The Conversation -- June 23, 2025

Here's an update of the New York Times' liveblog on the Israel/Iran/U.S. war (also linked below): "Iran appeared poised to strike an American base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, according to Iranian and Israeli officials with knowledge of the matter. A senior White House official confirmed that the United States is aware of a potential attack by Iran against the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The base, which serves as the headquarters for the U.S. Central Command, is considered a prime potential target should Iran retaliate over American strikes on its nuclear installations over the weekend. Earlier in the day, the United States and Britain warned their citizens in Qatar to shelter in place. The warnings came as Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Tehran on Monday and promised more 'in the coming days,' pressing on with its bombing campaign a day after the United States attacked three Iranian nuclear sites. The new Israeli barrage, which a military spokesman said targeted a paramilitary headquarters, a notorious prison and access routes to the Fordo nuclear enrichment site that the U.S. military bombarded over the weekend, came as Iran fired salvos of missiles that sent Israelis to huddle in shelters. The strikes came despite calls from world leaders for de-escalation, and as ... [Donald] Trump's decision to join Israel's campaign against Iran raised fears that the war would intensify." ~~~

Update: "Iran on Monday launched a missile attack on an American base in Qatar, the largest American military installation in the Middle East, in what appeared to be calculated retaliation for U.S. strikes on three critical Iranian nuclear sites. Even as it attacked, there were signs that Iran might have been looking for an off-ramp from a confrontation with the United States. The Iranian officials said their government had given advance notice that the missile strike was coming, to minimize potential casualties, and ... [Donald] Trump responded with an olive branch online." ~~~

     ~~~ Matt Bradley of NBC News says sirens are blaring over Doha, Qatar. MSNBC now has a chyron up that says missiles have been fired at Qatar, Bahrain & Kuwait. The chyron doesn't say who launched the missiles. CNN's chyron says Iran has fired missiles at Qatar & Iraq. Another says U.S. military in Qatar are in "duck & cover mode."

Marie: I'll admit I avoided reading the various stories about how Trump got from promoting international peace to "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran." But RAS points out this New York Times story, with lead reporter Mark Mazzetti, that shows how Trump listened to they pro-strike hype at Fox "News" to make his decision: "The president was closely monitoring Fox News, which was airing wall-to-wall praise of Israel's military operation and featuring guests urging Mr. Trump to get more involved." Also central to the story -- and not a bit surprising to us -- is how the military brass was petrified that President* Looselips would tell all -- which he came close to doing: "All the while, Mr. Trump was making blustery statements indicating he was about to take the country into the conflict.... [Trump's] public pronouncements generated angst at the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command, where military planners began to worry that Mr. Trump was giving Iran too much warning about an impending strike."

Marie: I suppose it's kind of comforting to know that Trump's press secretary is as ignorant of history as he is. The amazing part of Leavitt's ignorance is not that one needs to be a student of ancient history to have heard the phrase "peace through strength." People, even on Fox "News" no doubt, repeat it regularly as an argument for maintaining, threatening to use and/or using military power to ensure hegemony. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Marie: I said I wouldn't embed this speech, but here it is in more digestible form. The skeptical and horrified expressions of JayDee & Little Marco are pretty funny. I'm not sure that is who dumps a load during the speech, but it's quite understandable: ~~~

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The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Iran/U.S. war are here: "Civilians, diplomats and military officials on several continents were waiting anxiously on Monday to see the ramifications of ... [Donald] Trump's decision to bomb a trio of Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, a move that will almost certainly have far-reaching impacts on global security. After the bombings on Sunday brought the United States into Israel's war against Iran, fears grew ... of a dangerously escalating conflict across the region. American military and intelligence officials detected potential signs that Iran-backed militias were preparing to attack American bases in Iraq, and possibly Syria.... [Iran's] Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was expected to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Monday.... And world leaders and diplomats were scrambling to prevent more violence. E.U. foreign ministers discussed the situation in Iran on Monday. The war, and the U.S. strikes will likely dominate a NATO summit that opens at The Hague on Tuesday." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for today are here: "Iran is weighing its response and said at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that it reserved the right to defend itself against 'blatant U.S. aggression.'... Donald Trump -- who is slated to meet with his national security team Monday afternoon -- raised the prospect of regime change in Tehran, undercutting the messaging from his top officials. He also continued to claim substantial damage to the nuclear facilities without providing additional evidence. The International Atomic Energy Agency is assessing the damage. As the world awaits the ramifications of the U.S. strikes, Israel and Iran continued to trade fire into an 11th day, with explosions heard over both countries." ~~~

     ~~~ Donnie Dimwit Can't Stay on Message. Felicia Schwartz & Amy MacKinnon of Politico: "... Donald Trump's top national security officials spent much of Sunday insisting his administration doesn't want to bring about the end of Iran's government, only its nuclear program. Then Trump left the door open for exactly that. 'It's not politically correct to use the term, "Regime Change," but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.... His words undercut what had appeared to be a coordinated message from his top advisers. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth each insisted Sunday that the U.S. was only interested in dismantling Iran's nuclear capabilities."

Meg Kelly, et al., of the Washington Post: "Satellite images provide the first glimpses of the aftermath of U.S. strikes on three sites said to be central to Iran's nuclear program, revealing severe damage at aboveground facilities as well as the entry points left by bombs that burrowed deep underground to target some of the program's most protected operations." The article includes numerous photos and some analysis.

In keeping with Donald Trump's inability to "act presidential," JayDee has followed on by demonstrating that he doesn't know how to "act vice-presidential": ~~~

~~~ Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: "Speaking to Kristen Welker on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday morning, hours after the U.S. launched airstrikes against three Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israel;s Operation Rising Lion offensive, [JD] Vance attacked Bush's administration and those of Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden without directly naming them. 'I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East,' he said. 'I understand the concern, but the difference is that, back then, we had dumb presidents and now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America's national security objectives....'" Nevermind that Trump doesn't know how to stick to those objectives and he keeps making unsubstantiated claims about the success of the mission (see WashPo liveblog); he's not as dumb as those former presidents.

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, on Sunday repeated claims by Donald Trump that US strikes had completely destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities and its ability to acquire nuclear weapons even as the Pentagon acknowledged it was too early to provide a full damage assessment. At a news conference, Hegseth and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Dan Caine, said the strikes ... devastated the Iranian nuclear program. 'Thanks to President Trump's bold and visionary leadership and his commitment to peace through strength, Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated,' Hegseth said. 'The operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant.'" MB: Good to know.(Also linked yesterday.)

Jon Gambrell, et al., of the AP: "Amid fears of a wider regional conflict, the Trump administration sent a clear message that it wanted to restart diplomatic talks with Iran. 'Let's meet directly,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with CBS. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that the U.S. 'does not seek war.' But Tehran said the time for diplomacy had passed and that it has the right to defend itself. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he would immediately fly to Moscow to coordinate with close ally Russia." (Also linked yesterday.)

Well, gosh darn, maybe the U.S. military strikes did not "completely and fully obliterate" Iran's nuclear sites as Donald Trump said last night. According to the NYT live updates Sunday, "Pentagon officials said on Sunday that three of Iran's nuclear sites sustained 'severe damage' from the U.S. strikes.... The full extent of the damage to the sites was not immediately clear, and top Pentagon officials later said that it was too soon to say whether Iran still retains some nuclear ability." And even JayDee would say only that "'I think we set [Iran's nuclear] program back substantially, and we did it without endangering the lives of the American pilots.' Later, when [NBC's Kristin] Welker pressed again on Mr. Trump's claim late on Saturday that the three bombed facilities were 'totally obliterated,' Mr. Vance would not answer directly. '... I feel very confident that we've substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon,' Mr. Vance said. 'And that was the goal of this attack.'" You might be excused for speculating that the Big Grifter had oversold his supposed success. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update: David Sanger writes, "A day after ... [Donald] Trump declared that Iran's nuclear program had been 'completely and totally obliterated' by American bunker-busting bombs and a barrage of missiles, the actual state of the program seemed far more murky, with senior officials conceding they did not know the fate of Iran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium.... In a briefing for reporters on Sunday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, avoided Mr. Trump's maximalist claims of success. They said an initial battle-damage assessment of all three sites struck by Air Force B-2 bombers and Navy Tomahawk missiles showed 'severe damage and destruction.' Satellite photographs of the primary target, the Fordo uranium enrichment plant that Iran built under a mountain, showed several holes where a dozen 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrators ... punched deep holes in the rock. The Israeli military's initial analysis concluded that the site, the target of American and Israeli military planners for more than 26 years, sustained serious damage from the strike but had not been completely destroyed. But there was also evidence, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the intelligence, that Iran had moved equipment and [enriched] uranium from the site in recent days." Here's Sanger's full article on what's known and what's not.

Someone who disagrees with JayDee about who the "dumb" president is: ~~~

Simon Tisdale of the Guardian: "Trump says he has not declared war on Iran. He claims the attack is not an opening salvo in a campaign aimed at triggering regime change in Tehran. But that's not how Iran's politicians and people will see it. Trump's premature bragging about 'spectacular' success, and threats of more and bigger bombs, sound like the words of a ruthless conqueror intent on total, crushing victory. Trump, the isolationist president who vowed to avoid foreign wars, has walked slap bang into a trap prepared by Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu -- a trap his smarter predecessors avoided. Netanyahu has constantly exaggerated the immediacy of the Iranian nuclear threat. His alarmist speeches on this subject go back 30 years.... So, once again, the US has gone to war in the Middle East on the back of a lie, on disputed, probably faulty intelligence purposefully distorted for political reasons. Once again, as in Iraq in 2003, the overall objectives of the war are unclear, uncertain and open to interpretation.... Once again, there appears to be no 'exit strategy.'...

Heather Cox Richardson puts a damper on Trump's bunker-buster bluster.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "In a sharp rebuke to the Justice Department, a federal judge said on Sunday that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia should be freed from criminal custody as he awaits trial on smuggling charges after his wrongful deportation to El Salvador and return to the United States. In a scathing order, the judge, Barbara D. Holmes, ruled that Mr. Abrego Garcia was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community. The decision undermined repeated claims by ... [Donald] Trump and some of his top aides who have described the Salvadoran immigrant as a violent gang member, even a terrorist. But the decision by Judge Holmes, filed in Federal District Court in Nashville, was likely to be a short-lived victory for Mr. Abrego Garcia and his defense team. The judge acknowledged that he would probably remain in the custody of immigration officials, as his charges of smuggling undocumented immigrants across the United States moved through the courts. Judge Holmes's ruling was the first judicial evaluation of the charges filed against Mr. Abrego Garcia since he was suddenly brought back to U.S. soil last month after prosecutors indicted him in Nashville." The ABC News story is here.

Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times interviews Mahmoud Khalil, who "was the first student protester targeted and detained by the Trump administration. On Friday, after having spent more than three months in detention in Jena, La., he was released on bail.... 'All the "Know Your Rights" information and fliers I read and familiarized myself with were useless,' Mr. Khalil said. 'There are no rights in such situations.... It felt like kidnapping,' he said."

Catie Edmondson & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "The Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough..., rejected on Sunday a measure in Republicans' sweeping domestic policy bill that could limit lawsuits seeking to block ... [Donald] Trump's executive actions. The measure would target the preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders issued by federal judges on Mr. Trump's directives. Those rulings have halted or delayed orders on a host of policies, including efforts to carry out mass firings of federal workers and to withhold funds from states that do not comply with demands on immigration enforcement. The G.O.P. proposal would require parties suing over federal policies to post a bond covering the government's potential costs and damages from an injunction if the judge's order were found later to have been wrongly granted.... Republicans are ... using special rules that shield legislation from a filibuster.... But to qualify for that protection, the legislation must only include proposals that directly change federal spending and not add to long-term deficits.... [Ms.] MacDonough ... ruled that the [injunctions and TRO] measure did not meet the requirements." The Hill's story is here.

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Michigan. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "A man clad in a tactical vest and carrying a long gun and handgun opened fire on a Michigan church filled with children attending Vacation Bible School on Sunday before being fatally shot by two members of the church's staff, officials said. The shooting, which was reported a little after 11 a.m. at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Mich., which is about 25 miles west of Detroit, left one church staff member with a gunshot wound in a leg, the Wayne police chief, Ryan Strong, said at a news conference on Sunday night. The staff members who opened fire were not publicly identified. The chief said the staff member who was shot had injuries that were not life-threatening. The chief credited the emergency training of staff and parishioners for swiftly responding to the threat."

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Ukraine/Russia, et al. Lizzie Johnson & David Stern of the Washington Post: "The whine of drones and hiss of incoming missiles jarred the Ukrainian capital awake in an overnight Russian attack Monday that lasted hours and killed at least seven people and injured 31, officials said.... The attack came the same day the Russians said they would be contacting Ukraine about setting the date for a third round of negotiations to end the conflict. It was a familiar violent scene in the Ukrainian capital in the third year of the war. This time, the Ukrainian armed forces said, the attack consisted of 352 self-detonating drones and 16 missiles -- mostly aimed at Kyiv. Though the majority were shot down, there were six direct hits. Fragments of downed aircraft hit 25 other locations. In a statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pointed out that many of the drones were Iranian-designed Shaheds, which Russia now manufactures, and the missiles appear to have been made in North Korea."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Frederick W. Smith, [the founder of FedEx,] who bet everything he had on a plan to revolutionize freight transport, courting disaster early on but ultimately winning vindication in the form of power in Washington, billions in personal wealth and changes in how people all over the world send and receive goods, died on Saturday. He was 80. FedEx was conceived in a paper that Mr. Smith wrote as a Yale University undergraduate in 1965. He argued that an increasingly automated economy would depend on fast and dependable door-to-door shipping of small packages containing computer parts. He got a C."

The Washington Post has posted U.S. maps to show when & where the heat and humidity will be the worst this week. --26--

The Conversation -- June 22, 2025

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, on Sunday repeated claims by Donald Trump that US strikes had completely destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities and its ability to acquire nuclear weapons even as the Pentagon acknowledged it was too early to provide a full damage assessment. At a news conference, Hegseth and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Dan Caine, said the strikes, codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, devastated the Iranian nuclear program. 'Thanks to President Trump's bold and visionary leadership and his commitment to peace through strength, Iran's nuclear ambitions have been obliterated,' Hegseth said. 'The operation President Trump planned was bold and it was brilliant.'" MB: Good to know.

Jon Gambrell, et al., of the AP: "Amid fears of a wider regional conflict, the Trump administration sent a clear message that it wanted to restart diplomatic talks with Iran. 'Let's meet directly,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with CBS. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that the U.S. 'does not seek war.' But Tehran said the time for diplomacy had passed and that it has the right to defend itself. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he would immediately fly to Moscow to coordinate with close ally Russia."

Well, gosh darn, maybe the U.S. military strikes did not "completely and fully obliterate" Iran's nuclear sites as Donald Trump said last night. According to the NYT live updates, linked next, "Pentagon officials said on Sunday that three of Iran's nuclear sites sustained 'severe damage' from the U.S. strikes.... The full extent of the damage to the sites was not immediately clear, and top Pentagon officials later said that it was too soon to say whether Iran still retains some nuclear ability." And even JayDee would say only that "'I think we set [Iran's nuclear] program back substantially, and we did it without endangering the lives of the American pilots.' Later, when [NBC's Kristin] Welker pressed again on Mr. Trump's claim late on Saturday that the three bombed facilities were 'totally obliterated,' Mr. Vance would not answer directly. '... I feel very confident that we've substantially delayed their development of a nuclear weapon,' Mr. Vance said. 'And that was the goal of this attack.'" You might be excused for speculating that the Big Grifter had oversold his supposed success. ~~~

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~~~ The New York Times' live updates for today of the Israel/Iran/U.S. war are here: "American warplanes and submarines attacked three key nuclear sites in Iran early Sunday, bringing the U.S. military directly into Israel's war and prompting fears that the strikes could lead to more dangerous escalations across the Middle East.... [Donald] Trump said the objective was the 'destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity.' He claimed success, saying in a televised address from the White House that the nuclear facilities had been 'completely and totally obliterated.' 'Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace,' Mr. Trump said. 'If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.' The strikes ushered in a period of high alert in the region, where more than 40,000 American troops are on bases and warships, as the Pentagon braced for almost-certain retaliation.... On Sunday morning..., air-raid sirens in Israel were warning of incoming Iranian ballistic missile fire. The Israeli authorities said that at least 16 people had been wounded in the barrage....

"Top Republicans rallied behind Mr. Trump, calling the strikes a necessary check on Iran's nuclear ambitions. But senior Democrats and some Republican lawmakers condemned the move as unconstitutional and said that it could drag the United States into a broader war.... Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Sunday that the U.S. strikes had been carried out 'in full coordination' between the American and Israeli militaries.... A U.S. official said that six B-2 bombers dropped a dozen 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs on the Fordo nuclear site, which lies deep underground, and Navy submarines fired 30 TLAM cruise missiles at Natanz and another nuclear site in Isfahan. One B-2 also dropped two bunker busters on Natanz, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. The strikes marked the first time the U.S. Air Force had ever used the 30,000-pound bomb, called the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, in combat." ~~~

The AP's live updates of the Israel/Iran/U.S. war are here: "... Donald Trump says Iran's key nuclear sites were 'completely and fully obliterated' by U.S. strikes. Speaking at the White House hours after the attacks, he threatened more strikes and said Iran faced a choice between 'peace or tragedy.'" (Also linked late yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Video of Trump's speech is here. The transcript, provided by the AP, is here. It was a stupid, embarrassing speech of the sort you'd expect from Cadet Bonespurs. ~~~

~~~ ⭐The New York Times' live updates of the Israel/Iran/U.S. war are here (also linked earlier Saturday): "The United States has entered Israel's war against Iran. American warplanes dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday..., [Donald] Trump announced on Saturday night, bringing the U.S. military directly into the war after days of uncertainty about whether he would intervene. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space,' he said in a post on social media, adding that a 'full payload' of bombs had been dropped on Fordo, the heavily fortified underground facility in Iran that is critical to its nuclear program. 'All planes are safely on their way home.' The three sites that Mr. Trump said were hit on Saturday night included Iran's two major uranium enrichment centers: the mountain facility at Fordo and a larger enrichment plant at Natanz, which Israel struck several days ago with smaller weapons. The third site, near the ancient city of Isfahan, is where Iran is believed to keep its near-bomb-grade enriched uranium, which inspectors saw just two weeks ago." (Also linked late yesterday.)~~~

     ~~~ Aamer Madhani, et al., of the AP: "... Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict.... 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Trump said in a post on social media. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' Trump added in a later post that he would address the national at 10:00 p.m. eastern time, writing 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!'" (Also linked late yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That first tweet, the one with the BOMBS, ends with the inappropriate, business-letter convention, "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" AND who the hell tweets, tweets! "I dropped some really big ole BOMBS! Thank you for your attention to this matter!" announcing a war with the same devil-may-care attitude he takes in defaming all of us "radical liberal lunatics" or whatever nonsense he goes on about?

     ~~~ Here's one reason -- though certainly not the primary reason -- you don't use your crap social media platform to announce you just plunged your country into a new war: ~~~

     ~~~ Aanchal Sinha of News18 (India): "Just minutes after ... Donald Trump announced that the US had bombed Iran's nuclear sites, the social media platform Truth Social went down across the United States on Saturday evening. As of 8:20 p.m. EDT, DownDetector had received over 1,700 reports of outages, with many users experiencing server issues affecting both the app and the website."

Sahil Kapur of NBC News: "Several members of Congress in both parties Saturday questioned the legality of ... Donald Trump's move to launch military strikes on Iran. While Republican leaders [including Mike Johnson & John Thune] and many rank-and-file members stood by Trump's decision to bomb Iran's major nuclear enrichment facilities, at least two GOP lawmakers joined Democrats across the party spectrum in suggesting it was unconstitutional for him to bomb Iran without approval from Congress." ~~~

~~~ Joe Gould, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump's sudden announcement Saturday night that he bombed three Iranian nuclear sites has Republican skeptics of U.S. military action against Iran largely falling in line. The prospect of strikes against Iran had sparked backlash from Democrats and days of infighting within Trump's MAGA coalition, but after the president posted on Truth Social that the U.S. has bombed Iran, several GOP critics cheered the strikes as a limited action. Several top Democrats denounced the strikes as illegal and warned they could drag the U.S. into another Middle East war." ~~~

~~~ Stephen Neukam of Axios: "Top Democrats on Capitol Hill say they weren't briefed in advance of the U.S. attack on Iran on Saturday.... Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence panels, weren't briefed before the attack, sources familiar told Axios on Saturday. Their Republican counterparts were given advance notice. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was given what was described by a source as a perfunctory notice shortly before ... [Donald] Trump's announcement on Saturday night."

David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: Donald "Trump unleashed a show of raw military might that each of his last four predecessors had deliberately avoided, for fear of plunging the United States into war in the Middle East. He is betting that the United States can repel whatever retaliation Iran's leadership orders against more than 40,000 American troops spread over bases throughout the region. All are within range of Tehran's missile fleet, even after eight days of relentless attacks by Israel. And he is betting that he can deter a vastly debilitated Iran from using its familiar techniques -- terrorism, hostage-taking and cyberattacks -- as a more indirect line of attack to wreak revenge. Most importantly, he is betting that he has destroyed Iran's chances of ever reconstituting its nuclear program. That is an ambitious goal: Iran has made clear that, if attacked, it would exit the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and take its vast program underground."

Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "The U.S. strikes on nuclear sites in Iran are an extraordinary turn for a military that was supposed to be moving on from two decades of forever wars in the Middle East, and they put the United States back on war footing. Across the region, where more than 40,000 American troops are on bases and warships, the strikes ushered in a period of high alert as the Pentagon braced for almost-certain retaliation from Iran.... The strikes, whether successful or not, are likely to trigger a fierce response. Tehran has vowed to strike at American bases in the Middle East, and American intelligence agencies confirmed before the strikes took place that Iran would take steps to widen the war and hit U.S. forces in the region.... Iran has many ways to retaliate, including naval assets and other capabilities it would need to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a move that could pin any U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, American military officials say. Iranian officials have threatened to mine the strait if the United States joined Israel's attack on the country."

Ilan Goldenberg in Foreign Affairs: "Events could turn in several directions. The American attack could indeed lead to Iranian capitulation on terms friendly to Israel and the United States. But it is equally or even more likely to draw the United States deeper into the war with profoundly negative consequences. Iran will almost certainly seek some manner of retribution, perhaps by attacking nearby U.S. bases and potentially killing U.S. soldiers. That could lead to ever widening escalation, with devastating effects for the region and American entanglement in a war that few Americans want.... Iran's most likely response will be to attack U.S. bases in the Arabian Peninsula or in Iraq just as Iran did in response to the American strike that killed the Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Under siege from two powerful adversaries, Iran's leadership may choose to launch a limited number of missiles at U.S. bases, just as it did in 2020.... Accidents and miscalculations could make things much worse.... Given the number of variables..., much will depend on the wisdom and restraint of Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameini, and the people around them. And that does not bode well in the short or long term." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: These are three reckless, demagogical, dictatorial, doddering old men, all of whom believe some god is blessing their every move, and none of whom has much longer to live on this sorry planet. Any decision any of them makes is certain to be flawed. And that is where the gods and the people have placed the future of the Earth.

Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "If I may once again be forgiven to invoke such quaint anachronisms..., Bush's logical successor's bombing of Iran is not, how you say, legal[.]... The combination of an immense standing army and completely supine legislative majorities render any constitutional checks and balances moot." Lemieux' citation of a few lines from an opinion by Justice Robert Jackson, written nearly 3/4ths of a century ago, is apt. MB: We are a nation of foolish and forgetful people. If we learn almost nothing from our own experiences, we learn nothing at all from our elders and their experiences.

Scott Lemieux in LG&$: What AOC said.

Robert Reich on Substack: "A single person -- Donald J. Trump -- has released the dogs of war on one of the most dangerous countries in the world, and done it without the consent of Congress, our allies, or even a clear explanation to the American people. Anyone who has doubted Trump's intention to replace American democracy with a dictatorship should now be fully disabused.... The attacks fit perfectly with Trump's desire to divert attention from his multiple failures at home.... Besides, there's nothing like a war to help a wannabe dictator like Trump justify more 'emergency' powers.... Trump is being advised on Iran by a close-knit group of political advisers and ideologues, none of whom has deep knowledge of Iran or the Middle East. All are totally loyal to Trump.... As a result, he's probably getting decent advice about what's good for Trump but not about what's good for America or the world.... Trump claims that the facilities were 'completely and totally obliterated,' but who trusts Trump to tell the truth, or to be told the truth?"

Dan Perry of the Forward: "If Iran does not try to fight back -- a big if -- we are looking at an Israeli-American victory that may rehabilitate the embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reset the strategic equation in the Middle East, and weaken the Islamic Republic to the point that its existence may be endangered.... What should follow are negotiations that leave Iran isolated, weakened and exposed. The U.S. and Israel should demand not only an abrogation of any further nuclear ambitions on the part of Iran, but also the end of its project of spreading chaos around the Middle East via proxy militias....But if Iran retaliates, the more likely outcome is a U.S.-Israeli war aimed at toppling the Iranian regime."

Naftali Bendavid of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump [is taking] aim at post-Watergate reforms on transparency, spending, conflicts of interest and more. By challenging and disregarding, in letter or in spirit, this slew of 1970s laws [designed to prevent the ways in which Richard Nixon exploited the presidency], Trump is essentially closing the 50-year post-Watergate chapter of American history -- and ushering in a new era of shaky guardrails and blurred separation of powers. In 1976, for example, Congress created a 10-year term for FBI directors; Trump has forced out two FBI directors. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 aimed to prevent presidents from dismantling agencies; Trump has essentially done just that. Lawmakers in 1978 installed independent inspectors general in government offices; Trump has fired many of them and is seeking to replace them with loyalists. Trump has also disregarded post-Watergate safeguards intended to prevent the unjustified firings of federal workers." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Many of the unethical things Nixon did were not necessarily against the law. But most of the laws written to prevent Nixon 2.0 are still on the books, and Trump is violating them. Congressional sheeples are allowing him to do so. The courts, though attempting to thwart some of Trump's most illegal and unconstitutional acts, will probably be overruled by the majority of the Supreme Court which follows the Nixon Rule, now modified to assert, "If a Republican president* does it, it's not illegal."

Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Mahmoud Khalil walked through a nondescript door into a Newark airport lobby on Saturday, his wife to his left, a congresswoman to his right and a stroller in front of him. His fist was raised and he could not stop smiling.... When Mr. Khalil emerged at the Newark airport with his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, he was quickly surrounded by roughly 50 supporters, reporters, lawyers and relatives. Mr. Khalil briefly addressed the crowd, saying he would immediately resume his outspoken work on behalf of Palestinian rights, speech he said that should be celebrated rather than punished."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Elizabeth MacDonough, the [Senate] parliamentarian..., on Friday night rejected a bid by Republicans to slash federal food aid payments as part of their sweeping legislation carrying ... [Donald] Trump's domestic agenda, sending party leaders scrambling to find another way to help offset the massive cost of the bill.... Republicans are moving the bill through Congress using special rules that shield it from a filibuster, depriving Democrats of the ability to block it. But to qualify for that protection, the legislation must comply with a rigorous set of budgetary restrictions meant to ensure that it will not add to the deficit.... [Ms.] MacDonough ... ruled that the SNAP measure, which would push some of the costs of nutrition assistance onto the states, did not [meet the requirements].... She also said Republicans could not include a provision that would bar immigrants who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents from receiving SNAP benefits, according to Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee." The AP report is here. ~~~

~~~ Congressional Republicans cannot stop thinking of stupid things to do: ~~~

~~~ Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "A little-noticed provision of ... Donald Trump and Republicans' massive tax and immigration legislation would force the government to undo billions of dollars in electric vehicle investments made by the U.S. Postal Service, unwinding much of the Biden administration's climate push at the mail agency while dealing it a sharp financial setback.... The Senate's version of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill would see the General Services Administration take possession of the nearly 7,200 new postal EVs and associated infrastructure and put the assets up for auction. The proposal is unlikely to generate much revenue for the government; there is almost no private-sector interest in the mail trucks, and used EV charging equipment -- built specifically for the Postal Service and already installed in postal facilities -- generally cannot be resold." MB: You remember how Rand Paul was supposed to be so upset about the budget deficit that he was going to vote against the Big Bad Bill? Well, this USPS change to the bill that wastes even more federal money (and of course damages the environment) is Little Randy's bright idea. ~~~

~~~ The Sad-Sack Suck-Ups of the 119th Congress. Joe Heim of the Washington Post: "House Republicans have proposed at least eight bills since January to honor the president or burnish his image. They would, among other things, put Trump's portrait on U.S. currency, carve his face onto Mount Rushmore, rename Washington Dulles International Airport for him and make his birthday a national holiday. Two bills, both introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), called for the House to expunge Trump's impeachments in 2019 and 2021. Longtime political observers say the GOP's legislative love fest for the president is well outside of congressional norms. While members have often proposed legislation that honors presidents, it is almost never while they are still in office."

For those of you who think "it was just a blow-job," explain this: ~~~

~~~ Lewinsky's Abuser Endorses (Alleged!) Serial Sexual Harasser. Emma Fitzsimmons of the New York Times: "Former President Bill Clinton will offer a last-minute boost of support for former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo by endorsing him in the New York City mayor's race on Sunday, the last day of early voting. Mr. Cuomo worked in the Clinton administration as the housing secretary, and the former president's backing, as well as a taped robocall providing his support, could help turn out older voters in the tightening Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday. Mr. Clinton will use the robocall to tell voters that he hired Mr. Cuomo 'because he knows how to get things done' and that they had worked together on homelessness and on improving 'communities that had been left behind.'"

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Florida. Richard Fausset of the New York Times: A University of Florida law student named Preston Damsky, who "is also a white nationalist and antisemite..., won an academic honor after he argued in a paper that the Constitution applies only to white people.... In his capstone paper for the class, Mr. Damsky argued that the framers had intended for the phrase 'We the People,' in the Constitution's preamble, to refer exclusively to white people. From there, he argued for the removal of voting rights protections for nonwhites, and for the issuance of shoot-to-kill orders against 'criminal infiltrators at the border.' Turning over the country to 'a nonwhite majority,' Mr. Damsky wrote, would constitute a 'terrible crime.' White people, he warned, 'cannot be expected to meekly swallow this demographic assault on their sovereignty.'... The Trump-nominated judge who taught the class, John L. Badalamenti..., [gave him] the 'book award,' which designated him as the best student in the class." Read on. Thank you to Akhilleus for the link. Since also his comments (there are two) in yesterday's thread. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We have a federal judge, confirmed by the Senate, who is, at the least, a white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer. I'd suggest that Hakeem Jeffries put "Impeach Badalamenti" on his to-do list for the next time Democrats take control of the House. No use asking Bible Mike to do it; he's one of those "Christians" who hang pictures in their living rooms depicting Norwegian Jesus. 

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Texas, et al. Why Is Separation of Church & State So Hard to Understand? Jim Vertuno of the AP: "Texas will require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments under a new law that will make the state the nation's largest to attempt to impose such a mandate. Gov. Greg Abbott announced Saturday that he signed the bill, which is expected to draw a legal challenge from critics who consider it an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state. A similar law in Louisiana was blocked when a federal appeals court ruled Friday that it was unconstitutional. Arkansas also has a similar law that has been challenged in federal court. The Texas measure easily passed in the Republican-controlled state House and Senate in the legislative session that ended June 2." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I would hazard a guess that quite a number of the rubes who voted for these state Ten Commandment laws are Baptists. I'll own that there are Baptists and Baptists, but they do share similar theologies. And today's rubes -- who don't know much of anything anyhow -- might be surprised to learn -- not that they're capable of learning much -- that an early articulation of the doctrine of "separation of church and state" was made by then-President Thomas Jefferson in a reply to a plea from the Danbury (Connecticut) Baptists who were mightily concerned about their religious freedom. Jefferson assured them that the "separation of church and state" as declared by "the whole American people" meant that the state could not establish some other religion nor prohibit them from practicing theirs. That is, those dimwitted Baptists in Texas & elsewhere who are trying to impose their religion on others are able to practice that Baptist religion only because the Constitution embraced by "the whole American people" guarantees Baptists their freedom from the imposition of any state religion on Baptists and the rest of us.

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Canada/E.U. Gonna Get Along Without You Now. CTV News: "A security and defence partnership pact Prime Minister Mark Carney will sign with European leaders in Brussels on Monday will be among the most wide-ranging agreements with a third country Europe has ever reached, a senior EU official said on Friday. Carney is flying to Europe Sunday for a Canada -- EU Summit, planned for Monday evening with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At the G7 summit in Alberta on Monday von der Leyen confirmed that the agreement will be signed on Monday in Brussels, calling Canada a 'key partner.' 'This is also a moment where we can strengthen Canada's role in Europe's rapidly evolving defence architecture,' said Von der Leyen on June 16.... Carney has been clear that he intends to expand Canada' ties with Europe as its relationship with the United States strains under the weight of tariffs and threats of annexation." Thanks to RAS for the link. --33--

The Conversation -- June 21, 2025

The AP's live updates of the Israel/Iran/U.S. war are here: "... Donald Trump says Iran's key nuclear sites were 'completely and fully obliterated' by U.S. strikes. Speaking at the White House hours after the attacks, he threatened more strikes and said Iran faced a choice between 'peace or tragedy.'"

⭐The New York Times' live updates of the Israel/Iran/U.S. war are here (also linked earlier today): "The United States has entered Israel's war against Iran. American warplanes dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday..., [Donald] Trump announced on Saturday night, bringing the U.S. military directly into the war after days of uncertainty about whether he would intervene. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space,' he said in a post on social media, adding that a 'full payload' of bombs had been dropped on Fordo, the heavily fortified underground facility in Iran that is critical to its nuclear program. 'All planes are safely on their way home.' The three sites that Mr. Trump said were hit on Saturday night included Iran's two major uranium enrichment centers: the mountain facility at Fordo and a larger enrichment plant at Natanz, which Israel struck several days ago with smaller weapons. The third site, near the ancient city of Isfahan, is where Iran is believed to keep its near-bomb-grade enriched uranium, which inspectors saw just two weeks ago." ~~~

     ~~~ Aamer Madhani, et al., of the AP: "... Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict.... 'We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,' Trump said in a post on social media. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home.' Trump added in a later post that he would address the national at 10:00 p.m. eastern time, writing 'This is an HISTORIC MOMENT FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ISRAEL, AND THE WORLD. IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR. THANK YOU!'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That first tweet, the one with the BOMBS, ends with the inappropriate, business-letter convention, "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" AND who the hell tweets, tweets! "I dropped some really big ole BOMBS! Thank you for your attention to this matter!" announcing a war with the same devil-may-care attitude he takes in defaming all of us "radical liberal lunatics"?

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Robert Kagan, usually described as a neoconservative -- i.e., a hawkish Republican dedicated to "making the world safer for democracy" -- suggests in an Atlantic essay, a reason to hope Trump does not decide to assist Israel in its war against Iran: "Donald Trump has assumed dictatorial control over the nation's law enforcement.... He has neutered Congress by effectively taking control of the power of the purse. And, most relevant in Iran's case, he is actively and openly turning the U.S. military into his personal army, for use as he sees fit, including as a tool of domestic oppression. Whatever action he does or doesn't take in Iran will likely be in furtherance of these goals. When he celebrates the bombing of Iran, he will be celebrating himself and his rule.... The president is working to instill in our nation's soldiers a devotion to him and him alone.... Think of how Trump can use a state of war to strengthen his dictatorial control at home.... I'm not interested in using American military power to make the world safer for dictatorship." Thank you to laura h. for this gift link.

Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Friday ordered that Mahmoud Khalil be released on bail, a ruling that could end the monthslong imprisonment of the first pro-Palestinian campus protester detained by the Trump administration. Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal permanent U.S. resident, has spent 104 days in detention, watching as other students targeted by the administration won favorable rulings and were released on bail.... But his lawyers slowly chipped away at the government's case, and on Friday they convinced the judge, Michael E. Farbiarz of Federal District Court in Newark, that there was reason to believe Mr. Khalil's detention represented unlawful retaliation for his role in demonstrations on Columbia's Manhattan campus. Toward the end of a two-hour hearing, Judge Farbiarz said there was 'at least something' to the argument that there had been 'an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish Mr. Khalil.... And, of course, that would be unconstitutional....'...

"The Louisiana judge in his immigration case, Jamee Comans, denied [Mr. Khalil] asylum and ruled that he could be deported based on another of the government's allegations, a ruling that Mr. Khalil will have an opportunity to appeal. Judge Comans also denied him a bail hearing. In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, Tricia McLaughlin, said Judge Farbiarz did not have the authority to direct Mr. Khalil's release. The claim appears to be false as the law is currently understood: District judges have ordered the release of other noncitizens detained while going through immigration proceedings. But Ms. McLaughlin's assertion could signal that the government does not intend to release Mr. Khalil on Friday as ordered." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ⭐~~~ Update. New NYT Lede: "Mahmoud Khalil, the first pro-Palestinian campus protester detained by the Trump administration, was released on bail Friday after a judge ordered an end to his monthslong imprisonment. Mr. Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal permanent U.S. resident, had been held for 104 days." A Politico story is here. MB: It's about time. ~~~

     ~~~ Maybe, as he claims, Marco Rubio is afraid of this young man. It's not easy to see why: ~~~

     ~~~ Update 2. "The Trump administration appealed the judge's ruling Friday evening...."

Rebecca Shabad & Nnamdi Egwuonwu of NBC News: "Vice President JD Vance bashed Democrats at the state, local and national levels Friday during his visit to Los Angeles, accusing top California officials of encouraging violent protesters and Sen. Alex Padilla, whom he referred to as 'José Padilla,' of engaging in 'political theater.' 'I was hoping José Padilla would be here to ask a question. But, unfortunately, I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't the theater, and that's all it is,' Vance said. 'It's pure political theater. These guys show up. They want to be captured on camera doing something.'" MB: Says Vance, as he is engaging in political theater. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

     ~~~ Marie: JayDee and Alex Padilla were in the Senate together for two years (Jan. 2023 -- Jan. 2025). Vance is still the president of the Senate. So it's pretty hard for him to pretend he doesn't know Padilla's first name. Senators are on first-name bases with each other, even though they are more formal when delivering floor speeches. Labeling Alex Padilla as "José" was a purposeful racist slur. It's disgusting. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. The New York Times story is here. "Mr. Vance's spokeswoman later said that he misspoke when he said the senator's name." Bull. JayDee meant to insult an Hispanic Senator, the son of immigrants from Mexico. For all I know, JayDee refers to all Hispanic men as "José." Get out, Usha. You can have a nice life without that bigoted bastid bringing you down.

Ken Stone of the Times of San Diego: AT San Diego's federal building, ICE agents scattered and made no arrests when a delegation of Roman Catholic Church priests, led by Bishop-elect Michael Pham, showed up at the courthouse to "walk in solidarity" with the immigrants. Pham is a refugee from Vietnam. One member of the clergy "said he was told that ICE agents had intended to detain some immigrants Friday -- and their lawyers expressed gratitude to the assembled clergy."

David Chen of the New York Times: "A federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Transportation from withholding billions of dollars in funding to states unless they complied with the Trump administration's demands on immigration enforcement. A coalition of 20 states, most led by Democrats, filed a lawsuit last month arguing that the administration was usurping Congress's authority over spending and using that power of the purse to to force states to adopt its policies. Judge John J. McConnell Jr., the chief judge of the United States District Court for Rhode Island, agreed with the states. In a preliminary injunction issued Thursday, the judge said that their claims 'are likely to succeed because the Defendants' actions here violate the Constitution and statutes of the United States.' He also said that the states 'face losing billions of dollars in federal funding, are being put in a position of relinquishing their sovereign right to decide how to use their own police officers, are at risk of losing the trust built between local law enforcement and immigrant communities, and will have to scale back, reconsider, or cancel ongoing transportation projects.'"

Trump's behavior around Juneteenth isn't isolated at all -- it speaks to how he views our community, and everyone who doesn't look like him or isn't as wealthy as he is. It's why he's stripping away our rights, erasing our history and silencing our voices. -- Derrick Johnson, President, N.A.A.C.P. ~~~

~~~ Erica Green of the New York Times: "The president's decision to snub Juneteenth -- a day that has been cherished by generations of Black Americans before it was named a federal holiday in 2021 -- is part of a pattern of words and actions by Mr. Trump that minimize, ignore or even erase some of the experiences and history of Black people in the United States. Since taking office in January, he has tried to reframe the country's past involving racism and discrimination by de-emphasizing that history or at times denying that it happened. Government websites have been scrubbed of hundreds of words, including 'injustice' and 'oppression.' Federal agencies eliminated or obscured the contributions of Black heroes, from the Tuskegee Airmen who fought in the military, to Harriet Tubman, who guided enslaved people along the Underground Railroad. School libraries were purged of writings by pre-eminent Black authors like Maya Angelou. Mr. Trump has assailed the Smithsonian Institution for what he characterized as 'divisive, race-centered ideology' in its exhibits on race. He ordered the renaming of monuments to honor Confederate soldiers who fought to preserve slavery." ~~~

     ~~~ Green is featured in a NYT video re: the aggressive efforts to remove historical information about racism and discrimination.

Michael Schmidt & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "Harvard University and the Trump administration have restarted talks to potentially settle the acrimonious dispute that led ... [Donald] Trump to wage a far-reaching attack on the school and raised stark questions about the federal government's place in higher education.... The discussions began again this week at a meeting in the White House. At the meeting, Harvard representatives showed White House officials a PowerPoint presentation that laid out measures the school has taken on antisemitism, viewpoint diversity and admissions. In turn, the White House signaled other steps it would like for Harvard to take on those subjects and later sent a letter laying out conditions that could resolve the conflict, according to one of the people." This is the pinned item in a liveblog. MB: The "acrimonious dispute" is of Trump's own making. It did not "lead" Trump to "wage his attack." He waged an attack because he is a stupid, vengeful bully who bears an insatiable grudge against those he reckons are his betters. I'm sorry to see Harvard reps go hats-in-hand to the White House to beg the bully for mercy. ~~~

     ~~~ Dhruv Patel of the Harvard Crimson: "... Donald Trump claimed on social media Friday that Harvard is in active settlement talks with the White House, suggesting a possible resolution could be announced 'over the next week or so.' In a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, Trump presented no evidence of ongoing talks and scant detail about their purported contents. But he praised the University's conduct, saying Harvard had 'acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right.' It was not clear whether Trump was referring to formal settlement talks in one of the University's two ongoing lawsuits against the federal government, or informal discussions around the Trump administration's demands on Harvard." MB: What does "extremely appropriately" mean? Obsequiously?? It seems to me that, generally speaking, "appropriate" is a word like "unique": it either is or it isn't; there are no degrees of appropriate behavior.

~~~ Collin Binkley & Albee Zhang of the AP: "A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration's efforts to keep Harvard University from hosting international students, delivering the Ivy League school another victory as it challenges multiple government sanctions amid a battle with the White House. The order from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston preserves Harvard's ability to host foreign students while the case is decided, but it falls short of resolving all of Harvard's legal hurdles to hosting international students. Notably, Burroughs said the federal government still has authority to review Harvard's ability to host international students through normal processes outlined in law.... 'We expect the judge to issue a more enduring decision in the coming days,' Harvard said Friday in an email to international students.... The stops and starts of the legal battle have unsettled current students and left others around the world waiting to find out whether they will be able to attend America's oldest and wealthiest university."

Minho Kim of the New York Times: "The Trump administration sent layoff notices on Friday to more than 600 employees at Voice of America, a federally funded news organization that provides independent reporting to countries with limited press freedom. The layoffs, known as reductions in force, will shrink the staff count at the news organization to less than 200, around one-seventh of its head count at the beginning of 2025. They put Voice of America journalists and support staff on paid leave until they are let go on Sept. 1. The termination notices are the latest round of the Trump administration's attack on federally funded news networks, including Voice of America. In March..., [Donald] Trump accused the news group of spreading 'anti-American' and partisan 'propaganda,' calling it 'the voice of radical America.' He then signed an executive order that effectively called for dismantling of the news agency and put nearly all Voice of America reporters on paid leave, ceasing its news operations for the first time since its founding in 1942." Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Lousier Service, But We're Hiding It! Meryl Kornfield & Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post: "Social Security has stopped publicly reporting its processing times for benefits, the 1-800 number's current call wait time and numerous other performance metrics, which customers and advocates have used to track the agency's struggling customer service programs. The agency removed a menu of live phone and claims data from its website earlier this month, according to Internet Archive records. It put up a new page this week that offers a far more limited view of the agency's customer service performance. The website also now urges customers to use an online portal for services rather than calling the main phone line or visiting a field office -- two options that many disabled and elderly people with limited mobility or computer skills rely on for help. The agency had previously considered cutting phone services and then scrapped those plans amid an uproar."

CFPB, the Do-Nothing Agency. Peter Whoriskey of the Washington Post: "Since ... Donald Trump's second term began, the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] has moved to terminate or dismiss 18 ... enforcement lawsuits.... Those cases had accused banks, mortgage firms and installment lenders of financial abuses and deception.... Eric Halperin, who resigned in February as the CFPB's enforcement director, said: 'Trump's CFPB has abandoned the agency's directive to protect consumers.'...& n June 10, Cara Petersen, the acting head of enforcement for the agency, quit after sending a staff email denouncing the Trump administration's efforts to gut the agency. The agency's acting director is Russell Vought, the White House budget director and an author of Project 2025, the right-wing blueprint for reshaping the federal government.... Shortly after Trump's inauguration..., staff from the newly formed U.S. DOGE Service set up shop at the agency's headquarters and the group's leader, Elon Musk, used his social media site X to post 'CFPB RIP,' along with an emoji of a tombstone. In April, the Trump administration attempted to fire 1,400 agency employees, but a judge suspended the move in March."

Hiding Out at the CDC. Samuel Lovett of the Times [of London]: At "the headquarters of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia..., staff do everything they can to avoid the twentysomething officials from the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) who stalk the building's corridors, said a global health specialist.... Ever since Robert F Kennedy Jr was appointed health secretary in February, more than 10,000 staff -- many with decades of experience -- have been fired. Now, the tens of thousands of health workers and scientists still employed by the US government feel like their lives have been turned upside down.... Under instruction from Kennedy and Doge, health priorities have been reset, longstanding scientific norms disrupted and thousands of research programmes cancelled because of their perceived 'wokeness', officials said. 'RFK Jr is a disaster,' said one CDC grant specialist.... 'He is completely dismantling things to the point where the damage is going to become irreparable.'"

Finally, evidence that Trump's claims about corrupt judges is true. Oh, wait, maybe this isn't what he meant: ~~~

~~~ Hailey Fuchs of Politico: "A Florida state judge was lobbying for a seat on the federal bench. After he sided with the president in a defamation case, Donald Trump gave him one. Ed Artau, now a nominee to be a district court judge in Florida, met with staff in the office of Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott to angle for the nomination less than two weeks after Trump's election last fall.... In the midst of his interviews, Artau was part of a panel of judges that ruled in Trump's favor in the president's case against members of the Pulitzer Prize Board. About two weeks after the court published his opinion -- which called for the overturning of a landmark Supreme Court case that made it harder for public officials to sue journalists -- he interviewed with the White House Counsel's Office. In May, Trump announced his nomination to the federal judiciary. Critics raised concerns about Artau's impartiality at the time of the announcement, in light of his ruling in the Pulitzer case. But the overlapping timeline of that decision with his meetings with Senate staff and the White House Counsel's Office has not previously been reported." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It seems to me Artau had two choices: withdraw from the Florida case or withdraw from consideration for a federal bench seat. And the government had one choice: withdraw Artau's nomination. Now it's up to the Senate to deny this corrupt judge a seat. As Trump would say, "Let's see what happens."

Marie: While I was whining about Mike Lee's horrid disrespect for the victims of political assassination and assassination attempts, Lee was busy with another destructive plot: ~~~

~~~ Hayes Brown of MSNBC: "Senate Republicans are rushing to complete work on ... Donald Trump's major spending package. Of the many moving pieces, a proposal included in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's portion of the budget reconciliation bill stands out. If passed as written, it would make at least 250 million acres of public land available for sale, mandating at least 2 million of that be sold over the next five years. The fire sale of public lands is something of a pet project from the committee's chair, Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee. Lee and other supporters argue that the provision would help alleviate the nation's housing crisis. But, in practice, the sale of these lands would more likely be yet another boon to the wealthy in a bill already designed to facilitate a massive upward transfer of wealth."

Bill Chappell of NPR: "A man who appeared at the door of Memphis Mayor Paul Young's home on Sunday night did so with the intent to kidnap the city's leader, according to the Memphis Police Department. Trenton Abston, 25, is now facing multiple criminal charges. The department said in a statement, that officers found a Taser, rope and duct tape in Abston's vehicle when they took him into custody. Abston 'jumped a wall leading into our subdivision' around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Young said in a statement posted on Instagram. He added that Abston then knocked on the door 'with gloves on ... and a nervous demeanor,' and then fled after no one answered the door." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Louisiana. Rick Rojas of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court on Friday found that a Louisiana law was 'plainly unconstitutional' for requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom of the state's public schools and universities, and agreed with a lower court's decision to block it. A panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously upheld a preliminary injunction that a district court judge issued last year. The law, which had been passed last year, was the first of its kind since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law with a similar directive in 1980. The panel of judges found that the requirements established by Louisiana's law were 'materially identical' to those in the law that had been struck down. The judges -- Irma Carrillo Ramirez, James L. Dennis and Catharina Haynes -- had been appointed by Presidents Joseph R. Biden Jr., Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.... Louisiana's attorney general, Liz Murrill, said in a statement on Friday that she strongly disagreed with the decision and vowed to fight it. 'We will immediately seek relief from the full Fifth Circuit and, if necessary, the United States Supreme Court,' said Ms. Murrill, a Republican." The AP's report is here.

Texas. Tobi Raji of the Washington Post: "Texas's conservative governor may soon sign a measure that opponents say would dramatically limit how more than a million students enrolled in one of the country's largest public university systems are allowed to protest on campus, part of the Republican response to last year's roiling student protests over the Israel-Gaza war. Senate Bill 2972 prohibits protesting between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., or during the last two weeks of the semester; and bans students from camping or erecting tents on campus, or wearing a disguise to conceal their identity. It also bars the use of microphones and drums. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican from north of Houston, wrote S.B. 2972 -- dubbed the 'Campus Protection Act' -- which he and other Republicans in the Texas legislature have touted as the state's response to nationwide protests over the Israel-Gaza war. Last year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called in more than 100 state troopers to clear out students attempting to occupy a campus lawn on the University of Texas at Austin."

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Ireland. Blathnaid O'Dea of PV Magazine: "Ireland today (June 20) became the 15th coal-free country in Europe, having ended coal power generation at its 915 MW Moneypoint coal plant in County Clare.... With Ireland now generating a lot more renewable energy nowadays, coal burning is no longer such an urgent need. Energy think tank Ember data states Ireland generated 37% (11.4 TWh) of its electricity from wind in 2024. Solar is not near wind levels of generation, (0.97 TWh in 2024) but it has been continuously breaking generation records in recent months and local stakeholders are confident this positive trend will continue. Following the closure, the Moneypoint plant will continue to serve a limited backup role, burning heavy fuel oil under emergency instruction from Ireland's transmission system operator EirGrid until 2029." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Meanwhile, the Black Lung/Global Warming/Pollution King is doing everything he can to boost the coal industry in the U.S. In April, Trump signed four executive actions "aimed at reversing policies that transitioned the country away from coal production and aimed at boosting America's 'beautiful clean coal industry,' as the White House put it." This is inexcusable.

Iran didn't want to speak to Europe, they want to speak to us. -- Donald Trump, speaking in his usual crude, boastful, insulting manner, Friday ~~~

~~~ Israel/Iran, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Satuday in the Israel/Iran war are here: "... a European diplomatic effort -- dismissed by ... [Donald] Trump -- made little immediate progress in preventing the exchanges of fire from spiraling into a broader war.... Early Saturday morning, Iran sent a barrage of missiles toward Israel, setting off air-raid sirens throughout the country's densely populated heartland. There were no reports of casualties. The Israeli military said it had launched a wave of airstrikes on Saturday against Iranian missile sites. The attacks' full toll remained unclear. A strike overnight in Qom killed Mohammed Said Izadi, a senior official in Iran's Quds Force who was responsible for maintaining ties with Palestinian armed groups.... Mr. Izadi was one of the few people aware of Hamas's plan for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that ultimately triggered the war in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Israeli jets also struck Iranian nuclear sites in Isfahan. On Friday, talks between representatives of Iran and Europe ended with no signs of a breakthrough. The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, along with the European Union's top diplomat, met for three hours in Geneva with Iran's foreign minister...." --51--