Happy World Book Day! š
— Matchbloc (@matchbloc.bsky.social) March 5, 2026 at 4:39 AM
There will be a point in the future where Trumps presidency is widely viewed as an unmitigated failure & much of what he's attempted to do during these four years will be easily swept away. When that happens Trump will have the biggest crash out of all time & blame everyone in his admin but himself.
— Daniel Gilmore (@gilmored85.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I am really looking forward to that day
— Daniel Gilmore (@gilmored85.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 4:01 PM
BREAKING on MS NOW:
The House Oversight Committee just voted to subpoena Pam Bondi as part of the panel's Epstein investigation.
The vote was 24-19. 5 Republicans voted in favor.— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Fine by me. One party is the party of illegal war, the other isn't. Voters, make your choices.
— Chatham Harrison dba TRUMP DELENDUS EST (@chathamharrison.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 6:58 PM
I left the classified briefing on Iran even more concerned about what comes next as Trump drags us into what's so clearly a war.Ā
This Administration has no plan. American lives are on the line.— Senator Andy Kim (@kim.senate.gov) March 3, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Let's be clear: the U.S. had a deal that could have prevented Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
Trump ripped up that deal.
Then he started a war instead of doing the hard work of diplomacy to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) March 4, 2026 at 9:40 AM
In the modern era, no American president has ordered more military strikes against as many different countries as Donald Trump. None.
— Elizabeth Warren (@warren.senate.gov) March 4, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Trump started a war in the Middle East.
Six Americans dead. Thousands stranded.
His justification? He had āa feeling.ā— Hakeem Jeffries (@hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Trump is throwing away a billion taxpayer dollars a day on another war in the Middle East.
All while cutting funding for health care, SNAP, and childrenās cancer research.— Ken Martin (@kenmartin.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Less than a week into Trumpās reckless war in the Middle East, gas prices are already rising.
He promised safety, affordability, and no new wars.
He lied.— Katherine Clark (@whipkclark.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 10:56 AM
If the economy is otherwise in good condition but Republicans get pasted on the economy in November because they drove gas prices through the roof all summer, they will have to invent new kinds of number to express the degree of schadenfreude I will feel
— Chatham Harrison dba TRUMP DELENDUS EST (@chathamharrison.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 1:56 PM
The Republicans' farm bill is a BETRAYAL of MAHA. It would:
š¢ļøPrevent communities from regulating pesticides.
š¤®Allow more toxins dumped into our water.
ā ļøGive CORPORATE IMMUNITY to companies that make cancer-causing chemicals.
Trump & RFK lied to win. Iām taking them on.— Rep. Jim McGovern (@repmcgovern.bsky.social) March 4, 2026 at 1:18 PM
this will have greater impacts than just on farmers, but it never stops being kind of satisfying that farmers, who voted overwhelmingly for trump, have been on the horns of basically every single terrible decision this admin has made
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachine.com) March 4, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Yeah man itās absolutely crazy that when republicans control the chamber, and every republican votes for something, it passes even if all the democrats vote no.
Itās almost like it would be better if the democrats were in charge.— uosdÉÆį“S ÉuÉź· š¦ (@danacorn.bsky.social) March 5, 2026 at 12:18 AM
War for Ukraine Day 1,469: Have I Got a Deal for You!
Baud
What’s a book?
Baud
Fetterman and Rand Paul both crossed over, so the “both sides” contingent doesn’t have to prevaricate as much as if it were a strict party line vote.
Baud
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Montana seems to have a thing for violent politicians, which is a shame because it’s a beautiful state with lots of nice residents. I wonder if there are any liberal-leaning MMA fighters in the state.
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
So much of what’s wrong with the US flows from the addiction to dick swinging.
Suzanne
I have to sayā¦.. very proud of the Dems. (I guess Fetterman and Landsman are being dumb, but fuck ’em.) A generation ago, when Congress voted on the AUMF, some Dems gave in to the shitstorm. I am heartened that this time, we’re being smarter.
I have a colleague on my project team who is from Iran. I took some time with her yesterday to ask how she was feeling and how her family members are doing. As expected: thrilled that Khameini is gone, scared of being in a war zone, terrified about what comes next. A swirl of feelings.
Suzanne
@Baud: You could say the same about the whole world. Not sure that’s comforting.
ETA: I wish they gave out medals and honors for prudent judgment and deterrence.
Baud
@Suzanne:
Dick swinging is not a useless skill. But a society that values it as the only or most important quality is a declining society.
mappy!
Plans.
Oops.
Baud
@mappy!:
“Where did we put that Mission Accomplished sign?”
I hope those advisors and allies are successful, regardless of the effect on midterms.
Princess
Stable Genius Trump also imposed a 10% tariff on potash from Canada, something the US does not produce at all and which the farmers need. One danger for the US is that if fertilizer prices go up, Canada can get better prices for their potash elsewhere. And shipping by sea is so much cheaper than shipping by land (needs to get to port though).
Baud
Princess
@Baud: Given that the only plan seems to be to destabilize the entire ME even more the longer it goes on, it canāt end soon enough.
J.
Sadly, no matter how bad things get, there are still tens of millions of Americans who will always vote Republican/never vote for a Democrat.
Suzanne
@Baud: Agree. Like everything else, there is a time and place for dick swinging. Wisdom would mean we know what those times and places apart from others.
That’s why I have such a visceral and negative reaction to any rhetoric right now that implies, “Hey, maybe this could be great!”. There is a ton of dispassionate analysis that needs to happen before one should feel comfortable making that suggestion, and none of it is in evidence. It leads to fantastical thinking such as , “We’ll be greeted as liberators!”, which is an example of the lies we told ourselves about dick swinging. We have to be on guard against that kind of thinking.
oldster
@Baud:
“Dick swinging is not a useless skill….”
I dunno about that.
But I do know that back when Nixon was president, I would have been happy to see Dick swinging.
Baud
@Princess:
Those who seek to own the libs will become the property of others.
Baud
Just look at that parking lot
āSend lawyers, guns & moneyā¦ Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā the shit has hit the fanā
Jackie
The FFOTUS administration is so good at shutting the barn door afterā¦
Who didnāt know gas prices would immediately shoot up if Iran was attacked?
(Apparently the very Stable Genius)
Baud
@Jackie:
More EVs?
MagdaInBlack
@Just look at that parking lot: …… how was I to know she was with the Russians too ?
Suzanne
@Jackie: These people have all the foresight of lemmings.
Baud
MagdaInBlack
@Princess: Gosh, perfect timing, as here we are coming up on planting season.
Ever the stable genius indeed.
Baud
Baud
Dorothy A. Winsor
My writer group met last night. One of the guys has a daughter living in Dubai. He says she says everything is calmer now but it was scary for a couple of days. Her husband was stuck in Amsterdam and finally had to fly to Oman and then rent a car and driver to drive for 7 hours to get home. He needed the driver because you can’t drive a car you don’t own into Dubai. So she was home alone with their 3yo when the bombs hit. They had to tell the kid that it was fireworks.
Baud
Betty Cracker
@Baud: I’ve been following this issue intermittently via the Brennan Center’s issue tracking page here. I’m not sure which is scarier, the idea that the DOJ will illegally order states to purge voters or that they’re sharing highly sensitive PII with DHS.
Until last week, CISA at DHS was run by a rando Noem brought with her from SD. He was removed to another position after drawing Congressional scrutiny (from Dems, I assume) about fuckups like uploading DHS data to ChatGPT and failing a polygraph.
SFAW
Re: Jeffries talking about how Piggy “had a feeling”:
The temptation is to say “fuck his feelings,” but I won’t yield to temptation.
Jackie
Heh
How many republicans/independents will vote for Paxton BECAUSE of FFOTUSās demand that whoever he doesnāt endorse drop out of the race??
SFAW
@Baud:
Interesting comment from The Pantsless One.
Baud
@Jackie:
Surprisingly, Cornyn got more votes than Paxton in the primary. He is also considered a stronger opponent against Talarico.
lowtechcyclist
@Betty Cracker:
Also, what would we do without Montanaās dental floss crop? š
Baud
@SFAW:
Maybe if more dudes let their dicks swing naturally, they would feel less need to compensate through more destructive actions.
Geminid
@Jackie: That $10/bbl rise in oil prices since this war began is on top of $10/bbl rise since the runup to the war. At the beginning January, the West Texas Intermediate benchmark price was around $56/bbl.
It rose steadily throughout the US military build up in the Middle East, and then it took off Saturday and now it’s $77/bbl. So this war has actually increased prices by $21 a barrel.
hueyplong
@Baud: I’ve seen speculation that the third candidate’s voters are more likely to vote for Paxton now that their hero is out, so this race might come down to how motivated those people are to go vote again, this time for the consolation prize of their second choice.
I’d advise each candidate to go scorched earth, starting now, and for the loser to hold a forever grudge against the winner and against Trump, as my second choice to what I’d actually like each candidate to do.
Professor Bigfoot
Well, what a glorious morning. Iām on a flight right now to go visit my old college roomies in California.
I had one tire with a slow leak, been putting off getting new tires; but since the Mrs. was taking me to the airport, I wanted to make sure it was OK. Went to have it fixed and it was unfixableā thereās a grand into a new set of tires right there.
Then this morning I came downstairs at 3:30 am to find massive amounts of doggie barf in the living room. Got that cleaned up (big girl has a thing for tissues) and hope sheās OK, but decided to go ahead with the trip.
Mrs. B dropped me at the Cleveland airportā¦ and wrecked the car on the way back home. Slid into a wall on BRAND NEW TIRES.
I only figured it out because it was an hours drive up here so I checked her iPhone location and it stayed in the same spot on the freeway for too long, so I called andā¦ found out JUST as I was boarding the damn airplane.
NEVERMIND the horrible family drama Iām still dealing with.
Just BLOODY HELL.
Sorry, please excuse the rant.
Baud
@Professor Bigfoot:
Damn. That is a lot.
Kayla Rudbek
@Baud: yeah, I have seen far fewer accusations of sexual crimes and harassment against male endurance athletes (runners, cyclists) who are engaged in āman vs. natureā than against your average businessman, lawyer, politician, clergyman, military officer, etc.
(itās not zero, Oscar Pistorius being an infamous example)
Geminid
From Ankara-basedĀ Clash Report:
And Israeli Kan News reporter Roi Kais posted this news from Lebanon:
Jackie
@Baud: Yeh, but thereās always that faction of voters who donāt like having their voting options taken away from themā¦ plus a bit of āDONāT TELL ME WHAT TO DO!ā
Ramalama
That Wired article lays out the problem of moving nitrogen fertilizer from Arabic countries to the US, and this article in The Walrus ( Canadian ) lays out the other problem of fertilizing crops: potash is limited to Russia, Belarus, and Canada.
I never gave thought to the variations of how to fertilize food crops, I thought ā¦ endless possibilities. I never knew the limitations until now. I spent one summer detasseling corn as a teen, so I appreciate the immense labor.
Suzanne
@Professor Bigfoot: Oh that SUCKS. I’m so sorry. I hope Mrs. Bigfoot is holding up okay.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyoneššš
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
Ramalama
@Professor Bigfoot: Are you talking about your beloved Porsche? Is your wife ok? Sorry that the game of Life has procured a penalty card for you at this time.
Baud
Jackie
@Professor Bigfoot: I hope YOUR FLIGHT is inevitable! Holy moly what a day you and Mrs BF have had already!
Gvg
@Professor Bigfoot: is she OK? A wreck bad enough to finish the car can leave a person pretty shook up. And if she had to wait hours on police reports and tows beside a freeway, well, I don.āt consider that a good day.
Otherwise my sympathies to you both. Just a very bad day or series of events. And unplanned car shopping isnāt fun either. I always prefer several months of research and test drives before committing to a model to hunt for a deal on. Being rushed is a pain.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Professor Bigfoot: Cripes. You deserve some kind of reward.
satby
@Professor Bigfoot: I’m so sorry! I hope Mrs. B is ok!
WaterGirl
@Professor Bigfoot: iām sorry. Every bit of that is so unsettling, especially when youāre traveling.
Ben Cisco
@Jackie: Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a hell of a thing.
Barbara
@Professor Bigfoot: āIt’s the worst feeling to be far away when you’re needed at home and you know you can’t get there. I hope everyone is okay and that things improve!
Ben Cisco
@Professor Bigfoot: HOLY CRAP dude, that’s terrible.
Hope Mrs. B is OK.
narya
@Professor Bigfoot: damn, dude; I hope everyone is okay and that you’re able to enjoy what sounds like a great trip!
schrodingers_cat
@Professor Bigfoot: How Mrs BF ? I hope she is doing okay.
Layer8Problem
@Baud:Ā “The kilted Scot is among the most peaceful and gentle of people.”
Booger
@Baud: Suffered a broken arm is a pretty passive voice way to describe it.
trnc
“Easily swept away?” Breaking shit takes almost no time. Rebuilding or replacing takes quite a while, andĀ govt/political rebuilding takes place in an increasingly right wing media landscape.
Imagine how long it takes to raze a building and then how long it takes to build something in it’s place. Now imagine that there are a seemingly endless number of people on the job site just shouting non-stop about how stupid this new building is, and you have a pretty good idea of the effect that Fox News, et al will have on that process.
Jackie
A good read from one of the attorneys involved arguing against FFOTUSās validations for the tariffs:
Jeffro
The only problem Dem candidates are going to have this November is, āwhat order should I put the issues in?ā
(or possibly, āhow can I pick a top-three-things-to-run-on when SO much is spectacularly wrong under GOP rule?ā)
– gas prices
– vibes-based war initiated in the Middle East
– still no Epstein Files?
– measles and other health-related insanity
– ICE insanity
– open corruption of every kind at every level
twbrandt
@Professor Bigfoot: Thatās a lot. I hope Mrs. B is OK.
twbrandt
Here is Talaricoās speech after winning the primary. Worth a watch.
dww4
@J.: Iām having an extended back and forth with a family member who is currently trying to justify to me and others, including himself, that the destruction of the Iranian dictatorship justifies the means. Yesterday he shared NYT op-ed about the freeing of the Iranian people from the cruelty of the Khomani regime, I shared back one of the comments there about the warās illegality. Iāve got lots of relatives Ā who always vote for the āRā.
Like in 2004 theyāve gone silent. Ā This time Iām not backing off as they were raised to revere what this country stood for, just as I was. Iām pushing back, respectfully but firmly. Ā Many will continue to support the administration because, as my sister says , after 3 decades of consuming only partisan propaganda they are unable to accept reality. Deep down they do know better.
Jeffro
per that first Gilmore tweet: wonāt it be great when the GOP wakes up the day after getting completely destroyed in the midterms and its heir apparent is the incredibly un-charismatic (and super-closely tied to trump) JD Vance?
NowĀ thereāsĀ a fresh start for the party on the road to 2028, eh?
āSign up for four/eight more years of trumpian corruption, malice, and incompetence in the service of billionaires – vote Vance!ā
Trivia Man
@Jackie: bet: he was planning go in over the weekend with the decapitation strike, public would rise up and denounce their ayatollahs, by monday it would all be over. Stable and grateful iran? Lower gas prices!
Soprano2
@Jackie: Are you kidding me? Geez, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the price of gas went up $0.10/gal on the first day! Surely they cannot be serious that they didn’t anticipate this happening. I got gas on Saturday morning, when it was still $2.19/gal. Yesterday I drove past the WalMart gas station on the way to an appointment; gas was $2.29/gal. When I came back by 2 1/2 hrs later, it was $2.49/gal, and that’s probably the cheapest price in town right now.
Suzanne
I have to travel next week for a work trip. One of our cats has been sick and we have been told that recovery will be a few weeks. The trip will be good but I feel badly about being gone right now.
Scout211
Punchbowl News Ā with some gossip about Kristi Noemās answers yesterday.
And New York Magazine:
Is Noem Sleeping With Lewandowski? Well, She Didnāt Say āNo.ā
Tick, Tick, Tick, ICE Barbie
Soprano2
@Professor Bigfoot: Wow, that’s a lot of shit to deal with in 24 hours. Hope it gets better.
CCL
@Booger:Ā Always amazes me how the passive voice instantly and simply wipes away all responsibility and accountability.Ā Immediately the preparator is erased. Poof!Ā No one did this thing …it just happened ..fell out of the sky.Ā Ā Heavens forbid we identify the culprit.
Rant over
p.a.
What are the odds true believer rapture-ists are in control of military policy and hoping to bring about the literal (yes I know it’s not actually biblical) fundy/rapture apocalypse? Ā tRump won’t be a believer, but can be talked into the attacks for any number of other reasons.
I think the odds may be > 10%!!!
Trivia Man
@Baud: world naked bike ride in june, check for local events near you!
Suzanne
@CCL: “Mistakes were made.”
trnc
Something you throw at someone.
Trivia Man
@Geminid: and we know it doesnāt exist for normies until it hits the pump.
The official price of record for many industries who make payments based on pump price is eia.gov. They have an excel table showing prices back to 1994 so a handy way to see swings over time. Tracked by week, month, national average, and regional average.
mappy!
On message. Ann Telnaes,
Professor Bigfoot
@Baud:
@Suzanne:
@Ramalama:
@Jackie:
@Gvg:
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
@satby:
@WaterGirl:
Thanks for all the kind wishes; the missus is just fine- she tells me the only thing really hurt on the car (not the Porsche but my SHO daily driver) was one of the wheels. Or so she says; sheās having it towed (!!).
I havenāt really described the family drama; but it involves jail and capital murder charges so thatās one more thing beating me in the faceā¦
trnc
@Baud:
The only way DOJ will protect those voters’ dataĀ is if all their names had been changed to “Donald Trump.”
SFAW
@Baud:
I kinda figured that was your rationale. Just wanted to give you a setup so you could state it with out being obvious or something.
Chief Oshkosh
@oldster: Of course, back then, “swinging” was just coming into its own…
Gin & Tonic
@Barbara: Last fall I was on a sailboat in the Adriatic when I learned my dear wife had totaled her car and was on her way to the ED. Yes, it’s stressful.
In semi-parallel to the Prof’s travails, it started with a slow leak in a tire, with which she went to the tire shop twice, to have them say “we can’t find anything.” Then that tire blew out at a very unfortunate moment and sent her into a retaining wall.
Kathleen
@Professor Bigfoot: Oh my gosh! Is your wife OK? I’m gathering you may not know yet about the car. Sending you mojo for quick resolution of “issues” and that you still enjoy your trip!
SFAW
@Professor Bigfoot:
I hope Mrs. Bigfoot is OK. Sorry about all the bad stuff happening.
Chief Oshkosh
@Jackie:
Excellent. This approach gave us the nitwit telling Americans that they can get a healthy meal on $2.57 (ETA: or whatever) per day, and later, another nitwit telling us to buy cheap meat and liver.
I guess the next nitwit is going to tell us to quickly turn off our car’s engine as we crest a hill and then coast. If only we’d been smart enough to buy electric cars. See? It’s all our fault.
Kathleen
@Ramalama: So is the upside the fact that gas prices will get so high it will be too expensive to go to the store but it won’t matter because there won’t be any food in the store? (I’m trying to rebrand as a “Glass Is Half Full” gal).
Gin & Tonic
@mappy!: Boy, that portrayal of Hegseth is brutal.
prufrock
@Soprano2: Happiness is owning a Kia Niro EV.
Soprano2
@Gin & Tonic: I had a shop tell me that it was just my tire meter saying the pressure was low because it was cold. A few days later it started up with the low pressure thing again, and I went to another shop. They actually put the car on a lift and looked at the tire; they found a screw with a washer on it in that tire! No way the first shop even looked at it, they would have found that easily.
Trivia Man
@CCL: sure looks like it was the senator himself who did it. Ex military of some kind, clearly in war fighting mode. If there is no official censure by the body for this that will be disgusting.
YY_Sima Qian
@Jackie: Heh, there is a reason all previous administrations had shied away from waging high intensity war directly w/ Iran, & that includes the Trump 45 administration. Israel & CENCOM have always been gun-ho, as is the most hawkish part of the natsec esblishment, but everyone else knew what would happen if the US & Israel launched a war to attempt regime change – the Islamist regime will lash out in all directions, threaten oil/gas production in the GCC states, close the Strait of Hormuz, all of which spike energy costs (except renewables) – take the region & the world hostage to get the US & Israel to back off. 100% predictable.
Professor Bigfoot
First time Iāve been on an aeroplane in over 5 years. TSA was horrible; the line was an hour long; unless you ponyup for āCLEARā (a free 2 week trial and Iām cancelling that crap the moment I get back home) which led to a shorter line (20 minutes).
THE BEST PART, though, is that I travelled for work for YEARS weighing a good bit more than I do now; and Iām astonished at just how comfortable I am. (no, not actuallyĀ comfortable, just a lot lessĀ uncomfortable. š¤£)
Soprano2
@Gin & Tonic: And so, so true. He’s emblematic of how these people care more about how things look than how they actually are or how they work. Hegseth looks like he came from central casting and he was on TV, so FFOTUS thinks he’s great!
Scout211
@mappy!:
And Rubioās dead eyes. Ā Perfect.
Soprano2
@prufrock: I’m glad I have a hybrid again. I get around 500 miles from a tank of gas, and that’s mostly driving around town.
Wapiti
@Baud: A couple years back AG Ferguson from WA won a price-fixing case against (iirc) tuna and chicken canners. The state didn’t/couldn’t figure out who bought how much tuna; they divided the returned money between the state’s low-income families, $X for a single person, $2X for two or more persons in the household.
Steve LaBonne
@Professor Bigfoot: Oh my, what a day from hell. I hope you can manage to enjoy your trip anyway.
trnc
@dww4:Ā ā
Good for you for pushing back. Right wingers have been hearing anti-govt nonsense for so long, “illegal” doesn’t really matter much to them anymore (particularly when the criminals are republican). It would be nice for the media to occasionally point out that most laws actually DO have a reason beyond “a bunch of people felt like passing it.” Eg, illegal wars are really bad because the damage they create far outweigh any benefit.
This is especially true when the propagator of the war has to lie about what the “benefit” is.
Suzanne
@Soprano2:
The OG Nazi tattoo guy!
Jesus take the wheel.
Steve LaBonne
Josh Marshall on how keeping the Strait of Hormuz open will be… a lot more complicated than anyone in the Trump regime seems to understand. Surprise!
trnc
@Suzanne: Good luck! We have an almost 19 year old cat that we have to water every few days (SQ fluids), and we’re trying to figure out care while we go on a 3 day trip to Atlanta. Fortunately, the cat isn’t really sick (beyond the kidney problems).
YY_Sima Qian
Many of my PRC based colleagues are in Barcelona for the MWC, & have been set to meet many of our Chinese customers there. Only many of the Chinese teams were undermanned, because parts of their teams are stuck in Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Riyadh, transferring flights when the war kicked off.
Rachel Bakes
@Professor Bigfoot: is your wife okay?! Ā Thatās a tough morning. Safe travels.
trnc
@Scout211: So, not Noem’s totally incompetent leadership, but her saying that Trump approved the corruption, which everyone knew. That’s what Trump is mad about.
Note to Don, Susie and senate repubs: hiring another completely incompetent person to fill the job won’t actually solve the problems.
Soprano2
@Suzanne: I think for FFOTUS the tattoo was a bonus, because it outraged liberals. Is anyone surprised that military people feel free to tell those under their command that this war is to bring on the Second Coming?
TONYG
@Suzanne: It should be loudly pointed out, every day, all day long, that in Venezuela the Trump regime kidnapped Maduro but left literally his entire regime in power. Ā And Hegseth has ridiculed the idea of a democratic transition in Iran. Ā That does to bode well for the opposition in Iran.
mappy!
Fill tank, get groceries, repeat in two weeks with next paycheck?
trnc
@Professor Bigfoot:Ā ā
No need to apologize. Sorry to hear about all the crap you’re dealing with.
Trivia Man
@Steve LaBonne: I read someplace that oil fir china and India was still allowed through.
YY_Sima Qian
What had happened in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait during the Houthi blockade is now being repeated in the Strait for Hormuz.
Capesh*t:
Versus reality:
Click through the X link for map of range rings of PLA missiles.
Trivia Man
@Trivia Man: fun fact: this is the same senator who ran as a wounded veteran. Turns out, it wasnt a war wound. Shot himself accidentally on a trip to glacier park.
YY_Sima Qian
Israel using Iran’s playbook:
Of course, one could argue that this was the Israeli playbook to begin w/, perhaps learned from the British: Christian militias in Lebanon, Druze in Syria, the early Hamas in Palestine.
Baud
At some point people will learn.
Kayla Rudbek
@Professor Bigfoot: you definitely have a lot to rant about! I hope you and Mrs. Bigfoot are okay.
Bulgakov
Just gonna say that living in the KS district represented by the Ho-Chunk, lesbian, MMA Congress critter is not all I hoped it would be. In her first run in 2018 I donated and had a yard sign and went to town hall, in 2020 I donated and had a yard sign, in 2022 & 2024 I had a yard sign. I will vote for her this year, but otherwise she has been a major disappointment. She votes with Republicans way too often. She has the dreaded ‘bipartisan’ infection, she has not yet sent out an e-mail to her constituents without proclaiming her ‘bipartisan’ credentials multiple times. She’s not as bad as the slimy Kevin Yoder, who she defeated, but she votes more like Jan Myers (former R Rep for the district, 85-97) than Dennis Moore (former D Rep for the district, 99-07).
The only other MMA fighter who seems to be in congress is Markwayne Mullin, and we know what an idiot he is.
different-church-lady
“Well sure, but why aren’t the feckless Democrats speaking out?!2?”
YY_Sima Qian
@Baud: Pretty much sums it up:
different-church-lady
@YY_Sima Qian: I have to say, it can be very impressive how good Israel is at doing shitty things.
Chief Oshkosh
@Baud: Yep. They want ’em to die, preferably quietly and far away from facilities. Remember, injured veterans make Trump uncomfortable.
Chief Oshkosh
@Baud: I don’t even want to look. How much gold is going right into Trump’s coffers?
Chief Oshkosh
@Soprano2: I think I mentioned in another thread, my local Walmart had no mid or premium grade gasoline at all by Monday or Tuesday.
Layer8Problem
@Professor Bigfoot:Ā Damn, that’s a lot of bad.Ā I hope she’s ok.
Steve LaBonne
@Baud: I’m 70 and I have been waiting a hell of a long time for people to learn. Forgive me if I’m not optimistic.
Another Scott
@Geminid: +1
Oil jumps around a lot. It’s about where it was in January 2025.
Yeah, it’s going up, but it doesn’t mean instant doom. We (sensible people) have to keep our wits about us as we work to throw the monsters out.
(Something I try to remember about markets – by the time I hear about it in the popular press, all the traders and arbitrage folks have already locked-in their profits and hedges. Me trying to time actions at that point is pretty much a guaranteed way to lose money. So I’ve never tried to be a trader.)
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Baud
different-church-lady
@Baud:
Easy: once Noem gets fired, give that vet her plane.
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: Speaking of lashing out in all directions, two Iranian drones struck the city of Nakhchivan yesterday Nakhchivan is the capital of the Azerbaijani enclave of the same name . It’s seperated from the rest of Azerbaijan by a 30 mile-wide strip of Armenian territory.
One drone hit the airport terminal and the other landed near a school. Fortunately, no one was injured. Ankara-based Clash ReportĀ posted this about Azerbaijan’s reaction:
Iran said it wasn’t us, it must have been the Israelis. Clash Report identified the drones as two of lran’s long-range Aresh 2 models
Ed. Iran did acknowledge that it fired the ballistic missile intercepted yesterday over the Turkiye’s Hatay Province. They said the missile was aimed at Cyprus but went off-course. It just happened to be headed in the direction of Turkiye’s Incirlik Air Force Base.
The Turks called Iran’s ambassador in to the Foreign Ministry in Ankara to discuss the matter, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Arangchi. President Erdogan assured Turkish citizens that “clear warnings” were issued.
frosty
@Professor Bigfoot: No need to excuse the rant. I hope Ms. Bigfoot is OK. What a terrible combination of circumstances!
different-church-lady
@Baud: The kids aren’t alright.
Belafon
@Jackie: Paxton is telling Trump to pick him because he’ll make things a mess if Trump doesn’t.
Suzanne
@TONYG:
Yeah, exactly.
I know everyone here hates Ezra Klein ā with good reason ā but he does often have good guests on his podcast. Yesterday’s episode was with Ben Rhodes, who was an Obama advisor. He made the exact pointā¦. we would love to see a peaceful democratic government there, but there hasn’t been an uprising yet.
Link takes you to the audio as well as to a transcript.
different-church-lady
@Another Scott:
I keep being told the only way to get the monsters out is to yell and scream a lot more.
RevRick
@Professor Bigfoot: Sorry to hear about your wifeās accident. Hope sheās okay. Also sorry that Murphyās law chose today for you.
Castor Canadensis
@oldster:
When I first read that, I thought it was duck swinging
Scout211
@Baud: Wow.
From your link:
Now thereās an interesting paradox for young women.
āMake money but Iām still the boss of you!ā
Another Scott
@Professor Bigfoot: Ouch!Ā That’s a lot.Ā ā¹ļø
Fingers crossed that Mrs BF is ok and recovers quickly and fully.Ā Fingers crossed for das Auto too.
Best of luck with your trip!
Best wishes,
Scott.
cmorenc
@Gvg: speaking of being rushed on a new car decision – years ago my wife and I were driving her aging Honda to the local Honda dealership on a rainy day to begin what we planned to be an unhurried consideration of its eventual replacement, with no actual purchase decision for several more weeks. Ā But alas at the stoplight to turn into the dealership, the old car stalled out and would not restart. Ā An alert car salesman rushed out to help us push the car out of the intersection into the dealership lot.
Alas, our helpful savior car salesman turned out to be the classic slick-lizard stereotype car salesman type, and we were confronted on the spot with some likely expensive repairs on our old car and a couple of days doing without it if we deferred the new car decision. Ā We wound up buying a new car from that salesman, but had to put up with and resist every classic pressure technique to try to get us to purchase needless extras or financing we did not need, and we werenāt in the best bargaining position on price or trade-in valur in the situation- but fortunately were in a position (barely) to pay cash for the new car. Ā Worst car-buying experience ever.
Belafon
@dww4: So your relative would be totally ok if another country decided the best thing to do would be to bomb the White House?
I would also point out that nearly every one of the people taking over is more ruthless than their predecessors, including the new Khomani.
Suzanne
@Scout211: Ali Wong said, “The only kind of man that would leave a woman who makes more money is the kind of man that doesn’t like free money.”
Jackie
@Baud:
Maybe this is why they donāt have girlfriends?
Dave
@Baud: This would benefit me so of course it won’t pass at least I’m not silly enough to think the GOP is at all on my side of course.
Belafon
@Baud: “The Bible says you must marry me after I rape you.”
Scout211
I thought the done deal was a done deal. Probably still a done deal, but delayed.
Castor Canadensis
@dww4:
The knowledge might be pretty buried. A US soldier who got “re-educated” by the Chinese took 12 years to recover. See leaflessca.wordpress.com/2025/10/19/brainwashing/
catclub
rant fully justified.Ā Good luck fixing all the things.
RevRick
@Soprano2: The price of gas, though rising, will not spike as it did in 1973 & 1979, because thereās a huge amount of oil stored in offshore tankers and onshore tanks. Of more immediate concern is the cutoff of fertilizer from the Persian Gulf, since Spring planting season is upon us and modern staple crops depend upon huge fertilizer inputs. We can manage a shortfall of oil production for a while. We canāt manage the fertilizer supply being choked off.
catclub
@Trivia Man: I think a strike 6 weeks ago, at the peak of the demonstrations, might have had that effect.
After the IRGC got organized in mass killings of demonstrators, not as much.
dc
@Scout211: Is there still time to comment? If so, does anyone know how to get the link to the site?
catclub
@cmorenc: I think the advice now is: agree to financing – they think they will make lots on financing, so cut you slack on other stuff – then pay off the loan immediately.
frosty
I used to do this in my 1990 Miata and got it up to 40 mpg for a tank once. Sadly, thanks to the Feds it’s no longer possible. My 2014 Mazda 3 has an interlock on the clutch so that the ignition circuit won’t connect unless the clutch is all the way to the floor. No more bump starts! Boo!!!!
schrodingers_cat
@different-church-lady:You can’t outscream the monsters, so the people telling you to do so, secretly want the monsters to win.
That’s my conclusion.
YY_Sima Qian
@Geminid: At this point, it could just be low/mid-level IRGC commanders w/ delegated authorities acting on their grievances:
catclub
Wait, there had been an uprising!Ā Six weeks ago.
Does he mean an uprising since the US bombing started?
Chief Oshkosh
@different-church-lady: Boy, Johnson is soooo special.
@frosty: Were there any longterm effects on the starting components?
YY_Sima Qian
Why are the Iraqi Kurds even entertaining the idea of venturing into Iran?
Any statelet or nation under the US’ historical patronage needs to seriously rethink those relations.
frosty
@YY_Sima Qian: The only edit needed is “… (Republican) U.S. Senator …
lowtechcyclist
@prufrock:
Though electricity prices per kwh are also going up, thanks to all the AI data centers.Ā At least the price swings won’t be crazy like with gasoline.
Baud
@YY_Sima Qian:
Say what, now?
There’s nothing better in life than rejecting a Trump request.
Suzanne
@catclub: Yes, that’s what he meant. FFOTUS told them “Take back your country”, but easier said than done.
Rhodes makes the point that we have been seeing positive movement in Iran, though it is slower than we want. He explains how the Obama Admin decided that it was more likely to be successful to let that change happen organically than to go in with this “head on a pike” strategy.
Scout211
Here is the site. Ā But itās closed
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: That is the likely explaination for the strikes on Azerbaijan, maybe also the strikes on Oman. When Iranian FM Araghchi was asked about the Oman strikes he somewhat sheepishly explained that his government did not control all targeting decisions.
And that’s a fact. Under the Islamic Republic system, government officials like Araghchi and President Pezeshkian are subordinate to the National Securoty Council appointed by the late Supreme Leader Khameini.
A few days before his deathĀ Khameini delegated executive powers to Mr. Larijani, the Security Council Secretary, in the event of his death. Larijani has authority–maybe– over the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that controls Iran’s missiles and drones. The President and Foreign Minister do not.
Gretchen
New reporting says army used chat gpt to order attack on girls school using 10 year old information. It was a military site back then. No word on whether a human checked the coordinates before letting missiles fly.
Trivia Man
@Baud: at some point? Assumes facts not in evidence.
Jackie
@Gretchen:
A human in this administration would have been useless, so Iām sure no one bothered.
hueyplong
@Jackie: A human in this administration would under no circumstances seek to prevent the bombing of a girls’ school.
YY_Sima Qian
@YY_Sima Qian: The WaPo article Soylu is quoting from (gift link below):
Bibi & Trump really working hard to have Iranian nationalism win over detestation of the Islamist regime.
Another point to consider is that the Ayatollahs are both political & religious leaders. That is the nature of a religious regime. What kind of reactions would assassinating ayatollahs incite from the large segment of Iranian populations who are religious conservatives?
Baud
@Gretchen:
That’s worse than lawyers citing fake cases because they used chatgpt to write their briefs.
catclub
Trump could be no worse for the Kurds than any other US regime. We always tell them we are backing them, and then we don’t. See ‘AnFal’ (1991?)
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: Don’t these people check ChatGpt’s work. I would do that even with a human research assistant
Miss Bianca
@dww4:
Are you sure?
YY_Sima Qian
@YY_Sima Qian: So, the ME regional war long feared is gathering steam:
It’s just f*cking Mar.!
Trivia Man
@Suzanne: they want the money- they just want her to hand it over to them
Jackie
Oh, dear Dog! Heās been all over the media circuit this week – reminding us of how stupid he is.
Trivia Man
@catclub: be certain there is no penalty for early payment. Not as common as it used to be but sometimes in the fine print still
YY_Sima Qian
We could see such sentiments rise rapidly in the ME region:
fourmorewars
When is World Book and a Drink Day?
is that love squeeze – Search
YY_Sima Qian
@frosty: Absolutely.
YY_Sima Qian
@YY_Sima Qian: I am dizzy from all the craziness:
lowtechcyclist
@Professor Bigfoot:
Yipes!Ā Hope Mrs. B is OK. I’m sure she’s a bit shaken up from having been in that accident, but hopefully that’s the worst of it.
I guess you don’t know if the car’s totaled, or whether insurance will pay to fix it, or what. Good luck on dealing with that.
Hope you are able to enjoy your trip anyway.Ā Never encountered TSA lines of more than ~20 minutes, even flying over Christmas – wonder if the DHS shutdown is affecting that.
lowtechcyclist
Weird that there’s no picture of World Book encyclopedias!
Jackie
@Scout211: Update on FFOTUSās pet project, per CNN:
Kirklin
Professor B, I sincerely hope things improve from such a dismal start.
Miss Bianca
@Trivia Man: Suppose it’s too much to hope for that this choad accidentally shoots himself in the face someday.
@Baud: Well, unlike the Boomers, they’re not going to have wives.
Kirklin
Re Paxton and Cormyn, note that Hunt was a 13 point spoiler. Since his positions strongly overlap Paxton’s I consider Coymyn the underdog here.
Peke Daddy
@Ramalama: Regenerative agriculture will become very popular soon.
Belafon
@Jackie: He tore up the White House so it had to go forward. I want him on the crew required to tear it down.
Belafon
@Kirklin: There’s no gap between any of their positions, only whether they whine or scream.
NoraLenderbee
@Scout211:Ā ā
That’s exactly what they’re saying.
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: So what are the alternatives for Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region? It exists because the US protected that region from the end of the first Gulf War through the second one, and then used its clout to ensure the autonomous status was guarenteed under Iraq’s post-war constitution. Who else can keep them from being caught between the Iraqi hammer and Turkish anvil?
There is no one. Leaders of KRG have to walk a tightrope now, and try to keep any operations inside Iran at arms length because they cannot stop them.
But there may not be any operations because right now, the US government seems to be hesitating. That kind of operation would draw the the US in deeper, and this administration can’t decide what it wants. Its strategy is incoherent.
But just in case it’s a longer war, CENTCOM has put out a request for more intelligence officers. They anticipate needing them 100 days, but they say it could be longer.
YY_Sima Qian
@Suzanne: Listening now, Ben Rhodes has been very good on this & most FP topics. Definitely worth listening. The discussion covered a lot of the 2nd & 3rd order effects at home & abroad.
Scout211
The reports I am reading state that they were still using Anthropicās Claude to plan all the strikes. Ā Same difference in that AI gave them inaccurate and outdated information. Ā Claude, ChatGPT. Ā Same information, outdated.
chemiclord
@Jeffro: Honestly, the Dems might have to make a choice between “Looking back” and “looking forward.”Ā We may very well might have to decide what is more important, punishing the crimes of the Trump Administration or pursuing progressive policy… because there might not be enough hours in the day in those first two years to do both.
A Ghost to Most
Popping the zit doesn’t cure the acne.
prostratedragon
@Gin & Tonic:Ā By which I presume you mean “wonderful,” “true-to-life,” or something.
Baud
@chemiclord:
The good news is, whatever they decide, it’ll be wrong.
Trivia Man
@Geminid: the us strategy isnāt incoherent at all – do whatever we say. We will make promises in return but have no intention of ever keeping our word.
Baud
@Trivia Man:
Also works for domestic policy. Very efficient.
schrodingers_cat
@Baud: It was enough for people who voted this nightmare and the DSA aligned left flank wants Democrats to do the same.
YY_Sima Qian
Something is going to have to give, at some point (from a comment to an FT article):
Baud
@YY_Sima Qian:
Those are some future Democratic leader’s problem.
Gretchen
@Bulgakov: What votes are you objecting to? I think sheās been solid on the important stuff and more across the aisle on uncontroversial things
Kathleen
@mappy!: Fortunately I only fill up about once a month! The joy of being old and boring and working close to home!
Gretchen
@schrodingers_cat: however they ended up bombing a girlās school they should have to answer for it, and if itās unchecked AI there should be serious consequences. āOops, sorry ā doesnāt cut it.
YY_Sima Qian
@Baud: If history is any guide, yeah…
Kayla Rudbek
@Baud: and they wonder why they are singleā¦seriously they canāt get anyone to paddle a kayak or ride a tandem bike with them, let alone a long term relationship.
different-church-lady
Well, so much for the hope that nobody will blindly trust A-I for life and death decisions.
different-church-lady
@RevRick:
Sure. Until they blow that up as well.
Scout211
100%. Ā It will be interesting (to say the least) if in fact, it does come out that they were still using Anthropic since Trump declared the company a national security risk and fired them hours before the attacks.
There are too many layers of awful here and too many innocents have already died. Ā Blaming it on AI will be the new defense for all things awful. Ā Maddening and scary.
Geminid
@YY_Sima Qian: So did the Iranians say where this incursion took place? I bet wherever it was, those Artesh soldiers didn’t stay long. Some of the Kurdish militia are extremely dangerous fighters, particularly the PJAK militia. They’re basically the PKK, and the PKK fought the Turkish state for 40 years. The only reason the Turkish soldiers could run push the PKK out of Turkiye was that they’re tough fighters too, and they had drones and fighter jets to help them.
Those PJAK fighters might not be willing to fight Iranians inside Iran at the behest of the US, although of them have fought inside Iran before. But if they had an opportunity to fight Iranians on their side of the border they’d come running.
But this Iranian claim might be an empty brag for domestic consumption, like their claim that they have killed 500 U.S. service members.
Melancholy Jaques
@Baud:
Ohio has become the Alabama of the north.
schrodingers_cat
@Gretchen:Ā @different-church-lady: Its the new dog-ate-my-homework excuse.
different-church-lady
@schrodingers_cat: Well, it’s more like, “The dog actually did eat my homework. Because I fed it to him.”
Gretchen
@Bulgakov: Sheās got a much different district than she did in 2018. Back then it included Lawrence and most of Wyandotte County. They cut those areas and added in a lot of rural constituencies in hopes of gerrymandering her out of office. She started paying more attention to farm and rural issues and kept her seat despite their efforts. Iām still happy with her.
schrodingers_cat
@different-church-lady: Who knows whether they messed up and are blaming AI or the AI messed up. Either way they are responsible for the fuck up.
frosty
@Chief Oshkosh: No long term effects. You don’t use the starter for a bump start, just pop the clutch and the turning wheels turn the engine and it starts. Same thing that a starter motor does.
Maybe a little extra wear on the clutch, but trivial.
prostratedragon
@YY_Sima Qian:Ā Well, the guy at the top does not acknowledge that other parties even exist, let alone have motives and response sets to be modelled. That guy is surrounded by those who are completely willing to cater to, if not themselves adopt, this frame of reference. Other people make themselves apparent, then confusion ensues.
Geminid
@Another Scott: I think the rise in oil prices will depend on how long the Iranians can keep the Straits of Hormuz closed. That could be five days, but it could be five weeks or five months for all I know.
This is another unknown and unknowable variable. There are a lot of those here, and they are why no one can accurately predict how this war will end.
prostratedragon
@chemiclord:Ā Precisely the dilemma of the last two Democratic administrations. Honest talk about limitations might not play well politically, though.
satby
@prostratedragon: honest talk of any kind doesn’t play well with an electorate addicted to magical thinking and wishcasting pretending to be policy goals.
Ramalama
@Peke Daddy:
Noice.
@Kathleen:
I’ve seen a few videos on this here blog about regenerative agriculture (I think?) that look pretty good. So .. kombucha glass half-full.
Possibly also: a good cattle prod to the keister in chief to make nice with Canada.
Citizen Alan
@Scout211:Ā the fundamental delusion of the incel: they all all think they are said spectacular, God-appointed men that they are entitled to having a beautiful woman in their life who is so eager to serve as both maid and concubine that the woman will pay for the privilege.
Geminid
@Gretchen:Ā Abigail Spanberger was Representative for a couple years, 2023-2025. I was into Spanberger’s district through redistricting, but I’d watched fairly closely before that.
Like Sharice Davids, Spanberger flipped a Republican seat in 2018. The two woman are very similar in their politics, and Spanberger did all the things the commenter complained about Davids doing. But I had no complaints.
Fun fact: Like Sharice Davids, Abigail Spanberger had martial arts training. But she was trained by the CIA for fights without rules.
Ramalama
@Professor Bigfoot:
Normally with the accident news / new tires expense, I’d say imbibe your brains out while in California. But with the awful compounding issues blamming (the Batman verb, pow! blam!) you all at once, maybe be really kind to yourself while visiting your old friend. Hopefully he’ll be an attentive and hilarious host for your stay.
Soprano2
@Trivia Man: And they want her to hide the fact that she makes more of it than they do.
prostratedragon
@satby:Ā True, that!
Bulgakov
@Gretchen
Her most recent dreadful vote was H.R. 7148: Consolidate Appropriations Act, 2026. She was a yes vote (1 of the 21 Democratic votes)
She voted yay on this one H Res. 1112 (118th): Denouncing the Biden administrations’ immigration policies. One of the 13 Democratic votes.
She voted yay on this one H.R. 7511 (118th): Laken Riley Act. One of 37 Democratic votes.
All of above from here govtrack.us/congress/members/sharice_davids/412780#google_vignette
I don’t think this is being solid on the important stuff.
Another Scott
@catclub:
Eh?
MiddleEastEye.net (from January):
The Kurds have long memories – they have to. They’re not going to take anything 47 says at face value because he has a history of dumping them. (I expect them to keep talking to him and say (with tears in their eyes) they’re working on it, etc., but not actually commit unless they see it in their own interest – even with 47 eventually dumping them again (as he will).)
Grr…
Best wishes,
Scott.
Eyeroller
@Scout211: This may be a major reason Anthropic withdrew Claude, since they never gave and never (they say) want to give permission for it to make unsupervised kill decisions, and Hegseth refused that limitation.Ā They may have known about this particular case.
Geminid
@Another Scott: Yes, Mazloum Abdi bitterly resented Barrack’s strong arming, and so did rest of SDF leaderdship. But there was no wsy the could continue to rule a large region where Kurds are a minority. The Arabs and minorities like Turkmen and Assyrisn Christions were sick of SDF rule. In mid-January, SDF lost control of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor Governates in 24 hours. They would have lost control of Hasakah Governate too if they had fought it out with the Damascus government. It would have been a costly fight for both sides, and it was best avoided.
So the SDF signed the January 28 Integration agreement under duress. ItĀ has not turned out badly for the Kurds though, at least not so far. A couple weeks ago, when Abdi and his deputy Ilham Ahmad(sp?) participated in a meeting with Barrack, Marco Rubio and Syria’s foreign minister, at the Munich Security Conference, they seemed pretty upbeat.
Trivia Man
@Eyeroller: it isnt āunsupervisedā if a human rubber stamps every decision without review. Not Claudeās fault!!! A human made the decision !!!
Paul in KY
@oldster: That was droll! Well played.
Paul in KY
@Baud: The 3rd candidate’s voters are considered MAGA whackaloons who will generally flow to Paxton.
Paul in KY
@Professor Bigfoot: Have fun in Cali! All that is in the future. Just enjoy the present.
Paul in KY
@Professor Bigfoot: Glad to hear missus OK and it was not the Porsche!
Paul in KY
@Professor Bigfoot: Good to hear! Best wishes on uneventful flights!
Paul in KY
@YY_Sima Qian: That vignette does summ up these times. Fuck!
Paul in KY
@Scout211: Make me a sammich after you get off work as I have Call of Duty 6 loaded and ready to go…
Paul in KY
@catclub: That does work: Make them think you are going to finance the whole thing and they’ll lower the price and then, right before you begin signing the financing paperwork, whip out the checkbook and say “Oh what the heck, I’ll just pay you right now.”
When you do that you can generally never return to that dealership :-)
lowtechcyclist
@YY_Sima Qian:
He will find in Trump neither wisdom nor respect for others, of course.Ā We’re all NPCs to him.
Ramona
@p.a.: The odds are 100% given the Christian Nationalists who’ve been moved into key positions in the military. Complaints have already been made by NCO’s about the apocalyptic formulation of this mission.