Pulp Fiction 😱 ✡️🌻😱 💣🚀 

War Chronicles:  According to Trump Iran has made major concessions in negotiations and a deal to end the war could be made very soon.  He also said that it may not be necessary to extend the ceasefire because the two sides are so close to making a deal.  If true, that would be good news.  The problem is that Trump says lots of things that aren’t true and it’s not clear what those concessions are, to the extent they exist, so skepticism is warranted. Moreover, since Arab and European leaders believe that it will take months to come to a real peace accord, they believe that an extension of the ceasefire is necessary.  Iran has yet to comment on Trump’s assertion that they’ve agreed to his demands.  On a more believable note, Trump also announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire which as of right now appear to be for real.  At least for the moment Hezbollah which takes its orders from Iran appears to be abiding by the pause, emphasis on for now. Back at home, by vote of 214 to 213 with centrist soon to retire Maine Democrat Jared Golden joining all Republicans except Thomas Massie who voted with the Democrats the House failed once again to pass a war powers resolution. By a vote of 52 to 47 Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a similar measure.  All Republican Senators in attendance with the exception of Kentucky’s Rand Paul voted with the majority.  Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman voted with the Republicans. West Virginia’s Jim Justice missed the vote entirely because he was home trying to prevent banks from foreclosing on his family’s Greenbrier resort. Presumably, Babydog, the bulldog who accompanies Senator Justice everywhere also missed the vote.  In two separate votes, the Senate voted down Bernie Sanders measures to restrict sales of bulldozers and 1000-pound bombs to Israel. Though both measures failed it’s notable that 40 Democratic Senators voted to restrict the bulldozer sales while 36 voted to restrict the bombs. The shift in sentiment among Democrats is a bad omen for Israel.  Some of those who voted for the measures said they did so to express their disapproval of all things Netanyahu, others to show their general disapproval of all things Israel with some of those, especially those from states like Michigan, more concerned about cultivating pro-Palestinian voters than holding on to all their usual Jewish constituents. Lastly on the war front, Secretary of War and Beer Pete quoted a Quentin Tarantino made up bible verse from Pulp Fiction to justify the administrations actions while Trump and JD Vance ramped up their war with Pope Leo.  At a Turning Point USA event that was so poorly attended that an embarrassed Erika Kirk cited a security concern that the Secret Service said did not exist to justify her failure to attend, Newbie Catholic Vance insisted that he’s more of an expert on Catholic theology than the Pope, an odd position but one that reflects the hubris as well as the idiocy of this administration. It’s hard to see how enraging Catholics makes for a good policy or how it will benefit Vance’s presidential ambitions, but MAGA is MAGA and the rest of us have been wrong before.

MAHA Not:  Keeping with the lying theme, during his testimony before the House, RFK who according to a new biography cut the penis off of a raccoon while his kids were waiting in their car, because of course he did, lied and denied repeatedly.  When asked about the rise in measles cases he said we’ve done better than lots of countries even though the US has seen a bigger percentage increase than any other country.  When asked about an interview where he said that Black children on ADHD medication should be re-parented he claimed he’d never said that even though it’s on tape. He questioned the legitimacy of a report about health care fraudsters who have been pardoned by Trump even though the report was true. And now, having screwed around with vaccine recommendations, he’s got his sights set on remaking the panel that determines recommended preventive health care services.  That matters because insurance companies take their cues about what they cover from that panel.  In other health care news, yesterday Trump announced that he’s nominating Erica Schwartz who served as Deputy Surgeon General during his first administration to serve as the head of the CDC.  Dr. Schwartz who is pro-vaccine, is a traditional choice meaning that her views are mainstream. Her nomination, likely an indication that Trump or at least some of his advisors recognize that RFK’s quack positions aren’t going over well with lots of voters, has already outraged some in RFK’s orbit. It will be interesting to see if she lasts or if she leaves in frustration like Susan Monarez did after she was kneecapped by RFK and those in his immediate orbit. One of those “health” advisors/conspiracy theorists in RFK’s immediate orbit is Calley Means whose sister Casey’s nomination to serve as Surgeon General remains in limbo.     

More 💩: Trump is expected to re-nominate Cameron Hamilton, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, as FEMA’s permanent administrator. Hamilton’s first nomination for the permanent role was scuttled after he contradicted then DHS head ICE Barbie Noem by saying that he didn’t think that FEMA should be disbanded.  Just a little churn among friends.  Along those lines, Todd Lyons the temporary head of ICE, announced he’ll be leaving at the end of May.  Last night the House passed a 10- day extension of the FISA surveillance law. Despite whipping by Trump, Speaker Johnson is having a hard time getting a full extension passed. Johnson now has another Democrat to contend with as yesterday Democrat Analilia Mejia who is expected to join the progressive “squad” easily won the special election for the House seat vacated by NJ Governor Mikie Sherrill. And lastly for today, Hungary’s new leader is cleaning shop, one of his actions concerns CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Committee whose Hungarian arm had been receiving funding from Viktor Orban which explains why CPAC had such a presence in Hungary and may also explain why Tucker Carlson spent so much time there as well.