The Truly Mad Bomber but an Upset in NYC

Iran as Hiroshima, and our usual cartoons.

Jun 25, 2025

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Lot to get to today, as John Oliver puts it every week, for better and worse, so it no particular order…

Upset primary win by a democratic socialist over Cuomo in NYC:

Fun, brief take on reports that Trump’s staff meeting to launch Iran bombing run could have been predicted by charting takeout orders at local pizza shops:

Meanwhile, Trump endorsed a parody claiming success for his mission, inspired by John McCain’s old “bomb, bomb Iran” chant and set to the music from the early 1960s hit (later covered by the Beach Boys), “Barbara Ann.”

CBS Poll shows lack of public endorsement for Trump’s bunker busting of Iran, and also indicates how out of step with party members the Democrats’ national leadership is in not opposing it (and no doubt other issues relating to Bibi and Gaza ) more strongly.

Finally, we have Trump’s distasteful (and wrong) declaration today about the bunker busting, "I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war, this ended the war." Since I am an expert on this historical issue (at least), I could write a whole essay on this, and might, but for now I must point to just a one of several profound differences: In the latest conflict, it was Israel that started the war (and with a “sneak attack”). But similarly to Hiroshima and especially Nagasaki, there are many reasons to suggest that the bombing of Iran, against a foe already reeling, was only part of what “ended the war.”