China is having a very good week. Trump landed in Beijing after a True Social tirade calling Barack Obama "the most demonic force in American politics," the Pentagon is asking for $1.5 trillion with no accountability, and new classified intel shows Iran has regained operational access to 30 of 33 missile sites around the Strait of Hormuz. The forever-war machine that was supposed to be "fast and easy" is now a sucking chest wound — bleeding the Army of $4-6 billion in training dollars, driving diesel up 13%, and handing Xi Jinping leverage he didn't have to earn. Paul Rieckhoff lays out the morning briefing with no-BS clarity, then rides into a conversation with the kind of leader the angry middle has been waiting for.
Our Meet the Independent Candidates Series continues as Brian Bengs returns — the Navy and Air Force veteran, former Air Force Academy law professor, and independent candidate for U.S. Senate in South Dakota — joins from the trailer outside the house he's still trying to finish. He talks about the cowboy code, the Bushido code, and why every public servant needs a creed. He breaks down why Mike Rounds' refusal to do his constitutional job on the Iran war is a systemic failure, why 98% of Rounds' money comes from corporate PACs while Bengs runs on small-dollar donors, and why the path is suddenly clearer for independent veterans like Dan Osborn in Nebraska and Bengs in South Dakota. This is what the rising independent veteran cavalry actually looks like — boots on the ground, talking to neighbors at the gas pump, riding for the brand of regular Americans.
In this episode
- Why Trump's trip to China is a gift to Xi, Putin, and the ayatollahs — and why we can't normalize it
- The classified intel: Iran has restored 30 of 33 missile sites and 90% of underground facilities
- The Army's $4-6 billion shortfall and why training is getting cut to pay for an unauthorized war
- Producer prices up 6%, diesel up 13%, gas averaging $4.51 — the real cost of the forever war coming home
- Kash Patel vs. Senator Van Hollen and an FBI in chaos
- Mark Wayne Mullin telegraphing a military footprint at the World Cup
- Brian Bengs on the cowboy code, the samurai code, and why every public servant needs a creed
- Why Mike Rounds won't debate, won't hold town halls, and takes 98% of his money from corporate PACs
- Cindy Burbank clearing the path for Dan Osborn in Nebraska — and what it means for South Dakota
- Remembering Jason Collins, Toby Keith, and what it looks like to ride for the team, not the MVP trophy
