“Iran has proposed opening the Strait of Hormuz to all traffic if President Donald Trump removes his naval blockade of Iranian ports and ends his war against that country, according to the news outlets of Axios and Associated Press, which quoted regional officials knowledgeable of talks between Iran and mediator Pakistan. Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program would be undertaken in a later phase of the agreement. Despite all the U.S. tactical successes in blowing things up in Iran, the Iranians have the conflict’s strategic trump card of a stranglehold on international maritime shipping, which has drastically increased prices on petroleum-based products and other vital commercial items for the entire world. Above all, Trump is under pressure from Republicans to get rid of this tar baby before the 2026 mid-term elections …. Trump needs a face-saving way out of this self-imposed mess, and the first step is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.” (04/29/26)
“When the Left rules, they’ll tax you into the ground to fund their pet projects, regulate your speech, your guns, your business, your very thoughts, and call it compassion. When the Right has a turn, they’ll ramp up the surveillance, the wars, and the ‘law and order’ boot on your neck, all while waving a flag and quoting Scripture. Same result: your money, your time, your choices — stolen by someone with power. Only the propaganda differs.” (04/29/26)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“Writers in the mainstream press are describing the assassination attempt against President Trump as evil. What they fail to realize, however, is that simply because the assassination attempt was evil doesn’t necessarily mean that the actions of President Trump and the U.S. national-security establishment that apparently motivated the would-be assassin are good. It is entirely possible to have evil on both sides. For example, what about the U.S. government’s official assassinations? How often does the mainstream press condemn those as evil? Hardly ever.” (04/29/26)
“In the last year, coverage of former FBI Director James Comey appears to be reverting to the level of a high school yearbook. Last March, we were discussing how Comey channeled Beyoncé in a classified meeting and then may have revealed a code name in an encore performance for family. Now we are back to discussing Comey’s beach shell art on social media. The latter controversy is now at the heart of a second criminal indictment of Comey. … The problem with this indictment will be the merits. The indictment concerns an image that was later removed by Comey showing ’86 47′ in shells on a beach.” (04/28/26)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Jennifer Kavanagh
“The United States has long relied on ground-based air defense systems to protect U.S. personnel, infrastructure, and assets from adversary missiles. But Iran was able to effectively disable these systems, suggesting that this approach to force protection is entirely insufficient in a world of “precise mass” where even weak adversaries have advanced targeting capabilities. If the U.S. ground-based air defense network could not survive against Iran, it is most certainly inadequate for a war with China. The U.S. experience against Iran also raises questions about U.S. plans to rely primarily on stand-off weapons to strike Chinese ships and military targets in an Indo-Pacific contingency. Although this strategy evolved as a response to China’s anti-access/air denial capabilities, which will make operating close to the mainland coast impossible, the war in Iran suggests that the stand-off approach may be limited in what it can accomplish.” (04/29/26)
“Violence motivated by political differences has emerged as a defining, if alarming, feature of 21st -century American civil life. Neither side in our nation’s increasingly dangerous ideological divide has a monopoly. But one side, the Democratic Party and its allies, refuses to acknowledge the increase in mayhem from the left [sic]. This is true even in the face of the campus assassination of beloved conservative activist Charlie Kirk, or the very public attack against a televised banquet featuring the president of the United States in a ballroom room full of politicians and journalists. On Sunday, well after authorities released Cole Tomas Allen’s anti-Trump administration screed, former President Barack Obama posted on X that the attacker’s motive remained unclear. Actually, Allen’s writings made his radical leftist [sic] views perfectly clear, along with his rage against conservatives and President Trump himself.” (04/29/26)
“Estonia is some way from the Persian Gulf. Even so, it has vocally supported U.S. President Donald Trump’s war against Iran. That has done it no good, despite Trump’s railing against NATO allies for not joining his attack on Tehran: This month, the United States canceled military deliveries to the Baltic nation because it needed the weapons for the Iran war. Other allies are encountering similar delays. The United States has the legal right to suspend weapons deliveries — but such suspensions will hardly encourage nations to buy American.” [editor’s note: So what’s the down side? Retool those factories to produce things American consumers want. “Problem” solved – TLK] (04/29/26)
“Eighteen months after losing everything, left-leaning activists and unions have a comeback in their sights. All they need is money, aggressive turnout of their 2024 voters, and a president who keeps screwing up on the cost of living. The Democratic Party could figure out its own problems later. That was the overwhelming sentiment at the annual summit of America Votes, founded 22 years ago to coordinate the electoral work of left-leaning unions and climate groups. … One of my questions heading into America Votes was how worried progressives were about the Trump administration looking for legal avenues to suppress their work. I detected surprisingly little concern about that over my two days at the conference. There was more short-term angst that Trump’s network would contest a GOP loss in the midterms, which everyone there expected.” (04/29/26)
“A majority of Americans – two-thirds – feel that the nation’s corrections system does well on maintaining prison security, thus contributing to a sense of overall public safety. But only 16% believe that the system does a good job of rehabilitating incarcerated individuals. With 95% of these individuals rejoining society after serving an average of about three years, the likelihood of reoffending is concerning for families of those convicted, the communities to which they return, and local law enforcement and justice systems. In response, more than a dozen states have intensified efforts to reorient their correctional systems toward reformation and rehabilitation. Reforms range from providing more mentorship and educational access to the ambitious reconstruction of San Quentin State Prison in California and – on the East Coast – a statewide shift away from what the National Institute of Justice has described as ‘a command-and-control culture.'” (04/28/26)
“Julian Shapiro-Barnum is the host and creator of Recess Therapy, where he regularly records conversations with kids. Recently, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) joined his program to discuss healthcare policy. … AOC and the youngsters shown think healthcare should be free, which The Post used as a jumping off point to have an adult conversation about government-run healthcare, specifically the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. … The Brits ‘have learned the hard way that the promise of ‘free’ care is only as good as their ability to get an appointment,’ wrote the editors. … ‘the belief that a full government takeover would lead to better outcomes is just childish.’ One of the nation’s largest newspapers appears to be growing up.” (04/29/26)
