So, we rise from the rubble...
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Wednesday, March 25, 2026
"The Collapse of Everyday Life in America is Getting Worse"
Full screen recommended.
A Homestead Journey, 3/2526
"The Collapse of Everyday Life
in America is Getting Worse"
"The collapse of everyday life in America is getting worse, and more families are starting to feel it in real time. Rising cost of living, inflation, layoffs, and economic uncertainty are pushing everyday Americans to the edge as basic expenses like groceries, rent, and utilities become harder to afford. Across the country, people are quietly falling behind. Credit card debt is climbing, savings are disappearing, and many are being forced to choose between paying bills or buying food. What used to feel stable is now becoming unpredictable, exposing just how fragile the system really is.In this video, I break down what’s driving this decline, how inflation and rising costs are reshaping daily life, and why so many are struggling just to get by. More importantly, we’ll talk about what this means for the future and why preparedness, frugal living, and self-sufficiency matter now more than ever. If you’ve been noticing these changes in your own life, you’re not alone. This is a reality more Americans are waking up to - and it’s only getting harder to ignore."
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Adventures With Danno, "Dollar Tree Items You Should Buy... Before Prices Increase"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 3/25/26
"Dollar Tree Items You Should Buy...
Before Prices Increase"
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John Wilder, "The Double Debt Mountain of 2026"
"The Double Debt Mountain of 2026"
by John Wilder
"The economy looks “fine” on the surface. Fine, that is, if you believe the headlines. I sense, though, underneath it’s a double debt mountain that’s getting closer to a landslide every day, and someone is planting bombs along the slope. Okay, that’s a lot of metaphor. Let me see if I can pilot this ship home.
Damn. Another metaphor. One bomb is the wallets of the kids. The other bomb is in Washington.
Both are set to blow up the same people: Millennials and Gen Z, generations already hammered by housing costs, stagnant real wages, hordes of legal and illegal aliens soaking up employment, and women who forgot that the main reason they exist is to make more humans.
Good news? Yeah, there’s a tiny sliver. Credit card delinquencies on some non-housing debt leveled out in late 2025 according to the New York Fed®. But that’s like saying the fire department showed up and has the fire down to burning one house an hour in the neighborhood. The real picture is as ugly as an Antifa swimsuit pageant. Yeah, it’s grim. And all of their older women are coming down with prostate cancer.
Credit cards have become the new paycheck for millions of young Americans, and new companies have shown up to monetize even the smallest debts. Want to go to Taco Bell™ and pay for that Super Crunchwrap Supreme Bellgrande™ over the next six months? You can do that.
Total credit card debt hit a record $1.28 trillion in 2025, up $44 billion in just three months. That’s not a blip: that’s paying for groceries on credit cards and only paying the minimum monthly payment. Delinquencies on household debt overall jumped to 4.8 percent, led by the kids. For people under 39, the transition into serious delinquency on credit cards is nearly double the national average.
Surveys show 56 percent of Gen Z are forced to use cards just to make ends meet because prices keep climbing. Sixty-six percent of Millennials say they rely on plastic to get through the month. Thirty-five percent of Millennials are carrying more than $10,000 in card debt. Credit card debt, the gateway drug of insolvency. Sure, payday lenders and “buy here, pay here” car places are the crack cocaine and meth of debt, but it all starts somewhere. Gen Z is running around $3,500 in average balances, while Millennials are pushing $7,000. They’re not buying yachts or avocado toast, they’re financing groceries, gas, and rent.
Here’s why this mess is worse than it looks: First, real wages aren’t keeping up, and the system is rigged against the young. Gen Z and Millennials entered the workforce during the pandemic hangover, got crushed by housing prices we already talked about, and now face interest rates that make every purchase a long-term loan. The GloboLeftElite told them to “follow your passion” and rack up student debt for useless degrees that qualify them for entry-level retail jobs in malls that don’t exist anymore. And they listened.
Credit cards fill the gap at 20-25 percent interest. For those that didn’t choose wisely and avoid jobs taken by Jugdish, life is not luxury. It’s debt, roommates, and used couches that smell vaguely of fish. Forever. One bad month due to a mandatory car repair, unexpected medical bill, or if Egyptians convince them to invest in a pyramid scheme, and they’re in the hole they can’t climb out of.
Second, banks and card companies love debt. People don’t get poor because they don’t make enough money, they get poor because they give it away to everyone else: ask the Amish. Banks are making fat margins on revolving debt while pretending everything is peachy. Delinquency rates are rising, but not fast enough for the suits to panic yet. They know the game: extend and pretend and as long as we get this quarter’s bonus, it’s all copacetic. Just like with the housing market in 2008.
Meanwhile, the official unemployment rate looks fine because more paper-pushers are getting hired in the last growth industry: government jobs. The real economy? Productive private-sector work is stagnant. Young people are borrowing to eat.
Third, this consumer debt bomb feeds right into the bigger federal debt bomb. Washington has its own plastic problem, except it’s measured in trillions. National debt sits north of $38.5 trillion. Net interest payments are projected to hit $1 trillion in fiscal year 2026 and interest payments are already bigger than defense spending in the first quarter of this year.
Interest already eats 19% of all federal revenue. By 2036, CBO says it doubles to $2.1 trillion and consumes nearly a quarter of everything the government takes in, but the CBO is always low, because they have to use the assumptions that Congress made up. Yes. AOC is responsible for the rules of the game. But what do we want to spend our money on? Defense? Medicare? Infrastructure? Sorry, the interest check has to clear first.
Fourth, the GloboLeftElite solution is always the same: print more, borrow more, kick the can. National debt doubles every eight years. The Fed and Congress act like debt is free because they control the printer and don’t have to worry. Higher debt, though, means higher interest rates, which means even more debt service, which means . . . you get it. It’s a doom loop.
Every time they “stimulate” to keep the economy looking good for the next election, they make the next crisis worse. And who pays? Not the politicians. Not the connected class in D.C. It’s the taxpayers, especially the young ones who haven’t built wealth yet, but yet were forced to watch the abomination that is Scrappy Doo™.
Fifth, the generational theft is obvious. Boomers got cheap debt, rising home values, and that long summer of the 1980s and 1990s. Oh, and pensions that actually worked. Millennials and Gen Z get 24 percent credit card APRs, $1 trillion in federal interest payments crowding out future programs, and a promise that “we’ll import more workers” to fix the birth rate collapse caused by imported workers, interest payments, and... Female empowerment.
Female hypergamy and economic despair already delayed families, and they’ve reached civilization-ending levels with Gen Z and Millennial female solipsism. Now add maxed-out cards and a government that can’t even pay its own interest without borrowing more. The kids who should be having kids are busy paying Visa® instead.
The result? Gen Z and Millennials fall even further behind. They delay marriage, delay kids, delay life. Birth rates keep dropping. The GloboLeftElite flips from “stop having babies, save the planet!” to “import babies, we’re not having enough!” in one generation because their policies broke the math. Young couples look at the spreadsheet listing rent, cards, future taxes for Boomer pensions and federal interest and decide “maybe later.” Or never.
But me? Debt mountains? Debt landslides? I think I need to stop with my metaphors because they’re making me sneeze. Metaphors really set off my analogies."
Dan, I Allegedly, "The USA Is Broke - And They’re Finally Admitting It"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 3/25/26
"The USA Is Broke -
And They’re Finally Admitting It"
"The USA is broke - and now the warnings are coming from everywhere. The Treasury is calling the system unsustainable, Elon Musk is sounding the alarm on inevitable bankruptcy, and JPMorgan Chase is warning that our aging power grid is a national security threat. This isn’t opinion - it’s happening in real time, and it’s bigger than most people realize. From $125+ trillion in unfunded liabilities to trillion-dollar interest payments and a failing infrastructure system, the cracks are everywhere. Inflation, debt, energy, and the economy are all colliding at once. The question is no longer if something breaks - it’s what breaks first. This breakdown explains exactly why the system is under pressure and what it means for you moving forward."
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Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Canadian Prepper, "Alert! Global Gas Shortages, Trump Lies; Fake Peace Deal"
Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 3/24/26
"Alert! Global Gas Shortages, Trump Lies;
Fake Peace Deal"
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"Half A Billion Dollar Bet On Oil Before Trump Delays War - It's A Big Club And You Ain't In It"
Jeremiah Babe, 3/24/26
"Half A Billion Dollar Bet On Oil Before Trump Delays War -
It's A Big Club And You Ain't In It"
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Absolute truth...
Strong language alert!
"George Carlin - 'It's A Big Club & You Ain't In It!
You and I are not in the Big Club.'"
Gerald Celente, "Iran War Ending? Trump Sh*t Or Bullsh*t?"
Strong Language alert!
Gerald Celente, 4/24/26
"Iran War Ending? Trump Sh*t Or Bullsh*t?"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present Facts and Truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for What's Next in these increasingly turbulent times."
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"Restaurants Can't Drop Prices Anymore…But They're Dying Anyway"
Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 3/24/26
"Restaurants Can't Drop Prices Anymore…
But They're Dying Anyway"
'Eating out in America isn’t as enjoyable as it used to be, and people are starting to talk about it more openly than ever. Prices are way too high, and the whole experience feels different now. The food isn't as good. The portions are smaller. The hidden fees keep piling up. And a growing number of people are realizing they feel better, eat better, and spend less just cooking at home. In this video, we're looking at why so many Americans are walking away from restaurants entirely - and what happens when an entire industry loses the trust of its customers.
We're reacting to real people sharing their honest experiences online. From folks who've sworn off fast food for good to others who've been hit with charges for silverware and restroom access at sit-down restaurants, the frustration is real and it's widespread. People aren't just venting - they're changing their habits for good. And the big chains are starting to feel it where it hurts most.
The numbers tell a sobering story. Major restaurant chains including Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Denny's, Starbucks, Red Lobster, Domino's, and Outback Steakhouse are all announcing significant closures heading into 2026. We're talking about nearly 3,000 locations shutting down across the country. Dining costs have risen over 30% since 2020, and the customers who once kept these businesses running are simply not coming back the way they used to. Some analysts are calling it the fastest pace of restaurant closures since the early days of the pandemic.
What often gets lost in these conversations is the human side of it. These closures don't just affect corporate bottom lines - they affect the thousands of workers who depend on these jobs, many of whom are already navigating a difficult economic environment. When a community loses a restaurant, it loses jobs, it loses a gathering place, and it often loses something that lower-income families relied on. The frustration customers feel is valid, but the consequences of this shift land hardest on the people who never set the prices to begin with.
There's also something worth reflecting on here beyond the economics. Eating out used to be one of life's small joys - a way to treat yourself, connect with people, and take a break from the routine. The fact that so many people now associate it with disappointment, bloating, overpaying, and regret says something about how much has quietly shifted over the past few years. Whether restaurants can earn that trust back remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: customers have options now, and they're using them. If you've changed your eating habits lately or have had your own experience with rising prices and disappointing meals, drop a comment below. We'd love to hear what's been happening where you are."
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"Something Massive Just Entered The War... Iran’s Big Surprise After Rejecting Ceasefire"
Full screen recommended.
OPTM, 3/24/26
"Something Massive Just Entered The War...
Iran’s Big Surprise After Rejecting Ceasefire"
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Musical Interlude: Deuter, "Endless Horizon"
Full screen recommended.
Deuter, "Endless Horizon"
○
"I cannot paint
What then I was. The sounding cataract
Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,
The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,
Their colors and their forms, were then to me
An appetite; a feeling and a love,
That had no need of a remoter charm,
By thought supplied, not any interest
Unborrowed from the eye.
That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this
Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur: other gifts
Have followed; for such loss, I would believe,
Abundant recompense.
For I have learned
To look on nature, not as in the hour
Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes
The still, sad music of humanity,
Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power
To chasten and subdue."
- William Wordsworth,
"Lines Written A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey"
○
“Some feelings sink so deep into the heart that
only loneliness can help you find them again.
Some truths are so painful that only shame can help you live with them.
Some things are so sad that only your soul can do the crying for them.”
- Gregory David Roberts, "Shantaram"
"A Look to the Heavens"
Many young stars from this cloud are visible in the above image from the Hubble Space Telescope, along with what is left of the initial gas cloud. Some stars were so massive they have already evolved and exploded in a supernova. The brightest stars that are left emit light so energetic that they create one of the largest clouds of ionized hydrogen gas known, comparable to the Tarantula Nebula in our Milky Way's close neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud.”
- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121211.html
Chet Raymo, "Starlight"
"Starlight"
by Chet Raymo
"Poor Calvin is overwhelmed with the vastness of the cosmos and no small dose of existential angst. He is not the first, of course. Most famously the 17th-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal wailed his own despair: "I feel engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces whereof I know nothing and which know nothing of me. I am terrified...The eternal silence of these infinite spaces alarms me."
"We Were Made For These Times"
by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
“My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.
You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet, I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is that we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement.
I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able vessels in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind.
Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.
In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. There is a tendency, too, to fall into being weakened by dwelling on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails.
We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear. Didn’t you say you were a believer? Didn’t you say you pledged to listen to a voice greater? Didn’t you ask for grace? Don’t you remember that to be in grace means to submit to the voice greater?
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.
What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.
One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these – to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.
Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.
There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate. The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.”
"Success, Fight Club, Strippers and Socialists"
"Success, Fight Club, Strippers and Socialists"
by John Wilder
"I had a conversation with a friend today. Oh, sure, I hear you say, what would an iconoclastic iron-jawed individualist with a body odor redolent of medium rare ribeye (with just a hint of pepper) like John Wilder need with a friend? I guess we all have our little weaknesses. And dogs follow me. Because I smell like steak.
In this particular case as with most of my friends, I’ve known this friend for years. I’ve known most of my close friends longer than The Boy has been alive, and he’s in college now. It’s nice. If a day, a week, a month or a year goes by, so what? We can still restart the conversation where we left off. It’s as comfortable as watching a movie you’ve seen a dozen times.
I’ll make the observation that the only place where the character of people change is in a movie – almost all of my close friends have the same sense of humor and the same sense of values that they had when our friendships were forming. Absent a significant emotional event, people are a constant. And I like that.
There is a corresponding trust that comes with being a close friend – honesty. That’s why when talking with my friend, I really enjoyed the chance to be honest. Honesty is difficult because it requires that trust, because really honest criticism is hard to take, even when it comes from a friend. Or a co-worker. Or a relative. Or someone you just met. Or your UPS® delivery guy. Oh, wait. Most people don’t like honest. But my friends do.
This particular friend is really in a good position in life, which seems to be a common pattern with my friends. He has a spouse that makes more money than he does, and, in general, the household probably brings in enough cash each month so that Nigerian princes send emails to them asking for money. They’re wealthy enough that they donate to the homeless. This appears to be a more socially acceptable donation strategy than my “donation to the topless,” scheme.
But lest ye want to class my friend as the evil, selfish, wealthy type, he’s not. The family has a huge number of kids, and it’s a close family. My friend is constantly taking time off to go to athletic events, and when we catch up, I can sense that the relationship he has with his kids isn’t a surface relationship – it’s genuine and deep. I can tell, because I know people who understand genuine relationships, who listen to both sides of a family argument – my neighbors.
And yet... despite the wealth, despite the great family, my friend feels that there’s something missing. He is as high as he wants to go in the company he works at – any higher and the travel demands would pull him away from family. He’s long since mastered his job – there is little that can be thrown at him that he hasn’t seen in the last fifteen or so years. So, his condition is one of high pay, mastery of work, and, improbably, discontent.
John Wilder: “You realize you have an advantage that 99% of people would die for. You’re financially secure. You can quit your job anytime. Literally, you could walk in to your boss this afternoon and quit. Your lifestyle wouldn’t change a bit.”
Not Elon Musk: “Yes.”
Unlikely Voice of Wisdom John Wilder: “So, what is it you want to do?”
Really, I Promise It Isn’t Elon Musk: “I need to think about it.”
Channeling Tyler Durden From Fight Club® John Wilder: “No. If you think about it, you’ll end up doing nothing but thinking about it. You have to do something. Physically start it. This weekend. I’ll check back on Monday to see how you did.”
There is a scene in the movie Fight Club™ where Tyler Durden holds a gun to the head of a liquor store clerk. If you haven’t seen the movie, I strongly suggest it. I probably watch it once a month while I write – I think there are few movies that communicate the human condition in modern life so well.
Full screen recommended.
And it’s true. I tend to think that everyone’s life would be a little better if they had Tyler Durden to be a life coach, to ever so gently coax them to be the best they can be while holding a .357 magnum Colt® Python™ to their head. That seems to be a bit frowned upon, so that leaves my friends with me. See how lucky you are?
In my role as Dr. Durden, I’ve noticed that there’s a problem some people have. It’s being too clever. It’s thinking. How do I know? It’s my problem that I try to compensate for by writing and doing. If I think about doing something, it will never get done. I keep thinking about fixing the banister that broke when we moved into the house a decade ago. It’s never been high on my list, since people falling down stairs is funny, with extra points if they are really old. But thinking about doing something never accomplishes anything.
If I plan to do it, it will get done. Half of my time driving to and from work on a day I’m going to write a post, I’m writing it in my head, selecting jokes, thinking of themes. It’s also spent thinking of how I’m going to connect the idea I want to share with students who might be forced to read this post when Mrs. Grundy tells them to compare and contrast my work with that poseur, Mark Twain, in high school in the year 2248 (that’s when Kirk will be a sophomore).
It may look like I’m driving to work, but I’m really plotting out what I’m going to write about. To be honest, it sometimes takes both lanes to do that. I wish the State Patrol® would be a little more understanding to artists like me.
Thankfully, The Mrs. is. The Mrs. and I had a conversation the other night. It may or may not have involved wine – I’m not telling unless I’ve been subpoenaed and am under oath to a House subcommittee. Actually, it wasn’t so much a conversation as The Mrs. describing to me how she felt about this little project I publish three times a week.
I don’t make any money on this blog, though I’ve made clear since day one that can change at any time. I have plans for several (eventual) ways to do that including adding subliminal messages causing you to want to pay for my health insurance. It looks like it’s already worked for Bernie Sanders.
No, at this point, writing is a hobby. But it’s a hobby that takes over 20 hours a week, sometimes closer to 30 hours. I still have a job, and I won’t stop interacting my family, so most nights I won’t even start writing before 9pm. A lot of that time comes from time I’d normally be selfishly engaged in what you mortals call “sleep”, but a chunk of that time comes directly from time I’d be spending with The Mrs. When I’m writing, I’m simply not available. I’m writing.
The Mrs.: “You know, I would certainly have an issue with the time that you spend writing, if it weren’t important.” There was more to this, where she detailed the number of hours I spend. But I keyed in on the word “Important.” I was a little surprised by that. “Important?”
The Mrs.: “Yes. I can see that what you’re writing about is important. People need to hear it. So keep doing it.”
Okay, that proves she never reads this stuff. But as I talked more with my friend, the concept of “meaning” came up.
My Friend Who is Really Most Certainly Not Elon Musk: “So, it’s about meaning?”
Suddenly as Wise as the Roman Philosopher Seneca John Wilder: “That’s silly. You don’t go off chasing ‘meaning’ in your life. Pick out something you like to do, and do it. But figure out how to make it important to other people. You like to woodwork, right? You say you never have time to do it. Do it this weekend. Film it. Put it up on YouTube®. I’ll be checking up with you on Monday.”
I asked myself, why is my friend working at all? I think because he feels he’s supposed to work. That having a job is a rule, it’s what he’s always done. The problem that many of us have is that we tend to create rules where there aren’t any rules. I’m not sure why. Perhaps we need to justify what we do. Perhaps it’s like my two important rules for life:
Don’t tell everything you know.
Success? My friend is already successful in most ways a person can be successful. Their life is really good. I told them, directly, “You’ve been given so many gifts. If you don’t make something special of your life, you’re wasting it.”
Interestingly, this applies to you, too. And me. How will your breakfast taste tomorrow?"
The Poet: Henry Austin Dobson, “The Paradox Of Time”
“The Paradox Of Time”
“Time goes, you say? Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go;
Or else, were this not so,
What need to chain the hours,
For Youth were always ours?
Time goes, you say? – ah no!
Ours is the eyes’ deceit
Of men whose flying feet
Lead through some landscape low;
We pass, and think we see
The earth’s fixed surface flee -
Alas, Time stays, – we go!
Once in the days of old,
Your locks were curling gold,
And mine had shamed the crow.
Now, in the self-same stage,
We’ve reached the silver age;
Time goes, you say? – ah no!
Once, when my voice was strong,
I filled the woods with song
To praise your ‘rose’ and ‘snow’;
My bird, that sang, is dead;
Where are your roses fled?
Alas, Time stays, – we go!
See, in what traversed ways,
What backward Fate delays
The hopes we used to know;
Where are our old desires?
Ah, where those vanished fires?
Time goes, you say? – ah no!
How far, how far, O Sweet,
The past behind our feet
Lies in the even-glow!
Now, on the forward way,
Let us fold hands, and pray;
Alas, Time stays, – we go!”
- Henry Austin Dobson
○
“Time passes in moments. Moments which, rushing past, define the path of a life, just as surely as they lead towards its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path, to see the reasons why all things happen? To consider whether the path we take in life is our own making, or simply one into which we drift with eyes closed? But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes? Might we then see the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life? And, seeing those choices, choose another path?”
- Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, “The X-Files”
'Something You Already Know..."
“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!”
- Rocky Balboa
"What Is The Point?"
"What is the point? We assume that every time we do anything we know what the consequences will be, i.e., more or less what we intend them to be. This is not only not always correct. It is wildly, crazily, stupidly, cross-eyed-blithering-insectly wrong!"
- Douglas Adams, “The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide”
"Judge Napolitano, Judging Freedom, 3/24/26"
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 3/24/26
"Prof. John Mearsheimer: No Way for Trump to Win"
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Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 3/24/26
"Pepe Escobar: How Iran is Beating Trump"
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Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 3/24/26
"LtCOL. Karen Kwiatkowski:
A Revolution in the US Military?"
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Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 3/24/26
"Scott Ritter: What Awaits US Ground Troops"
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"Has A Global Catastrophe Been Averted, Or Is This Just A Very Temporary Reprieve?"
by Michael Snyder
"For the moment, we have avoided a global economic cataclysm. President Trump was threatening to completely destroy Iran’s power grid if the Iranians did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and in response the Iranians were threatening to destroy oil and gas infrastructure all over the Middle East. Once that infrastructure is gone it would have to be replaced, and that would take years. Meanwhile, the entire world would be forced to endure the worst energy crisis in human history and the economic fallout would be intolerable. The good news is that President Trump has announced that he will not be attacking Iran’s power grid for at least five days. I think that once Iran released the list of oil and gas facilities that would be targeted if their power grid got destroyed, Trump decided to reconsider his plans…
"Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Mehr news wrote: “In case of the slightest attack on the electricity infrastructure of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the entire region will go dark.” Here’s the target list it shared:
Saudi ArabiaThe Village (near Al-Khobar): gas power plant (4,000+ MW)
Ras Tanura (Sharqiya Province): major oil and gas facility/power infrastructure.
United Arab EmiratesBarakah (Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi): nuclear power plant (~5,600 MW.)
Jebel Ali (South Dubai): gas power and desalination complex (multi-GW capacity.)
Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park (Dubai): large-scale solar power project.
QatarRas Laffan (north Qatar): gas power plant (one of the largest in Qatar.)
Umm Al Houl (south of Doha): gas power + desalination plant (multi-GW capacity.)
KuwaitAl-Zour South: oil and gas power plant.
Al-Zour North: combined-cycle power plant (multi-GW capacity.)
Shaqaya Energy Park (west Kuwait): solar and wind renewable energy complex.
Please note that the Ras Laffan natural gas complex in Qatar is on that list.It normally produces approximately 20 percent of the world’s entire supply of liquified natural gas. 17 percent of that facility has already been destroyed, but if the rest of it gets wiped out that alone would be enough to plunge the globe into an economic death spiral that would last for years.
I am sure that Qatar and the other Gulf countries have been screaming at Trump to pull back before it is too late. Another reason why Trump could not attack Iranian power plants right now is because pro-regime civilians have started to form “human chains” around some of them…"Civilians in Ahvaz and Mashhad formed human chains around major power plants on Monday, according to footage published by the state‑run Fars news agency on Telegram. The videos show residents standing shoulder‑to‑shoulder outside the Ramin power plant in Ahvaz, many holding Iranian flags, while similar crowds gathered near a facility in Mashhad." Images of U.S. bombs blowing up women and children would have absolutely horrified people all over the planet. So there was no way that Trump could make good on his threats.
On Monday morning, Trump told the world that any attacks on the Iranian power grid have been delayed for at least five days…
It would be wonderful if “productive conversations” were taking place. Let us hope that is the truth. But the Iranians are completely denying that any conversations are taking place, and they are celebrating that Trump has “backed down”…"Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that he is deferring “any and all” strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure on productive resolution talks, Iranian media reports denied any ‘direct’ or ‘intermediary’ communication with him.
“Trump, fearing Iran’s response, backed down from his 48-hour ultimatum,” Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting said in a post on X. Ebrahim Rezaei, Spokesperson of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission reiterated the claims and said, “Trump and America have backed down again. The field is still charging forward. Another defeat for the devil,” in a post on X."
Each side is telling a completely different story. So what is the truth? It is being widely reported in the western media that the individual that the Trump administration is communicating with is Mohammad‑Bagher Ghalibaf, but he is strongly denying this…"Multiple news outlets reported in the past hour that U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been engaged in negotiations with Mohammad‑Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament. But an X account attributed to Ghalibaf swiftly rejected those claims, saying no discussions with the United States had taken place. The post accused unnamed actors of spreading “fake news” to manipulate global oil markets and insisted that the Iranian public “demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors.”
Personally, I don’t know how Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf could have been much clearer.
And Iran’s Foreign Ministry is also telling us that there have been no negotiations…"Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied on Monday any direct negotiations with U.S. officials, but said “friendly countries” had conveyed messages from Washington seeking negotiations. “In recent days, messages were delivered through certain friendly countries indicating that the U.S. sought negotiations to end the war. These messages were appropriately addressed in line with our country’s principled positions,” Esmail Baqaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, told the country’s state news agency IRNA on Monday. “In our responses, we issued firm warnings about the severe consequences of any attack on Iran’s critical infrastructure, emphasizing that any action against Iran’s energy facilities would be met with a decisive, immediate, and effective response from our armed forces.” Maybe the Iranians are simply choosing not to tell the truth. Needless to say, they don’t exactly have a strong track record for veracity.
Despite Iran’s denials, Trump continues to insist that there have been “very, very strong talks”…“Well they’re going to have to get themselves better public relations people,” Mr. Trump said. “We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. We have points, major points of agreement, I would say almost all points of agreement. Perhaps that hasn’t been conveyed. The communication, as you know, has been blown to pieces.” The president would not say who his administration is speaking to in Iran, only saying it was a “top” person but not the supreme leader. Mr. Trump added that Iran contacted the U.S., saying, “So they called, I didn’t call. They called. They want to make a deal.”
Ultimately, I don’t think that any of this is going anywhere. As I write this article, missiles continue to fly all over the Middle East. The Iranians just launched more attacks, and the Israelis continue to pummel targets in Iranian territory. And thousands of U.S. Marines continue to sail toward the Middle East…
"There has been no change in plans to send thousands more Marines and sailors to the Middle East, military sources told CBS News. A second Marine Expeditionary Unit of about 2,200 Marines and three warships departed California last week, two U.S. officials previously said. It could take at least three weeks to be in place, although maybe more than that. The first Marine Expeditionary Unit, coming from the Pacific, is still making its way toward the region.
In addition to the Marine units that are on the way, it is also being reported that elements of the 82nd Airborne Division could soon be sent to the Middle East…"Senior military officials are weighing a possible deployment of a combat brigade from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and some elements of the division’s headquarters staff to support U.S. military operations in Iran, defense officials said."
I think that Trump is really hoping that Iran will give him the sort of deal that he is seeking. But that isn’t going to happen. And Trump can’t pull the U.S. out of the war as long as Iran is preventing commercial ships from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and as long as Iran is hitting targets all over the Middle East with drones and missiles.
The Iranians feel like they have control over when this war will end, and so they are making all sorts of extremely outrageous demands that the U.S. and Israel can never possibly accept. They actually want all U.S. forces in the Middle East to be completely removed, they want to continue enriching uranium, and they want the U.S. and Israel to fully pay for all the damage that their bombing has caused. Needless to say, the U.S. and Israel will never agree to any of that.
So I think that this war is going to continue for quite some time, and I also think that more escalations are inevitable. And that is really bad news for the global economy, because this war has already had “a worse impact on oil than the two oil shocks of the 1970s combined”… "The head of the International Energy Agency said Monday that the global economy faces a “major, major threat” because of the Iran war. “No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction,” Fatih Birol said at Australia’s National Press Club in Canberra on Monday. The crisis in the Middle East, he said, has had a worse impact on oil than the two oil shocks of the 1970s combined, and a worse effect on gas than the Russia-Ukraine war.
We should all be thankful that a nightmare scenario has been avoided for the time being. But it appears that this is just a very temporary reprieve. The Iranians will never give Trump what he wants, and the U.S. and Israel will never give the Iranians what they are seeking. The two sides are not even in the same universe as far as what a peace deal should look like, and that means that a lot more fighting is still ahead."
Dan, I Allegedly, "They’re All Closing! No One Is Safe"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 3/24/26
"They’re All Closing! No One Is Safe"
"Gas rationing is back and it’s already happening overseas. In Australia, drivers are being limited to $20 gas purchases, sparking panic as global oil markets face pressure from supply disruptions, the Strait of Hormuz shipping crisis, and rising geopolitical tensions. Even as oil prices drop, gas prices remain high - raising serious questions about supply chains, refinery capacity, and whether fuel shortages could spread to the United States next. If gas becomes restricted, the economy stops: deliveries halt, workers can’t commute, and businesses grind to a halt. In today’s episode of iAllegedly, Dan breaks down why gas rationing may be the next economic shock Americans face. From rising evictions in Orange County and insurance companies canceling policies to smart meters, surveillance concerns, and the growing cost of living crisis, everything points to a system under stress. History shows that energy shortages trigger panic and economic disruption. The real question is: Are we about to see 1970s-style gas lines return to America?"
Comments here:
"Bamboozled..."
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. "
- Carl Sagan
Bill Bonner, "Bipartisan Boondoggles"
"Bipartisan Boondoggles"
by Bill Bonner
Youghal, Ireland - "We’re watching the news. Our head is spinning...where’s the rhyme? Where’s the reason? The Jerusalem Post: "US-Iran tensions rise as both sides threaten attacks on Gulf energy facilities." But hold on. That was on Saturday. Trump gave Iran 48 hours to free up the Strait of Hormuz.
Apparently, Iran’s supreme leader was in no mood for threats. His father, his mother, his sister, his nephew and his brother-in-law - all were murdered by the US/Israeli war machine. And his father was the spiritual leader of his faith...a bit like the Pope for Catholics. How likely was it that Mr. Khamenei would come to terms with Trump/Netanyahu and let bygones be bygones? Not very. He replied that if the US attacks his energy, he would attack energy infrastructure all around the Gulf.
‘Tit for tat,’ is how US commentators describe it, finally discovering that you reap what you sow. Then, Iran’s armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi mentioned another tat that might be putting down roots: “We are watching your cowardly officials and commanders, pilots and wicked soldiers. From now on, based on the information we have on you, the promenades, resorts and tourist and entertainment centers in the world will not be safe.”
Taking the hint, The Independent: "US warns Americans across globe to ‘exercise increased caution’." It must have been about then...on Sunday...that Mr. Trump realized he had his own you-know-what in a wringer. Negotiator that he is, he tried to back out of the deal…a TACO...as he did with reciprocal sanctions, Greenland, and other things. His popularity was said to be crashing. Gas prices were going up. The economy might be going down. And most important, elections are coming. Reuters: "Trump backs down on strikes on Iran’s power network, says US and Tehran holding talks." He even proposed a “joint leadership” for Iran. Who would do it? ‘Me,’ he says, suggesting that the ‘me’ in question may have lost the plot completely.
Now, as he did with the Epstein files, POTUS is telling Americans to look the other way. The war ‘has already been won,’ he says. It’s over. Iran is ‘dead,’ he claims. And now we need a new enemy. Who dat? Cuba? The New York Post: "President Trump said Monday that he expects to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba,” days after the island’s communist government acknowledged it was in talks with the US. “You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba. When will the United States do it? “I do believe I’ll have the honor of taking Cuba...that’s a big honor.”
But then, we learned that he has another enemy in mind: Now with the death of Iran, the greatest enemy America has is the Radical Left, Highly Incompetent, Democrat Party! Thank you for your attention to this matter. We pause here to celebrate the president’s half-smart honesty. At 50%, he’s more right than usual. The biggest enemy the US faces is not Iran. Or Cuba. Or Russia. Or China.
None of them are likely to do Americans any harm, except inasmuch as we try to harm them. Our major enemies are not overseas. They are homegrown...homeland bound...homies. But he left out the other half of America’s big enemy - Republicans. Together the two parties put Americans in debt for $39 trillion dollars. That’s about $325,000 per family. And it’s currently going up by about $2 trillion per year - rising about twice as fast as GDP.
In other words, the two parties are doing something that China, Russia, Iran et al might like to do, but lack the means to do it. They’re bankrupting and impoverishing the USA. Both parties nodded in consent to the biggest boondoggles to come down the pike - the war on Iraq...the war on Afghanistan...Obamacare...the Wall Street bailout of 2008....the Covid lockdown and stimmie program...and now, the war on Iran. Obviously, America’s families can’t afford to pay for these things. Trump is right, too, that the attacks on Iran should end immediately. But it appears that he is not the one - or at least, not the only one - who is calling the shots.
Money talks. The politicians listen. And Netanyahu is telling them that Iran cannot be allowed to exist in its present form. Iran sees Israel as an existential threat, too...one that must be eliminated. Neither Netanyahu nor Khamenei seem inclined to CO (chicken out). And the question before us is this: has Armageddon been cancelled. Or merely postponed?
Unreconstructed catastrophists that we are, our advice today is to lay in some extra supplies of medicine and necessities. You never know when all Hell may break loose, and you never know where the sparks will fly...or what they may ignite."
o
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"Research Note"
by Dan Denning
"If there’s an off ramp to total currency destruction and hyperinflation, the US government had better take it now. The US Treasury Department has published its Financial Report of the United States government for 2025. The word ‘unsustainable’ appears 18 times. The word ‘crisis’ 14 times. Gold, a surprising 19 times (gold is an asset on the government’s balance sheet so it must necessarily show up somewhere).
The report is a slog. But we’ll go through it this week and report back to you on any new and important findings. For now, please note that debt held by the public finished 2025 at 99% of GDP. The historical high is 106%. From 1980 to 2025, the average was 53%. By the time debt-to-GDP reaches 576% (100 years from now, according to the report) America as we know it may no longer exist.
If government bonds become a casualty of the US war in Iran, then the American public or the Fed will have to buy more of it. The Fed may do so through Quantitative Easing - expanding the money supply (and inflation) out of thin air. The public, through financial repression, may be forced to buy government bonds to fund annual deficits of $2 trillion and annual interest payments of $1 trillion (unless the budget its balanced, spending is slashed, and the forever wars are ended)."
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