Political Thoughts in Dire Times

Russia, Russia, Russia

So, we declared war on Iran, and now oil prices have significantly increased. So, with at least a 20% increase in oil, which country benefits the most? A country that’s north, not close to the Middle East. I country that illegally invaded Ukraine. A country that wants to reclaim the territory that it lost after the Cold War. Yes, Russia is getting more money for oil, which certainly helps them, especially with the war with Ukraine. Trump says he’s trying to eliminate evil by attacking Iran, it appears he's only bullying countries that don't yet have a nuclear weapon.

If he’s serious about eliminating evil, he should start showing backbone when dealing with Putin. The fact that he’s not helping Ukraine makes me suspicious. The fact that he’s attacking evil in Iran, instead of Russia, makes me that much more suspicious. When I hear a comment saying that Putin has something on Trump, I used to laugh it off as tomfoolery. Not anymore, there’s something there, and it doesn’t smell good. It's either for business-oriented reasons or past behavior (that could ruin our incompetent leader) done by Trump. Why on God’s green earth could our country elect such a buffoon? He just causes angst and frustration wherever he goes. He doesn’t have the “Midas Touch” but rather, the “UnMidas touch.”

Trump and Putin, together again.

Netanyahu and Trump Need Each Other

Once the US and Israel attacked Iran several weeks ago, political commentary followed the story. Reporters in Washington were asking several senior Trump officials about what led up to the war. What happened to the negotiations?

Trump sent two envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to Iran to negotiate Iran's nuclear program. Both of these men have a background in real estate and have not been thoroughly trained in international relations, especially when dealing with a tough adversary such as Iran. Was it performative for Trump to send these two to negotiate with Iran? Did Trump actually think several meetings would suffice to get Iran to make key concessions on nuclear issues? When previous administrations dealt with Iran, it sometimes took a year or two to secure a deal. It seemed like Trump gave them just a few hours. In a way, Trump has tipped his hand during his administration, unwilling to do the hard, intense work to accomplish something significant. It's all about executive orders and his unwillingness to work with Congress to get things done. Because the SCOTUS (US Supreme Court) gave him essentially absolute immunity, why do the dirty work when you can merely bully someone into capitulating?

Did the Israelis pressure Trump to approve the strikes against Iran? Was Netanyahu actually the culprit who brought the US, and maybe others, into this conflict? If this is a fact, will Israel pay us back for all of our costs? Or even half, they certainly should seriously consider it. If there’s a silver lining here, I hope the economy struggles a bit to the point that some MAGA supporters fall away from Trump. At least I can be hopeful he pays a lot of political capital for this ridiculous decision to fire on Iran. I remember years ago when our Executive Branch was independent and decided if a conflict was in the best interest of our country. Now it appears that we’re doing much of the dirty work to severely wound Iran.

Friends?

Around March 13^th, the Trump administration lifted sanctions on shipments of Russian oil for roughly a month. Allowing the oil to be sold to buyers from around the world. The GR nations and the U.S. have maintained sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2002. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been anxious to get sanctions dropped, as increased profits help their war effort in Ukraine, and the entire economy. Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, says the move is necessary to help ease oil prices, which are skyrocketing because Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the attack by the U.S. and Israel. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz chimed in, " No supply problem exists; it’s just a price problem. Why would this administration do such a thing? Russia, Russia, Russia

The Trump-Epstein Files

Since Trump was referenced 38,000 times in the Epstein Files, the DOJ did its best to keep that out of the media. A cynic might say that when the investigation started to zero in on Trump, our leader tried to divert America's attention to another crisis.

For example, as some integrity-minded politicians put pressure on Trump, he threatened to take over Greenland. This threat freaked out most of Europe, except for Hungary. I think Hungary was hungry to stay on Trump's good side (intentional pun).

As some integrity-minded politicians put pressure on Trump, The Wall Street Journal published a birthday note from 2000, allegedly from Trump to Epstein. His predictable response was that this note was “Fake,” and Trump filed a lawsuit against the publication. (What’s the status of that lawsuit?)

As some integrity-minded politicians put pressure on Trump, there were more attacks by the US military, destroying so-called vessels in international waters attempting to smuggle drugs into the US. Every time there's a strike against a vessel, the majority in Congress just looks the other way and gives Trump carte blanche.

As some integrity-minded politicians put pressure on Trump, he sends the US military into Venezuela to capture their President, Nicolas Maduro. Was that a legitimate pivot?

As some integrity-minded politicians put pressure on Trump, he pivots and calls on his supporters to focus on Bill Clinton instead. Now that a former President has testified, it's now the President's turn to do so.

As some integrity-minded politicians put pressure on Trump, he followed Israel in attacking Iran a few weeks ago. The administration gave several reasons to do so: Preventing Nuclear Proliferation, neutralizing terrorist proxies, self-defense, support for internal protests, failed diplomacy, and Iran’s historical aggression. I don't think Trump has ever decided his main reason for attacking Iran, besides to follow what Israel wanted to do.

Even though Trump knew about how Epstein was abusing those underage girls prior to Epstein's arrest, it wasn't until 2006 that Trump called the police to say it was about time the abuser was arrested. For context, in the 1980s and 1990s, Trump and Epstein socialized together and were often seen in photographs as pals. Their friendship lasted about 15 years. If Trump knew about this awful abuse for years prior to the arrest of Epstein and his associates abusing underage girls, why didn't he do it sooner? What does it say about his morals? Did he not care? Did he have more important financial matters to tend to? Did he not want to get involved, knowing that his name may ultimately appear thousands of times in the Trump-Epstein files?

When someone shows you who they truly are when you first meet them, believe them.

A Detailed Outline of the Sanctions against the Russians

Around March 13^th, the Trump administration lifted sanctions on shipments of Russian oil for roughly a month. Allowing the oil to be sold to buyers from around the world. The GR nations and the U.S. have maintained sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in 2002. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been anxious to get sanctions dropped, as increased profits help their war effort in Ukraine, and the entire economy. Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, says the move is necessary to help ease oil prices, which are skyrocketing because Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the attack by the U.S. and Israel. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz chimed in," No supply problem exists; it’s just a price problem. Why would this administration do such a thing? Russia, Russia, Russia

Political Thoughts in Dire Times