First Draft: 💀 Our Rulers Sound Like Serial Killers
Swin on how the US president and his team are amping up their grinning bloodlust as their Iran war rages on. In Afghanistan, the Taliban accuses Pakistan of massacring 400 people in a Kabul hospital.
🚨 Breaking: Israel claims it has killed Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani. Tehran has not officially commented on the claim. If confirmed, Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, would be the most senior figure killed since the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war (more Iran updates below).
Good morning, all. It’s Swin again. In Monday’s edition of this newsletter, I promised that I would get back to you on my comment request to the White House regarding Academy Awards host Conan O’Brien’s jab at Donald Trump’s penis. In response, the White House simply flagged a post from Trump’s comms director Steven Cheung, who sniped at Oscars presenter and perennial Trump foe Jimmy Kimmel, but not the host.
You are safe for now, “Conando.” As for enemies-of-the-state Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers? Sadly, less so.
OK, let’s get started, and good news, no paywall on today’s ‘First Draft’ thanks to our friends and sponsors over at Ground News. In today’s newsletter, the Trump administration performs its best Ted Bundy impersonation, the last Columbia protester left in ICE detention finally walks free, and the renewed conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan enters its latest dark and bloody chapter.
Psycho Killers, Qu’est-ce que c’est?
Nobody here at Zeteo is going to defend the George W. Bush administration’s conduct and policies in how they commenced the so-called global “War on Terror,” which has killed millions, destroyed countless other lives and communities, and continues to have profound effects on the world. One thing, though, that President Bush and most of his cronies were able to master was the art of not publicly sounding like they were serial killers, even as they unleashed holy hell. Bush did not go out of his way to say he was, as the Black Sabbath song “War Pigs” goes, making war “just for fun.”
These are strikingly low bars to clear when you’re orchestrating a major war – anybody (perhaps even some literal serial killers) would be able to clear it, right?
Not this current government in Washington, no.
“We totally demolished Kharg Island, but we may hit it a few more times just for fun,” Trump claimed to NBC News on Saturday, accidentally quoting the Sabbath. The president was referring to his recent bombing of Iran’s critical oil-export hub, a major development in the Trump-Vance administration’s illegal Middle East war that is now dragging into its third week.
Many have been killed, including US troops, and the war has the world economy teetering. Trump’s bombing of the island spiked the already serious fears that further escalation, by different sides of the conflict, is on the way – which would result in more death, destruction, and economic havoc. And yet, the American commander-in-chief wants everyone to know he may bomb it some more, just for the hell of it, because that would delight him.
The prosecution of Trump’s war has been a massive, blood-caked scandal and crime. Beyond the moral and practical abomination of the operation, the president and ruling party dove backwards into this without even the appearance of a clear mission or plan, and tried to sell the American people a pack of lies to justify the war. And as the bodies pile up, the White House is propagandizing about carnage as if it were nothing but a violent, nihilistic video game. The casual talk of mass-death and the meme-ification of a regional bloodbath underscore the advanced depravity that drives Trump administration policies, at home and abroad.
So it’s no wonder that the man at the top is talking like a serial killer when it comes to how he speaks to the press and the voters about his dumb “little” war.
If you think Trump is being crass but that comparing his words to those of a notorious serial killer is a bridge too far, the following is a quote famously attributed to the Zodiac Killer: “I like killing people because it is so much fun.”
It would be one thing if it were only Trump – the most powerful person in the world, with more sway over life and death than any other individual in existence today – acting like this. It would be atrocious, but it would be one Mad King doing Mad King brain-rot. But it’s not just him; his advisers are more than happy to join in on the “fun.”
“Death and destruction from the sky all day long,” Trump’s defense secretary, former Fox host Pete Hegseth, said at a press briefing early this month. “We’re playing for keeps.” The so-called secretary of “war” also said Friday that he would allow “no quarter, no mercy for our enemies,” in an apparent call to violate international law so that Americans may slaughter more freely.
On Sunday, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, an outside adviser to President Trump, unwittingly shared what was clearly a satirical piece while urging the use of nuclear weapons in the Middle East: “Instead of fighting over a 21-mile-wide bottleneck forever, we cut a new channel through friendly territory. A dozen thermonuclear detonations and you’ve got a waterway wider than the Panama Canal, deeper than the Suez, and safe from Iranian attacks.”
To be fair, what Gingrich is proposing would less resemble serial-killing, and more closely resemble mass murder.
But tomato-toMurder, as the idiom goes.
To get serious again for a moment: the fate of the world is very much on the line, and the morally vacant gang running the US government and its blundering, “Fox-and-Friends”-ified war machine is waging its military onslaught as if it were directing a crudely improvised snuff film. It is easy to get numb to Team Trump’s artery-spray of corruption and bloodlust.
Don’t.
None of this is okay.
🇮🇷 Iran War Updates
Death tolls:
Iran: Iranian officials said last week that at least 1,444 people have been killed and nearly 20,000 injured in the US-Israeli strikes – the latest updated figures from the country.
Lebanon: Israel has killed at least 886 people, including more than 110 children, in Lebanon, according to yesterday’s figures from the country’s health ministry.
US troops: At least 13 US troops have died in incidents related to the war.
Israel: At least 12 have been killed and thousands of others injured in Iranian and Hezbollah attacks in Israel.
Elsewhere in the region: Dozens of others have been killed across the region.
And in more Iran war news…
Israel claims key IRGC commander killed: In addition to Larijani, Israel also claimed it killed Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of Iran’s all-volunteer paramilitary Basij forces. Iran has not commented on Israel’s claim.
Never-ending war: Though Trump claims the war will end in a couple of weeks, US and Middle Eastern officials are gearing up for a months-long conflict as Iran signals its willingness to attack US targets in the region and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, even if Trump declares an end to the war, until a permanent ceasefire is confirmed.
200 US troops injured: A US Central Command spokesperson said yesterday that about 200 US troops have been injured in the war on Iran, including 10 who were “seriously wounded.”
Lebanon latest: Israel said yesterday that the Lebanese people it has forciby displaced in the southern part of the country will not be allowed to return to their homes until the safety of Israelis in northern Israel is guaranteed. Over 1 million people across Lebanon have been displaced, as Israel continues its ground invasion and strikes on the country.
In the Navy? A number of European Union leaders told Trump they are not willing to get involved in the war, after he called for global leaders to join his naval coalition in an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump claimed several countries are on board with his plans – but did not say which.
Airspace closure: The United Arab Emirates temporarily closed its airspace last night after the Ministry of Defense announced it was responding to missile and drone threats from Iran.
Two Palestinian brothers were killed by Israeli settlers. This isn’t an outlier – it’s a pattern of violence towards Palestinians that has become the norm. Since the genocide in Gaza began, violence in the West Bank has also surged, with over 4,700 cases recorded.
What’s also shocking is the limited attention this tragedy received. Despite the severity of the situation, Ground News reports that only 18 sources are available. This means that if mainstream news is all you consume, you might not even hear about this story.
Ground News is a news app and website that scans 50,000+ articles while offering built-in bias comparisons, factuality checks, and funding transparency for every source. The Blindspot feature also highlights stories like this one that you might miss in your daily reading.
With Ground News’ Vantage Plan, information becomes your superpower. Learn more at ground.news/zeteox and get 40% off the Vantage Plan for just $5 a month.
(This portion of the post was sponsored content)
Free At Last
Now, Prem gives us a big update on one of the most defining aspects of Trump’s second term: his targeting of pro-Palestine college students.
After repeated attempts by the Trump administration to supersede court orders, Leqaa Kordia was finally freed from ICE detention on Monday. Kordia, the last Columbia protester left in detention, was detained shortly after DHS took Mahmoud Khalil, setting off a spree of abductions of college students involved in pro-Palestine protest.
Kordia had been detained for a year. Last month, she was hospitalized after fainting and having a seizure. For days, her family and legal team didn’t know her whereabouts or condition.
Shortly after, as Zohran Mamdani met once again with Trump and advocated for the release of a newly-detained Columbia student, the New York City mayor also pushed Trump on the ongoing cases against Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Kordia.
On Friday, the one year anniversary of Kordia’s detention, an immigration judge ordered her released, following two previous orders and a recommendation for release from a federal magistrate judge. While the administration had pushed back on orders in the past, it relented this time, releasing Kordia on bail. Her case, as with other targeted students, continues; but she is now participating in Ramadan outside of detention, as Eid approaches, and is free from the atmosphere that hospitalized her just weeks ago.
Thanks, Prem. Yet another example showing that we should believe Trump at his most fascist — but not believe that what he wants simply goes.
🗞️ What You Need to Know
No filter: At the Kennedy Center board meeting, Trump forced House Speaker Mike Johnson to discuss the terminal diagnosis of Florida GOP Rep. Neal Dunn, then shamelessly revealed that Dunn’s health issues could’ve left him “dead by June.” Trump said he provided medical support to Dunn because he “needed his vote” to maintain the House GOP’s slim majority.
Lying under oath: Democrats are demanding an investigation into outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing her of lying under oath during congressional testimony earlier this month about ICE’s compliance with court orders, her $220 million DHS ad campaign, the detainment of US citizens, and immigration detention conditions. Not to mention her claim that DHS “has no quotas” for arrests, which several ICE agents recently confirmed was not true.
Good riddance: Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino – the former “commander” of Trump’s violent immigration raids across the country – will retire at the end of this month, CBS News reports. His departure comes alongside that of Noem, months after the two blatantly lied about the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis.
MAHAspital pass: A federal judge dealt a blow to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s vaccine overhaul, blocking CDC cuts to the list of recommended vaccines for children and the appointment of Kennedy’s hand-picked members to the vaccine advisory committee.
TPS battle: Next month, the Supreme Court will hear the Trump administration’s appeal to eliminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Syrians – the White House’s last resort to overturn lower-court decisions blocking the termination of the policy for such migrants.
🧠 Pop Quiz!
Donald Trump almost quoted the Zodiac Killer about killing people being “so much fun.” But according to a 2016 poll, what alarming percentage of Floridians think Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) may actually be the Zodiac Killer?
Keep your eyes out for the answer below!
🌏 Anywhere But America
🇦🇫🇵🇰 Massacre in Kabul? Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan’s military of bombing a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing at least 400 people. Pakistan called the claim “false,” saying its strikes targeted only military and not civilian installations. The renewed violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan has officially entered its third consecutive week as China continues to mediate peace talks.
🇵🇸 Don’t forget Gaza: Israeli forces killed at least two Palestinians and injured 10 others today when they targeted a vehicle in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, local media reported. The latest killings bring the confirmed death toll in Gaza since the start of the genocide to at least 72,247, though it’s likely to be much higher.
🇨🇺 Island in the dark: Cuba, home to 11 million people, was hit with an island-wide blackout yesterday after its electrical grid collapsed, largely due to the US-led blockade of oil. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that removing Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel from office is a key aim of the Trump administration in its bilateral talks with the island nation.
🇸🇩 Sudan latest: Two people were reportedly killed in a drone strike in the town of Al Rahad in North Kordofan, according to the UN. A hospital was also reportedly destroyed.
😳 WTF?!
The racism never ends with Trump, as he continues to spew lies about Somalia and even invites an investigation into Ilhan Omar’s citizenship status, falsely declaring the US citizen to “be here illegally.” What’s with his sick obsession with her?
🧠 Trivia answer: 38%.
ICYMI From Zeteo
Zeteo’s Melanie Riehl and Akshay Gokul contributed to this newsletter.
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Impeachment is a kindness.
“The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking into the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. Even when weapons of war are not actually destroyed, their manufacture is still a convenient way of expending labour power without producing anything that can be consumed.”
― George Orwell, 1984