Wednesday, March 04, 2026

Of Trump Administration Officials And MAGA

Ukraine. He means Ukraine, which has been dealing with drone attacks for, oh, about 4 years now. This administration couldn’t organize a two-car funeral procession.

But hey, Biden scared Clooney at a fundraiser, and eggs were expensive. Amirite?

Or, you could reasonably say:
Sen. Mark Kelly: "You could pick a random group of people off the street tonight here in Washington DC and they could probably do a better job than our government is doing right now. They don't have a goal, there's no strategic plan. And what this is likely to lead to is, again, a long war with a lot of dead Americans."
Coming all the way back home:
Just spoke with Steve Toth who defeated Dan Crenshaw in TX-02 Republican primary last night. He's served with Dem. Senate nominee James Talarico in the Texas House, and held NOTHING back:

"I served with James Talarico from 2019 to today. This guy is as evil as they come. There is a darkness to this man's life. If you doubt that there is a wickedness and evil and a demonic presence in the world, you only have to look at James Talarico. He's an awful, awful person."
I had a pastor friend who liked to say, when God starts moving, the Devil gets busy.” I know it’s terribly religious language in probably the worst way possible, but I’ve seen in my own life that this is the way evil reacts in the presence of good. It’s no less extreme an assertion than Toth’s. It’s perfectly clear Talarico scares the shit out of him because Talarico doesn’t fit his model for being human in the world. Because Talarico is as sociopathic as Trump? Or because Talarico is a genuinely good and reasonable person? I’ve seen that inflame people into language like this.

It’s going to make Talarico a very interesting political target/opponent. I mean MAGA is going to have a hard time opposing him. 

Which is what scares Toth to such hyperbole.

Or, you know, Toth is just a MAGAt looney. There’s always just that. I don’t know anything about Toth; maybe this is just the way he talks. But I do think a genuinely good person like Talarico, scares the crap out of a genuinely crazy person.

In the words of Harry Truman: “I didn’t give ‘em hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.” Like this: You can see how that would be upsetting to MAGA.
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In Bald Language…

In drafting this proposed rule, the Department considered that State bars have interests that are different from those protected by the Department. For instance, the Department is limited to reprimanding, suspending, or terminating the employment of a Department attorney who has engaged in misconduct, whereas the bar disciplinary authorities may suspend or revoke an attorney’s license to practice law. The proposed rule therefore does not prohibit the State bar disciplinary authorities from imposing additional sanctions if the Department determines that an attorney violated an ethics rule. But it does allow the Department, which has access to information unavailable to any State bar due to various statutory and constitutional privileges, to determine whether such a rule was violated in the first instance. It also deters bad actors from turning the State bar disciplinary process itself into a tool to punish department lawyers and impede an unpopular initiative.
In layman’s terms, the DOJ asserts the authority (the grounds for which are stated elsewhere in the order; and utterly specious) to determine whether a DOJ lawyer has actually committed an ethical violation (which is the ground for bar discipline or disbarment), and only then will it allow the relevant state bar to act on disciplinary actions for DOJ lawyers.

State bars provide objective tribunals (Texas requires a trial for disbarment actions). Because of alleged “weaponization” in the order, the DOJ reviews its own lawyers first.

Which is perfectly fair, right?*

Federal judges can be disbarred after they are impeached and removed from the bench, because they are no longer part of a coequal branch of the federal government. DOJ lawyers are not “coequal.” They are part of the administrative branch, but their positions are established by, and overseen by, Congress. They are employed subject to the condition of being duly licensed in the state where they practice, and in the federal courts (district, appellate, Supreme Court) where they appear. The latter also rests on the proper state license. That licensure is the authority and prerogative of the respective states and courts. The executive branch has absolutely nothing to do with it, and Congress has not indirectly (or even directly) given them that authority.

Mostly because Congress doesn’t have it, either. And Congress can’t delegate authority it doesn’t have.

*There’s another argument, that this “rule” would not allow for due process of law, which is why state bars have to establish third party tribunals for proceedings like disbarment. This rule short circuits due process by allowing DOJ to oversee and determine the conduct of its lawyers.
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Wait A Minute…

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we have almost always been at war with Eastasia. So you didn’t obliterate their capacity to make nuclear weapons? Bibi told him so. Or the voices in his head. Same difference, really. Wait, what? Nuke Israel? Or bomb them? Well, now I feel better. Meanwhile, Congress engages in a vigorous discussion of the sunk cost fallacy as a Constitutional doctrine:
Raskin: I heard one of our colleagues across the aisle just say, “Well, yes, Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 does give Congress the exclusive, plenary, comprehensive power to declare war and not the president. And we could be debating it, but the president has already taken us to war, so it’s too late. It would undermine the cause for us to debate it.”

What a humiliating, self-defeating argument for a member of the Article I branch of Congress to be making. Don’t you understand? That destroys our power to declare war if any president can plunge us into a war and thereby defeat our exclusive, plenary power over it—
"We don’ need no steeken’ evidence! The President’s word should be enough for any patriotic American! Even if that word is: “Elecshake-- uuhsayuhr electric.”!
JEFFRIES: President Trump claims that Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States through its development of intercontinental ballistic missiles that could perhaps someday reach our shores. If Iran is actually on the verge of having that capability, the president should provide the evidence. But no such evidence has been presented to this Congress or to the American people. We can only assume that it does not exist.

Donald Trump said that he wanted to achieve regime change. Donald Trump is an individual who promised Americans on the campaign trail that launching regime change wars in the Middle East has been one of the most foolish and costly things that the United States has ever done. Those are his words.

Candidate Trump said that if elected, he would never get our country into an endless regime war. President Trump has now done the exact opposite.
Besides, Trump doesn’t need Congress. He said so. There is absolutely no bottom. So, violating the war powers clause and the appropriations clause? Sure, why not? 

No bottom at all.
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The Silence WAS Deafening

That wasn’t going anywhere. It was ridiculous that it was even explored. Yeah, he can’t do that, either. Attorneys may work for the federal government, but they are licensed to practice law by states, just as doctors are (for one). Licensure is a “police power” explicitly reserved to the states (if I recall my ConLaw classes correctly). This is as pointless as an EO taking over federal elections. Except the power to license professions doesn’t even lie with Congress. Not even the Commerce Clause reaches it.
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Random Observations

Swalwell: As he was following the orders of the court and going to the proceedings. He was arrested and sent to Mexico over a judge's objection that he not be sent to Mexico.

Noem: Did he have a criminal record?

Swalwell: In 1995, he pled to a lesser nonviolent charge.

Noem: I wish people would do things correctly. If they are not a legal status in this country, they can return home. We will pay for them to return home. I hope he got to $2600 he could have gotten.

Swalwell: You think that makes up for not being with his family? The president also, by the way it is a convicted felon if you want to talk about criminal records.
How many more non-European nations does Trump plan to attack, then? Blunt contradiction is the only thing that makes any sense. ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿป‍♂️  ๐Ÿคฆ‍♂️ So we’re going full Orwell? When does Johnson call Trump “Big Brother”?  We have always been at war with Eastasia. Very reassuring. Comer is so dumb, he has no idea how dumb he is. Neither does Hegseth.
Former CIA officer with ample experience in standing up and running paramilitary ops. I asked about press reports that CIA is now arming disparate Iranian Kurdish factions: "Probably the best case scenario is causing a big issue for regime. They're likely unable to actually take over the country."

The best case may also encompass a worst case for northern Iraq. Note CNN reporting that the Kurdistan Regional Government is terrified by this plan but won't defy Washington.

What if Iran concentrates its attacks on Erbil, where our closest Kurdish allies are and our hyperactive U.S. consulate is? All for a policy Erbil wants nothing to do with.
Someone is addressing the paradox.
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What Happens Next

Now that Trump and his admin betrayed their campaign promises of No More Foreign Wars/No More Regime Change and Republicans in the majority in the House and Senate are flat out refusing to pass key legislation, voter outrage was shown in yesterday’s Texas primary.

More Democrats showed up to vote than Republicans in yesterday’s Texas primary.

If that happens in November’s general election, Texas will be flipping it’s Senate seat blue.

By the way, a Democrat has not won statewide in TX since 1994.

Whatever Trump’s new twisted perversion of MAGA is, is going to LOSE in the midterms.

Clearly Levin, Lindsey Graham, Loomer, and Netanyahu highjacking MAGA and flipping it to MIGA is not working out so well.

People do not want to vote for this shit show and didn’t turn out in Texas.

Maybe they will wake up now and realize Armageddon is not what we voted for.

We voted for America FIRST and that means AMERICANS FIRST AND AMERICANS ONLY.
I remember an old MAD Magazine cartoon about the 1966 midterms. It was a parody of TV political coverage, so cameras went to the White House, where they found only a janitor, who explained nobody there was watching the election returns.

Times have changed, but the impact of who’s in the White House on midterms is mostly negative. Elections still turn, however, on the individuals on the ballot.

What MTG is speaking to, is that MAGA is broken. From her lips to God’s ears, says I.
For the first time in over two decades, Democratic early voting in Texas eclipsed Republicans (roughly 1.33 million to 1.1 million). While the GOP base was bogged down in a fractured Senate primary that just forced John Cornyn and Ken Paxton into a May runoff, Democratic voters mobilized at record 2026 midterm levels to push James Talarico to the nomination. When the opposition is highly energized and the incumbent base is actively disillusioned, the result is exactly the kind of flashing red light seen in this primary.

If the electorate feels its core directive a hyper-focus on domestic borders, the economy, and zero foreign regime change has been traded away to appease foreign allies and legacy neoconservatives, the Texas turnout will not be an anomaly. It will serve as the blueprint for November.
I do think that’s what’s coming.
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But This Is Not War

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Hoping I’m Right

Talarico ran a very good race. You don’t win without that.

But his appeal is the appeal of AOC; except Talarico casts it in the language of Christianity that Texans understand. Not all of them; not by a long shot. But when Katrina sent refugees from New Orleans to Houston, I went to the largest Southern Baptist church in town for orientation on how to be a volunteer to help the people then sheltering in the Astrodome; and the church members at the event were perfectly sincere in their desire to treat these strangers as the Christ, just as Jesus told them to do in Matthew’s gospel.

Talarico speaks that language, to them. The GOP thinks he’s dangerous because that message is so effective. He is a culture warrior who calmly and reasonably turns aside the fanatics in a way that makes you want to listen to him, rather than react against him. This is no small thing.

I’ve said before that I had no beef with Jasmine Crockett, but I thought her public persona was wearing out its welcome. I think the era of the “bomb thrower” that Gingrich inaugurated, is finally done. Crockett is brash and outspoken and a fighter; but if you’re not with her, you’re against her. That’s not her stance, but statewide in Texas, that would be her effect. She carried East Texas, and most of the urban areas. That’s where her support is, and she’s asked that support, to support Talarico. But his support reached across the state, and deep into rural areas that usually determine elections in Texas. The majority of the population is in DFW, Austin-San Antonio, and Houston. But the rural voters turn out in larger proportion, almost every time. The cities are Democratic, but not enough of them vote to counter the less populous areas. If Talarico carries even some of those areas, and the cities, he wins. He might even prevail over Cornyn, who will have to shed the MAGA crazy talk he had to use to not lose to Paxton. But that could cost him against Talarico, who is a breath of fresh air and talks like he cares about people, while Cornyn loses MAGA who are already splitting over Trump’s war. Talarico also cares about their faith. He cares about it, without making it a litmus test. He doesn’t judge in the name of Jesus. He respects, in the name of Jesus.

And I just suspect the Texas electorate will respond more to respect and care, than they will to standing with Donald Trump, right or wrong. That’s all Paxton has ever been about, and that ship has sailed. And Cornyn against Talarico? Cornyn is an old man, and Talarico is a fresh face. And like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, he’s a politician who doesn’t sound like a politician.

He sounds like he means it.
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Proud Bullies?

Hegseth: "Death and destruction from the sky all day long. We're playing for keeps. Our warfighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly. Our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it ... we are punching them while they are down"
"Death and destruction from the sky all day long” is neither bold nor precise. It is indiscriminate and savage. The rain falls in the just and the unjust alike. 

.”Punching them while they are down”? Who is “they” in that sentence? Do the explosives discriminate between civilian and government official? And have we now abandoned the obligations of the Geneva Conventions?

This is the babbling of children.
Hegseth: "This is what the fake news misses. We've taken control of Iran's airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front page news. I get it -- the press only wants to make the president look bad, but try for once to report the reality"
Six dead soldiers = discarded egg shells. This is sociopathic.
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Tuesday, March 03, 2026

๐Ÿค”

Talarico has been leading Crockett by 51% to 48% all night. At time of this post, with 66% of the results in, Talarico has 51.6% to Crockett’s 47.1%.  Dallas County has 60% of the vote counted, with Crockett leading by 60.8%. So I hope she won’t make much of this, even while blaming (rightly) the GOP. (I stand corrected. The Texas Supreme Court overruled the lower court, a ruling I can’t fathom right now. Crockett is not out of line at all, IOW. I agree with her, in fact.)

She is, as expected, carrying the black and brown vote, based solely on her margins in urban centers. But Talarico has broader support across the state.

Paxton and Cornyn are headed for a runoff. Democrats think Paxton is beatable, and I still think Talarico is the guy who can beat him. We won’t know who will be the GOP senatorial candidate until after March 27.

Interesting times, indeed.
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The Election Problems They Warned Us About

 Why hand counting of ballots is a bad idea:

Dallas County Judge Staci Williams has signed an order to keep polls open in Dallas until 9 p.m. today — two hours longer than the 7 p.m. closing time.
' That’s after hundreds of Dallas County voters arrived at polling locations where they thought they could vote on primary election day, March 3.

County election department “navigators” informed between 50 and 100 percent of hopeful voters that they could not cast ballots because they were at the wrong location.

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett earlier Tuesday released statement suggesting polling hours stay open as a solution to mass voter confusion in Dallas and Williamson counties, where Republicans chose to hold separate, precinct-based primary voting.

The county was in charge of managing and operating early voting countywide locations, which allowed Democrats and Republicans to vote at any location throughout the county.

The Dallas County Republican Party chose to hold separate primary elections after it abandoned its effort to hand-count all primary election day ballots.
I should explain for those of you who are not from Texas (but Texas wants you anyway!). Voting locations in primaries are customarily available to both parties. You show up, you are asked which ballot you want, and you vote, probably next to someone voting in the other party primary.

(Long ago and far away, when I was a callow lawyer in Austin and before early voting existed (that makes a difference, but don’t worry, I won’t get into those weeds), the Lovely Wife and I went to vote in the Democratic primary, after work. So I was in full lawyer regalia (suit and tie; I haven’t regularly dressed like that in 30 years). A lawyer I knew (he didn’t know me) was handing out campaign material . He stepped forward, looked at me, and withdrew his offered paper, muttering “Republican.” I was so insulted I snatched it from his hand and stepped purposefully to the side where the Democratic primary vote was received. Nowadays the ballot is stored in a computer, so it’s just a matter of getting the sign in code for the party you choose).

Primaries are a party affair, so if a county party wants to hand count ballots, they have to produce hand marked ballots at a separate location. My guess is the county GOP changed its mind too late for the volunteers to all get the message.

Now imagine the mess if Trump got his way and insisted on hand counted ballots. (I’m watching primary results come in from
254 counties tonight. I can’t imagine how many days it would take, in the second most populous state, if all ballots were counted by hand. I’ve been voting for over 50 years, and never cast a hand ballot. And that includes a long period before computers were used.)


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Silencing The Silent Majority

The silent majority is not being polled.  Or something.
NEW and BREAKING:

In a major reversal, the Trump admin is NOW trying to walk back its decision to walk away from defending the law firm executive orders in court.

DOJ just notified the four fighting law firms that it now intends to continue defending the legality of the orders in court.

A day ago, DOJ had a very different position.
Trump actually won that one, too. Or something.

Turns out there was a government brief due to the court of appeals, and the DOJ moved to dismiss the appeal rather than file a brief. This was yesterday, the deadline for filing. Now DOJ is asking to withdraw its motion for voluntary dismissal, so it can get an extension to file the brief that was due yesterday.

The DOJ has become a ship of fools.
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They Got Nothin’….

How (not) to deal with a strong woman: ๐Ÿ˜น That’s so sad it’s funny. The constitution plays into the hands of our enemies? Trump was referring to the 6 dead Americans. Congratulations! No more than 27% of America (at best!) agrees with you! Have they all decided that self-contradiction makes them sound like they know what they’re talking about? Or are they just doggedly following the lead of Dear Leader. So reassuring. That 27% is going to track lower very shortly.
Perino: I don't blame her for getting mad. The Clintons asked for a public hearing and they were denied a public hearing because they wanted to do it behind closed doors because they were gonna get all of this great information. You can look at the tape, is there great information that came out?

For the Republicans, I would say there are a lot of problems in this country, pick your battles. This isn't one of them.
When will they ever learn?
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Winning Friends…

They’re going to take over the government any time now…. Bill Clinton told us the US economy is always better under Democrats. The GOP is the party of oligarchs. See? Or did he? Rubio: "I am not the droid you are looking for.” <runs away>
Rubio: Listen, let me explain to you guys this in simple English, okay? Iran is run by lunatics religious fanatic lunatics. They have an ambition to have nuclear weapons. They intend to develop those nuclear weapons behind a program of missiles and drones and terrorism. That the world will not be able to touch them for fear of those things. And this is the weakest they've ever been. Now is the time to go after them. The president made the decision to go after them, take away their missiles, take away their Navy, take away their drones, take away their ability to make those things so that they can never have a nuclear weapon. That's why the president made this decision. It was the right decision. And the world will be a safer place when these radical clerics no longer have access to these weapons. You see how they're using them. Now imagine how they would use them a year from now if they had more of these
Choose your adventure. (Running away would have worked better. BTW, Iran is attacking American military bases in the region, because America is attacking them. We invaded Afghanistan because Al Qaeda attacked us on 9/11, and was operating out of Afghanistan. That’s kinda the way it works. As Auden wrote: “I and the schoolchildren know/what everyone must learn/Those to whom violence is done/do violence in return.” And this time, we shot first.) Rubio should have gone with the “It’s not ‘war,’ war” defense. "No one likes us,/I don’t know why./We may not be perfect,/but heaven knows, we try./All around, even/our old friends put us down./Let’s drop the Big One, and see what happens.”—Randy Newman, “Political Science.”

Things have changed so much since 1972.
Would they need an ID to buy that gas?⛽️ 
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More Eggs For The Omelette

Do Trump’s words actually mean anything? The man with a plan. All of our friends in Iran are dead? And what makes him think he gets to choose? No. Clue. At. All. "I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain." We have treaties with Spain; and trade agreements. And agreements on the use and placement of military bases. None of which he can abrogate or set aside with a word. And if he uses the bases against Spanish agreements, it jeopardizes every base we have in the EU. At least. How to win friends and influence people. And the Supreme Court did what? The man is denser than depleted uranium. Britain isn’t dealing with FDR, either. Trump has absolutely no idea how government works.
Reporter: Thousands of Americans are stranded. Why wasn't there an evacuation plan?

Trump: Well, because it happened all very quickly, we thought, and I thought maybe more so than most. I could ask Marco, but I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked. They were getting ready to attack Israel. They were getting ready to attack
How many weeks did it take to get weapons in the region for this attack? And how many ambassadors do we have in the region, outside of Israel and Saudi Arabia? I understand the answer is “none.” We also deeply cut embassy staff, the very people who could help Americans in these circumstances. And that’s not all he said.

You’ll also notice he said nothing about curing this problem. More eggs for the omelette, I guess.
Trump: We have massive amounts of ammunition. We have the high end. A lot of it was given away stupidly by Biden, very stupidly for free. We have unlimited middle and upper ammunition, which is really what we're using in this war. And we have a really an unlimited supply.

We also have a lot of the very high end stored in different countries throughout the world, where we're literally storing it there, which is actually something that I insisted on in my first term
"Unlimited” is a word a child would use. There are bubbles, and there is the impenetrable shield of malignant narcissism. Huh? So we’re back to this problem. Primal forces, Mr. Beale. That’s not going to end well for Trump. If his words mean anything. Stephen Miller is marking them for deportation. I’m guessing, Switzerland.๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ 
Trump: This is not the age of Churchill. I will say the UK has been very, very uncooperative with that stupid island that they have that they gave away and took 100 year lease having to do with perhaps indigenous people claiming the island that never even saw the island before. What's that all about?
Manifest destiny is the white man’s burden. Not what he thinks it means:
Sharia councils – also known as Sharia courts – have existed in the UK since the early 1980s. The Islamic Sharia Council (ISC) based in Leyton, East London, was established in 1982.

Its website states that it was formed to “solve the matrimonial problems of Muslims living in the United Kingdom in the light of Islamic family law”, for example marriages, divorce and inheritance issues. The ISC is a Registered Charity and not a formal court of law, and therefore only deals with the Islamic Nikah marriage ceremony rather than civil marriage contracts.

The ISC lists its broader Objectives as to be of assistance to Muslims in the UK by:

• fostering and encouraging the practice of the Muslim faith according to the Quran and the Sunnah;
• providing Advice and assistance in the operation of Muslim family life;
• establishing a bench of scholars to operate as the Islamic Sharia Council and to make decisions on matters of Muslim family law referred to it;
• promoting an enlightened practice of the Islamic faith by Muslims living in the UK;
• to educate the public generally regarding Islam and to dispel negative stereotypes.

Sharia councils have no official legal or constitutional role in the UK. Their work consists primarily of adjudicating on religious divorces, usually at the request of women. They may also give verdicts on other aspects of day-to- day life, for example on Sharia-compliant finance or on halal food.
IOW, they are established under British law. His favorite epithet. The POTUS has the vocabulary of a grade schooler.
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The Republicans Can’t Handle Smart Women

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Clusterfuck Squared

Further Evidence of a Misreading of the Iranian System

Recent statements coming out of Washington reinforce a troubling possibility: that key elements within the administration fundamentally misunderstand how the Iranian system operates.

It is true that ideology is central to the Islamic Republic. But ideology has never operated in isolation from regime survival. Iran’s Supreme Leader, despite his rigid public posture — consistently made pragmatic decisions when regime preservation was at stake.

The 2015 nuclear agreement is a case in point. Khamenei, who routinely described the United States as the “Great Satan,” nonetheless authorized direct negotiations with Washington when sanctions pressure threatened economic and political stability. That decision was not ideological moderation — it was strategic calculation.

Even after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, the killing of Qassem Soleimani the "lost son" of Khamenei(an important move that significantly undermine the axis) and allowed Israeli strikes on nuclear infrastructure during negotiations, Khamenei still permitted indirect and, at times, direct engagement with U.S. officials.

The pattern was clear: confrontation and negotiation were tools, not contradictions.

It is also worth recalling that in 2003 Iran halted aspects of its military nuclear program amid fears of potential U.S. invasion following the Iraq War. That decision reflected cost-benefit analysis, not ideological transformation.

These are not historical footnotes. They matter because they demonstrate that the Iranian leadership — even at its most ideologically rigid — has historically behaved as a rational, survival-driven actor.

If current U.S. strategy assumes that the regime will either capitulate under pressure or fracture internally in predictable ways, that assumption rests on a questionable analytical foundation.

The present Iranian leadership is unlikely to surrender or voluntarily dismantle its strategic programs. On the contrary, it may conclude that expanding missile capabilities and advancing toward nuclear threshold status — or beyond — is the most reliable way to deter future attacks and ensure regime continuity.

Equally concerning is the apparent expectation in some policy circles that the IRGC might splinter or “raise its hands” under pressure. The Guard Corps is not merely a military institution; it is an ideological, economic, and political pillar of the state. Betting on rapid institutional defection reflects limited appreciation of its embeddedness within the system.

Even regime change, should it occur, would not automatically resolve the nuclear issue. Iran’s nuclear program did not begin with the Islamic Republic; it began under the Shah. The technological base, scientific infrastructure, and national framing of nuclear capability as a sovereign right predate the current regime.

There are strategic challenges that cannot be resolved through kinetic means alone. More importantly, Iran retains the indigenous capacity to rebuild critical elements of its program under a wide range of future political scenarios.

The United States possesses extraordinary analytical expertise on Iran — across academia, intelligence, and policy institutions. It is essential that decision-makers fully integrate that expertise. Strategic miscalculation rooted in incomplete understanding could lock Washington into an escalation path built on flawed assumptions.
It’s just magical thinking. Or magical non-thinking.  Or rather, Trump is mired in Vietnam with the “silent majority.” Only this time it’s LBJ and McNamara, and the conviction that “American military superiority” would lead to victory over the “little brown men in black pajamas.” “Waist deep in the Big Muddy, and the big fool says ‘Move on.’ ” (Sorry, Lemire. It’s got bugger all to do with “idealism.” In fact, idealism” was the magical thinking of “American military superiority.”) Even the WSJ is more clear-eyed than that: Considering who's in charge:
New: The strike yesterday in Kuwait that has now claimed the lives of six US service members was a direct hit on a makeshift operations center — in what was described as a triple wide trailer — at the port of Shuaiba, a source familiar said. The strike came so quickly there were no sirens or warning to allow troops to evacuate to a bunker ahead of time.

Thinking of them and their loved ones.
“That’s the way it is.”—Donald J. Trump 

How’s that omelette? Taste pretty good?

Well, anyway, when this is all over, we’ll have forgotten about the Epstein files, right?
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Like Every Construction Project I’ve Ever Known About

And the war in Iran is ahead of schedule. Or will last five weeks. Or, hell, who knows? Except we are running out of capacity to defeat missiles and drones. And that ability already costs more than twice the cost of the offensive weapons. We knew this, we still started this war.

Very similar to this:
Rep. Keith Self: "All of the members of Congress that are bellyaching need to stop it. We've got young Americans in harm's way today. If you've got a complaint, let's deal with it afterwards, but right now if Congress wants to do something, let's get the defense industrial base moving faster.
The sunk cost fallacy. “We’ve already spent this much. We can’t stop now.” It’s what makes construction projects go from $2 million to $4 million to whatever the cost to finish ends up being.

Pretty much what kept the Vietnam War going for 20 years, in a nutshell. Except we didn’t even have a treaty obligation to start this. It was totally our choice. We can always undo it. So don’t bring this lame ass shit.
Just say "No."
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Who The Hell’s On First?

"I Don’t Know!” “THIRD BASE!”
Trump: "See that nice drape? When that comes down right now you see a very very deep hole, but in about a year and half you're gonna see a very very beautiful building. And there's your entrance to it right there. In fact, it looks so nice I think I'll leave it and save money on the doors. I picked those drapes. I always liked gold. I believe it will be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world."
Trump interrupted a ceremony bestowing the Congressional Medal of Honor to yammer about his ballroom. Trump will never run for elected office again. Tuberville wants to be governor of Alabama. Neither is worthy of any elected office.
Jennings: The president did release two statements over the weekend.

Phillip: On social media

Jennings: So? Is that a problem?

Phillip: He hasn't really laid out fully what the strategy is he's given. He's given probably over a dozen interviews over the last two days. And he's said contradictory things in almost every single interview.

Jennings: Give me an example

Rogin: He said we want regime change, we don't want regime change. He said, we know the people that we're going to replace the ayatollah with. Then he said, they killed them. He said, we want the people of Iran to rise up and free themselves and fight the regime. And then he said, we're happy to work with the regime remnants if somebody emerges.
"They were fixin’ to get around to it!” Remember when Trump could sell ice to Eskimos?
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Monday, March 02, 2026

But We Couldn’t Tell Congress, Because…

... we don’t have to.
Here's my take on #Doltskreig, the stupid and illegal war that Donald Trump has launched in the Middle East.

It makes no sense.

Is the idea to re-obliterate a nuclear program Trump claims he already obliterated?

Does he really expect the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the remaining mullahs to surrender their AK-47s to nobody in particular on the streets of Tehran?

Which is it: (a) is @realDonaldTrump really that stupid? (b) does he really think *we're* that stupid? (c) is this really just an attempt to distract from the Epstein (at least that would kinda make sense)?

Or (d) all of the above?
Regular readers know the correct answer is: “Yes.” And in the annals of "completely lacking self-awareness.”
Trump: "The White House Correspondents Association has asked me, very nicely, to be the Honoree at this year’s Dinner, a long and storied tradition since it began in 1924, under then President Calvin Coolidge. In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these 'Correspondents' now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER! Because the Press was extraordinarily bad to me, FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term, I boycotted the event, and never went as Honoree. However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very Special. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP"
I hope they cook the motherfucker until he’s crispy, and either strokes out, or stalks out. I am perfectly serious.
Trump: "The Radical Left Democrats, a Party that has completely lost its way, are complaining bitterly about the very necessary and important attack, by the United States and Israel, on Iran. What most people understand is that they are only complaining BECAUSE I DID IT and, if I didn’t do it, they would be screaming — Why didn’t 'TRUMP' attack Iran, he should do it, IMMEDIATELY? There’s nothing surprising about this! It’s the same people that the other night at The State of the Union Address wouldn’t stand for ANYBODY, including a mother who lost her beautiful daughter to an illegal alien, a Great and Brave Helicopter Pilot, who got the Congressional Medal of Honor, or a 100-year-old Veteran Warrior whose Bravery is Legend! The fact is, whatever I do, they will be on the opposite side. These people are SICK, CRAZY, and DEMENTED, but America, despite them all, is now BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP"
This, all of this, is perfectly normal and unremarkable. Hilarious unless you’re an actual human being; in that case, Mullin is just ghoulish.
Trump: "If I didn’t terminate Obama’s horrendous Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), Iran would have had a Nuclear Weapon three years ago. That was the most dangerous transaction we have ever entered into, and had it been allowed to stand, the World would be an entirely different place right now. You can blame Barack Hussein Obama, and Sleepy Joe Biden. THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!"
Where “different” means “better.” "Maybe they'll get lucky and get someone who knows what they're doing.” When do we get that lucky again? Uh, yeah. "Where have all the flowers gone?”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
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