Blather, Bombs, Bodies and then … A Bribe?

By Siggy Raible

Well it’s that time of the year … mid-term elections. I sure do hope all dem democrats ─ including Republicans, Democrats and independents ─ vote for a democrat/Democrat. I say this because the Republican Party seems to have lost its way.

How can any right thinking (both sane and conservative) voter vote for anyone/party that started a war, raised prices and believes that bombing a civilization into the dark ages is a good thing? I ask this in all sincerity.

Our Blather-in-Chief rails against anyone who disagrees with him. He belittles people ─ calling his perceived enemies “piggy,” “Newscum,” “dumocrats,” and other half-witted inanities. He lies so often he has to worry that he might accidentally tell the truth. But worse than bullying and lying, he has taken on the duties of the almighty … judge, jury and executioner. He bombs boats and countries on a whim.

On September 1, 2025 the Trump crew started a bombing campaign they called Operation Southern Spear. The Republican administration condoned the bombing of these boats in the Caribbean Sea and later in the Pacific Ocean declaring that those ships were carrying drugs. There is no proof that these vessels were carrying drugs because any proof was blown away. In the process the Bomber-In-Chief has killed 207 or so human beings. I say “or so” because we really don’t know how many people were on onboard since they were blown up along with the boats. These narco-terrorists, described as such by the administration, were not prosecuted, but were judged, found guilty and executed without a trial. So much for law and order.

Then he invaded Venezuela on January 3, 2026, abducted that country’s president and his wife in a stealth invasion called Operation Absolute Resolve. Thinking this was such an easy win, he then ─ without the consent of Congress but with the help of Israel ─ began a “small potatoes” campaign in a Middle Eastern country. In so doing, he broke a promise he made to the U.S. in his run for the 2024 presidency. He promised that he would avoid our involvement in another forever war. Well, I guess starting a war doesn’t count.

In June 2025, he bombed Iran in a two week operation called Operation Midnight Hammer. He claimed to have “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities. But on February 28, 2026, in an “excursion” called Operation Epic Fury ─ which continues to this day ─ he again bombed Iran, essentially saying he was preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Now, if we destroyed the nuclear material in 2025, I would like to know how Iran was able ─ in just eight months ─ to produce enough fissionable material to create a nuclear bomb. As a result of our excursion the free shipping zone called the Strait of Hormuz is now closed t causing oil prices and everything else to rise. And so we continue to bomb Iran. Since it still hasn’t cried “uncle,” the president has declared an economic war against Iran’s 90 million civilians in the hopes that he will strangle Iran into submission.

I checked Wikipedia for the latest numbers of American soldiers and Iranians killed and wounded in this “small potatoes” excursion in Iran. The number of American service members killed is 19 and the number injured is 820. The number of Iranians killed is 3,528 which includes the 156 elementary school children blown away when their school was obliterated on the first day. The wounded count is 27,170. We all feel terribly for the families of those who were killed. What about the injured? I have personal knowledge of the catastrophic effects of war. My brother, a healthy 18-year-old believer in his country, joined the Marine Corps and volunteered to be sent to Vietnam. At 20, he returned a quadriplegic. He spent nine years in a poorly run VA hospital. His life was drastically changed forever, but he managed to make the best out of his new life. The effect on my mother and father was devastating. In their old age they became my brother’s keeper (saving that cost to the government). How many of the 820 wounded veterans suffer with similar effects of this “small potatoes” excursion? How many wounded Iranian civilians face a world with new encumbrances?

And to wrap up this essay we’ll look at the Trumpapalooza convention held on September 9 and 10 in Dallas, Texas. I ask you: do you think the president ─ by offering to pay each adult American citizen $5,000 if Republicans still hold both houses of Congress after the election ─ is the same as offering a bribe? Some say that an offer made in public is not considered a bribe. I ask you: can your vote be bought for $5,000? Me, I’m holding out for six grand.

Well, as I said earlier, after two years in power, no right thinking person would think this is the best possible outcome for this U.S. president and his Congress. And another two years with a Republican Congress doesn’t look any more promising.