SUMMARY: Scott is joined by singer-songwriter and Porter County Recorder candidate Leslie Nuss Bamesberger and Bloomington activist and graduate student Bryce Greene for a packed two-hour episode covering a week that had almost everything. The national segment moves through the white supremacist attack on the Islamic Center of San Diego, the sputtering Iran war and its chaotic Israel dimension, the Trump administration’s escalating pressure on Cuba, a week of staggering domestic corruption, the Ebola outbreak in the Congo, and the week’s primary results across six states — including Thomas Massie’s AIPAC-funded ouster in Kentucky and Chris Rabb’s progressive triumph in Philadelphia. The panel also digs into the DNC’s botched autopsy release, the stolen election theory circulating around Elon Musk and Starlink, and the Epstein files — including Sarah Kellen’s House testimony and new reporting on the Zorro Ranch communications infrastructure. The final 35 minutes turns to Indiana: Republican implosion in the Secretary of State’s race, Todd Rokita’s latest shenanigans, Indiana’s mixed education numbers, and a growing backlash against data center development in Indianapolis. It takes a lot of work to put together a show of this scope. Please support HoosLeft and PIN with a free or paid subscription. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 00:00:00 Welcome and introduction 00:02:00 Social media and support plug; guest introductions 00:04:02 San Diego mosque attack — white supremacy, incel ideology, and congressional rhetoric 00:11:53 War in Iran — aircraft losses, War Powers votes, Trump’s “peace deal” 00:16:39 Israel angle — Ahmadinejad regime-change plot, Netanyahu tensions, Ben-Gvir flotilla video, sexual abuse allegations 00:23:57 Cuba — Raúl Castro indictment, carrier group, Starlink aid offer, invasion fears 00:31:41 Trump corruption — insider trading disclosures, the $1.776B Anti-Weaponization slush fund, Senate Republican revolt 00:39:20 Ebola outbreak — Bundibugyo virus, Congo response gaps, USAID cuts, RFK Jr. and MAHA kooks 00:45:34 Tuesday primaries — Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky (Massie defeat), AIPAC money 00:55:51 Idaho, Texas, Oregon, Pennsylvania — Rabb’s progressive upset, Shapiro’s national positioning 01:01:26 DNC autopsy — Gaza omission, Martin’s failures, Amanda Litman and Dan Pfeiffer call for his ouster 01:09:17 Ashley St. Clair and the 2024 stolen election theory — Musk texts, Tripp Lite, Starlink DTC satellites, North Carolina precinct data 01:17:22 Epstein — Sarah Kellen testimony, Frédéric Fekkai, Philip Levine, Patrick Demarchelier; Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez on Zorro Ranch infrastructure 01:25:28 PSA — Crossroads Commons, Salem, Indiana 01:26:04 Indiana elections — DLCC investment, Two GOP recounts, Banks and Rokita abandon Morales 01:32:56 Rokita roundup — price gouging investigation; “86” First Amendment case; transgender birth record interventions; “Don’t Say Gay” expansion push 01:40:01 Indiana education — reading recovery rankings; charter school study and Wildstyle Paschall’s critique; IPS board vacancies 01:47:30 Carmel and Fishers ranked top places to live — and what the rankings ignore 01:50:41 Braun’s National Guard military police force — Rep. Matt Pierce’s warning 01:53:27 Data centers — Indianapolis moratorium resolution; DC Blox east side proposal; community opposition 01:58:51 Closing remarks, guest info, upcoming PIN programming IN DEPTH: San Diego Mosque Shooting * What to know about a deadly attack by teen gunmen on a San Diego mosque (AP) * San Diego mosque shooters met online and left writings expressing hate, FBI says (AP) * Two white supremacist teens attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing three men before dying by suicide * The suspects — aged 17 and 18 — met online, called themselves “Sons of Tarrant,” a reference to the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooter who killed 51 * Writings included calls to “exterminate” Muslims, Nazi symbols, and broad hatred toward Jews, LGBTQ+, Black people, and both political parties * 30+ guns, ammunition, and a crossbow recovered from two residences; investigators still probing whether broader plans existed * Security guard Amin Abdullah shot back and triggered lockdown before being killed — likely saved 140 children steps away * Other victims Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad drew the gunmen away from the building before being killed in the parking lot * Imam noted the mosque was accustomed to hate mail and drive-by harassment — but nothing like this * San Diego mosque attack follows surge in public anti-Islam rhetoric (WaPo) * Attack follows a documented surge in public anti-Islam rhetoric from elected officials * Rep. Andrew Ogles (TN): “Muslims don’t belong in American society” — posted on X in March * Rep. Randy Fine (FL): compared Muslims unfavorably to dogs — February * Sen. Tommy Tuberville (AL): “radical Muslims” are coming to “destroy the West” — January, on the Senate floor * Muslim leaders said the attack “did not occur in a vacuum” — directly linking congressional rhetoric to the shooting * The day before the attack, Trump headlined a White House-backed Christian nationalist prayer festival on the National Mall * String of recent attacks on houses of worship: Detroit synagogue (truck ram + fire), Michigan LDS church (4 killed), Minneapolis Catholic church (2 children killed) * Jewish Federations lobbying Congress for $1 billion in security funding for faith institutions nationwide * Male Supremacism and Misogyny Was Central to the San Diego Mosque Shooting. Why Did So Much Coverage Miss It? (Ms) * Mainstream coverage largely missed the central role of male supremacism and misogyny in the shooters’ manifestos * Both cite the 2014 Santa Barbara sorority attack, the 1989 Montreal Polytechnique massacre, and the 2011 Norway youth camp attack as inspirations * One manifesto coins the term “MisanthropistCEL” and glorifies mass killers as “incel saints”; one shooter self-identified as a misogynist and had been active in incel online communities since 2022 * Manifesto progression: starts with antisemitism → moves to misogyny (”after the Jew, the most evil creature is the woman”) → then Islamophobia, anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric * Shooters also identified as accelerationists — seeking to hasten societal collapse through violence * Pattern mirrors 2011 Norway massacre coverage, which similarly underreported the antifeminist ideology driving the attack * Analysts warn: misogyny isn’t a side note — it’s structurally intertwined with white supremacist and other extremist violence War in the Middle East * Monday: Trump says he’s postponing ‘scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow’ at Middle East leaders’ request (CNBC) * Trump announced via Truth Social he was calling off a “scheduled attack on Iran” set for Tuesday, May 19 * Leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE personally asked him to hold off, saying a deal was close * Military still on standby — Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine ordered to be ready for “full, large scale assault on a moment’s notice” * Trump’s stated red line: no nuclear weapons for Iran * The U.S. and Iran remain in a military and economic stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz, with dueling blockades choking global oil shipping * A ceasefire technically remains in effect but has been repeatedly violated — Trump called it “on life support” last week * Notable: Hegseth was in Kentucky attending a campaign rally against Rep. Thomas Massie while all this was unfolding * Tuesday: US Senate votes to advance resolution to curb Trump’s Iran war powers (Guardian) * Senate voted 50-47 to advance a war powers resolution requiring Trump to get congressional authorization to continue the Iran war * First time the chamber has advanced the bill — eighth attempt since the conflict began in February * Four Republicans broke ranks: Bill Cassidy (fresh off a Trump-endorsed primary loss), Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, and Susan Collins * Cassidy’s statement: Congress has been “left in the dark” on Operation Epic Fury — no authorization can be justified without clarity * John Fetterman was the sole Democrat to vote against it * Still just the first step — Trump would almost certainly veto even if it passes both chambers * Democrats framing it as a pressure campaign: “Republicans are starting to crack” — Schumer * Thursday: GOP leaders abruptly cancel House vote on Iran war powers, shielding Trump from rebuke (CNN) * House GOP leaders abruptly canceled a scheduled war powers resolution vote Thursday when it became clear they were about to lose due to absences * Resolution introduced by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) would have required Trump to end the Iran conflict without congressional authorization * Democratic leaders: House Republicans are “a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trump administration” * Meeks: “They knew it was going to pass, and as a result they cheated” — vote now pushed to early June after Memorial Day recess * Trump meanwhile claims the Iran war is “very popular” — a CNN poll shows 77% of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, say his policies have increased their cost of living * Friday: Congressional report tallies 42 US aircraft lost or damaged in Operation Epic Fury (Military Times) * Congressional Research Service tallied 42 U.S. aircraft lost or damaged in Operation Epic Fury — the most complete public accounting yet, since the Pentagon hasn’t done its own * Six crew members killed when a KC-135 tanker went down over western Iraq March 12 — the only confirmed U.S. fatalities on the list * Drones took the hardest hit: 25 of 42 losses were unmanned aircraft, mostly MQ-9 Reapers (each of which cost over $30M) * Cost of the war has climbed to $29 billion — up from $25 billio
