Tues Blogcast: KT McFarland; Israel/Gaza deal; Gov't shutdown?; EA Sports
September 30, 2025
Just One Thing: Trump and the GOP should stick to their guns
Please read (and subscribe to) my Substack.
Here's today's note: GOP, Stick to Your (Fiscal) Guns - by Ross Kaminsky
A snippet:
While a new Gallup poll shows that a surprisingly large 58% of Democrats want politicians to “compromise in order to get things done” and only 15% support “sticking to their beliefs even if little gets done”, four things argue against compromise happening in the short term in the political debate over a government “shutdown” (which I put in quotes because a lot of the government keeps operating and because almost all government workers and most contractors will get back pay so the shutdown functions like paid vacation for them):
Again, please click on the article title above and subscribe!
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Hegseth's speech: Get back to high standards
Troops must meet male standards, even if they're women. Senior officers must be fit and not fat.
I think his fundamental message is right and that too many flag officers have gotten diverted down a "woke" path that does not benefit the mission or the nation.
One little clip:
Trump joined in the fun at Quantico
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Today's Guests
Pat Woodard has been a fixture in KOA's news broadcasts and financial coverage for years. He was also a participant on Jeopardy! Today is Pat's last day at KOA. I'm gonna miss him. He and I very much share viewpoints on which news stories are worth sharing with listeners. It's remarkable how often -- far more with pat than anyone else on our news team -- he brings stories in the newscast that I am also planning to talk about. Looking forward to talking with Pat about his career and his future.
Here's a video report that Pat did quite a few years ago but it's hard to find a YouTube video about a radio guy!
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KT McFarland is a former Deputy National Security Advisor in the first Trump administration. She's a wealth of knowledge and wisdom about foreign policy and, as usual in recent years, there's a lot to talk about.
KT's web page: KT McFarland
On X/Twitter: KT McFarland (@realKTMcFarland) / X
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Kathleen Chandler from the Independence Institute joins the show to remind anyone who's interested in getting involved in local government, including commissions you might not even know about that could be -- but don't have to be -- a good pathway toward running for office later.
The next "Citizen’s Guide to Civic Involvement workshop" is online this Thursday from 6:30 PM to 8 PM.
Citizen Involvement Project - Independence Institute
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Other Stuff
I still don't understand why Hamas would say yes to this. What leverage is there against people who don't care if they die? The only thing I can think of is if Qatar were to tell the Hamas leaders who have their cushy lives with stolen "humanitarian aid" in Qatar that they'll be deported if they don't accept the deal. I hope I'm missing something and that Hamas agrees. Provision 17 of the deal says that the terms of the deal will go into force in areas of Gaza controlled by Israel even if Hamas doesn't agree. That might put a lot of pressure on Hamas because it the deal is to be implemented with soldiers from other Arab/Muslim countries on the ground in Gaza, Hamas may then be in a position of killing Muslims rather than Jews in order to extend their war and thar's likely untenable for them.
Trump and Netanyahu say they've agreed on a plan to end Gaza war and await Hamas to accept terms
We'll see: Hamas leaning toward accepting Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan quickly, source tells CBS News - CBS News
Plan details: Revealed: US 21-point plan for ending Gaza war, creating pathway to Palestinian state | The Times of Israel
Further discussion: The Trump Deal for Israel and Gaza - WSJ
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Doesn't seem like a very funny place, but Saudi Arabia is making a big push to change, or at least to be seen as changing: A-list comedians face backlash for performing at Saudi Arabian festival
Speaking of Saudi Arabia...Wow... EA to be acquired for $52.5 billion in largest buyout ever of a public company taken private | AP News
A recent major boxing match was basically funded by the Saudis: Inside Canelo v Crawford and the Saudi-TKO plan to dominate boxing | Boxing | The Guardian As part of a bigger push into fighting sports: Paramount Sets Media Rights Deal With Zuffa Boxing
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I wonder what this meeting is really about. I guess we'll find out later today: Trump to attend gathering of top generals, upending last-minute plans - The Washington Post
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Beer giant crippled in cyber attack: Japanese brewing giant Asahi hit by cyber-attack
Adding this one because I don't think I've ever seen "hectoliter" used in an article before. A hectoliter is 100 liters or about 26 gallons: Japan's largest brewer suspends operations due to cyberattack
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Sometimes these things mean more than you might think. Sometimes. Rubio announces release of US citizen held by Afghanistan - ABC News
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I don't know if this is my own "cultural bias", but to me the idea of marrying a first cousin sounds a little creepy. It's banned in about half of US states, actually. But not in the UK. And over there the National Health Service recently released a report that's generating a lot of controversy (among conservatives at least) by making some cultural/economic arguments in favor of that particular arrangement.
UK health service pulls controversial cousin marriage study citing benefits | Fox News
This is the original NHS article: Should the UK government ban first-cousin marriage? - Genomics Education Programme
You can see that it's now been deleted: Page not found - Genomics Education Programme
I note that apparently a very large percentage of the cousin-marrying is among Pakistanis in England (or British citizens of Pakistani descent.) This is the same group that brought the country "grooming" and rape gangs who were not stopped or prosecuted for years due to fears by politicians and law enforcement of being called racist. I'm all for (legal) immigration but it simply MUST come along with a significant degree of cultural assimilation. I don't mean that people should or must give up their heritages or identities, but rather than if you're going to move to a place you must abide by at least some level of that new host nation's rules and mores, and if you don't want to then you shouldn't emigrate to there.
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I was in favor of the original plan --which lost in large part because it's complex and people didn't understand it -- but I don't really like "top two". I think it's too likely to further increase Democratic dominance in this blue state. Kent Thiry, please pull your checkbook out again | Eric Sondermann - Colorado Politics
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This is quite a story about America. But in a way it makes sense, to the degree that cocaine is less likely to be contaminated with fentanyl or xylazine. (I don't know for sure if that's true, though...) America Loves Cocaine Again—Mexico’s New Drug King Cashes In - WSJ
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Starbucks closing a bunch of Colorado locations including one where my wife had some of the worst customer service ever. Starbucks closes at least 11 locations along Colorado's Front Range
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Thoughts on Colorado's job market which is not nearly as great for anybody as it used to be: A Colorado firm struggling to hire has no job openings — and that’s the new plan
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Of course it happened this way…again: Trump Bets the Soybean Farm on Tariffs - WSJ
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Today's Videos
Holy cow...or horse...how cool, or hot, is this?
Ridiculous but amusing