Thank you For Your Attention To This Matter

I don't know why the only President we have started using this passive-aggressive "Office Space" inspired coda to his social media posts of any bloody thing that pops into his head, but they make even an announcement of war with Iran seem like a memo to make sure your TCP reports have a proper cover sheet.

Now, my Outlaw colleague Jim Moore has a thoughtful and nuts and bolts piece this week about the latest Trump reversal of policy, you know, "no more endless Middle East wars?" That one? Oh, and with that the belief that he should have already been awarded 5 Nobel Peace Prizes.

The economic effects of this conflict will echo the 1970's oil shocks, or the early 80s with the Iran/Iraq war. Remember the Strait of Hormuz? You know, through which 20% of the world's oil passes?

The US was already bracing for the inflationary effects of another ill-conceived policy, the Trump tariffs, and now this will add another plate for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to keep spinning like a juggler on the Ed Sullivan Show.

If he simply resigned at this point, who could blame him?

But this illustrates how we, the public, are being forced to deal with two problems created by the guy whose supporters claim is playing 3D chess when actually 1D checkers is overstating the case.

Problem one, illustrated above, is the consistent failure to look down the road at potential consequences and if he does see them, explaining them away like a guy sticking his fingers in his ears and making blah-blah sounds until people stop bothering him with facts.

One good example is the above scenario following his dutiful bombing run ordered essentially by Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose real goal is to keep some sort of conflict going to stay in office. Whether it's making the rubble bounce in Gaza or picking a fight with Iran, he'll do whatever it takes to avoid the inevitable electoral reckoning that is no doubt coming.

Bibi's obsequious speech after the bombing, full of fawning ass-kissery, was just the ticket for the guy who actually wore a MAGA baseball cap in the situation room as he watched the mission take place.

And just for comparison...

So, add to this an economy that was actually humming along after recovering from the pandemic, and now is teetering on the brink of recession and this failure to foresee anything beyond an applause line at a rally will really cost us in the long and short run.

And just to cap this off, there is that pesky Constitution thingy. The U.S. Constitution, specifically Article I, Section 8, grants Congress the sole power to declare war. This means that the President cannot unilaterally initiate a formal state of war. But, they haven't actually done that since 1941 so again, this is a bipartisan example of invertebrate inaction on the part of Congress.

The other problem is an attitude borne of our current and seemingly intractable partisan political divide. In other words, "If the other guy is for it, I'm against it." Even if it makes sense.

Of course, the biggest example is putting RFK Jr's brain worm in charge of the nation's health care. All of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the CDC's vaccine advisory panel have been replaced with anti-vaxx pseudo-experts pulled from the ranks of, YouTube, I guess, to decide how the next generation will be protected from diseases we all considered eliminated.

I joked a couple of weeks ago that his brain worm will probably tell him to put the lead back into gasoline next. Well, be careful what you joke about.

From Mediaite...

President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering lifting a ban on asbestos, the cancer-causing mineral that’s been comprehensively outlawed since last year.

Asbestos, which has been known to cause mesothelioma and other types of cancers, was fully outlawed by the Biden administration after decades of a partial ban. Now, the Trump EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin, has told a federal appeals court that it is reconsidering the ban, The New York Times reported this week.

Yes, if Biden banned it, I'm bringing it back.

I'm sure this will come as a great relief to Steve McQueen, NFL great Merlin Olsen, musician Warren Zevon, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and thousands of others. Well, it would have if they all hadn't died of mesothelioma.

If Biden and Obama were worried about climate change, I'll deny it. Let's bring back coal. I'll even lie and say green energy is too expensive. Even AI can't buy into that...

Renewable Energy Costs:

• Solar: The cost of solar energy has significantly decreased in recent years due to technological advancements and increased production. In some cases, solar power is already cheaper than fossil fuels, especially when considering the long-term cost of operation. 
• Wind: Similar to solar, wind energy costs have also decreased, with onshore wind now being one of the cheapest forms of energy in some areas. 
• Hydroelectric: Hydropower is currently the cheapest renewable energy source due to established infrastructure and consistent production. 
• Overall: The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for renewables, which accounts for the total cost over the lifetime of the plant, has decreased, making them more competitive with fossil fuels. 

But the President says that if renewable energy can't stand on it's own without government support, then it should go. I mean, if oil and gas can make it on their own why can't...? Hold on, I'm being told something by my director...

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that global fossil fuel subsidies, including both direct and indirect costs, reached a record $7 trillion in 2022. 
• The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) estimates that direct subsidies to the fossil fuel industry in the US amount to $20 billion per year, with 80% going towards oil and gas. 

Oh, OK. To quote Emily Litella, "Never mind."

The Education Department? That was a Carter deal, right? OK, gone.

AID, foreign aid? That happened under Kennedy? Another Democrat? OK, 86 it.

Medicaid? Easy, that was LBJ. Bye-bye.

There, that will take care of all that profligate Democratic spending. That will give us room to add 2 or 3 trillion to the national debt, right?

And let's be fair. Democrats have spent freely as well and the national debt is again, a true bipartisan enterprise.

Did Biden approve Juneteenth as a national holiday? Well, OK, Congress approved, but he signed it, right? Well, instead of observing it, because it involves DEI somehow, I'll complain about it.

Let me state for the record that we have a grand total of 11 national holidays.

Oh, I left out the original Iran Nuclear Agreement, the Obama administration's  Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a multilateral agreement reached in 2015 between Iran and several world powers (including the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany). Got out of that one in his first term. I mean, it was an Obama thing, so if we get out, what could go wrong?

So here we go. I know I've quoted the legendary Margo Channing before, but "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."