@mcfate @Klaatu_Veratta_Nectarine
Yes, I don't see how staying-the-course would have improved the outcome.

The term "Christian Taliban" is trending on the bird site.
While I believe many in the US deserve that moniker, I also believe that the risk of the US taking the same trajectory as Afghanistan is highly unlikely.
This is not because the US-based Christian Taliban are weak.
It's because at least a plurality of US citizens are dedicated to the ideals of America.
Many will take up arms to support America.
Many will choose to die to uphold them.
That didn't happen in Afghanistan.

@mcfate
Yes, but only one of many factors.
Yet, it does demonstrate how pathetic was the governing infrastructure. After 20 years it never got traction. The US could have taken an Afghan baby, raised it in perfect conditions. Educated it with the best teachers, and deployed it back to Afghanistan to manage operations in the time we were there.

@Siren_six @mcfate
And they have a principle to fight for. And, it is a religious principle. So, their deity is also (emotionally) supporting them. That's a lot more powerful than a government.
I don' think Gilead, from The Handmaid's Tale, is as far-fetched as most might think.

The fall of Afghanistan will be studied, in detail, by those that plan to overtake a country.
IMHO, the Afghan forces didn't have something worthwhile to fight for. Whatever principle was behind their Afghan identity was insufficient compared to their individual lives.

@ChippySuave
As soon as the insurance companies start denying coverage a bunch of anti-vaxxers will reconsider their positions.
As soon as employers are legally able to fire the unvaccinated, a bunch will reconsider their positions.
A bunch will still persist, though. And, at some point, each person in the medical profession will reconsider their career and how much they wish to put their families at risk because of stubborn people not reconsidering their positions.

After trying for 20 years to adjust a country's culture and power structure, we have failed.
IMHO, the pending fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban is not a testament to the US's lack of effort but a consequence of a dominantly homogeneous culture. This is a multi-millennial-old culture, yet it has made such little progress WRT human rights, technology and governance. I believe this inertia is driven by "tradition", which becomes entrenched when the culture is homogeneous.

@HiRISE
Not if we mine and process all of its mass into useful materials.

@USAPatriot , @th3j35t3r
Hi Jester. Is this a bug in the photo-upload function?

@voltronic
Maybe there is a difference between "Still growing up" and "Never grew up"?

@th3j35t3r
The same people that fight in religious wars.

My monitor lift design is making progress! Ran it through its paces and found a few weaknesses. Going to revise the lead screw and 3D print some spacers to fine-tune the monitor mounts.
(CoSo is forcing the photo to be landscape. Is there a trick?)

@Lindy
So sorry to hear that.
These breakthrough cases keep sustaining the terror of this whole experience. It's like a horror movie you think is over....

@USAPatriot
We did! Spent some wonderful time in Calistoga. Salvaged the weekend.

@Lindy
If a biz model requires employees to need government subsidies to live, it's not a business. Maybe this pandemic will force consumers to accept the true cost of many products and services?

@XSGeek Fine now. Escaped the fires outside of Tahoe and the choking smoke. Settling into the poolside in Calistoga where the smoke is not at ground level.

This is Tahoe, California. This is Emerald Cove, the most beautiful spot on the lake. We abandoned our Tahoe weekend, but the whole state is covered in smoke.

Enrico Fermi's statement "Where is everybody!" is like saying "Where are all the floppy disks?"
They've moved on from broadcasting radio just like we have.

"Don't you want to see what happens if you don't give up?"
- Nightbird

@th3j35t3r
In all seriousness, I'm amazed at how you can crank out that press release, build and maintain this site, and still keep up the pressure on the bird-site.