Showing posts with label 2020s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2020s. Show all posts

Saturday, April 25, 2026

King Donald's War, Part 5. After 13/15 U.S. deaths, Hundreds of Iranian deaths, $50B spent fighting it, and a massive increase in the price of oil, King Donny surrenders to the Iranians. The "If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied" edition.

April 8,2026

What MAGA wizard King Donny said at the start of the war:



What the befuddled demented agreed to as an a starting point now:


The MAGA's I know and read about are already bragging this up as another example of Trump brilliance.  This demonstrates how completely brainwashed MAGA really is.  There is a Trump Derangement Syndrome alright.  It's what allows people who voted for no more overseas wars, lower prices, a return to (Calvinist) Christianity, and a deep belief in a conspiracy to keep the Epstein files hidden vote for a man who has now waged two wars, surrendered to a Muslim theocracy, caused higher prices, while hiding the Epstein files and living a life contrary to the Gospels to be worshipped no matter what he does.

We lost this war, completely.  We not only lost it for us, we lost it for Israel too.  Israel, which duped Donny into the war, deserved it.  The American people did not.

Thirteen American servicemen died for nothing whatsoever, other than an attempt at the greater glory of Trump.  Their lives were wasted. Their deaths didn't serve the nation, but one man.  Six were Army National Guardsmen.  Six were members of the USAF.

No Trumps or Musks, or the children of the rich, died.  If you visited Epstein Island, your family wasn't fighting.

And by the way, the oligarchs grew richer during the war, due to timely made trades and a rise in the price of oil, which made regular Americans poorer.

Trump once claimed that veterans were suckers.  The veterans of this war are.  But more than that, those who voted for Trump were proven to be.  There was no excuse to support him in the last election and there's no excuse not to remove him now.  

Before the war Iran was a theocracy.  It still is.

Before the war the Iranian people wanted freedom. They still do, and still lack it.

Before the war Iran could launch missiles and drones at their enemies. They still can.

Before the war Iran had 1000 pounds of uranium.  It still does.

Before the war the Strait of Hormuz was open.  Now Iran gets to charge a toll for its passage.

During the war Iran shipped more oil at a higher price than it did before the war.

The names of the thirteen known men and women who gave their lives, not for their country but for Donald Trump, are:

CWO Robert Marzan
SFC Nicole Amor
SFC Noah Tietjens
Sgt Declan Coady
Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien
Cpt. Cody Khork
Sgt. Benjamin Pennington
Maj. John "Alex" Klinner
Cpt. Ariana Savino
TSgt. Ashley Pruitt
Cpt. Seth Koval
Ct. Curtis Angst
TSgt. Tyler Simmons

Only some of the names of the 170 some Iranian girls the U.S. killed during the war are known.  Those names, including a few of the names of their teachers, are:

1. Hana Dehqani, eight years old

2. Fatemeh Salari, 34 years old

3. Reza Habashian, seven years old

4. Arya Bahadori, nine years old

5. Ali Asghar Zaeri, eight years old

6. Zahra Bahrami, seven years old 

7. Ahmad Soltani, eight years old

8. Hamed Par-ashegh-nezhad, seven years old

9. Fatemeh Yazdan-panah, young girl, age unknown

10. Mahdis Nazari, seven years old

11. Athena Chamani-nezhad, six years old

12. Amirghasem Zaeri, seven years old

13. Fatemeh Dorazehi, 10 years old

14. Arad Ahmadizadeh, eight years old 

15. Saman Karimzadeh, seven years old

16. Fatemeh Shahdadi, age unknown

17. Nadia Shahmiri, nine years old

18. Parham Ranjbari, nine years old

19. Mahmoud Gholamyani, 35 years old

20. Fatemeh Rahdar, 10 years old 

21. Amir-Hassan Rasouli, eight years old

22. Zahra Behrouzi, eight years old

23. Mohammadhatam Raisi, 10 years old

24. Asna Raisi, 12 years old 

25. Benyamin Jangjou, eight years old

26. Mohammad-Sadra Zarei, eight years old 

27. Maryam Pazark, 10 years old

28. Liana Mohammadi, seven years old

29. Mandana Salari, 29 years old

30. Sara Shayesteh, five years old

31. Zoha Pasand, eight years old

32. Esra Zakeri, nine years old

33. Salma Zakeri, six years old

34. Fatemeh Taherifard, 29 years old

35. Zahra Ansari, seven years old

36. Fatemeh Fadavi, 10 years old 

37. Mahna Zarei, two months old

38. Athareh Zarei, 10 years old

39. Alireza Zarei, nine years old

40. Mohammadreza Shahsavari, eight years old

41. Samira Basarde, 38 years old

42. Ehsan Saleminia, six years old

43. Fatemeh Zahra Karimi, seven years old

44. Zeynab Bahrami, 10 years old

45. Mohammad Shah-dousti, eight years old

46. Reza Barani, seven years old

47. Athena Ahmadzadeh, 10 years old

48. Khadijeh Darvishi, nine years old

49. Roqayyeh Karimi, 42 years old

50. Reza Ranjbar, six years old 

51. Marzieh Bashiri-far, 38 years old

52. Mohammad-Mehdi Chegini, 10 years old

53. Mohammadian Bahrami, 17 years old

54. Ali-Akbar Karyani Pak, eight years old

55. Hananeh Mehdikhah, seven years old

56. Fereshteh Sangarzadeh, 44 years old 

57. Mohammad-Ali Karyani Pak, seven years old

58. Parsa Mokhtari-nasab, 12 years old

59. Arina Arab-Kish, eight years old

60. Makan Nasiri, 12 years old

61. Esra Farahi-Zadeh, young girl, age unknown

About half of the American lives were due to a mid air accident, but they're just as dead as they would be had they died fighting.  All of the Iranian lives lost that are listed are due to a targeting accident.

What the death toll for anybody in Lebanon, which opened up as a theatre of war while this was going on, we don't probably really know.

May the perpetual light shine upon them.

If any question why we died, 
Tell them, because our fathers lied.

None of these people had a choice in the offering of their lives for Trump's desperate attempt to have a legacy.  American voters do have a choice on allowing him to continue to kill in an attempt to gain one, however.  They'll have that choice in November, and through their members of Congress, they have a sort of choice now.  The second it becomes clear to Republican members of Congress that their phony jobs are in danger by supporting a madman, they'll suddenly have never supported him. 


April 9, 2026

Nothing is going through the Straits of Hormuz yet. . . a sign that shippers doubt the ceasefire will hold.

And it hasn't in Lebanon, where Israel continues to conduct operations arguing, logically enough, that it doesn't apply there anyway.

April 13, 2026

Well negotiations are going badly so now King Donny is threatening to blockade Iranian ports.

The world's worst dealmaker screws up the Iran negotiations

Forget the "Art of the Deal” myth.

April 17, 2026

There apparently is an agreement for a ceasefire in Lebanon.

April 18, 2026

A suspicious package caused a lockdown on parts of F. E. Warren yesterday.

Related?  I don't know, but then, I don't know.

The Straits of Hormoz were announced open yesterday, and then Iran announced that they are under strict Iranian control today.

April 20, 2026

The United States announced a second round of talks in Pakistan and even discussed the delegation, with Trump claiming the parties were close to a deal.

Iran said nope, it wasn't going to any talks.

April 21, 2026

Some reporters are indicating that the US and Iran were close to a deal to end the war and that it was blown up by Trump's tweeting.

April 22, 2026

Trump was going to rain down destruction if things weren't moving yesterday, yadda yadda, yadda. . .


On other matters related to Mad King Donald's War, there are persistent rumors that recently he asked for the nuclear codes and was denied them by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Did that happen?  We just don't know.  If it did, we are way past the point where the 25th Amendment needs to be invoked.  But again, we don't know.

April 23, 2026

More head's rolling in the DoD:

It's well known that Hegseth has the Secretary of the Army in his sights but hasn't been able to pull that off yet.

Interesting . . . 

In other news, Iran is reporting that its Revolutionary Guards seized to vessels. Granted, that's not the Iranian Navy, but it does show that Iranian forces are more resilient than the US claims.

April 24, 2026

Trump's war on the global food supply

Just the latest moral and logistical atrocity.

April 25, 2026

Talks that were supposed to start today, aren't.

Last edition:

King Donald's War, Part 4. The Raving Madman threatens to resort to mass war crimes.

Court Watch, Part V.

 Expect a major hissy fit.


I think we can confidently assume this project is dead, and that some lesser more useful construction will take place after Trump is out of office.

The judge ruled that the plaintiff was likely to prevail as the administration likely lacks the authority they tried to exercise here.

They should refund the money and Trump should pay for this destruction himself.

April 1, 2026

Trump's executive order on mail voting is set to face legal challenges

April 2, 2026

From the CST:


Basically the judge decided the issues in the two matters weren't sufficiently identical for consolidation.

On other matters:
Lex Anteinternet: Courthouses of the West: Donald Trump attends oral...: Courthouses of the West: Donald Trump attends oral arguments in Trump v. Ba... : That's the birthright citizenship case. Trump's goi...
I posted this yesterday.

Courthouses of the West: Donald Trump attends oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara

Courthouses of the West: Donald Trump attends oral arguments in Trump v. Ba...: That's the birthright citizenship case. Trump's going to lose this case, which will be another example of the wheels coming off of h...

Donald Trump attends oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara.

That's the birthright citizenship case.

Trump's going to lose this case, which will be another example of the wheels coming off of his administration.  His presence at the Court will not impress anyone, let alone the Justices. Trump seems to have lost any sense that he's not that impressive to about 70% of Americans.

His attendance is, frankly, appalling.

Cont (April 1, 2026)

JUSTICE NEIL GORSUCH: Do you think Native Americans today are birthright citizens under your test and under your friend's test?

D. JOHN SAUER, U.S. SOLICITOR GENERAL: I think so. I mean, obviously, they've been granted citizenship by statute ...

GORSUCH: Put aside the statute. Do you think they're birthright citizens?

SAUER: No, I think the clear understanding that everybody agrees in the congressional debates is that the children of tribal Indians are not birthright citizens.

GORSUCH: I understand that's what they said. But your test is the domicile of the parents, and that would be the test you'd have us apply today, right?

SAUER: Yes, yes. So, if a tribal Indian, for example, you know, gives up allegiance to ...

GORSUCH: Are tribal members born today birthright citizens?

SAUER: I think so, on our test, if they're lawfully domiciled here. I'm not s—, I have to think that through, but that's my reaction.

GORSUCH: I'll take the yes. That's alright.

Gee Louise, this administration is really something. 

It turns out that Trump left after Justice Jackson pretty much eviscerated the solicitor, D. John Sauer, who was sent to argue this.  Sauer's career really ought to be over for such a lame argument that was so obviously legal deficient.  He's a former Missouri solicitor and, more important, one of the lawyers who was willing to represent Trump in the past.

April 14, 2026

Trump predictably lost his defamation suit against the Washington Post.

And perhaps something will happen on Gray's ignoring Wyoming's voter confidentiality laws.


April 17, 2026

An attempted end run to fund the garden shed was again blocked by the Federal Court.

April 21, 2026

Kash Patel has sued The Atlantic claiming that an article that claims he has an alcohol problem is defamatory.

April 22, 2026

April 25, 2026
This is sad, but not unexpected, news.

The thing that really gets me here is the remarkable photograph of the three principal female figures in this contest on the abortion side.  There they are, sharing a good laugh, while supporting infanticide.

Abortion is flat out murder, there's no two ways about it.  Something about this made me look up the ages of the women in the photograph.

Burkhart was born in 65 or 67. . . apparently people aren't really sure.  Anthony in 66-68.  Lichtenfels, whom I once knew, probably around 61-62.  So they all grew up in the 60s and 70s when abortion was really gaining ground.  It certainly did that.  A huge number of babies are murdered in the Western world, including the U.S., every day.  The seas of blood on that score outstrips anything the Nazis or Soviet Communists did.  It's part of what's corrupted the United States and given us our current era.

What I wondered about generationally doesn't pan out, however.  Support for abortion is pretty strong across generations in this country, although obviously not so strong that the legislature here doesn't keep trying to legislate against it.

What the legislature needs to do is to work to repeal the health care self determination provision of the state constitution that paranoid far righters got inserted into it several years ago.  If they did, we wouldn't be having this argument now.

Last edition:

Court Watch, Part IV.

Friday, April 24, 2026

Pentagon memo shows Trump is using NATO to control and extort Europe

Oh, I know. . . can't be true, unless you are Mike Lee in which Trump is a genius and the United States should become its own planet.

Pentagon memo shows Trump is using NATO to control and extort Europe

A leaked Pentagon document outlines options to punish European countries who don't join the Iran War, including expelling Spain from NATO and threatening Britain's Falkland Islands.

Ascendant Ignorance in the Age of Donald Trump. Ignoramus Watch Part 4. Dr. Hegseth countermands George Washington edition.

 


April 22, 2026

During the Revolutionary War, George Washington ordered his troops inoculated against Small Pox.

This week Pete Hegseth lifted the requirement that troops be inoculated for influenza for "religious" reasons.

The current GOP is heavily anti scientific.

Opposition to vaccinations has been in American history largely a thing of smaller Christian and non Christian sects which are fairly anti scientific, as opposed to the majority of Christians who have no objection to vaccination.  However, when the far right of the country started to turn weird, listening to such medical lights as boob model Jenny McCarthy, that began to change a bit. Covid really made it worse as a significant portion of the country turned anti vax under the leadership of Donald Trump, who got the vaccine, but who recommended some really lethal approaches to the crisis as well.

Troops who don't get inoculated ought to just be given dishonorable or less than honorable discharges.  That's what should have occurred to those who refused the Covid vaccine.

April 24, 2026

The war department stands ready for what comes next. Locked and loaded. May God continue to breast—bless our warriors each and every day and on each and every mission.

Hegseth. 

Breast?

Okay, I get that it's a slip of the tongue, um, well, but it's an odd one.

Last edition:

Ascendant Ignorance in the Age of Donald Trump. Ignoramus Watch Part 3. The Quack Edition.

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Republicans. You have reached July 20, 1944. You can either act with the insurgents and save your party (maybe) or go down in the bunker and destroy it for a generation, or more.

And your ongoing support of Donald Trump may have guaranteed that result already.

There were plenty of signs that the Germans were going to lose World War Two well before Hitler put a PPK to his head and blew his diseased brains out.  Conservative Germans knew that.  Some tried to act, with the last major act being the July 20, 1944 plot which nearly ended the Nazi regime.

And no, we aren't advocating that in this thread.  We're advocating the use of the 25th Amendment.

The fact of the matter is that by July 20, 1944, it was too late to save Germany form complete defeat.  It wasn't too late, however, to rescue German conservatism.  Even as it was, the first post war West German governments were conservative.

The Republican Party is not Donald Trump's party.  Just like German conservatives of the 1920s and 1930s, real conservatives made a terrible bargain with radical German populists as they were obsessed with what they thought was German decline, looked back on a mythical German past, and listened to the words of a radical and heard what they wanted to hear.  They then followed along with evil thinking, most likely, that it wouldn't last forever, and at least the Nazis were addressing the Communists.

That's basically what the Republicans did.

Donald Trump spent most of his life registered as a Democrat, but at the end of they day, Trump's political party is Donald Trump.  Unlike Hitler, Trump isn't a very smart man.  He's a semi good salesman who mostly sells what people want to hear, and Donald Trump.  He tapped into Rust Belt, Southern, rural and conservative discontent and sold it all as a movement.  Truth be known, people's interest in that movement was fairly personal.  People were worried about high immigration rates and wanted something done, but they weren't really for violence in the streets.  And in their minds, an illegal immigrant was a guy working a construction job they couldn't get, not Maria who has been doing their shirts at the cleaners, or Jose who takes care of the sprinkler system.  But, just like the German conservatives, once you have blood on your hands its hard not to have a lot more.

Indeed, it's hard not to have a lot more even if you have to endorse outright hypocrisy.  Some were worried about social sexual issues, including gay marriage and transgenderism, both of which are in fact legitimate concerns.  The dear leader is so worried about that such that he has Scott Bessant, a married homosexual who will support any dumb thing Trump says, in his cabinet and who has had his family photographed with Bruce Jenner post "transition".  Some were worried about what they perceived as an irreligious drift in the country to such an extent they've made Trump into a near demigod even though he has no demonstrable attachment to Christianity at all.  Some were worried about endless foreign wars and are now endorsing endless foreign wars.

Most people have absolutely had enough, however.

To add to it, Trump is increasingly erratic.  Signs of dementia were clearly there in his first term, but now he's rocketing into insanity.  He babbles absolute nonsense in the middle of the night with childish tweets that no sane adult would tolerate.  If he was a member of your family you'd be seeking to have him committed.

The end result of this is completely clear.  If Trump is still in office in November, the Republican Party will be destroyed.  Not just defeated, but absolutely destroyed.  The GOP will not regain power nationally in any serious way for a generation, assuming it simply doesn't dissolve.  Local MAGA expressions, even in deeply Republican states will be put in the trash bin.  Politicians who were loyal to Trump, like Mike Lee, Lindsey Graham, J. D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Chuck Gray, Megan Degenfelder, and a host of others (including John Barrasso) will find their political careers over, even if they are still in office.  Some, such as Graham, Gray and Vance, will be regarded as absolute jokes.

The only way to avoid this, and it might not be avoidable at this point, is for the 25th Amendment, or his obviously bad health, to remove Trump by November.  At this point there's a fairly good reason that Trump's dementia is advancing so rapidly, and his health declining so quickly, that Trump will expire of natural causes any day now.  He's not well.  If death arrives him and takes him to his final reward it would spare people like Vance, Rubio and Barrasso from having to have a spine.  Assuming it does not, only the 25th Amendment stands a chance of saving the Republican Party.

The 25th Amendment option has to be invoked very soon if there's any chance of saving the GOP. And by soon, I mean this month.  Early voting is already starting for primaries.  Voters everywhere are trashing the GOP.  Virginia has been flipped to the GOP in a way that the Republicans cannot recover from for a generation.  Every single day that goes by makes the extinction of the Republican Party that much more inevitable.

Political parties do not last forever.  The GOP is not likely to survive Trump, and if it does, it'll be a minority party the way it was after 1932, standing for. . . well pretty much nothing but a sort of milk toast conservatism.  If it boots Trump now, it stands a chance of reforming itself sufficiently before November that the looming disaster can just be a bad one, rather than a catastrophic one.

Of course, booting the demented would be dictator requires courage, something most of them lack.  Most of them fear MAGA.  But a breach with MAGA, which has nowhere else to go.  It took Soviet tanks in Berlin to free German conservatives from the Nazis.  The Republicans will be freed from MAGA, but at what cost?


If nothing is done, by January 2027, it'll be way too late.  Like Red Army policemen directing the traffic in Berlin, the Democratic Party will be directing the social and legislative traffic of the country.  That might be what's going to happen definitively anyway.  I do not see the Republicans being able to salvage their immediate electoral fortunes.  The absolute stench of Donald Trump and his betrayal of democracy sticks to them too much.  But at a bare minimum, the GOP can avoid the discredit of the metaphorical fighting in the streets of Berlin, which will occur in November through January as Trump and his fanatic backers maintain they didn't loose and they aren't going to recognize the results.  That will occur.

And if that' occurs, a pox on the GOP in general . That's what most Americans will think as well.  

And perhaps its necessary.  The party of Lincoln sold its soul and became the party of Orange Mussolini.  An entity like that needs to be purged to its core, with the Lees, Tubervilles, Millers and all relegated to the political dustbin and recalled in our memories the same way that Trump will be, an embarrassing disaster.



Last edition:

The 2026 Election, 7th Edition, Do not stand with those who promote the sins that cry out to Heaven.


The 25th Amendment Watch List. A Fourteenth and Special edition. Attacking the Catholic Church.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Subsidiarity Economics 2026. The Times more or less locally, Part 3. The Wharton Way.

 

 "The Wharton Way"

Our strategic plan guiding us towards greater influence, innovation, and engagement for the advancement of business, education, and society at large.

Wharton School of Business website.

Donald J. Trump, who fancies himself a Wile E. Coyote level genius, is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business.

It certainly doesn't show, or Wharton isn't all it has been cracked up to be.

Having gotten the United States into an illegal war as Bibi Netanyahu talked him into it, Donny appears to have been taken off guard that Iran could and would close the Straits of Hormuz, hit tankers, and hit oil and gas facilities throughout the Middle East.

Why wouldn't they?

Perhaps if Melania lets Barron go see his father over Spring Break, assuming they're not perusing travel brochures entitled "where we can go to live after Don dies where people won't know we're Trumps", and assuming that Barron isn't doing the right thing and enlisting in the United States Marine Corps, they can break out some hex and counter games and play Naval based Superpower v. Land based regional power" and see how that works out.

Anyhow, Donny Trump (did we mention that he fancies himself a Wile E. Coyote level genius?) has lifted sanctions on already loaded oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, which means that Iran now has a source of cash it didn't before the war started.

So, we didn't wipe out their nuclear capabilities in the Twelve Day War, their government hasn't fallen in this one, people have not risen up to toss out the Iranian government, the Straits of Hormuz are closed, we didn't stockpile oil before the war, the price of oil has skyrocketed, and now the Iranians can legally transport some oil

Assuming that Trump isn't secretly trying to destroy the American economy and benefit Iran (and Russia), it's hard to see the smarts in any of that.

March 23, 2026

Even the best-case scenario for energy markets is disastrous

Whatever happens, high prices will outlive the Iran war 

March 24, 2026

Petroleum is back up over $100/bbl, basically because King Donny is a liar.

March 26, 2026

And the war inflation hits packages:

U.S. Postal Service Announces Transportation-Related, Time-Limited Price Change

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service filed notice today with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) regarding a time-limited price change to better align its costs of transportation with the market. This temporary price adjustment will provide needed flexibility for the Postal Service by helping to ensure that the actual costs of doing business are covered, as required by Congress.

While this price increase is a time-limited adjustment, it will provide a necessary bridge to a permanent mechanism to reflect market conditions in prices for competitive products that can support the Postal Service’s ability to achieve the universal service obligation in a more financially sustainable manner going forward.

The planned price change, which was approved by the Governors of the Postal Service on March 24, is an 8 percent increase that would affect base postage prices on the following retail and commercial domestic competitive products: Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select. No other products or services would be affected, including First-Class Stamps. Pending favorable review by the PRC, the price change would go into effect at midnight Central Time on April 26 and would remain in place until midnight Central Time on Jan. 17, 2027. At that time, the Postal Service can determine if a different long-term approach is needed.

Transportation costs have been increasing, and our competitors have reacted with a number of surcharges. We have steadfastly avoided surcharges and this charge is less than one-third of what our competitors charge for fuel alone, so even with this change, the Postal Service continues to offer great value in shipping with some of the lowest rates in the industrialized world.

The time-limited price change is consistent with industry practices and will support the Postal Service’s ability to continue achieving its public service mission — providing a nationwide, integrated network for the delivery of mail and packages at least six days a week — in a cost-effective and financially sustainable manner over the long term, just as the U.S. Congress has intended.

The PRC will review the proposed price change before it is scheduled to take effect on April 26. Complete USPS price filings, with prices for all products, can be found on the PRC website’s Daily Listings section at prc.arkcase.com/portal/filings. Price tables are also available on the Postal Explorer website at pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index.

# # #

March 27, 2026

More than 90% of new renewable power projects worldwide in 2024 were cheaper than fossil-fuel alternatives, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Guess they aren't as woke as Chuck and demented Don would claim.

And this two years ago before the tin pot dictator decided to destroy the world's oil importation system.

March 30, 2026

West Texas is at $100/bbl this morning. Brent is at $115/bbl.

With the Houthis now in the war, there's a fairly good chance the Red Sea will be effectively closed, massively widening the war, and propelling the world into a King Donny causes severe recession.

March 31, 2026

Brent is at $114.88.  West Texas at $104.

The price of almost everything is rising.

This is your economy at war.  An undeclared war by a demented octogenarian.

April 6, 2026

Trump's Total War Budget

“More bombs, less of everything else” is a tough campaign platform.

West Texas is $110/bbl this morning.

April 7, 2026

All roads lead to higher prices and slower growth.

IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva.

April 14, 2026

We had in Wyoming record distributions of Meals on Wheels…So I’m worried.  I’ll admit it.

Cynthia Lummis.

April 15, 2026

Headlines in the CST:

Forbes: Trump’s wealth soars 60% since return

Trump administration will refund importers

Treasury chief confident on low core inflation

That last thing comes from Bessant so basically it's propaganda, as everything he says is.

April 18, 2026


The Rural Blog: Inflation surged in March due to Iran war and tariffs: War-related price pressures worsened inflation in March, which the Federal Reserve was already struggling to regulate, reports Colby Smith f...

High oil prices, explained by an expert

"It’s hard to know what level would make Americans start to really restrict their consumption."

April 19, 2026

Oh oh. . .

April 21, 2026

Presidential Determination Pursuant to

Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Natural Gas Transmission, Processing, Storage, and Liquefied Natural Gas Capacity

Presidential Memoranda

April 20, 2026

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY

SUBJECT:       Presidential Determination Pursuant to Section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as Amended, on Natural Gas Transmission, Processing, Storage, and Liquefied Natural Gas Capacity

On January 20, 2025, I issued Executive Order 14156 (Declaring a National Energy Emergency), under the National Emergencies Act.  That order found that hostile foreign actors have weaponized America’s reliance on foreign energy and used it to cause dramatic swings in international commodity markets, leaving the United States and its allies dangerously exposed.  It emphasized that America must develop its capacity to supply reliable, diversified, and affordable energy to international allies and partners to compete with hostile foreign powers, strengthen relations with allies and partners, and support international peace and security.

Consistent with that declaration, I find that ensuring sufficient natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity is critical to sustaining United States defense operations and ensuring allied energy security.  Inadequate pipelines, processing, storage, or natural gas and LNG export capacity would leave the United States and its partners dangerously exposed in times of crisis.

Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 303 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (the “Act”) (50 U.S.C. 4533), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 303(a)(5) of the Act, that:

(1)  natural gas and LNG capacity, including gathering and transmission pipelines, compression, processing plants, underground storage, LNG liquefaction, storage and marine load, export facilities, and critical distribution infrastructure, are industrial resources, materials, or critical technology items essential to the national defense;

(2)  without Presidential action under section 303 of the Act, United States industry cannot reasonably be expected to provide these capabilities for the needed industrial resource, material, or critical technology item in a timely manner due to financing constraints, long-lead equipment and construction schedules, permitting delays, and infrastructure bottlenecks; and

(3)  purchases, purchase commitments, financial support for the development of production capabilities, or other action pursuant to section 303 of the Act are the most cost-effective, expedient, and practical alternative methods for meeting this need.

I have declared a national emergency under Executive Order 14156, and I further determine that action to expand domestic natural gas transmission, processing, storage, and LNG capacity is necessary to avert an industrial resource or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair national defense capability.  Therefore, pursuant to section 303(a)(7) of the Act, I waive the requirements of section 303(a)(1)-(a)(6) of the Act for the purpose of expanding such capability.

You are authorized and directed to implement this determination, including making necessary purchases, commitments, and financial instruments to enable these projects, and to publish this determination in the Federal Register.

DONALD J. TRUMP

Last edition:

Subsidiarity Economics 2026. The Times more or less locally, Part 2. The "War, what's it good for?" edition.