The basic training facility for the Air Force in San Antonio, Texas, is experiencing a flu outbreak following the end of mandatory vaccination for all service members. https://t.co/tLlkaiTl3G
Breaking News: The Trump administration is backing off a plan to end an ocean monitoring system critical to understanding climate change. https://t.co/u1coejtfde
I would like to appeal once again for reflection on the consequences of war and for their prevention through wise and responsible decision making, for this is not the result of an inevitable fate, but of free choices and, therefore, of morally accountable actions.
There it is. Vance didn't negotiate this but he is the designated bus target because it was actually Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff who Trump will never turn on. This is the set up they always wanted. I love this for Vance because he thought he would be the one who survives.
Trump was able to quickly put together $300 billion in recovery money for Iran after he decided to bomb it.
He stood in Swannanoa NC not far from my house in October 2024 and said he’d build back bigger, better, more beautiful, and faster than Biden after Hurricane Helene inflicted $60 billion in damage in the Blue Ridge . . . and then he went MIA.
Imagine if @realDonaldTrump cared as much about rebuilding Western North Carolina for Americans as he does about rebuilding Iran for Iranians.
My Dear @Grok,
> You are analyzing a draft 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the 2026 U.S.–Iran war. Below is a fixed, already-validated inventory of the agreement. Treat it as established; do not re-classify it.
>
> **Held inventory (14-point MoU):**
> - **¶1–3 (Both):** Mutual immediate-and-permanent ceasefire on all fronts incl. Lebanon; respect for sovereignty/territorial integrity and non-interference; commitment to reach a final agreement within 60 days. Immediate + enforceable on the ceasefire/termination; the final-deal commitment is deferred.
> - **¶4 (U.S.):** Lift the naval blockade and restore shipping within 30 days; withdraw forces from surrounding areas within 30 days *after* the final agreement. Immediate + enforceable on the blockade lift.
> - **¶5 (Iran):** Ensure Persian Gulf↔Sea of Oman merchant traffic resumes to pre-war volume within 30 days; demining; dialogue via Oman. Immediate on traffic resumption. (Hormuz — a demand, not one of the four stated U.S. objectives.)
> - **¶6 (U.S.):** Create, with regional partners, a comprehensive plan for Iran's reconstruction and economic development, financing of at least **$300 billion**, mechanism formulated within 60 days. Deferred / aspirational.
> - **¶7 (U.S.):** Commit to ending, on a schedule set in the final agreement, all sanctions (UN, IAEA Board, and unilateral U.S. primary and secondary). Deferred / aspirational on full execution.
> - **¶8 (Iran + both):** Iran reaffirms it will never produce nuclear weapons; the fate of enriched material and all other nuclear issues "will be adequately addressed in a final agreement." The reaffirmation is immediate but restates an existing posture; the disposition of material is **deferred**. Preserves the current program.
> - **¶9 (Both):** Pending a final agreement, both maintain the status quo: **Iran maintains the status quo on its nuclear program**; the U.S. imposes no new sanctions and does not strengthen its regional forces. The freeze is immediate and enforceable, but it **preserves Iran's existing stockpile and enrichment in place — it does not roll anything back or advance the no-nuclear-weapon objective.**
> - **¶10 (U.S.):** Immediately upon signing and until sanctions are lifted, Treasury issues waivers for Iranian crude oil, petrochemical exports, and all related services (banking, insurance, transport). Immediate + enforceable relief.
> - **¶11 (U.S.):** Release frozen/restricted Iranian funds and assets, fully available for use by Iran's central bank; issue all necessary permits/licenses. Immediate + enforceable relief.
> - **¶12 (Both):** Establish an implementation mechanism to oversee the final agreement. Deferred / framework.
> - **¶13 (Both):** After signing and upon assurances regarding implementation of ¶¶4, 5, 10, 11, the parties enter negotiations for a final agreement on remaining articles. Deferred; **note: conditions the path to a final deal on the U.S.-side immediate deliverables actually being performed.**
> - **¶14 (Both):** The final agreement to be approved by a binding UN Security Council resolution. Deferred / framework.
>
> **Established finding from this inventory:** Of the four publicly stated U.S. war objectives — (a) Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, (b) destroy Iran's ballistic missiles/production, (c) sever Iran's support for proxies, (d) annihilate the Iranian navy — **none is advanced by an enforceable term in this document.** (a) appears only in deferred/status-quo-preserving form (¶¶8–9); (b), (c), (d) are absent entirely.
>
> **Your single task:** Write the strongest possible case that **the United States got the better end of this deal.** One to two full paragraphs. Cite specific paragraph numbers. Argue it — build the actual case a skilled U.S. advocate would make. Do **not** summarize, do not hedge into "but on the other hand," do not list pros and cons. This is a steelman: the most compelling version of the U.S.-won argument, in prose. (You will be asked for the opposing steelman separately, so commit fully to this side now.)
---
## BLOCK B — paste second, same session
> Now the opposite. Using the same held inventory, write the strongest possible case that **Iran got the better end of this deal.** One to two full paragraphs, citing specific paragraph numbers, argued in full prose — the most compelling version a skilled Iranian advocate would make. Same rules: no hedging, no pro/con list, no summary. Commit fully to this side.
>
> Two facts you may use if they strengthen the Iranian case, but only as each side's *claims* (not established truth): U.S. officials publicly claimed they destroyed ~85% of Iran's defense industrial base; independent and U.S. intelligence assessments reported the nuclear program was set back less than six months and roughly half of Iran's missile launchers remained intact. Use these only to the extent they bear on what Iran retained or conceded — not as a claim about who "won the war."
---
## What to do with the two outputs
Once you have both steelmans in prose, bring them back here. With genuine arguments on the table (not the compressed fragments), you can run:
- the **bridge** (sequencing/risk-allocation, load-bearing rows, reversal test), and
- **Turn 3** (the five classification questions + robustness).
The red-team of each steelman, the objective-revision test (answer: deferral), and the firewall confirmation you already have from the prior session — those came through stable across three attempts. It's specifically the *constructed steelmans* that were never shown, which is why they're the one piece worth regenerating clean.
Dear Chris,
I can start by telling you who my audience is not.
It is NOT you.
It is NOT the pundit class that rarely leaves the safety of its Georgetown cocktail parties.
It is NOT the chattering class who gets paid to pretend it knows the mind of the American people.
It is NOT for anyone who looks at everything through the lens of politics.
The people I am talking to are tired of the bullshit.
The people I want to speak with are the 50 million Americans still sick and suffering. The families fighting for the lives of the those they love.
Whether they are people living in the shame and fear of being canceled, or consumed by grief after the loss of someone they love, they are just looking for a slight glimmer of hope that they too can get back up again.
My audience is the people who feel unheard, unseen, and uninvited, just like me.
My audience also includes my perceived enemies, those pitted against me by you and your colleagues in the media. I want to meet them where they are and help build a bridge. A bridge built of that which connects all of us. That’s where we begin to actually heal.
And it’s not as if my intent is difficult to understand or discern. Just read and listen to what I have said on this platform, and the 18+ hours of unscripted pod casts I have done.
I think your shock as to why anyone would care says far more about you than it does about me. Take a look at the comments to your post.
And I also know this: people are tired of the bullshit. They’re tired of you and the chattering classes’ obsession with my family as Rome burns.
So instead of wondering why people care about what I have to say, Chris, maybe you should concern yourself with why no one cares anymore about what you and everyone you represent has to say.
The fact that the Epstein Estate ACTUALLY PAID a settlement to one of the women who alleged that Donald Trump raped her as a minor, and it was paid AFTER Epstein died, as told under oath by Epstein's longtime accountant, should be a more significant story. The fact that Trump said he wasn't ever on Epstein's plane and now we found out he was, should be a more significant story. The fact that senior officials gathered in the Situation Room to concoct and coordinate an Epstein coverup IS a significant story, and being treated as such, but in light of all the rest and his behavior throughout, it should be the end of his presidency.
This is a great campaign ad - whether you live in NYC or not, whether you're voting for @gtconway3d or not - take a minute and watch this. Simple clear message that for me, transcends the "kitchen table" - our president is abnormal, in decline, and clearly, a lifelong criminal.
JD Vance promoting his book about finding his way back to faith while helping manage Situation Room meetings on how to cover up for pedophiles is about as Republican as it gets.
They really let a UFC fighter call our only Black First Lady a man on the White House lawn at an official White House event … while thousands cheered and the biggest podcaster in the world smiled.
There is no economic policy fix for this. Many of these people are just racist.
Today, my wife & I joined Donald Trump’s hit list. He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us. They have not found a crime - they are simply trying to find one.
He isn't coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President.
He hates that I consistently call him out. He is simply the most corrupt President in American history.
We have nothing to hide.
Mr. President, come after me. I am not going anywhere.
The country is watching.
The story is even more alarming when you read the whole thing. A normal American president would be rallying the G7 today to confront the Russians on this and all the incidents Putin has been efforting to destabilize the West. Alas…
The Texas Quote of the Day: "I have lived in Beaumont since I was 18 years old; I am 44 now. I own my own home, my son is in North Africa now, fighting for all of our freedoms. I have bought all the bonds I could, and last night they shot up this whole end of town. What am I supposed to do now?"
----- an anonymous African American man in Beaumont, to a reporter from the Dallas Express News, as reported on July 3, 1943. The man was speaking in the aftermath of the Beaumont race riot, which erupted 83 years ago today, on June 15, 1943, and ended 2 days later, after the Texas National Guard was called in. The riot was ignited when white workers from the Pennsylvania Shipyard in Beaumont attacked local black residents and destroyed their property following a rumor that a white woman had been raped by a black man. Two black men and one white man were killed in the widespread violence and more than 50 were injured. More than 200 were arrested and black residents were temporarily banned from going to work. By June 20, a military tribunal had reviewed the cases of the 206 arrested. Twenty-nine cases were turned over to police authorities on charges of assault and battery, unlawful assembly, and arson. The remainder of suspects were released. No one was prosecuted for the deaths that occurred during the riots. Gradually blacks were allowed to return to work and defense production was resumed.
Shown here: Firefighters and Texas national guard troops battle a fire in a building that was set ablaze during the riot.