The wars in the Middle East are tricky, though, because to have a “victory” you would need a clear metric for it, a clear goal. It’s not like the US was looking to conquer and annex those countries

If the goal was to completely fuck up a country with little to no (physical, not financial) damage to our home country, mission accomplished, one helluva victory.

If the goal was to stop Terrorism… that’s like the War on Drugs, there’s no winning that.

If the goal was merely to occupy them in order to (temporarily) prevent them from being a staging ground and financial support for Terrorism… I guess that worked? For awhile?

Vietnam and Korea were about stopping Communists from taking over the country. Huge failure on Vietnam, and apparently a draw in Korea (considering the North/South divide). But it was a clear enough goal. The Middle East? Who knows what the specific goal was (other than trillions of dollars to the Military Industrial Complex).

Honest answer, as someone in the military:

A LOT of military people lament how “soft” the military has become, and someone coming down on beards, fat, etc, as well as being up front with what the military is for (e.g. Department of War), scratches a whiny itch they’ve always had. Because every old salty sailor and sandy equivalent feels like they came from the Old Guard.

I came from the Old Guard that my peers are nostalgic about. It was terrible and unnecessarily cruel. It was inefficient and left new people floundering instead of supported. The whole thing feels like a cycle of abuse.

But back to the point, they don’t care if he’s underqualified, makes bad and inexperienced military decisions, or has a host of DUIs (“who doesn’t?”). They only care that he’s calling generals fat to their faces and getting rid of beard ememptions.

I talked so much shit about Heath Ledger playing the Joker before that movie came out. The pretty boy from “10 Things I Hate About You?” Ridiculous. Just getting a big name, you know? And then he was beyond incredible, and a perfect example of what the Joker should be.

That made me hold my tongue when so many questionable choices for actors came out in the future, like both Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson for Batman.

Turns out Ledger was just an anomaly, though. So I’m still not going to be watching Tron: Ares.

“Good morning to you, Mrs. Riots.”

“Good morning to you as well, Mr. Riots. Did you sleep well?”

“Indeed, Mrs. Riots, I did. How did your evening fare?”

“Quite well, Mr. Riots. Quite well, thank you.”

They still play D&D and recommended being a DM to people that think they want kids. Apparently there is a fair bit of overlap in running a fun game, and a functional family.

I am a parent, and this tells me I lack the requisite energy and creativity to be a DM. I struggle enough as it is.

I would absolutely react more to my child getting killed than literally anyone else on the planet, what are you on about?

Though in fairness, if I had powers, I don’t think it would be a pursuit of justice or launch me on some path of heroism. Somebody would just die badly (assuming the initial killing was either deliberate or through willful neglect).