Images courtesy of Politico's
The Nation's Cartoonists on the Week in Politics.
The Nation's Cartoonists on the Week in Politics.
Friday, June 20, 2025
Prey vs. Predator
A Donald Trump quote gives insight into his frame of mind as both 45 and now as 47.
Asked by a reporter what gave him the idea for the giant flag, he replied: “I’ve had it for a long time. The first time I had it, you guys [the media] were after me and I said, ‘I had to focus.'”
“I was the hunted,” Trump said of his first term, “and now I’m the hunter. It’s a big difference.”
Hat tip to Power Line’s Scott Johnson for sharing the quote. I predict presidential historians will write of Trump that losing his first reelection bid paradoxically made his second term, when he won it, much more consequential.
Saluting the Solstice
Later today at 8:42 p.m. Mountain Time, the Summer Solstice will occur in the Northern Hemisphere. Today will be our longest day (and shortest night) of the year.
Perhaps most important it will be the official first day of our Northern Hemisphere summer. We have yet to run our AC here in the mountains. 500+ miles south, and nearly a mile closer to sea level, our winter quarters have already had several days with highs over 100℉, today is predicted to reach 108℉.
One of my most memorable summer solstices happened sometime in the early 1980s. We did a late spring RV trip up the Alaskan Highway in our little motorhome and kept going north to Fairbanks, AK. On this date that year we were parked at a Fairbanks RV camp and at 1 a.m I went outside and there was enough natural light to read a newspaper. The mosquitoes were fierce so I didn’t tarry. That trip was some adventure.
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Conservatives Happier People
Data guy Nate Silver posts survey data on X which shows conservatives are just plain happier people than liberals. He writes:
Here's an attempt at a deeper dive at understanding why conservatives are so much happier than liberals. Mostly looking at how persistent the gap is in survey data rather than extrapolating too much.
After which he posts this table, but doesn't give its source which this site says is CES standing for Cooperative Election Survey.
This leaves aside the whole "neurotics and normals can view the exact same objective set of circumstances and see quite different things" issue. Liberals are much more likely to self-report having been given a less-than-positive mental health diagnosis.
Regardless, for men and women of all races, all age groups, all education levels conservatives are happier than liberals. The differences are not trivial and this is not a new finding.
Full disclosure: I am a conservative white man from the Silent generation with a postgraduate degree. That's like drawing a straight flush. I should be (and mostly am) giddy with happiness when the vicissitudes of aging don't put a damper on my spirits.
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
How to Bust a Bunker
Several recent posts have discussed the possibility of US B-2 heavy bombers dropping massive "bunker buster" bombs on the underground Fordow nuclear site in Iran.
If your interest extends to "how would those work," Fox News has an excellent column (with diagrams) describing the bombs' two step process and how it might be done. Enjoy.
DJT Hints at the Iran Endgame
Here in the Mountain time zone we get Bret Baier live at 4 p.m., which isn't a convenient time to watch so we record it and watch it in the local 6-7 p.m. window. That explains why I just saw President Trump say the following, which I roughly paraphrase.
For at least 15 years I have been saying Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons. I don't want to go to war. If shutting down their weapon development can be accomplished peacefully, fine. If not, then it still must happen.
My reading of what he said is the following. Iran surrenders and allows outsiders to destroy their nuclear program or we bomb it into rubble. Asked about regime change, he didn't show much interest. Trump is a long-time critic of "nation building," at which the US is not succeeded in the last half century.
Meanwhile, Trump is in no hurry to act. The longer the mullahs hold out in Iran, the more the Israelis degrade Iran's infrastructure, economy, and leadership with air strikes and assassinations. Letting this process continue for 2-3 more weeks has certain advantages.
What Divide?
Red State has the results of a poll which finds MAGA voters are not much divided on US support for Israel.
The poll, which was prepared by GrayHouse for the Senate Republican Committee, showed MAGA far from being fractured, with a staggering 80 percent of Trump voters voicing their support for the U.S. providing Israel with offensive weapons in its efforts to destroy Iran's military and nuclear capabilities.
That's not all. Poll results show that 83 percent of Trump voters support the strikes on Iran's nuclear program, with 72 percent supporting the U.S. taking "direct military action" to prevent Tehran from developing its nuclear capabilities.
This last stat is the key, because what DJT appears to be pondering is the US bombing of the underground Fordow uranium enrichment plant. Roughly 3 out of 4 Trump voters seem okay with that, if the poll is to be believed.
This puts me in mind of a parody lyric of the Beach Boys' hit Barbara Ann, in which the refrain goes: "Bomb, bomb, bomb ... bomb, bomb Iran." It dates back to the Reagan era.
Later ... I have subsequently seen another poll which finds essentially the reverse of that shown above. I suspect the second poll asked the general public while the first asked Trump voters. We would expect different results from those two populations, not sure we'd expect differences of the size reported.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Indispensable
Watching Bret Baier of Fox News interview Prime Minister Netanyahu on Sunday, I was struck by how far he has surpassed his competitors in the broadcast and cable networks. If you want it from the horse's mouth, Baier will have that pony sitting for an interview and behaving themself.
With nothing much to lose, I fearlessly predict historians will declare Bret Baier the Walter Cronkite of the Trump era. His is the indispensable talking head even the opposition watches because those who matter want to sit opposite him and be interviewed.
Who gets the credit? It certainly begins with Bret himself, he is a talented anchor. Some credit also goes to Brit Hume, his similarly talented predecessor and a bunch more to the Murdoch organization for recognizing the mostly empty market niche of a news show where conservatives are treated as reasonable humans with stories to tell and common sense perspectives.
Viewpoint Diversity
The Wall Street Journal runs an opinion piece by John Ellis, a prof at UC Santa Cruz. He makes a very well reasoned argument for why funding agencies should demand viewpoint diversity among university faculty.
Perhaps Ellis is conservative, or perhaps he is just a smart progressive. His column is excellent, and not behind the WSJ paywall.
We conservatives were darned scarce when I retired some 20+ years ago, even in the business school which you'd (incorrectly) suppose might be a hotbed of capitalist thought. It has only gotten worse since.
How bad is the campus anti-capitalist bias? Some campuses don't even have a business school, students who want to pursue a career in the private sector major in what is euphemistically called "applied economics." You can almost hear an 18th century upper class Brit sneering that a déclassé person is "in trade," said in much the same tones as claiming they were birthed on a dungheap by a slattern.
Whatever ... in the absence of viewpoint diversity, higher ed will continue to be seen as indoctrination academies serving a discredited ideology.
Election Fraud Claim
Writing for PJ Media, Matt Margolis reports on information recently given by the new FBI Director Kash Patel to Sen. Grassley (R-IA).
The FBI had a relatively new confidential source who provided information in summer 2020 that the Chinese government was manufacturing and exporting fake U.S. driver's licenses as part of a plot to create voter identities for Chinese residents living in the United States so they could vote with fake mail-in ballots. The intelligence source claimed the plot was specifically designed to benefit Biden.
In fact, another agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, had intercepted nearly 20,000 fake licenses around the time the intelligence came in a possible corroboration of the report, officials said.
Then-FBI Director Chris Wray sat on the information so it did not become public knowledge and harm the Biden campaign.
Monday, June 16, 2025
Lend-Lease
Iran has a nuclear enrichment site - Fordow - located under a mountain, some half mile down in man-made caves. Israel doesn't have the only weapon that site fears, the "bunker-buster bomb," and the B-2 heavy bomber to deliver it. Those the US has.
The solution to this dilemma is 84 years old, courtesy of President Franklin Roosevelt. FDR or one of his minions coined the term "lend-lease," which the FDR Library describes as follows.
He introduced to the public the idea of lending, as opposed to selling, military supplies to Britain. He likened the plan to lending a garden hose to a neighbor so that the neighbor could put out a fire in his house; the neighbor would then return the hose “intact” or, if it got “smashed up—holes in it—during the fire,” replace it with a new one.
We lend the Israelis a B-2, several bunker-buster bombs, and a couple of aerial refueling planes. They bomb Fordow into rubble, and return the plane to us. Trump explains our rationale as being the logical response to theocratic Iran which has our death as a primary national goal.
Have Some Fun
AI is doing some impressive stuff. See an extremely clever parody of the Mamas and Papas’ California Dreaming featuring Gov. Newsom and Mayor Bass in clown paint, the CA grizzly bear hamming it up, and President Trump performing the flute solo. Great lyrics too.
California Freedom is genuinely entertaining, as well as politically on point. Enjoy!
Sunday, June 15, 2025
No Change
Yesterday the Democrats held a series of rallies across the country under the banner of "No Kings." Their point being, one supposes, that President Trump has been acting king-like.
With the national legislatures quite evenly split, and the Senate's filibuster requiring 60 votes to override, the legislative branch is more than a little stymied. If the government is going to do anything, the executive branch will have to do it.
Trump as the executive has stepped up, and acted. Democrats are aghast. Hence their rallies.
The truth is this country has had no king since George III. His reign here ended in either 1776 with the Declaration of Independence or in 1783 when the revolutionary war ended, take your pick.
What worries Democrats is that Trump's popularity is more king-like than what most presidents achieve. As a showman, he "reads the room," plays to the crowd, and they love it.
So ... the US had no king last century, last decade, last year, and last week. Today, it still has no king, as I'm sure Trump would agree. It does have a hyperactive President, and I am happy about that.
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Friday, June 13, 2025
Some Migrants Are Progressve
A couple of posts ago, I had one with two charts showing population migrating from so-called “sanctuary” states to states where illegal immigrants are not welcome. There is an interesting side effect you might not have noticed.
While most internal migrants are conservatives moving from blue states to red, there are also a few progressives leaving blue states. Hence the modest growth experienced by true-blue Vermont and Colorado.
My conservative relatives in rural western CO hate that their state has become a destination for progressives fleeing the mess their policy preferences created back home on the coast.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Pathetic Padilla
US Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) forced his way into a press conference being held by DHS Secretary Noem, shouted at her, and was dragged out and handcuffed by security. He isn't a "famous face" like Rand Paul or Chuck Shumer and while he claimed to be a US Senator he didn't flash his ID.
It was straight up street theater, an attempt to embarrass Noem and the Trump administration. It could have worked as his D colleagues were quick to jump to his defense.
Except ... with no malicious intent toward Padilla ... Israel picked this evening to go to war against Iran. Talk about stepping on Padilla's moment of glory, they really sucked all the air out of his grandstanding. Karma is a bitch.
It's likely they also stepped all over the "No Kings" anti-ICE protests scheduled for this weekend. Trump's luck is legendary, you could almost forgive POTUS for believing God is on his side.
Sanctuary? Yes or No
The editorial board of the Issues & Insights website quantify the migration from states favoring sanctuary for illegal immigrants and to states which support ICE's actions to remove illegal immigrants. Their charts cover the four years of the Biden presidency.
I was going to describe these charts but I believe they speak for themselves ... eloquently.
Iran Preemptively Attacked
In case you haven't been paying attention, tonight Israel attacked Iran's nuclear sites, ballistic missile sites, and military command centers. Israel has also targeted specific leaders of the IRGC, and reportedly killed its leader.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced the attacks will continue until Iran's nuclear enrichment and weapon development programs are destroyed. As you can imagine, Israel is hunkered down expecting retaliatory strikes.
SecState Rubio has announced the attacks were undertaken unilaterally by the Israelis, who have declared they were left no choice when Iran refused to stop nuclear weapon development. Rubio further cautioned Iran to avoid retaliation against US personnel in the region, saying we have not been involved in these strikes. Implicit in his warning is that we are not now attacking Iran but will do so if we are attacked.
Iran has called for the death of Israel, which they call "the Little Satan" and of the United States which they call "the Great Satan." A view I share with many: if someone announces they seek your death, believe them and act accordingly.
Iran has been a theocratic pain the butt for their Arab neighbors, for Israel, for the entire region, and for the US. Regime change in Iran would be fully justified, I wish Israel well in this endeavor.
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Enjoying the Irony
Riots in Los Angeles ... let me think ... almost as unusual as sunshine in Palm Springs. What I love is the irony of the rioters waving Mexican flags.
None of those doing the waving want LA to be part of Mexico. They fled Mexico, or at least transited it without being tempted to stay.
Indeed, if LA were somehow magically handed back to Mexico, the rioters would leave and head for Denver or Salt Lake City, or maybe Phoenix. The whole point of being an economic refugee is moving to a first world nation, which cartel-ridden Mexico definitely is not.
LA elected a mayor who idolized the late Fidel Castro, traveled to Cuba, and sides with the protestors. To punish the rioters will require bringing federal charges as local prosecutors will let them walk.
The CA governor is term-limited out of office in 2026 and would like to be the Dem. nominee for prez in 2028. This unrest doesn't put him in a favorable light, both he and the mayor are on the wrong side of the immigration issue, according to US voters.
OTOH, President Trump has stepped up to meet the challenge. I approve.
I wish I could be optimistic about the city of my birth, but I cannot. It seems to be on a downhill path and gaining momentum.
News from Iraq
Politico reports (not behind paywall, for a change) that our diplomatic missions in Iraq have ordered an evacuation of all but skeleton staff. Spouses and children are to go home, and some diplomats as well. Gateway Pundit adds the drawdown extends to Kuwait, Bahrain and beyond (see below).
As I see it, there are two ways to read these 'tea leaves.' First, the nuclear talks with next door neighbor Iran are stalemated and kinetic strikes on Iran's nuclear installations are imminent. Therefore we are reducing the risk of reprisal to non-essential personnel.
Or second, as a way to suggest to Iran a not-distant attack. Thus perhaps getting those same talks restarted.
I suppose a third, remotely possible interpretation is that DC has finally become realistic about Iraq and decided to let the locals sort it out themselves without our hand-holding.
One thing it does not mean is "everything is fine, no worries. Open Source Intel posts the following on X.
The U.S. has directed all embassies within range of Iran — including those in the Middle East, parts of Eastern Europe, and North Africa — to activate emergency action committees and report back to Washington on their risk mitigation plans. This directive triggered today’s evacuation moves in Iraq.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
An Imported Servant Class
Instapundit posts a quip by Chris Arnade, concerning attitudes toward immigration.
The entire immigration debate in US comes down to if you see this undisputed fact (we have an imported servant class) as a positive thing, or a negative thing.
I’m thinking there is quite a lot of truth in that assertion. It is another fine example of Miles’ Law, “where you stand depends on where you sit.”
Monday, June 9, 2025
The Unexplained
An article in Foreign Affairs starts out with the description of finding an "extermination camp" in Mexico where one of the drug cartels was killing kidnapped children and young people, and disposing of their bodies. It adds:
It wasn’t the first one discovered in Mexico in recent years. It wasn’t even the biggest.
Then the article goes on to describe the difficulties Mexico's new President Sheinbaum has in dealing with corruption in her nation. Needless to say, these are manifold.
What is never explained is why cartels want to exterminate large numbers of children and youth. The article presumes the reader understands why cartels view this as important to do. I don't get the rationale.
Were they hostages whose parents have refused to pay ransom? Were they the beloved dependents of people resisting cooperation with the cartels?
Multiple "extermination camps" suggest a need to 'disappear' hundreds of individuals, many of them children. This feels more like the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, or the Nazi's Auschwitz; not the Mafia 86ing a rival or making an example of a bodega owner who won't pay "protection."
Sunday, June 8, 2025
A Work-Around
Marc Thiessen is often a panelist on Bret Baier's Special Report. Here interviewed by Fox News' Shannon Bream, he describes the Trump administration's work-around for stymieing sanctuary cities.
Local officials can refuse to honor an ICE detainer, but they can’t refuse to honor a federal felony warrant. So the Trump administration has this thing called Operation Guardian Angel, where they are charging illegal migrants who reenter the country with felony illegal reentry, and then they are presenting the local jurisdictions with federal felony warrants, and they have to hand them over. So they’ve been handing over hundreds of illegal migrants to ICE, and this has set people off.
Outstanding, round up illegals entirely within the law. This has the advantage of labeling those so apprehended as felons who are therefore ineligible for asylum.
LA Street Theater
Anti-immigration enforcement riots in Los Angeles, the mayor and Governor siding (more or less) with the rioters. Trump sends in the National Guard. I do believe the summer ‘street festivities’ have begun in earnest.
Meanwhile polling shows public opinion supports the deportation of those here in the US without permission, the so-called “illegals immigrants.” And it turns out the NGOs supporting the rioters are funded by government grants, a misuse of tax revenues that should stop immediately.
I support what ICE is trying to accomplish. I hope you do so as well.
