“The Trump administration has ordered more U.S. diplomats to leave the Middle East, an indication of the ongoing security threat posed by Iran’s retaliatory attacks more than a week into the conflict,” the Washington Post reports.
Ken Paxton Leads in Runoff with John Cornyn
A new Texas Public Opinion Research poll finds Ken Paxton leads John Cornyn in the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate, 49% to 41% with 11% undecided.
If Trump were to endorse Cornyn, Paxton would still lead 44% to 43%. A Trump endorsement of Paxton would widen his lead to 58% to 32%.
Also interesting: Wesley Hunt’s primary voters are breaking for Paxton. Among voters who supported Hunt in the primary, 48% now back Paxton, compared to 31% for Cornyn.
Early Iran Strikes Cost $5.6 Billion in Munitions
“The Pentagon burned through $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the first two days of its military assault on Iran, a figure that underscores the deepening alarm among some on Capitol Hill over the speed at which U.S. forces have eaten into the scarce supply of America’s most advanced weaponry,” the Washington Post reports.
Trump Walks Back Idea That War Is Near End
After comments that seemed to suggest President Trump was looking towards an exit from his war with Iran, Trump said in a speech to Republican lawmakers in Florida that “we have won in many ways, but not enough,” the New York Times reports.
He added: “We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all.”
Another Bonus Quote of the Day
“No other president can do the kind of shit I’m doing.”
— President Trump, quoted by Punchbowl News.
Trump Says Iran War Will Be Quick
President Trump told House Republicans that the war in Iran will only be “a short-term excursion” as he tries to tamp down fears of a drawn-out Middle Eastern conflict, Punchbowl News reports.
Said Trump: “It’s going to be finished pretty quickly.”
North Dakota Republicans Skip the Party’s Endorsement
None of the Republican incumbents currently holding statewide office in North Dakota will be seeking the Republican party’s endorsement at the state convention later this month, the Fargo Forum reports.
“A candidate or two choosing to skip a party convention for tactical reasons isn’t unusual, but the full slate of statewide candidates opting out sure is. Party leadership has been taken over by populist activists who are, in many ways, hostile to the sort of Republicans who have been winning elections in North Dakota for generations.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“You noticed you don’t hear that word anymore… They don’t say it anymore because we’ve brought down prices so much. So our message is simple: Democrats created the high prices, and our policies are totally ending them.”
— President Trump, speaking to House Republicans about “affordability.”
Trump Seeks Election Records from Arizona
“The Trump administration has subpoenaed records related to the 2020 election in Arizona’s largest county, the latest in a series of steps taken by the president to relitigate an election he lost and bolster the federal government’s authority over elections,” Politico reports.
“The move comes just six weeks after the FBI raided an elections office outside Atlanta, seizing records related to the 2020 presidential election, as Trump continues to spread debunked conspiracy theories about voter fraud in that election.”
Wyoming Governor Signs Abortion Ban
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed a bill into law on Monday banning abortion in the state after a “fetal heartbeat” has been detected, ABC News reports.
Former Missouri Speaker Headed to Prison
Former Missouri House Speaker John Diehl (R), who resigned from office a decade ago after he admitted to sending sexually explicit messages to a House intern, is now headed to federal prison for using pandemic loan money for personal expenses, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Why Escalation Favors Iran
Robert Pape: “Iran’s strikes cannot be dismissed as acts of scattered retaliation, the flailing lashing out of a dying regime. Rather, they represent a strategy of horizontal escalation, a bid to transform the stakes of a conflict by widening its scope and extending its duration.”
“Such a strategy allows a weaker combatant to alter the calculus of a more powerful foe. And it has worked in the past, to the detriment of the United States.”
“In Vietnam and Serbia, U.S. adversaries responded to overwhelming displays of American airpower with horizontal escalation, eventually leading to American defeat, in the former case, and, in the latter, frustrating U.S. war aims and spurring the worst episode of ethnic cleansing in Europe since World War II. Decapitation strikes, in particular, create powerful incentives for horizontal escalation: when a regime survives the loss of its leader, it must demonstrate resilience quickly by widening the conflict.”
“Although the United States has hugely battered Iran, it must reckon with the implications of Iran’s response. Otherwise, it will find itself losing control of the war it started.”
Judge Again Rejects U.S. Attorneys in New Jersey
“A federal judge has ejected the leaders of the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey, concluding that Attorney General Pam Bondi illegally appointed an unusual ‘triumvirate,’ at President Donald Trump’s whim, to oversee the powerful federal prosecuting office,” Politico reports.
Insider Trading Is Going to Get People Killed
Saahil Desai: “Polymarket traders swap crypto, not cash, and conceal their identities through the blockchain. Even so, investigations into insider trading are already under way: Last month, Israel charged a military reservist for allegedly using classified information to make unspecified bets on Polymarket…”
“How did a Polymarket user know that Lady Gaga, Cardi B, and Ricky Martin would make surprise appearances during the Super Bowl halftime show, but that Drake and Travis Scott wouldn’t? Shady bets on war are even stranger and more disturbing. They risk unleashing an entirely new kind of national-security threat. The U.S. caught a break: The Venezuela and Iran strikes were not thwarted by insider traders whose bets could have prompted swift retaliation. The next time, we may not be so lucky.”
Majority Oppose Military Action in Iran
A new Quinnipiac poll finds 53% of voters oppose the U.S. military action against Iran, while 40% support it.
Sixty-two percent of voters think the Trump administration has not provided a clear explanation of the reasons behind the United States’ military action against Iran, while 35 percent think the Trump administration has provided a clear explanation.
Dr. Oz Says Obamacare Enrollment Is Too High
“Although Obamacare sign-ups have fallen significantly this year over skyrocketing monthly premiums, Dr. Mehmet Oz believes enrollment is still too high,” NBC News reports.
“Oz said some people enrolled in ACA plans should not be there and expects enrollment to fall further — to around 19 million.”
Said Oz: “In fact, the fact that we have 23 million makes me think we have too many participants in the ACA. It’s too high of a number.”
TSA Security Lines Are Dragging On for Hours
“Airports are warning travelers to prepare to spend hours in security checkpoint lines, with the partial government shutdown stretching federal security workers,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Gullible, Cynical America
Adam Serwer: “This rejection of empiricism makes selling falsehoods easier and contradicting them harder, which creates a fertile environment for anyone with something to sell, whether shady businesses or authoritarian governments.”
“The spread of anti-vax conspiracy theories is just another example of the gullicism that defines our age. The cynicism is highly selective: Gullicists see everyone’s hidden motives—except when they don’t. They are able to reject any claim rooted in actual evidence—whether in science, politics, or history—while embracing the most breathtakingly absurd assertions on the same topics. Indeed, documentation is often taken as further evidence of conspiracy, while assertion (that this or that will ‘detoxify’ your blood or that COVID deaths were exaggerated) is taken as gospel.”
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