Dark Days Ahead: Why Gas Prices Keep Climbing

The precursor to today's soaring gas prices actually began with the 1973 Oil Embargo, though isolated strains and rising demand appeared as early as 1972.

The reasons why were a dwindling domestic capacity, the Arab Oil Embargo, and shifting market dynamics that caused the price of a barrel of oil to quadruple by 1974.

 A major factor in the price of gas today also involves the volatile Middle East with an illegal war on Iran. The U.S. has seen prices surge to a nationwide $4.33 per gallon. And it's only going to get worse according to energy experts.

Lawmakers today are paying the price for not resolving the first energy crisis's biggest challenge; while the U.S. produces a massive amount of oil, it yields mainly "light" crude. 

The problem is most American refineries are structurally built to process "heavy" crude imported from regions like Latin America and Canada.

Exporting the USA's own crude and relying on foreign markets for its refined fuel needs has been a losing proposition that lawmakers have been loath to address.

Fact; the U.S. hasn't built a major new refinery since the 1970s. Existing facilities are running near full capacity (around 98%), and recent refinery closures on the West Coast have constrained supplies even further.

American pump prices are directly locked to international benchmarks. When international supply drops, it forces domestic prices to immediately climb as we experience the effect of the Trump/Epstein war.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the world's largest emergency supply of crude oil. Instead of using traditional tanks, the federal government stores this oil deep underground in 60 massive, artificially carved salt caverns located across four heavily guarded sites along the Gulf of Texas and Louisiana.

But there's a problem. The SPR is at its lowest level in over 44 years, holding about 285 million barrels of crude oil as of September 2026. The stockpile is currently at about 40% of its total capacity of 714 million barrels.

Then we have a demented president who boasts about America's huge oil reserves and how we don't have to worry about gas prices. In his fantasy world Trump claims gas prices will go down "shortly" despite evidence that things are only going to get worse if they continue to follow the course they're on.

As it Stands, I think were rapidly approaching a point where bicycles and horse drawn vehicles will become our primary modes of transportation. Just kidding. Sort of. 

Red Lights Flashing: Diesel Shortage is Shocking American Consumers

Going forward he shall be known as Diesel Don for driving the price of US diesel to historic highs. 

Trump has thrust America into another crisis as the national average for diesel prices have surged to record highs of $6.29 to $6.40 per gallon.

The surge is driven by geopolitical supply shocks, thanks to the Trump/Epstein war in Iran. As a result, there's been a tightening of global distillate inventories. Energy experts are warning that those costs are likely to climb in the days ahead amid festering geopolitical conflicts overseas.

Warning bells are ringing for all Americans who better be prepared to recognize that inflation is likely to get turbocharged by these high prices. Simply put, everything that moves around the country and all crops are dependent on spending money on diesel fuel.

Signs that we are already in a crisis mode - like in the Midwest which is getting particularly hard hit after an ExxonMobile refinery outside of Chicago had to halt production for several hours following a power outage - are occurring daily.

In response to the historic diesel hikes independent truck drivers and owner-operators are threatening a nationwide strike as early as next week. Small fleets and owner-operators are facing immediate threat of bankruptcy. Red lights are flashing in our vital transportation sector.

Truckers are frustrated by the lack of government intervention. 

The fact of the matter is commercial trucking is the backbone of the domestic supply chain. If there's any prolonged work stoppage or on-going mass exodus of drivers could quickly lead to:

* Severe, immediate food shortages at grocery stores.

* Inabilities to deliver perishable produce and essential medical supplies to hospitals and schools.

* Drastic retail price increases passed straight on to the consumers on everyday goods like clothing, electronics, and building materials. 

As it Stands, lack of diesel supplies arrives at the same time as the price of gasoline is skyrocketing. I'll discus the gas shortage in my next post.

Time to Say Goodbye? It May Be Up To AI

"In the year 5555

Your arms hangin' limp at your sides

Your legs got nothin' to do

Some machine's doing that for you..."

- Zager & Evans

The first American science fiction story about a future doomsday was written by Edgar Allen Poe in 1839. It was titled, "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion." The story takes place in the afterlife, where two disembodied souls - Eiros and Charmion - discuss the recent destruction of earth.

Here we are in the 21st century talking about an artificial intelligence-driven apocalypse in our time. Scenarios include AI manufacturing deadly viruses, attacking infrastructure, or accelerating global wars.

Last week the tech world brought up one big question: "Could AI kill us all?" According to Jacob Coxon a former AI researcher, who previously worked at Open AI, "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

Coxon warned lawmakers that the rapidly developing technology could pose catastrophic risks to humanity in the coming years. His post on Twitter got over 170 million views. People are worried.

Evan Hubinger, who leads Anthropic's alignment stress-testing team, backed Coxon, saying he personally believes there is greater than-10% chance AI could kill humans in that timeframe.

There's a sharp divide among AI experts on what to expect with the expanding use of AI. Some people fear a loss of control with systems more capable than humans. 

Others say AI could cause grave harm through cyberattacks, biological weapons, and disinformation - but that extinction is not a credible near-term outcome.

If frontier labs truly believe there is a substantial extinction risk, they should stop until Congress can enforce a broader halt until it can be shown to be controllable. There's one problem however; Trump believes there will be "more good than bad" from the technology. Bottom line, Trump believes AI is another money-making venture, and he wants to cash in on it.

"There's a sick conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers and the only one that is happy about it is China," Trump claimed in an interview yesterday.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday that lawmakers need to take urgent action on the growing threat of AI. Lawmakers from both chambers have returned to Washington this week for the final legislative push before the November midterm elections.

In normal times I think that lawmakers on both sides would agree to slow AI progress down until everyone agrees it's safe. But these are not normal times. We have a convicted felon and sexual abuser who has turned the presidency into a money-making machine.

As it Stands, it's important to know we face a real threat without legislation to control AI and the massive Data Centers that feeds it information 24-hours a day. Time is running out.

Putin Gets Payoff: Trump Tears Apart Institutions and Transparency Rules on Money Laundering

Vladimir Putin is smiling today. His longtime investment in Trump is paying off with dividends. 

Trump took steps to make it very difficult to prosecute money laundering, a crime he's repeatedly committed with his billionaire real estate buddies much of his life.

Why did Capital One Bank close more than 300 Trump Organization accounts back in 2021? The bank said it was because their internal fraud department had flagged illegal money-laundering activities.

Interesting. But on whose behalf? Trump or Russia? Or both? Let's take a look at some factual background for the answer.

One thing was clear in the Mueller Report and public reporting; Putin spent millions and did his best via social media and hacking the DNC to get Trump elected in 2016. It's more than likely that Putin tried to help get Trump elected in 2020 and 2024.

Now this happens...

Trump's billionaire crony Scott Bessent this week came up with a new rule that will make it more difficult to investigate and prosecute money laundering. 

Bessent ended any transparency by directing the Treasury to delete all the beneficial-ownership information they currently hold on U.S. persons (like Trump and his brats) that could be used to prove past money laundering crimes. 

No wonder Putin is smiling. Trump made it easier for him, or any other foreign oligarch, to use shell companies to buy American politicians. What a coup!

It's common knowledge that money laundering is how drug money, bribes, stolen government money, tax evasion proceeds, or money belonging to a sanctioned oligarch can be pushed through corporations, trusts, real estate, banks, casinos, and multiple other transactions.

A recent report from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project titled "U.S. Real Estate is No 1 Destination for Laundering Dirty Money." In it they say, "we have the weakest regulatory framework to counter real estate money laundering" among all of the G7 nations."

Trump and Bessent made sure they and their accomplices in crime will be harder to catch with this slimy move.

It's a fact that Trump has been up to his eyeballs in money laundering for most of his business career. When he blew his inheritance, he turned to Russian oligarchs to prop him up after multiple bankruptcies via these very kinds of real estate transactions that the Treasury will no longer be looking at.

It's going to be easier than ever before for bad foreign actors to influence our elections with the midterms only 50 days away. 

More bad news.

Thanks to Trump refusing to appoint a needed member, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) doesn't have the quorum it needs to conduct its own enforcement of rules against foreigners jumping into our elections. Call it a hunch, but I doubt Trump will ever appoint someone - especially with the midterms around the corner.

Sadly, we know foreign billionaires (Musk, etc.) and dictators have a vested interest in how our system works; if they didn't, they wouldn't be throwing literally billions of dollars into Trump family operations, from Trump's crypto to Jared's Saudi backed Investment fund.

As it Stands, this latest move is another threat to the integrity of the midterms as GOP candidates will get the benefit of more foreign money that's now become easier than ever before to dole out.

Will 9/11 Victims' Families and Survivors Finally Get Justice in October?

It may come as a surprise to many but there's a landmark civil lawsuit representing thousands of 911 victims' families and survivors actively moving through a federal court.

Here's a quick background.

In August 2025, U.S. District Judge George Daniels ruled that the case had enough foundational evidence to proceed to trial, rejecting Saudi Arabia's motion to dismiss. 

The lawsuit relies heavily on declassified FBI documents alleging that lower-level Saudi officials and intelligence assets in California - specifically Omar al-Bayoumi and Fahad al-Thumairy - provided logistical and financial support to the first hijackers who arrived in the U.S.

Oral arguments regarding the Kingdom's appeal are scheduled to take place before the U.S. Court of Appeals on October 7, 2026. That's right. Next month. A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City will hear the case.

Saudi Arabia is looking to completely overturn the ruling by U.S. District Judge George Daniels. That ruling ignored the Kingdom's claims of sovereign immunity and gave the families and survivors the green light to move forward.

A shocking development happened this month when the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI sent a controversial letter to the district court judge asking the court not to "unseal critical, highly sensitive Saudi documents" that the 9/11 families are actively fighting to make public.

If the Second Court of Appeals rules in favor of the families, Saudi Arabia will lose its final shield against accountability in domestic courts. The case will officially proceed to a multi-billion-dollar civil trial.

A trial would force the Kingdom to hand over internal documents and submit former Saudi officials to formal depositions and public scrutiny.

I have a lot of questions regarding the whole process but the biggest one right now is why the Trump regime (including the FBI) is asking the court to conceal vital evidence?

As it Stands, here's a thought; the Trump and Kushner families have too much invested in Saudi Arabia to allow any accountability to disturb the gravy train.

Absolute Desperation: Trump's Midterm Convention Bribe to Voters

Pay them and they will come...

Trump's latest illegal attempt to rig the midterm elections is to bribe voters with $5,000 if the Republicans retain control of the House and the Senate.

I'm not sure how that would work purely from a mathematical standpoint (we're talking about a Reuters estimation of 1.3 $trillion dollars), but the whole idea is illegal. Not that it bothers Trump who has gone off the deep end in his second term.

Trump dangled a cash payout in a speech during Day One (it's a 2-day convention) of Trumpalooza - aka Republican Midterm Convention. It's a first for the party that didn't really want one. However, there was no stopping a desperate Trump from holding a glorified rally to hold onto his power in Congress.

This desperate gamble comes amid the declining popularity for the Republican party and Trump himself. Ever the egotistical maniac Trump is making the two-day sham all about him and even pleaded with attendees to pretend he was on the ballot.

Despite being an old ploy (promise the suckers money), Trump's history of unfulfilled monetary promises is a revelation. He told Americans that they were going to get a $2,000 tariff rebate in 2025, and a $5,000 DOGE stimulus check in 2025. Neither happened.

I wonder how Republican leadership reacted to this new cash for votes payout. They were probably not even aware of the scam but being spineless jellyfish they'll go along with it, despite the fact that much money would further stoke inflation.

"If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump promised. "It will be called the Trump dividend," he bragged to the less than half full stadium of loyalists. He also added that the money would have to be spent in the U.S., but it's unclear how that would be monitored.

If this open bribery works, the lesson for every future politician is going to be: if you want to win an election, promise a trillion dollars. Now multiply a trillion dollars times the number of elections we have coming up and that's a recipe for national bankruptcy.

Calling the bribes dividends doesn't make them legal. Congress would have to agree to the massive payout that is blatantly illegal under U.S. federal law. A politician can't give out payments that are intended to influence the way a person is voting. Period. Full stop.

It just goes to show how desperate Trump is to keep his cronies in power and to avoid accounting for his numerous crimes since slithering back into office. Seasoned politicians don't usually do something as explicit as this out in the open. Illegal ploys are normally hidden and hatched in back rooms.

But we're talking Trump.

As it Stands, this outright bribe is not going to be Trump's last stunt before November. Buckle up, the ride isn't over yet.

'Big Brother' is Burrowed Deeper into our Lives Than You Thought

Try to imagine you're just driving along obeying speed laws when a policeman suddenly appears behind you and signals for you to pull over.

The officer appears at your side of the vehicle, and he is accompanied by two masked men with assault rifles and protective vests who all want you to get out while holding both arms straight up. You're being treated like a criminal without rights as the masked men tear apart your vehicle looking for illegal narcotics.

As this is going on you're being peppered with questions. The officer checks your driver's ID and proof of vehicle insurance before finally explaining why you were stopped.

"We had reason to believe you were smuggling drugs."

"What?" you ask. "Why?"

"There were some questionable transactions in your bank account, and you were flagged by the Department of Homeland Security's CBP initiative that analyzes bulk data."

"Bulk data, eh? What do you have? A secret center for spying on Americans?"

"It's all perfectly legal under Trump's Transaction Record Analysis Center (TRAC) database. Here's your license. You've been cleared. Have a good day."

Of course, it wouldn't be that smooth if you were really pulled over. You'd be sitting in a stinking jail cell while they investigated you which could take hours or even days.

Thanks to 404 Media a secretive U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit has been exposed. Drivers who are not suspected of any specific crime face aggressive interrogation and vehicle searches when local law enforcement initiate a "pretext stop," using a minor traffic infraction as the legal excuse for pulling you over. 

Special Predictive Units analyze data - including your financial habits and transaction history. The program blends data broker intelligence with traditional roadside enforcement. 

TRAC has illegally amassed over 145 million records of bulk money transfers (such as Western Union data) sent by ordinary citizens, allowing law enforcement expansive, warrantless access to personal financial transactions. 

As it Stands, the really scary part of this program is that it's undoubtably tied to other secret agencies that are stripping away our freedoms in the shadows.

Slip Sliding away... Trump Regime is Rewriting American History

One of the first things a fascist regime establishes is a fake history that fits into their ideology. Books are burned. Books are banned. History is rewritten to reflect white superiority.

Students of history will point to Hitler's Nazi regime for an example. Dictators like Mussolini formed a restrictive government that told people what to believe and who to believe in.

It's 2026 and Americans are watching their heritage slip-slide away under a corrupt authoritarian government that favors the wealthy and the White.

Schools and libraries have been besieged with regime trolls banning books and rewriting curriculums in public schools in both of Trump's terms. His vile efforts have increased during his second term.

For the sake of space, I'm just going to point out one of Trump's attempts to rewrite our history. There are numerous others.

In July, the White House released a scathing 162-page report accusing the Smithsonian Institution of engaging in "extreme political activism" and presenting "a radical view of American history." 

The blatantly political report, which was published by the White House Domestic Policy Council, took aim at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, accusing its leadership of adopting "an ideological framework that no longer treats the American story as a shared national inheritance to be taught or celebrated, but as a political instrument to divide, dispirit, and discourage our citizens."

In other words, ignore the fact that Americans in southern states enslaved black people to enrich themselves. That blacks in America had to fight for their freedoms and still are. 

The report came out after Trump signed an executive order on March 27, 2025, called (ironically) "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History."    

Since the July release of that scathing report the Trump regime has been attacking exhibits and demanding they change them because they don't reflect the new Trumpian reality. 

It's no wonder that the Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Brunch stepped down on Tuesday from his position while telling ABC News that "I have fought as long as I can." Brunch has been a part of the Smithsonian Institution for 38 years and was named secretary in June 2019, making him the first African American to serve in that role.

You can imagine the pressure Brunch has been under coming from our racist regime that minimizes people of color and which refuses to obey laws it doesn't like. 

As it Stands, it's up to you and me, and millions of other voters, to turn out for the midterm elections and vote Blue to reverse the traitorous trend Trump is taking this country on.

Rename It and Claim It: Dementia Don Knows No Boundaries

Trump claimed the Moon belonged to America and Republicans didn't laugh.

They were afraid too. The rest of the world mocked his moronic claim.

During a recent tantrum Trump renamed Lake Ontario, Lake America, because Canada refused to be bullied by our demented leader and not accept his draconian terms for trade. 

Natalia Harp had to restock the black diaper bag she carried around for Trump because he repeatedly lost his shit over Canada's defiance.

The disrespect Trump has for our second biggest trade partner has been an ongoing theme where he's suggested Canada should become the 51st state in the union.

On Trump's first day back in office, he issued several executive orders and directives aimed at renaming major geographic features, federal agencies, military bases, and public landmarks. He focused on MAGA inspired American themes or his own name.

Who can forget when Trump decided to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Not one nation on the planet changed their maps to include the change. He was mocked worldwide, something that soon became a regular event every time he came up with another stupid renaming of a geographic feature, building, or national monument.

Because President Obama changed the name Mount McKinley in 2015 to Mount Denali (something the native Alaskan's have called it for thousands of years which means "the high one.") Trump restored it to Mount McKinley.

The other day Trump was riffing with reporters and said, "Maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or Pacific. Maybe we change them both" he boasted.

Last September Trump ordered the Department of Defense be renamed the Department of War to match what officials called a new "warrior ethos."

The United States Institute of Peace was rebranded by Trump to the "Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace," ignoring the fact it was a congressionally created organization.

The Trump regime has introduced his name or likeness into new government-backed programs, such as tax-advantaged children's saving options officially referred to as "Trump Accounts."

 As it Stands, the list of military bases and local landmarks Trump renamed is too long to recite here. Just know that this rebranding/renaming is going to continue until Trump leaves the White House. One way or another.

White House Website Proudly Displays Vile Video Games

Just when I thought the Trump regime couldn't get viler it recently proudly displayed anti-immigration games that expose how racist the regime really is. 

The official White House website launched a sub-section on Sept. 3 called Arcade.gov, featuring five retro-style arcade games designed to promote Trump's core policies.

Two of these games focus explicitly on immigration and border security.

* Rio Run - This game is a clone of the classic mobile game Snake. Players control an avatar resembling either Trump or border czar Tom Homan patrolling the Rio Grande. 

The goal is to catch migrants attempting to cross the border. Once caught, the characters are shown in orange prison jumpsuits and follow behind the player to increment a deportation high score.

* Build the Wall - Subtitled Zombie Border Siege, this Tetris-style block-stacking game's objective is to build out sections of a border wall to "protect the border from the incoming hoard" of zombies and space aliens.

On Sept. 4, 2026, The Tetris Company issued a statement clarifying it had no involvement with "Build the Wall," denounced the anti-immigrant rhetoric, and threatened the regime with legal action for copyright infringement.

The other three titles target the regime's programs.

* Trump Savings Tycoon: A game where players grab flying cash (how Trumpian can you get?) to fund the regime's newborn investment savings accounts.

* Supply Line: A food- sorting game tied to "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement.

* Flappy Bill: A Flappy Bird clone featuring a bald eagle carrying legislation past obstacles (like the law) over the National Mall.

The launch quickly drew heavy criticism from immigration rights advocacy groups and civil rights organizations. Rightly so.

Meanwhile the Trump regime defended their disgusting new games "as policy you can interact with (WTF?) meant to contrast with their political opponents." This gibberish is supposed to be an explanation.

As it Stands, can you imagine MAGA parents letting their children play these loathsome games? I can. 

A Survival Guide to Living in an Age of Rage

"It looked as if a night of dark intent was coming, and not only a night, an age. Someone had better be prepared for rage..." - Robert Frost

It's safe to say we live in an age of rage.

Just look around you. Our anger is reflected in everything we do. Even the most common things, like driving a car, is scary because of road rage that kills hundreds of Americans every week, month, and year.

More than 1 in 4 Americans frequently witness road rage, showing that this dangerous behavior is fairly common according to a recent AAA report (2025). Another study found that 96% of people have reported witnessing road rage.

The rage keeps growing.

Rage in the air has been around for some time but lately incidents on commercial airlines have become routine for travelers in America and worldwide. The once friendly skies are not so friendly anymore. 

I just read about an unruly passenger on an American Airlines airplane. He was so violent other passengers had to restrain him while the stewardess got out duct tape and zip ties to constrain him.

Why are we seeing so many outbursts ranging from an impolite gesture (flipping the bird) at another motorist to road rage that can literally lead to death?

One explanation is given in this informative article:

Psychiatrists: Rage Comes From Accumulation.

Another explanation for uncontrolled anger comes from the pits of politics so extreme there's a battle every day to cling to our freedoms. 

Trump's raging rhetoric keeps fanning the flames of anger into something so ugly any sense of humanity has been squeezed out of most Americans by now.

It's up to us to not let rage rob our senses and make us do something we'll later regret. We can't do anything about the next person, but we do have the option of keeping our own cool.

With that in mind here's an Age of Rage Survival Guide link:

Controlling Anger before it Controls You

As it Stands, I hope the above article helps you understand why there's so much anger in our world.