Why Trump Lost

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The first surprising thing about President Trump’s impending defeat in the 2026 Iran war is that he already fought and won a successful war against Iran last year. In June 2025, U.S. and Israeli air strikes badly damaged the Iranian nuclear program in 12 days of bombardment. Exactly how badly remains controversial. But they didn’t do nothing. If Trump had quit while ahead, he could have banked his gains from last June as…

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Organizing 101: How to Take Action

This blog is part of a larger series ‘Organizing 101: Outrage to Organizing’ We just learned about organizing basics, the power of people coming together, and how to get attention for your issue.  Now we are going to learn about what makes an effective action and how to move from activity to impactful action.  Action vs. Activity Action is part of a larger campaign, directed at a specific target audience, and used to provoke a reaction and move systemic change. For example, action would be creating a petition for a…

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Homeland Security’s Plan to Squeeze International Flights

Sign up for Inside the Trump Presidency, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump term. In early April, shortly after Markwayne Mullin took over the Department of Homeland Security, he floated an idea on Fox News that wasn’t taken seriously; it sounded, in fact, like a proposal from someone very new on the job: Mullin threatened to cut federal screening of international passengers and cargo at airports in cities with “sanctuary” policies, which limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Such a move would trigger flight cancellations to airports…

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