FACE, MEET PALM: Bad News, Guys: The New York Times Says We Lost the War — and Iran Is Now a ‘Major World Power.’

MORE FROM DOWN UNDER:

I’m old enough to remember how Morant and Handcock became folk heroes in Australia.

This time though, it isn’t the British who are going after Diggers, it is their own government.

Also of note, the incident involving Morant et al took place in 1901. The trial took place just a… https://t.co/mJtjGeVHdq pic.twitter.com/iu949zQ7rE

— cdrsalamander (@cdrsalamander) April 7, 2026

Key bit:

It is 2026. The accused, who happens to be the most decorated Australian living veteran, was arrested for accusations dating back 16 and more years ago.

This isn’t justice in any way shape or form. This is something else altogether.

If he were to be charged, it should have been a decade and a half ago, at the latest.

They’ve already bankrupted him last year with legal fees in a defamation trial where he has been asked to pay $30 million dollars (Australian) in legal fees.

Between this and what the UK is doing to pensioners who served in Northern Ireland decades ago, there is something very wrong in the Commonwealth with our Five-Eyes allies.

“Allies” is pushing it these days. Which feels very strange to say, after growing up with the “special relationship” and the knowledge that Australia fought alongside us in all of our wars since 1945, including Vietnam.

WELL, YES: Europe should secure the Strait. “The US has too many other interests — both in the Middle East and beyond — to be Israel’s unconstrained ally in its endless fight for survival. And then there is the sharp “post-heroic” asymmetry between the two nations. American tolerance for war casualties is certainly still higher than Europe’s, where President Macron abandoned 1.9 million square miles across the Sahel, long secured by just 5,000 French troops, to the jihadis, apparently terrified that 10 might be killed at once. When that number of French troops died on a single day in Afghanistan, President Sarkozy’s presidency was irredeemably ruined.”

Europe should, but can’t.

NOPE, NEVER WAS:

Destroying a bridge? Isn’t that a war crime? https://t.co/JfqczP2lgN

— Douglas Bulloch (@douglasbulloch) April 7, 2026

But this is illegal:

It IS NOT a war crime to strike infrastructure used by enemy forces even power plants and bridges.

It IS a federal crime to tell military members to disobey orders to conduct those strikes. pic.twitter.com/7V7cHt2dBR

— Jim Hanson (@JimHansonDC) April 7, 2026

HEADLINE OF THE DAY: Despotic, Neurotic, and Likely Psychotic: Liberals Have Become the Insane Clown Stasi.

WHEN THEY TELL YOU WHAT THEY’LL DO, BELIEVE THEM:

So a group of zero white people held a press conference to tell you that white people will be systemically discriminated against. https://t.co/Zs8iLI0bSC

— okoy (@Y0K0S0N) April 6, 2026

RELIGION OF PEACE UPDATE: Iran hangs another young man as regime steps up executions of protesters under cover of war.

Most of those executed are young men, including teens, alleged to have been either involved in the protests that were brutally suppressed by the regime — with thousands shot dead in the streets — or members of banned opposition groups.

Undeterred by the war, the Islamic Republic continues to exact its revenge, and exiled opposition groups and rights organizations said they feared that hundreds more could be executed in the coming days.

Ali Fahim, 23, was hanged Monday after being found guilty of involvement in an attack on a Tehran base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij militia during the protests, according to rights groups who have followed the case.

Iranians need guns.

MOST INDICATIONS ARE THAT TRUMP’S CEASEFIRE TALK ARE A SIDESHOW TO KEEP MARKETS CALM AND EUROWEENIES FROM YAPPING TOO MUCH:

Iran has cut off direct communications with the U.S. over Trump’s “civilization will die” threat this morning. -WSJ

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 7, 2026

A DEATH CULT, UP TO AND INCLUDING SUICIDE: Iran Defiant on U.S. Demands As Deadline to Destroy ‘Every Bridge and Power Plant’ Looms.

CHUTZPAH:

California voters paying $19 million to polish the state’s reputation so their Governor can run for President is peak Blue State https://t.co/BZl3jpRQ0r

— George MF Washington (@GMFWashington) April 7, 2026

I’m so old, I remember when California’s reputation as the Golden State required no burnishing.

CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Illinois gun owners plan rally in wake of Supreme Court order.

The Illinois State Rifle Association says gun owners have run out of options in a case challenging the state’s prohibition of carrying concealed firearms on mass transit.

The case Schoenthal v. Raoul dealt with whether the state’s ban of carrying firearms on mass transit, even for those with concealed carry permits, is constitutional.

A district judge said the measure is unconstitutional. An appeals court differed. The U.S. Supreme Court Monday turned down a petition to hear the case.

“We are very disappointed by the Court’s decision, especially since law-abiding public transportation riders in Illinois are less safe as a result of the law,” attorney David Sigale, who represents plaintiffs, told the The Center Square. “We know that groups like the ISRA will continue to fight this prohibition in the legislative and political arenas, as well as the courts, so that Illinoisans’ Second Amendment rights will be respected.”

Richard Pearson with the ISRA said they’ve run out of options for that challenge. But, there are other cases the Supreme Court could take up.

“They have the Wolford [v. Lopez] case in front of them, which is from Hawaii, which is about public spaces and actually public transportation. So we’ll see what they do with that,” Pearson told The Center Square Monday. “So we were kind of hoping for a favorable ruling, at least to take our case. And that didn’t happen.”

Certainly disappointing.

SHE NEEDS HELP:

I know her fans will play dumb, but she’s calling for other nations to rise up against the United States and take Trump out.

There’s no other interpretation of this that makes sense given the seriousness of her words.

She’s not calling for a UN council. pic.twitter.com/g08PUwLTpH

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) April 7, 2026

MUCH MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE: Trump Ends Obama Climate Regulations and Finalizes Massive Deregulation.

HE IS A COMMIE, AFTER ALL:

So Greenwald actually does know that letting fanatics have nuclear weapons is bad. He’s not dumb. He’s just on the other side. https://t.co/P0dJcjA8mB

— Kyle Shideler (@ShidelerK) April 7, 2026

THAT’S THE $64,000 QUESTION FOR ARTEMIS: NASA’s Moon ship and rocket seem to be working well, so what about the landers?

A VERY PUBLIC EDUCATION:

Teenagers are sharing photos of their AP U.S. Government textbooks, and the sheer amount of indoctrination is wildly disturbing.

Apparently, Barack Obama is ideologically a right wing authoritarian.

Hillary Clinton and George W Bush are entirely indistinguishable politically.… pic.twitter.com/0lGn1acdqB

— Isabel Brown (@theisabelb) April 6, 2026

WELL, SHE IS: Jennifer Siebel Newsom Is the Crazy Rich White Lady Your Mother Warned You About.

TO BE FAIR, PERFORMATIVE OUTRAGE IS TAPPER’S ENTIRE SCHTICK:

Obama prosecuted more leakers and whistleblowers than all previous presidents combined.

This was pointed out by CNN's Jake Tapper, confirmed by PolitiFact, and the ACLU criticized Obama for it.

Spare us your performative outrage. https://t.co/4KpRYszvfE pic.twitter.com/wgPt3QiZ0K

— Possum Reviews (@ReviewsPossum) April 7, 2026

Maybe Tapper’s schtick would be less tiresome if it weren’t entirely one-sided.

HEY, BIG SPENDER: OpenAI doesn’t expect to be profitable until at least 2030 as AI costs surge.

Spending on AI training will be staggering. In 2028, OpenAI projects spending $121 billion on computing power for its AI research. The estimate for 2029 is slightly higher, before AI model training costs dip back below $100 million in 2030. (This year, for perspective, the company expects to spend just over $25 billion on AI model training.)

Anthropic’s totals are smaller but still climb steadily, surpassing $30 billion in 2029.

These losses come despite an expected surge in revenue at both companies. OpenAI’s revenue is projected to nearly double annually, reaching roughly $275 billion in 2030. Anthropic expects to approach $150 billion in 2029.

YOY revenue doubling is in line with OpenAI’s growth since the company debuted OpenAI, so we’ll see.

MEANWHILE, DOWN UNDER…:

My uncle's name is on the wall in Canberra. That's what he died for? https://t.co/cULAdXXa73

— Northern Barbarian (@xnoesbueno) April 7, 2026

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Marco Rubio Is the Reason I Gave Up on Political Purity Tests. “There was a time when I was pretty exacting about purity tests for other conservative activists and, to a lesser extent, Republican politicians. Marco Rubio long ago made me abandon them completely for politicians. President Trump reinforced that.”

THEY OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED:

One of the more entertaining things to witness regarding the Iran conflict is to watch the "credentialed" class of milbloggers twist themselves into pretzels to laud the skill and courage of America's fighting men and women in accomplishing all of their assigned missions so…

— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) April 7, 2026

HMM: Trump confirms U.S. sent guns to Iranian people, but says intermediary kept them.

“We sent some guns,” he said. “They were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs. You know what happened? The people that we sent them to kept them.”

“So, I am very upset with a certain group of people and they’re gonna pay a big price for that,” he added.

Trump previously told Fox News’s Trey Yingst that he believed Kurdish groups had kept the guns intended for the Iranian people. Kurdish militia forces had been the subject of speculation over a possible role in a ground operation against Iran.

Plan A failed. What’s Plan B?

ICYMI: The European Mind Can’t Comprehend Why We’re Such Bad A****s.

BLUE STATE BLUES: The California Exodus Grows as Affordability Crisis Pushes Residents Out.

“The region recorded the largest population drop of any in the nation between July 2024 and July 2025, according to newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau,” the New York Post reported. “The data, published March 26, shows roughly 54,000 residents left the county during that one-year period. The losses mark a continuation of a steady slide for the nation’s most populous county.”

LA County’s population dropped below 10 million for the first time since 2020. It appears that outlying regions have particularly benefited from the departures, including Las Vegas, which saw a population increase of 20,000.

As more than a few noted on social media, it’s remarkable that people want to leave Southern California. But the high cost of living, crime, poor governance, and general disorder are making it intolerable for many.

While there are many reasons an area can experience a sudden population drop, LA’s precipitous one coincides with a general trend for the Golden State. Much of the state has been bleeding residents (particularly middle-class ones) for over a decade. The numbers stabilized due to immigration, but now that is petering out, too.

California used to be expensive but well-run. Now it’s even more expensive, but to give just one example, has the worst roads in the nation.

Apparently, people don’t like that.