Really Just Bluster

The roster of unrepentant murderers runs deep within the Islamic Republic. Unfortunately, Trump apparently thinks some deal may be reached with the surviving leadership, such as it is in Iran. He rattles his saber about blowing this or that up, or "unleashing hell", but in the end, has no appetite to follow through. The oppressed people pf Iran know what to do to free themselves but lack the weapons and training to do it, and Trump shows nothing beyond words that he will help them. 

More Fake News

I saw a story on the BING news feed that the President was so agitated and out of control that he was locked out of the Situation Room at the White House. This is just as credible as the report that Trump wrestled with his own Secret Service detail trying to take control of the Presidential limousine back at the end of his first term. The President is the leader who subordinates are duty-bound to follow, and Trump's team would not exclude him from the management of the war against the Islamic Republic that holds Iran hostage. 

Too Much Winning

Trump may have killed so many layers of Iranian leadership that there is no one left with which to seal a peace deal. The two ways around this would be Reza Pahlavi coming into power due to revolt against the remaining oppressors, which would be the preferred course, or a bloody occupation by American forces which could be a disaster. An MEK takeover would be nearly as bad as the mad mullahs clinging to power. 

Someone Likely Lying

The conflicting stories between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America remind me of the two boys who tell the principal mutually exclusive stories after a schoolyard scrape. Trump contends Tehran has agreed to give away everything while whoever is the surviving leader of the day in Ayatollah Land claims his mighty nation has not agreed to any concessions. In a way, both sides could be speaking truth if the "negotiating team" of the mad mullahs has no authority to bind that country to a truce because they were not sent by anyone with real power, and are either free agents or so low level that nobody in the higher ranks of the theocracy cares what they have committed to because they actually do not represent whoever is left to oppress the Persian People and other freedom-seeking non-Shiite fanatics. Otherwise, if Trump is just making up the supposed peace agreement that nobody on the other side has agreed to, America is in real trouble because our leader would then be a raging lunatic, which I pray is not the case. 

Disservice to Humanity

If the mad mullahs are left in power in Iran and if Hezbollah remains an armed force dominating Lebanon, there will be no question that the United States and Israel were defeated in this war. Trump is NOT a strategic thinker as he supposes himself to be, but an ego-driven megalomaniac who wants the Peace Prize more than he ever wanted actual peace. Netanyahu is the one Israeli leader since Shamir willing to go against the diktats of Washington when they threaten Israel's existence, but this is not really about leaders but about the tragic consequence to the Persian people who were oh-so-close to freedom. Nations have their own interests but liberty is a universal desire that tragically all too often remains elusive and unfulfilled. Trump should not end action against the Ayatollah, whoever that happens to be, and the Jewish State must not placate America if what Trump is demanding compromises Israel's safety. 

Madison Cawthorn's Claims

The more denials from other Representatives that sound off about knowing nothing about Eric Swalwell's alleged conduct, the more it makes me believe what former Congressman Cawthorn claimed about being invited to an orgy with other politicians. What colleagues of Swalwell are saying now sounds like Germans in 1946 who swore they were completely unaware of Nazi atrocities. We seem to have a House and Senate full of Sergeant Schultz and Colonel Klink who "see nothing", particularly when Swalwell's supposed best friend, Representative Ruben Gallego, feigns outrage and claims ignorance about the Representative to whom he was thought to be like a brother. 

Representatives Should Resign

I am absolutely in favor of Congressmen and Senators accused of sexual impropriety resigning. Now let's do financial impropriety, but we can't do that because with all the self-dealing and insider trading we wouldn't have anyone left to "represent" us. 

The Fallen Edifice

Multilateral bodies meant to ensure peace and security and international law have collapsed and become an affront to humanity. The United Nations is beyond worthless. It is harmful and should be dismantled. NATO has demonstrated it is now totally one-sided with America expected to defend allies who will not return the favor if the United States is under threat. International courts guard rogue nations and terrorist entities while trying to strip decent nations of the ability to defend themselves from evil actors. See the lawfare against the beleaguered Jewish State as the first example. The very entities established at the conclusion of World War II to prevent crimes against humanity, now cover them up or by siding with the perpetrators, actually facilitate them. 

Freedom of Navigation?

America imposing a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz might set a bad precedent. Red China may decide to impose their own crackdown against shipping into Taiwan or just send huge portions of their navy toward Iran to break America's line and go collect the oil they are buying. Either way it escalates the conflict and brings us closer to World War III. 

Losing to Iran?

Of course, America wants and the world would benefit from regime change in Tehran, but that laudable goal was not stated as a war aim and can't be done without bloody armed revolution by the Iranian People or troops on the ground from America and allies that no doubt would lead to hundreds of thousands deaths (at least). It sucks to think the ayatollah regime will survive this conflict and crow that they have "won", but that dreaded outcome is a real possibility. 

Not So "Swalwell"

Kompromat flatulent blowhard Eric Swalwell is not only subject to the entrapment of Red Chinese female spies but seems to have not taken "no" for an answer when forcing himself on at least one female subordinate, with additional women coming forward to allege similar improprieties. It looks like Swalwell's gubernatorial run is over in California, and his presence in the US House should be ending as well though a stay as Harvey Weinstein's cellmate may soon be in order. 

The Aggressor Wins

The party that strikes the first blow usually wins. That side might be in the wrong, but that has nothing to do with who ultimately prevails. The Maginot Line taught us static defense may be no defense at all. Oil fields and refineries are exceedingly difficult to protect and relatively easy to damage. Supertankers make great targets, and pipelines are vulnerable as well, yet the world must not be hostage to petroleum. 

Note About Loyalty

When loyalty is transactional, it is not loyalty. Of course, NATO nations have their own agendas and unique national interests, as do the United States and Israel. I do not forecast a glowing future for traditional American alliances anywhere. 

Just Declared Victory

The only paths for America and Israel to truly prevail over the Islamic Republic would have been regime change wherein the theocracy would no longer be running the country, or every bit of enriched components that could be used in a nuclear-tipped missile or bomb were destroyed or seized. Nothing akin to that has been accomplished. Trump clearly stated he wanted the mullahs overthrown, though he did not explicitly declare that as a war aim. American forces and the IDF wrought extensive destruction across Iran, but at the end of the day, an Ayatollah will still be the leader, and something of an offensive atomic capability remains in the hands of End Time madmen. 

Too Much Michigan

Hats off to the Wolverines, who were a tough team all season, They did not go undefeated but were the dominant school in men's college basketball this year. Connecticut put up a good fight, but ultimately, the boys from Ann Arbor prevailed. 

Imposing Front Line

In basketball, size is not everything (ask Muggsy Bogues), but it is something that

can't be coached or taught. Either you are tall, or you aren't, and Michigan has the tallest front line I recall in basketball at any level. A seven foot, three inch center is not unheard of, though not all that common, but when he is side by side with a 6-9, two hundred and fifty pound power forward and a "small" forward of the same height and two hundred forty pounds, you have really rare, if not unprecedented size. Yes, Larry Bird was a six-nine "small" forward, but he played at two hundred twenty pounds. I am not saying the Wolverines will necessarily win tonight, but Connecticut only has one strong and physically imposing center to counter three dominant Michigan starters. Tarris Reed might be the dominant post player on the court, but there is but one of him for the Huskies trying to counter three imposing Wolverine big men. I will not predict a winner because Danny Hurley is the best X's and O's coach in basketball and better at in-game adjustments than any coach I have seen, but he had best shape the game plan of his life tonight to vie against the Maize and Blue. 

The Unstoppable Force

Do Venezuela and Iran believe the United States is a "paper tiger"? It was thus under Joe Biden, but not so under Donald Trump who has made America the "muscular nation" again, for the first time since the Second World War. Our forces just saved a pilot in hostile territory surrounded by End Time fanatics, all while NASA astronauts are travelling further than mankind ever has.

No Video Game

The war against the Islamic Republic is no joke. It is real and deadly. The victory against the mad mullahs was never assured, nor if it happens, will it be easy or without cost in blood and treasure. Evil-doers Iran and Red China share a land border, and aggressor state Russia and the Ayatollah enterprise are just a short distance across the Caspian Sea, and these malign entities supply each other and share intelligence against the United States and Israel. Iran has a source of replacement manpower with the Shiite militias and terrorist groups they have backed primarily in Iraq but also potentially from Lebanon. Those opposing the End Time religious fanatics face a multi-headed hydra of dark forces from different places that are difficult to counter much less destroy. It is quite possible that the American planes that were shot down were facing weapons systems that were not even in Iran at the start of the conflict and that hands in Beijing and Moscow are helping direct the defense of the Islamic Republic. 

Out of Virgins

So many jihadists have been killed since October 7. 2023 that there are not enough virgins for seventy-two per martyr. Women will just hae to start being chaste again before they die, or perhaps some of the fallen fighters will be content to do what they did when they were alive and some goats and sheep provided for their sepulchral pleasures. 

Bye Bye Bondi

Donald Trump (justifiably) wanted some scalps from those who tried to bag him, his associates, and family members. His Attorney General failed to deliver. The DemocRATS, when in power, do as they wish, not constrained by decency or bound by morality or even law really (novel legal concepts) and unhinged from reality (woman with penis). That is why that anti-American party must never hold the reins of power again or at least until more DemocRATS are like John Fetterman with a bit of normal values and at least a modicum of common sense. 

One Way Alliance

When Europe cried our, "save us from Hitler", sixteen million Americans swelled the ranks to come to their aid. When our Western European friends implored the United States to protect them from Stalin, we obliged. When the Soviet Union menaced free Europe for decades, America spent billions in their defense, but when we are ridding the world of the greatest sponsor of international terrorism and ensuring that End-Time fanatics do not gain nuclear weapons, our formerly needy friends tell Washington, America is on its own. Well, they miscalculated, because Trump has made us a net exporter of oil, and we do not require petroleum from the Middle East to thrive, but Western Europe does. Leave it to those weaklings, most of whom are only now bearing the cost burden of their own defense because they shirked it during the Cold War and really only started to pay up during Trump's first term when he forced them to honor their contribution commitments, except for worthless Spain that still has not done that. Let the other NATO countries clear the Strait of Hormuz because they are the ones who need the Persian Gulf fuel to power their continent.