Let me explain something to the MAGA crowd, because clearly someone needs to.
They seem to think NATO is cosmic room service. You pick up the phone, say “hello, we’re having a bit of a war here,” and thirty-one countries march to your rescue. A continental Uber for military adventures.
That is not how it works.
Article 5 is a mutual defense clause. The clue is in the word mutual. And it has been triggered exactly once in NATO’s entire history. After September 11. When America was attacked. Not Europe. America.
Every NATO member showed up. They went to Afghanistan. They fought. They bled. They died. In America’s war. On America’s behalf.
Now imagine they hadn’t.
Over 1,100 allied soldiers died in Afghanistan. British, Canadian, German, Danish, Polish. And yes, even Ukrainian soldiers, who had no NATO obligation whatsoever. Gone. Without them, those are American names on those graves. Sons from Ohio. Fathers from Georgia. Kids from Nebraska who never came home.
Then there is the money. NATO allies spent over 100 billion dollars on a war that started on American soil. Without that, Washington pays every cent. On top of the 2 to 3 trillion the war already cost.
And without allied bases across Europe and Central Asia, American supply lines collapse entirely. Without British forces in Helmand and Canadians in Kandahar, the Taliban reconstitutes in three years instead of ten. The gaps get filled one way. More American deployments. More American coffins arriving at Dover.
Afghanistan was bloody. But NATO took the hit. Without them, every single one of those casualties would have had an American name.
Trump called allies like these losers. Suckers.
If you are a certain kind of broken person, that probably makes sense to you. But for the rest of us, what those soldiers did has a different name. Honor. The bond between men who have been in the same dirt, under the same fire. Between Brits and Americans, Frenchmen and Norwegians, Canadians and Danes. Not a diplomatic relationship. A blood bond. Brotherhood forged in places most people will never see and cannot imagine.
In that culture, you do not mock a fallen ally. You do not sneer at the dead. It is the lowest thing a human being can do. Trump did it to a standing ovation.
If you are a MAGA supporter travelling to NATO countries, understand this. There are no friendly pats on the back waiting for you. No one will buy you a beer. The governments who share your worldview sit in Minsk, Moscow and Pyongyang. Brutal dictatorships where journalists disappear, elections are theatre and dissent is a medical condition treated in basements. Not London. Not Paris. Not Rome, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin or Ottawa.
You have abandoned the open societies, the free press, the rule of law, the places where people actually want to live. You traded the best of civilization for a very small, very dark room. Frankly, it serves you right.
Gandalv / @Microinteracti1
shitting on our NATO allies for a year or more, Trump affect surprise when they won’t rush to our aid. It’s not like he consulted them before going to war with Iran.
RIP Dawn & Xander
We have now lost two main cast members from ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’
Michelle Trachtenberg who played Dawn Summers passed in 2025
Nicholas Brendon who played Xander Harris died earlier today
Trump is a coward who repeatedly dodged military service. He is not worthy of uttering the names of the brave men and women who were killed in Afghanistan after the US invoked article 5, requesting their assistance.
At this point, banning X aka Twitter would be no huge loss. Perhaps I should try and get myself nannrd first by upsetting Musk and the MAGA cult with some hurty words.
I clearly spend a lot of time on X, and I have come to meet some great friends and comrades through the platform.
It is also my main medium for sharing my content and views.
That being said, I would support the UK banning X as it is a huge source of misinformation, and its owner Musk has become a huge source of global instability.
Maduro's not a good guy, agreed. But neither is Putin, and Trump rolled out the red fucking carpet for him. It's not about dope, it's about oil (which kinda IS dope).
Just when you think Trump has hit the gutter, he bounces lower.
For me, @Stranger_Things Season5 just proves how braindead viewers have become (or they are just rage baiting for views on X)
1. Will being gay has been a part of the show since Season 1. Was literally the first thing mentioned between Joyce and Hopper at the police station and has been something Will has been coming to terms with the entire show. His powers have nothing to do with him being gay. But coming out in the 80s was not an easy thing to do and Vecna latches on to YOUR WORST FEAR to control you. Or maybe you all skipped the 4 kids he killed in season 4? You know that whole thing with the grandfather clock? 🤯
Robin also had a whole conversation about it with Steve to give “coming out” context. If Steve asks out a girl, no big deal. But if Robin asks out “the wrong” girl… not the same.
So Will coming out should have been something you all expected to see if you have actually been paying attention. It wasnt woke, it wasnt an agenda. It was just part of the story. Gay kids existed in the 80s, not a big deal and for the final battle Will needed to overcome his worst fear to stand a chance against Vecna.
2. Now for the people saying they “retconned” the Upside-down. Did you all just close your eyes when they finally revealed the battle between Eleven and Henry? She blasted him to a different planet that looked NOTHING like Hawkins and Henry says in that place he “became an explorer”. That’s how he found the Mind Flayer.
How were you not wondering this whole time where he was? The planet was bright with lightning everywhere. Clearly not the Upside-down.
3. Nancy & Jonathan breakup scene. “Will you unmarry me” was a pretty clear acceptance of a break-up. Tossing the ring should have been an indicator to you as well.
Was obvious in Season4 they were drifting apart and the “shared trauma” was the only thing holding them together.
In the words of the great Mr. Witwicky “HA! How long you gonna ride that scooter?”
Now all at being said:
✅ Yes #8 is annoying AF.
✅ I also thought Maxx was blind.
✅ How did Argyle leave the quarantine?
✅ Nobody cared to check on Mr. Wheeler in the hospital after demodog attack?
✅ Scott Clarke FINALLY being let in on the story was awesome.
With 1 episode left I am not sure how they are going to button up all the storylines.
But saying Season5 is “bad” is just not true.