Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
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The Iranians, descendants of ancient Persia who brought the world chess and distinct musical syncopations, are not a stupid people.

Years ago an Iranian professor who studied and taught political science in Texas would appear on al-Jazeera's "Inside Story" from Iran. He was, incidentally, a loyal Dallas Cowboys fan. People like him advise Tehran about America and our election cycles.

Like 2024, 2026 may also be decided by America and Israel's Islamophobic misadventures in the Middle East.

Iran's multi-decade isolation by the West and constant threat of attack from Israel have informed their military-industrial complex to stockpile drones, rockets, and missiles. Iran produces so many drones that they sell them to Russia.

Without access to the numbers, I daresay Iran can probably continue launching drones and rockets at targets throughout the Middle East and outlast US and Israeli interceptor systems. Israel already reported a shortage of Arrow-3 interceptors.

Iran will continue counterattacking to hurt the Western economies (which they were kicked out of anyway).

Nota Bene: The Bosnian Serb Army was initially running roughshod over the Bosnian Army in the 1992-95 Civil War, suffering fewer casualties than the Bosniaks. After the BiH Army was armed with Western armaments and the Bosnian Croats allied with them, Bosnian Serb casualties started to mount and the war started to become unpopular with Serbian families back home. This helped bring them to the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA).

As a DPA Compliance Monitor, I met a Bosnian Serb military veteran who rolled up his shirt and showed me several bullet hole scars on his torso, just like the Preacher in the film Pale Rider. I was astounded he was alive. This Serb was the angriest man I ever came across during my several missions to the Balkans.

"Look! Look at me! And still the Bosnian Serb government doesn't send me money or someone to help me after all the promises they made to me and everything I went through! Look at my hut! See how I live? Ptooey!"

image.shutterstock.com

Analysis of the SAVE Act. Quite good:

Everyone keeps arguing about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, the SAVE Act. Supporters say it's about protecting elections. Critics say it's about suppressing voters. Before we get buried under partisan slogans, it's worth asking a basic question: what problem is this actually trying to solve?

Voting as a non-citizen is already illegal in the United States. It carries serious criminal penalties. Investigations across multiple states and election cycles have consistently found that it almost never happens. Yet here we are talking about rewriting federal election law to stop it. That alone should make people pause.

Because in American politics there's a pattern that shows up again and again. Whenever participation in democracy expands, someone suddenly discovers a new "crisis" that requires tightening the gates. After Reconstruction the panic was voter fraud. The result was literacy tests and poll taxes. After the civil rights movement opened the ballot to millions through the Voting Rights Act of 1965, new administrative barriers began appearing across the country.

None of those policies said you cannot vote. They said bring this document. Fill out this paperwork. Stand in this line. Come back tomorrow. Prove yourself again. On paper those requirements sound reasonable. In practice they always land hardest on the same people: working class voters, rural voters, elderly voters, students, and people whose documents do not perfectly match after things like marriage or divorce.
There's another piece of this conversation that rarely gets said out loud. A large portion of the modern American right does not actually have a favorable opinion of democracy itself. Spend five minutes in conservative political spaces and you will hear the same phrase repeated constantly: democracy is mob rule. Ask many of the loudest voices pushing these laws to define democracy and they will immediately start explaining why it is dangerous.

Think about how strange that is. The country constantly celebrates freedom and self government, yet a growing political movement openly treats broad participation in elections as something suspicious or threatening. Large electorates are unpredictable. Small electorates are manageable. Reduce participation even slightly across millions of people and you can reshape the political landscape without ever having to openly say you are doing it.

That is why fights over voting rules are never just about procedure. They are fights over power. The real question Americans should be asking is not whether citizenship verification sounds reasonable in theory. Most people would agree that citizens should be the ones voting. The real question is why this issue suddenly becomes urgent whenever political participation expands and the electorate begins to change. Protecting democracy should mean making sure every eligible citizen can vote easily and confidently, not protecting democracy by quietly shrinking it.

*** Israel Top Five Pension Plan in World (Graded A); US Ranked 30 out of 52 (Graded C+) ***

Source: www.benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com

"Dear America:
Thanks for the $317.9 billion dollars of aid since 1948. BTW: Is your social security system solvent? Our's is ranked A in the world. And thanks again for attacking Iran on our behalf. I bet this costs you more Soldiers and money than us."
Signed,
Bibi"

Just listened to a pod interview with Professor Robert Pape (he is an expert on strategy and Iran, so research him for weighing his opinion).

www.youtube.com

He is the author of the Escalation Trap theory.

Essentially, among other very convincing arguments, is that what the author of this OP-ED fails to consider is how little Iran needs to continue with the war.

Basically, if Iran can put up a few drones per day, they can control the strait of Hormuz and thus 20% of the world's oil.

It is physically impossible for America and Israel to stop that militarily.

So, you are left with the air power theory and again, never in the history of air warfare has air power alone led to regime change.

So, this OP-ED is hopium.

James Talarico (D-TX) has a simple message on social media on 28 Feb 2026 four days before his Texas Democratic Party primary win over Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in their race for the US Senate: "No more forever wars." Link: Antiwar Candidates Will Win in 2026

The first American Pope ever, Leo XIV, recently suggested that Christian leaders who start vicious illegal wars ought to go to confession: Link: Faux Christians Start Wars

In 2025, a white supremacist from Texas was arrested for threatening Zohran Mamdani (D-NY), another progressive like James Talarico (D-TX) and Graham Platner (D-ME) that pose a threat to the US military-industrial complex, AIPAC, the well-entrenched status quo, phony Christians, and the ruling oligarchs. Source: "Hope You All Die"

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