Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“President Donald Trump’s most recent pick for the office of U.S. Surgeon General, Nicole Saphier, is a source of tension between the MAGA and MAHA factions of his supporters. Given that she’s the president’s third pick for the slot, the administration would undoubtedly just like to put disputes over this one office behind them. But there’s an easy path to a conflict-free resolution: The Trump administration could leave the Office of the Surgeon General unfilled and push for its abolition. … the Surgeon General doesn’t really have a clearly defined role or a good reason to parade around in a quasi-naval uniform. That is, unless you like the office’s transformation into a national nag that lectures Americans on whatever alleged lifestyle sins most annoy the current Surgeon General.” (05/11/26)

https://reason.com/2026/05/11/dont-waste-time-arguing-over-the-surgeon-general-nominee-abolish-the-office/

Source: Los Angeles Times
by Teresa Ghilarducci

“As a progressive economist, I wrote a paper in 2021 with a generally conservative colleague, Kevin Hassett, who now directs the National Economic Council in the Trump White House. We agreed then on the basic arithmetic of the American retirement crisis. We still do. That’s why people like him and people like me can all say: Trump’s executive order establishing TrumpIRAs, signed last month, is simply the right move for American workers.” (05/11/26)

https://archive.is/ZiPW8

Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone

“In a fawning softball 60 Minutes interview released Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the importance of winning ‘the propaganda war’ on social media. This comes as Israel moves to quadruple its propaganda budget to $730 million a year. Major Garrett (which apparently is a real name belonging to a real guy who works for 60 Minutes) told the CBS audience that ‘Netanyahu attributes the reputational harm to Israel almost entirely to social media, which he calls the eighth front of the war.’ ‘This is yours, right?’ asked Netanyahu, picking up Garrett’s phone. ‘You’re not immune either. Because you can penetrate this machine, you can penetrate this little instrument, and you can say about Major Garrett anything you want. And I can paint you as a monster. And if I say it often enough, enough people will believe it.'” (05/11/26)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/05/11/netanyahu-stresses-the-need-for-more-propaganda-as-israels-hasbara-budget-soars/

Source: Antiwar.com
by Chris Ernesto

“According to the White House website, Trump warned Iran against having nuclear weapons on 74 occasions prior to the war. Since the war began on February 28, 2026, Trump has discussed Iranian nuclear issues in at least 20 documented public appearances, based on the Senate Democrats’ Trump transcript archive and Roll Call’s Factbase transcript database. … But Trump’s claims are not supported by the record. In fact, official statements from U.S. intelligence, the State Department, the IAEA, and others state that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, is not currently building one, and does not seek to build one.” (05/11/26)

https://original.antiwar.com/chris_ernesto/2026/05/10/iran-has-nuclear-energy-not-nuclear-weapons/

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Paul R Pillar

“Tel Aviv has controlled the talks from the beginning and as a result Hezbollah is stronger. Time for Washington to learn from history and take the reins.” (05/11/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/lebanon-talks-trump-israel/