I don't think they read the article. The type of person who jumps at the chance to recite "nuclear stuff" from back when the school I was in still had East Ger

I don't think they read the article. The type of person who jumps at the chance to recite "nuclear stuff" from back when the school I was in still had East Germany on the class globe while seeming to actively refuse to accept new information is the reason there still exists a risk of nuclear exchange. A lot of these Americans (parent seems American, I'm also American -- I can use the word) keep forgetting: there is no draft, Iraq was a war crime, you could have chosen a different path. I can chart out how one year in the 90s, the parallel evils of refusing to hire more auditors nor upgrade infrastructure cascaded through the federal government, culiminating in the OPM breach. I should stop making these long Slashdot-esque rants under two people I've probably never met, because the last year it was gonna not be weird for me to trick or treat was the one after 9/11. We are in a multipolar world now, in every sense of the word, and folks should adjust to the fact that after many conversations, with many people, in many places, it's my understanding folks, if they support nukes at all, support a robust second strike policy paired with what I would term "armed neutrality". I can remember in college, I'd say we should get rid of the nuclear triad, instead focus on taking the existing stockpile, checking there's no... leaks or anything like that... and loading them onto cruise missles to be put on submarines or in those fancy ass stealth planes and the same homophobic, classist, ableist folks who used to use the draft to force people to fight their wars would repeat the same tired talking points from the cold war. There's a feeling in the air like there was in 2002. They talked about whether they'd let kids trick or treat, as if some asshole was going to... what? Anthrax the candy? The real threat was the type of person who gets an increasing edge in their voice that every year you come to their house, politely take one candy, and make your way in a big loop around the block but won't drink their kool aid or whatever. Like, yeah lady, I get it... you want me to show I trust you. I don't. I'm gonna take a candy bar and pretend I care if you live another year since you told on yourself -- and I won't be back.