News Vérité

I am not a biblical scholar, but The Book of Revelation, or The Apocalypse of John, in the New Testament predicts the end of affairs as people have known them since the dawn of humankind, and the beginning of the Kingdom of God on Earth. Specifically, Revelation 16:16 predicts Armageddon, the final battle of the forces of evil against an ultimately victorious God. Now, I only bring that up because in a few hours, President Trump may enact his own version of a secular Armageddon, in which the forces of the U.S. wage a final battle against the “evil” rulers of Iran. Just this morning he predicted that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” All of this is Trump 2.0. The man is not used to losing, so he is doubling down on what always worked for him — threats and intimidation. He has set a now-infamous deadline of 8 p.m. tonight, Eastern Time, for Iran’s leaders to accept a deal — or at least signal an intent to do so through negotiations — or Trump will have U.S. forces take out all of Iran’s bridges and energy infrastructure. Unfortunately for Trump, and perhaps

Throughout the lengthy Iran conflict, aka war, President Trump and his colleagues have been making various claims about success and the future of the ongoing campaign. Some of these assertions are a bit hard to believe. Most recently, Trump has signaled that a) the new leader of Iran (whomever he’s referring to) is “more reasonable” than previous leaders, and b) a “decimated” Iran is desperately seeking a ceasefire and a deal. Statements by Iranian leaders, however, appear to be anything but “reasonable” and peace-seeking. Now, we can chalk all this up to propaganda mongering and typical bluster by the mullahs and rulers of that country, or we can take them at their word — and actions. For instance, Iran continues to hammer neighbors with missiles and drones, and recently shot down at least one U.S. combat aircraft. And the Strait of Hormuz continues to have an Iranian stranglehold on it, even though Trump announced that Iran was making a good-will gesture of allowing 20 vessels through on Monday last. As of today, both the U.S. and Iran are vowing to “unleash hell” after Trump’s deadline for a deal on April 6 passes. The Iranian thugs couldn’t care less about damage

Tiger Woods just got a second DUI citation after he crashed his Land Rover while apparently under the influence of opioids. Be that as it may — he’ll probably get a reduced sentence since he is famous and has vowed to seek treatment — the whole scenario of his Florida crash is quite telling. First, he told officers he looked down at his phone while driving, and then “bam.” Evidently, he was seeking a lesser charge of using his cell phone while driving. Then, it gets more interesting. He took a walk to use his phone. When police beckoned him back, he told officers that he was “just talking to the president.” Second attempt to avoid a DUI — or any charge for that matter — “I’m friends with the president,” or words to that effect. It will be interesting to see what happens in court. He’ll probably get a slap on the wrist and a suspended license, at least for a day or two. Don’t “Phone home, T.W.,” but call the president. You do have friends in high places.