Happy Birthday: Tomorrow is one of our two most loyal readers’ birthday – Dad and I will celebrate on the golf course next week.
He’s 77 and often comes close to shooting his age – the idea that I must give him strokes, sometimes lots of strokes, is fundamentally unfair.
That said, in honor of his birthday, for our first round together, all putts within 78 inches are good – assuming of course, he’s on my team.
Du jour, not de jure: Correction from yesterday’s “War Notes,” spotted by Paul Hart of Vermont.
Paul is a French translator and interpreter from Vermont and kindly let us know it’s:
Quote and question “du jour” – not “de jure.”
Thanks, Paul – a “War Notes” hat is headed your way – have a great weekend!
Low-hanging fruit: For all the criticism of DOGE, there are some easy things they could cut that would avoid the current sense of chaos and craziness.
Our friend and intellectual hero George Will joins us tonight with the case against PBS and NPR.
Read Will’s new column here.
Watch Barack Obama’s DOGE announcement of his own – the campaign to cut waste – with Joe Biden in charge.
“Nobody messes with Joe,” said Obama without the least bit of irony.
Will Schumer Survive!?!
The current Democratic infighting and political malpractice over forcing or not forcing a government shutdown exposes a leaderless party that believes in opposing Donald Trump and issues that 80% of Americans agree with.
⏱️ Let’s review just some of the more notable Democratic moves in the past 24 hours.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blasting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is my favorite headline of the day.
“AOC Rips Into Schumer for ‘Dangerous’ Plan to Bow to Trump,” headlines The Daily Beast.
Hell of a way to announce your Senate primary challenge, madam congresswoman.
AOC is mad that Schumer said he would vote to avoid a shutdown.
A+ trolling: Trump congratulated Schumer on social media.
Watch House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries trying to explain why shutdowns are bad, but showdowns are great.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., explains why he’s getting rid of his Tesla here.
So he got a Chevy SUV.
What happened to climate change being the greatest national security threat?
At the last minute, ten Senate Democrats voted with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to side with Republicans and keep the government open – now Democrats in the House have launched a war on Schumer.
In the past, we would be lamenting Republican stupidity as they fought amongst themselves.
Fairness dictates that we say the same about Democrats now.
Worse: Democrats still aren’t united in opposing Trump – and now, Hakeem Jeffries is angry at the media?!??!
JEFFRIES: “Do NOT characterize my remarks. I’m not afraid about ANYTHING.”
When Democrats are angry at the media, it’s a fun day.
CNN reports that in a private meeting, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., erupted, accusing Democratic leadership of having “no strategy, no plan, and no message on this spending bill” – this is a direct quote.
Fact check: True.
Good rule: When you are the story in Washington, it’s usually a bad day.
Exception: As we know, Donald Trump often defies the rules of political gravity.
We predicted this in “War Notes” yesterday.
Today’s chaos exposed Democrats as having:
No organizing principles other than opposing Donald Trump.
No leadership.
Thought bubble: Damn, Nancy Pelosi was good.
No strategy.
🪰 It’s like “Lord of the Flies” on Capitol Hill. Maybe they could ask Republicans for advice – they have recent experience in such a situation.
Solution: Be like Bill Maher.
Maher’s show’s tagline – “Sanity needs a safe space” – could be Democrats’ organizing principle.
Maher hates Trump.
Maher doesn’t think boys should play in girls sports.
Maher doesn’t whine that Kamala Harris lost because America is a bunch of racist misogynists.
Maher makes sense.
Must read: “Bill Maher Gives Democrats Advice on ‘Most Important’ Step to Win Again,” writes Newsweek.
We’ve been warning for a while that Democrats risk irrelevancy.
“What would Bill Maher say?” could easily guide Democrats, but even if they wanted to, the AOCs and Jasmine Crocketts of the world wouldn’t let them.
Theory: If normal older white men in the Democratic Party are for it, the rest of the party feels they must be against it.
Watch tonight: I’ll test my theory with Ana Kasparian, host of “The Young Turks,” and Nina Turner, former state senator of Ohio.
LOMA LINDA, CA – MARCH 12, 2025: A San Bernardino Sheriff SWAT team member walks outside Loma Linda University Medical Center after reports of a gunman in the emergency department at the Children’s Hospital on March 12, 2025 in Loma Linda, California. The San Bernardino County Sheriff thinks it’s a swatting incident. The employees were allowed back in the buildings about 8PM.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Swatting Conservatives
The FBI says they have been investigating a string of swatting incidents in the past 24 hours targeting conservatives
“MAGA Influencers Targeted by ‘Swatting’ Calls,” writes Newsweek.
Watch some of the surveillance videos here and here.
Swatting explained:
People call police departments around the country falsely claiming a violent crime is being committed at someone’s home.
But there is no crime or danger at the home.
So cops arrive thinking they are heading into an active shooter or hostage situation.
The swatting victims get woken up with police either breaking down the door or ordering people to come outside at gunpoint.
“Swatting” comes from the SWAT team that often arrives.
Mike Lee writes on X, “Should swatting be prosecuted as attempted murder? If you send heavily armed men to someone’s house with a false assertion that a violent crime is being committed there, you’re creating a grave risk that an innocent person will get shot.”
Maybe a few attempted murder convictions and long prison sentences will end this.
You can imagine how this could go from being a horrible situation to deadly in a matter of seconds.
🪦 In fact, it already has: “Casey Viner, who solicited a ‘swatting’ call that led to a death, gets 15 months in prison,” from CNN in 2019.
Watch tonight: Radio host Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo, who was a swatting victim last night, and James Gagliano, former FBI, join us on the program.
