STATE OF TUESDAY: So I Guess Warmongering Is Genetic — Washington’s Appetite For War Lives On

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I watched the South Carolina Senate debate so you don’t have to…

So I Guess Warmongering Is Genetic — Washington’s Appetite For War Lives On

The IC [U.S. Intelligence Community] continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.

That was Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, delivering the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment just three months before American bombers struck Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025.

More than a year later, the U.S. is embroiled in a war that has dragged on for nearly eight months, with attacks spreading across the region and no clear end in sight. Yet preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains one of the central justifications for continuing the fight.

At Sunday night’s debate — her first and only face-off with Democratic challenger Dr. Annie Andrews before the November election — Republican South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham insisted the U.S. was close to finishing the job.

“Why in the world would we stop now when they’re still dangerous, and we’re close to ending the war?” Graham argued when asked whether the U.S. should end the conflict.

“Again, I think the president wants to end the war. I know he does. We all want the war to end. But I support a strong military. I believe in peace through strength,” she added.

After Senator Lindsey Graham’s death, many of us wondered whether his sister and replacement would assume the mantle of chief foaming-at-the-mouth war hawk.

Safe to say she seems to be settling into the new role just fine.

Putting aside the concerning line of succession being fostered for the South Carolina Senate seat, Americans who don’t feel a sudden surge of delight every time Washington finds another war to fight should be outraged.

We were promised an easy mission, a quick in-and-out. Since then, the excuses for why this war keeps dragging on have piled up faster than I care to count.

Freedom for the people of Iran, collecting the nuclear dust, opening the Strait of Hormuz, regime change, protecting our military proxies — er, ‘allies’ — in the region … the list goes on and on.

At this point, the laundry list of reasons to keep fighting seems longer than the list for why we had to start.

But let’s take a step back from the ever-changing list of justifications for a moment. What exactly are we getting for all this?

The price at the pump. National diesel prices averaged $6.27 per gallon yesterday.

To be clear, diesel isn’t some niche expense for a handful of truckers. It moves the food on grocery store shelves, the Amazon deliveries on your doorstep, and nearly every type of good and material needed to keep businesses running.

In short, when diesel goes up, so does the cost of just about everything else.

Then there’s the human cost. The Pentagon’s official tally has reached 21 U.S. service members dead, with 865 wounded.

Not to mention the staggering cost to our military. A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis estimated that the war had cost the nation roughly $38 billion through Aug. 1, including an estimated $21.7 billion to replace expended munitions.

And for what? Maybe someone in the Beltway could explain what victory actually looks like.

Is it the destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities?

Regime change?

A reopened Strait of Hormuz?

A friendly government in Tehran?

And if we’re so close to achieving this vague objective, why can’t anyone tell us when the fighting will end?

Graham’s argument is just a sunk-cost fallacy wearing tacky boots.

The fact that we’ve already spent billions, lost American lives, and depleted critical weapons should make us more skeptical of demands to keep going, not more willing to keep an open tab for further requests by the military-industrial complex.

So, forgive me if I’m not impressed by another politician insisting we can’t stop now because we’re supposedly close to finishing the job.

We’ve heard that song before; in fact, I’m starting to feel like a retail worker a week out from Christmas, nauseated by Mariah Carey.

Except this song isn’t nearly as good.

If the plan is to keep going simply because we’ve already gone this far, we’re not pursuing victory. We’re just finding new ways to make an expensive mistake even more expensive.

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From The Editors’ Desk

DHS Raids Ilhan Omar’s Home Amid Criminal Investigation — Rebeka Zeljko and Reagan Reese, Daily Caller

Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C. residence was raided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday morning as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. The Department of Justice confirmed the raid. This past May, Vice President JD Vance told the Daily Caller that the Trump administration was investigating Omar over fraud allegations.

EXCLUSIVE: China Used Military-Linked Kindergarten To Cultivate Ties With Mitch McConnell’s Wife And In-Laws — Philip Lenczycki, Daily Caller News Foundation

The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Senior Investigative Reporter, Philip Lenczycki, details the Shanghai kindergarten frequented by Elaine Chao and Chinese Communist Party officials alike. Lenczycki dives into Chao’s involvement with the kindergarten, as well as its military-themed events, ranging from “Gun Fight Games” for zero to three-year-olds to the “Song of the Red Star” featured at the school’s graduation ceremonies.

Stunning Numbers Reveal That 2026 Is A Big Money Orgy — John Loftus, Daily Caller

The Daily Caller’s Editor-At-Large, John Loftus, details the obscene levels of money being raised and spent in the 2026 midterm elections, leading to serious allegations of political corruption and untoward corporate and political corruption. Data published by the Institute for New Economic Thinking shows the four most powerful leaders in Congress— Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — have raked in staggering amounts of money from a tiny subset of “ultra donors.”

Trump Posts A Made-Up Quote From Denzel Washington Praising Him — Emily Kennard, The Washington Post

No, famous Hollywood A-lister Denzel Washington did not effusively praise President Donald Trump and describe himself as a Trump supporter, despite what the president posted on Truth Social Monday morning. Alan Nierob, the head of PMK Entertainment, who represents the actor, told The Washington Post that the statements attributed to the firm’s client by President Trump were “Not real.” Exaggerations and fabrications are nothing new for President Trump, but this latest fib is a pretty bold one. Nierob told WaPo that he had “no idea” if Trump and Denzel Washington have ever even met.