Billionaire Chimp

🚨 The University of Virginia hosted a lecture today exploring the “impish” and “mischievous” side of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. The lecture, titled “The Impish Revolutionary,” was hosted as part of UVA's Islamic Worlds Initiative and delivered by University of Chicago professor Alireza Doostdar. The event description highlighted the “daredevilry and clowning” of Revolutionary Guard soldiers. Here is Doostdar in an earlier appearance arguing that Ayatollah Khomeini's characterization of America as the “Great Satan” should be understood as a substantive moral condemnation of the United States, not simply dismissed as demonization. He goes on to explain another Iranian religious figure's assessment that Khomeini's formulation was “genius” because, in this interpretation of Islamic theology, Iblis (Satan) primarily tempts people toward evil, while the United States supposedly goes further by committing massacres, imposing sanctions, deceiving others, and hypocritically invoking human rights. Doostdar has also revealed that his mother remains a “committed revolutionary” who supported the Iranian Revolution. But perhaps the most extraordinary detail is that his brother, Ahmadreza Mohammadi-Doostdar, was convicted of acting as an illegal agent of the Iranian government. According to federal investigators, his brother conducted surveillance of the University of Chicago's Hillel Center and Rohr Chabad House, including photographing security features around the Jewish facilities. He pleaded guilty in 2019 and was sentenced to 38 months in federal prison. Just another outrageous event at UVA that will probably end up in the university's new “online targeting” reporting system because someone outside the university dared to scrutinize them.

NEWS: Trump announces Stephen Miller will replace Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, effective Monday, November 9. Wiles will move to Trump's political operation, the president says.

BREAKING: California voters just passed Prop 37. Buyers of newly built homes can now put down 3% instead of 20%. How: the state lends you the other 17% as a second mortgage, funded by up to $25 billion in bonds. On an $800,000 home that's $24,000 down instead of $160,000.

Jonah is getting massive grief for this tame post. His snarky point is that the youth vote swung hard to Dems. TPUSA, a youth-oriented organization, didn't succeed in its mission. That's totally fair. But because Turning Point was run by Charlie Kirk until his assassination last year, critics claim that Goldberg is attacking Kirk. This is ridiculous. Turning Point is a political organization with political goals. They are not the Sacred Church of Charlie Kirk. They are not above criticism. And before you accuse me of hating Kirk, read what I tweeted when he was shot. "Political violence in America is a threat to us all. Hoping for a quick recovery for Charlie Kirk." (I hadn't seen the horrible video.) So Kirk's death was awful, and people who expressed glee about it were wrong, but it's completely reasonable to criticize the organization he founded.

Goldberg’s TPUSA tweet was ill-advised.

This is going to be a massive change for CA media. And a real loss for voters wanting to know what the GOV thinks. The last two CA governors (Jerry and Gavin) always engaged the press and public and were willing to share their views even when they could evolve. Methinks this is going to be a contentious relationship between this next GOV and the CA press corps.

In less than one hour, the entire post-election rally has been wiped out….. Just when you thought it was safe to take a nap

Two women attempting to become Navy SEALs advanced further through the military's grueling training pipeline than any women before them, making history despite ultimately failing to complete the demanding course at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in California. cbsn.ws/4eiKyen

Francesca Albanese: “Israel has always killed children... torture, even rape... raped by dogs trained in European countries. European people are profiting from selling dogs that will rape people.” Irish Sen. Chris Andrews: “Thank you for your ongoing advocacy. It's inspiring.”

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Over $3 trillion erased from the US stock market today.

.@LevineJonathan Timeline rn.

BREAKING: Nithya Raman wins Los Angeles's mayor race, NBC News projects. nbcnews.to/3V2DNqF