From Pine View Farm

Unicorns and Bloodlust 2

At Talking Points Memo, Brendan Gilfillan tries to understand the Republican Party’s fascination with war as the first and only solution for every dispute.  A snippet:

How, exactly, do we get the unicorn deal that dismantles every piece of nuclear infrastructure in Iran and forces their scientists to forget everything they know about the periodic table of elements?

(snip)

The uncomfortable (and unpopular) subtext of many opponents’ public statements is clear: Despite the immense amount of blood and treasure spent in Iraq, some have still not learned the lesson that wars in the Middle East fought in the name of nuclear non-proliferation are best avoided ifs there is a better option.

Frankly, I think the reason is simple, but not at all pretty or even sane. It’s the same reason someone might have for shooting a horse grazing peacefully in a pasture: the lust for carnage, especially vicarious carnage from a safe distance, war as a spectator sport.

Share

2 comments

  1. George Smith

    July 21, 2015 at 1:22 pm

    “Ever since the country was declared part of the Axis of Evil, the bottom line for a vocal minority of folks has been that Iran is simply too evil to deal with. And to be sure, these opponents have a solid point; Iran’s behavior at home and abroad is the primary obstacle to its inclusion in the international [etc]”

    What crap. One understands the overall argument and the pointing out of the obvious on the right and in the Senate. However, conceding the Iran might be evil but we got it covered, anyway, is an atrocious position to take in light of how the last decade’s gone down.

    “and forces their scientists to forget everything they know about the periodic table of elements?”

    And this is a terrible construction. No one talks like that if they understand even a few shreds about the origins of the atomic bomb. IIn fact, I’ve never heard anyone couch it this way.

     
  2. Frank

    July 21, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    Terrible construction, but great hyperbole.

     
From Pine View Farm
Privacy Policy

This website does not track you.

It contains no private information. It does not drop persistent cookies, does not collect data other than incoming ip addresses and page views (the internet is a public place), and certainly does not collect and sell your information to others.

Some sites that I link to may try to track you, but that's between you and them, not you and me.

I do collect statistics, but I use a simple stand-alone Wordpress plugin, not third-party services such as Google Analitics over which I have no control.

Finally, this is website is a hobby. It's a hobby in which I am deeply invested, about which I care deeply, and which has enabled me to learn a lot about computers and computing, but it is still ultimately an avocation, not a vocation; it is certainly not a money-making enterprise (unless you click the "Donate" button--go ahead, you can be the first!).

I appreciate your visiting this site, and I desire not to violate your trust.