Thomas J. Crane

VE-Day, Times Square, today 1945:

NEW: Iranian officials continue to frame control over the Strait of Hormuz as a key strategic interest and a critical component of long-term Iranian deterrence. Iran likely views control over the strait as essential to restoring deterrence against the United States and Israel following the degradation of its other forms of deterrence. Other Key Takeaways: The United States and Iran remain divided over key issues, particularly Iran’s nuclear program, the status of Iran’s highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile, and Iranian efforts to assert sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has continued efforts to maintain an effective naval blockade against Iran as Iran continues to assert long-term sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has continued to escalate rhetorically and militarily against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid Iranian attempts to portray the UAE as a hostile state supporting US and Israeli operations against Iran. Iran likely also seeks to demonstrate that continued US military actions against Iran will generate direct security and economic costs for Gulf states cooperating with the United States. Confidential Russian documents, seen by The Economist, revealed a Russian proposal to offer Iran several thousand drones and training for Iranian drone operators, which raises concerns about the proliferation of fiber-optic drone technology to Iran and its regional proxies. Some of these proxies have already demonstrated the ability to employ these systems against US and allied targets.

Crazy showing by the Irish (who have excelled at this category for the last few years) who are basically borrowing a Bradley for this competition. Also whatever the Big Red One is up to…oof

GOP Senator John Cornyn: “I will be direct with Texas voters: Ken Paxton is unfit for this office. By every standard that matters, Crooked Ken has failed the character test. The corruption. The legal baggage. The years of self-serving distractions while Texas needed serious leadership.”

You may not like my pointing out that both Putin and Trump initiated wars of choice (in Ukraine & Iran respectively) where the costs have proven far greater than benefits for them and their country but that doesn't make it less true.

There was nothing new or imminent as to the threat posed by iran to the US. plus we had other policy options. it was not just that this was a war of choice, it was one launched with flawed assumptions & little in the way of preparation or consultation.

“We need a business man as president!!” Ya…. Ok

This is a lie. They knew on day one. He is lying and all it’s doing is causing distrust in our great military. The sailor that launched that missile knows they did it. We owe them answers. The children and families deserve answers no matter who they are. We don’t kill kids.

Trump lies: “Talks are continuing on ending this Major Conflict, the biggest since World War II, and we are getting closer and closer every day.” Earlier today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that U.S.-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have “stagnated.” Trump is a pathological liar.

It was a real operation to rescue pilots, not cover. And if it happened to me, I would not want my name out in the public either.

Chalk up one for the Allies…victory in Europe is achieved 81 years ago today. 🇺🇸

On Military Spouses Day, I thank my wife Angie, who stuck with me through 16 assignments & 4 deployments to the Middle East. To all military spouses, you are truly the backbone of our armed services. Serving in the military can be hard & I was able to do it with Angie’s love.

Democratic women > Republican men.

Do you know how Dem’s win the house and senate despite R’s gerrymandered structural advantage? 1. Nominate Dem Senate candidates who can actually win their general elections in MI and IA. 2. Get D’s to +10 on the generic ballot by 3. Getting Trump to below 30% approval.

Has Putin even said “thank you?”

New Pentagon UFO files include reports from moon landings trib.al/2DQ6arr

The bad news is that Republicans have been handed a massive structural advantage in 2026. The good news is, Trump is extremely unpopular and his voters are increasingly aware he lied to them about lowering costs. Offense, persuasion, and winning elections are the only options.

I do hope that this is true. Having 1000 of our people back is worth letting them have their parade.

Mail: I ordered this book, it’s signed by Walter Cronkite of @CBSNews - when I flipped through the book, these pages fell out. A news clipping showing Cronkite would be signing copies of his book on Dec. 10 in D.C. And a receipt from the book store dated Dec. 10, 1996.

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie reveals what many suspected: Trump vetoed a bipartisan clean drinking water project in Rep. Lauren Boebert’s district after she backed a petition to release the Epstein files. After the veto back in December, Boebert strongly criticized Trump, saying: “I sincerely hope this veto has nothing to do with political retaliation for calling out corruption and demanding accountability.” “Nothing says ‘America First’ like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado.” In any normal country, a president who did something like this would be forced to resign. We cannot normalize this corruption. Impeach!