Sullivan Augustine

@gummibear737 The US might be willing under some presidents to allow Iran to get nuclear weapons, but Israel literally can't let that happen, no matter how reliable its missile defense systems get.

And here’s another thing for my European brothers and sisters to consider The United States and Israel were never going to allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon So if this didn’t happen now, it would’ve happened in a year or two, but the difference is that what you see happening to the GCC (having their civilians and infrastructure bombed) would be happening all over Europe Instead of the Seoul Hostage Problem, you’d have the Europe Hostage Problem

Iran was trying to use the North Korean model to get a nuke: create sufficient conventional deterrence so you won’t be challenged in acquiring one (it’s called the Seoul Hostage Problem). This has been explained over and over since day one. Everyone claiming shifting goalposts or no imminent threat has been lying. The reason North Korea was allowed to get nukes is because Seoul (and its 10 million inhabitants) is within artillery and rocket range of North Korea. During the 1994 nuclear crisis, the Clinton administration seriously considered airstrikes on North Korea’s Yongbyon reactor but backed off precisely because of the artillery threat to Seoul. Iran was trying to accomplish the same by stockpiling missiles and drones which would have had the same deterrent effect. The proof is what Iran has been doing in the past month: attacking all its neighbors in order to pressure the US to stop attacking it Beyond this, they were building medium-range ballistic missiles that could reach Paris and London, meaning all of Europe could be held hostage as they built a nuclear bomb. The reason Iran has not built a nuclear weapon until now is not because it couldn’t, but because it knew it would be attacked and denied this capability. So by allowing them to continue developing this conventional deterrence, you would be allowing Iran to get a nuclear weapon. And unlike North Korea, Iran is led by an eschatological death cult Reagan saw nuclear mutually assured destruction (MAD) as both morally bankrupt (because of the innocent-body-count problem) and dangerously fragile because it assumed flawless rationality between adversaries…this means it only takes one irrational actor to destroy the world. Working backwards from the conclusion that Iran’s Islamist regime must never have a nuclear weapon, it was necessary for the US to attack Iran to deny it the conventional capacity to hold the entire eastern hemisphere hostage. Every European leader knows this and behind the scenes praises the US for this action. But they are cowards, held hostage by their own internal Muslim populations, and so adopt these ridiculous public positions. This was never about Israel. And if your argument is that Iran should be allowed to get a nuclear weapon then you are a fool and a traitor to western civilization…you’re a useful idiot

@phl43 Other than the former Warsaw Pact countries I wonder if the EU nations could or would react by mobilizing as Ukraine has to a naked Russian threat. . .

Imagine being so clueless that you think Russia would be able to "conquer Europe" if US troops evacuated their bases on the continent. Once again, the problem with Americans is that, like many people, they are high on their own supply.

@davidtbeito @RichLowry Your point seems to be that the Iranian regime was less able to control the Strait of Hormuz than it is now that it has proven virtually unable to defend any part of the country. . . Your logic is interesting. . . very interesting!

@RichLowry Some hawk! Iran may well be in a stronger position that it was before the war if it is able to charge tolls (sometimes adding up to 2 million) for the first time on nearly every ship in the Strait.

I don’t know how anyone can listen to that speech and conclude anything other than that Trump is a sincere and passionate Iran hawk The idea that he’s been pressured by a foreign government or lobby to sound like Curtis LeMay when talking about a regime that he clearly hates—and has hated for a very long time—is absurd

@DanFriedman81 @ImBreckWorsham When I see an outright lie posted I block the poster. . .

@ImBreckWorsham You guys are just making shit up. Or Iranian propaganda is just making shit up and you are parroting it. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

37 U.S. troops were just killed by an IRGC strike on UAE. Fuck you, Trump. 🖕

Grok tells me - "Articles discuss how AI might influence standards of care over time, potentially making consultation with reliable tools more expected (or even protective in litigation). Insurers are watching this closely, and 2026 is being called a pivotal year for "AI doctor" themes in malpractice. But no widespread requirements exist today"

Can you name one reason why all medical diagnoses should not be replaced by AI? It is data-driven, and AI can already do it better and faster than a human. This would free up doctors and allow more treatments.

@Spyk3O @lucidquasar @DrBrianKeating Talk about an ambassador getting the leg over a furriner. . .

@lucidquasar @DrBrianKeating That rock didn't come from NASA. It was given from the US ambassador who couldn't remember how he got it

What’s the best evidence for and against the claim that NASA landed astronauts on the Moon in 1969?

@davepl1968 I believe I actually did see the plane hit the second tower, having been called into the break room from my office at work. I recall that the second hit made me realize the first plane crash wasn't an accident.

99.9% of people who "experienced" the Challenger disaster saw it on replay and now remember it as live. Almost NO ONE was watching. Everyone thinks they were. It's a fascinating collective false memory.

@davepl1968 Everybody remembers voting for Kennedy over Nixon, but the popular vote was split almost perfectly 50/50. . . My dad had a friend who remembered attending the last public hanging in their hometown. . . an event that took place decades before the fellow was born.

@ingelramdecoucy 'Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard' - H.L. Mencken

The fact that Nicaragua elected Danny Ortega back into office because he promised he wasn’t gonna be a communist dictator this time, only to find out that he was indeed still gonna be a communist dictator, will never cease to astound me

Fraud is fraud. And it should be punished as such based on the monetary harm done to the defrauded and the profit or advantage garnered by the fraudster. To punish "scientific misconduct" the government must necessarily consult approved scientists selected to evaluate whether things meet a government line. . .

Remember when a bunch of people got mad at me for saying it was good that China was prosecuting scientific fraud? It's good that China prosecutes scientific fraud. America should prosecute scientific fraud.

@ArtemisConsort If the pushed fellow chased down the pusher and stomped him to death in front of twenty witnesses and was then charged with murder, I would lie to get on the jury so as to hang it if unable to convince the rest of the panel to acquit. . .

@lecternleader Patently false post. . . Bye. . .

In 2021, the January 6th riot caused $1–2 billion in property damage—the costliest civil unrest in U.S. history—across over 140 cities from arson, looting, and vandalism. At least 19–25 people died in related violence, including shootings and incidents amid the chaos. Republicans want you to forget.

NATO's been effectively dead in the minds of most Americans since the EU nations persisted in underfunding their own defense long after they became wealthy enough to do so. It's altogether possible that the US will go full blown isolationist. And it certainly is never sending a massive army to defend allies with plenty of manpower to defend themselves.

If you’re cheering NATO rupture, you’re cheering American decline.

Importing low skill workers cannot cure or even ameliorate "an implosion of pension & healthcare systems and real estate." Even assuming such migrants remain totally employed they won't contribute enough in taxes to fund their own healthcare and social service costs, let alone the cost of educating their children.

This chart explains why Poland, Italy & Spain can no longer reverse their demographic crisis with pro-family policies. Median age of women in Europe is 46 Like it or not, smart immigration is the only solution to avoid an implosion of pension & healthcare systems and real estate

@DrNeilStone What? You're saying psychosomatic illnesses aren't just as real as, um, other illnesses. . . Next, you'll be saying someone can't identify as a furry pet.

I don't even know what to say about this

@CynicalPublius Wow! They really do plan to launch on April Fool's Day at this point. . .

Not sure if you folks noticed, but NASA is sending Americans to the Moon tomorrow on a largely untested rocket platform that a lot of people have..... questioned. It's kinda big news. Pray.

@BDBSoCal @aX_Will_aX @CynicalPublius Just like the military, NASA uses the very latest technology available for study and the preparation of cost plus bidding contracts that existed ten or 15 years ago. . .

@aX_Will_aX @CynicalPublius This project started before SpaceX existed I think.

@JakeSherman But think how valuable the degrees it issues in the various "studies" fields will be. . .

This is so obscene.

Put to rest all those Department of Motor Vehicles jokes, at least in Pennsylvania. The lady at the Pottstown Photo License Center was patient, knowledgeable, efficient, and friendly. And the system for taking my picture and checking the information on the license was easy to go through. There was no wait time, and it took all of ten minutes or so to get my new driver's license which is good for four years.

@DanFriedman81 @kampeas As long as no Palestinians migrate to the US I frankly don't care where they go, whether they go, or how they live. There are 57 majority Muslim countries that can share them.

@kampeas When you lose a war, you lose something and guilt for October 7 is spread across Gaza. None of them will ever have a life as good as they had on October 6 2023, and that is justice.

There is no migration that’s “voluntary” after a devastating war.