... You understand the sacrifice that our troops make and the risk they take when they sign up. I would submit to the jury, it is not to die in a war for Israel
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Silver is down 2.43% ytd per apmex, gold is up 4.04%
Silver: $70.52 USD - ($1.76) USD -2.43% YTD
Gold:
$4,509.40 USD
$175.10 USD
4.04%
YTD
Your reminder that today's so-called conservatives look at US institutions and traditions as impediments, same as liberals do
I am sick of TSA's illegal searches and seizures, and of DHS' deadly incompetence in Minneapolis and at Barksdale AFB.
The author below lists four recent incidents of terrorism in the United States in support of funding DHS outside the filibuster so that this incompetence can continue!
They're not keeping us safe!
Millions of illegals remain in America who were supposed to Remain in Mexico!
Fire them all! These post-911 innovations aren't working.
Terrorism trumps America again:
Drone swarms of unknown origin numbering 12-15 interfered with B-52 attack runs to Iran at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana for four hours per incident the week of March 9
Sophisticated drones attacked Louisiana’s Barksdale bomber base
... Barksdale AFB does not have air defenses, nor does it have fighter jets that can take down drones.
The airbase does have some electronic countermeasures that were designed to disable GPS and the datalinks between the drones and their remote operators. The electronic countermeasures failed to work. ...
The drones could have come from a potential adversary, China being best equipped to produce a drone of the type that flew over Barksdale. From what has been observed, the drone design surpasses almost anything in the US arsenal.
What we know is that the drones had extraordinary range, could resist broad spectrum jamming, and featured non-commercial signal characteristics. Even more provocatively, the drones used various ingress and egress routes and operated in dispersed patterns, making traceability (via trying to triangulate on signals) virtually impossible.
We do not know if the drones transmitted information while they were over the base or stored information they transmitted later, or whether the drones may have had satellite links.
... realistically the US is years away from a real domestic counter drone capability. Hot Air covered the story yesterday.
Tanker traffic out of the Persian Gulf has been cut by 98% in one month because of the Iran War, effectively reducing the world's primary energy inputs through the Strait of Hormuz by 20%
The UAE is bypassing the Strait of Hormuz with 1.9 million barrels per day now coming out of Fujairah via its overland pipeline, and Saudi Arabia's overland pipeline west to Yanbu is moving about 4.5 million barrels per day out through the Red Sea, but that's not the 20 million barrels per day lost due to the war, and no LNG is moving at all.
Pakistan and Bangladesh get two thirds of their LNG from the Gulf, Taiwan gets one third of its LNG. Taiwan says its has eleven days' supply remaining. Many others are also severely affected by the cut-off of LNG from Qatar. About 20 LNG tankers are trapped in the Gulf, half the global fleet available for charter.
Meanwhile Iran has increased export of its oil from 1 million barrels per day in February to 2 million in March, 90% of which goes to China, and Iran is now charging tolls to vessels to exit the Gulf along its coast, which occurs only under Iranian escort.
The Houthis have joined Iran by restarting hostilities against Israel
Trump couldn't finish the Houthis off last year, and now they come back to bite.
Oil tankers filling at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port in the Red Sea because it was too dangerous in the Persian Gulf may soon have nowhere to fill.
All because Donald Trump has been mistaken twice in the Middle East.
The energy crisis will soon be a global energy catastrophe, leading to an inflation catastrophe, leading to an economic catastrophe. And maybe a world war.
DHS will remain shutdown, GOP-controlled U.S. House passes 60-day continuing resolution to fund DHS, ignoring the plan passed by the GOP-controlled Senate earlier
The Senate returns in 2 weeks to take up the matter.
Kristi Noem did a really fantastic job running DHS, didn't she?
Friday, March 27, 2026
GOP-controlled US House says Nay Nay to GOP-controlled Senate bill funding DHS, meaning more DHS shutdown, et cetera et cetera et cetera!
TSA funding update: House GOP spikes DHS funding proposal, extending shutdown that’s caused delays
... The stopgap measures advanced out of the House Rules Committee on Friday, teeing up a vote as soon as later this evening. ... Any such effort would need to go back to the Senate for final approval and would extend the shutdown. It is also not likely to pass in the Senate, where most lawmakers have already left town. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday called the proposal “dead on arrival.” ...
Keystone Kash e-mail hacked by Iran
It's good to know that the head of the FBI has everything under control lol.
Iran-linked hackers breach FBI director’s personal email, publish excerpts online
Reality has a funny way of jamming seemingly interminable rosy expectations
Markets now see the Fed’s next move as a potential rate hike as inflation fears mount
... Traders in the futures market pushed the probability of a rate increase by the end of 2026 to 52% on Friday morning, the first time it has crossed the 50% threshold, according to the CME Group FedWatch tool. ...
Senate Democrats get partial win, bill funding DHS passes without further funding for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection, which were massively funded last year by the Big Ugly Bill
Senate advances DHS funding bill, tees up House vote to end shutdown as TSA airport lines stretch
... After weeks of Republicans fighting Democrats on their calls to remove funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement from any potential deal, the bill does exactly that. It would fund all of DHS except for ICE and parts of Customs and Border Protection, though it does not include the changes to ICE’s immigration enforcement practices that Democrats had demanded.
... The shutdown began in February in the weeks after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis as part of a federal immigration crackdown. Democrats demanded changes in ICE and DHS more broadly and refused to fund the department. ...
Global oil in storage was 8,210 million barrels to start 2026 with consumption at 105 mbpd, meaning a 78-day cushion, analyst says we're moving from absorption phase which began Feb 28 to fragility now
Brent oil tops $110 again after Chinese ships are turned away from Strait of Hormuz
... “The oil market did not underreact to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz; it absorbed it,” said Paola Rodriguez-Masiu, chief oil analyst at Rystad Energy.
“For nearly four weeks, markets have shown remarkable resilience … supported by a combination of pre-war surplus, crude-on-water, and policy barrels that provided a temporary buffer and kept prices contained. That phase is now ending,” she said.
According to Rystad, the global system has shifted from “buffered to fragile” after weeks of supply losses and inventory drawdowns, leaving little room to absorb further shocks.
Nearly 17.8 million barrels per day of oil and fuel flows through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted, the firm estimated, with close to 500 million barrels of total liquids lost so far.
Thursday, March 26, 2026
Trump's whopper of the week: The ten vessels Iran let through Hormuz on March 22-23 were a present to the United States lol
Trump says Iran let 10 oil ships through Strait of Hormuz as ‘present’ to U.S.
... “That was three days ago, and I didn’t think much about it,” he said. ...
No kidding.
This cockamamie idea sounds like it was thought up by Howard Lutnick.
The vessels went to China and India, and transited along the coast of Iran after passing between Qeshm and Larak and did not take the usual central passage, so they probably had to pay tolls.
I wonder if they sent the bill to Mexico? 🤣
Sounds more like a gift to our competitors and enemies than to us.
UKMTO reported ten transits two days ago, but not all were oil, and some were outbound and some inbound; this summary is probably what someone showed to Trump and they just assumed it was all oil outbound when it was not:
Initial Claims updated one eternity later
The Trump administration thinks so little of its one truly bright spot that it makes us wait to enjoy it.
Raw claims average below 195k in March to date, only the third month averaging below 200k in his second term to date.
You'd think that they'd be out there trumpeting these continued historically low numbers, but it is evident that they don't really care.
It's political malpractice.
Trump's dysfunctional government can't even get the weekly Initial Claims for Unemployment chart at FRED updated on time
This happens repeatedly under Trump and his loser appointees.
We're still waiting for today's update even though the news release came out as usual at 0830 hours.
After telling you that war is peace, get ready for the Ministry of Truth to say that the Save America Act about voter ID is a fiscal issue permitting passage under reconciliation
In the Senate, Thune resurrects idea of reconciliation
... Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted, “It’s hard to imagine how the SAVE America Act could be passed through reconciliation. And by ‘hard’ I mean ‘essentially impossible.’”
Lee, a member of the Budget Committee, has led the push for the chamber to debate SAVE and even pursue a so-called talking filibuster to pass the bill via a simple majority. ...
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said that “I don’t see any way that any part of the SAVE America Act [with] any teeth gets included in a reconciliation package.”
“On top of that, I think it’s very difficult to pass a reconciliation package. We don’t have big tax cuts coming. That’s really what got the last one done,” Scott said. “I think it’s going to be very difficult to get you know 50 of us to agree on something.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who opposed last year’s reconciliation measure, said, “It would seem on its face, because there’s so much policy involved, that it would be difficult to do.”
“It’s kind of interesting to see if they’re just going to be pushing maybe some of the funding that could fit within reconciliation. But I don’t know how the policy fits in there.”
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, who has been part of hashing out the agreement between Democrats and the White House to reopen DHS, also declined to support reconciliation, saying “I don’t think that’s a good approach.” ...
The chamber’s conservative House Freedom Caucus called the idea “gaslighting” from Senate Republican leadership. ...
Michael Moore's human molotov cocktail sets the world on fire
Iran war is a ‘catastrophe,’ G7 ministers warn — but there’s little they can do to stop it
... “To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for the world’s economies,” Boris Pistorius, Germany’s defense minister warned early Thursday.
“European partners and Germany highlighted from the beginning that we have not been consulted before. Nobody asked us before. It’s not our war,” he told reporters during a visit to Australia. ...
Michael Moore says Trump is a ‘human Molotov cocktail’ supporters get to throw
... “His ideology is called Donald J. Trump. He believes in Donald J. Trump. If it’s good for him, then it’s a good thing. Not good for him, it’s a bad thing,” Moore said. ...
Holds up.
Trump provides 77.3 million who voted for him an out, acknowledges he appointed Supreme Court justices who now sicken him lol
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Trump says Justices Barrett, Gorsuch ‘sicken me’ after Supreme Court tariff ruling
President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized two of his Supreme Court appointees — Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — for voting with other justices in the bombshell 6-3 decision that ruled his signature reciprocal tariffs were illegal, saying they sickened him and are “bad for our country.”
“Two of the people that voted for that, I appointed,” Trump said at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner at Union Station in Washington, D.C., without naming the two justices. ...
Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Trump Job Approval just keeps making new lows at Real Clear Politics, now down to 41.1% from 41.3% just yesterday
Trump's Job Disapproval is at a new record high 56.5%.
Roger Kimball polishes a turd
... Some say Trump exaggerates and overstates things. Perhaps, on occasion, he is given to mild hyperbole. But consider, sed contra, this masterpiece of understatement: “The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both militarily, economically, and in every other way.” The Roman practice of decimation, rarely employed, was a brutal punishment for cowardice. The offending unit would be divided into groups of ten. One man from each would be selected by lot. The unlucky ticket holder would then be killed by his colleagues.
What the US and Israel have visited upon the Iranian regime is far more extensive than decimation. Most of its leadership has been erased. ...
More.
Trump outmanuevered: Iran decision to let vessels from non-hostile nations through the Strait of Hormuz will make any U.S. military action interfering with that to blame for disruptions
Oil prices fall as Iran signals safe passage for ‘non-hostile’ ships through Strait of Hormuz
... Iran’s mission to the United Nations said Tuesday that “non-hostile vessels” would be able to pass through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, provided they coordinate “with the competent Iranian authorities.”
The social media post appears to establish a protocol that has emerged in recent days, with some ships from China, India and Pakistan able to pass through the waterway as Iran flexes control over it. ...
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Trump threatened to bomb Iranian power infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz wasn't open by last night, and the latest UKMTO JMIC Advisory Note indicates that it is not open
Normal transits are about 138/day vs. four on March 22 and six on March 23.
Iran is charging $2 million in protection money in exchange for safe passage of some vessels through the Strait of Hormuz
Not only do the Iranians control the Strait, they've turned it into a racket.
Vessels have been tracked passing between Qeshm and Larak, presumably for visual inspection, instead of through the main track of the Strait of Hormuz.
... More than 20 vessels of over 10,000 dwt have thus far made the detour, which goes between Iran’s Qeshm and Larak Islands. ...
More.
Monday, March 23, 2026
Leon Panetta: Trump has no choice but to go big or go home
... He advises Trump to abandon his magical thinking and “face the fact” that he must use the military to open the strait, neutralise Iranian defences along the coast and deploy ships to escort oil tankers through.
“There’s no question there’s going to be lives lost and it’s clearly going to expand the war but I don’t see the alternative. He’s got to do it. He’s talked a great deal about the strength of the United States. This is a test of whether the United States can be able to deal with that situation which otherwise is not only going to prolong the war but create a lot of economic damage to the United States with those soaring fuel prices and cause what some have said is a potential worldwide recession.”
Panetta added frankly: “There’s not much choice. You’ve got to do what you have to do and, if you can open the strait, it might give you a better chance to then have a basis on which you can negotiate hopefully some kind of ceasefire. That’s the only way that he can go at this point; otherwise he will clearly have failed to find a solution.” ...
More.
He's right.
Iranian parliament Speaker threatens to target U.S. financial institutions on Sunday, Trump chickens out by breakfast Monday
Iran threatens U.S. Treasury buyers as Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum looms
Published Mon, Mar 23 2026 12:28 AM EDT
... In a social media post on Sunday, Iran’s Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that U.S.-linked financial institutions holding American government bonds would be targeted alongside military bases.
“U.S. treasury bonds are soaked in Iranians’ blood. Purchase them, and you purchase a strike on your HQ and assets,” Ghalibaf said. “Alongside military bases, those financial entities that finance the U.S. military budget are legitimate targets,” he added in the post. ...
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Two weeks in the news
The economy has Strait of Hormuz deadline for Trump: Two weeks
... For now, the C-suite has its own view of the matter: it’s roughly two weeks and counting for the Trump administration and any allies that join the effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, or corporate executives have to assume that the conflict will drag on until at least mid-year, with all of the negative consequences that come with that for the global economy. That was the conclusion on a call among members of the CNBC CFO Council earlier this week with energy and commodities market expert John Kilduff of Again Capital, who joined CFOs to share his view of the oil price outlook from inside the trader and investor community. ... If the military and government do not have good answers by April 1, “The crunch is coming.” ... by the end of the year, even in the U.S., “We’re going to have a major energy crisis on our hands. … I think the shortages would certainly have come to California by then,” Kilduff said. ... "if this goes on much more than two weeks or so, we’re going to reprice the barrels of oil here considerably higher,” he said. ...
Because they have nothing better to do
ICE agents might as well try security theatre after deportation theatre flopped at the box office earlier.
ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday: Homan
... “We will be at the airports tomorrow, helping TSA move those lines along,” Homan said, adding that ICE will assist in areas like guarding exit doors to relieve TSA agents for screening travelers. “We’re simply there to help TSA do their jobs in areas that don’t need their specialized expertise.” ...
If stuff like guarding exit doors is an area that doesn't need the TSA's "specialized expertise", why are TSA agents doing that stuff in the first place, and why are we paying for it?
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Friday, March 20, 2026
Trump approval hit a record low 41.8% yesterday in the Real Clear Politics average
Disapproval with Trump at 55.9% retests the high from Feb 23.
GOP liars portray passing routine legislation under reconcilation rules as a standard part of the process when the gimmick is restricted to budgets and wasn't used for the first time until 1980
Now they want to make everything fall under reconciliation in order to make an end run around the filibuster.
The Byrd Rule codified in 1990 makes legislation extraneous to the budget process, like the Save Act, ineligible for the process.
Mad King Ludwig unendorsed Jeff Hurd CO-3 on Feb 21 as a RINO, but one month later il Donaldo Trumpo gives him his total endorsement
Trump is clearly 25th Amendment material and belongs nowhere near The Football. Unfortunately his cabinet happily wears the Florsheims he gave them.
Loon meets loon
Dalai Lama:
So, I might take rebirth as an insect, or an animal—whatever would be of most value to the largest number of sentient beings.
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