You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom
Matthew, Chapter 24.
There is nothing they [Russian leaders] admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for weakness, especially military weakness.
Winston S. Churchill, The Sinews of Peace
October 13, 2026
Russo Ukrainian War
The term is so good, it's time for a new edition. Some wag has termed the Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian data farms "Operation Quiet Piggy".
And, in fact, some well known anti Trump pundits noted a big drop off on spam bots on Twitter right away.
Hmm. . .
October 17, 2026
Russo Ukrainian War
Shameful:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (22 U.S.C. 10802 et seq.) (Graham Act), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby determine and order:
Section 1. Background. On September 18, 2026, I signed the Graham Act into law. The Graham Act provides for the imposition of certain sanctions with respect to foreign persons, restrictions with respect to persons, and duties with respect to goods imported into the United States from the Russian Federation and certain other countries.
Section 115 of the Graham Act authorizes the President to waive the application of any sanctions provision with respect to a foreign person, any restriction with respect to a person, and any duty under the Graham Act, subject to the submission to the Congress of a written certification that such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification.
As described further in section 4 of this order, I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act. I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States.
Sec. 2. Increases in Rate of Duty. (a) The rate of duty on goods from the Russian Federation shall be increased by 500 percent ad valorem, subject to the exceptions set forth in section 114 of the Graham Act and the waivers issued in section 4 of this order.
(b) The rate of duty on goods from the largest 5 importers of crude oil and natural gas that originated in the Russian Federation shall be increased by 100 percent ad valorem if the country knowingly makes new purchases of crude oil or natural gas that originated in the Russian Federation on or after October 18, 2026, subject to the exceptions set forth in section 114 of the Graham Act and the waivers issued in section 4 of this order. The United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative), in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and any other senior executive branch official that the Trade Representative determines appropriate, shall monitor the circumstances related to the importation and purchases by countries of crude oil and natural gas of Russian Federation origin, regularly inform the President of any such activity, and provide recommendations for further action, as provided for in section 3 of this order.
(c) The rate of duty on goods from the top 5 facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion shall be increased by 100 percent ad valorem, subject to the exceptions set forth in section 114 of the Graham Act and the waivers issued in section 4 of this order. The Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and any other senior executive branch official that the Trade Representative determines appropriate, shall monitor the activities of countries that facilitate Russian oil sanctions evasion, as defined in section 113(i) of the Graham Act, and report to the President on which countries are among the top 5 such facilitators.
(d) The increases in the rates of duty provided by this order shall apply in addition to any other duty, fee, tax, exaction, or charge applicable with respect to the good, including any duty imposed under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.), sections 122, 201, or 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2132, 2251, and 2411), or section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862).
Sec. 3. Monitoring. The Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and any other senior executive branch official that the Trade Representative determines appropriate, shall monitor the circumstances related to the importation and purchases by countries of crude oil and natural gas of Russian Federation origin, as well as the facilitation of Russian sanctions evasion by countries, and regularly report to the President on those circumstances. The Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and any other senior executive branch official that the Trade Representative determines appropriate, shall promptly inform the President of any circumstance that, in his opinion, might indicate the need for further action by the President, including with respect to the waivers.
Sec. 4. Waiver. (a) Pursuant to section 115(a) of the Graham Act, I hereby waive the application of any duties provided for in sections 112 and 113 of the Graham Act or this order. I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act.
(b) Pursuant to section 115(a) of the Graham Act, I hereby waive the application of the sanctions provision provided for in section 102(d) of the Graham Act with respect to foreign persons and the restrictions provided for in section 102(d) of the Graham Act with respect to persons. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this order affects any sanctions or other measures provided for under any Executive Order issued to address the national emergency that I continued on March 24, 2026, with respect to specified harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation (91 Fed. Reg. 15515), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Graham Act, including with respect to all persons sanctioned under any such Executive Order. I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act.
(c) Pursuant to section 115(a) of the Graham Act, I hereby waive the application of the following sanctions provisions with respect to foreign persons and restrictions with respect to persons: sections 102(a), 102(e), 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, and 117 of the Graham Act. I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act.
(d) The waivers described in subsections (a) through (c) of this section shall remain in effect until such time as the President or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate, determine that further action is appropriate.
Sec. 5. Delegation of Authorities. (a) I hereby delegate the functions and authorities vested in the President by the Graham Act as follows:
(i) sections 102(a), 102(b), 102(c), 104(a), 108(b), 111(b), and 114(a)(2), to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, and to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;
(ii) section 115 to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate;
(iii) sections 102(e)(1), 103(a), 103(b), 103(d), 104(b), 110(a), 110(c), and 116(a) to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;
(iv) section 111(a) to the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury;
(v) section 112 to the Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury;
(vi) section 113(a) to the Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Energy;
(vii) section 117(a), with respect to the termination of the application of any sanction with respect to a foreign person or any restriction with respect to a person, to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury; and to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State; and
(viii) section 117(a), with respect to the termination of any duty, to the Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) The delegations in this section shall apply to any provisions of any future public laws that are the same or substantially the same as the provisions referenced in this section.
(c) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Trade Representative, and the Secretary of Energy may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate within their respective departments any of the functions or authorities delegated to them by this order. All executive departments and agencies shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order.
(d) Any reference in this section to the Graham Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the Graham Act as amended from time to time.
Sec. 6. Severability. If any provision of this order or the application of any provision of this order to any individual or circumstance is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other individuals or circumstances shall not be affected.
Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
(d) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of State.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Absolutely shameful. There's no excuse for it.
The GOP needs to answer for this. You can't stay silent. Republicans are either in favor of Donald Trump's actions, or against them. Silence is consent.
It's not sitting well with some in Congress.
Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️
@RepDonBacon
Congress has a lame-duck session. The President has an agenda: supplemental, reconciliation, Ballroom, etc… I think the agenda is dead. Many of us won’t fund these things knowing he is propping up a dictator’s invasion and throwing an ally under the bus.
Ukraine launched one of the largest drone strikes of the war on St. Petersburg earlier today.
October 19, 2026
Russo Ukrainian War
Russia has proposed a summit with China and the US to end the Russo Ukrainian War.
He doesn't propose to invite Ukraine and China has no business in this matter at all.
Last edition:
