| second: In the summer of 2008, weeks before the investment bank Lehman Brothers imploded, oil prices skyrocketed to nearly $150 a barrel. Some oil watchers are warning of even higher prices this summer if the vital Strait of Hormuz doesn’t reopen soon.
US oil prices have already spiked from about $65 to around $100 since the start of the war in the Middle East. Crude spiked by 51% in March alone, the second-biggest one-month increase since futures trading launched in 1983.
[go to link] |
| second: Maybe he’d have been better off not trying. Trump’s critics have castigated him for refusing to go on television and provide a comprehensive explanation of the war to the American people. But given his performance this evening, perhaps he had the right instinct. His address did not come across as a wartime speech but instead was a disjointed series of complaints, brags, and exaggerations (along with a few outright lies) delivered by a man who looked and sounded tired. After his 19 minutes on the air—brisk by Trump’s standards—Americans could be forgiven for being even more concerned now than they were only a few days ago. [go to link] |
| second: Yesterday, Trump declared victory, of course, but he did not actually announce an end to hostilities. On the contrary, he said we’re going to bomb Iran into the Stone Age. So add massive war crimes to your schedule. If you want the real verdict on the speech, well, Brent oil futures were under $100 when Trump started speaking. They are over $108 now. [go to link] |
6ixStringJack: I think everything is going to work out in the end.  |
| second: Former White House attorney Ty Cobb suggested on Tuesday that President Trump’s rhetoric and late-night musings on social media about the ongoing conflict with Iran are demonstrating his cognitive decline.
“It’s not a surprise that we’re in this much trouble,” Cobb said. “It’s not a surprise given the fact that the Cabinet will not invoke the 25th amendment for a man who is clearly insane, and this war highlights that.” [go to link] |
| second: Trump sought help from NATO allies in reopening the Strait of Hormuz as fuel prices surged worldwide, but European nations showed little interest in joining the U.S. war in Iran. In response, Trump threatened to stop the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program, whereby NATO nations buy U.S. arms for Ukraine. An official described Trump as "rather hysterical" over Europe's refusal to monitor the Strait of Hormuz. Trump then escalated his anti-NATO rhetoric, saying on April 1 that he is is strongly considering pulling the U.S. from NATO. Trump is expected to elaborate on his position on the U.S. role in NATO during an address later this evening. [go to link] |
6ixStringJack:  |
| THG: Trump motorcade met with middle fingers on way to Supreme Court |
| THG: Hey Jack. In my thread about Trump losing in court you said when the cases got to the supreme court they would overturn them. Oh no Gilligan. You are wrong again.
"Trump FLEES Supreme Court in RAGE as Justices REBUKE HIM TO HIS FACE" |
| 6ixStringJack: Don't you losers have anything better to do with your days. Any of them? |
| THG: Trump Epstein Victim Has Facts
[go to link] |
| 6ixStringJack: Trump is awesome. |
| THG: Donald Trump's controversial plan to buy out entire CIA intelligence force |
| THG: Trump's latest record-breaking 'disaster' |
| second: When should we expect to see the complete Epstein files in which Trump is mentioned more than 38,000 times, unredacted except as necessary to protect the victims? As was unanimously mandated by the House and Senate (save Clay Higgins R-Louisiana) and signed into law by Trump? The deadline was December 19, 2025.
[go to link] |
| THG: Jack and signym have been all in for Trump. They are not browncoats. They are the worst of the alliance. |
| second: President Donald Trump is planning to make an unprecedented appearance at the Supreme Court as the justices weigh whether his administration can restrict birthright citizenship. No sitting president has attended a Supreme Court argument.
Trump's daily schedule has him at the Court for oral arguments at 10 a.m. on April 1. If the president follows through this time, he would make history. "It is the craziest thing I've ever seen," Trump said March 31 in criticizing birthright citizenship. "It's been so badly handled by legal people over the years." [go to link] |
| second: Trump’s War in Iran Is Increasing Mortgage Rates. The increase in mortgage rates since the end of February will cost a typical first-time homebuyer $22,680. [go to link] |
| second: Trump is oscillating by the hour between Armageddon and insouciance, musing out loud that he may just wash his hands of the war and leave the Strait of Hormuz closed – a revenge of sorts against Asia and Europe for refusing to join his capricious “excursion”. But if he does that, the Iranian regime will not return to the status quo ante. Iranian hardliners have tasted victory – by surviving – and will press their advantage, imposing a permanent toll fee on tanker traffic and acquiring enormous political leverage over the Gulf. It would be the worst strategic reverse for the US since the Vietnam War and a field day for the Russo-Chinese axis. Trump says America “doesn’t need” the Strait of Hormuz. Who put that idea in his head? The US imports eight million barrels a day (b/d), either refined products or heavy crude to balance its refineries. [go to link] |
| 6ixStringJack: That sentence was your takeaway, huh? That's the level of stupidity I have to deal with here everyday. |