The costs of Chump's wars of choice continue to mount. On the financial costs to Americans, Audra D. S. Burch (NEW YORK TIMES) reports:
Dina Guillen had planned to make the 520-mile drive from her home in the Rio Grande Valley to Dallas to visit family for her teenager’s spring break. But after calculating the cost — particularly the painfully high price of gas — she decided to figure out a cheaper way.
So instead of an eight-hour journey through Texas two weeks ago , she made a two-hour jaunt to Corpus Christi. The change shaved off about $100 in gas costs. Ms. Guillen, 46, a home health care worker, said she still hopes to get to Dallas with her daughter in the coming months, but only if gas prices drop.
“We’ll wait until the summer and see what happens,” she said. “It’s scary what’s going on.”
Spring break, one of the busiest vacation seasons of the year, has presented a trifecta of headaches for travelers: soaring gas prices and airfare spikes, long and unpredictable airport security lines tied to a partial government shutdown, and persistently high food costs.
The Iran war, along with the spring break season, has pushed gas prices to levels not seen since 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affected the global oil supply. The cost of airline fuel has also surged, as have fares, but generally, demand for tickets has not yet dampened. That includes travelers who are purchasing tickets now to lock in prices for summer travel.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said Sunday that the American people are paying the price of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on multiple fronts.
“There’s a reason why Donald Trump is not coming before the American people for approval for this war,” Kim told host Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“It’s because he knows what the American people feel, which is that they don’t want this, that they want a government that is focused on them, lowering costs,” he added. “And not only is he not lowering our costs, he’s increasing it. And now it’s the American people that are paying for this Iran war.”
Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the latter’s government has retaliated by restricting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
That has resulted in oil prices rising globally, with Americans seeing a subsequent increase at the pump. The national average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.98 as of Sunday, nearly $1 more than a month ago, according to AAA.
And there's no end in sight for Chump's war on Iran. Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper (NEW YORK TIMES) report:
Several hundred U.S. Special Operations forces have arrived in the Middle East, joining thousands of Marines and Army paratroopers in a deployment meant to give President Trump additional options to expand the monthlong war with Iran, two U.S. military officials said on Sunday.
The commandos, including Army Rangers and Navy SEALs, have not yet been assigned specific missions, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.
But as specialized ground troops, they could be deployed to help safeguard the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed. Or they could be deployed as part of a mission to try to seize Kharg Island, Iran’s oil hub in the northern Persian Gulf. Alternatively, they could be used in a mission aimed at Iran’s highly enriched uranium at the Isfahan nuclear site.
The commandos join 2,500 Marines and another 2,500 sailors, who recently arrived in the region. Altogether there are more than 50,000 American troops in the Middle East now, roughly 10,000 more than usual, as Mr. Trump decides on his next step in the war.
Boots on the ground. In a forever war. Things Chump campaigned against. Simon Tisdall (GUARDIAN) observes:
Concern is justifiably growing that a cornered Donald Trump will send US ground troops into combat on Iranian soil to avoid being personally and politically humiliated in a war he started, mismanaged and cannot end. Yet such a self-serving escalation, even if ostensibly limited in duration and scope, could itself prove catastrophic for him and the American people. Think what happened in previous US military interventions. In sum, he’s caught in a modern-day catch-22. Pick your own metaphor for dumb. Trump’s stumped, hoist by his own petard, stuck between a rock and a hard place, and up the creek without a paddle. The creek in question is, of course, the strait of Hormuz.
Firmly ensconced in his weird parallel universe, Trump insists the war is all but won, Iran is suing for peace and talks are making good progress. In the real world, Iran is still fighting on all fronts, Israel is still bombing, the strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, and the Iran-allied Houthi militia in Yemen has joined the war, attacking Israel and potentially blocking Red Sea trade routes. The US and Iran have each issued maximalist demands, but there is no sign of actual negotiations. They are even further apart than they were before Trump, egged on by Benjamin Netanyahu, abandoned diplomacy last month. Sometime soon, Trump will be forced to confront the huge gap between what he wants and what’s on offer. At that point he could turn to the troop buildup in the Gulf and order ground attacks.
As Chump decides on his next step in the war -- he makes it up as he goes along. No planning was put into this. No thought. You had Senator Lindsey Graham whispering to Benjamin Netanyahu about how to win Chump over on the decision to go to war with Iran, you had Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth raring to start a religious war.
The reality of what would be taking place was lost on the administration.
Lost on the administration also is the fact that Americans have had it with Chump. They gathered in cities across the country yesterday for the No Kings protests. Alan Taylor has a photo essay at THE ATLANTIC. Katie Herchenroeder assembles a photo essay for MOTHER JONES.
Tim Balk (NEW YORK TIMES) notes:
The war was a central animating force in the Saturday rallies, which were attended by roughly eight million people, according to “No Kings” organizers, though their estimates in some cities were higher than those of local public safety officials. But the fighting in the Middle East was hardly the only issue on the minds of frustrated Democrats.
Many protesters said that the war had brought them out on Saturday. And at least in some places, the conflict appeared to be motivating younger people.
One large rally was held across the street from the University of Iowa, where the youth outreach group Voters of Tomorrow signed students up to join its organizing efforts.
Katy Gates, 22, an organizer, said the crowd was “a lot younger, more diverse and more energetic” than those at previous “No Kings” demonstrations. She attributed the change, in part, to the war.
“Our generation has grown up with this idea of endless war in the Middle East,” Ms. Gates said. “And the idea of getting into yet another is something that people are rightfully really angry about.”
Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Barron Does His Duty And Enlists" went up Friday and the following sites updated:
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Idiot of the Week2 days ago
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Grifter Sarah Ferguson2 days ago
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