Now What?
23/06/25 16:49
June 23, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 26) - So, he did it. Less than two days after he indicated he was willing to give Iran two weeks to come to its senses, President Trump launched a preemptive surprise attack against Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday. Although Trump says he made his "two weeks" statement to misdirect Iranian intelligence, to many it smacked of the Japanese sending peace negotiators to Washington while their planes attacked Pearl Harbor. Whatever it is, it is now water under the bridge. The key question is what happens next? Just this afternoon, it appeared that Iran sent a decidedly understated and non consequential missile attack on an American base in Qatar. It could be a signal that Iran wants to deescalate. It could also be a ruse, just like the one Trump just pulled off that is designed to disguise Iran's true intentions. Again, only time will tell. And as much as I mistrust this President, I am willing to give him some wiggle room. But if he continues offensive military operations in the Middle East, he must get approval from Congress under the War Powers Act of 1973. I don't care what our hillbilly Vice President said on the network talk shows Sunday morning, when you bomb someone else's country, it is an act of war. Nor to I buy our spineless House Speaker's notion that calls for triggering the War Powers Act is "partisan." Congressmen and Senators from both sides of the aisle have raised that objection. And, of course, there is the little detail that only the Congress has the right to declare war. Nothing Trump says changes that fact. So, now he's done it. I hope for his sake and, most importantly, the country's sake, that this past weekend's buster-bomb parfait will be the end of it. However, my instincts tell me that we haven't heard it all from Iran or, most dangerously, its independent friends in the world of international terrorism. The retaliatory attack may not happen in the Middle East. It could just as easily happen in the Midwest. And there is something we know for certain following last weekend's events: The United States can no longer present itself as facilitator for peace in the Middle East. By bombing Iran over the weekend, we threw off that neutrality facade by picking sides. And we know what they say: In for a penny, in for a pound. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. Photo courtesy of the Associate Press.War? Maybe, But Not Now.
18/06/25 11:39
June 18, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 25) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unilaterally declared war on Iran last week. He did so in the name of self-defense, saying that Iran is just "weeks away" from developing its own nuclear bomb. That maybe true. However, he used the exact same language in 2012, 2015, 2017 and last year. (I'm sure there were other times, I just don't have the exact dates.) In light of past pronouncements, there's reason to be skeptical about Netanyahu's claims. They may be more related to his domestic political problems than they are about national security. It is Netanyahu's political situation that has dictated Israel's gross overkill in Gaza. But let's for arguments sake say that it is true and Iran is really "weeks away" from having the bomb. Netanyahu is pressuring President Donald Trump for American intervention. That's because America is the only nation with the bunker-busting weapons capable of destroying Iran's underground centrifuge facilities for enriching uranium. That being the case, it may be necessary for American intervention. Under no circumstances should Iran be allowed to have nuclear weapons. However, it is important to remember that war should always be the path of last resort. Diplomacy should always be the first choice. In fact, the U.S. and Iran were making progress - the Trump Administration's word, not mine - toward an agreement that would have achieved the desired end. However, that's not the solution Netanyahu wants. That's why he attacked Iran last Friday, just before another round of U.S. - Iran nuclear negotiations. The Prime Minister's war lust has effectively sabotaged those talks. Of course, we should also remember that the current talks, as well the current hostilities, would not have happened if President Trump had not torn up an agreement President Obama negotiated in 2015. Organizations outside of the U.S. have confirmed that Iran was in compliance with the treaty when Trump tore it up. That left Iran with no other choice than to relaunch its nuclear program. And here's the greatest irony: The treaty that Trump is currently negotiating looks a lot like the one Obama negotiated. In short, the current mess is as much Trump's fault as it is Israel's and Iran's. Now Trump is pondering whether the U.S. should enter the fray. Iran claims - and Trump's own words suggest - that the U.S. is already involved. The President needs to be reminded that the decision to go to war is not his alone to make. That little annoyance known as the Constitution says it is the Congress, not the President, who decides whether this nation goes to war. And not all Republicans are in favor of war with Iran. There's likely a split among Democrats, as well. Let me make my position clear: If there is any nation in the world that America has serious grievances with, it is Iran. Attacking Iran would feel good. If we have definitive proof that Iran is near its goal of developing nuclear weapons and the missiles necessary to deliver them, then war is an absolute must. However, a war with Iran would not be the cakewalk that Trump, the draft dodger, thinks it would be. That's why diplomacy should come first. A war with Iran would lead to another generation of hostility between the Western and Islamic worlds. But is war the politically smart and morally right decision? That's a matter for serious public debate and congressional consent. Let's not let Trump march us blindly into a war that is largely of his own making. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.Trump's Bizarro World
09/06/25 21:39
June 10, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 24) - Even if you were only a casual fan of Superman comics, you no doubt remember Bizarro Superman, who came from an alternative universe where everything was the exact opposite: Bad was good, the planet htrae was square while earth is round, and criminality is the norm. In short, welcome to Donald Trump's world. His Incontinence has turned this country upside down and inside out during the nearly five months he and his Cabinet of Clowns has infested the White House. Take the upcoming military parade in Washington on June 14, a Soviet-style display allegedly to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, but suspiciously coinciding with Don Dementia's 79th birthday. At a time his administration is gutting education, health and public safety programs, this dumbass display of America's might is going to cost upwards of $45 million. So, we are gutting FEMA, the weather service, air traffic control, medical research and other silly stuff. At least some Republican contractors will benefit from the $16 million job they will get for repairing the Capital's streets damaged by tanks. But it doesn't stop there. President Bizarro takes his special form of terror coast-to-coast. Instead of trying to calm the people of Los Angeles who are upset over his Draconian immigration policies, President Bone Spur has chosen to pour gasoline on smoldering embers by sending in troops where they were neither wanted nor needed. At a time the Great Dealmaker has positioned himself as the only man who can broker peace between Ukraine and Russia, he makes Vladimir Putin's war of aggression that much easier by transferring much needed weapons away from Ukraine toward the Middle East. (It makes you wonder just how much Donski Trumpski is in debt to the Russians.) Then there's his on-again, off-again bromance with Elon Musk. Donald has said he hires the best people and that Musk is brilliant. Now the Count of Mar-a-Lardo says Elon is a long-time drug user, begging the question of how Donnie defines "brilliant" and "the best." Speaking of the "best and brightest," Robert "Worm Brain" Kennedy, Jr. embraced his role as the nation's guardian of health yesterday by firing all of the vaccine experts in the Centers for Disease Control. But that's OK. It's not like we will ever experience something like, say, a pandemic. Yes, this is a Bizarro world with a Bizarro President who wears stupidity and cruelty as if it were a badge of honor. And there's nothing "super" about that. May God help us through his reign of terror. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.