Krev wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2026 10:55 am With any hope, that prophecy will come true. But we definitely need a new crop of Democrats. They won't hold on to shit with the likes of Schumer at the helm.

Yeah, Schumer and Jeffries won't push for a damn thing that will give the Dems any momentum heading into a potential Democrat presidency after 2028, and unless we don't get a solid coalition of real lefty progressives in there, we'll be right back here with a new monster in 2032.

We're dealing with limp-wristed democrats, still beholden to corporate donors on the one hand... and evangelical christians who think all this chaos and destruction will bring the second coming of Jesus on the other, which is why they love Trump and don't care that he's a pedophile and a con man, because the ends justify the means for them. With the latter in mind, i'd take a corporate democrat over a christian nationalist republican any day of the week, the outcome is still bleak, just less bleak, not fucking "holy shit they literally think the rapture is real and want to bring about the armageddon."

DrAwkward wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2026 10:01 am If I referred to my jizz as my "harvest," my wife would divorce me

Oh god I subscribed to the Telos Substack while all that stuff was coming out and that wasn’t even the worst part. Fucking gross behavior all around. Nasty ass Roman empire horseshit.

cakes wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2026 12:43 pm We're dealing with limp-wristed democrats, still beholden to corporate donors on the one hand... and evangelical christians who think all this chaos and destruction will bring the second coming of Jesus on the other, which is why they love Trump and don't care that he's a pedophile and a con man, because the ends justify the means for them. With the latter in mind, i'd take a corporate democrat over a christian nationalist republican any day of the week, the outcome is still bleak, just less bleak, not fucking "holy shit they literally think the rapture is real and want to bring about the armageddon."

Yeah, I mean, the whole "if the Dems are in power there's at least a chance to push them leftward" thing is real, sure

cakes wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2026 10:26 am Looks like our allies are telling Trump to eat shit in regards to Iran. Everyone is tired of his bullshit.

From the NY Times:

President Trump on Monday disparaged U.S. allies that he said had relied too long — and too expensively — on American defense, as several of those countries have declined to meet his call to send warships to escort merchant vessels in and out of the Persian Gulf.

“We don’t need anybody; we’re the strongest nation in the world,” Mr. Trump said. He suggested his request for assistance in reopening the Strait of Hormuz instead amounted to a loyalty test of America’s allies. “I’m almost doing it in some cases not because we need them but because I want to find out how they react,” he said.

Referring to countries that have rebuffed, or reacted coolly, to his appeal for ships, Mr. Trump said he had long believed that “if we ever needed help, they won’t be there for us,” and they were proving his point. He added, “You mean for 40 years we’re protecting you and you don’t want to get involved in something that’s very minor?” noting that Europe, Japan and others depend on oil from the Persian Gulf far more than the United States does.

Even so, Mr. Trump said that “numerous countries have told me that they’re on the way.” But asked to name them, he replied, “I’d rather not say yet, but we’ll be announcing them.”

It's the eighth grade. We're being governed by a bunch of nerds playing Risk.

Yeah, pretty sure all the Iran war is doing is showing how easily a superpower can be defeated by a modest military, and that our allies are over Trump's bullshit. This exposure, from what I've been reading and hearing from experts, is basically the initial decline for American hegemony and a demarcation point for America in regards to the end of our position as a global superpower. We got rid of all our soft power, attacked our allies, and now started wars we can't finish. Total humiliation, thanks to Trump.

It was one thing to get fucked in the ass nationally, but now we're getting fucked in the ass internationally. We're all cucks now.

There can’t really be a winner if there is no objective.

The smart thing to do would have been to pound Iran’s nuclear program and get out of Dodge. Instead as said above, it’s just dorks playing Risk.

Iran can’t “win” this, US firepower and superiority is far beyond anything the Iranians can throw back. They’re already running out of long range weapons. The problem now is just basic attrition. If the US isn’t going to start doing war crimes, by carpet bombing cities or gods forbid a tactical nuke then Iran can just keep being a pain in the ass.

The lack of planning is absolutely shocking (or maybe not). This could have been a quick and easy win. Instead we’re two weeks in with no actual objective defined. You can’t “win” something when you have no fucking idea what that is.

Gramsci wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2026 3:59 pm Iran can’t “win” this, US firepower and superiority is far beyond anything the Iranians can throw back.

I’m sure you know countless examples from history in which the side with superior firepower, armed forces, etc. failed to beat the weaker, poorer, less-well-armed side.

My worry is that Trump starts dropping nukes. He wanted to during his first term, and this time, there’s nobody to stop him.

I’m totally gonna vote for James Talerico in November, but I’m not gonna stop calling him Goody Two-Shoes.

cakes wrote: We're dealing with limp-wristed democrats, still beholden to corporate donors on the one hand... and evangelical christians who think all this chaos and destruction will bring the second coming of Jesus on the other, which is why they love Trump and don't care that he's a pedophile and a con man, because the ends justify the means for them. With the latter in mind, i'd take a corporate democrat over a christian nationalist republican any day of the week, the outcome is still bleak, just less bleak, not fucking "holy shit they literally think the rapture is real and want to bring about the armageddon."

Krev wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2026 10:55 am With any hope, that prophecy will come true. But we definitely need a new crop of Democrats. They won't hold on to shit with the likes of Schumer at the helm.

I agree with the above. We're used to hearing arguments that we need someone with an authentically progressive platform to win an election. At this point I think it's actually more about needing someone to govern in a way that's authentically progressive to hold power for more than four years. Much of the thoughtful criticism of how our federal government works and who gets elected is centered around the idea that the pendulum keeps swinging between parties because neither has produced results that satisfy everyone.

I picture a candidate who can really Kumbaya shit the way Obama did, create an image that shows our type that they could actually do something, but simultaneously doesn't scare off the most tepid centrist voters in the suburbs of Charlotte or whatever. Then, unlike Obama, when they get elected they actually go hard instead of moderating. Produce results that actually increase the quality of life for the working class and you can run the place for 8 years.

For any of this dream I'm watercoloring here to come true you'd need to actually accomplish building a functioning health care system, and immigration reform (and child care, wealth tax among other things). I'm not sure even a Bernie type unicorn candidate could do something palpable with either given the mechanics of congress, let alone both. But damn it'd be cool to see someone actually do something real with either issue.