HE’S JUST NO GOOD AT THIS STUFF: Gavin Newsom’s Troll of Donald Trump Spectacularly Boomerangs and Hits Him in the Nads.
Author Archive: Stephen Green
March 2, 2026
FALLOUT: Amazon’s cloud unit reports fire after objects hit UAE data center.
Iran’s response has been haphazard, because US-Israeli forces were so effective at eliminating their leadership and communications in the open hours — minutes? — of the operation.
SIGN OF THE TIMES:
The two most powerful officials in Iran have sought refuge in a hospital.
Ali Larijani and Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who are both high-priority targets, have reportedly taken refuge inside a hospital for cover out of fear of being located and targeted.
Both widely seen as… pic.twitter.com/f4Q2TWeoqH
— The Iran Watcher 🇮🇷 (@TheIranWatcher) March 2, 2026
CAUTION: THIS COLUMN MIGHT (ALSO) EXPIRE AT ANY MINUTE. Who’s Running Iran (for Now)?
NEO-FEUDALISM: In California, About the Only Way to Get a House Is to Inherit One.
Inheritance is one of the last reliable ways for younger Californians to own their first home.
About 18% of all property transfers in the state last year, representing nearly 60,000 homes, were made through inheritance, according to a recent analysis by real-estate data firm Cotality.
That share is a record for California in data going back to 1995, up from 12% in 2019. It is also roughly double the national share of 8.8% last year.
Cheryl Norris, a 76-year-old who works as an independent antique dealer, has owned a pair of homes in Northern California for decades. Her two children in their 30s don’t see a clear path toward buying a home there themselves. California’s home prices rank among the highest in the U.S., reaching a median single-family sales price of nearly $900,000 last year.
When Norris dies, she plans to leave her Santa Rosa property, with its low-pitched roof and large picture window, and her more expansive three-bedroom retreat set on more than 2 acres in San Rafael to her daughter and son.
“Even though my kids work as hard as I did, it’s sad that inheritance is their best shot at homeownership here,” she said.
I wonder how she and her adult kids vote.
PRIORITIES:
The LAX airport train is now 3 years late and will probably not open in time for the World Cup, but at least the rolling stock is made from 98% recycled material and it uses solar power. https://t.co/d9xLYeEd0s
— Marc Joffe (@marcjoffe) March 1, 2026
EPIC FURY’S ENDGAME: Regime Change or Regime Compliance?
DEMOCRATS LESS PRO-AMERICAN, LESS PRO-SECURITY THAN EUROPE? FIGURES:
🚨 BREAKING: NATO SecGen Mark Rutte just STUNNED the Democrats, coming out in 100% support of President Trump's Iran triumph
"The Commander-in-Chief, the leader of the free world, President Donald J. Trump, I REALLY commend what is happening here! Taking out Khamenei, taking out… pic.twitter.com/IZYqk9mh5j
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 2, 2026
STAND BY: Trump tells CNN the ‘big wave’ is yet to come in war with Iran.
“We’re knocking the crap out of them,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I think it’s going very well. It’s very powerful. We’ve got the greatest military in the world and we’re using it.”
Trump addressed a wide range of topics in the interview, including the expected length of the conflict, his surprise at Iran’s widespread retaliation and the country’s expected succession plan.
On how long the war might last, the president said, “I don’t want to see it go on too long. I always thought it would be four weeks. And we’re a little ahead of schedule.”
Asked if the US is doing more beyond the military assault to help the Iranian people regain control of their country from the regime, Trump said, “Yes.”
“We are indeed. But right now we want everyone staying inside. It’s not safe out there.”
And it’s about to get even less safe, the president said.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon.”
More to come… much more.
VICTORIA TAFT: Let’s Take a Trip Down Memory Lane With Iran’s Mullahs.
MORE GOVERNMENT, HIGHER PRICES: We Didn’t Just Get Expensive Electricity. We Built a System That Makes It Inevitable.
When one looks inside the electricity system, the experience is less like analyzing an immense machine than being fed into one, resembling the immortal scene in “Modern Times” where Charlie Chaplin’s factory worker is swallowed by the equipment he’s working on.
The American electricity market is not guided by an “invisible hand” of supply and demand, but an accumulation of misaligned rules laid down over decades. Layer upon layer of regulation, subsidy, mandate, and accounting rules to a point where the system became fixed in an upward, inflationary tilt, impervious to efforts to change.
There are at least a half-dozen federal environmental regulations that have more to do with rising electricity prices than tariffs or the data-center buildout, and a good example to start with is called Construction Work in Progress (CWIP).
As a new issue brief makes clear, it helped change who pays for America’s infrastructure.
Read the whole thing.
OURS ARE CHEAPER, TOO: U.S. Hits Iran With Iran’s Own Drone Design and I Can’t Stop Laughing. “All for the price of a nicely appointed Chevrolet Equinox.”
NEXT! Iranian VP takes over during wartime, raising questions about Pezeshkian’s status.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref informed officials of plans to have him take charge of the nation during wartime, according to a report from the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) published on social media late Saturday night.
There was no explicit note of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s ability to carry out presidential duties.
Earlier on Saturday, security forces blocked roads in the Tehran area that is home to Pezeshkian’s offices, witnesses said.
Keep this up, and maybe nobody will want the job.
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: The United Freaking States of America. Heck Yeah! “Since January 3, it’s felt less like a news cycle and more like a nonstop adrenaline rush. I don’t think I’ve ever loved this country more, and I am fairly certain I was waving a little U.S. flag the moment my toddler’s hands could hold one.”
Sarah Anderson is filling in for Kruiser today as he recovers from a birthday well spent.
PUMP IT UP: Oil producers vow to boost output as world gauges Iran fallout.
A coalition of OPEC, Russia and allied oil-producing nations agreed Sunday to boost output by a larger-than-expected amount in a move that could help offset any shortfall from Iran amid this weekend’s strikes.
Why it matters: The OPEC+ boost of 206,000 barrels per day is an early sign of how producers and companies will respond to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran as the world ponders the effect on oil prices.
Producers and companies also are anxiously watching the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and whether Iranian attacks damage oil infrastructure in Middle Eastern countries.
The big picture: The OPEC+ group “stopped short of a more forceful increase, underscoring the tightrope it is walking between responding to near-term geopolitical risk and avoiding oversupply later this year,” Jorge Leon, a top analyst with research and consulting firm Rystad Energy, said in a note.
But there’s also this: US gasoline prices to rise after attack on Iran, analysts warn.
I topped off the tank this weekend, just to be safe, but pump prices hadn’t spiked.
BRITONS VOTED THEIR WAY IN, BUT LACK THE MEANS TO SHOOT THEIR WAY OUT: Starmer’s parliamentary loss only adds to free fall that appeared to start before Epstein scandals.
The latest blow to Starmer was a stunning loss Friday in a parliamentary vote in Manchester, in which his Labour Party slid to a weak third, hemorrhaging votes on both the right and left.
Starmer was already politically hobbled by the arrest this week of Peter Mandelson, the prime minister’s hand-picked ambassador to the United States. But even before that, voters were souring on Starmer, who was the first left-of-center head of government in the U.K. after nearly 15 years of conservative rule.
In a weekly national tracking poll from before Mandelson’s arrest, the Labour Party had less support than the nationalist Reform UK party, with Reform UK at 28% and Labour at 22%. The Conservative Party, which had provided the five prime ministers that preceded Starmer, was a close third, with 20% support. Labour had a comfortable lead over the two right-of-center parties as recently as December.
The next election promises to be spicy — and putting together a government with that kind of split could be spicier still.
Assuming Labour allows another election, and I’m only half-joking when I say that.
March 1, 2026
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: Putin Calls Killing of Khamenei a ‘cynical violation’ of morality.
Putin made the statement in a letter to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that the Kremlin released to the public in the wake of Khamenei’s death. Saturday’s bold daytime strikes eliminated Khamenei along with several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law,” Putin wrote.
“In our country, Ayatollah Khamenei will be remembered as an outstanding statesman who made a huge personal contribution to the development of friendly Russian-Iranian relations and bringing them to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership,” Putin continued.
With any luck, those days are over.
NICE:
Flying over the city of Los Angeles:
"Thank U Trump ❤️ from Iranian People" pic.twitter.com/BOCsTaUNbw
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) March 1, 2026
THE GOODBYE LOOK:
Chinese are now leaving Iran like crazy, the price of a one-way ticket to Beijing has gone up to 3M Yuan ($425,000). What are the Chinese so afraid of? According to a Taiwanese news, they have done too many bad things in Iran (such as helping Iranian regime to crack down the… pic.twitter.com/wLzel5XBQB
— Bin Xie (@bxieus) March 1, 2026
STAND DOWN… AND LIVE: Trump offering immunity to IRGC, Iranian military and police forces.
FIRST SECDEF SINCE 9/11 THAT SEEMS HONESTLY INTERESTED IN WINNING:
And they keep calling Hegseth & Co “incompetent” after they’ve pulled off multiple large scale operations with virtually no leaks.
Maybe they don’t know what competence looks like? https://t.co/DQ4n7zUoyR
— RBe (@RBPundit) March 1, 2026