Heads up, Peoria County! Beginning Monday, Aug. 10, lane and overnight closures will take place on the I-74 bridge over Kickapoo Creek for repairs. Closures are expected to continue through Aug. 15. More info: prez.ly/RFMd

At any time for every reason because they are females prone to mental health and anxiety issues at any time and for every reason.... And at some point, sanity has to prevail.

Living on the edge eating a roller dog

Contentious thesis. Iran Isn’t the Prize. Many look at the Iran war and conclude Trump has no strategy, no focus, no off‑ramp, that frustration is understandable, it is also overstated. The mistake is treating Iran as both a monolith and the main event, it is neither. Iran is not a monolith because the IRGC’s ideological core is not the whole country, weakening the Guards also buys time for unarmed resistance and for the rest of Iran to breathe, and Iran is not the prize because the larger contest is not Washington versus Tehran, but the United States versus China. President Trump’s Iran strategy is about constraint, not regime change, the goals are to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and disrupt the IRGC’s ability to finance terrorism and proxy warfare, on those metrics, the picture is far stronger than the daily noise suggests. Iran’s strategic position is deteriorating, under repeated strikes, tightening sanctions, and episodic embargoes, its room to maneuver is smaller and its leverage more costly to generate. U.S. and Israeli operations have damaged nuclear and conventional capabilities and forced Tehran into a ceasefire that reopened Hormuz, Sec Bessent’s campaign against Iran’s shadow banking, exchange houses, front companies, and shipping networks has gone after tens of billions in sanctions evasion, the IRGC’s funding channels are being systematically attacked. Regionally, Trump’s Saudi civilian nuclear deal, explicitly conditioned on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords, turns the nuclear file into leverage for a balancing bloc, the Israel–Lebanon framework, with Lebanese army “pilot zones” and phased Israeli withdrawal, is designed to unwind Hezbollah’s forward base in stages rather than through occupation, and looming behind all of this is Beijing, China has long used Iran as a pawn, both to pin down U.S. attention in the Middle East and as a discounted, sanctions‑shadowed source of energy. If this holds, the dialectic resolves in one direction, Iran is not an end in itself, Iran is about China. As the Iran risk premium comes out of oil, prices will drift lower, inflation fears will ease, rate cuts will come back on the table, growth will accelerate, risk premia will compress and multiples will expand, a peace dividend is on its way. In my view, the Iranian nuclear threat is effectively off the table for the foreseeable future, the financing of global terror has been materially reduced, and the West has accepted that Pax Americana is over, we are back in a hard great‑power game, where hard power is once again the core instrument of policy, and where the Thucydides Trap between the United States and China is the central danger that must be managed. So don’t kid yourself, by the standards that matter, reopening Hormuz, degrading Iran’s military and financial leverage, and tightening the regional ring around the IRGC, Trump has largely won the Iran war. The Iran file will be settled, and to be frank, it is a sideshow, the real focus is the great game between the United States and China, and boxing in Tehran is about clearing the board for the contest that will define the century.

BREAKING: A Memphis man has been arrested after allegedly scratching off EVERY SINGLE scratch-off ticket at a Germantown Exxon while working the register… because apparently his retirement strategy was “manifesting.” According to police, 32-year-old Lemonjello Washington decided the Tennessee Lottery was basically a giant reimbursement program. Witnesses say he spent the entire overnight shift scratching tickets like a raccoon that found a Red Bull and a quarter. The plan? Simple. Scratch all the tickets. Use the winning tickets to pay for the losing tickets. Pocket the profit. Become Memphis royalty. Unfortunately, investigators say the math “collapsed almost immediately,” which experts are calling “the most Shelby County Schools thing ever.” Police say Lemonjello confidently told officers: “Y’all don’t understand… eventually one of these gone hit.” Sir. That is not investing. That is emotional support gambling. Employees became suspicious around 3:17 AM when customers walked in asking for scratch-offs and Lemonjello allegedly replied: “We fresh out… but spiritually we up right now.” By sunrise, the counter reportedly looked like a confetti cannon exploded inside a bankruptcy hearing. Losing tickets were stacked knee-high. The only big winner was the Exxon trash can. Authorities say the total losses exceeded several thousand dollars, while total winnings amounted to: • 3 free tickets • $11 • and a coupon for a free Mountain Dew. Investigators also confirmed Lemonjello kept a handwritten “accounting ledger” on a hot dog wrapper that simply read: “Money coming soon.” Meanwhile, Germantown residents are once again asking the important question: “How does Memphis keep producing people who think scratch-offs are a 401(k)?” Cliff Messer

BREAKING: A Memphis man has been arrested after allegedly scratching off EVERY SINGLE scratch-off ticket at a Germantown Exxon while working the register… because apparently his retirement strategy was “manifesting.” According to police, 32-year-old Lemonjello Washington decided the Tennessee Lottery was basically a giant reimbursement program. Witnesses say he spent the entire overnight shift scratching tickets like a raccoon that found a Red Bull and a quarter. The plan? Simple. Scratch all the tickets. Use the winning tickets to pay for the losing tickets. Pocket the profit. Become Memphis royalty. Unfortunately, investigators say the math “collapsed almost immediately,” which experts are calling “the most Shelby County Schools thing ever.” Police say Lemonjello confidently told officers: “Y’all don’t understand… eventually one of these gone hit.” Sir. That is not investing. That is emotional support gambling. Employees became suspicious around 3:17 AM when customers walked in asking for scratch-offs and Lemonjello allegedly replied: “We fresh out… but spiritually we up right now.” By sunrise, the counter reportedly looked like a confetti cannon exploded inside a bankruptcy hearing. Losing tickets were stacked knee-high. The only big winner was the Exxon trash can. Authorities say the total losses exceeded several thousand dollars, while total winnings amounted to: • 3 free tickets • $11 • and a coupon for a free Mountain Dew. Investigators also confirmed Lemonjello kept a handwritten “accounting ledger” on a hot dog wrapper that simply read: “Money coming soon.” Meanwhile, Germantown residents are once again asking the important question: “How does Memphis keep producing people who think scratch-offs are a 401(k)?” Cliff Messer

I'm not buying that Mitch McConnell is recovering at home. He will never enter Congress again. Mark my words.

ya noze what using Kamikaze tactics (Sewerside Drones) tells me about one's MILITARY CAPABILITIES? not enough Military hardware and troops to complete the intended objective. Israel rejects Trump’s Gaza plan, more details emerge on the Strait of Hormuz 25newsnow.com/2026/08/09/isr…