Another in a weekly series of posts with interesting reading / viewing material (note: some linked articles contain adult language).
Almost as if by design, the war with Iran is dominating the news again this week. Some interesting items:
- So, about the school that was hit — the President is still sure that the Iranians hit it (although he’s alone there, while a broad swath of the heritage media are ignoring it entirely). The Associated Press says their sources blame the attack on outdated intel, the school could have been picked as a target by an AI system, and at any rate Trump is now bragging about the attack.
- The administration is still sending out a slew of mixed signals — over why the war was started, how it’s being fought, and how it will end. They also were apparently surprised when Iran closed the Straight of Hormuz (and the resulting oil shock), when the war stranded Americans in the region, and don’t appear concerned about the war’s impact on Americans. While Pete Hegseth drools over the carnage, Lindsey Graham is eager to restart the draft in order to support a ground war in Iran — and he’s not alone.
- Trump continues to show his lack of respect for the nation’s troops, and for our war dead — this time, by wearing one of his branded baseball caps during a dignified transfer of remains in the U.S. Doubling down on this, Trump is now trying to raise funds with images from the event. Not to worry, though, Fox did their best to cover for him by not showing video of his behavior.
Things have been somewhat quiet w.r.t. the Epstein files this week, but not so with Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico.
- Wonkette provides a summary to get you started.
- Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez has written a very good 4-part (so far) series spelling out all the financial connections between Epstein and the ranch’s current owners (who supposedly want to turn it into a Christian retreat) — part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4. She also wrote a pair of good columns on the investigation into Zorro Ranch that got shut down.
What’s the difference between ICE’s detention warehouses and concentration camps? Turns out, there isn’t one. Oh, and even Trump has figured out that his current approach to immigration isn’t a big hit with voters.