3rd US strike wave on Iran said to be underway

 A third set of US strikes on Iran is underway, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said, citing an unnamed senior American official.

Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency said explosions have been heard in Qeshm. Meanwhile, the Fars news agency reported that "several loud" blasts were heard in Bandar Abbas.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the US earlier that Tehran wouldn't leave any "attack or threat unanswered."

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Another-US-strike-wave-on-Iran-said-to-be-underway/66474521

Iran says it targeted US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain

 Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it retaliated for Washington's strikes on the country by targeting the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, according to the Fars news agency.

The IRGC said it "launched a drone attack on Bahrain's 5th Naval Fleet at 2:30 am" after the US struck Jask, Sirik, and Qeshm.

These attacks damaged a telecommunication tower in Sirik and destroyed two water reservoirs in the city's Bemani district, the statement said.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Iran-says-it-targeted-US-Fifth-Fleet-in-Bahrain/66474591

'US said to have launched 2nd wave of strikes in Iran'

 The United States launched a second wave of strikes in Iran, Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported, citing a US official. The attacks are aimed at air defense and radar systems, according to the official.

Iranian media also reported new explosions near the southern city of Jask. According to the Mehr News Agency, residents in and around Jask heard additional blasts minutes after earlier reports confirmed attacks near Jask port and Koh-e-Mubarak.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) earlier said it launched "self-defense" strikes against the country in response to a US Army Apache helicopter being allegedly shot down by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/US-said-to-have-launched-2nd-wave-of-strikes-in-Iran/66474418

A new book analyzes therapists

 by Susan Quinn

Few people today would deny that the overall mental state of our country is fragile. Stories about shooters, stabbers, and rioters are filled with deeply disturbed people. The most alarming problem, however, is that some therapy professionals worsen their mental health. 

Graphic: Book cover screen grab

In his book, Therapy Nation: How America Got Hooked on Therapy and Why It's Left Us More Anxious and Divided--psychoanalyst Jonathan Alpert explains how we’ve found ourselves in this predicament. Alpert focuses on not only the lack of skills of the therapists and what they provide (or don’t provide) to their patients, but also the misunderstandings and attitudes that patients bring to therapy. 

“Too often, the therapist’s own need to feel important, agreed with, or in control overshadows what the patient needs. When the provider-patient dynamic becomes this muddled, you have to wonder: Who is really the patient? The true purpose of therapy—teaching people to face life head-on and grow stronger—is being drowned out by wallowing, grievance, and fear. This isn’t just bad for patients. It’s bad for the profession. And it’s bad for America.”

Alpert describes social justice warrior-therapists. There is no research that shows that this approach actually works, but that doesn’t stop them. They insist on “overtherapizing,” showing the patient how they must free themselves from their grievances, although they never give them the tools to do so:

“Regardless of whether someone is struggling to communicate with their spouse or face a difficult situation at work, these social justice therapists continually steer in-therapy conversations toward race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, ability, religion, and other identities. The goal: Force clients to awaken to their privileged or oppressed status.”

According to these therapists, oppressors are straight white males, and the oppressed are black patients (even though they may not feel race is an issue for them).

Some therapists think their role is to simply be a sounding board, to listen to the patient’s grievances. Listening is certainly part of the process, but does nothing to empower the patient:

“In these overly affirming sessions, if the patient thinks someone is a narcissist, the therapist agrees. If the patient believes their workplace is toxic, the therapist nods in support. If the patient claims they had an abusive childhood, the therapist buys into the narrative, hook, line, and sinker. If the patient adopts a victim mentality, the therapist reinforces it, fueling the victim narrative that has come to define much of modern therapy culture.”

The therapist might even insist that patients work with them for an indefinite period, even years, or they will otherwise encounter disaster. Perhaps even worse, people are diagnosing themselves. They have picked up on therapeutic jargon, watched podcasts or visited websites that profess to understand every psychological problem imaginable, and decide which diagnosis best fits them:

“According to some estimates, one in four people have self-diagnosed… with a condition with the support of Google. Fewer than half have followed up with a medical professional to check to see if their diagnosis is accurate. [snip]

Students, in particular, will seek out these therapists, claim to have a ‘diagnosed’ cognitive or psychological disability, and ask the therapist to write a letter recommending a list of needed accommodation; these therapists will recommend students be offered any or all of the following: •Extra time to take tests •The ability to turn in work late without being penalized •The ability to not participate in class discussions •The need for a private note taker to assist the student in class.”

Especially intriguing factors are the perceptions of many on the Left. They believe their problems originate outside themselves: people in their lives are toxic or have caused them trauma. We see some of these in response to ICE agents. Although Alpert points out that both the Left and Right name-call, the Left tends to demonize the Right, calling them Nazis and hatemongers. Often, the Left sees themselves as helpless victims:

“A common thread runs through their stories. They saw themselves as victims. In some cases, grievance may have begun with a real slight or disappointment, a moment when they felt ignored, rejected, or powerless. But by fixating on that sense of injustice, they inflated it into identity. They came to believe they had nothing left to lose and that violence would even the score.”

Alpert tells patients, or those who may become patients, what to expect from therapy:

“Come prepared to be open and candid in sharing your concerns; apply what you’ve learned outside the therapy session, since that is the only way you can integrate the strategies into your everyday life; stay open to being challenged, because a therapist needs to challenge you in areas where you may be stuck; be honest if the therapist says something that doesn’t sit well with you; and finally, set clear goals—what do you hope will change?”

If those in need of help are to become healthier, they need to commit to a therapy that will help them reflect on their thinking, help to empower them, and eventually provide enough healing to send them happily on their way.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/06/a_new_book_analyzes_therapists.html

The Healthcare/Health...Care Seesaw Goes Both Ways

 by Deane Waldman

Democrats’ latest ploy to divert Americans’ attention from unaffordable insurance and inaccessible care is to add long-term care benefits to Medicare. They ignore the fact that adding new spending will hasten Medicare’s projected insolvency.  Republicans’ latest solution emphasizes new rules about how you buy your health care, building on their sop of last December’s $1,500 for people to spend in lieu of ACA subsidies.

Both parties see regulation as the answer, the only answer, to our healthcare woes. Their proposals reaffirm the adage when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

There is a seesaw with healthcare — one word, the system — on one side and health...care  — two words, the service or patient-doctor connection — on the other. As Washington increases its regulation of healthcare, it gains power and money. Its side goes up. The other side, with patients on it, goes down.

The feds promise new benefits or financial support or expanded coverage. They take the money needed to deliver on the promise of care and use it to support the BURRDEN — bureaucracy, unnecessary rules and regulations, directives, enforcement, and noncompliance activities – that follows every legislative act.

BURRDEN costs money, lots and lots of taxpayers’ healthcare dollars. In 2025, BURRDEN consumed at least half of the $5 trillion the U.S. spent on healthcare. For perspective, Washington wasted an amount equal to the entire GDP of Canada – $2.5 trillion – on healthcare that produced no health care!

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) cost $1.76 trillion. Most  of the money was spent creating new BURRDEN. This author can attest as he was a founding Director of the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange, one of 50 such new bureaucracies created by the ACA. To defray  ACA administrative expenditures, President Obama withdrew $716 billions from the Medicare Trust. That money was taken from care for seniors to  pay for non-care, for BURRDEN.

HealthcareUP; health...caredown.

From 1965 to present, Congress passed thousands of different legislative acts that impact patients. Some have well-known names like Medicare, Medicaid, EMTALA (Emergency Medical Transport and Labor Act), HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Others had healthcare provisions buried in legislation that did not have health-related names such as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and almost every annual OBRA (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) since 1974.

All this legislation created a complex, redundant, and incredibly expensive regulatory structure whose sole purpose is to expand federal control. Between 1970 and 2020, the number of doctors doubled – it increased 100 percent. Over the same fifty years, the number of healthcare bureaucrats increased by more than 4,400%! The net effect was a massive increase in healthcare spending on newly created jobs for people who provide no patient care.

The financial effects of the healthcare seesaw are clear. As Congress passes new legislation, more money is diverted from clinical care to BURRDEN. Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement schedules keep going down. Medicaid rates are so low that physicians and dentists simply refuse to take new Medicaid patients.

Washington is spending trillions of dollars paying itself with money it doesn’t have. That spending is added to the national debt. In 2025, federal spending was $7.01 trillion. Revenue was $5.23 trillion yielding a deficit of $1.78. The amount wasted on BURRDEN was $2.5 trillion. If we reduced wasteful spending on healthcare by “only” $1.78 trillion, the U.S. budget would balance.

The health impacts of the seesaw effect have been devastating. In 1960, a patient waited hours to get a doctor appointment. In 2022, average maximum wait time was 132 days to see a general practitioner. The longer patients wait for care, the worse outcomes they experience. In fact, some Americans wait so long for care, they die while waiting in line. The seesaw’s death by queue has been documented in both Medicaid and Tricare.

Not only do we have a worsening shortage of physicians, more than one third of those still practicing refuse to see new Medicaid patients. This exacerbates the medically dangerous wait times.

As every child in the playground knows, a seesaw can go both up and down. If government spending on BURRDEN were reduced and the government side of the seesaw went down, the patient side would go up.

With fewer regulators and less bureaucratic spending, more dollars would be available to pay for patient care. With fewer regulations, time-wasting bureaucratic hassle would go down, encouraging doctors to stay in practice. More doctors would accept new Medicaid patients. Wait times would go down. More patients would get the care they need when they need it.

For the past sixty years, the government side of the healthcare seesaw has been moving upward. It is time to push it down and elevate We the Patients. The way to do this is by empowering patients: give Americans control of their healthcare spending instead of a third party regulated by Washington.

After all, it IS Americans’ money...and their lives.  

Deane Waldman, M.D., MBA, is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Pathology, and Decision Science; former Director of the Center for Healthcare Policy at Texas Public Policy Foundation; former Director of the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange; and co-author of award-winning “Become an Empowered Patient.” Follow him on X.com@DrDeaneW or visit website www.empowerpatients.info.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/06/the_healthcare_health_care_seesaw_goes_both_ways.html

Concerning Platner, What Would Frederick Douglass Tell Maine’s Voters?

 by James Zumwalt

19th-century writer and statesman Frederick Douglass warned us, “The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.” Were he alive today, he undoubtedly would remind Maine’s voters that, for the nation to embrace such qualities, so must they.

It is befuddling in some elections to understand what motivates voters to cast their ballot for a particular candidate. As such, it has been interesting to watch the Democrats’ Senate primary race in Maine. That race is telling, both about the lead candidate and those supporting him.

The June 9 primary election involves three Democrat candidates (a fourth unofficially withdrew)—David Costello, Graham Platner, and Andrea LaFlamme. In late 2025, Platner—an oyster farmer—clearly led the pack with a 58% poll showing among Democrats. He has maintained a lead throughout his campaign, thus standing out as the Democrat candidate with the best chance to defeat Republican incumbent Susan Collins in the November 3 general election.

Platner maintains this lead despite a myriad of allegations about his past that, like a spoiled oyster, stink, particularly for someone who is to represent their state in the U.S. Senate. These independent and frequent allegations, coming not only from past girlfriends but from his wife as well, almost suggest he is a man capable of committing more than just the seven deadly sins, apparently having no guilt about doing so.

The list of Platner’s accusations is extensive—they include having adorned himself with a Nazi tattoo, abusive conduct (as reported by the liberal-friendly New York Times), sexual misconduct while married, violence, rape fantasies, sending explicit texts to younger women, trashing rural Americans, and admitting to having “no regrets” about buying cocaine and doing drugs, etc. He mocked a soldier who had been shot multiple times—eventually receiving the Purple Heart—telling him he “didn’t deserve to live.” Given the opportunity to apologize, he refused to do so.

Three women who had dated him shared that while he could be charming, his behavior was unsettling. Two of them left no room for doubt, making clear their opinion that he “does not respect women.” They described his behavior as troubling, demeaning and, in some instances, physically intimidating. One of them, Lyndsey Fifield, described him as, “The most toxic, literally abusive man on earth who destroyed my life.”

While defenders of Platner’s tattoo argue it was the reckless choice of an 18-year-old, reason leaves one wondering why in the 24 years since he has made no effort to have it removed—especially as he sought to do the Democrats’ bidding.

Meanwhile, various outlets that have published more than 2,000 of his deleted comments over the years reveal Platner to consistently engage in profanity, rage, and extremist rhetoric. He unhesitantly called complete strangers online “dumb motherf****rs” and told them to “f**k off and die.” A review of his archives by Fox News revealed numerous graphic and vulgar posts that demonstrate a consistent pattern of dehumanizing others.

No one has been spared by Platner in his online attacks—outrageously not even Jesus and the Virgin Mary. He boasted about his eight years of military service during which he’d “been about as crudely atheist as one can be the entire time (zombie jesus jokes and Mary sucking at covering up being a skank, as examples.” The spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee said of Platner, “The guy with a Nazi tattoo is showing us his truly disgusting and repulsive takes on Christianity.” In reference to women worried about rape, he told them to “act like an adult” and posted deleted comments asking why black people “don’t tip.”

Platner’s wife felt his sexual conduct was questionable enough to forewarn campaign organizers during the vetting process about explicit texts he had sent to women. Apparently, for a Democrat party candidate, this was not a disqualifier. Campaign staffers dismissed it as a “private matter” for marriage counseling, and not a matter of public accountability.

As one Platner criticism notes, he has fueled “a narrative of poor judgement, immaturity and disrespect for his own family.” It adds that these “are not minor character flaws; they go directly to trust, fidelity, and respect for institutions like marriage. Yet national Democrats, eyeing a rare pickup opportunity, kept him viable, signaling that winnability in a Senate race can outweigh moral squeamishness.” The response of Platner’s campaign to all of this seems to be one less devoted to fighting the allegations and more to claiming he is a victim of the press.

The allegations are telling about Platner’s character. He is a man who, at the time of committing the actions he is said to have committed, probably had no idea he would one day be running for the US Senate. Or, perhaps more telling, is—if the allegations are true—he would even consider running. Nonetheless, his history tells us of what he is capable of when believing no one is tracking his activities. If true, such actions are demonstrative of a bravado clinging to a belief one can fool most people most of the time. For right now, all he needs to do is to fool people on June 9. And, apparently, he is well on his way to doing so.

Another poll taken the first week of June indicates while Platner’s favorability has increased from 29% to 49%, his unfavorability has increased as well—from 35% to 40%. The poll also reports, should Platner prevail on June 9, he would be in a deadlock with incumbent Collins. Alas, the poll revealed more voters were completely indifferent to Platner’s conduct than were outraged. Included among his supporters is Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

But why would Democrat voters still support such a candidate who has been so slimed with seriously damning allegations of misconduct? It is difficult to view him as anything other than a low-life having as much respect for human dignity as the Nazis demonstrated during World War II—which explains his tattoo.

We have an indication as to why that support continues:

• “The View” co-host, Sunny Hostin, described Platner as follows: “He’s a liar, a racist, an anti-Semite. He’s a homophobe.” Yet, she went on to explain, she supports his candidacy for the single reason that Democrats need to win back Congress. Unbelievably, she openly supports a candidate whom she acknowledges lacks the qualities we want in our political leaders simply because she wants to see a majority Democrat Party senate seated.
• This same mindset appeared to exist, evidenced by a photograph of Democrat voters supporting Platner who were holding posters on a sidewalk. Almost as if out of embarrassment about the candidate, the posters made no mention of his name. They simply read “Democratic Senate” in an effort to advise voters that “qualifications be damned, vote for our party.”

It is a sad commentary about Maine voters who choose to identify with the power of their political party rather than the overriding priority of our country’s best interests. Maine’s Democrat US Senate campaign has hopefully revealed this for all to see.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/06/concerning_platner_what_would_frederick_douglass_tell_maine_s_voters.html

The Last Straw: They’re Stealing Elections in Real Time and Pretending It’s Normal

 

It’s not often life showcases a problem in real time. It is now in the form of California and the Senate.

It’s become clear that California voting is designed to give Democrats the ability to cheat.  Aside from Ranked Choice Voting scam and a universal mail-out of ballots, the state allows 30 days for votes to be counted, a fraud facilitator if ever there was one.

We’re seeing it play itself out very much in real time.  Last week in Los Angeles in the battle for Mayor, at one point after an update of 24,000 votes, Spencer Pratt, a guy with 30% support, did not gain a single vote. I asked Grok for the odds and it was somewhere over 1 over infinity... basically, zero. In a city where only 43% of students can read, believing those vote totals would require you to think that when half the voters are practically illiterate, not a single one accidentally voted for Pratt. And now thanks to mail in voting, Pratt has lost the lead for qualifying for the runoff to someone who was polling 4 points behind him when voting started.

All of this makes me think of a quote by Elena Gorokhova when characterizing life in the Soviet Union: “The rules are simple: they lie to us, we know they’re lying, they know we know they’re lying, but they keep lying to us, and we keep pretending to believe them.”  The Russians even have a word for it: Vranyo, a lie that everyone knows is a lie but pretends otherwise.

That’s exactly what’s been going on in America for decades. The Democrats have been using mail-in ballots, voting machines, and endless “recounts” to steal elections right in front of us.  It’s the theft that everyone is supposed to pretend is not happening. Christine Gregoire in 2004. Al Franken in 2008.  Joe Biden in 2020.

Then there’s the Senate. The same week the Senate took a shot at the SAVE America Act and it was defeated.  Voting with the Democrats were the four most despicable vermin in the Senate, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitch McConnell, and Thom Tillis. Even if they had voted with the GOP, it would have failed because the TDS afflicted John Thune refuses to get rid of the filibuster.

Congress’s failure to provide for secure elections has been a disaster for Republicans and the Republic. Not only is California an economic and cultural trainwreck, but a Republican hasn’t won a statewide race in 20 years — the year Democrat-in-RINO-clothing Arnold Schwarzenegger won reelection. But at least they have 7 House seats, out of 52 in a state with 25% GOP electorate. In New England the GOP’s 24% of the electorate gets them exactly zero of the region’s 21 House seats, and the one Senator out of twelve is another Democrat-in-RINO-clothing, Susan Collins.  She has a Liberty Score of 20, which is even with AOC and below Ilhan Omar at 22!  (That’s out of 100… while Thomas Massie had a 96!)

This failure is at the core of everything that is going wrong in America right now.  There is literally nothing more important in 2026 than getting the SAVE America Act passed. Donald Trump came to power promising to take on the establishment. In his first term he played by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, and much of his agenda was stonewalled.  Then the election was what it was, and Joe Biden rolled back most of the little he did accomplish.

Then in 2024 Trump ran again, and we expected that after years of being targeted, both literally and figuratively, he would take a wrecking ball to the Swamp.  But he hasn’t. Deficits have continued to grow, it’s practically impossible to eliminate even the most egregious of programs, and federal judges usurp Executive powers like kids in a candy store. From deportations to Pentagon decisions to the 1776 Fund, there’s barely an initiative that some leftist judge hasn’t stopped.  In the Senate, Republicans have actively stopped him from making recess appointments by gaveling in faux sessions so they never technically go on recess.  That’s never happened before. No president has ever had recess appointments blocked by a Senate controlled by his own party.

All of this is happening because Congress has shirked its constitutional responsibility.  Fair and free elections are not speed limits or property taxes or any of the other things that are constitutionally in the purview of states. Fair and free elections are core to the rights of every single American regardless of where they live. Yet we have 14 states, representing almost 40% of the population with no Voter ID, representing 73% of the Electoral College votes necessary to win the White House.  Add in the issues with voting rolls, machines, and chain of custody, and it’s clear cheating is the rule of the day when it comes to voting in Democrat cities and states.

The Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution reads:

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

This is not Congress spending billions on redistribution because someone discovered the power to do so hidden in the penumbra of the General Welfare Clause. This is not Congress deciding out of thin air that they could legislate “right turn on red” nationally because they controlled highway funds. No, this is explicitly in the Constitution and Congress has failed to utilize its power to provide Americans with free, fair, and timely elections.  All of the other problems in America today stem from that.

President Trump, if he wants to have even a chance of a successful legacy, needs to knock out the Swamp with the SAVE America Act. Force Congress’s hand. He needs to make a speech to the nation and perhaps do a modern version of FDR’s Fireside Chats chronicling its progress. He needs to name names of Senators obstructing it.  He needs to use every legal tool available to pressure those intransigent grifters to support it. How? By sending JD Vance to preside over the Senate.  By refusing to sign another bill until SAVE is on his desk. By influencing where the GOP spends its campaign cash. By deciding where the next military logistics depot goes. By calling Congress into special session every single time they seek to go home for a holiday or campaign for reelection. He should make their lives a living hell until they do what 85% of the American people want and which the Constitution empowers them to do, which is nothing more than force free and fair elections.

This is not business as usual. We’re at a tipping point and honest elections are the only peaceful way to fix it. Americans have historically used the ballot box to guide government. The last time that was taken away was in 1774 when Parliament passed the Massachusetts Government Act.  That didn’t end well for the tyrants in London, and it won’t end well for the Swamp in Washington. Americans — or at least 85% of them — demand their votes count, and want their elections to be honest. Standing in the way of the SAVE America Act while states openly manipulate their elections and lie while doing so is simply a step too far.  The Russians have a word for that too:  Poslednyaya kaplya. The last straw.

Follow Vince Coyner on X at @ImperfectUSA

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/06/the_last_straw_they_re_stealing_elections_in_real_time_and_pretending_it_s_normal.html