Source: The American Prospect
by Paul Starr
“Last New Year’s Eve, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted an image online of an inviting, deserted beach with a classic mid-20th-century car parked on the sand. In the sky were the words ‘America After 100 Million Deportations,’ and above the image was a caption, ‘The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.’ This fantasy scenario, the removal of more than a quarter of the U.S. population, didn’t come from a random online troll. It was posted on X by the official feed of the federal agency charged with immigration enforcement. The driving force behind the Trump administration’s efforts to stop the ‘third world’ from ‘besieging’ the United States is Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser.” (05/26/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/05/26/stephen-millers-impossible-america/
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“Tunisian lawyer and media commentator Sonia Dahmani, who was released from detention last year, was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison over comments she made about the country’s jails, her lawyer said. A Tunis court issued the verdict following a hearing on Friday, according to defence lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi, who said he had filed an appeal. Dahmani was freed in November after spending more than 18 months in prison over comments she made denouncing racism in Tunisia. A critic of President Kais Saied, she faces prosecution in five separate cases, all tied to her comments and media appearances.” (05/25/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/prominent-tunisian-lawyer-gets-new-jail-term
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Larry Johnson: How Trump’s Failure in China Impacts the War Against Iran.” (05/25/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/blog/larry-johnson-how-trumps-failure-in-china-impacts-the-war-against-iran/
Source: Sex and the State
by Cathy Reisenwitz
“In 2022, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin put together a Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee (SPRIRC). This body released a report full of recommendations for reducing suicides among current and former military personnel. … According to the SPRIRC, the military promotion system is so broken that it’s on par with firearms availability and access to mental health professionals as meaningful contributors to suicide risk. If that’s true, imagine how much money that broken system wastes outside of suicides. It’s hard to fathom.” (05/25/26)
https://cathyreisenwitz.substack.com/p/the-militarys-broken-promotion-system
Source: Associated Press
“The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out ‘self-defense’ strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were ‘proceeding nicely.’ The strikes were done ‘to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,’ but the military was ‘using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,’ Capt. Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for the U.S. military’s Central Command, said in a statement. Further details were not immediately available, including more specifics on the threats from Iran and what this means for negotiations.” (05/25/26)
https://apnews.com/article/iran-deal-trump-israel-abrams-01a13e9a63ece786a0a7fa4933dbf09b
Source: Desultory Scribblings
by Tyler Harris
“Remember, they say,
Through the long mists of time,
Our heroes and legends and leaders sublime.
Think not of their flaws, for of flaws they had none.
Remember that freedom springs forth from a gun.
Recall them as Caesar, but ne’er Cincinnatus.
Recount conquered glories; reject e’ry malice.” (05/25/26)
https://tylerjohnharris.substack.com/p/remember-they-say
Source: EconTalk
“Facing Death (with Sebastian Junger).” (05/25/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/facing-death-with-sebastian-junger/
Source: US News & World Report
“An Israeli airstrike on a village in eastern Lebanon killed 12 people, the country’s state-run National News Agency said Tuesday. The strike late Monday in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley area came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had authorized more intensive strikes targeting the Hezbollah militant group across Lebanon. The Israeli military did not comment on this particular strike, but said Monday that it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in eastern Lebanon. Rescue workers say that a dozen bodies were pulled out of the rubble following an intense wave of overnight strikes targeting swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon.” (05/26/26)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-05-26/israeli-strike-on-village-in-eastern-lebanon-kills-12
Source: Antiwar.com
by William J Astore
“‘Support our troops’ is a catchphrase, almost a mantra, often used by cynical politicians to suppress dissent about their disastrous wars of choice. Basically, dissenters are accused of being unpatriotic because their criticism allegedly betrays the troops and weakens national resolve. It’s a BS argument but it’s often compelling and even convincing to some. Americans have a civic religion defined by the Pledge of Allegiance, the flag, the National Anthem, military parades and pageantry, and U.S. history taught as heritage and as a celebration of American goodness and greatness. When you step outside of that, when you criticize it, dissent from it, you must be prepared to be attacked as a heretic.” (05/25/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/william_astore/2026/05/24/support-our-troops-what-it-really-means
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The administration of US President Donald Trump has renewed its push to lift a court ruling barring progress on a new White House ballroom, once again citing gun violence as a reason for pursuing the construction. In a court filing submitted on Sunday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche argued it was ‘urgent’ that the ballroom be completed. ‘This is a terrible, tremendously harmful case to the United States of America, and all it stands for!’ Blanche [whined], denouncing the lawsuit that has paused construction. As justification, Blanche pointed to the events of last Saturday, when a 21-year-old suspect named Nasire Best approached a White House security checkpoint in Washington, DC, pulled out a gun, and started shooting. One bystander was injured. The suspect was killed after an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents.” (05/25/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/25/trump-renews-petition-for-white-house-ballroom-pointing-to-nearby-shooting
