The British are hosting talks on opening the Straits of Hormuz.
The intellectual toddler King Donny is threatening to take the US out of NATO, which he cannot legally do.
Things are going to get very bad.
The illegitimate demented octogenarian would be king will address the nation tonight.
April 2, 2026
King Donald, his popularity sinking like a rock and facing the inevitability that Congress is not going to vote to fund an additional $200B for his losing vanity project war against Iran, came on to television last night to try to explain and get support for it.
I didn't watch it. I've been to nursing homes and, while I'm ashamed to say it, they make me uncomfortable.
It was the usual pile of shit. The war will be over soon, we're going to bomb Iran into submission, they've been at war with us for 47 years, other people should do the hard job of fixing the Straits of Hormuz that we broke.
We haven't been at war for 47 years, nobody is going to take on the ground fighting opening the Straits would require, the war won't be over soon. We didn't for Bibi.
It won't be over this time next year, but Americans, by that time, will be fighting and dying on the ground.
Oh well, Cuba will be easier, right?
Cont:
Pete Hegseth took to social media today to post "Bomb them back to the stone age".
Pete is a Princeton graduate, so this is yet another example of my totally losing any sense of respect for Ivy League schools. Do they not teach history at Princeton?
That phrase arose with Curtis B. LeMay and is what he proposed to do to North Vietnam. LeMay fist used the phrase in 1965, and by the end of the war, we were using B-52s on targets in North Vietnam.
We lost the war.
At this point, I feel that somebody should see if Classic Comics has published a series on the Vietnam War. If they did, we ought to send a case of them to the Department of Defense.
April 3, 2026
A forty nation video conference was held on opening the Straits of Hormuz following the end of King Donny's War. The U.S. did not attend.
It's really clear at this point that there are major cracks in the U.S. defense establishment and a large number of officers are on the verge of an open break with Secretary of Defense Hegseth. We might be edging up on a Curragh Mutiny.
A look at some interesting connections.
cont:
A U.S. F-15E was shot down. The fate of the crew is unknown, but gunfire has been heard in the area where the two man crew may have gone down.
And so it begins. As the air campaign continues, more and more of this will happen.
One crewman was recovered, another is alive but on the ground in Iran. An A-10 was shot down.
And, like the claims made by Herman Goering at the time of the Battle of Britain, Trump's claim of air invulnerability prove to be stupid.
No surprise there, however.
More leaked information reveals that J. D. Vance, to his credit, was adamantly opposed to the war.
The new budget being sought by the Administration seeks $1.5T for the Defense. This has reached the absolutely insane level. It's probably dead in the water, and should be, but frankly it's time to take the military way down in size and vest most of its resources of all types in the reserves.
Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. One man worried his cabinet who planned around a possible mental collapse that didn't come, the other is having a mental collapse and his cabinet is doing nothing.
We later learned that in 1973 as Nixon came under increased pressure due to Watergate, his aids feared he would do something rash. Nixon was reacting badly under the stress. He was lashing out. He was drinking heavily.
Of course, in the end, he resigned.
Donald Trump, who like Hitler doesn't drink, is visibly collapsing before our eyes. He's obviously been in a state of mental decline for a decade now, and its increasing. He was heavily impaired when elected, making any rational person wonder why he was elected to the office, other than that people the weird insurrectionist feared that Joe Biden's dementia was too advanced to allow for him to hold office again, something that history should not forgive Biden for. Even that doesn't really explain it, as Harris was the alternative in the end, for people who play along with the two party system nightmare that actually doesn't have to exist.
A major difference between late stage Nixon and late stage Trump, other than that Nixon was not insane (a major difference) is that Nixon was surrounded by sane, if not always admirable, advisors. Trump is surrounded by sycophants.
That's a huge difference as we now know that Nixon's advisors consulted amongst themselves about his mental state. They were worried about it. None of them were as deeply loyal to Nixon at all costs as Trump's sycophantic advisors are to him.
Many, including me, have wondered how it is that Trump's cabinet hasn't acted to replace him. Heather Cox Richardson, in one of her video shorts, has provided the answer. The people surrounding Trump have nowhere else to go.
In Trump's first administration his cabinet included sane people. Trump didn't know how to take office and in fact his natural laziness kept him from really ever fully forming a government. That natural laziness came into effect when he was elected a second time. He was kept from acting like a king in his first term as his advisor wouldn't let him, and he didn't like that. In his second term he wanted people who would slavishly do what he wanted without question, and he got them almost exclusively.
If you look at the current cabinet you can see that, with perhaps two or three exceptions, it's wholly made up of people for whom Trump is their only chance. Some may be rich, but wealth is credited much more than it should be as allowing for intellectual independence. People lavish praise on Trump not because they believe it, but because they are his willing concubines and have prostituted themselves to him. Some of these people are outright dim. Some have just sold their souls and know that when Trump falls, they fall with him, as Richardson has noted.
Why these people are in this position is another matter. Some got there as they believe in Trump. Others were placed their by forces supporting Trump, knowing that he was too lazy to actually do the work to pick competent people. The Heritage Society, for example, saw Trump as a hollow vessel they could pour their radicalization through.
Trump's cabinet, therefore, is much like Hitler's. Where was Goebbels going to go? And Trump's true followers are much like members of the German SS, who fought to the bitter end. They didn't see a future, literally, in a post war Germany where they figured they'd be killed, if not by the Allies, then by the Germans. MAGA still shows up like the Waffen Grenadier Brigade of the SS Charlemagne, the French SS unit that went down fighting in Berlin. They thought the alternative to that was a bullet in the back of the head. Real Trump loyalist show up as they fear that if Trump fails, or more likely when he does, they're era is over. And like the SS in Berlin, they fanatically hope that Der Fuehrer will pull off a miracle, which he won't, or that they'll be saved by some mysterious outside force at the last hour.
That won't happen either.
Many people have wondered how the Germans were so cowed by a leader who was sending them into a disaster. It can't be said that Americans are. Only 30% of Americans actually support Trump. Probably an equal if not larger number outright hate him at this point. If the election was held today the Republicans would loose both houses, and in November when the election is held, they will.
But here's the dangerous thing. Between now and November the leadership of the US is in the bunker and Der Fuehrer is insane.
I've long held that Trump would be removed in 2026 by the 25th Amendment. I hadn't considered, however, the points Richardson raises. He still might be but as she notes if Trump goes down, they all go down with him. They're a bunch of cowardly sycophants and they do not appear to be willing to save their country any more than Goebbels was.
Still, even in Hitler's cabinet not everyone was unquestionably loyal towards the end. Himmler actually serious considered trying to cut a separate deal with the Allies and effectively remove Hitler via a coup. There was even one SS member in the July 20 plot. It remains possible, but only barely so, that the cabinet will vote to save itself.
We know that at least a few people in the cabinet likely are willing to do that. J. D. Vance is one. Marco Rubio another. Both of them hope to be President and neither benefits from going down with Trump. I've long thought they were playing out this string until they could act. But two men alone won't get it done. There's likely a few more, but only few. None of the ass kissers in cabinet meetings are amongst them.
Which brings us to this. Over the next few months things are going to be extremely bad. Trump's mental state is declining so rapidly it's difficult to gauge. He's going to pull out of the war he joined with Israel which will be a major defeat he can't disavow. The economy will not rapidly recover and he can't blame that on Biden. He's lost the Hispanic vote and he won't be able to get it back. The Arab American vote which dimly voted for him is lost as well. The people who are left in his cabinets who openly support him increasingly look like outright kooks. The financial flood to his family is not being ignored and is very likely to result in post Trump criminal prosecutions, maybe of Trump himself.
And yesterday, a judge made clear that his obscene bordello on the Potomac addiction to the White House will never happen.
He's a desperate, and demented, man.
Trump, from now to November, will try to steal the November election. He's already trying. And he'll do every odd thing imaginable or never imagined to try to deflect attention form his failure. There will be no limit to what he will try. Invasions of Cuba and Greenland are possible, with Cuba almost a certainty. Deals with Russia, or China, or whomever. Attempts to cancel the election, or seize the polls are probable. Ignoring the courts a near certainty.
The 25th Amendment should save us from this but might not. Impeachment of Trump should occur, but will not, unless there's a massive post November shift in Congress.
Instead, expect things to get worse and worse. And expect the few members of the administration who aren't willing to go down in the bunker to start resigning. Vance can't, Trump being removed or dying in office is his only hope of being President. Rubio can, and he will, likely before November.
King Donny was bragging about acing cognitive tests again.
It's the Montreal Cognitive Assessment that he's taken, and it isn't given for entertainment.
He's being given these tests for a reason. The fact that it's three times now is really remarkable. He pretty clearly doesn't know the reason he takes them, but he complies with the requests.
The reason is that somebody is tracking his mental decline.
The real question is who? His mental decline is patently obvious. Somebody has enough influence on him to be able to require him to take it without him knowing why. But who are the suspects and why are they tracking it?
An obvious answer is so that somebody knows when to flip the switch on the 25th Amendment and has his decline documented. Another reason, however, might be that at some point a guardianship and conservatorship can be established and somebody, perhaps Melania, can control his assets.
Anyway you look at it, we have a demented man with sycophants surrounding him in the White House, launching wars, experimenting with 19th Century tax structures, and ending the status of the US as a great country. This is being allowed to occur because it benefits somebody.
cont:
Kimberlay. Kimberly Guilfoyle. I love calling her Kimberlay. That's my little pet name but you are the greatest. I hope you come back here in 12 years or whenever the term ends
Trump about Guilfoyle.
It's fairly well documented that those with disordered desires lose their ability to restrain themselves in regard to them.
March 28, 2026
He didn’t think he would be kissing my ass, he really didn’t…and now he has to be nice to me….he better be nice to me, he’s gotta be..
Donald Trump on Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the ruler of Saudi Arabia.
What an irony. Bibi Netanyahu talked the demented Don into a war and the Prince has been urging Don to keep at it. US forces and finances are fighting a war in the Middle East for Israel and Saudi Arabia. Don's the ass kisser, but he's too dumb to realize it.
March 31, 2026
We're entering the most dangerous time of the Trump interregnum, from now until the November election.
He's already bouncing off the walls. He's losing a war, he's threatening our Allies. Nobody in the world has any respect for Trump, and he knows it. Allies ignore him. Enemies ignore hm. And he can't win a war that he thought would last a few days.
The economy is tanking due to the war, and there's no end to that disaster in sight.
He's trying to ban mail in voting. That will fail.
He's been enjoined from further work on his pet ballroom, and the Court indicated that it was almost certain that it would rule against him. That will take months to happen, and work on the ballroom will never start up again. It's over.
He's going to start lashing out like crazy.
He is crazy.
The clock on the 25th Amendment is really winding down.
U.S. Marines land at Da Nang, March 8, 1965. It was just a few. . and then some airmen. . . and then the perimeter had to be protected. . . and soon, 50,000 U.S. troops were dead.
March 31, 2026
King Donny can't figure out how to get out of his war. The Iranians can't and won't surrender. The Iranians won't leave the Straits of Hormuz alone. The NATO countries, several of which have been threatened by King Donny with the use of military force, have replied to his request for naval assistance with variants of "fuck you and the horse you rode in on" and are perfectly happy to watch the US, which they don't like under Trump, and Israel, which they generally don't like, stew in the fat of Donald's juices.
Faced with this, the more rah rah, let's engage in a Protestant Crusade against Islam crowed, and the more sober military minds who have read history, are causing Marines to be deployed. Chances are, they aren't equally enthusiastic about deploying them, as the results of that will be a full scale and even more illegal war than the one we're currently in.
The economy, meanwhile, is turning to a steaming pile of shit, like everything else Donald touches. The stock market is supposedly the only thing the legacy seeking King Donny pays attention to, which probably means that his oligarchic connections are being hurt and calling him up on his cell phone telling him to get out before the wreckage matches that of the East Wing. King Donny, meanwhile, probably doesn't want to be remembered as the idiot who got 20,000 ground troops or more killed. So, as of yesterday, he's thinking of surrendering by simply pulling out.
Overnight, the Iranians targeted Diego Garcia with missiles but not reached their targets for one reason or another, including their being intercepted. Diego Garcia was not previously thought to be within range of Iranian missiles, and it still might not be, given that they didn't hit. Or it may be, or it may be that Iran has improved the capabilities of their missiles over the last couple of weeks.
Iran is busy destroying Middle Eastern oil infrastructure. The economic impacts will last for years.
March 21, 2026, cont:
Iran and the US/Israel exchanged attack nuclear facilities today.
March 22, 2026
Trump announced that if Iran does not open the Straits of Hormuz within 48 hours the US will commit a war crime and start to destroy power plants.
This would be flat out an illegal at, it serves no military purpose whatsoever.
March 23, 2026
King Donny claimed this morning that the US and Iran were in productive talks, so he was suspending offensive operations for several day.
Iran called BS on the claim.
Nobody really knows what's going on, but my guess, and it would guess, is that King Donny is going to claim there was a secret deal to end the war and call it over. My additional guess is that somebody got to him. Maybe the military, maybe the top (lap) dogs in the GOP, or maybe another oligarch, but somebody.
Listening to the weekend shows makes it plaint how much trouble Trump is really in. None of the people you'd expect to be present on all three were present on the two I listened to. Scott Bessant was on Meet the Press sounding like a complete fool. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy drew the short stick for This Week and sounded like he regretted it.
Bessant was downright insulting to the host, even if he sounded like a buffoon doing it.
What's increasingly clear is that sometime yesterday somebody or something got to Trump. The war isn't going the way he believed it would, and now he want out. He's just looking for a cover story to get out. The problem he faces is that none of the cover stories for getting into it will square with that, so he's in a bind. The strategy being tested is the claim that he made a deal, even if the Iranians are denying that they're close to making a deal.
Believing that lie won't be too much to ask diehard Trump fans to do. They'll believe anything. But it is too much for independents and some not wholly convinced Republicans to do. The next part of the problem will be that petroleum prices will take months or even years to go down. That showed up on Meet the Press in which a Trump voter called Trump "a worthless piece of shit".
cont:
Pete, I think you were the first one to speak up. You said, 'Let's do it.'
Trump.
Pete is now the designated fall guy. He better start looking for a new job.
March 24, 2026
In spite of King Donny's declaration that the United States was in talks with Iran, which Iran denies, as Donny is an outrageous liar, the war continued on yesterday, unabated.
Cont:
According to the NYT, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is pushing Trump to continue the war.
We seem to just be regional suckers to the Middle East.
March 25, 2026
In addition to the Marines already deployed to the Middle East, 1,000 troops of the 82nd Airborne are being deployed to the region, all for a war that King Donny claims was won several days ago.
Pakistan, which it self as been at war recently with Afghanistan, volunteered to host talks between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. has agreed to attend, Iran, has not.
Trump claimed yesterday that Iran gave the United States a very big oil related present, but he wasn't going to say what it is.
Um. . . .
March 27, 2026
King Donny extended his deadline in which for the US to commit an additional war crime by destroying electrical power sites. He claims negotiations are going well.
Some negotiations probably really are occurring, but it's not clear at all what they are. As they won't result in an end to an Iranian nuclear program, effectively what the US is doing is looking for a way out a la Paris Peace Accords.
On the other hand, Tehran increased its grip on the Straits of Hormuz yesterday, so the entire story of Iran negotiating may just be another Trump lie.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a real president, visited the Middle East yesterday as his country is helping several Middle Eastern countries counter Iranian drones.
March 28, 2026
The Houthis entered the war by firing ballistic missiles at Israel.
Donald Trump is now babbling on this topic nearly every day, and not making a lick of sense any time he does so. As if that's not enough, his cabinet lavishes praise on him in a way that will quite frankly be used against their reputations, and that of the country that they purport to serve, forever.
March 30, 2026
The illegitimate administration sent Iran the same list of 15 demands in the form of demands to be accepted to end the war. Iran told the U.S. to stuff it, and presented its own demands, also pointing out that it doesn't trust the US enough to enter negotiations.
Listening to the weekend shows and other soundings out there, it's increasingly clear that Republicans feel uneasy about the situation developing with King Donny. A common theme now is, "well, we should have done this years ago, um, and are now, um, and well, we have to see it through".
None of those things are anywhere near true and they know it.
We are getting increasingly close to the commitment of ground troops. Even some of the stalwarts that apologize for Trump's dementia on a nearly daily basis re now saying that requires Congressional approval. Well, Trump isn't going to ask for approval. He's just going to do it, if he does, and he probably is going to.
This is an election season, and those in Congress in the GOP should be made to answer for this illegal delegation of force to a demented octogenarian.
cont:
Reports hold that Russia shared satellite images of Prince Sultan US base in Saudi Arabia with Iran right before their attack that injured our troops. Ukrainian intelligence has confirmed it.
And Trump. . . well he's letting a ship of Russian oil offload in Cuba, which is otherwise being embargoed (blockaded?) by the U.S.
Odd, eh?
March 31, 2026
Iran hit a fully laden Kuwait oil tanker in port in Dubai.
Trump yesterday indicated that he might just abandon the Persian Gulf with the Straits of Hormuz closed.
Republicans desperate to excuse a war that's not going to end soon, and which right now looks as if it'll either require a decades long American ground presence in an illegal war, or an inglorious American retreat, either of which feature a major recession, if not depression, in the near term, are parading a series of bs excuses for what demented Don did.
The reality of it is quite simple. Bibi wanted to take Iran out while the US could be duped into going along with it. Only Bibi and Vlad seem to have any pull over King Donny, although for different unknown reasons. Anyhow, this is a war for Israel, that's what it's for.
The current line is that we've been fighting Iran for 47 years. No, we haven't been. Iran has been a bad actor for 47 years, but we haven't been fighting them for nearly five decades. Moreover, most of Iran's anger with us, as illegitimate and wrong as it is, is vicarious anger over US support for Israel.
I'm not saying that US support for Israel is wholly wrong, but it has frankly been often beyond what it likely should have been, and that's been the case since Israel became a country. It has a right to exist, but it doesn't have a right to unqualified US support, and support that has not involved American Allies that are in the region, to the the extent which it has. Anyhow, Iran's hatred of the US is largely due to US support of Israel, which is 100% what this war is about. Netanyahu saw a chance to take out, he thought, a decades long enemy, and took it. Unfortunately for him, he forgot about what an unreliable ally the US really is and that Trump's thoughts tend to be farts in windstorms.
The other major claim is that Iran was going to turn into a nuclear power and we needed to stop it. If that's the case, that was clearly going to involve a ground invasion. You can't bomb nuclear material into non existence. Trump may stupidly have thought he could cause the Iranian regime to fall in this fashion, which if so was flat out dumb, but he's not a very advanced thinker and his experience is in real estate, not realpolitik. He didn't cause an Iranian uprising and he didn't even get the Kurds to move on the government.
So here we are.
Concluding this war successfully will require a Vietnam War level of military participation and two decades to complete. At some point Congress will have to get involved. As Americans have no stomach for such an enterprise, what's much more likely to happen is a largescale conventional invasion of the country after a series of aerial war crimes, followed by substantial US troop deaths, followed by an inglorious withdrawal and retreat.
In other words, we're likely to lose the war.
Not before it expands into the US however.
We have every reason to believe that Iran has sleeper cells in the US. What hasn't happened that much yet, however, are proxy attacks here. That's coming, and it'll come in more than one form. We aren't ready for it, and we're not going to get ready for it. Further, both China and Russia will assist Iran on this where they can get away with it.
Along with that, we're going to see inflation and a recession within the next few months at a level we have no experienced since the 1970s. We'll be lucky, quite frankly, if we don't experience a depression.
So, welcome to King Donald's Forever War.
cont:
The maximum level of outright stupidity that is constantly demonstrated by this illegitimate administration is really on display today with Pete Hegseth. For example:
The president was clear this morning in his Truth that there are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well. Last time I checked there was supposed to be a big bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that.
This is an illegal war on the part of the US, dumbass, and you don't get to declare war for other countries.
As far as President Trump and boots on the ground, I don't understand why the base wouldn't have faith in his ability to execute on this. Look at his track record.
Seriously? Where to begin. Cutting spending. . . nope, didn't happen. Avoid wars. . . nope, didn't happen. Make America Great Again. . . more like sending it into the dumpster.
What he's shown himself to be really good at is not getting the Epstein files released, although even there, there are enough cracks to raise the question if he was one of the rich men raping teenagers. It's not proven, but there's enough there to wonder.
cont:
I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the US, we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,'
'You'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the USA won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us.'
And so, the TACO signals he's retreating.
Iran, apparently, will be the victor. People died for nothing whatsoever. Those serving in the military were made suckers.
As we all were. Everything is more expensive, people are dead.
To put it bluntly, we are really up shit creek without a paddle. At no point since the end of the Cold War have we been in this dire of situation, and it's all due to one demented billionaire.
As Jesus walks the Way of the Cross, we place ourselves behind him, following in his footsteps. As we walk with him, we contemplate his passion for the sake of humanity, his broken heart, and his life as a gift of love.
We turn our gaze to Jesus, who reveals himself as King of Peace, even as war looms around him. He remains steadfast in meekness, while others are stirring up violence. He offers himself to embrace humanity, even as others raise swords and clubs. He is the light of the world, though darkness is about to engulf the earth. He came to bring life, even as plans unfold to condemn him to death.
King of Peace. Jesus’ desire is to bring the world into the Father’s arms, tearing down every barrier that separates us from God and from our neighbor, for “He is our peace” (Eph 2:14).
King of Peace. Jesus enters into Jerusalem not upon a horse, but upon a donkey, fulfilling the ancient prophecy that calls for rejoicing at the arrival of the Messiah: “Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations” (Zech 9:9–10).
King of Peace. When one of his disciples drew his sword to defend him and struck the high priest’s servant, Jesus immediately stopped him, saying: “Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52).
King of Peace. While he was burdened with our sufferings and pierced for our sins, Jesus “did not open his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent” (Is 53:7). He did not arm himself, or defend himself, or fight any war. He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, embracing every cross borne in every time and place throughout human history.
Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15).
our gaze upon him who was crucified for us, we can see a crucified humanity. In his wounds, we see the hurts of so many women and men today. In his last cry to the Father, we hear the weeping of those who are crushed, who have no hope, who are sick and who are alone. Above all, we hear the painful groans of all those who are oppressed by violence and are victims of war.
Christ, King of Peace, cries out again from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons! Remember that you are brothers and sisters!
In the words of the Servant of God, Bishop Tonino Bello, I would like to entrust this cry to Mary Most Holy, who stands beneath the cross of her Son and weeps also at the feet of those who are crucified today:
“Holy Mary, woman of the third day, grant us the certainty that, in spite of all, death will no longer hold sway over us; that the injustices of peoples are numbered; that the flashes of war are fading into the twilight; that the sufferings of the poor are breathing their last. And grant, finally, that the tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun” (Maria, donna dei nostri giorni).
Pope Leo XIV, Palm Sunday homily.
Christians need to hear this. More than that, those who claim to be Christian, like Pete Hegseth, but belong to some diluted form of Christianity, need to hear it. Hegseth has tattooed himself with the symbols of a Faith that would have found him to be abhorrent at the time of their origin, which which recoil from them now.
Wars change everything.
Maybe one thing it will change in the human heart in people who listen to the likes of Franklin Graham and Paula White, when they should be listening to the full deposit of the Faith
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.
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.
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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.
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