History shows how suddenly national tragedy can transform a struggling leader into a wartime commander, and why that precedent should make Americans uneasy today… History doesn't repeat, as Mark Twain allegedly said, but it sure does seem to rhyme. And right now, the rhyme between the first year of the George W. Bush presidency and the first year of Donald Trump's second term is staring us in the face and it's getting scary. After "Poppy" George H.W. Bush finished his 1991 "little war" against Iraq, he left American troops stationed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Those soldiers on what Osama bin Laden considered sacred Muslim soil — the home to Mecca — became his primary grievance against America. He said so publicly, raving at The New York Times and anyone else who'd listen. American men were drinking alcohol and looking at pornography and thus defiling Saudi holy land, he said, and American women were showing their bare arms and driving cars in a country where such things are absolutely forbidden. When Bin Laden declared war on us, he meant it as part of a religious and moral crusade. That war came home on September 11, 2001, and it arrived at a miraculously convenient moment for an otherwise hapless George W. Bush. The new president had taken office under a cloud of illegitimacy after five Republicans on the Supreme Court, two of them appointed by his own father, stopped the Florida recount — that would have handed the election to Al Gore — and thus gave Bush the presidency.

Madison and the Founders of his generation had it right: what Trump is doing violates both the Constitution and the foundational norms of democracy… Operation Epstein Fury — with a bonus to help Bibi get re-elected so he doesn't have to face charges for his criminal behavior — is rolling on as Trump ignores the constitutional requirement that only Congress can declare war. He's also violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973 that dictates the president, if he reacts to an actual attack on America like Pearl Harbor, must notify Congress within 48 hours and have authorization within 60 days. In this case there was no actual or even imminent attack against America. To further confuse things, Trump is throwing the Iranian protestors under the bus by saying that he's willing to talk with the Iranian regime now that Kahmenei is dead, much like he crapped on pro-democracy voters and protestors in Venezuela when he kept that repressive regime intact after illegally removing Maduro and promising democracy.

The Best of the Rest of the News. — Trump has illegally, unconstitutionally attacked Iran in collaboration with his fellow felon Netanyahu. — Will this finally get Epstein off the front page and give Trump his excuse to declare an emergency to rig the elections? — Speaking of panicked Republicans, after they stripped Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies from millions of Americans, causing insurance bills to double and triple, they're facing a wave of outrage. — Does the arrest of a Columbia University Student show that we've lost our civil society? — Is CNN the new CBS? — Trump's inflation heats up from tariffs. — Bowing to chemical industry donations, Trump officials are killing off the system that protects families and communities from chemical disasters like explosions, spills, and fires at chemical facilities. — Crazy Alert! Trump viewed Noem's shooting her puppy in the face as an asset.

Trump's attack on elected officials of color isn't just ugly rhetoric, it's a calculated attempt to redefine who gets to belong in this democracy… Donald Trump didn't merely criticize his political opponents this week, both at the SOTU and from his office yesterday morning. He went on a racist rant that would have embarrassed a talk radio shock jock (if it didn't get them fired), much less a head of state. After Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib shouted "shame" and "liar" during his State of the Union and walked out in protest, Trump took to social media to sneer that they had "the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people" and were "LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick" who "look like they should be institutionalized." He labeled them "Low IQ" — his favorite slur for women, Black, and Hispanic people — and suggested they be sent back "from where they came." He lumped in Robert De Niro as "Trump Deranged," "demented," and possibly "criminal" for criticizing him. This is the president of the United States talking.