A bipartisan look at our recent attack on the Houthis in Yemen comes from Rand Paul, R-Ky. and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. who have written a letter to the President warning that the strikes may embolden Iran.
“…..“Neither the U.S. strikes since October 2023 ordered by President Joe Biden, nor the previous years-long campaign against the Houthis conducted by Saudi Arabia were successful in establishing deterrence against the Houthis,” Merkley and Paul wrote in the letter sent to President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
“Rather, these campaigns only served to embolden the Houthis and rally their recruiting base,” they added.
The military campaign against the Tehran-backed Houthis over their Red Sea shipping attacks began with strikes on March 15, and administration officials say it will be ongoing.
The administration should “explain to Congress and the American people its expected path forward given the failure of previous such efforts and statements … that the military campaign will continue and possibly expand to include military action against Iran,” the senators wrote…..”
🔥 First, Wisconsin. To give you an idea of the stakes, WaPo called it “the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history.” Specifically, “the contest cost more than $100 million, nearly doubling the past record and putting it in line with top Senate races.”
It wasn’t really even close. Far-left Susan Crawford beat Brad Schimel by more than ten points, preserving an existing 4-3 liberal majority and virtually ensuring the future loss of two GOP congressional seats.
It was a wake-up call for Republicans: the Democrats are only playing dead. They are not, in fact, leaderless.
The silver lining was that it exposed the Dems’ real leaders and that Democrats have only been playingdead. This was no grassroots election. It was a polished, professional campaign owned and operated by oligarchs. According to WaPo —pay attention— among others, Ms. Crawford got $1.5 million from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D), $1 million from George Soros, $250,000 from LinkedIn co-founder and lefty lunatic Reid Hoffman, and millions more from shady dark-money PACs.
Democrats and their media allies are doing their best to describe the Wisconsin loss as a triumphant rallying cry for the left. Both the Journal and WaPo described the loss as “destabilizing” to Republicans generally, and as a “rebuke” to Musk specifically, since he campaigned for Schimel in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Democrats are crowing about how this proves voters hate Trump, how they’re back in business, and everything else they can think of, probably even that JFK’s assassin acted alone.
Setting that over-enthused take aside, this wasn’t really a state election. It was an oligarch stress test. They didn’t spend $100 million on a mid-cycle judicial race for fun. They’re war-gaming 2026 and 2028.
Here’s the weirdest glitch: On the same night, Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly passed a state constitutional amendment requiring voter ID— a key conservative priority. You’d think the same voters who elected a Soros judge would also reject voter ID. They didn’t. Some suspect foul play; who knows. But cheating will be much harder next time with the new ID requirement.
Thus, Musk’s investment in Wisconsin may not have paid immediate dividends — but it planted a landmine for the next round.
I posted something but it failed I guess too many links!?
I had hoped this ushering in of a more conservative common sense administration would have included more dignity to the leadership of our nation. Musk really needs a leash on his public appearances… just sayin’
No surprises except Rand Paul??? Guess I missed something about him?
Trump scolded Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, both of Kentucky. Nj
The president implored those recalcitrant senators to “get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy.”
Some things are best left as the mystery they seem until God may present a time to reveal the truth. I sat outside and thought about that today. We, as believers, keep loving Him with all our hearts and trust the mysteries to Him. I am studying Job now . . . all the suffering . . . and all the presumed reasons for it that were out of line with how God saw it and managed it.
I have to express the foreigner’s total bafflement on electing judges……. that being said;
Musk’s interference and blatant attempts to buy the election probably caused a backlash. The amount of money spent was obscene and could have been better used. And yes Democrat supporters/wealthy spend money but the oligarch (singular) that was omnipresent was Republican.
The two House elections can’t be seen as a good result for the Republicans — they went from about + 30 to +15. Of course, off-year elections have less turn out so it may mean nothing.
Curious — I thought trade including tariffs were a Congressional power unless there was an “emergency”. Was there a general emergency to prompt all these tariffs?
The US dollar status as the reserve currency distorts the trade deficit so it’s hard to make conclusions on US trade relationships without looking at currency fluctuations. The effect of the tariffs on inflation depends on the strength of the dollar. A stronger dollar will nullify the effect of tariffs. However, a stronger dollar will negate any attempt to revive manufacturing. A weaker dollar will increase inflation but may bring some manufacturing. Inflation but new low paying jobs — is that the end goal?
Trump has justified Cdn tariffs because of fentayl smuggling. However, the border officials and reports have made it obvious that fentyaly is not coming from Canada. Hence the Kaine resolution which is co-sponsored by Paul. The auto industry in Kentucky will have problems with the disruption tariffs will cause and the bourbon industry effectively lost their largest foreign customer. No surprise to see Paul and McConnell with the ladies.
A while back I posted a Guardian article which outlined the correlation between the Israel actions in Gaza with Houthi attacks on shipping. The Houthis stopped attacking shipping when there was a ceasefire in Gaza. Once the Israelis broke the ceasefire and continued their attack/genocide; the Houthis resumed attacking shipping.
Instead of bombing Yemen, the US might try to get Bibi to stop attacking Gaza and resume the ceasefire. No need to bomb Yemen or attack Iran, just pressure Israel. Right now, it appears Israel is the tail that wags the dog.
Apparently Trump levied a 10% tariff on Heard and McDonald Islands — isolated and empty islands except for seals and penguins. Trump is the anti penguin president??
Saw a clip in which Trump suggested buying American cars/trucks to avoid the estimated $5000 increase in cost to a new truck. I don’t think he understands the North American auto industry — there are no “American” auto firms, they are all “North American”. Parts are made in different places and assembled elsewhere. It’s almost impossible to separate. And this is true of even the “foreign” auto firms who all have plants in North America. In some cases a Toyota Camry will be more “American” than a Ford F150.
Many left sites are posting clips of Reagan discussing tariffs. Trump’s second term so far seems to indicate a move from neocons to paleocons in the Republican party. The era of Reagan might be over (a silver lining?)
I’m hearing a lot about April 20 on the left side of the internet. Apparently, on Jan 20, Trump gave Hesgeth, Gabbard and others 90 days to determine if he should enact the Insurrection Act and declare martial law. Not much sure how much store I put on this but we have 18 days to go.
Wandering Views 
Happy Liberation Day. This is a fairly even handed article explaining trade deficits and the tariffs along with some historical data.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/2/where-are-the-highest-lowest-tariffs-trumps-reciprocal-tariffs-explained
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And from the same source, Aljazeera, the news from the Wisconsin win for Democrats (the WSJ is calling it a MAGA “backlash”).
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/2/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-results-what-happened-and-why-it-matters
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The backlash against MAGA (if indeed there is one) is not a total. Republicans win in the Florida special election.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/republican-randy-fine-wins-special-election-deep-red-house-seat-florid-rcna198089
LikeLiked by 1 person
A bipartisan look at our recent attack on the Houthis in Yemen comes from Rand Paul, R-Ky. and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. who have written a letter to the President warning that the strikes may embolden Iran.
“…..“Neither the U.S. strikes since October 2023 ordered by President Joe Biden, nor the previous years-long campaign against the Houthis conducted by Saudi Arabia were successful in establishing deterrence against the Houthis,” Merkley and Paul wrote in the letter sent to President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
“Rather, these campaigns only served to embolden the Houthis and rally their recruiting base,” they added.
The military campaign against the Tehran-backed Houthis over their Red Sea shipping attacks began with strikes on March 15, and administration officials say it will be ongoing.
The administration should “explain to Congress and the American people its expected path forward given the failure of previous such efforts and statements … that the military campaign will continue and possibly expand to include military action against Iran,” the senators wrote…..”
https://www.semafor.com/article/04/01/2025/bipartisan-pair-of-senators-warn-trump-over-houthi-strikes
LikeLiked by 1 person
Worth a read from Childers:
🔥 First, Wisconsin. To give you an idea of the stakes, WaPo called it “the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history.” Specifically, “the contest cost more than $100 million, nearly doubling the past record and putting it in line with top Senate races.”
It wasn’t really even close. Far-left Susan Crawford beat Brad Schimel by more than ten points, preserving an existing 4-3 liberal majority and virtually ensuring the future loss of two GOP congressional seats.
It was a wake-up call for Republicans: the Democrats are only playing dead. They are not, in fact, leaderless.
The silver lining was that it exposed the Dems’ real leaders and that Democrats have only been playingdead. This was no grassroots election. It was a polished, professional campaign owned and operated by oligarchs. According to WaPo —pay attention— among others, Ms. Crawford got $1.5 million from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (D), $1 million from George Soros, $250,000 from LinkedIn co-founder and lefty lunatic Reid Hoffman, and millions more from shady dark-money PACs.
Democrats and their media allies are doing their best to describe the Wisconsin loss as a triumphant rallying cry for the left. Both the Journal and WaPo described the loss as “destabilizing” to Republicans generally, and as a “rebuke” to Musk specifically, since he campaigned for Schimel in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Democrats are crowing about how this proves voters hate Trump, how they’re back in business, and everything else they can think of, probably even that JFK’s assassin acted alone.
Here’s how Politico covered the story— just one of a half dozen articles it ran on the same story:
Setting that over-enthused take aside, this wasn’t really a state election. It was an oligarch stress test. They didn’t spend $100 million on a mid-cycle judicial race for fun. They’re war-gaming 2026 and 2028.
Here’s the weirdest glitch: On the same night, Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly passed a state constitutional amendment requiring voter ID— a key conservative priority. You’d think the same voters who elected a Soros judge would also reject voter ID. They didn’t. Some suspect foul play; who knows. But cheating will be much harder next time with the new ID requirement.
Thus, Musk’s investment in Wisconsin may not have paid immediate dividends — but it planted a landmine for the next round.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I posted something but it failed I guess too many links!?
I had hoped this ushering in of a more conservative common sense administration would have included more dignity to the leadership of our nation. Musk really needs a leash on his public appearances… just sayin’
nj
LikeLiked by 2 people
From my Brittish friend’s Facebook, a maddening situation.
https://citizengo.org/en-gb/fr/15129-Justice-for-Jennifer–Nurse-disciplined-and-could-lose-job-for-referring-to-racist-trans-paedophile-as–Mr-?utm_medium=shared&utm_campaign=typage&utm_source=fb&_ref=136252597
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So if one loss is a MAGA backlash, then surely the WSJ is calling Florida’s 2 wins MAGA momentum, right, to be fair……
So predictable…. 🙁
LikeLiked by 2 people
No surprises except Rand Paul??? Guess I missed something about him?
Trump scolded Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, both of Kentucky. Nj
The president implored those recalcitrant senators to “get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change, and fight the Democrats wild and flagrant push to not penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, by Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
The doctor said son died from fentanyl. The toxicology report showed none in his system. That brings bigger questions to my mind.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 4 people
So sorry, Mumsee. Fentanyl on the street is awful. I wonder why it wouldn’t be in tox screen too.
LikeLiked by 2 people
~ Paula White’s Passover Promises – An Old Testament professor responds ~
https://ministrywatch.com/paula-whites-passover-promises/
LikeLiked by 3 people
Debra, perhaps he did not have fentanyl.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 4 people
Oh how I would prefer Trump not align himself with her and several other “spiritual” advisors hovering about him🥲nj
LikeLiked by 3 people
Mumsee, do you suspect fowl play? It’s hard enough losing a loved one without having additional uncertainty about how it happened and why.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some things are best left as the mystery they seem until God may present a time to reveal the truth. I sat outside and thought about that today. We, as believers, keep loving Him with all our hearts and trust the mysteries to Him. I am studying Job now . . . all the suffering . . . and all the presumed reasons for it that were out of line with how God saw it and managed it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Debra more of a political comment than anything. It would not let me say comment, insisted on commentator. Anyway.
We hear so much about fentanyl, I wonder if, like Covid, everybody is dying of it no matter what they had.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 3 people
I have to express the foreigner’s total bafflement on electing judges……. that being said;
Musk’s interference and blatant attempts to buy the election probably caused a backlash. The amount of money spent was obscene and could have been better used. And yes Democrat supporters/wealthy spend money but the oligarch (singular) that was omnipresent was Republican.
The two House elections can’t be seen as a good result for the Republicans — they went from about + 30 to +15. Of course, off-year elections have less turn out so it may mean nothing.
hrw
LikeLike
Tariffs –
Curious — I thought trade including tariffs were a Congressional power unless there was an “emergency”. Was there a general emergency to prompt all these tariffs?
The US dollar status as the reserve currency distorts the trade deficit so it’s hard to make conclusions on US trade relationships without looking at currency fluctuations. The effect of the tariffs on inflation depends on the strength of the dollar. A stronger dollar will nullify the effect of tariffs. However, a stronger dollar will negate any attempt to revive manufacturing. A weaker dollar will increase inflation but may bring some manufacturing. Inflation but new low paying jobs — is that the end goal?
Trump has justified Cdn tariffs because of fentayl smuggling. However, the border officials and reports have made it obvious that fentyaly is not coming from Canada. Hence the Kaine resolution which is co-sponsored by Paul. The auto industry in Kentucky will have problems with the disruption tariffs will cause and the bourbon industry effectively lost their largest foreign customer. No surprise to see Paul and McConnell with the ladies.
hrw
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https://nypost.com/2025/04/02/us-news/wisconsin-professor-placed-on-leave-after-allegedly-flipping-college-republicans-table/
LikeLiked by 2 people
Debra
A while back I posted a Guardian article which outlined the correlation between the Israel actions in Gaza with Houthi attacks on shipping. The Houthis stopped attacking shipping when there was a ceasefire in Gaza. Once the Israelis broke the ceasefire and continued their attack/genocide; the Houthis resumed attacking shipping.
Instead of bombing Yemen, the US might try to get Bibi to stop attacking Gaza and resume the ceasefire. No need to bomb Yemen or attack Iran, just pressure Israel. Right now, it appears Israel is the tail that wags the dog.
hrw
LikeLiked by 1 person
More tariffs
Apparently Trump levied a 10% tariff on Heard and McDonald Islands — isolated and empty islands except for seals and penguins. Trump is the anti penguin president??
Saw a clip in which Trump suggested buying American cars/trucks to avoid the estimated $5000 increase in cost to a new truck. I don’t think he understands the North American auto industry — there are no “American” auto firms, they are all “North American”. Parts are made in different places and assembled elsewhere. It’s almost impossible to separate. And this is true of even the “foreign” auto firms who all have plants in North America. In some cases a Toyota Camry will be more “American” than a Ford F150.
Many left sites are posting clips of Reagan discussing tariffs. Trump’s second term so far seems to indicate a move from neocons to paleocons in the Republican party. The era of Reagan might be over (a silver lining?)
hrw
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m hearing a lot about April 20 on the left side of the internet. Apparently, on Jan 20, Trump gave Hesgeth, Gabbard and others 90 days to determine if he should enact the Insurrection Act and declare martial law. Not much sure how much store I put on this but we have 18 days to go.
hrw
LikeLike