Gasoline Prices and the (Evangelical Assisted) Swindle of American Energy Independence

Returning home on Saturday evening, I was just north of Pittsburgh and saw diesel had crossed the $7 a gallon threshold. Regular gas (petrol for some) is pushing $5 a gallon. Pennsylvania pays higher taxes on fuel and unfortunately due to the deep corruption within our Department of Transportation (PennDOT), we don't always see a lot for it. But our poor roads (even poorer in the winter) are another matter. The corruption within Pennsylvania government cannot account for the present crisis in gasoline prices. Many connect the spike to the Trump-Netanyahu decision to attack Iran - but that doesn't really explain it either. Because we were promised by the Right that something else would happen the next time the Middle East blew up.

Blinded by Cal Thomas

https://calthomas.com/2026/05/to-the-complainers/

Readers will know I do not hold Cal Thomas in high regard but I do remain frequently baffled by the fact that his name is associated with 'retreatism' or Christians getting out of politics. Because he (kind of sort of) disavowed the Moral Majority, people act like he's a Two Kingdoms guy or almost like Anabaptist or something.

The Iran-Lebanon War Cover-up

https://truthout.org/articles/trump-administration-covering-up-extensive-damage-done-to-us-bases-by-iran/

https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/israel-largest-tank-losses-40yrs-ambushes-21-merkava

It's not surprising to learn that the Pentagon has been trying to cover-up losses and damage to US assets. The fact that Iran can strike back does not fit with the US narrative.

A New Wave of US Troop Withdrawals from Germany

As a form of punishment and warning, Donald Trump has announced the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany. It must be recognized this is a symbolic action and means little to nothing as all the systems and infrastructure that are in place will not change. He is frustrated that NATO is not coming to his rescue as the Iran War has not gone according to plan and is generating significant economic trouble at home. Given the mid-term elections are in six months, he's starting to worry. I also would add there's a great deal that's been covered up with regard to US and Israeli losses - that will eventually come out.

Growing Militarism and Fears of World War

https://www.politico.eu/article/world-war-iii-defense-spending-europe-poll/

Politico is well known as a pro-Atlanticist publication and thus is going to represent a NATO-bias in its reporting. Despite this shortcoming, there's still some good information to be gleaned from time to time.

In this case, the article is neither profound nor surprising but rather affirming what many already sense - the world is heading toward global conflict. Indeed, history may look back and reckon the next world war as having begun in the early 2020's with the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and now Iran. These wars are becoming ever more related and interconnected and as Donald Trump discovered they are not easily disentangled or disengaged from as so many issues are woven together.

Whitewashing US Aggression in Cuba and Venezuela

https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/deprivation-and-depopulation-inside

We can hope that Trump's failures and frustrations in connection with Iran might lead him to back off his militarist rhetoric regarding Cuba. But if anything he's likely to strike the island as a means of distraction - just as Iran helped steer the conversation away from his connections to the Epstein scandal. That is until his wife (in an attempt to protect her supposedly 'good name') rekindled the fire.

The Deranged and Violent Fantasies of Today's Evangelical Leaders

https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/ap-at-pentagon-christian-service-hegseth-prays-for-violence-against-those-who-deserve-no-mercy/

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/cpac-republicans-close-ranks-behind-trump-iran-war-2026-03-26/

https://consortiumnews.com/2026/03/05/hegseth-brags-of-mass-killing-in-iran/

The Hegseth prayer has received quite a bit of press coverage but unfortunately the media interactions I have encountered are from Liberal/Modernist Theologian-types that are incapable of providing a robust Biblical rejection of his theology.

NPR, JP Morgan Chase, and Establishment Media

The Right would have us believe that the Liberals are out to destroy the United States and reduce its might and wealth. This is patently ridiculous - as I have argued on many occasions. The Left (so-called) is just as invested in the Empire as the Right is. The leaders of the DNC and the so-called Liberal Media are all avid capitalists and support the US Empire, its projects and its wars.

However they do like to have it all packaged with a nice humanitarian and legally justified veneer - even if it's all rubbish. They attach interpretive narratives as to how it all works so that it can appear legal, humane, and enlightened. In some respects I find myself despising them all the more for their hypocrisy - though there's plenty to go around.

I was reminded of this listening to NPR's Steve Inskeep interview Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan. It was quite chummy with Inskeep employing his trademark over the top laugh. He was hardly an impartial or watchdog reporter let alone an adversarial one.

AI Targeting, Ethics, and the Guns of August

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/3/18/ai_warfare

Everyone is talking about AI right now and unless you've had your head in the sand, you're aware of the discussions regarding the Pentagon's use of the technology and suspicions and claims that it was AI targeting that resulted in the hit on the girl's school in Minab, Iran. Over 175 were killed as a result and while Anthropic has protested and subsequently been blacklisted by the Pentagon, reports suggest that Palantir and other platforms still make use of Anthropic AI.

For years there were discussions about the ethics of robots in battle. Well, the use of AI has circumvented this debate and now computers are actively involved in targeting. The sheer speed of operations means the human element is minimal and unable to keep up.

Starmer Bows to the Emperor

https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/3/12/al-jazeera-sees-bombs-being-loaded-onto-us-planes-at-uk-base

Keir Starmer has tried to distance himself from America's war and yet Britain is certainly the junior and subservient partner in the Atlanticist Anglo-American Empire. His government is struggling and he didn't want to risk alienating more Labour voters by supporting the Trump-Netanyahu war and so he tried to side-step the issue by suggesting that UK bases would only be used for 'defensive' purposes.

Candid Talk Within the Oil Industry on Venezuela and Iran, and the Potential Geopolitics of a Larger Regional War

https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/iran-war-described-as-biggest-opportunity

This article is based on a January 2026 summit held in Washington DC - just weeks after Maduro's kidnapping and before the latest Iran War.

Macron's Latest Defeat

https://www.politico.eu/article/france-germany-next-generation-fighter-jet-project-collapse/

In the grand scheme of things this is a minor story but it points to some of the internal struggles within Europe, which in turn plays out within the larger political spectrum. With the departure of Angela Merkel and in light of Franco-German relations (such as the 2019 Aachen Treaty), Macron stood at the pinnacle of European politics. France was set to re-assert the leadership it believes itself entitled to.

Iran Protests and Inflated Death Tolls

https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/meet-the-former-fashion-blogger-and

The reporting surrounding the protests and death tolls in Iran have played a part in the media campaign justifying US action and in particular the assassination of Ali Khamenei.

The False Prophets of Just War Theory

https://breakpoint.org/just-war-in-iran/

Both Stonestreet and his mentor the late Charles Colson provide ample evidence as to why Just War Theory is a malleable self-serving fiction. If the war is launched by a Republican president, they support it and provide (by means of sophistry) a theological and ethical justification.

FLN, Disinformation, and Iran

Today on the Family Life Network (FLN), radio personality Robbie Price reported that despite US efforts, the Iranians are just not interested in trying to come to a peaceful solution. This is evidenced by the military drills conducted in the Strait of Hormuz.

Price just left it there and moved on to the next story.

The Latest Echo of the Shapur Effect

https://www.churchinchains.ie/news-by-country/middle-east/iran/iran-state-media-accuses-recently-arrested-christians-of-espionage/

In the 3rd and 4th centuries large numbers of Christians lived in Persia - and given that the Roman Empire persecuted them, they were welcome. Rome and Persia had already been engaged in centuries of war and it would continue until the 7th century and the Islamic conquest. Persia was a haven for these Christian communities.

An American Military Presence in the Caucasus Sold as Peace

https://eurasianet.org/trump-brokers-potentially-game-changing-deal-with-armenia-azerbaijan

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/07/us-deal-armenia-azerbaijan-00499285

I must say if this deal holds and comes to fruition, it will be quite the feather in Donald Trump's cap. Or if it goes wrong, it may be viewed by historians in terms of folly and provocation.

The Grand Chessboard 2.0? - Central Asia, Iran, Israel, and the Shah

There's so much that could be said right now about events in the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Iran and the potential for a wider war including the United States and others.

For my part I think about scenarios in which the war could go sideways or the aftermath of a regime collapse.

Spinning Yemen and Syria

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5341420/syrias-transitional-leader-is-a-former-jihadist-can-he-help-stabilize-the-region

This interview was informative to a point. It was also striking in that it attempted to spin the HTS takeover of Syria. The US Establishment is so ecstatic that Assad is gone, they are willing to spin the situation in order to assuage public fears. While Robert Worth suggested Israel is less than pleased - as demonstrated by their seizure of territory beyond the Golan Heights, and the numerous strikes to cripple that nation's military capability, I still felt like the whole question of Jolani/al-Sharaa was viewed through an Israeli lens.

Lindsey Graham Wants to Bomb Iran - Again

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/19/graham-military-action-iran-nuclear-program-00199181

This story has almost been lost in the flurry of events over the past month but the issue is still live and the bomb-loving Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is still pressing for a strike on Iran.