The MOU Reaction – In A Nutshell

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Impulsively, I do not like the MOU.  The reason is simple – I don’t trust Iran.  In point of fact, I would not like any deal with this bunch because I do not trust them.  It is just that simple.  And as I survey the uncountable press reactions that’s what it all boils down to.  We can’t trust them.  But does that make it a bad deal?

An Analogy.  Batman made his first appearance on the comic book page in 1939 in the pages of Detective Comics.  So rapidly popular did the character prove to be that his own self-titled book, Batman, appeared in 1940 and his new nemesis in that first issue was none other than The Joker.  Ever since, the Joker has grown darker and more sinister.  In fairly recent times he has turned into one of the most evil, psychotic, murderous villains imaginable.  For the sake of decency I won’t go into any details.  He does not plan planetary levels of destruction; he is simply a serial killer on a massive scale whose kill thrill comes from each new kill being as gruesome and torturous as the human imagination will allow.  He has killed one Robin and put Batgirl in a wheelchair – all in Batman’s face.

And thru all of these 8+ decades of the Joker growing more and more maniacal and malevolent, Batman has steadfastly refused to kill him.  (That’s the one thing the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton film got wrong.)  If ever there was a character that deserved a death at the hands of another it is the Joker.  And yet for decade after decade Batman has not done the job that so needs doing.  The reasons Batman cites for not killing Joker have varied to some extent through the years, but the bottom line is there is always another comic book to be published and every hero is only as good as his nemesis and this perfect pairing must continue.

There are more stories to be written in the conflict between the West, as so staunchly represented by Israel and the United States, and the malevolence that is Iran.  But as when Batman catches the Joker and the Clown Prince of Crime begins yet another stint in Arkham Asylum, there is a reprieve.  A necessary reprieve.

Through the years many characters have arisen that curse Batman for letting The Joker’s life continue.  Often they end up dead at the Joker’s hands.  In those cases where Batman can stop them before they do what he will not, they become characters deeply and troublingly tortured, unable to wait for the next story or let go of their own personal bloodlust.

In the most recent years The Joker has begun to shift back a bit from his darkest period and circumstances force Batman to work with him against some common foe, all the while having to watch his own back as The Joker’s character remains fundamentally unchanged.  Compromise, even with Satan incarnate is possible in the right situation.

The MOU is not an end – it is simply a pause in a story the end of which is yet to come.  We need the reprieve – there are other priorities that require our attention.  And we must watch our back most cautiously and vigilantly.  But there is more story to come.  Only God knows what that story will be.