Two Guys Talking History

Jordan Peterson shared one of the most sobering statistics I’ve heard in a long time. The U.S. Armed Forces — after over a century of careful psychometric research driven by life-and-death necessity — will not induct anyone with an IQ below 83. They concluded that there is simply nothing in the military (at any level) that such a person can be trained to do without being counterproductive. Peterson noted that this threshold captures roughly one in ten people. And if the military’s complexity is even roughly comparable to broader society, that means about 10% of the population has no viable place in our cognitively demanding world. He emphasized that this isn’t about lack of money or short-term training. The data shows it’s extremely difficult to turn low cognitive ability into the kind of adaptive, creative problem-solving that modern society requires. It’s a raw, uncomfortable truth about human variation that most people prefer not to discuss openly. What do you think — is this statistic something society needs to confront honestly, or is there a better way to think about it?

Why is everyone losing their mind about Israel voting on the death penalty for terrorism? Nearly everyone in the region has the death penalty for terrorism, including the Palestinians. Once again, we see the world has one set of rules for Israel and another for everyone else.

The Colonials were famously already conducting an organized war against the British crown before France had shown up. You know, instead of spending 40+ years ‘talking’ about trying to liberate Iran, y’all should’ve started ‘training’ to do that — like the Kurds, or the various current Afghan rebel groups, or even the ‘Russians and Belarusians’ who slipped away to Ukraine to generate combat experience for taking on the Kremlin and Minsk. Literally every country bordering Iran is a safe haven for some variety of militant groups or militias — half of those countries don’t really care if armed groups train on their territory with an eye towards overthrowing Tehran. Most rebel and independence groups in the region already have manpower generated, they’re just begging for material assistance that hasn’t been forthcoming. Iranian democrat or even monarchist rebels are the one type of militant orgs that the US government would trip over itself to back, y’all just haven’t shown up.

“Iranian diaspora this Iranian diaspora that” y’all are just mad we love our country and our culture more than Islam

I really want strategists to start thinking about how THEY feel when the topic of Israel/Palestine comes up. I'm not talking about frothy antisemites. I'm talking about Normies. You're at Happy Hour w/ friends from work. Someone says, "Let's talk about ISRAEL." How do you feel?

Anti-Zionism is antisemitism when it says that: * Of all countries in the world, only the state of the Jews should vanish. * Of all alleged colonial powers, only the state of the Jews should vanish. * Of all alleged ethnic cleansers, only the state of the Jews should vanish. * Of all alleged genociders, only the state of the Jews should vanish. * Of all alleged apartheid regimes, only the state of the Jews should vanish. Oh, and only the state of the Jews is guilty of all those alleged crimes without any need of due process. I hope you are beginning to suspect there’s a common pattern.

America is the richest, most powerful, and most generous country in the world. We are so superior to everyone else, and so charitable and kind and helpful, that unfortunately many of the lesser countries on the globe have become welfare queens who expect us to coddle, care for, fund, fight for and protect them. We are the parents who have taken good care of our children, but have not forced them to contribute enough, or earn their own keep, and now they are spoiled, ungrateful, and helpless. It’s time to cut the umbilical cord and force the rest of the countries to stand on their own two feet. We can’t do everything for everyone.

Please explain this to me: Hamas has launched 20,000 rockets into Israel since 2005, not knowing who it's going to hit or care if women and children are hit and killed by the explosions. Then October 7th happen where the same Hamas invaded Israel and killed over 1000 innocent civilians. Israel finally says we have had enough, then track and kill as many Hamas operatives as possible. Most of them were hiding under hospitals or schools and used civilians as human shields. Yet all you hear about is how evil Israel is, but no one mentions what Hamas has been doing to Israel since 2005. Make it make sense.

Israel is already rationing interceptors when being attacked by Iran. That is one of the reasons it is being hit so hard. Officials calculate each incoming missile individually, whether to let it fall in unoccupied areas or shoot it down, and with which system. The implications are serious: 1) Israel is now reserving top-tier Arrow interceptors for the most critical threats 2) It is using upgraded David's Sling systems (designed for shorter-range threats) to intercept longer-range ballistic missiles instead 3) Software upgrades are being applied to lower-tier systems to stretch their capabilities toward upper-tier threats 4) Iron Dome has been upgraded to intercept at ranges of hundreds of kilometers, well beyond its original ~45-mile design 5) This system has problems. A pair of Iranian ballistic missiles recently scored direct hits on the towns of Dimona and Arad after Israel tried and failed to intercept them with modified versions of less advanced munitions. The current model is not sustainable. If Iran can keep shooting, the rationing will be even more stringent leading to more death and destruction.

This is what governmental anti-Semitism looks like. Mamdani had to emphasize the Jewish side of a deranged individual and portrayed the entire Jewish community a violent, a generalization he would never use against any other religious group.

Every time I listen to Trump spewing nonsensical inanities I’m reminded that Americans elected him not once but twice in free and fair elections. They knew exactly what was on offer and embraced it. Twice.

The idea that every sovereign country near Israel must cap its conventional weapons, limit its defensive capabilities, restrict missile and fighter jet ranges, and even dismantle its own military industries—just so Israel can "feel safe"—is completely absurd. Which other nation on Earth demands and receives this kind of privilege? This exceptionalism is especially ridiculous coming from a regime with such an inherently aggressive posture and track record in the region.

This is dead on. Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather turned a Vietnam War win into a leftist-sanctioned defeat.

Imagine if people, en masse, spoke about Russia and Russians the way they do Israel and Israelis.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent: The US doesn't believe a chokepoint exists in the Hormuz Strait.