August 26, 2026
King Donny sent the fearsome Scott Bessent out to cause the Iranians to quiver in their boots, announcing that the US would inflict an "Economic D-Day" on Iran.
Except the US is going to exempt China, meaning that Operation Economic Outcast was stillborn from the very beginning.
Midweek Update#25: Sanctions Without China Are A Sign Of Defeat
So, It Turns Out That The US Is Winning!; A Story Illustrating Why This Pentagon Cannot Be Trusted
The US is moving its ambassadors back to the Middle East, however, which suggests it either naively thinks this will work, or that it's just going to give up.
Meanwhile:
Pentagon reveals hundreds of new Iran war casualties
This post, by the way, is the first one that I've ever had Bessent's name as a label, which surprises me. He's been mentioned before, but I've never put in a label.
One thing I've thought about doing is posting how he's sort of uniquely a symbol of hypocrisy in the Trump Administration, or maybe in MAGA. MAGA proclaims loudly that it's for "Christian" values by which it means far right Evangelical values.
Christianity pretty clearly holds that homosexual sex is a mortal sin. St. Paul was blunt about it. And yet Bessent is a homosexual in a homosexual union in which two children are being raised. Most actual Christians of any type would question this, and if Evangelical Christians are to be believed, they find it completely abhorrent.
But then, by the same token, having an alleged president who is a serial polygamist, a special envoy for the Shield of the Americas, whatever that is, who seemed to be having an affair while in her earlier role and whose husband was wearing giant fake boobs in internet photos, etc. etc., is pretty odd too.
Indeed, it's impossible to reconcile.
Mind you, I'm not saying that a homosexual, including one who is in a homosexual union, cannot be an effective Secretary of the Treasury. I'm saying you can't have an implied policy that everyone who isn't, white, straight, and sympathetic to far right Evangelicalism isn't a real American and still have a homosexual as one of your primary cabinet members and really mean any of that.
Making it all the more odd, Bessent is one of those cabinet members who has in recent months been dragged out to try to explain away whatever brain fart the Trump has uttered.
That feature of this administration has been there all along. Whereas for a transportation issue you might, in normal times, get a Transportation official, in this administration you might very well end up getting the Chief Chef of the White House to address it. And people appear and then disappear in that role pretty rapidly. Chris Wright, the Secretary of Energy, regularly was being hauled out to address the Press on all sorts of things for awhile, right up until he said that Biden was validly elected to the Oval Office.
Goodbye Chris.
Anyhow, there's something extra weird about Bessent, who always seems extremely nervous, being hauled out to address the Press on the war while we have Pete "High T" Hegseth in charge of the "War Department". Hegseth definitely fits into the far right Evangelical mold and is loud about it, while also being loud about the services being for manly men.
Well, anyhow. So much for Operation Economic Outcast.
August 31, 2026
Trump just shot some missiles at Iran and nobody cared
September 1, 2026
Iran, which you will recall supposedly lost the war, numerous times, hit Jordan with missiles within the last couple of days.
Only somewhat related, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who is close to J. D. Vance, submitted his resignation. It is well known that he does not get along with Hegseth.
September 8, 2026
Iran, which we are repeatedly assured is on the edge of complete collapse, is imposing a restricted zone in the Strati of Hormuz.
September 9, 2026
Houthis attacked four Saudi Arabian cities and their oil installations yesterday opening a new theater in the war.
The US hit Iranian tankers.
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