VIDEO: "Peace Train" featuring Yusuf / Cat Stevens | Playing For Change & Sign the petition, e mail your rep and senators: No War with Iran 22JUN25

 

"Peace Train" featuring Yusuf / Cat Stevens | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

“Peace Train” – Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ timeless anthem of hope and unity – was originally released on the classic album 'Teaser and the Firecat' in 1971 and was Stevens’ first US Top 10 hit, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This Song Around The World version features more than 25 musicians from 12 countries and unites Yusuf / Cat Stevens, singing and playing a beautiful white piano in a tranquil open air setting in Istanbul, Turkey, with musicians such as five time Grammy Award winning blues/americana artist Keb’ Mo’; Grammy nominated Senegalese artist Baaba Maal; Silkroad’s Rhiannon Giddens—also a Grammy Award winner; Ghassan Birumi playing the oud in Ramallah, Palestine; musicians from the Silkroad Ensemble in Rhinebeck, New York; Pat Simmons (The Doobie Brothers) and James “Hutch” Hutchinson (bass player with Bonnie Raitt) performing in Maui, Hawaii; and bringing together conflict regions with Tushar Lall playing the harmonium in Delhi, India, and Joshua Amjad playing the Kartaal in Karachi, Pakistan.

"Everyone jump upon the Peace Train" and let's make this world a better place. Happy International Day of Peace. One Love!!! #InternationalDayofPeace #WorldPeaceDay

Sign the petition, e mail your rep and senators: No War with Iran

NO time to loose, this action from Demand Progress is a petition to congress to pass HR 38 and SJ R 29, war powers resolutions introduced by Rep Ro Khanna D-CA and Sen Tim Kaine D-VA to stop the US-Iran war before it goes any further. Congress has the constitutional power to declare war, not the president. Once you sign the petition please e mail your representative and senators no matter their party and tell them to support and vote for these resolutions, tell them to stop this war! E mail the White House and tell NOT MY pres drumpf / trump to stop this war now, NO WAR WITH IRAN! NOTE, the cease fire announced the evening of 23 JUNE has already been violated, first by Israel then Iran. My e mails to my representative and senators and the White House will be at the end of this post.

TELL CONGRESS: Trump’s decision to bomb Iran and join Netanyahu’s war against Iran is illegal. Sign the petition: Pass a War Powers Resolution to Stop Trump’s War with Iran. ADD YOUR NAME Trump’s decision to bomb Iran and join Netanyahu’s war against Iran is a clear violation of the Constitution1. Trump has now set the U.S. on a dangerous path to a disastrous open-ended military campaign where thousands of American, Iranian, and Israeli lives could be lost. Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Ro Khanna have introduced war powers resolutions exercising Congress’s authority to stop Trump’s illegal war with Iran2. Congress must reassert its war powers and stop another disastrous, unpopular war. Sign the petition: No war with Iran! Pass a War Powers Resolution NOW! ADD YOUR NAME Sen. Bernie Sanders reacted to the news of the bombing in real-time at a rally, stating that "the only entity that can take this country to war is the U.S. Congress. The president does not have the right."3 Trump has already indicated that further attacks by U.S. forces could be coming, and Iranian officials have vowed retaliation4, making it likely that Trump’s decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities could begin a dangerous downward spiral into a prolonged war. Congress has the power to stop this before it's too late by passing the two war powers resolutions introduced by Sen. Kaine and Rep. Khanna, H.Con.Res.38 and S.J.Res.29. Sign the petition: Urge Congress to pass a War Powers Resolution and stop Trump’s war with Iran! Thanks for taking action, Joey and the team at Demand Progress DONATE Sources: NBC News, "Some lawmakers in both parties question the legality of Trump's Iran strikes," June 22, 2025. Office of Senator Tim Kaine, "Kaine Announces the Filing of a War Powers Resolution to Prevent War with Iran," June 16, 2025. NBC News, "Some lawmakers in both parties question the legality of Trump's Iran strikes," June 22, 2025. Reuters, "Trump says US 'obliterates' Iran nuclear sites, Tehran reserves 'all options' to defend itself," June 22, 2025. Contributions to ActBlue Civics and Demand Progress Action are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on Instagram or Twitter. MY E MAIL TO REP SUBRAMANYAM D-VA 10TH DISTRICT NOT MY pres drumpf's / trump’s decision to bomb Iran and join netanyahu's war against Iran is a clear violation of the Constitution. drumpf / trump has now set the U.S. on a dangerous path to a disastrous open-ended military campaign where thousands of American, Iranian, and Israeli lives could be lost.  Rep Ro Khanna introduced war powers resolution H Con RES 38 exercising Congress’s authority to stop Trump’s illegal war with Iran. Congress must reassert its war powers and stop another disastrous, unpopular war. drumpf / trump has already indicated that further attacks by U.S. forces could be coming, and Iranian officials have vowed retaliation, making it likely that his decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities could begin a dangerous downward spiral into a prolonged war. I expect you to work with Virginia's House delegation, promote and vote for H Con Res 38. MY E MAIL TO SEN WARNER D-VA NOT MY pres drumpf's / trump’s decision to bomb Iran and join netanyahu's war against Iran is a clear violation of the Constitution. drumpf / trump has now set the U.S. on a dangerous path to a disastrous open-ended military campaign where thousands of American, Iranian, and Israeli lives could be lost.  Sen Tim Kaine introduced war powers resolution S J RES 29 exercising Congress’s authority to stop Trump’s illegal war with Iran. Congress must reassert its war powers and stop another disastrous, unpopular war. drumpf / trump has already indicated that further attacks by U.S. forces could be coming, and Iranian officials have vowed retaliation, making it likely that his decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities could begin a dangerous downward spiral into a prolonged war.The cease fire announced last night has already been violated, first by Israel and then Iran. You must stop drumpf / trump from getting us in another war.. I expect you to work with Sen Kaine and the entire Senate supporting, promoting and voting for S J RES 29.  MY E MAIL TO SEN KAINE D-VA NOT MY pres drumpf's / trump’s decision to bomb Iran and join netanyahu's war against Iran is a clear violation of the Constitution. drumpf / trump has now set the U.S. on a dangerous path to a disastrous open-ended military campaign where thousands of American, Iranian, and Israeli lives could be lost. Thank you for introducing war powers resolution S J RES 29 exercising Congress’s authority to stop Trump’s illegal war with Iran. Congress must reassert its war powers and stop another disastrous, unpopular war. drumpf / trump has already indicated that further attacks by U.S. forces could be coming, and Iranian officials have vowed retaliation, making it likely that his decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities could begin a dangerous downward spiral into a prolonged war.The cease fire announced last night has already been violated, first by Israel and then Iran. You must stop drumpf / trump from getting us in another war.. I know you will work with Sen Warner and the entire Senate to pass S J RES 29.  MY E MAIL TO NOT MY PRES drumpf / trump You do not have the right or the constitutional authority ( or the moral authority as you are a draft dodger ) to  involve us in a war without Congressional authorization. Your cease fire is already failing, do not take any further military action until the Gang of Eight has been briefed and unless Congress gives you authorization. We know your goal is to replace our democratic Republic with an authoritarian theocratic oligarchy but it hasn't happened yet and with God's help it won't.

POLITIFACT WEEKLY: Does Donald Trump have sole power to decide if and when to strike Iran? Or does Congress have a say?, Fact-checks of the week, NY Comptroller Lander said ICE agents need judicial warrant to detain migrants and can’t arrest US citizens. Not quite., Happy Juneteenth!, Go deeper on the Israel-Iran conflict: How new would direct US action be?, Ask PolitiFact: Did Trump pulling US out of Iran deal lead to current conflict?, LISTEN: PolitiFact reporter talks Minnesota attack misinfo, Image of a man wearing a “Resist” shirt is, A Craigslist posting was looking for “seat fillers” at D.C. military parade. It’s False, The American flag was shown during New York Mets’ Pride Night national anthem, A TikTok user recorded video of a military helicopter, No, ICE agents didn’t raid a Los Angeles elementary school, Do you smell smoke? PANTS ON FIRE! 20JUN25

 

Does Donald Trump have sole power to decide if and when to strike Iran? Or does Congress have a say? As President Donald Trump decides whether the United States military should participate in direct military action against Iran, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is saying that Congress should have a voice in the decision. Some lawmakers from both parties have proposed legislation to require a say from Congress on whether to attack Iran, a scenario that has become plausible as Israel has pursued six days of attacks on Iran’s leadership, military assets and nuclear program. U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced a resolution cosponsored by several liberal Democrats that says Congress "directs the president to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran … unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran." Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has introduced a similar resolution in the Senate. Despite the cross-party constituency for slowing a U.S. attack on Iran, it’s unclear whether either chamber can muster a majority to pass such legislation. If Congress doesn’t pass anything, it would continue a long-running divide between the president and Congress over who has the right to send U.S. troops into harm’s way. How did the U.S. get to this point? Since launching airstrikes June 13, Israel has set back Iran’s nuclear capabilities by damaging a uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and a site at Parchin where modeling was done for building nuclear weapons. But analysts say that thoroughly curtailing Iran’s nuclear potential likely requires Israel to neutralize the heavily reinforced facilities at Fordo (sometimes spelled Fordow), where Iran’s most important uranium enrichment facility is buried deep under mountains about 125 miles south of Tehran. That would require help from the U.S. Whether to militarily join a direct Israeli offensive against Iran — which would be unprecedented despite the historically close ties between the U.S. and Israel — is now in Trump’s hands. The presidency vs. Congress But does the president have sole power to decide if and when to strike? Or does Congress have a say? The reality is that there are "overlapping authorities," said Joshua C. Huder, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute.  Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution assigns the right to declare war to Congress. But the last time that happened was at the beginning of World War II, when Franklin Roosevelt was president. Since then, presidents have generally initiated military activities using their constitutionally granted powers as commander in chief without having an official declaration of war in support of their actions. Most controversially, in August 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson asked Congress to back his effort to widen the U.S. role in Vietnam. He received it with enactment of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which passed both chambers of Congress, including the Senate with only two dissenting votes. As the Vietnam War turned sour, lawmakers became increasingly frustrated at their secondary role in sending U.S. troops abroad. So in 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution, which was enacted over a veto by President Richard Nixon.  The resolution required that, in the absence of a declaration of war, the president must report to Congress within 48 hours of introducing armed forces into hostilities and must terminate the use of U.S. armed forces within 60 days unless Congress permits otherwise. If approval is not granted and the president deems it an emergency, then an additional 30 days are granted for ending operations. Presidents have not been eager to cede their presidential prerogatives to Congress. Presidents typically frame any entreaties to Congress about military force as a voluntary bid to secure "support" for military action — action that’s often under way or planned imminently — rather than as "permission." In recent decades, congressional consent has usually been accomplished by the passage of an "authorization for the use of military force" — a legislative vehicle that "has become the modern version of a declaration of war," Cancian said.  Presidents who have received such authorizing legislation include Ronald Reagan (to oversee the handover of the Sinai Peninsula from Israel to Egypt, and separately to participate in a deployment to Lebanon that ended with a suicide attack that killed 241 American service members); George H.W. Bush (to oust Iraq’s Saddam Hussein from Kuwait); Bill Clinton (for military action in Somalia); and George W. Bush (to enter Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks, and another to oust Hussein from power in what would become the Iraq War). The post-9/11 authorization from 2001 is among the most controversial, because presidents of both parties have used its broad wording to support military action against a wide array of targets, using language that approves efforts "to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States." Almost a quarter century later, the 2001 authorization remains in force, despite being repealed by the Senate in a bipartisan 66-30 vote in 2023. (The House did not concur.) What could be next? During his second term as president, Trump has maintained strict discipline within his party. However, the issue of going to war overseas is one that could test Trump’s degree of support. Some high-profile figures within Trump’s MAGA movement oppose an Iran attack and say they intend to hold Trump to his past rhetoric that he will keep the U.S. out of wars. Ultimately, congressional reaction "is determined largely by the majority party," said Lance Janda, a military historian at Cameron University. So with Republican control of both chambers until at least 2026, "I don’t see Congress getting involved" any time soon. — Louis Jacobson

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Fact-checks of the week Lee’s conspiracy theory. As the public waited for answers in the shootings of two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses, U.S. Mike Lee, R-Utah, promoted an unproven and inflammatory conspiracy theory about the suspect’s ideology. “This is what happens (w)hen Marxists don’t get their way,” Lee said of suspect Vance Boelter at about 11 a.m. ET June 15, from his personal X account. Pants on Fire! No available information about Boelter’s political beliefs signals that his beliefs were Marxist or left-leaning. People who knew Boelter told reporters he was politically right-leaning and voted for Trump. Law enforcement officials said all the potential targets Boelter had identified were elected officials and Democrats, and they discouraged people from making sweeping conclusions about Boelter’s ideology.  Data clapbacks. Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., challenged three elected Republican officials from Alabama, Oklahoma and Arkansas who had criticized California and Newsom’s handling of the Los Angeles protests. Newsom said Alabama’s homicide rate was three times higher than California's; Oklahoma’s was 40% higher; and Arkansas’ rate was double. Data for 2022 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that California has a lower homicide rate than Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and roughly in the proportions that Newsom said. For violent crime more broadly — a category that includes rape, aggravated assault and robbery in addition to homicide — California fares less well, notching rates higher than either Oklahoma and Alabama. Our verdict: Mostly True. On the streets, go by the law, not the tweets. Ahead of “No Kings” protests in Florida and around the country, Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., touted a 2021 anti-riot law "that if you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety. And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you.” A social media user said DeSantis was giving Floridians "a greenlight to run over protesters blocking them in the streets." Our story explains the exaggerations in both summaries. Bottom line: The 2021 law provides an affirmative legal defense for drivers who are later served with civil lawsuits related to a riot-related incident — but the law doesn’t protect them from facing criminal charges.

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In now-deleted X posts, Sen. Mike Lee asserted that Vance Boelter, the suspect in an attack Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota, was driven by “Marxist” ideology. Available evidence doesn’t support that idea. (YouTube)

NY Comptroller Lander said ICE agents need judicial warrant to detain migrants and can’t arrest US citizens. Not quite. Plainclothes immigration officers arrested New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander at an immigration court building June 17 as he tried to escort an immigrant after a hearing. Lander, who linked arms with the immigrant, repeatedly demanded to see a judicial warrant for the man’s arrest. "I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant," Lander said as agents tried to physically separate Lander from the immigrant. After Lander asked multiple times, one agent waved a piece of paper. "I have it in my hand right here," he said. Eventually, the agents forcefully separated Lander from the man, whom Lander later identified as Edgardo. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers pinned Lander to a wall and handcuffed him. "You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens," Lander said. We ran both points by legal and immigration experts. ICE agents do not need a judicial warrant to detain immigrants in public. They are generally required to have an administrative warrant, which, doesn’t need to be signed by a judge and can be signed by immigration officials. ICE agents generally can’t arrest U.S. citizens, because they aren’t committing a civil immigration violation. However, Lander wasn’t arrested on immigration grounds; the agent accused Lander of obstruction. According to U.S. law, immigration agents can arrest people "for any offense against the United States, if the offense is committed in the officer's or employee's presence." — Maria Ramirez Uribe

Happy Juneteenth! PolitiFact and Poynter were off yesterday in observation of Juneteenth, which marks the day in 1865 that Union troops landed in Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of slavery. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but it wasn’t until two and half years later that it became a reality in Texas. The Civil War ended on April 19, 1865, but enslaved people in Texas didn’t learn of the confederacy’s surrender until two months later. Former President Joe Biden signed a bill into law in June 2021 to make Juneteenth the 11th federal holiday. Here is background on how the occasion grew from informal community celebrations to becoming the first holiday added to the federal calendar since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

Go deeper on the Israel-Iran conflict: How new would direct US action be? Whether the U.S. will take an active, offensive role in Fordo’s bombing is a question laden with strategic and geopolitical import. A specific offensive military action against a sovereign state by the United States — either through an offensive military collaboration with Israel, or with the U.S. acting alone against Iran for Israel’s benefit — would break with decades of precedent in the U.S.-Israel relationship. Past collaborations between the U.S. and Israel have involved a layer of distance and plausible deniability.  Since Israel’s founding in 1948, the U.S. has been a reliable ally, offering bipartisan rhetorical support, diplomatic cover, financial assistance, weapons, intelligence and — most recently — defensive support, including assistance with anti-missile technology as Iran has retaliated for Israeli attacks by sending barrages of missiles toward Israeli cities. "The Biden administration collaborated with Israel, and other regional powers, in thwarting Iranian attacks" after Israel moved into Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, said Boaz Atzili, a professor of foreign policy and global security at American University. "Both Biden and Trump assisted against missiles launched from Yemen, and Trump even acted offensively against Yemen, before signing a separate agreement that precluded Israel." Mark F. Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he knows of many instances in which the U.S. provided indirect support for offensive Israeli operations. "However, I cannot think of any example where the United States and Israel launched an offensive operation together," he said. More context here. — Louis Jacobson

Ask PolitiFact: Did Trump pulling US out of Iran deal lead to current conflict? Trump has vowed to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon since announcing his candidacy in June 2015. During his first term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal signed by his predecessor, President Barack Obama, and then broke his 2016 campaign promise to negotiate a new one. As Trump considers the role of the U.S. in Israel’s efforts to take out Iran’s nuclear capabilities, readers sent us questions about the federal government’s past efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Some on the left are blaming Trump’s 2018 exit for Iran’s nuclear capabilities. "Now the world is reaping the whirlwind of his historic mistake," said Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass.  It’s difficult to know exactly what Iran, the U.S. and other countries would have done if the agreement remained in place. Our explainer will get you up to speed on the basics. — Amy Sherman

‘One Big’ ban on AI regulations? State lawmakers have filed hundreds of bills to address artificial intelligence’s potential harms for child safety, learning, elections and more.  Those laws wouldn't be possible for 10 years under the massive Trump-backed policy bill moving through Congress. It reached the Senate with a 450-word section prohibiting states from enforcing any law or regulation limiting or restricting AI for the next 10 years. Lawmakers who support the provision said that a patchwork of state laws stifle innovation, and get in the way of U.S. competition with China. But the AI section drew bipartisan outcry after the House’s May 22 party-line vote. "I would have voted NO if I had known this was in there," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X June 3. Senators deliberating over the Republican-titled "One Big Beautiful Bill" have since proposed tying it to federal broadband funding. We answered four questions about the bill’s aim and possible connection to broadband, China’s role, state reactions and affected regulations. — Loreben Tuquero

LISTEN: PolitiFact reporter talks Minnesota attack misinfo  PolitiFact Staff Writer Madison Czopek appeared on Minnesota Public Radio on Tuesday to discuss her Saturday night report about conservative misinformation that unfolded from influencers and lawmakers after the Minnesota shootings. One rule of thumb: “Slow down before you share anything and consider what is the source of this information,” she said. “Turn to trusted news sources as much as possible.” Listen to the MPR News segment. En Español: Cómo cuentas conservadoras en X promovieron teoría falsa implicando a Tim Walz en asesinato político

Quick links to more fact-checks & reports  Image of a man wearing a “Resist” shirt is not of Vance Boelter, but a Texas Democrat’s husband. A Craigslist posting was looking for “seat fillers” at D.C. military parade. It’s False; we found no evidence supporting the details. The American flag was shown during New York Mets’ Pride Night national anthem. A Pride flag did not replace it. A TikTok user recorded video of a military helicopter sweeping downtown LA days before protests. It’s routine. No, ICE agents didn’t raid a Los Angeles elementary school. District officials said a video of tearful school worker was spreading rumors.

Do you smell smoke?  Here's your Pants on Fire fact-check of the week:  Images of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at South Florida “No Kings” protest were faked with AI. Slop alert!  See what else we've rated Pants on Fire this week.

Thanks for making it this far! ICYMI, here's my column about the 10-year anniversary of Trump launching the MAGA movement from Trump Tower. I'm curious what, if anything, the milestone means to you. Send me an email with your thoughts and ideas for our coverage. Katie Sanders PolitiFact Editor-in-Chief

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