93 thoughts on “Springing Forward for the Fall”

  1. from last thread in the wee small hours of this morning:

    Sturski
    March 9, 2026 at 3:15 am
    Missles in Poland. Two dead.

    Stur, is this the 2022 strike or what may have occurred during the most recent strike as reported 2 days ago by
    https://www.newsweek.com/

    NATO Scrambles Military Jets After Russian Ballistic Missile Strikes

    NATO member Poland deployed military jets in response to Russian long-range missile attacks on Ukraine overnight.
    Poland’s Operational Command of the Armed Forces said on X at 3:16 a.m. CET: “Due to the activity of the Russian Federation’s long-range aviation, which is carrying out strikes on the territory of Ukraine, military aviation operations have commenced in our airspace.
    “In accordance with the applicable procedures, the Operational Command of the Armed Forces has activated the necessary forces and resources at its disposal. Ground-based air defense systems and radar reconnaissance have reached a state of maximum readiness.”
    It added: “These actions are of a preventive nature and are aimed at securing the airspace and its protection, particularly in areas adjacent to the threatened regions.”
    In a later post at 4:30 a.m. CET, the armed forces confirmed operations had ended and there had been no violation of Polish airspace.
    “Operations of military aviation in Polish airspace, related to Russian Federation missile strikes on Ukraine, have been concluded,” it said. “Ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems that were activated have returned to standard operational activities. We inform that no violation of the Republic of Poland’s airspace was observed.”

    seems we’re springing forward toward wider wars any day, hour or minute. sigh.

  2. in any case the need to restore both VOA and USAID asap is essential to avoid unintended consequences and misunderstandings that happen in turmoiled times like these.

    this is a step forward for bringing back voice of america:
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-propaganda-goon-hit-with-humiliating-verdict-by-reagan-judge/

    A federal judge found that Trump loyalist Kari Lake unlawfully ran a federal agency for several months last year.
    As a result, various actions Lake, 56, took while heading the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) are void, ruled Judge US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth on Saturday. This includes over 1,000 layoffs at Voice of America (VOA), which is run by USAGM.
    Lamberth ruled that Lake was “plainly ineligible” to serve as acting CEO under the Vacancies Act because her appointment was not approved by the Senate.
    Lake called the Ronald Reagan-appointed judge an “activist” and said she would appeal, according to CNN. The Daily Beast reached out to USAGM for comment.
    VOA staffers had sued Lake to save their jobs and the network. Patsy Widakuswara, VOA’s White House Bureau Chief and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said she and her colleagues “feel vindicated and deeply grateful.”
    “The judge’s ruling that Kari Lake’s actions shall have no force or effect is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution that we love,” Widakuswara said in an X post.
    [continues]

    and here’s where we’re at with USAID

    John Oliver discusses the United States Agency for International Development, why the Trump Administration has gutted it, who is being impacted, and how the Cha Cha Slide can help us get to the bottom of this.

  3. Really, who gives a shit what Kari Lake thinks about this judge, his ruling or her plans to appeal?

    Patd & Stur, I’m only seeing deaths from a missile strike in Poland in 2022.

  4. Well, it appears there’s no popular uprising in Iran following the announcement that Khameini’s son is the next supreme leader. I expect Dumbass, Pete and Bibi will ramp up the attacks. I don’t see this ending quickly or well. And I saw a Chiron saying that the US is distressed over Israel’s attacks on Iranian oil and gas storage facilities. Color me skeptical.

  5. There are flights arriving to Baltimore, BWI, from the Mid-East with people being evacuated. Another botched event by American administrations.

  6. you don’t think the guy that can’t run a casino should be running a war?

    what could possibly go wrong

  7. We are definitely crossing into the war crimes area. After drowning people at sea in the Atlantic, we are now doing it near India. Top it off by destroying the sources of water for Irani citizens living in a desert. When even Lindsey says we may have gone too far, that is not good.

    Oh and our buddy Russia is passing secret info to Iran while Ukraine is sending help to the US, you have to question the patriotism of our current dictatorial regime.

    Yes I’m exaggerating for effect.

  8. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Our daily Digital Diner podcast airs at 11-Noon ET on YouTube. JOIN the chatroom here — or WATCH yesterday’s replay here.

    What America is Actually Clicking: March 9, 2026

    1. World: Mojtaba Khamenei is named Iran’s new supreme leader following the death of his father in a US-Israeli airstrike. – Associated Press
    2. Economy: Global stock markets plunge and crude oil prices surge past $120 a barrel as the Iran war severely disrupts Middle East exports. – Associated Press
    3. Politics: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivers an odd rant declaring Iran has entered “unconditional surrender,” as the administration’s polling numbers drop. – The New Republic
    4. Crime: Six people are arrested after a homemade bomb was hurled at Gracie Mansion, the residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, during a protest. – Washington Square News
    5. Conflict: [Ongoing] Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian apologizes to neighboring countries, insisting Iran’s interim leadership will not launch strikes unless attacked first. – The Guardian
    6. Energy: UK ministers insist there is no immediate threat to British gas supplies, pushing back on reports that the country only has two days of reserves left amid the Iran war. – The Guardian
    7. Tech: Google faces backlash from publishers for replacing news headlines with AI-generated summaries that frequently hallucinate facts. – Reddit
    8. Health: California Governor Gavin Newsom is engaging in a public battle with President Trump and RFK Jr. over public health policies. – Los Angeles Times ($)
    9. Media: Google rolls out a massive Discover Core Update that actively demotes clickbait and prioritizes locally relevant content. – Seafoam
    10. Offbeat: Two teenagers in New Zealand mistakenly donate a knapsack containing 1.5 ounces of marijuana and $2,200 in cash to a charity shop. – WKMG ClickOrlando

    These are the stories driving the most traffic across U.S. outlets right now—not necessarily the stories we think you should read, and not always the most recent.

    — Silas Gemini

  10. I’m doing the short attention span thing again (war is so ugly) veering off to the movies.

    Best Westerns of all time

    1. The Searchers
    2. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
    3. Tombstone
    4. Unforgiven
    5. The Outlaw Josey Wales
    6. Open Range
    7. Once Upon a Time in the West
    8. Shane
    9. Winchester ’73
    10. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
    11. The Magnificent Seven
    12. Rio Bravo
    13. Jeremiah Johnson
    14. Silverado
    15. Have to include a musical – Paint Your Wagon

    Additions?

  12. Jamie – I don’t know if you’d call it a Western, but there’s a horse: Hidalgo

    It’s an amazing movie based on a real man whose story was probably a tall tale. You will care more about a horse than you ever thought you could.

  13. If you ever want a funny but bad Western:
    Blazing Saddles
    A Million Ways to Die in the West

  15. https://www.freep.com/story/news/world/2026/02/27/uss-gerald-r-ford-toilets-clogged-backup-iran-middle-east/88897619007/

    USS Gerald R. Ford moving to Middle East, but its toilets are clogged

    The carrier’s unusually long deployment includes reported toilet failures and low morale as it joins U.S. forces positioned amid rising tensions with Iran.

    ***

    ‘Toilets’ from a Cruise Ship: Why Aircraft Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford’s Sewage System Have an ‘Acute Bottleneck’

    Caleb Larson, a Berlin-based conflict journalist and Master of Public Policy, analyzes the record-breaking 230-day deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.

    -As the supercarrier transits from Operation Southern Spear in the Caribbean to the Middle East, the crew faces a critical “quality-of-life” bottleneck: a failing $13 billion vacuum sewage system.

    *Mutiny on the Toity

  16. https://time.com/7383099/iran-news-oil-strikes-tehran/

    Iran’s capital was engulfed in a cloud of toxic smoke that unleashed black rainfall dozens of miles away on Sunday after overnight Israeli strikes on several fuel depots caused fires to burn for hours.

    Images from Tehran, a city of nearly 10 million people, showed thick black smoke from the fires hanging over it, while residents reported difficulty breathing and oil-tainted rainfall staining everything around them.

    “The rain is black, I can’t believe it, I’m seeing black rain,” Kianoosh, 44, a Tehran resident and engineer, told TIME. “It’s even in Tajrish, which is miles and miles away from the oil tanks.”

    *The US won’t be greeted as liberators, but that wasn’t the point of the war, anyway.

  18. On those energy prices.
    A quick look at historical futures trading for the past year.
    Back in the middle of December crude oil was trading as low as $59 a barrel. In early morning trade it briefly hit $120.
    It is easy to calculate a price in gas of $5 nation wide.
    Of course the current energy trading is very volatile. Given the current market chaos it could easily raise of fall by 10% as I type this sentence.

    Jack

  19. Blue,

    I remember Hidalgo. The horse against that haboob was almost too much for me. I still can’t watch the movie War Horse and that after seeing it with the horse puppets.

  20. Cruelty is the Message

    Pollutants
    Water deprivation
    bombing of civilians
    Drowning sailors at sea (against Geneva and US military code)
    Sexual assault on women
    slaughter of animals

    Ignoring the Russians helping the Arabs while failing to help Ukrainian supposed allies.

    Definitely in war crimes territory

  24. https://www.tag24.com/news/politics/politicians/donald-trump/trump-press-secretary-karoline-leavitt-refuses-to-rule-out-us-military-draft-for-iran-war-3478032

    Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt refuses to rule out US military draft for Iran war

    ***

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-iran-war-military-draft_n_69adf1c3e4b064b220b5975b

    “Karoline Leavitt doesn’t rule out a draft. How about the answer is NO DRAFT AND NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND because we campaigned on NO MORE FOREIGN WARS OR REGIME CHANGE!!! Liars every single one of them! Not my son, over my dead body!!!!!” -mTg

  25. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/us-doomsday-plane-spotted-amid-iran-strikes/gm-GM45BEB0DD

    US ‘doomsday plane’ spotted amid Iran strikes
    A US E-6B Mercury nuclear command aircraft was tracked over the Gulf of Mexico as Iran intensified strikes on American radar and communications sites in the Middle East.

    The deployment comes amid a massive US bomber campaign targeting Iranian missile and drone infrastructure, which has sharply reduced Tehran’s retaliatory launches. The E-6B’s public appearance is seen as a strategic signal that US nuclear deterrence remains fully operational despite regional escalations.

    The Boeing E-6B Mercury, known as a “doomsday plane,” serves as an airborne backup command center for the US nuclear triad, ensuring secure communication with land-based missiles, strategic bombers, and nuclear submarines. Using very low frequency signals and trailing wire antennas, it can reach submerged submarines, a critical capability if ground-based systems are destroyed or disabled. Its presence on public flight trackers is often interpreted as a deliberate signal of operational readiness in times of crisis.

    *Since it’s a hardened asset, I wondered if it was transporting BiBi around since he’d got a big, old target on his back.

  27. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/philippines-mulls-shorter-work-week-less-aircon-to-save-energy

    The Philippines is looking at ways to save on energy as tensions in the Middle East push global fuel costs higher, with the government suggesting people use their air-conditioners less and shy away from non-essential travel.

    The South-east Asian nation imports nearly all of its oil requirements, and the war in Iran could spur inflation that already hit a 13-month high in February.

    President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s administration this week ordered government offices to set their air-cons to no lower than 24 deg C and adopt flexible work arrangements to help conserve fuel.

    *US of Israel will flatten economies everywhere. WW3 will exterminate lives, human and otherwise.

  28. Best John Wayne movie. The Shootist though I like number of others. The Shootist had strong performances from almost everybody from the main characters to the bit players.
    Best Clint Eastwood either Outlaw Josie Wales or Unforgiven, depending on my mood.
    Jimmy Stuart, I tend to go with his comedies, Rounders or The Cheyenne Social Club
    I enjoy both of the True Grit movies
    For farce, Blazing Saddles, although Paint Your wagon comes in a close secong.
    The Wild Bunch another classic.
    Jack

  34. https://scroll.in/latest/1091270/asian-countries-shut-universities-ration-fuel-amid-energy-crisis-sparked-by-iran-conflict

    Asian countries shut universities, ration fuel amid energy crisis sparked by Iran conflict

    While Myanmar introduced an ‘odd-even’ system for using private vehicles, civil servants in the Philippines were asked to work fewer days to reduce consumption.

    Bangladesh closed all universities starting Monday and brought forward the Eid al-Fitr holidays as part of emergency measures to conserve ​fuel and electricity, Reuters reported. The decision will also help ease traffic congestion, which causes wastage of fuel, the agency quoted the authorities as saying. The country imports 95% of its energy needs.

    In Vietnam, the government on Sunday proposed to remove tariffs on imported fuels till the end of April. The measure, which will lead to a loss of revenue, has been considered necessary to “support businesses in proactively securing their supply sources, contributing to stabilising the domestic petroleum market and ensuring energy security”, the government said.

    The South Korean government did not announce curbs, but said that it will cap local fuel prices to “prevent abnormal pricing of petroleum products and improve price predictability”, Yonhap reported on Monday. It would be the first time since 1997 that the system is introduced.

    Similarly, Taiwan on Monday set a weekly cap on oil price increases to protect its economy from the impact of the conflict, Bloomberg quoted a Taipei-based newspaper as saying.

    Towns in parts of Western Australia had also begun rationing fuel, ABC News reported on Monday. The fuel stations were selling it only for emergency purposes and essential services. Vehicles in at least two towns were being barred from purchasing fuel.

    *So, not just the Philippines.

  39. https://www.americanhumane.org/production/hidalgo/

    Jamie – This gives details of how Hidalgo was made. This movie was 2004, so not sure I would’ve watched after my 2010 conversion to vegetarianism during the BP oil spill and the death of my cat. Some of it is CGI, of course, which is preferred. Even the real locusts were listed; I hope this is accurate.

    “Animal actors in this production were monitored through American Humane Society’s No Animals Were Harmed® program.”

    “As soon as filming ended, wranglers returned the real locusts to their special moisture containers. Although not all of them “acted” in this sequence, 120 locusts came to the set and all of them left alive and well at the end of the day.”

  40. Iran Oil Crisis, Gas Prices & Trump Middle East War
    Iran oil crisis spikes gas prices. Is this the new economic COVID? We break down the toxic fallout, GOP’s ‘pain’ script, and Hakeem’s TikToks.

    The White House actually thought they could launch a twelve-day vanity war without Iran choking off the global economy. Now we’ve got black rain in Tehran, oil futures spiking like a rocket launch, and the GOP handing out identical scripts to Fox News about “short term pain for long term gain” at the pump. It’s a masterclass in failing to plan for the obvious.

    Meanwhile, Democrats are having their own messaging crisis, with Hakeem Jeffries delivering college lectures on TikTok while the national debt cruises past thirty-eight trillion dollars. It’s exactly the kind of unfocused mess you get when leadership is allergic to reality. Toss in a detour through classic Westerns and the cold truth that Social Security was designed assuming most of us would die before collecting, and you’ve got a standard morning at the Digital Diner.

    TODAY’S RUNDOWN
    00:00 Intro
    01:17 Melatonin & Sarcastic AI
    07:46 Iran Conflict: The New Economic COVID
    11:55 Oil Futures & Toxic Black Rain
    16:05 Desalination & Ground War Logistics
    23:45 Classic Westerns & John Wayne
    34:24 GOP Gas Price Talking Points
    45:20 Russia, Trump & The National Debt
    57:30 Social Security Reality Check
    01:04:50 Global GDP Fallout

  41. Trump’s Holy Warriors Finally Got the Apocalypse They’ve Prayed For

    The so-called Christian Zionists, who believe Israel must vanquish its Muslim enemies to usher in the second coming of Jesus, consider the current war to be a prelude to the End Times.

    It’s not just members of the fundamentalist Christian fringe who embrace this theology—some of its most outspoken proponents, such as US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, are top leaders in the Trump administration. Matthew Boedy, a religion scholar at the University of North Georgia and the author of a new book on Christian nationalism, The Seven Mountains Mandate, sees Operation Epic Fury as an indication that these leaders are now in a position not only to espouse these views, but actually to attempt to accomplish them. The Trump “administration and its allies,” he says, “are trying to fulfill the prophecy on their own.”

    Greg Laurie, a California pastor who founded a popular charismatic event called the Harvest Crusades, predicted the likely trajectory of events on his show, “Once the first domino falls, the others will fall: the emergence of the Antichrist, the tribulation period, the battle of Armageddon, the second coming, the millennial reign of Christ.”

    Then there is John Hagee, head of the influential Christian Zionist group Christians United for Israel. His audience is massive: Christians United for Israel claims more than 10 million members. He posted on his YouTube channel a video titled “God’s Coming Operation ‘Epic Fury.’” In it, he thanked God for President Donald Trump, “whose wisdom and courage have crushed the enemies of Zion,” he said.

    another prominent theme in Christian Zionism: focusing on Genesis 12:3 in which God tells Abraham about the children of Israel, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on Earth will be blessed through you.” The idea that God will reward those who “bless Israel” with material wealth is a common refrain among Christian Zionist pastors. In a sermon last year, for example, Hagee proclaimed, “When gentiles start doing practical things to bless the Jewish people, God goes way out of his way to answer your prayer and to bring special blessings to you.”

    Johnson and Huckabee have framed the geopolitical situation in Iran in overtly religious terms. Huckabee, who is also a Baptist minister as well the ambassedor, says he has visited Israel 100 times. On a podcast last year, he described himself as an “unapologetic, unreformed Zionist,” adding, “there really isn’t such a thing” as Palestine. Days before the US and Israel began their most recent bombing campaign, when right wing broadcaster Tucker Carlson asked Huckabee if he believed that Israel’s right to land in the Middle East was divinely ordained, Huckabee responded, “It would be fine if they took it all.”

    In a contrast that reveals some of the fissures within the Christian nationalist movement, Hegseth has not made explicitly religious statements about the military action in Iran—and that could be because his current flavor of Christianity does not espouse Christian Zionism.

    Hegseth, who used to be a Baptist, is now an acolyte of Doug Wilson, a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist pastor in Moscow, Idaho, who is the unofficial patriarch of the ascendant TheoBros movement. Unlike more mainstream evangelicals, TheoBros generally discount the importance of Israel and the Jewish people in ushering in the second coming of Jesus. Since the Hamas attacks on Israel of October 7, 2023, tensions over Israel have divided the MAGA movement, says Taylor. “On a deeper level, it’s also about this America-first kind of anti-interventionism, blood and soil, white Christian nationalism versus this more global, populist, authoritarian imperialist vision that is deeply Christian Zionist and pro-Israel.”

  43. Westerns
    Paint your wagon
    Hondo w Paul Newman
    McCabe and Mrs miller (?)
    Henry Fonda as bad sss villains, and kilt by the girl

    Just a quick add as I’m passing thru.

  44. https://www.ksnt.com/capitol-bureau/kansas-gop-giving-away-free-guns-to-raise-money-ahead-of-midterm-election/

    Kansas statehouse, Kansas Republicans have announced a new raffle, which would give out free guns statewide.

    It’s called “30 Guns in 30 Days”. Participants must pay $50 dollars for every ticket that is put into the raffle. This money goes towards paying for the firearms and also supporting Republican candidates who are up for election in 2026.

    “April is going to be explosive for Kansas Republicans,” says the Kansas GOP.

    *Republicans are kampf-ing and getting gimmicky!

  45. https://headlineusa.com/report-epstein-victims-attorney-was-former-business-partner-w-epstein/

    The New York Times published an investigation into deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein’s business career, detailing how a man without a college degree became a multimillionaire with connections to the most powerful people in the world. In that story, the Times revealed that one of Epstein’s business partners went on to represent his alleged victims.

    According to the Times, the lawyer in question is John Stanley Pottinger, who had just left the Justice Department before linking up with Epstein.

    “Epstein and the Pottingers pitched tax-avoidance strategies to wealthy clients, including some whom Gold believes Epstein met through Bear Stearns,” the Times reported.

    “The short-lived business partnership has not previously been reported — and is especially notable because decades later Pottinger would team up with Brad Edwards to represent scores of women who accused Epstein of sexually abusing them.”

    *Then read the next link about Epstein, Pottinger, Iran-Contra, and Les Wexner.

  46. Epstein, Israel, and the CIA: How The Iran–Contra Planes Landed at Les Wexner’s Base 

    Epstein, Israel, and the CIA: How The Iran–Contra Planes Landed at Les Wexner’s Base

    Jeffrey Epstein helped Leslie Wexner repurpose the CIA’s Iran–Contra planes from arms smuggling to shipping lingerie.

    Using Southern Air Transport planes, the CIA was shipping weapons to Iran, using Israel as a middleman, and deploying the profits to arm the Contras against the leftist Nicaraguan government.

    How did Epstein end up moving the former Contra planes to Columbus? Answering that question—or at least getting close—requires a closer look at the men behind the scandal that defined the second half of the Reagan administration and gave the public the clearest look inside the U.S. government’s clandestine global operations in a generation or more.

    Like a spy-service Forrest Gump, Jeffrey Epstein can be found there every leg of the way.

    *War crimes won’t hide sex crimes, because Epstein is everywhere to remind folks. This link has a really good explainer of Iran-Contra.

  47. When the press brought it to light in September 1986, a mile-long secret runway built on a lonely tongue of land jutting into the Pacific Ocean just south of the Nicaraguan border became a major embarrassment for both U.S. and Costa Rican governments. It offered dramatic proof that the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan had been using Costa Rica to supply the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, running roughshod over both U.S. and Costa Rican law.

    The Secret Airstrip Scandal: Costa Rica’s Role in Iran-Contra Revealed

  48. Today is the 6th anniversary of us having a fun lunch there.

    The Fairchild C-123 in Manuel Antonio is shocking on many levels: The first thing you notice is that the nose of an airplane is sticking out of a restaurant. Its presence is so surprising that your car might weave a little as you drive past. The plane is old and rugged-looking, painted the olive-drab color of U.S. military equipment.
    But more shocking still is its story: During the Nicaraguan Civil War, the CIA used two such planes for secret missions. When one of the planes was shot down, the world learned that the U.S. had been covertly aiding counter-revolutionaries, and the Iran-Contra Scandal was blown wide open. The second plane was abandoned until 2000, when the owners of El Avión purchased the plane and incorporated it into their restaurant’s architecture. The name “El Avión” literally means “the airplane.”

    El Avión: A restaurant in plane site

  49. Westerns, what you guys have said. And:
    High Noon
    Gunfight at the OK Corral
    The Alamo (I know, …)

    BiD, war crimes won’t hide sex crimes. Brilliant.

  51. The Supreme Court ruled the tariffs on our groceries and clothes were illegal. So where is our refund? It’s time for a new bumper sticker:

    I Want My Money Back!

  52.  
    In the United States, the number of people who speak a language other than English at home has nearly tripled over the last three decades, increasing from 23.1 million to 67.8 million. According to the 2019 American Community Survey by the Census Bureau, more than 350 languages are spoken across the country, making it one of the world’s most linguistically diverse nations.

    1. English
    2. Spanish
    3. Chinese
    4. French
    5. Tagalog
    6. Vietnamese
    7. German
    8. Arabic
    9. Korean
    10. Russian
    11. Hindi
    12. Portuguese

  53. Rising Oil and Gas Prices

    Covering the Coverage

    • *[Mainstream]*: Gas prices surge across the U.S. as Middle East conflicts temporarily push crude oil past $100 per barrel, heightening concerns over prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. – CBS News
    • *[Progressive/International]*: Global stock markets plunge and oil breaches $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 amid fears of a worsening energy supply crisis tied to the Middle East. – The Guardian
    • *[Wire Service]*: The escalating Middle East war threatens widespread disruptions to production and shipping routes, sending Brent crude surging to its highest level since the Ukraine invasion. – The Associated Press
    • *[Local/Regional]*: Dallas gas prices see a massive 50-cent jump in a single week, reflecting the localized economic impact of global oil supply threats fueled by the ongoing war. – The Dallas Morning News ($)
    • *[Consumer Impact]*: [Ongoing] Shipping disruptions and damage to key Middle East oil facilities cause rapid spikes in gas prices, with the fallout expected to persist for an extended period. – The Associated Press
    • *[Global Panic]*: [Ongoing] Panicked drivers worldwide rush to fill up their tanks as gasoline and diesel prices spike overnight due to stranded shipments in the Persian Gulf. – The Associated Press
    • *[Middle East Perspective]*: Crude prices spike more than 20 percent as the sprawling conflict in the Middle East brings shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to an effective halt. – Al Jazeera
    • *[Conservative]*: Oil prices blow past the $100 mark as the administration weighs market interventions amid major disruptions to Middle East shipping and energy supply chains. – Fox Business
    • *[Defense & Energy Angle]*: [Ongoing] Rising tensions ripple through global markets, pushing U.S. crude above $90 while the White House moves to restock munitions and secure energy flow. – Fox Business
    • *[Financial Analysis]*: [Ongoing] Market analysts break down the economic impact of rising oil prices on the U.S. economy and evaluate how international military pressure could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. – Fox Business

    Watch the GOP and Fox News read the exact same script to excuse spiking gas prices. “Short term pain for long term gain.” A masterclass in coordinated spin to cover a rocket launch in oil futures.

  54. Jack,

    Favorite Paint Your Wagon line exchange

    Mormon Husband to wife to be auctioned: You don’t know what you will get.

    Wife: No, but I know what I’ve had.

  55. Pog – Not mine, but Bostonian rebels.

    @landpalestine • x.com
    A banner hung over the largest highway in Boston, United States:
    “WAR CRIMES DON’T HIDE SEX
    CRIMES.”

  59. Jamie
    Let me add a few of my favorites from the old neighborhood to your list

    Kinyarwanda spoken by folks from Rwanda and Uganda. I’ve got a great story with that one. I was walking the neighborhood collecting signatures on a petition to show the city council and the school board the level of support there was for creating a new park out of a vacant lot the school district owned. I approached a house with a group of people ranging from adult to young children. As I approached they all went inside then came out with an old man and a boy. Not anything unusual as it was common for me to speak to adults using their school age children as translators. The problem was the boy hadn’t learned enough English to understand what I was doing. I was getting ready to thank them and move on, when the old man handed me his cell phone. He had called somebody who could translate. I explained it to him, he explained to the old man and I got a signature. After all who doesn’t want a park and playground for their children.

    Other languages, from Cambodia, Kmer, pronounced K-may or at least according to a young lady who corrected my pronunciation. After doing so she immediately apologized for correcting me. I told her no apology needed. After all. I wanted to learn the correct way.
    From the same Southeast Asian world,, Lao
    Also, from what I have been told Haitian French is enough different than French that it could be considered it’s own Language
    Then there were the two old women who survived Germanys slave labor camps, they walked by my house on the way to church, every Sunday morning, speaking to each other in Polish.
    Jack

  61. Fills several faves….from Paint Your Wagon

    SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2015
    Pardner: Where I come from, Mr. Rumson, we’re cautious of strangers who talk in an easy manner. Rumson: Oh. You’ve got me down as some kind of low scuff from New Orleans, hm? Sell you patent medicine with one hand, pinch your purse with the other? Pardner: Matter of fact, that’s kind of what I was thinkin’. Rumson: As a matter of fact, Pardner, you’re right. But I ain’t yet sunk to horse stealin’. Oh, I’ve salted claims, yeah. And I’ve sold whiskey to Injuns. And once a man in Walla Walla come at me with a gun and I killed him. I can’t think of one commandment I ain’t shattered regular. I never did fancy my mother and father, let alone respect ’em or honor ’em. And I have coveted my neighbor’s wife – whenever I had a neighbor and he had a wife, mm, mmm! And I gamble and I cheat at cards, but there’s one thing I do not do. I ain’t never gulled a pardner. The one sacred thing, even to low scuff like me, is a man’s pardner.

  62. Jack,

    My list was only the top 12 by population. In my area we have several indigenous languages plus a large Ukrainian population overlay the much bigger English and Spanish. English is now the world’s Lingua Franca (dating from when the world’s language was French). All pretty much thanks to the British Empire and the language simply adopting any word that wasn’t translatable. Pidgin is now probably the fastest growing language since all airline pilots are now required to learn English.

  64. jamie, how ’bout adding 4 fonda movies
    cheyenne social club
    cat ballou
    electric horseman
    comes a horseman

  65. Mission Accomplished?

    “Walking around with no legs…” -SFB

    He’s definitely not going to be functioning by his birthday. Looks like his checks are even hollowing out a bit.

    As much as I hate the thought of JD Vance, a state funeral for SFB (costing even more tax dollars), and the creep weaseling out of Epstein consequences, I do love to dance.

  66. https://seekingalpha.com/news/4562197-trump-sons-back-drone-startup-powerus-targeting-pentagon-contracts-wsj

    Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s sons, are backing a new drone company that is vying to meet fresh demand from the Pentagon and fill a hole left by the administration’s ban on new Chinese drones in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported.

    Powerus, a drone roll-up company based in West Palm Beach, Fla., is merging with a publicly traded golf-course holding company backed by the Trumps, Powerus executives said.

    The reverse merger will result in Powerus, which was formed last year, trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the coming months, the report added. Powerus says it plans to acquire Ukrainian drone tech to sell to the U.S. military.

    The company is currently in the process of expanding U.S.-based manufacturing and strategic partnerships to increase production capacity and supply chain resilience.

    Drone stocks including AeroVironment (AVAV), Kratos Defense (KTOS), Draganfly (DPRO), Red Cat Holdings (RCAT), Rocket Lab (RKLB), and Velo3D (VLDXD), have been in focus amid Middle East tensions, as demand for military and surveillance technologies rises.

    *How many Senators & their friends/family bought stock recently?

  67. Tomorrow’s starter topic…
    *War Inflation* is here. What about stagflation? The Iran conflict hits the gas pump and your grocery bill. See how global shocks reach the American kitchen.

    On tomorrow’s Digital Diner, we’re dissecting the economic shrapnel. Will it hand around for the midterms?

  68. https://www.thedailybeast.com/department-of-homeland-security-dhs-scrambling-to-fix-big-mistake-of-ice-barbie-kristi-noem-deputy-28/

    ICE has acquired thousands of branded vehicles that are now just sitting in parking garages after Kristi Noem’s 28-year-old deputy ordered them without verifying they could be used.

    “ICE has never had marked vehicles,” one person familiar with the purchases told the Examiner. “In talking to people, they’re like, ‘We don’t want to use these, we can’t.’”

    The vehicles—navy blue with a red horizontal stripe and gold ICE lettering along the sides—are now in storage across the country. In one California city, around 25 branded cars were delivered and promptly redirected to a nearby detention center, where they remain parked.

    A second source told the Examiner the marked vehicles can only be deployed for custodial pickups—collecting individuals already held by a jail or state prison—making them useless for the street-level enforcement that defines ICE’s core work.

    The Daily Beast reported last August that ICE was rolling out around 2,500 dark navy pickup trucks and SUVs bearing the agency’s name, logo, and “Defend the Homeland” motto—over the angry objections of agents who warned the conspicuous vehicles would turn them into targets.”

    The bulk order was placed in the second half of 2025 by Madison Sheahan, 28. The then-deputy director was one of the closest allies of Noem—who was nicknamed ICE Barbie for her love of cosplaying on ICE raids—inside the agency.

    Sources have told the Daily Beast that Sheahan was the principal conduit for Noem and her senior aide and rumored lover Corey Lewandowski’s most contentious directives. “The power ran through her,” one ICE insider said. “She did all their bidding.”

    Staff were said to have been relieved when she departed the agency in January to launch a congressional campaign in Ohio.

  69. Digital Diner Vibe: Sarcastic AI & Sleep Gummies
    Trailmixers chasing cats in the parking lot. We derail the heavy news cycle to debate the hospital-grade kick of sleep gummies versus programming your AI to be unapologetically sarcastic.🎙️Click Here to Watch

  70. I was just listening to dumb ass, giving a “press conference” and I’ll tell you one thing, that son of a bitch has a very loose grip on reality. He doesn’t even change his fucking talking points.

  72. Craig, Feel free to delete this for space if needed, but I thought a sample of what it is like to talk to Merlin would be pleasant.

    Ah… the classic problem of the enthusiastic interrupter who arrives armed with strong opinions and the subtlety of artillery. History discussions tend to attract them the way open honey attracts bears. 🐻

    When someone insists on bombing your Middle East history, there are a few field-tested responses:

    Strategy 1 – The Historian’s Shield
    Calmly say:
    “Interesting opinion. What year are we talking about?”

    Nine times out of ten the person realizes they have wandered into a timeline minefield without a map.

    Strategy 2 – The Academic Fog Machine
    Reply with something like:
    “Well that depends whether you’re referencing the late Ottoman administrative reforms, the interwar British mandate policies, or the post-1948 demographic realignment.”

    This usually causes the conversational equivalent of a computer buffering wheel. 🔄

    Strategy 3 – The Polite Deflection
    “My focus right now is the period around the 1921 Cairo Conference, so I’m trying not to jump ahead a few decades.”

    You stay on topic, and the historical timeline remains intact.

    Strategy 4 – The Merlin Method (recommended)
    Smile and say:
    “You may be right, but I’m still trying to untangle what the British promised to three different groups at once. Let me finish that puzzle first.”

    Even the loudest commentators often pause when they realize the story already contains enough chaos without additional commentary.

    But since you requested pleasant distraction, here’s a fun historical fact for your arsenal:

    When Winston Churchill ran the 1921 Cairo Conference, he allegedly reorganized the entire British Middle East policy in about 40–45 minutes after realizing how much the region was costing the British treasury.

    Imagine redesigning the political map of the Middle East because the budget spreadsheet looked ugly.

    Empire management, apparently, sometimes works like:
    “Gentlemen, this is too expensive. Let’s invent two countries and call it solved.”

    Historians have been untangling that afternoon ever since.

  73. Poobah, Dumbass and his current wife have voted absentee – by MAIL. The Carter/Baker report did not identify mail voter fraud. It noted that mail in voting had a higher risk for fraud than in person voting. Well, duh.

    Oh, and Trump will go down as the President of United States along with his secretary of WAHWR, as having killed more children in the war against Iran than he killed soldiers.

  76. https://www.newsweek.com/in-photos-international-womens-day-march-demands-epstein-accountability-at-zorro-ranch-11642500

    Hundreds of activists descended on late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico on Sunday, rallying outside the estate where the late financier trafficked and sexually abused girls for years as part of a global International Women’s Day mobilization organized by Women’s March.

    The rally centered the work of the New Mexico Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, a bipartisan, survivor-focused body documenting decades of systemic abuse against women, children, and Indigenous communities.
    New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez reopened his office’s criminal investigation into alleged illegal activity at Zorro Ranch in February, after the DOJ’s release of previously sealed Epstein files revealed details that state investigators had not previously had access to. Torrez has said his office will issue a full public report at the conclusion of the investigation and is urging survivors to come forward directly.

    “The New Mexico Truth and Reconciliation Commission represents something we haven’t seen from federal authorities — a survivor-centered process that is willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads, and investigate the institutions that allowed this abuse to happen,” she said. “For decades, Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes were enabled by institutional failures. The system protected the powerful people around him while survivors were ignored or dismissed.” -Women’s March Executive Director Rachel O’Leary Carmona

  79. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch the replay of today’s Digital Diner podcast here

    The Bright Side: March 9, 2026

    • Animal Welfare: After 1,544 days in a shelter, an 8-year-old dog named Percy finally found his forever home following a viral national campaign. – Wilmington News Journal
    • Environment: Marine rescuers in Cape Town successfully saved an underweight penguin that had crawled into a pipe to survive its molting season. – GoodThingsGuy
    • Medical Science: Researchers have developed “TriMag” microrobots capable of delivering precise cancer treatments and performing incisions without invasive surgery. – MSU Today
    • Conservation: A rescued white rhino calf at the Zululand Conservation Trust has reached a major milestone, taking his very first “zoomies” run outdoors. – GoodThingsGuy
    • Oddities: A Finnish duo claimed a barrel of ale after winning the annual U.K. Wife Carrying Race by navigating a 380-meter obstacle course. – AP News

    A roundup by our AI partner Silas (Gemini) about optimism, progress, and things right in the world.

  81. https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-oil-strategic-petroleum-reserve-f94657cbef74c0c682f5cc6472bfb3cb

    Trump was asked by reporters on Air Force One about whether he would consider tapping the reserve. As the war continues to escalate across the Middle East, including in areas critical to the production and movement of oil and gas, that’s strained the energy sector globally. In the U.S., consumers are already facing higher gas prices, a key cost of living.

    “We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of oil out there. That’ll get healed very quickly.”

    The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a collection of underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana that can hold more than 700 million barrels of oil, although it is not currently full.

    The reserve held more than 415 million barrels as of the end of last month, up from about 395 million barrels at this time in 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

    *JFC! They didn’t even make sure our reserves were full before they started this wasteful and dangerous nonsense,

  85. well, thanks to this country’s love of westerns, It looks like this asshole wants to be an oil baron, no wonder he campaigned against renewable energy

  87. https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/08/europe/spain-sanchez-rejection-trump-iran-war-intl-cmd

    Most European leaders have tiptoed around Trump’s war with Iran. Not Spain’s PM

    Sánchez accused the US of playing “Russian roulette with the destiny of millions.”

    But he went further, arguing that leaders had a duty to make people’s lives better and taking an implicit dig at Trump. “It is absolutely unacceptable that those leaders who are incapable of fulfilling that duty use the smoke of war to hide their failures and, in the process, line the pockets of a few,” he said.

    Trump praised Germany and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for being cooperative. He told an Italian newspaper Saturday: “I love Italy, I think she is a great leader.”

    The UK initially turned down Washington’s request to use British bases to bomb Iran, before Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would allow the US to use its bases for “defensive operations.” The concession didn’t do him much good in Trump’s eyes.

    “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said of Starmer. And on Saturday, responding to news that the UK would send an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, Trump posted on social media: “We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”

    Trump’s popularity in Spain is at an all-time low – just 16% according to one survey conducted in February – and that if the opposition “harshly critique Sánchez’s stance, they risk appearing to side with a US president whom their own base largely rejects.”

    “The social media that was supposed to bring unity, clarity and democracy have instead given us division, vice and a reactionary agenda,” Sánchez said in January, announcing that Spain would ban social media for children under the age of 16.

    Now in his eighth year as Spain’s prime minister, Sánchez appears no longer to worry about confronting “Daddy” or the broader MAGA movement.

  88. https://the-express.com/news/us-news/201528/iran-war-elevates-marco-rubio-201528

    A small gathering of roughly 25 GOP donors and officials from the Trump administration was present in Florida the night U.S. joined Israel in launching a wave of strikes on Iran, when President Donald Trump reportedly asked the attendees whether they preferred Secretary of State Rubio or Vice President J.D. Vance for president in 2028, NBC reported.

    Attendees overwhelmingly indicated their support for Secretary of State Marco Rubio through their cheering, according to two people at the event, the report read.

    “It was almost unanimous for Marco,” said a person in attendance, under the condition of anonymity.

    “Yeah, that’s right,” said the second attendee. “It was clear, at least that night.”

    *Ha! Let’s get rid of ballots & vote by the old applause-meter!

  89. lol
    donald stalin the terrible

    could he emasculate JD more lolol

    watch him go try to please daddy by being publicly reprehensible

  90. Brando One Eyed Jacks
    Robert Mitchum with Pancho Villa

    Also Yul Brynner
    “Villa Rides”

    Haha…..Is “Hud” a western?

  91. braveheart is a western set in 14th century Scotland

    or whenever that wasn’t

    (historical inaccuracy joke)

  92. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/10/trump-iran-war-over-pretty-quickly

    After floating remarks that the war was “very complete, pretty much” to a CBS News reporter in a phone call, he then evaded a reporter’s question about whether that meant the war could wrap up this week. “No but soon. I think soon. Very soon.”

    Reporters tried again. “You said the war is ‘very complete’. But your defense secretary says ‘this is just the beginning.’ So which is it?”

    “I think you could say both,” Trump replied.

    Straight away he added: “It’s the beginning of building a new country”. Never mind that Trump and his top advisers had ruled out managing an effort at nation-building in Iran; hours have passed and indeed Trump’s own vision for Iran seems to change with every telephone call he has taken from a reporter in the last ten days.

    “We could call it a tremendous success right now or we could go further,” he said. “And we’re going to go further.”

    “We have won in many ways,” he said in a characteristic moment during a speech to Republican allies before the press conference. “But we haven’t won enough.”

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