Tag: donald trump

Stop Mad King Donald’s Iran War: An Open Letter to Members of the US Congress

Dear Members of Congress,

In truly deranged remarks to world leaders at the UN, Donald Trump declared that “I have a big decision to make,” whether to negotiate a deal with Iran or instead to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and drive Iran “into hell with no chance of survival.”

He posed it as his personal choice. The fact that the American people are dead set against Trump’s war means nothing. And as for the voters, he added that he gives “absolutely no credence” to the coming midterm elections in deciding on his actions and on Iran’s fate.

Nothing binds this President. He is not bound by law, the Constitution, the UN Charter, or public opinion at home and abroad. When asked at the start of the year whether he has any limits on his power, he said “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”

Trump opened his speech with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, hailing America’s freedom. The fact is that Trump’s authoritarianism far outdoes that of King George III, against whom the colonies rebelled. Among the founders’ indictments of Mad King George was that “He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.” Yet our own mad king has decided that the survival of a whole civilization is in his hands alone.

Trump is emboldened in his contempt for Congress because the Republican members of Congress have abdicated their constitutional responsibilities, terrified of their own president, and forsaking their constituents for campaign lucre from AIPAC and the military-industrial complex.

The Constitution is unambiguous regarding Congress’s responsibility. Article I, Section 8 assigns Congress, not the President, the sole power to declare war. That is not a choice or an option. The Constitution doesn’t say that Congress can play dead and let the President declare war. The Framers made this choice deliberately, because they were explicitly rejecting the power of a king to take the nation to war.

In Federalist 69, Hamilton assured the public that the President’s war powers would be far less than the British monarch’s. Madison stated the principle plainly in a letter to Jefferson in 1798: “The constitution supposes, what the History of all Govts demonstrates, that the Ex. is the branch of power most interested in war, & most prone to it. It has accordingly with studied care vested the question of war in the Legislature.”

The founders’ careful design has been overturned because of the unconstitutional subservience of the Republican members of Congress to Trump and to the military-industrial-digital complex. And yes, under Democratic presidents, most Democratic members of Congress also looked the other way when those presidents chose to go to war.

The war with Iran is Trump’s folly but Congress’s disgrace for not stopping it. It is a war without a purpose that has created mass suffering in Iran, tens of billions of dollars of direct outlays, and staggering damage to American military bases in eight countries of the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent world and American prices soaring for oil, gas, fertilizers, and more. And the world has duly noted that Iran can hold its own against US aggression, albeit at great sacrifice to the people of Iran and the region.

America’s much vaunted AI battlefield has been exposed in the most horrifying way. On the first day of the war, an American missile struck the girls’ elementary school there, killing more than 150 people, most of them girls aged seven to twelve, and the military’s own inquiry reportedly found that over-reliance on artificial intelligence contributed to the targeting. Trump blamed “Iran or somebody else,” and seven months later the administration has offered no findings, no apology and no compensation to the families.

The President’s threat to annihilate a member state of the United Nations, delivered from the General Assembly podium, disgraced Trump in front of the world. It also violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits even the threat of force against another state. Nearly all the world stands aghast.

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Trump asked China’s president if he wants to buy US arms, ambassador says

The U.S. ambassador to China says President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping if he wanted to buy weapons from the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has justified the pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan to Chinese President Xi Jinping by downplaying it as just one of many sales Washington makes around the world — even asking Xi if he’d be in the market for U.S. arms, Trump’s ambassador to China said on Sunday.

David Perdue said Trump raised the prospect of the arms sales from the U.S. to its ascendant geopolitical rival, an unlikely offer that if consummated would upend generations of U.S. policy toward China and Taiwan and potentially expose U.S. technology to a potential foe. Perdue, speaking to Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday” days after Trump hosted Xi for a state visit in Washington, didn’t specify when the offer was made.

Bream had cited concerns from Republican and Democratic lawmakers over delayed aid packages and weapons orders to Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy, to defend itself from China’s threat to invade the island. Bream asked if the U.S. is denying Taiwan to appease the Chinese president, who visited Trump last week.

Perdue pushed back on the suggestion, stating that Trump “is as strong on Taiwan as I’ve ever seen anybody” and has sold it plenty of weapons. Perdue also said Trump and Xi continue to talk about future U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

“But President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world,’” Perdue said. “He actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some, at one point.”

The U.S. is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. While not recognizing Taiwan as a country, the U.S. is the island’s strongest informal backer and arms provider. But multiple U.S. leaders have left ambiguous whether they would commit military force to defend the U.S. ally should China invade.

China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a previous summit in May between Trump and Xi in Beijing. After that meeting, the United States paused the sale of a record-breaking $14 billion package — and Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with China.

In their private talks at the White House last week, Xi pressed Trump to oppose Taiwan independence, according to Chinese state media.

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The Stage Is Set, The Fuse Is Lit, And 3 Global Conflicts Are On The Brink Of Detonation

We are facing one of the most dangerous chapters in human history. For years, I have been warning about 3 global conflicts which would collectively make up World War III. Unfortunately, the stage has now been set for a polycrisis of epic proportions. The war with Iran threatens to greatly escalate, the continuous bombardment of Kyiv has NATO on high alert, and China has decided to literally surround Taiwan with large numbers of ships. Tensions are running sky high, and events in Europe, the Middle East and Asia could all spiral out of control at any moment.

Last night, fighting in the Middle East erupted once again.

The U.S. conducted airstrikes on Iranian military targets on Larak Island, and in response the Iranians fired off at least 8 ballistic missiles…

It appears that the Iranian response really angered President Trump.

On Truth Social, he posted a message in which is declared Iran to be “DEAD” and “a Failed Nation”…

Later on Monday, we learned that Trump had told Trey Yingst of Fox News that the U.S. will “hit them hard” in response to the Iranian ballistic missile attack…

That would seem to indicate that a large wave of airstrikes is coming tonight.

We shall wait and see what happens.

On the other side, the Iranians are warning that their response to any new U.S. airstrikes will be “dozens of times greater”…

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Trump Ends Joe Biden’s Electric Vehicle Mandate, Says Reduced Waste Will Lower Price of Cars

President Trump took to Truth Social tonight and announced that he is approving new fuel economy standards which will effectively terminate Joe Biden’s electric vehicle mandate.

According to Trump, this move will reduce waste and lower the cost of cars for American families. It’s also great news for the auto manufacturers.

All of this is great news.

Townhall reports:

President Donald Trump says that he has approved new fuel economy standards that should cut the costs of the vehicle market.

“BIG DAY FOR AMERICAN AUTO WORKERS AND CAR BUYERS! I have just approved new Fuel Economy Standards that TERMINATE Sleepy Joe Biden and Pete Boot-EDGE-EDGE’s ridiculous EV Mandate,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The Dumocrats cost our Great Auto Manufacturers $Billions, forced Americans into cars they never wanted, and wasted Billions on Chargers that were never built.”

The new standards terminate the EPA’s electric vehicle mandate.

“These new Standards will take the waste out of ⁠building cars in America. That means LOWER PRICES, saving families thousands on a new, beautiful, and safe car,” Trump wrote. “Far better than the Environmental Monsters that we were building heretofore. Every Manufacturer, from General Motors to Ford to Stellantis, has called me wanting to build here, and now they can!”

The final rule isn’t available yet. Under former President Joe Biden, the EPA had ordered about 67 percent of new light-duty and medium-duty vehicle sales to be electric by 2032.

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Cuba In Crosshairs: US Army Reportedly Checks Troop Availability As Trump Says Communist Regime “Will Fail”

President Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that the failed communist island nation of Cuba would see freedom, as the U.S. has not been shy about its intentions to kick the communist regime out of Havana. The U.S. has employed gunboat diplomacy through an oil blockade this year, as the failed state has seen its economy collapse even further.

“My administration is also seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is under great pressure, the biggest pressure they’ve ever been under. It’s an absolutely failed state; it’s failing like never before, and it will fall,” Trump said in his speech at UNGA.

With Trump’s UNGA comments in mind, CBS News reports that it has reviewed an internal Army memo assessing the availability of military police, medical teams, and logistics units for possible use under Southern Command within 90 to 120 days.

The memo does not mention Cuba, identify troop numbers, or specify an operation. It also contains no indication that units have received deployment orders so far.

Here’s more color from the report:

The document reviewed by CBS News says Army Reserve headquarters is seeking feedback from subordinate commands on the possible availability of six types of formations that would fall under the authority of U.S. Southern Command. The units would “possibly [be] needed in 90-120 days,” according to the message, which directs commands to provide feedback to Army Reserve headquarters by Sept. 25. 

Among the units is a combat sustainment support battalion that specializes in coordinating logistics such as transportation, maintenance, fuel and supply needs, along with an engineer battalion. The document also seeks an expeditionary sustainment command that would oversee logistics across a theater of operations. 

The document generated last week also calls for a medical brigade to command and coordinate medical units, as well as a forward resuscitative and surgical detachment to provide emergency surgery and trauma care closer to U.S. forces. Finally, the document seeks a military police brigade — these units typically oversee military police forces responsible for security, detention and other law enforcement missions. 

In July, CBS reported that military planners had examined an air assault involving thousands of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division. Another report by Politico in August suggested that the U.S. intelligence community had “sent spies and assets” to Cuba. Specifically, the outlet reported that the CIA had increased its presence on the island, which sits about 90 miles south of Florida.

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U.S. Amb. to China: ‘Don’t Know’ When Taiwan Military Sale Will Happen, ‘Trump Has a Schedule of His Own’

On Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said that “we don’t know” when the sale of $14 billion in military hardware for Taiwan that is on President Donald Trump’s desk will be signed, “President Trump has a schedule of his own.” And there hasn’t been any change to U.S. policy on Taiwan.

Co-host Bill Hemmer asked, “Did anything change with regard to the U.S. position on Taiwan in these meetings?”

Perdue answered, “Absolutely not. In Busan, it didn’t even come up. In May, President Xi brought it up. President Trump listened actively. And, in this meeting, it came up briefly. But let me be very clear, President Trump, since he was inaugurated, has not changed the position on the United States’ One China Policy. We fully support the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Communiqués, and the Six Assurances. President Trump, again, echoed that position of the United States federal government. We have not changed our position on Taiwan, we don’t support independence, but we really don’t support coercion, either.”

Hemmer then asked, “There is a $14 billion military hardware sale that is on his desk and has been there for some time that has not yet been signed that would go directly to helping Taipei defend itself. When will that be signed?”

Perdue responded, “Well, we don’t know. President Trump has a schedule of his own. And he has already sold 50% more arms to Taiwan than any other president since 1979. So, he’s already demonstrated that support. But, again, our position is, we want peace in the strait, we want a peaceful resolution. This is between the people of Taiwan and the people of China.”

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Feds arrest, indict hundreds in Trump voter fraud crackdown: ‘Catching it all over the country’

Since the Trump Justice Department warned state and local election officials that they could be charged with allowing fraudulent voting activities, more than 200 arrests and indictments have been secured in a crackdown on election fraud and noncitizen voting, and that number could double soon, a top official revealed to Just the News.

“I think there are a lot of nervous election officials because I think some of them know that they’ve been looking the other way when this is happening, and we’re catching it all over the country,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said Monday night in an interview on the Just the News, No Noise television show.

Dhillon also hinted at further developments in the coming weeks, suggesting her department has developed evidence calling into question New Jersey’s claim that a computer glitch allowed thousands of foreigners to register to vote in that state and about 400 to actually cast ballots in violation of law.

“I’m not sure we have the correct numbers from New Jersey. They’re not really cooperating with us, and so we will get to the bottom of what happened there. And you know, New Jersey tried to blame a vendor for a mistake or a glitch, quote unquote. But you know, I think there’ll be another side to that story,” she said.

The software vendor Dhillon referred to is IDEMIA, which told Just the News in July that it was the responsibility of New Jersey officials to verify voter registration.

“IDEMIA works with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and has for more than 40 years, to support the process through which eligible individuals may indicate their interest in registering to vote when applying for or renewing a driver’s license or state-issued identification card. IDEMIA’s role is to transmit information through the motor vehicle system,” IDEMIA said in that statement.

“The voter registration information is transmitted to the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Elections, which is ultimately responsible for verifying eligibility to vote. Information submitted by IDEMIA must still be validated and adjudicated by the Division of Elections.”

Dhillon further stated that in the past several weeks, her office has indicted or convicted 67 individuals for election-related crimes, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made more than 160 arrests.

“What we care about is that noncitizens who voted in a federal election canceled out the votes of American citizens. It does happen. It happens a lot more than anybody says. It wasn’t being prosecuted under the Biden DOJ. In the four years of the Biden DOJ, they prosecuted a total of 13 people for election-related crimes, and we’ve done more than that in the last week here at DOJ,” she said.

The law enforcement crackdown was prompted by an initiative led by the Trump White House and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to forge an all-of-government approach to growing Americans’ trust in elections by punishing wrongdoers, cleaning voter rolls, and eliminating noncitizen voting, Just the News has learned. A small group from multiple federal agencies has met with Wiles weekly for months to coordinate the strategy.

Left-wing organizations, including the Brookings Institution, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the American Immigration Council, among others, have all claimed that noncitizen voting is either not happening or is incredibly rare.

Recent data suggests otherwise.

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U.S. military lays groundwork for potential action around Cuba

The U.S. Army Reserve is examining whether it can provide the military’s Southern Command with police forces, medical personnel and other support units within the next four months, according to an internal Army message reviewed by CBS News.

Though the message makes no reference to Cuba, the request is for continued military planning aimed at Cuba, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

There is no indication in the document that any units have received deployment orders. But the planning comes as the Trump administration puts intense economic pressure on Cuba and urges the island nation to make political reforms.

The message does not identify how many troops would be needed in the Southern Command’s region, which covers Central and South America, including the Caribbean. It also does not specify where the forces could be sent or what operation they would support. 

The document reviewed by CBS News says Army Reserve headquarters is seeking feedback from subordinate commands on the possible availability of six types of formations that would fall under the authority of U.S. Southern Command. The units would “possibly [be] needed in 90-120 days,” according to the message, which directs commands to provide feedback to Army Reserve headquarters by Sept. 25. 

Among the units is a combat sustainment support battalion that specializes in coordinating logistics such as transportation, maintenance, fuel and supply needs, along with an engineer battalion. The document also seeks an expeditionary sustainment command that would oversee logistics across a theater of operations. 

The document generated last week also calls for a medical brigade to command and coordinate medical units, as well as a forward resuscitative and surgical detachment to provide emergency surgery and trauma care closer to U.S. forces. Finally, the document seeks a military police brigade — these units typically oversee military police forces responsible for security, detention and other law enforcement missions. 

Contacted by CBS News, the Army Reserve did not respond before publication. 

A spokesperson for U.S. Southern Command said: “Due to operational security concerns, we do not disclose details or comment on U.S. operational movements or potential deployment timelines associated with current or future operations, contingencies, or planning. However, U.S. Southern Command continuously coordinates with the Joint Force to assess a range of potential requirements across its [area of responsibility] in support of assigned missions.” 

Earlier this year, American forces conducted reconnaissance operations on the seafloor and maritime approaches surrounding the Cuban island, multiple U.S. military personnel told CBS News. Separately, U.S. airpower components were placed on heightened readiness and directed to pre-stage personnel for potential deployment. Those plans, however, did not come to fruition. CBS News is withholding certain details from publication that could potentially put U.S. service members at risk.

CBS News reported in May that U.S. intelligence officials were assessing how Cuba would respond to possible U.S. military action, as the Trump administration accused Havana of strengthening ties with Russia, China and Iran. The intelligence community’s 2026 annual threat assessment largely portrays Cuba as an enabling environment for larger geopolitical competitors, rather than as an independent strategic threat.

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This Group Made Tech to Protect Users’ Privacy. Trump Labeled Them Terrorists.

When the government puts a target on your back, every corner of online organizing becomes a puzzle. How do you ensure that your emails are private, when Google will hand over the contents of your emails to prosecutors, sometimes without ever notifying you? How do you keep your comrades informed, when maintaining an email list poses a security risk? How do you share information online without compromising the security of your web visitors?

Until September 6, the Autistici/Inventati (A/I) Collective provided privacy-focused digital infrastructure that allowed aligned groups around the world to evade government surveillance. Under siege, groups from Hamas to the Seattle Anarchist Book Fair sought refuge from the prying eyes of three-letter agencies through the use of A/I Collective email addresses, websites, mailing lists, and blogs. The users of A/I Collective technology were no strangers to the United States counterterrorism apparatus, but on August 26, 2026, the Trump administration took the unusual escalatory step of listing the technology provider itself as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization.

Legal uncertainty and disruption ensued immediately after the designation. The sanctions framework maps far more cleanly onto groups directly engaged in violence than it does onto a group providing anti-surveillance technology. Under the post-9/11 executive order establishing the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list, fundraising for ISIS or holding joint press conferences with al-Qaeda is verboten. But could posting on blogs hosted by the A/I Collective trigger a $1 million fine and 20 years of imprisonment? Official communications provide little assistance; the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control FAQ unhelpfully states that the exchange of information may be either blocked or exempt.

In a press release, the State Department pointed to the A/I Collective’s vetting of users for “ideological affinity,” folding the targeting of the organization into the enforcement of Donald Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM-7), which has initiated a crackdown on the global left. Civil society groups immediately noted the escalation into targeting not only those accused of violence, but their purported backers. “The designation of A/I Collective is significant because Treasury is applying counterterrorism sanctions not only to organizations it alleges engage directly in violence, but also to entities it characterizes as providing enabling infrastructure to designated or terrorist-linked groups…[G]roups and individuals that rely on the A/I Collective’s infrastructure may now need to assess whether continued use creates sanctions exposure,” wrote the Charity & Security Network, a coalition that has helped nonprofits navigate sanctions risk since 2009.

While users of A/I Collective services struggled to interpret the sanctions, the hammer came down immediately on the volunteer collective. Within 48 hours of the designation, the United States-based holder of the autistici.org domain shuttered the website, leaving A/I Collective to flee to an alternate domain. The Italian Banca Etica suspended the bank account the volunteer collective used to collect donations, citing sanctions risk. Backed into a corner, with no way to protect users and collect the donations needed to fund its €13,000 annual budget, the A/I Collective announced the shutdown of all of its services on September 6, 2026. In a statement, the A/I Collective wrote: “The possibility that our work may cause legal and financial consequences to those who are close to us — or even only have something to do with us — leaves us no choice.” On September 20, an estimated 10,000 NoBlogs sites went dark, stranding the radical activists who used the A/I Collective-hosted blogging platform to share everything from zines to direct-action tactical communiques.

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Trump EPA rolls back PFAS protections as 176 million Americans face contaminated tap water

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew Biden-era guidance in August 2026 that had encouraged states to use existing Clean Water Act authority to prevent toxic PFAS chemicals from entering drinking water supplies. The move comes as new EPA data reveals 176 million Americans—4 million more than previously known—drink tap water contaminated by these “forever chemicals.” The rollback affects guidance that directed regulators to require industrial facilities like chemical manufacturers to test wastewater for PFAS and implement cleanup technology. This reversal has alarmed public health advocates, who argue that without federal pressure, many facilities will simply halt voluntary testing and discharge reduction efforts. The guidance withdrawal also removes a critical tool for states trying to curb pollution at its source, before it reaches rivers and reservoirs used for drinking water. Experts warn that this decision effectively shifts the burden of proof and cleanup costs onto local water utilities and taxpayers, rather than the industries that produce and release these persistent toxins.

The scale of contamination

Independent research from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) estimated in 2020 that more than 200 million Americans could have PFAS in their drinking water at concentrations of 1 part per trillion (ppt) or higher—a level that independent scientists and EWG consider the maximum safe threshold. The new EPA data confirms contamination is worsening, with 2,230 locations across 49 states now known to have PFAS contamination. The chemicals have been detected in major metropolitan areas including Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans. Furthermore, a peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters analyzed data from the EPA, U.S. Geological Survey and multiple states, concluding that PFAS are likely detectable in all major U.S. water supplies, especially those using surface water. The study’s lead author emphasized that drinking water remains a significant source of exposure, and that the new findings show PFAS pollution affects even more Americans than previously estimated.

A pattern of regulatory reversal

The August memo represents the third major PFAS rollback under the current administration. In May 2026, the EPA proposed rescinding federal limits for four PFAS chemicals—GenX, PFBS, PFNA and PFHxS—that the Biden administration had set in 2024. The agency also abandoned a risk assessment of PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge used as fertilizer, despite its own 2026 analysis finding that even low levels of PFOA and PFOS in sludge could elevate cancer risk. Critics note a troubling disconnect: While the EPA’s own interim safety levels previously acknowledged that “new science” indicates negative health effects may occur with PFOA or PFOS concentrations “near zero,” the agency’s current regulations propose limits considerably higher than what its own scientists deemed safe. This shift, according to advocacy groups like EWG, reflects undue influence from the chemical industry, which continues to fight stringent regulation of the 12,000 PFAS chemicals in commercial use.

Health costs of inaction

PFAS, used since the 1940s in nonstick cookware, food packaging, firefighting foam and countless industrial applications, never break down in the environment—earning them the name “forever chemicals.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found these chemicals in the blood of virtually every American, including newborns. Peer-reviewed studies link very low doses—even below 1 ppt—to suppressed immune systems, elevated cancer risk, reproductive and developmental harm, and reduced effectiveness of medications in children. A 2018 CDC review challenged the EPA’s earlier safety determinations, finding health threats at levels far below what the agency had considered safe. Despite this growing body of evidence, the EPA has only issued an inadequate lifetime health advisory of 70 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, a level many scientists consider dangerously high. With no national drinking water standard currently enforceable, communities remain exposed to a cocktail of toxic chemicals that accumulate in their bodies over a lifetime.

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