IRAN STRIKES: Two Kharg Island Videos.

Something a little different than the usual Iran roundup: Two videos about Kharg Island, one an after-action report on a U.S. attack run, the other a description of what makes taking the island difficult.

The caveat for the after-action video, a recreation of an actual U.S. attack run, is that it’s done a breathless, overly-dramatic fashion, like something from Most Shocking. But the detailed, blow-by-blow account suggests it was taken from actual after-action reports.

Informative stuff. The second one is from Simon Whistler, perhaps better known as “the Megaprojects guy.” I don’t watch many video podcasts, but I do try to stay up to date with his.

WAS IT OVER WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR?

Who wants to tell The Atlantic how many generals Lincoln went through? https://t.co/Z5d7Nx0FDh

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) April 3, 2026

Nichols used to teach at the Naval War College and probably (?) knows better.

What a hack.

HEGSETH: Military Bases Are No Longer Gun-Free Zones.

CLIPPY SAYS, “I SEE YOU’RE TRYING TO FLY PAST THE MOON…”

NASA pays $100M for Microsoft 365 licensing across the agency. They standardized every system on Microsoft. They put Microsoft Surfaces on the Orion spacecraft as the crew's personal computing devices.

And the first technical crisis of humanity's return to the Moon was Reid… https://t.co/giWFyug9rA

— Aakash Gupta (@aakashgupta) April 3, 2026

“This spacecraft survived hydrogen leaks, helium leaks, a faulty heat shield, and a broken toilet. Outlook broke anyway. The toilet actually got fixed faster.”

MATTHEW CONTINETTI: Set Phasers to ‘Reboot.’

Andy Weir got in trouble for speaking the truth. His apology made things worse.

Mr. Weir is the author of two bestselling science-fiction epics adapted into blockbuster films: “The Martian” and “Project Hail Mary.” Last month, while promoting the movie version of “Project Hail Mary,” he appeared on the “Critical Drinker” podcast and told the story of his failed pitch for a “Star Trek” series.

For the last decade, “Star Trek” has been overseen by producer Alex Kurtzman, who has emptied this famous intellectual property of its treasure. Mr. Weir conceded that he’s enjoyed one or two of Mr. Kurtzman’s shows, then added, “I don’t like a lot of the new Trek.” By implication, Mr. Weir meant such series as “Star Trek: Discovery”; “Star Trek: Picard”; “Star Trek: Prodigy”; “Star Trek: Section 31”; and “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.” Mr. Kurtzman “is a really nice guy,” Mr. Weir continued. “But at the same, those shows are s—.”

Red alert!

Mr. Weir’s mistake wasn’t his harsh judgment. It was his retreat—and his failure to explain why current “Star Trek” fails.

Mr. Kurtzman’s defenders took Mr. Weir’s comments as a conservative attack on diversity, inclusion and progressive politics—all hallmarks of modern “Star Trek.” To author Don Winslow, Mr. Weir was a traitor to his class. “I’m a real fan,” Mr. Winslow wrote on X. “But when you have your moment don’t use it to crap on other writers’ work. For the record, Alex Kurtzman is a visionary writer+creator+producer & you owe him an apology . . . writer to writer.”

Hard disagree. Where is it written that a writer can’t criticize another writer’s work?

Never bend the knee — particularly to lefties like Kurtzman who murdered and skin-suited Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, and more.

TELL ME YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HEROINES AND THEIR FANS WITHOUT TELLING ME YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HEROINES AND THEIR FANS:

And Ripley was a working class space trucker who lefties would have told to “learn to code” when her job got automated.

— Stephen Green (@VodkaPundit) April 3, 2026

CORN, POPPED: 60 Minutes Faces a ‘Bloodbath’ but That’s not the Worst of It.

MAYBE IT’S TIME TO UPDATE YOUR SHOPWORN 1968 TALKING POINTS:

The myth that our military is made up of children from lower class homes is a lie created by Marxists.

America’s military is overwhelmingly middle class (around 60%)

Wealthy families enlist at a proportionate rate

Low-income families are actually underrepresented https://t.co/V9P7io4bSv pic.twitter.com/dZ6ud04Jnw

— Garrett Exner (@Exner_Garrett) April 3, 2026

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): The combat arms are disproportionately white, male, and from the South.

NICE WORK HERE BY FLOTUS: 6 Ukrainian Children to Return From Russia, Reunite With Families.

A seventh Ukrainian child will also be returned to their family later this month, the first lady’s office said in a statement.

Ukraine says close to 20,000 children have been illegally sent to Russia and Belarus, where they are sometimes subject to military training and forced to fight against their own country’s troops.

Melania Trump wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin in August about the plight of Ukrainian children separated from their families by war. It was the fourth time the U.S. first lady had expedited such a return, the White House said.

“Reunifying children with their loved ones in this region of the world remains one of the most important global issues today. I am encouraged that both sides remain committed to ongoing cooperation, raising the safety and well-being of children above this abhorrent war,” the statement said.

You’d never hear the end of this story if it involved DOCTOR Jill Biden or Michelle Obama, but our press is happy to largely ignore the loveliest First Lady — inside and out — in my lifetime.

2028 PREVIEW:

Emanuel: "50% of American kids aren’t reading at grade level. Reading and math scores at a 30-year low. The Democratic Party’s response was bathroom access and trans athletes in women’s sports."pic.twitter.com/d4fjr4IBdj

— Brandon Straka #WalkAway (@BrandonStraka) April 2, 2026

He’s running.

CHANGE: Another Top General Out As Hegseth Reshapes the Pentagon.

THE COUNTRY HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH CRAZY RICH WHITE LADIES:

Gavin Newsom’s wife on how she raises her kids:

“I've given our boys dolls…if I'm reading a book and the protagonist is a male, I just change the 'he' to a 'she.'” pic.twitter.com/WUwilxb7xC https://t.co/WUwilxb7xC

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) April 3, 2026

HMM: The case for Trump’s tariffs looks strong a year on from ‘liberation day.’

The manufacturing sector began to respond as well. Demand for capital equipment grew faster after “liberation day” than in 2024, and faster still over the past three months. Industrial output, which had declined over the past decade and fell 0.3 per cent in 2024, has posted a 1.6 per cent gain. Surveys of purchasing managers by the Institute for Supply Management and S&P Global have found increasing optimism among manufacturers. Anna Wong, chief US economist for Bloomberg, confirmed the overwhelmingly positive data last week, noting that it is “corroborated by a very strong signal from the latest earning transcripts” and also that “tariffs probably played a role”.

To deny that reality, opponents of tariffs have seized on the decline in manufacturing employment as the metric that matters and proof that the project is failing. But they are doubly wrong: First, the trend has in fact improved. As compared to the sector’s 167,000 jobs lost in the 11 months prior to “liberation day”, losses in the comparable period since have been only 93,000.

Second, employment is a lagging indicator of re-industrialisation, a process that will take years.

Reshoring was never going to be instantaneous or pain-free, as Trump himself said.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO SELL ME, I’M ALREADY IN FAVOR OF DEFUNDING THE UN:

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warns the organization faces collapse without continued U.S. funding, which contributes roughly $2.2 billion to its core budget.

"the United Nations is on the brink of total collapse" pic.twitter.com/OM17TgCgqY

— Brandon Straka #WalkAway (@BrandonStraka) April 2, 2026

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: The Kamala Effect — Some Dems Want Off the Diversity Train for ’28. “Harris is still floating the possibility of presidential run in 2028. The Democrats aren’t really casting their eyes her way, however, just like they didn’t in 2020. In fact, they might end up running as far away from the idea of Kamala Harris as they can.”

THAT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE SHUT UP:

Two days ago, Israel passed a law that allows for convicted terrorists to be sentenced to death—they received international condemnation.

Since the start of this year, the Islamic Republic has executed 637 innocent Iranians—there has not been a word of condemnation.

Weird.

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) April 3, 2026

THAT SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE LEG CAN BE TOTALLY WORTH IT? There’s a Basic Lesson From the Jill Biden Secret Service Detail Negligent Discharge. “What the spokesperson couldn’t or wouldn’t explain was why an on-duty Secret Service agent, away from his protectee and with no threat present, drew his service weapon, therefore requiring him to re-holster in a manner that led to him negligently shooting himself in the ass. That seems a bit fishy even to the casual observer.”

ICYMI: TMZ Is Coming for Congress — and Washington Is Nervous.

DEPOSING NON-EXISTENT MONARCHS IS A LUCRATIVE GRIFT:

WOW 🚨 2 of the NGO organizers of the No Kings Protests paid themselves $6 MILLION DOLLARS last year

Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin are the co-directors of Indivisible. Indivisible is one of the organizers of “No Kings rallies”

It’s funded by George Soros

Payroll protest data:… pic.twitter.com/O49ogKKd9D

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) April 2, 2026

I looked into these two last year during the anti-Tesla/DOGE/Musk protests, and here’s what I found:

Indivisible Project’s parent organization — more on that in a moment — was founded and is run by the husband-wife team of Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin. Greenberg is your typical NGO type — nice upbringing, good schools, brief Capitol Hill career with Tom Perriello (D-Va.) and at State. She followed up with the creation of an online anti-Trump publication called “Indivisible: A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda,” and the establishment of the Indivisible Civics organization.

While DataRepublican doesn’t show Indivisible Civics receiving any taxpayer money, it has received $5,424,005 from somewhere, with about half of those funds going to wages and salaries and another 10% to benefits.

But here’s where it gets fun. The fine print disclaimer at the bottom of the since-deleted signup page reads, “Indivisible.org is a joint website of Indivisible Project and Indivisible Action. Indivisible Project is a registered 501(c)(4). Indivisible Action is a Hybrid Polítical Action Committee. They are separate organizations.”

That’s legalese for “the parent organization (Indivisible Civics aka Indivisible.org) is legally and financially shielded from any stupid stuff people do with the money and encouragement of the new organization (Indivisible Project).” But again, money is fungible — so wink-wink, nudge-nudge, comrade.

Back in the ’80s, we called that “plausible deniability.”

And now we know they’re more well-to-do red-diaper grifters shilling for George Soros — surprising exactly nobody.

PRETENDING THE FRINGE IS MAINSTREAM IS HOW THE PRESS SMEARS THE GOP; PRETENDING THE FRINGE DOESN’T EXIST IS HOW THE PRESS PROTECTS DEMS:

Social media isn’t real life.

James Fishback, the antisemitic GOP candidate getting outsized attention on this platform and in parts of the mainstream media, polling at…

Four percent in the GOP primary (trailing Donalds by 42 points!) https://t.co/X9ObGZsVsh

— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) April 2, 2026

More:

Tucker Carlson endorsed Fishback and featured him on his show. Tucker claimed he represents the future of the Republican Party.

Latest polling has Fishback running at around 4% in the primary.

Luckily, Tucker seems to have very little influence with Republican primary voters. https://t.co/2I9KmMUMvV

— AG (@AGHamilton29) April 2, 2026

THIS DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THE FLEX BEIJING SEEMS TO THINK IT IS: China Throws a Petty Tantrum Over the Panama Canal — and Rubio Isn’t Having It.

MODERN ROMANCE: Recall issued for chocolates containing potentially ‘life-threatening’ amounts of Viagra.

ICYMI: The $196 Billion Question: Where Did California’s Medi-Cal Money Go?

SQUEEZE HARDER: Dubai crackdown hits Iran’s economic lifeline, squeezes IRGC networks.

The arrest of dozens of IRGC-linked money changers in the United Arab Emirates is one of the most serious blows yet to Tehran’s sanctions-evasion network, laying bare how heavily the Islamic Republic has depended on Dubai as an economic lifeline.

Sources familiar with the matter told Iran International that UAE authorities detained dozens of money changers tied to financial entities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, shut down associated companies and closed their offices.

The crackdown follows days of mounting regional tensions and comes after other measures targeting Iranian nationals, including visa revocations and tighter travel restrictions through Dubai.

For years, Dubai has served as Iran’s main offshore financial artery, where oil proceeds, petrochemical revenues and rial conversions were turned into dollars, dirhams and euros beyond the reach of the country’s battered domestic banking system.

“This is going to be a real problem for Tehran because Dubai was an economic lung for the Iranian regime,” Jason Brodsky of United Against Nuclear Iran told Iran International.

“That is economic pressure and diplomatic isolation in a way that the UAE is able to employ against the Iranian regime, and it will have a very considerable impact.”

This is no time to go wobbly.

A GOSSIP RAG DOING WHAT THE MSM WON’T: TMZ Is Coming for Congress — and Washington Is Nervous.