“The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.“
– Benjamin Franklin
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
– Margaret Thatcher
“Liberty is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
– President Ronald Reagan
“Nothing is more securely lodged than the ignorance of the experts.”
– Friedrich Hayek
“I wish the tattoo was the scariest thing about [Graham] Platner. It’s not. There’s the sexting while married. Scary behavior. Old posts about how he’s a communist and all cops are bastards and black people don’t tip.“
– Bill Maher
“The West’s rules-based world order no longer exists. What remains is the law of the strongest.”
– Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
“Russia can restore peace to Ukraine by withdrawing from the neighboring country it invaded…It could restore peace at any moment by leaving the territories it illegally occupies.”
– Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
“If Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn too. If Putin does not want to end this war and wants to continue it, we will not sit quietly. We will respond.” – Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Father’s Day: Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there who have the second most important job in life… behind every mother.
I was blessed with a father who built his life on quiet strength, service, and steadfast values.
From leading Scouts through years on the trail, at camp, in service to our community as our scoutmaster, and long hours on the factory line, he showed what it means to work hard, lead with integrity, and take pride in doing things the right way. He taught by example—showing that character is built through service, loyalty, and a willingness to do the tough jobs without complaint.
The lessons in preparedness, responsibility, integrity, and teamwork have shaped who I am today. Thanks to my father and all those fathers for always being a guide, both on the trail and in life.
Trump NOT on the Ballot – Trump NOT Running Again: The Democrats have one theme… EVERYTHING is anti-Trump.
Well, Trump is on his way out. He will NEVER be on the ballot again and he is not running again for anything else… the Democrats have no agenda, no programs except beating up on Trump.
I’d like to think that’s a stupid strategy, and it won’t work… but polling shows the Democrats are successfully demonizing the President and motivating their voters with a simple message of “stop Trump” and “save democracy.”
Democracy is NOT at risk.
Trump is serving out his final term… it’s over!
What many call ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ is real and apparently effective… for now.
But eventually, voters will start paying attention to what Democrats stand for and the candidates they are putting forward… and that’s not a pretty picture.
Iranian MOU Troublesome: The folks at Open Source Intel have probably summarized it best so far:
PROS of the MOU
• Iran pinky promises not to develop a nuclear weapon.
• The Strait of Hormuz reopens, with commercial shipping passing toll-free for 60 days.
CONS of the MOU
• Broad sanctions relief for Iran.
• Frozen Iranian assets are unfrozen.
• Hezbollah appears to be protected from continued Israeli military pressure.
• Enriched uranium remains inside Iran.
• No provisions addressing Iran’s support for terror proxies.
• No provisions addressing Iran’s ballistic missile program.
• No provisions addressing Iran’s systematic human rights abuses.
• No requirement for Iran to dismantle or disarm the Axis of Resistance.
• No commitment from Iran to end support for Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, or other proxy groups.
The new “rational” leader in Iran, Bagher Ghalibaf, one of the key negotiators of the MOU, speaking on Iranian state TV after the agreement was reached:
“If we truly seek justice [for Khamenei], then that justice will be achieved through the liberation of Jerusalem…”
“We must uphold that honor, remain committed to that vision, and carry out that mission.”
It’s not a final deal, but it sure raises a lot of questions about what will actually be accomplished.
The MOU doesn’t sound very much like what President Trump and Vice President Vance presented over the last few days before the MOU has been signed.
When your adversary calls the deal a victory, believe him.
The ink hadn’t dried, and Iran’s proxy in Lebanon was attacking Israel.
Oil/cheap gas prices continue to drive too much of our foreign policy… we have alternatives.
Trust but verify is hard to swallow when you’re dealing with the Islamists in Iran… who don’t have the best record of keeping their word. Not to mention the Persian people of Iran who could be left out to hang… literally.
On the other side, one has to ask how else would we get out of this war? The Islamists are willing to pay a high price and wait us out politically… that could potentially cost Republicans come November. So, no good solution… maybe lower gas prices and short-term peace is worth the political benefit… but I fear we have just moved the inevitable crisis further down the line.
Moscow Feeling the War: Maybe this will help get Russia’s elite to put heat on Putin to end this stupid war of aggression.
All Russia has to do is LEAVE Ukraine, respect their neighbors, and abide by the agreements it has already signed… and we have PEACE!
Putin and his cohorts are the bad guys. They attacked and occupied parts of Ukraine. Now the war has come to their backyard and they don’t like it… but it’s their own fault.
When you read the Russian Foreign Minister’s comments where he clearly states the current position of Russia… you have to be worried: “The West’s rules-based world order no longer exists. What remains is the law of the strongest.”
They are clearly not playing by ANY rules… and will do anything for power. This is dangerous.
Russians should demand Putin end this war, remove Russian troops from Ukraine, and you have peace… it’s really that easy!
Read more below and follow me on X & GETTR – @sanuzis
–Saul Anuzis
Saul’s News Weekly Rewind Video
This Week: Michigan schools vastly under performing, DOJ sues New York for Medicaid fraud, and Jeff Bezos told Trump what he really thought of the Washington Post!
Cruz: ‘Giving billions of dollars to lunatics’ in Iran ‘is not a good idea’
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday raised concerns about major concessions to Iran made in President Trump’s memorandum of understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning that Trump is not getting good advice from his advisers.
“History teaches that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is not a good idea. I think the president is receiving some very poor advice on this deal,” Cruz told The Hill.
He made his comments after the Trump administration released the full text of the peace deal with Iran, which would lift sanctions on Iranian oil exports and give Iran access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund.
The memorandum calls on the United States to “terminate all types of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the United Nations Security Council resolutions, I.A.E.A. Board of Governors resolutions, and all unilateral U.S. sanctions, primary and secondary, in an agreed-upon schedule as part of the final deal.”
The memorandum also states that the Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms its long-stated position that it will not procure or develop nuclear weapons.
Text of Iran 14-point deal doesn’t satisfy GOP critics: ‘Reagan is rolling over in his grave’
GOP skepticism of the preliminary peace deal with Iran mostly only hardened after details of the 14-point plan surfaced, with key Republican lawmakers trashing it publicly.
A senior official had read the 14-point US-Iran memorandum of understanding to reporters Wednesday, confirming key concessions to Iran such as the temporary waiving of oil sanctions, a $300 billion reconstruction fund, and softer language on the Strait of Hormuz.
“Reagan is rolling over in his grave. Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future,” retiring Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) bluntly chided.
Cassidy was bested in his primary last month by a rival backed by President Trump.
Since then, many observers have described him as being part of the Senate GOP’s “YOLO Caucus” of outgoing Republicans who now feel freer to speak more bluntly about Trump.
Iran Declares ‘Superpower’ Status After Defeating ‘Two Nuclear Powers’
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Thursday took a victory lap with the newly signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Iran and the United States, declaring that his country “defeated two nuclear powers … we truly are a superpower.”
Critically, Baghaei said the agreement preserves Iran’s ballistic missile program — a major win for the Iranians because the Trump administration had ripped up former President Barack Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), claiming it did not prevent such weapons, and President Donald Trump said at the outbreak of the war that stopping the program was critical for the U.S. and Israel.
Speaking to Iranian state television after the agreement was finalized, Baghaei confirmed that the memorandum had been signed by both countries and said the Persian and English texts were identical…
…A central Iranian demand remains the retention of its enriched uranium stockpile inside the country.
Although the MOU makes no mention of Iran retaining enriched uranium, Baghaei rejected any transfer of nuclear material abroad.
“Transferring enriched nuclear material out of the country is unacceptable to us,” he said. “Diluting enriched material is not a new option. It has now been introduced as one option, so as not to close the door on other options.”
Baghaei also reiterated that Iran’s ballistic missile program would not be subject to negotiations despite international concerns over Tehran’s expanding arsenal.
“Iran’s missiles are meant to be fired, not negotiated over. Our missiles don’t even like being talked about,” he said. “Iran’s defensive capabilities will not be discussed in any process, with any party.”
Twice as many MAGA Republicans favor regime change in Iran as those who want a negotiated settlement: poll
Americans are nearly evenly split between favoring Iranian regime change and a negotiated U.S. settlement with Iran, according to a new survey.
Some 39% of respondents favor a negotiated settlement where Iran’s current government remains in place, with verifiable limits on its nuclear and missile programs, according to the findings of the Reagan Institute Summer Survey, while 36% favor replacing Iran’s current government with one more favorable to the U.S.
Another 16% favor a weakened regime where the current government stays in place but is significantly diminished militarily and economically, and 8% responded that they don’t know.
The findings underscore the political challenge facing President Donald Trump as his administration pursues a newly signed memorandum of understanding with Iran. While the agreement seeks to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions through negotiations, Americans remain divided over the ultimate objective of U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic.
Republicans who responded to the survey favored replacing Iran’s government by a 2-to-1 margin over a diplomatic deal.
Four Senate Republicans again unite with Dems to block Trump’s SAVE America Act
Collins, Murkowski, McConnell and Tillis joined all Democrats to block the amendment needing 60 votes
Four Senate Republicans broke ranks to kill another effort to pass President Donald Trump’s marquee voter ID and election integrity legislation as the GOP marches to fund immigration enforcement.
Just like last time, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Thom Tills, R-N.C., joined all Democrats to thwart the move.
It’s the second attempt by Republicans to attach the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act to their budget reconciliation package, and the second time that they’ve failed to get the legislation across the line months after launching a quasi-floor takeover to debate the bill.
Trying to attach the bill to the nearly $70 billion budget reconciliation package geared toward funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol meant that the amendment from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., needed at least 60 votes to pass.
That threshold again proved too high a bar on Thursday night.
And it’s a result that further solidified the political reality in the upper chamber that the SAVE America Act has little chance of passing, given the unanimous Democratic resistance and lack of total buy-in among the Senate GOP, even if Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., launched the long sought after talking filibuster.
Americans Want Republican Leadership That Acts
Trump understood something the consultant class never did: Americans do not want timid caretakers of decline. They want leaders and fighters.
Over the past few weeks, the redistricting battles have revealed something important about the state of American politics: Republican voters are not recoiling from a fight. They are running toward it.
Fights that the old Republican establishment would have treated as too aggressive, risky, or impolite have instead unleashed grassroots energy across the country. Why? Because Republican voters are starving for political courage.
Republican voters have seen what courage looks like in their states. They want to see it in Washington. For too long, Republican politics was defined by caution masquerading as wisdom. Voters sent Republicans to Washington to stop the left, only to watch too many of them obsess over decorum, consultant-approved messaging, and the approval of people who despised them anyway.
Meanwhile, the country they loved was slipping away: Factories closed. Towns hollowed out. Borders collapsed. Crime surged. A managerial class of self-appointed elites had burrowed their way into positions of unaccountable power. They dismissed America’s existence and founding as sin, treated mass migration as inevitable, and told citizens that objecting to the upheaval of their own country was a moral defect.
Trump Confirms Peace Deal with Iran Is ‘Complete’, to Be Signed in Switzerland
President Donald Trump confirmed that a peace deal with Iran was “complete,” and added that the Strait of Hormuz was re-opening, and that the U.S. Navy’s blockade of the strait would come to an end.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” Trump wrote in Truth Social post. “Congratulations to all! I hereby authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif shared in a post on X that after “intensive talks” both the United States and Iran had reached a peace deal. Sharif added that the “official signing ceremony” for the peace deal would take place on Friday, June 19 in Switzerland.
In the Iran War, Trump’s Role Model Should Be Bismarck
As critics demand escalation or retreat, Trump is attempting what Bismarck understood best.
President Trump has been criticized from both the Left and the Right for his conduct of the Iran War and his approach to ending that war. Andrew Miller on the Center for American Progress’ website calls it “Trump’s failed war,” and likens it to George W. Bush’s war against Iraq. Meanwhile, some GOP “hawks” argue that Trump should finish the job of ending the Iranian regime, while some America Firsters view the war as a repudiation of Trumpism. In reality, Trump is attempting to accomplish his geopolitical goals (an end to Iran’s nuclear weapons program and its effective support of international terrorism, and a more stable Middle East) by Bismarckian means.
The great British geopolitical thinker Sir Halford Mackinder, in his book Democratic Ideals and Reality (1919), wrote that “No statesman ever adjusted war to policy with nicer judgment than Bismarck.” Mackinder noted that in the 1860s and early 1870s, Bismarck fought three short wars and resolved those wars to Prussia’s benefit, ultimately creating the nation of Germany. “Once he achieved German unity,” Mackinder explained, “he waged no more wars.” Indeed, Bismarck helped prevent wider European wars at the Congress of Berlin in 1878 and diplomatically established a European balance of power that favored Germany but kept the peace for four decades. Henry Kissinger credited Bismarck with producing “a series of interlocking alliances, partially overlapping and partially competitive” that maintained order and peace in Europe. A.J.P. Taylor described Bismarck’s statesmanship as “diplomatic mastery without parallel.”
Republicans’ chances of losing control of House: 3 election forecasts
As Republicans and Democrats select nominees for the midterm elections, updated House ratings from three prominent election forecasters indicate Democrats may be positioned to flip control of the chamber.
All three forecasts show Republicans with more seats currently rated safe or likely for the party. However, if Democrats were to win every race rated as a toss-up in addition to their favored seats, they would narrowly reclaim the House majority with the 218 seats needed for control.
The forecast updates come just five months ahead of the November election.
The U.S. Capitol building is seen with signage celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence on June 8, 2026. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)
The U.S. Capitol building is seen with signage celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence on June 8, 2026. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)
What To Know
Republicans currently hold a narrow 217-212 majority in the House, with one independent member and five vacant seats. Democrats point to overperformance in recent special elections and President Donald Trump’s declining approval ratings as reasons for optimism heading into the midterms, while Republicans maintain they are well positioned to hold both the House and Senate.
President Trump’s approval rating hits second-term low in new NBC poll
A new NBC News poll released June 14 found that President Donald Trump’s approval rating hit a second-term low in the survey.
President Donald Trump’s approval rating hit a second-term low in new NBC News polling as Democrats gain ground ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The polling, which was released on Trump’s 80th birthday, June 14, shows that the president’s approval rating among all U.S. adults currently sits at 39%, five months out from the pivotal midterms. The survey results mark Trump’s lowest approval rating in an NBC News poll since his first term.
The outlet tracked a similar result among registered voters in July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd.
Trump’s approval rating among rural Americans also hit a new low of 50% in June, compared to 60% approval in February 2025, the month after Trump took office a second time, according to a June 3-8 Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Rural voters were central to Trump’s White House victories in 2016 and 2024. The president’s drop in rural support is due to disapproval over his handling of the U.S. economy and cost of living, per Reuters/Ipsos polling data.
The most self-destructive pillars of lefty lunacy finally begin to fall
The grotesque sexual misconduct involving Democratic politicians — from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to California Rep. Eric Swalwell — has finally put #MeToo to rest.
We were reminded of its demise when it was revealed that Maine senatorial candidate and socialist heartthrob Graham Platner had been discovered to possess a long social media history of crude and pornographic put-downs of women.
The demise of Black Lives Matter offers another example of a recurring left-wing phenomenon: movements that begin as moral crusades and end as self-parodies.
Almost every BLM cause célèbre has proved fraudulent, following a long tradition that stretches from Al Sharpton’s Tawana Brawley myth to the Duke lacrosse scandal.
The aftermath of the death of George Floyd did lasting damage to the country that still reverberates.
Progressive Dogma Is Fueling Academic Dishonesty
Nigel Biggar, author, most recently, of The New Dark Age, was a liberal Oxford professor who got mugged by reality.
As an ordained Church of England priest and University of Oxford theology professor, he read both the left-leaning Guardian and the centre-right Times. He voted for Tony Blair’s New Labour and for the Remain side in the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union. While not a leftist, he remained well within the bounds of Oxford’s narrow, progressive-slanted Overton Window of acceptability. He was well-published and respected, an academic normie.
That all changed when Biggar’s rosy view of his famous university collided with the new cancel culture of the Great Awokening. Biggar, as an Englishman born to a Scottish father and English mother, strongly opposed Scottish separatism during the referendum of 2014. During the debate, the left-nationalist “Yes” campaign presented Scotland as a plucky underdog throwing off the shackles of an oppressive British Empire. The Empire was viewed exclusively through a Manichaean postcolonial leftist lens. In this progressive narrative, Scots should cast off the shame of the imperial past by voting Yes, thereby recovering their innocence and moral legitimacy.
Vance Defends Trump on Affordability — ‘The Idea that Republicans Caused the Affordability Problem Is a Hoax’
Tuesday on ABC’s “The View,” Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump over a comment he made about inflation.
Co-host Behar said, “President Trump has called affordability a hoax. He said that, not me. He’s pouring money into this ballroom of his and the reflecting pool — don’t forget the Arch de Trumpe, I call it — and a White House cage match. All these things, why is he doing them when everybody knows that Americans are struggling? And what is he spending all this money for?”
Vance said, “Well, I’ve got to defend the president on the hoax point. What the president said is the idea that Republicans caused the affordability problem is a hoax. And I think that’s true. If you go back to the Biden administration, inflation got up to 9% under the Biden administration, okay? Right now it’s at 3.5%. By the way, too high — we’re doing everything that we can to bring it back down to 2.5%, which is where most people would like to see it. But we inherited an affordability problem. We’re doing a lot to make it better. It’s going to take a little bit of time. There’s a lot more work to do. But the president knows that a lot of Americans are struggling. In fact, he ran on that. He talked about it. And we’ve done some things and made some good progress on that point.”
Moscow residents complain of black rain after largest Ukrainian attack hits oil refinery
Specks of black oil have rained down on part of Moscow after a refinery was hit during the largest Ukrainian attack since the start of the full-scale war, with close to 200 drones fired towards the Russian capital.
Columns of thick smoke billowed high into the sky and 17 people were wounded in the Moscow region, according to local governor Andrei Vorobyov.
Residents in the south-east of Moscow region told the BBC that a fine drizzle had left “unpleasant black spots” on their clothes.
Moscow authorities denied that any “oil rain” had been falling.
However, the city’s official Telegram channel warned residents of the affected district to keep their windows closed and said families with children, elderly people and asthmatics should urgently leave the area.
Almost 1,000 drones and four Ukrainian cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed across the country in 24 hours, Russia’s defence ministry was quoted as saying. An oil depot was struck in the southern Rostov region, where one person was killed.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said the drone strike was an answer to last week’s Russian attack on Kyiv, which set ablaze a major religious landmark, the Pechersk Lavra monastery.
“We don’t want this war and have never wanted it,” Zelensky said. “But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn too.”
Putin’s reign begins to crumble
President Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation is taking on water. Like the Titanic, it has struck an immovable object — in this case Ukraine — and it is sinking fast.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty bad for the Russian dictator, his generals at the Kremlin and his soldiers, trying to evade the onslaught of Ukrainian drones on the battlefield.
At the current daily rate of casualties, Russia will surpass 1.4 million in less than two weeks. And if that’s not bad enough, Ukraine has also nearly isolated the Crimean Peninsula in a modern-day version of siege warfare reminiscent of George Washington’s decisive victory at Yorktown in 1781.
In fact, as retired U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus recently posted, “Ukraine might actually be able to isolate the front lines as well as Crimea … Hugely impressive.”
But the real humiliation came when Ukrainian drones found their targets in Putin’s own city — not once, but twice. They struck the Saint Petersburg oil terminal and the Kronstadt naval base during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum of 2026.
10 Reasons to Save for Retirement in a Roth IRA
Roth IRA benefits include tax-free retirement income and other valuable tax advantages.
Key Takeaways:
Roth IRAs provide tax-free qualified withdrawals in retirement, making them a good fit for people who expect higher tax rates in the future.
No lifetime RMDs allow assets in Roth IRAs to continue growing tax-free.
Contributions can generally be withdrawn tax- and penalty-free at any time, offering greater flexibility than traditional retirement accounts.
Since 2024, Roth 401(k)s and Roth 403(b)s have been exempt from required minimum distributions, aligning them more closely with Roth IRAs.
Roth individual retirement accounts require income taxes to be paid on contributions upfront. This allows account holders to withdraw funds later without facing additional taxes, provided requirements are met. Roth IRA owners can generally take tax-free distributions in retirement and avoid taxes on investment growth.
The SECURE 2.0 Act eliminated required minimum distributions for Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b) accounts beginning in 2024, making workplace Roth plans more similar to Roth IRAs.
Here are some Roth IRA advantages to consider.
Prepaid retirement tax bill
Tax-free withdrawals in retirement
Tax-free investment growth
More flexibility for withdrawals
Easier access to money
Tax-free money for heirs
Saving on your own terms
Later contribution deadline
Roth IRA conversions
Access to the saver’s credit
Final Thoughts
