Politics

It’s been a busy few weeks when it comes to domestic and international politics. Both conflict and propaganda are escalating. People are divided further than they ever have, and it should be obvious that the divide is intentionally being accelerated by social media algorithms and the 24/7 news cycle. Although I’ve previously covered immigration and the LA riots, there’s been a lot more information I’ve discovered regarding the funding of these protests. I also don’t think there was significant coverage of the fall of Syria by major media outlets, an event that has massive significance when viewed through the lens of the current escalations between Israel and Iran.

Protests over Immigration

The Biden administration let in record numbers of illegal immigrants during his tenure¹, nearly 7.2 million people, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection². Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, revealed the ICE raid in Los Angeles was part of a money criminal laundering operation, for which they had three warrants, and not an immigration raid³.

This raid led to wide-scale protests and riots. Despite Homan’s statement about the LA raid, Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem did no favors to the current administration by not knowing the definition of habeas corpus⁴⁵, a foundational legal doctrine that allows anyone who is jailed to know the reason for their detention as well as the means to appeal it.

Conservatives are upset because the Biden government allowed in millions of illegal immigrants. Their belief in American principals seems to stop short of the due process required by law to properly deal with the situation, despite due process being denied to the January 6th political prisoners. Two wrongs don’t make a right. The cold reality is that both of these administrations worked together, one allowing in immigrants en masse, the other starting the process of mass deportation, both catering to the ideology of their supporters with the benefit of turning Americans against one another in foundational beliefs about following the law and who laws apply to.

Follow the Money

One only needs to look at the money to see the clear trail of propaganda⁶. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), which had received millions in taxpayer dollars over the past several years⁷⁸, including a quarter million directly from the Department of Homeland Security⁹, was one of the organizers that staged the rally prior to the riots breaking out in LA¹⁰. The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), another organizer of the LA protests, shares funding receipts with Neville Singham, a tech mogul who actively promotes the Chinese Communist Party¹¹.

Illegal immigrants have been getting free housing and subsidies for years¹²¹³ at the expense of Americans. Even though Trump offered to pay many of these people $1,000 to self-deport¹⁴, it seems that if the administration was truly interested in seeing many of these people leave voluntarily, they could simply turn off the spigots to their supply of government assistance money.

Thoughts on Illegal Immigration

Despite Trump’s promises for mass deportation, his government has deported fewer people than the Biden administration has during a similar time frame¹⁵, although overall illegal border crossings have reduced significantly¹⁶. In addition, Trump has granted a degree of “administrative amnesty” to the agricultural industry¹⁷, which is estimated to include nearly 2 million immigrants¹⁸. In comparison, an ICE worksite enforcement operation in Nebraska only led to the detention of 70 illegal aliens, many with serious criminal records or who had been previously deported¹⁹. Despite the ICE raid, dozens of people lined up to apply for jobs at the Omaha facility to replace those workers²⁰, people who may or may not have legal status to work in America.

When I was a teenager, I supported the idea of allowing in illegal immigrants. After all, they simply wanted to work for a better life, and my own family were immigrants too. Yet my father was against illegal immigrants. After all, he immigrated to America legally. He grew up in poverty with his family losing nearly everything after the India/Pakistan partition. He went to university in Delhi, obtained his electrical engineering degree and applied for work in the United States. He worked hard to get his family across the ocean.

In my 30s, I also applied and was granted work visas for both Australia and New Zealand. The processes for the initial visas were simple, but extending them to become a long-term resident required blood tests, chest x-rays and background checks. There is a lot involved in obtaining work permits in a new country.

In recent months, there has been controversial rhetoric over H1-B visa program expansion. In my industry, I’ve been told by former managers that many potential job opportunities are being outsourced to India, both in America and in Australia. Most of the ICE operations seem like public relations stunts. People in my own industry are still suffering mass layoffs and job outsourcing, which hasn’t changed at all under the Trump administration.

Syria

Before I get into the conflict between Iran and Israel, I want to take a step back. The nation of Syria collapsed back in December 2024. This was by far the most significant shift that had ever occurred in this region in decades, and it was barely covered by the American media. Syria’s regime under Assad was backed by Russian air support, Iran, Hezbollah and the Kurds, while the Al-Nusra Front and ISIS were backed by Turkey, the United States and the Gulf Corporation Council²¹. Assad petitioned the European people to stop supporting domestic terrorism within his nation during the mass migration situation in 2015²². The influx of refugees included not only Syrians, but economic migrants from other regions, who have permanently changed the culture of Europe²³.

Assad was no saint and had been an authoritarian leader within his nation, but that still doesn’t excuse the involvement of America, Turkey and other nations intentionally working to destabilize the nation of Syria for decades²⁴. Immediately after the fall of Syria’s government, Israel started launching air strikes²⁵. Israel claimed responsibility for the toppling of the Syrian government and immediately sent ground troops to take control of the buffer zone at the Syrian border²⁶.

It is clear Syria was a significant step by Israel to extend their dominance in the region, and a signifier of further conflicts and regime change in the coming year.

“There are decades when nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen²⁷.”

Iran and Israel

On June 12th 2025, Israel launched a strike on Iran. According to analyst Barak David, “according to Israeli assessments, there are very high chances that the entire Iranian general staff, including the head of the Iranian general staff of the Iranian military and several senior Iranian nuclear scientists, were all eliminated in the Israeli strike²⁸.” Israel launched a direct attack on Iran’s capital city of Tehran²⁹, leading to civilian casualties and mass flooding³⁰.

The Israeli Defense Force claimed it coordinated its actions with the United States³¹ and that the US helped lull Iran into a belief that an attack was not imminent³². Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed Israel’s attack was carried out with full knowledge and support of the US³³. Donald Trump stated that he gave Iran a change to “make a deal,” but that “they just couldn’t get it done,” and that “it would be much worse than anything they know, anticipated, or were told, that the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the world, by far, and that Israel has a lot of it³⁴.”

The United States was complicit in an unprovoked first strike against Iran. Israel’s justification for this strike was that Iran was on the verge of having functioning nuclear weapons, a claim that Israel has made for over forty years³⁵. Even if Iran is actually close to creating a nuclear arsenal this time, Professor John Mearsheimer argued over a decade ago that a nuclear-armed Iran would bring stability to the region, stating that nuclear weapons are “weapons of peace,” “weapons of deterrents,” and “have hardly any offensive capability at all,” even though they contain a risk of inadvertent escalation³⁶. It’s similar to the argument made for Ukraine keeping their soviet era nuclear weapons instead of returning them to Russia.

Iran retaliated with drone³⁷ and missile attacks³⁸ on Tel Aviv. In neighboring Lebanon, natives at a pool party watched in amazement as rockets descended on Israel³⁹; a musician played saxophone in the background⁴⁰. An Israeli who previously mocked the Palestinians in their conflict⁴¹ found herself in an air raid shelter during the retaliatory strike⁴².

Israel requested assistance from the United States in using bunker busting bombs to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities⁴³⁴⁴. There are still questions surrounding Trump’s involvement in green-lighting the Israeli attacks⁴⁵. Back in October 2019, Trump stated that going to the Middle East was “the worst decision ever made” and had cost Americans “eight trillion dollars⁴⁶”. Now Trump is declaring the US has control over Iranian airspace⁴⁷ as the Pentagon is increasing military presence in the region, with Trump demanding Iran’s unconditional surrender⁴⁸.

The Response

Glenn Beck prayed to his God that he guide Israel as they “strike at the head of the snake⁴⁹.” Rudy W. Giuliani called Israel’s attack “courageous” and likened him to a “contemporary Churchill⁵⁰.” Meanwhile, Candice Owens stated that Israel’s actions were not “remotely justifiable” and called out the nation’s “bloodlust⁵¹.”

In the past, I’ve commented on how Donald Trump was the first president in my lifetime to not start a new conflict. Now his rhetoric leads us dangerously close to Americans dying needlessly for the nation of Israel. I surely thought that a Biden presidency would lead us into more war. I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong, and it honestly looks like Trump may very well lead America into a a bloody entanglement in the Middle East. Israel is a nation that has caused massive destabilization and destruction with all of its neighbor states for decades. It is possible Trump will lead America into the worst conflicts since George W. Bush needlessly took US forces into Iraq.

It is absolutely unforgivable for any American to back US involvement with Israel. It is a nation that has spent the past year in an unmitigated holocaust on the people of Gaza, targeting civilians receiving humanitarian aid in refugee camps and mass-murdering children⁵²⁵³⁵⁴.

“All of the disasters I’ve seen combined, forty mission trips, thirty years, ground zero, earthquakes. All of that combined doesn’t equal the level of carnage that I saw against civilians in just my first week in Gaza … almost exclusively children. I’ve never seen that before … I have two children that I have photographs of that were shot so perfectly in the chest, I couldn’t put my stethoscope over their heart more accurately, and directly on the side of the head, in the same child. No toddler gets shot twice by mistake by ‘the world’s best sniper,’ and they’re dead center shots.” -Dr. Mark Perlmutter, American surgeon⁵⁴

During his first term in 2018, Trump withdrew America from the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran, despite the fact that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran was complying with the agreement and UNSC Resolution 2231⁵⁵. Now Trump is stating that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran⁵⁶,” a capital of nearly 10 million people⁵⁷.

Personal Notes on Accelerationism

I’ve mentioned how things appear to be accelerating, both within my nation and on the world stage. These are all very difficult topics to talk about. Americans have become highly polarized to the plethora of media narratives spun into their minds by social media and major news networks. I’ve discovered in my personal life how amazingly difficult it is to simply talk with anyone about the current state of the world in terms of viewing it all as some form of propaganda.

“The most radical position in the United States of America today is one that rejects both political parties.” -Shannon Joy⁵⁸

I’ve found many people today signal their political views, answering simple questions about their lives or days with indications of their partisan beliefs. Responses to these signals can result in the other person saying they don’t want to talk about politics, unless that person signals agreement to those views. It leads us to self-censor as well as create our own social echo chambers. I grew up in an America where people could agree to disagree. Being an American meant that you could disagree with what someone said, but you’d still defend their right to say it.

The false left/right divide has everyone accepting blatantly anti-American or anti-constitutional views in different directions. Whether it is supporting war in Ukraine or war in Israel, the outlier is the anti-war position. Whether it is supporting illegal immigration or mass deportation, the outlier is enforcing current laws for immigration and due process as they stand.

Fears of fascism or civil unrest are not issues Americans should be worried about. Those fears lead to supporting opposite extremes for your political side, to the point where government authoritarianism is presented as the solution. Once those types of solutions are implemented, just like engaging in foreign wars, they are an opening of a Pandora’s Box that’s incredibly difficult to reverse.