The “flying lawn mowers” that ground down a superpower’s war machine
ET
Friday, April 17, 2026
But just as striking was the simple math of munitions. American and Israeli forces were destroying quite a lot of Iranian targets, both military and civilian. But they were doing so with extremely expensive weaponry and depleting fragile stockpiles. Perhaps the Iranians were doing less damage, but they were doing it much more cheaply, with what seemed like a bountiful supply of low-cost drones, missiles and mines. How long had it taken Americans to realize they’d gotten stuck in quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan? In this war of choice, conducted largely by air, the fearsome U.S. military had gotten trapped in a war of attrition within the very first week.
Thursday, April 16, 2026
The Gulf conflict demonstrates what American forces can achieve from a position of strength. Ukraine has shown what war looks like from a more vulnerable position, when that strength is contested at scale. The performance of our forces should inspire confidence. The lessons of Ukraine should instill urgency. We will need both.
America’s Success Against Iran May Prove a Distraction
Ukraine gives us a preview of the future of warfare. Our leaders would be wise to learn its lessons.
ET
Progressivism was the first mainstream American political movement—with the possible exception of the pro-slavery reactionaries on the eve of the Civil War—to openly oppose the principles of the Declaration. Progressives strove to undo the Declaration’s commitment to equality and natural rights, both of which they denied were self-evident. To Wilson, the inalienable rights of the individual were “a lot of nonsense.” Wilson redefined “liberty” not as a natural right antecedent to the government, but as “the right of those who are governed to adjust government to their own needs and interests.” In other words, liberty no longer preceded the government as a gift from God, but was to be enjoyed at the grace of the government. The government, as Wilson reconceived of it, would be “beneficent and indispensable.” Progressives such as John Dewey attacked the Framers for believing that “their ideas [were] immutable truths good at all times and places,” when instead they were “historically conditioned, and relevant only to their own time.” Now, Dewey and the progressives argued, those ideas were to be repealed.
Justice Thomas: Progressives vs. the Declaration
Woodrow Wilson’s ideas are opposed to the basic American creed. They can’t coexist forever.
ET
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of remarks Justice Clarence Thomas delivered Wednesday at the University of Texas, Austin, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence:
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Mr. Orban’s defeat is not nearly the end of the story, not even in Hungary, where his allies will continue to work in many parts of government. But his defeat is significant. Many people assumed he was unbeatable. He was Vladimir Putin’s biggest ally inside the European Union and the original 21st-century model of Western illiberalism. Mr. Trump openly admired him, and Vice President JD Vance traveled to Hungary last week to campaign for him. Mr. Magyar thoroughly defeated this far-right giant. The free world should take an honest look at how he did it.
The New York Times Editorial Board
The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.
Would the U.S. really go ahead and start an incident with China by boarding or worse yet shooting at a Chinese vessel in the Strait of Hormuz?
What the Naval Blockade of Iran Might Look Like
The U.S. military has provided few details on how it might carry out President Trump’s orders as he seeks to pressure Tehran on a peace deal. But history and established practices offer some clues.
As a naval officer, John Ismay boarded tankers smuggling oil in the Persian Gulf and passed through the Strait of Hormuz several times on warships in 2000, 2009 and 2010. He reported from Washington.
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Sympathy for the Devil - sorry unable to attach the Rolling Stone's soundtrack
Trump Meets His Match in Pope Leo
As Bishop Sheen said to Milton Berle, the vicar of Rome has better writers and a better sponsor.
A reader sent a note this week saying he’d been following the president’s attack on the pope and his follow-up posting of the artificial-intelligence image depicting him as Christ healing the sick, and it sent him to the Sermon on the Mount. Consider what Jesus said, the reader urged, and the things Trump says. I did.
Christ: “Blessed are you who are poor.”
Mr. Trump: “Part of the beauty of me is that I’m very rich.” “My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get.”
Christ: “Blessed are the meek.”
Mr. Trump: “It has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency . . . is the most successful in the history of our nation.” “You know who No. 2 is? George Washington.”
Christ: “Blessed are the merciful.”
Mr. Trump: “I am your retribution.” “Why are we having all these people from s— hole countries come here?”
Christ: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
Mr. Trump: “A whole civilization will die tonight.” “He died like a dog.” “He died after running into a dead-end tunnel whimpering and crying and screaming.”
Christ: “Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you.”
Mr. Trump: “I love getting even with people.” “I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them, I’m sorry.”
Some common subject matter, but rather different approaches! So different that Mr. Trump’s statements seem the photographic negative of the Sermon on the Mount.
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