Authored by Stephen Soukup via American Greatness,

I like Megan McArdle, the conservatarian political columnist for The Washington Post. I really do. I think she’s smart and talented and interesting. Best of all, she’s not someone who is bound by ideology or political allegiances. Ideology and allegiance are good in some cases and in some occupations, but not in hers and not at her paper. McCardle is as close to a “truth teller” as exists in the mainstream media today, and I appreciate that.

All of that said, McArdle’s column this week leaves me nearly despondent, mostly because it’s hopelessly naïve and, as a result, exposes the ridiculousness of the current American predicament. McArdle starts her piece by expressing sympathy for former President Joe Biden with his recent cancer diagnosis, but then jumps right in, openly and aggressively criticizing those who hid Biden’s mental incapacity from the nation for the better part of four years. So far, so good. Biden deserves our sympathy, while his enablers deserve our detestation. Unfortunately, it’s downhill from there, as McArdle uses her platform to call for Democrats and even her colleagues in the media to reflect on their treachery and determine how best to fix things going forward:

I’m convinced that deep institutional soul-searching is due in many quarters and that this conversation is too important to delay, even at the risk of adding to the Biden family’s distress. 

It is impossible to read “Original Sin” … without reaching a horrifying conclusion: The most powerful nation in the world and its nuclear arsenal were left in the hands of a man who could not reliably recognize people he’d known for years, maintain his train of thought, or speak in coherent sentences.

That’s great. I agree that these are reasonable conclusions, but I still have some questions. 

How is it that some of us reached those same conclusions in 2020? How did some of us already know this would happen before he won the White House? Why do some people—Democrats and the mainstream media—pretend that they need this book to explain to them now what many of us knew all along? More to the point, does anyone actually believe that the people who need to do soul searching will actually do it? Or, if they do, that they will come to the conclusion that they screwed up and put the nation in great jeopardy?

Here are some predictions, although not particularly bold ones: No one, save maybe Megan McArdle, will do any soul-searching. No one will resolve to do anything differently in the future. No one in the media will suffer any negative career repercussions for hiding Biden’s decline and openly lying to the American people. Indeed, some—like the execrable Jake Tapper—will get rich off it. Most notably, no one in the Democratic Party or Joe Biden’s inner circle will suffer any sort of legal, financial, or professional consequences for their overt and inarguable criminality. If anything, they’ll be lauded by their fellow partisans as heroes and saviors, brave men and women who did what had to be done to save “our democracy” ™ from the bad people. In short, nothing good will come of any of this.

Interestingly, the very thing that makes McArdle such an otherwise enjoyable and interesting political writer is what blinds her to the realities of the Biden cover-up and the media’s complicity. As I said, she’s not “bound by ideology or political allegiances.” That makes for intriguing and honest journalism, but it also blinds her to political reality: American politics is no longer about doing what is best for the country or for “the common good” or even what is advantageous for a small set of constituents. American politics is about power, raw power, and crushing “the other side.” It is about “winning” and “defeating” the enemy—whether he’s your neighbor, a coworker, or a (former) friend who has the audacity to think or vote differently from you. No one has time for soul searching, righting past wrongs, or punishing bad behavior. They have fights to win, and all of that is merely distracting.

For years now, I’ve warned about the “politicization of everything” and the degeneration of American republicanism into “total war” in the “total state.” As a forewarning, I’ve borrowed (heavily) from the Weimar/Nazi jurist Carl Schmitt, who not only predicted the collapse of post-war Germany into totalitarianism because of its obsessions with politics but also justified the monstrosity that followed as the only possible end to the total war and the only way to rehabilitate the total state. I’ve insisted, in no uncertain terms, that the division of this nation into teams—into “friend” and “enemy” groupings—would ultimately be its downfall and would leave “the last great hope of mankind” crippled and broken.

Well, guess what?

Ironically, those who claim that they were protecting Biden or were “saving the nation” from Trump have actually empowered Trump, making him almost entirely immune to criticism, especially from outside of the party. Hiding Biden’s infirmities and lying to the country about them for most, if not all, of his presidency inarguably constitutes the most serious, most dangerous, and most prolonged scandal in all of American political history. And everyone involved will walk away scot-free, life, liberty, and reputation intact. That, in turn, means that there is exactly zero chance that Trump’s supporters—or most any Republicans, for that matter—will allow their guy (the leader of their “team”) to be punished, diminished, or even criticized for lesser violations of the public trust. And to be fair, why would they? Why should they? Why should they stand for any attack on their guy after watching what the Democrats and the mainstream did for Biden and got away with?

As for Democrats, they already feel that their “team” is getting the shaft, that Trump is worse than an incapacitated Biden ever could be, and that they can and should do whatever it takes to stop the president, irrespective of the consequences. They already feel the need to fight back against this new narrative, to protect their side, to save their friends, and to punish their enemies. Hilariously, the comments section at the end of Megan McArdle’s column on Biden’s infirmities and the need for “soul searching” is prefaced by the following AI-generated summary: “The comments overwhelmingly criticize the focus on Joe Biden’s cognitive decline, arguing that the media should instead scrutinize the current President, Donald Trump, for his perceived mental instability and dangerous behavior.” Because, of course, they do. Team über alles!

We know how total war in the total state turned out in Germany. We know that the disorder caused by the Weimar politicization of everything ended with the German people—including Carl Schmitt himself—trading their “sovereign democracy” for a “sovereign dictator” and perpetrating the most horrific crimes against millions of the most vulnerable people in society.

The end of the total war is not likely to play out the same way in present-day America, but it will nevertheless be ugly and destructive. As both sides dig in their heels and refuse to concede even an inch to their enemies, the institutions that enable the republic are, one by one, stripped of all legitimacy. Already, the mainstream media has sacrificed its legitimacy for power. Congress, too, seems to have collapsed beyond the point of reclamation. The Biden disaster has likely destroyed the remaining vestiges of presidential legitimacy, while the courts today spend their time trying desperately to destroy what is left of theirs.

No one will be punished. No one will suffer any consequences. And no one will do any soul-searching—now or ever. Everything is legitimate. Everything is justified. Nothing is beyond the pale. They did what they had to do to keep Biden in office. Period. And roughly half the country thinks that’s great.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard scorched disgraced former FBI Director James Comey over the very unsubtle threat he made towards President Trump, and his subsequent excuse when he blamed his own wife.

As we highlighted, Comey claimed he had no clue that posting an image of sea shells spelling out ‘8647’ would be so controversial.

He also claimed that he just happened upon the shell formation and that it was his wife who suggested he take a picture and post it, because he’s just a silly old fella who wears baggy jeans and sweaters and had no idea what he was doing.

Appearing on Fox News, Gabbard commented “Where to start? When you look at James Comey, and he talks about his own experience and knowledge…let’s go back and look at how he played a DIRECT role in the weaponization of government against the American people and Donald Trump.”

“For any man to pin the blame on this on his wife? Give me a break! Why don’t you just own it yourself?” Gabbard urged.

🚨 HOLY SMOKES! Tulsi Gabbard just PUMMELED James Comey after he issued an ‘8647’ assassination call against Trump and tried to flee accountability.

“Where to start? When you look at James Comey, and he talks about his own experience and knowledge…let’s go back and look at how… pic.twitter.com/uBeww0bVqn

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 23, 2025

Tulsi also remarked that it is inconceivable that Comey “doesn’t know what 86 means.”

Everyone “knows and understands very clearly and directly what ’86’ means when referring to a PERSON, not a dish on a menu in a restaurant,” she further asserted.

“When you have a person of his stature that in this country has been lauded as a man who represents fairness, integrity and the rule of law, posting something that is a call to get rid of our president… you imagine the kind of impact that has,” Gabbared emphasised.

She added that Trump “has had two assassination attempts on his life,” and further noted that he is constantly labelled a “modern day Hitler and a direct and existential threat.”

“James Comey’s post should be taken VERY seriously,” Gabbard declared, having previously stated that he should be arrested and charged with threatening a sitting President.

Comey was questioned by the Secret Service, but let go. An investigation is apparently still ongoing.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has placed over 100 officials at the National Security Council at the White House on administrative leave as of Friday.

CNN reported that the NSC staffers were given less than an hour to clear out their desks.

BREAKING: Trump Puts More Than 100 National Security Council Staffers on Leave Amid Shakeup – ‘Given Less Than an Hour to Clean Out Their Desks’https://t.co/2qNJ3BT8nP pic.twitter.com/w5iUlxsnm8

— Tony Seruga (@TonySeruga) May 23, 2025

The move comes as part of a restructuring under interim national security adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, two US officials and another source familiar with the matter told the network.

Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his top deputy Alex Wong were fired earlier this month after they stupidly, or maybe purposefully, added virulent anti-Trump reporter Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic to a secure Signal group chat.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Climate alarmists might be scratching their heads as unseasonably cool air pours over the Mid-Atlantic area this Memorial Day weekend. In Washington, D.C., pools are beginning to open up—but it’s far too chilly for a swim. 

“Memorial Day weekend is supposed to mark the unofficial start of summer, but this morning’s low temperatures did not play the part. Most spots dipped into the 40s west of Interstate 95 and reached 50 to 55 to the east. Winchester even dipped to 39 degrees,” stated Capital Weather Gang’s chief meteorologist Jason Samenow. 

Climate realist Steve Milloy said, “Global warming brought temps 10°F below average to the WashDC area this morning. It’s going to get even more embarrassing for climate hoaxers tomorrow.”

Global warming brought temps 10°F below average to the WashDC area this morning. It’s going to get even more embarrassing for climate hoaxers tomorrow.https://t.co/VhkK5ENQ8x pic.twitter.com/Swz5HnQlbZ

— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) May 24, 2025

According to Bloomberg data, the Baltimore-Washington metro area’s average temperatures will be below the 5-, 10-, and 30-year norms this weekend and next week. 

We’re nearing the point when the climate doom gang – that being leftist corporate media outlets, radical green non-profits (partially funded by taxpayers and rogue leftist billionaires), unhinged Democratic lawmakers, and ‘trust the science’ compromised researchers –  fire up a propaganda war against the American people. 

What’s the climate grifter’s go-to solution for saving the planet from supposed imminent doom? More taxes, de-growth climate policies, crushing small farms out of existence, banning gas-powered vehicles, and, weirdly, buying Chinese solar panels and other clean tech from the Communists.

It’s time to bring common sense back into the climate debate, which President Trump has done:

• Trump’s “Nuclear” Order And How To Profit: All You Need To Know About The Coming Nuclear Energy Transition

Maybe the Trump administration — or perhaps EPA DOGE — can finally get to the bottom of the federal temperature sensor data controversy.

About 50% of US temperature data is just made-up.https://t.co/LXus676UYS pic.twitter.com/l3p00B4Mbu

— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) April 11, 2024

.  .  . 

By Patrick McDonald of CampusReform

The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has come under federal investigation for “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” of foreign funding.

The probe was launched by the U.S. Department of Education on May 8 after concerns that the school may be unduly influenced by foreign actors and follows a review of the school’s foreign reports, the department explained in a press release.

According to Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, universities that receive federal funding are required to disclose foreign donations valuing more than $250,000.

Acting General Counsel Tom Wheeler described UPenn’s compliance history with federal law as “troubling,” saying it had, in February 2019, failed to disclose any foreign funding whatsoever. 

Wheeler also noted that the Biden administration did not enforce the law requiring disclosure.

“Although the previous Administration degraded the Department’s enforcement of universities’ legal obligations to disclose foreign gifts and contracts, the Trump Administration will vigorously uphold the law and ensure universities are transparent with their foreign gifts and investments,” Wheeler said in a statement.

Wheeler asserted that the Education Department’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) will “thoroughly” investigate the school, requiring the administration to disclose all foreign funding dating back to Jan. 1, 2017, with the central aim of verifying the school’s disclosures.

“The American people and Congress have a right to know the impact of foreign funding on our universities, including some of our critically important research universities,” Wheeler said. “We hope the University of Pennsylvania will be cooperative and forthcoming in response to this investigation.” 

The investigation into UPenn follows growing concerns that American universities have been influenced by the Chinese government. 

A nonprofit organization called Open The Books published a report in January which found that public universities in the U.S. have received “tens of millions of dollars in contracts to China” that were not reported to the federal government.

“Over the past decade, American institutions began pouring money into counterproductive, divisive DEI infrastructure,” the report reads. “Meanwhile, China was spending to gain influence in American academia, accessing research and technology to advance their national interests.”

Harvard University alone received more than $1.4 billion in foreign funding over the past decade—including $150 million from China. 

Additionally, an individual found to be affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempted to gain access earlier this month to research at Stanford University by posing as a student.

After last week’s Istanbul talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, which was a first since early 2022, Western leaders have been floating the Vatican as a likely venue for future rounds of peace talks.

This is after Pope Leo, the first American-born pontiff, offered for talks to be hosted at the Vatican, which could act as a mediator. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said days ago that Pope Leo XIV expressed his willingness to host the next round of talks.

The Vatican is being presented as a neutral place, after as we’ve highlighted before the new Pontiff is attempting to initiate a peace blitz regarding global hotspots, from Gaza to Ukraine.

“Finding in the Holy Father confirmation of the readiness to host the next talks between the parties in the Vatican, the prime minister expressed deep gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his unceasing commitment to peace,” an Italian government’s statement reads.

But the Kremlin objects to the assumption that the Vatican is some kind of purely neutral place, ready to respect both warring sides’ interests.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow on Friday, poured cold water on hopes of Vatican-hosted talks.

“Many people are fantasizing about when and where [the meeting] will take place. We don’t have any ideas right now,” the foreign minister said. “But imagine the Vatican as a venue for negotiations. It would be a bit inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform to discuss issues on how to remove the root causes [of the war in Ukraine],” Lavrov added.

“I do not think it would suit the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances,” he said. 

It could be that Moscow has carefully looked at what Leo said while he was still a Cardinal:

After being elected, Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the Catholic Church, has pledged to personally “make every effort so that this peace may prevail.”

In his first Sunday address on May 11, the pope called for an “authentic and lasting peace” in Ukraine, adding that he carries in his heart the “suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine.”

Previously, while serving as the bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, Leo XIV spoke out against Russia’s continued war against Ukraine.

While politics including the historic trend of NATO expansion are driving the war, it has bled over into church affairs. Russia is outraged over the Zelensky government persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for maintaining spiritual communion with the Russian Orthodox Church.

There have been repeat instances of government authorities seizing Ukrainian Orthodox churches and monasteries, and local Catholic clergy have not objected to this alarming trend.

The Vatican also has an interest in protecting its minority Ukrainian ‘Greek-Catholic’ Church, which is concentrated in Western Ukraine, especially in and near Lviv.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Newly declassified intelligence records have revealed that the Biden administration labeled Americans who opposed the COVID-19 vaccination and mask mandates as “Domestic Violent Extremists.”

The documents, which were declassified by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, show that they cutely abbreviated the term to ‘DVEs’.

🚨 JUST IN: Tulsi Gabbard has CONFIRMED the Biden regime put many of us on TERROR WATCH LISTS for speaking out against COVID mandates

People need to be JAILED over this! pic.twitter.com/r8Gz0uuzro

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 23, 2025

Catherine Herridge, one of the journalists who obtained the records, notes “The designation created an “articulable purpose” for FBI or other government agents to open an “assessment” of individuals.”

NEW: Biden Administration Labeled Opponents Of Covid Mandates As “Domestic Violent Extremists,” Newly Released Documents Show

The designation infringed on the First Amendment and opened the door to investigating Americans for vaccine mandate skepticism.

The Biden Administration… pic.twitter.com/BFbffO0xUC

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) May 23, 2025

A former FBI agent told Herridge that this “is often the first step toward a formal investigation.”

Herridge further reports:

The report… claims that “anti government or anti authority violent extremists,” specifically militias, “characterize COVID-19 vaccination and mask mandates as evidence of government overreach.” A sweeping range of COVID narratives, the report states, “have resonated” with DVEs “motivated by QAnon.”

The FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) coauthored the December 13, 2021 intelligence product whose title reads, “DVEs and Foreign Analogues May React Violently to COVID-19 Mitigation Mandates.”

The report cites criticism of mandates as “prominent narratives” related to violent extremism. These narratives “include the belief that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe, especially for children, are part of a government or global conspiracy to deprive individuals of their civil liberties and livelihoods, or are designed to start a new social or political order.

“It’s a way they could go to social media companies and say, ‘You don’t want to propagate domestic terrorism so you should take down this content,’” said former FBI agent Steve Friend.

Wow. Those violent extremists believing that COVID vaccines were potentially unsafe for young people.

It’s not like they were 100% correct and big pharma is being forced to admit this is exactly the case.

The FDA is requiring COVID vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna to update their warnings about the possible risk of myocarditis and pericarditis. https://t.co/KWQ2WpuBI6

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 21, 2025

Herridge also reports that “The newly declassified report seems to draw a straight line between opposition to vaccine mandates and elevated levels of domestic terrorism.”

A separate February 2022 report called “Special Analysis: Joint Analytic Cell” investigates the “Sociopolitical Factors Amplifying Persistent Domestic Violent Extremist Threat.”

The newly declassified report seems to draw a straight line between opposition to vaccine mandates… pic.twitter.com/0oLkXZyGWD

— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) May 23, 2025

And will there be any consequences for the people who engaged in this behavior?

I think we all know.

— Jack Bauer after dark 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JackBauerAD) May 23, 2025

Not unless Trump officially reverses all the pardons made with the autopen.

Every federal employee who acquiesced to this and colluded with the Biden Pretendership in its war against the American people needs to do hard prison time.

— Michael Goulish (@Mick_Goulish) May 23, 2025

True, labeling concerned citizens as extremists was a big government overreach. People have a right to question mandates.

— VJT (@KelvinCold1234) May 23, 2025

It’s every ounce as awful as we felt and suspected.

Just awful. https://t.co/CEZ55Lswln

— BhawkMom (@bhawk_mom) May 23, 2025

As the lawyer who filed the most lawsuits in America to challenge COVID restrictions, I find this appalling & un-American, and it will not deter me from continuing to urge members of Congress to overrule the cases that made this tyranny possible, starting with Jacobson v. Mass. https://t.co/upJCVWwhrZ

— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@HarmeetKDhillon) May 23, 2025

*  *  *

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The White House on Friday began easing sanctions on Syria, in fulfillment of President Trump’s promise to give the war-torn country a new chance and put it on the path to “greatness”.

“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump had first announced in an investment forum in Riyadh last week, where he met President Sharaa (Jolani), who is the founder of al-Qaeda in Syria. But Trump still expressed hope that the new government would “succeed in stabilizing the country.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio days later admitted in a Senate hearing that the new leadership in Damascus “didn’t pass their background check with the FBI” – which is of course an understatement given Jolani even had been with ISIS early in his jihadi ‘career’.

The Treasury Department confirmed that it has issued General License 25 (GL25), authorizing previously prohibited transactions under the Syrian Sanctions Regulations (SSR), and further Rubio issued a 180-day waiver of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, suspending some of the harshest measures passed by Congress in 2019.

“Today’s actions represent the first step in delivering on the President’s vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States,” the secretary of state announced. “President Trump is providing the Syrian government with the chance to promote peace and stability, both within Syria and in Syria’s relations with its neighbors.”

Western officials have unwittingly admitted that sanctions are a tool of regime change, regardless of the horrific impact they have on millions of common citizens…

Syria has reportedly been reconnected to the SWIFT international payment system, and the Treasury action paves the way for American entities dealing Syria’s central government, Central Bank of Syria and other banks, as well as energy firms, and telecommunications providers, etc.

Below are some further thoughts on the Syria proxy war of regime change which kicked off in 2011 and unleashed a state of chaos and suffering for the Syrian people ever since, authored by Kevork Almassian…

“For years, Robert S. Ford posed as a diplomat. In reality, he was laying the groundwork for Syria’s destruction through rebranding Julani, a former al-Qaeda leader, as a political asset,” Almassian begins. 

Former Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford fully unveils his role in bringing Jolani “out of the terrorist world” in an effort to make him palatable as someone who Washington could back:

For years, Robert S. Ford posed as a diplomat. In reality, he was laying the groundwork for Syria’s destruction through rebranding Julani, a former al-Qaeda leader, as a political asset.

A thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/eDD7uo1ERT

— Kevork Almassian (@KevorkAlmassian) May 21, 2025

He continues:

I don’t use words like “hate” or “despise” lightly. But there are individuals in our modern political theater whose actions warrant such condemnation—not out of emotional impulsivity, but out of moral clarity. 

We are not lesser for feeling hatred toward those who have inflicted unspeakable damage on entire nations. On the contrary, to remain indifferent to their deeds would be a greater failure of conscience. 

Robert Ford, former U.S. Ambassador to Syria, is one such figure. For many Syrians, his name is etched into our memory not as a diplomat, but as a saboteur who cloaked his destabilizing mission under the guise of diplomacy. 

While diplomats are meant to represent peace, dialogue, and neutrality, Ford played a very different role—one more fitting for a provocateur or an imperial foot soldier. 

In 2011, as Syria began descending into unrest, Ford made a highly publicized trip to Hama without notifying the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That’s a basic diplomatic protocol—even adversarial states follow it. 

But Ford had a mission, and it wasn’t peaceful: he wanted to embolden a movement, not mediate it. His stunt echoed the actions of Victoria Nuland in Ukraine, who infamously handed out cookies to Maidan protesters. 

The symbolism was clear—this wasn’t about supporting democracy; it was about scripting regime change.  Ford didn’t just cheerlead the opposition. He actively pushed for a specific type of opposition—one increasingly dominated by hardline Islamist factions. 

He helped legitimize the most radical elements, whitewashing them as “freedom fighters” even as they called for ethnic cleansing and sectarian annihilation. This wasn’t a mistake of judgment; it was a policy choice. 

Today, in 2025, we are seeing the horrifying fruits of those choices. Julani—the former al-Qaeda commander—has become Washington’s “rebranded” man in Syria.  A decade ago, he was a wanted terrorist. Now, thanks to a calculated effort led by Western-backed NGOs and think tanks, he’s the self-selected President of Syria.

Robert Ford, unsurprisingly, is at the center of this moral charade. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in Baltimore just this month, Ford admitted to being part of a British conflict resolution team tasked with rehabilitating Abu Mohammad al-Julani. 

He revealed that he met Julani twice between 2023 and 2024 to “train” him, with a third meeting in January 2025—this time at none other than the Presidential Palace in Damascus. The implications are staggering. 

Let’s be clear: Ford, a former U.S. ambassador, now works directly with the same jihadist whose group committed atrocities across Syria and Iraq. The same Julani who oversaw the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities and implemented Taliban-style governance. 

Ford isn’t just a retired diplomat giving lectures at think tanks. He’s a contractor for chaos—still shaping U.S. policy, still operating in the corridors of power through institutions like the Middle East Institute and the Atlantic Council. 

And yes, the Middle East Institute is funded by Gulf monarchies with vested interests in destabilizing the Levant. Ford doesn’t work for peace; he works for the empire, for the oil aristocrats, and for the military-industrial complex. 

There’s a word I use for journalists who serve imperial narratives: prestitutes. For people like Robert Ford, the term must be extended. He is the diplomatic equivalent of a mercenary—a man who sold his intellect and influence to perpetuate misery under the pretense of bringing change. 

What we are witnessing today is not just the manipulation of geopolitical outcomes—it is the reprogramming of collective memory. We are being asked to forget Julani’s crimes, to welcome him as a “moderate” leader, all because figures like Ford have deemed it politically convenient. 

We must reject this narrative. We must hold these individuals accountable—not just for the destruction they helped sow, but for the audacity with which they continue to profit from it. 

Robert Ford may speak fluent Arabic, but he never understood the Syrian people. If he had, he would know that no amount of diplomatic spin can wash away the blood spilled by men like Julani—or by those who empowered him.

Independent journalist and author Brad Hoff also has kept and analyzed the receipts.

Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

One of the reasons many people voted for President Trump during this past election was the Republican Party’s focus on our nation’s out-of-control finances.

After four years of what can only be described as the Biden administration purposefully racking up as much debt as humanly possible—while not even telegraphing a semblance of fiscal responsibility—the Trump administration ran on a plan to drastically cut spending and inject some financial common sense into government.

So far, there’s been some tangible progress. Trump is trying to recalibrate global trade in order to bring in new revenue and narrow our trade deficit. DOGE has worked to try and cut wasteful government spending. And there have been more discussions about sound money and methods to try and address the nation’s debt in the Trump administration’s first few weeks than I heard during all four years of the Biden administration.

But now we’re staring down the face of a tax and spending package bill, referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, that’s dividing parts of the GOP.

Trump is advocating for his new bill because he believes it will stimulate economic growth, reinforce U.S. infrastructure and industry, and strengthen national security—all while projecting confidence in America’s financial future. He argues that targeted spending now can generate long-term returns through job creation, increased productivity, and global competitiveness. By pushing this bill, he’s aiming to balance fiscal responsibility with strategic investment, positioning it as a necessary step to rebuild the country’s foundations after what he portrays as years of neglect and mismanagement under the previous administration.

GOP opponents of Trump’s new spending bill argue that it adds too much to the national debt and doesn’t include enough spending cuts to balance it out. They’re concerned it could worsen inflation and say the government is trying to take on too much instead of leaving things to the states or private sector. Some also believe the bill is filled with unnecessary items and lacks clear focus. Overall, they see it as fiscally irresponsible and a step away from conservative principles of limited government and careful budgeting.

Last night Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) opposed Trump’s bill, calling it fiscally reckless due to its mix of tax cuts and increased spending. He warned it would add trillions to the debt and criticized the rushed vote on a still-unfinished bill. Despite pressure from GOP leaders and Trump, Massie voted no, underscoring deep divisions in the party over fiscal policy.

Massie correctly pointed out that investors continue to demand higher yields on U.S. bonds, signaling a loss of faith in the creditworthiness of the United States.

Massie is unique as a Republican because of his willingness to stand up to the MAGA machine and stand on principle. He’s also unique as a member of Congress in the sense that he’s probably one of about a half dozen people—out of the hundreds in Congress—who actually understand the bond market. And his concern early this morning, whether it’s taken seriously by President Trump’s administration or the rest of Congress or not, is warranted.

For lack of more complicated jargon, the bond market has recently been “out of whack”. Yields are rising despite the Federal Reserve being in the middle of a cutting cycle, and bonds sold off at the same time risk assets sold off after Liberation Day (they would usually catch a bid in a ‘flight to safety’ selloff). If it feels like the magnetic poles of the bond market have reversed, it could be because they have.

What does this mean?

The bond market has traditionally been comprised of far more sophisticated and sizable investors than the equity market: foreign governments, giant institutions, and extremely wealthy investors, to name a few.

As bonds sell off with risk assets and as yields rise despite the Fed cutting rates, these influential and sizable investing world powers that be are sending the message that things are not OK the way they are going. The rising yield indicates a desire to be compensated more for holding U.S. debt—sending the signal that it is riskier than people think it is—and it also sends a message to our Treasury and the Federal Reserve that the country’s fiscal house is not in order.

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The bond market is, in essence, a collection of investors so sharp that they can’t help but realize exactly how precarious the country’s financial situation has gotten, no matter how much of a polish or gloss politicians and government officials try to put on it. In other words, the bond market can’t be fooled—and by the looks of it, isn’t.

And no matter what side of the argument you’re on for Trump’s big, beautiful bill, there’s no doubt that the bond market is going to settle this dispute. If the bill passes and bond yields continue to rise, it will continue to tighten the fiscal screws for the United States.

The bond market blowing up has no silver lining either. As yields rise, so will the amount of interest we pay on the national debt, and it’ll publicly broadcast a lack of confidence in U.S. paper. And if the likely scenario occurs where the Fed somehow steps in with printed money and utilizes big banks to steady the Treasury market (sometimes called yield curve control, or a version of it)—that could thrust the United States further down the stagflationary path it’s already on.

The one solution has always been very simple: spend less while keeping revenue the same, increase revenue while spending the same, or increase revenue and spend less at the same time. One way or another, the deficit has to be addressed—and the time for doing it is right now — not five years from now, not ten years from now, not at any other point in the future.

The bond market knows this and has been sending this signal clearly since early April.

MAGA supporters can channel all the hate they want at the libertarian Republicans in Congress, just as Republican hardliners can lash out at what they believe to be more irresponsible spending. But the only true adjudication of this debate the country is having is going to come from the bond market.

If you’re not already, it’s time to watch very closely.

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This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

Early Saturday Russia and Ukraine completed their second round of a large-scale prisoner swap that was agreed to in Istanbul talks last week.

The deal will see 1,000 POWs exchanged for 1,000 POWs but has to be completed in phases given the logistics and sheer size of the swap, with the first round of hundreds freed having taken place Friday along the Belarus-Ukraine border. The Saturday exchange involved each side bringing home 307 soldiers.

But despite this ‘good faith’ gesture of a successful ongoing prisoner exchange, the war is still raging, with an aerial war ramping up, given the hundreds of drones sent across both borders over the last week.

This continued overnight, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky early Saturday condemning Russian strikes on several oblasts, including in the capital Kyiv.

Zelensky identified in a social media statement that the fresh aerial assault targeted the Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv and Dnipro regions. He alleged that Russian drones and missiles “targeted” civilians. At least 15 were wounded in these attacks.

Update (1014ET):

X is back online after an hour of outages across parts of the U.S.

The big question: Was this early Saturday morning outage just another glitch—or a sign of a broader system overhaul? Time will tell, but it’s clear the platform has been unusually glitchy this past week. 

*   *    *

For all the early risers rolling over in bed on Saturday morning, reaching for their smartphones on the nightstand to fire up the X app and check if anything insane happened overnight — bad news: outage tracker Downdetector is reporting a surge in X outages across the U.S.

Downdetector reports a massive spike in X outages occurred around 0830 ET and persisted at 0930 ET.

The majority of the outages are being reported in the eastern half of the U.S., maybe because it’s still super early on the West Coast. 

Most outages have been reported on X’s app (69%). 

On the desktop version, we have received multiple errors, including this:

“We are having trouble connecting right now. Changes you make may not be saved.”

The X app has had similar issues for the last several days, but the X team resolved everything very quickly. If anyone else has noticed, X embeds have been challenging to extract HTML code over the last month. Perhaps this is something for the X team to read. 

*Developing…