Monday 6th of April 2026
Home » Blogs » Gus Leonisky's blog

donald is asking congress to approve $1.5 trillion for war procurement....

On Friday [03/04/2026], the Trump administration unveiled a budget blueprint centered on a vast escalation of military spending. In its Fiscal Year 2027 budget request, the White House is asking Congress to approve roughly $1.5 trillion for “defense”—that is, for military aggression—which would be the highest level of military spending in modern history. This is a staggering 40 percent increase over already record Pentagon spending.

This is a budget for World War III. It comes as Trump carries out—and escalates—his pledge to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages,” i.e., to destroy the infrastructure of civilized life in a country of more than 90 million people. The FY2027 request calls for $1.1 trillion in base spending, plus hundreds of billions more in mandatory funding for munitions and “defense industrial base” expansion. 

The document demands $65.8 billion for shipbuilding to procure 18 battle force ships and 16 non-battle force ships, and announces “President Trump’s Golden Fleet,” including funding for a “Trump-class battleship” and “next generation frigates,” while maintaining or increasing procurement of major platforms. It pushes “Golden Dome” missile defense, including space-based sensors and interceptors, while simultaneously accelerating “drone dominance,” “unmanned and counter-unmanned systems” and “historic investments” in artificial intelligence.

At the center is preparation for confrontations far beyond Iran: the tightening encirclement of China and the expansion of nuclear enterprise and nuclear command, control and communications. The budget boasts that it is moving “aggressively” toward the F-47 sixth-generation fighter to “project power anywhere on the globe,” and it frames the entire buildup as a conscious shift away from “legacy” systems to next-generation capabilities designed to win “21st Century wars.”

As Trump vows “Stone Age” destruction, this $1.5 trillion request is the financial mechanism for building the most technically advanced machinery to carry out a project of historical regression.

How is this to be paid for? Through a massive assault on the social rights of the working class.

The budget proposal itself includes $73 billion in cuts across domestic agencies, targeting housing, education and climate-related programs. It advances cuts that weaken even the minimal regulatory restraints on corporate exploitation: for example, reduced funding for the already barely funded Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) amidst an ongoing wave of workplace deaths; cuts to Housing and Urban Development; and reductions in Health and Human Services, including programs that help working class families pay for heating and basic necessities.

But these cuts cannot finance the scope of the military escalation Trump is demanding. A war budget of $1.5 trillion, on top of an already massive deficit and debt burden—the product of endless war and handouts to the banks—requires far more than trimming discretionary line items. It points directly to the core social programs—Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security—because these are the only budget categories large enough to loot.

This is the meaning of Trump’s leaked remarks at a closed Easter lunch this past week, where he stated baldly that social programs must be sacrificed because “we’re fighting wars.” Trump demanded: “Don’t send any money for day care. … We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care,” and went further: “It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare. … We have to take care of one thing: military protection.” 

Here, as they say, Trump let the cat out of the bag. For more than three decades, under both Democrats and Republicans, the ruling class has carried out a systematic assault on the social reforms of the 20th century, which were wrested from it through bitter class struggle and conceded, in part, out of fear of social revolution. From Clinton’s declaration that he would “end welfare as we know it,” to Obama’s pro-corporate “healthcare reform” that entrenched the profiteering of insurers, to the relentless degradation of public education, the direction has been the same.

But the “big money” lies in the main social programs that constitute the minimal guarantees of modern life for tens of millions: Social Security, established in the Great Depression and relied on by more than 70 million people, and Medicare and Medicaid, established in the 1960s—Medicare covering roughly 68 million, and Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program together covering more than 75 million, including about 36 million children. 

In ruling circles it has long been understood that these programs must be targeted to finance militarism and enrich the financial oligarchy. The Wall Street Journal has stated the underlying class logic bluntly: the “real choice” is between “guns” and “runaway entitlements”—that is, between imperialist war and the social rights of the working class.

The implementation of this program is not possible except through the erection of a ruthless police state dictatorship. This is the essential class content of the paramilitary deployment of immigration police, the ICE murder of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, the cultivation of fascistic violence, and the criminalization of dissent. As the WSWS wrote yesterday, “A government that brutalizes populations abroad will employ the same methods at home. Methods developed in imperialist war find their counterpart in domestic life.” War and dictatorship are two fronts of the same class war.

As in waging war, so in domestic policy Trump acts as the spokesman of the oligarchy. He expresses in the most ruthless and unvarnished form a class policy that is supported by both Democrats and Republicans.

The Democrats respond to Trump’s budget proposals with the usual insincere and hypocritical statements, but they support the class essence of the program. They have voted for the massive military and intelligence budgets that fund the war machine Trump now expands without restraint. Even as the administration has built a domestic apparatus of intimidation and terror, Senate Democrats voted unanimously on March 27 for a Department of Homeland Security funding measure that abandoned even minimal restraints on ICE and the Border Patrol.

The Democrats support the assault on social programs because they defend the capitalist system that demands it. One must reserve particular contempt for the so-called “left wing” of the Democratic Party. It should be recalled that New York City Mayor and Democratic Socialists of America member Zohran Mamdani’s much-touted pact with Trump was based on a supposed agreement with Trump to support Mamdani’s “affordability agenda.” As it turns out, this “agenda” involves the destruction of social programs to wage war and erect a dictatorship.

The implementation of the policy of the oligarchy will generate, indeed already is generating, explosive resistance. This was expressed in the March 28 “No Kings” demonstrations, which drew millions into the streets in the broadest display yet of popular opposition to war, dictatorship and social reaction.

It is also emerging in the developing strike movement and the growing wave of workplace struggles. The war itself is accelerating social opposition. It is intensifying inflationary pressures, diverting resources on a colossal scale and deepening economic dislocation. Masses of workers in the United States, moreover, are horrified by the violence that is being inflicted upon the people of Iran.

Trump is laying bare, in the most brutal and unmistakable form, what Marxists have long explained: The capitalist state is an instrument of class rule. A rapacious and criminal oligarchy is using the power of the state to wage war abroad, destroy social programs at home and establish a police state.

The decisive question is how opposition will be organized. The Socialist Equality Party insists that that must proceed through the methods of class struggle, mobilizing the independent social power of the working class. The defense of social programs and every basic democratic right cannot be separated from the struggle against imperialist war.

The task is to develop a conscious political movement of the working class, independent of both capitalist parties and the union apparatus, and united internationally. That means confronting the source of power: the oligarchs and the gigantic corporations they control. This requires a socialist program—the expropriation of the oligarchs and the gigantic corporations they control and the transfer of society’s decisive economic resources to public ownership under democratic control. 

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/04/04/ahuk-a04.html

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….

noble lies....

 

Trump and the Phantom Dead of Iran

Dear Leader practices the Straussian "noble lie."

BY KURT NIMMO

 

Not long ago, Trump and crew claimed the evil mullahs in Iran slaughtered 30,000 of their own citizens. Since that time, there has been a revision. Now Trump insists the number is 45,000. Larger numbers look better when it is the only fabrication that might be used as an excuse for dropping more bombs on Tehran and murdering more innocents in their sleep. Nukes and regime change are no longer applicable.

There are several problems with Trump’s preposterous claim. First and foremost, how does a government murder 45,000 people in a few days, or even a few weeks? How does the government dispose of 45,000 bodies without a single photograph or firsthand account? “Think about the logistics: morgues overflowing, mass graves that satellites or locals would spot, families demanding remains, and all under a blackout?” ponders DC Document Reports. “It smells like exaggeration from exile groups or media hype to amp up pressure on the regime.”

Exactly. But then this is hardly surprising, as most of what we get from Dear Leader, after he finishes talking about himself, is dissimulation, misrepresentation, distortion, and prevarication. I am not certain, however, Trump is telling lies. He may very well believe what his Zionist handlers and backroom neocon advisors tell him.

Remember when Trump said back in early March Iran was itching to attack America? On its face, that was obvious bullshit, as Iran does not have the desire or capability. On March 2, the Pentagon admitted there was no intelligence indicating Iran planned to attack America. On March 11, Trump took America to war on the advice of his Zionist son-in-law, not intelligence. On March 29, he admitted the whole thing is about Israel. “Israel was under threat so we had to attack,” he said.

Lately, though, things have become particularly delusional. Trump posted that Iran is begging for a ceasefire, which is untrue. Iran has refused any contact with Trump and his Zionist “negotiators” experienced in buying and selling New York real estate. Iran knows full well engaging in go-nowhere talks with the US results in murdered negotiators.

On April Fools’ Day, the Don insisted there is a new regime in Iran and it wants to turn over whatever uranium Iran might have, destroy its missiles, stop supporting its “proxies” (in the US, these are known as allies), endure endless sanctions, and basically go prostrate and allow Pete Hegseth’s patriotic hired killers to pull a Muammar Gaddafi on whatever leader arises.

Trump posted:

“Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”

Iran’s FM Araghchi said his country is not looking for a ceasefire. “When we negotiated with them twice, and every time they attacked us in the middle of negotiations,” he told NBC News. “So there is no request for a ceasefire by us, and there is no request for the negotiation with the U.S. from us. We have never sent any messages to them.”

In response, Trump said the US will “hit them extremely hard over the next 2-3 weeks.” It should be obvious by now that any “hit” (for instance, murdering school girls) will result in retaliation by Iran. The Stone Age metaphor works both ways. If not for strict censorship, we would see the widespread destruction in Israel, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

The Department of State put up a post of Trump bloviating from a gold-plated Oval Office: “We have all the cards, Iran has none. We are in this military operation for 32 days and they have been eviscerated. They are no longer the bully of the Middle East.”

It’s true. Trump has “eviscerated” Iranian civilians, but not much of Iran’s military capability safely 800 meters underground. On April 1, for instance, the IRGC, in collaboration with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Hezbollah, and Ansar Allah, launched attacks against Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights with loitering munitions, cruise and ballistic missiles. Does that sound like evisceration?

“A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said Iran fired over 300 ballistic missiles, UAVs, suicide drones and cruise missiles” on March 28, according to the CIA’s favorite newspaper, The Washington Post.

Occasionally, however, there is a ray of truth coming out of this cognitively impaired president. He said it is not “possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all these things” because “we’re fighting wars” for Israel.

I am reminded of Leo Strauss and his neocons. They were quite influential during Bush’s illegal invasion of Iraq. Shadia Drury, a Canadian academic and political commentator, had something to say about the Straussian view of humanity.

For the neocons, politics is “conflict between mutually hostile groups willing to fight each other to the death. In short, they all thought that man’’s humanity depended on his willingness to rush naked into battle and headlong to his death,” not for himself or his negligible humanity, but for Israel. Drury said she never imagined “the unscrupulous elite” elevated by Strauss would “come close to political power.”

Strauss “believed that society needs an elite of philosophers or intellectuals to manufacture ‘noble lies’ for the consumption of the masses,” she writes. The lies told about Iraq and Afghanistan, for neocons in the White House and Pentagon, may have been “noble,” but that depraved nobility of deception is not part of the Trump repertoire.

For a malignant narcissist of Trump’s caliber, it does not matter if the lies are threadbare and easily refuted. For Trump, everything that escapes from his “mind” is truth, and if you doubt that, if you question him, you’re a loser and maybe a domestic terrorist.

https://anotherdayintheempire.substack.com/p/trump-and-the-phantom-dead-of-iran

 

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….

 

SEE ALSO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-1fxD7_9QQ

BREAKING: Israel Completely Paralyzed! Iran Missile Attack Just Hit Every Vital Target

feeling good....

 

Anti-Imperialists Want To Improve The World; Liberals Just Want To Feel Good About Themselves

Ultimately what separates the anti-imperialist left from mainstream liberal “humanitarians” is whether you’re in it for humanity or for yourself.

BY Caitlin Johnstone

 

Ultimately what separates the anti-imperialist left from mainstream liberal “humanitarians” is whether you’re in it for humanity or for yourself.

For the liberal, wanting peace and justice is more of an abstraction than a desire to fight the concrete power structures responsible for the lack of peace and justice in our world.

If you’re a liberal you oppose the idea of children being killed and starved in the abstract, because thinking of yourself as a moral person allows you to feel nice feelings about yourself, but you have no interest in taking a well-defined stand against the empire which routinely kills and starves children via genocides, wars of aggression, and siege warfare.

You don’t want families living in poverty because it would make you feel like a bad person if you did, but you also don’t take a concrete stand against the capitalist system whose very existence depends on the perpetual creation of poverty and scarcity.

You kinda-sorta want everyone to have happy and plentiful lives free from fear and tyranny, but you don’t want to consider the possibility that your own country is responsible for abusing, terrorizing and exploiting the global south. Because that would make you feel uncomfortable feelings.

It’s not about wanting to actually help humanity and fix the world’s problems, it’s about you and your feelings.

Those who oppose the capitalist empire are actually interested in bringing health and harmony to our species. They do not shy away from uncomfortable truths about their own government’s abuses, the dystopian nature of western civilization, or the way their own creature comforts are built on the backs of workers in impoverished countries. Because for them it’s not about feeling nice feelings, it’s about creating a better world.

The western anti-imperialist has no problem recognizing that their own society is the main villain on the world stage, because they’re actually looking at the sources of the abuses and injustices in our world. The liberal “humanitarian” prefers to see evil only in foreign regimes, because being the bad guy doesn’t feel nice.

The western anti-imperialist recognizes that both mainstream political parties in their country promote the warmongering, militarism, capitalist exploitation and imperialist extraction which sustain the western empire, and they oppose the abuses of both parties whoever happens to be in office. The liberal “humanitarian” only recognizes wrongdoing in one mainstream political faction while proudly supporting and voting for the other, because this allows them to feel like they’re helping.

The western anti-imperialist accepts that standing on the morally correct side means eating loss after loss and receiving disappointment after disappointment, because the push for revolutionary change is swimming directly against the current imposed on every institution in our society. The liberal “humanitarian” feels nice feelings about their position because their side wins elections half the time, while smugly sneering at those to their left who never get their people into office.

The western anti-imperialist will stare unflinching into the carnage from Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, feeling all the anguish and rage from witnessing those atrocities supported by their own nation. The liberal “humanitarian” tries to avoid looking at those things, because their entire worldview is built upon psychologically compartmentalizing away from reality in order to prioritize their own feelings.

Basically it’s the difference between actually BEING a good person and just wanting to FEEL like you’re a good person. The former is hard, while the latter is easy.

Which one do you want to be?

_________________

The best way to make sure you see everything I write is to get on my free mailing list. My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. Click here for links for my social media, books, merch, and audio/video versions of each article. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.

 

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/04/06/anti-imperialists-want-to-improve-the-world-liberals-just-want-to-feel-good-about-themselves/

 

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….