184 Comments
User's avatar
William Robinette's avatar

I’ve come to realize via a nightly question on the news that a full 1/3 of the American population are fools. It seems that many of them end up in journalism or politics, but the rest are too stupid to achieve that low bar and must resign themselves to being the entourage of idiots we wade through daily.

Alice Ball's avatar

💯💯💯 William. It’s depressing. And it’s why taking back the schools is critical.

John Swindall's avatar

Closing most of them would be the best start.

Alice Ball's avatar

We have to have schools. What we have to close is the teachers union. Devils.

Joe LaGreca's avatar

The USA's standing in the world started to decline at the same time the teachers unions came into existence - only fix is to abolish the unions - until then, I hope many parents have the ability to homeschool.

Reddog's avatar

There have been countless studies done that say government organizations should be barred from unionization. Many argue that some US statutes actually prevent such unionization. There are processes that could be used to allow government employees to address certain workplace issues without the need for unions. Unions once served a valuable purpose but today they are merely extensions of political influence.

Joe LaGreca's avatar

Very true - even FDR opposed Govt. Employee Unions.

Jeremy R's avatar

The children would be better off being homeschooled.

Close the schools. Give parents a $5,000 voucher per child then let them choose who teaches their kid.

Establish a uniform testing system and pay the teachers for success. If a kid fails, they can't cash the voucher. If the kid scores an A or B, pay 100% but a C gets 75% and a D a mere 50%.

Teach 20 kids, rake in $100,000. If someone has a space they can use, it's great. If they need to rent a room, they might need to shell out $10,000 of that, but still they net 90k.

Valoree Dowell's avatar

The homeschool system already exists. Personal knowledge. No taxpayer cash boondoggles required. But but but “we need two incomes.” No, we don’t. See where you’re spending the “marketing assistant” paycheck, and see if those Amazon deliveries are as important as your children’s ability to read, write, think and develop an intellect. Another soapbox from MN. Where children are now taught to resist and organize.

Sam Prentice's avatar

We need some good old American resourcefulness where groups of parents organize together and share teaching duties among themselves. It can be done. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Jeremy R's avatar

I have friends who homeschool and my daughter did for a while. For some people it isn't a viable option though.

Let's say my kids have friends the same age who are homeschooled and their teaching parent is willing to assist my children, having a voucher would help with costs.

There are some gifted teachers. Really, all of them are gifted, though many not with teaching skills.

Brian LeMay's avatar

Homeschooling does not teach social skills, but I agree something needs to be done drastically to the school situation . Furnish vouchers and privatize all schools . Definitely do not permit unions as demand will drive quality and quantity .Dead on Jeremy !

Robert Brusca's avatar

except for the socialization aspect. Covid lockdowns had a very bad impact on students.

Wim de Vriend's avatar

The teachers' union, euphemistically called the Education Association, is a prime example of an initially innocent-looking organization now totally owned by the Left. This is why we need to revive the rule -- even pronounced by über-leftist FDR -- that unions in the public sector are prohibited.

Sam Prentice's avatar

We need separation of school and state. Government should be prohibited from anything to do with education. Education must be provided within a context of values and we do not want the government choosing what those values will be as they do right now. And we need to prepare students to compete in a meritocracy and our educators are the very last people who are capable of doing that. They all are paid and rewarded strictly on the basis of how long they have kept their chairs warm. Pathetically anachronistic system of teaching people more resembling of a 19th century factory.

Reddog's avatar

Actually you don’t have to lose them, just fire all the staff and replace them with “Americans”.

Joe LaGreca's avatar

Won't work as unions are inherently evil - it's a communist concept.

Sophie's avatar

I like all your ideas, but I hold out little hope that the NEA can be obliterated. They are too entrenched and politically powerful. However, some states do not have the burden of rapacious and subversive teacher unions. If parents can move to a non-teacher union state, they should. If they can’t move, the parent must resort to a homeschooling or private school model. There happen to be multitudes of burned out, public school, retired teachers that would be willing to return to sane homeschool and private school settings. I hope this administration can encourage and incentivize this type of change. Our children deserve better and the future survival of our country depends on it.

Reddog's avatar

Too many parents are not aggressive about confronting teachers and administrators when they find them teaching woke crap. Teachers and the unions need to be held accountable for the "finished product" they produce. Just graduating kids who are not educated and ready to go out in the world is not a satisfactory "product". We keep paying them more and more money with less and less results. Before I retired I was held accountable for the product that my staff and I put out, in my case military construction projects. Teachers should not be any different. These parents who view school as just a glorified baby sitter need to get involved early, not at graduation when little Johnnie or Betty can't read or write to grade level.

Reddog's avatar

I was referring to the fact you don't have to get rid of the schools if you can fire all the staff and replace them with non-wokees. Somewhere in the process the unions need to be dissolved.

Don Reed's avatar

03/13/26: Without the fools, the Sydney Blumenthals would perish. Well, how about that. The bombs dislodged The Human Cockroach, Hillary's personal Hatchet Man, S. Blumenthal, from the Oblivion of The Lewinsky Epoch. Who besides myself remembers what a complete bastard this man was in the 1990s? How fitting that the Guardian would employ him to resume his evil ways.

Reddog's avatar

Fully half of our elected officials fall into the category of worthless morons.

Danimal28's avatar

From what I understand during our Revolution:

1/3 took on the fight

1/3 were loyal to the Crown(fools)

1/3 were ambivalent

Maybe things really don't change.

Jeremy R's avatar

Actual numbers place the percentage who fought for freedom between 10 and 12%.

That number still holds true as we see that when muslims reach that percentage is when they begin to radicalize and terrorize demanding their rule.

Wim de Vriend's avatar

This would imply that each of these opinions was held by some 33% of the then population, which may not be accurate. But if we assume it was, then only a third of them were opposed to the independence movement.

Robert Brusca's avatar

They named a dish after the loyalists....Chicken Catch-a-Tory

Brian LeMay's avatar

Things were a little different then ; political activism did not feed , clothe , or shelter . I would like to see some accurate numbers on the finances of today's protesters , suspect none have to work for a living .

NNTX's avatar

And about 3-4% of American colonies population after the defeat of Cornwallis in Yorktown fled the country. About half of that number to Canada, according to Grok.

"Total Loyalists who left the U.S.: Roughly 80,000 to 100,000 (some sources say around 60,000–75,000).

Of these, about half (or roughly 40,000–50,000) went to Canada/British North America."

Rob Olsen Elder's avatar

I believe the ambivalent are the so-called independents.

David Paine's avatar

Bill O'Reilly labels them Bubble People, not fools. They know what's good and bad but can't see more than 10 feet or a day away. This makes them easy targets for Democrats and Tucker Carlson.

EODMom's avatar

The text and language of the “nightly news” could be copied from the 1930’s NYT and its antisemitism and protocommunist viewpoints then. The totalitarian script has not changed. They hate freedom.

RevMikeyMac's avatar

Correction: They hate YOUR/OUR freedom.

Michael Davis's avatar

Thanks to Jimmy Carter/Dick Riley's Department of Education. The sooner the DOE is eliminated, the better. DC burns billions like a Palisades inferno.

Ms. Bert's avatar

Michael, do you think Trump can close the dep of education in his remaining 3 years in office?

Thanks for bringing it up.

Michael Davis's avatar

We can only hope and pray he does...

Wim de Vriend's avatar

It would be helpful to see a list of that department's accomplishments ... because the most prominent item on such a list might be the naïve belief that to solve any problem, all that's needed is the creation of another federal bureaucracy.

Michael Davis's avatar

Valid accomplishments would be a short list. Reading, math, SAT scores and

$/pupil tell the ugly story.

James Mazzarelli's avatar

There's a bumper sticker in there somewhere!

Damn the torpedoes's avatar

It’s been that way since the country’s founding. One third were for the Revolutionary War, one third were Loyalists, one third non-compus mentis. It will always be that way, as you can always count on a certain portion of idiots, a certain portion of antagonists, and certain portion of people who actually know what’s going on. In order to fix the ratio, you need to fix the cheating in elections, and fix the education system. Not that easy. Thune is going to ensure the states don’t have time to comply with any election reform, but PDJT always has the national guard to deploy to election sites to quell the rampant cheating, and after it’s all exposed before November, the dems won’t have a successful argument against it.

MLR's avatar

“Democrats are playing up the economy and inflation, as one might expect. The war now is costing a billion or so a day. Keeping Iran from turning its uranium into dirty bombs is worth it.”

EXACTLY! Why would the democrats and their sock puppets in the press want a nuclear armed Islamic Republic of Iran? Because they hate DJT and America and only value political power and obtain it at any cost. They can’t be hated enough!

Don Reed's avatar

03/13/26: If an Iranian nuke had hit WDC, the Dems would have died happily. "Yeah, but so what? We're taking Trump down with us!"

Shrugged's avatar

"Why would the democrats and their sock puppets in the press want a nuclear armed Islamic Republic of Iran? Because they hate DJT . . "

They like having someone around who will do their 'wet' work. They almost got that in Butler.

NNTX's avatar

Meanwhile I read that the Dems are floating multiple HUGE tax increase proposals, of $1.2T or more, in league with Randi Weingarten and her crew of “teachers”.

Confiscate wealth is on the table, from the Dem view, nationally. Mamdani proposing reducing taxable threshold for estate tax to $750K (from $7.2M) and big % increase. Great way to encourage even more to flee NYC.

Alice Ball's avatar

Don, do you watch the ladies on Promethean Action? They’re historians and are fabulous and they have been rejoicing that Lloyds bent the knee. Please God let this war end globalism & pound it into oblivion. America First!🇺🇸

N.Wallace's avatar

Yes. Prometheanaction.com is painting the big picture that makes all that's going on add up.

Playswithneedles's avatar

Thanks for the link! I was not familiar with the site and have just signed up.

Alice Ball's avatar

You will love it Needles!!

tzed's avatar

Years ago I read The Creature From Jekyll Island which was a history of monetary policy through the ages leading up to the creation of the Federal Reserve. It all fits in with what they’ve been talking about at Promethianaction.

Joe LaGreca's avatar

Watching & listening to Susan & Barbara are well worth our time - very concise & informative - no wasted BS.

Steve Boggs's avatar

How do I define victory?

This would help- On the way back from Middle East, a Maduro-snatching-like team grabs Soros and Kash Patel supplies beyond-refutation damning evidence of terrorism against him.

TeaPartyGal's avatar

And surely some of that evidence would also incriminate his son, Alex, who needs to be included in that clean-up.

Cookie McCall's avatar

That would be a dream come true!

NNTX's avatar

What a great idea! News today notes that another “Soros prosecutor” in Norfolk VA is contemplating charging the ROTC cadets that killed the Islamist militant who shot their ROTC teacher, Lt. Col Brandon Shaw. May he RIP and may his killer receive God’s justice swiftly (not the 70 virgin kind).

Steve Boggs's avatar

I keep telling y’all Koranic scholars agree it’s one 72 yr old virgin. Just one. The same one.

Douglas Baringer's avatar

You can draw a parallel to the fall of the Berlin wall. We, the weatern powers, pushed a lot, yammered a lot but in the end it was the people in Germany who pulled the wall down.

Flier's avatar

It is disappointing that the Iranian people have not yet risen up in their own defense, but it is totally understandable given the large and brutal security forces that exist to see that people are living in observance and submission to their religious edicts. Because these security services are so large and all-pervasive, it would be suicidal to fight the regime from the inside. That situation might change in the coming weeks, but in the meantime opposition to Trump will grow. And that opposition has consistently been poisonous and destructive. It would be nice for American politicians to move beyond this destructive nature. I am not holding my breath, though.

Don Reed's avatar

03/13/26: It is quite possible that in January-February, the regime eliminated almost all of the Iranians capable of the courage necessary to rise up and fight back.

TeaPartyGal's avatar

Yes, this is the tragedy. And it was the Islamic regime giving a giant finger to the Iranian people; a last paroxysm of hatred to screw up the next few decades of Iran.

David Paine's avatar

Be patient, it's only been two weeks. A fanatical regime will fight to its last breath, and lash out in unexpected ways.

Playswithneedles's avatar

Look back to 1989. It took many months for all of the countries in the Soviet Bloc to fall. Having lived in Romania under Ceausescu, I never thought that the people there would ever rise up. But all it took was his militia turning against him when he ordered them to kill their own families. At that point, everyone not in the Ceausescu family and their immediate cohorts, rose up. Do a search on “Ceausescu Balcony Moment” and you will see video of the exact moment when he knew his regime was over.

Wim de Vriend's avatar

I still remember watching the dictator and his greedy wife being shot against a wall ... so don't despair.

Playswithneedles's avatar

I’m not despairing in the least. These things take time. I remember watching that event too - Christmas Day 1989.

Sophie's avatar

Thanks for your perspective.

Don Reed's avatar
8hEdited

03/13/26: One of the greatest, although ignored by most, moments in history. I'm waiting for the same thing to happen in Britain.

WTPuck's avatar

Also, the population in Iran is totally disarmed. Until that changes, the people are limited in how they can fight.

Joe LaGreca's avatar

The Iranian people don't have the weapons; if pockets of the armed military supported the people, it would really help overthrow that evil regime.

Suzie's avatar

That is what I believe what needs to happen also, and most likely is the aim of this war: that the military will turn against the regime, specifically the IRGC, which would enable the people to establish a new order.

The IRGC has always been the power behind the throne of the mullahs.

Beyond its military role, the IRGC wields significant political, intelligence, and economic influence, controlling key sectors such as energy, construction, and telecommunications. It also manages internet surveillance and censorship through its affiliated organizations.

It is also heavily involved in defending Iran’s nuclear facilities and managing asymmetric warfare strategies.

It operates as a multi-service force of approximately 390,000 including reservists, with five main branches:

Ground Forces

Aerospace Force

Navy (which controls operations in the Strait of Hormuz)

Quds Force (responsible for external operations and proxy warfare)

Basij (a paramilitary militia used for internal security and suppressing dissent)

Only the regular armed military has the necessary arms and numbers, (approximately 420,000), to take on the IRGC on the ground in Iran.

The only question is, do they, will they, have the willingness to do so?

Dennis's avatar

See my second remark, below…

Joe LaGreca's avatar

Yep - the weapons are sorely needed by the populace. I would have to think this option would be considered by Trump & Co - who are encouraging the Iranian people to rise up & take down the regime.

Dennis's avatar

Wondering if negotiations are on to get the Kurds to bring them in. They're a dicey bunch but I have read in the past that mostly they've wanted to be left alone, though recent stories indicate they might become a player in this. The NYT is against Kurds in Iran so it might be worth considering!

Joe LaGreca's avatar

I'm for anything that the NYT is against.

Dennis's avatar

...a wise man once said.

Reddog's avatar

American patriot types they are not, but in saying that I must add that they are largely unarmed. My gut tells me the CIA does not have a ready resistance created to take advantage of the situation. Bet we are going to see ground troops, most likely Israeli before this ends..

TeaPartyGal's avatar

Which is probably a good thing, in that there is no substitute for some degree of presence on the ground to steer a good outcome, and we still cannot trust our CIA. Once again, it will be the brave and determined Israeli's that step up to the job. The Israeli's seem to have superb intelligence, and are best equipped to find the leaders that will best replace the mullah's regime.

Reddog's avatar

Yes I agree. I wish DJT could/would keep his mouth shut instead of broadcasting early on that no troops would be needed on the ground. That goes for Hegseth and the rest of his administration as well. This will all depend on how long the critics and the rest of the American people tolerate high fuel prices and undoubtedly more US deaths. The bombing can break the will of the IRCG to fight if it goes long enough but they are going to inflict considerable destruction in the interim. I don't know if it will be Israelis or US troops on the ground but I don't see the fanatics throwing in the towel before US citizen resolve dissolves. There are just too many lefties here as well as a lot of people just tired of the endless wars. But maybe some or all of the Arab states currently getting hit by Iranian missiles and drones can play a big factor in how quickly this ends. But we are committed to the fight now so let's make it worth the sacrifice by finishing the job we started.

NNTX's avatar

From what I’m reading online (Iran international site in english is good, sometimes even BBC and Times of Israel), USA and Israel having success in demolishing the IRGC (31 locations) and some of the Basij outposts. Once these groups are not just defanged but obliterated, we might see more uprisings in Iran. Think we have to have some patience and pray.

James Mead's avatar

Sidney, a quagmire is Donna Shalala & Hillary snuggling while Janet Reno seethes in anger.

Good column Mr. Surber, thank you.

Amy's avatar

Ewwwe! But you’re right.

Don Reed's avatar

03/13/26: Today is Rat Overdose Day, apparently. Well, it is Friday the 13th...

Greg Martin's avatar

Don’t forget Madeline Albright.

WTPuck's avatar

Loathe that woman. She's the reason the Norks have nukes.

TeaPartyGal's avatar

Interesting. I knew it was on Clinton's watch, and she was his Sec. of State, but never knew the details. I do recall much later, we saw the actual North Korean (state-approved) newspaper editorials that openly crowed about how they had strung along the West, on the surface negotiating, but underneath going full speed to get the weapons. Which was exactly Iran's strategy, too.

In both cases, gullible Western leaders "wanted to believe" making treaties and giving them money would stop their pursuit of weapons. Just like British PM Neville Chamberlain, that made a treaty with Hitler and claimed he had assured "peace in our time".

Really, they were cowards who didn't want to confront the evil, and just kicked the can down the road. Ultimately we had to fight a World War with Hitler. Trump and Netanyahu have saved us from that with Iran.

James Mead's avatar

Well that just made it super yucky

Wim de Vriend's avatar

Woefully misnamed, IMHO.

Steve (recovering lawyer)'s avatar

A Sidney Blumenthal article in The Guardian is analogous to a piece of dog dirt wrapped in a horse manure taco shell.

Dennis's avatar

DIMS WANT A LOSS

Democrats actually hate Donald Trump so much they want America to lose the war against Iran. And they don’t care about the ramifications.

Ask any Democrat what would’ve happened to our country and Europe if Americans and Europeans had fostered the same mindless hatred for Roosevelt, Churchill and Eisenhower? Oh wait! We can’t ask that. They have no knowledge of history.

steph_gray's avatar

There were probably some with hatred just as virulent - always some - but they had not yet been instructed by their puppet masters to let it all hang out.

Dennis's avatar

Yes. We were a different country then. But don't get me started.

steph_gray's avatar

"Don't get me started." I often use that very sentence to see whether someone I meet casually in blueMA might reveal a clue of being one of the hidden MAGA here.

Occasionally it works...

Dennis's avatar

Same. Sometimes I think we need a secret handshake!

Dennis's avatar

YOU WANT REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN? Increase targeted strikes against the clerics, secret police and military - hardware and troops - while simultaneously airdropping small arms and ammunition into the most densely populated civilian areas.

BUT HEY IT’s FRIDAY! Have a great weekend everyone! (Can’t wait to see what Trump does next.)

Scott L's avatar

Sidney Blumenthal is more than a Clinton political hack. He’s a despicable, first class MFer who has never done anything useful for society. He stresses one’s tolerance for free speech!

Sunny Hostin allegedly is a law school grad. She’s living proof that DEI was alive and well in days past… and that DEI didn’t work. Just b/c you graduated from law school doesn’t make you smart or educated.

Greg Martin's avatar

Sleeping with the professor always helps too.

Scott L's avatar

LOL so she’s a ho too? Who knew? She’s certainly good looking, but methinks she’s an empty vessel.

William Coulter's avatar

Is this war worth it?

Is this a better outcome than having these lunatics have a nuclear bomb? They have no problem killing their own.

What would North Korea be like if an action like this had taken place before little rocket man and his dad for nuclear weapons?

Yea, yes and it would be much better today.

Sophie's avatar

Does anyone remember March 13, 2020? It was the last normal day before the Covidians shut down the world. Perhaps (and we can hope) that today, Friday, March 13, 2026, will prove to be a hard re-boot of our world returning to normalcy.

Grumpy Oldman's avatar

Hmmm, how do I define victory?

When Tehran, Iran looks like Dresden, Germany after America fire- and carpet-bombed it until there was nothing left standing. Hiroshima/Nagasaki come in a close second.

When all the Mullahs, Imams, Clerics and the bloodthirsty IRGC savages have gone to meet Satan/Allah and Mohammad in the Fires of Hell.

When our enemies have lost the will and the capability to continue fighting, which is what should have happened in 1991’s Persian Gulf War when Iraq’s vaunted Republican Guard saw what was coming and hightailed it home, cowering behind their women and children.

The Joint Chief’s pacifist coward, Colinoscopy Powell, convinced Bush the Elder to leave them be, and what did the Islamic Iraqi mongrels do? Regrouped, rearmed and lived to terrorize innocents another day.

Remember 9/11/2001? Can you imagine NYC’s Zombie Apocalypse sitting on the floor in Gracie Mansion on 9/12/2001? I can’t, yet there the beaming, indoctrinated fool sits with a fawning, sycophantic media and political grifters.

Now, I’ll read Mr. Surber’s article.

Cookie McCall's avatar

And his wife who is a Hamas sympathizer who invited one of the leaders to dinner.

Something that really concerns me are all of the “random “ terror attacks that have popping up almost daily. Stay vigilant everyone!

Grumpy Oldman's avatar

I may not be a Boy Scout, Cookie, but I’m always prepared.

Just like Russia back in the ‘80’s and now the ChiCom’s, Muslim terrorists have sleeper cells throughout America, thanks to Briben and our very own jacka$$/communist party.

We need to find & eradicate them. It’s that simple.

Playswithneedles's avatar

It goes back way beyond Biden. I remember reading, a few months after 9/11/01, that there were already sleeper cells in all 50 states. We can thank Slick Willy for that.

WTPuck's avatar

I remember an article in the local paper before that when OBL declared war on the US. Someone (I can't remember his name) with political connections was trying to get someone, anyone in government to take the threat seriously. Obviously that didn't happen.

Playswithneedles's avatar

Never forget that Slick had at least 3 opportunities to take OBL out and didn’t have the guts to do it.

Grumpy Oldman's avatar

bin Laden wasn’t stupid enough to declare war, which is why terrorist tactics are so effective.

he referred to Slick Willie’s America as a “paper tiger” and, with jacka$$-communist leadership like JFK, LBJ, Toothy, Arkansas’ peckerwood, Dumbo and $hit4brains, we are paper tigers. with Reagan, Bush the elder, Dubya the younger for the most part and Trump, the Islamic world fucked around and found out we are not kittens.

Grumpy Oldman's avatar

preaching to the choir. $hit4brains Briben is the most recent egregious example.

NEVER vote democRAT and be very wary of RINO’s like Paul, Massie and Cornyn.

Shrugged's avatar

The sleeper cells have been here for years after they walked across the border and are 'on call'. Some got that call recently. I am certain there are more to come, possibly large scale and damaging.

The Dems need a reason to lock us down for the Mid-terms so mail-in ballots MUST be used.

Chuck Goldman's avatar

Rock On Brother!

Grumpy Oldman's avatar

I’m off my pedestal now and having breakfast, an Islamic treat, bacon, sausage and cheesy scrambled eggs.

Chuck Goldman's avatar

There’s a breakfast place I treat myself to when ever I get a haircut. It has a sign that has several war wounds on it. It simply says bacon and two arrows. One Arrow points straight ahead (keep moving),the other points right (Come right in)

F this bullshit. Send them all home or let them change religions. We’re staring another 9/11 right in the kisser and if that wasn’t clear before Iran II it should be by now

Grumpy Oldman's avatar

No argument from me.

I thought Trump designated CAIR a terrorist organization, so why are they still in America?

Danimal28's avatar

England love the Iranian regime the most as it started BP in 1908.

Trump is always steps ahead: https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/03/13/secretary-bessent-announces-narrowly-tailored-short-term-sanction-relief-for-russia/

David Paine's avatar

Jimmy Kimmel and the rest of the late night children dragged out the Epstein argument, right on cue. That should start wearing thin and only the conspiracy lovers will care after a while, but it's almost all the anti American crowd has to cling to.