William Lindsey 3d ago

Wars and rumors of wars and as this looong week winds down, some of us are feeling burned out, divorced from reality, struggling to figure out what reality even is:

"It’s been a strange week in a lot of ways. And I wanted to talk about the idea of what reality is and how hard it is now to come to grips with what the truth is."

~ Greg Olear

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity
/1

https://gregolear.substack.com/p/ramble-on-real-fake

Ramble On: Real Fake

Morning thoughts on the Joe Kent/Tucker Carlson interview; Bibi Netanyahu, the Schrödinger's Prime Minister; the Simulation; and navigating the increasingly blurry line between actual and artificial.

PREVAIL by Greg Olear
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

"No real post today. I don’t have it in me. Just a few scenes from the accelerating collapse in America’s reputation and influence."

~ Paul Krugman

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity
/2

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/scenes-from-the-death-of-the-pax

Scenes from the Death of the Pax Americana

I’m feeling almost speechless right now

Paul Krugman
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

"Only one man to blame."

~ Dan Rather

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity
/3

https://steady.substack.com/p/only-one-man-to-blame

Only One Man to Blame

Trump seems dumbfounded by all the things going badly in Iran

Steady
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 

The Economist's latest cover on Operation Blind Fury is going viral on social media:

"The reckless campaign against Iran will weaken America’s president. That will make him angry. Be warned: he makes a very bad loser."

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity
/4

https://xcancel.com/TheEconomist/status/2034608380958953731#m

Mar 20 at 2:16pmWeb
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

"Stephen Miller on Fox: 'President Trump was aware of and has calculated through every permutation and every degree of strategy.'”

~ Ron Filipkowski

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity
/5

https://www.meidasplus.com/p/today-in-politics-bulletin-331-31926

Today in Politics, Bulletin 331. 3/19/26

… Trump during his meeting with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office: Q - “Why didn't you tell allies about the war before attacking Iran?

Meidas+
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

"Memes aren’t going to open the Strait, no matter how 'banger.'”

~ Jay Kuo

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity #StraitofHormuz
/6

https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/trump-escalation-trap-lbj-vietnam

Trump's Iran Escalation Trap Recalls LBJ And Vietnam

Donald Trump, Lyndon Johnson, and wars we can’t win

The Big Picture
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

"Trump/Hegseth/Carr’s focus on media coverage suggests that the problem in Iran isn’t the ill-conceived war, the destruction, the economic fallout, or the impending humanitarian disaster Trump single-handedly created. The war, for them, is all theatrics and spin."

~ Sabrina Haake

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity #media
/7

https://sabrinahaake.substack.com/p/corrupt-and-unpatriotic-news-coverage

"Corrupt and unpatriotic" news coverage

After WWII showcased the horrors of unchecked aggression, “War Departments” in the free world became “Departments of Defense.” Following the deaths of 60 million people, leaders of democratic nations embraced a shift from offensive victory to integrated deterrence

The Haake Take
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

"Trump has been flirting with the idea of using nuclear weapons since he ran for office in 2016. ...

Trump would just love to lob a couple of nukes at Iran, but there is the not-terribly-small problem of world markets. Oil at $200 a barrel? Gas at $8 to $10 a gallon? Mortgage rates through the roof of houses not being built?

World depression, anybody?"

~ Lucian K. Truscott

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity #NuclearWeapons
/8

https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/greed-is-the-only-thing-keeping-trump

Greed is the only thing keeping Trump from dropping a nuke on Iran

Trump has been flirting with the idea of using nuclear weapons since he ran for office in 2016.

Lucian Truscott Newsletter
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

"Destroying fuel-producing infrastructure is fundamentally different from temporarily blocking a fuel transit passageway. When infrastructure is gone, it’s gone. It could take years to rebuild."

~ Catherine Rampell

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity #oil #gas #economy
/9

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/global-recession-worst-case-economic-outcome-of-trump-iran-war

The Worst-Case Economic Outcome of Trump’s Iran War

Oil shocks don’t only raise prices. They also destroy growth and jobs.

The Bulwark
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

"The U.S. war with Iran has likely cost tens of billions of dollars, with early Pentagon estimates putting spending at over $11 billion in just the first week and roughly $1 billion per day, meaning total costs could plausibly approach or exceed $25 billion as the conflict continues, though no official cumulative figure has been confirmed."

~ Aaron Parnas

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #violence #stupidity #oil #gas #economy
/10

https://aaronparnas.substack.com/p/thursday-night-update-more-major

Thursday Night Update: More Major Epstein News, UN Makes Possible War Crimes Allegations, No End in Sight for DHS Shutdown

Good evening everyone.

The Parnas Perspective
Show threadWilliam Lindsey 3d ago

Noting that Trump shrugs off the cost of his war as "a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tippy-top," Steven Beschloss quotes F. Scott Fitzgerald:

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, & let other people clean up the mess they had made."

#Trump #Iran #war #death #destruction #stupidity #oil #gas #economy
/11

https://www.americaamerica.news/p/the-deadly-danger-of-careless-people

The Deadly Danger of Careless People

Now they want $200 billion more for their reckless adventures

America, America
Show threadRastal3d ago

@wdlindsy It's so expensive because it's primarily using Air power which is the single most expensive resource the US military has, and the Navy. That is unsustainable longterm. So, they will be forced to switch over to the cheaper way of conducting a war by using ground troops.

Problem is, if they do that 1. They will have to escalate to conscripting Americans. 2. They can't win.

#iran #iranwar

Show threadRainbowFrog3d ago

@wdlindsy

and, the not so negligeable possibility that, once the nukes are out, anybody who has some can play 🍄‍🟫 🍄‍🟫🍄‍🟫

having nukes is fun, as long as you are the only one who's got some... this time is long gone (before my birth by many years)...

Show threadRainbowFrog3d ago

@wdlindsy

if this is true, it's even worse... at least, being unaware, or stupid, could pass as an *excuse*

doing that kind of evil consciously and willfully (not to say gleefully) is unforgivable 😐

Show threadf*cking b*tch club3d ago

@RainbowFrog @wdlindsy But we know it isn’t true.

This is the prez who doesn’t like daily briefings, and he doesn’t have anyone in leadership positions capable of calculating every possible strategy.

It truly is unforgivable

Show threadDavid J. Atkinson3d ago
@wdlindsy Every day it sounds a little more like, “Dear Leader calculates NP-Hard problems before breakfast.” We are now well into the superhuman phase of the cult of Trump.
Show threadBeeCycling3d ago
@wdlindsy Fairly sure he couldn't manage that for a game of noughts and crosses, never mind a war in the Middle East.
Show threadDarwin Woodka3d ago

@wdlindsy

Lols. Dude can't think beyond his next bowel movement

Show threadJoe Heafner3d ago
@wdlindsy Ha! I bet $1 he doesn't even know what a permutation is.