There sure is a lot of hoopla going on in this here wide world and it seems like everyone has an opinion, and a lot of people like to virtually or literally shout it in others’ faces. Never one to back down from holding an opinion of my own, here are some of my takes on recent hot topics. Full disclaimer, I do next to no research and whatever garbage I’m writing about is from the fraction of “news” I get in the form of memes, random newspaper articles, quick Google searches, and people that cross my path. These are just some current thoughts, in my lighthearted opinion; they may change and most likely will, maybe even today. Much like hummus, they’re not for everyone and there’s a secret family recipe, but if consumed properly, can be quite healthy. Hopefully this is a bit better than yelling my opinion into your ears.
Gaza
Overall, it’s horrible what’s happening to everyone involved. Two fanatical groups are using average people as cannon fodder in their petty squabbles because they can’t be bothered to grow up a bit and see past surface differences. So Habib and Haviv have to be taken hostage, tortured, displaced, shot, blown-up, and starved? And the US pays for the bombs and the bandages?
I’ve always said the Holy Land should have some sort of yearly death-match tournament to decide who rules it that year; kind of like UFC 1 mixed with Gladiator. It could be an open tournament for any group to send a fighter and fights go until someone can’t leave the ring under their own power. We could even have some sort of coliseum built in the Holy Land and charge for spectating; if you televise it, it would easily become the most watched event in history (and maybe actually seeing people die over a piece of this rock would wake people up to how stupid war is) and probably one of the most profitable entities in the world. Those funds could then go back into maintaining the coliseum and adjoining holy sites, ensuring such important history is preserved for all to enjoy. Then, whichever group’s fighter is still alive at the end of the two week tournament gets to fill the power vacuum of the Holy Land and collect the tourist money and extortion fees from that piece of land. Obviously the details would need to be ironed out a bit more, like: How does the bracket get decided? Who gets byes and is there some sort of “open” system for smaller groups to rise through the ranks while established groups get automatic entry? What exactly would control of the Holy Land look like for the year? And much much more, but I think the general idea is sound. Think about it, which is worse: 50,000 people, at about 75% civilians, dying in less than two years with no sound conclusion, or, at most, 300 voluntary people dying in two weeks with a definite winner every year?
But hey, they've been fighting for 2,000 years; it can't be much longer.
Ukraine
This one is actually quite a bit complicated and I don’t have a definitive stance on it. I can see wanting to support Ukraine to stem Russian expansion and protect sovereign lands. But I can also see wanting to stop the outflow of US funds to fight a foreign war that’s been going on for many years with no end in sight. I think the recent development of potential ceasefires and peace talks is generally a good thing. Will the results be desirable? I’m not sure, as a compromise usually leaves all parties unsatisfied, but at least there’s a chance people will stop dying so much. At the end of the day, it just seems like another classic example of a few crazy people using the death of humans and truth to further their ends. What if we just had Putin and Zelensky slug it out mano-a-mano instead?
Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that all to the poor
-War Pigs
Musk
He’s a bit of a dweeb. Like what’s up with his weird jumping and weak attempts to be “cool”. Just be a nerd and enjoy the spoils of your exploitation. Having said that, I’m all for gutting the government (“Slash it. Slash it.” - Ron Swanson). Is he doing a messy job of it? Most definitely. Could it be done in a better fashion? Most definitely. Would people care as much if it was literally anyone else heading the charge? Probably not.
Also, as a friend pointed out, I find it funny how electric cars were a sign of liberal progress and now a Tesla (the EV market leader in the US by a longshot) is the mark of Satan himself. Further, Tesla drivers are, without fail, easily the worst drivers currently on the road. Having said that, I saw a murdered-out Cybertruck, and despite my massive disdain for all Tesla vehicles on the road, it looked kind of sick. Now, as my roommate pointed out, let’s see how long he can make it before Trump gets sick of him and fires him in a tirade of social media posts that denounce him as a stupid, weak traitor.
Rich People
On the topic of Elon, and after one of these people was shot a couple times, there’s been a lot of talk about those with a lot of money. Personally, I don’t really mind if there’s some super rich people out there. There always has and always will be the top 1% of wealth holders, that’s how percentages and the Pareto principle work. Even if the apocalypse happened and everyone was reduced to sticks and stones, technically someone out there would have the most twigs and rocks. I still don’t like our current ultra-wealthy minority and think they most likely got rich through immoral, nefarious ways; but I’m not losing much sleep over it. I’ll still buy stuff from Amazon and watch the clips of people landing on Mars when that happens. I’ll also never buy a Tesla, always buy from another vendor if it’s cheaper than Amazon, and continue to hold a skeptical eye on the heads of giant, heartless companies that have a complete disassociation with what life is like for us average peasants.
I literally just got an email from UHC while writing this because they’re my medical insurance; at the end of the day, there’s only so much I can control. That doesn’t mean I don’t think I’m a wage slave to a system that exploits its citizens and forces them to work with threats of taxes, fees, and crippling debt; I just don’t feel like going to jail for murder.
Biden
Now that he is out of the public eye, I just want to say I’m happy for the guy. Whenever I saw him stumbling about, it just looked like elder abuse to me and I felt sorry for him. I don’t even really know what he did from a presidential action standpoint (I’m sure he was really great and really horrible depending on who you ask), I just know he should have been drinking lemonade on a porch while playing with his grandkids instead of being shoved in front of teleprompters. (Also, I’m no political analyst but I think the Dem’s quadrupling down on Biden’s health ultimately lost them any chance of winning: “The other side is a bunch of crooked liars! Also we just lied to everyone and have to renege on our own claims!”). I just hope when I’m wavering around 80, nobody is forcing me to do anything, let alone run a country. Good thing I’m not in politics.
Trump
Oh no…here we go. First off, he is not the devil incarnate as some people claim. Second off, he is not the world’s savior as some people claim. With that out of the way, he’s another president, (by the way, he is technically our current president, just like every other one has been the president of the country’s citizens during their term; doesn’t mean you or I have to be happy about it), doing president stuff. Some of it is going to piss some people off and make others happy while other stuff will make the pissed off people happy and the happy people pissed off. Do I wish our current president had a bit more tact and wasn’t saying wild stuff every day? Yes; some statesmanship would be nice from the commander in chief. Do I think everything he does is awesome and a step in the right direction? No; I have the ability to think for myself. Do I think everything he does is going to end the world just because he did it? No; I can’t waste time caring about something so ridiculous as that, I’m much more concerned with why my lower back ends up in flexion at the bottom of my squat and how I can fix my form.
To be honest, it just seems like he’s throwing a bunch of sh*t at a wall right now and seeing what will stick. Is that the best way to go about change? I don’t know but it is ironic how his biggest opponents will also say they need “change now!” and to “never give up and… keep fighting.” And where were they with shouts of “executive overreach!” when Obama and Biden signed all of their executive orders? Just put a red tie on it and see how they react…
I also want to point out that the “level” Trump, and every other president in the past, is playing on is populated by crazy people with standing armies and the game holds sway over millions and billions of people. Some of his foreign policy actions may be in light of such a situation; wouldn’t you fight a bit differently if you were going against a UFC fighter instead of your little cousin? For example, from a purely economical standpoint, I do not like tariffs. But if you did a quick Google search, you would see that he’s (or he claims to be) using them as a leverage tactic for ulterior motives, specifically illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Is that the best way to go about international politics? I don’t know but then again I’ve never dealt with someone that had nukes triangulated on my house.
Lastly, can we just stop talking about him so often? Even I hate the fact that I’m writing this.
Unprecedented
If I hear that word one more time, I’m throwing this computer out the frickin’ window. There is so much constantly happening that has no prior experience to guide it that the word can be applied to just about anything, and therefore lose any meaning it had; or there is so much human history to pull from that you can find a precedence for just about anything. It just depends on what variables you control in your definition. For example, Covid, when the word seemed to make an astronomical rise, had solid precedence; ever heard of the Black Death from 650 years ago? Even that one had a Bubonic plague breakout precedence from 1,000 years before it. Further, I’m working at a new location today that I have no prior experience of working at. Does that mean I’m going to run around, tearing my hair out over the unprecedented (I thought about tossing this computer but I’ll cut myself some slack for the sake of my job) day I’m having? No; I’m just going to write some half-baked opinions like usual.
This was supposed to be a lot shorter but then I got to thinking… scary I know. Now if you think I’m stupid and these are some really dumb takes, you’re probably correct and that’s okay; I basically hold less sway than the addicts sleeping on the sidewalk. My thoughts are just that, my thoughts, and actually affect very little in the world, if anything; such is how the world works.
One of your best articles, unprecedented.
OK, I'm going to delve into one of the topics that our family has a lot of "fun" with and say that "But hey, they've been fighting for 2,000 years; it can't be much longer" was the funniest line in the whole thing. . . . . Oh, and let me know if you need a secret hideaway after this one. Someone, somehwere is going to be mad.