The once-glittery drag queen hyacinths are looking better and better. They smell great, too. I have them just outside the back door so I can see them from inside, and every time I step out onto the patio I get a whiff of their scent.
I've avoided writing about this Iran thing in order to give my thoughts some time to settle. I think it's a potentially disastrous mistake on Trump's part, and I'm opposed to what he's done -- as I wrote in a comment on someone's blog recently, I'm against starting wars on general principle. Call me crazy! But I'm willing to entertain the idea that this could ultimately lead to a better situation in the Middle East.
I'm kind of in the same position of uncertainty as Thomas Friedman. As he wrote in his most recent column, "Everything -- and its opposite -- is possible." We could wind up with a weaker Iran, less willing to meddle in the politics of its neighbors and less able to act as an anti-Western destabilizing force in the Middle East. Or we could wind up with chaos, as we did in Libya and Iraq following the US-backed overthrow of their dictatorial governments.
Bret Stephens seems to think Trump and Netanyahu have done the world a favor. It was interesting to read his take, given that I've felt sick to my stomach over the whole thing and he helped me see this action in a more positive light, but I still feel like that initial burst of relief is a little too easy. (Stephens is more conservative than I am on many things, but both he and Friedman have been Trump critics so I doubt they're toadying in any way to the Great Leader.)
Ultimately, though, I think Trump remains delusional and is biting off more than he can chew. Remember how he wanted to turn Gaza into a resort? And he's talked about running the governments of Greenland and Venezuela and now Iran? He has a real god complex and, on top of that, he's a blustering idiot. So if this does turn out to be a positive step for the Middle East in the long term, it will be a surprise -- and one that comes with the cost of hundreds if not thousands of civilian deaths.
Closer to home -- more pottery being given away on a garden wall down the street. I kind of like the two little handmade pieces, but I left them there. Dave will kill me if I keep bringing things like this home.
I agree with your thoughts, it has the potential to go so wrong, with civilian deaths the true cost. We just have a wait and hope, I can't watch the news these days, I read what I want to know.
ReplyDeleteI read all my news too. I've never had much tolerance for TV news.
DeleteJust reading about the awful situation now in the Middle East made my stomach flip. This would be bad enough with an actual plan in place, but there is none.
ReplyDeleteThat's the scariest thing of all -- no end game!
DeleteI do feel quite sick, reading about yet another war. The Times online had a balanced article about this today which described the situation facing the neighbouring Arab states who are now sucked into it.
ReplyDeleteIt all means yet more death and destruction for many.
Yeah, this will rock the whole Arab world. Already is!
DeleteMy reaction, which has since calmed down, but still in an angry mood. Is I just can't believe, that this clearly demented president would have the authority to make war at a moment's notice at his own behest. Idly condemning many people to their death and 300,000 tourists stuck in various places as well. Of course we then have our Prime minister not knowing what to do, and is he paying lip service to @47? I remember when the bombers went off to Iraq from the Fairford American base at night years ago, I listened to them as they went over Bath and then the television reporting next morning as the bombs fell on Bagdad and look where that went.
ReplyDeleteBut to return to picking things up in the street, the middle bowl is a souffle bowl, perhaps you should have picked it up.
We actually have a ton of those small ramekins. I was tempted by the two pots on the sides, but not the one in the middle!
DeleteThank you for sharing your considered thoughts on the conflict in The Middle East. I notice that neither Trump nor any of his amateurish gang have expressed any regret about the bombing of the girls' elementary school in Minab on Sunday. There a reported 180 young girls and staff members were killed so none of them will be rising up to replace the ruling regime will they? And all of this this was probably sparked by growing pressures upon BOB* - emerging from the Trump-Epstein Files.
ReplyDelete*BOB = Big Orange Baby
(Please ignore the second "this" - it was caused by AI)
DeleteI've heard conflicting information about whose bomb demolished the elementary school, not that that ultimately matters much.
DeleteAlthough I won't shed a tear for the deceased Ayatollah, I largely agree with your thoughts Steve. For me, the biggest reason I am against this is because we acted largely alone without the world's blessing in deposing their recognized leader. It seems a horrible precedent to set. I mean what is to stop China or Russia from someday deciding to depose our president because we didn't agree to the terms of their negotiations?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I never voted for the Current Occupant, the one redeeming quality I felt he had during his campaigning and immediately after his election was that he wanted to get us out of all these wars and not be involved in the worlds politics. Since his election, he has shown quite the opposite.
Largely though, I haven't lost a lot of sleep over this affair. I can do nothing to stop or even change any of it. It is what it is and it will become what it will become at this point. Like you, I hope that perhaps something good will come out of this but I think the odds are unlikely. History has shown that trying to reshape religious differences never works out in the end. There is never a winner. There is only a repressed population that will eventually rise again when the immediate victors lose interest and go back home.
I guess we have a history of deposing leaders, whether overtly or covertly. It IS astonishing how quickly Trump turned away from his "no more foreign wars" promises. I hope his voters hold him and MAGA accountable.
DeleteThe felon is a toddler in his approach to the world. "I don't like you and I'm bigger than you are so I'll throw my toys at you and bite you and I don't care what happens." If the attack on Iran ends up being a favor to anyone, it will require a miracle.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
That's a very good analogy. He is basically an elementary school bully.
DeleteI feel as conflicted as you do - I HOPE it ends up being less terrible than I initially thought. I'm still trying to figure out where Congress went. We used to have one, didn't we?
ReplyDeleteThat could be said about so many issues nowadays! Congress has essentially vanished. It has become the weakest branch of government.
DeleteHow many of you were in real danger of your lives when ballistic missiles were aimed at your homes, the homes of your children and grandchildren? How many of you heard sirens and explosions above your heads and saw houses destroyed and people injured near them? I just returned from the shelter after the alarm. The Iranian people are grateful for this move, did you condemn in real time the murder of protesters in the streets of Tehran? Thirty thousand were murdered by the regime, you were silent.
ReplyDeleteIt is very easy to sit from afar and form opinions. If I survive the next few days, I promise to say more.
Do be as careful and safe as you possibly can be, Yael! You know Trump is mentally ill ... this is his war, not ours, but we all pay for his murderous ways!
DeleteI realize you are in the middle of this conflict, Yael, and I hope you stay safe. My fear is that Trump and Netanyahu have taken action that will result in more destruction raining down upon Israel rather than less.
DeleteI don't really know, Steve, and the truth is that no one knows. I write out of great anxiety right now and also comment like this, sometimes it sounds like anger, and sometimes it really is anger. In times like these, all the soul wants is a little empathy and compassion and a basic understanding of the situation, unfortunately that doesn't happen with some people here, but that's their opinion.
DeleteI also wrote to you in a comment on my blog that the Iranian people and the Israeli people are not enemies. It's just the regime that has been killing them for years, and they are waiting for salvation that is now coming for them.
The danger that lurks for the entire world from the Iranian nuclear program should worry everyone.
Yael; it is never the people who are enemies, it is always governments or rulers. If only they could fix things quietly by sitting with a cup of tea, maybe some cake or biscuits (cookies) and hash things out in a way that would satisfy all parties.
DeleteStarting a war, with no discernible reason, as if that every stopped anyone, should never be considered a favor.
ReplyDeleteAll it's done is show that Cankles is Bibi's bitch and utterly inept.
I don't mind supporting Israel, and in fact I think we SHOULD support Israel, but that doesn't mean automatically jumping up to join every military campaign the Israelis wage.
DeleteThose hyacinths are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI have much the same thoughts and fears about Iran. I can't begin to imagine the terror the people of that region are living through right now and at this point in time, I can't see how any good can come of it.
I have co-workers with family in Iran and this must be terrifying for them.
DeleteI had forgotten about the glittered hyacinth bulbs. Doesn't look like its application has gotten in the way of the growth and loveliness of the plants.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts about the war are many and varied. At the very bottom is that fact that Congress was not even consulted on this matter which makes the whole thing illegal. Nothing this administration has done has been morally right and the laws of our land have been broken repeatedly. How can these actions be positive in the end? Anything that begins with the deaths of 150 girls cannot be justified in my opinion. Yes, 30,000 protesters were slaughtered by Khomenei but what the hell good does it do to add 150 more young, innocent lives to the list of the murdered?
Most of the glitter came off when I removed the rubber sheaths that surrounded the bulbs.
DeleteI agree it would have been better to get Congressional approval, but apparently there's some disagreement about whether that's needed if it's a short-term campaign. (Which Trump, in his grandiosity, expects it to be.) Still, checks and balances exist to prevent this sort of rash action.
No thought given to the consequences of the action, or how to cope with the outfall.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's the scariest part. What happens next? How does the country move forward?
DeleteWe all realize that this is the Orange Bastard's war ... he didn't go through Congress!
ReplyDeleteThere is so damned much blood on his and his entire regime of wanna-be's hands, that no amount of soap will ever wash them clean! I hope to whomever that they all end up at the Hague for their war crimes here and abroad!
Right now Noem is sitting before the Senate Judiciary committee lying her damned face off!
Noem is a disgusting human being, second only to Trump (and maybe Stephen Miller).
DeleteI'm just negative about this whole issue. No good can come out of it.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree.
DeleteThe middle east is a tinderbox. The west can never claim it because it is a different world, different people, different history, different climate, different thought processes, different alliances and tribal interests, different everything. It would be hard to navigate even if the president and sec of defense/war were capable intelligent qualified people. But they aren't. They're like gleeful little boys with a cherry bomb. There is no plan beyond bombing the shit out of Iran thinking that alone will cause whatever change they want. The possibility of this becoming a positive thing? For who? Israel. They are the only ones to really benefit from a diminished Iran. And that's who all this is for ultimately, a country committing slow genocide of the Palestinian people whose land they have stolen and continue to steal.
ReplyDeleteI wonder who and what made you such a hateful person and how you get the courage to write such lies. Israel is not committing genocide, someone has brainwashed you and you have been echoing your hatred for a long time.
DeleteEllen: "Gleeful little boys with a cherry bomb" is exactly what they are -- except that it's a nuclear cherry bomb!
DeleteYael: I realize you are writing from a position of anxiety (as you said above) but please don't attack my commenters for expressing an opinion -- just as I would expect them not to attack you. There are many who believe Israel's destruction of Gaza was a disproportionate response to the offenses Hamas committed in Israel, and that is a valid belief, as painful as it may seem.
Yael, do you feel better about yourself for attacking me? Ironic that you call me hateful. I have a whole lot more to say about this but I'll refrain out of respect for Steve.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDbnrFJpFVo
ReplyDeleteShe is always on track.
I'll watch it when I get home from work!
DeleteI agree with you Steve. I have a close friend whose husband is Iranian (Persian) and she's glad about the attack and showing '70s photos of a modern Iran; like Afghanistan at that time, it was a progressive society. But if she thinks they'll get back to that now, I have serious doubts. I have another friend/former student at my school who is Iranian and is very against what Trump and his cronies are doing. There are so many different perspectives. Without a doubt though, Trump has no idea what he's doing, no strategy or exit plan and will undoubtedly make a horrible situation even worse.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that many Iranians welcome this intervention but I'm not convinced this is going to lead to anything better. In fact it might well lead to worse. As you said, the lack of a strategy or exit plan is especially troubling. Are we just going to leave the Iranian opposition dangling in the wind?
DeleteThey basically had no policy going in, other than to do Israel's bidding. That is obvious from Rubio's press conference yesterday. Just terrible. And telling all US citizens to get out but having no plan in place to help them? Unbelievable, almost. Except this is the chaos Trump spawns everywhere.
ReplyDeleteTrump is trying to walk back Rubio's remarks. I imagine he is destined for the doghouse in the short term. Yes, Trump loves chaos. I think it excites him and makes him feel alive, and that's all that matters in his narcissistic mind.
DeleteThis war is the machinations of the Felon and BN.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this might be the last time the US is willing to go to war in the Middle East as many (plus the next generation) are not big fans of BN and his policies.
Today the bombing is expanding, and other countries might well be drawn in. US leadership once stated all wars were going to be ended, yet a new war has been started.
And not the first new war! Trump is spreading himself (and the USA) awfully thin. Has Venezuela fully stabilized yet? What's happening in Cuba and Denmark and Ecuador?
DeleteOur book club tonight will be discussing The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali. (I reviewed it in February) We chose it months ago, but talk about a timely book to discuss!
ReplyDeleteWow, that IS good timing!
DeleteOn a positive note, I do like the colour of those hyacinths.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Thank you for the injection of some positivity!
DeleteAn idiot with a God complex -- an accident waiting to happen. Your thought on Iran mirror mine. Nobody likes them but will it make things worse to have another Middle Eastern war -- or eventually better. And how long is eventually? And what will be the retaliation factor on home turf. There will be one. As for me, I'm happy to have Israel do as it will with Iran. But we should keep out of everything. I think. Who knows, tomorrow...
ReplyDeleteI think there have already been isolated instances of retaliation -- and yes, this is likely to lead to more. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, right?
DeleteI try to teell myself it won't happen, but I still worry the whole thing will escalate into a world war and I have sons and grandsons old enough to be forced to go and fight, as do many other people. In simple words: I'm Scared, and I am not alone in that.
ReplyDeleteA World War is a very real possibility, though I'm not sure what that would mean for civilians living far from the action.Today's wars are so mechanized, and the public's tolerance for a draft is so low, that I'm not sure your grandsons would be in much danger unless they voluntarily enlisted.
DeleteNot a single one among them would voluntarily enlist. They have families of their own.
DeleteI enjoyed my Spring Bulb Blooms too, so fragrant and they were the same color as yours. As for the illegal War... I can't even feel Guardedly Optimistic with this Administration at the helm. And as a Family who have Generationally Served in the Military, how long it lasts and spreads will be the larger impact and we know this Regime cares not about our Military Personnel at all, whether Active Duty or Retired and the Fallen... he gets more passionate speaking of his Golden Drapes and Ballroom.
ReplyDeleteI found out today that we have boots on the ground in Ecuador as well. The excuse is drugs, again. After the congressional briefing, a congressman said that we should be alarmed. The planning stopped at the attacks. There is no plans on transitions or our exit. Hegseth said in his briefing of military NCOs that the purpose of the attack is to bring about Armageddon to clear the way for the second coming of Christ. This is insanity.
ReplyDeleteMake no mistake - Trump is merely Bibi's useful idiot. There is no grand plan for peace - actually no plan at all. And now Ecuador? Anything but the Epstein files
ReplyDelete