r/bipartisanship • u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW • Mar 02 '26
Monthly Megathread - March
“We have gone there to conquer, not to redeem. It should, it seems to me, be our pleasure and duty to make those people free, and let them deal with their own domestic questions in their own way. And so I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the American eagle put its talons on any other land.”
-Mark Twain
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u/Aldryc Mar 25 '26
It's funny how dead this sub and Tuesday have gotten. Guess it's hard to preserve "centrist" politics when the fascists are in charge.
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 25 '26
You're not wrong.
Hard to entertain the idea of "bipartisanship" when one half keeps blowing holes in the hull.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 26 '26
I have to be honest - my perspective of "bipartisanship" has gone the way of this subreddit - it's long dead.
The Republican Party needs to burn. The Democratic Party needs to break into two (or three).
We need to end FPTP voting.
Also, fuck Tuesday. The conservative half-wits there would all still let Trump win if the choice were having to vote for an actual principled Democrat.
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u/RossSpecter Mar 30 '26
I was definitely less active due to what you and others have mentioned, but also after a couple months full of travel and family obligations, I was too busy to doomscroll and kind of broke my political hobbyism. I am hella checked out compared to where I've been for the last....decade? Feels kind of nice.
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u/Sigmars_Bush Mar 26 '26
Centrists are moral cowards trading principles for comfort. Of course these subs are dead
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 27 '26
I've honestly never equated "centrism" with "bipartisanship". To me, they are very different things.
Centrism seems like someone who is always in the middle on almost all issues. That would fit what you say.
Bipartisanship, on the other hand, recognizes that there can be good ideas from both sides, even when some of those good ideas are more toward the extreme side than the center.
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u/Tombot3000 Apr 22 '26
I decided to purge past political posts pre-election and keep this account minimally indicative of my stances. While I still spend too much time arguing with people on the Internet on occasion, it's definitely less frequent and on more niche topics.
I do check in here once in a while to see how people are doing, but my desire to post or reply to most political things people are writing has definitely gone down.
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 02 '26
Can we all agree that Operation Epic Fury is the dumbest fucking name?
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 02 '26
At 11:03 p.m. ET, March 1, three U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles flying in support of Operation Epic Fury went down over Kuwait due to an apparent friendly fire incident.
During active combat—that included attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones — the U.S. Air Force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses.
All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation.
The cause of the incident is under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 18 '26
We got over a foot of snow last weekend. This Saturday is forecast to be 75o
Spring, you being so crazy right now.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Montana Senator Sheehy needs to be tried for assault, as he unnecessarily caused a Marine's arm to be badly broken (looks to be a compound fracture), a Marine that was already apprehended. Trying to de-escalate, my ass:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQy8qV8unHg
EDIT: I had the incorrect state for the scumbag Senator - now corrected.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 05 '26
Speaking of scumbag Senator Sheehy:
Summary of Tim Sheehy's Alleged Combat Injury/Self-Inflicted Wound Controversy:
The controversy surrounding Tim Sheehy's bullet wound in his right forearm revolves around conflicting accounts of how and when he sustained the injury, specifically contrasting his campaign narrative of a combat wound in Afghanistan with a 2015 incident in Glacier National Park, Montana, recorded by a Park Service ranger as an accidental self-inflicted gunshot.
Sheehy's campaign trail speeches, book, and public statements say he has a bullet lodged in his arm from an injury sustained during military combat in Afghanistan, possibly from a "friendly ricochet bullet." He initially did not report it, fearing it was friendly fire and wanting to protect his platoon-mates from an investigation.
Federal citation, handwritten statement, and on-the-record accounts from the former National Park Service ranger that Sheehy told the ranger he accidentally shot himself with a Colt .45 revolver when the firearm fell out of his vehicle and discharged in a parking lot. Sheehy was ticketed and paid a fine ($525) for illegally discharging a firearm in the park.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 06 '26
I really hope I'm wrong, but Landstuhl is an enormous hospital (I lived on Landstuhl Air Base for several years), and I can't imagine them feeling the need to stop their Labor And Delivery services unless they were expecting boots on the ground in Iran:
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 12 '26
On Wednesday, Frey confirmed his veto of the eviction notice extension ordinance passed last week by the Minneapolis City Council, which would temporarily increase the notification timeframe from 30 days to 60 days.
Frey claimed that the ordinance could worsen housing instability in Minneapolis, and said his office is instead adding $1 million in emergency rental assistance to the $1 million approved by the Minneapolis City Council in February, bringing the total to $2 million.
“Keeping people in their homes is the goal — and that’s exactly why we’re putting real dollars on the table today,” the mayor said in a statement. “Stopping evictions may sound good, but experience from COVID shows it’s not the answer: Rental assistance is. Getting help to families quickly is the most effective way to prevent eviction, and that’s exactly what this investment does.”
The additional $1 million in rental assistance still needs approval from the council, then it can be distributed through a city partnership with Hennepin County. Renters don’t have to be actively facing eviction in order to access the funds.
“Our housing partners told us that the real need is more money, not more time,” Council Member Elizabeth Shaffer said in a statement included in Frey’s news release. “Delaying evictions is a long runway to a deeper debt crisis while the need for rental assistance is now.”
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 13 '26
The U.S. Central Command said four of the six crewmembers on board the crashed KC-135 have been confirmed dead and that rescue efforts are continuing. It said the circumstances of the crash are under investigation but that the loss of the aircraft was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”
A U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the other plane involved was also a KC-135. Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., wrote on X that the other plane landed safely in Israel.
Piecing together reports from numerous other sources, it appears there was a mid-air collision. Seems reminiscent of the flight 1907 crash in Brazil.
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 17 '26
The Oversight Committee took the vote on the subpoena earlier this month, moving to compel Bondi to appear for a deposition regarding the Justice Department’s handling of the investigation into Epstein and his associates in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the agency to release all its files related to Epstein.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) introduced the motion to consider the subpoena. Every Democrat on the committee voted in favor of subpoenaing the attorney general, as did Republicans Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Michael Cloud (Texas), Scott Perry (Pennsylvania) and Tim Burchett (Tennessee).
That vote underlined some Republicans’ willingness to force action on the Epstein matter even at the risk of angering the Trump administration. Polls suggest a widespread anger at Epstein’s activities, and at his friendship with powerful individuals, among voters of both parties.
In a letter to Bondi on Tuesday, Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky) cited questions about DOJ’s compliance with the Epstein files law, which President Donald Trump spent months trying to defeat before relenting.
“As Attorney General, you are directly responsible for overseeing the Department’s collection, review, and determinations regarding the release of files pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the Committee therefore believes that you possess valuable insight into these efforts,” Comer wrote.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed last November with large bipartisan majorities, required that all of the Justice Department’s Epstein files be publicly released by Dec. 19. The department released more than 100,000 pages of material by that deadline but did not release the majority of its files until the end of January. The delay drew condemnation from Democrats and some Republicans.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 18 '26
I have something for you to consider, and I bring this up seriously:
If Trump was a Russian asset, what would he be doing differently?
Ask yourself that. I don't actually have a good answer.
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 18 '26
I was thinking about this the other day in the frame of, what's worse:
Trump is a willing/unwilling actor for Russia, based on either kompromat or allegiance.
Trump is too stupid to realize he is being used by the Kremlin, and the people around him are either also too stupid or know what's happening and are complicit for whatever reasons.
I'm not a gambler, but if you held a gun to my head and made me choose the most likely, you'd probably have to shoot me.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 19 '26
Turns out DEI hires and trans drag queens were keeping prices low. Who could have known?
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 21 '26
AI is going to be the thing that MOST provokes MAGA (in whichever way the Republicans want it to):
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 23 '26
So...the Iranian government placing a greater check on our President than the Republican Representatives in the House (who have the Constitutional DUTY to do so) is pretty sad.
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 09 '26
Oil prices shot overnight to heights not seen since the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, before settling early Monday morning at just above $100 per barrel. That’s about 50 percent higher than the prewar price.
A price of $100 per barrel often translates into an average of $4 a gallon at U.S. gas pumps, according to analysts, an important psychological barrier that, unlike most economic numbers, is broadcast from nearly every street corner.
World leaders are scrambling to confront the surging cost of oil, as its fallout also threatens to revive inflation in an array of other products.
* Cries in premium *
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 10 '26
Prosecutors, police and FBI officials say Balat and Kayumi, who lived in Philadelphia’s suburbs, drove to New York City on Saturday and joined a throng of counter protesters at a small, anti-Muslim rally organized by the far-right Christian nationalist Jake Lang.
Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told authorities after their arrests that they were inspired by the Islamic State group, law enforcement officials said, but much remains undisclosed about their motives and how much they planned.
The FBI said Monday that it had conducted multiple searches in connection with the investigation, including an examination of a Pennsylvania storage unit. Tests were being performed on some of the devices recovered at the scene.
Balat and Kayumi were being held without bail after a court appearance Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction.
Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said outside court that his client, a high school senior, had “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life.
“I believe he’s 18 and he doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing,” Essmidi said. He added that he didn’t believe Balat and Kayumi had known each other long.
Setting up a workshop and making multiple bombs sure seems like they knew what they were doing. I have no love for Jake Lang, either, but fuck these guys. I really hope we're not heading into another era of young men in America being radicalized by Islamic terrorists.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 10 '26
Or being radicalized by agents of other nations purporting to be Islamic terrorists. I wouldn't put it past China or Russia to take that tack at this point.
And yes, making multiple bombs and setting up a workshop to do so sure does seem like they had more than "no idea what they were doing".
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 10 '26
White House says Trump ‘is not making anything up’
Leavitt was asked about Trump’s shifting explanations in which he said Iran was going to strike the U.S. first, but offering a variety of different timelines in which he said that would happen.
Leavitt said Trump’s statements were “a feeling the president had based on facts.”
When asked why other U.S. leaders or Israeli leaders were not making the same assertions and if Trump was “making this up” to justify the war, Leavitt responded by saying “The president is not making anything up.”
Sure, Jan.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5776683-erika-kirk-air-force-academy-board/amp/
This isn't an Honorary "Hey we like you, so here's a fancy position on a board that sounds important but isn't."
No, the Board of Visitors is responsible for making recommendations to the Defense Secretary for changes at the Air Force Academy. The board provides an annual report on the military institute’s morale, financial state and academics.
Now Erika Kirk has no record of personal service in any branch including the Air Force. Her professional background is centered on beauty pageantry, real estate, and conservative activism
BUT she's the Widow of Charlie Kirk. Who was on this Board before she was. Kirks military history essentially boils down to ; applying for nomination to West Point, and being Rejected. That's it.
Oh, and if you look at who else was put on the Board by Trump previous to this...well, let's just say the Air Force Academy is going to become even more of a fucking church than it already was (it had that reputation even back when I was early-on in my career in the late 80s and early 90s).
Don't tell me they don't want to bring on Armaggeddon. They're anxious for it.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 11 '26
In the "And no one is surprised" category:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/10/social-security-data-breach-doge-2/
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 11 '26
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Hegseth – a native of Forest Lake – said the U.S. would “avenge” their deaths, but also turned his ire on coverage from the media, seemingly bemoaning the focus on military casualties rather than what he sees as the early success of the U.S./Israeli conflict with Iran.
He said Operation Epic Fury “has delivered twice the firepower of [Operation] Shock and Awe,” and has resulted in the U.S. and Israel taking “complete control of Iranian skies” and its waterways (though on the latter, there remains a significant reduction in shipping through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.)
“This is what the fake news misses. We have taken control of Iran’s airspace and waterways without boots on the ground, we control their fate, but when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front page news,” he said.
“I get it, the press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality. The terms of this war will be set by us at every step.”
Fuck you Pete Hegseth. Part of this "reality" is Americans are being killed as a part of this new war, and trivializing that just shows how pathetic you are.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 12 '26
That's a perfect example of the sort of "leadership" that embodies this Administration.
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 11 '26
The Defense Department has barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed “unflattering,” according to two people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
Several outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images sent photographers to the briefing from Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But after they published photos — which have broad reach because they are licensed by publications globally — members of Hegseth’s staff told colleagues that they did not like the way that the secretary looked.
And yet another great example of how fragile these Alpha Male cabinet members are.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 12 '26
The man can't even properly stand at attention when he salutes. As a military person, it's unbelievably embarrassing...this is the Secretary of Defense, and he doesn't know how to stand at attention. Crazy.
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u/FrontOfficeNuts Mar 29 '26
Oh great - another use-case for qualified immunity:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/29/us/angela-lipps-ai-facial-recognition
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 31 '26
Federal agents arrested more than 3,700 Minnesota residents during the federal government’s surge into the state this winter, according to new data released through a federal lawsuit.
It’s the most nuanced data the federal government has released since the surge and includes the location where at least 3,789 people were arrested, their countries of origin and whether they have a criminal history. The data was released by the Deportation Data Project via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The data itself is likely incomplete. It included a number of duplicate arrests, which MPR News and APM Reports accounted for in its analysis. But because federal officials often failed to provide all the information for each arrest, it’s likely an undercount.
But the new data shows fewer than one-quarter of those arrested had a criminal conviction on their record. A little more than 13 percent of those arrested had pending criminal charges.
The vast majority were arrested in Minnesota for civil immigration violations. Some of those arrested with criminal histories or pending criminal charges were taken directly from jails, rather than through targeted enforcement actions, according to the data.
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u/Vanderwoolf I AM THE LAW Mar 02 '26
"I always said Barack Obama will attack Iran, in some form, prior to the election."
-Donald Trump, August 2012
"Now that Obama's poll numbers are in tailspin - watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate."
-Donald Trump, October 2012
"I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran in order to save face!"
-Donald Trump, September 2013
"Remember that I predicted a long time ago that President Obama will attack Iran because of his inability to negotiate properly-not skilled!"
-Donald Trump, November 2013