What are you seeing?

Yeah, so I think it's very important to just look at the full sweep of what's happened, not only over the last couple of weeks, but really since this has begun, what, last year with Operation Midnight Hammer.

Clearly the focus right now is on trying to keep that Strait of Hormuz open.

That is very important for our economy, for the international economy.

And things are certainly a lot better than they were a few months ago insofar as Iran's ability to close down commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The price of West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil certainly is up about 4% today, but it's down well more than 25% from its peaks a couple of months ago.

We hear that about two-thirds of the oil transiting the Strait compared to normal amounts.

So what does this look like then for the next few months? Are we going to be escorting tankers through the strait with our military assets, our Navy assets? If we promise to do that, will that be enough to accommodate the insurance companies and to – Give the nations that want that oil on the tankers enough confidence to actually go ahead and risk the Strait? I mean, where does it go from here?

Is that a critical miss, or do you expect that that comes out in the wash in a final agreement?

Yeah.

So again, I go back to facts on the ground.

Look what's happening in Lebanon and look at the agreement that has been brokered with Secretary of State Rubio between Israel and the government of Lebanon to try to get this foreign proxy out of their soil.

And you saw just a few days ago, Lebanese security elements taking on Hezbollah supporters in Beirut.

And that's something that has been pretty uncommon in Lebanon.

It's also important to understand that, you know, Lebanon's really been kind of the sick man of the Middle East for a while.

How does that compare out of curiosity to the annual Texas state budget to run your state?

And this idea, Lieutenant Colonel Chuck DeVore, if I'd said to you on day one of this war that at the end of it, uh, Iran would be the losers apparently, but be given $300 billion and another 25 billion of unfrozen assets returned to them, you'd have said I was nuts, wouldn't you? No loser ends up with that, do they?

they?Well, first of all, um, great to be on your show.

Uh, secondly, I, I think it's important to understand that all of this information we're getting about this deal is being leaked likely from one side.

Uh, just a few minutes ago, I was listening to President Trump, uh, speak with, uh, India Prime Minister Modi.

Uh, and he indicated that he wasn't entirely sure whether or not the deal would be to his liking on Friday.

He, he was basically admitting that there are details that are being worked out.

But let's go and go ahead and compare the JCPOA with facts on the ground today.

You know, these things have enormous consequences.

What if they say, sign the outside of the envelope, give it to me, I will fill it out on your behalf, and turn it in?

Yeah, so now we're getting into some problematic areas, right? Because There are signature blocks on that envelope for, you know, make your mark if you're not literate, and then for the witness to make a mark.

The person who fills it out should be the voter.

Now, if you're, let's say you are a blind individual and, you know, the mail-in ballot doesn't have Braille on it, you're the one then telling someone, here's who I want you to vote for.

And then you're counting on that person to fill it in properly for you.

I don't believe under any circumstance it should be allowed or legal for a third party to essentially vote for you, right? And without your consent, without your telling that person how to vote.

And this is why I've called California elections in recent years, not elections, but merely census operations.

There are a lot of ballots that are floating around, and I think people are worried that if the DSA gets their hands on it, they'll just fill them out and turn them in, and the signature verification process won't catch it.

What if they say, sign the outside of the envelope, give it to me, I will fill it out on your behalf, and turn it in?

Yeah, so now we're getting into some problematic areas, right? Because There are signature blocks on that envelope for, you know, make your mark if you're not literate, and then for the witness to make a mark.

The person who fills it out should be the voter.

Now, if you're, let's say you are a blind individual and, you know, the mail-in ballot doesn't have Braille on it, you're the one then telling someone, here's who I want you to vote for.

And then you're counting on that person to fill it in properly for you.

I don't believe under any circumstance it should be allowed or legal for a third party to essentially vote for you, right? And without your consent, without your telling that person how to vote.

And this is why I've called California elections in recent years, not elections, but merely census operations.

There are a lot of ballots that are floating around, and I think people are worried that if the DSA gets their hands on it, they'll just fill them out and turn them in, and the signature verification process won't catch it.

You think this latest round's gonna do the trick?

Well, Jesse, I, I guess that's the, uh, that's the big question.

Uh, I don't think it will in the sense that let's say they do agree to sign an agreement.

Are they really gonna stick to it? Or, uh, will they not agree to sign a document and try to string things along some more? Uh, I think what we've seen in the last two, two nights is similar to the concept of peeling back layers of an onion.

Uh, last night's strikes were about neutralizing air defense systems and radars, uh, in retaliation of course for that drone hitting the Apache and almost killing our two pilots.

Uh, it's just a, as you said, it's a miracle that they survived, especially the part about ditching in the ocean at night.

That's actually really dangerous.

Is that your sense?

Well, there is some dispute over one of them, but we'll leave that for another day because I want to talk to you, which is, how is this military operation going from your own experience as an officer?

Well, I think it's going, I think it's going exceptionally well.

If you listen to the president today during his news conference, he talked about fifty-one ships sunk.

He talked about how the amount of missile fire coming out of Iran is down to ten percent of what it was on the opening day.

The amount of drone fire is down, uh, by, I think he said eighty-three percent reduction in drone fire.

Uh, he said, you know, look, this regime has been at war with us for forty-seven years.

He talked about the Beirut barracks bombing, the USS Cole, the roadside bombs, uh, that bedeviled our troops that were in Iraq.

Are you concerned about that? Is the, is the Republican government in Texas concerned about this?

This is a proposed special election they're trying to set up to get around the state constitution and the way it's already in place, right?

It, it is, but more importantly and, and kind of a subtext or certainly behind, uh, just behind the curtain is the fact that this is all about California Governor Gavin Newsom's ambitions for president.

He is termed out of office.

California has a two-term term limit.

He is termed out after next year's midterm elections in 2026, and he's thinking, "Well, how do I stay in the news? How do I seize the reins and become the leader of the national Democratic Party?" And he is quite effectively doing it.

If you look at his social media profile, if you look at all the buzz he's generating, uh, this, this plan is going according to plan for Newsom.

So what he has to do in California that's different in Texas, California has, uh, the initiative, the, the pro- uh, proposition process that's really been in place for about 100 years since the progressive era about 110 years ago, and, uh, California passed, the year I was termed out in 2010, a proposition that changed the constitution of California that handed over redistricting to an independent commission, more or less independent.

Two thirds being against what Democrats are proposing, is that a surprise to you?