A 15-point peace deal, lawfare and Republicans not voting.
There is a lot of news to get to today, so let me start with the President's 15-point peace deal which appears to be on track to be hosted by Pakistan and whoever the Iranian regime can scrounge up. We have learned via Israeli news and the New York Times what 3 of these points are:
1) Iran must give up on nuclear ambitions of any kind with all enriched uranium handed over to the United States.
2) Iran must end its military and political support for all of its regional proxies.
3) Iran would have a strict verifiable limit on the range of and number of ballistic missiles.
Times reporting:
U.S. Said to Have Sent Iran a 15-Point Plan to End the Middle East War - The New York Times
The remaining points seem to vary depending on those claiming to know.
In the meantime, two special Marine Corps units are on their way to the middle east, and we have just learned that the 82nd Airborne Division will also be deploying 2,000 men to the region. The President is leaving all options open, and he may have his eye on seizing Kharg Island which would give the US control not only of Iran's oil supply but a strategic position in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier, Commanding General, 82nd Airborne Division.
According to the New York Times "unnamed sources" Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing Trump to finish off the Iranian regime. Many regard it as a historic opportunity to remake the Middle East. On another front Israel has now decided to expand the territory it controls to southern Lebanon as an added buffer.
In other news:
New records released related to what is now being called the “modern Watergate,” (Arctic Frost,) indicates that then-Special Counsel Jack Smith “illegally” worked in concert with leftist judges.
"Conservative critics are accusing former special counsel Jack Smith of improperly coordinating with two federal judges after Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released documents Tuesday showing Smith’s team interacted with the pair during the Trump investigations ."
Conservatives accuse Jack Smith of improper ties with judges in Trump cases after new document dump - AOL
Emily Gregory, a Democrat, won a special election for a statehouse seat in a legislative district which should have been a safe seat for Republicans. The problem, as has been the case in recent special elections, is that Republicans have become complacent and aren't voting. My advice for the President is to turn the Iran war over to General Cain and the diplomacy over to Secretary of State Rubio and get back on the campaign trail. The House may be lost already, but we have to energize MAGA again as only he can do.
The Senate voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin as the new Director of Homeland Security in a somewhat bipartisan vote of 54-45.
And then there is this:
"A Nevis, Minnesota, man who served as an election judge for Badoura Township during the 2024 election has pleaded guilty to accepting the vote of an unregistered voter, online court records said.
The 65-year-old man pleaded guilty to the charge in the incident on Monday. One count of neglect of duty on Election Day will be dropped as part of a plea agreement, according to court documents.
An investigator received a copy of an email from Hubbard County Auditor Kay Rave to Attorney Jonathan Frieden on Nov. 7, 2024, two days after the election, the criminal complaint said. The email stated 11 people had registered to vote in Badoura Township, but Rave couldn't find the completed registration forms.
The man completed basic election judge and head judge training in July 2024, according to court documents. When asked about the forms, he said he couldn't find them for use. Rave later found the forms, but the man said the voting location did not use them.
A woman, who also served as an election judge in Badoura Township on Election Day, said the man directed her not to use the forms, the complaint said.
Another election judge, according to court documents, said the man's son, also an election judge, was responsible for registration applications.
A third election judge said the man told them to have new voters sign the back of a book, the complaint says."
Hubbard County man pleads guilty to accepting vote of unregistered voter in 2024 election incident - CBS Minnesota
I keep asking "Who votes for such people?"
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Good morning and welcome to the Vic Eldred Cast.
Just another busy day for the US Military.
O goody, a real fake complete with a fake name. When is this one going to appear at a lectern?
That's why I posted it. I know some love to investigate, but as we both know, only certain things, right?
check out "her" hands ...
Interesting point you call our attention to,. . . very interesting, in fact.
ya gotta love the Lincoln Project
Today the SCOTUS is considering whether states can count ballots that arrive days and weeks after election day.
Election day is election day... Not "let's see how many ballots we need to create to win" day.
The problem is that Democrats have a hard time winning traditional transparent elections. They need unverified mail in ballots and ballots left to be counted later.
Which is why they've won 28 elections to 0 since 2024?
As to Hubbard County, Trump won it with 65% of the vote, I somehow doubt the election judge in question could have swayed a vote for village dogcatcher. No matter, blow it out of proportion for the red meat crowd.
I explained why they won elections that Republicans didn't bother to show up for. You need to read the article.
Yes, yes, there's always an excuse.
History is on my side. The party out of power is the one most energized after losing power. Especially a revolutionary party like the democrat party.
Clio is on no one's side, she records.
“Election day is election day... Not "let's see how many ballots we need to create to win" day.”
"find 11,780 votes" ~djt
…how soon some forget.
Republicans know they can't win unless they cheat. This issue about counting ballots that were postmarked BY ELECTION DAY meaning the voter did vote BY ELECTION DAY is only a problem for whiny piece of shit rightwing conservatives because they know a majority of Americans don't vote Republican. That means the only choice Republicans have is to challenge any and all Democrat votes to try and whittle away at Democrat leads. And if that doesn't work they'll just scream and claim they won anyway without any proof like they did in 2020. Dishonest shit for brains conservatives have no ethics or morals so they have no problem lying about an election as we saw them do and continue to do since 2020. They have proven themselves liars and cheats, why should anyone ever trust another Republican? As a former Republican President once said "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again".
The problem is. . .some conservatives that like nothing better than being self-righteous about everything done by their opponents. The GOP has jumped the shark some time ago.
Election is what the states legally say it is. MAGA gets to dictate terms of voting only in red states where apparently 'victory' is assured because it is manipulated there from top to bottom—except Georgia. Georgia exposed the vote 'grift' and Trump got caught with his mouth open on tape. Still, the bloated head one, will try to rig the vote again through crooked means because that is what a thief is about and does.
They do not forget. . . they are in political warfare with liberals . . lying and hiding the truth is par for the course during warfare.
The New York Post's west coast edition takes a look at the state of California's care of "the homeless."
Trump is putting forward the same fucking agreement that was being negotiated before the attacks. According to reporting citing the US negotiating team, Iran was already moving in this direction. So, why the hell did Donald Fucking Trump start a goddammed war he could not win?
The Iranian regime is still in place. Iran is firing a lot fewer missiles and hitting more targets. Iranian speed boats control the Strait of Hormuz because the US Navy fears losing their deep water ships. The US Navy has been forced to fall back out of extended missile range which requires more fuel and allows less time over target. The US military has even had to retreat from Baghdad under a truce. We're no closer to verifying the condition of Iran's nuclear program or stocks of enriched Uranium. And now there is more chatter about a petroyuan and Chinese CIPS payment system replacing the petrodollar and SWIFT.
The United States has burnt through a large portion of our stockpiled munitions. We've lost our biggest, most powerful aircraft carrier to sloppy housekeeping. The planting season for the northern hemisphere has pretty much been wrecked because agrichemicals are trapped in the Persian Gulf. And now the Asian factories the US relies on cannot get the precursors for plastic packaging needed to ship what they produce. Trump released a huge amount of oil from our reserves when the real problem is natural gas, naphtha, urea, nitrogen fertilizer, and sulfur.
Okay, cheerleaders, Iran is the clear loser. That's the only thing Trump wanted, isn't it? Israel is the clear winner. The Arab states are pissed. Oman has berated Trump and the US. Saudi Arabia is trying to stab the US in the back. And the United States gets the dirty end of every stick.
Trump didn't screw a pooch; Trump screwed a GOAT. And at this late date Trump has to search for an off ramp? Trump is trying reset to before the war as some sort of contrived peace plan? Donald Trump is not smart enough to be a buffoon.
Your assessment is seriously flawed. There are fragments of the old regime hanging on. They can only reconstitute if we leave quickly.
Just about every nation, despite what they say wants the job completed.
Part 2 gets complicated. Once the Marines arrive in theatre they become a target. Should they be given the assignment of taking Kharg Island, they will no doubt take it, but at what cost? The mission must be clear and it will leave the US in control of Iran's oil supply as well as the flow of shipping in the area.
The final act has yet to be played out.
The Iranian regime is based upon a revolutionary constitution that established a theocracy. That constitution and institutional structure is the regime. Under the Iranian constitution, Ali Khamenei did not issue orders. Khamenei issued the reason for orders by the institutional bureaucracy. Khamenei's authority shared a few similarities with the authority of our Supreme Court.
Let's put the shoe on the other foot. If the United States government was decapitated would the American people accept a government imposed by an attacking power? Would the American people simply accept that the United States Constitution has been removed, is no longer valid, and must knuckle under to an occupying force?
What is the fucking 'job'? If the 'job' is to overturn the Iranian revolutionary constitution then it's a stupendously more difficult 'job' that's going to require more than very expensive precision munitions. The Iranian constitution is still in place and functioning as intended so that objective has not been met.
If the 'job' was to destroy Iran's arsenal, Pete Hegseth has been pissing his pants over bombing the shit out of Iran's missile systems. Now that Iran's missile launches have been reduced by 90% or more why is Iran actually hitting more targets? (Did anyone consider that the incentive for Iran is to launch them or lose them?) Meeting that objective has actually increased the Iranian threat because they're hitting more of their targets. What has Trump's shock & awe accomplished?
If the 'job' is to verify the status of Iran's nuclear program, location of enriched uranium stocks, and condition of those stocks then how will that be accomplished by precision air strikes? We've had aerial reconnaissance for years that hasn't answered those questions. So, why didn't the war planning include a ground invasion to destroy the nuclear program and secure the uranium stockpiles?
If the 'job' was to remove blockade threats for the Strait of Hormuz then Operation Epic Fury is a clear failure. Trump is negotiating before achieving that objective.
So, what's the fucking 'job'? If the job was just to 'mow the grass' then well done. We'll just keep doing this every time a Republican President is elected.
Are you trying to tell me that 4,500 Marines are going to occupy a 600 mile coast? We suffered more casualties on D-day than that. And on D-day the deep water navy could be stationed much, much closer to the coast to provide support. The only way to open the strait and keep it open is to occupy the coast. We don't have the cutters and gunboats that would be needed to patrol the strait.
What does controlling Iran's oil supply on Kharg Island accomplish when Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz? Iran could destroy its own oil storage, French fry a few Marines, and drive oil prices a helluva lot higher. Removing Iranian oil from the supply chain means China will be directly competing for available oil. You don't think that's going to raise oil prices? And seizing Iran's oil supply provides incentive and justification for Iran to attack oil facilities in the neighboring Arab states.
Landing Marines on any of the islands, including Kharg Island, only makes them stationary targets. It would be difficult to resupply the occupying force. And the occupying force couldn't extend power beyond the island they occupy.
But the Fat Lady is warming up. Trump is searching for an off ramp.
Since 1979.
If the United States government was decapitated would the American people accept a government imposed by an attacking power? Would the American people simply accept that the United States Constitution has been removed, is no longer valid, and must knuckle under to an occupying force?
The Iranian theocracy is not like our founding fathers. Iran is a country that has gone from ancient dynasties to a Parliamentary form of government to a theocracy via a student revolution. And should the current regime fall, there isn't going to be a foreign occupying force. The regime will go out the same way it came in.
Are you trying to tell me that 4,500 Marines are going to occupy a 600 mile coast?
The only thing under consideration is taking control of an island which controls the strait of Hormuz as well as Iran's oil supply. The military has war-gamed it for decades. In case you haven't noticed other nations are coming forward to help with escort operations. For the past 14 days the US has been taking down Iran's ability to interdict ships or interfere with a Marine landing on Kharg Island, eliminating the small boats, mines, drones and missiles.
Landing Marines on any of the islands, including Kharg Island, only makes them stationary targets. It would be difficult to resupply the occupying force. And the occupying force couldn't extend power beyond the island they occupy.
Yes, that is somewhat true, and we already have recon evidence that they are trying to mine the island. However, what this operation has showcased is just how much experience the US Navy has acquired over many decades starting with WWII. As sure as I'm typing here, we are going to take control of the strait of Hormuz and maintain control for as long as we want.
The Strait of Hormuz was operating fine before Trump unilaterally entered the USA into an illegal war with no apparent purpose. Now we are spending ~$12 billion per day, potentially placing thousands of our soldiers in a war zone with mines, and all sorts of defensive mechanisms, with no clear objective and no exit strategy.
This is the height of incompetence. You railed on Biden for his mistakes in the Afghanistan withdrawal yet give Trump a pass on stupidly starting an illegal war with Iran — something that he alone has caused! No matter what Trump does, you defend him.
And the United States legitimized the Iranian revolution with an October Surprise. The Iran-Contra affair turned the Iranian revolutionary regime into a trading partner.
No shit?
The Iranian revolution was a popular uprising against Shah Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi had been installed during the 1953 coup engineered by the CIA as a puppet of the US. Why would Iranians allow the US to install another puppet?
Iran isn't controlling the Strait of Hormuz from an island. They're using shore batteries and mines. Holding an island might be useful to close the strait but I don't see how that island fortress will open the strait. How is that supposed to work?
What other nations are coming forward to assist with extricating the US from a war of choice? Are these classified reports because that is not what the press has been reporting?
Yes, the largest military on the planet should be capable of taking control of the Strait of Hormuz. But at what cost in blood and treasure? This is not an operation that can be accomplished with special forces. Taking and holding the Strait of Hormuz will require a massed assault and occupying force. An invasion force that has not trained and practiced for the specific conditions, terrain, and obstacles along the Iranian coast starts out at a disadvantage.
And what does the United States get out of impressive show of military might? A return to conditions before Feb. 28, 2026, when ship transit through the strait was unhindered? An Iran who did not have nuclear weapon before the war started and won't have one after the war? An Iranian population who may not accept foreign occupation or puppet leaders?
Trump's "Peace Through Dominance" policy is a very, very stupid idea. That is not rooting for the Iranian regime. It's pointing out that Trump wanting to dominate the region has little chance of success and will be painful and expensive. Cheerleading and thinking good thoughts won't change the reality that Trump has made the situation worse through his own ignorance and stupidity.
No. There position was "why would we give up diplomatically what you couldn't do militarily " with regards to ending the nuke program. This was widely reported.
You can't just make things up....
The Arab states are pissed
At Iran....
Pissed enough that they are considering a canal across that little teat of land to avoid the strait, by passing Iranian territorial waters, if what i have read comes true , doubt that would happen though .
According to reporting, Iran had agreed to dilute their enriched uranium for use as fuel for electricity generation. Iran was balking at turning over their highly enriched stockpiles. Basically the Iranians didn't want their enriched uranium to be fed into Israel's weapons program.
Trump added a lot of conditions that were outside the scope of negotiations to ensure they could not be met. Trump wanted a war. Trump got the war he wanted. So now this is Trump's failure and no one else's.
If the opposite was widely reported then surely you can back up your claim with some links?
The Hormuz Strait will be reopened and Trump will say he's the only one on earth who could have got it done.
And Trump will be right once again.
Trump has started a war, Vic. This is not going to be resolved quickly or easily. Blind praise and trust in Trump is irrational.
Chinese, Indian, and Pakistan flagged vessels are being allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz. There are some reports of backchannel negotiations with Iran to allow other flags safe passage through the strait. At present Iran is allowing about 13 ships to transit the strait each day. (That's down from an average off 138 daily transits.)
One of Iran's conditions is to make payments in Chinese yuan. That is not as difficult today because China has established its own CIPS payment system to bypass the SWIFT payment system. The biggest hurdle for transitioning to a petroyuan has been volatile exchange rates. China has been floating the idea of backing the petroyuan with a physical gold exchange.
Iran is visibly promoting the Chinese CIPS system. Not so visible is Saudi Arabia's hedging using the CIPS system. The Saudi's recently strengthened ties with Pakistan (which also strengthens trade ties with China). The Saudi Prince has been encouraging Trump to become more aggressive with attacks on Iran which may be an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. (Saudi Arabia could be hedging its bets but it's also possible the Saudi's are planning to stab the US in the back.)
Lol
Won't be a first time.
Mmmmm, how retro and racist....
A gold standard?....
The goal in Iran should be to remove the ayatollahs from power and most problems would end
Whether America deserved 9/11 js a point of debate in democratic primaries..,,
that’s where progressives are……
"deserved"? Inevitible is the operative term.