Last week I wrote about the attempted execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike. As of this writing she is still alive and appears to be doing fine. It was expected that she had suffered brain damage. Instead she is conscious and talking, according to reports.
Then another piece of news hit this week. President Trump approved the execution by firing squad of former U.S. Army officer Nidal Hasan. We also learn that Hasan’s execution will be live streamed.
Bill Clinton is back on the record about the man who planned September 11. The New York Post has the interview from John Catsimatidis's WABC show, Cats Roundtable.
Clinton says he signed the order. Capture would have been fine. Stopping Usama Bin Laden was the point.
“I had authorized the CIA to try to take him out.”
Then the plan died at the last minute. Not because the target was in doubt. Because the agency did not want the miss.
“I was scared, and I was mad because we tried to get him before, and the CIA at the last minute killed the plan that I think might well have succeeded.”
“But they were afraid that if they missed, they’d kill a lot of innocent civilians. They didn’t want to run the risk. I didn’t second-guess them.”
That last line is the one I keep. He wanted the man gone. He still thinks the raid might have worked. He did not override the people who pulled it.
Defense War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth just announced a bold new initiative to optimize troop health and readiness. In a video posted to X, he unveiled plans for routine testosterone screening across the U.S. military.
What the Policy Includes
Annual screenings for all service members age 30 and older as part of regular health checks.
Younger troops (under 30) can volunteer for testing.
The program covers all personnel, including women.
If deficiency is found and medically recommended, troops can opt for supervised testosterone replacement therapy (TRT).
Hegseth described the effort as focused on restoring natural capabilities, not enhancement:
“This initiative — it’s not about artificial enhancement; it’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.”
He branded the Pentagon under this push as “The High-T Department of War,” aiming to keep forces at peak performance and on the “leading edge of lethality.”
I had to write a far more timely news-based post regarding President Trump's new Air Force One (the one donated by Qatar in May 2025) and why he had to use the older Air Force One planes.
Glenn Beck recently highlighted a revealing moment from President Trump’s trip abroad. In his segment, Beck played clips from a gaggle aboard Air Force One where reporters were unusually asked to lower their window shades on the return flight from Turkey. Beck used the exchange to explore the serious security threats the president faces and how Trump appears to be mentally preparing for them.
I watched Ben Shapiro’s latest episode — “JD Vance’s Weekend Was Worse Than You Think” — and it hit on a key tension in how we handle high-stakes diplomacy. Then I checked Patrick Bet-David’s Valuetainment clip for more on Vance’s side of the story. Here’s a clear breakdown.
Vice President JD Vance led U.S. talks at the Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne with Iranian officials. Pakistan and Qatar mediated. Goals included Lebanon/Hezbollah de-escalation, nuclear steps, and keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
Vance projected optimism: progress on ceasefires, possible IAEA inspectors returning, technical work ahead. Trump kept the hard edge with public warnings about consequences if Iran crossed lines.
Shapiro’s Critique: Optics Matter
Shapiro focuses on the visuals and tone:
No strong joint photos.
Moments where Vance appeared sidelined or lightly corrected.
Language leaning “give and take” rather than dominance.
Progress claims (assets, inspectors) called thin.
Takeaway: Looks like weakness next to Trump and Rubio’s firmer approach. “Not peace through strength.”
The Lebanon angle is one of the biggest reasons the US-Iran framework agreement feels shaky just days after it was signed. The deal isn't only about the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program — it explicitly ties in ending military operations "on all fronts, including in Lebanon." This reflects Iran's long-standing support for Hezbollah and its insistence that regional ceasefires go hand-in-hand with any broader truce.
Why Lebanon Keeps Derailing Progress
Linked commitments: The memorandum calls for a permanent halt to fighting across the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon. Iran has warned that continued strikes there violate the spirit (and possibly terms) of the deal.
Recent flare-ups: Fresh Israel-Hezbollah clashes — with strikes killing civilians and militants on both sides — led to the postponement of technical talks in Switzerland. Iran briefly claimed to close the Strait of Hormuz again in response, though shipping appears to continue.
Proxy dynamics: Hezbollah is a core part of Iran's "Axis of Resistance." Any deal that doesn't address Israeli presence or operations in southern Lebanon risks Iran backing away from nuclear concessions or Hormuz commitments.
US officials (including envoys like Steve Witkoff) are still heading to Switzerland for talks, with Vice President Vance involved, but the Lebanon situation adds real friction. Israel isn't a direct party to the US-Iran MoU, which complicates enforcement.
Introduction: Trump’s Latest Deal in the Middle East
Folks, the United States and Iran have reached a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MoU) to de-escalate months of conflict. President Trump is calling it a strong step forward, centered on a ceasefire, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and 60 days of further talks on nuclear issues and sanctions.
It’s not a final peace deal, but it aims to end active fighting after over 100 days of tensions that disrupted global energy markets.
Key Points of the Agreement
Ceasefire: 60-day halt to hostilities, with paths toward lasting peace (including Lebanon-related issues).
Strait of Hormuz: Iran to reopen the vital oil waterway; US lifts naval blockade. This should ease supply pressures quickly.
Nuclear Program: Iran reaffirms no nuclear weapons pursuit. Talks will address enriched uranium stockpiles and enrichment limits.
Sanctions/Assets: Conditional relief based on compliance, including potential access to frozen funds.
Timeline: Formal signing elements expected soon in Switzerland.
In a wide-ranging interview in the Roosevelt Room, President Donald Trump sat down with Miranda Devine for her Pod Force One podcast and spoke openly about several pressing issues.
The Heated Call with Benjamin Netanyahu
One of the most striking moments came when Trump confirmed reports about a recent phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He acknowledged using strong language, telling Devine he said something along the lines of, “Bibi, are you effing crazy? What are you f'n doing?”
Trump explained that he was “a little bit perturbed” by Netanyahu’s continued military actions against Lebanon and Hezbollah. He pushed for restraint to avoid complicating broader regional negotiations, particularly around Iran. At the same time, Trump emphasized that he and Netanyahu still work well together overall. He described himself as a “wartime president” and Netanyahu as a “wartime prime minister,” noting they have a strong relationship despite the blunt exchange. Trump also pushed back against claims that Netanyahu had tricked him into any actions regarding Iran, calling such suggestions nonsense pushed by political opponents.
This blog used to be known for covering the news of the day so here's one development that's been discussed today regarding the Iran War. They've been talking about a deal and hopefully an eventual cessation of hostilities.
The US and Iran still need to work out several sticking points before an agreement on the war can be reached, Vice-President JD Vance has said.
Asked by the BBC if President Donald Trump was close to signing a deal, Vance said it was too early to say "when or if" the two sides would finalise an agreement.
The deal would reportedly extend the ceasefire for 60 days and launch talks on the future of Iran's nuclear programme.
Earlier on Thursday, US officials told the BBC that the two countries had agreed a framework of a deal, pending the approval of Trump and Iran's leadership.
But Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the deal had not been finalised or confirmed.
Basically we wiped out their military, we killed the top tier of their leadership (remember in the initial airstrikes Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed). Reports are the new Supreme Leader also Khamenei is incapacitated - when his appointment was announced all they showed as his head on a cardboard body, he wasn't even there to show himself as the newly appointed Supreme Leader.
I just wonder how long the Iranian Revolutionary Guard will continue fighting?
[VIDEO] An address he delivered last night at the White House heralding his accomplishments with the month long military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran and his main goal which is to prevent that regime from gaining nuclear weapons. I'm sure he wants this to come to a swift end, however, the regime change hasn't happened yet.
I have to see where things are with that regime, Trump had claimed they were seeking a ceasefire and that the Islamic Republic is coming to the table. This inspite of the fact that they claimed they will never negotiate.
After watching Elimination Chamber this evening and following the news primarily online in addition to TV news regarding the strikes on Iran. These strikes are substantial and see that amongst other gov't officials killed in Tehran, the strikes claimed the life of Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei.
All I can say to that is wow. I was watching the emergency PBD podcast this morning and the Iranian regime seemed to announce that the Ayatollah has planned to speak, however, later on Saturday the regime confirmed that the Supreme Leader was killed. I was looking for some official confirmation as President Trump said he was killed in these strikes, and the Israeli gov't said he was dead.
Now I see that there were some retaliatory strikes by Iran on American military targets in the Middle East and Israeli targets.
At this point the only thing I can ask is what now? Will the Islamic Republic of Iran survive these airstrikes? Will the people of Iran rise up against the regime as they had been since about December last year?
Oh yeah a little history the Pahlavi family ran iran until 1979 when Iran was known as the Imperial State of Iran - Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the King before he was overthrown in a revolution. In Pahlavi's place was the previous Supreme Leader of Iran the Ayatollah Khomeini. And we had well over 46 years of a very theocratic gov't that was considered a state sponsor of terrorism.
These airstrikes were as a result of stalled talks on Iran's nuclear program. The concern is that the theocratic regime would acquire nuclear weapons and use them. Last year in airstrikes US & Israeli had struck a severe blow to the Iranian nuclear program.
Either way most of the day on Saturday sees the emerging military operations over the skies of Iran and how long with this continue since the sitting executives of the gov't there had essentially been decapitated.
Here are President Trump's remarks on the airstrikes on Iran [VIDEO]
[VIDEO] I will trust Bill O'Reilly's take on the recent Trump administration actions against the President Dictator of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro. He gives you a basic rundown of Operation Absolute Resolve and that the police and military of Venezuela allowed the Army Delta Force to apprehend Maduro. There are a lot of moving parts to this mission I see.
Well this weekend has been exciting. I wonder if this blog post title will age well.
As of now the President of Venezuela, a man named Nicolas Maduro and his wife are in US custody. US Special Forces - actually the US Army Delta Force - went onto a military base in the national capital of Caracas and captured the first couple of Venezuela.
Also let's also state the official line from the Trump administration that President Maduro isn't considered the legitimate leader of this South American republican. The reasoning for his capture and the fact that he did stand in Federal court in New York is based on charges of "narcoterrorism"
We have 60 Minutes thanks to their new and recent editorial direction under Bari Weiss take on this issue. I will admit I've yet to see this segment so if you watch we'll be watching together. [VIDEO]
I had watched some of the President and the comments of this in his administration - including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense War. The President even evoked the Monroe Doctrine the whole idea of America hegemony over this hemisphere and the area of North & South America and keeping out the influence of other powers.
What has been discussed are the influences of Russia, China or even Iran. And Iran is especially is on notice and there has been protests there in recent weeks.
It's easy for me to compare this to invading Iraq, however, this was a short operation which took a matter of hours. Removed the head of state & gov't from power, physically from his nation. And now I see the President is saying the United States of America will run Venezuela until a transitional gov't is put into place.
I mentioned Iran having protests. There are Venezuelans who are celebrating Maduro's removal. They're celebrating here in America and there in Venezuela.
As evidenced by the previous administration opening up the border and seeing those migrants taking up shop here in Chicago during that time, it seems times weren't great in Venezuela. Many of these migrants were Venezuelan and sadly some of them were criminal. Something the current administration is attempting to clean up now.
We shall see how this develops. I would generally shy away from meddling in the affairs of other nations. Time will tell if this was the right move or even the right justification which may well including questions of Maduro's legitimacy as the Venezuela President.
Allow me to start off by saying I've neglected to mark this very sad day in recent years. I hope regardless we're learning the lessons of that horrendous day. We keep Americans and global citizens safe from terrorism of any kind. And that Americans were able to step up to the plate to defend our values. Of course, we should also note the battle is never ending.
[VIDEO] What did Al-Qaeda and their leader Usama Bin Laden expected to happen after 9/11/01? This is what the Infographics Show on YouTube attempts to answer.
I'm sure they expected America to back off on Middle Easterm affairs - well that didn't work out very well did it. They expected the Muslim world to rise again American influence or even just Western influence - that also didn't work out very well.
In the 14 years that followed, Usama Bin Laden was killed by Seal Team 6. And this video noted there are other Islamic Fundamentalist groups have also arisen. We don't hear a lot about Al-Qaeda out there in the news anymore like we used to, although let's make no mistake they still exist out there.
In 2021 when President Joe Biden was President the regime known as the Taliban retook Afghanistan. Remember back in the aftermath of 9/11 during Operation Enduring Freedom resulted in the Taliban being effectively removed from their control of Afghanistan in favor of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Republic fell again in 2021 with President Biden's very disastrous withdrawal of American forces. We had recently marked the fourth anniversary of the deaths of US military personnel in a terrorist attack at Kabul Airport.
As stated the battle to defend our values is never ending. I remember in the wake of 9/11 with expectations of future military operations that there were naysers who suggested that America would get hit even more - especially talking about Iraq. Thankfully that didn't happen and an easy retort of the 2000s was that America was not again hit with a terrorist attack here.
However, another concern now is immigration. I'm seeing reports of a serious problem with Islamic fundamentalism in Europe, Great Britain especially. The idea of bringing in people from the Middle East or at least the Islamic world who show themselves as hostile to Western values. This is why I say the battle is never ending.
Here's hoping we don't have the sadness of 9/11 anywhere on this globe again.
I forgot how great 60 Minutes was and perhaps I really missed out on the true heyday of this TV newsmagazine. It was a program my mom really liked in her lifetime and of course the great journalists such as Mike Wallace, Harry Reasoner, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, and even the commentary of one Andy Rooney are greatly missed. And I'm discussing this because of this story.
[VIDEO] Morley Safer talks about Hiroshima after it was hit with one of the two atomic bombs ever used in warfare. It's an interesting look to see the immediate aftermath of the bombing that took place on August 6, 1945. And then to see what become of that city just about 30 years later when this story aired on CBS.
Incidentally today August 9, 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki. Not long after that the Japanese surrendered to the Allies effectively ending for good the 2nd World War.
Within the past year, I've taken more of an interest in this subject and have concluded how horrible nukes are to the world. We'd be better off without them and I could accept this might have been the option to end the war - especially if it was believed that fanatical Japanese resisters would've lead to many casualties of an Allied soldier in a potential invasion of the Japanese homeland.
These days I've learned that the nukes we have now would make the atomic bombs of 1945 look like child's play. If there was an exchange it wouldn't just be devastating for a city, it could be devastating for the globe.
[VIDEO] Since the weekend what has been dominating the news are Donald Trump's airstrikes targeting the Iranian nuclear program. It was in the world's best interest that the radical theocracy of Iran doesn't get nuclear weapons. The nation itself is also considered a state sponsor of terrorism.
As a matter of fact before the past weekend's U.S. airstrikes, Israel has been performing their own airstrikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran which had also targeted Iran's nuclear program. After the Israelis and the U.S. conducted their airstrikes.
By June 23, 2025, a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was declared. There were some violations of this ceasefire and when President Trump spoke to the press at some point after this he dropped an F-bomb. Not very presidential but hey he's keeping it real.
June 14, 2025 wasn't just the anniversary of the U.S. Army which began it's history as the Continental Army which successfully fought for independence from the British Empire. As often said before there was a nation there was an army.
Anyway bear in mind that June 14 was also Flag Day, President Trump's birthday, and it seems as a result of this parade there were No Kings rally held around the country including in Chicago.
This parade was controversial however it was great to see US Army history on display and wish many thanks to currently serving U.S. Army soldiers and veterans.
2020 was a strange year with the pandemic and the seeming breakdown in law enforcement and societal norms. We see the strange push for social justice especially in light of George Floyd. It seems this idea of being woke has been put forward like never before.
In this rcnt Timcast IRL they talk about Col. Douglas MacGregor's dire comments about the 2024 how he sees the general breakdown in America will cause the nation to not even make it to the 2024 election. And Tim Pool and company might take it further someone might ensure there will be further issues with the election. Perhaps someone will cheat again to ensure there person will will sort of how many alleged that happened in 2020 between Trump and Biden.
I'll let you watch Col MacGregor's comments here as he made them about four months ago on PBD's podcast. Allow me to remain optimistic that the chaos of 2020 is something we can get out of but then again America is so severely divided it doesn't seem like we're going to come together anytime soon.
[VIDEO] YouTuber Casey Neistat - Van's younger brother - discusses the horrendous attack that took place in Israel over the past weekend. There were some serious reported attrocities that Casey notes in his most recent video and it gives me pause.
And even noted is that many in the West seems to support this. You see a brief clip out of Sydney, Australia of "Hamas supporters" talking about "get the Jews" or "gas the Jews". And it was amazing to see White House Press Secretary Karine-Jean Pierre taking "The Squad" to task for their evident support for the attacks on Israel civilians near the Gaza strip.
The State of Israel unfortunately has been in a hostile neighborhood since it had been founded in 1948. Hamas is a terrorist organization bar-none. It's sad that they have supporters in the west who believe they're supporting an "oppressed" group. Why would they condone violent acts not against a state or a military, but against unarmed civilians and innocent children or babies.
That strikes me as ignorance in the worst way just being uninformed. Now if there are those who believe this is OK and are informed, I'm just plain speechless. :(
