Sonny Masterson 🍌🍌

I had forgotten about this from Jan. 3, 2017. Here is Chuck Schumer actually saying something prescient. "You take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday of getting back at ya." -Chuck Schumer youtube.com/watch?v=c3p2zK…

@grok @BrettErickson28 @JoeCool_SC So is @BrettErickson28 right to mock the idea of the US building 1,000,000 of such FPV drones as a ridiculous fantasy?

Ukraine's FPV drone production has scaled massively. In 2025, monthly output hit ~200,000 FPVs (with total drone production around 4 million for the year). For 2026, the target is 7 million drones overall—averaging ~580k/month if on pace—though exact current FPV-specific monthly figures aren't publicly broken out in real time. Production continues to ramp as part of their wartime effort.

Iran is not budging. Why would they? They have all the cards.

@BrettErickson28 @JoeCool_SC @grok How many FPV drones is Ukraine producing per month?

@sunmaster14 @JoeCool_SC “How about making 1,000,000 drones”. Hey if we’re living in fantasy land, let’s just make it a billion!

How about allowing Israel to attack Hezbollah north of the Litani? That's a pretty important card. How about continuing the blockade of Iranian ports? That's a pretty important card too. How about building 1,000,000 Ukrainian style drones to attack the missile batteries, swift boats and IRGC personnel stationed along the coast of the Strait? That's a pretty important card too. If you can't step back and see how utterly weak Iran is, then your ability to reason clearly is compromised. Sure, Trump could decide for political reasons (or boredom) to refrain from upping the ante or just cutting a not-so-good deal, but to suggest that Iran holds all the cards, or even any important card other than a much higher tolerance for economic pain is absurd.

@JoeCool_SC There’s only one card, and it’s the Strait.

@aziz0nomics @VenetianCora @RedWhiteBlueJew Egypt didn't just not agree to it, Egypt and most of the international community opposed it vociferously as ethnic cleansing. The fact that you can even list evacuation to Sinai as a possibility reveals profound ignorance.

@VenetianCora @RedWhiteBlueJew They probably should have evacuated the civilian population outside of Gaza somewhere. Maybe the West Bank or the Negev, or the Sinai if Egypt would have agreed to it.

The Israeli government has lost the global narrative completely. Do Ben Gvir and Netanyahu not realise that most people worldwide will see this and see Israel as a bad guy? How is it not obvious that this is harmful to Israel and Israelis??

Sorry, but that is false. I remember it clear as a bell. Israel had very little support after Oct. 7. It was a shock to most liberal Jews, although it did not surprise me. The explosion in antisemitism began as soon as news of the scale of Hamas' attack became known. It took less than a week for people like Tucker Carlsen to criticize any expressions of sympathy for Israel by US officials as a betrayal of the American people since far more Americans had died of depression or drug overdoses than Israelis had died on Oct. 7.

@RedWhiteBlueJew Israel had a lot of genuine support after Oct 7. Many people including me recognise what Hamas did as something genuinely vicious and evil. This support from many people fell away after pics of dead Palestinians (many of them children) day after day in Gaza.

You haven't gotten anything wrong. Brett's analysis is silly. Yes, the RoW feels some pain (although not so much the US), but it is hardly a crisis. Compared to the shock from the Ukraine war, it is modest, and it is utterly negligible compared to what we did to ourselves with our idiotic response to Covid.

@BrettErickson28 Ok educate me, what have I got wrong. I mean it appears you may have TDS so your judgement is clouded sorry to say.

It appears that most everyone has moved on from the “oil well shut-ins” debate. Why? Because Iran is not going to need to shut-in, they have plenty of remaining storage, and it is clear that their oil infrastructure would not “explode” if they even did need to shut-in. One of THE primary reasons we imposed the blockade has proven to be nothing but a farce. It’s time to admit failure and shift strategies, or better yet, negotiate an end to the conflict. No more sunk-cost fallacy.

I think under international law (to the extent that matters), and more importantly for moral and practical reasons, there really is a right for a state to continue to exist once it has been established. This is particularly true for one that has been in existence for more than 3 generations.

If you think any country “has a right to exist” you are a retard. Statehood is a political reality. There is no inherent right to exist as such. Stop using this argument, it’s stupid.

One correction. The desire to see Israel dismantled is almost entirely due to antisemitism. The only possible exception I can think of are descendants of the original Arab refugees from Israel proper or the residents of the so-called occupied territories who may sincerely (but wrongly) believe that Israel's existence is the source of their misery.

The “Israel has a right to exist” argument has always bothered me because it accepts a weak premise. Nations do not have some abstract, inherent, metaphysical “right to exist.” Not Israel, America, France, Pakistan, you name the country. States exist because they establish sovereignty, build institutions, control their territory, defend their borders, gain recognition, and survive. That is the realist and only true, logical argument. When someone says “Israel has no right to exist,” the strongest response is not to beg them to recognize Israel’s “right.” This is weak and defensive. That already puts Israel on trial in a way no other country is. The stronger response is to say simply: Israel DOES exist. It achieved sovereignty, built a state, and defended itself through repeated wars. It has borders, institutions, a military, a legal system, international recognition, and a people who are not going anywhere. There is definitely a double standard, though. People do not demand France, Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey, or Egypt justify their “right to exist.” That standard is almost always applied uniquely to Israel, and yes, a lot of the time it is rooted in antisemitism or anti-Jewish hostility. That is exactly why Israel’s defenders should stop making the weakest version of the argument. Israel does not need to defend its existence as if its sovereignty depends on the moral permission of people who hate it. Israel’s case is much stronger than that. Israel DOES exist because the Jewish people returned to political sovereignty in their historic homeland, built functioning institutions, accepted partition, declared independence, survived invasion, defended itself, absorbed refugees, developed a modern state, and maintained that sovereignty for over 75 years. Stop playing into the emotional arguments and get real.

Grandma Groyper has taken the side of the antisemites. She and Tucker can stamp their feet and shout and cry that they don't hate Jews, and perhaps they don't hate many or even most individual Jews (and no doubt they are quite fond of dhimmi or kapo Jews), but they certainly hate the idea of Jews acting as a polity.

@l_ninibella Kelly defended Israel until she didn’t. Gaslighting once again.

Heated Clash: Megyn Kelly vs. Carl Cannon on Israel, AIPAC, and ‘Antisemitism’| "Let’s go back to his {Massie}… the comment about Tel Aviv is anti-semitism. How?” ~ Megyn Kelly On today's episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, host Megyn Kelly argued heatedly with political commentator Carl Cannon over the role of AIPAC and accusations of antisemitism leveled at Rep. Thomas Massie. Kelly pushed back against Cannon’s framing of the issue, stating, “It’s not American interest. It’s not American Jewish people. It’s about America and Israel. That’s what they’re pushing for.” She stressed her own strong record on the topic, declaring, “No, of course I support American Jews and I’ve defended American Jews and I put my record of defending American Jews up against yours any day, Carl. Any day of the week, I will always protect American Jews.” Kelly then cited a specific AIPAC tweet celebrating recent primary wins: “Ed Galinra’s victory in Kentucky and Klay Fuller’s win in Georgia ensures two outspoken pro-Israel voices are positioned to fill seats previously held by outspoken detractors Thomas Massie and MTG. Our community was proud to help pro-Israel candidates win these races.” She concluded indignaciously, “That’s from AIPAC. I rest my case.” Cannon countered that Massie stood apart from other Israel skeptics because of his contrarian nature, noting that the congressman “wouldn’t even vote for a resolution… congressional medal for Jack Nicholas” and describing him as “a very contrary person.” Cannon argued that Massie’s reference to a “crack in Tel Aviv” amounted to antisemitism, adding that the lawmaker appeared obsessed with Israel. Kelly immediately challenged him: “You’re flip-flopping. Let’s go back to his… saying the knock the comment about Tel Aviv is anti-semitism. How?” She pressed further on whether opposing certain resolutions equated to antisemitism. The heated exchange grew more intense as Cannon expressed deep frustration with Massie’s rhetoric. “When I saw Massie say that, it made me long for the days when we had duels in this country,” he said. “200 years ago, we had duels. I would like to see a duel between a Navy Seal and this guy who never, you know, who likes to talk crap about people but never even played sports, let alone fought.” Kelly shot back with duel accepted, “I think you and I are going to a duel today. Tom and Andrew are going to be our second pistols or knives."

AIPAC actually stands for American Israel Public Affairs Committee. It is not, itself, a PAC or political action committee. In fact, AIPAC didn't have an affiliated PAC until late 2021. It is remarkable that people can talk so much about a lobbying group and not know the first thing about it.

@Andreafreedom76 Granny says she defends American Jews. Isn’t AIPAC an American Jewish PAC?

@evandariel1 @proteinwisdom The ones that vote in primaries at such an age are in a highly self-selected group. Those idiots who voted for Massie are not remotely representative of actual conservatives of any age.

@proteinwisdom Yeah, some of them will get smarter with age. A few. Maybe a dozen.

Yeah, when a commie is upset you lost, you’re not one of us. And “the youth” grow up. So I wouldn’t start counting on them just yet.

@Timblonskee @redsteeze A tiny percentage. A much greater percentage of white people want to pay reparations to blacks, and a much greater percentage of women support extreme trans ideology. There are useful idiots in every group.

@sunmaster14 @redsteeze Jewish people don't even recognize Israel's right to exist, lol.

Name the difference. In specific detail.

@Timblonskee @redsteeze Judaism is more than a religion. Non-religious people can be Jews. Zionism is the recognition of Jews as a sovereign polity and not a dhimmi people governed by others.

@redsteeze Judaism is religion, Zionism is politics. theworld.org/stories/2024/0…

@proteinwisdom He's Jewish, so Tucker will tell us he won big and that the money Yass gave to Massie was just a hedge.

So did Jeffrey Yass WIN big or LOSE big with Massie’s defeat. We won’t know until Tucker tells us, I guess.

@RebelRancher @davidharsanyi @mtgreenee I disagree but do you know what is a far more important problem? Allowing a faceless bureaucrat to give people like Mahmoud Khalil a green card and a quick pathway to citizenship.

@sunmaster14 @davidharsanyi @mtgreenee If they have dual citizenship, no, they should not be able to vote or spend money influencing our country. I understand that’s not how it works but that’s how it should work.

It’s not an antisemitic conspiracy theory when a foreign lobby openly brags that they bought two congressional seats with candidates who will be loyal to Israel.

Yes, it is ok for citizens of the US to participate in elections, even if they are citizens of other countries. Why do people like you resort to calling somebody Israel first for simply noting the way our elector al system and 1st Amendment works? Use of the epithet "Israel first" is quickly becoming a convenient marker of stupidity.

@sunmaster14 @davidharsanyi @mtgreenee Does that make it ok? Confused why you Israel first people all try to justify this insanity using other examples that are also not ok.

@Timodc @long_shot_45 You're nothing then.

@long_shot_45 i’m nothing if not reasonable

Strange outrage around this. If the gay lebanese PAC spent 35 million dollars attacking Massie i don’t think i’d be mad if he made a joke about Beirut Pride in the concession. Can’t smoke someone with a haymaker then cry foul when they kick you from the mat.

@cbonneauimages Not all civilians. Hezbollah militants are included in the count (and probably comprise a majority).

🔴The latest casualty toll from the Lebanese Ministry of Health: 3,020 civilians killed and 9,273 wounded in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2nd. 115 of those killed have been medical professionals. Israel systematically targets paramedics. More than 200 of those killed have been children. Photo from today’s funeral of a paramedic and his mother who were killed yesterday in the Israeli bombardment of Tayr Falsay. Pictured is the father saying goodbye to his wife and son.

@Philrightagain @Mankosmash @gummibear737 Yup, and with podcasts, they can now access a global audience of 3rd world morons who aggregate to billions of eyeballs for anti-American content.

@Mankosmash @gummibear737 Trump won and his supporters breathed a sigh of relief and went back to work. The influencers lost audience and switched to opposing Trump in hopes of picking up more views.

WTF happened to Ann Coulter!?!? Or maybe she's always been like this?

@gummibear737 She has always been this way, although it has gotten worse with age. We tend not to notice when we agree with her.