What the Heartland Wants: Less Iran Nonsense, More Real Work

It’s time the federal government got down to some real work – well, maybe someday in the near future, one can hope. Until then, America settles for political promises and weak power plays disguised as peaceful resolutions. Heartlanders see right through it, of course, all the while dealing with a deluge of thunderstorms and tornadoes that brought flooding and property damage across the upper and lower Midwest. Meanwhile, the ladies and gentlemen behind fortress walls in ivory towers, busy sitting on their hands instead of working to represent the people of Foggy Bottom and the rest of the nation, aren’t really on the radar for most Americans today. Still, every now and then, something slips out. So, what made this week’s list of greatest hits? Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Iran, and a whole flock of cameras.

Blabber Mouth

“Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is by far the most talkative justice on the Supreme Court, averaging 1,263 words per case,” so says a recent analysis of oral arguments over the last 11 years from The New York Times. Yet still no definition of what a woman is can be found.

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Justice Clarence Thomas made a great showing of 61 well-placed words. Jackson out-yammered Thomas about 21 times.

In Indiana, Martin Denny took a break from storm clean-up to share: “My experience has been the more someone talks the less they say.”

In Michigan, Ron Zerbst added: “What’s that saying about speaking and removing all doubt?”

And in Illinois, Chris Sullivan sobered everyone up, adding: “By way of contrast, the Gettysburg Address contained 272 words.”

No One Is Buying the Iran Rhetoric

The Trump administration is preparing to dramatically escalate the “Economic Fury” campaign against Iran, with new measures coming next week. The locker room talk is on overdrive, and the guys are all suited up and on board: War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Vice President JD Vance.

Hegseth, wearing a military-style T-shirt, kept to this line: “No other nation on Earth, no other Navy on Earth, can have a ‘wall of steel’ like the U.S. Navy — and then the willingness to use it as we have.”

“Iran knows it can’t get in and out on this blockade,” he added. “They know there’s no timeline on it either.”

Bessent warned Thursday of tactics that have “never been seen in the history of economic isolation.” 

“The thing I can say with confidence is I think this ends with the United States in a stronger position, with Iran not having a nuclear weapon, and with the Strait of Hormuz returned to a place where oil and gas prices are stable for the American people,” Vance said during an interview with Fox News host Will Cain.

“We can hold the blockade as long as we need to. Indefinitely,” Hegseth told reporters in Panama, and feeling his oats, added: “No other nation on Earth, no other Navy on Earth, can have a ‘wall of steel’ like the US Navy — and then the willingness to use it as we have."

Yeah, no, as the kids say today. No one in the Heartland buys this anymore.

In Anchorage, Karel Kousen chimed in: “That’s OK as long as we keep killing the chain of command. One way or another some money is going to negotiate with the American people and government. Just keep removing the so-called leaders. Keep chopping the head of the snake. You’re gonna run out of heads to chop. I’m pretty sure and I’m confident Iranian people will soon start waking up even more. There’s a lot of suppression of information coming out of Iran already. The people over there are reacting. Unfortunately, the Internet is not always on. But videos are getting recorded.”

Dunning Krueger of Little Rock, AR, not agreeing whatsoever with Alaska’s Kousen, said: “Now Iran will be two weeks from economic collapse for 30 years.”

A Good Flocking

All of a sudden, Flock cameras are irritating the Heartland. They have been around for a while but are just now being noticed and becoming irksome. The tech is at the center of a somewhat violent debate over where and how the cameras will be disposed of. And there is a website called Have I Been Flocked, complete with a map where you can check your plate to see who is looking at you.

The website features these stats:

• more than 12,000 customers, including neighborhoods, cities, towns, counties, and business partners
• more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states
• more than 6,000 agencies and hundreds of thousands of authorized users
• 140,000+ monthly active users relying on Flock for lawful investigations

"However you count it, the 5,800 agencies in these videos are only the tip of the surveillance iceberg,” the site states.

Folks in rural areas will likely just shoot the cameras as they would a nosy drone.

Melissa Kirk doesn’t much care about the intrusions, saying: “Who gives a flock! One by my house must laugh at me every day: ‘there’s [sic] Melissa late for work again.’ Seriously if it keeps criminals off the street & helps find missing children, I’m all for it. We are tracked more by our phones & cars.”

Rick Malott in Michigan disagrees: “It’s not vandalism, it's tea in the harbor.”

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Editor's Note: From the Back Forty is Liberty Nation's longest running and most popular weekly column.