War on Iran, War on US Voting Rights, War on Truth

See how Trump — master of the pretext — claims, without evidence, that Iran posed an “imminent danger” and that “voter fraud” is a danger to our elections.

Anything one can say about the attack on Iran will quickly become obsolete. The consequences of this very dangerous gambit will unfold over time, and we can only hope that this may end the long national nightmare of the Iranian people.

But one thing is manifest: Trump did this for political purposes only.

In fact, shortly before Trump let slip the hounds of war, the foreign minister of Oman, mediator in US-Iran talks, went on Face the Nation and stated that a deal was imminent, and that Iran had made a major new concession on use of nuclear fuel.

And claims that Iran was close to producing weapons-grade bomb materials have been disputed by nearly every reliable source and entity. That no single *casus belli *was truly in play was made apparent as the president shifted regularly between stating it was about weapons and about regime change.

Trump clearly did not want a deal with Iran.

He wanted the public adrenaline hit that comes from being “badass.” And there are no limits to what he’s capable of doing in order to, like the Iranian mullahs, stay on top.

Indeed, we’re seeing growing signs that Trump, in classic tyrant mode, *will *try whatever it takes to prevail at home — in the upcoming midterm elections. That seems to have included the mantra George W. Bush privately introduced to his advisers, before 9/11: As Bush’s ghostwriter recounted to me, Bush believed that, to be a successful president, you need a good war.

The reason? The public loved a good, albeit manageable, conflict, and it would cause his poll numbers to surge, giving him a “successful” presidency.

Ironically, in 2012 and 2013, Trump tweeted that then-President Barack Obama would start a war with Iran to help get himself reelected.

As the numbers look increasingly grim for him and MAGA, he’s fiddling with every switch he can get his hands on.

He’s fielding proposals from his friends on a range of schemes. One ally has suggested he issue an executive order claiming that the Chinese interfered with the 2020 election (yes, that election) and will try to influence the midterms, and therefore he finds it necessary to ban vote by mail and the use of electronic voting machines, as well as impose proof of citizenship requirements even stricter than those he’s been trying to ram through Congress.

Were he to be successful with that, it would narrow the public’s options to showing up in person — where aspiring voters would potentially face a gauntlet of obstacles, including a requirement they show hard-to-obtain documents like a passport and a rare form of REAL ID as proof of US citizenship.

Trump’s blatant moves to prevent the increasingly manifest will of the people should of course be challenged at every turn. Surely some of his attempts will be blocked. But probably some will stick. And, in terms of suppressive impact, confusion and intimidation often work as well as outright bans.

Given that possibility, it’s time now to envision numerous scenarios — and plan for all of them, even the worst. That could even mean contending with a pared-down electorate, and thinking through how best to inform and motivate it.

Democrats are showing the discipline to focus on the key issues: the economy and, after that, Trump’s brutal tactics in his immigration clampdown.

But how do you make these seemingly overexposed topics “pop,” especially in this (lack of) “attention economy”? How do you win the propaganda war?

Make it easy. Keep it simple.

It’s surely possible to communicate the rudiments. Here are a few ideas:

• Utilize cartoons, comic books, games, quirky ads, and other modes that people enjoy.
• Feature relatable people making credible, simple points. It ought to be possible to recruit well-known, liked, and trusted figures to make the pitch. Play up the hypocrisy and corruption big-time.

To be sure, some strategists are now saying that there’s an enthusiasm gap and that those opposed to Trump and his agenda are more likely to turn out than those who support it. They figure that the old idea of maximum turnout is not necessarily a good thing.

But abandoning sacred objectives like universal participation has real moral and strategic risks. Aside from just being wrong, it risks failing. Our best bet is to do everything possible to win over everyone who can be won over, which is, it seems, the majority.

I think it’s always best to foster wide participation, especially when accompanied by the abovementioned educational tools, because we’ve been surprised, time and again, how in certain historical epochs even the least engaged and least informed have begun to pay attention.

Once that is taken care of, let’s ramp up the incentives. We know people like stuff. It’s the American way.

In some years, we’ve seen local restaurants and other businesses offering perks if people come in with proof they voted. This year, the public might be enticed to do the right thing with a dazzling array of “temptations for good citizenship.”

The possibilities are endless, but work needs to begin now to ensure that voters see enough reasons to bother voting — especially those for whom Trump alone isn’t reason enough.

Related: Will Senate GOP Kill Filibuster to SAVE Trump?

Attention, Voters

Democratic constituencies cannot take for granted their right to vote remotely or otherwise. (And, by the way, Trump is now calling your right a “privilege.”)

Get registered now. If you need a passport, get it now.

Check on the validity and currency of your registration periodically — especially if you’re in a red state or county — or if Trump is successful in getting the voter files from your state and/or county.

Yes, it’s a pain — but the incomparably greater pain, for the country, would come from turning up to vote and finding your registration has been purged, or mailing in your ballot only to have it rejected because of “problems” with your registration.

Trump has made it clear he is planning to play a very dirty game, so all of those who don’t want his game to succeed will have to up their own game in response, and put in more effort than that to which we all have become accustomed.

Buried Documents, Buried Bodies

After reviewing the latest released documents, New Mexico’s attorney general has reopened an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch. This property is now owned by former Republican Texas state senator and current comptroller candidate Don Huffines, who changed the address and used a shell company to buy it. The state’s Department of Justice wants immediate access to the complete, unredacted federal case files on the ranch — where bodies of Epstein’s victims are rumored to be buried.

One source of the rumor came from an encrypted email, sent to talk show host Eddy Aragon in 2019 from a former staff member of the ranch, who said two foreign girls died of strangulation during “rough, fetish sex” and were buried “somewhere in the hills outside the Zorro.”

He also claimed to have videos depicting sex with minors, as “insurance in case of future litigation against Epstein,” and offered to sell them to Aragon. Aragon forwarded the email to the FBI — and never heard from them again, even though they assured him they would investigate and let him know what they learned.

State lawmakers have established a truth commission that will involve the “collection and preservation of any relevant evidence that remains available” [emphasis added].

Buried bodies, if not destroyed, remain available. And one good way to find them is with aerial ground penetrating radar (GPR). Archaeologists and crime scene investigators have used it successfully to find bodies that had been buried for centuries.

What About William Barr?

As long as we’re digging around in the dirt, I’d like to know more about the abuses that former Attorney General William Barr allegedly witnessed, and possibly participated in, as suggested by this document.

It’s hard to read, but here it is retyped. (NTOC is the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center.)

NTOC filed by [REDACTED] stated Barr and Black were present during abuses. [REDACTED] stated she was at Epstein’s for a model event and ran into Barr who stated he wanted to see her next time he came. At another point, Epstein asked if she had ever met Barr.

When testifying before the House Oversight Committee, Barr, who served in Trump’s first administration, said he was never “told” of any evidence that would link Trump to Epstein’s criminal activity.

The absence of Barr from the current scrum is very telling. Barr’s DOJ raided all of Epstein’s cubbyholes within a day or two of his death and snagged all the blackmailable material Epstein had collected. Where did that all go? What happened when the Biden administration took over the DOJ? Did the Epstein files find their way to Mar-a-Lago? Is that what the decisions of Trump’s always-reliable judge, Aileen Cannon, effectively conceal? Did Barr skim off enough dirt to keep himself “safe”? Is that one reason why he seems to be out of the “conversation” now?

Related: Who Is William Barr? Attorney General’s Unknown Past

Related: The Fog of Epstein

Who Are the Real Criminals?

Given that Trump has hired large numbers of people to track down purportedly “criminal” undocumented immigrants, it’s interesting to learn that Trump’s own personnel show much higher rates of criminality than the immigrants they’re tracking and ejecting.

The Associated Press reviewed crimes committed by ICE agents since 2020 and found that at least two dozen ICE employees and contractors have been charged with crimes that include sexual abuse, violent physical abuse, taking bribes, corruption, and other unspecified offenses.

But that’s nothing compared with this: Garrett M. Graff, editor-in-chief of Washingtonian magazine, performed a comprehensive study on crimes committed by the CBP and concluded:

Criminality is so rampant inside CBP that it has seen one of its own agents or officers arrested every 24 to 36 hours since 2005. … In total, according to CBP’s own discipline reports, over the 20 years from 2005 to 2024 — the last year numbers are available — at least 4,913 CBP officers and Border Patrol agents have been arrested themselves, some multiple times. … The population of CBP agents and officers who have been arrested would make it roughly the nation’s fourth largest police department — equal to the size of the entire Philadelphia police. [Emphasis added.]

And some of these agents appear to have been corrupted by Jeffrey Epstein. The CBP claims to be “uniquely situated to deter and disrupt human trafficking” and, apparently, uniquely situated to do favors for Epstein — like providing expedited screenings in exchange for gifts. *The Guardian *reviewed DOJ files and found that Epstein had personal relationships with six CBP officers. All were involved in facilitating group travel to and from his private island. None of the agents were charged for any crimes related to Epstein.

ICE Agents Grumbling

ICE agents, it turns out, are no happier than the public about what is going on. Among their complaints: no weekends off, no downtime, more work than ever before, poor training, no protection for overtime pay — and no more union. (Their union had become “far left.”) They actually share their grievances on an ICE forum (see this Wired story for more).

But their more damning complaints concern the disgust some of them feel for what they do, or see others do, to please their leaders. Here, verbatim, is a small, but choice, selection:

Led by some of the worst leadership I’ve ever witnessed, from the local level all the way up to the national stage, this agency has managed to turn a righteous mission into a complete clown show.

There was absolutely zero forethought and our Management just rolled over to let BP [Customs and Border Patrol] take over. HUGE mistake, when the nuance of actual targeted enforcement is needed.

The arrest reports are also lies in some, a lot, cases. Lots of false statements at worst, misleading statements at best. Plaintiffs’s lawyers gonna have a field day with lawsuits after Trump leaves.

The stats are complete BS. I don’t know if the administration is aware of this, or are just playing dumb and using the bogus numbers.

This will absolutely kill any morale we had, if any [in response to DHS leadership going after “low hanging fruit” to pump up numbers]. Hey you know what, maybe don’t pull over the car at 7:30 in the morning in front of a school for an administrative arrest, dimwits.

I’m all for removing illegals, but snatching dudes off lawn mowers in Cali and leaving the truck and equipment just sitting there? Definitely not working smarter.

How about the genius who thought it was a great idea to film himself during a vehicle pursuit, while actually trying to PIT the guy — when ICE literally has a no pursuit policy? You can’t make this level of brilliance up. [PIT is a Precision Immobilization Technique which involves side swiping a car to make it swing around and stop.]

It’s fun until you t-bone and wipe out a family doing something you were not only prohibited from doing by policy but were never formally trained to do.

Bovino told them it’s their country and no one can tell them what to do, right?

And, as with the bombing of Iran – where the reported civilian casualties are in the hundreds and mounting – the Trump administration keeps telling the American people: This is what you voted for!

But is it really? Your best chance to make your voice heard will come in the midterm elections. But first you may have to take a stand to guarantee a free and fair ballot.