Heroic Epic About French Catholic Resistance Reaches America

Viral video skewers SAVE America Act critics for hypocrisy

Election security plan is what dozens of OTHER nations already require

Trump reaches critical juncture – and looks to be walking into ‘biggest trap yet’: expert

As President Donald Trump appears to inch closer toward authorizing a major U.S. military operation this weekend, renowned international security expert Robert Pape warned the president on Saturday that he may very well be walking directly into what he called “the biggest trap yet.”Reporting suggests that the Trump administration is actively preparing to launch a new wave of strikes against Iran, and officially end the ongoing but weak U.S.-Iran ceasefire. The president teased a full U.S.-takeover of Iran Saturday morning, and later said there was a “solid” chance he decides to blow Iran “to kingdom come” by Sunday.“The administration may be approaching a dangerous decision point. And the real danger is not simply another round of strikes on Iran,” wrote Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, writing on his Substack. “The real danger is that Trump may be approaching the biggest Smart Bomb Trap yet.”The “Smart Bomb Trap,” as he called it, was the notion that a quick resolution to the U.S. war against Iran could be achieved with “one precise strike” targeting Iran’s new supreme leader or senior leadership. As noted by Pape, the U.S. war against Iraq began with a series of strikes targeting former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, similar to how the ongoing U.S. war against Iran began with strikes targeting former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei.With the U.S. war against Iran hammering Americans’ pocketbooks both at the gas pump and elsewhere, and with the GOP’s midterm outlook growing more dire, such an option would be hard to resist for Trump, Pape argued.“The possibility that one precise strike could suddenly end the crisis, collapse the regime, restore deterrence, and produce a dramatic political victory,” Pape wrote.“For any president under pressure, that possibility becomes extraordinarily difficult to resist. Especially for Trump, whose instinct in crisis has repeatedly been to search for decisive demonstrations of strength through precision force.”However, the unique and asymmetrical circumstances that have allowed Iran – which has military spending roughly 130-times less on its military – to block the Trump administration from achieving its stated war objectives, Pape cautioned, could very well backfire spectacularly.“Iran would still retain dispersed missile capability, underground infrastructure, asymmetric escalation pathways, and – most importantly – the ability to widen economic disruption across the Gulf faster than Washington could stabilize it,” Pape wrote.“Especially if the US attacks Iran’s leaders, retaliation could well include Saudi, UAE, and Kuwaiti leaders – the leadership of countries that Iran would surely like to weaken decisively as US allies crucial to future basing of more military power against Iran in the future. That is the key asymmetry in this war.”

The loneliest man in America

Donald Trump has never described himself so perfectly. At 10:52 last night, he posted this on his social media site: "Colbert is finally finished at CBS. Amazing that he lasted so long! No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk. Thank goodness he's finally gone!"He was talking about Stephen Colbert, of course. But allegations are confessions when they come out of Donald Trump's mouth.The celebrated comedian shuttered his show Thursday, a year after Paramount surrendered to the president's bullying. Trump got what he wanted from his corporate toadies, but unsurprisingly, that wasn't enough. No words are too shameful, or as screenwriter David Simon put it: "The smallest, most soulless creature to ever be over-stuffed into a human form has thoughts about quality television. With a world and nation in disarray and requiring remedy, the president of the United States feels the need to opine on this passionately. "Our republic is so debased."So it is. But Colbert didn't let Trump steal his joy. "The 'Late Show' crew, [Colbert] said, always referred to the program as the 'joy machine,'" according to the Times' James Poniewozik. "The daily grind means the production has to be a kind of machine, he said, 'but if you choose to do it with joy, it doesn’t hurt as much when your fingers get caught in the gears.'" That way of thinking, Poniewozik said, gave "an energy to Colbert’s satire that I think of as 'hopeful despair.' ... When you suffer a loss, you pull yourself out of the rubble, you dust off your clown suit, and you put on a show."In an exchange about faith and grief, Dua Lipa once asked him if religion and comedy ever come in conflict. "Does one of them ever win out?" Colbert answered by referring to Belfast, a movie he said evoked his Catholicism. "It's funny and it’s sad and it’s funny about being sad in the same way that sadness is like a little bit of an emotional death, but not a defeat if you can find a way to laugh about it, because that laughter keeps you from having fear of it, and fear is the thing that keeps you from turning to evil devices to save you from the sadness."The comedian went on to quote Robert Hayden's famous poem:“We must not be frightened nor cajoledinto accepting evil as deliverance from evil.We must go on struggling to be human,though monsters of abstractionpolice and threaten us."Colbert concluded by saying: "So if there’s some relationship between my faith and my comedy, it’s that no matter what happens you are never defeated. You must understand and see this in the light of eternity and find some way to love and laugh with each other."Does that sound "like a dead person" to you? Of course not. Donald Trump was talking about himself.Given that Trump's poll numbers are sinking and that even some Republicans are standing up to him, there's lots of enthusiasm right now. Even so, I don't have much confidence in justice being served in the end. I fear the Democrats, once they reclaim power, which seems likely, will take a few steps toward accountability, then move on. I will gladly accept being proven wrong. However, all things considered, I don't think I am. Justice won't likely come.That said, I take comfort in knowing one thing. Donald Trump is dead inside.More than that, I take comfort in knowing that he knows it, and that also he knows everyone, including his family, will celebrate the day of his demise. "Amazing that he lasted so long!" people everywhere will say. "No talent, no ratings, no life. He was like a dead person. You could take any person off of the street and they would be better than this total jerk."Thank goodness he's finally gone!"Such is the fate of tyrants. To illustrate, I'm going to quote from Stephen Greenblatt's brilliant 2018 book about them. I'm going to put Donald Trump where Richard III's name is. What excites [the tyrant] is the joy of domination. He is a bully. Easily enraged, he strikes out at anyone who stands in his way. He enjoys seeing others cringe, tremble, or wince with pain. He is gifted at detecting weakness and deft at mockery and insult. These skills attract followers who are drawn to the same cruel delight, even if they cannot have it to his unmatched degree. Though they know that he is dangerous, the followers help him advance to his goal, which is the possession of supreme power.His possession of power includes the domination of women, but he despises them far more than desires them. Sexual conquest excites him, but only for the endlessly reiterated proof that he can have anything he likes. He knows that those he grabs hate him. For that matter, once he has succeeded in seizing the control that so attracts him, in politics as in sex, he knows that virtually everyone hates him. At first that knowledge energizes him, making him feverishly alert to rivals and conspiracies.

Reconciliation Bill Funding Top Trump Priorities Can't Reach Floor, Thune Sends Senate on Early Recess

Despite Trump’s Oil Blockade, Quiet Resistance of Daily Life Continues in Cuba

People who have withstood 64 years of economic blockade won’t simply raise a white flag at the latest sign of adversity.

Senate Republicans finally reach 'Trump breaking point' — but might be 'too late': report

President Donald Trump has reached a new “all-time low” among Republican voters on several key issues according to the latest Fox News poll — and a growing number of Senate GOP lawmakers have reached what Punchbowl News described on Friday as a “Trump breaking point.”“Eventually, Senate Republicans were going to prioritize their own political survival over President Donald Trump’s wants and needs. They have. But it just might be too late,” reads Punchbowl News’ morning newsletter published on Friday.“Many Republicans fear Trump is determined to bring them down with him – along with their shared legislative agenda.”Despite a recent GOP gerrymandering blitz that has reshaped congressional districts in the American South, Republicans still face an increasingly dire midterm outlook, with Democrats not only projected to take back control of the House, but potentially the Senate — something once thought impossible.And, as Trump’s favorability continues to plummet among Americans — including with key voter groups and on issues that helped propel him back into the White House in 2024 — Senate Republican leaders are growing increasingly concerned that the president may drag them down with him.“Senate Republican leaders are now coming to grips with the reality that advancing Trump’s priorities may be in conflict with their efforts to retain the majority,” Punchbowl News reported. “Plus, Trump’s recent successes in ousting GOP incumbents have made it even harder for Republicans to steer him away from ideas they see as so obviously harmful to their chances.”One Republican senator, speaking with Punchbowl News on the condition of anonymity, shared a particularly grim assessment.“Our majority is melting down before our eyes,” they told the outlet.

America Is A Nation Of Settlers, Not Immigrants

It’s not crazy to suggest that if immigrants will not assimilate then they shouldn’t be allowed to serve in Congress.

To end the Iran threat, America must dismantle the regime’s foundations

The United States maintains a naval blockade around Iranian ports after repeated ceasefire violations and the collapse of talks in Islamabad. President Donald Trump has delayed further action to strike at the right moment. If lasting results matter more than another temporary pause that lets Tehran recover and adapt, Washington must stop managing the symptoms […]