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Mutually assured destruction as a deterrent against use of nuclear weapons has undoubtedly been a crucial reason why they haven't been used. Would a nuclear Iran, if it continued as the present theocracy, be dissuaded from using nuclear weapons because of the fear of reprisal? It's a critical question.

On March 18, 2026, the House of Representatives voted on H.J. Res. 139, a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget. The roll call was 211-207. Every Republican voted yes. Every Democrat voted no, save one — a defection that will presumably not be celebrated at the next caucus retreat. Under suspension of the rules, passage required 291 votes. The final count was 80 votes short. This is not a near miss. It is a structural diagnosis rendered as a procedural vote.AdvertisementThe same week, gross national debt crossed $39 trillion — $39,016,762,910,245.14 on March 17. That milestone arrived five months...

Sixty years ago, I first gazed out on the Strait of Hormuz from the Musandam peninsula of Oman. I was there as private secretary to my godfather, Selwyn Lloyd, who had been Britain’s foreign secretary during the Suez Crisis. The previous evening our host, Sultan Said bin Taimur, the ruler of Oman for nearly 40 years, commented gloomily: ‘When two fish are fighting in these waters, the British are behind it.’ I estimate that I must have made at least 250 visits to the Gulf states in the intervening six decades. The key question which would surely now be asked...

Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) said Wednesday he will not support the U.S.-Israeli military offensive in Iran after the conflict reaches 60 days without congressional approval. Curtis wrote in the Salt Lake City-based media outlet Deseret News that the War Powers Resolution of 1973 limits the president’s period of time to respond to “emerging threats.” He called the conflict with Iran nothing new, “a long-standing, well-organized and well-funded campaign against American lives and interests.” “At the same time, here in America, constitutional limits are in place to temper the president from unilateral authority,” Curtis wrote. “I support the president’s actions taken...

@darrengrimes Mad Miliband genuinely believes that countries are looking at the UKs sky high energy prices in some sort of amazement. Is he really that delusional?

TousiTV has breaking news that Tehran,Mashdad, and Shiraz have been captured by Ant-Islamic Iranians.

There's a new twist in the case surrounding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk ... new legal documents claim the bullet used to commit the crime does not match the rifle tied to suspect Tyler Robinson, TMZ has learned. According to the legal docs obtained by TMZ, Robinson's defense team argues there’s a discrepancy between the ballistic evidence and the weapon prosecutors say is connected to Robinson ... who's facing multiple charges -- including aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury -- in Charlie's slaying.

Fox News host Mark Levin argued for the White House to deploy "specialized" U.S. ground troops in Iran to secure Tehran's enriched uranium stockpiles, shortly after President Donald Trump urged members of the public to tune into his show late Saturday. The U.S. has sent thousands of elite soldiers and Marines to the Middle East in recent days, widely seen as a sign the White House could greenlight select ground operatio1s on Iranian soil and escalate the conflict with Tehran. Trump has not yet approved ground operations in Iran, according to U.S. media reports. "Why would we need troops on...

@RepNancyMace Just walked out of a House Armed Services briefing on Iran. Let me repeat: I will not support troops on the ground in Iran, even more so after this briefing. @RepNancyMace The justifications presented to the American public for the war in Iran were not the same military objectives we were briefed on today in the House Armed Services Committee. This gap is deeply troubling. The longer this war continues, the faster it will lose the support of Congress and the American people. @RepNancyMace Washington’s war machine is hard at work. They are try to drag us into Iran...

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fully intends to remain in her position despite rumors that she is planning to resign from President Donald Trump's administration in protest of the Iran war. Right-wing activist Laura Loomer announced on social media Thursday evening that Gabbard was preparing to resign, citing a member of the director's political staff as a source. She advocated that President Trump fire Gabbard before she could resign. But a senior administration official told the Daily Mail that Loomer’s claim was ‘total bull****.’ A spokesperson for the Director of National Intelligence also pushed back against the online rumors....

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is viewed unfavorably by 61% of voters, according to a new statewide poll conducted by Impact Research. The poll suggested that only 34% of voters viewed him favorably, with 57% of respondents claiming they are "looking to vote for someone else." "Senator Graham is in serious political trouble, and this poll confirms what South Carolinians already know — they're ready for change," said Dr. Annie Andrews. "I'm running because working families in this state deserve a senator who fights for them, not one who's spent decades in Washington collecting corporate checks and...

...So just to be clear: I don't "fear" that it "might" end badly. Because, since VJ Day, what American war doesn't? The only difference this time is the potential scale of disaster. As I noted at the beginning of Wednesday's Clubland Q&A: Population of Syria in 2011: 22 million; Population of Libya in 2011: 6.3 million; Population of Iraq in 2003: 26.8 million; Population of Afghanistan in 2001: 20-25 million; Population of Vietnam in 1965: 37 million; Population of North Korea in 1950: 11 million. Oh, and, for those weary of that grim roll-call, let's throw in: Population of the...

@Acyn Boebert: I am so tired of spending money elsewhere. I am tired of the industrial war complex getting all of our hard earned tax dollars. I have folks in Colorado who can't afford to live. We need America first policies right now.

President Donald Trump’s top official overseeing disaster response insists he was once teleported to a Georgia Waffle House.Gregg Phillips, appointed in December to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Office of Response and Recovery, made the claim during a January 2025 episode of the podcast Onward, CNN reported on Friday in a deep-dive profile of the top official.“Teleporting is no fun,” Phillips said on the podcast, co-hosted by conservative activist Catherine Engelbrecht. “It was real.”Phillips, a longtime conservative activist who repeatedly shared conspiracy theories on social media before being appointed to a top FEMA position, described an incident in...

Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to the U.S. under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence information with Iran, such as the precise coordinates of U.S. military assets in the Middle East, if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia.Two people familiar with the U.S.-Russia negotiations said that such a proposal was made by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Trump administration envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during their meeting last week in Miami.The U.S. rejected the proposal, the people added. They, like all other officials cited in this article, were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of...

President Donald Trump's approval rating has sunk to the lowest ever, with voters expressing displeasure with the war with Iran and the cost of living. A new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll found that Trump's approval rating has slipped to 42 percent.That's down from the 44 percent approval he received on March 3, just days into the Iran conflict. Trump held a 48 percent approval rating as recently as late January. Trump's performance in the Middle East is partially driving the disappointment. Twenty-eight percent of respondents cited the war as the top reason they disapprove of the job the President is...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said that overthrowing Iran’s regime will require a “ground component” along with a revolution, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with the Middle Eastern country nears the start of its fourth week. “It is often said that you can’t win –– you can’t do revolutions from the air, that is true,” Netanyahu said in a press conference in Jerusalem. “You can’t do it only from there, you can do a lot of things from the air and we’re doing –– but there has to be a ground component, as well. “There are many possibilities for...

Washington — Pentagon officials have made detailed preparations for deploying U.S. ground forces into Iran, multiple sources briefed on the discussions told CBS News. Senior military commanders have submitted specific requests aimed at preparing for such an option as President Trump weighs moves in the U.S.-Israel-led conflict with Iran, the sources said. Mr. Trump has been deliberating whether to position ground forces in the region, sources said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. It was unclear under what circumstances he would authorize the use of troops on the ground."No, I'm not putting troops anywhere,"...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) late Tuesday said President Trump has “no reason” to invade Tehran but urged the president to “take” Kharg Island to cripple the Iranian regime’s economy. “No, we’re not going to evade Iran,” Graham told Fox News’s Sean Hannity. “There’s no reason to, we’re going to destroy their ability to hurt us, have a nuclear weapon, build missiles to hit America and terrorize the region.” “Kharg Island — 90 percent of their income comes from oil and gas revenue,” he continued, adding that “100 percent of that revenue generating capabilities on a single island, Mr. President, take...

Vice President JD Vance is projecting loyalty to Donald Trump as the president leads the United States into the type of war the Iraq veteran didn’t want — and as the new conflict complicates Vance’s political future. Vance allies have played down the impact the operation in Iran could have on his presidential ambitions, insisting that a mission involving the U.S. military only for a matter of weeks won’t stay in voters’ memories. People close to the vice president have also conceded to The Washington Post, however, that a months-long conflict will pose a problem for whoever is the next...