"It is likely to lead to Dr. Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, and other public health officials who ran a dastardly number on the citizens of this land."
Thankyou for mentioning Birx, JHK. People focus on Fauci, but it's clear from the beginning he was SOMEwhat focused on science, as when he initially told people masking was not needed, since he knew the science on that. As Scott Atlas documents, it was Birx who drove the shutdown narrative. Fauci has his own items to answer for, but Birx has escaped.
I would say that RINO is redundant; they are just being regular Republicans, white shoes at the country club before Labor Day, muh stonks n' bonds, and a sweet sixteen birthday gift of a new car for Muffy.
It used to be that the Dems prided themselves as the party of Labor, and the GOP as Management, and there were indeed many conservative managers, as in believing in balancing budgets. With very rare exceptions thy are gone. But skyrocketing deficits, and sudden hike in gas to $5-$6 in many places has had such a hit at pocketbooks that angry voters are going to take it out on Trump and his party in the midterms, IMHO. Apparently he thinks he will overwhelm Iran and drive gas prices down before then- but it is clear Trump, who promised to balance the budget first time running, could create less about deficits, and even promises to hike defense spending 50%
When everyone around him goes down.....the American People will look at him as a TRAITOR for not standing up for them when he was in a position to do so.
I would say he was more of a lynch-pen rather than a leader of the stolen election. He could have stopped it or at least greatly complicated it if he had exercised his Constitutional duties to ensure the states' electors were certified before they were counted. He of all people should indicted for treason.
Birx outright admitted in her book that she deliberately traveled the country to meet with state health care leaders in order to control the deceitful COVID narrative & deliberately advise states to keep the lock downs in place - against Trumps orders. She went rogue. Glad to see her name brought up.
Great adumbration of the cons, scams, hustles conducted by our national and international leaders. While we’re all distracted by the far-away, the mayors and councilmen of our towns and villages continue to refine their own methods of defrauding the populace.
CORRECTAMUNDO- it's known as Property Tax which is far and away the worst of all possible taxes.
First of all- it's a tax on unrealized Gain. Say you bought a house back in the 1980s for $150,000. Today, according to the tax assessor, that home is now worth $700,000 as just happened in my NY neighborhood. So the owner is paying school, town, county taxes on the future Selling Price of his home even though he has no intention of moving.
Second- we do not really own our own homes. We pay "rent" to the local government in the form of property taxes. If you don't pay the tax, they will auction off your home to the highest bidder. If I buy a car and pay it off, I don't have to keep paying for it year after year. Why isn't that true for my house??
"If I buy a car and pay it off, I don't have to keep paying for it year after year. Why isn't that true for my house??"
But you do. You pay annual registration fees for every vehicle you own, regardless of use, and you pay state and federal fuel tax on the gasoline you use. In 2026 average fuel tax across the US is about $0.50 per gallon. More than 135 billion gallons of motor vehicle fuel are consumed each year in the U.S. Even the income, sales, and property tax payments you make may be expended directly or indirectly on maintaining roads and related infrastructure you use to operate your 'paid off' vehicle.
That is not the same thing as being taxed on the assessed value of the house which is, in effect, being taxed on unearned capital gains....if you do not register your car, no one comes to take it from you....you are comparing apples to oranges....the gas tax? Well, that is supposed to go to road repair caused by driving the car. No tax if you don't buy gas and that includes using EV charging stations at the gas stations...at least here in MD, there is no "road tax" on EV chargers...
NY Nanny is absolutely correct...property tax is a tax on unearned capital gains....they will confiscate your house if you do not pay the tax....not only that, they will sell it to the lowest bidder and take all of the money over and above the tax owed and force you into court in order to get the amount of the sale which is more than the tax owed.
In my state (Kansas) the annual registration fee is well over 1% of the value of the car, so on a percentage basis it's up there with real estate property taxes.
There is a big difference in that your car is unlikely to go up value, though.
Interesting….As I recall, in MD the fee is done by weight so that the excuse for EVs not paying a “gas tax” is that they are heavier….the name of the tax should be changed…it should be called a “road maintenance tax” so that not only do EVs pay their fair share but also that 60% of the tax paid does not go to public transportation.
"In 2026 average fuel tax across the US is about $0.50 per gallon." ~ Cassander
Kinda makes it easy to understand why *they want < $4 gas. Not because they give a fuck about US Consumers, but because since the fuel tax is not percentage based, but per gallon, >$4 gas causes demand destruction, reducing fuel tax revenue. At an average of 20MPG, they lose 2.5 cents for every mile NOT driven.
*Tax & spend grifters, regardless of political Party.
Dropping the F-bomb (h/t astera, may she rest in peace), someone has to do it.
I have said this to countless people over the years. They would congratulate me on paying my mortgage off and saying “ now you own your home free & clear!” I replied that i own my home, but still must pay rent “property taxes”. They looked dumbfounded. As you say NYNanny, it is criminal when one pays $100K for a house & it is now worth $700K & the government wants tax on unrealized gains. And some in Congress want to do the same with investments.
Another goal accomplished through property tax is to drive neighborhoods to become all one social class, and to run people out by increasing values. As an area becomes more desirable, raise the taxes until the current residents can no longer afford to stay.
This is just what is happening where we live in the northern NY suburbs that were until recently majority Red/Republican registered voters. As we old timers are being forced out by the ridiculous property taxes, our houses are being purchased by wealthy NYC Democrat - Commies who don't care how high the taxes are.
These are people coming from the City who pay $30 grand a year for kindergarten in private schools. So if their property taxes up here are $12-20,000 they think it's a bargain. The school district honchos love it because their obscene budgets are passed with no problem.
The property tax is inherently immoral. It denies every last one of us the opportunity to truly own the land upon which we live free and clear from government intrusion or fear of loss. In short, we don't own anything. We are serf working and paying rent to our government lords.
Most people don't understand how much they pay in property taxes because the bank pays them in their behalf from the mortgage escrows. Pretty clever really.
I always demure when Americans brag about their freedom and I tell them to try not paying their property taxes and they will see just how "free" they really are. In my county if you don't pay your property taxes they will fine you daily until you do. If you still do not pay them they will place a lien on your property until the tax and the accrued fines are paid. If you still refuse to pay they will put the property up for tax sale auction and anyone can come buy the very property you worked hard to pay for. The County will then take the proceeds from the tax sale, apply it to the back taxes and turn the property over to the new owner. Right from under your feet.
All of our other freedoms are meaningless if we can't own our own property.
Imagine you buy a lawnmower and pay the $20 sales tax at Home Depot. A year later Home Depot charges you the $20 sales tax again. They do this every year for 20 years until you bring them a certificate showing that you no longer own the lawnmower … just like the tax on your home. But the tax on your home goes up 7% every year and doubles every 10 years. The home taxes exceed the home price after 25 years.
Very true. Even my lowly and insignificant HOA has managed to refine the fraud. The President of this HOA (which manages 5000 homes), just anounced that $2 million is missing from the budget.
Of course the missing money has nothing to do with his cash purchase of new Land Rovers for he and his wife and a lavish vacation to Hawaii.
Yesterday the Board of Directors announced that the HOA would be going paperless and all communication would be thru an Ai chat bot. Probably a good idea since some residents are beginning to question the missing $2 million. LOL
Corruption and grift permeate every level of our vaunted self centered society of "get gain" or "get more." From the Hallowed Halls of Congress down to our local churches and school boards individuals seek to pad their pockets with the filthy unearned lucre of this planet. They take what they want without regard to how it impacts their fellow men. This system we humans have created is a failed system at best. There has to be a better way to transact the affairs of man that does not involve money.
Until humans evolve past their greed and lust for money and the acquisition of "things" we as a species have reached our apex. The dinosaurs had millions of years on this planet. Will humanity? I doubt it.
You sound like total libtard here Cankerpuss , bemoaning the reality of human nature , and suggesting there is some evolved workaround to it that only the truly enlightened ,such as yourself, have the recipe for , and if only we would all defer to your superior level of enlightenment we could usher in the new Utopia , Cankerpuss's Utopia to be precise of course .
But then on the other hand you ain't all wrong in some of it .
My take on it is that most of our problems have actually stemmed from the Do gooders and their 'solutions' cuz as someone a heck of a lot smarter than I opined , there really are no solutions to problems , only trade offs . Their ain't a dang thing wrong with people goin bout there lives trying to better themselves and their prospects , so long as they don't exploit others in the process ( the Golden Rule ) , any imposed 'system ' to correct what is natural about human nature is ultimately authoritarian , its why libtards are statists in their hearts . Most of the trouble has been caused by this State imposed 'solution or that State imposed ' reach around "by a bunch of unrelenting moral busy body Doo gooders ( libtards ) .
In conclusion , I'm more of a caveat emptor kinda guy , it keeps everyone focused if you know what I mean , as opposed to farming out the responsibility to some system beyond what was enumerated in the Magna Carta , and the US Constitution . I think it was Stalin who offered that THE STATE would 'release people from the chimera ' of moral conscience , abdicating it to the functions of some technocratic state authority . Bastiat was like : well ain't the folks running the gears of said omnipotent state made from the same flawed stuff as we are ? Or do you suppose they are angels from heaven . No solutions , only trade offs bud, those oracles of the system will take you to the cleaners in the process of indulging their own economic incentives just as surely as the creator of the optigrab ( The Jerk)did , only you ain't free to decline what they are selling once they put the arbitrary force of the State behind what they are peddling via regulation legislation and mandate it becomes ' the law of some men ' in conflict with ' Natural Law ' that is self evident .
I know , I know , your little screed made you feel virtuous .In a seemingly unrelated , Do electric vehicles have virtue signals that go along with the usual turn signals that accompany regular internal combustion ( self actuated ) vehicles ? Don't take it too personal , I'm just a crappy writer trying to pretend like I'm something else , as a kind of show of admiration to folks like Kunstler who actually do possess a gift for it .
That is one of the worst insults anyone could throw at me on the CFN. I consider myself to be quite conservative on many many things. No need to resort to such insults.
The love of money is the root of all evil. It is. Wars are fought over money. Crime is committed over money. People take advantage of their fellow man because of their desire to get gain. Families are destroyed because of argument over money. Money is the reason we have poverty. Money causes social stratifications. Money destroys governments and imprisons its people.
I'll admit I am a dreamer and a thinker. I pine for a better world and a better way of doing things. What's so wrong with hoping for a better way of doing things than what we have? Admittedly, I am not smart enough to come up with that. Someone much smarter will need to do that.
Humanity has the capability of improving itself and becoming more than it currently is. It would be my hope that we as a species could do that rather than just accepting that money is the only option we have and it is just the way we are. If we do that we are no better than the dogs who are content to lick their own asses and never improve.
Capital centralizes - to an extraordinary degree. The Left arises to combat this this tendency so that the rest of us can live as free men or live at all.
The trick is to keep the tie in the middle of the tug of war. Victory by either side spells slavery and death.
Cank dreams of a new type of man. National Socialist man or conversely, real Christians. A higher middle IS the only real solution.
Your dream in reality is that of the Iron Lady: Society doesn't exist. Government merely exists as the enforcer of contracts between individuals. But why should they be fair in so doing? And what, pray tell, is in an individual? Very few get rich all by themselves, right?
Fair enough critique Lugh ,I'm actually a total sweet spot guy myself, I actually rant about it all the time . Everything has that just right quantity to it where less is not enough and more is too much and achieving that balance is my philosophical sweet spot there we shoulda just left well enough alone but of course we never do . I will say however that I did hint at something that facilitates that higher middle approach , The Golden Rule , Universally Prefferred Behavior , Natural Law , The Non Aggression Principle, The Tao ,,,,,, whatever , but the thing about this is that it cannot be collectively imbued or mandated by some systemic central authority , it can only be individually worked out , like salvation or redemption , we gotta work it out and own it one soul at a time .
As for that tug a war , we did give government an antitrust capacity to act within , instead they just got bought off by the monopolies . Why ? because its natural to want to secure advantage for yourself and easy enough to rationalize away within such a complex labrynth of systems and vast supply lines ( they had NO IDEA how that sausage actually got made because it happens so distant from their compartment within the complex labyrinth of compartmentalized incentive bubbles )that that advantage that you have secured for yourself came at someone elses expense and therefore broke all those aforementioned principles I rattled off ( they are all essentially the same principle to me ) .
No, it can be taught. As Plotinus said, the perfect statue exists inside the block, it must needs only be freed of the rocky dross. Yes, ultimately the person themselves must do the chipping, turning the rough stone into smoothed stone. There one will find one's true nature, the uncarved block. Each tradition* saying the same thing, but using the block in different ways.
BUT, if everyone is taught then a social standard can be established AND enforced. If you don't want to do the inner work fine, but you better be ready to break a sweat into faking it, especially in the presence of Armed Citizens investigating your business for its social utility.
Fascism and National Socialism don't seize property but they guide, enforce, and punish. If you don't want to serve, fine. Take your winnings and go while you still can. That must be the attitude. As Pinochet said in his bluff way: Of course one treats people who can do and make things very well. There is no need for unpleasantness, but the People must be ready to get very unpleasant with evil Capitalists and Communists as well. As you know (do you?), they are one system, head and tails with the Capitalists funding the latter. Why? I know, but do you?
A HOA per se isn't a totally horrible idea (just mostly), but watch out if the members exceed 200 and the board has another board above it, or some such nonsense. You need to know each other for real accountability.
Beth - HOA's of any stripe are simply a 4th level of government - Federal, State, Local, HOA. The Board members are the old high school Student Government, has beens, used to be's and never was's, operating under the same MO as all the higher levels.
Collect dues (taxes), decide ridiculous ways to spend them. We need to redo the pool area landscaping. We have selected a contractor (a Board member's brother-n-law). They are not stupid. People who choose to live under a 4th level of government are.
Yes, well, personally, I would never consider buying a house subject to some group of Karens telling me whether or not I could have a vegetable garden or put a box fan in my window. I will have all the davenports on my porch that I damn well please.
Beth - you and I are about the same age, but *davenport*, I haven't heard forever. By a show of hands, how many CFN denizens know what a davenport is, without looking it up?
7 years ago I worked hard to get my section of the subdivision out of the HOA by debunking the myth that the HOA protects home values. A neighbor sold their house the other day for a record $1.6 million. 30% higher than any comparable house ever sold for in the section that is still under HOA control.
Monotony, dull uniformity and lack of cheerful colors is the result of families losing heart and energy when living in a highly restricted environment. The result is that the home values in an HOA only retain their value in relation to each other — but not in relation to other neighborhoods where upgrades occur spontaneously and energetically without “Karen’s” authorization.
Excellent, Bill. Good for you, and your neighbors. Agree 100%. You could make bank, on duplicating your efforts in some organized way. Charge a one-time, fair fee, and you'd be off to the races. It's a high value proposition, Owners opting for a one-time fee that forestalls all the never-ending monthly fees.
Shooting from the hip, a one-time fee, equivalent to a year's fees, doesn't seem unreasonable. HOA fees at the low end of $500/month, makes $6K per house @ 100 houses. There you go. Fairly priced win-win. Hard to argue against it. Hire some of Elysianfield's strippers, from our Bringing Reno Project, to do sales and marketing.
I am very disappointed in Donald Trump. He promised that if elected he would ensure we had cheap gasoline, low inflation, and no foreign wars. He has delivered just the opposite, and the war is now in its 10th week. 61 percent of those polled oppose our war in Iran, similar to the opposition for our war in Iraq, and to the Vietnam war. Trump's approval rating is deep in negative territory, and Republican prospects in the mid-terms look ever more gloomy. Trump gambled his presidency on this war with Iran, and it has proven to be a losing proposition.
C’mon, “he has promised”, don’t you think that much of the problems you mention might have something to do with lunatics in Iran? Trump also promised that Iran will never have a nuke and is delivering on that promise.
Gee, let me think about that. Before Trump went to war with Iran, gas was $2.50 a gallon and falling, inflation was low, and the economy was making a recovery. Trump was popular, and things were looking good for the Republican Party in the mid terms. Now gas is well over $4.10 a gallon, inflation has made a big comeback, and the economy is doing poorly. The war drags on, into its 10th week. Trump's initial talk of "regime change" and "unconditional surrender" sounds delusional now. So, no, I don't think that anyone in Iran caused any of this to happen: The POTUS caused this to happen by deciding to go to war.
Trump made a promise to stop Iran from developing a nuke, first by B2 bombing the nuke sites, and now by destroying most of their delivery systems. He wants the nuke material and will destroy Iran’s military to get it.
I believe that not allowing a group of religious death-sect lunatics to have nuclear weapons is much more important than paying more for gasoline for a short while and worrying about a .5% increase in inflation due to oil.
Trump is going to kick ass in November, the polls, a Lefty-Left tool, means nothing. Right now, SCOTUS just drove a stake into the racist methods of assigning political districts. We shall see.
As an aside, I saw a graphic of what the congressional map would look like were all districts designed to be as compact as possible without those districts snaking 150 miles through a dozen counties from Rockford on the Wisconsin border to the Quad Cities on the Iowa border and over and down to Peoria in Central Illinois as Erik Sorenson's (D-IL) does. With a computer generated map of districts the Dems would lose 90 seats. There are those who claim with some justification that the country is actual 2-1 non-Democrat and the "50/50 nation" saw comes from gerrymandering up the ying yang as well as outright fraud via a dozen schemes from voting machines to mail in fraud and good old ballot stuffing in their corrupt strongholds.
The old WMD lie again. Iran has been "on the cusp" of developing nuclear weapons every year since the mid 1980s. Our noble leaders must have figured they could reuse this tired old excuse for starting an illegal war since it's 25 years since they last used it to justify the Iraq invasion. I suppose we should be thankful that Trump chose to just go with the lie instead of blowing up a building with 3,000 people in it first in order to justify his war on behalf of Israel.
As far as I can tell this war is covid part II. Soon there will be petro-lockdowns, smart cities, more digital surveillance, rampant inflation and economic collapse - all justified by the war which of course was started precisely in order to justify such measures.
It's hard to sift the truth from the lies, but I think your comment is the most likely of many possibilities to be accurate more so than others.
If nothing else, Trump is blowing smoke on describing any policy with this Iran Project as "humanitarian". Killing the leader of a country on Day 1 of a "police action" is not humanitarian, even if justified, and will not be forgotten any time soon by your average Joe on the street. Or whatever the Persian equivalent to Joe might be. Nor will it be forgotten by those that believe in International Laws. Until proven otherwise, Trump's Tarbaby in Iran is a distraction from other Uuuge problems.
As for the ongoing predictions of bringing the guilty "Lefties" to justice in the courtrooms of the U.S., I think we're past that point now. I hope not, but I see one or two high profile convictions being the spark that triggers a Civil War. Which of course, may be the exact goal of the Puppet Masters controlling the narrative. But like Yogi said, "Predictions are difficult, especially about the future."
The only way to beat them is to nuke them. And Pakistan has promised to deliver a nuke or two to Iran so they can pay them back in kind. Russia could do it more easily so maybe they will give them one or just nuke Israel themselves.
Yes. The lefty righty thing is a punch and judy show for sure. The 33 club, or whatever you want to call them, spans both sides of the aisle.
And you are also correct to bring up Yogi's observation. I know approximately what's going on and who's behind it. But it's like a detective tracking a serial killer in a movie - just because I've figured some stuff out doesn't mean I can be sure exactly when the killer will strike next, nor who the next victim will be. I'm just making my best prediction.
The US has achieved zero of its stated goals in trying to prosecute Netanyahu's war. In the meantime Iran, playing rope-a-dope while we destroy our own economy and that of our allies, has relinquished none of its original terms for ending the war.
Trump is desperate for an off-ramp, and there isn't one.
Let’s see, stock market up, unemployment doing well, a .5% uptick in inflation, and all the lunatics busy working for Soros. Things look pretty good right now.
He does need an off-ramp. Iran is going to collapse when their wells stop pumping.
I missed the part where Trump stated his goals for bombing Iran were to raise the stock market and employment. As for inflation. Talk to any shopper and ask them about inflation.
C’mon, I am a shopper and yes prices have increased starting in 2021. You remember, don’t you? That is when Biden’s mobs answer to Covid was flood the fiat money market place. The low remaining inflation today is an hangover from that idiocy.
Trump’s goal for the “war” is to stop the “missiling” of Israel and to destroy the high grade uranium in Iran. Period. Until the latter is successful, Iran will be enjoying the company of the US Navy.
My goal? Eradication of the religious regime in Iran, establishment of a monarchial republic representing the people and freedom of religion. I doubt that happens but it would make Iran a good neighbor in the Gulf instead of the asshole it is now.
Yes, the lemmings are still inflating the stock market bubble. As for inflation and employment, you must be living in a remote cave. Be that as it may, you will see soon enough how foolish your delusions are.
We disagree here, I do not believe Trump is fighting the war any more, that Vietnamization, or politicizing of the war has started. He took it to the point of requiring massive losses of GIs and Iranians, and backed off. So now we get to listen to both sides playing chicken with each other. How he gets the uranium out of Iran remains a mystery. Iranian lunatics will have to be on a guillotine before they will give it up. So wait and see. IMO, Trump will lose it all if the Iranians win the chess game.
There's always an off ramp. But when you are a bully whose income is predicated mostly on your ability to collect tribute from everyone else on the basis that you could beat them senseless if they didn't pay, then losing a fight tends to cost rather more than pride.
So what is it then? The left is having a temper tantrum? I do not think it is about control. I believe it is more so that the left is deranged, their screaming and shooting and pointing is making most people want to stay away from them.
Count the number of today’s presidents, senators, representatives, governors and SCOTUS judges who are Republicans, and how many are Democrats, and get back to me with the larger of those two numbers.
I realize math is not a strong suit of MAGAts. Trump says he lowered prescription drug prices by an impossible 600%, and MAGAts just nod and say “thank you sir!”
Oh, okay, so basically democrats destroy everything that makes them unhappy, like perceived outnumbers?
Democrats destroy everything they hate. They tear down history, they ruin lives, they are responsible for most of the crimes and theft, and the degeneration of society, fatherless homes, confused children, blue haired women, and pretty much general unhappiness with everything they can't attain for free
This is the Fourth War the US has launched in the Middle East since 1991. The last three didn't work out well for the US, and so far this one isn't working out either. One definition of insanity is doing the same idiotic thing over and over again, while expecting a different result.
"The last three didn't work out well for the US" Hmmm.
1) Desert Storm. The operation to free Kuwait from the Iraqi Invasion. They were freed. And Kuwait remains a loyal, if a little quirky, ally.
2) Iraqi Freedom. The operation to rid Iraq of a crazed dictator and his sons in order to allow the Iraqis to join a stable GCC. Not a clean success, but effective. While not like the US, Iraq remains a neutral ally in their own mold that DOES NOT threaten their neighbors.
3) Enduring Freedom. The first invasion following 9/11 meant to smash the terrorist refuge and find/kill Bin Ladin. Achieved most of the original goals but got bogged down in the mission creep into civilizing of aboriginal tribes. That has never worked out for the US.
4) Epic Fury. Crush the mullahcracy and rid Iran of their nuclear weapons capability and assuage their desire to gain it. So far so good, actually. After weeding out the chest pumping of Trump and Hegseth you get an Iranian autocracy that has been decapitated and mostly defanged - yes, their bench is deep but, it's not the same team. You also get a radical replacement regime considered a pariah by their neighbors. That matters A LOT. Both religious and cultural dynamics are in play right now in the Middle East (similar to Iraq's comeuppance) that the US will never understand. Odds favor a peaceful Gulf region.
So, the US didn't do the "same idiotic thing over and over again...." It did what was determined to be the best choice in a dynamic, chaotic, and dangerous situation. Just like all violent diplomacy, for ever.
NOTE: Don't confuse my expose' of your failed and emotional vitriol with my support or opposition of any or all of these recent endeavors in the region. I just have a hard NOT chasing people around the stupid tree.
All the previous wars had Iran in the back ground playing games with proxy groups both Shiite and Sunni. Had they dealt with Iran forty years ago the Iraq and Syria wars would have wound down a lot sooner wth far less loss of life all around.
Let me get this right. . .you think our first war with Iraq was a roaring success, so that's why the Bush family and others lamented that we didn't finish the job, and had a second war there? And you think the search for mysterious WMD's in Iran--that did not exist, outside of W. Bush's imagination--was a success. Gee, that's funny, even Jeb Bush had to admit that the war was a mistake in his failed bid for the 2016 Republican nomination. Even W. Bush himself has said that the decision to invade Iraq was based on "flawed intelligence". We lost 4,500 military personnel in that failed war, and we STILL have boots on the ground in Iraq to this day. As to Afghanistan, we were there for 20 long years, fled in shame in the middle of the night, and accomplished NOTHING. The Taliban took the country back over the very next morning, and we left them a huge cache of weapons. Three failed wars in the Middle East, and Trump launched a fourth one. Sheer brilliance.
You discredit your banal cliche, "same idiotic thing over and over again...." in your response. That's your narrative you tell yourself as if you're lip-synching a tatted and pierced protestor on the Mall. I provided clear, reasoned analysis of the actual facts. It's your tree, keep running. And, read more.
Donald Trump has consistently described the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a major foreign policy failure, often calling it a "big, fat mistake" and the "worst decision ever made."
They found them and hundreds of tons of dual use precursor ingredients. None means none and some were admitted to being found. While also losing tons of Semtex high explosives sent back in the form of ied.
Be careful TM. The war humpers are thick on the CFN blog.
What I find interesting is the war humpers like JohnAZ and David Penny don't give a seconds thought the the trillions of dollars these little wars and foreign excursions have cost the USA. What they don't understand is that to fund these wars the printing presses have to run and when the printing presses have to run the dollar loses its purchasing power and when the purchasing power of the dollar goes down so goes our way of life.
I supposed if you are an old retired dude at the end of the their long lives things like rampant inflation don't mean much to them. So they don't they don't truly consider the impacts of these little wars on the homeland and the people here at home.
Well Puss, I'm not a war humper. I have never stated on CFN that I was in favor on any military intervention - nor against. All I do is counter the shallow mimicry of the deluded minions here such as you.
As for the 'trillions of dollars wasted on wars' reposte far too often pasted on this site, I have two rebuttals. First, the trillions of dollars of fiat currency distributed as "entitlements" that are actually enslavement far overshadow those spent pursuing "diplomacy by other means." Second, there is not an honest way to calculate the ROI of these foreign exploits without laying in confabulated assumptions. Yet, I aver the second is the wiser investment of the two.
I'm of the opinion that generating a world were security is assured within and between states is the only road to universal freedom and prosperity.
I am not any more one of the "deluded minions" as you are my friend. I have an opinion and my opinion is based only upon what I am permitted to read and hear. Just like you.
My war humper comment was in response to your post where you definitely posit the position of being a war humper. If you are not, then I apologize for that insinuation. Again, the comment definitely puts you in the position of being very much in favor of the USA's illegal wars throughout the world. If I misinterpreted, that is on me.
"I'm of the opinion that generating a world were security is assured within and between states is the only road to universal freedom and prosperity."
I think this comment has merit. It would be nice to live in a world where security is assured between the states. But, let me ask you this. Is the world a secure place after the trillions of dollars the USA has spent being the world's police department? Wars and rumors of wars abound. Seems to me the security we all desire doesn't exist in spite of all the wars the USA engages in. And don't use the quip "imagine a world if the USA wasn't involved." There is no way to judge that. All we can judge is the state of the world as it is and, frankly speaking, the current state of the world isn't all that great.
Is the world a secure place after the trillions of dollars the USA has spent being the world's police department? Yes. Determined through firsthand observation. Example: When I was discussing the future of passenger air travel in FRY with the President of Bosna Airlines back in '96 he said, "No worries, when you're gone we'll kill them all."
Here is the giant piece of logic that every Doomer, Leftist, RINO, and cowardly dork misses: President Trump had NOTHING to gain politically from ordering military action against the IRGC in Iran. Which begs the question of why he did it. Use Occam's Razor here, morons: it was because the President had irrefutable evidence that Iran was very near to having the ability to both produce nuclear weapons, and the means to attack other countries in the Mideast, Europe, and even possibly the United States with them. Dorks just purposely ignore the fact that members of the IRGC also clearly stated that intent publicly.
Of course, leftist dorks continue to bleat (in unison, with the exact same phrases) that Trump "started" the war with Iran to distract America from his "disastrous" policies in the U.S. The only "disastrous" policies that Trump was conducting was to flush out all of the corruption, sedition, treason, crime, and even murder being encouraged, supported, perpetrated, and even directly being committed by the Democrats. Trump's policies were "disastrous", alright, for the Democrat Socialist dictator-wannabes trying desperately to destroy the American Republic. No wonder so many Democrat traitors against America openly support Iran.
One final note: President Trump is still playing 4D chess. He declared hostilities "over" in Iran. The IRGC, being the dumbfucks that they are in addition to being profoundly evil, fired "warning" shots at foreign and U.S. vessels operating in International Waters. Congratulations, IRGC dumbfucks, you just reset the War Powers Act clock. President Trump now has ANOTHER 60 days to absolutely pound the hell out of you. If IRGC had any decency or compassion for its own citizens, it would unconditionally surrender right now. They likely don't, so now the whole of Iran may pay a horrific price. And the result--in a few months at most, fuel prices in the U.S will be back down to early 2026 levels, and Iran as a country will be wrecked for at least 1-3 generations.
Tulsi Gabbard: Iran isn't working on a nuclear weapon.
Trump: I don't care what she thinks.
Obviously, things may have changed. They need to get some nukes now in order to protect themselves. Nobody cared that they didn't have any before. But they'll fucking care when they DO have a few. Poor little Israel on that day.
Allah/Vishnu will come as death, with the brightness of a thousand suns.
Whenever someone starts hurling insults, you know they have lost the argument. I will look forward to hearing from you in week 11 of this war, and then week 12: I wonder what the price of a gallon of gasoline will be by then?
Other than calling some of the commenters morons, he is pretty much on target...I too am pretty concerned about the short term outlook of many of the commenters on this and other Substacks to which I subscribe. Trump had discussed Iran years ago...nothing changed....Trump thinks long term....most people do not...they think about today...
Alright then! He was lying about staying out of War in the Middle East - which is why the best part of his base voted for him. If you don't remember any of that, consult with your physician about memory loss.
I have neither a physician nor memory loss. Sorry...I suspect that researching his precise words might prove futile...too subjective a subject...either you trust Trump or you don't....you do not have to agree....none of us has access to behind the scenes info....so, stick with your short-term view of world events, if it makes you happy.
What worries me about Iran is that they are not rational actors. Like suicide bombers, they cheer for their own death. I wish more Americans would read up on the Twelfth Imam eschatology that Iran's religious leaders (and who knows how many millions of its ordinary people) believe in and are willing to die for. They actually WANT World War III and global chaos, even if it means the total destruction of their own country. We are not talking about normal people with a normal survival instinct. How do you negotiate with people who WANT to be annihilated?
The greatest weakness in our State Department and Foreign Service and intelligence agencies is that most of them pretend that religion does not exist, and they have zero understanding of religious people of any sort, anywhere in the world. So, because they personally cannot imagine dying for their faith, they are stubbornly blind to all the people in the world -- Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, etc. -- who ARE willing to die for their faith. Hence, our "foreign policy establishment" is forever being caught off guard by events.
The fall of the Berlin Wall that "nobody saw coming"? Christians in Romania, Czechoslovakia and other countries did. Read Chuck Colson's book "The Body." It was a religious -- specifically, Christian -- revolution. Our foreign policy gurus only failed to see it coming because religious motivation for ANYTHING is not even on their radar screen.
So... even though I don't believe in all the Twelfth Imam stuff, I can acknowledge that there are millions of people in Iran who DO believe in it. And it makes this whole situation much more complicated than either Left or Right in this country are capable of admitting.
1. Iran has no nuke. They've been two weeks away from getting a nuke for 30 fucking years. Iran isn't going to get a nuke.
2. Iran has no military might. Iran hasn't invaded another nation for 200+ years. Hell, Iran had its hands full with Saddam Hussein and Iraq during their wars.
3. Iran has no navy. No possible way of shipping their troops to the USA to invade, harass or otherwise molest the USA.
4. All of the harassment forced upon the USA happens within Iran's spheres of influence near its borders and beaches.
5. Iran is a poverty stricken nation with a poor economy. Years of sanctions will do this.
6. Iran hasn't the water to satisfy the needs of its cities. 6 months ago they were contemplating evacuating Tehran, a city of multiple millions.
7. Iran has not committed a terrorist act on the soil of the US 50.
You people have created a boogie man out of Iran. Do you lay awake at night chewing your bottom lip raw that some Iranian is going to jump through your window and pee on you? Seriously. Where does this fear of Iran come from?
I've met a few Iranians in my days. They were decent people who loved their opportunities given to them here in America. They spoke better English than I do. Can't say the same thing for our Mexican friends over running our cities. Just saying...
War makes some people a lot of money. Is that cause enough in your little world? Justifying the war is just the Carnies duping the little guys, the rubes, the suckers.
Try some different channels. Tel Aviv lies in ruins. Iran has taken all of our bases and controls the Persian Gulf.
As if the world is not a highly dynamic environment? Trump weighed the LATEST, up-to-date intelligence and decided he had to act. It was now or never.
So far as gas going up $1, this is petty bullshit and I'm tired of hearing whiners bitch about it. This is a temporary situation, and IMHO, is quite preferable to reading that Iran has tested their very first nuke. And did you know that gas was $1 higher than now when Barrack O'Biden was "President?" And that rise in price was not to support a war effort, but just because Joey Bag 'o Donuts didn't like you driving around in a gas engine car.
"So far as gas going up $1, this is petty bullshit"
May not be bullshit to you as you may have sufficient means to absorb this increase. But for young people with a $2300 monthly mortgage payment, car payments, children to feed, that $1 increase is not so easy to absorb.
Try to consider that not everyone is in the same financial circumstances as you are.
Take the bus, carpool, bicycle. Those are socialist-approved means of transportation. The struggling young leftists should be enamored with these alternate means.
"Take the bus." Not an not helpful where there aren't bus services.
"Carpool." Works well if you have co-workers that live nearby but otherwise doesn't work.
"Bicycle." Depends upon how far away from work you live. A daily 25 mile one bike ride isn't feasible for most 40 hour week workers.
Stop being so obtuse. Not everyone is in the same circumstance as you are. My guess is you are probably retired, don't drive much, so you don't give a damn about what others are dealing with. Try to empathize with others.
I've had much tougher poverty in my life than just having to deal with a $1 gas increase. I learned how to make do with almost nothing...instead of resorting to excuses like you do.
Your TDS is showing - and I've basically had enough of your constant bullshit every Monday and Friday.
I buy the ethanol free 88 grade for my vehicles (ethanol contains water which in turn harms the engines). In Utah (we get our gasoline from refineries in Wyoming and Alberta, not from the Middle East) ethanol free 88 grade is nearly $5.00 a gallon. The cheap 85 grade is $4.39 per gallon. If these prices don't come down the average voter isn't going to care about Iran's nukes. They are going to care about their ability to fill their tanks and buy the more expensive food now that diesel costs well above $5.00 per gallon and truck drivers need to drop over $1,000 each time they fill up their big rigs. They don't eat this cost, they roll it over to their customers which are, in the long run, US.
Debating with JohnAZ over this matter is a futile endeavor. I tried and he is pretty set in his views on this. I don't fault him for his views but I am staunchly opposed to him on this matter.
Trump, for all intents and purposes, seems to be torpedoing his own presidency and I predict he will spend the last two years of his lame duck presidency fighting back impeachment charges. That being said, I hope I am wrong. I really do. Trump, although flawed and in many ways a failure, is the best person we have.
"Trump, for all intents and purposes, seems to be torpedoing his own presidency and I predict he will spend the last two years of his lame duck presidency fighting back impeachment charges." Exactly. Going to war is always a big, risky gamble. We had a very wise president, long ago, named Abraham Lincoln who worked hard to avoid a war. Ultimately his efforts failed, and his cause was just, so he fought even harder to win that war. We had presidents who waited, and calculated risk before getting the US involved in either WW1 or WW2. Then, at some point, we lost our way, and started unilaterally getting into wars that were unnecessary, wars that we didn't win, and wars that hurt our country. Wars in Vietnam, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. . .and we seem incapable of learning from our mistakes. I ask those who support this, the Fourth War we have launched in the Middle East since 1991, if it ends with without great calamity, will you support the fifth one, a few years down the line? And the sixth one after that? At some point this foolish, expensive, very risky behavior by the US needs to stop.
I support your post until you got to Abraham Lincoln the tyrant. He didn't work hard to avoid a war. He signed the Morrill tariff into law, caused the south the secede over the tariff and then unleashed his diabolical demonic generals into the south to make war on women, children and farm animals. Abraham Lincoln over threw the Constitution of 1788 and forever changed the USA from a "union of sovereign states" to a massive federal leviathan with smaller administrative districts. The USA died because of Lincoln and his war of aggression over the southern states.
So, yes, at some point the USA died and became a war aggressive nation. It began during the Civil War under Lincoln and was culminated under Woodrow Wilson and the advent of the Fed, income tax and the changing of the US Senate to a glorified House of Representatives. Once the USA got into WWI for no apparent reason the war mongering never ceased.
Currently Iranian oil is "sanctioned" with China basically being the only buyer on the "down-low." Because it is sanctioned, China is paying "pennies on the dollar" rather than market price. ( surprised other didn't do that, personally)
Market price is determined by product availability.
Should Iranian oil no longer be sanctioned but sold freely at market price, two things happen. The nation begins to have greater income for the people and the base price of oil diminishes.
The base price going down sets a long term floor price for the entire world.
When this is attained, Americans will not just be happy for sustained affordable energy but that another nation's people, who had lost their liberties to Authoritarians in the Name of God, will get them back and create the natio they desire.
Nuclear jihad? The only country to have ever launched any nukes against another nation is the USA. So what do you mean "nuclear jihad?" Are you talking about the potential for a nuclear jihad if Iran were ever to get nukes?
Pakistan is an islamic nation. They have nukes. Why is the USA not bombing Islamabad and Karachi?
You ever hear the child hood mantra of "sticks and stones might break my bones but words will never hurt me?"
So you have a bunch of people in dirty night shirts proclaiming their dislike for the USA. So what. Iran doesn't have the capability to do any harm to the USA. I'm talking about the 50 states, not the many bases scattered in close proximity to Iran's borders.
Yet Pakistan does. If the impetus of this war is to de-nuke Iran because of the Islamic jihad potential then one should deduce that Pakistan, a majority Islamic nation, would also hold the same jihad against the infidel tenets as the Iranian Islam.
No, we don't mess around with Pakistan because Pakistan can fight back. Iran is a poverty stricken water starved shit hole. An easy target to beat up on and that helps pad the pockets of the big wigs at Lockheed and Northrup-Grummond. War is all about money. Always has been and always will be.
You go too far. Iran is a very powerful nation, full of engineers being directed by very wise leaders. They planned this war for generations and it shows. But yes, they need to get nuclear weapons asap.
A country that is considering evacuating millions of people due to a lack of water is not a nation that has the resources to destroy the world. Just say....
the rapid breakdown of support, for the campaign to take down the mullahs, IF the reporting is factual, reflects the character of a weak non committed people, with no "staying power". they want, in the fashion typical to self obsessed vision-less gimme, gimme, gimme geeks, instant gratification with them needing to contribute nothing or net to nothing. They are, fundamentally, petulant children. From the likes of them, nothing that will be good and will endure, ever comes.
"Despite winning a congressional majority, Republicans have cut little in spending over the past year. With the few savings they did achieve, they put that money toward offsetting a fraction of the cost of Mr. Trump’s tax cuts, which are still expected to add more than $3 trillion to the debt in the coming years."
Trump knew going into his 2nd administration he had to lay the foundation for the dominance of the US in just 4 short years - maybe just 2 if the Dems get back in in November.
He knew the world, not just the US faces formidable enemies from China to Iran to Russia that threaten our very immediate future, particularly if the Dems ever retake power. He had to do what he’s doing NOW to try to assure that reversing back to the dangerous status quo the world once operated on would be nigh unto impossible for a Democrat party to undo easily.
THAT is ALL part and parcel, if not the essential strategy in his plan to make America not just great again, but a universal force to be reckoned with.
Yes, we may be “suffering” from higher gas prices etc. in the process, but that is temporary, and the long term goal is Peace through Strength. That is a priceless commodity in today’s seriously F’d up world. And a gift for our children and children’s children.
He is putting all his capital on orchestrating one of the most historic global realignments in our nations history. One that will hugely benefit America as the true leader of the world.
And while he’s doing that, his cabinet and DOJ and FBI and a myriad of loyal forces are working day and night to correct and dismantle the plethora of destructive Democrat policies that have been crushing us like DIE, massive fraud, “green” scams, illegal immigration, bloated government, etc. etc.
What we are witnessing in just these first two years being accomplished is nothing short of miraculous and people need to take a beat and stop a moment to try to comprehend how enormous an effort it all is, especially in the face of all the Left’s (and RINOS) effort to obstruct, delay and stop it.
We are winning, and bigly, and this is no time for anyone to go wobbly as we have only just begun the fight.
Stay the course. Keep the faith. And FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT.
Trump’s put his very life on the line for what he’s trying to accomplish. All he needs from us is our support in that effort.
That's kind of the pattern we have become accustomed to in the good ole USA. Politicians and government bureaucrats have become untouchable.
I welcome a change to that pattern. Would love to see this filthy in hand cuffs and perp walked to their prison cell. Or, better yet, people like Fauci and Birx, swinging on the end of a gallows. So, I keep coming back to the CFN to read JHK's offerings of hope of better times and justice to come. Perhaps one day all of this madness will finally break loose. The waiting continues........................
The way things are, any attempt to indict, much less try and convict, any Democrat pol, gov't employee, donor, etc. in DC, NYC or Chicago will be met with a dismissal of chsrges because, well, "die Partei uber alles!"
Mr. Madden --- so Iran did not cause any of this to happen? 50+ years of being the #1 sponsor of terrorism is nothing? Gleefully telling the US they want to exterminate us is nothing. The mullahs are getting exactly what they deserve
Iran is decidedly NOT the world's leading purveyor of terrorism. Not even close. But a lie told often enough to an incurious audience readily assumes the mantle of truth.
Sunni Islam, specifically its Salafi-Jihadist strains (including Wahhabi influences), is responsible for the vast majority of Islamist terrorism worldwide.
Sunni groups like ISIS (Islamic State), al-Qaeda, Taliban, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, and affiliates dominate global terrorism statistics. From 1979–2024, these five alone accounted for over 80% of victims of Islamist attacks. All are Sunni.
Analyses of databases like the Global Terrorism Database and Fondapol reports show tens of thousands of Islamist attacks killing hundreds of thousands, overwhelmingly by Sunni extremists. Sunni terrorism has operated in continuous, high-intensity waves with broad targeting of civilians, "apostates," and other Muslims.
Shia-linked terrorism (e.g., Iranian state agents, Hezbollah) exists but is far more limited—often tied to specific state objectives, discrete campaigns, targeted assassinations, or proxy conflicts (e.g., against Israel or rivals). Shia-linked terrorism shows lower volume of indiscriminate global attacks compared to Sunni Salafi-Jihadists.
Studies (e.g., Brookings/CTC West Point) document this pattern from 1981–2006 onward and it holds in recent Global Terrorism Index reports: ISIS and Sunni jihadist networks in the Sahel, Afghanistan/Pakistan, Somalia, etc., remain the deadliest.
However they classify themselves is unimportant as they all follow the same book, the rules for destruction of society, and they exist to terrorize mostly non-Muslims. That is not exclusive to any one branch. The whole of Islam is despicable in the sight of God.
Maybe you are right but who anointed the USA to be the harbinger of justice throughout the world?
$40 trillion and counting, Ron Neff. These wars have bankrupted the USA. The USA is busted. Broke. The money is gone. The pie has been eaten. Add to that $40 trillion all of the private debt and you are talking over $100 trillion and this doesn't include all of the promised entitlements.
The fact is the USA no longer has the resources to continue the war mongering throughout the globe. The rampant inflation we are experiencing is the proof.
It's well past time to bring the troops home, stop the countless wars, and fix the problems here. If it doesn't happen by choice it will happen by force.
Personally, I am not afraid of Iran. It is a poverty stricken water starved nation with limited military capabilities. They aren't the boogie man to me. They can chant "Death to the USA" all they want. They don't have the ability to bring about the death of the USA and they never will. Now Mexico? That's a different discussion.
The world when they refused to step up and deal with anything including Europes inability to play nice with each other. It is also very clear the biggest issue is rampant fraud from USaid scams.
No they didn't. The US just assumed the role when a vacuum presented itself.
Fact is once the reserve currency status is lost the USA will be forced to shrink back to within its borders and nurse it's own wounds in recovery. Many people on this blog ignore the financial situation of the USA and keep beating the war drums. Even JHK. A big financial reckoning is coming. We cannot afford these foreign wars anymore. The money is gone.
Our government doesn’t keep auditable books by design. DOGE tried to put some discipline into the system and look how it resisted. That means they were well over the target.
This shit has been going on so long It’ll never get reformed. Trump is the ballsyest president I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. My hope for someone balsier is almost nonexistent.
Mr. C----you are correct about the endless wars but......maybe we really need to listen when someone tells us they plan to kill us all, along with the rest of the western world that does not bend its knee to the muslims. Somalia interventions, Balkan interventions, Iraq misadventures and most of the rest are reasons to buy military stocks not save the world. But......Iran is one place that the people running it are really crazy and with nuclear weapons they are a real threat to us. Maybe you do not see it but......mullahs with a death wish is a world that does not end well and better to deal with it now than after New York City is nuked. I also agree that Iran is a poverty stricken place and......that is also because of the mullahs. If Iran did not insist that their ultimate aim is to kill all of us, I would not have an issue. That would be for the citizens of Iran to correct.
Mr. Neff, thank you for the thoughtful and insult free response. I really appreciate it. After dealing with JohnAZ on this matter, your response is most welcome. I understand what you are trying to say. If they claim they are going to kill us we are obligated to do something. I totally understand that perspective and I don't necessarily disagree with it.
Iran has been two weeks away from getting a nuke for 30 years now. Blah Blah Blah. Been hearing this for a long long time.
You ever see the movie "minority report" where they were arresting people and sending them to prison for crimes they were predicted to commit based upon the future seeing ability of some strange twins? I can't help but think the same thing here. Sure, they don't like the USA but then again neither does North Korea or Somalia. Mexico isn't a big fan of the USA either since the USA stole more than 60% of their land after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Chanting "death to America" may sound bad but until they are launching bombs at our coastal cities or setting off a dirty nuke in one of our cities, we can't base a war on people saying stupid things. But, what the hell do I know?
You're probably right, I don't see it all. I know very little and am just a dude with an opinion.
Nobody seems to give a shit about the massive amounts of money and debt we are piling up to fund these wars. While the USA wages war across the world the conditions in the USA itself are crumbling. But, hey, at least we are going to stop Iran from getting that nuke they've been trying to get for 30-40 years.
It's insanity. All of it.
Honestly, the whole argument has grown very tiresome for me so I think I am going to take a break. When JHK starts writing about stuff other than war I might tune again.
Thanks again for your kind, well thought out response.
Don't see how it's possible that Trump WON'T declare a National Emergency, given how much and how deep the fraud/corruption/conspiracy runs. To use overused terminology: "MASSIVE, HISTORIC . . . UNNNNNN-prescidented!"
Of course, coming to terms on the nuclear bomb-making issue would allow Iran the possibility of becoming, once more, a normal advanced industrial modern nation,
What in the hell is that supposed to mean? A normal advanced industrial modern nation like the US, with nukes? Like Russia with nukes? Like China with nukes? Like North Korea with nukes? And BTW, Iran never wanted nukes and was not planning on nukes – just ask our 19 Intel agencies who have verified that Iran is not building nuclear weapons. We had at one time a perfectly sound nuclear weapons deterrent agreement with Iran, which Trump tore up in 2018. we can thank the Zionists for that little stupid misstep.
JHK has come a long way from the days when he bemoaned our country’s “happy motoring” addiction to cheap oil, warned us of the looming Peak Oil apocalypse, and mocked the soul-crushing, angst-driven, auto-dependent, sprawling suburbia that defines America.
Where did that guy go?? Now he’s cheerleading for keeping those petroleum tankers chugging through the Gulf of Hormuz like Olympian runners heroically crossing the marathon finish line. Go Team Go! Gas prices back down to $3 a gallon by Thanksgiving!
GonzoDon-- I'm still the same guy. It's still very unfortunate that suburban sprawl development is the favored template for property development — and especially with MAGA. This arrangement of things on the landscape remains a curse for our country. You can partly blame the Congress for the New Urbanism, the principal leader of the reform movement. The org, like so many others, leaned into DEI and woke-ism and forgot its mission. Major tragedy for the nation.
Methinks that JHK discovered the ugly truth about liberalism: Scratch any leftist and you will find a Fascist underneath. You see, the whole premise of modern liberalism is that "the people" are not smart enough to make their own decisions, and must be "led" to whatever Promised Land is the current liberals vision of it. The problem is that many, often most, people are not "in tune" with the "liberal vision," so they can't be "led" there, they must be DIRECTED there, which means de facto dictatorial coercion, threat of physical force, or actual use of physical force.
One note about suburbanization: It's the Democrats' fault. Literally every Democrat policy since World War II has, as its real effect, made core urban areas crime-ridden, unsafe, segregated, economically sick, and generally unlivable. Suburbia has many of its own ills, but ask most any suburbanite if they would move back into a core urban area and nearly all will say "no." More and more efforts of "redevelopment" of core urban areas are failing today because the leftist policies have made even those "re-developed" areas too unsafe for ordinary law-abiding citizens. And business is also leaving those core urban areas in droves for the same reasons. And where do they go? To pleasant suburban office "campuses." Even factories are moving to suburban areas or small to medium-size towns. It's past time to face the real truth: American core cities are like sewer ponds, where--as de facto liberal policy--whatever clean water is left in the pond is being drained out of it, leaving only every more putrid sewage remaining.
Fascists and Communists hate each other. The Left killed ten thousand priests and nuns in Spain, but then the Fascists began to fight back.
They both use guns and don't believe in "Democracy" so same, right? The fucking genius thinks he's smart. Just like Bonzo when he went to college with Ron Reagan.
Sorry JHK disappoints you with his failure to be a Johnny One Note clinging to the past as the world changes around him and all of us. I admire those like JHK who can be objective about what is going on and calling out the duplicity wherever they find it.
Jimbo knows which side his bread is buttered on, a candle in the wind. Remember, he's almost 80 y. o. Cut him some slack. He's still an entertaining writer, especially for us old guys.
I despise the casual and sloppy arrogance of such offhand accusations based on nothing. Doesn’t matter who or where.
I attended a talk Jim gave on “The Geography of Nowhere” in Missoula, MT in 1996 and spoke with him briefly after the presentation. Two salient statements stand out.
First, he told me, regarding the subject on the book in question, he wasn’t going to stay on that subject. “I have other fish to fry.”
Second, he said, “I’ve been traveling this country giving talks, and can say we are a wicked people and deserve to be punished.”
Wonder how long it will take for Morens to flip on Fauci. Morens doesn’t strike me as the ‘die on this hill’ type. While we may not see the house of cards collapse (domestically & internationally), one can’t help but feel, at least, enough sh*t has been thrown at the fan to have some of it stick.
Kunstler’s right on the direction—and this time it actually looks engineered, not improvised.
“Project Freedom” isn’t cute. It’s deliberate framing. Not a war, not an escalation—a controlled humanitarian posture with teeth. Trump hits the 60-day War Powers limit exactly, shuts down “Epic Fury,” then reopens the board with naval escorts. That’s not retreat. That’s a reset with leverage intact.
Iran thought it could run out the clock while regrouping. Instead, the clock just got rewound—with conditions. Take a shot at a protected tanker, and the whole thing snaps back into a fresh 60-day operational window—with infrastructure targets already implied. That’s not ambiguity. That’s a tripwire.
The oil play is the quiet kill shot. Keep Gulf exports flowing and you deny Iran the upside of chaos. No price spike. No global panic. No indirect win. Pressure without volatility. That’s discipline.
Domestic side—this is where it either becomes real or collapses into the usual noise.
Kunstler always offers hope. Occasionally that hope cashes out. More often, it doesn’t.
Todd Blanche looks serious. Focused. Controlled. Not auditioning for cable hits. That alone is a shift. DOJ only works when someone is actually running cases instead of narrating them. At minimum, we’re no longer getting the “the evidence is on my desk” routine. That’s progress.
Bondi never projected that level of focus. Whether she got boxed in, lost the thread, or didn’t grasp the scale of the machine—results never came. And DOJ is a machine. If you don’t run it, it runs you.
Now—no leaks out of Florida. That’s the tell. When nothing leaks, something’s building. Grand juries don’t chatter. They stack.
If this is being built as a layered conspiracy—phases, actors, coordination—then it won’t arrive as one cinematic moment. It will come in waves. Indictments grouped by operation. Each tightening the frame on the next. That’s orchestration.
But here’s the line: we’ve seen this movie before. “Accountability is coming” is the longest-running trailer in American politics.
So this time, it’s simple.
No credit for intent.
No credit for tone.
No credit for rumors.
Hope is not evidence.
Show the paper.
If Blanche produces filings—real names, real charges, real timelines—this becomes an event.
If not, it’s just another well-written prelude to nothing.
Bob: Wake me when the first indictment hits the docket.
The gulf was open before the war. That won't end them. But if that's what we need to protect our egos and declare ourselves the winner, fine. Everyone else will see the truth though.
Well written, Jim. You pretty much encapsulated my feelings as well. The chasing the carrot dangling from the end of the stick thing is getting old. 🥕🫏
"Mr. Trump has advised Congress as of May 1 that hostilities with Iran (Operation Epic Fury) are terminated, at the 60-day limit of the War Powers Resolution."
Today, the Navy is escorting non-Iranian ships through the Straits as they should. Once the security of ships will be demonstrated, insurance will cover the transit and the oil tap will be turned on for everyone except Iran.
That is a brilliant strategic move by President Trump, but not just to get the tankers moving again. The Iranians took the bait and fired on U.S. and foreign ships in the Straits. Iran just reset the War Powers Act clock. For another 60 days, the U.S. can now pound the IRGC into the ground at any time, place, or extent that the U.S. chooses.
You can put as much lipstick as you want on this pig, but it is still a pig. To whit, We are maintaining a blockade of the Iranians that is in response to the Iranians putting a blockade on the rest of the world, because the US initially thought it made sense to allow Iran to export its oil because ... well, because we have cut 10% of the world's oil.
In the past, you touted the Long Emergency and the the decline of oil output and commensurate rise in oil prices as being the tipping point to the loss of civilization as we have known it, so I am somewhat shocked that you don't seem at all worried by the events of the last couple of months. We can say without a lot of fanfare that we are locked into higher oil and petrol prices for the summer--that will not go over well with an electorate who will blame the President and the GOP for this almighty clusterfuck of a war of choice. To argue that "we have them right where we want them" in this case is breath-taking.
Let me break this down a bit. The price elasticity of demand for oil in the short run (up to a year or two) is somewhere between -0.1 and - 0.4. The Fed estimated it at -0.1 in 2016. [(www)https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/ifdp/2016/files/ifdp1173.pdf]. This equals the % change in QUANTITY DEMANDED / % change in PRICE. What that means is that for every 1% change in the amount of oil there is, the % change in price has to be 10% if price elasticity is -0.1. If price elasticity is -0.4, that means that a 1% change in price leads to a 2.5% change in price for the product.
What that means is that the impact of a 10% cut in output is anywhere from a 25% to 100% increase in the price of car petrol and av gas... you get the idea. I mean, really, if elasticity is -0.1, you believe the GOP and Trump survive gas at $6.50 - $8 a gallon? If so, "Cool," you clearly know something I don't.
As for the claim that Iran will attack US vessels, um, they won't have to. They just attack the tankers. The US vessels haven't been able to stop small vessels or the drones. Or the mines for that matter. So, why would they want to attack US vessels? No need. A few more months of this and we will be heading in recession territory, even with the next industrial revolution in AI motoring along. Yep, voters will reward the President and the GOP for that, I just know it!
Without getting the SAVE Act passed, and getting elections under sensible control, much of this seeming progress towards accountability will be likely swept away under the foamy tides of resurgent JOY.
If we get another half dozen or so seats in the South, the war comes to an end in the next month or so, and gas prices drop by a buck or two, we can save the House and Senate and buy ourselves two more years of righting the wrongs, which should included passing some form of the SAVE act.
It's going to be a looong year. It's taken several years just to round up the list of crimes and identify the criminals. Prosecutions can proceed quickly, if the election swings to the right. Events and consequences seem to be accelerating, finally. Our 250th anniversary may come a few years late. Just so long as it comes... we will be vindicated.
Yep, and the people of Iran are pretty accustomed to living well below the poverty line. Unlike the people in the USA who now live on debt to maintain their standard of living.
President Donald Trump has just announced 'Project Freedom' – a U.S. Navy mission to escort commercial tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. The official line is that this is a humanitarian gesture to keep global oil flowing. I see it for what it really is: a reckless provocation designed to force Iran into a military response, giving Washington the excuse it needs for a wider war. And our own sailors are being used as bait.
Trump rejected Iran's latest 14-point peace proposal on May 3, calling it unacceptable, and then ordered the Navy to start guiding ships out of Hormuz. [1] The Iranians had offered to reopen the strait within 30 days in exchange for an end to hostilities and later talks on nuclear enrichment. [2] Instead of seizing a diplomatic off-ramp, Trump chose escalation. I believe the goal is simple: put American warships in harm's way, hope for a clash, and then use the resulting casualties to justify a full-scale ground war without congressional approval.
The Strait of Hormuz: Who Really Controls the Waters?
Let's talk geography. The Strait of Hormuz is barely 30 miles wide at its narrowest point. Iran's 12-mile territorial sea claim covers the entire northern half, meaning that any ship moving through the deep-water channel is within waters Iran considers its own. This is not a neutral international waterway – it's a narrow throat that Iran can legally regulate. When Iran closed the strait after Trump's February 28 attacks, it did so from within its own maritime jurisdiction. [3]
Now Trump wants U.S. Navy escorts to force tankers through that same corridor. That is an act of war, plain and simple. The United States has destroyed Iran's navy and air force, but Iran still controls the coastal waters with small craft, missiles, and drones. [4] As I noted in an interview with Michael Yon, 'If the U.S. were to monopolize control over crucial waterways like the Suez and Hormuz straits, it would pose an existential threat to China and others.' [5] The only way to break the blockade is to invade or to accept that Iran holds the leverage. Trump chooses provocation.
The Humanitarian Cover Is a Sick Joke
Trump calls Project Freedom a humanitarian mission to prevent global famine. But this is the same president who bragged about 'ending a civilization' and who bombed Iranian power plants and water infrastructure – clear violations of the Geneva Conventions. As I wrote in March 2026, 'This is not a limited strike but a comprehensive assault designed to cripple a nation.' [6] The humanitarian cover is a deceitful pretext.
In my view, the real plan is even more sinister. The U.S. may be using commercial tankers as human shields, hiding warships among civilian vessels to get within striking range of Iran's coastal defenses. The Navy's own history shows that 'freedom of navigation' operations often serve military rather than commercial ends. [7] If a tanker gets hit, the media will scream 'Iran attacked civilians!' and Trump will have his casus belli. American sailors are not heroes on a rescue mission – they are pawns in a cynical game to manufacture consent for a wider war.
Desperation and the Bait-and-Switch Tactic
Washington has tried everything to break Iran. Financial warfare, sanctions, bombing campaigns, and now a blockade that has devastated Iran's economy – yet Tehran still refuses to surrender. [8] The Trump administration is desperate. After two months of war and a ceasefire that the White House now claims resets the War Powers Act deadline, Trump faces a legal and strategic dead end. [9] [10]
So they are turning to a classic bait-and-switch: send American sailors into the line of fire, hope that Iran takes the bait, and then use the resulting 'attack' to launch a 60-day war without needing Congress. This is not strategy – it is criminal negligence. As former Congressman Ron Paul said at a recent conference, 'The war in Iran is a disaster that accelerates America's decline.' [11] The architects of this policy are willing to sacrifice American lives to salvage a failed policy of total control. I will not pretend that this is anything other than a cynical plan to manufacture a broader conflict.
The Only Sensible Path Is Peace – But Trump Won't Take It
Iran has repeatedly signaled willingness to let ships pass for a toll. The 14-point proposal included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and freezing nuclear enrichment for up to 15 years. [2] That is a deal that could end the oil crisis, stabilize global energy markets, and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. But Trump demands total surrender. He told the press, 'We've already won, but I want to win by a bigger margin.' [12] That is the language of empire, not peace.
We must pray for peace and hope that someone in the Pentagon or Congress talks sense into the White House. If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, global famine and chaos are inevitable. [13] The only way out is a negotiated settlement that respects Iran's sovereignty and ensures freedom of navigation. But as long as Trump insists on provocation rather than diplomacy, American sailors will remain the bait in a reckless trap. I urge every reader to contact their representatives and demand that Congress enforce the War Powers Act before it is too late.
Lugh: Our troops and ships are to be used as bait, just as the Lusitania was.
"It is likely to lead to Dr. Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, and other public health officials who ran a dastardly number on the citizens of this land."
Thankyou for mentioning Birx, JHK. People focus on Fauci, but it's clear from the beginning he was SOMEwhat focused on science, as when he initially told people masking was not needed, since he knew the science on that. As Scott Atlas documents, it was Birx who drove the shutdown narrative. Fauci has his own items to answer for, but Birx has escaped.
And she wasn't granted a pardon, either.
What about their leader, Pence?
JHK rightfully IDs the Lefty-Left as bad characters, but forgets the RINO class of the GOP.
The political spectrum is not a line, but a circle.
And right on time, "Lefty-Left" makes its first appearance - followed by RINO no less! What a moronic expression.
I would say that RINO is redundant; they are just being regular Republicans, white shoes at the country club before Labor Day, muh stonks n' bonds, and a sweet sixteen birthday gift of a new car for Muffy.
Thank you. Clarity is important. Hanging on to feel good error is onerous.
It used to be that the Dems prided themselves as the party of Labor, and the GOP as Management, and there were indeed many conservative managers, as in believing in balancing budgets. With very rare exceptions thy are gone. But skyrocketing deficits, and sudden hike in gas to $5-$6 in many places has had such a hit at pocketbooks that angry voters are going to take it out on Trump and his party in the midterms, IMHO. Apparently he thinks he will overwhelm Iran and drive gas prices down before then- but it is clear Trump, who promised to balance the budget first time running, could create less about deficits, and even promises to hike defense spending 50%
What does brother Biff get?
Squash lessons and a visit to the best madam in Fairfax County.
How about we just stick with CommieCrat?
Careful puns get punished on this forum.
Pence could not lead a horse to water.
When everyone around him goes down.....the American People will look at him as a TRAITOR for not standing up for them when he was in a position to do so.
EXACTLY! I was waiting to see if his name was in the mix as well it should be for a ring leader of the coup.
I would say he was more of a lynch-pen rather than a leader of the stolen election. He could have stopped it or at least greatly complicated it if he had exercised his Constitutional duties to ensure the states' electors were certified before they were counted. He of all people should indicted for treason.
Birx outright admitted in her book that she deliberately traveled the country to meet with state health care leaders in order to control the deceitful COVID narrative & deliberately advise states to keep the lock downs in place - against Trumps orders. She went rogue. Glad to see her name brought up.
Great adumbration of the cons, scams, hustles conducted by our national and international leaders. While we’re all distracted by the far-away, the mayors and councilmen of our towns and villages continue to refine their own methods of defrauding the populace.
CORRECTAMUNDO- it's known as Property Tax which is far and away the worst of all possible taxes.
First of all- it's a tax on unrealized Gain. Say you bought a house back in the 1980s for $150,000. Today, according to the tax assessor, that home is now worth $700,000 as just happened in my NY neighborhood. So the owner is paying school, town, county taxes on the future Selling Price of his home even though he has no intention of moving.
Second- we do not really own our own homes. We pay "rent" to the local government in the form of property taxes. If you don't pay the tax, they will auction off your home to the highest bidder. If I buy a car and pay it off, I don't have to keep paying for it year after year. Why isn't that true for my house??
"If I buy a car and pay it off, I don't have to keep paying for it year after year. Why isn't that true for my house??"
But you do. You pay annual registration fees for every vehicle you own, regardless of use, and you pay state and federal fuel tax on the gasoline you use. In 2026 average fuel tax across the US is about $0.50 per gallon. More than 135 billion gallons of motor vehicle fuel are consumed each year in the U.S. Even the income, sales, and property tax payments you make may be expended directly or indirectly on maintaining roads and related infrastructure you use to operate your 'paid off' vehicle.
That is not the same thing as being taxed on the assessed value of the house which is, in effect, being taxed on unearned capital gains....if you do not register your car, no one comes to take it from you....you are comparing apples to oranges....the gas tax? Well, that is supposed to go to road repair caused by driving the car. No tax if you don't buy gas and that includes using EV charging stations at the gas stations...at least here in MD, there is no "road tax" on EV chargers...
NY Nanny is absolutely correct...property tax is a tax on unearned capital gains....they will confiscate your house if you do not pay the tax....not only that, they will sell it to the lowest bidder and take all of the money over and above the tax owed and force you into court in order to get the amount of the sale which is more than the tax owed.
In my state (Kansas) the annual registration fee is well over 1% of the value of the car, so on a percentage basis it's up there with real estate property taxes.
There is a big difference in that your car is unlikely to go up value, though.
Interesting….As I recall, in MD the fee is done by weight so that the excuse for EVs not paying a “gas tax” is that they are heavier….the name of the tax should be changed…it should be called a “road maintenance tax” so that not only do EVs pay their fair share but also that 60% of the tax paid does not go to public transportation.
"In 2026 average fuel tax across the US is about $0.50 per gallon." ~ Cassander
Kinda makes it easy to understand why *they want < $4 gas. Not because they give a fuck about US Consumers, but because since the fuel tax is not percentage based, but per gallon, >$4 gas causes demand destruction, reducing fuel tax revenue. At an average of 20MPG, they lose 2.5 cents for every mile NOT driven.
*Tax & spend grifters, regardless of political Party.
Dropping the F-bomb (h/t astera, may she rest in peace), someone has to do it.
You sure do license and registration often as large as thirteenth month payment and add in insurance.
I have said this to countless people over the years. They would congratulate me on paying my mortgage off and saying “ now you own your home free & clear!” I replied that i own my home, but still must pay rent “property taxes”. They looked dumbfounded. As you say NYNanny, it is criminal when one pays $100K for a house & it is now worth $700K & the government wants tax on unrealized gains. And some in Congress want to do the same with investments.
Another goal accomplished through property tax is to drive neighborhoods to become all one social class, and to run people out by increasing values. As an area becomes more desirable, raise the taxes until the current residents can no longer afford to stay.
This is just what is happening where we live in the northern NY suburbs that were until recently majority Red/Republican registered voters. As we old timers are being forced out by the ridiculous property taxes, our houses are being purchased by wealthy NYC Democrat - Commies who don't care how high the taxes are.
These are people coming from the City who pay $30 grand a year for kindergarten in private schools. So if their property taxes up here are $12-20,000 they think it's a bargain. The school district honchos love it because their obscene budgets are passed with no problem.
The property tax is inherently immoral. It denies every last one of us the opportunity to truly own the land upon which we live free and clear from government intrusion or fear of loss. In short, we don't own anything. We are serf working and paying rent to our government lords.
Most people don't understand how much they pay in property taxes because the bank pays them in their behalf from the mortgage escrows. Pretty clever really.
I always demure when Americans brag about their freedom and I tell them to try not paying their property taxes and they will see just how "free" they really are. In my county if you don't pay your property taxes they will fine you daily until you do. If you still do not pay them they will place a lien on your property until the tax and the accrued fines are paid. If you still refuse to pay they will put the property up for tax sale auction and anyone can come buy the very property you worked hard to pay for. The County will then take the proceeds from the tax sale, apply it to the back taxes and turn the property over to the new owner. Right from under your feet.
All of our other freedoms are meaningless if we can't own our own property.
Welcome to America 2.0.
I just had to pay $437 tax on my CAR as well as tax on my house!
Yes, but at least those taxes decrease over time as they recognize the value of the car has decreased. Real estate taxes do the opposite.
Don't give them any ideas!
Imagine you buy a lawnmower and pay the $20 sales tax at Home Depot. A year later Home Depot charges you the $20 sales tax again. They do this every year for 20 years until you bring them a certificate showing that you no longer own the lawnmower … just like the tax on your home. But the tax on your home goes up 7% every year and doubles every 10 years. The home taxes exceed the home price after 25 years.
Very true. Even my lowly and insignificant HOA has managed to refine the fraud. The President of this HOA (which manages 5000 homes), just anounced that $2 million is missing from the budget.
Of course the missing money has nothing to do with his cash purchase of new Land Rovers for he and his wife and a lavish vacation to Hawaii.
Yesterday the Board of Directors announced that the HOA would be going paperless and all communication would be thru an Ai chat bot. Probably a good idea since some residents are beginning to question the missing $2 million. LOL
Corruption and grift permeate every level of our vaunted self centered society of "get gain" or "get more." From the Hallowed Halls of Congress down to our local churches and school boards individuals seek to pad their pockets with the filthy unearned lucre of this planet. They take what they want without regard to how it impacts their fellow men. This system we humans have created is a failed system at best. There has to be a better way to transact the affairs of man that does not involve money.
Until humans evolve past their greed and lust for money and the acquisition of "things" we as a species have reached our apex. The dinosaurs had millions of years on this planet. Will humanity? I doubt it.
You sound like total libtard here Cankerpuss , bemoaning the reality of human nature , and suggesting there is some evolved workaround to it that only the truly enlightened ,such as yourself, have the recipe for , and if only we would all defer to your superior level of enlightenment we could usher in the new Utopia , Cankerpuss's Utopia to be precise of course .
But then on the other hand you ain't all wrong in some of it .
My take on it is that most of our problems have actually stemmed from the Do gooders and their 'solutions' cuz as someone a heck of a lot smarter than I opined , there really are no solutions to problems , only trade offs . Their ain't a dang thing wrong with people goin bout there lives trying to better themselves and their prospects , so long as they don't exploit others in the process ( the Golden Rule ) , any imposed 'system ' to correct what is natural about human nature is ultimately authoritarian , its why libtards are statists in their hearts . Most of the trouble has been caused by this State imposed 'solution or that State imposed ' reach around "by a bunch of unrelenting moral busy body Doo gooders ( libtards ) .
In conclusion , I'm more of a caveat emptor kinda guy , it keeps everyone focused if you know what I mean , as opposed to farming out the responsibility to some system beyond what was enumerated in the Magna Carta , and the US Constitution . I think it was Stalin who offered that THE STATE would 'release people from the chimera ' of moral conscience , abdicating it to the functions of some technocratic state authority . Bastiat was like : well ain't the folks running the gears of said omnipotent state made from the same flawed stuff as we are ? Or do you suppose they are angels from heaven . No solutions , only trade offs bud, those oracles of the system will take you to the cleaners in the process of indulging their own economic incentives just as surely as the creator of the optigrab ( The Jerk)did , only you ain't free to decline what they are selling once they put the arbitrary force of the State behind what they are peddling via regulation legislation and mandate it becomes ' the law of some men ' in conflict with ' Natural Law ' that is self evident .
I know , I know , your little screed made you feel virtuous .In a seemingly unrelated , Do electric vehicles have virtue signals that go along with the usual turn signals that accompany regular internal combustion ( self actuated ) vehicles ? Don't take it too personal , I'm just a crappy writer trying to pretend like I'm something else , as a kind of show of admiration to folks like Kunstler who actually do possess a gift for it .
"You sound like total libtard here Cankerpuss"
That is one of the worst insults anyone could throw at me on the CFN. I consider myself to be quite conservative on many many things. No need to resort to such insults.
The love of money is the root of all evil. It is. Wars are fought over money. Crime is committed over money. People take advantage of their fellow man because of their desire to get gain. Families are destroyed because of argument over money. Money is the reason we have poverty. Money causes social stratifications. Money destroys governments and imprisons its people.
I'll admit I am a dreamer and a thinker. I pine for a better world and a better way of doing things. What's so wrong with hoping for a better way of doing things than what we have? Admittedly, I am not smart enough to come up with that. Someone much smarter will need to do that.
Humanity has the capability of improving itself and becoming more than it currently is. It would be my hope that we as a species could do that rather than just accepting that money is the only option we have and it is just the way we are. If we do that we are no better than the dogs who are content to lick their own asses and never improve.
That fault was in us when we climbed down from the trees, Cankerpuss, long before the first mud brick was laid in 11,000-year-old Jericho.
Capital centralizes - to an extraordinary degree. The Left arises to combat this this tendency so that the rest of us can live as free men or live at all.
The trick is to keep the tie in the middle of the tug of war. Victory by either side spells slavery and death.
Cank dreams of a new type of man. National Socialist man or conversely, real Christians. A higher middle IS the only real solution.
Your dream in reality is that of the Iron Lady: Society doesn't exist. Government merely exists as the enforcer of contracts between individuals. But why should they be fair in so doing? And what, pray tell, is in an individual? Very few get rich all by themselves, right?
Fair enough critique Lugh ,I'm actually a total sweet spot guy myself, I actually rant about it all the time . Everything has that just right quantity to it where less is not enough and more is too much and achieving that balance is my philosophical sweet spot there we shoulda just left well enough alone but of course we never do . I will say however that I did hint at something that facilitates that higher middle approach , The Golden Rule , Universally Prefferred Behavior , Natural Law , The Non Aggression Principle, The Tao ,,,,,, whatever , but the thing about this is that it cannot be collectively imbued or mandated by some systemic central authority , it can only be individually worked out , like salvation or redemption , we gotta work it out and own it one soul at a time .
As for that tug a war , we did give government an antitrust capacity to act within , instead they just got bought off by the monopolies . Why ? because its natural to want to secure advantage for yourself and easy enough to rationalize away within such a complex labrynth of systems and vast supply lines ( they had NO IDEA how that sausage actually got made because it happens so distant from their compartment within the complex labyrinth of compartmentalized incentive bubbles )that that advantage that you have secured for yourself came at someone elses expense and therefore broke all those aforementioned principles I rattled off ( they are all essentially the same principle to me ) .
No, it can be taught. As Plotinus said, the perfect statue exists inside the block, it must needs only be freed of the rocky dross. Yes, ultimately the person themselves must do the chipping, turning the rough stone into smoothed stone. There one will find one's true nature, the uncarved block. Each tradition* saying the same thing, but using the block in different ways.
BUT, if everyone is taught then a social standard can be established AND enforced. If you don't want to do the inner work fine, but you better be ready to break a sweat into faking it, especially in the presence of Armed Citizens investigating your business for its social utility.
Fascism and National Socialism don't seize property but they guide, enforce, and punish. If you don't want to serve, fine. Take your winnings and go while you still can. That must be the attitude. As Pinochet said in his bluff way: Of course one treats people who can do and make things very well. There is no need for unpleasantness, but the People must be ready to get very unpleasant with evil Capitalists and Communists as well. As you know (do you?), they are one system, head and tails with the Capitalists funding the latter. Why? I know, but do you?
*Platonism, Masonry, Zen Buddhism
A HOA per se isn't a totally horrible idea (just mostly), but watch out if the members exceed 200 and the board has another board above it, or some such nonsense. You need to know each other for real accountability.
What do you call a gaggle of Karens? An HOA.
Beth - HOA's of any stripe are simply a 4th level of government - Federal, State, Local, HOA. The Board members are the old high school Student Government, has beens, used to be's and never was's, operating under the same MO as all the higher levels.
Collect dues (taxes), decide ridiculous ways to spend them. We need to redo the pool area landscaping. We have selected a contractor (a Board member's brother-n-law). They are not stupid. People who choose to live under a 4th level of government are.
Yes, well, personally, I would never consider buying a house subject to some group of Karens telling me whether or not I could have a vegetable garden or put a box fan in my window. I will have all the davenports on my porch that I damn well please.
Beth - you and I are about the same age, but *davenport*, I haven't heard forever. By a show of hands, how many CFN denizens know what a davenport is, without looking it up?
My mom told me what it was.
Isn't it a city in Iowa?
Allow me to boast for a moment:
7 years ago I worked hard to get my section of the subdivision out of the HOA by debunking the myth that the HOA protects home values. A neighbor sold their house the other day for a record $1.6 million. 30% higher than any comparable house ever sold for in the section that is still under HOA control.
Monotony, dull uniformity and lack of cheerful colors is the result of families losing heart and energy when living in a highly restricted environment. The result is that the home values in an HOA only retain their value in relation to each other — but not in relation to other neighborhoods where upgrades occur spontaneously and energetically without “Karen’s” authorization.
Excellent, Bill. Good for you, and your neighbors. Agree 100%. You could make bank, on duplicating your efforts in some organized way. Charge a one-time, fair fee, and you'd be off to the races. It's a high value proposition, Owners opting for a one-time fee that forestalls all the never-ending monthly fees.
Shooting from the hip, a one-time fee, equivalent to a year's fees, doesn't seem unreasonable. HOA fees at the low end of $500/month, makes $6K per house @ 100 houses. There you go. Fairly priced win-win. Hard to argue against it. Hire some of Elysianfield's strippers, from our Bringing Reno Project, to do sales and marketing.
I'd definitely demand an audit.
"...would allow Iran the possibility of becoming, once more, a normal advanced industrial modern nation..."
You funny guy, GI.
Maybe when all the mullahs are down there with Satan (where they belong), Iran can become normal.
Until then, they remain a gang of thugs.
I am very disappointed in Donald Trump. He promised that if elected he would ensure we had cheap gasoline, low inflation, and no foreign wars. He has delivered just the opposite, and the war is now in its 10th week. 61 percent of those polled oppose our war in Iran, similar to the opposition for our war in Iraq, and to the Vietnam war. Trump's approval rating is deep in negative territory, and Republican prospects in the mid-terms look ever more gloomy. Trump gambled his presidency on this war with Iran, and it has proven to be a losing proposition.
C’mon, “he has promised”, don’t you think that much of the problems you mention might have something to do with lunatics in Iran? Trump also promised that Iran will never have a nuke and is delivering on that promise.
Gee, let me think about that. Before Trump went to war with Iran, gas was $2.50 a gallon and falling, inflation was low, and the economy was making a recovery. Trump was popular, and things were looking good for the Republican Party in the mid terms. Now gas is well over $4.10 a gallon, inflation has made a big comeback, and the economy is doing poorly. The war drags on, into its 10th week. Trump's initial talk of "regime change" and "unconditional surrender" sounds delusional now. So, no, I don't think that anyone in Iran caused any of this to happen: The POTUS caused this to happen by deciding to go to war.
You miss the point.
Trump made a promise to stop Iran from developing a nuke, first by B2 bombing the nuke sites, and now by destroying most of their delivery systems. He wants the nuke material and will destroy Iran’s military to get it.
I believe that not allowing a group of religious death-sect lunatics to have nuclear weapons is much more important than paying more for gasoline for a short while and worrying about a .5% increase in inflation due to oil.
Trump is going to kick ass in November, the polls, a Lefty-Left tool, means nothing. Right now, SCOTUS just drove a stake into the racist methods of assigning political districts. We shall see.
As an aside, I saw a graphic of what the congressional map would look like were all districts designed to be as compact as possible without those districts snaking 150 miles through a dozen counties from Rockford on the Wisconsin border to the Quad Cities on the Iowa border and over and down to Peoria in Central Illinois as Erik Sorenson's (D-IL) does. With a computer generated map of districts the Dems would lose 90 seats. There are those who claim with some justification that the country is actual 2-1 non-Democrat and the "50/50 nation" saw comes from gerrymandering up the ying yang as well as outright fraud via a dozen schemes from voting machines to mail in fraud and good old ballot stuffing in their corrupt strongholds.
I absolutely hope you are right. It is weird that 20% of the population can overwhelm the majority.
Look at what happened in CT where there are over 30% registered Repubs who have zero representation in Congress.
Weird is a very gentle way of putting it!!! 😂🙄
The election results are not weird, if you think of them in terms of "selections". Which they certainly appear to be.
The old WMD lie again. Iran has been "on the cusp" of developing nuclear weapons every year since the mid 1980s. Our noble leaders must have figured they could reuse this tired old excuse for starting an illegal war since it's 25 years since they last used it to justify the Iraq invasion. I suppose we should be thankful that Trump chose to just go with the lie instead of blowing up a building with 3,000 people in it first in order to justify his war on behalf of Israel.
As far as I can tell this war is covid part II. Soon there will be petro-lockdowns, smart cities, more digital surveillance, rampant inflation and economic collapse - all justified by the war which of course was started precisely in order to justify such measures.
It's hard to sift the truth from the lies, but I think your comment is the most likely of many possibilities to be accurate more so than others.
If nothing else, Trump is blowing smoke on describing any policy with this Iran Project as "humanitarian". Killing the leader of a country on Day 1 of a "police action" is not humanitarian, even if justified, and will not be forgotten any time soon by your average Joe on the street. Or whatever the Persian equivalent to Joe might be. Nor will it be forgotten by those that believe in International Laws. Until proven otherwise, Trump's Tarbaby in Iran is a distraction from other Uuuge problems.
As for the ongoing predictions of bringing the guilty "Lefties" to justice in the courtrooms of the U.S., I think we're past that point now. I hope not, but I see one or two high profile convictions being the spark that triggers a Civil War. Which of course, may be the exact goal of the Puppet Masters controlling the narrative. But like Yogi said, "Predictions are difficult, especially about the future."
The only way to beat them is to nuke them. And Pakistan has promised to deliver a nuke or two to Iran so they can pay them back in kind. Russia could do it more easily so maybe they will give them one or just nuke Israel themselves.
Yes. The lefty righty thing is a punch and judy show for sure. The 33 club, or whatever you want to call them, spans both sides of the aisle.
And you are also correct to bring up Yogi's observation. I know approximately what's going on and who's behind it. But it's like a detective tracking a serial killer in a movie - just because I've figured some stuff out doesn't mean I can be sure exactly when the killer will strike next, nor who the next victim will be. I'm just making my best prediction.
Excellent commentary. Thank you John AZ.
Religious death-sect lunatics? Then we should bomb Israel too.
The US has achieved zero of its stated goals in trying to prosecute Netanyahu's war. In the meantime Iran, playing rope-a-dope while we destroy our own economy and that of our allies, has relinquished none of its original terms for ending the war.
Trump is desperate for an off-ramp, and there isn't one.
Let’s see, stock market up, unemployment doing well, a .5% uptick in inflation, and all the lunatics busy working for Soros. Things look pretty good right now.
He does need an off-ramp. Iran is going to collapse when their wells stop pumping.
I missed the part where Trump stated his goals for bombing Iran were to raise the stock market and employment. As for inflation. Talk to any shopper and ask them about inflation.
C’mon, I am a shopper and yes prices have increased starting in 2021. You remember, don’t you? That is when Biden’s mobs answer to Covid was flood the fiat money market place. The low remaining inflation today is an hangover from that idiocy.
Trump’s goal for the “war” is to stop the “missiling” of Israel and to destroy the high grade uranium in Iran. Period. Until the latter is successful, Iran will be enjoying the company of the US Navy.
My goal? Eradication of the religious regime in Iran, establishment of a monarchial republic representing the people and freedom of religion. I doubt that happens but it would make Iran a good neighbor in the Gulf instead of the asshole it is now.
Yes, the lemmings are still inflating the stock market bubble. As for inflation and employment, you must be living in a remote cave. Be that as it may, you will see soon enough how foolish your delusions are.
There's ALWAYS an off ramp, but it usually means swallowing some pride.
Trump would sooner swallow a bison than his pride. Harder still will be for him ultimately to admit that he failed to win the war.
We disagree here, I do not believe Trump is fighting the war any more, that Vietnamization, or politicizing of the war has started. He took it to the point of requiring massive losses of GIs and Iranians, and backed off. So now we get to listen to both sides playing chicken with each other. How he gets the uranium out of Iran remains a mystery. Iranian lunatics will have to be on a guillotine before they will give it up. So wait and see. IMO, Trump will lose it all if the Iranians win the chess game.
There's always an off ramp. But when you are a bully whose income is predicated mostly on your ability to collect tribute from everyone else on the basis that you could beat them senseless if they didn't pay, then losing a fight tends to cost rather more than pride.
Let’s see, taking tribute from the conquered when you conquer them, or covert them, or kill them. Right out of the Quran.
One more, or enslave them. Is it disturbing to you that most of the slaves sold in Africa to European ships were sold by Islamic warlords?
I hope Trump has the guts to shove Iran’s rhetoric right down their throats.
Delayed gratification must be a foreign concept to you. Do you also live paycheck to paycheck?
"Trump also promised that Iran will never have a nuke and is delivering on that promise."
John,
Well, the HMWBIC also made the same suggestion.
???
Head Mullah What Be In Charge....
Would you please cry just a little bit harder?
It is so much fun reading such whiny-weak complaints.
Dear Thomas, I am so sorry you have the "sads"
Democrats will not allow "Donald Trump" to have any success.... ever.
They are more than half of the barrier with their antics at destroying the country
Hmmm, let’s see:
The GOP controls the White House.
The GOP controls the House, and the Senate.
The GOP controls a majority of the state governorships.
The GOP controls the Supreme Court.
The GOP controls Fox News, most talk radio, and the bulk of the MSM.
But somehow all of our country’s problems this year are the fault of Democrats??
Do you folks even listen to yourselves when you speak??.
who gave you this information? npr? cnn?
So what is it then? The left is having a temper tantrum? I do not think it is about control. I believe it is more so that the left is deranged, their screaming and shooting and pointing is making most people want to stay away from them.
They are liars, thieves, murderers, and insular
It’s called math, Rosemary.
Count the number of today’s presidents, senators, representatives, governors and SCOTUS judges who are Republicans, and how many are Democrats, and get back to me with the larger of those two numbers.
I realize math is not a strong suit of MAGAts. Trump says he lowered prescription drug prices by an impossible 600%, and MAGAts just nod and say “thank you sir!”
Oh, okay, so basically democrats destroy everything that makes them unhappy, like perceived outnumbers?
Democrats destroy everything they hate. They tear down history, they ruin lives, they are responsible for most of the crimes and theft, and the degeneration of society, fatherless homes, confused children, blue haired women, and pretty much general unhappiness with everything they can't attain for free
Stay tuned. The road of history is a long one and this is but a millisecond.
This is the Fourth War the US has launched in the Middle East since 1991. The last three didn't work out well for the US, and so far this one isn't working out either. One definition of insanity is doing the same idiotic thing over and over again, while expecting a different result.
"The last three didn't work out well for the US" Hmmm.
1) Desert Storm. The operation to free Kuwait from the Iraqi Invasion. They were freed. And Kuwait remains a loyal, if a little quirky, ally.
2) Iraqi Freedom. The operation to rid Iraq of a crazed dictator and his sons in order to allow the Iraqis to join a stable GCC. Not a clean success, but effective. While not like the US, Iraq remains a neutral ally in their own mold that DOES NOT threaten their neighbors.
3) Enduring Freedom. The first invasion following 9/11 meant to smash the terrorist refuge and find/kill Bin Ladin. Achieved most of the original goals but got bogged down in the mission creep into civilizing of aboriginal tribes. That has never worked out for the US.
4) Epic Fury. Crush the mullahcracy and rid Iran of their nuclear weapons capability and assuage their desire to gain it. So far so good, actually. After weeding out the chest pumping of Trump and Hegseth you get an Iranian autocracy that has been decapitated and mostly defanged - yes, their bench is deep but, it's not the same team. You also get a radical replacement regime considered a pariah by their neighbors. That matters A LOT. Both religious and cultural dynamics are in play right now in the Middle East (similar to Iraq's comeuppance) that the US will never understand. Odds favor a peaceful Gulf region.
So, the US didn't do the "same idiotic thing over and over again...." It did what was determined to be the best choice in a dynamic, chaotic, and dangerous situation. Just like all violent diplomacy, for ever.
NOTE: Don't confuse my expose' of your failed and emotional vitriol with my support or opposition of any or all of these recent endeavors in the region. I just have a hard NOT chasing people around the stupid tree.
All the previous wars had Iran in the back ground playing games with proxy groups both Shiite and Sunni. Had they dealt with Iran forty years ago the Iraq and Syria wars would have wound down a lot sooner wth far less loss of life all around.
The Iraq war was clearly a bad mistake. Like one wag put it, and I paraphrase, ‘The President clearly can’t spell - it’s an “n,” not a “q.”’ IRAN
Let me get this right. . .you think our first war with Iraq was a roaring success, so that's why the Bush family and others lamented that we didn't finish the job, and had a second war there? And you think the search for mysterious WMD's in Iran--that did not exist, outside of W. Bush's imagination--was a success. Gee, that's funny, even Jeb Bush had to admit that the war was a mistake in his failed bid for the 2016 Republican nomination. Even W. Bush himself has said that the decision to invade Iraq was based on "flawed intelligence". We lost 4,500 military personnel in that failed war, and we STILL have boots on the ground in Iraq to this day. As to Afghanistan, we were there for 20 long years, fled in shame in the middle of the night, and accomplished NOTHING. The Taliban took the country back over the very next morning, and we left them a huge cache of weapons. Three failed wars in the Middle East, and Trump launched a fourth one. Sheer brilliance.
You discredit your banal cliche, "same idiotic thing over and over again...." in your response. That's your narrative you tell yourself as if you're lip-synching a tatted and pierced protestor on the Mall. I provided clear, reasoned analysis of the actual facts. It's your tree, keep running. And, read more.
Donald Trump has consistently described the 2003 invasion of Iraq as a major foreign policy failure, often calling it a "big, fat mistake" and the "worst decision ever made."
They found them and hundreds of tons of dual use precursor ingredients. None means none and some were admitted to being found. While also losing tons of Semtex high explosives sent back in the form of ied.
Be careful TM. The war humpers are thick on the CFN blog.
What I find interesting is the war humpers like JohnAZ and David Penny don't give a seconds thought the the trillions of dollars these little wars and foreign excursions have cost the USA. What they don't understand is that to fund these wars the printing presses have to run and when the printing presses have to run the dollar loses its purchasing power and when the purchasing power of the dollar goes down so goes our way of life.
I supposed if you are an old retired dude at the end of the their long lives things like rampant inflation don't mean much to them. So they don't they don't truly consider the impacts of these little wars on the homeland and the people here at home.
Well Puss, I'm not a war humper. I have never stated on CFN that I was in favor on any military intervention - nor against. All I do is counter the shallow mimicry of the deluded minions here such as you.
As for the 'trillions of dollars wasted on wars' reposte far too often pasted on this site, I have two rebuttals. First, the trillions of dollars of fiat currency distributed as "entitlements" that are actually enslavement far overshadow those spent pursuing "diplomacy by other means." Second, there is not an honest way to calculate the ROI of these foreign exploits without laying in confabulated assumptions. Yet, I aver the second is the wiser investment of the two.
I'm of the opinion that generating a world were security is assured within and between states is the only road to universal freedom and prosperity.
I am not any more one of the "deluded minions" as you are my friend. I have an opinion and my opinion is based only upon what I am permitted to read and hear. Just like you.
My war humper comment was in response to your post where you definitely posit the position of being a war humper. If you are not, then I apologize for that insinuation. Again, the comment definitely puts you in the position of being very much in favor of the USA's illegal wars throughout the world. If I misinterpreted, that is on me.
"I'm of the opinion that generating a world were security is assured within and between states is the only road to universal freedom and prosperity."
I think this comment has merit. It would be nice to live in a world where security is assured between the states. But, let me ask you this. Is the world a secure place after the trillions of dollars the USA has spent being the world's police department? Wars and rumors of wars abound. Seems to me the security we all desire doesn't exist in spite of all the wars the USA engages in. And don't use the quip "imagine a world if the USA wasn't involved." There is no way to judge that. All we can judge is the state of the world as it is and, frankly speaking, the current state of the world isn't all that great.
Is the world a secure place after the trillions of dollars the USA has spent being the world's police department? Yes. Determined through firsthand observation. Example: When I was discussing the future of passenger air travel in FRY with the President of Bosna Airlines back in '96 he said, "No worries, when you're gone we'll kill them all."
Sorry Tom, my response was meant for Tom the Lesser (Thomas Madden). My bad!
Here is the giant piece of logic that every Doomer, Leftist, RINO, and cowardly dork misses: President Trump had NOTHING to gain politically from ordering military action against the IRGC in Iran. Which begs the question of why he did it. Use Occam's Razor here, morons: it was because the President had irrefutable evidence that Iran was very near to having the ability to both produce nuclear weapons, and the means to attack other countries in the Mideast, Europe, and even possibly the United States with them. Dorks just purposely ignore the fact that members of the IRGC also clearly stated that intent publicly.
Of course, leftist dorks continue to bleat (in unison, with the exact same phrases) that Trump "started" the war with Iran to distract America from his "disastrous" policies in the U.S. The only "disastrous" policies that Trump was conducting was to flush out all of the corruption, sedition, treason, crime, and even murder being encouraged, supported, perpetrated, and even directly being committed by the Democrats. Trump's policies were "disastrous", alright, for the Democrat Socialist dictator-wannabes trying desperately to destroy the American Republic. No wonder so many Democrat traitors against America openly support Iran.
One final note: President Trump is still playing 4D chess. He declared hostilities "over" in Iran. The IRGC, being the dumbfucks that they are in addition to being profoundly evil, fired "warning" shots at foreign and U.S. vessels operating in International Waters. Congratulations, IRGC dumbfucks, you just reset the War Powers Act clock. President Trump now has ANOTHER 60 days to absolutely pound the hell out of you. If IRGC had any decency or compassion for its own citizens, it would unconditionally surrender right now. They likely don't, so now the whole of Iran may pay a horrific price. And the result--in a few months at most, fuel prices in the U.S will be back down to early 2026 levels, and Iran as a country will be wrecked for at least 1-3 generations.
Excellent commentary, very much appreciated. It has been my experience that TAW. (Trump Always Wins).
"To say that Thomas Madden is a moron would be an insult to morons. "
You're not doing yourself any favors with comments and insults like this, F4C.
OK, so maybe I went "over the top" with that. I'll just say that his opinion is horribly misguided and misinformed.
Tulsi Gabbard: Iran isn't working on a nuclear weapon.
Trump: I don't care what she thinks.
Obviously, things may have changed. They need to get some nukes now in order to protect themselves. Nobody cared that they didn't have any before. But they'll fucking care when they DO have a few. Poor little Israel on that day.
Allah/Vishnu will come as death, with the brightness of a thousand suns.
Whenever someone starts hurling insults, you know they have lost the argument. I will look forward to hearing from you in week 11 of this war, and then week 12: I wonder what the price of a gallon of gasoline will be by then?
Other than calling some of the commenters morons, he is pretty much on target...I too am pretty concerned about the short term outlook of many of the commenters on this and other Substacks to which I subscribe. Trump had discussed Iran years ago...nothing changed....Trump thinks long term....most people do not...they think about today...
Alright then! He was lying about staying out of War in the Middle East - which is why the best part of his base voted for him. If you don't remember any of that, consult with your physician about memory loss.
I have neither a physician nor memory loss. Sorry...I suspect that researching his precise words might prove futile...too subjective a subject...either you trust Trump or you don't....you do not have to agree....none of us has access to behind the scenes info....so, stick with your short-term view of world events, if it makes you happy.
Yeah, it all comes down to faith, right? It's not like you can look up his old speeches or anything.
"Sorry...I suspect that researching his precise words might prove futile...too subjective a subject...either you trust Trump or you don't [...]'
So we're talking about a religion, then. OK.
The “irrefutable evidence” Trump had was refuted by every one of his own eighteen or so intelligence agencies. So consider the quote nonsensical.
You are witnessing belief perseverance on steroids from the diminishing number of Trump acolytes.
Cannibals want a cannibal king. Trump has his image to protect, and that means doing what Israel tells him to do.
What worries me about Iran is that they are not rational actors. Like suicide bombers, they cheer for their own death. I wish more Americans would read up on the Twelfth Imam eschatology that Iran's religious leaders (and who knows how many millions of its ordinary people) believe in and are willing to die for. They actually WANT World War III and global chaos, even if it means the total destruction of their own country. We are not talking about normal people with a normal survival instinct. How do you negotiate with people who WANT to be annihilated?
The greatest weakness in our State Department and Foreign Service and intelligence agencies is that most of them pretend that religion does not exist, and they have zero understanding of religious people of any sort, anywhere in the world. So, because they personally cannot imagine dying for their faith, they are stubbornly blind to all the people in the world -- Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, etc. -- who ARE willing to die for their faith. Hence, our "foreign policy establishment" is forever being caught off guard by events.
The fall of the Berlin Wall that "nobody saw coming"? Christians in Romania, Czechoslovakia and other countries did. Read Chuck Colson's book "The Body." It was a religious -- specifically, Christian -- revolution. Our foreign policy gurus only failed to see it coming because religious motivation for ANYTHING is not even on their radar screen.
So... even though I don't believe in all the Twelfth Imam stuff, I can acknowledge that there are millions of people in Iran who DO believe in it. And it makes this whole situation much more complicated than either Left or Right in this country are capable of admitting.
1. Iran has no nuke. They've been two weeks away from getting a nuke for 30 fucking years. Iran isn't going to get a nuke.
2. Iran has no military might. Iran hasn't invaded another nation for 200+ years. Hell, Iran had its hands full with Saddam Hussein and Iraq during their wars.
3. Iran has no navy. No possible way of shipping their troops to the USA to invade, harass or otherwise molest the USA.
4. All of the harassment forced upon the USA happens within Iran's spheres of influence near its borders and beaches.
5. Iran is a poverty stricken nation with a poor economy. Years of sanctions will do this.
6. Iran hasn't the water to satisfy the needs of its cities. 6 months ago they were contemplating evacuating Tehran, a city of multiple millions.
7. Iran has not committed a terrorist act on the soil of the US 50.
You people have created a boogie man out of Iran. Do you lay awake at night chewing your bottom lip raw that some Iranian is going to jump through your window and pee on you? Seriously. Where does this fear of Iran come from?
I've met a few Iranians in my days. They were decent people who loved their opportunities given to them here in America. They spoke better English than I do. Can't say the same thing for our Mexican friends over running our cities. Just saying...
The Hidden Imam has ordered the gnomes and the jinn to produce as many weapons as possible. He oversees their work in vast underground caverns.
War makes some people a lot of money. Is that cause enough in your little world? Justifying the war is just the Carnies duping the little guys, the rubes, the suckers.
Try some different channels. Tel Aviv lies in ruins. Iran has taken all of our bases and controls the Persian Gulf.
I’m not tired of winning yet. The only thing worse than being a loser is having the mentality of a loser when you’re winning.
Was the Orthodox Jew who attacked a nun in Jerusalem a winner? He won the fight, right?
As if the world is not a highly dynamic environment? Trump weighed the LATEST, up-to-date intelligence and decided he had to act. It was now or never.
So far as gas going up $1, this is petty bullshit and I'm tired of hearing whiners bitch about it. This is a temporary situation, and IMHO, is quite preferable to reading that Iran has tested their very first nuke. And did you know that gas was $1 higher than now when Barrack O'Biden was "President?" And that rise in price was not to support a war effort, but just because Joey Bag 'o Donuts didn't like you driving around in a gas engine car.
yes, I was paying a few pennies short of $5 - and eventually over $5 in 2013. I remember it very well.
We've grown accustomed to higher fuel prices. Unfortunately.
"So far as gas going up $1, this is petty bullshit"
May not be bullshit to you as you may have sufficient means to absorb this increase. But for young people with a $2300 monthly mortgage payment, car payments, children to feed, that $1 increase is not so easy to absorb.
Try to consider that not everyone is in the same financial circumstances as you are.
Take the bus, carpool, bicycle. Those are socialist-approved means of transportation. The struggling young leftists should be enamored with these alternate means.
"Take the bus." Not an not helpful where there aren't bus services.
"Carpool." Works well if you have co-workers that live nearby but otherwise doesn't work.
"Bicycle." Depends upon how far away from work you live. A daily 25 mile one bike ride isn't feasible for most 40 hour week workers.
Stop being so obtuse. Not everyone is in the same circumstance as you are. My guess is you are probably retired, don't drive much, so you don't give a damn about what others are dealing with. Try to empathize with others.
I've had much tougher poverty in my life than just having to deal with a $1 gas increase. I learned how to make do with almost nothing...instead of resorting to excuses like you do.
Your TDS is showing - and I've basically had enough of your constant bullshit every Monday and Friday.
I buy the ethanol free 88 grade for my vehicles (ethanol contains water which in turn harms the engines). In Utah (we get our gasoline from refineries in Wyoming and Alberta, not from the Middle East) ethanol free 88 grade is nearly $5.00 a gallon. The cheap 85 grade is $4.39 per gallon. If these prices don't come down the average voter isn't going to care about Iran's nukes. They are going to care about their ability to fill their tanks and buy the more expensive food now that diesel costs well above $5.00 per gallon and truck drivers need to drop over $1,000 each time they fill up their big rigs. They don't eat this cost, they roll it over to their customers which are, in the long run, US.
Debating with JohnAZ over this matter is a futile endeavor. I tried and he is pretty set in his views on this. I don't fault him for his views but I am staunchly opposed to him on this matter.
Trump, for all intents and purposes, seems to be torpedoing his own presidency and I predict he will spend the last two years of his lame duck presidency fighting back impeachment charges. That being said, I hope I am wrong. I really do. Trump, although flawed and in many ways a failure, is the best person we have.
"Trump, for all intents and purposes, seems to be torpedoing his own presidency and I predict he will spend the last two years of his lame duck presidency fighting back impeachment charges." Exactly. Going to war is always a big, risky gamble. We had a very wise president, long ago, named Abraham Lincoln who worked hard to avoid a war. Ultimately his efforts failed, and his cause was just, so he fought even harder to win that war. We had presidents who waited, and calculated risk before getting the US involved in either WW1 or WW2. Then, at some point, we lost our way, and started unilaterally getting into wars that were unnecessary, wars that we didn't win, and wars that hurt our country. Wars in Vietnam, in Iraq, in Afghanistan. . .and we seem incapable of learning from our mistakes. I ask those who support this, the Fourth War we have launched in the Middle East since 1991, if it ends with without great calamity, will you support the fifth one, a few years down the line? And the sixth one after that? At some point this foolish, expensive, very risky behavior by the US needs to stop.
I support your post until you got to Abraham Lincoln the tyrant. He didn't work hard to avoid a war. He signed the Morrill tariff into law, caused the south the secede over the tariff and then unleashed his diabolical demonic generals into the south to make war on women, children and farm animals. Abraham Lincoln over threw the Constitution of 1788 and forever changed the USA from a "union of sovereign states" to a massive federal leviathan with smaller administrative districts. The USA died because of Lincoln and his war of aggression over the southern states.
So, yes, at some point the USA died and became a war aggressive nation. It began during the Civil War under Lincoln and was culminated under Woodrow Wilson and the advent of the Fed, income tax and the changing of the US Senate to a glorified House of Representatives. Once the USA got into WWI for no apparent reason the war mongering never ceased.
I do agree with the last half of your post.
It is nice to see that people can have a civil exchange of views online, and things don't always have to descend into hurling insults.
Yeah, a dissenting opinion on this blog is often interpreted as "trollish" behavior. Especially among the war-humpers.
Keep up the good work. You are not one of the "group thinkers" and that is a good thing.
Here's a different perspective:
Currently Iranian oil is "sanctioned" with China basically being the only buyer on the "down-low." Because it is sanctioned, China is paying "pennies on the dollar" rather than market price. ( surprised other didn't do that, personally)
Market price is determined by product availability.
Should Iranian oil no longer be sanctioned but sold freely at market price, two things happen. The nation begins to have greater income for the people and the base price of oil diminishes.
The base price going down sets a long term floor price for the entire world.
When this is attained, Americans will not just be happy for sustained affordable energy but that another nation's people, who had lost their liberties to Authoritarians in the Name of God, will get them back and create the natio they desire.
Sometimes pesky things like nuclear jihad get in the way, to be sure.
Nuclear jihad? The only country to have ever launched any nukes against another nation is the USA. So what do you mean "nuclear jihad?" Are you talking about the potential for a nuclear jihad if Iran were ever to get nukes?
Pakistan is an islamic nation. They have nukes. Why is the USA not bombing Islamabad and Karachi?
"Pakistan is an islamic nation. They have nukes. Why is the USA not bombing Islamabad and Karachi?"
Maybe because Pakistan leadership does not go around proclaiming "death to America"?
TX - "Maybe because Pakistan leadership does not go around proclaiming "death to America"?"
May I add, they also don't support and fund Hamas, Hezbollah and others in effort to eliminate the tiny country of Israel.
Are you sure of this? Wasn't Pakistan permitting Osama Bin Laden to hide out there?
I can say that Iran was far and away the chief sponsor of these terrorist proxies. We’ve had enough of all of them.
You ever hear the child hood mantra of "sticks and stones might break my bones but words will never hurt me?"
So you have a bunch of people in dirty night shirts proclaiming their dislike for the USA. So what. Iran doesn't have the capability to do any harm to the USA. I'm talking about the 50 states, not the many bases scattered in close proximity to Iran's borders.
Yet Pakistan does. If the impetus of this war is to de-nuke Iran because of the Islamic jihad potential then one should deduce that Pakistan, a majority Islamic nation, would also hold the same jihad against the infidel tenets as the Iranian Islam.
No, we don't mess around with Pakistan because Pakistan can fight back. Iran is a poverty stricken water starved shit hole. An easy target to beat up on and that helps pad the pockets of the big wigs at Lockheed and Northrup-Grummond. War is all about money. Always has been and always will be.
You go too far. Iran is a very powerful nation, full of engineers being directed by very wise leaders. They planned this war for generations and it shows. But yes, they need to get nuclear weapons asap.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/iran-water-crisis-taps-run-dry-tehran-evacuation-looms-rcna243430
A country that is considering evacuating millions of people due to a lack of water is not a nation that has the resources to destroy the world. Just say....
Iran has been two weeks away from a nuke for about 30 years. LOL
the rapid breakdown of support, for the campaign to take down the mullahs, IF the reporting is factual, reflects the character of a weak non committed people, with no "staying power". they want, in the fashion typical to self obsessed vision-less gimme, gimme, gimme geeks, instant gratification with them needing to contribute nothing or net to nothing. They are, fundamentally, petulant children. From the likes of them, nothing that will be good and will endure, ever comes.
We killed two leftists and collapsed. Iran killed 25,000 and are stronger than ever. They are a real nation. We no longer are.
"Despite winning a congressional majority, Republicans have cut little in spending over the past year. With the few savings they did achieve, they put that money toward offsetting a fraction of the cost of Mr. Trump’s tax cuts, which are still expected to add more than $3 trillion to the debt in the coming years."
Would you rather have an open border and all the other stuff Biden was doing?
Trump knew going into his 2nd administration he had to lay the foundation for the dominance of the US in just 4 short years - maybe just 2 if the Dems get back in in November.
He knew the world, not just the US faces formidable enemies from China to Iran to Russia that threaten our very immediate future, particularly if the Dems ever retake power. He had to do what he’s doing NOW to try to assure that reversing back to the dangerous status quo the world once operated on would be nigh unto impossible for a Democrat party to undo easily.
THAT is ALL part and parcel, if not the essential strategy in his plan to make America not just great again, but a universal force to be reckoned with.
Yes, we may be “suffering” from higher gas prices etc. in the process, but that is temporary, and the long term goal is Peace through Strength. That is a priceless commodity in today’s seriously F’d up world. And a gift for our children and children’s children.
He is putting all his capital on orchestrating one of the most historic global realignments in our nations history. One that will hugely benefit America as the true leader of the world.
And while he’s doing that, his cabinet and DOJ and FBI and a myriad of loyal forces are working day and night to correct and dismantle the plethora of destructive Democrat policies that have been crushing us like DIE, massive fraud, “green” scams, illegal immigration, bloated government, etc. etc.
What we are witnessing in just these first two years being accomplished is nothing short of miraculous and people need to take a beat and stop a moment to try to comprehend how enormous an effort it all is, especially in the face of all the Left’s (and RINOS) effort to obstruct, delay and stop it.
We are winning, and bigly, and this is no time for anyone to go wobbly as we have only just begun the fight.
Stay the course. Keep the faith. And FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT.
Trump’s put his very life on the line for what he’s trying to accomplish. All he needs from us is our support in that effort.
Not yet and far from it.
Another wish list from Jim. I pray it all happens, but do not be surprised if it doesn’t.
I don't swallow black pills.
That would be a major life change.
I’m not tired of winning yet.
I suspect nothing will happen to the guilty until they stand before God. That'll be ugly.
That's kind of the pattern we have become accustomed to in the good ole USA. Politicians and government bureaucrats have become untouchable.
I welcome a change to that pattern. Would love to see this filthy in hand cuffs and perp walked to their prison cell. Or, better yet, people like Fauci and Birx, swinging on the end of a gallows. So, I keep coming back to the CFN to read JHK's offerings of hope of better times and justice to come. Perhaps one day all of this madness will finally break loose. The waiting continues........................
The way things are, any attempt to indict, much less try and convict, any Democrat pol, gov't employee, donor, etc. in DC, NYC or Chicago will be met with a dismissal of chsrges because, well, "die Partei uber alles!"
Mr. Madden --- so Iran did not cause any of this to happen? 50+ years of being the #1 sponsor of terrorism is nothing? Gleefully telling the US they want to exterminate us is nothing. The mullahs are getting exactly what they deserve
Iran is decidedly NOT the world's leading purveyor of terrorism. Not even close. But a lie told often enough to an incurious audience readily assumes the mantle of truth.
Sunni Islam, specifically its Salafi-Jihadist strains (including Wahhabi influences), is responsible for the vast majority of Islamist terrorism worldwide.
Sunni groups like ISIS (Islamic State), al-Qaeda, Taliban, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, and affiliates dominate global terrorism statistics. From 1979–2024, these five alone accounted for over 80% of victims of Islamist attacks. All are Sunni.
Analyses of databases like the Global Terrorism Database and Fondapol reports show tens of thousands of Islamist attacks killing hundreds of thousands, overwhelmingly by Sunni extremists. Sunni terrorism has operated in continuous, high-intensity waves with broad targeting of civilians, "apostates," and other Muslims.
Shia-linked terrorism (e.g., Iranian state agents, Hezbollah) exists but is far more limited—often tied to specific state objectives, discrete campaigns, targeted assassinations, or proxy conflicts (e.g., against Israel or rivals). Shia-linked terrorism shows lower volume of indiscriminate global attacks compared to Sunni Salafi-Jihadists.
Studies (e.g., Brookings/CTC West Point) document this pattern from 1981–2006 onward and it holds in recent Global Terrorism Index reports: ISIS and Sunni jihadist networks in the Sahel, Afghanistan/Pakistan, Somalia, etc., remain the deadliest.
However they classify themselves is unimportant as they all follow the same book, the rules for destruction of society, and they exist to terrorize mostly non-Muslims. That is not exclusive to any one branch. The whole of Islam is despicable in the sight of God.
Maybe you are right but who anointed the USA to be the harbinger of justice throughout the world?
$40 trillion and counting, Ron Neff. These wars have bankrupted the USA. The USA is busted. Broke. The money is gone. The pie has been eaten. Add to that $40 trillion all of the private debt and you are talking over $100 trillion and this doesn't include all of the promised entitlements.
The fact is the USA no longer has the resources to continue the war mongering throughout the globe. The rampant inflation we are experiencing is the proof.
It's well past time to bring the troops home, stop the countless wars, and fix the problems here. If it doesn't happen by choice it will happen by force.
Personally, I am not afraid of Iran. It is a poverty stricken water starved nation with limited military capabilities. They aren't the boogie man to me. They can chant "Death to the USA" all they want. They don't have the ability to bring about the death of the USA and they never will. Now Mexico? That's a different discussion.
The world when they refused to step up and deal with anything including Europes inability to play nice with each other. It is also very clear the biggest issue is rampant fraud from USaid scams.
"The world when they refused to step up"
No they didn't. The US just assumed the role when a vacuum presented itself.
Fact is once the reserve currency status is lost the USA will be forced to shrink back to within its borders and nurse it's own wounds in recovery. Many people on this blog ignore the financial situation of the USA and keep beating the war drums. Even JHK. A big financial reckoning is coming. We cannot afford these foreign wars anymore. The money is gone.
Most of that 39 trillion is turning out to be good old fashioned fraud.
Our government doesn’t keep auditable books by design. DOGE tried to put some discipline into the system and look how it resisted. That means they were well over the target.
This shit has been going on so long It’ll never get reformed. Trump is the ballsyest president I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. My hope for someone balsier is almost nonexistent.
What does that mean, Ben R?
Mr. C----you are correct about the endless wars but......maybe we really need to listen when someone tells us they plan to kill us all, along with the rest of the western world that does not bend its knee to the muslims. Somalia interventions, Balkan interventions, Iraq misadventures and most of the rest are reasons to buy military stocks not save the world. But......Iran is one place that the people running it are really crazy and with nuclear weapons they are a real threat to us. Maybe you do not see it but......mullahs with a death wish is a world that does not end well and better to deal with it now than after New York City is nuked. I also agree that Iran is a poverty stricken place and......that is also because of the mullahs. If Iran did not insist that their ultimate aim is to kill all of us, I would not have an issue. That would be for the citizens of Iran to correct.
Mr. Neff, thank you for the thoughtful and insult free response. I really appreciate it. After dealing with JohnAZ on this matter, your response is most welcome. I understand what you are trying to say. If they claim they are going to kill us we are obligated to do something. I totally understand that perspective and I don't necessarily disagree with it.
Iran has been two weeks away from getting a nuke for 30 years now. Blah Blah Blah. Been hearing this for a long long time.
You ever see the movie "minority report" where they were arresting people and sending them to prison for crimes they were predicted to commit based upon the future seeing ability of some strange twins? I can't help but think the same thing here. Sure, they don't like the USA but then again neither does North Korea or Somalia. Mexico isn't a big fan of the USA either since the USA stole more than 60% of their land after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Chanting "death to America" may sound bad but until they are launching bombs at our coastal cities or setting off a dirty nuke in one of our cities, we can't base a war on people saying stupid things. But, what the hell do I know?
You're probably right, I don't see it all. I know very little and am just a dude with an opinion.
Nobody seems to give a shit about the massive amounts of money and debt we are piling up to fund these wars. While the USA wages war across the world the conditions in the USA itself are crumbling. But, hey, at least we are going to stop Iran from getting that nuke they've been trying to get for 30-40 years.
It's insanity. All of it.
Honestly, the whole argument has grown very tiresome for me so I think I am going to take a break. When JHK starts writing about stuff other than war I might tune again.
Thanks again for your kind, well thought out response.
CP
Don't see how it's possible that Trump WON'T declare a National Emergency, given how much and how deep the fraud/corruption/conspiracy runs. To use overused terminology: "MASSIVE, HISTORIC . . . UNNNNNN-prescidented!"
Of course, coming to terms on the nuclear bomb-making issue would allow Iran the possibility of becoming, once more, a normal advanced industrial modern nation,
What in the hell is that supposed to mean? A normal advanced industrial modern nation like the US, with nukes? Like Russia with nukes? Like China with nukes? Like North Korea with nukes? And BTW, Iran never wanted nukes and was not planning on nukes – just ask our 19 Intel agencies who have verified that Iran is not building nuclear weapons. We had at one time a perfectly sound nuclear weapons deterrent agreement with Iran, which Trump tore up in 2018. we can thank the Zionists for that little stupid misstep.
JHK has come a long way from the days when he bemoaned our country’s “happy motoring” addiction to cheap oil, warned us of the looming Peak Oil apocalypse, and mocked the soul-crushing, angst-driven, auto-dependent, sprawling suburbia that defines America.
Where did that guy go?? Now he’s cheerleading for keeping those petroleum tankers chugging through the Gulf of Hormuz like Olympian runners heroically crossing the marathon finish line. Go Team Go! Gas prices back down to $3 a gallon by Thanksgiving!
GonzoDon-- I'm still the same guy. It's still very unfortunate that suburban sprawl development is the favored template for property development — and especially with MAGA. This arrangement of things on the landscape remains a curse for our country. You can partly blame the Congress for the New Urbanism, the principal leader of the reform movement. The org, like so many others, leaned into DEI and woke-ism and forgot its mission. Major tragedy for the nation.
Methinks that JHK discovered the ugly truth about liberalism: Scratch any leftist and you will find a Fascist underneath. You see, the whole premise of modern liberalism is that "the people" are not smart enough to make their own decisions, and must be "led" to whatever Promised Land is the current liberals vision of it. The problem is that many, often most, people are not "in tune" with the "liberal vision," so they can't be "led" there, they must be DIRECTED there, which means de facto dictatorial coercion, threat of physical force, or actual use of physical force.
One note about suburbanization: It's the Democrats' fault. Literally every Democrat policy since World War II has, as its real effect, made core urban areas crime-ridden, unsafe, segregated, economically sick, and generally unlivable. Suburbia has many of its own ills, but ask most any suburbanite if they would move back into a core urban area and nearly all will say "no." More and more efforts of "redevelopment" of core urban areas are failing today because the leftist policies have made even those "re-developed" areas too unsafe for ordinary law-abiding citizens. And business is also leaving those core urban areas in droves for the same reasons. And where do they go? To pleasant suburban office "campuses." Even factories are moving to suburban areas or small to medium-size towns. It's past time to face the real truth: American core cities are like sewer ponds, where--as de facto liberal policy--whatever clean water is left in the pond is being drained out of it, leaving only every more putrid sewage remaining.
Fascists and Communists hate each other. The Left killed ten thousand priests and nuns in Spain, but then the Fascists began to fight back.
They both use guns and don't believe in "Democracy" so same, right? The fucking genius thinks he's smart. Just like Bonzo when he went to college with Ron Reagan.
Sorry JHK disappoints you with his failure to be a Johnny One Note clinging to the past as the world changes around him and all of us. I admire those like JHK who can be objective about what is going on and calling out the duplicity wherever they find it.
You have an odd choice of usage re: Johnny One Note. The concerto here for a dozen years or so has been B flat.
Jimbo knows which side his bread is buttered on, a candle in the wind. Remember, he's almost 80 y. o. Cut him some slack. He's still an entertaining writer, especially for us old guys.
I despise the casual and sloppy arrogance of such offhand accusations based on nothing. Doesn’t matter who or where.
I attended a talk Jim gave on “The Geography of Nowhere” in Missoula, MT in 1996 and spoke with him briefly after the presentation. Two salient statements stand out.
First, he told me, regarding the subject on the book in question, he wasn’t going to stay on that subject. “I have other fish to fry.”
Second, he said, “I’ve been traveling this country giving talks, and can say we are a wicked people and deserve to be punished.”
That applies to you, too, Tom.
Rabbit hole.
What do you mean by that. Is it just your way of saying you don't want to think about things if it's hard?
How've you been, lo' t?
Damn it Bird, now I have to circle back and read all your comments.
LOL! Need to do it quick before they get deleted again. Thanks!
Wonder how long it will take for Morens to flip on Fauci. Morens doesn’t strike me as the ‘die on this hill’ type. While we may not see the house of cards collapse (domestically & internationally), one can’t help but feel, at least, enough sh*t has been thrown at the fan to have some of it stick.
Kunstler’s right on the direction—and this time it actually looks engineered, not improvised.
“Project Freedom” isn’t cute. It’s deliberate framing. Not a war, not an escalation—a controlled humanitarian posture with teeth. Trump hits the 60-day War Powers limit exactly, shuts down “Epic Fury,” then reopens the board with naval escorts. That’s not retreat. That’s a reset with leverage intact.
Iran thought it could run out the clock while regrouping. Instead, the clock just got rewound—with conditions. Take a shot at a protected tanker, and the whole thing snaps back into a fresh 60-day operational window—with infrastructure targets already implied. That’s not ambiguity. That’s a tripwire.
The oil play is the quiet kill shot. Keep Gulf exports flowing and you deny Iran the upside of chaos. No price spike. No global panic. No indirect win. Pressure without volatility. That’s discipline.
Domestic side—this is where it either becomes real or collapses into the usual noise.
Kunstler always offers hope. Occasionally that hope cashes out. More often, it doesn’t.
Todd Blanche looks serious. Focused. Controlled. Not auditioning for cable hits. That alone is a shift. DOJ only works when someone is actually running cases instead of narrating them. At minimum, we’re no longer getting the “the evidence is on my desk” routine. That’s progress.
Bondi never projected that level of focus. Whether she got boxed in, lost the thread, or didn’t grasp the scale of the machine—results never came. And DOJ is a machine. If you don’t run it, it runs you.
Now—no leaks out of Florida. That’s the tell. When nothing leaks, something’s building. Grand juries don’t chatter. They stack.
If this is being built as a layered conspiracy—phases, actors, coordination—then it won’t arrive as one cinematic moment. It will come in waves. Indictments grouped by operation. Each tightening the frame on the next. That’s orchestration.
But here’s the line: we’ve seen this movie before. “Accountability is coming” is the longest-running trailer in American politics.
So this time, it’s simple.
No credit for intent.
No credit for tone.
No credit for rumors.
Hope is not evidence.
Show the paper.
If Blanche produces filings—real names, real charges, real timelines—this becomes an event.
If not, it’s just another well-written prelude to nothing.
Bob: Wake me when the first indictment hits the docket.
The gulf was open before the war. That won't end them. But if that's what we need to protect our egos and declare ourselves the winner, fine. Everyone else will see the truth though.
Well written, Jim. You pretty much encapsulated my feelings as well. The chasing the carrot dangling from the end of the stick thing is getting old. 🥕🫏
"Mr. Trump has advised Congress as of May 1 that hostilities with Iran (Operation Epic Fury) are terminated, at the 60-day limit of the War Powers Resolution."
But...But I'm told he's a dictator. :-)
Today, the Navy is escorting non-Iranian ships through the Straits as they should. Once the security of ships will be demonstrated, insurance will cover the transit and the oil tap will be turned on for everyone except Iran.
That is a brilliant strategic move by President Trump, but not just to get the tankers moving again. The Iranians took the bait and fired on U.S. and foreign ships in the Straits. Iran just reset the War Powers Act clock. For another 60 days, the U.S. can now pound the IRGC into the ground at any time, place, or extent that the U.S. chooses.
And Iran will further degrade oil infrastructure throughout the region - at any time, place, and to whatever extent.
Spare me the fear
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Many Israeli soldiers are killing themselves, unable to live with what they have done.
Right
Hi JHK Admin,
You can put as much lipstick as you want on this pig, but it is still a pig. To whit, We are maintaining a blockade of the Iranians that is in response to the Iranians putting a blockade on the rest of the world, because the US initially thought it made sense to allow Iran to export its oil because ... well, because we have cut 10% of the world's oil.
In the past, you touted the Long Emergency and the the decline of oil output and commensurate rise in oil prices as being the tipping point to the loss of civilization as we have known it, so I am somewhat shocked that you don't seem at all worried by the events of the last couple of months. We can say without a lot of fanfare that we are locked into higher oil and petrol prices for the summer--that will not go over well with an electorate who will blame the President and the GOP for this almighty clusterfuck of a war of choice. To argue that "we have them right where we want them" in this case is breath-taking.
Let me break this down a bit. The price elasticity of demand for oil in the short run (up to a year or two) is somewhere between -0.1 and - 0.4. The Fed estimated it at -0.1 in 2016. [(www)https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/ifdp/2016/files/ifdp1173.pdf]. This equals the % change in QUANTITY DEMANDED / % change in PRICE. What that means is that for every 1% change in the amount of oil there is, the % change in price has to be 10% if price elasticity is -0.1. If price elasticity is -0.4, that means that a 1% change in price leads to a 2.5% change in price for the product.
What that means is that the impact of a 10% cut in output is anywhere from a 25% to 100% increase in the price of car petrol and av gas... you get the idea. I mean, really, if elasticity is -0.1, you believe the GOP and Trump survive gas at $6.50 - $8 a gallon? If so, "Cool," you clearly know something I don't.
As for the claim that Iran will attack US vessels, um, they won't have to. They just attack the tankers. The US vessels haven't been able to stop small vessels or the drones. Or the mines for that matter. So, why would they want to attack US vessels? No need. A few more months of this and we will be heading in recession territory, even with the next industrial revolution in AI motoring along. Yep, voters will reward the President and the GOP for that, I just know it!
HE
Without getting the SAVE Act passed, and getting elections under sensible control, much of this seeming progress towards accountability will be likely swept away under the foamy tides of resurgent JOY.
If we get another half dozen or so seats in the South, the war comes to an end in the next month or so, and gas prices drop by a buck or two, we can save the House and Senate and buy ourselves two more years of righting the wrongs, which should included passing some form of the SAVE act.
It's going to be a looong year. It's taken several years just to round up the list of crimes and identify the criminals. Prosecutions can proceed quickly, if the election swings to the right. Events and consequences seem to be accelerating, finally. Our 250th anniversary may come a few years late. Just so long as it comes... we will be vindicated.
Yep, and the people of Iran are pretty accustomed to living well below the poverty line. Unlike the people in the USA who now live on debt to maintain their standard of living.
Mike Adams
Natural News
A Dangerous New Escalation
President Donald Trump has just announced 'Project Freedom' – a U.S. Navy mission to escort commercial tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. The official line is that this is a humanitarian gesture to keep global oil flowing. I see it for what it really is: a reckless provocation designed to force Iran into a military response, giving Washington the excuse it needs for a wider war. And our own sailors are being used as bait.
Trump rejected Iran's latest 14-point peace proposal on May 3, calling it unacceptable, and then ordered the Navy to start guiding ships out of Hormuz. [1] The Iranians had offered to reopen the strait within 30 days in exchange for an end to hostilities and later talks on nuclear enrichment. [2] Instead of seizing a diplomatic off-ramp, Trump chose escalation. I believe the goal is simple: put American warships in harm's way, hope for a clash, and then use the resulting casualties to justify a full-scale ground war without congressional approval.
The Strait of Hormuz: Who Really Controls the Waters?
Let's talk geography. The Strait of Hormuz is barely 30 miles wide at its narrowest point. Iran's 12-mile territorial sea claim covers the entire northern half, meaning that any ship moving through the deep-water channel is within waters Iran considers its own. This is not a neutral international waterway – it's a narrow throat that Iran can legally regulate. When Iran closed the strait after Trump's February 28 attacks, it did so from within its own maritime jurisdiction. [3]
Now Trump wants U.S. Navy escorts to force tankers through that same corridor. That is an act of war, plain and simple. The United States has destroyed Iran's navy and air force, but Iran still controls the coastal waters with small craft, missiles, and drones. [4] As I noted in an interview with Michael Yon, 'If the U.S. were to monopolize control over crucial waterways like the Suez and Hormuz straits, it would pose an existential threat to China and others.' [5] The only way to break the blockade is to invade or to accept that Iran holds the leverage. Trump chooses provocation.
The Humanitarian Cover Is a Sick Joke
Trump calls Project Freedom a humanitarian mission to prevent global famine. But this is the same president who bragged about 'ending a civilization' and who bombed Iranian power plants and water infrastructure – clear violations of the Geneva Conventions. As I wrote in March 2026, 'This is not a limited strike but a comprehensive assault designed to cripple a nation.' [6] The humanitarian cover is a deceitful pretext.
In my view, the real plan is even more sinister. The U.S. may be using commercial tankers as human shields, hiding warships among civilian vessels to get within striking range of Iran's coastal defenses. The Navy's own history shows that 'freedom of navigation' operations often serve military rather than commercial ends. [7] If a tanker gets hit, the media will scream 'Iran attacked civilians!' and Trump will have his casus belli. American sailors are not heroes on a rescue mission – they are pawns in a cynical game to manufacture consent for a wider war.
Desperation and the Bait-and-Switch Tactic
Washington has tried everything to break Iran. Financial warfare, sanctions, bombing campaigns, and now a blockade that has devastated Iran's economy – yet Tehran still refuses to surrender. [8] The Trump administration is desperate. After two months of war and a ceasefire that the White House now claims resets the War Powers Act deadline, Trump faces a legal and strategic dead end. [9] [10]
So they are turning to a classic bait-and-switch: send American sailors into the line of fire, hope that Iran takes the bait, and then use the resulting 'attack' to launch a 60-day war without needing Congress. This is not strategy – it is criminal negligence. As former Congressman Ron Paul said at a recent conference, 'The war in Iran is a disaster that accelerates America's decline.' [11] The architects of this policy are willing to sacrifice American lives to salvage a failed policy of total control. I will not pretend that this is anything other than a cynical plan to manufacture a broader conflict.
The Only Sensible Path Is Peace – But Trump Won't Take It
Iran has repeatedly signaled willingness to let ships pass for a toll. The 14-point proposal included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and freezing nuclear enrichment for up to 15 years. [2] That is a deal that could end the oil crisis, stabilize global energy markets, and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. But Trump demands total surrender. He told the press, 'We've already won, but I want to win by a bigger margin.' [12] That is the language of empire, not peace.
We must pray for peace and hope that someone in the Pentagon or Congress talks sense into the White House. If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, global famine and chaos are inevitable. [13] The only way out is a negotiated settlement that respects Iran's sovereignty and ensures freedom of navigation. But as long as Trump insists on provocation rather than diplomacy, American sailors will remain the bait in a reckless trap. I urge every reader to contact their representatives and demand that Congress enforce the War Powers Act before it is too late.
Lugh: Our troops and ships are to be used as bait, just as the Lusitania was.
Watch out, Lugh. Here come JohnAZ and the war humpers!
Uhhh...Remember the Maine.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qI6X2yzkQug
You don't have enuf 'uns.