U.S. Service Members Killed as War Expands, and Federal Cases Against Protesters Crumble

The government has charged many ICE protesters with crimes, but many of these prosecutions have fallen apart, indicating that the charges were more about government intimidation than legitimate criminal justice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqj_E1g09c0

Historian Timothy Snyder on Orbán’s Defeat, Christian Nationalism, and What Trump Is Really Planning

Ironically, right-wing nationalists that claim to focus on the priorities of their own country, are heavily funded and aided by foreign oligarchs and dictators. CPAC and the Heritage Foundation receive such foreign funding. Before Trump’s rise, Russia scouted Trump as a talent that could help them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U0I2wI5UOc

Why Iranians Are Increasingly Willing to Settle for Reza Pahlavi

“Pahlavi allies have crafted a hefty plan for a post-Islamist Iran, called the Iran Prosperity Project. It envisions an emergency phase in the wake of the regime’s fall during which Pahlavi and his aides say keeping the country stable will be crucial. But that emergency phase plan also gives the leader of the transition — presumably Pahlavi — significant power that makes some activists nervous.

While Pahlavi has long called for a secular democracy in Iran, he has also said Iranians should decide what type of government they want. The Prosperity Project envisions Iranians eventually having a choice between a “democratic monarchy” and a “democratic republic.””

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/02/24/reza-pahlavi-iran-trump-00793877?ICID=ref_fark

Broken bones, burning eyes: How Trump’s DHS deploys ‘less lethal’ weapons on protesters

“They batter bodies with rubber bullets and sear eyes with pepper spray. They lob tear gas and explosive flash-bangs at chanting crowds. They smash car windows. They shove people to the ground. They ram vehicles and point their guns.

Federal officers carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in cities across the country have shot 13 people with guns. But far more often, they have used harsh tactics to scare or repel those they see as getting in their way. The officers, masked and kitted out with military-grade armor and rifles, have faced down peaceful protesters and people who have threatened, obstructed or attacked them, with methods that are less deadly than guns but still inflict grievous injuries. Hundreds have been hurt, and courts in at least four states have found that officers used force inappropriately and indiscriminately.

NBC News reviewed dozens of incidents since the spring and found that Department of Homeland Security officers have repeatedly deployed “less lethal” weapons in ways that appear to violate their own policies or general policing guidelines, unless they believed their lives were in danger. The review was based on interviews with lawyers, experts and protesters who were injured as well as witness statements, documents from criminal and civil cases and videos taken at protests.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/broken-bones-burning-eyes-trumps-110000513.html

Judge limits ICE’s crowd control tactics following Minneapolis shooting

“Menendez’s order bars Homeland Security and ICE officials involved in Operation Metro Surge from “using pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity.” The judge also prohibited federal agents from stopping vehicles following them, as long as those vehicles are maintaining a safe and “appropriate” distance.

“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters. We remind the public that rioting is dangerous — obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony.””

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/16/ice-minneapolis-arrests-judge-protests-00735416?_bhlid=b376075801834ad0b250c6bc586df392cbc430ab&utm_campaign=the-smile-1-21&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=www.readthesmile.com

Why the Protests in Iran Failed

Iran brutally slaughtered its protestors. Up to 20,000 were killed.

Iran’s revolutionary guards are stronger than its regular military and they are loyal to the supreme leader.

Trump literally said that “help is on its way”, and many protesters said they expected Trump to help. When he didn’t, the ones that were still alive, felt betrayed.

A US intervention would likely cause a retaliatory strike, and the US wasn’t prepared for such attacks because it was using resources around Venezuela.

Local partner countries warned against a US intervention, fearing a regional conflict.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bt6K0Jo0xo

Jon Stewart on Israel’s “Urgent” Iran Strike, Minnesota Murders & MAGA’s Blame Game | The Daily Show

Israel leader Netanyahu has been saying Iran is weeks away from a nuke for over a decade.

Many Republicans called for the violence in LA to be crushed with military force and for Democrats to be removed from office, even though the violence and vandalism were contained and the Los Angeles Police Department had it under control.

When an immigrant kills someone, Republicans want to move and spend Heaven and Earth to limit all immigration and deport all illegals, devastating the lives of many people, but when Americans repeatedly murder, massacre, and assassinate fellow Americans with guns, they offer simple condolences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q08a7BI9XI

Gavin Newsom on the LA Protests, Trump’s Response and Why It’s a Defining Moment for Democracy

Local law enforcement had the vandals and rioters under control and sending the military was uncalled for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTLKFojoYAA