftist and radical.
Even a classic liberal like Bill Maher has chided Democrats, stating that they'll never win major elections again if they double down on insanity.
Indeed - Dems have become a party of hate and intolerance, lacking any positive vision for the country and its people. The positions you’ve outlined above are repulsive 🤮 to normal people and those normals are drifting away from the Dem party, leaving the remaining party even more radical. Seems like the Whig ending is unavoidable and it can’t come soon enough!👍👍
Yeah, if we had an unbiased mainstream media, we would t have so many ignorant Democrats out there.
The days of Walter Concrete are over. The media can't even hide their bias anymore. At least we know what their true positions are. They don't even try to hide it, anymore.
Read a history book regarding the 46 year long war Iran has waged against us. This is our war as much as it is that of Israel, and I’m proud that we stand together against this murderous death cult posing as the Iranian government.
I think it is misguided. Trump has made it perfectly clear he will not get us into a protracted (quagmire) war. This was a key opportunity to “safely” take out what we know of the Iranian atomic bomb program. Perhaps this strange fixation on the idea Trump is being goaded into a long slog war will turn out to be correct. But the facts belie that.
That seems to be the case but vigilance is still warranted. Remember that one of Bush's campaign issues in 2000 was no more nation building. Of course, he was a moron and Trump isn't. And Pence was a war monger and Vance isn't.
Trump and Bush aren't even in the same sphere and I've voted for both. Trump called out Bush 25 years ago. Bush, on his end, won't even give Trump credit on this .... at least publicly.
Agree but Bushies are still buried in the Deep State. A lot of the people that conservatives blame Obama for actually got their start in the Bush administration.
I know that Matt, I saw your comments about it. What I’m saying is if this ends Iran’s reign of terror and there are no American boots on the ground, what is your objection?
Matt, count me as one guy on this thread who shares your concern as to where this Iran thing may be headed... Let's not forget, Afghanistan started out on a "we kicked their ass" note too... and wound up with a bunch of guys in platoons fighting to defend remote mountain valleys that they eventually turned back over to the Taliban... That's one movie I don't want to see again...
I call you wrong, but entitled to your opinion. I see you respectfully disagreeing on many Substacks that support Trump's actions in Iran. I assume you are reading those posts and have arrived at different conclusions.
Dude , you’ve watched too much tv. After many offers to make peace , all the responses were the same. The president put on his big boy pants and took care of the threat. No war started , no weak shot across the bow actions. Just boom , problem handled . Now it’s the supreme leaders turn . More death to America probably. No more weak leadership, no more pallets of money in the middle of the night. Actions speak louder than words.
Trump pretty severely chastised both Iran and Israel for ceasefire violations. In this case, especially Israel.
He said that they've been fighting each other so long, they don't know what the f**k they're doing sometimes...
U.S. mission is accomplished. Let's hope the fighting stops.
Iran sent missiles at a U.S. air base, but they warned us about it. Understandably, they need to "appear" to offer some reprisals for the bombings. It would be nice if this is it, but I'm not holding my breath. We'll see.
I would call it your right to disagree and voice your opinion. If you start with ad hominem attacks and cries of impeachment, then I would call it massive TDS infecting you.
You don't need to call names, clown. I've been reading Matt's comments for years. He has legitimate concerns. I don't agree with all of them, but he is definitely NOT a douchebag. Why don't you go back into your cave and grunt some more?
That's a silly, unrealistic, babyish analysis. I mean, who outside maga, believes such treacle dripping in vitriol. Some Dems, this one included, is supporting Trump in this particular current "scandal"... aka peace lover turned war monger and who cares about the middle east anyway and them getting nukes, especially the ones that threatened to wipe us off the face of the earth and that aint what I voted for.
I wasn't talking about Iran, I was talking about labeling all democrats more or less insane as Sasha and most do here and as some dems do with maga. Such thinking tends to undermine the fact that some facts make on on screen here making it a place that can be hard to take seriously.
I have no problem with moderate or old fashioned liberal Democrats.
However, some of the more woke Progressive stuff is unbelievably insane.
I honestly don't know how the people staying these things can actually BELIEVE what they are saying.
The transgender thing has to be the craziest. It doesn't matter what I do... I'm a man, and will never be able to become a woman or become pregnant. Saying I can be, is denial of reality.
I know that feeling is shared by many moderate Democrats in the party, while others believe that the Dems must get MORE progressive.
Being more progressive may win more elections in deep blue areas, but nationally it will turn more voters off than it wins.
You seem pretty well grounded...
Not referring to you.
I was referring to the party as a whole. There seems to be a reluctance among the more traditional liberals in the party, to speak against the far Left Progressive positions. The next couple years should be interesting. There may be some kind of split or fission coming up in the party. Two very different poles, and each one wants to run the party.
You mean the Welfare president? Public works program was a great idea. It's up many of the supposedly starving and out of work, americans refused even to do the minimum to be fed.You're too young to know what's really going on
I'm probably at least as old as you are. We suffer still today from the dumb moves of both Hoover and FDR.
And don't forget, the USA of today ism largely the result of LBJ's "Great Society" programs. This is it, folks. What we have today is largely the result of those socialist programs of the 1960s. Are you loving it yet?
I'm a retired Navy Carrier pilot, and proud of having been a part of that elite group of aviators. It was a meritocracy system, and I can unequivocally say that you didn't care about skin color, ethnic background or sex of the people you flew with, as long as they were capable and had your back.
The pilots selected to fly in operation Midnight Hammer were probably the best at what they did. I could care less about their gender makeup as long as meritocracy was the criteria. Only Progressives would even consider including equity in an operation like this.
Go Navy, even though all of the aircraft were Air Force.
Just a technicality, but the main reason there were no female fighter pilots in the original "Top Gun" (1986) was that the first female graduate of fighter pilot training was Jeannie Leavitt in 1993.
Hmmm, I thought Kara Hultgreen was the first carrier based female Naval Aviator qualified for combat…she died shortly after qualifying when the port engine of her F-14 failed under questionable circumstances.
It's true that Hultgreen became the first female naval aviator-fighter pilot in 1994 and died in an accident that same year. It just goes to underscores the fact that there were no women fighter pilots--USAF or USN--until training opened to them 1993-1994. And then the first female Top Gun pilot came long after that--Commander Becky Calder in 2004.
1) Men are, in a world where division of labor means efficiency of labor, specialized for violence. (Women are specialized for nurturance.)
2) Men are (as my mother told me long ago) over-represented at the top and bottom ends of the Bell Curve. I doubt that there could ever be a female Napoleon, Tolkien, or McCartney.
3) Men are more attractive by being more alpha, while women are not.
4) Men do not have their perceptions of reality affected by "time of the month".
5) Men on average know a lot more about geography and history than do women. I remember my father-in-law telling me, after I had just driven 13.5 hours straight to bring his daughter to his house, that "The man drives that wagon". I was tempted to say "That's because the man knows where he is".
That's not sexism so much as it is the truth. The reason there are so many females in the military nowadays is largely because of affirmative action. Standards are lowered for women. We think we can afford to dabble in social experiments with the military because the US is so dominant, but this is a dangerous conceit.
After I wrote what I wrote last night, I was reminded of something I saw around 1970: a schematic diagram of a baboon troop. The various types of baboons were represented as silhouettes of different colors, with the males obviously having a different form. In the middle were the females and babies. Around the edges, especially toward a brushy area, were the males, "color-coded" for status. The alpha male had an entourage of 2ndary males around him. Why? Leopards. Females and babies live in "the Small World", spending their time happily(?) socializing and nurturing in a (literal) space, where they are (rather than "feel") safe. Males live in "the Big World" that, if they succeed in doing their job, makes the Small World safe. If we change "leopards" to "enemies", that is basically what people do, or at least what people evolutionarily and historically have done.
Although there are those on the right who are anti-Israel, many on the right are pro-Israel (often Christians who understand Israel's biblical significance) and value Israel as a friend with many shared values.
Well said Sasha. I never saw Top Gun Maverick, but feel Trump being the leader he is, made the hard decision to take a risk & show that he means what he says : No nukes for Iran. He even let Iran know what was coming so they could get personnel out as well as the uranium. This in order to save lives & the environment. Quite civilized! Hopefully this will end our direct involvement & lead to a safer world. Marco Rubio said US involvement with regime change is not in the plans, I pray he’s right. Never turns out well.
I wasn’t much of a fan of the original Top Gun, as the massive plot holes and generally juvenile behavior turned me off. I initially avoided Maverick for the same reason, until a friend persuaded me to see it. Boy was I wrong. This is a magnificent movie, which I have nicknamed “Top Gun for Grown-Ups.” Worth every bit of two hours of your life.
My question is to all the people who are against this strike, are they pro? Iran, do they think Iran should have been able to have a nuclear weapon? You do know what's in their constitution right? Death to the great satan, America and death to Israel. Very poorly informed commentators. Yourself not included.
Why in the Hell haven't you seen Top Gun: Maverick? Can I also assume you haven't seen MI:8: The Final Reckoning? The Godfather? Jaws? Fletch? Airplane? Heat? Gone with the Wind? Jacob's Ladder? Caddyshack? You know you can stream this stuff, right? Are you a shut in? I will Door Dash you some food if you're in need.
What a d********, point of view. He probably grew up watching movies in theaters, like me with a large 40 foot screen, professional commercial quality sound system in the presence of an audience with you. You don't get that when you're sitting at home jerking off watching it on your 13 inch. Insigning a tv
Your transformation should be studied by the Hollywood occult, those that harmed and cancelled you, because their sheeple mentality clearly struggles with the reality of the outside world.
I thank you once again from the other side of the pond…😊
Excellent essay and analysis of Operation Midnight Hammer and Top Gun Maverick. As for the MAGA phonies tucker carlson, who Trump calls a "kook," and steve bannon. bannon? The guy was indicted for defrauding his investors out of $millions and would have been convicted and in prison but for Trump's pardon in January 2021. Trump knows bannon is a fraud and con artist, now add to that vindictive because Trump #2 completely ignored bannon when selecting his cabinet and advisors. Iran has been killing Americans or holding them hostage, just for being American, since the mullahs came to power in 1979. Trump warned them repeatedly and gave them plenty of time to change their ways, they ignored him, and yet he still managed to a surprise attack. It isn't Trump's fault that Iran and MAGA phonies like tc, co, sb, etc. are bad at judging character.
You're absolutely right, and all these far left bozos, who called it a preemptive strike don't know what the f they're talking about. Iran has been attacking Americans and Israel for decades, in point of fact, 2 very large attacks unprovoked from Iran into Israel just over the past year. We shouldn't even be wasting our brain share and oxygen on these buffoons.They're just parrots, repeating what rachel maddow says
I was a faithful TC viewer on FOX. He was booted from FOX and out on his own. I can say I've probably listened to just two of his podcasts since then. He's a cocky blowhard who has some weird, vile issue with Israel and Jews. He and Candace Owens have lost me....and quickly.
Long analysis over at Jewish World Review documented Trump reaching out in advance to key players in the MAGA base, including Bannon. This bolstered confidence that this will be one and done, depending of course on what Iran does now. It is alleged, with substantial evidence that Iran was involved in assorted plots to kill Trump. The obvious tit for tat is to kill Khamenei but Trump hasn't done that. You have to have someone to negotiate with if you want peace. Israel has killed a lot who were supposed to be hard-liners.
We have been in the thrall of Iran's threats since Jimmy Carter, that is long enough. Maybe progress can now come to the Middle East and those countries can enjoy prosperity instead of terrorism as their biggest export. It is TRAGIC that the left hates Trump so much they cannot celebrate this new level of safety and security. Keep digging Dems, your supply of shovels is endless.
Totally agree about 'Top Gun Maverick' - it was the movie that brought us out of the pandemic, but there was still no way that Hollywood would have honored it. And thanks for the Dan Turrentine post - he's great, one of the few Democrats that actually seems sane and doesn't make me want to change the channel.
Dan Turrentine is rational. Sen Fetterman is rational. The rest are totally irrational. Thomas Massie is just bizarre. I have no idea what he really stands for because he only stands against anything and everything. How is KY served by that?
Dang girl, you just pointed out one more “impeachable offense” the bloodthirsty mongrels can use to try to bring down the Orange Man…the mission wasn’t woke enough.
Hey, genius, you do realize he's already been impeached twice. That'll accomplish nothing and you have to have enough people in the house and senate. To put it forth and ratify it, even then, what they'd be in direct opposition to what the american people voted for get a clue, grow up
I'm not the 'cancel my subscription' type. But, man is this take bad. It will age no better than the initial takes after Iraq and Afghanistan-- that is to say, not well.
I doubt many of the detractors have much against our military. It is how it is used in the hands of misguided leaders. We never learn any lessons. Our own intelligence community says Iran is not making moves to develop a nuclear weapon. But, Benjamin Netenyahu -- who has been lying about this issue for over 2 decades -- says otherwise. So, we bomb. And the gullible public once again falls for the ruse.
I'm no Trump hater. I'm just utterly disappointed at this point.
I’m also totally disappointed in his cult following who worship him. This is a guy who publicly announced to the world that we’re going to “buy” Gaza from Israel, “own” it, and develop it as a resort on the Mediterranean that people from all over the world will come to for a good time. How about the Palestinians? They’d be gone. Out of sight, out of mind and now this guy takes us into WW3 and his followers still think he’s just the best ever. This is yet another example of why I believe humanity is too dysfunctional to survive with the weapons we now have and why only AI can save us from ourselves.
Trump throws out the chum and the bottom feeders and predators predictably swarm. While they're busy with their chum frenzy, Trump’s taking care of business. It works every time! The rubes and fools have yet to figure it out.
Why would he want to rattle my cage and you’re overlooking the obvious fact that this kind of talk has convinced the world he’s a nutcase. Believe it or not, this is not good for America.
I would be interested to hear the solution for Gaza and Israel. I hear lots of accusations of “genocide” and “cult”, while you keep referring to Glen Greenwald as a god.
So what is the solution? Hand over Israel to the Palestinians, thus putting advanced weapons into the hands of Hamas and/or the PLO? What happens to the Jews in Israel?
It’s easy to fling accusations without a solution. And no, AI is not going to be the answer any time in the immediate future.
“I would be interested to hear the solution for Gaza and Israel.”
At this point there is no solution so the Israelis are resorting to the final solution since it’s the only solution, and what else can they do? The world is watching this online though and is appalled by it. Israel cannot survive as a global pariah state or as a state under attack by missiles or by rapidly worsening economic situation. Pay attention to the price Israel is under for its actions and you’ll see a society in crisis and disintegrating.
Maybe I should rephrase my question. What is your view of what the status of Gaza and Israel should be? What does a post-Zionist world look like? Surely there must be some idea of what should be, once the fighting stops.
My own view is that the killing stops if Hamas surrenders. More killing happens if Israel surrenders. Maybe you see a different outcome?
“My own view is that the killing stops if Hamas surrenders.”
If Hamas fighters surrendered and gave up their weapons they’d be killed and the war would continue. It was never about Hamas. That’s always been used as an excuse to engage in genocide/ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians as a final solution to end the problem.
“Maybe you see a different outcome?”
I see Israel being destroyed and America unraveling and disintegrating. God only knows where we’ll all end up.
“Explosive tensions after Iran threatens to unleash sleeper cells following attack on nuclear sites.” (7 min)
My son is an Army soldier and his son, a Marine. Thank you Sasha for your heartfelt support for the men and woman of our American military like my son and grandson.
Yes, Elizabeth, we love our military families, esp the multi-generational ones.. Some of us, though, are concerned that we may be on the verge of committing those precious sons and daughters to another quagmire... sigh... And no, I'm not a Leftist Trump-hater...
Soldiers are in the Army, genius.
Yet again, we have the Democrats reflexively opposing Trump, just because "Orange Man Bad." And once again, they will be on the losing side of the polling, on this.
It is almost like Trump has a superpower. He knows that Democrats, without thinking (they rarely do) will express their opposition against whatever Trump has done, or said.
But in automatically opposing WHATEVER Trump does, they paint themselves into a corner, once again finding themselves on the losing side of an 80/20 political issue.
Trump seems to have a true skill at trolling Democrats, and getting them to take the 20% of yet another issue.
1. Defending boys in girls' sports and locker rooms.
2. Defending illegal alien criminals, over American citizens.
3. Defending rioters attacking police.
4. Defending waste in the government.
5. Defending Hamas terrorists, over Israelis. Etc.
Next: Defending Iran?
This is definitely not the Democrat party of JFK. Liberal (open-minded) no more, they are a party of rigid orthodoxy-- toe the line, or else. Moderate Democrats are fleeing the party, which interestingly enough makes the remaining party members even more hard Leftist and radical.
Even a classic liberal like Bill Maher has chided Democrats, stating that they'll never win major elections again if they double down on insanity.
But here they go. Let's go, Whigs!
I fully expect the next 4 years they will oppose everything Pres. Trump does because TDS and Orange Man Bad.
Remember, when it pertains to Donald Trump and Democrats, any logic or rational goes right out the window.
Indeed - Dems have become a party of hate and intolerance, lacking any positive vision for the country and its people. The positions you’ve outlined above are repulsive 🤮 to normal people and those normals are drifting away from the Dem party, leaving the remaining party even more radical. Seems like the Whig ending is unavoidable and it can’t come soon enough!👍👍
And when the democrats with TDS are proven wrong again, it won’t be mentioned again. Then they will move on to support the next 20% issue.
Great comment. But it's not just the Democrats who reflexively support all the 20% issues.
It's the media too.
And once they are done dumping on Trump for whatever failures they see in this recent mission, they'll go onto lambasting him for something else.
Yeah, if we had an unbiased mainstream media, we would t have so many ignorant Democrats out there.
The days of Walter Concrete are over. The media can't even hide their bias anymore. At least we know what their true positions are. They don't even try to hide it, anymore.
Wouldn't
Scott, what do you call it when us non-interventionist MAGA folks don’t support Trump’s bombing action?
Read a history book regarding the 46 year long war Iran has waged against us. This is our war as much as it is that of Israel, and I’m proud that we stand together against this murderous death cult posing as the Iranian government.
🎯🎯🎯
I think it is misguided. Trump has made it perfectly clear he will not get us into a protracted (quagmire) war. This was a key opportunity to “safely” take out what we know of the Iranian atomic bomb program. Perhaps this strange fixation on the idea Trump is being goaded into a long slog war will turn out to be correct. But the facts belie that.
That seems to be the case but vigilance is still warranted. Remember that one of Bush's campaign issues in 2000 was no more nation building. Of course, he was a moron and Trump isn't. And Pence was a war monger and Vance isn't.
Trump and Bush aren't even in the same sphere and I've voted for both. Trump called out Bush 25 years ago. Bush, on his end, won't even give Trump credit on this .... at least publicly.
Agree but Bushies are still buried in the Deep State. A lot of the people that conservatives blame Obama for actually got their start in the Bush administration.
How many Americans have to die at the hands of Iranian terrorists before you’re ready to go Matt?
I’ve served in the US army Alice. I know what war looks like. It is perhaps in part my personal experience that shapes my view. Thanks.
I know that Matt, I saw your comments about it. What I’m saying is if this ends Iran’s reign of terror and there are no American boots on the ground, what is your objection?
Israel’s reign of terror? Comments, Alice?
Matt, count me as one guy on this thread who shares your concern as to where this Iran thing may be headed... Let's not forget, Afghanistan started out on a "we kicked their ass" note too... and wound up with a bunch of guys in platoons fighting to defend remote mountain valleys that they eventually turned back over to the Taliban... That's one movie I don't want to see again...
You aren't alone.
I give up...
What do you call it?
You're on the wrong side, Matt. You are demonstrating your lack of knowledge on Trump and Iran.
I call you wrong, but entitled to your opinion. I see you respectfully disagreeing on many Substacks that support Trump's actions in Iran. I assume you are reading those posts and have arrived at different conclusions.
Dude , you’ve watched too much tv. After many offers to make peace , all the responses were the same. The president put on his big boy pants and took care of the threat. No war started , no weak shot across the bow actions. Just boom , problem handled . Now it’s the supreme leaders turn . More death to America probably. No more weak leadership, no more pallets of money in the middle of the night. Actions speak louder than words.
If the fighting now stops then I was wrong and bow to Trump and a good job. Blessed be the peacemakers.
Trump pretty severely chastised both Iran and Israel for ceasefire violations. In this case, especially Israel.
He said that they've been fighting each other so long, they don't know what the f**k they're doing sometimes...
U.S. mission is accomplished. Let's hope the fighting stops.
Iran sent missiles at a U.S. air base, but they warned us about it. Understandably, they need to "appear" to offer some reprisals for the bombings. It would be nice if this is it, but I'm not holding my breath. We'll see.
I would call it your right to disagree and voice your opinion. If you start with ad hominem attacks and cries of impeachment, then I would call it massive TDS infecting you.
Matt is a clueless douchebag
The douchbags are those who resort to name-calling.
You don't need to call names, clown. I've been reading Matt's comments for years. He has legitimate concerns. I don't agree with all of them, but he is definitely NOT a douchebag. Why don't you go back into your cave and grunt some more?
Are you drunk?
That's a silly, unrealistic, babyish analysis. I mean, who outside maga, believes such treacle dripping in vitriol. Some Dems, this one included, is supporting Trump in this particular current "scandal"... aka peace lover turned war monger and who cares about the middle east anyway and them getting nukes, especially the ones that threatened to wipe us off the face of the earth and that aint what I voted for.
What? I have no idea what you're talking about.
Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton,
AS WELL AS TRUMP,
said Iran could not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.
Only one person had the guts to follow through.
I wasn't talking about Iran, I was talking about labeling all democrats more or less insane as Sasha and most do here and as some dems do with maga. Such thinking tends to undermine the fact that some facts make on on screen here making it a place that can be hard to take seriously.
I have no problem with moderate or old fashioned liberal Democrats.
However, some of the more woke Progressive stuff is unbelievably insane.
I honestly don't know how the people staying these things can actually BELIEVE what they are saying.
The transgender thing has to be the craziest. It doesn't matter what I do... I'm a man, and will never be able to become a woman or become pregnant. Saying I can be, is denial of reality.
I know that feeling is shared by many moderate Democrats in the party, while others believe that the Dems must get MORE progressive.
Being more progressive may win more elections in deep blue areas, but nationally it will turn more voters off than it wins.
You seem pretty well grounded...
Not referring to you.
I was referring to the party as a whole. There seems to be a reluctance among the more traditional liberals in the party, to speak against the far Left Progressive positions. The next couple years should be interesting. There may be some kind of split or fission coming up in the party. Two very different poles, and each one wants to run the party.
Many Democrats during his time saw JFK was a wrong reversal to their favorite FDR.
You mean the Welfare president? Public works program was a great idea. It's up many of the supposedly starving and out of work, americans refused even to do the minimum to be fed.You're too young to know what's really going on
I'm probably at least as old as you are. We suffer still today from the dumb moves of both Hoover and FDR.
And don't forget, the USA of today ism largely the result of LBJ's "Great Society" programs. This is it, folks. What we have today is largely the result of those socialist programs of the 1960s. Are you loving it yet?
LBJ biggest failure was listening to France not his great programs.
What did France tell him?
Please read up the Vietnam war
The frogs told JFK and LBJ not to go into French Indo China.
It worked more people did better unlike trickle down failed economics.
Those who want a free ride did better. Those who want to be self-sufficient were screwed over.
I'm guessing you've never heard of Thomas Sowell. He will dispel every myth you've ever been taught by your socialists teachers.
Libertarianism will never work here
Libertarianism? What are you talking about?
Now THAT is funny!
I'm a retired Navy Carrier pilot, and proud of having been a part of that elite group of aviators. It was a meritocracy system, and I can unequivocally say that you didn't care about skin color, ethnic background or sex of the people you flew with, as long as they were capable and had your back.
The pilots selected to fly in operation Midnight Hammer were probably the best at what they did. I could care less about their gender makeup as long as meritocracy was the criteria. Only Progressives would even consider including equity in an operation like this.
Go Navy, even though all of the aircraft were Air Force.
Dick Minnis
removingthecataract.substack.com
Thanks for your service and insight!
Just a technicality, but the main reason there were no female fighter pilots in the original "Top Gun" (1986) was that the first female graduate of fighter pilot training was Jeannie Leavitt in 1993.
Nerd alert
Hmmm, I thought Kara Hultgreen was the first carrier based female Naval Aviator qualified for combat…she died shortly after qualifying when the port engine of her F-14 failed under questionable circumstances.
It's true that Hultgreen became the first female naval aviator-fighter pilot in 1994 and died in an accident that same year. It just goes to underscores the fact that there were no women fighter pilots--USAF or USN--until training opened to them 1993-1994. And then the first female Top Gun pilot came long after that--Commander Becky Calder in 2004.
Time for some blatant sexism ...
1) Men are, in a world where division of labor means efficiency of labor, specialized for violence. (Women are specialized for nurturance.)
2) Men are (as my mother told me long ago) over-represented at the top and bottom ends of the Bell Curve. I doubt that there could ever be a female Napoleon, Tolkien, or McCartney.
3) Men are more attractive by being more alpha, while women are not.
4) Men do not have their perceptions of reality affected by "time of the month".
5) Men on average know a lot more about geography and history than do women. I remember my father-in-law telling me, after I had just driven 13.5 hours straight to bring his daughter to his house, that "The man drives that wagon". I was tempted to say "That's because the man knows where he is".
6) Men are expendable.
It is not arbitrary that men are warriors.
That's not sexism so much as it is the truth. The reason there are so many females in the military nowadays is largely because of affirmative action. Standards are lowered for women. We think we can afford to dabble in social experiments with the military because the US is so dominant, but this is a dangerous conceit.
After I wrote what I wrote last night, I was reminded of something I saw around 1970: a schematic diagram of a baboon troop. The various types of baboons were represented as silhouettes of different colors, with the males obviously having a different form. In the middle were the females and babies. Around the edges, especially toward a brushy area, were the males, "color-coded" for status. The alpha male had an entourage of 2ndary males around him. Why? Leopards. Females and babies live in "the Small World", spending their time happily(?) socializing and nurturing in a (literal) space, where they are (rather than "feel") safe. Males live in "the Big World" that, if they succeed in doing their job, makes the Small World safe. If we change "leopards" to "enemies", that is basically what people do, or at least what people evolutionarily and historically have done.
Wow, talk about daddy issues.Can it grip
If only you had known my Mommie Dearest ...
Although there are those on the right who are anti-Israel, many on the right are pro-Israel (often Christians who understand Israel's biblical significance) and value Israel as a friend with many shared values.
Indeed!
Well said Sasha. I never saw Top Gun Maverick, but feel Trump being the leader he is, made the hard decision to take a risk & show that he means what he says : No nukes for Iran. He even let Iran know what was coming so they could get personnel out as well as the uranium. This in order to save lives & the environment. Quite civilized! Hopefully this will end our direct involvement & lead to a safer world. Marco Rubio said US involvement with regime change is not in the plans, I pray he’s right. Never turns out well.
I wasn’t much of a fan of the original Top Gun, as the massive plot holes and generally juvenile behavior turned me off. I initially avoided Maverick for the same reason, until a friend persuaded me to see it. Boy was I wrong. This is a magnificent movie, which I have nicknamed “Top Gun for Grown-Ups.” Worth every bit of two hours of your life.
I’ll have to give it a watch..
My question is to all the people who are against this strike, are they pro? Iran, do they think Iran should have been able to have a nuclear weapon? You do know what's in their constitution right? Death to the great satan, America and death to Israel. Very poorly informed commentators. Yourself not included.
You can see Top Gun Maverick on Paramount +.
Much better to see that type of movie in a theater with the full surround sound. I audience participation and large screen
Why in the Hell haven't you seen Top Gun: Maverick? Can I also assume you haven't seen MI:8: The Final Reckoning? The Godfather? Jaws? Fletch? Airplane? Heat? Gone with the Wind? Jacob's Ladder? Caddyshack? You know you can stream this stuff, right? Are you a shut in? I will Door Dash you some food if you're in need.
😄Such a kind offer! I’ve seen most of these. Including Blazing Saddles. Now that’s a funny movie.
Frank, you kill me!
What a d********, point of view. He probably grew up watching movies in theaters, like me with a large 40 foot screen, professional commercial quality sound system in the presence of an audience with you. You don't get that when you're sitting at home jerking off watching it on your 13 inch. Insigning a tv
Jerking off to Top Gun Maverick?
Sounds like you have other, bigger issues.
Boy, someone is triggered by good-natured ribbing. Also, you might be misgendering Dena. Have a blessed day!
You do know that there were real IDF female fighter pilots in last week’s Israeli strikes on Iran.
What's your point? Talk about a non sequitor typical ultra left wing communist, trying to insert issues where they aren't even in consideration
Stop being so sensitive to the truth. Their point was valid.
Thank you. “Boys in blue” seemed very dated!
Another great piece, thanks Sasha.
Your transformation should be studied by the Hollywood occult, those that harmed and cancelled you, because their sheeple mentality clearly struggles with the reality of the outside world.
I thank you once again from the other side of the pond…😊
Trump the janitor.
Taking out Iran’s nuclear capibilty………cleaning up Obama’s mess.
Halting all of the illegal crossings at the border and deporting illegal migrants……..cleaning up Biden’s mess.
More janitorial work needed.
Excellent essay and analysis of Operation Midnight Hammer and Top Gun Maverick. As for the MAGA phonies tucker carlson, who Trump calls a "kook," and steve bannon. bannon? The guy was indicted for defrauding his investors out of $millions and would have been convicted and in prison but for Trump's pardon in January 2021. Trump knows bannon is a fraud and con artist, now add to that vindictive because Trump #2 completely ignored bannon when selecting his cabinet and advisors. Iran has been killing Americans or holding them hostage, just for being American, since the mullahs came to power in 1979. Trump warned them repeatedly and gave them plenty of time to change their ways, they ignored him, and yet he still managed to a surprise attack. It isn't Trump's fault that Iran and MAGA phonies like tc, co, sb, etc. are bad at judging character.
You're absolutely right, and all these far left bozos, who called it a preemptive strike don't know what the f they're talking about. Iran has been attacking Americans and Israel for decades, in point of fact, 2 very large attacks unprovoked from Iran into Israel just over the past year. We shouldn't even be wasting our brain share and oxygen on these buffoons.They're just parrots, repeating what rachel maddow says
I was a faithful TC viewer on FOX. He was booted from FOX and out on his own. I can say I've probably listened to just two of his podcasts since then. He's a cocky blowhard who has some weird, vile issue with Israel and Jews. He and Candace Owens have lost me....and quickly.
Long analysis over at Jewish World Review documented Trump reaching out in advance to key players in the MAGA base, including Bannon. This bolstered confidence that this will be one and done, depending of course on what Iran does now. It is alleged, with substantial evidence that Iran was involved in assorted plots to kill Trump. The obvious tit for tat is to kill Khamenei but Trump hasn't done that. You have to have someone to negotiate with if you want peace. Israel has killed a lot who were supposed to be hard-liners.
We have been in the thrall of Iran's threats since Jimmy Carter, that is long enough. Maybe progress can now come to the Middle East and those countries can enjoy prosperity instead of terrorism as their biggest export. It is TRAGIC that the left hates Trump so much they cannot celebrate this new level of safety and security. Keep digging Dems, your supply of shovels is endless.
Totally agree about 'Top Gun Maverick' - it was the movie that brought us out of the pandemic, but there was still no way that Hollywood would have honored it. And thanks for the Dan Turrentine post - he's great, one of the few Democrats that actually seems sane and doesn't make me want to change the channel.
I agree with all of the above.
Dan Turrentine is rational. Sen Fetterman is rational. The rest are totally irrational. Thomas Massie is just bizarre. I have no idea what he really stands for because he only stands against anything and everything. How is KY served by that?
John Fetterman has really grown on me. The only thing I need to say about him, is as he slowly recovered from his stroke, the more his TDS went away.
One of the few rational Democrats in Congress or the Senate.
For the rest, it's follow the narrative, or you're gone.
Brilliant essay Sasha. Thank you.
Dang girl, you just pointed out one more “impeachable offense” the bloodthirsty mongrels can use to try to bring down the Orange Man…the mission wasn’t woke enough.
Hey, genius, you do realize he's already been impeached twice. That'll accomplish nothing and you have to have enough people in the house and senate. To put it forth and ratify it, even then, what they'd be in direct opposition to what the american people voted for get a clue, grow up
I think that was sarcasm.
I'm not the 'cancel my subscription' type. But, man is this take bad. It will age no better than the initial takes after Iraq and Afghanistan-- that is to say, not well.
I doubt many of the detractors have much against our military. It is how it is used in the hands of misguided leaders. We never learn any lessons. Our own intelligence community says Iran is not making moves to develop a nuclear weapon. But, Benjamin Netenyahu -- who has been lying about this issue for over 2 decades -- says otherwise. So, we bomb. And the gullible public once again falls for the ruse.
I'm no Trump hater. I'm just utterly disappointed at this point.
I’m also totally disappointed in his cult following who worship him. This is a guy who publicly announced to the world that we’re going to “buy” Gaza from Israel, “own” it, and develop it as a resort on the Mediterranean that people from all over the world will come to for a good time. How about the Palestinians? They’d be gone. Out of sight, out of mind and now this guy takes us into WW3 and his followers still think he’s just the best ever. This is yet another example of why I believe humanity is too dysfunctional to survive with the weapons we now have and why only AI can save us from ourselves.
Watch what he does, not what he says. He says some things just to rattle your cage.
Trump throws out the chum and the bottom feeders and predators predictably swarm. While they're busy with their chum frenzy, Trump’s taking care of business. It works every time! The rubes and fools have yet to figure it out.
EXACTLY!
Yes, you have to take some of what he says with a grain of salt. He's great at trolling the media and Democrats (sorry for the redundancy).
A lot of his trolling gets Democrats on the record taking the losing end of an 80/20 issue. 🤣🤣
Why would he want to rattle my cage and you’re overlooking the obvious fact that this kind of talk has convinced the world he’s a nutcase. Believe it or not, this is not good for America.
Seva, that's a troll. No sense trying to reason with it.
So, if you're right and he's convinced the world he's a nutcase, why do 80% of Americans approve him?
I would be interested to hear the solution for Gaza and Israel. I hear lots of accusations of “genocide” and “cult”, while you keep referring to Glen Greenwald as a god.
So what is the solution? Hand over Israel to the Palestinians, thus putting advanced weapons into the hands of Hamas and/or the PLO? What happens to the Jews in Israel?
It’s easy to fling accusations without a solution. And no, AI is not going to be the answer any time in the immediate future.
“I would be interested to hear the solution for Gaza and Israel.”
At this point there is no solution so the Israelis are resorting to the final solution since it’s the only solution, and what else can they do? The world is watching this online though and is appalled by it. Israel cannot survive as a global pariah state or as a state under attack by missiles or by rapidly worsening economic situation. Pay attention to the price Israel is under for its actions and you’ll see a society in crisis and disintegrating.
Maybe I should rephrase my question. What is your view of what the status of Gaza and Israel should be? What does a post-Zionist world look like? Surely there must be some idea of what should be, once the fighting stops.
My own view is that the killing stops if Hamas surrenders. More killing happens if Israel surrenders. Maybe you see a different outcome?
This person's a pro-Palestinian nutcase.
Who and where is this "world" you refer to that is appalled by it? Don't confuse your personal social media feed with the world.
The price Israel is under for its actions. This doesn't make sense. They've rightly decided that the price for taking no action is much worse.
Then why were they enriching uranium?
Just relax. No troops are going to be sent. It's not Iraq. People get so freaked out over everything.
“My own view is that the killing stops if Hamas surrenders.”
If Hamas fighters surrendered and gave up their weapons they’d be killed and the war would continue. It was never about Hamas. That’s always been used as an excuse to engage in genocide/ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians as a final solution to end the problem.
“Maybe you see a different outcome?”
I see Israel being destroyed and America unraveling and disintegrating. God only knows where we’ll all end up.
“Explosive tensions after Iran threatens to unleash sleeper cells following attack on nuclear sites.” (7 min)
Sky News Australia. Jun 22, 2025
https://youtu.be/i_iIMEdRHmA?si=R1vxxplognYy0do1
“Irans Kheibar Shekan Pierces Israel’s Shiled, Invisible MRBM Alters the War’s Face.” (3 min)
WION. Jun 23, 2025
https://youtu.be/e3fNP4MvlHA?si=Ltq7qvf1c3wVxBVS