“I was an NJ resident, Sen. @CoryBooker’s constituent, when I was jailed in Iran as an American hostage. Sen. Booker never advocated for my release & refused to speak to my wife. Sen. Booker is a hypocrite.”
“Dan Caldwell @dandcaldwell, one of the top advisors for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth @PeteHegseth, was escorted out of the Pentagon today after being identified during an investigation into leaks at the Department of Defense.
You’ll recall, Dan Caldwell was listed as the point of contact for the DOD in @MikeWaltz47’s SignalGate chat.
I don’t see any good news coming out of our negotiations with Iran. If we follow Israel’s lead into a war with Iran it will mean hundreds of thousands needlessly killed and billions more in yet another forever war. I did not vote for and do not support this neoCon movement toward war.
—
“…..Just a few weeks ago, President Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, a longtime hawk on Iran, cast the administration’s goal in negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program in crystal clear terms.
“Full dismantlement,” he said. He went on to list what that meant: Iran had to give up facilities for enriching nuclear fuel, for “weaponization” and even its long-range missiles.
But what sounded like a simple, tough-sounding goal on a Sunday talk show has started to unravel. In the past 24 hours, officials have left a contradictory and confusing set of messages, suggesting the administration might settle for caps on Iran’s activities — much as President Barack Obama did a decade ago — before backtracking on Tuesday.
Some of this may simply reflect inexperience in dealing with nuclear weapons programs. Mr. Trump’s chief negotiator is Steve Witkoff, a friend of the president’s who, as a New York developer like him, has spent a lifetime dealing with skyscrapers but only began delving into Iran’s underground nuclear centrifuges and suspected weapons labs a few weeks ago.
But the inconsistency also appears rooted in the splits inside Mr. Trump’s national security team as it grapples anew with one of the longest-lasting and most vexing problems in American foreign policy: How to stop Iran’s nuclear program without going to war over it. So far, the result is a blitz of mixed messages, conflicting signals and blustering threats, not unlike the way Mr. Trump and his aides talk about their ever-evolving tariff strategy.
The issue came to the fore on Monday night when Mr. Witkoff began talking about his first encounter with Iran’s foreign minister last Saturday in Oman. The meeting went well, he said, plunging into the complex world of Iran’s nuclear program, which has taken it to the very threshold of building a weapon.
Mr. Witkoff emerged from that meeting envisioning a very different kind of deal with Iran than the one Mr. Waltz described.
In a friendly interview with Fox News, he spoke about building a system of “verification” for the production of enriched uranium, “and ultimately verification on weaponization, that includes missiles, type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb.” He suggested Iran might still be able to produce uranium at low levels — those needed to produce nuclear power — and he never mentioned the world “dismantlement.”
He was describing, in short, a revised, presumably more Trumpian version of the agreement the Obama administration struck with Iran a decade ago. “In principle the original nuclear deal can be improved,” he said. Mr. Trump has regularly derided that deal as a “disaster” and pulled out of it in 2018, calling it “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.”
A few years later, Iran declared that if the United States would not abide by the old agreement, it would not either. It began enriching uranium to near-bomb-grade, putting it just days or weeks from having the fuel to make six or more weapons. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Iranian researchers were working on a “faster and cruder” means of turning that fuel into a weapon.
Mr. Witkoff’s statement didn’t survive for very long. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump and his top national security officials, including Mr. Witkoff, were in the Situation Room, debating Iran policy, in a meeting first reported by Axios. By midmorning, Mr. Witkoff posted a message on social media declaring that “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program,” a characterization he never used the previous night.
“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal,” he said. At a news briefing a few hours later the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that Mr. Trump had told the Omani hosts of the Iran talks about “the need for Iran to end its nuclear program through negotiations.” The negotiations resume Saturday……”
Polling and how it’s all playing with the regular folks out here … lol
~ For (Mr. Trump’s ardent fans), the past eight weeks have been exhilarating. But in the non-MAGA world—which includes independents and Republicans—the start of Mr. Trump’s second term has been exhausting. They aren’t used to this pace, confusion and incessant combat. Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter said her father wanted to be the corpse at every funeral and the bride at every wedding. So does Donald Trump. It isn’t obvious that America wants that, too. But we know he won’t change. ~ (rove) ~
~ We already know the country remains highly polarized. Democratic and Republican true believers are locked in. It’s the 15% to 20% of voters who didn’t like their choices last year that matter most. Mr. Trump started with 50.5% approving, 44.3% disapproving in the RealClearPolitics polling average a week after he was sworn in. Those RCP numbers went upside down March 13 and today stand at 46.9% approving, 50.3% disapproving, a nearly 10-point margin shift in the wrong direction. My hunch is things will get worse before they get better. ~
Wandering Views 
Something to keep in mind as these hypocrites plan their trip to South America to advocate for illegal criminals.
I say let them fly there, then no fly list the lot of ’em so they can’t return.
https://x.com/XiyueWang9/status/1912301747076284746?t=Y4VqVt-n-6e9ODtuIjED7g&s=19
“I was an NJ resident, Sen. @CoryBooker’s constituent, when I was jailed in Iran as an American hostage. Sen. Booker never advocated for my release & refused to speak to my wife. Sen. Booker is a hypocrite.”
https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1912259416071496148?t=K2SkBjXXvF3XXnhuh4_ZSg&s=19
“Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) looks to lead a trip to El Salvador to push for the release and return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia – Axios”
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Looks like they’ve found the rat behind Signalgate.
https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1912241611901399321?t=atIoDRKo1Zg2X2ZO4745gA&s=19
“Dan Caldwell @dandcaldwell, one of the top advisors for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth @PeteHegseth, was escorted out of the Pentagon today after being identified during an investigation into leaks at the Department of Defense.
You’ll recall, Dan Caldwell was listed as the point of contact for the DOD in @MikeWaltz47’s SignalGate chat.
He has since locked down his X account.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
I don’t see any good news coming out of our negotiations with Iran. If we follow Israel’s lead into a war with Iran it will mean hundreds of thousands needlessly killed and billions more in yet another forever war. I did not vote for and do not support this neoCon movement toward war.
—
“…..Just a few weeks ago, President Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, a longtime hawk on Iran, cast the administration’s goal in negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program in crystal clear terms.
“Full dismantlement,” he said. He went on to list what that meant: Iran had to give up facilities for enriching nuclear fuel, for “weaponization” and even its long-range missiles.
But what sounded like a simple, tough-sounding goal on a Sunday talk show has started to unravel. In the past 24 hours, officials have left a contradictory and confusing set of messages, suggesting the administration might settle for caps on Iran’s activities — much as President Barack Obama did a decade ago — before backtracking on Tuesday.
Some of this may simply reflect inexperience in dealing with nuclear weapons programs. Mr. Trump’s chief negotiator is Steve Witkoff, a friend of the president’s who, as a New York developer like him, has spent a lifetime dealing with skyscrapers but only began delving into Iran’s underground nuclear centrifuges and suspected weapons labs a few weeks ago.
But the inconsistency also appears rooted in the splits inside Mr. Trump’s national security team as it grapples anew with one of the longest-lasting and most vexing problems in American foreign policy: How to stop Iran’s nuclear program without going to war over it. So far, the result is a blitz of mixed messages, conflicting signals and blustering threats, not unlike the way Mr. Trump and his aides talk about their ever-evolving tariff strategy.
The issue came to the fore on Monday night when Mr. Witkoff began talking about his first encounter with Iran’s foreign minister last Saturday in Oman. The meeting went well, he said, plunging into the complex world of Iran’s nuclear program, which has taken it to the very threshold of building a weapon.
Mr. Witkoff emerged from that meeting envisioning a very different kind of deal with Iran than the one Mr. Waltz described.
In a friendly interview with Fox News, he spoke about building a system of “verification” for the production of enriched uranium, “and ultimately verification on weaponization, that includes missiles, type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb.” He suggested Iran might still be able to produce uranium at low levels — those needed to produce nuclear power — and he never mentioned the world “dismantlement.”
He was describing, in short, a revised, presumably more Trumpian version of the agreement the Obama administration struck with Iran a decade ago. “In principle the original nuclear deal can be improved,” he said. Mr. Trump has regularly derided that deal as a “disaster” and pulled out of it in 2018, calling it “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.”
A few years later, Iran declared that if the United States would not abide by the old agreement, it would not either. It began enriching uranium to near-bomb-grade, putting it just days or weeks from having the fuel to make six or more weapons. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Iranian researchers were working on a “faster and cruder” means of turning that fuel into a weapon.
Mr. Witkoff’s statement didn’t survive for very long. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump and his top national security officials, including Mr. Witkoff, were in the Situation Room, debating Iran policy, in a meeting first reported by Axios. By midmorning, Mr. Witkoff posted a message on social media declaring that “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program,” a characterization he never used the previous night.
“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal,” he said. At a news briefing a few hours later the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that Mr. Trump had told the Omani hosts of the Iran talks about “the need for Iran to end its nuclear program through negotiations.” The negotiations resume Saturday……”
—-
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Looks like the UK Supreme Court knows what a woman is. Wonder if there are any biologists on the bench.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/uk-supreme-court-rules-definition-of-woman-gender-assigned-at-birth-101744807295762.html
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Great news! The pastor abducted in South Africa has been rescued!
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/kidnapped-us-pastor-josh-sullivan-rescued-after-high-intensity-shoot-out-kills-3-abductors-in-south-africa-101744799732732.html
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Polling and how it’s all playing with the regular folks out here … lol
~ For (Mr. Trump’s ardent fans), the past eight weeks have been exhilarating. But in the non-MAGA world—which includes independents and Republicans—the start of Mr. Trump’s second term has been exhausting. They aren’t used to this pace, confusion and incessant combat. Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter said her father wanted to be the corpse at every funeral and the bride at every wedding. So does Donald Trump. It isn’t obvious that America wants that, too. But we know he won’t change. ~ (rove) ~
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the link: (“America gets Trump fatigue”)
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/america-gets-trump-fatigue-trade-economy-policy-politics-41109d6d?st=7j6zAD&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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Trump has always been fatiguing I think. The question is will it end up being beneficial in the end. There’s still reason to hope that it will.
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Another graph from Rove:
~ We already know the country remains highly polarized. Democratic and Republican true believers are locked in. It’s the 15% to 20% of voters who didn’t like their choices last year that matter most. Mr. Trump started with 50.5% approving, 44.3% disapproving in the RealClearPolitics polling average a week after he was sworn in. Those RCP numbers went upside down March 13 and today stand at 46.9% approving, 50.3% disapproving, a nearly 10-point margin shift in the wrong direction. My hunch is things will get worse before they get better. ~
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Karl Rove and the WSJ.
You’re really scrapping the bottom of the Never Trump barrel now Dj.
Amusing.
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