# Politics megathread

**URL:** <https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175>\
**Category:** Side Conversation\
**Tags:** Society\
**Created:** [March 26, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175 "2025-03-26T00:38:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 30

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RonSewell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/ronsewell/32/6194_2.png) [@RonSewell](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/RonSewell)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/609 "2026-03-04T22:33:22Z")

</div>

> [@Rumraket](#):
>
> It’s a doomsday cult. They are wishing for a literal nuclear holocaust.

As is Iran’s theocracy. So it’s opposing visions of doomsday.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![misterme987](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/misterme987/32/15207_2.png) [@misterme987](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/misterme987)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/610 "2026-03-04T23:52:50Z")

</div>

Wow, this is how I found out. He’s really speedrunning World War III.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/tim/32/9381_2.png) [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 7:32am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/611 "2026-03-05T07:32:44Z")

</div>

I would point out that he’s not attacking Ecuador itself so much, as attacking “organized crime groups” _in_ Ecuador in coordination with the Ecuadorean government.

Sorta scattergun, when you’re already involved in a major war in the Middle East, but at least not likely to turn into a major international flashpoint.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AllenWitmerMiller](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/allenwitmermiller/32/2519_2.png) [@AllenWitmerMiller](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/AllenWitmerMiller)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/612 "2026-03-05T21:25:00Z")

</div>

I just heard the Homeland Security news.

Yes, there’s  
no face like Noem. . .  
no face like Noem. . .  
no face like Noem . . .

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dan\_Eastwood](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/dan_eastwood/32/2368_2.png) [@Dan\_Eastwood](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Dan_Eastwood)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/613 "2026-03-05T21:44:02Z")

</div>

Given the tendency of this administration to replace the bad with worse, we may soon look back fondly at the relative sanity of the Noem era.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Faizal\_Ali](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/faizal_ali/32/12416_2.png) [@Faizal\_Ali](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Faizal_Ali)\
**Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/614 "2026-03-05T22:29:15Z")

</div>

LIkely. Here’s the guy who’s replacing Noem.

[![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/peacefulscience/original/3X/9/b/9b30ea383e8c3796acb69ec93edb320263c0d8cb.jpeg "Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenges Teamsters leader to a fight. Bernie Sanders intervenes") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLjblX0oguo)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/tim/32/9381_2.png) [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 11:22am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/615 "2026-03-10T11:22:44Z")

</div>

> [@Tim](#):
>
> I suppose if it was to simply “bomb Iran”, then it could be considered to be “accomplished”. Beyond that … 😟

> With [oil hovering above $100 a barrel for much of Monday](https://archive.ph/o/7Xt5Y/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/09/how-high-could-oil-go-and-what-might-the-global-economic-fallout-be) and Middle Eastern allies fearing a further tumble into regional conflict, [Trump appeared in Doral, Florida](https://archive.ph/o/7Xt5Y/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/09/us-israel-strikes-iran-supreme-leader) with the mission of calming global markets and reassuring skittish allies that he has a clear vision for how to end the largest US intervention in the Middle East since the Iraq war.
> 
> **If there is one, it was not delivered in this press conference.**
> 
>  
> 
> **In a 35-minute appearance, the US president eschewed the specifics to hammer home how thoroughly the US has destroyed Iran’s military and to bolster suspicions that there has been little planning for what comes next.**

> **[Vague and contradictory Trump says Iran war ‘won’, but not ‘won enough’](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/10/trump-iran-war-over-pretty-quickly)**
>
> After oil prices surged on Monday the US president sought – and failed – to offer a clear vision for when the largest US intervention in the Middle East in years will end

This would appear to be a tacit admission that Trump’s objective was to simply “bomb Iran”, and that he really doesn’t have any clear objective beyond that.

We are getting into Underpant Gnomes territory:

Bomb Iran ➡ ??? ➡ profit!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rumraket](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/rumraket/32/9328_2.png) [@Rumraket](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Rumraket)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 3:12pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/616 "2026-03-10T15:12:43Z")

</div>

More Epstein files released. These were held back by the Trump justice department for a time.

> **[New Epstein files related to Trump](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27774249-new-epstein-files-related-to-trump/)**

Read page 13.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Faizal\_Ali](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/faizal_ali/32/12416_2.png) [@Faizal\_Ali](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Faizal_Ali)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/617 "2026-03-10T21:20:57Z")

</div>

I can’t. I’m too distracted by the fact that oil is now raining from the skies in Tehran.

[![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/peacefulscience/original/3X/0/3/031ecb8ee10b7d3a94f6e44ee44509a69153eddf.jpeg "Black oil-saturated rain covers Tehran after oil depot strike | 9 News Australia") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QogKKdVScE)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rumraket](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/rumraket/32/9328_2.png) [@Rumraket](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Rumraket)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 9:32pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/618 "2026-03-10T21:32:24Z")

</div>

Did that guy get kicked in the head by a horse right before he started asking questions?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Faizal\_Ali](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/faizal_ali/32/12416_2.png) [@Faizal\_Ali](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Faizal_Ali)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 9:38pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/619 "2026-03-10T21:38:36Z")

</div>

Sorry, I inadvertently posted the wrong video there. I’ve corrected it.

Here is the one you are referring to which, yes, does raise the possibility of equine induced brain trauma. The way he pronounces “Bluesky” is pathognomonic.

[![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/peacefulscience/original/3X/8/6/86945306cfd4157ca88f79b721159829a253e61d.jpeg "BREAKING NEWS: John Kennedy Has Vicious Clash With Witness Over His Past Quotes") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QNLDqVBIJM)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/tim/32/9381_2.png) [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 2:22am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/620 "2026-03-25T02:22:11Z")

</div>

> [@Tim](#):
>
> I would point out that he’s not attacking Ecuador itself so much, as attacking “organized crime groups” _in_ Ecuador in coordination with the Ecuadorean government.

We can now announce Trump’s War on Cattle:

[The U.S. Said It Helped Bomb a Drug Camp. It Was a Dairy Farm.](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/world/americas/us-ecuador-drug-camp-bombing-dairy-farm.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VlA.IAXf.JXmzcnExAYLX&smid=url-share)

> The Times visited a village where the United States and Ecuador said they destroyed an armed group’s training camp. Residents said it was actually a dairy farm.

Are chickens next?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dan\_Eastwood](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/dan_eastwood/32/2368_2.png) [@Dan\_Eastwood](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Dan_Eastwood)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/621 "2026-03-25T18:52:24Z")

</div>

> [@Tim](#):
>
> Are chickens next?

Are the chickens the next target, or the next President?  
One of those would be a considerable improvement.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/tim/32/9381_2.png) [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/622 "2026-03-25T23:56:28Z")

</div>

Both?

It’s going to be some time before your currently model gets replaced, whether by election, impeachment or 25th Amendment, so there’s plenty of time for him to declare a few more wars first – he could work his way through most farmyard animals.

Though I would point out that, as the C in TACO stands for “Chickens” you arguably already have one as president – albeit one whose ego tends to drag him into positions he then needs to chicken out of.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Joe\_Felsenstein](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/joe_felsenstein/32/8176_2.png) [@Joe\_Felsenstein](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Joe_Felsenstein)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 2:02am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/623 "2026-03-26T02:02:11Z")

</div>

I wonder whether people should bait him with the phrase TACO. Aside from casting aspersions on a wonderful food from a wonderful people, it might cause Trump not to chicken out one of these times, and that would be even worse.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/tim/32/9381_2.png) [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/624 "2026-03-26T02:12:26Z")

</div>

I think many would prefer him not to make threats, that he isn’t sure that he is willing to follow through on, in the first place. This would mean however that he (or his advisors) would need to think through the consequences of these threats. This would have the positive effect of reducing market uncertainty (this uncertainty has a negative impact on growth), and the extent to which financial markets bounce about like pinball machines (though it seems likely that some of Trump’s associates are [making money off that volatility](https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-house-scrambles-to-downplay-suspicious-bets-right-before-big-donald-trump-moves/)).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rumraket](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/rumraket/32/9328_2.png) [@Rumraket](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Rumraket)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/625 "2026-03-26T14:14:36Z")

</div>

High-IQ, non-DEI hire Donnie Clump has done it again:

> **[Business - France confirms oil crisis, says 30-40 percent of Gulf energy...](https://www.france24.com/en/france-confirms-oil-crisis-says-30-40-gulf-energy-infrastructure-destroyed)**
>
> France's Finance Minister Roland Lescure revealed on Wednesday that between 30 and 40 per cent of Gulf refining capacity has been damaged or destroyed by Iran's retaliatory strikes, leaving a shortage…

 ![expensiver](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/peacefulscience/original/3X/a/3/a32cb521c5a35b5cf445ea355bfcc9c2c4a511dc.jpeg)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![John\_Harshman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/john_harshman/32/1121_2.png) [@John\_Harshman](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/John_Harshman)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/626 "2026-03-26T20:25:04Z")

</div>

Can anyone confirm the last date that any news story mentioned the Board of Peace?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/tim/32/9381_2.png) [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/627 "2026-03-27T03:50:15Z")

</div>

> Today, 3:08 am

> **[US said weighing deployment of another 10,000 ground troops to Mideast; IDF...](https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-march-27-2026/)**
>
> Military says 'extensive' attacks targeted regime targets in the Iranian capital \* Senior Hamas official assails Board of Peace envoy for conditioning reconstruction on disarmament

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tim](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.peacefulscience.org/tim/32/9381_2.png) [@Tim](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/u/Tim)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2026, 4:07am UTC](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175/628 "2026-03-27T04:07:18Z")

</div>

> [@Tim](#):
>
> I think many would prefer him not to make threats, that he isn’t sure that he is willing to follow through on, in the first place.

Speaking of which:

[Donald Trump will ‘unleash hell’ if Iran doesn’t make peace deal, White House says](https://www.euronews.com/2026/03/25/donald-trump-will-unleash-hell-if-iran-doesnt-make-peace-deal-white-house-says)

> US President Donald Trump is ready to “unleash hell” on Iran if Tehran does not accept a deal to end the war in the Middle East, the White House warned on Wednesday.

[Previous page](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175.md?page=29)

[Next page](https://discourse.peacefulscience.org/t/politics-megathread/17175.md?page=31)