There is no sense in which the Indian Army was a minor element in British power. It was “the leading British strategic reserve on land” and made Britain an Asian land power for nearly two hundred years (Black 1998: 178). Indian divisions played critical roles in both world wars, helping to prevent a German victory in France in the autumn of 1914, eject Rommel from North Africa, and fight up the Italian peninsula, as well as carrying the main burden of Britain’s war against Japan in Burma,

we really should talk about the (British) Indian Army more

Well hey that's pretty good, I think.

Well, now they think the Nazis were far-right and that's why they're good.

yep: one of the reasons i want to nip the "stabbed in the back" myth now is that it gets Americans an excuse to avoid reining in the boys in Tampa in CENTCOM

It's true, I saw an AI video edit of The Boys where Jeffrey Esptein is Homelander, Charlie Kirk is the Deep, and Diddy is A-Train.

That is, in fact, how American conservatives used to think.

For the fellow teetotalers out there: write tired, edit rested.

I am actually disappointed Rob Bonta decided not to run for governor, I'd probably vote for him in a heartbeat. Still, he's a good AG and I guess it's good he's still doing that.

"No, I'm reminding you that I already did."

Elevator pitch: in 2026, Aatami Jr. is enjoying a nice Persian Gulf cruise with his dog when the war starts and the Strait of Hormuz is closed. Now Aatami must captain a ship and fight off the IRGCN and the USN, the latter led by a captain played by Steven Lang, in order to make it back home.

The Sisu sequel we never knew we needed.

"SISU III: STRAIT TO HELL"

THE POKEMON WORLD. MAY, 1945:

SOVIET CONSCRIPT 1: Holy shit. It’s Hitler’s dog!

SOVIET CONSCRIPT 2: How can you tell?

HITLER’S DOG: Hitlersdog. Hit-Hit. Hitlersdog.

SOVIET CONSCRIPT 2: Oh. Right.

True, but the Republicans are uniquely favored by most aspects of elite society, given leeway where the Democrats never would be. This is partly why I think they are the natural governing party of the United States, because they will always have that elite favor and those structural advantages.

"Elder gods aren't planets."

You need a new villain every week. DoJ can't talk in such an unrestrained manner about its cases, but politicians and political staffers outside of DoJ can say whatever the hell they want.

"We just indicted X for stealing your future to line his/her pockets."

You can also focus on the moral degeneracy of specific people associated with the MAGA regime. Every person in America should know who Doug Wilson is and that he wants to enslave the poor, minorities, and women, and that he's Pete Hegseth's cult leader invited to speak at official govt events.

Dear gods. Haven't we suffered enough with this Discourse as-is without him?

Like was there no one? No prominent state senator? No popular mayor? It HAD to be Mills?

He is not, no. I would rather have a septuagenarian than an, at best, incredibly sketchy ex-mercenary. But I am also not totally convinced those were the only two choices, and finding someone younger than Mills who could campaign when it really counted might have helped avoid this mess.

It should be, again, from a relatively young up-and-comer.

Please just answer me honestly: if your 78-year-old governor said "I want to spend at least six years in the Senate," would you have no concerns at all?

Treating Becerra, a former Cabinet Secretary and California AG, as an "empty suit" puppet of Bearstar is, frankly, incredibly stupid, and I say this who is really not leaning towards the man at all. I still think he would make at least a decent governor.

I think it is foreseeable considering that a lot of people did foresee it on here.

Well there's a fairly reasonable explanation for it: voters do not believe a jump from the governor's mansion to the US Senate is equivalent to a re-election and so incumbency bias doesn't apply.

And I admit I do not feel sober or impartial when I was called panicky and treated like a moron for worrying about this last month.

It would be nice if he did but past a certain point I think we need to at least admit that a mistake was made. The broader progressive left of the party made a mistake backing him early and continuing to back him. Schumer made a mistake getting her to run.

You're the one saying that that she is doing the equivalent of running for re-election. I am pointing out that even if you believe that, no one else seems to either. If she were then we would expect something like incumbency advantage, wouldn't we?

Color me unconvinced. I mean this is what everyone keeps saying, really more hoping for: "well this will cause Platner to implode." "When Mills starts campaigning he's going to be in trouble." "Mills' oppo dump will destroy him." You are forecasting a miracle that does not seem forthcoming.

Fair that you think that, but I don't think voters agree. If they did she would be winning, wouldn't she? Or at least not losing so catastrophically.

But it also does not help that she's seen as Schumer's creature, she is very old for a freshman senator when old Congressional Dems keep prominently dropping dead, and that she only just now started campaigning, and what I can tell sclerotically so at that, when the time to hit Platner has passed.

Last I checked she had to cancel on an event at the last minute, no? And other voices from inside Maine also express dissatisfaction with her leadership, particularly her relationship with the Native nations in Maine. I accept that Platner's ascendancy is due to Gender, that much is clear.