When You’re In A Hole, Stop Bombing

The ceasefire and peace negotiations in Iran are on a razor’s edge. Over the long weekend we went from war likely on Friday, to deal imminent by Sunday, to strikes by the US on Memorial Day. Trump is under severe pressure from hawks and the Israel lobby not to sign a deal.

All the while, gas prices remain debilitatingly high, Michigan families are going hungry, and veterans lack access to the healthcare they need.

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Trump is in a terrible bind of his own making. He has no political license to continue the war, but he can’t bear to end it either. To use his own phrase, Trump doesn’t have the cards.

Bombing the crap out of Iran didn’t work once, and it won’t work the second time. Assassinating their leader didn’t work either. Iran has proven its ballistic missile capacities to wreak chaos on US bases, ships, and allied assets in the Gulf, it controls Hormuz, it and still holds unused power to close down Bab-el-Mandeb via its Houthi allies. No escalation of this war, not more bombing or boots on the ground, will change the equation.

This is a very bitter pill to swallow for the US, Israel, and their allies. Many hawks on the far right want to escalate the war because they find defeat is impossible to accept. Israel launched a new offensive in Lebanon this weekend, hoping to draw Iran and the US back into a full-scale regional war. If Trump chooses to resume hostilities in Iran, it will lead to greater catastrophes for the American and global economy than we have yet imagined.

This Iran War will go down as a low mark in the history of American affairs abroad. The only question is how much lower it will go. I say to Trump: When you’re in a hole, stop bombing.

Votes of Note In DC

Congress passed a real housing bill. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed 396-13. It increases access to federally-backed mortgages for buyers of manufactured housing and homes under $100,000, creates incentives for local governments to streamline permitting processes, and bans Wall Street investors with over 350 single-family homes from increasing their portfolios, along with many other measures. This bill is a meaningful step to make housing more affordable, but there is still much more to be done. (Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition)

The president created a $1.8 billion slush fund for his allies. DOJ’s new “Anti-Weaponization Fund, bankrolled by your tax dollars, will pay out to Trump allies who were prosecuted under Biden. January 6th defendants are eligible. Members of Congress are eligible. The same order prevents future DOJ investigations into Trump and his sons. Even Joe Rogan called it “crazy.” If I were your Congressman, I’d be screaming about this from the rooftops. (Source: Daily Beast)

District Notes

Severe storms knocked out power to 70,000 across Mid-Michigan on May 18. Wind gusts up to 80 mph downed trees and power lines from Grand Ledge to Okemos. This came just days after 11 tornadoes hit Michigan on May 15, including an EF-1 in Eaton County. As climate change increases severe winds in Michigan, we ought to increase our energy security by investing in distributed solar power that we own ourselves, rather than depending on DTE and Consumers who can’t keep their power lines standing. (Source: WILX)

Michigan drug overdose deaths have dropped to their lowest level since 2013. The state logged fewer than 1,700 deaths in 2025, down from a peak of 3,096 in 2021. This is the result of 1.3 million naloxone kits distributed, and opioid settlement dollars at work. (Source: Bridge Michigan)

State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou was stripped of all committee assignments after calling for an Epstein investigation. She held a press conference demanding a probe into Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Interlochen Center for the Arts. The next day, Speaker Matt Hall removed her from every committee. Hall says it was about “disrespectful behavior,” but it sure looks like another chapter in the ongoing Epstein coverup. (Source: Lansing State Journal)

Cristo Rey Fiesta celebrates Lansing’s Hispanic community. I was blown away by the volunteer-powered Fiesta and the many amazing performers. The Cristo Rey community sure knows how to throw a party! I was proud to join Lansing Councilmembers Trini Pehlivanoglu and Deyanira Nevárez Martínez to serve up a few hundred trays of nachos. (Source: WLNS)

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