We’re not going deep today. We’re at the shallow end of the pool. But bad things can happen at the shallow end when the kids don’t get along.
Jeffrey Goldberg published an unsettling piece in The Atlantic yesterday titled “Humanity Is Playing Nuclear Roulette.” He writes of the dangers of unstable leaders in increasingly unstable times.
The sociobiologist E. O. Wilson described the central problem of humanity this way: “We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.” The main challenge of the 80 years since the Trinity atomic test has been that we do not possess the cognitive, spiritual, and emotional capabilities necessary to successfully manage nuclear weapons without the risk of catastrophic failure.
The Trump administration’s lack of cognitive, spiritual and emotional capability has been on full display this past week. Trump, his Defense Secretary and Press Secretary have been in full meltdown mode over reporting on Iran. How dare anybody question the complete and total obliteration of Iran’s nuclear program, or that “the war” is over with no need for diplomacy to further limit the threat of Iran’s potential nuclear activity. Trump is even threatening to sue the New York Times and CNN for their coverage.
Trump and Hegseth “feel like warriors.”
Combine the chest-pounding, self-aggrandizing, thin-skinned nature of this regime with its loose grip on either reality or the likely long-term consequences of its actions, and you should feel deep fear for this nation.
Which brings me to Mike Lawler, an acolyte for the regime. He wears the same armor. His pugilistic nature has become more pronounced and disturbing under the reign of Trump.
We saw Lawler’s emoji assessment immediately after the U.S. strikes on Iran:
and learned what FAFO means, along with its Proud Boys heritage.
Iran responded to the U.S. strikes by launching missiles at the U.S. military base in Qatar. Iran telegraphed the event to Qatar, the missiles were all intercepted, and there was no significant damage or injuries. Yet Lawler bristled:
Fortunately, Trump didn’t follow Lawler’s lead. Instead he urged restraint, then declared in Trumpian fashion that he had negotiated a “Complete and Total CEASEFIRE.” Also, that he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize.
Mike Lawler is always itching for a fight, leaning towards instigation and escalation. We saw his verbal brawl on the House floor a few weeks back, where he and fellow House member John Mannion shocked the chamber as they hurled F-bombs at each other. Even after the dust had settled, Lawler felt compelled to go on social media and post “f*** off.”
Now he’s back with FAFO. But this time he’s aiming it at the conservative Club for Growth because they want to kill Mike’s marquee State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions in the Big Beautiful Bill.
“DOA” is another recent favorite of FAFO Mike, our NY-17 warrior, who fantasizes of being Commodus in Gladiatior:
You can scroll through his X feed and see endless examples of his macho escalatory impulse, on everything from Iran to campus protests to antisemitism to immigration enforcement.
Even though the media has fallen for presenting Mike Lawler as a “moderate,” he is anything but. He has multiple “I am Commodus” moments daily. He exemplifies the central problem of humanity as captured in E.O. Wilson’s quote above, and should be nowhere near the President’s ear, the Governor’s office or the NY-17 seat in Congress, let alone the local school board.
Wish Rule of Lawler luck as we subject ourselves to a second live town hall with FAFO Mike “Commodus” Lawler tomorrow night. Where they’re likely to take away our disposable ballpoint pen at the security screening. We’ll try not to get carried away.
Rule of Lawler 