Wednesday's Final Word – HotAir
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Beauty I’d always missed with these tabs before, just what the truth is I can’t say anymore …





Ed: There are other questions. 1: What value would an Iranian signature have? They agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz in the current ceasefire and reneged immediately, prompting the US blockade. 2: Does Trump have the will to “finish it up”? Because his pattern of threat and retreat doesn’t send that signal. 3: What would be the consequences of violating the agreement?

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WION: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that the Islamic Republic had received a new US proposal on Wednesday (May 20). Further adding that the country is currently in the process of examining it, also noting a minister from mediator Pakistan visited Tehran. “We received the points of view of the American side, and we are currently examining them. The presence of Pakistan’s interior minister is aimed at facilitating the exchange of messages,” Baqaei told state television and was quoted by news agency AFP.

Baqaei reiterated Iran’s core demands in the ongoing talks, including the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and an end to the US blockade on Iranian ports. These conditions have long formed the backbone of Tehran’s position, and their restatement signals that Iran intends to hold firm on its key requirements as the two sides continue to trade proposals.

Ed: That doesn’t sound as though the IRGC is taking this seriously. They are sticking to their maximalist positions, convinced that Trump needs a deal more than they do. Is that correct? At one point, I’d have called that a laughable position, but Trump certainly keeps acting as though it’s true … except for the blockade. And that could be enough, but Trump would have to also stop offering new proposals to make it stick. 

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American forces released the vessel after searching and directing the ship’s crew to alter course.

U.S. forces continue to fully enforce the blockade and have now redirected 91 commercial ships to ensure compliance.





Ed: This is still the checkmate move. That alone will create an economic collapse eventually, but again, it would be most effective if the US simply refused to negotiate terms other than those presented at the start of the blockade. Trump should realize that the first side to move usually loses in these impasses.

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Barak Ravid at Axios: President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed a new effort to reach a deal with Iran in a difficult call on Tuesday, three sources said, with one source saying Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire” after the call.

Why it matters: A revised peace memo was drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from the other regional mediators to try to bridge the gaps between the U.S. and Iran, the sources said. It comes with Trump vacillating over ordering a massive strike on Iran and holding out for a deal.

Netanyahu is highly skeptical about the negotiations and wants to resume the war to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities and weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure.

Trump continues to say he thinks a deal can be reached, but that he’s ready to resume the war if it isn’t.

Ed: Netanyahu’s right, but put that aside for a moment. One clear takeaway from the last six weeks is that Netanyahu isn’t calling the shots, no matter what TDS-afflicted Democrats (and a few Republicans) claim. 

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Ed: If it were the other way around, the ceasefire wouldn’t have happened at all, and Operation Epic Fury would have taken place in June 2025. As for running in Israel, well, he’s obviously joking, but that’s a much different political environment. The Israelis love him as an American president, but …

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WaPo: The pro-Israel lobby was once a formidable force in the Democratic Party. It’s now one of the most toxic brands for the party’s base — so toxic that even unproven, tenuous ties to the group is enough to tank primary candidates.





The dynamic was on display in one of the bluest districts in the country, where Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon and former Department of Health and Human Services official, lost her bid yesterday for the House. Her run to represent Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District faced attacks alleging that she was backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), boosted by millions of dollars in ads from AIPAC’s allies. She lost to progressive candidate, state Rep. Chris Rabb, a staunch critic of Israel.

The only problem: “We are not involved in this race,” Deryn Sousa, a spokesperson for AIPAC, told us.

Ed: Democrats have become fully invested in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, thanks to the large influence of the Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA has gotten a grip on the Democrat establishment, bringing along the Academia prism of the occupier/occupied viewpoint of the world. And in this warped view, the Jews of Judea are somehow the occupiers while the Arabs are somehow the indigenous people of the Levant. 

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Ed: It’s not just Graham Platner in Maine Kampf or Maureen Galindo demanding concentration camps and castration centers for ‘Zionists’ in Texas. The DSA has conducted an ideological capture of the Democrat Party, and a key component of that ideology is anti-Semitism. 

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Philly Inquirer: Rabb is a five-term state representative from Northwest Philadelphia who considers himself a democratic socialist. He’s won endorsements from much of the progressive movement, both in the city and nationally.

On Thursday, he rallied in West Philly with Hasan Piker, a leftist streamer who considers himself an anti-Zionist and has made a series of controversial remarks that are deeply critical of Israel and of U.S. foreign policy.

How the Middle East and the word ‘genocide’ became the defining issue of the Philly congressional race





The events hosted by Rabb’s campaign drew hundreds of supporters. But there was also backlash from leaders in the Jewish community who said they were troubled by Piker’s past statements, including that he prefers the insurgent group Hamas — which perpetrated the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel — to the Israeli government.

“These are not edgy opinions,” said Jason Holtzman, chief of the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. “They are statements that minimize Jewish suffering, dehumanize Jewish people, and normalize violence against Jews and the Jewish state.”

Ed: This was from two weeks ago, when Rabb attempted to distance himself from the posting Guy mentioned, claiming that it was a staffer who posted it. Campaigning with Piker makes it pretty clear where Rabb stands, though.

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Ed: And everywhere else.

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Hollywood in Toto: “13 Hours” shrewdly didn’t shoehorn political talking points into the film. Instead, by telling the story like it happened, he let audiences drawn their own conclusions.

That proved more powerful than expected. Who knew he had that in him?

Now, Bay is embracing another fact-based story that felt like no Hollywood studio would ever tackle it. Except Universal Pictures answered the call, as did Bay.

Sources tell Deadline that Bay is developing a feature film chronicling the extraordinary heroism of the two U.S. airmen rescued after their F-15E Strike Eagle was downed during Operation Epic Fury. The film will be based on the upcoming book by Mitchell Zuckoff, which HarperCollins will publish in 2027.

It’s a rescue tailor made for the big screen, but it’s problematic for one major reason.

Ed: I bet you can guess the reason. However, Michael Bay apparently doesn’t give a #$%&, and furthermore knows a good story when he sees it. If Clint Eastwood was a little younger, he might have been a good choice for this story too, or Paul Greenglass (Flight 93, Captain Phillips). All three would buck Hollywood TDS to do this story justice, but Bay will likely make it a lot louder and more fun. 





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… to “defeat authoritarians,” citing the George Floyd riots in 2020 as a successful example of resistance. (credit: @NAVIvalues)

Ed: How is this not an interstate conspiracy to commit political violence? Maybe the DoJ can answer that question. 

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WSJ: The faculty voted to approve a cap on the number of A’s per course, part of the undergraduate college’s yearslong effort to curb grade inflation. The change comes despite a sharp backlash from students.

Administrators and many faculty members argued that the A-cap would challenge students to invest more in coursework by restoring grades as meaningful indicators of academic performance. They say it protects the value of students’ degrees by preserving Harvard’s reputation. 

The cap, which applies to the undergraduate college, limits the number of A’s per course to 20%, plus an additional four A’s to account for smaller courses with more variability. It won’t apply to A-minuses, which committee members predict will take over as the most awarded grade.

Ed: First off, someone needs to remind the WSJ that apostrophes do not belong in plurals. The proper form is As, not A’s. Apostrophes apply for contractions and possession, not plurals. Second, this plan is not going to work because it doesn’t address the real problem, which is a lack of will to impose accountability for effort and performance. All this will do is redistribute As to A-minuses on an industrial level. 

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Ed: I predict Gretchen Carlson will soon experience the kind of disillusionment that comes with buying into demagoguery on a literal basis. There’s nothing left to expose in the Epstein files, and Massie knows it. If there were anything in them that damaged Trump or Republicans, it would have come out in 2024. Alan Dershowitz – who had access to it as Epstein’s attorney at one time – warned everyone that it was mostly a collection of rumors and unsubstantiated allegations by questionable witnesses, none of which had much to do with current political figures. He has turned out to be correct. 





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Scott Rasmussen at USA Today: A survey conducted by the Napolitan Institute, which I founded, revealed that just 7% of voters would want their side to cheat to win. That number is hardly encouraging, but it remains a fringe view.

Among a group we identify as the “Elite One Percent,” however, 35% would rather see their team cheat than lose. This highly influential class is defined by postgraduate degrees, incomes above $150,000 and residence in densely populated urban areas.

Worse still are the “Politically Active Elites,” members of that same elite class who engage with politics daily. In what may be the most alarming polling result I’ve ever seen, 69% of these Politically Active Elites would rather see their side cheat to win than accept the judgment of voters. …

These attitudes reveal an elitist revolt against the nation’s founding principles. A growing faction within America’s leadership class increasingly believes it is better suited to rule than the public itself.

Ed: Hence the rise in the DSA. Be sure to read it all. 

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