JAW, JAW IS BETTER THAN WAR, WAR: ‘They Should Have Made a Deal,’ Trump to Seize Iran’s Oil Infrastructure.
June 11, 2026
BRING A BIGGER BAT: The largest scorpion to walk the Earth was the size of a baseball bat.
CRUELTY DISGUISED AS COMPASSION: We knew students were unprepared, and we sent them on to fail. “It’s no surprise to Elizabeth Statmore, who teaches at San Francisco’s Lowell High, the largest single feeder to the UC system. Every year, she finds herself teaching very basic math — fractions, the distributive property, exponents and roots — to her high-achieving students, she writes in Voice of San Francisco. These holes in their knowledge will sink them in college STEM classes.”
SPOILER: MOVIE CRITIC DEVOURED BY TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME: Mark Judge reviews A Sudden Flicker of Light: A Revisionist History of Movies by David Thomson. As Judge writes, “Trump is the bad guy. I just saved you $30 and 368 pages of reading.” At the conclusion of his book, Thomson completely lets his TDS freak flag fly:
July 13, 2024, a day so bright outside Butler, Pennsylvania, that you could miss a flash of light. This is photographed live, soon after 6 p.m. local time, as he takes the stage to speak. This is what he lives for, the being on and seeing how he will play. For years now, he has sounded bored, or lethargic, in a stupor with the words he repeats, masturbating his close-ups. He is growing older, you see. But in July 2024, his opponent had gone dead on camera, staring into an abyss in which we felt the nausea of utter loss. He knows this vacancy will come for him, too. But will anyone notice? He feels himself congealing. Then, outside Butler, there is a tiny crack in the air and he flinches. There are more shots as he is surrounded by the bulk of Secret Service, as if they have nothing to do with the “security” that is supposed to stop a shooter shooting. There is a huddled confusion from which his golden head arises. This is not being critical or unsympathetic: A boy wants to stand up after a splinter of something has stung him in the ear. But what is so striking about this victim is his mix of pathos and bravery—such a movie trope—that understands how thoroughly he is on and how the image of him with his fist upright, and “Fight! Fight! Fight!” will play on T-shirts and posters for a while. This is not to say the Butler shooting was designed or directed—he’s not competent enough for that. But the immediacy with which he took his movie moment, that was destiny and our disappearance. Little happens now that is not like a movie. Our seeing has been trained in the habit. Being spectators has undermined the spectacle. Some anxiety in us understands that everything may be a trick.
So there it is. Trump is the devil, manipulating us with theatrics.
“From time to time in this book,” Thomson writes,
considering the glamour of the moving train that will not stop at our station, and the haunting way in which Charlie Kane and Michael Corleone and so many other fellas have been gang leaders who secured Donald Trump’s rapture at the movies, I have realized that he is our movie man.
Thomson didn’t want to spoil the ending, he insists, writing: “I held back, urged on by my editor: Not yet, keep it for a big finish.”
Finally, he had to go there, because “any theory of seeing had to know that this was as hideous as Germans telling themselves they really could not smell what was coming down the country road.
A couple of questions. First, there was the 1912 assassination attempt on Teddy Roosevelt:
On October 14, 1912, former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt survived an assassination attempt by John Schrank, a former saloonkeeper, while Roosevelt was campaigning for the presidency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Schrank’s bullet lodged in Roosevelt’s chest after penetrating Roosevelt’s steel glasses case and passing through a 50-page-thick (single-folded) copy of his speech titled “Progressive Cause Greater Than Any Individual”, which he was carrying in his jacket pocket. Schrank was immediately disarmed and captured; he might have been lynched had Roosevelt not shouted for Schrank to remain unharmed. Roosevelt assured the crowd that he was all right, then instructed the police to take charge of Schrank and ensure he was not harmed.
As an experienced hunter and anatomist, Roosevelt correctly concluded that since he was not coughing blood, the bullet had not reached his lung; he declined suggestions to go to the hospital immediately. Instead, he delivered his scheduled speech. His opening comments to the gathered crowd were, “Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot—but it takes more than that to kill a bull moose.”
The movie industry was still in its infancy in 1912, with the forerunner of Paramount Pictures being founded that year, but Thomas Edison’s studio in the Bronx still a going concern. Did Edison’s pictures inspire Roosevelt to rally himself to finish his speech after being shot?
And how does Trump compare to all of the previous Hitlers who have come before him?
MIRANDA DEVINE: Pete Hegseth’s D-Day speech gave Europe a spot-on warning – be smart or be invaded.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a great speech on D-Day in Normandy.
He told the Europeans they were committing civilizational suicide by allowing themselves to be “invaded” by unassimilable migrants.
It was the kind of warning you give to a friend who you see is making a terrible mistake.
“Sadly, today different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies,” he said in northwestern France during commemorations for the 82nd anniversary of the June 6, 1944, landings of American and other Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe from Hitler’s dangerous ideology.
On “beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive …
“When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late?”
Naturally, he was pilloried by out-of-touch elitists on both sides of the Atlantic.
But Hegseth was absolutely right, and his weekend comments echo earlier, ever more forceful warnings from Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Europe’s greatest challenges are self-inflicted — existential civilizational decline caused by unprecedented mass migration and a coinciding loss of confidence in Western values, or what Vance calls “self-hatred.”
Two terrible murders currently dominating UK news effectively demonstrate the points being made by these American statesmen.
Brad Essex writes that “Hegseth Brings Uncomfortable Truths to Normandy:” “Nations that cannot control who enters their territory lose the ability to define and defend their own character. Eighty-two years on, the rows of graves at Colleville-sur-Mer still speak clearly. The men who lie there did not fight for abstract ideals alone. They fought for concrete realities: secure homelands, accountable governments, and the right of free peoples to chart their own course. Honoring them means recognizing that vigilance remains necessary, whether the threat arrives by landing craft or small boat. Hegseth’s remarks cut through polite evasion. They reminded the audience that freedom, once secured, must still be earned.”
DOUGLAS MURRAY: Britain imported a problem it refuses to name.
Starmer described the attempted beheading as “sickening,” while the Chief Constable of the PSNI warned about the challenge of toxic online commentary. “All of our communities in Northern Ireland contribute positively to this place,” Jon Boutcher said, warning people not to be “fooled or duped into a trap by people online.”
In the Commons the government had a swift response to a question from the Northern Ireland Unionist MP Jim Allister, who asked what might be done “to stop the importation of an alien culture that thinks it’s appropriate to try and behead someone.” The responding minister – Hilary Benn – spied his opening. “I’m sorry the honourable gentleman used the term ‘alien culture,’” he said. “What exactly is he referring to?” It shouldn’t be that hard to understand.
Historically speaking, Northern Ireland is not a place filled with pacifists. Indeed, it was almost touching that the First Minister Michelle O’Neill responded to the attack by saying that its citizens should not let “other people, who don’t care about here, incite hatred or fear.” She went on to say the public should not allow “people who are faceless to orchestrate campaigns on the street.” Because in the normal order of things it has been the job of Sinn Fein/the IRA to do just those things.
Still, the appallingness of the crime should not baffle the political class. Why not – finally – use it as a learning moment?
For years there has been a stock response whenever anybody raised the issue of the mainly Pakistani rape gangs. “So you’re saying that everybody from that background is a rapist?” was deflection question no. 1. To which the answer was: “Obviously no.” But then there was a clever little question no. 2: “So you think white British men don’t abuse children?” To which the answer was obviously once again “no.” The questions were insincere because the real answer – as with the Belfast attack – is so obvious. We have our own rapists, but why exactly do we need to import more? It is a version of the question Germany might have done well to address in the past couple of decades: “Given our historical problem with anti-Semitism, ought we to import a large and fresh batch of anti-Semites?”
Evergreen:
UPDATE: Belfast suspect is former policeman. “A Sudanese man charged with attempted murder after the Belfast knife attack served as a policeman in Khartoum, friends told The Telegraph. Hadi Alodid is from a prominent north Sudan family and after arriving in the UK was followed by two other brothers who also live in Britain…He was born and partly raised in Saudi Arabia, but returned to Sudan for his education. Azheri Omer said he had been friends with Alodid since 2022 in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. He joined the police in Khartoum, but Mr Omer said he only stayed a few months.”
KRUISER DOESN’T USUALLY HOLD BACK THIS MUCH: Dems Will Freak Out When They Get to Hell and Find Out How Few Republicans Are There.
DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS: Commie Jihadis On The Grassy Knoll. “It used to be that Fifth Columnists funded by foreign interests operated from the shadows, holding clandestine meetings while trying to undermine the nation. Today, however, Islamist organizations linked to both communist China and global Jihad networks openly proclaim their hatred for the United States right here in Texas.”
DREW HOLDEN: A COVID Autopsy, Part 4: ‘Social Distancing Informants Have Their Eyes on You.’ The defining legacy of COVID might be the social catastrophe that mitigation efforts inflicted.
The problem with all of this fear-mongering, all this confident predicting that six feet of space would protect us, was that there wasn’t any real science to back it up. Why was six feet so important? Where did that guidance come from? As Fauci would tell the House Oversight Committee in 2024, he made it up — the guidance “just sort of appeared,” the doctor in charge of America’s response to COVID said. As the Washington Examiner reported at the time: “Dr. Anthony Fauci said in congressional testimony that he reviewed no scientific evidence behind the specific recommendations for masking children or maintaining 6-foot social distancing before advocating these policies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Invented though it was, social distancing, paired with the public doctrine of masking from the Left and among legacy media outlets, motivated a wave of hard-hearted and mean-spirited public cruelty for anyone who questioned The Science.
Do you remember the ‘Grandma killer!’ Twitter cycle about how awful it was to not wear a mask outside? (Here’s a thread if not). Have you forgotten all the awful things mask enthusiasts said about the “selfish” and “childish” people who so much as left their homes?
Do you remember the New York Times valorizing self-appointed social-distancing monitors? “Social Distancing Informants Have Their Eyes on You: Largely confined to their homes and worried about the spread of the coronavirus, members of the public are becoming unofficial watchdogs.”
Do you remember when legacy outlets like CBS News jumped in to support Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s Orwellian COVID hotline? “Coronavirus In Minnesota: Where To Call If You See People Who Aren’t Social Distancing.”
Holden’s Substack column was published on Friday, June 5th. Which seems appropriate, because it was in early June of 2020 that all of those rules got tossed out the window if you were protesting for the right cause: Six Years Ago Today, The Pivot Began.
GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP DOESN’T GET BETTER WHEN IT’S OUTSOURCED: If officials can’t ban speech directly, they shouldn’t get to pressure platforms, AI companies, or broadcasters to do it for them. Sens. Cruz and Wyden’s JAWBONE Act would help victims fight back.
ORWELL DIDN’T WRITE 1984 AS AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL: Britain Goes Full Airstrip One. “Britain looks more and more like Airstrip One as Parliament considers a bill opening up everyone’s smartphone to government supervision — and jail time for tech execs who don’t submit.”
MAKE THE CAPITOL BEAUTIFUL AGAIN:
Imagine being enraged by water feature maintenance done right.
That's the curse of TDS. Letting everything send you into apoplectic fits.
— Warren Hultquist (@whultquist) June 10, 2026
HMM: Will the FCC’s Anti-Robocalling Rule Also Ban Burner Phones?
An FCC effort to stop robocalls is raising concerns that it could also ban burner phones and force US consumers to hand over more data to telecommunications companies.
404Media is highlighting the privacy implications of the agency’s new Know Your Customer (KYC) rules for voice providers. In April, the FCC voted to kick off a rulemaking that calls for stricter screening for new and existing customers to help block phone calls from scammers.
The problem is that the FCC’s proposal threatens to outlaw burner phones and other privacy-focused voice services due to a potential requirement to “verify customer identities—including name, address, government ID, and alternative phone numbers—before enabling service,” according to the commission’s press release. “Criminals continue to leverage the anonymity provided by phone calls and texts to defraud Americans and exploit communications networks to further other crimes,” it adds.
Much as I despise robocallers, this “solution” could prove worse.
THE FOUNDERS DIDN’T RISK EVERYTHING SO WE COULD OUTSOURCE SELF-GOVERNMENT. Justice Neil Gorsuch joins @RosenJeffrey on The Blessings of Liberty to discuss the Revolution, ordered liberty, and the radical American claim that our rights do not come from kings.
YOU’VE BEEN ROBBED: Violent Immigrant Fraudster Stole $100 Million to Fund Jets, Cars, and Orgies.
EARLY PRIME DAY DEAL: Timex Men’s Ironman Triathlon Classic 30 38mm Watch. #CommissionEarned
LIFE IN TWO-TIER KIER’S WORLD:
We’re at the stage now where beheadings are regrettable, but tweets are unforgivable.
— Dr Philip Kiszely (@KiszelyPhilip) June 11, 2026
NICE: ‘Secret Mission’: Trump reveals 100M barrels of oil have cleared Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that more than 100 million barrels of oil had made their way through the Strait of Hormuz as part of a “secret mission” he gave the U.S. military to support oil tankers moving through the waterway.
“Last month, I directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” he posted on Truth Social. “Today, I am pleased to announce that this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market. More than 200 Commercial Ships have safely traveled through the Strait.”
“This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran. Their military is defeated, and their economy is lost. It’s over for Iran! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.
But maybe the best part of the ongoing not-quite-a-ceasefire is the Gulf states finally getting serious about bypassing the Gulf for their exports.
ANALYSIS: TRUE.
We loathed Obama like you loathed Trump.
Except we loathed Obama because he loathed America.
You loathe Trump because you loathe America.
— Brilyn Hollyhand (@BrilynHollyhand) June 10, 2026
EARLY PRIME DEAL: CHAOREN Tactical Belt Men – 1.5″ Stretch Work Belt. #CommissionEarned
