All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz, conduit to one fifth of the world’s energy supply. The New York Post suggests that the results of entire war may come down to control of one small island—Kharg Island—in the Persian Gulf:
An island one-third the size of Manhattan controls virtually all Iranian crude oil exports — and experts say its fate could be essential to President Trump’s endgame with Tehran.
Kharg Island is located about 16 miles off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf, making it difficult to defend and easier to isolate — reportedly drawing the attention of administration planners.
“Kharg Island handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports. Take it out, and this means cutting off the military budget in addition to pulling the plug on the basic services that keep Iranian society functioning,” said Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow at the DC-based Middle East Institute.
“Losing Kharg for even a few weeks will create a security and societal crisis in Iran at the same time. Tehran doesn’t get to choose which one to deal with first,” said Soliman, author of “West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East.”
Oil prices had dropped to around $80 a barrel early this morning, as the U.S walked back claims that an oil tanker had been escorted through the Strait. The Wall Street Journal highlights alleged differences between the U.S. and Israel as to when the war ends. Outraged Bernard-Henri Levy insists that the “notion that Benjamin Netanyahu is pulling the president’s strings is particularly absurd. … Anti-Semites will believe anything.”
Fog of War. National Review’s Andrew McCathy writes that President Trump is “preparing an off-ramp” and chides the President for what McCarthy sees as not making a stronger case for the war before launching it. Jason Riley of the Wall Street Journal says that the President’s “intentional ambiguity” on Iran will not serve the GOP well in the midterms. To get really fogged in read the MSM: Mark Penn posts a string of headlines from recent coverage of the Iran War and reflects:
The press is a drumbeat of negativity favoring the Iran regime. It’s puzzling at this point how any success is buried. The reality is likely the regime is being pummeled on all sides and has no ability to provide for its people.
Politico reports that the White House is hoping that the war will end before real economic pain but is skeptical. NEPO-NOPO. Iran’s Supreme Leader Junior is being protected by a special killer squad known as NOPO. Junior, incidentally, has a superb portfolio of international real estate, including digs in London’s exclusive Kensington Square. Junior, till keeping a low profile, is said to have the “charisma of a boiled potato.” Not that the old guy was a charmer either. I’ve noticed a shift in pro-Iran war rhetoric—Laura Ingram last night was imploring the Iranian people, whose pleas for help did not fall on deaf ears, to rise up.
We need to say a few more words about the Iranian women’s soccer team. After years of watching pampered American athletes kneel for our national anthem, we saw the Iranian women’s soccer team show real courage. There are consequences for not singing the national anthem in a bloody totalitarian regime. This brings us to a question: Why isn’t motormouth Megan Rapinoe using her megaphone for Iran’s female soccer team?
CNN’s original story on the attack at Gracie Mansion by ISIS-loving alleged terrorists is one for the books. We must never forget it. It must be quoted:
“Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather,” read the post. “But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home. Here’s what we know so far.”
CNN removed the report and is “spinning like mad” to cover its “terrorist apologia.” CNN lamely tried to say that the original quote didn’t meet its high editorial standards. But it passed muster of editors, right, and was published. National Review says that the left can’t hide the truth about the Gracie Mansion attempted bombing. NR Editor Rich Lowry wittily demolished the attempted coverup yesterday. But New Yorkers can’t get enough of the brave policeman who foiled the bomb attack.
Meanwhile, a group of House Republicans this morning publishes an op-ed at Fox Digital accusing Senate Republicans of “twiddling their thumbs” instead of working to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require an ID to vote. Senate Majority Leader John Thune is coming under attack because he resists forcing the Democrats to engage in a “talking filibuster” on the SAVE America Act, arguing that “the votes still would not be there.” The Save America Act could factor into a Trump endorsement in the Texas Senate race (also here). An editorial in the Wall Street Journal calls the “talking filibuster” a “mirage:”
The reality is that Democratic Senators could take turns giving interminable speeches.
Texas’ Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico is being compared to Barack Obama. He’s running as a moderate (natch), but National Review says Talarico is “not, in fact, a moderate, unless “moderate” is now a synonym for “white man.” In Georgia, Trump-backed Clayton Fuller will face Democrat Shawn Harris the replace Marjorie Taylor Greene in the House.
Republic of Fraud. Minnesota’s multi-billion-dollar Somali fraud was just the beginning. Since learning about Minnesota’s welfare largesse, we’ve been assaulted by reports of mind-boggling fraud in other states, all seemingly involving government (i.e., taxpayer) money. Even when there is no fraud, expenditures are alarming. A front-page Wall Street Journal report on “the boom in autism therapy” doesn’t allege fraud, but shows how unevaluated Medicaid expenses can skyrocket:
Some companies have found lucrative opportunities to capitalize on a growing need, billing long hours and extracting payments as high as $800 an hour.
A CBS Investigation, meanwhile, is billed as “We visited “ground zero” for hospice fraud: Los Angeles, California:”
Medicare is federally administered, and hospices must be certified for reimbursements. But the state issues the licenses for hospices to operate.
Three years ago, California’s state auditor sounded the alarm that Los Angeles County had seen a 1,500% increase in hospice companies since 2010 – more than six times the national average relative to its elderly population.
Auditors estimated LA County hospices overbilled Medicare by $105 million in a single year. The report called out notable red flags – key warning signs of fraud.
Follow the Science. Joe Nocera has a piece headlined “Science Has a Major Fraud Problem” in The Free Press. Nocera follows “the murky world of fraudulent research, and the sleuths exposing dishonest science.” I’m betting that government money plays a big part in the story.
How smart is AI really? Kobe Yank-Jacobs argues that AI can do the work but asks if it can do the job. How smart is the Pentagon-Anthropic spat? A Wall Street Journal op-ed argues that the dust up is beneficial to China.
Brit transplant and Fox Contributor Steve Hilton, a Republican, appears to actually have a chance at being elected Governor of California. Hilton’s Rise Could Spare Dems from Disaster in California Gov’s Race” is the Politico headline:
Hilton, a Fox News commentator, leads the pack with 19 percent of likely voters in the latest UC Berkeley Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research-POLITICO poll. Behind him is a pile-up of virtually tied candidates — Democrat Tom Steyer at 13 percent and, with 11 percent each, Democrats Katie Porter and Eric Swalwell and Republican Chad Bianco.
Conservatives might be forgiven for thinking the catastrophe to be averted would be a continuation of current policies in California.
