In today’s newsletter, President Trump faces a potentially consequential decision over Iran. Despite fears of an oil shortage driving up prices, energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have reportedly reached six-month highs under US naval protection. Back home, we look at the enormous regulatory costs imposed on the economy. We examine the strange controversy that forced Converse to pull a new advertisement. Finally, we cover a disturbing report on how China is harnessing artificial intelligence to expand surveillance of religious believers.
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For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
Ephesians 5:8-9
Over the weekend, Iran declared that the US has no choice but to accept its seven demands or else risk being drawn into a quagmire. The IRGC also claimed to have a secret stash of weapons that the world would be “astonished by,” and threatened to attack new targets. Trump said he is in “deciding mode” and warned Iran that “big things” could happen if Tehran does not “behave.” He said, “It’s basically three things. Wipe it out, let it rot with the economy, or make a deal.” And UN Ambassador Mike Waltz said that Trump is “always open to a deal” and to meeting with Iran’s President.
Or as Fox News chief foreign correspondent ** Trey Yingst reported** that Trump told him, he’s deciding “if and when do I blow the entire nation up?”
Meanwhile, the fighting between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia continued, but the Houthis said they will not target US ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Their attacks on Saudi oil facilities caused the price of oil to rise on fears of supply disruptions.
But despite the high prices based on fears of a shortage, the head of CENTCOM, Adm. Brad Cooper, ** said that over the past two weeks**, oil and liquified natural gas shipments through the Strait had reached six-month highs, thanks to US Naval protection and mine clearance. Sounds like we’re all paying a big fear tax at the pumps.
To catch up on the weekend’s events, check out** Fox News’ round-up of stories**.
And ** here’s today’s link** for continuously-updated bulletins.
The Democrats are running for election in November largely on the issue of “affordability.” Hospitals should use that as a test of people’s short-term memory abilities. Anyone who seriously believes that the Democrats make things more affordable must be unable to remember back less than two years, when eggs were $8 a dozen. Or 2022, when under Biden, ** diesel fuel topped $9 a gallon**.
But then, that was in Los Angeles, and California gas prices are the highest in the US and they inflate the national average price. Wait, who runs California again?
For that matter, who runs Los Angeles, ** which was just named as the least-affordable major US metro area** in the US?
Other cities that ranked last in affordability include New York City, Providence, Honolulu and Boston. And what do all THOSE places also have in common?
Finally, as a hint as to why Democrats make everything so unaffordable, check out this list of the regulatory costs imposed on the economy under recent Presidents.
They range from $1.8 trillion under Biden down to $40 billion under Trump 2.0. Biden’s regulations cost each American an average of $5300. Trump has reduced that by $3,750. Even under the temporary higher prices, that would buy a lot of gas.
More bad news for Nike, which is about to be dropped from the S&P 100. Its subsidiary Converse ** apologized profusely** and yanked a new ad after critics claimed that a close-up of a woman in a white dress holding a pair of sneakers looked like a KKK robe with the dangling feet of a black lynching victim by it.
We’re not sure we see that, but it’s kind of a racism Rorschach test. Look at it yourself and see if you spot a racist image or a woman in a white dress holding a pair of sneakers. If you see racism in the photo, you’re a “Progressive.” Of course, the same is true if you see racism in every photo.
Laugh of the Day! A group of liberal celebrities such as Robert DeNiro and Jamie Lee Curtis released an anti-Trump video of them swearing to uphold the Constitution. As this X post notes, many are the same people who released a video in 2016 urging Electors to vote for Hillary instead of Trump, in defiance of their duty to voters under the Constitution.
We would add that the party they support is also now full of “Democratic” socialists who want to rip up the Constitution entirely, including doing away with the Electoral College. So we assume the message is, “We defend the Constitution when we’re not in power but want to destroy it when we are.” We didn’t need a celebrity video to tell us that.
“Well, Duh” Headline of the Day! From ** Breitbart News**: “Minnesota County Quietly Ends Anti-ICE Reimbursement Fund Due to Rampant Fraud.”
Presley Gerber, the son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber, has died at 27 at a rehab facility. He had been open on social media about his decade of struggles with mental health and drug addiction. ** There’s more at the link**. We extend our prayers and condolences to his family.
Sunday, there was ** an ICE-involved shooting in Austin** when a man was shot after a short foot pursuit. He’s in stable condition. His lawyer claims he entered the US legally, but the DHS says he’s an illegal alien from Venezuela who entered under Biden and was facing a final removal order. All this information is described as “extremely preliminary,” and little is yet known for certain. Which, of course, didn’t stop angry leftists from launching anti-ICE protests. We prefer to wait until we actually know the facts, so we’ll have more on this later.
Yet another reason why the US should not let China win in the race to develop AI: the CCP is reportedly using an AI-based platform to run surveillance on people of faith in China, as well as dissidents right here in the US. It’s part of a longstanding but recently-accelerated campaign of harassment, intimidation and control of religious groups and people of faith. ** Fox News has more disturbing details**.
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