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Anna Nadolskaya finds a makeshift memorial for our poor departed Secretary of Selfies:
- In Letters from an American, historian Heather Cox Richardson goes to the original debates in the 1700s about the Constitution with an unusual approach. She looks at the words.
In Federalist #26, one of the newspaper essays Alexander Hamilton wrote to encourage the ratification of the Constitution, Hamilton explained that people shouldn’t fear the strength of the new government outlined in the Constitution, because the necessity of debating war, alongside the two-year limit on government funding for the military, would force Congress to debate military actions.
Those opposed to ratification warned delegates specifically about …well… Trump. So Hamilton answered them:
He expected members of the opposition to attack those in power over military appropriations, so that if those in power were “disposed to exceed the proper limits, the community will be warned of the danger, and will have an opportunity of taking measures to guard against it.”Sadly, there turns out to be a modern glitch:
But Trump has now taken that power away from the people and their representatives. He has launched a military action that by his own admission is not an emergency situation like those anticipated by the War Powers Act…The same analysis is now available in audio format, as Richardson narrates in podcast.
- Dave Dubya goes Trump v Trump as he contrasts the weekend attack on Iran with Trump baseless attacks on Obama for military strikes on Iran that Trump once thought Obama might order:
Dave joins reasonable and widespread speculation:
- America goes to war, and our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit lists a half dozen plus separate justifications we’re hearing from Trump and his administration.
Historical note:
The last “major” power country to launch a war without trying to make a case for it to the world was Russia in its attack on Ukraine. Even Bush, in his dumb-ass war in Iraq, tried to make the case for it beforehand and line up allies to join in.However, condemnation of Trump and Bibi’s Big Beautiful War by the leader of one country prompts Comrade Misfit to suggest an anatomical improbability.
- In case we can’t make consistent sense of Trump’s varying reasons for going to war, Right Wing Watch brings us MAGA pastor Shane Vaughn to explain why it’s so mysterious. Trump is simply following orders he hears from God:
It goes back to King Saul:
And God raised up King Saul and told Saul, ‘I want you to preemptively strike the Amalekites. I want you to go in and kill every man, woman, boy, and girl. And I don’t want you to explain it to Congress. I don’t want you to explain it to anybody.Killing every man, woman, boy, and girl:
When God raised up Donald Trump; Iran is to America what Amalek was to Israel. The same thing - It’s no secret that Trump and his administration have yet to offer a clear, consistent reason for attacking Iran at this time.
Scott Jennings seems to be suffering from a severe battering deficit.
If you’re going to demand an example of a Trump self-contradiction about Iran, why not just hand Abby Phillip and Josh Rogan a baseball bat and a police baton and ask for a beating.Tommy Christopher brings us transcript and brief video:
- In Canadian satire, The Beaverton reports as Trump assures Congress that Netanyahu has a plan for the Iran war.
- Journalist Marcy Wheeler at EmptyWheel sees an underreported aspect of the attack on Iran: pre‑attack negotiations that were a combination of pretense and incompetence on the part of Americans.
But it’s not just that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff proved as painfully ignorant as they have over and over.
It’s that Israel and the US and — the beleaguered WaPo reports, Saudi Arabia — planned this attack around an intelligence discovery of an opportunity. They were going to attack no matter what Iran did, because they could. NYT describes (in a piece that doesn’t mention Jared or Steve) that Israel used intelligence CIA gathered to determine the time of an attack it had been planning for months. - My long time very conservative friend Darrell Michaels is back (Yay-y-y-y!) explaining, cogently, why we should join in rejoicing if the Islamic Republic in Iran should fall.
No contribution from my friend would be complete without a few departures from accuracy.
One example:
Each U.S. President over the last 47 years has fretted what to do to contain Iran. Obama and Biden thought that they could make a deal with Iran by sending $1.7 billion dollars in cash to the evil republic and to ease sanctions. They thought such appeasement might buy good will with the mullahs there and thus have a strong Iran as a counter foil to the Sunni Islamic nations in the region. Of course, this didn’t work, as any Middle East expert could have predicted. Iran continued to enrich uranium to build a nuclear weapon as they worked feverishly to develop an ICBM capable of carrying such a deadly payload to U.S. shores.In actuality, the Obama negotiated deal did not involve sending $1.7 billion dollars in cash to the evil republic. The amount may be correct, but it was to be administered by those outside of Iran under the close supervision of the United States, restricted to alleviating hunger and suffering.
And, no, Iran did not continue to enrich uranium to build a nuclear weapon. According to US intelligence, watching closely for any such violation, Iran stuck to the terms right up until Trump took power and tore up the agreement.
That does not detract from my friend’s larger point. If that repressive theocracy does fall, we can anticipate most Iranians will rejoice, and we should join in.
- About Iran:
Infidel753 summarizes the impressive history of Iran through the centuries into recent decades and the tenuous hold of the current theocratic government of thugs.
- tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors sees self-styled Secretary of
DefenseWar Pete Hegseth seems less than totally concerned with US casualties.
To be fair, Hegseth does accurately reflect the views expressed by the boss.
- In fact, Hegseth is even less concerned about those deaths than we might expect.
In News Corpse, Pete is one of several administration members who see any mention of (or respect for or regret at) the death of members of US military service…
…as the Press just Wanting to Make Trump Look Bad.
- Among those who nearly died in the first hours was one of those Hegseth is trying to force out. A pilot accidentally shot down by unexpected friendly fire quickly made friends with Kuwaiti citizens willing to help.
It prompted me to retrieve from Fair and Unbalanced a piece from years past on how Hegseth’s fellow Fox personalities also thought the notion of women flying fighter jets into battle was just hilarious.
- Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger asks why Trump decided to attack Iran just now:
He speculates reasonably, with evidence:
You can call me a cynic, but I think the attack was done to distract from his domestic problems.Whatever could those problems be?
The Epstein files have become a more serious problem for Trump, with many pages that accuse Trump of sexually abusing a teenager having been withheld by the Justice Department.Economy:
While he has helped the rich to get even richer, his policies have made most Americans poorer. They are having trouble affording a decent life in this country.ICE:
…the public has turned against his immigration policies – seeing them as unnecessarily cruel. - At The Moderate Voice David Robertson is skeptical about Trump’s reasons for attacking Iran:
From the BBC:
“Earlier on Saturday, Trump posted a lengthy video on his Truth Social website, confirming US involvement: ‘Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,’ he said, adding that Washington’s aim is to ‘ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon’.”Key memory:
If you are getting flash-backs from the Year 2003, then you are not alone. It was then that then-POTUS George W. Bush made an appeal to the U.S. Congress to support military action against Iraq.
Bush was led to believe that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction in violation of an agreement for Iraq to NOT have those weapons.Key comparison:
In contrast, Donald Trump IS at the center of a sex scandal that involves minors.
That scandal is NOT going away.Key skepticism:
Yet, considering how often that Donald Trump presents falsehoods, this blogger questions if Trump really is trying to protect U.S. citizens from a regime. After all, U.S. citizens are currently endangered by a regime headquartered in the White House.
Key question:
Is anyone buying Donald Trump’s excuse for the U.S. military attacking Iran? Can we believe anything that Trump says? - More basic:
Michael J Scott explains the attack on Iran, and the disjointed explanations, as Trump’s Distraction Doctrine
- The Justice Department seems to have decided that stonewalling on Epstein hasn’t been working, and that competing war coverage might minimize notice by the press of a few finally released files. Hackwhackers notices those items being sneaked in. They contain multiple accusations about Trump and underage rape victims.
Hackwhackers provides a small, horrible, example of what is in the new pages, noting that more are still being held back.
- Of course:
PZ Myers notes that Kristi Noem has been taken out to the gravel pit (ouch!) but says some personal questions remain.
- From The Borowitz Report the firing of Kristi Noem is celebrated by the nation’s dogs.
- So Kristi Noem is out. Markwayne Mullin is in.
He has already developed an unfortunate public image:
RAJU: You'll concede this is war?
MARKWAYNE MULLIN: We haven't declared war. They declared war on us
RAJU: The president called it war and Secretary Hegseth called it war
REPORTER: When you walked up just now, you called it war
MULLIN: Okay. That was a misspoke.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 3, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Senator Mullin is defended by folks like Twitter personality Greg Price:
Yes, Markwayne Mullin is the only Senator without a Bachelor's Degree because at age 20, he took over his father's plumbing company when he became ill and built it into a multi-million dollar business.
Having a college degree doesn't automatically make you a smart or successful… https://t.co/KlNc73mRyN
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 5, 2026
Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson seems more than skeptical:
Maybe Markwayne Mullin knows as much about plumbing as Forest Gump's friend Bubba knew about shrimp, but he has no business being a US Senator, let alone a cabinet member. https://t.co/WVhKllfCW0
— James Wigderson (@jwigderson) March 5, 2026
- SilverAppleQueen is ashamed of her hometown after a nearly blind, disabled refugee who knew little English was detained in Buffalo, then dropped off five miles from his home in extreme frigid temperature, without notifying his family, who were frantically searching for him.
Nurul Amin Shah Alam was eventually found dead.
- Jason Linkins lists some of the horrific abuse, including that of detained children, occurring regularly at ICE prisons…
… and how the success of grassroots popular resistance in Ashburn, Virginia provide a model for keeping concentration camps out of local communities.
- At The Onion, a heroic ICE agent has been injured repeatedly trying to detain people in a neighborhood mural.
Legal penalty:
Community Art Project Accused Of Assaulting Federal Officer - Journalist Arturo Dominguez argues that Kristi Noem was not fired upward, but rather that she really was promoted, with potentially bad results for Latin America.
- CalicoJack in The Psy of Life argues that the same chaotic administration that is causing distress, doubt, and distrust, affecting billions of lives worldwide, is also causing a more healthy reaction…
…as the ties of disillusioned MAGA folk to the cult are weakening.
- Dave Columbo summarizes a horrific week in Trump ending last Saturday:
- Author and educator Amanda Nelson somehow manages to hold back her sympathy as THIS week turns horrible for Trump
- M. Bouffant at Web of Evil targets media near‑monopolies as right‑wing oligarchs take over what we watch and read.
- Remembering Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter with Tamra Brown’s take at the time:
@heytamra A job’s a job #spacexisthebest #teslaissues #officehumor2022 #elonmuskisanidiot ♬ original sound – Tamra Brown - Ever wonder why your uber MAGA relatives insist that anti‑ICE protestors, religious leaders, and other public figures are all being paid by Soros?>
Julian Sanchez explains a long-established pattern:
These guys are constantly telling on themselves that they can’t imagine anyone acting on an actual principle. Protesters? Must be getting paid. Bishops noticing that Jesus had some thoughts on welcoming the stranger? Gotta be a payday in there.
— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) March 5, 2026 at 7:56 AM
I’m shocked Vance can bring himself to believe in substitutionary atonement instead of insisting Jesus was cashing checks from Jehovah Soros.
— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) March 5, 2026 at 8:02 AM
- If your mail carrier keeps deciding you shouldn’t get your mail because he just doesn’t like you because you have the wrong skin color, can you sue?
Well… it turns out it involves exceptions to exceptions to exceptions to rules.
Legal expert Imani Gandy relates an actual case. A woman in Texas files a complaint, alleging that a mail carrier began refusing to deliver mail. A Black property owner renting to a couple of White residents seemed just plain wrong to a mail carrier. So he started returning important mail as undeliverable. Tends to be damaging if the mail comes from such folks as credit card companies.
So she, the property owner, can sue. Right?
Except the United States Postal Service is covered as a government entity with sovereign immunity.
So she can’t sue. Right?Except there is an exception to the exception. If an injury is deliberate, you can sue the government.
So she can sue. Right?Except there is an exception to the exception to the exception. If the post office loses your mail, even if it’s through negligence. Sovereign immunity still applies.
So she can’t sue. Right?Except that didn’t happen in this case. There wasn’t negligence, or someone losing a few letters. It was deliberate racial discrimination.
So she can sue. Right?Well, no.
Imani Gandy reports that the Supreme Court strains definitions and actually rules even deliberate sabotage of your mail because of race is okay under the law.
After all, mail getting lost or misdelivered is just part of life. Even if it’s deliberate because your carrier is a flat out bigot.
Key headline:
The Supreme Court Keeps Finding New Ways to Make Discrimination FreeKey introduction:
In USPS v. Konan, the justices denied that mail carriers who refused to deliver to a Black landlord should pay damages. The ruling makes it even harder to sue the government for blatant racism and receive financial compensation. - Brian Beutler follow past Republican tactics and start asking political questions about as yet unproven scandals.
One example:
Today’s Democrats control nothing, and so can not spearhead a full congressional inquiry of Trump’s illegal war against Iran.
But they can resolve to treat it as a scandal, rather than a misjudgment. Nobody asked for this and the administration did not build a case for it.Key advantage:
The good news is, exacting a political price for this war does not require Democrats to embellish anything, let alone to foment ugly conspiracy theories. It only requires them not to pull their punches simply because Trump started a war. - In Rural Missouri, Jess Piper urges us to stop blaming rural America for Trump:
Rural America is the lowest-hanging fruit for shifting voters from red to blue.
The Democrats have retreated from areas like mine, but so have the Republicans. No one is out here. That’s a huge opportunity.
We don’t have to change Trump voters. We have to engage apathetic voters.
- Master of Rant, Max’s Dad, takes on the mini-scandal, one that should especially disturb those of us in the faith.
A significant number of officers in the US military are preaching to their charges a foolish and destructive message.
Ok as if this “war” isn’t bad enough, more illegal and more wrongheaded, now we have American military commanders telling their NCO’s that Trump is anointed by Jesus to bring on Armageddon. Wut?God has revealed their personal road to glory:
…military leaders telling the troops, ya know the ones who will die first, that the Second Coming is upon us and they must be honored to take part in ending the world. Hoo boy great. - North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz responds to reports that a substantial number of US service people preparing to risk their lives complain of instructions from evangelical officers that they are about to enter a holy war with Iran designed to destroy the earth and bring a return of Jesus.
He sees it as part of a broader, unhealthy pattern.
These self-righteous disciples of a vengeful Conservative God are a tiny but dangerous minority because of their proximity to power and the depth and breadth of their infiltration in our nation’s Congressional chambers, courthouses, and Military leadership. - In Scotties Playtime, most of us can empathize with blundersonword, who is worn down, and stressed out.
- Vincent at A Wayfarer’s Notes begins with this:
Surely, the Old Testament is an anthology of Hebrew literature, not a guide for going to heaven when we die.
He illustrates with a beautiful song of praise, a portion the 107th Psalm as it was translated to English in 1611.
He begins with the 23rd verse:
They that go down to the sea in ships… - @whiskeywhistle98 lets us know there is absolutely nothing wrong with her:
- Dave Barry attends the anniversary of a historical event in Kentucky, and the wild 150th annual celebration:
It occurred on March 3, 1876, in a place called Olympia Springs in Bath County, Kentucky. Shortly before noon on that historic day, a woman named Rebecca Crouch was making soap on the family farm when she witnessed hundreds of smallish pieces of raw meat raining down from the heavens.
Yucky possibility:
The most widely accepted theory, which also happens to be an excellent name for a rock band, is: vomiting vultures. Apparently when vultures are threatened or scared, they vomit as a defensive measure, a tactic also employed by human infants to indicate that they do not care for pureed squash. - Relieving our national anxiety about breakfast fruit, The Journal of Improbable Research finds university research on the number of slices in mandarin oranges.
- In Georgia baseball, The Savanna Bananas illustrate an important principle from Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, and maybe Bogart: Confusion to the enemy!
More puppy wisdom from our friends around the net:
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