Ace Ratzon

It’s hard to play prophet, but everyone has to do their job. In the past two hours, the coalition picture got clearer from three directions. First, Naftali Bennett. Since Lieberman raised the possibility Bennett has been silent on whether he’d sit with the Haredim. Today he says he’s going with Eisenkot to build a “Zionist government”: a government of fighters and reservists, one that delivers a revolution for those who serve. That’s not exactly the agenda of UTJ’s Yaakov Asher and Yitzhak Goldknopf. Second, Gadi Eisenkot. The whole Haredi option rests on one assumption: that Eisenkot will soften the draft commitments he ran on. Today he said that in Yashar!, “we don’t fold any flag,” we won't compromise on the issues. Third, and most important, UTJ chairman Yaakov Asher told Kikar HaShabbat that his party will insist on a draft law with a full exemption for yeshiva students. He also added a new condition: Haredi schools would no longer have their state funding tied to how much core curriculum they teach. “Without these conditions we won’t partner with anyone. Period.”

The images coming out of Gaza this week - flooded tents, displaced families and people suffering in the rain - were entirely predictable. Winter is not a surprise and hundreds of thousands of people are living in makeshift tents, while Gaza faces severe sewage and drainage problems. None of this needed to happen like this. Smart policy is about anticipating problems before they become crises. Israel should have prepared months ago, allowing in temporary housing units, better tents and the infrastructure needed to get people through the winter. Instead, the government did not and now, rather than being seen as a country that anticipated a humanitarian crisis and acted responsibly to prevent it, Israel looks like it is responding to international pressure. Is Hamas to blame for the situation in Gaza? Yes. If it disarmed - as it is supposed to under the @BoardOfPeace plan - would the situation change? Of course. But we do not have the luxury to wait for that. With a little foresight, strategic planning and basic compassion, Israel could have prevented the diplomatic pressure that has inevitably arrived.

LOTS of Senate Republicans are noncommittal right now about how they’d handle Hegseth impeachment articles It’s no secret how most Senate R’s feel about Hegseth

Mt Rushmore but for annoying attention whores

Objectively speaking, Youngkin would probably be an S+ tier candidate for Republicans to run in 2028. Blue state Governor + overperformer + detached from the Iran War + exceptional campaigner.

Is it possible for a complete chess beginner to reach 2000 Elo within six months, with intense daily training and study accompanied with a chess coach?

Sen. TILLIS says he would “most likely” vote against tabling Hegseth impeachment articles “as a vote of no confidence” for Hegseth. “If we don't have some material shake up in the cabinet, then how are we gonna get better?”

Marco Rubio on Israel: Israel is now rich enough to become a sales country. They can buy weapons from us, but we no longer have to provide the financing.

How I’d vote in a hypothetical 2028 election 🔴 Vance vs 🔵 Shapiro: 🔵 Shapiro 🔴 Vance vs 🔵 Ossoff: 🔵 Ossoff 🔴 Vance vs 🔵 Harris: Neither 🔴 Vance vs 🔵 Ocasio-Cortez: Neither 🔴 Vance vs 🔵 Newsom: Neither 🔴 Rubio vs 🔵 Anyone: 🔴 Rubio 🔴 Haley vs 🔵 Anyone: 🔴 Haley

You cannot change the Electoral College Vote with the National Popular Vote.  You must amend the Constitution.  They don't have the votes to amend the Constitution.

DeSantis is proof that if you actually govern by conservative principles, you will be successful.

Ted Cruz: One of the reasons the House has been out of session for a couple months is because they didn't have the votes to stop a Hegseth impeachment

The 2028 GOP jockeying has begun, per the Washington Post. Ron DeSantis has been on a media blitz in recent days ahead of a potential run, though he wrote Friday that he hasn’t reached out to anybody about running for anything. He hasn’t built out campaign infrastructure or met with donors, but would reportedly keep using pollster Ryan Tyson. Brian Kemp is weighing a bid, which hasn’t been reported before. He’s kept a low profile, passed on a 2026 Senate run, and beat a Trump-backed primary challenger by 50+ points in 2022. He’s also considering a Senate run in 2028. Ted Cruz plans to work with longtime consultant Jeff Roe of Axiom Strategies if he enters.

We have less than two years to right the ship or it’s 13 judges on SCOTUS and that’s pretty much it for us. Two years. We must own what went wrong and fix it. Oh and we have to fix it FAST. Two years. Not much time.

I hope Dave Chappelle dies.

Another election handed to Democrats because of the libertarians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a unity government that includes the ultra-Orthodox parties and all other Zionist parties. He said Likud, as the largest party, should lead it, and argued Israel cannot fight Iran and radical Islam while depending on Hamas supporters in the government.

Today I accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Civil Division. Under his leadership, the Division pursued important affirmative litigation to challenge sanctuary policies and delivered key wins in lawsuits against local policies that endangered federal law enforcement. The Division also secured historic settlements to end illegal corporate DEI practices and shuttered dozens of clinics which were providing so-called “gender affirming care” to minors. We are grateful for Brett’s service at DOJ and wish him continued success.