Flotsam and Jetsam - Vance say No Iran Deal, US Navy Crosses Into the Strait of Hormuz

NYT whines U.S. And Iran Fail to Agree on Peace Deal After 21 Hours of Talks, Vance Says. "Vice President JD Vance said the Iranian delegation had not accepted American terms for ending the war after a marathon, face-to-face session in Pakistan." Matt Vespa at TownHall, After 21 Hours of Negotiations, Vice President JD Vance Provides an Update. It's Not Shocking. Bonchie at RedState, New: Peace Talks With Iranian Regime Have Failed, Vance Gives Details From Islamabad Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Vance: No Deal – And That’s Bad News For Iran; Update: Vance Exits ASAP. Trump should start bombing bridges, power and oil facilities, slowly at first, and then more rapidly the longer they dither. I can't imagine what they hope to gain by dithering, except maybe for more help from the media. The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee, "Pope Condemns Allied Forces For Not Just Talking It Out With Nazis https://buff.ly/jisfzC1"

 At Althouse, "Iran has been unable to open the Strait of Hormuz to more shipping traffic because it cannot locate all of the mines it laid in the waterway and lacks the capability to remove them..." ""... according to U.S. officials. The development is one reason Iran has not been able to quickly comply with the Trump administration’s admonitions to let more traffic pass through the strait. It is also potentially a complicating factor as Iranian negotiators and a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance meet in Pakistan this weekend for peace talks...." The NYT reports." Capt. Ed, NEW: US Navy Warships Cross Strait of Hormuz For First Time; UPDATE: Mine Clearing Begins. Sundance at CTH, U.S. Warships Have Entered the Strait of Hormuz. From the Victory Girls, Trump Says Strait Of Hormuz Is Opening And Iran Freaks Out. Jesús Enrique Rosas - The Body Language Guy @Knesix, "I honestly thought this map was made up Hundreds of supertankers, the kind that carry two million barrels each, are currently racing toward the US Gulf Coast from every direction. Atlantic, Indian Ocean, around Africa, the scenic route, the "we were heading to Saudi Arabia but NVM" route. Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and everyone panicked. Oil hit $126 a barrel. Gas hit $4 a gallon. Cable news did the thing where they put a red banner on screen and say "CRISIS" in a font that suggests you should be hoarding toilet paper. And then something happened that nobody in media seems interested in reporting, for obvious reasons. The world just... switched suppliers? Like changing your internet provider except the internet provider is the entire effing global energy economy. American oil exports are approaching record levels. Gulf Coast refineries are running at 95% capacity. Supertankers that were mid-ocean on their way to the Persian Gulf literally turned around and headed to Texas. That's not a metaphor. Ship tracking data shows them doing U-turns in the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile China, which was getting 45% of its oil imports through Hormuz and paying basement prices for sanctioned Iranian crude, is now competing with Japan and Europe for the same expensive American barrels. Chinese manufacturers are already raising prices 20% on goods headed to the US. So to summarize: Iran played its biggest card and the main result is that the United States became the world's emergency gas station and China's cheap energy subsidy evaporated. This is either the most elaborate coincidence in the history of geopolitics... or someone planned the sequence Venezuela -> Iran -> profits!" So maybe Trump isn't in that much of a hurry to open the strait. Sundance at CTH hosts President Trump Not Accepting the Media Spin – Debunks the Nonsense in Strong Chopper Presser. wretchardthecat @wretchardthecat, "The Russian invasion of Ukraine and Iran's interdiction of the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al Mandeb and the resulting decline in 'fossil fuel' supply have started a chain reaction in the UK, Ireland, Western Europe. 1) Created fuel shortages that windmills and solar panels could not offset. 2) Pushed governments, who already taxing their workforce to the max to support welfare, migrants and woke to subsidize energy costs forced to increase it again 3) Created demands for more drilling and nuclear power that are anathema to the Left 4) Exposed the inability of Woke governments to provide any meaningful energy or international security because they have already spent everything on welfare. Some politicians, like Starmer, are frantically trying to restore the status quo ante without any means to do it. It is like a whole house of cards has seen the props knocked out.." Dave Strom at Hat Hair, British General Admits That It Can't Deploy a Division Abroad. Ben Shapiro at RCP, This Is What a World Superpower Looks Like, Artemis II, then Iran.

The Jerusalem Post has word that China plans to deliver air defense systems to Iran in coming weeks, US intelligence reveals - CNN Fresh clay pigeons, unless they intercept them on the ground or water first. China doesn't care, they get their money either way. NYPo argues The regime is unraveling: Iran’s military defeat is in plain sight. Bill Glahn at Power Line says Iran Shot Their Bolt, and Missed. Max Abrahms @MaxAbrahms, "It’s almost impossible to win a war any more given the disgustingness of today’s information space between American grifters, social media incentives for disinformation-fueled clicks and nefarious foreign influences posing as America First." Overton @overton_news, "Douglas Murray just shattered the “failure” narrative with receipts after Bill Maher declared the Iran operation a disaster and called for the U.S. to “cut and run!” ..." From Behind the Black, A military pilot’s perspective on downed pilot rescue in Iran Easter weekend. Leslie Eastman at LI, One Heartbeat, One Target: The Classified Tool Behind a Daring Iran Rescue "Whatever mix of tools was actually used, an American pilot is alive, out of Iran, and back in friendly hands." I'm skeptical; I think this may be part of a disinformation campaign.

Ben Smith at LI, Rubio Strips Green Card of ‘Screaming Mary’s’ Son “Masoumeh Ebtekar – also known as ‘Screaming Mary’ – was the spokeswoman for the Islamic terrorists who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.” "In 2014, the Obama Administration granted visas to her son and his family to enter the United States. In June 2016, the Obama Administration gave them lawful permanent resident status via the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program."

Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain, "Border crossings to near zero. Net negative migration. 95% reduction in asylum grants. Lawsuits against a slew of woke universities. DEI getting crushed everywhere. Massive, beneficial deregulation. No tax on tips. No tax on overtime. Venezuela turned into an American ally. And that's just off the top of my head. It's not Trump's fault that everyone's an ingrate with the memory of a goldfish." Quote Joe @Joekart Replying to @willchamberlain, "Name one thing this administration has done that it promised it would. I can name a dozen ways this admin has backstabbed his base. I can’t name single accomplishment other than feeling good the day he won."  TCW explains why Deluded Trump-haters are like Monty Python’s Black Knight. At Althouse, Which U.S. First Ladies have received the cruelest treatment in the press (and in public conversation)? Especially which ones were disrespected as, essentially, whores? "I asked Grok. Answer after the jump. The easiest guess as to who came in first is the correct answer, so see if you know who came in second:" Stephen Moore at Hat Hair says Show Me the Money – The Trump Tax Cuts Benefit the Middle Class.

Dave Strom thinks L'Affaire Swalwell Is Objectively Hilarious. It has me in stitches, regardless of whether he's innocent or not. Mark Judge (remember him? ) at Hat Hair is wallowing in well deserved schadenfreude, Eric Swalwell and the Brett Kavanaugh Karma Train. Sundance notes Adam Schiff Disavows His Faithful Sidekick, Eric Swalwell. Althouse finds "In a stunning political reversal, prominent supporters of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s campaign for California governor withdrew their support Friday..." "... after the congressmember denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him. Swalwell was among the leading Democrats in the race to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom. But in just hours, he saw his most prominent supporters - including U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff and powerful labor unions - drop their endorsements and call for his exit from the race.... I'm reading "Allies yank support for Swalwell’s California governor run after sexual assault allegations" (AP)." Congressmember, heh. Ward Clark at RedState reports Anna Paulina Luna Is Filing to Oust Eric Swalwell From House Amid Sexual Assault Claims. Katie Porter @katieporterca, "In light of the allegations of sexual assault, Eric Swalwell should resign from Congress and end his campaign for public office. But those decisions do not absolve him of taking responsibility for his misconduct, especially when he has attempted to silence and retaliate against these victims. These allegations merit full investigations, and these women deserve the right to pursue justice. Too often, men escape any consequence for sexual misconduct by stepping out of power. That is a first and necessary step towards justice because it limits the ability for further harm. I stand with these women as they seek justice. Readers added context they thought people might want to know:" "Katie Porter has escaped consequence of physically and verbally abusing both her husband (with a pot of scalding hot mashed potatoes) and staff." Swalwell is the leading Democrat candidate in a crowded field in California's "jungle primary," with Katie Porter as the second, with polls showing the primary could result in two Republican candidates. But Swalwell is white and male so he has to go. Will he go politely? Not likely.

From the Free Bacon, 'That Ain't My Party': Al Sharpton Says It Would Be 'Crazy' for Black People To Celebrate America's 250th as 2028 Dem Hopefuls Pay Homage to Him. "'They're going to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country July 4, but that's not our celebration,' Sharpton said" Meanwhile Zohran is scheming to scotch the 250th anniversary celebrations in NYC, Bonchie @bonchieredstate, "You want to know why? Because he’s going to hand out permits for protests instead and then pretend that’s the organic response to the country on the anniversary." Quote DeVory Darkins @devorydarkins, "Socialist Mayor Mamdani is facing backlash for preventing New Yorkers from celebrating America’s 250th birthday. He literally is locking the public out of Times Square and denying permits for the people to celebrate our nation's greatest milestone."

Mediaite can't believe its ears, ‘I’m Thinking About It’: Kamala Harris Teases 2028 Presidential Campaign. From the Free Bacon, Texas Democratic Senate Hopeful James Talarico Sought To Create ‘New Generation of Climate Activists’ by Mandating Climate Change Lessons in Texas Schools. "The Democratic Senate hopeful, who says he supports Texas's oil and gas industry, also joined a Greta Thunberg-inspired school walkout to ‘save our planet’ and introduced a Green New Deal-style bill mandating carbon emission reductions." CBS News @CBSNews, "In response to controversy surrounding a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol and comments he made previously on Reddit, Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner says "much of it was because of the culture I had come out of." "When I left the military, I came out of a hyper-masculine, hyper-violent place," he says. "I did four tours in the infantry. We have a crude sense of humor in the infantry. We certainly have a, I would say, narrow view of a lot of topics, and that colored my opinions and my beliefs." Readers added context to this video: "His tattoo was not "resembling" a Nazi symbol. His tattoo *was* a Nazi symbol, specifically the second version of the SS-Totenkopf, used from 1934 to 1945 by German SS." Monica Showalter at Am Think thinks about the Hand of Axelrod? 60 Minutes gives a platform for the Catholic Church's most leftist cardinals. "The idea would be win Catholics back over to voting for Democrats. Which would certainly mesh with what Axelrod is after."

One of the greatest community notes of all time.

Never deleting this app. pic.twitter.com/ntcdyU0gJ1

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) April 10, 2026

Hans Mahncke at Da Fed claims Bondi Was Putting Out Fires — The Next AG Needs To Go To War.

Northern Barbarian @xnoesbueno, "The Soviets/DDR built a wall. It worked for 38 years, keeping East Germans from fleeing communist authoritarianism and poverty for the free, prosperous West. Then it came down. When everything finally, irrevocably went to shit on that side of the wall." Quote Bruce McGonigal @bruce_mcgonigal, "The Liberals are pitching the idea of charging Canadian youth $500K if they want to leave Canada to move to the USA.  Holding Canadian youth hostage is not what a democratic society does. x.com/AntonioTweets2…"

Hat Hair's Beege Welborn is pleased as punch to report Mahmoud Khalil One Step Closer to a Ticket Outta Here. 

Marc Thiessen @marcthiessen, "Public radio at its finest." Quote Defiant L’s @DefiantLs "Completely makes sense." Camus @newstart_2024, "Konstantin Kisin watched the BBC’s tech editor interview Elon Musk and came away stunned. Not because of the tough questions — but because the interviewer ran out of questions. Kisin asked the obvious: How do you run out of questions when you’re sitting across from the guy who wants to make humanity multi-planetary, built Tesla, and bought Twitter because he believes free speech is existential for society? He contrasted it with Bill Maher, who was “like a kid in a candy shop” interviewing Elon and clearly had plenty more to ask. Kisin’s blunt conclusion: it’s not just bias — it’s a dereliction of duty. Many journalists today aren’t trying to seek truth or cover stories fairly; they’re performing for their peers, making sure they’re seen asking the “right” questions. It’s a sharp observation about how journalism has changed." Elon Musk is certainly the world's most interesting man, sorry Dos Equis guy. I might be tongue-tied, but a good journalist should be better prepared.

From the College Fix, UMich shutters DEI office, still spends $15.3 million on 162 diversity-related employees. The grift is just too good to give up. Campus Reform, NYU scraps live commencement speeches after pro-Palestine activism controversy erupts. The Free Bacon suggests How to Handle Your Out-of-Control Ivy, a REVIEW of "‘Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities’ by Elise Stefanik"

We live in a world of morons… pic.twitter.com/7Jh0KKhpHf

— Matt Couch (@RealMattCouch) April 10, 2026