In part, @emptywheel traces how Cheney and Trump’s preferences for petrobusiness and their related foreign adventures have made the US less secure and jeopardized the country’s international standing:
(@emptywheel.bsky.social on Bluesky )
Really, as a country, we’ve known for the whole 50+ years since I became a teenager that dependence on oil creates severe vulnerabilities and needs to be transcended and, yet, we’ve doubled down on it.
And, that’s from before the catastrophic environmental effects of fossil fuels were widely acknowledged.
Yes. I’ve heard similar commentary from other pundits and observers. The reality (or close to it) however, is that all the involved combatants are lying through their teeth and we have a degraded news media incapable of dealing with it.
It probably is. A diorama and hand puppets could convey more nuance and subtlety than grainy clips of a billion dollar smart weapon blowing up a dairy farm. Success is measured in body parts distributed in a wide area.
There’s a lot of Manchurian Candidate vibe in there.
From the article:
Within Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, however, support is overwhelming: Self-identified MAGA respondents gave a 100% approval rating for Trump, with 90% supporting his military action in Iran.
So 100% of the people who say they support him also, uh, say they support him.
He’s claiming “loss of privacy and economic losses.” Very much looking forward to discovery on this one.
Oh, he’s also suing the guy who released the records. Who is already in prison for 5 years for disclosing TFG’s tax returns. He’s claiming that since he was guilty, his lawsuit is already proven. Show me the money!
I see clips of those press conferences where they prop him up, newly infused with platelets via the back of his hand, painted to look lifelike as if by some funeral home intern, wisps of fake hair swirled on his head from a soft-serve machine, sound asleep in his chair as a flunky drones on, and ask myself, who is responsible for desecrating this corpse?
What media do you watch or read? I see on TV and read (print and online) plenty about the corruption in the Executive Branch. Rachel Maddow had a half hour on Jared Kushner’s grift and serious conflicts of interest in the Middle East. Just one example.
With some of the biggest rivers in Russia flowing north, the USSR actually entertained using trenches made from nuclear explosions to redirect flows. Rational people tend to avoid using nukes in earth-moving projects. Could an American former House speaker ever make such a stupid proposal?
Former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said earlier this week that the United States should use “a dozen thermonuclear detonations” to “cut a new channel” instead of fighting over the Strait of Hormuz. This is, of course, ridiculous, and we had to call it out on social media by updating a graphic we made back in 2019 when President Trump suggested nuking hurricanes. While these suggestions are absurd, they represent a flippancy about nuclear weapons that is unacceptable from anyone, much less from elected officials, past or present.
She pats herself on the back (very flexible that woman) for a conviction she got years ago. Given her performance these days I think any previous conviction might be in danger. She’s proven that she’ll withhold evidence in discovery. She’ll lie about the evidence used for arrest and detentions. If I had a Pirro conviction, I’d be looking for evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
Iran rejects US proposal and views it as ‘excessive’ - state media
Press TV, the Iranian state broadcaster’s English-language outlet, has quoted a senior political security official as saying that Tehran has reviewed and rejected the proposal put forward by the US to end the war.
To whatever extent Donnie’s in the actual loop on this, this really strikes me as a, “Dear Leader can only be failed,” move, an effort to insulate him and his power from his catastrophically bad decision.
He was reported to be conferring with MbS yesterday – he can’t be fully insulated from what’s going on. Moreover, his willingness to open himself to MbS’ influence reflects directly on his judgement and his impaired ability to make decisions (which is, even, the subtext to how he gets briefed.)
This ain’t about anyone or anything but Dear Leader hisself. And it never was good.
I’m not qualified to opine on Danish politics, but I will note this is one more data point in the category of left-of-center party that tacked to the right on immigration in search of the elusive reasonable racist voter. It sure seems like it never works.
