Lowell Johnson, 🚴‍♂️💉🇺🇸🇺🇦

Husband, dad, economist, statistician. This is a personal account. All views are my own, unless misguided. BLM. He/him.

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

If we want to clean up Trump’s mess and prevent future Trumps from taking power, we must make major changes to our broken political system.

Here are the 10 reforms necessary to get anything done.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

President Obama has a unique way of ROASTING Donald Trump without mentioning him by name, and it drives Trump nuts.

He just did it again, this time in front of every living president.

Watch this. 🔥

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

MAJOR BREAKING: Trump's full Iran deal LEAKS out of Saudi Arabia — and it's a thousand times worse than even his harshest critics predicted.

This is a historic surrender by Trump and Vance.

#6 is a real doozy...

According to Al Arabiya, a state-owned news channel out of Saudi Arabia, the agreement between the White House and Tehran is a 14-point "Memorandum of Understanding."

Here are those points in summary:

1) Iran, the United States, and their allies declare upon signing that there will be "an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon." They vow not to "launch any hostile attack against each other" and will "will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other."

That means no more Truth Social threats from Trump ranting that a "whole civilization will die tonight."

2) The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs.

3) The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to negotiate and reach a final agreement within a maximum period of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent.

4) The U.S. will lift its naval blockade and "prevent any interference or obstruction against" Iran. Traffic through the region will be restored within 30 days to "full capacity" and "pre-war volume of traffic on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The U.S. agrees to withdraw its military forces from the surrounding region within 30 days of the final agreement (which still has to be written and ratified).

5) Iran agrees to immediately "take steps" to ensure that the movement of merchant ships from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa is resumed within 30 days to the pre-war volume, taking into account the need for the removal of technical obstacles and the neutralization of mines by Iran.

6) The U.S. and its allies will create a "comprehensive plan" for the "rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran." It must amount to AT LEAST $300 billion. The full design of the program will be written into the final agreement.

In other words: Trump wasted billions of your tax dollars to blow up Iran and now he's spending billions more to rebuild it.

7) The U.S. agrees to end "all types of sanctions" on Iran, including those implemented by the U.N. Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as all "unilateral U.S. sanctions, both primary and secondary."

This is an absolutely MASSIVE concession. Sanctions have long been the primary tool of imperial oppression wielded by the U.S. against Iran. While ostensibly designed to weaken the Ayatollah and the theocratic mullahs, in practice the sanctions have done nothing but inflict pointless suffering and misery on the Iranian people.

Iranian elites exist in a pampered bubble much like the elites do in the United States. It's the normal people who suffer under sanctions because they're denied access to food, medicine, technology, and other imports. Because those supplies are restricted, prices inflate, choking the middle and lower classes.

With the removal of these sanctions, the Iranian people have a chance to enter into a new era of economic blossoming. In his genocidal, nihilistic quest to weaken and destroy Iran on behalf of Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump may have accidentally Made Iran Great Again.

8) The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have agreed that the fate of enriched material and the fate of all other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran’s nuclear needs, will be adequately addressed in a final agreement; the final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article.

While Trump will try to claim point 8 as some big victory, the use of the word "reiterates" here is crucial. Iran was never pursuing nuclear weapons in the first place. The White House and Israel lied about Iran's intentions as a pretext to start this war. Tellingly, Iran has not agreed to surrender its enriched uranium in this memo.

9) The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that, pending a final agreement, they will maintain the status quo: Iran will maintain the status quo on its nuclear program, and the United States will not impose new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region.

To put it more succinctly: Trump accomplished nothing.

10) The U.S. agrees to "immediately" issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance, transportation, and the like. Those waivers will no longer be required once the sanctions are lifted in full.

11) The U.S. agrees to release "frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran" so long as negotiations progress towards a "final agreement." Those funds will "fully available for use" by Iran.

12) The U.S. and Iran agree that "an implementation mechanism will be established to oversee the successful implementation of and future commitment to the Final Agreement."

The final agreement will be approved through a binding resolution of the UN Security Council.

Let us be very clear about what this deal memo represents: a complete, and total surrender by the United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It constitutes the greatest military defeat in American history.

It's also a cause for celebration.

The deal is good for Iran, but more importantly it's good for the world. This conflict accomplished nothing beyond aiding Israeli's territorial expansion into Lebanon. Innocent people were slaughtered and Americans were forced to pay the price in the form of skyrocketing groceries and gas.

It would have been far better if Trump had never started this war. But since he did, it's a blessing that it's finally (possibly) coming to an end.

Please ❤️ and share if you think that Obama got a better deal!

[Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz ,داني سيترينوفيتش @citrinowicz]

Before Striking Iran: Defining Achievable and realistic Objectives

Before considering a military strike against Iran, it is essential to be realistic about what such a campaign can actually accomplish.
There is little doubt that Iran is not a peer competitor to the United States militarily. The U.S. retains overwhelming conventional superiority and operational dominance across domains. However, Iran should not be underestimated. As demonstrated in previous limited confrontations, particularly in missile warfare, Tehran possesses meaningful asymmetric capabilities — especially in its ballistic missile arsenal and regional proxy network.
The core question, therefore, is not whether the United States can inflict damage. It is: What strategic objective is realistically achievable?

1. Regime Change
Even senior U.S. officials have acknowledged that regime change would be extraordinarily difficult to achieve.
There is no unified, viable opposition inside Iran capable of stepping in and governing. Moreover, regime change would almost certainly require a prolonged campaign, potentially including ground forces — something the American public and policymakers have shown little appetite for after Iraq and Afghanistan.
Absent a willingness to commit to a large-scale, long-term stabilization effort, regime change is not a credible objective.

2. Destabilizing the Regime to Trigger Internal Uprising
A military campaign could weaken the regime and create internal pressure. However, Iran’s leadership — particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — has no exit option. The regime’s survival is existential for its core leadership.
History suggests they would respond to internal unrest with overwhelming force. For destabilization to translate into meaningful political change, a sustained and prolonged campaign would likely be required. Even then, the most probable outcome may not be democratic transition, but internal chaos — potentially pushing Iran toward civil conflict.
That scenario carries significant regional and global risks.

3. Destroying Iran’s Nuclear Program
A military strike could significantly damage nuclear facilities. Precision strikes may delay progress and degrade infrastructure.
But strikes cannot eliminate scientific knowledge, human capital, or political will. Nor is it certain that all highly enriched material could be located and destroyed.
At best, military action may delay the program. It is unlikely to eliminate it permanently. Iran would almost certainly attempt reconstruction — potentially with greater determination and fewer constraints.

4. Eliminating Iran’s Missile Capabilities
A broad campaign could substantially degrade Iran’s missile inventory and production infrastructure.
However, Iran’s missile program is domestically based and central to its defense doctrine. It is viewed as a pillar of deterrence against superior conventional forces. Even after heavy losses, Tehran would likely prioritize rebuilding these capabilities.
The result may be temporary degradation rather than permanent removal.

5. Forcing Iran Back to Negotiations on Better Terms
There is an assumption that military pressure could coerce Tehran into accepting a more favorable agreement.
Yet past confrontations suggest that the Iranian leadership may choose endurance over capitulation. The regime may calculate that time increases political pressure on Washington to de-escalate, particularly if the conflict becomes prolonged or regionally destabilizing.
Rather than producing immediate concessions, military action could harden Iran’s negotiating position — or eliminate diplomatic channels entirely.

6. Targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
Some might argue that removing the Supreme Leader could fundamentally alter Iran’s trajectory.
However, decapitation strikes often produce unpredictable outcomes. Iran’s political system is institutionalized, not purely personalist. Removing Khamenei could trigger retaliation from Iran and its regional proxies and potentially force the United States into a much broader conflict.
It is also unclear whether such a move would moderate Iranian policy. It could just as easily radicalize it.

The Strategic Bottom Line
There is no question about U.S. military superiority in a direct confrontation. The real issue is strategic clarity.
For the first time in decades, the possibility of direct U.S.–Iran military confrontation raises the prospect of open interstate war rather than proxy conflict. That demands disciplined thinking about ends, ways, and means.
No available objective appears easily attainable. All carry significant second- and third-order effects. Many outcomes could be unpredictable — and not necessarily favorable to U.S. interests.

Thus, before initiating military action, policymakers must clearly define what “success” looks like — and whether the likely costs, duration, escalation risks, and regional consequences align with America’s broader strategic priorities.
Military capability is not the same as strategic advantage.

#IranRevolution2026
#Iran

[Charlotte Clymer 🇺🇦 @cmclymer]

Look, y'all... this is eight minutes. I know that's far stretching the bounds of social media attention. But you should watch @AmbassadorRice completely dismantle Trump's foreign policy. It's comprehensive. It's precise. It's a wake-up call for those who need it.

[Gandalv @Microinteracti1]

I am not sure the American military establishment has fully grasped what Trump has actually done here. So let me spell it out in language even a Pentagon procurement officer can understand.

Europe has been buying American weapons at a staggering rate. In 2024 alone, US foreign military sales notifications to European countries hit $76 billion. Four times the European average since 2008.  F-35s, missile systems, air defence, ammunition. All of it American. All of it coming with decades of service contracts, maintenance agreements, spare parts, software updates and training programmes worth hundreds of billions more over their operational lifetimes.
Between 2020 and 2024, the United States supplied 64 percent of all European weapons imports. 
That is now over.

Europe has an $860 billion defence plan, and American contractors are being frozen out. The goal is 80 percent of all military purchases from European factories by 2030.  Airbus. Rheinmetall. KNDS. Saab. Leonardo. BAE Systems. They are about to receive the largest order book in the history of European defence industry. Because Trump made it politically impossible for any European government to keep writing cheques to Washington.

Some European governments have discussed worries that the Pentagon could remotely disable American F-35 fighters or impose restrictions on how US weapons can be used.  When your supplier is also threatening to annex your allies, that is not paranoia. That is basic procurement logic.

Trump set out to make America great again. He has succeeded magnificently. For Rheinmetall.

Gandalv / @Microinteracti1

[Travis Akers 🇺🇸 @travisakers]

A list of countries that currently have mail-in voting:

Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Poland
Portugal
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
Zimbabwe

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change — all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

In Minneapolis and many other communities across the country, we're seeing people come together to peacefully protest and support their neighbors. If you're looking to get involved, here are some ways to help: https://t.co/I2Md26PycU

[Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley]

🎯

[Jake Scott, MD @jakescottMD]

RFK Jr. went on national TV and spouted egregious, dangerous falsehoods about vaccines. As a parent and infectious diseases doctor, I couldn't stay silent. @FoxNews might not fact-check him, but I will. I've reviewed the trials. I've catalogued them. I have receipts. 🧵

[Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCT]

Rightfully, the cuts to Medicaid (over 10M people will lose their health care) and the tax cuts for the rich have been the story of the disastrous Republican budget bill.

But I read the whole thing. And there are some hidden rats in there you need to know about.

1/ A quick🧵

[Senator Adam Schiff @SenAdamSchiff]

I just left the Senate floor, where I laid out Trump's real "Art of the Deal."

For himself.

Here are Donald Trump's 10 most outrageous displays of corruption yet.

🧵

[Max Fisher @Max_Fisher]

The single most important article yet published on Trump's second term, by two scholars who since 2016 have been consistently correct in anticipating Trump's effect on our political system. Everyone should read it.

[Lowell Johnson, 🚴‍♂️💉🇺🇸🇺🇦 @LowellJohnson1]

Texas ranks 43rd in the country in per-pupil spending. The state has not increased the basic allotment per student since 2019, despite a cumulative inflation rate estimated at about 20% since then.

[Lowell Johnson, 🚴‍♂️💉🇺🇸🇺🇦 @LowellJohnson1]

School districts all over Texas are facing budget deficits and tough decisions on how to stay afloat as they educate the future Texas workforce.

[Alpine ISD @thealpinebucks]

“We must confront the uncomfortable truth: the state of Texas, despite enjoying record surpluses, has neglected its constitutional duty to adequately fund public education. The result? A system where rural schools are systematically starved of the resources they need to thrive.”

[Diane Ravitch 🇺🇸🇺🇦📚🌈🗽🌹🇨🇱❤️ @DianeRavitch]

An excellent overview of the attack on our public schools: https://t.co/CHyqurJyXD

[Lowell Johnson, 🚴‍♂️💉🇺🇸🇺🇦 @LowellJohnson1]

@kareem_carr The Central Limit Theorem applies as long as the parent population has a finite standard deviation. The Cauchy distribution is an example of a distribution that does not have a finite distribution.

[Simon Mahan @SimonMahan]

Many Winter Storm Uri (2021) recommendations have not been implemented

[Lowell Johnson, 🚴‍♂️💉🇺🇸🇺🇦 @LowellJohnson1]

Bravo. Watch this video 👇🏻

[James Talarico @jamestalarico]

Greg Abbott is trying to defund our schools with a private school voucher scam.

Not on our watch.

Today I joined my colleagues to introduce the Fully Fund our Future Act which will invest in ALL students and give every teacher a $15,000 raise. #txlege