“Ten years ago today, Donald Trump said he would pay off the national debt in the span of just eight years. That did not happen. Instead, the gross national debt has doubled since that day — from about $19 trillion to over $39 trillion. Much of that additional borrowing has taken place during Trump’s five-plus years in the White House. The gap between Trump’s outlandish promise and the brutal fiscal reality of the past decade is not just a political gotcha. It’s also an apt illustration of how far and how fast the debt has spiraled. And it’s a painful reminder of a missed opportunity that Americans will be facing for a long, long time. The bill for these 10 years of fiscal profligacy will be coming due long after Trump has finally departed from the political scene.” (03/31/26)
“To understand politics, we must presume that a head of state or other political ruler is, like the rest of us, primarily concerned with his own interests. When he does favor somebody else’s interests, it is as he interprets them (as a normal human being does toward his children), or simply because he thereby buys the beneficiary’s support. Thus, political and social institutions should be such that when a ruler acts foolishly or self-interestedly, he still furthers the common interests of his subjects (‘citizens’), instead of the interests of a favored group or his own interests against other people.” (03/31/26)
“‘Telescopic altruism’ is a supposed tendency for some people to ignore those close to them in favor of those further away. Like its cousin ‘virtue signaling,’ it usually gets used to own the libs. Some lib cares about people in Gaza — why? Shouldn’t she be thinking about her friends and neighbors instead? The only possible explanation is that she’s an evil person who hates everyone around her, but manages to feel superior to decent people by pretending to ‘care’ about foreigners who she’ll never meet. This collapses upon five seconds’ thought. Okay, so the lib is angry about the Israeli military killing 50,000 people in Gaza. Do you think she would be angry if the Israeli military killed 50,000 of her neighbors? Probably yes? Then what’s the problem?” (03/31/26)
“We Americans are an impatient lot. If we must engage in warfare, we would prefer it be wrapped up in weeks, not months, and certainly not years like World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In those wars, we had the draft, so more Americans were engaged in fighting and watching their progress, or lack thereof. Today, while recruiting numbers have increased in our all-volunteer military, the taste for war among the public has declined. One of President Trump’s positions that attracted voters was his promise to end wars, not start new ones.” (03/31/26)
“Bright, sharp, velvety smooth, this elegant and opulent Lemon Pound Cake answers the call. Another musical performance captured attention recently—this one involving an iconic rapper, a bungled police raid, and a lawsuit five officers are no doubt now regretting. While you gather your tools and ingredients and begin zesting a few lemons, filling the room with that bright, beautiful aroma, allow me to briefly recount the tale of Afroman and the Adams County, Ohio, Sheriff’s Department (working title).” (03/31/26)
“In normal times, about 20 percent of the world’s oil production passes through the Strait of Hormuz. That flow has been cut off except for Iranian oil and a handful of other vessels the Iranians are allowing through. This disruption has led to a large spike in oil futures prices …. But this price rise has been speculative, driven by the (justified) expectation of future shortages rather than a current lack of oil. In fact, so far deliveries to markets around the world haven’t declined, because shipping oil from the Persian Gulf to major markets takes 4-6 weeks. As a result there was a large quantity of oil already at sea, outside the Strait, when the war began. However, this grace period is about to end. The oil crisis is about to get physical.” (03/31/26)
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Caleb O Brown & Alasdair Whitney
“Privacy is not a loophole for criminals. it’s a precondition for a free society. The government needs far more than administrative convenience to justify eroding it.” (03/31/26)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“When we’re kids we play cops and robbers, and watch cartoons about evil criminals being stopped by virtuous crime fighters. Then when we mature we learn that all the most evil people are operating within the laws of our nation, and nobody ever sends them to jail. Ask a child to draw a Bad Guy and they’ll probably draw a bank robber, a thief, a supervillain, or somebody breaking the law in some way, because that’s what young people are trained to believe wickedness looks like in their world. They won’t usually draw a politician, a billionaire, a media mogul, a tech plutocrat, a warmonger, or any of the rich and powerful people who are causing the real suffering in our world. The ones who impose laws upon our society ensuring the continuation of poverty, inequality, war, oppression and tyranny. ” (03/31/26)
“As the war passes the four-week mark, it is abundantly clear Iran will not be the next Venezuela. Operation Absolute Resolve, the code name for the U.S. attack on Venezuela, was a spectacular success in tactical terms. The U.S. achieved its military aim of removing Maduro in just a few hours and suffered zero U.S. service member fatalities and only a handful of injuries, although the operation cost the lives of around 70 Venezuelans and 32 Cuban security forces. While this toll should not be minimized, it pales in comparison to the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran, which as of mid-March has led to at least 3,000 deaths …. Well over a dozen countries are now involved, and the war threatens to bring the global economy to a halt due to the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a pivotal passage for oil, liquid natural gas, fertilizer, and other crucial commodities.” (03/31/26)
