a tired mess

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Door-in-the-face_technique

1. “and I never knew survival was like that. If you live, you look back and beg for it again, the hazardous bliss before you knew what you would miss.” (ada limón, from “before”)

2. “The consistency of hurt is what makes it so comforting.” (william nu’utupu giles, from “what do you want? it’s not that simple”)

3. “A child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort.” (gillian flynn, from “sharp objects”)

4. “When you’ve had a bad experience, you sometimes feel compelled to recreate it in a way that allows you to control it. It’s like you’re attracted to the very thing that bothered you because you’re not done with it- you need to fix that moment so you can move forward. Oscar Wilde said, ‘a burnt child loves fire.’ For me, that means being able to explore things that have been traumatic or you’re not so sure about. The sources of terror in childhood can become the sources of attraction in adulthood.” (todd hido, from “on landscapes, interiors, and the nude”)

5.

(ingmar bergman)

6. “This body knows fear like a front porch knows welcome—it is always coming home.” (brenna twohy, from “swallowtail”)

Me: My pills make me not want to die tho

They: You shouldn’t want to die, that’s not normal

Soleimani was Iran’s top military official and the second most powerful person in the country

People comparing this to drone strikes on people suspected of terrorism are missing this very important point. This was not a drone strike on a terrorist group. This was assassinating a high-level official from another country.

Trump had him assassinated without Congressional authorization. According to Pelosi, Congress wasn’t even notified. We found out about the attack when it was announced last night on Iraqi television.

Lindsay Graham is now saying he knew about the plan 2 days ago. This means he is either lying to make it seem less like Trump did this out of nowhere, or Trump is selectively briefing members of Congress who he’s friendly with.

The official justification for this assassination was Soleimani was “actively planning” an attack on Americans. Those of you who remember the lead up to the Iraq war may recognize this “preemptive strike” language.

Whether or not Soleimani was an “enemy” isn’t important. Putin is an enemy. North Korea threatens everyone. But there’s a reason we don’t just assassinate officials from other countries, even if they demonstrably don’t like us, and that’s because it can start a war

You might notice that those other examples I used have dangerous weapons of their own. That’s what is material here. Trump, in his zeal for destroying Obama’s legacy, threw out the Iran Nuclear Agreement. That agreement was a big deal because it brought Iran to the negotiating table for the first time in years. Now? Never again. But also, this is terrible for anyone who sincerely believes in the goal of global nuclear disarmament, because it’s essentially confirming that unless your country has the firepower to reasonably threaten others, there is no guarantee of safety, because the US won’t even hold to its own agreements. What incentive then is there to not build weapons of your own?

This act is just the latest bit of bizarre foreign policy decisions by the Trump administration. The Kurds helped us in the fight with Syria, and we betrayed them. Trump gives North Korea everything, including a public appearance with a US President, and they continue to threaten everyone with their missiles. Iran has an agreement with us, and we throw it away and kill their top general.

Me now and at 13: