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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   13677 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 12, 2026

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I made a prediction that Iran might step up attacks before the midterms. Looks like that may be happening and the rates of attacks are up:

Two ships sink near Hormuz after being hit by projectiles amid surge in attacks

Container ship hit by projectile sinks in Strait of Hormuz, Singapore says

A Singapore-flagged container ship has sunk after being struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Singaporean authorities.

All 21 crew members of GFS Pride were evacuated and no injuries were reported after the attack on Tuesday, which caused damage and a fire, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said.

Another Singapore-flagged container vessel, GFS Giselle, sustained hull damage after being hit by a projectile on Wednesday but was able to reach a safe anchorage with all 22 crew, it added.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a ship hit naval mines and sank while passing through what they called an "unauthorised" route in the Strait of Hormuz.

The decision to pause the war by Trump remains puzzling to me, and it suggests a lack of conviction in the war effort. A side confident of success would act immediately rather than grant Iran weeks to strengthen its defenses, plan retaliation, consult its allies, and position its assets. One thing it certainly isn't doing is helping with inflation:

Consumer prices rose 3.7% annually in September as gas prices skyrocket

The consumer price index showed annual inflation of 3.7% in September after rising 0.6% for the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.

The Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, posted an annual reading of 2.6% after climbing 0.3%.

Energy prices were a major factor again as gasoline rose 9.1% and accounted for half the increase in the index.

However, price pressures were broad-based, with gains in shelter, vehicle costs and apparel.

Trump seems to have a plan though, although it is not popular even among Republicans:

Bipartisan group of senators call on Trump to rescind Russian diesel deal

"This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies; it should be rescinded," wrote six Republican and six Democratic senators in a letter Tuesday to the president.

Polling numbers and prediction markets also paint a pretty bleak forecast for the Republicans.

From Nate Silver:

Over the weekend, Donald Trump hit yet another all-time approval rating low of net -23.9. As of today, he bounced back slightly to -22.4. That’s in large part due a pair of new polls — one from TIPP Insights and one from Noble Predictive Insights — that showed Trump at a relatively rosy net -13 and -12, respectively.

Things are also looking bearish for Trump on the issues. Net approval of how he’s handled trade (-28.7) and the economy (-29.9) are both near their all time lows. Trump’s inflation approval has dropped so much — to net -47.5 — that we’ve once again had to adjust the y-axis on our issue approval chart downward.

If things go as they seem, we are about to witness the end of the age of Trump. If we get a Blue Tsunami -- and I believe we will -- Republicans are going to turn on him. Why wouldn't they? What can he offer them at this point but big fat L's. The only question now is what comes next on the Right, because it's certainly not Trumpism.

Trump was doing great until he decided to simp for Israel and attack Iran. The next Republican candidate could just keep Trump's playbook while doing away with the retarded stuff (Zionism, tariffs).

Trump has a Jewish daughter. He's also used attacks on Jews as a hook for going up against campus woke. I think he's quite serious about it.

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