“As unpopular as Donald Trump’s ill-conceived, incompetently managed war was when it began, it is now more unpopular with a key segment of voters. ‘Trump’s net approval of -20 for handling the situation in Iran represents a drop from last week’s poll. Then, 39% of Americans approved of how Trump was handling Iran and 52% disapproved — a net approval of -13,’ The Economist/YouGov reported last week. While Democrats and Republicans have not changed their minds about the war much, ‘opinion among Independents of how Trump’s handling Iran fell to 24% approve / 63% disapprove (-39 net) this week from 30% approve / 53% disapprove last week (-23 net).’ The longer the war drags on, and the higher gas prices go, the worse those poll numbers will look for Trump and his pusillanimous enablers in Congress.” (03/23/26)
“The United States and TotalEnergies on Monday signed an agreement to end the French company’s offshore US wind farm projects and redirect those funds towards fossil fuel production, with the US interior secretary saying the deal was worth ‘nearly $1 billion.’ … [TotalEnergies CEO Patrick] Pouyanne welcomed the deal, saying it redirected TotalEnergies’s $928 million investment in two wind farm leases off the North Carolina and New York coasts into US natural gas projects, in particular the Rio Grande LNG plant.” (03/23/26)
“Donald Trump and his minions are having a meltdown. On Saturday, Trump lashed out at the New York Times for an article saying the obvious — that many of his original war goals, whatever they may have been, remain unaccomplished. Just an hour later, he posted a threat to commit massive war crimes, saying that if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours — that is, today — he will order U.S. forces to begin bombing civilian power plants. Why the desperation? The answer is obvious. It’s turning out not just that regime change — if that was really the goal — is hard to engineer, but also that the world is a lot more dependent on the Strait of Hormuz than Trump and co. seem to have realized.” (03/23/26)
“NY Governor is begging people who fled abusive taxes and idiocy to come home to PAY for welfare programs. Also: Metaverse is no more, Caesar Chavez is a leftist icon who is also a serial rapist (per a NY Times expose), so that’s awkward for them.” (03/23/26)
“The portly man at the next table finished his breakfast, leaned in my direction, and asked: ‘What’s in the news that’s so interesting?’ ‘Iran,’ I said, adding that the U.S. seemed about to attack it. ‘Over in a day,’ he said, snapping fingers for emphasis. Having spent two years at Beirut’s Daily Star when Iraqis dragged the pro-West prime minister’s body through Bagdad’s streets to celebrate the monarchy’s overthrow, I know the Mideast’s ferocity against Western domination for exploitation. A war with Iran would never be over in a day — a month, or year anymore than it was in Vietnam. … when Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to outgoing oil ships, somehow Trump’s war planners once again seemed to overlook the ancient contempt by Westerners for foreign militants as factors in wars. They soon learned that aroused ‘inferiors’ made wars endless and monumentally expensive in lives and treasure for arrogant ‘superiors.’” (03/23/26)
