NATIONAL BOMB POP DAY UPDATES

Cheers To Those Berry, Lemon, and Whatever Blue Popsicle Flavor That Is Frozen Treats!

-The aftereffects of the Trump-ordered bombings of reported nuclear development facilities in Iran have proven to be (at least if you talket to MAGA, I’m betting) more war-like than the initial bombing run, primarily because the so-called-by-Trump (and, let's be honest, more likely Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth) Operation Midnight Hammer (CUE HAIR METAL RIFFS) may not, if you believe silly people commonly known as "experts in defense and warfare," have been successful in their declared mission of destroying ... I'm sorry, "OBLITERATING" (CUE MORE HAIR METAL RIFFS) in the bellowspit of Trump ... Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities.

-From the initial analysis, major questions about how effective the bombings were have been circulating worldwide, including of course American sources who reported to CNN, the New York Times, and even Fox News. Multiple questions about whether Iran moved their nuclear material stockpiles (satellite photos show a caravan of trucks at one of the sites days before the attacks) because they got notice that attacks were probable (see "two weeks" and "Trump" in previous Substacks) as well as the weeks of bombardments by Israel (kind of a signal if you think about it) led those experts to estimate that Iran's developments were, at best, delayed by "a few months."

-In response to the assessments, Trump and the administration took the time to reassess the reports and the situation, and ... of COURSE did what they do: INSISIT that Iran and its bad-guy-acting HAS TOO been OBLITERATED (CUE MORE HAIR METAL CHORDS)!

-But why stop there? Trump has also been continuing to pose for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination by absurdly claiming he and he alone has Art of the Dealt Israel and Iran into their corners to not bomb each other - and while some bombing has backed off, Iran eyerolled the claim while Israel let Trump take the heat (and was rewarded with a social media screed demanding Israel drop all the numerous criminal charges against Benjamin Netanyahu). In a press conference yesterday, Trump assuresniffed that Iran will now "obey Daddy" - which a NATO official unhelpfully actually called Trump in a NATO conference set teasingly in The Hague, Netherlands - and "not be a problem" ever again. You betcha …

-As if all that wasn't enough, the second prong in Operation Midnight Hammer (CUE STILL MORE HAIR METAL CHORDS!) by Team Trump was to attack the media over and over and over again in as absurd and buffoonish a method as they can, all to inflate Dear Leader's decision as just and true and world-changing. From Trump trying to use the W/Cheney/Rove Playbook from 9/11 and try to claim that questioning the effectiveness of the bombing runs were anti-American attacks on the troops who executed the plan (the problem were not the people running the mission or even the people who designed the mission - just the dolts who ordered and are now defending the plan) to direct attacks on the reporters who wrote the stories from the real experts (Trump demanding specific firings of reporters that, amazingly and happily, CNN at least has directly rejected for a change), Trump's attempt to turn the entire world into a Fox News audience with his people as the anchors is continuing to wilt and splat in the face of reality.

-Nowhere was that last item displayed in its morbid hilarity than this morning, where Hegseth got good and lubricated and held a "press conference" this morning in which, yelling and speed-talking and deflecting like the Fox News weekend host he was and should have always ever only been, continued to try to browbeat reporters into praising his and Trump's Operation (including calling out by name Fox News' own Jennifer Griffin, who came out with clear and correct specifics about the attack hours after it happened), while Hegseth also praised the attack as - and these are his exact words - "The most COMPLEX and SECRETIVE military operation in HISTORY!"

-That despite (1) Trump's "two weeks" public declaration of the attack, (2) Trump HIMSELF admitting to and VERIFYING a statement from Iran that the bombing runs were likely to happen, and (3) this thing called D-DAY. (Trump applauded Hegseth's performance, which Petey celebrated by lining up some shots ... of some sort ... allegedly (EYEROLL)).

-The last word for the moment comes, at long last, from Iran itself, where the suspiciously silent Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei declared that his country's retaliatory strikes on an American base in Qatar delivered "a hard slap to America's face" and that Trump had "exaggerated" the effects of the bombs, adding "They could not achieve anything significant." The entire incident has made some observers talk about Operation Midnight Hammer (CUE METAL CHORDS) with a very different porn-ish name: Operation Stormy Daniels - because for all of Trump's bragging, the thing may actually have been assaultive, stubby, and over with little to no penetration.

-Cue comedy whistle slowly descending downard into hilarious silence …

-On to another area where Trump and MAGA, and more than a few other longstanding power brokers on the Democratic side, are ranting and raving about: the apparent upset victory of Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic New York City Mayoral primary.

-The 33-year-old state legislator, avowed Democratic Socialist, and (fun fact!) son of acclaimed film director Mira Nair (SALAAM BOMBAY! MISSISSIPPI MASALA), has a commanding lead over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and because NYC uses a ranked-choice voting system, he has not officially won. However, the combination of the first-round margin and affiliation with third-place Brad Lander - who asked his voters to rank Mamdani second and Cuomo not at all - led Cuomo to concede Tuesday night, making Mamdani's win a likely matter of time.

-Naturally, Mamdani's platform of reasonable rents, child care, free transit within the city, and full-hearted defense of immigrants and the trans community has led MAGA to lose their full schizzle, from Texas legislators trying to make Adam Sandler jokes (because Sandler played a hairdresser-secret-agent name Zohan - Get It? GET IT?!?!) to New York Republicans asking Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem to deport Mamdani (he is a naturalized citizen), to Trump himself calling Mamdani "stupid" and "unattractive" (Really? REALLY?!?) while equating Mamdani with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of course.

-But Mamdani is also raising concerns among Democrats - or at least the old guard (emphasis on "OLD") Democrats who attempted to buck up Cuomo's campaign - who are overlooking the grass-roots, under-30-skewing campaign that propelled Mamdani from single digits in March to the win on Tuesday. Mamdani recruited at least 50,000 volunteers to canvass the entire city, created catchy Bollywood-style ads attacking Cuomo and teaching voters how to vote in a ranked-choice system, and rode the wave of being able to deliver a speech with charisma - so, of course, many monied interests are now pha-REEK-ing out about a potential Mamdani Mayoral term.

-No question, Mamdani's lack of experience is a concern. So too is being a Democratic Socialist. Here in Chicago, we have a Democratic Socialist-supported Mayor, Brandon Johnson, and his term has not been the ringing success he wanted (in large part, IMHO, because of Johnson himself). It’s one thing to challenge power and another to use it when you have it …

-But Mamdani is also a signal that the old Democratic guard that Cuomo literally ran on is being challenged - and challenged at a time when Democrats nationally have been SCREAMING for the party to respond to the time with the kind of energy, passion, and warmth Mamdani apparently has.

-Mamdani is not pre-ordained to be the next Mayor of New York City by a long shot. There are multiple reports about his support of Palestinians in Gaza that have led to some claims of being anti-Jewish, which have not been corroborated but will undoubtedly continue to be spread. Mamdani's Republican opponent is also well-known if not exactly feared - Guardian Angel founder Curtis Sliwa, still wearing that damn red beret. Many big-money backers are balking at supporting Mamdani, muttering about a possible write-in since Cuomo is not likely to try a third-party run (he sounded beaten in his concession speech). And there is the incumbent Mayor, Eric Adams, running as an independent because of a deal he cut with the Trump Administration to drop corruption charges in exchange for cooperation with ICE.

-In short, forces that will play on multiple levels of polarization will press the cheerful warrior persona of Mamdani in what will almost certainly be the biggest race that will be watched this November (along with Governors races in NJ and VA), if for no other reason than the sheer entertainment level - even if the Governors races are more certain bellweathers heading into 2026.

-Moving on to other news that has been simmering while the world held its breath on a potential World War III trigger - the Big Bill O'Crap. Early reports that Congress was pushing back the final vote on the rancid package to August because of the country universally retching at the prospect of it passing may be changing, at least according to recent reports that claim Senate President John Thune may be pressing to try to cram the bill onto the President's desk before next Friday, which is the 4th of July already. The apparent play is that it is such a pile of suck that must be passed solely because Dear Leader demands it - and, always and forever, the tax cuts to the wealthiest of the wealthy that is the one thing Republicans always do when in power - that the sooner the better.

-But the bill is undergoing major revisions in the Senate, in large part thanks to the Senate Parliamentarian, who has quietly been removing a number of items from the bill because of various violations of using reconciliation to do so (which means only a simple majority is needed). Prior to this morning, a provision that would have made it more difficult to use the courts to stop and slow much of the Project 2025/Trump executive orders was removed from the bill, along with defunding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, stripping SNAP subsidies, giving states more authority to enforce border regulations, and ending funding for federal retirement programs.

-And today, THIS JUST IN: the Parliamentarian also ruled the method in the bill to taxing Medicaid providers has to go - a huge problem since Medicaid cuts is arguably the lynchpin of the entire attempt to complete what Paul Krugman and others have labeled the "Robin Hood in Reverse" goal of the Big Bill O'Crap, and because MAGAts in the House have been threatening to withhold their vote for a reconciled bill without more Medicaid and Medicare cuts.

-All of which continues to put stress on Congress. Returning to our first story, the Trump Administration cancelled a Congressional review of the Iran attack - and in fact did not notify Democratic Congressional leadership at all about the attack (while making sure Sean Hannity knew, because priorities) - which is already even making some Republicans chafe. Add to that the hideous polling on pretty much everything Trump is trying to do, and even rumblings that AK Senator Lisa Murkowski may be toying with leaving the Republican Party to run as an independent and caucus with Democrats (which would shift the GOP majority to 52-48 IF if happened), and it is important to KEEP CALLING YOUR REPRESENTATIVE. Don't let the firehose of news take this off the docket!

-And that reminds me ...

-(STANDS ON SOAPBOX)

-Can we PLEASE stop with all this TRUMP-IS-DISTRACTING-US-FROM-XYZ-WITH-ALL-HIS-SHOWBOATING-DON'T-FALL-FOR-IT nonsense? Please STOP with this idea that Trump is playing multi-level-dimensional chess - he has been around long enough for all of us to realize he doesn't have that capability. Especially at his advanced slower impaired state. He has no id. He says and does whatever blurbles up from his brain goo.

-And it's ALL important. And we can ALL multi-task. As blogger Oliver Willis put it, "We are fighting on multiple fronts" - and we should and can and ARE defending the fronts. Some days better than others, to be sure, and not to discount the damage that is being done that we will get a chance to begin to repair (because we have to and we can and it's what we do), and not to discount the sheer volume and insanity of it all, but ... c'mon. Enough. Please. Thanks.

-(STEPS OFF SOAPBOX)

-So, as noted, there is more to do - we can do a whole Substack on the Supreme Court, who followed up a barbaric ruling on Tuesday (without explanation) that gives Trump/Miller/Noem the ability to ship immigrants anywhere they want without a court hearing with a ruling this morning that paves the way for red states to defund Planned Parenthood (a Heritage Foundation decades-long wet dream) - but let's end with a Petty Atrocity of the Day that will be schadenfreude-licious ...

-Remember "Big Balls?" The 19-year-old coding punk brought in by disgraced billionaire fraud Elon Musk back in the days when Ketamine Man was running the joint? Well, Big Balls has left the building! Reports say he has taken his shorts and his Nintendo Switch and his smug entitlement about everything and is no longer on the public dime. This after several reports admitted that the DOGE boys' alleged goal to find billions of dollars of government waste didn't - because, turns out, the government was running awfully efficiently after all, and their idiocy is instead likely going to cost taxpayers MORE money in the long run. So, bye-bye, Big Balls - and may you trip in the doorway so it hits you right in the crotch on the way out like you deserve.

-On to the day's events!

-NEWS ON THIS DATE: In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began. In 1956, Congress approved the Federal Aid-Highway Act, literally paving the way for the construction of superhighways across the country. In 1963, John F. Kennedy delivered his Ich Bin ein Berliner speech in West Berlin. In 1975, Sonny divorced Cher. In 1977, Elvis Presley performed in what would he his last concert. In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage was constitutional.

-DEBUTS ON THIS DATE: Smallpox vaccines (1721), DIE WALKURE (1870), THE GOLD RUSH (1925), The United Nations charter (1945), the St. Lawrence Seaway (1959), the barcode scanner (1974), the CN Tower (1976), GOO (1990), HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE (1997), SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY (2021).

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Abner Doubleday, Pearl S. Buck, Big Bill Broonzy, Dorothy Fuldheim, Peter Lorre, Salvador Allende, Colonel Tom Parker, Babe Didrickson Zaharias, Dave Grusin, Billy Davis Jr., Chuck Robb, Robert Kramer, Ricky Jay, Robert Davi, Tara VanDerveer, Mick Jones, Chris Isaak, Patti Smyth, Greg LeMond, Terri Nunn, Colin Greenwood, Chris O'Donnell, Nick Offerman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sean Hayes, Gretchen Wilson, Derek Jeter, Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza, and Ariana Grande.

-REST IN PEACE/POWER: James Weldon Johnson, Roy Campanella, Don Hutson, Jay Berwanger, Liz Claiborne, Nora Ephron, Max wright, Mike Gravel, and Kinky Friedman.

-FEED THE WORMS: Michael Vick entered Earth on this date. Strom Thurmond bought it on this date.

-Shannon Sharpe was born on this date. You decide if he gets a Happy Birthday or if he Feeds the Worms.

-TODAY'S MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Happy Birthday to Mark McKinney, he of the immortal comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall! (The theme is played by Shadowy Man on a Shadowy Planet, and the name of the song is "Having an Average Weekend." Now you know!)