Think about this truth.
The 2026 National Science Foundation budget is $8.75 billion.
First 6 Days of Iran War Cost U.S. $11.3 Billion, Pentagon Says
David Ho
Anyone who wants to defend our war with Iran needs to justify the expense. The NSF provides a material benefit, discovers new knowledge, and enhances the reputation of our country. It is a net advantage to support the NSF; you could reasonably argue for a different kind of positive investment, an argument that goes on in congress all the time while they hash out the yearly budget.
The Iran war, on the other hand, is an illegal action triggered by one lunatic executive without congressional approval, that is destructive of human life and property, and does not succeed in it’s stated goal of reducing threats to Americans and others. For my selfish fellow citizens, it’s also going to raise the cost of oil. It’s also a war we cannot win, and that’s just the beginning of an escalation that will make that $11.3 billion look like a bargain.
It is a no-brainer to choose between those two alternatives.
Also, it wasn’t long ago that the president raged at a few congresspeople who put out an ad stating that soldiers don’t need to follow illegal orders. That ad did not go far enough. We need to pull a few generals into a courts martial and explain to them that the president does not have the authority to unilaterally tell you to launch your missiles at civilian citizens of a country we are not at war with. You must first be informed by congress that you are at war, which is the minimal requirement before military action can be triggered. Learn to tell the president to shut the fuck up and get authorization first.
The officers that ordered the pushing of the buttons are war criminals, and that’s how history will regard them.
Also, I oppose capital punishment, but I’d reconsider my position for Trump and Hegseth and, hell, the entire presidential cabinet. See how open-minded I am?
I agree… but the same already went to nothing with George Bush and Afghanistan and Iraq. I’m not holding my breath, just hoping we are going to hold out here in Europe…
I often hear this kind of statement about what “we” should be doing, and I never understand what this “we” is supposed to represent.
“We” the nation?
“We” the citizens?
“We” those against the war?
I think behind that “we” hides the divide between those who actually have the authority to make it happen, and no interest and no incentive to make that happen, and those many whose voice can be ignored.
That “we” keeps up the pretense that you have a say in your own government.
It’s a heinous war crime from a criminal administration. Let’s be honest, though, given the chance to do so, Congress would absolutely rubber-stamp it. They are reliable whores for the military-industrial complex, and partisans will break ranks to make sure there’s no way a direct approval could fail. Or, as recently happened, two Republicans defected and voted in favor of a bill expressly forbidding war with Iran, so four Democrats defected in turn and voted against it, ensuring it did not pass.
Too many Democrats, when they bother to voice any opposition to the war with Iran at all, couch their reservations in a couple points of propagandistic cheerleading: “I’m glad the Ayatollah is dead.”, and, “We are bringing freedom and democracy to the people of Iran.” Consent is manufactured this way, and it’s being done by both parties.