Shower Thoughts

@heathroi @ImGucciBoots @ComicDaveSmith Dave has said that the American empire is over. People like Dave pretend to care about the economy and yet advocate for giving up our energy and trade benefits. At least Dave is honest about it, but saying he cares for ordinary Americans is a stretch.

@ImGucciBoots @ComicDaveSmith your question was does Dave hate America? I'm guessing not but I know for sure he hates the Trump administration fucking everything up for Americans or are you happy with that?

On Monday Marco Rubio said that we cannot allow Iran to have control over the strait of Hormuz, picking and choosing who enters and what currency they use. There is a very important reason why the administration feels this way: because it would be the greatest military defeat in US history. We lost in Vietnam and Afghanistan in a sense but never like this. If we leave now with the new status quo being Iran controls the strait then we have transformed a relegated, isolated, sanction crippled nation into a global power. Leaving now is an admission of a tremendous defeat and it’s also the best possible thing to do. This is the trap that Trump is now in all because he listened to Netanyahu and launched the insane war of choice.

@CharlesJoh17634 @RoninGreg @ianbremmer @__GMohamed America has pretty much weathered every economic storm since 2016.

@RoninGreg @ianbremmer @Anon7587 @__GMohamed We've been hearing this since 2016 buddy.

the iran war is the first time of trump’s presidency—in either term—that he is responsible for a major economic downturn. i don’t see any capacity (and, for now, even any intent) to turn this around before midterm elections in november.

@OnlyLiberty1 @CBHeresy If you watched only one Tucker interview in the past year, you've seen them all.

@CBHeresy So everyone should watch it and have a conversation about what they have to say, or act like a child and just mock them and not address anything they say?

Gonna save you an hour of your time with this recap:

@MalcolmNance @Mpolymer Iran has already accused the US of breaking the ceasefire and Iran is also violating the ceasefire and international law by closing the Strait. Iran hesitates because their offensive capabilities can't be backed up by their rhetoric.

@Mpolymer Are they aware that by breaking the cease-fire with new attacks… no matter how small, is equal to restarting the war in full? Iran could savage Gulf state infrastructure, particularly the UAE for revenge.

Big question is whether this will have any intended effects on pushing the Iranians to concessions. Ie, will such series of strikes actually work or not? And I sure hope this will include a honest discussion of any possible Iranian asymmetric responses. Trump seems to get mesmerized by these military briefings and authorize action soon after. I’d put this in the “signal” (not “noise”) category.

@Rezin27 @EdKrassen @sethmoulton What's wet brained is being told that believing Iran could keep the world hostage through the Strait of Hormuz even though Iran is already willing to concede the Strait because of the blockade. The negotiations persist because of nuclear talks, not thestrait

@EdKrassen @sethmoulton Moulton is a tested and true, noble, soldier. A decorated Marine who has always lived by the UCMJ code. Hegseth is a wet-brained psychopath who acts like he's a 12 year old starring in a rigged Call of Duty video game

Congressman @sethmoulton just made Pete Hegseth look like the moron he is: Congressman Mouton: “Mr. Hegseth, do you call Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz ‘winning?’” Pete Hegesth: “I would say the blockade that we hold that doesn’t allow anything to come in or out of Iranian ports..." Mouton: “OK, so we’ve blockaded their blockade. That’s like saying ‘tag you're it,’ or if President Madison had said ‘the British have burned down Washington but don’t worry, we are going to burn it down as well.'”

@RynoAg @SharrellAnne2 @EdKrassen @krassenstein @RoKhanna 99% of it's 13,000 + targets. The US naval blockade achieved deterrence capabilities that outside experts were saying depended on seizing Kharg island with ground troops. Khana's 1 year projection is totally speculative.

@RynoAg @SharrellAnne2 @EdKrassen @krassenstein @RoKhanna middle east stability and energy deals that favor US and its allies, and project well past one year. Khana doesn't care about the actual cost, just like he doesn't care about the school girls. The military operation was successful in eliminating

If you have 3 minutes to watch Pete Hegseth get schooled by @RoKhanna, you need to watch this! Listen through the end. It’s EPIC! Congressman Ro Khanna: “How much did it cost American taxpayers in terms of the strike on the school?” Pete Hegseth: “I wouldn’t tie a cost to it.” He then refuses to say what the costs are to American families, before Ro Khanna gives him the astounding numbers. The end is the best part. Hegseth and Trump are so far from reality when it comes to everyday Americans.

@Kurtsie134179 @ianbremmer @__GMohamed The reality. US is winning the asymmetric war, and a conventional war also favors the US. Also the reality is that any Iranian escalation is likely to lead to huge blowback and loss of leverage.

@Kurtsie134179 @ianbremmer @__GMohamed His assessment assumes many variables that contradict the reporting and most recent statements from the regime. Iran considers the blockade an act of war and will escalate first. Bremmer assumes a stalemate that could go on for months.

@ianbremmer @__GMohamed You realize that you just put your entire credibility and career on the line. If you're wrong, you'll never be trusted about anything ever again.

@__GMohamed correct. and that’s the economic downturn i’m speaking of. gas prices v likely to overage over $5 in the united states in coming months.

@Joe_drozd @willchamberlain Energy security for the forseeable future, a more secure middle east, freedom for the iranian people, Iran integrated into the Western Economy, should I go on?

@willchamberlain Your arguments are utterly unpersuasive. They are in a fight for survival, we are in a fight for... What exactly? What even is the goal of this thing anyways? What do Americans stand to gain, other than more blood on our hands and rising prices?

"Continuing the blockade puts far more pressure on us than on Iran. Iran has proven it can endure economic pain—it has been doing so since 1979." I keep seeing this talking point. It's Iranian cope. Iran massively subsidizes gasoline purchases by Iranians - when the price went up 50%, there were riots in the streets. And given that the President of Iran was talking about how Iranians should use less electricity (while pretending the blockade had no effect), this is dumb. "The blockade will not force Iran to abandon uranium enrichment, ballistic missiles, or its proxy networks." Did you just get off the phone with Aragchi? Of course the Iranians will claim this. When they have to shut in their oil wells and the Rial is at 5 million to the dollar, let's see what they say. "Instead, the blockade is hurting the American people and creating serious domestic pressure on POTUS: Gas prices will continue to rise as we head into the midterms, harming the working class voters who overwhelmingly backed Trump and Republicans—putting GOP majorities in serious jeopardy." Everything Strait of Hormuz related has already been priced in. Oil producers around the world are increasing production - including here in the United States, which is the biggest oil exporter in the world. We are doing just fine. Literally the news this week has been about random stuff. No domestic voter is thinking "man I wish the Iranian blockade was over," and they certainly won't be thinking about that six months from now. "Staging three carrier battle groups plus a massive build up of airpower in CENTCOM to enforce the blockade is unsustainable—it hands an emboldened IRGC ample opportunities to strike U.S. forces and drag America back into war on Iran’s terms." It's not unsustainable - it's not even half of our carrier groups. We're also the wealthiest nation in the world. Moreover, if the IRGC had the ability to hit the carriers, they would have hit them in the six weeks we were engaged in active major military operations. They didn't because they can't, OBVIOUSLY. "The global fallout only increases the pressure on us, not Iran: Beyond the oil and gas crisis, the blockade is now triggering a global fertilizer shortage that will cause major food security crises and potential famines in vulnerable regions." Iranian fertilizer is not underpinning the global economy, so this is silly. Moreover, is America a vulnerable region? No. You just assume that second-order effects on Africa are relevant to the United States' foreign policy. What happened to America First, Joe? "The smarter path is clear: withdraw, declare victory, and use sanctions relief as our negotiating leverage with Iran. This resets the talks on our terms, avoids war, and prevents further escalation of the energy crisis at home and abroad." A withdrawal will obviously be seen as a defeat. All our gulf allies will see it as a defeat, and will re-orient their alliances away from the United States and towards China. We would give up our primary leverage - the blockade is an existential threat to Iranian oil infrastructure because they are running out of storage and you can' just turn oil wells off and on. We have our boot on their throat, and you suggest that our negotiating position would improve if we took it off? Completely and utterly retarded.

@sunrise9720 @MarioNawfal Sanchez is not on the side of either the US or Europe. He's a terrorist sympathizer. No one should give a fuck what the thinks.

Now that Europe is facing real pain, it is starting to pressure Israel and the United States more directly. In reality, Europe cannot put strong pressure on the U.S., so it is putting even more pressure on Israel. But ultimately, Iran and the U.S. still have to agree on the negotiation terms, right? Can the U.S. actually accept Iran’s demands?

🇺🇸🇪🇺🇮🇷 Europeans are losing patience and believe Trump got them into a mess he can't clean up. 🇩🇪 German chancellor Merz says U.S. is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership 🇫🇷 France has threatened Israel with sanctions within days if it doesn't change course 🇮🇹 Meloni publicly broke with Trump over his comments about the Pope 🇪🇸 Spain is among the loudest voices pushing to suspend the EU-Israel trade agreement Both the U.S. and Iran believe time is on their side, but the longer this goes on the harder it gets for everyone. The U.S. and Israel are increasingly isolated, not just from adversaries but from partners Source: Al Jazeera

@MarioNawfal I hate fail videos that remove the original audio and end right before we can register actual reactions.

This dude probably saw a ‘50’s movie with a carhop delivering food on roller skates, thought he’d give it a go. But there’s a reason most servers just wear sneakers…

@MKartalaei @TruthTrumpPost Iran can't survive for years with no economy. It can't even make it through the summer.

@TruthTrumpPost It’s foolish and a form of self-deception. Iran is able to endure this situation for a long time, let’s say, for years. This narrative falls into the same category as claims that Iran was on its knees and would collapse within three days after the U.S. invasion began.

JUST IN: 🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran is rapidly running out of storage for its crude, with capacity estimated to last just 12–22 more days. Source Bloomberg

@FaizAhmadOff @TruthTrumpPost The US blockade has only been in effect for 2 weeks asshole. Keep posting that AI slop, it won't matter.

@TruthTrumpPost Bloomberg: Iran is ending in 12 days Reality: Iran has been 'ending' every week since 1979 🥱 Maybe Trump will fix it by appointing Pete Hegseth as the Storage Manager ? 🤣✨ Absolute comedy! 🤡

@MalcolmNance If "experts" are telling you that AI slopaganda videos implying events you've seen with your own eyes is fake, then perhaps that expert has no fucking idea what they are talking about or are brain broken.

@MalcolmNance Note that you can kill thousands of unarmed protestors, and turn off the internet, but a few Lego videos, one of which implies that an assassination attempt was faked by the US government, are winning the propaganda war. Absolute clown fuckery.

Without any question Iran is winning the propaganda war with well crafted truths honed into simple to understand information warfare products. … and We got Pete Hegseth.

@ianbremmer @gzeromedia You say there is a cost to this war but you fail to acknowledge the cost of retreat which will do far more damage to the alliance. Moreover, Iran is bluffing on its military might. They can't withstand another military escalation.

allies didn’t sign up for this war. now they’re paying for it. expect more hedging and less trust in the united states. @gzeromedia