| second: Three weeks into Donald Trump’s war against Iran, he has still refused to define victory other than to say the war will soon be over. From the moment he launched hostilities, he offered many rationales for the war, choosing among them like he’s picking hors d’oeuvres from a buffet at one of his golf resorts: It’s about regime change; it’s about nuclear weapons, it’s about terrorism, it’s about ballistic missiles. Asked for explanations, he continues to careen between demanding “unconditional surrender” from Tehran and signaling “that he might abruptly declare victory and leave.” The American intelligence community has reportedly issued an assessment that the regime “will remain intact and possibly even emboldened, believing it stood up to Trump and survived.” [go to link] |
| second: Scenes from the Death of the Pax Americana.
Just a few scenes from the accelerating collapse in America’s reputation and influence.
Item: The Danish Broadcasting Corporation reports that two months ago Danish forces were prepared to blow up runways in Greenland to prevent a possible U.S. attempt to seize the island by force.
Item: During a meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister, Donald Trump was asked why the U.S. didn’t inform its allies before attacking Iran. He replied, “Because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?”
Item: Pete Hegseth angrily attacked news coverage of the war:
The media here — not all of it, but much of it — wants you to think, just 19 days into this conflict, that we’re somehow spinning toward an endless abyss or a forever war or quagmire. Nothing could be further from the truth.
[go to link] |
6ixStringJack: Bummer. At least it's not snow, right?  |
| BRENDA: Hey, SIX. I must have forgot to hit tag it. But still being rained on. Yuck! |
| second: Energy prices soar after Trump threatens Iran's gas field. For just suggesting that, Iran retaliates by damaging two of Qatar’s 14 LNG trains. Iran will damage the other 12 if Trump does not shut up. Do you get the feeling that Trump's Iran war and the strategy mistakes caused by his big fat mouth will cost the world a vast fortune? [go to link] |
| second: To stop Russia from taking more of Europe than it had conquered by 1945, the United States has spent at least $5.5 trillion to $5.8 trillion (in 1996 dollars) on its nuclear weapons program between 1940 and 1996. To stop Russia from taking more of Europe than it had conquered by 2021, the United States spent $174 billion in 4 years in Ukraine. Compare that to $200 billion for Iran. [go to link] |
| 6ixStringJack: Now divide how much we've sent Ukraine in the last 4+ years for every person. You really should remove about 30 million from that number since they are illegals who don't pay any taxes and they're probably not going to be sticking around very much longer. |
| second: Dividing the cost of ammo for Iran at $200 billion ($200,000,000,000) by the current U.S. population (approximately 342 million) results in roughly $585 per person. This calculation distributes the amount evenly among every resident, representing about $585 for each of the 342 million people. |
| second: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the Pentagon would ask Congress for $200 billion to purchase more ammo for Trump's war on Iran. The reported $200 billion figure "could move." Hegseth means "will increase." He explained where the money is going: "Obviously it takes money to kill bad guys, so we're going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we're properly funded for what's been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is refilled, and not just refilled, but above and beyond." [go to link] |
| second: U.S. National debt passes $39 trillion three weeks into the Iran war, after jumping $2 trillion in seven months. The U.S. national debt hit $38 trillion five months ago — and $37 trillion two months before that. At the current growth rate, the debt will hit a staggering $40 trillion in national debt before this fall’s elections. Borrowing trillion after trillion at this rapid pace is the definition of unsustainable. [go to link] |
| 6ixStringJack: You are a disgusting human being, Second. When nobody comes back here Ted, you know who to blame for that. |
| second: Trump fumes as foreign leaders show new willingness to defy him. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Thursday. She told her parliament on Wednesday that she expects the visit to be “extremely difficult.” The prime minister signaled that her argument for not participating in operations over the Strait of Hormuz would be driven by constitutional restrictions on militarism in Japan, rooted in the aftermath of the Second World War. “I intend to convey these points clearly and I’m sure the U.S. side understands these laws given our history,” Takaichi said. Whether Trump himself will extend empathy seems very much in doubt, given how he has fulminated about a lack of assistance. The president has blasted America’s traditional allies for their supposed ingratitude repeatedly in recent days. [go to link] |
| second: The Trump administration is pissed about a New York Times story that details a plan to target the Cuban president. White House communications director Steven Cheung jumped in and insulted the Times on X, saying, “The only people who are privy to Cuba are President Trump and Marco Rubio. Your lazy reporters relied on uninformed sources who know nothing about what’s going on.”
What Rubio and Cheung are mad about is unclear. Trump told reporters last month that he thinks that there could be a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, and, unprompted, told CNN just a week later that “Cuba is going to fall pretty soon.” Maybe Rubio and Cheung, amid the administration’s various regime change plots, are mad that the Times got inside information that they didn’t want revealed to the public. [go to link] |
| 6ixStringJack: Hey Brenda. |
| BRENDA: Rain, rain go away. Come back another day. |
| THG: Use a VPN when at this site. And here is why |
| THG:
6ixStringJack: There's no
way Wish is coming back.
Not only did I prove to her
that I got her IP address
without doxxing her, but I
also showed her a picture
of a church in her city to
drive the point home. Her
husband probably banned
her from coming back here. |
| 6ixStringJack: When nobody comes back, Ted, you'll have your boyfriend to thank for that. |
| second: District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), was a landmark 5-4 Supreme Court ruling establishing that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess firearms, unconnected to militia service, totally connected to assassinating Supreme Court judges. So ironic of the Supreme Court. [go to link] |
| 6ixStringJack: Oh yeah, Second? Is this you? [go to link] "The 2nd Amendment was written by slave-owners to prevent abolitionists from forbidding state militias hunting down and killing runaway/rebellious slaves. The Republicans on the Supreme Court would change their minds about the 2nd Amendment if a gunman entering the Supreme Court hunted down and killed Republican Supreme Court justices as if they were rebellious slaves. In 2008, the Court made a 5-4 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. Kill those 5 Republicans and the decision would go the other way. The Supreme Court is in the District of Columbia, which means it would be particularly ironic that the judges killed are the ones who changed the law so that they could be killed." Shut your mouth. |