Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Trita Parsi
“[T]he fragile ceasefire disproportionately favored the United States over Iran: Trump secured his central objective — a swift exit from a costly war — while Iran forfeited its primary source of leverage, namely the inflationary pressure of elevated oil prices. Tehran, by contrast, remained unable to achieve its core objective — meaningful sanctions relief — without entering a difficult diplomatic process with Washington. The asymmetry was stark: Trump could afford strategic patience, whereas Iran risked squandering the most consequential gains the conflict could have yielded if negotiations faltered or collapsed. In short, this emerging status quo could have constituted a quiet but decisive victory for Trump. … But then Trump committed a familiar and consequential error.” (05/02/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/trump-iran-blockade/
Source: SFGate
“President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the U.S. will significantly reduce its troop presence in Germany, escalating a dispute with Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he seeks to scale back America’s commitment to European security. The Pentagon on Friday had initially announced it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but when asked Saturday about the reason for the move, Trump didn’t offer an explanation and said an even bigger reduction was coming. ‘We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,’ Trump told reporters in Florida. Earlier on Saturday, Germany’s defense minister appeared to take in stride the news that 5,000 U.S. troops would be leaving his country.” [editor’s note: Yet another thing we libertarians have been agitating for for decades? Or just another ploy? – SAT] (05/02/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/germany-focuses-on-shared-interests-after-us-22237978.php
Source: Antiwar.com
by Andrew P Napolitano
“The Fourth Amendment protects all persons from warrantless government searches and seizures of their persons, houses, papers and effects. It requires that warrants be supported by probable cause of crime and specifically describe the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. Last week, for the first time in the modern era, the government argued to the Supreme Court of the United States that the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution did not outlaw general warrants.” (05/01/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/andrew-p-napolitano/2026/04/30/the-trump-surveillance-state
Source: New York Post
by Karol Markowicz
“The zombies are everywhere. They’re staring at their phones as they carelessly cross the road. They’re constantly watching videos, sound-on and loudly, on airplanes or in store check-out lines. And they’re not Gen Z screenagers; now, the kids’ aging grandparents are quickly becoming the biggest screen addicts of all. … Last month Wired reported that a med student in India used AI to create a character named Emily Hart (a pretty blonde ‘MAGA influencer’ who claimed to enjoy posing in a stars-and-stripes bikini) and profited handsomely from the deception. In March the equally fake Jessica Foster, billed as a US Army service member, was exposed as a money-spinning AI fiction in a similar scam. Youngsters can spot AI from a mile away; it wasn’t Gen Z sending over cash.” (05/02/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/05/02/opinion/screenagers-have-something-to-teach-grandma/
Source: Reason
“California progressives are pushing for a tax on billionaires; so are senators like Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.). But as Andrew Heaton explains, such programs don’t work. Just ask France.” (05/01/26)
https://reason.com/video/2026/05/01/why-wealth-taxes-fail/
Source: Chris’s Substack
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“The Jackson family is split down the middle on sanctioning the new film and critics have been similarly split, many voicing concern that its ‘sanitized’ version of MJ’s life sidesteps controversial charges of child molestation, which first surfaced in August 1993 and led Jackson to resolve a civil lawsuit in 1994 with the family of Jordan Chandler. A second series of molestation charges led to a 2005 criminal trial, in which Jackson was acquitted. Arguably, his reputation didn’t begin to recover until after his untimely death at the age of 50 in 2009. Conveniently, both the Broadway musical and the 2026 film end their time frame before any of this ugliness came to light.” (05/02/26)
https://chrismatthewsciabarra.substack.com/p/michael-jackson-man-or-monster-in
Source: JFK Facts
by Chad Nagle
“Like him or not, the president accomplished a lot with Executive Order 14176.” (05/01/26)
https://jfkfacts.substack.com/p/tucker-carlson-and-the-maga-rift
Source: AOL
“President Donald Trump has suggested the Pentagon is preparing to release ‘very interesting’ UFO files uncovered by his administration, sparking a mix of buzz and scepticism about potential revelations concerning alien life. Trump first ignited interest in extraterrestrial matters in February, directing federal agencies to declassify records related to UFOs and alien encounters. He has since built suspense with tantalising updates, teasing an imminent disclosure of documents never before shared by the US government. … In online communities devoted to UFOs, some see Trump’s promise as a step in the right direction; others believe it will come to nothing.” (05/03/26)
https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-teases-release-very-interesting-121750484.html
Source: The UnPopulist
“Senior Editor Berny Belvedere explains in his debut video (taking the first step to internet stardom) in our early-May video roundup.” (05/02/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/kash-patel-is-talented-in-one-thingtrump
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Matt K Lewis
“A wise man — possibly Winston Churchill — once said, ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste.’ And if he’d lived long enough to see President Trump in office, he might have added, ‘Especially if you can turn it into a real estate project.’ In the aftermath of the chaos at the White House Correspondents’ dinner, Trump was presented with yet another opportunity to refocus his presidency on issues important to the American people. Instead, he chose to exploit the opportunity for his personal priorities. The real crisis, in his telling, was less about guns or mental health and more about America’s strategic shortage of sufficiently opulent indoor gathering spaces.” (05/01/26)
https://archive.is/qEwN2
