Author: Buck Banks
U.S. Spent $5.6 Billion in First Two Days of Iran War
$5.6 billion
“The Pentagon burned through $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the first two days of its military assault on Iran, a figure that underscores the deepening alarm among some on Capitol Hill over the speed at which U.S. forces have eaten into the scarce supply of America’s most advanced weaponry,” the Washington Post reports.
Remember When Trump Was the ‘Peace President?’
“?If you’re worried about the world spinning out of control, if you’re worried about a military draft, if you’re worried about, God forbid, a world war, the best way to prevent it is to vote for Donald Trump.”
— JD Vance, during the 2024 presidential campaign.
War, the Authoritarian’s Friend
“A big part of the authoritarian playbook is war. War takes over the news. War blots out criticism. War divides a nation’s people, subjecting those against it to being called unpatriotic. War grants leaders all sorts of emergency powers. War consumes everything else. We mustn’t let this war do so.”
— Robert Reich
Prepare for $5 Per Gallon Gas
$5.00
Nate Silver: “According to the AAA, average retail gas prices in the U.S. are now $3.45 per gallon, up about 50 cents from a week ago. However, the problems are likely to worsen significantly as supply chains are disrupted. Traders at Polymarket anticipate that the most likely range for gas prices to land by the end of March is between $4.50 and $5.00. And although there’s a wide range of uncertainty, there’s a 41 percent chance they exceed $5.00 by the end of the month.”
Succumbing to the Law of Transitivity
“When I look at Donald Trump as a person, I see a failed real estate guy from Queens with a lot of natural showman talent, whose obviously poor physical condition is covered by terrible, ill-fitting suits and a lot of makeup. When I listen to him I hear incoherent bluster and self-absorbed whining. None of this makes me experience him as strong. … The strongman is strong because of the law of transitivity. If you accept at a certain point that he is stronger than you, then you are accepting that you are weaker than him. You are joining in the collective creation of the strongman.“
— Timothy Snyder
Curbing the Kurds
After a short week of bombing — BOOM! — Iran Problem solved!
Then Iran attacked everybody, now it’s too big to be resolved.
But Trump wants to keep the Kurds in Iraq,
To prevent a strategic flank attack.
Said Trump: “This war’s complicated enough without getting the Kurds involved.”
