02 U.S. Politics

Blurb:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Tuesday for talks on peace and sanctions on Russia.

The meeting comes at a time when the Iran war has revived Russia’s ailing economy through increased oil revenue, robbed US-brokered talks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine of momentum and could soon limit Kyiv’s access to vital Western air defence systems that are needed in the Middle East.

“We can’t lose focus on what’s going on in Ukraine and the need for our support,” Starmer said alongside Zelenskyy for talks at 10 Downing Street, which NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also attended.

“Putin can’t be the one who benefits from the conflict in Iran, whether that’s oil prices or the dropping of sanctions,” Starmer said. “It is really important we keep our resolve in relation to supporting Ukraine, doing everything we can to weaken the hand of Putin.”

Blurb:

The human cost of Israel and America’s air campaign on Iran is mounting, nowhere more painfully felt than in the children’s wards of its hospitals.

In the intensive care unit of one, four-year-old Anita lies in a coma with severe head injuries a few days after being pulled out of the rubble of her home when it was destroyed in an air strike.

Her mother Zeiba was in torment, clutching her tiny hand and begging her to wake up. Doctors say she almost certainly never will.

Blurb:

The Islamic Republic has unveiled a new and dangerous weapon: the Sejjil missile. It can be set up and launched with minimal delay, making it harder to hit with preemptive strikes. Iran has only a few hundred, but they are produced indigenously. Fortunately, there is a simple way to stop production for good.

The Sejjil’s menace stems from its design for speed in deployment. Unlike Iran’s older liquid-fueled Shahab missiles, which take hours to prepare, leaving them vulnerable to preemptive strikes, the Sejjil runs on solid propellant. That means it is ready to be fired from road-mobile launchers in mere minutes, vanishing before countermeasures kick in.

Iranian state media claim it also has mid-descent maneuverability that allows it to dodge interceptors—they call it the “dancing missile”—but that has not been confirmed. There is no sign of side thrusters or similar features seen on other Iranian missiles that would make maneuvering possible.

Blurb:

Far-left podcast host Joy Reid argued that the United States is only “marginally better” than Iran, even after the brutal Islamic regime recently slaughtered tens of thousands of protesting citizens.

During the January anti-regime protests, thousands of Iranians were killed by their own government.

Estimates of the number killed vary substantially, hampered by the ongoing internet shutdown.

The Iranian government has acknowledged more than 3,000 dead.

However, the US-based organisation HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency), whose figures have been reliable during previous crackdowns, says it has verified more than 6,000 dead and has more than 17,000 more recorded deaths under investigation, giving a possible total of about 22,000.

Blurb:

A fresh wave of attacks on the United Arab Emirates’ energy infrastructure has ramped up concerns over prolonged supply disruptions amid the Iran war.

It comes after the world’s largest ultra-sour gas development was struck by a drone, a fire broke out in the UAE’s Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, and another tanker was hit near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

The UAE also reopened its airspace on Tuesday after a brief shutdown following a fire caused by an Iranian drone attack hitting a fuel tank.

Operations at the UAE’s massive Shah gas field remained suspended on Tuesday following a drone attack, which caused a fire at the facility, according to Abu Dhabi authorities. No injuries were reported from the incident.

The Shah gas field is located about 110 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi and is operated by a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. It has the capacity to produce 1.28 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day and 4.2 million tons of sulfur per year.

Blurb:

 

The Senate will hold a do-or-die test vote on President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in U.S. elections on Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Republicans need a simple 51-vote majority to launch further proceedings.

The Senate on Tuesday voted to open debate on the SAVE America Act in a narrow 51-48 vote, marking an early step forward for the GOP-backed election bill as Democrats remain united in opposition.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the lone Republican to vote against advancing the legislation, while all Democrats opposed opening debate. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., did not vote.

Blurb:

Joe Kent, who led the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned Tuesday, saying he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”

“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent wrote in his resignation letter to Mr. Trump.

Kent accused high-ranking Israeli officials and some in the media of waging a “misinformation campaign” that was “used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.”

“This was a lie,” he said, urging Mr. Trump to “reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for.”

In a post on X, Gabbard appeared to respond to Kent’s letter, saying the president “is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat.”

Blurb:

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is one of the most singularly focused Democrat politicians I’ve seen in a long time. He often will turn anything, any unrelated news event, any public appearance, into a discussion about the so-called “Palestinian cause,” and how Israel and, via extension, America, is allegedly committing “genocide” against the Hamas (and Hezbollah) terrorists who literally want to wipe the Jewish people and their western allies off the map.

We saw this, for instance, the weekend of March 7th and 8th, when Mamdani’s first words about the attempted terrorist attack by two adult teens – who the DOJ said were inspired by ISIS – on anti-Mamdani demonstrators that weekend at Gracie Mansion, were to condemn… Islamophobia.

“This was a vile protest rooted in white supremacy entitled ‘Stop the Islamic takeover of New York City,” Mamdani proclaimed. “I’m the first Muslim mayor of our city. Anti-Muslim bigotry is nothing new to me, nor is it anything new to the roughly one million New Yorkers who know this city as our home,” he went on to say while merely giving a passing reference to the attack itself, where IEDs were thrown.

Blurb:

The Democrat Party is still holding America hostage and refusing to pay Department of Homeland Security workers. Yes, while there is a military action in Iran, and while there have been three terrorist attacks here in the past week. Democrats say they are doing it because “Americans” want reforms to ICE. They’re really talking about party activists like these specimens who prevented ICE from arresting a child rapist for a month.

This happened in Boston. Yes, where the mayor compares ICE to neo nazis. And is apparently forming a supergroup with the commie mayors from NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

ICE agents, out of frustration, reached out to Bill Melugin. They were attempting to detain WALTER ROBERTO VIDES-ORTEZ. Wally is an illegal from El Salvador who came here illegally in 2016 after his home country put out an arrest warrant. For child rape. Wally, the accused child rapist, had been living near an elementary school in Boston.

(Not to be confused with the 19-year-old illegal attending high school in Virginia and groping thirteen-year-olds, who is also being protected by democrat officials)

He told me while he & his team were in their vehicles surveilling the target’s residence in East Boston & waiting for him to come out, the ICE team was quickly surrounded by activists who blew whistles, cursed at them, and said they were traumatizing children at the nearby school down the street. Their cover was blown, the whole neighborhood was alerted, and the child rapist wasn’t arrested.

Blurb:

Portland anti-ICE activist accused of threatening a pro-Trump child and sending death threats online is now charged with trying to torch a Tesla facility using a flamethrower.
Authorities say he also stole nearly $1 million from a former employer.

A Portland far-left extremist accused of making violent threats against a Nevada elected official, a child and President Donald Trump is now facing a cascade of federal and state charges after authorities say he also attempted to torch a Tesla facility with a flamethrower and stole nearly $1 million from a former employer.

Travis William Juhr, 41, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Portland on charges of transmitting interstate threats to injure. Prosecutors say the threats targeted conservative Clark County Commissioner April Becker of Nevada, as well as a 13-year-old conservative boy who attended a pro-Immigration and Customs Enforcement counterprotest in Portland.

Juhr was a regular attendee at leftist demonstrations and riots outside the Portland ICE facility. He was often seen wearing a bomber-style jacket and was recorded on livestreams making threats to Trump supporters.

Blurb:

Democrats are lambasting a top Trump adviser for dismissing concerns that high oil prices brought on by the war in Iran will raise costs for American consumers.

The adviser, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, acknowledged that a prolonged war would “hurt consumers” in a Tuesday morning interview on CNBC.

“We’d have to think about, you know, if that continued, what we would have to do about that,” he said. “But that’s, like, really the last of our concerns right now, because we’re very confident that this thing is going ahead of schedule.”

Hassett made the comment in the context of arguing that the economy is “fundamentally sound,” and would not be disrupted if the war in Iran were extended for a significant period of time.

Blurb:

Last week, a terrorist tried to kill Jewish children at the Temple Israel Synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, drove his truck — which was laden with fireworks and accelerants — into the synagogue. He exchanged fire with two security guards and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The media ran interference for Ghazali, saying his family was killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon as part of Operation Roaring Lion. The New York Times called him a “quiet restaurant worker,” and the Mayor of Dearborn Heights, where Ghazali was from, said the Lebanon strikes were the motivation behind the Temple Israel attack, attempting to justify it because Ghazali “lost family members.” Except that wasn’t accurate. It turns out Ghazali’s brother, Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali, was a Hezbollah terrorist.

But now it’s revealed that Ayman Ghazali also had deeper ties to Hezbollah than initially reported, including Ghazali’s ties with other members of Hezbollah, an overseas trip, and odd behavior in the weeks before the terrorist attack.

Blurb:

Multiculturalism is on the march in California: A Democratic state lawmaker has introduced a bill to recognize two Muslim holidays as official state holidays.

Fox 11 reports that California State Assembly member Matt Haney (D–San Francisco) has introduced AB 2017, which would designate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as state holidays and would, in Haney’s words, ensure that Muslims are “seen, valued and treated with the same dignity as every other community in our state.”

According to the New York Post, Eid al-Adha is among the most important holidays in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan—the month in which faithful Muslims fast from dawn until sunset.

Blurb:

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad came under a heavy barrage of rockets and drones early Tuesday in what Iraqi security sources described as one of the most intense attacks on the capital since the war erupted.

Witnesses said two drones were shot down by the embassy’s C-RAM defense system, while a third struck a building inside the embassy compound, sparking a fire and sending thick smoke into the sky.

Video seen by CNN showed air defenses intercepting what appeared to be a drone over Baghdad. The clip captured the moment it was hit, followed by a blast about 1,000 meters from the embassy compound.

“There it is, there it is,” a voice is heard saying in the video as the drone was intercepted.

Blurb:

The irony is thicker than the haze described by the band Deep Purple in their classic hard-rocking tune, Smoke on the Water. The new Supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei (son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) — who nobody is sure is even alive or dead — may be (have been?) gay.

This, in one of the most anti-LGBTQ regimes in the world — one that is reportedly prone to hanging homosexuals in the public square. Not surprisingly, the internet went wild with memes and jokes.

Although the conflict with Iran is anything but funny, sometimes humor best exposes the absurdity of the backward regime and its murderous leaders (the ones who are still left breathing, anyway).

Blurb:

A near disaster took place in Israel. Iran launched missiles into the Old City of Jerusalem. The missiles were intercepted. However, the debris landed just a few feet away from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. One of the most sacred sites in Christianity, believed to be the place of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

Just a reminder, the only reason Christian holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem remain standing, is because it is part of Israel. If the Palestinians controlled the Old City of Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter, all traces of Christianity would be attacked and destroyed. Exactly what the Palestinians have tragically done to the once flourishing Christian community in Bethlehem.

Blurb:

Ali Larijani, the closest thing Iran’s Islamic Republic currently has (er, had) to a political leader, is believed dead following an Israeli airstrike Tuesday. And that’s just the start of today’s good news concerning Operation Epic Fury/Roaring Lion.

It seems like only yesterday [It was only yesterday, Steve —Editor] that we discussed how Iran’s regime losses — from the topmost echelons all the way down to Basij street-thug enforcers — make the country increasingly ripe for regime change.

Well, yesterday’s news of limited drone strikes on individual Basij thugs pales in comparison to today’s news from Mossad Commentary [unofficial]: “Overnight strikes reportedly killed ~300 Basij commanders and field officials, targeting key command, logistics, and operational centers across Tehran.”

Facilities hit include “vehicle repair units, Mohammad Rasoulollah Corps HQ, Imam Hadi command center, and Imam Ali battalions.” The result is that “the Basij’s capability to mobilize against protests and maintain internal control” is severely degraded.

It’s this big a deal:

Blurb:

Federal immigration authorities have finally arrested a dangerous illegal alien from El Salvador who was wanted for horrific crimes against children, weeks after anti-ICE activists disrupted an earlier attempt to take him into custody.

Walter Roberto Vides-Ortez was arrested on March 12, according to federal officials, following a failed operation in February that was interrupted by activists in Boston.

Activists Disrupt Initial ICE Operation

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were attempting to arrest Vides-Ortez on February 12 at his residence in East Boston.

Officers were waiting in vehicles for the suspect to emerge when a group of activists surrounded them, blowing whistles, shouting obscenities.

They even accused agents of traumatizing children at a nearby elementary school close to where the suspect was living.

One agitator called the agents a “criminal.”

Blurb:

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is defending the man who worked security for her but was killed during a law enforcement standoff in Dallas on Wednesday and accused of pretending to be a policeman.

Thirty-nine-year-old Diamon Mazairre-Robinson had barricaded himself inside a parking garage at Children’s Medical Center Dallas after police tracked him down as they were investigating an active warrant, Fox News reported Monday.

Police video showed the moments SWAT officers told Robinson to get out of the car and obey their commands so that he would not get hurt. The officers deployed tear gas to force him out of the vehicle and as he got out of the car and stood up, an officer told him multiple times not to reach.

However, the suspect appeared to reach toward his waist and point a gun at the officers who opened fire:

In addition to going by the name Mike King and running a business called Off Duty Police Services, Robinson was accused of impersonating a policeman, wearing fake uniforms that made him appear to be a federal agent, and running the fraudulent business to hire legitimate police officers for off-duty gigs.

Blurb:

Democrats in Congress continue to resist the SAVE America Act by claiming that it seeks a return to the “Jim Crow era” and “discriminates” against women, but can they back up their claims?

Democrats in the House and Senate have repeatedly claimed the legislation is discriminatory, though many of the bill’s provisions, which include requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and voter ID, poll overwhelmingly positively with Americans.

The SAVE America Act has already passed the House, but the Senate is considering the bill this week.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, claimed in an online video statement that married women would be banned from registering to vote if they change their name.

“If you’re a woman who got married, changed your last name, and if your last name doesn’t match the last name on your birth certificate, you’re not going to be able to register to vote,” the Hawaii senator claimed. “That I call stealing our votes.”

Blurb:

Podcaster Shawn Ryan said Tuesday he hoped the resignation of National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) Director Joe Kent “wakes people up” about the war with Iran.

Kent announced his resignation in a Tuesday post on X that included an image of his letter to President Donald Trump, claiming that Iran did not pose an “imminent threat” to the United States. Ryan described Kent’s resignation as “unfortunate” in a Tuesday post. (RELATED: Pentagon Confirms Six Servicemembers Dead In Tanker Crash)

“Sometimes the most impactful statement you can make is a strong resignation. It’s unfortunate it’s come down to this. God’s speed @joekent16jan19, I hope this wakes some people up,” Ryan, a former Navy SEAL, posted.

“And for everyone else who’s just falling in line to keep your position of power, take note,” Ryan added in a second post.

Blurb:

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is intensifying opposition to the SAVE America Act, calling the election integrity measure “one of the most despicable pieces of legislation.”

Schumer blasted the President Donald Trump-backed bill ahead of a planned Senate vote this week.

The bill, formally known as the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, has been backed by Republicans as part of broader efforts to strengthen voter verification standards.

Blurb:

In 2020, trans-identifying man Haven Wilvich filed a complaint against the spa for denying him service with the Washington Human Rights Commission. Olympus Spa, which is owned by conservative Christians, settled in 2021 with the WHRC by promising to change its policies forbidding trans-identifying men from using their facility, but also stated that the settlement was forced and violated their freedom of association, freedom of speech, and exercise of religion under the First Amendment.

The following year, Olympus brought a constitutional challenge, which was dismissed in 2023 by a federal judge who claimed that because the state’s “anti-discrimination” law applies to all businesses, the law does not specifically violate the rights of the owners of Olympus. In May, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the ruling 2-1. Last week, the full court voted not to review that decision. Enter Judge Lawrence Van Dyke, who decided to make the rare move of using blunt, crude language to illustrate his contempt for the decision.

Blurb:

Iran launched vicious attacks Tuesday on oil-producing Arab neighbors, hoping to drive up oil prices to outlast the United States and Israel.

An anchored tanker was struck off the coast of the United Arab Emirates just south of the Strait of Hormuz, according to The New York Times. The tanker sustained minor damage.

The port of Fujairah is strategically important because it is the terminus of a pipeline that can move oil to tankers from inland wells without passing through the strait, which Iran has closed to shipping.

At least 17 ships have been attacked in or near the strait since the U.S. and Israel began fighting Iran in late February.

The UAE was also attacked Tuesday by Iranian missiles and drones. The nation’s defense ministry said the attacks were being repelled.

Iran also launched drones at the UAE’s Shah gas field. Operations were later suspended, according to CNBC.

Blurb:

It is almost comical that the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center would oppose defeating the world’s largest sponsor of terror. Wrong man for the job. Thank you for resigning.

He blamed the Jews.

We have enough anti-semites destroying the country.

Joe Kent, a Trump counterterrorism admin, resigned Tuesday over the war in Iran.

Kent said he could not “in good conscience” back the war, and said he believed Iran posed no threat to the U.S.

Kent is a former political candidate and veteran who was deployed to combat 11 times. His wife was killed in action in 2019.

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation Tuesday, saying he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war in Iran.

Blurb:

 

Legal Insurrection has been following news about the massive raw sewage spill caused by the Potomac Interceptor rupture.

This crisis illustrates the predictable consequences of neglected maintenance and questionable spending priorities by DC Water, resulting from political and managerial choices that prioritized image and amenities over core infrastructure, with downstream Maryland communities bearing the public‑health impacts.

We also took a look at DC Water’s 9,900% error in reporting E. coli levels after the spill, which reported 242,000 MPN/100 mL as 2,420 and may have ultimately been the result of the agency’s emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, rather than concentration on mission priorities (e.g., technical competence and accurate, safety‑critical testing procedures and interpretation).

Finally, we have some good news to share regarding this historic spill. DC Water has finally completed the emergency repair and restored flow to the Potomac Interceptor, and is now shifting to long‑term pipe rehabilitation and environmental cleanup.

After nearly two months of emergency repairs, D.C. Water says it has restored flow through the Potomac interceptor, the same pipe that collapsed in January and caused one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history.

Officials announced the milestone Saturday after crews spent 55 days working around the clock to repair the damaged sewer line along the Potomac River.

The collapse, which happened Jan. 19, caused roughly 250 million gallons of sewage to spill into the Potomac River.