While most congressional Republicans and some pro-Israel Democrats are praising President Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, pockets of opposition are already emerging in both parties.
Why it matters: The objections center on the argument that Trump needed congressional authorization for such a provocative use of military force, with one House Democrat pushing for a vote to restrict further unilateral action.
There is little appetite among the ruling Republicans, outside of a handful of right-wingers, to be in direct conflict with Trump on the issue.
Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) publicly backed the strikes on Saturday night.
Zoom in: The position that Trump’s strikes were constitutionally unsanctioned is more mainstream with Democrats, including House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.).
“We need to immediately return to DC and vote on [Rep. Thomas Massie’s] and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
Massie (R-Ky.), a libertarian who often breaks with Trump, said in a post on X reacting to the strikes: “This is not Constitutional.”
What happened: Trump announced in a Saturday night post on Truth Social, “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran.”
“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow,” he added. “All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors.”
The decision to intervene directly in Israel’s war with Iran marks a historic escalation in the Middle East, Axios’ Barak Ravid reported.
State of play: Khanna and Massie, along with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), had been trying to build bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress for their war powers measures in the days leading up to the strikes.
Himes called the strikes a “clear violation of the Constitution” in a statement, adding, “We also don’t know if this will lead to further escalation in the region and attacks against our forces.”
“I am continuing to closely monitor the situation and demand answers from the Administration,” he added.
Kaine posted on Saturday that he will “push for all Senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war.”
Thanks, Jack……this one I play again tonight.
nothing like a piano solo to sort things out, thanks jack
Saturday night so his lickspittles can go out and flood the zone on Sunday tv.
All this bombs-away hysteria reminds me of “Shock and Awe”.
Didn’t that turn out well.
A bit of light thinking has not helped find any logical reason for what the stupidest person not in a grave did. Direct reactions will be scary. I would not fly for a while. I would avoid any public crowds. I would not go near D.C., and many more fun things.
The mangomoron is like the kid in the playground who will do what the bully whispers in his ear. Right now we are going to have some feedback from the actions of a very stupid person.
Finally, little KGB man puttie already told krasnov to not push the button. Stupid went rogue. What will puttie do to punish him? The administration is full of Russian sympathizers, a few might be more than spies. Sfb should be careful around stairs and windows.
BB, in your opinion what does putie do now that he’ll have fewer iranian drones at his disposal to leash on ukraine? will he feign some sort of support for iran or will he sit back and enjoy the show knowing russian oil supplies will now be in greater demand?
anonduh says:
June 22, 2025 at 2:25 am
I don’t know if Trump always was a monster or became a monster
All we can say is the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior without intervention.
They are all in cahoots.
Early start on Nature since I’ve missed it for two weeks…
As President Donald Trump took the podium to announce he’d bombed Iran—“surgical strikes,” he assured us, as if he were talking about lipo—something even more revealing than the foreign policy shift unfolded behind him: the choreography of male ambition.
There stood VP JD Vance, bearded and beatific, in the classic heir-apparent spot: just to Trump’s right, chin slightly lifted, eyebrows set to “grave statesman.” But then you saw Pete Hegseth, the cable-tanned and restless Secretary of Defense, inching sideways like a man trying to catch a better breeze—or a better shot. His mission: slide into frame. His mistake: failing to clock Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Here comes Little Marco, seasoned now, no longer the thirsty teen from 2016, who shimmies himself directly next to Trump with the ease of someone who’s learned how to duck and feint in the GOP’s royal court. (Though he’d clearly scrambled faster than the B2s because he’d forgotten to wear his American flag pin.) Hegseth, now blocked, drifts awkwardly to the end of the row, visibly stiff, as if he knows that in Trumpworld, proximity is power and he’s just been banished to the outer provinces.
And Trump? Oblivious. Or more precisely: supremely uninterested. He’s not watching them. They’re watching him. He knows the camera never blinks and never strays. He’s the sun; they’re just moonlighting.
This is how Republican politics works now: not with policy, not with principle or strategy, but with posture. In this White House cosplay, where war is declared like a press release and every man behind the man is auditioning for next season, even a bombing campaign becomes a photo op.
And the only question that seems to matter anymore: who gets closest to the chaos?
What I notice is a lack of any evidence of the destruction Dumbass and his Brylcreamed SecDef claim from the raid. You telling me we didn’t have at least 3 F35s or retasked satellites rigged to collect visual evidence of the damage? Bullshit. Even Shrub had realtime recordings of the shock and awe show.
patd – Russia had been building the drones in their plants for a while with the planning for Iran to be put out of commission. The immediate impact is Russia will have to cut back and not send The bombs hit three locations that worked with nuclear material and not other stuff. The Israeli attacks did damage but I don’t have any reports of the full impact. One of so many problems is the lack of reliable information. Osint can only get us so far.
Thank you, Jack
A beautiful palate cleanser to get the taste of war out of our mouths.
Act of war is not war?
Disingenuous dishonesty is JD’s calling card.
today’s meme…
Pogeot – the U.S. may not see the satellites images, there is little to see for damages. The bombs hit and went Boom. Nothing for sfb showtime to back up his idiot statement about total destruction.
Maybe Iran will release something of dust on tables. From reports iran emptied the plants last week. The plants were built to withstand any overhead attack.
Not sure where the family MAGAts get their intel but “Iranian drones and missiles are really slow.”
Iran has hypersonic missiles. Not sure how “really slow” their drones are, but Iran gave their blueprints to Russia to build their own (and to North Korea, allegedly), but who is telling them that Iran isn’t well-armed?
Some Repugz in Congress are lining up behind Orange Adolf. Despicable.
I wouldn’t put it past the Russians to use this to 24A Taco Don. Jose D. Vance is looking particularly smug. Something is afoot.
Anyway, there’s nothing to take the attention away from extra-judicial kidnappings, a budget bill that will hurt everyone who isn’t wealthy while still exploding the deficit, and the specter of the Epstein tapes being released, like unilaterally attacking another nation without congressional approval.
President Trump asserted that Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities were “completely and totally obliterated” by American strikes. But this month, Iran claimed that it had another enrichment site “in a secure and invulnerable location,” with installation of centrifuges to begin immediately.
The announcement, by the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, came on June 12 — immediately after Iran was censured by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors for failing to meet its obligations for transparency under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
In the three days prior to the U.S. strikes, a flurry of abnormal activity was observed near an entrance tunnel at Iran’s Fordo nuclear site, according to satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies, a satellite technology company. On June 19, the analyst said that 16 cargo trucks were positioned near an entrance tunnel. The following day, these had moved northwest away from the site, but other trucks and bulldozers were visible near the entrance. An analysis by the Open Source Centre in London had suggested Iran may have been preparing the facility for a strike.
*Do not kick a hornet’s nest unless you have a full can of Hot Shot…and be prepared to get stung, anyway.
I predicted exactly this clusterfuck of an administration almost to the item in 2016 for Trump’s first term, except there were bulwarks and stewards in place to prevent it, so dipshit couldn’t pull any off it off
It’s the end of the America you knew because they threw it away, and it’s the voters’ fault- we warned them so accurately and so often about who this guy was they called it a “syndrome”
They knew who he was and they voted for him anyway
“ Irans says they missed because they had already moved nuclear stockpiles.”
Trump is so fucking stupid he gave them notice, because he wants to act like the tough guy he isn’t, and where’s the fun in not threatening first
can you imagine how many sources Trump
compromised when he said we know were Iran‘s leaders are
I promise you the first thought they had was “well then how does he know” as they looked around the room
not like he gives a fuck all about all the work put into building intelligence relationships, and all the risks people took to build them- we all exist to please his whims
They knew who he was and they voted for him anyway
Anon, They voted for him because he was that way.
there will come a day when no one will understand how he got elected because no one will claim they voted for him
no one will claim they voted for him
We have their photos at the rallies, just like crowd-faces at lynchings of the past.
Dodo was goaded by chicken-memes of recent weeks.
Earlier this a week, a co-worker of mine who is from Cuba was notified that due to the government law changes her work visa is no longer acceptable. This also means she can’t work anywhere else right now. She and her family came over here legally a few years ago. But she, her husband and her adult son, who all work for the same company and plant that I do, are now no longer able to work there. Plus, she was told that she can no longer drive until her visa issue is cleared up. She basically speaks 99% Spanish, so another co-worker had to read the letter that work gave her the other day. So, there was a lot of crying on that day. She gave hugs to us all as she left work that day. I have picked up quite a bit of Spanish these days, so I often make jokes in Spanish and use Spanish when I can to include her in conversations. She is a very nice person and a very good worker. There’s no getting around how much this sucks for her and her family. I see all that is happening with immigrants and I think to myself, “It’s all different when something bad happens to someone you care about.”
“ Dodo was goaded by chicken-memes”
yup, all that TACO shit was too clever by half
It wasn’t only the taco shit…. it was also making fun of that we’d all heard the “I’ll let you know in 2 weeks” shit.
“Trump himself wrote in his 1997 book Art of the Comeback that he believed asbestos bans were a conspiracy ‘led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal.’”
The majority of asbestos imported into the U.S. comes from Brazil, but about a quarter comes directly from Russia, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Russia is the top global producer of asbestos.
“Trump’s support for asbestos’” Ars Technica adds, “has been welcomed in Russia, a primary asbestos supplier to the US. In 2018, a Russian asbestos company began marketing asbestos with Trump’s face and a seal reading ‘Approved by Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States.’”
“The Trump administration isn’t just going after ‘regulations,’ they’re going after your health. Who benefits from bringing back cancer-causing asbestos? Russia,” noted U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM).
“It’s another pro-Putin policy from Trump. Russia is a major asbestos producer,” wrote Courier Newsroom correspondent Allan Piper.
“What is this—Make Asbestos Great Again?” snarked former U.S. Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
yeah i’m sure we had the same simultaneous thought of “oh no, what are y’all doing” about the taunting of trump, RR, but we can’t control a billion monkeys on a hillion typewriters, can we?
The nazis are so good at exploiting that phenomenon
We’re the new 1930’s Germany, the whole world is now thinking, “what are we going to do about those assholes?”
The qualifications of a 22-year-old Trump loyalist leading counterterrorism efforts across the nation have drawn fresh criticism after Iran vowed payback for U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities.
Thomas Fugate, a former Trump campaign worker, is leading the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships—a division of the Department of Homeland Security that oversees terrorism prevention, ProPublica reported earlier this month.
He is a former gardener and grocery store clerk who graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio just 12 months ago.
The Republicans Against Trump X account added in a post, “As major U.S. cities brace for possible terror attacks in response to the strikes on Iran, just a reminder of who Trump put in charge of terror prevention. God help us all.”
*I know everyone is like ‘no more old men in power,’ but this seems like an over-correction.
the same deliberate mismanagement technique was employed in corporate America 20 years ago to drive companies in the ground so they could loot them
One does not install obviously unqualified people into an organization that one wants to succeed
…the Iranian Parliament has voted in support of closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints, according to media reports.
Around 20 percent of global oil trade passes through the Strait. Some experts have said that if Iran were to cut off access to the Strait, it could spike oil prices by 30 to 50 percent immediately, with gas prices likewise rising by as much as $5 per gallon.
*But I am “overreacting,” because Iran sends 90% of its oil to China and gasoline hasn’t gone up today. FFS! But there “could be a war.” FFFS!
yeah, Iran trying to close that strait equals war, our military doesn’t keep it open for nothing
your brother sounds uniquely stupid
tell him I said so
I would be erecting a tent 5 1/2 acres away from him right now
speaking of stupid:
It is not in the world’s interest to give this religious fanatic a nuclear weapon.” -Lindsay Graham
irony lost
Iran’s threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — where 30% of the world’s oil moves.
Earlier this week, Politico ran a piece headlined, “Inside the MAGA vs. hawk battle to sway Trump on bombing Iran.” The article begins, “An influential group of GOP hawks has launched a behind-the-scenes lobbying offensive pressing President Donald Trump to not only back off his administration’s quest for a nuclear deal with Iran, but greenlight an attack on Tehran by Israel.”
This group was not only lobbying Trump to give the “wink and nod” to Israel to attack, but worse, were trying to scuttle the president’s ongoing negotiations to get a nuclear deal with Iran and to bring peace to the region.
Lobbying against the elimination of a nuclear threat and against peace. The world has surely turned upside down.
For years, various hawks and neocons have been claiming that “Iran is just weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.” No sane person wants Iran to get a nuclear weapon. But at some point, the Chicken Little “sky is falling” cries must be questioned.
Tucker Carlson decided to question them in a very big and public way. Carlson wrote in a post on X, “There is zero credible intelligence that suggests Iran is anywhere near building a bomb or has plans to. None. Anyone who claims otherwise is ignorant or dishonest … there are very few Trump voters who’d support a regime change war in Iran. Donald Trump has argued loudly against reckless lunacy like this.
*ps – This article was prior to last night, as you can see by the paragraph below. Tucker, Russian asset that he seems to be, now stands alone.
The “madness” just got exponentially dialed up. Our “fear” has increased. Trump, Gabbard and Carlson are on the correct side of this issue.
lol the most sensible conservatives are the kooks
When Adolf told journalists they weren’t safe talking to him, it wasn’t another threat to the media. SFB has been told Iran wants to get him, and whether or not it was true the other day, it’s most definitely true now.
He looked oddly subdued during last night’s ~victory~ speech.
Craig – Stay home, unless you need to do a Safeway run. Off-hour shopping; no crowds.
New nickname. Something to pass the time while we wait.
Concerns me for the protest in DC on the 4th of July. Perfect opportunity for tRUMPco to do something awful, blame Iran, and declare martial law.
Ain’t no one coming to save the day BiD so if you’re that concerned, make preparations
Unlike in Israel, where the US is working to establish transportation options out of the country for the estimated hundreds of thousands of Americans there, no such options are available for US citizens in Iran. The US does not have a diplomatic presence there.
“We do not anticipate offering direct US government assisted departure from Iran,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce noted at a press briefing Friday.
The situation report described some Americans facing difficulties leaving Iran.
“Security alerts also note Americans seeking to depart should be prepared to encounter checkpoints and questioning from authorities,” it states. “Numerous US citizens have described delays and harassment along their exit route.”
It also notes that two Americans were reportedly detained while attempting to depart the country.
One source trying to get a US citizen family member out of Iran expressed frustration at the State Department earlier this week, saying the agency seemed to defer everything to seemingly overwhelmed US embassies.
Craig, your Thoreau tee shirt message is great.
Ha. Ivy, didn’t realize that’s what I was wearing. Probably should pay attention to that in future
The debate is over.
Who’s the Mad King Now?
Maybe the mad king, the other one, wasn’t so mad after all…
This is a poisonous moment for our country, with Trump unleashing our military on American citizens and letting ICE officers rough up Democratic lawmakers. He’s still posting, madly, about the 2020 election being “a total FRAUD,” and now he’s calling for a special prosecutor to look into it. With the juvenile delinquent Pete Hegseth leading our military, Trump is recklessly jousting with Iran and threatening to assassinate the Iranian leader. The former opponent of forever wars in the Middle East is debating dropping bombs in the Middle East without military provocation against the United States — which did not work out well for us in the past — and dragging us into another unpredictable, interminable war.
-Maureen Dowd
(I read somewhere his mom supplied fresh laundry for him at the cabin.)
your wizard robe is a win all day
Ha! Ivy, Have you seen the Apple TV show “Dickinson”? It’s really good, and John Mulaney played Thoreau. I had no idea that he was actually mommyed; I thought it was creative writing.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Rubio’s comments on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo” show came after Iran’s Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas flows.
“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” said Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser.
“If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours.”
*And yet, it’s Rubio who is crawling to China for help. It’s almost like they didn’t think this through.
more irony is the greatest threat to Israel is Benjamin Netanyahu
Hilarious, BID! I may have to break down and subscrible to Apple.
Donald J. Trump
@realDonald Trump
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!!!
*Wow, Adolf’s hubris and stupidity are off the charts. Has it occurred to him that it might be the Ayatollah who actually MAGA?
Ivy – The first episode is probably free. (That’s how they get ya.). I bought Peacock for the year, just to see the SNL concert. There was a deal; $30/one year. Now, I’m watching Resident Alien, and they have some other things that are OK. After the 4th season of Ted Lasso comes out next year, I’ll switch to Apple and catch up on new stuff & rewatch old stuff. Apple gave everyone free TV during lockdown, so I had the first season (or two?) of Dickinson to occupy my mind.
Slow Horses on appletv is fun, keystone cops spy shit
My brothers are trying to talk us into the V See Box.
We’re waiting and seeing how well they end up liking it themselves.
A few thoughts on Juneteenth
I was not aware of a Juneteenth holiday until I moved to California and met someone from Texas. She was explained it. The University of Wisconsin, the Canton Ohio city schools made no mention of it. Trump is now trying to end it and it trying to remove. Harvey Milk’s name from the airport Let’s remember this so when the giant orange asshole is out of office that we remove all traces. Of him and not allow him a library by by no B guy
Trump just floated “Regime Change” in Iran—with a slogan.
MIGA = Make Iran Great Again?
We’ve seen this movie. It ends in more dictators.
“My brothers are trying to talk us into the V See Box.“
just get a roku stick, $50 for the good one, comes with 3 month ApplTV trial
(“the good one” = the remote controls your tv volume and power also)
OK, i looked up the VC box. It’s a scam to make streaming seem complicated for old people. Just got a Roku stick. It’s super easy and a sixth of the price of that VC box.
correction: an eighth of the price
maybe vcbox has pirated programming that they’re not promoting deliberately I don’t know
I once had a front row seat to weekly Death to the Shah marches.
Lil’ Marco seems to have misplaced his flag pin.
It’s a scam
That’s what we’re thinking but they’re all having a great time with it. Some of them are tech savvy. We’re stalling, plus we’re lazy and resistant to change until forced into it.
One of the biggest misconceptions of Henry David Thoreau was that he was hermit. Not so…. he built his cabin on the end of Walden Pond on land that his good friend Ralph Emerson owned. He generally walked to town most days. And yes…. his family owned a pencil factory and he occasionally worked in it.
I know this because Rick and I used to belong to the Thoreau Society. We’ve been to Concord and the surrounding area many times.
That’s great, Renee! We’d love to know more.
ok looks like vseebox is indeed pirated programming that the company then charges a reduced rate to access which is all profit since they stole it:
malware potential is a concern also, i honestly wouldn’t use wifi at their house
avoid that product
i will happily promote Roku products gratis if it prevents any of you from getting hacked, scammed, or worse
Craig – I’m enjoying the political clips. You were the only one in MSNBC saying/seeing things differently than the others. It’s why I found my way here.
Ivy – Zosia Mamet as Louisa May Alcott also makes an interesting appearance in “Dickinson,” and now I wonder if how she’s characterized is also more historical than creative license.
i think using cooking to bring people to the message is a good idea 👍
maybe your finest 🤷♂️
it’s the kind of stuff liberals need to do instead of just constant nattering of which I am as guilty of as every other liberal
listen my people you need to be super sharp about not getting scammed these days because the Trump administration is gutting regulation. They will not help you.
It is a land of wolves now
looks like vseebox is indeed pirated programming
Good to know, anon. I’ve learned not to try to “warn” them about anything. Like mostly everything else, we see stuff differently. More will be revealed…
…of course, if they bring it up again, I will be glad to tip them off.
Thanks, BID. Very intriguing. Always been fond of Emily.
It’s like at the beach shops when they try to tell you the baby slider turtles are “legal” by pointing to their license on the wall.
No, the sale of baby turtles with shells less than four inches long is illegal in the United States. This ban was implemented in 1975 to prevent the spread of salmonella. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces this ban due to the public health risk associated with these small turtles.
Project 2025’s document, “Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise,” states the project wants to: “Improve military recruiters’ access to secondary schools and require completion of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)—the military entrance examination—by all students in schools that receive federal funding.”
*Most MAGAt spawn probably go to public school. Hmmm, if the voucher system allows folks to send kids to private/religious schools, they are then getting federal funding and would get tested, too…but if the Dept. of Education shuts down federal funding, then nobody gets tested for the military…? It doesn’t mention a draft, just a test, but why test if you don’t intend to use the results?
The NFT market experienced a significant decline after its peak in 2021, with trading volumes dropping over 97% by 2022 due to market saturation, scams, and a loss of investor confidence. As of 2024, NFT sales have drastically decreased, with monthly artwork NFT sales falling by over 98% compared to their peak. -ai
*Speaking of scams and schemes. I was thinking about crypto crap and suddenly remembered the NFT craze, which seemed as constructed of spit and balsa wood as does crypto world.
thanks, jack, a welcome bit of sunday serenity on day 1 of another endless war in the mideast
Attribution: ARMAGEDDONISTS WAR by Marian Kamensky, Austria
I asked Alexa if we’re at war. She gave me the same answer we usually get from the White House.
on fox at around 5:00 a.m.
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has the latest on the conflict with Iran on Fox News.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-iran-strikes-meet-bipartisan-blowback-in-congress-over-war-powers/ar-AA1HaJfb?ocid=BingNewsSerp
Thanks, Jack……this one I play again tonight.
nothing like a piano solo to sort things out, thanks jack
Saturday night so his lickspittles can go out and flood the zone on Sunday tv.
All this bombs-away hysteria reminds me of “Shock and Awe”.
Didn’t that turn out well.
A bit of light thinking has not helped find any logical reason for what the stupidest person not in a grave did. Direct reactions will be scary. I would not fly for a while. I would avoid any public crowds. I would not go near D.C., and many more fun things.
The mangomoron is like the kid in the playground who will do what the bully whispers in his ear. Right now we are going to have some feedback from the actions of a very stupid person.
Finally, little KGB man puttie already told krasnov to not push the button. Stupid went rogue. What will puttie do to punish him? The administration is full of Russian sympathizers, a few might be more than spies. Sfb should be careful around stairs and windows.
BB, in your opinion what does putie do now that he’ll have fewer iranian drones at his disposal to leash on ukraine? will he feign some sort of support for iran or will he sit back and enjoy the show knowing russian oil supplies will now be in greater demand?
All we can say is the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior without intervention.
They are all in cahoots.
Early start on Nature since I’ve missed it for two weeks…
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maga-rivals-kick-start-race-to-be-president-as-trump-announces-war/ar-AA1HbP60?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=0e3614ab2bbd44e98088b3919845b086&ei=18
What I notice is a lack of any evidence of the destruction Dumbass and his Brylcreamed SecDef claim from the raid. You telling me we didn’t have at least 3 F35s or retasked satellites rigged to collect visual evidence of the damage? Bullshit. Even Shrub had realtime recordings of the shock and awe show.
Ivy, more nature for you to enjoy from today’s
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/jun/20/week-in-wildlife-acrobatic-dolphins-a-lost-baby-raccoon-and-a-pair-of-bambis
the caption for one of the article’s many photos: Locked out … a scared and wet baby raccoon was found on a doorstep in Belchertown, Massachusetts, US. The raccoon was warmed up and taken to Leyden wildlife rehabilitation centre
Photograph: Belchertown Animal Control/SWN
3526 (1)
Thanks, Pat. Nature restores and revives. 🙏
patd – Russia had been building the drones in their plants for a while with the planning for Iran to be put out of commission. The immediate impact is Russia will have to cut back and not send The bombs hit three locations that worked with nuclear material and not other stuff. The Israeli attacks did damage but I don’t have any reports of the full impact. One of so many problems is the lack of reliable information. Osint can only get us so far.
Thank you, Jack
A beautiful palate cleanser to get the taste of war out of our mouths.
Act of war is not war?
Disingenuous dishonesty is JD’s calling card.
today’s meme…
Pogeot – the U.S. may not see the satellites images, there is little to see for damages. The bombs hit and went Boom. Nothing for sfb showtime to back up his idiot statement about total destruction.
Maybe Iran will release something of dust on tables. From reports iran emptied the plants last week. The plants were built to withstand any overhead attack.
Not sure where the family MAGAts get their intel but “Iranian drones and missiles are really slow.”
Iran has hypersonic missiles. Not sure how “really slow” their drones are, but Iran gave their blueprints to Russia to build their own (and to North Korea, allegedly), but who is telling them that Iran isn’t well-armed?
Some Repugz in Congress are lining up behind Orange Adolf. Despicable.
I wouldn’t put it past the Russians to use this to 24A Taco Don. Jose D. Vance is looking particularly smug. Something is afoot.
Anyway, there’s nothing to take the attention away from extra-judicial kidnappings, a budget bill that will hurt everyone who isn’t wealthy while still exploding the deficit, and the specter of the Epstein tapes being released, like unilaterally attacking another nation without congressional approval.
JD furrowed his brow severely like real men do!
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-18/iran-nuclear-infrastructure-location-of-enriched-uranium-stocks-uncertain
*And, after the boom-booms were dropped, Irans says they missed because they had already moved nuclear stockpiles.
***
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/22/world/israel-iran-us-trump
President Trump asserted that Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities were “completely and totally obliterated” by American strikes. But this month, Iran claimed that it had another enrichment site “in a secure and invulnerable location,” with installation of centrifuges to begin immediately.
The announcement, by the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, came on June 12 — immediately after Iran was censured by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors for failing to meet its obligations for transparency under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
In the three days prior to the U.S. strikes, a flurry of abnormal activity was observed near an entrance tunnel at Iran’s Fordo nuclear site, according to satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies, a satellite technology company. On June 19, the analyst said that 16 cargo trucks were positioned near an entrance tunnel. The following day, these had moved northwest away from the site, but other trucks and bulldozers were visible near the entrance. An analysis by the Open Source Centre in London had suggested Iran may have been preparing the facility for a strike.
*Do not kick a hornet’s nest unless you have a full can of Hot Shot…and be prepared to get stung, anyway.
I predicted exactly this clusterfuck of an administration almost to the item in 2016 for Trump’s first term, except there were bulwarks and stewards in place to prevent it, so dipshit couldn’t pull any off it off
It’s the end of the America you knew because they threw it away, and it’s the voters’ fault- we warned them so accurately and so often about who this guy was they called it a “syndrome”
They knew who he was and they voted for him anyway
“ Irans says they missed because they had already moved nuclear stockpiles.”
Trump is so fucking stupid he gave them notice, because he wants to act like the tough guy he isn’t, and where’s the fun in not threatening first
can you imagine how many sources Trump
compromised when he said we know were Iran‘s leaders are
I promise you the first thought they had was “well then how does he know” as they looked around the room
not like he gives a fuck all about all the work put into building intelligence relationships, and all the risks people took to build them- we all exist to please his whims
Anon, They voted for him because he was that way.
there will come a day when no one will understand how he got elected because no one will claim they voted for him
We have their photos at the rallies, just like crowd-faces at lynchings of the past.
Dodo was goaded by chicken-memes of recent weeks.
Earlier this a week, a co-worker of mine who is from Cuba was notified that due to the government law changes her work visa is no longer acceptable. This also means she can’t work anywhere else right now. She and her family came over here legally a few years ago. But she, her husband and her adult son, who all work for the same company and plant that I do, are now no longer able to work there. Plus, she was told that she can no longer drive until her visa issue is cleared up. She basically speaks 99% Spanish, so another co-worker had to read the letter that work gave her the other day. So, there was a lot of crying on that day. She gave hugs to us all as she left work that day. I have picked up quite a bit of Spanish these days, so I often make jokes in Spanish and use Spanish when I can to include her in conversations. She is a very nice person and a very good worker. There’s no getting around how much this sucks for her and her family. I see all that is happening with immigrants and I think to myself, “It’s all different when something bad happens to someone you care about.”
“ Dodo was goaded by chicken-memes”
yup, all that TACO shit was too clever by half
It wasn’t only the taco shit…. it was also making fun of that we’d all heard the “I’ll let you know in 2 weeks” shit.
He has all the maturity of the average 6 yr old…
https://www.alternet.org/trump/trump-asbestos/
“Trump himself wrote in his 1997 book Art of the Comeback that he believed asbestos bans were a conspiracy ‘led by the mob, because it was often mob-related companies that would do the asbestos removal.’”
The majority of asbestos imported into the U.S. comes from Brazil, but about a quarter comes directly from Russia, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Russia is the top global producer of asbestos.
“Trump’s support for asbestos’” Ars Technica adds, “has been welcomed in Russia, a primary asbestos supplier to the US. In 2018, a Russian asbestos company began marketing asbestos with Trump’s face and a seal reading ‘Approved by Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States.’”
“The Trump administration isn’t just going after ‘regulations,’ they’re going after your health. Who benefits from bringing back cancer-causing asbestos? Russia,” noted U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM).
“It’s another pro-Putin policy from Trump. Russia is a major asbestos producer,” wrote Courier Newsroom correspondent Allan Piper.
“What is this—Make Asbestos Great Again?” snarked former U.S. Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/iranian-foreign-minister-to-meet-with-putin-following-u-s-strikes-242053701506
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin after U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
*Donny Dumbass really stepped in it.
Make Asshats Go Away
THE KING KICKS BUTT!
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8ruWvK4/
yeah i’m sure we had the same simultaneous thought of “oh no, what are y’all doing” about the taunting of trump, RR, but we can’t control a billion monkeys on a hillion typewriters, can we?
The nazis are so good at exploiting that phenomenon
We’re the new 1930’s Germany, the whole world is now thinking, “what are we going to do about those assholes?”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-anti-terror-chief-thomas-fugate-22-ripped-as-iran-vows-vengeance/
The qualifications of a 22-year-old Trump loyalist leading counterterrorism efforts across the nation have drawn fresh criticism after Iran vowed payback for U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities.
Thomas Fugate, a former Trump campaign worker, is leading the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships—a division of the Department of Homeland Security that oversees terrorism prevention, ProPublica reported earlier this month.
He is a former gardener and grocery store clerk who graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio just 12 months ago.
The Republicans Against Trump X account added in a post, “As major U.S. cities brace for possible terror attacks in response to the strikes on Iran, just a reminder of who Trump put in charge of terror prevention. God help us all.”
*I know everyone is like ‘no more old men in power,’ but this seems like an over-correction.
the same deliberate mismanagement technique was employed in corporate America 20 years ago to drive companies in the ground so they could loot them
One does not install obviously unqualified people into an organization that one wants to succeed
https://www.newsweek.com/iran-parliament-vote-close-straits-hormuz-us-attacks-2088968
…the Iranian Parliament has voted in support of closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil transit chokepoints, according to media reports.
Around 20 percent of global oil trade passes through the Strait. Some experts have said that if Iran were to cut off access to the Strait, it could spike oil prices by 30 to 50 percent immediately, with gas prices likewise rising by as much as $5 per gallon.
*But I am “overreacting,” because Iran sends 90% of its oil to China and gasoline hasn’t gone up today. FFS! But there “could be a war.” FFFS!
yeah, Iran trying to close that strait equals war, our military doesn’t keep it open for nothing
your brother sounds uniquely stupid
tell him I said so
I would be erecting a tent 5 1/2 acres away from him right now
speaking of stupid:
irony lost
Iran’s threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — where 30% of the world’s oil moves.
GAS WAR? We’ve handed them the next move.
📺 Plain Thoughts now live:
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5349889-neocons-and-hawks-play-dangerous-games-while-gabbard-and-carlson-remind-us-of-risk/
Earlier this week, Politico ran a piece headlined, “Inside the MAGA vs. hawk battle to sway Trump on bombing Iran.” The article begins, “An influential group of GOP hawks has launched a behind-the-scenes lobbying offensive pressing President Donald Trump to not only back off his administration’s quest for a nuclear deal with Iran, but greenlight an attack on Tehran by Israel.”
This group was not only lobbying Trump to give the “wink and nod” to Israel to attack, but worse, were trying to scuttle the president’s ongoing negotiations to get a nuclear deal with Iran and to bring peace to the region.
Lobbying against the elimination of a nuclear threat and against peace. The world has surely turned upside down.
For years, various hawks and neocons have been claiming that “Iran is just weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.” No sane person wants Iran to get a nuclear weapon. But at some point, the Chicken Little “sky is falling” cries must be questioned.
Tucker Carlson decided to question them in a very big and public way. Carlson wrote in a post on X, “There is zero credible intelligence that suggests Iran is anywhere near building a bomb or has plans to. None. Anyone who claims otherwise is ignorant or dishonest … there are very few Trump voters who’d support a regime change war in Iran. Donald Trump has argued loudly against reckless lunacy like this.
*ps – This article was prior to last night, as you can see by the paragraph below. Tucker, Russian asset that he seems to be, now stands alone.
The “madness” just got exponentially dialed up. Our “fear” has increased. Trump, Gabbard and Carlson are on the correct side of this issue.
lol the most sensible conservatives are the kooks
When Adolf told journalists they weren’t safe talking to him, it wasn’t another threat to the media. SFB has been told Iran wants to get him, and whether or not it was true the other day, it’s most definitely true now.
He looked oddly subdued during last night’s ~victory~ speech.
Craig – Stay home, unless you need to do a Safeway run. Off-hour shopping; no crowds.
New nickname. Something to pass the time while we wait.
Concerns me for the protest in DC on the 4th of July. Perfect opportunity for tRUMPco to do something awful, blame Iran, and declare martial law.
Ain’t no one coming to save the day BiD so if you’re that concerned, make preparations
spontaneous is fun too i guess 🤷♂️
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/politics/us-citizens-fleeing-iran-difficulties
Unlike in Israel, where the US is working to establish transportation options out of the country for the estimated hundreds of thousands of Americans there, no such options are available for US citizens in Iran. The US does not have a diplomatic presence there.
“We do not anticipate offering direct US government assisted departure from Iran,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce noted at a press briefing Friday.
The situation report described some Americans facing difficulties leaving Iran.
“Security alerts also note Americans seeking to depart should be prepared to encounter checkpoints and questioning from authorities,” it states. “Numerous US citizens have described delays and harassment along their exit route.”
It also notes that two Americans were reportedly detained while attempting to depart the country.
One source trying to get a US citizen family member out of Iran expressed frustration at the State Department earlier this week, saying the agency seemed to defer everything to seemingly overwhelmed US embassies.
Craig, your Thoreau tee shirt message is great.
Ha. Ivy, didn’t realize that’s what I was wearing. Probably should pay attention to that in future
The debate is over.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/opinion/trump-king-george.html
Craig, but that would contradict Thoreau.
(I read somewhere his mom supplied fresh laundry for him at the cabin.)
your wizard robe is a win all day
Ha! Ivy, Have you seen the Apple TV show “Dickinson”? It’s really good, and John Mulaney played Thoreau. I had no idea that he was actually mommyed; I thought it was creative writing.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-urges-china-dissuade-iran-closing-strait-hormuz-2025-06-22/
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Rubio’s comments on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo” show came after Iran’s Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas flows.
“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” said Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser.
“If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours.”
*And yet, it’s Rubio who is crawling to China for help. It’s almost like they didn’t think this through.
more irony is the greatest threat to Israel is Benjamin Netanyahu
Hilarious, BID! I may have to break down and subscrible to Apple.
Donald J. Trump
@realDonald Trump
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!!!
*Wow, Adolf’s hubris and stupidity are off the charts. Has it occurred to him that it might be the Ayatollah who actually MAGA?
Ivy – The first episode is probably free. (That’s how they get ya.). I bought Peacock for the year, just to see the SNL concert. There was a deal; $30/one year. Now, I’m watching Resident Alien, and they have some other things that are OK. After the 4th season of Ted Lasso comes out next year, I’ll switch to Apple and catch up on new stuff & rewatch old stuff. Apple gave everyone free TV during lockdown, so I had the first season (or two?) of Dickinson to occupy my mind.
Slow Horses on appletv is fun, keystone cops spy shit
My brothers are trying to talk us into the V See Box.
We’re waiting and seeing how well they end up liking it themselves.
A few thoughts on Juneteenth
I was not aware of a Juneteenth holiday until I moved to California and met someone from Texas. She was explained it. The University of Wisconsin, the Canton Ohio city schools made no mention of it. Trump is now trying to end it and it trying to remove. Harvey Milk’s name from the airport Let’s remember this so when the giant orange asshole is out of office that we remove all traces. Of him and not allow him a library by by no B guy
Trump just floated “Regime Change” in Iran—with a slogan.
MIGA = Make Iran Great Again?
We’ve seen this movie. It ends in more dictators.
“My brothers are trying to talk us into the V See Box.“
just get a roku stick, $50 for the good one, comes with 3 month ApplTV trial
(“the good one” = the remote controls your tv volume and power also)
OK, i looked up the VC box. It’s a scam to make streaming seem complicated for old people. Just got a Roku stick. It’s super easy and a sixth of the price of that VC box.
correction: an eighth of the price
maybe vcbox has pirated programming that they’re not promoting deliberately I don’t know
I once had a front row seat to weekly Death to the Shah marches.
Lil’ Marco seems to have misplaced his flag pin.
That’s what we’re thinking but they’re all having a great time with it. Some of them are tech savvy. We’re stalling, plus we’re lazy and resistant to change until forced into it.
One of the biggest misconceptions of Henry David Thoreau was that he was hermit. Not so…. he built his cabin on the end of Walden Pond on land that his good friend Ralph Emerson owned. He generally walked to town most days. And yes…. his family owned a pencil factory and he occasionally worked in it.
I know this because Rick and I used to belong to the Thoreau Society. We’ve been to Concord and the surrounding area many times.
That’s great, Renee! We’d love to know more.
ok looks like vseebox is indeed pirated programming that the company then charges a reduced rate to access which is all profit since they stole it:
https://www.reddit.com/r/LinusTechTips/comments/1hgqfr1/how_is_a_vseebox_legal/
malware potential is a concern also, i honestly wouldn’t use wifi at their house
avoid that product
i will happily promote Roku products gratis if it prevents any of you from getting hacked, scammed, or worse
Craig – I’m enjoying the political clips. You were the only one in MSNBC saying/seeing things differently than the others. It’s why I found my way here.
Ivy – Zosia Mamet as Louisa May Alcott also makes an interesting appearance in “Dickinson,” and now I wonder if how she’s characterized is also more historical than creative license.
i think using cooking to bring people to the message is a good idea 👍
maybe your finest 🤷♂️
it’s the kind of stuff liberals need to do instead of just constant nattering of which I am as guilty of as every other liberal
listen my people you need to be super sharp about not getting scammed these days because the Trump administration is gutting regulation. They will not help you.
It is a land of wolves now
Good to know, anon. I’ve learned not to try to “warn” them about anything. Like mostly everything else, we see stuff differently. More will be revealed…
…of course, if they bring it up again, I will be glad to tip them off.
Thanks, BID. Very intriguing. Always been fond of Emily.
It’s like at the beach shops when they try to tell you the baby slider turtles are “legal” by pointing to their license on the wall.
But who’s going to enforce that now?
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/project-2025-high-school-military-exam/
Project 2025’s document, “Mandate for Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise,” states the project wants to: “Improve military recruiters’ access to secondary schools and require completion of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)—the military entrance examination—by all students in schools that receive federal funding.”
*Most MAGAt spawn probably go to public school. Hmmm, if the voucher system allows folks to send kids to private/religious schools, they are then getting federal funding and would get tested, too…but if the Dept. of Education shuts down federal funding, then nobody gets tested for the military…? It doesn’t mention a draft, just a test, but why test if you don’t intend to use the results?
The NFT market experienced a significant decline after its peak in 2021, with trading volumes dropping over 97% by 2022 due to market saturation, scams, and a loss of investor confidence. As of 2024, NFT sales have drastically decreased, with monthly artwork NFT sales falling by over 98% compared to their peak. -ai
*Speaking of scams and schemes. I was thinking about crypto crap and suddenly remembered the NFT craze, which seemed as constructed of spit and balsa wood as does crypto world.
NEW THREAD