Saving the SAVE Act?

 

Friends, John Cornyn, who is in the fight of his life to hang on to his Senate seat, has just made a big about-face: he's decided he will accept limits on the filibuster in order to get the SAVE Act passed, which would mandate voter ID throughout the country.  Will this dramatic turn of events save the SAVE Act?  Not necessarily, because overturning the filibuster is darn tough, but maybe the Republican Senate can finesse the issue, i.e. keep the filibuster but drill a few more holes in it?  We shall see.  One thing is fairly clear: Cornyn's real objective is to save himself...from Ken Paxton, his formidable challenger.  Paxton has cannily offered to concede the primary election to Cornyn if the SAVE Act gains Senate passage.  Now, would the bill have the sweeping implications for U.S. elections that Republicans and Democrats seem to assume it would?  I mean, the GOP acts as if the bill is a magic bullet that can eliminate fraud and basically kneecap the Democratic Party.  The Dems, by contrast, talk as though the bill will make it virtually impossible for women and minorities to vote.  Voter ID has done nothing of the kind anywhere that it's been passed, but no matter.  I suspect both parties are engaging in more than a little hyperbole, but the only way to know for sure is...to pass the bill!  Why not?  It would be a fun experiment!

 

https://nypost.com/2026/03/11/opinion/sen-cornyn-why-the-save-act-matters-more-than-the-filibuster/ 

The Supreme Leader is Dead -- Long Live the Supreme Leader!

 

Friends, I'm sure we all wish nothing but the best for Iran's new "Supreme Leader", Mojtaba Khamenei!  May his reign be as glorious as it is brief.  All kidding aside, U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran's leadership and high value military sites are going great, so much so that DJT claims that our "short-term excursion" there is nearly finished, but I must say what I haven't seen are mass demonstrations against the regime, OR any cities falling to the resistance, OR major elements of the security forces defecting to the opposition and pleding their fealty to the Shah, or Trump, or any figure of equivalent marvelousness.  Long story short: the regime of the mullahs remains very much intact, and so the time for gloating has not yet come.  President Trump, please take note!

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwykdn0yn4wo 

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/03/09/trump-says-iran-war-is-nearly-complete/ 

Winter is Here!

 

Friends, although lefties and elitist insiders assume that everything Trump does is motivated by greed, arrogance, or stupidity, I take the President at his word that the purpose of our strikes against Iran is to allow the Persian people to rise up and reclaim their freedom and their sovereignty from fundamentalist tyrants.  Will it work?  That's hard to say, but it's one of the main topics on this week's Newsmakers show.  Don't miss out!  Brian and I also discuss relations with Venezuela, tariff refunds, the vacuity of leftist claims that we live in a "dictatorship", the harm that illegal immigration does throughout the Americas, the upcoming Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros., and more!

 

https://wysl.podbean.com/e/newsmakers-3-7-26/ 

ICE Barbie Goes Back in Her Box

 

Friends, today we got the disappointing news that President Trump has decided to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.  I figured it was a bad sign when Trump failed to single out Noem for praise at the State of the Union.  Sometimes I hate being right all the time...  Well, why am I disappointed?  Because every retreat that Trump makes confirms in the minds of Democrats and lefties that they are winning.  Because Trump is naive if he thinks that changing personnel will mitigate the media's and the Left's utter disdain for his immigration policies.  Because Kristi Noem, although she isn't perfect, is basically a victim of her own success.  Crime has plummeted.  The border is secure.  We've deported and otherwise rid ourselves of three million illegal immigrants in one year.  By any objective measure, that's a pretty strong record for Donald Trump's DHS commandant.  But Noem's success made her a favorite target of lefties, and the fact that she's a physically attractive woman to boot -- well, that made her Public Enemy No. 1.  Okay, No. 2.  Anyway, does her firing signal a retreat from Trump's deportation strategy?  Let's hope not, because that really would be a crying shame.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2e4v7yvjx8o 

You Can't Please Everyone

 

Friends, good news: the U.S. Senate has declined to place limits on the authority of President Trump to use force against Iran.  Only one Republican -- Rand Paul -- voted to handcuff DJT, while only one Democrat -- John Fetterman -- voted to maintain the President's freedom of action.  Of course, none of these votes matter in practice, because any resolution requiring the President to disengage from hostilities would, we assume, be vetoed by that same president.  Still, it's significant that the Senate is willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, for now, since, according to polls, most Americans are not.  I personally take Trump at his word that there will be no extended "war" with Iran, and no U.S. occupation of Iran.  Instead, we are doing our best to facilitate a takeover of the country by secular, moderate elements, although whether such elements will emerge remains to be seen.

 

https://www.ms.now/news/trump-iran-war-powers-senate 

 

President Trump is greatly irritated by Spain's refusal to allow U.S. military forces based in that country to join in hostilities against Iran.  He has threatened, in fact, to place an embargo against all U.S. trade with Spain.  The Europeans naturally regard any such suggestion with horror, and they say that our trade deal with the EU precludes any such action.  Does it?  I dunno, but sooner or later I would advise President Trump to use his power to embargo other countries, because it would be a felicitous demonstration of his executive authority, especially in light of the Supreme Court's decision to impose burdensome restrictions on his ability to use tariffs.  An embargo, needless to say, is a heck of a lot more serious than a mere tariff, and, as long as President Trump retains the ability to embargo our adversaries, he will enjoy enormous leverage in our trade negotations with friend and foe alike.  If all he does is posture and vent, on the other hand, embargoes, or potential embargoes, will frighten no one.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93wwq1n542o 

Guns A-Blazin'!

 

Friends, U.S. and Israeli military power is making short work of the mighty Iranian Navy, pictured above back when it was afloat.  Indeed, our military operations are proving extremely successful, but it's the political piece of the puzzle that counts: the formation of an organized, viable opposition movement that can take control of the country and install a new government.  Of course, Rome wasn't built in a day...  Neither was Persepolis.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/03/02/centcom-tehrans-gulf-of-oman-fleet-wiped-out-zero-ships-remain-as-u-s-hits-1250-targets/ 

 

In other news, France is extending its nuclear umbrella, ambiguously but adamantly, over several of its European allies, in a gesture that underlines, as per usual, its pusillanimity.  It's unclear what France is promising to do, or if indeed it would even have the gumption to use nukes to defend itself, and it's extra unclear why this declaration matters when ALL the relevant countries are in NATO, and thus already enjoy a total security guarantee from every NATO member state, including the United States (and France).  Of course, to be fair to the French, NATO's strength and integrity, over the years, has been buttressed by the fact that no one has ever dared challenge it.  The same could be said for France's nuclear deterrent as well.  What we know for sure is that France, and every European country, refuses to deploy even conventional military forces, in miniscule amounts, to defend the people of Ukraine, who they regard as part and parcel of "the West", even if they lack membership in the EU or NATO.  Bottom line: the Europeans' record of fighting (and dying) for their sovereignty and their freedom, at least since 1945, doesn't bear much scrutiny.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4zlnezrl7o 

 

Finally, almost every poll, except this one, agrees that the dastardly Dems have the edge going into the midterms.  The margins matter a great deal, however.  If the Dems squeak by with a slim popular vote majority in the House, they might fail to capture the majority of seats.  If they win by 5 points or more, then even the Republican Senate could be in jeopardy.  Will Iran play a role in determining the outcome?  It's way too early to tell.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/03/02/poll-republicans-surge-in-general-ballot-move-closer-to-defying-history-of-congressional-midterms/ 

Back to the Future?

 

Friends, it appears that President Trump has decided to role the dice!  He's authorized massive, sustained strikes on Iran, with the explicit goal of overthrowing the theocratic regime there.  Will it work?  Your guess is as good as mine.  It's now up the people of Iran to step up to the plate.  I hope they will, and I hope some of their patriotic police and military leaders will help them do it.  The best case scenario might be a caretaker government led by the son of the former Shah, but honestly almost any new faces in the Iranian government are bound to be an improvement on what we've got.  Of course, that's what a lot of Iranians said back in '79 too, and look how that turned out!  There's no question that we're taking a huge risk here, but the potential upside is vast, so I'm glad Trump pulled the trigger.  You can't promise help and then offer none...

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn5ge95q6y7t 

Of Paramount Importance

 

Friends, if there's one thing that could move the dial in America's culture wars, and its partisan struggles, it's the balance of power in the media and on social media.  If some of the big arbiters of our national conversation were to change hands -- like, say, the major TV networks, or the Hollywood studios, or Google, or Apple, or Meta -- then the nature of our culture and our politics might meaningfully shift.  A single election victory, by contrast, shifts nothing, fundamentally.  That's why Netflix's retreat from its purchase of Warner Bros. is so significant, and Paramount's victory is so portentous.  This means that the Trump-friendly Ellisons will have a seat at the table in Hollywood, and therefore in our popular culture, AND they will now be in control of CNN, which, although its viewership is small, still exercises an important influence over the news and those who consume it vocariously as well as sporadically.  I have high hopes that the Ellisons will use their newfound power to make America, well, greater than it's been, if not necessarily as great as Trump and Trump supporters had in mind.  We shouldn't get carried away about what this all means, because so far CBS, which is already part of Paramount, hasn't exactly prostrated itself before the MAGA movement.  Progress might be slow, therefore, but every little bit helps!

 

https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2026/02/27/democrat-lawmakers-booker-warren-erupt-after-paramount-wins-bid-to-buy-warner-bros-discovery/ 

 

In other news, Bill Clinton testified before a House panel today about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.  According to him, he did nothing wrong, and he saw nothing scandalous or illegal either.  Well, that was predictable!   Is Slick Willy a credible witness?  You can decide that for yourself, but the truth is that there has never been proof that any prominent American politician went on a pedophilic spree on Epstein island, and, if the evidence hasn't materialized by now, it probably never will.  But hey, by all means, let's fixate on Epstein for another few years...  It's not like the Democrats will let us forget about it, even if we might want to.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg345qvld5o 

First Duty

 

Friends, tonight President Trump gave the longest State of the Union address in history, and, I must say, I was amused!  He touted his administration's accomplishments, of which there are many, and challenged the Democrats, in a highly memorable fashion, to admit that the "first duty" of the U.S. government is to "protect American citizens, not illegal aliens".  They sat on their hands, needless to say.  They did a lot of that tonight, and in fact dozens of them boycotted the speech altogether.  No matter!  A lot of independents and swing voters were watching, and they saw a man who is unapologetic, energetic, and downright exultant at the progress that he and America are making.  Will it work in November?  It may not, given that Trump's enemies in the media control the narrative most of the time, but tonight he was, well, vintage Trump, and he put some spring in the step of everyone who proudly supported him in the last election.  Kudos, Mr. President, and I know I speak for many when I say: we're not tired of winning in the least!  We'll take three more years of it, please, at a minimum!

 

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2026/02/24/sotu_trump_calls_out_democrats_for_not_agreeing_governments_duty_is_to_protect_american_citizens_not_illegal_aliens.html 

The System Works!

 

Friends, hearty congrats to Dear Leader Kim Jong Un, who today was reelected as the head of North Korea's Workers' Party!  Many analysts were on tenterhooks in the lead-up to this highly competitive contest, so it's a relief to see the DPRK (re)embrace time-tested leadership.  No doubt Kim's chosen successor, his 13 year old daughter, will prove even more statesmanlike...  If only we had visionary rulers of equally high quality here in the USA!

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg18588mdko 

 

In much less important news, the U.S. men's ice hockey team today won the gold medal over bitter rival Canada.  This is the first gold medal for the U.S. in hockey since 1980, and that was a humdinger of a contest, as we all know.  Will Canada finally show us a little respect???  Don't count on it.  Those Canucks are incorrigible.

 

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/02/22/usa-defeats-canada-in-overtime-wins-olympic-gold-on-46th-anniversary-of-miracle-on-ice/