One can only hope that Greg Sankey, the other members of the SEC, and Paul Finebaum are proud of themselves. As they wallow in their outrageous salaries and manufactured outrage, all they have succeeded in doing is denying opportunity to two young black athletes who have never and will never play a snap in an actual NFL game the opportunity to earn a one time NIL windfall and perhaps play to a level that does get them drafted. And all because they thought it was more important to stick it to Lane Kiffin and LSU than simply do the right thing for two young men. Sickens me.

The CFP might want to chat with ESPN and TNT before getting too carried away

Reading the socialist left and Iranian propaganda posts trying to proclaim the rescue of an American airman from deep inside Iran as a defeat is illustrative of so much. What you actually are seeing demonstrated is the stark difference between a society, a culture, and military that values human life over senseless martyrdom or the hive culture of modern socialism - civilization over an both ancient and modern barbarism. Our soldiers, airman, sailors, and marines know the whole weight of the American armed forces stand behind them. Having that sort of confidence makes that force far more effective and lethal.

The Aurora Borealis is visible in Central Texas tonight. Simply amazing, and far more impressive than the political prattle on X.

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Grok analysis

number of nations buying the F35

OK. One of you walk me through Trump's announcement a few minutes ago that the US will "take over" the Gaza Strip. I was listening when he said it. As I remember the vast majority of Trump supporters were apoplectic that we simply built a very unsuccessful pier to supply aid under Biden. You also will have to help me with that whole end state concept as well. This looks like a truly indefinite mission to me. I am a proud Reagan Republican and I actually think it might indeed be a worthy if very dangerous project. Though, it is something we haven't tried in the Levant since Lebanon (Probably good if we ignore that whole embassy bombing thing). I am simply curious how the anti-nation building crowd squares this particular circle with their infallible leader. Perhaps city state building isn't the same as nation building?

Setting aside for the moment whatever the eventual negotiated geographic settlement may entail, It will be interesting to observe in the coming years, perhaps only months, the Russian people gradually coming to understand the strategic failure of Putin's adventure in Ukraine. Based on operational objectives, his initial expectations were clearly the occupation of, if not the whole country, then certainly everything east of the Dnieper River including Kyiv. That would result in the creation of a rump state in the mold of those of the Eastern European buffer zone maintained by the Soviet Union. That initial effort, conducted by Russia's modernized battalion battle groups and "elite" airborne units ended in abject failure. Important ground was occupied on the South bank of the Dnieper, but the resulting long term conflict devolved into what has become a WWI like stalemate punctuated by unmanned aircraft innovation and horrific Russian casualties. Ukraine obviously has also suffered, but by maintaining an almost mindless offensive effort, exchange rates of three or four to one are quite likely. Though the US does not produce casualty estimates, the UK has been less reticent and its most recent assessment suggests Russian total casualties of well over half a million. Equipment and personnel losses have been so severe that Putin has been forced to turn to two of the most reviled regimes on the planet to beg for troops and equipment. But the strategic situation is even worse. Rather than proving the value of the self-proclaimed "second army in the world," twenty years of very expensive armor modernization and tactical reorganization is rusting on the Ukrainian steppes and moldering in Russian cemeteries. The much touted Russian air force has proven itself unable to even operate in Ukrainian airspace as its strategic aircraft are force to lob long range cruise missiles indiscriminately at Ukrainian cities from well inside Russia. The Russian Navy, specifically the Black Sea Fleet, has been driven from the Black Sea. Rather than preventing the creation of a common NATO border with Ukraine, Finland's decision to join NATO has added over a thousand kilometers of shared border, the northern portion of which is practically in marching distance of St. Petersburg. Moreover, NATO bases will provide direct technical observation of the Russian Northern Fleet. Russia's nuclear capable submarines will not be able to start a bilge pump without NATO being aware. The addition of Sweden along with Finland has turned the Baltic, which was a strategic concern, into a NATO lake. Kaliningrad, once a thorn in NATO's side, has become an indefensible strategic liability for Russia that might as well be renamed Konigsberg. Meanwhile, the Russian economy continues its slow motion death spiral with a collapsing currency and exploding interest rates and inflation. Oil prices barely half those of 2022 create even greater pressure. The Russian people's apathetic resilience is notable. History will not be kind to the dictator in the Kremlin. The only question is how long the Russian people will continue to tolerate his incompetence.