enframed wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2026 2:01 am "Should President Trump send U.S. forces to Iran’s Kharg Island, it wouldn’t count as “boots on the ground” in the country, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) argued Tuesday."

Fuckinghell. Tautologies aren't even true anymore.

That's like when (I think it was Trump, maybe some stooge) said "Iran is at war with us. We're not at war with them."

See, it's just semantics!

losthighway wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:59 pmThe one thing I ever liked about Trump is when he called the war in Iraq stupid.

During the 2016 primaries, he also said that, at his properties, trans people could use whatever bathroom they wanted to.

Alas, his tolerance for trans people turned out to be remarkably negotiable.

But as far as that Iraq quote goes, nobody could ever find a single instance in which he expressed opposition to the war when it began. His “opposition” only became public when it was clear to everyone what a colossal fuck-up it had been.

https://epsteinexposed.com/network

https://board.epsteinexposed.com

Wood Goblin wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2026 9:31 am But as far as that Iraq quote goes, nobody could ever find a single instance in which he expressed opposition to the war when it began. His “opposition” only became public when it was clear to everyone what a colossal fuck-up it had been.

That was basically all of Washington DC as well. At least they replaced Saddam with Isis though!

And todays episode of figures you thoroughly dislike doing something you actually like:

Rand Paul grilling the shit out of that goon from OK who seems to be going on adventures he can't talk about.

If Paul's only job were to rip on corrupt politicians I might actually like him. Too bad about all of his other ideas.

Elissa Slotkin also hammered Markwayne Dingus.

So good.
"Trump fumes as foreign leaders show new willingness to defy him"
https://thehill.com/homenews/administra ... -defy-him/

also:

“We could have simply said to the Israelis, ‘No, you will not [attack Iran], and if you do, we will take something away from you,'” [Joe] Kent said during the interview. “I think it’s fine that we offer defense to Israel but when we’re providing the means for their defense, we get to dictate the terms of when they go on the offensive, otherwise they stand to lose that relationship.”

The longer time goes on I'm thinking "Piss Tape." Bibi has a piss tape, or something.

Also, according to Tulsi Gabbard, the entire US intelligence apparatus is redundant and should be dismantled immediately.

enframed wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2026 8:12 pm The longer time goes on I'm thinking "Piss Tape." Bibi has a piss tape, or something.

Right? Because when has Trump shown deference to anyone?

It's weird when you think about it, he's been shitty to the EU, Canada, the UK.... He has no tolerance for being inconvenienced by anyone. Bibi must have leverage.

losthighway wrote: Wed Mar 18, 2026 2:21 pm And todays episode of figures you thoroughly dislike doing something you actually like:

Rand Paul grilling the shit out of that goon from OK who seems to be going on adventures he can't talk about.

If Paul's only job were to rip on corrupt politicians I might actually like him. Too bad about all of his other ideas.

i don't always agree with him, but he takes his job seriously and appears to care what kentucky thinks of him.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/ ... et/686454/

On March 10, the journalist Emanuel Fabian reported on a missile that had been launched from Iran. The warhead hit an open area outside Jerusalem, which Fabian confirmed by speaking with rescue services and reviewing footage of the explosion. He wrote a short post on The Times of Israel’s live blog and moved on.

Meanwhile, gamblers had wagered millions on the unfolding events of the conflict. Fabian’s post became the subject of a major dispute on Polymarket, a popular prediction market where people can bet on the outcome of almost anything. The site had allowed users to guess when Iran would initiate “a drone, missile, or air strike on Israel’s soil”: More than $14 million was riding on whether such an attack had happened March 10.

People started reaching out asking Fabian to change his article. Some argued that Israel Defense Forces had not officially mentioned such an attack occurring on that day, and others said that the explosion he had reported was the result of a missile being intercepted, which according to Polymarket’s terms wouldn’t count as a strike “on Israel’s soil.” Confident in his reporting, Fabian did not amend the text.

And then he began receiving threats. “You will discover enemies who will be willing to pay anything to make your life miserable—within the framework of the law,” one person wrote to Fabian before adding, “As far as I know, there are also some people who don’t really care about the law, and you’re going to make them lose about 50 times what you’ll ever make.” Much as athletes have faced threats and harassment from fans with money riding on a game, prediction markets are now creating incentives for gamblers to target all manner of people with inside information or some influence over major events. Polymarket did not respond to my request for comment, but wrote on X: “This behavior violates our Terms of Service & has no place on our platform. We’ve banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities.”

Fuckinghell.