Let’s open with this quick reminder from April 2024 …
… and so here we are now, stuck with an utterly pointless and totally illegal forever war that he very stupidly started and now can’t get out of. Nor does Congress have sufficient political will to stop him using the US military as his very own personal war machine.
Here is a quick summary of the past week which has moved through three distinct phases:
- A sharp US–Iran escalation, triggered partly by Iranian attacks that killed American service personnel.
- A widening of the war into the Red Sea, as the Houthis attacked Saudi shipping and oil installations.
- A sudden, unexplained pause in direct US–Iran attacks, accompanied by renewed Chinese- and Pakistani-backed diplomacy.
As of the evening of July 25, 2026, the United States has gone one night without bombing Iran after 13 consecutive nights of strikes.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress that the war had cost the United States approximately $37.5 billion, including anticipated expenditure through 30 September. He warned that training, maintenance and future military investment could be affected without additional funding. Trump had requested almost $90 billion in supplementary funding, most of it connected to the Iran war. (We will picot back to this further on below).
The Republican-controlled House voted 214–208 for a resolution directing Trump to end unauthorised US hostilities against Iran. Four Republicans joined Democrats.
However, the Senate failed to advance its corresponding measure. Because the two chambers did not enact matching legislation—and because any legislation would face a presidential veto—the votes have not placed an effective legal restriction on Trump’s immediate ability to continue operations. They nevertheless demonstrate unusually significant congressional and bipartisan unease about the war’s objectives, cost and lack of formal authorisation.
Iran’s strategy is producing leverage despite US air superiority
The United States can strike almost anywhere in Iran, but Iran does not need to defeat the US military conventionally. Its strategy appears to be to make the conflict economically and politically painful. That strategy has not stopped US attacks, but it has expanded the political and economic price of continuing them.
The two-chokepoint problem is now the greatest immediate danger
Hormuz traffic has fallen to only a handful of vessels per day. Saudi Arabia has therefore relied more heavily on pipelines carrying oil west to Yanbu.
The Houthi campaign threatens that alternative. A sustained threat to both Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb would not necessarily create a perfect physical blockade, but it could deter crews, insurers and shipowners sufficiently to produce a comparable commercial effect.
Brent crude passed $100 a barrel on 23 July before falling to $96.78 on 24 July when reports of Chinese-backed negotiations emerged. Despite that fall, Brent still gained nearly 10% over the week, showing how rapidly prices are reacting to each diplomatic or military development.
The military pause is real—but extremely fragile
- The fact that both the US and Iran paused direct attacks at approximately the same time is unlikely to be meaningless. It suggests that messages are being exchanged and that both governments may be testing whether the other side can exercise restraint.
However, there is no announced ceasefire.
What happens next?
- Continued indirect negotiations via Pakistan and backed by China: 75% probability
- Further Saudi–Houthi exchanges: 70% probability
- Renewed US strikes within a week: 55–65% probability
- A short formal ceasefire: 35% probability within the next fortnight
- A major strike on Iran’s nuclear or energy infrastructure: 25–30% probability
- A US ground operation against Kharg Island: below 10% probability
- A durable peace agreement: probably below 20% during the next month
The past week ended in a slightly better position than it began because direct US–Iran attacks have paused and serious mediation is under way.
Nevertheless, the overall strategic situation has deteriorated. The war now threatens both principal maritime routes around the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis are exchanging attacks, American casualties and expenditure are increasing, and Washington has prepared the political justification for much larger strikes.
You are being Lied to by the Trump Administration.
Well yes, duh! … because this is Trump.
Be aware that they really are not telling you the truth of what is going on …
- Link to above tweet here. (Via the above you can get to that NYT “Gift” article, but be aware that NYT want your email to get at it)
Once again we learned this past week that stupid actions really do have consequences …
They are also running out of cash to pay for it all …
As always, it is the Jesters who best encapsulate and express the truth.
Clay Jones – Donald Trump’s chosen war has killed two more Americans. #Trump #Iran #IranWar #MAGA
Chris Britt – Winning! #trump #iran #war #iranwar #news
Daniel Medina – The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and it looks like it’s going to stat that way until Iran (Poseidon) says so. Unfortunately, our Odysseus is a dipper wearing egomaniac with dementia, so things aren’t looking good. #wariniran #straitofhormuz #theodyssey #trump #politicalart
Clay Bennett – The Casualty
OK, let’s get into this now. Pete when to Congress with a begging bowl “Please sir, I need another $95 Billion“.
Pete Hegseth has to answer questions he can’t answer
Pete Hegseth appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee on 21 July 2026, alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine. It was not primarily a strategic briefing: the immediate purpose was to persuade senators to approve emergency funding for the Iran war and the Pentagon.
The hearing lasted more than three hours and became extremely confrontational.
The administration was seeking approximately $87.6 billion in supplementary funding, incorporated into a wider Republican package worth roughly $95 billion. Much of the money would replenish missiles, ammunition and equipment consumed or damaged during the war.
The problem is this: The senators’ central complaint was that the administration was asking for enormous sums while still failing to define:
- whether Trump intends to widen the war into attacks on Iranian energy and civilian infrastructure.
- what victory over Iran actually means;
- whether Iran’s nuclear programme was destroyed or merely damaged;
- how long the war is likely to continue;
- whether the requested money would be sufficient;
- what the plan is for reopening or securing the Strait of Hormuz;
The confrontation peaked when Democratic Senator Gary Peters described the administration’s strategy as a failure and said there was no credible long-term plan for winning the war.
Hegseth angrily accused Peters and other Democrats of being ashamed of US military success and suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Peters replied that he was not attacking the troops but their leadership, telling Hegseth: “You, sir, are the failure.”
That exchange captured the hearing’s tone. Rather than calmly resolving doubts about the mission, Hegseth repeatedly treated criticism of the strategy as partisan hostility towards Trump or the armed forces.
Here is an excellent example.
Within the clip below you can see that Ossoff is very good at this. He keeps his cool and keeps pressing Hegseth (You can clip play to what the roughly 3 mins clip). I love Ossoff’s “I don’t have time for your BS” tone …
The hearing revealed five uncomfortable points:
- The cost is already enormous and still rising.
- There is no dependable final price.
- The war aims remain confused.
- The Pentagon needs Congress financially but resists congressional control politically.
- His combative manner probably made matters worse.
The importance of the hearing was that it exposed publicly the above.
Meanwhile the political cartoonists sharpened their pencils and got to work.
Dennis Goris – Oh for Pete’s sake!
Ann Telnaes – The war we already won is low on cash.
Clay Jones – War crimes are expensive. #PeteHegseth #IranWar #War #Iran #MAGA
Moving on, Canada is back in the news again.
Putting the FFS back into Tariffs once again – The Canadian Edition
Actions have consequences. Canada is off to find reliable trading partners elsewhere …
Dave Whamond – Sigh, here we go again…
Helen of Troy Upsets MAGA
The “Crime” of the century was that a black actress plays Helen of Troy. That was apparently “unrealistic”.
Speaking of “Unrealistic”, do you think it might be worth pointing out that nobody, and I literally mean nobody spoke English then, so perhaps if they wanted realistic then he entire movie should have been done in ancient Greek.
As for Helen of Troy, her dad is supposed to have been Zeus. She never actually existed, it is just just a myth, a story somebody made up. As for the story itself it come via the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature supposedly written by Homer. For those like Elon Musk who claimed that having a black actress play Held was to piss on Homer’s grave … but … guess what, scholars generally regard the ancient conception of a single author behind the Iliad and the Odyssey as a fictional narrative, there was also no Homer.
Clay Jones – I haven’t seen racist Trumpers this upset since Megan Kelly saw a black Santa Claus #PeteHegseth #Odyssey #HelenOfTroy #Testosterone #racism #War #MAGA
Climate Crises
Wildfires and heat are in the news.
Matt Wuerker – Mind if I smoke?
Trump’s World Cup Photo Bomb
Hey, let’s not forget about this from a week ago.
Caption of the Year – We have a winner
Trump’s globally humiliating refusal to leave the stage is even more ridiculous when you consider how he has talked about Spain lately (reminder: because they refuse to go along with his war and they empathize with the Palestinians) …
So Trump just made history … by becoming the first US president to be edited out of a World Cup team’s celebration photo …
But of course we can still have a picture of the winning team with the President …
Also, did anyone make sure Spain got the real trophy?
I’m just saying that the chain of custody had a questionable link in it.
Clay Jones – Did you hear about Donald Trump photo-bombing the World Cup? #WorldCup #Spain #Trump #FIFA
Daniel Boris – One last penalty kick.
Multiple layers of Lunacy and utter incompetence
The following has been brought to you by … (*checks notes*) … “the party that claims to be for law and order”
This exchange also happened …
His Utterly Insane Saudi Deal
Yes, this also happened.
Signed on 22 July 2026, the deal is a roughly 30-year Section 123 nuclear-cooperation agreement. A 123 agreement is the legal framework required before American companies can transfer major nuclear technology, equipment or material to another country.
It would allow:
- American companies, probably led by Westinghouse, to supply Saudi Arabia with civilian reactors, potentially including AP1000 reactors.
- Transfers of American nuclear technology, expertise, components and fuel.
- Saudi Arabia to establish a domestic nuclear-power industry.
- Potential Saudi uranium enrichment and reprocessing, rather than requiring it to import all its reactor fuel and send spent fuel abroad
What it also does is that it gives Saudi Arabia a possible pathway towards becoming a “nuclear-threshold” state. It is basically permission to develop the two parts of a civilian nuclear programme that are also most useful for making nuclear weapons — uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing.
Given that they are not a democracy, but rather a state that is run by a bunch of deeply fanatical religious lunatics, then what could possibly go wrong?
It this also supposedly the reason that he also started his utterly illegal war with Iran – to prevent a fanatical Islamic regime getting Nuclear weapons – and now he does this “deal” that will enable a fanatical Islamic regime to get nuclear weapons.
You have to wonder why he did it.
The easy and obvious answer is that it benefits his business personally.
Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby, and Noel Sims also write within Popular Information with one further rather important insight:
A nuclear deal for the Saudis. A media blackout for Kushner’s Corruption
The fact that one of the president’s top foreign policy advisors is receiving large, ongoing financial payments from the Saudi government is unquestionably relevant to the story. Nearly all major media coverage of the US-Saudi nuclear agreement ignored Kushner’s financial conflicts…
Clay Jones – I don’t believe we should help a regime of religious fundamentalists have a nuclear weapon… and we shouldn’t let Iran have one either. #Trump #Iran #SaudiArabia #Nuclear #MAGA
MAHA – Alternative “Science”
- Link to article here
- Quote: “Trump and Kennedy and Hegseth are grotesque cranks who hate us, and they should be removed from power immediately. It shouldn’t take explosive diarrhea for anyone to figure that out.“
As for what Trump thinks, he makes it very clear that he does not care …
pxmolina – #USA Some people underestimate the importance of caring about health until a tragedy strikes.
Dennis Goris – I’ll stick with the bread #cyclospora
Matt Davies – Leaf It To Him
Clay Jones – Donald Trump wants to toss your salad. #Trump #Cyclospora #ExplosiveDiarrhea #MAGA #LETTUCE
Daniel Boris – Explosive Diarrhea.
Dave Whamond – Trump response to explosive diarrhea outbreak? Of course.
MAGA Christian Cranks
The nuttier right-wing religious fanatics within the MAGA cult are as always doing their thing. It is of course the usual individuals saying what they always do. You do have to wonder how much of it they actually believe, and what proportion is simply car crash rhetoric that is designed to shock so that they earn a few $$$ via everybody who is driving by and slows down to rubber-neck their verbal carnage.
It is quite frankly tedious.
Perhaps one response is to not spotlight same old same again and again, but to simply ignore much of it. There are however also always a few gems that do always merit a bit of spotlighting.
Let’s start with JD Vance himself. Apparently Satan wrote the Constitution …
- Once again for the one millionth time, keeping church and government separate is not hostility to Christianity. It protects faith. European History is clogged full of many examples of a state embracing one specific variation of belief. All other variations of belief were then persecuted.
- A lot of that history was fresh in the minds of the founding fathers who wisely decided “Let’s not do that”.
- But hey, even if JD Vance does not get it, the fact that you are reading this most probably means that you already do.
Next we have Pete Hegseth’s pastor, Doug Wilson. Getting a “constitutional theocracy” and stripping women of the right to vote will take a long time; meanwhile Doug Wilson wants to ban abortion, overturn marriage equality, eliminate no-fault divorce, and eradicate the administrative state.
- Doug Wilson’s “constitutional theocracy” is apparently a long-term renovation project, so while he waits to disenfranchise women completely, he’ll settle for controlling their pregnancies, policing everyone’s marriages, trapping people in failed relationships, and dismantling the institutions that protect the public from powerful men like him.
- Nothing says “limited government” quite like putting a pastor in charge of your womb, wedding, divorce and civil rights.
- Fishback’s plan to “revive” America is apparently to abandon one of its founding principles: freedom of conscience. As you all know, the Constitution establishes no Christianity, bans religious tests for office and forbids government establishment of religion. The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli was blunter still: the United States was “not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.”
- Demanding that the nation “unequivocally and singularly” commit to one faith isn’t patriotism or revival. It is theocracy with campaign branding—a politician proposing to save the Constitution by replacing it with his preferred church bulletin.
- We have perhaps one more month of crazy from this guy until the Republican primary on Aug 18. The most probably winner will be Byron Donalds, and so Fishback will fade into utter insignificance after that date (I hope)
Joel Zapata Writes an Essay within the Texas Observer. There he reveals: The Real Lesson Behind Texas’ New Bible Curriculum Requirements. Going forward, students will learn that life circumstances are beyond their power to change. They will learn that their place and the place of others in the economy and larger society should not be questioned.
- It’s a good article and worth a read.
- Texas is not so much teaching the Bible as cherry-picking it into a civics tranquiliser. The lessons that they are striving for is: know your place, obey authority, admire the wealthy and call inequality “God’s mysterious plan.”
- Curiously absent from their Bible lessons are any prophets denouncing corrupt rulers, the Exodus from slavery, Jesus warning the rich and overturning the tables of profiteers. Those passages might give children dangerous ideas—such as questioning power, resisting injustice and demanding that the powerful behave morally.
- What is happening is Christian nationalism’s favourite theological scam: strip Christianity of everything radical, bolt what remains onto capitalism and authoritarianism, then tell the poor that obedience is a virtue while the rich enjoy God’s premium seating.
- Joel quite rightly finishes his article with … “All Texans and all Americans, of any religious or political leaning, should be deeply alarmed.“
- The twist here is that this is not just fringe rhetoric, it is policy.
Via Hemant Mehta who writes at the Friendly Atheist: Focus on the Family has advice for estranged parents. An apology isn’t part of it. The conservative Christian ministry refuses to acknowledge how James Dobson’s abusive teachings drove countless children away from their parents
- Focus on the Family offering advice about parental estrangement is rather like an arsonist handing out leaflets about smoke alarms.
- For decades, its founder James Dobson taught Christian parents that raising children was a contest of wills: adults must “win decisively,” obedience could be beaten into a child, and inflicting enough pain to make the lesson memorable was supposedly loving discipline. Now many of those children have grown up, recognised fear and conditional acceptance for what they were, and established boundaries. Suddenly Focus is baffled that everybody isn’t coming home for Thanksgiving.
- These days Focus on the Family wants parents to examine their behaviour while refusing to examine the authoritarian theology it spent decades selling them.
- Sometimes estrangement is not a child being corrupted by therapists, “wokeness” or Satan. Sometimes it is an adult finally realising that “honour your parents” never meant “remain available for further mistreatment.”
- Focus caused thousands of emotional car crashes. It should stop posing as the roadside-assistance service.
- FFS No. Being told to stop relitigating a repeatedly debunked election conspiracy is not remotely like telling the family of murder victims to “let it go.”
- The comparison is grotesque emotional blackmail: steal the anguish of real victims, attach it to imaginary victimhood, and hope nobody notices that Mike Lindell still hasn’t produced his evidence.
- Metaxas even retreats to “if it’s 10 percent true”—the traditional battle cry of people who want maximum outrage on minimum proof.
- Minnesota does not need a governor whose approach to evidence resembles pillow stuffing: shredded, lumpy and mostly air.
Is any of this crazy stuff having an impact?
Yes it is.
So let’s finish with something you might guess at. Michael Gryboski writes in The Christian Post: Christians’ support for Trump is driving Gen Zers away from church, study claims. Nearly half of Gen Z Americans say Christians’ support for President Donald Trump is a reason they’re less likely to attend church, according to a new study.
Hypocrite of the Week
Hemant Mehta writes on his substack about Mylie Biggs. It is Mylie who wins the award. She, who believes women shouldn’t run for office, is running for office …
- Link to his article here.
- Quote: “She’s not running to represent women. She’s running to erase them. She doesn’t want to “serve.” She wants to rule. She has no problem cashing in on the very rights she wants stripped from other women, smiling for a campaign photo while openly professing that women don’t belong in public life. She’s climbing up a ladder other women fought to create so that, if she wins, she can pull it up and deprive other women from having the same opportunities.“
- Note: This primary is set for August 4, 2026
However, you can always argue that all of MAGA deserves the Hypocrisy prize each and every day.
Here is an example. Will Sommer writes within The Bulwark: MAGA Rallies Around Andrew Tate – Despite the serious sex trafficking charges facing the influencer and his brother, Trump supporters are going to bat for them.
- But a rebuttal is that this is not hypocrisy. Since their beloved Messiah, their orange Lord and savour, is himself a convicted sexual predator, then this is very much on-brand and aligned with their actual lack of any real values.
“Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party” award – This week’s winners
Even More Political Cartoons from the past week
As always, there are many excellent cartoons.
Dave Whamond – Trump photo bomb
Dennis Goris – Save me save me!
The WHCA Dinner finally happened
He actually thinks this is a great joke …
I’m not cherry picking, literally none of it was funny …
Seriously now, it was all nonsense …
Clay Jones – I’m not sure which is worse for journalists, being prosecuted by his weaponized DOJ or having to sit through his standup routine for over an hour. #Trump #WHCA #WhiteHouseCorrespondentsDinner #TrumpIsNotFunny
Daniel Boris – The Orange Bomber
Finally
Trump Crashes Spain’s World Cup Moment & Jon Examines Team Trump’s “Meritocracy” | The Daily Show
4,983,180 views 21 Jul 2026 #DailyShow#Trump#Spain
Jon Stewart dives into Trump (and his doppelganger) photobombing Spain at the FIFA final, using a primetime presidential speech to rehash his 2020 election conspiracy theories, and how his administration’s non-DEI meritocracy is faring amid a rash of T-tests, measles outbreaks, a failed 250th celebration, and an algae-filled reflecting pool. #DailyShow#Trump#WorldCup#Meritocracy#FIFA#Spain
- 0:00 – Jon Stewart’s TDS Open
- 0:30 – Spain Defeats Argentina in the World Cup Final
- 2:30 – Trump Brags About the U.S.’s Hosting of the World Cup
- 4:11 – The U.S.-Iran War Escalates, Trump Repeats 2020 Election Claims
- 8:05 – FDA Backtracks on the Source of Cyclospora Outbreak
- 9:36 – The Reflecting Pool is Being Drained Again
- 10:00 – Jon Stewart Recaps President Trump’s “Golden Age”
- 17:25 – Jon Asks Where Is the Meritocracy Trump Promised