Eric Schmitt, et al., of the New York Times have more on the rescue of a downed U.S. airman: “In the end, Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos extracted the officer in a massive operation that involved hundreds of special operations troops and other military personnel. There were no U.S. casualties among the rescue team, Mr. Trump said. All the commandos and the weapons officer returned safely, a senior U.S. military official said. Rescue planes flew the injured airman to Kuwait for medical treatment.... Finding the downed airman, who had been hiding behind enemy lines with little more than a pistol as defense, had been the U.S. military’s highest priority over the last 48 hours. After ejecting from the F-15E, the officer hid in a mountain crevice, his location initially unknown to either Americans trying to rescue him, or Iranians trying to capture him. The C.I.A. initiated a deception campaign to try to confuse Iranian forces, and convince them the airman had already been rescued and was moving out of the country in a ground convoy, a senior administration official said. The agency also ultimately found the airman’s hiding place, passing the information on to the Pentagon, which mounted the rescue operation, the senior administration official said.” ~~~
~~~ Julian Barnes of the New York Times elaborates on the CIA's contribution.
On Easter, the POTUS* Goes Nuts, Invoking Allah in His Promise to Commit Massive War Crimes. Hannah Knowles, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump escalated his threats to target Iran’s infrastructure if it does not open up the Strait of Hormuz, warning the country will be 'living in Hell' in an expletive-filled message on social media Sunday. He later suggested that the United States could target 'every power plant' in the country — an attack that experts warned could amount to war crimes. 'Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,' Trump wrote on ... his social media platform. 'There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell — JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.'... There is little sign Tehran and Washington are close to striking a deal to open the vital shipping route that Iran has effectively closed since the attacks began about five weeks ago.” ~~~
~~~ Here's the headline on a New York Times straight report by Edward Wong: “Trump Revels in Threats to Commit War Crimes in Iran.”
~~~ Joe DePaolo of Mediaite: “Numerous Democratic lawmakers are questioning ... Donald Trump’s mental acuity — and some are even ramping up their calls for him to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment — following his stunning new threat to Iran.... 'These are the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual,' wrote Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in a post on X. 'Congress has got to act NOW. End this war.'... 'If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment,” [Sen. Chris] Murphy [D-Conn.] wrote on X. 'This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more.'” ~~~
~~~ Even MTG Is Stunned. Joe DePaolo of Mediaite: “Former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called out ... Donald Trump’s new threat against Iran in stunning fashion — claiming it shows 'he has gone insane.'... Greene wrote, in a post on X[,] 'Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump’s madness. I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit.'” ~~~
~~~ Paul Krugman: "America as we knew it may end Tuesday." ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE, Back at the Vatican... Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: “Pope Leo XIV used his first Easter speech Sunday to deliver a resounding call for peace in times of renewed war, declaring, 'Let those who have weapons lay them down!... Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!' Leo said. 'Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them! We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people.' The Chicago-born leader ... has amped up his vocal campaign to denounce violence in the Middle East while also seeming to push back against efforts by the Trump administration and its allies to harness religion and God in their framing of politics and war. This Easter is seen as especially portentous for the Vatican and the world’s largest Christian faith. Pope Francis died a day after greeting the crowds in St. Peter’s Square on Easter last year, and a new American pope is now navigating a global landscape upended by a White House that is unleashing military might overseas while embracing a nativist agenda at home — in words and deeds often seen by the Vatican as challenging the tenets of Catholicism.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The New York Times' live updates of developments in the Iran war are here. From the pinned item at 4:00 am ET: “An Air Force officer whose fighter jet had been shot down in Iran was rescued by U.S. Special Operations forces in a risky Saturday night mission..., [Donald] Trump said on social media early Sunday. The rescue followed a life-or-death race between U.S. and Iranian forces that stretched over two days to reach the injured airman, a weapon systems officer, officials said. The operation took commandos deep into enemy territory and involved hundreds of special operations troops.... Finding the downed airman had been the U.S. military’s top priority since Friday, when Iran's military shot down the F-15E Strike Eagle....
“Israel on Saturday struck a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr, a sprawling industrial center in Iran’s southwest that plays a significant role in the country’s economy.... At least five people were killed and 170 others injured in the attack on the major oil industry hub, state media in Iran reported.... After its underground missile bunkers and silos are bombed, Iran digs them out and returns them to operation within hours, according to U.S. intelligence reports.”
Matthew Lee & Konstantin Toropin of the AP: “A U.S. service member who has been missing since Iran shot down a fighter jet has been rescued..., Donald Trump wrote in a social media post early Sunday. A frantic U.S. search-and-rescue operation unfolded after the crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle on Friday, as Iran also promised a reward for anyone who turned in the 'enemy pilot.' A second crew member was rescued earlier.... Trump said that the aviator is injured but 'will be just fine,' adding that the rescue involved 'dozens of aircraft' and that the U.S. had been monitoring his location '24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue.'” ~~~
~~~ Oh, That's Nice. Matt Lavietes of NBC News: "Prediction market platform Polymarket issued an apology for allowing users to place bets on the fate of American pilots aboard a U.S. fighter jet downed over Iran.... Rep. Seth Moulton, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, slammed the market in a post on X, noting that bets were being placed as a dangerous search and rescue operation was ongoing in Iran.... In a reply to Moulton's X post, Polymarket apologized and said it took the market down." Read on; there's more about Polymarket's so-called "integrity standards."
Sean James of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon posted a video of several missiles striking Tehran in a barrage he said .terminated. Iran’s top military leaders. The clip — posted to the president’s Truth Social platform — showed half a dozen big explosions that lit up the pitch black Tehran night, followed by a few smaller explosions. A woman could be heard yelling after one of the strikes, and the faint sound of fighter jets whirring could also be heard in the 67 second clip. 'Many of Iran’s Military Leaders, who have led them poorly and unwisely, are terminated, along with much else, with this massive strike in Tehran!,' Trump captioned the video.” (Also linked yesterday.)
How Trump Handles a Crisis.
Wednesday. They have no antiaircraft equipment. Their radar is 100 percent annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force. -- Donald Trump, speaking of Iran in a speech to the nation, Wednesday
Friday. Farrah Tomazin of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “'With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE. IT WOULD BE A “GUSHER” FOR THE WORLD???' [Donald] Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning.... Hours later, he followed up with ...: 'KEEP THE OIL, ANYONE?' The post came amid news that Iran had shot down an Air Force F-15E fighter jet over the country.... As Iran placed a bounty on the crew, a dramatic search and rescue mission ensued, resulting in one crew member being rescued by American forces. But as the race to find the second airman continued, America’s Commander in Chief was notably silent. [He released a number of other social media posts on various topics: complaining about CROOKED DEMOCRATS; congratulating himself for creating a 'soaring' U.S. economy; wishing everyone a 'happy' Good Friday (MB: it's the most solemn day on the Christian calendar).” (Also linked yesterday.)
Spending Too Much Time with Drunk Pete, on Holy Saturday Trump Declares Holy War. Ryan Mancini of the Hill: Donald “Trump on Saturday warned Iran that 'time is running out' before the U.S. rains 'all hell' down on the Middle East country. 'Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!'” MB That nitwit would-be king means “rain down.” (Also linked yesterday.) Still, this post has to be more about violence than peace talks because ~~~
Hard for Trump to get out of a war that is making so much money for Putin. -- Timothy Snyder, on BlueSky (thanks to RAS for the link)
It's surprising, but heartening, to see a scholar more cynical than I. -- Marie ~~~
~~~ AND This. Drones Я Us. Bernard Condon of the AP: “A drone maker backed by ... Donald Trump’s two oldest sons is trying to sell to Gulf countries while they are under attack by Iran and dependent on the U.S. military led by their father. The sales drive by Florida-based Powerus – which announced a deal last month to bring aboard Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. – positions the company to potentially benefit from a war that their father began. 'These countries are under enormous pressure to buy from the sons of the president so he will do what they want,' said Richard Painter, a former chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush. 'This is going to be the first family of a president to make a lot of money off war — a war he didn’t get the consent of Congress for.' Powerus co-founder Brett Velicovich told The Associated Press that the company is making sales pitches that include drone demonstrations in several Gulf countries to show how its defensive drone interceptors could help them ward off Iranian attacks.” Thanks to RAS for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.)
Update. Paul Krugman: "That ['Glory be to GOD!' post] sounds almost as if Pete Hegseth wrote [it].... The misspellings and all do look like Trump in his own hand, but it feels like this is the influence of our religious fanatic Secretary of War, or as people in the Pentagon apparently call him the Secretary of War Crimes. This is really bad.... It’s clear that Trump ... is aware of how completely he screwed things up, that he’s aware that he has basically led America into an epic strategic defeat. I don’t think he cares about that from the point of view of America, but he is realizing what this has done to him — ... and certainly to the extent that he cares about his legacy, it’s not going to be his wonderful ballroom. It’s going to be that he’s the man who single-handedly led America to one of its greatest defeats ever. But now what?... It sounds like he’s unable to accept it and that he is going to try and do something truly awful in an attempt to somehow redeem himself and the situation.... If we had a functioning democracy, this would be 25th Amendment time.... Anyway, I’m scared. I wonder very much what the next few days will bring because this is looking like basically a president who is losing it and unfortunately losing it in a way that can really make the world a much worse place very fast." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Krugman is right. In the movies, this is where the guy who has fucked up everything puts the gun in his mouth & pulls the trigger. But this is real life, and the guy who has fucked up everything is a raving mad narcissist who can never admit to himself that he has fucked up everything. So he is going to blow up something that is not his own head.
Dan Diamond & Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge’s order to halt the construction of ... Donald Trump’s White House ballroom, arguing in an emergency motion that pausing the $400 million project would raise national security risks. The motion, which was filed Friday night in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, argues that U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s 'shocking, unprecedented, and improper injunction' to stop construction would imperil Trump, his family and White House staff. The administration asked for Leon’s order to be stayed pending appeal and said it would seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court if necessary.” (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is of course an "emergency" of Trump's own making. Reportedly, there had been a bunker below the East Wing since 1942. Without obtaining any permissions to rebuild or remodel that bunker, Trump demolished it, along with the entire East Wing & the colonnade leading to it. ~~~
~~~ A Donald J. Trump Production, Starring Donald J. Trump, Written, Produced & Directed by Donald J. Trump, Star of Stage, Screen & Television. Arden Farhi of CBS News: "In making [its] argument, the government revealed previously unknown security features of the White House addition. It will be built with 'missile resistant steel columns' and 'drone proof roofing materials,' according to the motion. Additionally, the structure will house 'bomb shelters, [a] hospital and medical area, protective partitioning, and Top Secret Military installations.' Mr. Trump recently said the 1,000-seat ballroom would act as a 'shed' for an underground military bunker. The opening pages of the court filing are loaded with exclamation points ('Time is of the essence!'), parenthetical asides, misplaced capital letters ('Almost 400 Million Dollars of private donations') and multiple adjectives for emphasis ('shocking, unprecedented, and improper injunction') – all rhetorical flourishes of the president's online posts. One sentence runs 130 words and covers more than half a page."
A lot of politicians lie about their faith. Some overstate the depth of their faith. Some exaggerate the frequency of their church attendance. JayDee has taken than to an extreme. ~~~
~~~ On Easter, We Celebrate a Fake Believer. Danielle Paquette of the Washington Post: In a book meant to show how presidenty he is, JayDee (or his ghostwriter) traces his path from evangelicalism to Roman Catholocism. The book's cover: the photo of a modest church in rural southwestern Virginia that long-time parishioners say JayDee has never attended.
Orlando Mayorquín of the New York Times: “A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Trump administration could not demand detailed student admissions data from public colleges in the 17 states that are suing over the demand, pending a further decision in the case. The ruling, issued by Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of the Federal District Court in Boston, extends an earlier order that temporarily blocked the Education Department from enforcing a deadline for the colleges to provide student application data on race, gender, test scores and other information from the past seven years. The initial temporary restraining order had applied to all colleges nationwide, but the judge limited a later order to public schools in the 17 mostly left-leaning states that sued the Education Department last month. The coalition of Democratic state attorneys general suing the administration said the policy was a rushed attempt to politicize the National Center for Education Statistics, a nonpartisan agency, by using it to crack down on admission policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.”
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The Anti-Science Budget
The Anti-Science Budget
This just in: NASA reports that Trump’s budget cuts are so severe they don’t have enough money to bring the crew of the Artemis II home. When informed of the problem, Fatty suggested they land on the moon and wait til next year. “They’ll have plenty to eat. It’s made of cheese, right?
He said he’d see if he can toss the space agency a few bucks he can take from Medicaid in the next budget. A NASA official replied that they could bring the astronauts home if Trump simply reduced the planned size of a gold statue of himself from 150 feet tall to 140 feet. Trump’s response was that the statue’s height is a national emergency and instead killed the NASA funding entirely.
The weekend sermon in two parts:
SPRINGTIME
Signs of spring are everywhere.
The valley’s daffodils have bloomed, with tulips hard on their heels. Snow geese stir, many already bending north to their breeding grounds in eastern Siberia. Peepers peep in our backyard ditch, and the scilla are already standing tall, threatening to flower.
This year an early Easter brings its message of renewed life and resurrection, and just down the street on the baseball field behind the fire hall, I hear the chatter of a little league practice in full, if somewhat soggy, swing.
But March is also the season of madness. During March’s Madness, millions fill out their brackets in eager anticipation, as the titans of college basketball battle to prove who deserves to wear the crown.
This year, though, unlike the civilized contests we wage on the field or in the gym, there’s a greater madness at play, reminiscent of the phrase, “Mad as a March hare.” Overcome by an overdose of testosterone during breeding season, European hares behave erratically, pawing violently at one another, sometimes looking like boxers in a ring.
While we can blame a rush of testosterone for the hares’ seasonal “madness,” I’m not sure testosterone explains all our own recent goofiness. On February 28th, anticipating the official arrival of spring by three weeks, we leapt into war with Iran. Whether our engagement with Iran was at Israel’s behest or not, there are many signs that unlike wary rabbits, we didn’t look in all directions before we leaped. Though our own intelligence agencies saw no imminent threat from Iran (armcontrol.org) and Trump himself had claimed Iran’s nuclear capability had been “obliterated" by our June 22, 2025, attacks, we were suddenly, according to the president, only “two weeks away" from Iran having a nuclear bomb (washingtonexaminer.com).
In the first weeks of the war, justifications gyrated wildly and inconsistently. In addition to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, we were told we hoped to incite regime change, to hamper Iran's missile capabilities, and to aid Israel in its long-standing conflict with Iran.
It seems, though, the administration’s war plans didn’t anticipate Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz to most traffic. When Iran did, we said we’d open it. A day later, we asked NATO to help us do so. Then we said we didn’t need NATO. We’d do it ourselves. Oil and gas prices skyrocketed. High oil prices were good, the president said (pbs.org), but then to lower them, he dropped sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil, handing tens of billions of windfall dollars to Russia, which is helping Iran target our forces (washingtonpost.com), and to Iran, the country we’re attacking (cbs.news.com). More madness?
Last week we threatened to destroy Iran’s power generating plants (imitating Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine), if Iran wouldn’t open the Strait of Hormuz. This week we repeated the threat (nytimes.com). Trump says Iran is negotiating. Iran says it isn’t. We now have more than 50,000 troops in the region. We’re going to take Kharg Island, the site of the Iranian oil transshipment facilities, but maybe we’re not. Repeating what he said in 2016 about Iraq’s oil, the president said, “My favorite thing is to take the oil.” People who don’t want to are “stupid” (nbcnews.com). And this week, we won’t open the Strait after all. We’ll let other countries do it (nytimes.com).
Part II
Curiously, as the gyrations continue, the administration hasn’t mentioned the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which would have allowed on-site inspections of its nuclear facilities through October of last year. Trump, who spent his first term as the anti-Obama, tore up that deal in 2018, in effect siding with Iranian hardliners who didn’t think the deal served Iran’s interests (wikipedia.org). This week he said the successful assassination of some of Iran’s hardcore leadership was regime change enough (nytimes.com). Mission accomplished?
And as oil prices continue to climb, we just handed a French company $1 billion not to construct wind farms off the Atlantic coast, further tying ourselves to the oil companies and petrostates that like high oil prices.
Mel Brooks’ The Producers ran on Broadway for six years, from 2001 to 2007. A spoof on musicals, the story’s producers intended to create a flop by staging a silly musical about Hitler’s rise. But they were surprised and disappointed. Audiences loved it.
Even to those who haven’t seen the show or movie, the lyrics of the title song, “Springtime for Hitler” about the man who rose to power by promising to make Germany great again, should seem familiar.
Deutschland is on the rise again!
Springtime for Hitler and Germany!
……
Soon we'll be going
………………
You know we'll be going
to war!
The Producers was much funnier twenty years ago.
As seen on Bluesky, Another beautiful Easter message from the President who loves Jesus with all his heart and soul.
The Pretender and his sidekick Drunk Pete are not the first to misunderstand and misuse "decimate," but they are among the most annoying. Of course, when "obliterate" comes out of their mouths, even the meaning of that word is entirely lost. How can you obliterate the same things over and over?
It is a new world.
"a third-party, Russia-founded software kit company that provides premade widgets for the app — makes public the personal information of some White House staffers through the app"
"Cybersecurity researchers warn that the White House’s new app regularly shares users’ IP addresses, time zones and other data to third-party services. But most of its users wouldn’t know that, because the app doesn’t disclose its data sharing the way most others do.
The cybersecurity experts’ reviews of the app code turned up a host of issues that they say make data — for both users and some White House staffers — vulnerable. Several told NOTUS they were shocked by the slipshod approach to cybersecurity by the federal government, especially while the U.S. is engaged in war."
Lying about everything
"GOP Rep Busted After Posting Pic From “Tigers Home Opener” (He Actually On Vacation In Turks & Caicos)"
The Bulwark presents a touching memoriam for those we've lost in Trump 2.0
So the Fat Hitler jackals and drooling sycophants in the Blight House are sending personal data to the Russians. Perfect. Were this any other administration (well, a Democratic administration), Fox would be demanding the death penalty for everyone involved including the president. I doubt this will even be mentioned.
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