Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Strikes Kharg Island, Cuba Talks Turkey to Trump

Sundance reports CENTCOM Announces Tragic Loss of U.S. Refueling Aircraft – Four Killed, not from enemy fire, up to six, hosts Secretary Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine Hold a Pentagon Press Briefing, and Indicted John Bolton Beclowns Himself and Showcases Why His Neocon Mindset is Useless.

Speculation on the fate of Iran's Supreme Leader continues, Matt Vespa at TownHall, Israel's Mossad Account Posted Something Interesting About Iran's New Leader. Dr. Eli David @DrEliDavid, "Breaking - Official Mossad account: Mojtaba Khamenei is dead." That way he can't second guess the IRGC. A Larry vid at Hat Hair, New Ayatollah Incapacitated: Trump, Hegseth Deliver Iran Updates. 

The US has attacked Kharg Island, home of Iran major oil export port, destroyed military installations there while leaving the port intact, allowing oil exports, probably to assuage China and Japan. Nick Arama at RedState, 'Find Out' Moment: Trump Makes Big Announcement About What the US Just Did to Iran's Kharg Island. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, NEW: Trump Orders Strikes on Kharg Island, Warns Iran On Hormuz, "When Trump says "every military target," he wasn't kidding around. The New York Times reports that the targets include missile and mine storage facilities as well as assets that exist to protect the oil facilities on Kharg" and Hegseth: RIP Iran's Ballistic Missile Production, Hormuz Open, Where's Mojtaba? UPDATE: Marines Coming. News Wax, US Hits Iran's Kharg Island Military Sites; Vital Oil Facilities Spared for Now. Althouse "The United States bombed military installations on an island that serves as Iran’s main oil export hub and threatened to 'wipe out' the oil infrastructure there..." ""... if Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps replied on Saturday that Iran would turn U.S. regional economic interests 'into a pile of ash' if the United States carried out its threat...." The NYT reports." Streiff at RedState hears Up to 2,500 Marines Are Headed to the Persian Gulf As Iranian Blockade of Hormuz Takes Center Stage.

Insty, AS THE WAR “DRAGS ON,” TRUMP CONTINUES TO OBLITERATE ALL THE MULLAHS’ ASSETS: "Live Updates: Trump says U.S. “obliterated” every target on Kharg Island, as Iran war nears 2-week mark. No, seriously, The Atlantic is talking about the war “dragging on” after less than two weeks." Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "The Democrat/Media Complex is actively rooting for America's military to fail in Iran. Tokyo Rose and Lord Haw Haw never died. They just joined CNN." P.T. Ward @HTWardish, "In case you were wondering why CNN and Reuters are trying so hard to make it look like the United States is losing this war, look no further than this. There is a consistent trend showing Republicans gaining ground, and the media is growing desperate." Quote InteractivePolls @IAPolls2022, " 2026 Generic Congressional Ballot Democrats: 45.5% (+0.1), Republicans: 44.2% (+1.7)." Nick Arama, Tom Cotton Levels False CNN Story About the Strait of Hormuz With a Big Dose of Reality. Tom Cotton @SenTomCotton, "As Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, let me make clear: whoever leaked this lied. CNN should do some fact-checking. The U.S. has planned for Iran to try to close the strait for decades." It's what the military does when they're not at war, plan and train. Twitchy, WH Press Office Lights Up CNN After 'Clarification' Added to Trump/Strait of Hormuz Story. Jason Beale @jabeale, "Full quote for you, @NatashaBertrand - you must have missed it. I've highlighted the part you quoted in your post: "War is hell. War is chaos. And as we saw yesterday with the tragic crash of our KC-135 tanker, bad things can happen. American heroes - all of them. And as I have with all of them - as we have - we will greet those heroes at Dover, and their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission." Quote Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertrand Replying to @NatashaBertrand, "Hegseth on the KC-135 crash: “Bad things can happen” in war. Caine starts out with a tribute to those killed." P.T. Ward @HTWardish, "This is really nasty from the single worst Pentagon/NatSec reporter I’ve ever seen. Not even close to what he actually said."

Matt Margolis at PJM, Democrat Fearmongering on Iran Isn’t Working. Here’s How We Know. At RCP, Sen. Fetterman: Democrats Can't Even Acknowledge Iran Strike Made The World Safer, It's Because Trump Did It. At Althouse, "Regarding the current U.S.-Iran conflict, former President Trump (who appears to be back in office based on recent reports)..." ""... declared at a rally in Hebron, Kentucky, on March 11, 2026, that 'we've won' the war against Iran, claiming it was effectively over 'in the first hour.' He has repeated variations of this, including that the U.S. has 'already won' but needs to 'finish the job,' amid ongoing military operations. The war itself seems to have begun around late February or early March 2026, with U.S. airstrikes and other actions escalating quickly...." So wrote Grok, after I asked about the difference between 2 events — the victor's winning and the loser's surrender. I was amazed to see the phrase "former President Trump (who appears to be back in office based on recent reports)."" And "The absence of President Donald Trump in the new poll’s question may have led more people to say they are 'unsure,' as views about the president tend to color people’s opinions....", "I'm reading "We asked 1,000 Americans if U.S. strikes on Iran should continue" (WaPo)(gift link)." Tom Nichols @RadioFreeTom, "PS: The guy who's been tapped to lead this 90 day nonsense is Anthony Tata, whose bonkers conspiracy ideas (Obama is a Muslim, Brennan's a commie, etc) were so extreme that the Senate rejected him for a senior job during Trump 45. This time, the GOP caved, and here we are." Quote Secretary of War Pete Hegseth @SecWar "Professional Military Education should produce warfighters and leaders—not wokesters. That’s why we are establishing a Task Force to evaluate our Senior Service Colleges and ensure the focus is where it belongs. No distractions. Just warfighting." DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, "Hello Professor Nichols, You spent twenty-five years at the Naval War College. You taught the officers who would go on to run America's wars. Famously, you never served in any of them. In February 2003, you were at your desk in Newport when you wrote this, about Colin Powell’s presentation to the United Nations: “There is only one thing to say about Secretary Powell’s presentation at the U.N.: If this doesn’t do it, nothing will.” You were confident. You were expert. You were wrong. You acknowledged this twenty years later in The Atlantic — the invasion was, in your own words, “one of the greatest geopolitical disasters in American history...”" Salena Zito at WaEx thinks Our civilian-military bond is cracked.

Mike Peck at Uncommon Defense, Ukraine Is Getting Its Revenge on Iran, "Iran sent drones to Russia. Now Ukraine is helping America fight Iranian drones." Nick Arama thinks This Brilliant Move by the Iranian People Against Their Oppressors May Just Make Your Day. Reporting IRGC and Basij sites for drone attacks. Saul Sadka @Saul_Sadka, "WILD: The predicted “future” came within 24 hours. This is Israeli Air Force footage of drones and jets blowing up Basij checkpoints all around Tehran today, based on tips called in by Iranian citizens. A revolution with air support against a regime with no air defence."

USA Today has Cuba confirms talks with US officials. Could a historic deal be next? Sarah Anderson at PJM, Is It Happening? Cuban Regime Makes a Big Announcement. Hat Hair's Dave Strom, Cuba's Will Is Crumbling; Negotiations With Trump Have Begun. Sundance, Cuba Just Did What? At Da Wire, 51 Prisoners To Be Freed As Cuba Shows Cracks Under Trump Pressure. Ezra Levant @ezralevant, "Wow", Quote DaveO @Patri0tCx_, "In a surprising announcement, Cuban president Diaz Canel says he has authorized and awaits the arrival of FBI agents into the country." From Ace, Socialist Cuba Has Finally Run Out of Other People's Money and Is Looking for a Deal with Trump. "Cuba had been receiving free oil from Venezuela. Well, not free -- Cuba supplied Venezuela with top intelligence agents and torturers in exchange for the oil. But then Trump, probably on Bibi Netanyahu's orders because, obviously, sent Delta Force in to shoot L.O.O.K.E.R. guns at Cuba's security forces and abduct Nicolas Maduro. The oil shipments stopped. Trump also began raiding and seizing the "dark fleet" of illegal oil tankers moving sanctioned Iranian and Russian oil to low-class shithole barbarian states. Cuba is now out of oil and would like to speak with America's manager." Althouse, "For decades, Cuba has been held up as an ideological lodestar by leftists across Latin America...." ""Even among opponents, Cuba often earned grudging respect as an unyielding bastion of resistance against generations of American presidents. But now Cuba is running out of oil, and its economy is nearing collapse...From "Is Latin America Ready to Abandon Cuba? Latin America’s left saw Cuba as its lodestar. Now leaders across the spectrum are hesitant to aid a nation in the Trump administration’s cross hairs" (NYT). " Mark, Darkly Optimistic @mkos66, "Since Canada did not want to become our 51st state, maybe Cuba will someday. Advantages over Canada: Better weather Better food Better music Better baseball players."

VodkaPundit at Insty, BUT DON’T WORRY, LEFTIES RUN TOTALLY HONEST AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN THIS COUNTRY: Matt Forney @mattforney "Wow it's weird how the Latin American left suddenly started losing elections when USAID was killed." Quote Geiger Capital @Geiger_Capital, "Wow. Newest AtlasIntel poll for Colombia's Presidential election in May… Paloma Valencia - 46% Ivan Cepeda - 38%."

John Sexton at Hat Hair watches 60 Minutes: We've Had the Havana Syndrome Weapon for More Than a Year "Three independent sources from different agencies tell us that undercover homeland security agents purchased a miniaturized microwave weapon from a complex Russian criminal network. It's classified. We didn't see it. But it has been described to us. We are told it doesn't look anything like a gun. It is designed to be concealed and small enough to be carried by a person. It is silent and doesn't create heat like a microwave oven."

Sundance hosts Brian Kilmeade Interviews President Trump on Current Events, Ahead of Paris Meeting with Chinese Trade Officials, USTR Jamieson Greer Discusses Goals and Objectives and Secretary Bessent Announces “Narrowly Tailored, Short Term Sanction Relief” for Russia. Capt. Ed has Good News: Trump Mulls Suspending Jones Act to Alleviate Oil Crisis and The Enduring Media Myth Of a 'MAGA Split.' 

MSN, Former DHS Sec. Jeh Johnson: We can't tie policy disagreements to keeping the government funded. 'Becca Lower at RedState, DOT Sec. Duffy Announces FAA Ground Stop Is 'Over,' Airports Resuming Operations. Amy Curtis at TownHall, All It Took for Democrats to Cave on DHS Funding Was Four Terrorist Attacks. Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman, "HOLY CRAP! Guy Benson just ROCKED Senator Slotkin after she changed her tune on DHS funding, saying that democrats need to "put ICE funding aside." "ICE is already funded for the NEXT THREE YEARS" "There was a vote on [DHS funding] YESTERDAY... she made the choice to vote to MAINTAIN the shuttering." Democrats are BACKPEDALING because there is no defense for keeping DHS defunded. It's putting the American people in danger." Nice Deb at Am Great hears Thune to Bring SAVE America Act Up For ‘Show Vote’ Next Week.

DataRepublican (small r) @DataRepublican, " SNAP Shock: Far many more millions in Food Aid Spent on King Crab, Lobster & Steaks than the Department of War. From an official government research study of $6.58 billion dollars in SNAP expenditures, $1.9 million dollars were spent on king crab, $2.2 million dollars were spent on lobster and $28.4 million on select beef loins. Federal SNAP spending in 2024 was $99.8 billion. Scaled up, that means SNAP recipients spent $28.8 million dollars on king crab, $33.36 million dollars on lobster, and $430.75 million on steaks. DoW spent $2 million on Alaskan king crab, $6.9 million on lobster tail, $15.1 million on ribeye steak. Ask any journalist pushing the "Hegseth is spending money on lobster" propaganda if they're willing to cut out those categories for SNAP recipients. They will not be."

Wall Street Mav @WallStreetMav, "NYC Mayor socialist Zohran Mamdani has proposed lowering the exemption on the death tax (estate tax) from $7.1 million down to only $750,000. He would also increase the death tax from 16% to 50%. No other jurisdiction in the USA confiscates wealth at death from people with that small of an estate. Anyone with any equity in a home in NYC would likely exceed the $750,000 and have to pay the death tax..." Ace, An Illegal Alien With a Criminal Record As Long as David French's Bull Roster Has Been Deported Four Times, But Is Still Allowed to Walk Around NYC Pushing Strangers In Front of Oncoming Subway Trains, "Via John Sexton. This is sick.Mamdani signed an Executive Order banning police from cooperating with DHS or ICE." David Marcus @BlueBoxDave, "I am getting an almost uniform sense from my sources in the black community that there are fears that immigrants are taking over the Democratic Party, and not even offering power sharing. Mandani’s commie cabinet is remarkably devoid of black men."

Scott Pinsker at PJM says I Think I Know Which Dem Is Behind the WaPo’s BRUTAL Takedown of Rep. Ro Khanna. "To me, the Clinton connection is far and away the most likely explanation." 

Shockingly WaPoo allows Carl Trueman to opine James Talarico represents Christianity’s past, not its future. "The Texas Democrat’s support for transgender rights helps explain why liberal Christianity is dying." Capt. Ed adds "Progressive Christians have been around for a long time. The fact that Talarico supports every far left idea is the only thing he has going for him as far as the left-wing of the Democratic Party is concerned. If he were ever to suggest his faith led him to disagree with them about even one thing, they would turn on him and call him a religious bigot."

Noah Smith thinks San Francisco's urban revival is in danger "If the Board of Supervisors falls to the Progressives, the old dysfunction will return." John Sexton sees a Portland Homeless Shelter Nonprofit to Close After Claims of Financial Mismanagement.

From WJ, Jasmine Crockett Security Officer Shot, Killed by SWAT Team. He sounds like a real peach. Ace hears White House Spokesman Steven Cheung Blasts Rancid Racist Stephen Colbert as a No-Talent Loser Who Brings Shame to His Racist Ancestors, "I can't believe this racist launched a psyop to deny a nomination to the supremely-qualified Strong and Proud Black Woman Jasmine Ratchet. I think we're all still grieving."

Stacy McCain on The Terrorist and the 12th District. CNN, Michigan synagogue assailant had connections to Hezbollah members in Lebanon, sources say. Dead relatives. The Persian Jewess@persianjewess "The Michigan shooter who attempted to murder toddlers at a Jewish preschool claimed he had lost “family members” in an Israeli strike in Lebanon. Those “family members” were his brothers, who were members of Hezbollah, a U.S. Designated Terror Group." PoIiMath @politicalmath, "Imagine if a man attacked a black church, specifically targeting black children, because a black man killed his daughter. Imagine if someone told you "that's not racism, that's blowback" idk, that would seem like a weird take to me bc it's saying that the killer is not a someone with agency. Because, wink wink, of course the killer would target black children. That's just the natural inclination of people "like that". You know. *Those* people. You just have to expect this kind of behavior from them." HonestReporting @HonestReporting, "Seriously, you don’t hate the @nytimes enough. A synagogue with a preschool is targeted. The NYT reminds readers it was “dedicated to the formation of a Jewish state.” The journalistic equivalent of: “well… what was she wearing?”" Ace,
"The Motive May Never Be Known" Is Now "The Motive Is White Supremacy, Somehow", "David Strom rounds up some of the most egregious disinformation from the far-left terrorist propaganda networks, which are simply now denying that Islamic terrorism exists just as they previously denied antifa exists." The Constitutional Conservative @TheCCShowcast, "After a Jewish temple was JUST ATTACKED by a terrorist in West Bloomfield, Michigan, the anchor at a local station in Detroit feels the need to connect it to "white supremacy." Anchor: "Its not just a fear of Iran and what's happening, there's a rise in white supremacy." WTF?"

Betsy Stauffer at LI, notices Norfolk’s Soros-Backed DA Blames GOP’s ‘Gun Absolutism’ for Old Dominion Shooting “America is a product of English Christian culture. NOT Islamic culture. NOT progressive culture. If we don’t cease to import islam, the West falls.”

John Sexton reports Antifa Defendants Guilty of Supporting Terrorism in Attack on ICE Detention Center. "Hopefully, this is just the first of many similar trials. Antifa might have gotten away with this in Oregon or California, but not in Texas."

NPR pretty happy Judge blocks DOJ's criminal probe of Federal Reserve, blasting it as political. Sundance hosts USAO Jeanine Pirro Responds to Activist Judge James Boasberg Blocking Grand Jury Testimony to Review Federal Reserve Fraud. She was pretty hot, under the collar, that is.

Shipwreckedcrew, hopes Another 9th Cir. Case on Temporary Protective Status For Venezuelans Might Finally Draw The Supreme Court Into The Fight. "The author of the panel opinion writes a statement on the denial of en banc review citing SCOTUS's Tariffs opinion as a reason the panel decision upholding the continuing of TPS is correct."

John Sexton is amused by An Amusing Dissent to the 9th Circuit Has Progressive Judges Upset Susie Moor at RedState, 9th Circuit Judge Comes Out Swinging (Ahem)...in Spicy Dissent Over Women-Only Nude Spa. "You may think that swinging dicks shouldn’t appear in a judicial opinion. You’re not wrong. But..." Peter St Onge, Ph.D. @profstonge, "Woke Ninth Circuit decides Korean spas have to let biological men swing their gear in front of women and children. The dissent is pure gold."

Plus more at the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 03.13.26.