What the hell is going on in the UK?

More of this please

My biggest takeaway from Vance on The View is honestly how shitty and undisciplined the hosts STILL ARE. After all these years they still get basics facts wrong, flub easy questions and can’t get through a segment without yelling at each other. Vance handled it all very well.

I'm still chewing on this "deal" and trying to figure out what the strategy is supposed to be, obviously given a shortage of information. I'm starting to think it's similar to Reagan's strategy that choked the Soviet Union, which Aleksandr Dugin describes as an Atlanticist "anaconda." The rough idea of the "anaconda" strategy is that of a constrictor snake. It doesn't bite except to control small parts at necessity. It squeezes. And it doesn't just crush. It tightens, puts pressure, and when the target squirms, it tightens again. This continues until the target is suffocated. Dugin accuses the Atlanticist West (first Britain, then the US/NATO) of having done this not only to the USSR but to Russia and continuing it. That's worth discussing at another time. The way he says it happened is by controlling all the regions around the target (then: USSR) and by increasing various demands and sanctions to crush the target. There's no striking (like biting) except in the narrow sense to punish specific transgression. It's just fatally expensive for the target to move. So this plan might actually be meant to work this way against the Iranian Regime, with a few updated caveats because Trump's geopolitical strategy and Reagan's aren't the same, for good reasons. Trump's is not only likely better overall but learned from the mistakes and shortcomings of Reagan's. The idea is that by having hit them militarily 13,000 times and degraded their capabilities, military, and infrastructure to a very bad level, while apparently offering them a "golden bridge" out (Sun Tzu), including some rocketry capabilities, Iran's Regime is desperate, particularly economically. The "deal" with the economic carrot ($300B in Gulf Coast state investment possibilities, totally contingent on good behavior, plus loosened sanctions and unfrozen assets, all contingent) is meant to get Iran to squirm while releasing the global pressure caused by Hormuz. Iran can't afford not to take it and likely thinks it can outfox the West by taking the money in bad faith. That's "squirming," at which point the snake will either tighten or strike (in narrow fashion) or both. The IRGC is white-knuckling power, hanging on for dear life in a shattered system that needs relief. The relief is coming from a place that can put massive contingencies on access to the relief, at least in theory. That's like being wrapped in the snake's coils. Iran's Regime is boxed into needing the relief, but the relief comes at the cost of becoming controlled not just by the U.S. and Israel but by the GCC coalition from which the money is supposed to come. Every time they betray the deal, which is apparently all based on investment money, not state transfers, the U.S. and/or Israel might hit them again to get them back in line while the GCC tightens the financial noose (with U.S. urging). The "anaconda" holds them tightly, and if they wiggle to breathe (by violating terms), it tightens. If they get too rough, they get bit (another good, hard military strike or ten). They're stuck, slowly suffocating. The Regime, over time, cannot sustain this pressure and should crack eventually if this is the strategy and it works. It might not even take long because of how shattered they are now. Eventually, a coup from inside can displace the faltering regime, and that's likely the ambition. The question is who it will be, of course. Pahlavi's people should be preparing because other factions, most likely most notably the Leftist MEK, will be positioned to seize the moment if better people aren't. The update from Reagan's strategy is that Reagan was fighting the USSR in a bipolar world: US and USSR were the two superpowers. Thus, Reagan was a unipolarist. He wanted one pole of power in the world: the United States of America. (Dugin sees this as a "neo-mondialist" or "neo-Atlanticist" strategy we would call "globalism" today in the common parlance, and he's firmly opposed to it but not in the same way or for the same ends as Trump, MAGA, and real America First.) What we've learned since then is that a unipolar superpower is not geared correctly to handle a regionalist disruptor like Iran (or Russia, frankly). Its military capabilities are geared otherwise, for one thing, and it can stretch the superpower too thin, for another. That's how you end up with "neo-mondialist" failures in Iraq, which Trump isn't eager to repeat. Instead, what you need are regional consortiums that act as decentralized regional powers that are broadly in alignment with a U.S.-led world order (thus rejecting Dugin's wretched multipolarism and Russian/Eurasian neo-imperialism). The GCC plus Israel are meant to accomplish this in the Middle Eastern "Great Space" (Grossraum). It may be that this "deal" is geared toward attempting to build such a thing to constrain and eventually choke out Iran regionally, backed by U.S. (and Israeli) might, if needed. Meanwhile, there's a special situation going on in this case, which is that the Iranian Regime is full of proper lunatic factions. It's literally kufr (apostasy) in the lunatic Islamist view to make a deal with a jahili (Ignorant) society like the "Great Satan" of the United States, which can carry a death sentence. Thus, the internal fragmentation and fighting inside the Regime will be intense, and we allegedly already see this happening. Parts of the Regime, hoping to white-knuckle power (in the anaconda's coils), has to make the deal. Other more lunatic parts refuse it as rank treason and want to kill the people who make the deals or agree to them. This is not a stable situation for someone trapped in the coils of a snake that's slowly choking them out. So, maybe this is the real deep purpose of the plan. I don't know for sure. That plus possibly getting Americans inside in order to do nuclear inspections and such (very tight coiling of snake plus potential for agitation on a whole different level), clearing the nuclear material, keeping the passage of Hormuz open for all the reasons (until workarounds are made), etc. I cannot imagine, actually, that anyone serious really believes that this "deal" will hold, though. Of course, when it doesn't, the "anaconda" gets to bite (military strikes, heavy sanctions, etc.) to weaken them further and enable tighter coiling in the next round. In the meantime, perhaps we watch the Regime suffocate. It would be smart to get the right people geared up and positioned to fill the vacuum, if that's right.

I still loved America when Joe Biden was president. I disagreed strongly with him. I opposed almost all of his policies. I thought most of the things his administration did were damaging to the country. But here's the thing: I never stopped loving America. You see, America is bigger than her government. America is not Joe Biden. America is not Donald Trump. America is not Congress. America is not the bureaucracy. Governments come and go. Administrations rise and fall. Politicians make mistakes, abuse power, pass bad laws, and sometimes do genuinely terrible things. But America is bigger than any of that. It’s the culture, the people, the communities, the traditions, the freedoms, the churches, the charities, the families, the businesses, the neighbors who help each other when disaster strikes. It’s the idea that free people can govern themselves and build something better. (And disagree while trying) A president can damage the government. A Congress can damage institutions. Neither Biden nor Trump can destroy the spirit of America unless we decide to surrender it ourselves. If your love of your country depends entirely on who occupies the White House, then what you love isn’t really your country. It’s a political administration. I loved America under Biden. I love America under Trump. I’ll still love America long after both of them are gone.

Mauricio Ruffy after winning has a message for everyone! "John 3 :16 says For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jesus saved my life, he wants to save your life too. Give your life to Jesus" Incredible at UFC Freedom 250 🙏 🇺🇸

Gotta be honest, this @ufc event at the White House looks spectacular. This is a big time show. I’m not there, and we all know all the complaints folks had about renovations at and around the White House, etc, but — to be fair — this is some impressive stuff I’m looking at. Props to UFC President @danawhite and the show they’ve put on. It’s Bigtime. Plain and simple!!!

If Democrats were in power the percentage of them proud of America would be over 50 percent and the GOP number would still be 90 percent.

In America, a warehouse store. A fully roasted chicken costs five dollars, the raw chicken beside it costs seven, and I stood between them like a man between two truths. Golden. Hot. Seasoned. Spinning in glory under the lights, in a line of its brothers. Four dollars and ninety-nine cents. I checked the raw birds. Seven dollars. Pale. Cold. You must do everything yourself. This is not commerce. Commerce does not move backward. Somewhere in this building, mathematics lies defeated. I asked the man at the counter. "How is the cooked bird cheaper than the raw bird?" "Been five bucks forever. They keep it that way." "But the store loses." "Yep. On purpose." On purpose. I held my receipt with both hands. In my land, a lord who lowered the price of rice in a hard winter was remembered for generations. They built him a small shrine. This store does it every day, with chicken, and tells no one. A woman behind me grew tired of my reverence. "It's just a chicken, sir." It is not just a chicken. It is a wound the merchant takes on purpose, so that anyone, on any day, with five dollars, eats like a lord. The bird is the message. The price is the vow. I will confess: I bought two. I did not need two. The second was not hunger. It was gratitude, and it was delicious. Some prices are not prices. They are promises. I return every week now. I take one bird. I bow toward the deli, briefly, so as not to alarm the staff. They have begun nodding back. The vow holds. The bird turns. Five dollars. Long may it spin.

Congressman, I’m far more interested in the 38,660 stock trades totaling $618 million in volume, executed through the person you casually dismissed as “my wife’s financial advisor", while you hypocritically push for bans on congressional stock trading, than I am in a $465 million loan that Elon Musk repaid in full nine years ahead of schedule with interest and a prepayment penalty.

This guy predicted $4 /gal and we’redown to the low-mid $3.30’s in the Deep South.

💥NEW: CNN’s Fareed Zakaria *DELIVERS BRUTAL TAKEDOWN* of California’s “FAILING MODEL OF GOVERNANCE”💥 “The frustration is real and JUSTIFIED… it is a case study in how a rich society can spend more and more — while producing less and less of what its ordinary citizens need.”

Scenes that I never thought I would see, a Dance off between the Scottish and Haitians fans 🇭🇹🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 This is what soccer is about, bringing people together and forgetting our differences. Love this!

Europeans discovering America is some of the best content of the internet right now:

Ro Khanna can’t stop bashing Elon Musk… until it’s time to trade Tesla stock. Nothing says ‘principles’ like cashing in on the guy you hate. 🥱

Chris Nikic, the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman, completes Ironman 70.3 Massachusetts. Shortly before the race, Nikic announced that he needed a guide to run alongside him for the race. That's when Dr. Tommy Martin decided to step up. ⁠ "I learned more in this race than almost any other I have competed in, and none of it was about race tactics or how to PR. It was about life, perspective, determination, and grit. I owe all of that to Chris," Martin said. "I hope every finish line Chris crosses serves as a reminder to the world: your diagnosis, your situation, your circumstances do not define your potential!" Congrats, Chris! Video: dr.tommymartin / ig.

Musk has launched 680 rockets. Hamas have launched tens of thousands of rockets. And yet only Musk gets to be a trillionaire. Let that sink in.

My whole timeline is full of millionaires complaining about a trillionaire

Bringing the Scotland fans together after the FIFA World Cup win 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (via IG/steviejukes)