I won’t link to anything of Ian Welsh’s, but he continues his usual clownish misunderstanding of events in Ukraine — having never spoken to an actual Ukrainian person — and also does not really understand Russia’s impetus, either.

Once Russia decided to invade, Ukraine was going to suffer either way. And no, it had very little to do with NATO encroachment. That was just a propaganda excuse, like our “Iraq had WMDs” claptrap. Now, the best outcome remaining is keeping Russia tied down in Ukraine so it’s unable to invade other states that would trigger an actual full-on war with NATO. This will of course be very bad for Ukraine but good for all the rest of Europe and the United States. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, and Poland would’ve been next on Russia’s hit list. Because of Ukraine’s resistance, that is very unlikely to happen any time soon.

Ian Welsh has a fucking terrible, child-level (and not even a bright child’s) understanding of what Russia’s motivations and goals were in invading Ukraine, is utterly clueless about how warfare works, and has no idea at all what the stakes are for not resisting this invasion. Just a total dipshit in every way it’s possible for someone to be.

I can’t get over people saying that someone like Sydney Sweeney has an “impossible” body. Like, come on, I’ve dated quite a few women with bodies very similar to hers. I assure you it’s not impossible or even unlikely.

It’s certainly impossible, however, if you snarf 4,000 calories a day and consider a full quart of ice cream a normal dessert portion. The clownish Fat Acceptance movement really, really fucked a lot of people over with their ideology. That movement should be dissolved as a terrorist organization (I’m half serious).

I have to admit, it was a little jarring seeing someone refer to Nine Inch Nails as “old people music” the other day. Because of course I’m old enough to remember when NIN was very new and quite threatening to middle class sensibilities.

But I also agree — NIN music seems aslant our current cultural moment, having little to do with modern concerns. The music is not relevant because it’s talking about different matters from a very different time. It’s embedded in vastly variant assumptions that seem inapplicable or even trivial today. Prudishness resurgent makes a song like “Closer” seem like an alien artifact. Also, “Head Like a Hole” is a debate that became a generally-accepted conclusion among younger people.

So yeah, NIN is “old people music.” It has precious little to do with today. Then, it seemed like the future because it was talking about the present. Now it just feels like ancient history.