Wagging the Dogs of War

More commentary, Stpehen and Jimmy, plus the usual cartoons and new Ringo single, and a super fragile Calla.

Yes, it’s still free to subscribe to this nearly daily newsletter, and if you are already a subscriber, let’s hear from you, thanks! Greg Mitchell is the author of more than a dozen books, including award winners and the bestseller “The Tunnels,” and writer/director of four acclaimed films for PBS since 2021. He was senior editor at the legendary Crawdaddy for many years.

Stephen last night….

..and Jimmy.

The priceless and prescient “Wag the Dog” on war planning….or is it “producing”?

Senate Republicans, plus the horrid Fetterman, voted against limiting Trump’s war powers. The House is expected to do the same today.

Politico: ‘We’re in it’: Democrats won’t rule out giving Trump more money for Middle East war

Yet:

Three high-quality polls taken after the United States and Israel launched their attack on Iran on Saturday show that a majority of Americans are not on board with the military action. About 60 percent of Americans disapproved of the attacks, according to a CNN poll conducted immediately after the strikes. Two other polls, by Reuters/Ipsos and The Washington Post, had similar results.

Top NY Times headline--especially given their Iraq history--on their site right now should be: “Trump Lies That Iran Was 2 Weeks from Nuclear Weapon.”

Heather Cox Richardson:

And Democrats continued the trend of the past year, flipping an Arkansas state house seat from Republican to Democratic. David Nir of The Downballot notes that in more than 90 special elections since Trump took office, Democrats have beaten the results of the 2024 presidential election by an average of 13 points.

The Democrats even now have a ray of hope of flipping U.S. Senate seat in Montana after incumbent Sen. Daines suddenly announced he would not run in stunning move right at the deadline. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez responded: “This is bullshit. A Montana Senator is rigging an election and it’s miles beneath the dignity of our democracy.” That’s because he endorsed U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who managed to file—with eight minutes to spare.”

Music Pick

Just announced, a new Ringo album coming, with first cut released this week, again produced by T Bone Burnett.

From Tune to Toons

Ann Telnaes (apologies, I first attributed this to Steve Brodner, even though I knew better) :

Luckovich:

Wuerker:

Goris:

Ohman:

Bramhall:

Loper:

Ohman again:

Photo Finish

Our annual California sojourn led to the usual bounty of Calla Lily photos (not to compare, but my version of Van Gogh’s obsession with sunflowers). So look for some of this year’s examples in the coming days, and as always, with Georgia (O’Keeffe) on my mind.