Some people look at industrial production and see only stagnation since the Great Recession, I see something else

 Industrial production last grew above 10% in the first half of 1984, and it's been all downhill since then.

A positive trend struggled to assert itself in the immediate post-war, but eventually succumbed to the siren song, for you Odyssey fans, of foreigners singing the song of lower labor costs.

Our country decided after the struggle of the Great Depression and the victory in the Second World War to sit back and enjoy itself rather than to work as hard as it needed to work and to let others carry the load.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 

-- Luke 12:19 

1946-1984

Disaster canceled again as Trump decides to have a late night TACO

 

Trump's Pentagon plays games with Iran War deaths, apparently didn't get the memo that hostilities formally resumed on July 7th

Or is the reasoning, which clearly isn't Trump's, that the four new deaths belong to Iran War II, not Iran War I? 

 Pentagon lowers official Iran war death toll, omitting four killed this month

... Three military officials told the Times that the four service members killed this past weekend — three in Jordan and one in northern Iraq — were struck from the list because their deaths came after President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire in April. All of the deaths listed on Thursday U.S. time on the website, which said it was updated as of Wednesday, occurred in March. ... Trump himself has used the higher figure for the death toll. At an event on Thursday, he said, “I had a very sad day yesterday. I went to Dover, four great American patriots killed. That’s 18 … and one is too many, but it’s 18.”

Trump sends Congress formal notice that Iran conflict has resumed

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has sent Congress formal notification that hostilities against Iran resumed on July 7, a letter his administration sees as opening a new 60-day ​window to use the military in the region without congressional approval. ...

These are toothless resolutions against the Iran war meant for consumption by the dumb public and would never force Trump to do anything

 Congress splits on war powers resolutions to force Trump to abandon Iran war

 

 

Rubio might as well be Pilate washing his hands and saying he is innocent of the Persian Gulf debacle

 Rubio: "It Is Not The United States' Job To Protect Shipping For The Entire Planet, Forever"

 

 

Trump: I don’t want to deal with them anymore … as far as I’m concerned, it’s over

Trump says Iran ceasefire is ‘over’ after latest round of strikes

Oil surges almost 6% as Trump dashes hopes of end to Iran war  

What was the blockade for then, kicks?

 They haven't got a clue what they are doing.

Trump's war in the Persian Gulf will have permanent negative consequences for freedom of the seas, just like in the Red Sea

 

Typical straw man argument from Trump when Saudi Arabia has primarily defensive ballistic missiles, 30x fewer of them than Iran, and used none of them in the recent war when Iran launched 135 against them

 Trump On Iran Deal: "What Am I Going To Do? Let Saudi Arabia Have Missiles, But They Can't?"

This damn fool dithered for over two months AFTER the April 8 ceasefire before he finally figured out that the war he started was going to endanger oil supplies

 

No new wars

Says He Never Promised No New Wars...

Trump: "I Didn't Guarantee No War," "This Is Not An Endless War"

C-SPAN

The Times of Israel 

 

 

 

Update:

Trump storms out of interview after being challenged about election fraud claims, DOJ fund 

I have a hard time getting excited about bond yields surging 7% in the wake of the Iran war when they already surged 368% since 2020 to the end of February

100 days of the Iran war: How global markets and the economy have been affected, in charts

 ... Yields on U.S. Treasurys are among those to have surged in the aftermath of the war ... U.S. 30-year Treasury yields have surged ...

 

 

A war 6,338 miles away is OK though

 Trump On Taiwan: "The Last Thing We Need Right Now Is A War 9,500 Miles Away"

And yes, DC to Taipei is 7,864 miles, not 9,500. 

And, oh yeah:

Trump says Cuba will be 'next.' Here's what he doesn't get.

 

On day 60 Lizard Brain turns off the war as of April 7 to restart the 60-day clock again later whenever he wants

 

 Trump tells Congress hostilities in Iran ‘have terminated’ as War Powers deadline hits

... “The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” Trump wrote. ... 

New narrative alert as Trump tanks in the polls: Iran War was about 6 weeks as Trump said it would be!

I mean, that's true right?

We are in week 8, and the two week ceasefire which expires tomorrow has been extended indefinitely because Trump says Iran is too divided to speak with a unified voice.

The truth is whatever Humpty Trumpty says it is.                                                       

Latest Polls: Trump Job Approval Falls to 2nd Term Low in RCP Average - 40.6%

 

Lawler: Iran War Lasted "About Six Weeks" As Trump Said It Would — Now Negotiating Uranium, Terror Financing

 

Trump extends ceasefire in Iran, citing ‘seriously fractured’ Iranian government

 

 

 

Welcome to week eight of Trump's four to five week war against Iran

 

Inflation, whether pandemic induced or war induced, has been berry berry good for hiding price increases to boost corporate profits

 

Corporate America Aims to Preserve Profit Streak During War in Iran:  Higher inflation is leading companies to raise prices without sacrificing margins

 

... Sonu Varghese, the global macro strategist at the Carson Group, a financial firm, said many of the companies he tracked viewed inflation pressures from “outside shocks,” such as this war, “as an opportunity to raise prices and boosts margins,” which can, in turn, raise profits.

“I think we’re actually going to get some margin expansion,” Mr. Varghese added. ...

 

The Nobel Committee needs to create a War Prize, stat

 PENTAGON RAMPS UP PLANNING OF MILITARY OPS IN CUBA...

Keir Starmer won't let America use UK bases to conduct actual war against Iran because actual war is a war crime now and he's a girlie man

 

CENTCOM boasts hitting 10k+ targets in one month of war, and yet Iran continues to wage it successfully against Israel, the UAE, and others

 The point of war is to stop the enemy's ability to wage it.

That clearly has not happened in one month of operations.

The reason is because, despite all the sound and fury, the U.S. and Israel are not waging a real war.

War means destroying Iran's country utterly, depriving it of food and water, electricity and heat, shelter, income from oil, and imports of materials.

They can't bring themselves to do that. They don't have the nerve.

Worse, Iran is successfully depriving its neighbors of some of those things. 

Sending in boots on the ground in these unacceptable circumstances is simply playing with more soldiers' lives.

Get serious or go home.