May Day Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Friday, May 1, 2026
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18 comments
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About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
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BlueSky.
After sworn testimony, more facts come out.
Iran war’s true cost closer to $50 billion, not $25 billion, U.S. officials say
Repairing damaged US military bases will add billions to Iran war cost, sources say
Book Recommendation:
Been reading A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell.
The book is as good as the blurb:
@Scott:
There is some chance some or all of those bases will be abandoned rather than rebuilt. One of the strategic questions the press is largely ignoring is who defends the Arab Gulf states against Iranian drones and missiles? The way things are shaping up with the US defensive missile supply, the US is probably not the answer to that question. There have been a number of reports that the KSA is eager to spend a lot of money buying defense gear from Ukraine. And the completely unstated possibility is Iran — if Iran’s not shooting at the other Gulf states, there’s no need to defend. There’s lots of weird ways the regional situation could settle out.
Definitely need to keep records of what was said and done and bring them up ALL THE TIME. I keep thinking about making notes every day..
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/did-come-trump-remains-disengaged-170427505.html
The endless lament is that we have to wait until Senators have nothing at stake for them to do the right thing.
‘Just go to Hell’: Ed Martin, Thom Tillis squabble amid Tillis’ anti-Jan. 6 litmus test
The Huck’s and Circle K that just yesterday charged a new price of $4.799/gal are today charging $4.999/gal for unleaded regular.
I’m chaperoning our town’s second grade field trip to the zoo. Eight elementary schools worth of 8 year olds. Its been 30 minutes and I am not sure if I’m going to make it.
Teachers do this every day. A reminder they are made of tough stuff.
@Gregory Lawrence Brown:
3.28 here last week. 3.65 Monday, 4 Tuesday, 4.50 Wednesday, $5 yesterday. And thats with a suspension of the states gas tax which will expire next week, shooting it up to around $6.
@Assad K: The problem here is that Trump could simply be lying to avoid talking about something. As in, he knows about the decision, but he doesn’t want to touch it. He doesn’t want headlines linking him to it.
I mean, yeah, that’s a problem, but it’s not a problem with incapacity.
Over at his Substack, Phillips O’Brien offers a little hope. He notes that the administration seems to be less confused about war aims and is settling on denying Iran nuclear weapons. He takes this as a sign of a possibility, not a probability, that we may be close to ending the war on an agreement designed to let Trump claim a victory on nuclear weapons so he can quit. Let us pray.
O’Brien also notes that JD seems to be on the outs with Trump and that there is talk of The Apprentice being rebooted with Don Jr. Perhaps viewed as a step toward Jr. following daddy’s steps into the White House.
@Scott: It’s an excellent book! Virginia Hall’s contributions to spycraft are so notable that the CIA named its training facility after her.
@gVOR10: Iran’s leadership is as crazy and irrational as America’s current regime, but they must see that the Straight of Hormuz is a more effective trump card for them than their nuclear program — at least until the US, European, and Pacific states come to their senses on nuclear and renewable energy.
The children in D.C. and Tehran could both declare victory and stop the madness, if they weren’t both stubborn whackjobs.
There he goes again! Trump says he will impose a 25% tariff on European Union made autos, even though (1) the Supreme Court has already told him he cannot use an imaginary economic emergency to impose a tariff, and (2) there is a trade agreement in place with the EU in which it and Trump agreed to a 15% tariff ceiling. Trump claims the EU isn’t complying with the deal, but naturally doesn’t give any evidence of non-compliance. Trump is likely to claim (fabricate) a national security situation exists that allows him to bypass congress. When the Supreme Court said Trump’s previous tariffs were illegal, the EU didn’t take advantage:
But a deal is only a deal if a certain narcissist is in a good mood:
*Scott Lincicome is with the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, and knows BS when he sees it.
Something I’ve long wondered about but never looked up:
“Mayday” is used as the international radiotelephone distress signal because it is the phonetic equivalent of the French phrase m’aider, which means “help me”.
@dazedandconfused:..from WikiP:
@Gregory Lawrence Brown:
Yes. For extra credit: PAN PAN PAN is another French derivative.
PAN PAN PAN (pronounced pahn-pahn) became the international standard radio urgency signal in 1927, derived from the French word panne (breakdown).
@Neil Hudelson:
You’re a very brave person.
Speaking of distress in aviation, it looks like Spirit will cease operations any minute now.
I’ll have more to say about it tomorrow. Today I’m beat from working on a day off…