I have made a decades-long point of pointing out the US economy long ago stopped being capitalist in nature.

And is instead long been a creeping form of Diet Fascism. The ever-increasing harmonic convergence of Big Government and Big Business to maximize their respective interests - at the expense of all the rest of US.

Big Biz’s conduit to Big Gov is, of course, DC’s monstrous lobbying industry. The main metaphor (metonym) that part of the Deep State acquired - is K Street. The DC avenue notorious for the many, many lobbyists and other DC influencers who have for decades taken up residence thereon.

Of course, DC influencers exist throughout DC. And in nearby parts of Maryland and Northern Virginia. In 2019, nine of the country’s twenty wealthiest counties - were DC suburbs.

I can’t find a more recent assessment. My guess? Everyone in DC is too embarrassed to conduct the reassessment. Because it’s almost certainly gotten even worse.

It’s the DC Shuffle. Big Biz dumps billions per annum into K Street. K Street works its magic. And Big Gov extrudes trillions per annum in Big Biz-favoring policy.

As but one nauseating example? Big Tech is currently spending $226,000 PER DAY lobbying Big Gov.

Gee…I wonder why Big Gov is moving Heaven and Earth to as rapidly as possible jam Artificial Intelligence (AI) down our throats.

But three decades of Internet later? Big Gov still hasn’t passed a digital privacy law - limiting even a little Big Tech’s multi-trillion-dollar-per-annum data harvesting business model.

It’s all such a mystery.

When Big Biz and Big Gov harmonize? Big Gov gets bigger. Big Biz gets richer. And the rest of US slide into poverty-ravaged oblivion.

Behold: The K-Shaped Economy:

“Here’s a picture of two economies.

“In the first, consumer sentiment sinks to record lows as staple goods grow increasingly unaffordable; even ‘cheap’ items like fast food start feeling like luxury buys for many households.

“In the second, high-ticket discretionary goods are flying off the shelves as asset-based wealth - stock markets, real estate, even art and collectibles - surges to record highs.

“These two economies are like night and day. Yet sometimes they’re happening at the same time, in the same place - rewarding a few while placing strain on the majority. Economists have a term for this condition: a K-shaped economy.”

Why…all of that sounds awfully familiar, does it not?

This is why President Donald Trump is incessantly touting the stock market. Whilst ignoring the ever-more-disastrous disaster area that is the vast majority of the economy.

Those who own stocks? Are definitely on the upward arm of the K.

The nation’s richest 1% - own 50% of all stocks and mutual funds. The richest 10% - own 87%. The poorest half of the country - owns less than 1%.

Oh: And Wall Street gets better - when Main Street gets worse.

To wit: When Big Biz uses AI to fire 100+ million of US in the next decade?

It’ll be great for Wall Street. Those Big Biz stocks will SOAR.

But it’ll be awful for Main Street. Which will be flooded with 100+ million additional people looking for work - in a country that no longer hires anyone.

So you’ll excuse the average American when he or she isn’t doing cartwheels about the stock market’s ongoing high altitude.

The vast majority of Americans - are on the wrong arm of the K.

Americans’ total household debt reached $18.8 trillion in Q4 2025 - the highest level ever recorded.

Included therein: US credit card debt reached a record $1.33 trillion in 2025. Average credit card interest rate? 25.23%.

And US consumers are carrying an additional $20.83 trillion in mortgage debt. With an average 6.37% interest rate on a 30-year note (the most common of mortgages).

Here are the monies We the Screwed are paying per annum - just in interest on loans:

Homes: $1.33 trillion

Credit cars: $270 billion

Cars: $152 billion

Student loans: $118.2 billion

70+% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. And 100+ million of them - will soon lose their paychecks.

The downward arm of the K-shaped economy - is downward for a whole lot of reasons.

But at the head of that putrid waterway? Is K Street and DC.

Where Big Gov gives K-shaped-economy-upper-arm Big Biz all the good policy.

And dumps all the awful policy into the waterway.

To flow downstream - and further pollute the economy for all the rest of US.

The monster comedian Jerry Seinfeld has a great observation about how lots of money can sometimes lead to lazy thinking - and even non-thinking.

My fairly exhaustive Internet search failed to locate the video I saw containing said observation. So I must paraphrase.

Seinfeld said when he and his fellow comedians were broke? Every little thing they tried to do had to be thoroughly thought out. To ensure it worked - and worked funny.

Seinfeld said he has subsequently been on some big budget projects where attention to comedy detail disappears. They just throw money at everything. Over and over again. And the money - loses the funny.

It ain’t just comedy flicks. You can think of all sorts of big budget blockbusters that have lots of Big Tech production - and very low-wattage plots and character development. (Hello, Marvel.)

And it ain’t just flicks.

The West’s prevailing Cold War narrative is the US - as a free market economy - could afford to spend into oblivion the communist economy Soviet Union.

(Never mind that the KGB today still runs Russia. And the US has for decades been infiltrated by Communists. And is now drowning in $39+ trillion in debt - much of it accrued via all sorts of Cold War hyper-activity.)

The United States throwing trillions at the problem? Often resulted in some pretty silly outcomes.

To wit: A great West Wing anecdote:

“We spent millions of dollars developing a pen for the astronauts that would work in zero gravity. You know what the Russians did? They used a pencil.”

I know this happened? Because one Christmas as a kid I received as a gift - one of those astronaut zero-gravity pens. A monument to Cold War Big Money, Big Tech stupidity.

Let us now turn to the Iran war. In which the United States is now thoroughly mired. Despite its obvious Big Money and Big Tech superiorities.

Almost two months in, we have learned at least one thing for certain:

Short of full-on, fully successful land invasion, regime change and perpetual occupation? Iran has total control of the Strait of Hormuz. Which is a choke point for the entire planet’s entire economy.

And Iran has this domination? Thanks to the Strait’s geography - and low-cost, relatively low-tech.

Iran’s Shahed Drone: How ‘The Poor Man’s Cruise Missile’ Is Shaping Tehran’s Retaliation

How Iran’s Cheap, Low-Tech Drones Have Cost the U.S.

How Iran Is Using Cheap Drones to Cause Chaos Across the Middle East

Why Iran’s Grip on the Hormuz Strait Will Be Hard to Break:

“Nor can (the US) control Iran’s coastline without sending in ground forces. Even then, Iran can launch its Shahed drones from any location in the country and strike a ship going through the strait….

“There’s also the threat of Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S. Defense official told Congress that removing the existing mines could take six months, an operation that can only begin when the war is over….”

Mines are decades-older tech than are drones.

President Trump’s response to all of this? Let’s just say he hasn’t learned the Seinfeld-West Wing-Iran lesson.

Trump Calls for Record $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget, a 50 Percent Jump

Trump Says US Can’t Afford Medicaid, Medicare, and Day Care: ‘We’re Fighting Wars’

Which brings us to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI is going to absolutely be many quantum leaps forward for Big Tech. And that certainly will benefit Big Tech.

But what of the rest of us?

The purpose of an economy - and a society? Should be to best benefit its people.

As mentioned: It’s why capitalism is better than collectivism - because the former benefits the people way more than the latter.

But here comes a CRUCIAL caveat: There are times when capitalism finds itself at odds with what is best for the people.

In these circumstances - in a humane society? You scrap capitalist purity - and do what’s better for the people.

It certainly looks like AI is a bottomless geyser of these caveats.

AI Could Wipe Out 100 Million US Jobs Over the Next Decade

Stop right there. There are currently ~158 million jobs in the US.

Murdering 100 million? 60+% of ALL jobs? Is a HUGE AI downside for the people - all by itself.

And NO ONE has articulated any upside even remotely close to equivalent.

It’s all been a South Park Gnomes’ Underpants skit:

“Step 1: Collect underpants. Step 2: …. Step 3: Profit.”

We need a MUCH more detailed AI Step 2, please. The problem being? There probably isn’t one.

AI isn’t “the car replacing the horse and buggy”-level disruption - as some AI defenders claim. Not even remotely close. Heck, most of the jobs lost there - were for the horses.

Nowhere in the AI discussions currently underway - is the welfare of the people even the minutest of considerations.

The AI discussion is about the Wall Street bubble…oops, I mean boon.

AI-Related Stocks Driving Most Market Gains

You can pretend that helps the people. Except the poorest half of the people own less than 1% of Wall Street stock.

And the rest of the AI discussion? Manic, frenzied variations of….

America Must Win the AI Race Against China

The US always needs its boogymen. China is also a bank shot boogyman in the Iran war.

The War Over Iran Is Really About China

Except here’s a thought:

Instead of launching wars and destroying our economy in the name of China competition?

How about we stop sending China trillions of dollars per annum? How about we find other places to make the cheap crap we buy?

Like, say, the US?

If we stop feeding the hands that bite US? They become less able to bite US.

And less able to develop AI.

No wars and national suicide necessary.

I am a free market capitalist. I want less government. I want less taxes and regulations.

I want free people to be free to do as they wish. Broadly, I’d like economic freedom - predicated upon Thomas Jefferson’s description of religious freedom:

“It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”

Again, broadly: If my neighbor’s economic activities neither pick my pocket nor break my leg? They can have at it - and the very best of luck to them.

Perhaps most importantly: I want equal protection before the law. I want both my corner store and Amazon to face the same laws, regulations and taxes.

Here is where the problems begin to arise.

The United States is not a free market capitalist economy. It has not been for many, many decades.

Even worse, we still operate under the delusion that it is. Every economic debate DC has - is had through this warped, false prism.

Wonder why socialism is currently skyrocketing in popularity in the US?

What we call capitalism? Is actually Diet Fascism - with a heaping side of warmongering globalism.

And at least in socialism - when government wastes the money? It’s doing so in the US. Some of it may slosh around and actually help some Americans.

That doesn’t happen when we launch yet another idiotic war overseas.

Yes: I would describe what we have now long had in the US - as Diet Fascism.

As people rush to clutch their pearls at the very notion? Let’s define our terms - and see where we actually are.

Classic Fascism - stripped of all the ideological tripe:

“Fascism, in the context of business and government, refers to a political and economic system where the state exerts significant control over the economy, often through corporatism.”

Corporatism?:

“This system is designed to promote collaboration between the state and businesses….”

All of which sounds exactly like what’s going on in the US. It is certainly WAY closer to reality than attempting to classify it as free market capitalism.

The US economy last year was ~$30 trillion. The federal government last year spent ~$7 trillion. And regulated at a cost of ~$2 trillion.

The Feds share of the power of the economy? (At least) 30%. That’s fascism’s “significant control.” And it only grows more significant every year.

And by the way: The Feds’ $39+ trillion debt? And its $1+ trillion in per annum interest payments? Is The Feds controlling even more of the economy. The more money they owe and borrow - the less there is for the private sector. And the debt and interest only grow more significant every year.

Again: “Significant control.”

Are Big Gov and Big Biz in nigh harmonic, fascist convergence? You bet they are.

There was ~$6 billion spent last year lobbying The Feds. Which, when compared to the $9+ trillion that $6 billion is spent to sway? Is but a mere pittance.

But nowhere in the history of humanity has there been a greater Return on Investment (ROI) than in DC in the 21st Century. That $6 billion - netted trillions in cronyism.

Special laws. Special tax rates. Special tax breaks. Special incentives. Government subsidies. Regulatory carve outs. Zero antitrust impediments. Zero prosecutions of corporate crimes. And on, and on, and….

Of course your neighborhood retailers aren’t a part of that $6 billion buy-in. But their Big Biz competitor Amazon ($2.7 trillion Market Cap - $18.9 million in 2025 lobbying) is a huge part thereof.

How did Big Biz get so big? Massive Big Gov cronyism.

This is how our marketplace has become so consolidated (and polluted). Only Big Biz can afford Big Gov. So Big Biz pays for Big Gov - and then weaponizes it.

A great example: The 2008 financial collapse was an entirely fascist endeavor.

Big Gov incentivized the Big Banks to make trillions of dollars’ worth of idiotic mortgage loans. By buying the stupid loans from the Big Banks seconds after they were made.

And when the inevitable collapse occurred? Big Gov bailed out the Big Banks - to the tune of $29 trillion.

And then came the fascist legislation. We were told Big Gov’s woefully misnamed Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was going to end “too big to fail” banks.

It instead murdered thousands of small banks. Which the Big Banks then consumed on the cheap - making themselves even bigger.

Big Gov and Big Biz working hand-in-hand. To screw the rest of US. Fascism.

Except: Why do I classify it as Diet Fascism? Rather than Classic Fascism?

Because in the US, corporations dictate terms to the government - not the other way round.

A great example? Big Tech dominating DC - and getting whatever it wants from Big Gov.

Someone Should Sue to Break Up Big Tech’s DC Lobby Monopoly

Think Big Gov has any real sway at all? Look at all the politicians who campaign on “Draining the Swamp.” Or “Taking on the Deep State.” Or whatever euphemisms you wish to extract from history.

These politicians then get to DC - and realize they don’t have any power whatsoever. They are Big Gov order takers for Big Biz.

To get their share of the $6 billion lobby money - and the $14+ billion in bi-annual campaign money? They have to play ball.

And it is Big Biz that is pitching. Big Gov is catching.

Just about everyone in Big Gov plays ball. And when someone doesn’t?

See: Thomas Massie. Kentucky 4th’s Republican congressman has spent his career voting against the DC cronyism racket - and chronicling the corruption.

And what do his morality and fealty to the Constitution get him?

DC’s Big Gov-Big Biz guns turned on him.

After (President Donald) Trump’s Call for GOP Rep. Massie’s Defeat, Groups Spending Over $5 Million to Try to Oust Him in May Primary

Because Fascism - Diet or otherwise - can not allow ANY disloyalty to stand:

“Fascism suppresses dissent through a combination of legal repression, extralegal violence, censorship, and propaganda, creating an environment of fear and control.”

If all of this doesn’t sound like the US in 2026?

You haven’t been paying any attention at all.

I have said for a very long time:

The only two US political battles that currently matter?

• Globalist v Nationalist

• DC v US

Globalist v Nationalist

Broadly, Globalists are:

• “Invade the world - invite the world.”

  • Coups, invasions, bombings, sanctions, embargoes, etc internationally.

  • Open-borders domestically.

• Free trade on our end - no matter what other nations do with tariffs, import limits and subsidies on theirs.

Broadly, Nationalists are:

• Prioritize America and Americans - and leave the rest of the planet to the rest of the planet.

  • No foreign adventurism.

  • Little to no immigration.

• Actual free trade - relative government parity on all sides.

DC v US

Broadly, DC has been at war with US for decades. DC’s denizens don’t work for US. They lord over US.

And DC has grown very, VERY fat. While the US has grown inexorably starved out.

DC has done this? By slicing the US to the bone - and then selling US by the pound to the planet’s highest bidders.

DC doesn’t create anything. It doesn’t make a dime. Yet as of the 2020 census? Nine of the nation’s twenty richest counties - were DC suburbs. Want to bet that number gets even worse in 2030?

The 2025 federal government spent $7 trillion. And regulated at a cost of another $2 trillion. The 2025 US GDP was $30.6 trillion.

Which means the federal government - taxes and regulates equal to about 30% of the entire US economy.

Gee, I wonder why there are so many rich lobbyists living in DC’s surrounding nine counties?

You want massive lobby and campaign finance reform? Massively shrink the massive federal government. The remora will spend money - in direct proportion to the size of the shark they’re pursuing.

Shrink government? And you shrink the lobby budgets of nigh every company with such a budget.

The chasm between DC and the US is Grand Canyon-esque. And grows larger with each passing day.

To wit: DC is currently nigh entirely consumed with the Globalist Iran war. And the Nationalist US is wondering why the heck Globalist DC is doing yet another stupid thing to drive up US prices.

Of course, there are a great many publications of, by and for DC. That almost no one in the US knows even exist - let alone reads.

In defense of some of these pubs? They exist for the purpose of serving DC. For instance, I don’t think The Hill newspaper is striving too mightily for an audience too far beyond the Beltway - and those nine surrounding counties.

And some pubs exist for DC - and the state and local governments affected by DC.

Which brings us to the pub Broadband Breakfast (BB):

“Broadband Breakfast reports every day on America’s broadband buildout. Broadband Breakfast is the community for Better Broadband, Better Lives.”

That ain’t exactly a Main Street USA publication.

The average US citizen ain’t wondering what DC, state and local governments - and the private sector - are doing to build out the US’s Internet infrastructure.

The average US citizen just logs onto the Internet - and goes about their day.

A problem with a DC-government-sector-centric publication like BB? Is they are are at times cut off from the realities of actual life in the sector it covers. You’re so worried about the forest? You miss all the trees.

To wit:

BB has a feature: The Broadband Question of the Day.

Monday’s question? Inadvertently highlights the DC-US disconnection about Internet connections:

“Is the current level of competition in the U.S. wireless market sufficient to protect consumers on price and service quality?”

The average American would never look at their world through such a prism. And certainly not utilizing that type of language.

And if they did? They would find the question a little…disconnected.

Americans see a whole lot of wireless providers:

“The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), lists approximately 30 facilities-based wireless service providers in the United States as members. Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) has over 1000 members. Aside from the facilities-based providers, there are over 50 virtual operators that use the top three networks to provide service.”

Americans see a chief US indicator of a whole lot of competition:

An avalanche of TV ads - from a bunch of different wireless companies. Including upstarts like Ryan Reynolds’ Mint Mobile and Ted Danson-represented Consumer Cellular - taking incessant potshots at their bigger-name competitors.

Seriously, in the US economy: How many small businesses can afford to take on their big business competitors to this degree? Not many, is the answer. You don’t see the local Mom and Pop Shoppes taking on the likes of Amazon and Walmart. At all.

Oh - and the most important indicator?

Americans continue to switch in droves from wired to wireless for their home and office connections.

Because there are far more wireless providers from which to choose. They are far less expensive. And they provide easier and better connectivity (more and more with each passing day).

All of the above is true - at least in part - due to all the wireless competition driving each competitor to ever-increasing heights of achievement.

Meanwhile, wired is dominated by a few legacy dinosaur companies. NONE of whom are national - instead each dominating their respective regions of the country. And they are wielding outdated, expensive technology - and delivering it to an ever-dwindling customer base.

You would think an Internet-specific publication like Broadband Breakfast would notice all of this.

And know not to ask such an…unusual question.

But that’s what happens when you spend too much time swimming in DC’s waters.

You sometimes forget you’re wet.

I have long lamented the obscene massiveness of the federal government.

456+ Federal Agencies? The Eternal Push for Ever-Expanding, Redundant Over-Government

One of the infinite reasons to oppose this obscene massiveness?

You have no idea how many crazy people with crazy ideas exist amongst the federal government’s 2.0-2.7 million civilian employees.

(The government is so huge? Even Grok can’t narrow it down any further than that.)

Another reason?

Bad policies and bad proposed policies are…immortal. Or at least undead. They zombie on from year-to-year, administration-to-administration.

To wit:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). And it’s former (allegedly Republican) Chairman and Commissioner Neil Chatterjee.

What is FERC, you ask?:

“FERC’s Mission: Assist consumers in obtaining reliable, safe, secure, and economically efficient energy services at a reasonable cost through appropriate regulatory and market means, and collaborative efforts.”

Which brings us to the idiocy that is “green energy.”

I have long lamented “green energy.” Wind, solar, etc. Because it is neither green - nor energy. It is awful for the environment. And it produces very little energy - very expensively.

It is demonstrably unreliable. If the Sun doesn’t shine? If the wind doesn’t blow? You have no energy from “green energy.”

In short: It is fake energy.

Given FERC’s mission statement? They too should vociferously oppose “green energy.”

Except: Government loves government. And fake energy requires a LOT of government.

And enter: Donald Trump-appointee Neil Chatterjee.

Chatterjee’s length of tenure at FERC is in…some dispute. By that I mean:

Chatterjee’s LinkedIn page has him at the commission as “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission · Full-time” from “August 2017 - October 2025.”

Everywhere else on the Internet has him leaving FERC in 2021. But let’s go straight to the Leviathan’s mouth.

The FERC Chairmen Page has him serving as chair from October 24, 2018 - November 5, 2020.

The FERC Commissioners Page (chairs serve simultaneously as voting commissioners) has him serving from August 8, 2017 - August 30, 2021.

So Chatterjee appears to be being…disingenuous…about his time at FERC.

Now: Let’s examine Chatterjee’s recent (actual) professional history, shall we?

Again, Chatterjee’s LinkedIn page says he was “full-time” at FERC until October 2025. Which makes the following announcements a little…interesting….

Former FERC Chair Joins Amazon-Backed Carbon Removal Startup - March 27, 2024:

“CarbonCapture hopes Neil Chatterjee, currently a senior adviser at the Hogan Lovells law firm, can help the startup clear the regulatory hurdles associated with powering the direct air capture facilities it’s racing to develop in California, Wyoming and other states.”

Carbon capture is a simply idiotic business model - unless your business model is to plant trees.

Guess what? That’s not Amazon’s carbon capture business model. Theirs is based upon LOTS of government mandates - that mandate companies like theirs be hired to meet them all.

Neil Chatterjee, Former FERC Chairman, Joins Palmetto to Lead Government Affairs Team - January 17, 2025:

“Leading the world towards a clean energy future.”

Palmetto is a fake energy company.

I’m fairly sure one is not allowed to be a “full-time” member of FERC - and hold lobbying gigs with companies FERC oversees.

Even by DC’s incestuous revolving door standards - that’s a bit excessive.

What is DC’s revolving door?

Government bureaucrats stroll out of government - and directly into private gigs in the sectors they were JUST regulating. Where they are hired to influence the bureaucracies they JUST left.

So guess what happens? The bureaucrats treat the private sector VERY well. So as to grease the skids for getting sector gigs immediately after leaving their government gigs.

And so it appears to be with Chatterjee - and his Amazon and Palmetto gigs.

Which makes one realize:

Whilst at FERC, Chatterjee must have emplaced a lot of fake energy policies. Which Amazon and Palmetto wish to see continued/advanced.

Which brings us to the eternal undead life of government policy.

I’m going to assume Chatterjee actually left FERC in 2021 - not 2025. Because everyone except Chatterjee says so.

Amazon and Palmetto seem to have made the same assumption. Because duh. Because they hired him during his alleged extended FERC tenure.

Why? Because they knew - with almost moral certitude - most-all of Chatterjee’s fake energy policies were still on FERC’s books. Several years AFTER Chatterjee had left FERC.

And Amazon and Palmetto wanted Chatterjee to see that they were continued-advanced.

Thankfully - hopefully? That may no longer be possible.

FERC Terminates Several Long-Pending Policy Proceedings and Initiates New Inquiries, Potentially Signaling a New Regulatory Approach:

“(N)ew Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Laura V. Swett made a series of significant announcements, possibly signaling a new regulatory approach for the agency.

Chairman Swett first outlined her priorities, focusing on cementing U.S. ‘energy dominance.’…

“Marking Chairman Swett’s new approach, FERC acted to terminate several proceedings that have long been pending….”

Here’s hoping that means the end of FERC’s fake energy bent.

And with that? The end of Amazon and Palmetto’s hopes for Chatterjee - and their fake energy agenda.

This also appeared in Daily Caller, The Daily Caller News Foundation and The Independent Journalism Review.

Behold Duke Energy:

“(A)n American electric power and natural gas holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company serves over 7 million customers in the eastern United States.”

2025 was a very good year for The Duke:

“Duke Energy reported nearly $5 billion in net income for 2025, reflecting a significant increase from the previous year.”

But that seems to be nowhere enough profit for The Duke. In 2026….

North Carolina Rate Hike Sparks Backlash as Duke Energy Pushes 18% Increase: ‘Privatize the Profit, Socialize the Costs’

“Privatize the profit - socialize the costs?” You betcha.

Utility companies are their own personalized legal black hole. Private companies own them - but get all sorts of government cronyism to aid and abet their profit making and taking.

It’s a quintessential example of the Diet Fascism that now dominates the US.

Perhaps the biggest of the very many crony gifts governments bestow upon utility companies?

The Regulatory Compact:

“It allows investor-owned utilities to hold a monopoly - as long as they are willing to be regulated.

“Now depending upon what state you’re in? Utility companies are guaranteed a profit of 9-to-10-11 percent. Some states I believe it’s as high as 14 percent….

“Under the Regulatory Compact? All of their expenses are passed directly on to the customer. Fuel, maintenance,….

“Now they (the governments) thought for whatever reason this was a good thing. Because as long as the costs are directly passed through to the customer - then the utility can’t profit on it.

“That’s not true at all.

“Because when the utility company needs to spend a billion dollars on the grid? It’s the customers that have to pay for it.

“And when it’s over with? They (the utility company) have another billion dollar asset. That is capable of transmitting significantly more electricity.

“And enriching the utility company even more.”

As with all of the US’s Diet Fascism? The highest bidders always get the government goodies.

Enter the hedge fund sharks. The biggest bidders of them all.

And what’s even easier for hedge funds than bribing government officials for new cronyism?

Buying into sectors with existing cronyism built-in.

Well…guess who owns Duke Energy?:

“Duke Energy is a publicly traded company primarily owned by institutional investors, with Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street among the largest shareholders.”

Yes, the same hedge funds that are buying up all the nation’s housing. And entire cities’ worth of local businesses. And…pretty much everything else…:

“(G)rocery brands, dental practices, apartment buildings, and nursing homes….”

The Silent Giants of the Stock Market: How BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Own a Stake in Almost Every Company

Including, of course,….

Private Equity Firms Like BlackRock SNAPPING UP Public Utilities & Electric Bills to SKYROCKET

And the bills are skyrocketing with hedge fund-owned Duke Energy.

Now, per the Regulatory Compact? Utilities have to get government permission to raise rates.

But we are now decades into the US’s Diet Fascism. The hedge funds’ll kick in a little extra to the local pols? And the local pols will approve the hedge funds’ rate increases.

The greatest returns on investment (ROI) in human history? Result from private sector payments to government officials.

And as an added bonus for the Duke’s victims - oops, I mean customers?

We have Big Tech - and their monstrous data centers. And, of course, Big Tech gets some cronyism too:

“In the proposal, industrial customers would be subject to a lower rate increase of 12% over two years.”

So Google and Facebook pay 12% more. Ma and Pa Carolina pay 18% more.

Of course that is atrocious. But it is perfectly typical of mid-21st Century Diet Fascism.

Here in the gold ole US of A.

All of this reminds, after a fashion, of a bit from comedian Bill Burr:

“There’s nothing wrong with being a billionaire. But if somebody is working forty hours a week, 160 hours a month - and they can’t make their rent? You’re not paying them enough money. Maybe you should just be worth $900 million.

“How does a CEO take an eight-figure bonus - and none of your employees have dental insurance. They can’t even go out and get a filling.”

Hey Duke Energy hedge funds:

You made $5 billion last year.

How about eating into that - just a little?

And forget about your attempted nigh 20% rate increase?

Just a thought.

From over here in Humanity.

There has been a lot of news about a lot of lawsuits filed against Big Tech.

Just last week….

Social Media Trials Usher in Big Tech’s Latest Moment of Reckoning:

“‘The message is clear,’ New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, whose investigation resulted in a jury finding on Tuesday that Meta must pay $375 million for failing to protect kids from child predators, told POLITICO in an interview. ‘It’s time to change the way these companies do business.’

“Less than 24 hours after the New Mexico verdict, jurors ruled against Meta and Google-owned YouTube in a Los Angeles social media addiction trial, ordering a total of $6 million in damages.

“The widely popular platforms, along with others like Snap and TikTok, once appeared unstoppable as they designed their algorithms for maximum user engagement….

“Tech’s critics are pouncing, determined that this time they will deliver Silicon Valley its long-threatened comeuppance.”

The wheels of justice turn slowly. And by that I mean these court cases often take many years to arrive at a conclusion.

These cases have already taken years. And they ain’t anywhere near a conclusion:

“The companies have vowed to appeal.”

Shocker.

These are but two of oh-so-many lawsuits filed against Big Tech.

Six Major Tech Lawsuits to Keep Tabs On

There are monopoly lawsuits. Privacy lawsuits. Data breach lawsuits. Artificial Intelligence (AI) lawsuits. And on, and on, and….

Why are the people trying to rein in Big Tech - placing so much time, money, effort and hope in the courts?

Because they know they’ll get absolutely nowhere in DC.

Because in three decades? They’ve gotten absolutely nowhere in DC.

Because Big Tech OWNS DC.

Behold the Lords of Lobby.

Big Tech companies are a part of at least two major tech lobby associations.

NetChoice: “Works to make the Internet safe for free enterprise and free expression.”

TechNet: “We are the voice of American innovation.”

Both groups have as members:

Google (Alphabet) Market Cap: $3.3 trillion

Amazon Market Cap: $2.1 trillion

Facebook (Meta) Market Cap: $1.3 trillion

Google-Alphabet owns YouTube (Market Cap: $550 billion) - but YouTube is also a separate, unilaterally-listed member of NetChoice.

To make a little more manageable this analysis, we will henceforth continue to focus only on the three Big Tech companies that are members of both aforementioned tech lobby associations.

But as you can probably guess, the Magnificent 7 tech companies (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Tesla) are nigh all HIGHLY active lobbyists.

Total lobby expenditures for the Mag 7 in 2025? $88.4 million.

Back to our Three….

—-

Besides the aforementioned two associations - and even more others - Facebook-Meta also gives money to:

Business Roundtable

Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)

Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)

Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)

Coalition for American Innovation

Data Center Coalition

And various others focused on AI, privacy, advertising, and innovation policy.

In total, Facebook-Meta spent $26.3 million on lobbying in 2025.

—-

Besides the aforementioned two associations - and even more others - Amazon also gives money to:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Business Roundtable

National Retail Federation

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)

Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)

Motion Picture Association

Others like the Bipartisan Policy Center, National Association of Manufacturers, and various tech/retail coalitions.

Wow does a lot of that list look familiar.

In total, Amazon spent $18.9 million on lobbying in 2025.

—-

Besides the aforementioned two associations - and even more others - Google-Alphabet also gives money to:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Business Roundtable

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)

Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)

Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)

Others like the Bipartisan Policy Center, Atlantic Council, American Enterprise Institute, and various advertising/tech coalitions.

Wow does a lot of that list look familiar.

In total, Google-Alphabet spent $16.5 million on lobbying in 2025.

—-

The point of all of this is?

Big Tech spends metric tons of lobby money. On just about everyone in DC. To ensure that no one in DC does anything Big Tech doesn’t like.

And it’s worked - like a charm.

Thirty years of the Internet? And DC has passed ZERO limits on how Big Tech collects and sells our data. This dearth of limits has made Big Tech tens trillions of dollars.

Hence all of the aforementioned privacy and data breach lawsuits.

Meanwhile, DC is moving at warp speed to ensure Big Tech can do whatever it wants to whomever it wants with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Zero federal guardrails. Whilst The Feds override state and local laws, politicians and citizens trying to at least tap the brakes.

Hence all of the aforementioned AI lawsuits - and the vociferous local opposition to AI-feeding data centers.

DC spends decades trying to illegally jam Big Tech mega-cronyism Net Neutrality down everyone’s throats. And steadfastly protecting Big Tech’s Section 230 blanket amnesty mega-cronyism.

In short: Big Tech owns DC.

So it’s little wonder people trying to rein in Big Tech? Have turned to the courts to attempt to do so.

Which raises another thought:

Since we can’t break through Big Tech’s DC lobby monopoly?

Perhaps someone should sue Big Tech - under antitrust - to break up their DC influence mega-cabal.

It can’t get them any less than trying to out-lobby them has.

This also appeared in The Daily Caller.

The US government is $39+ trillion in debt. It is currently adding $1 trillion to its tally every five months.

And through the magic of compound interest? The debt accumulation will only continue to accelerate.

Because Lord knows the government ain’t paying any of it back.

Because Lord knows the government increases its annual deficits - over the previous annual deficits - every time it writes a budget.

When DC is this fundamentally unserious? Things for the US get really serious - really fast.

The only thing at this point DC can do? Is postpone the inevitable. By any means necessary.

It’s Bernie Madoff time. At $7+ trillion per year.

Never mind what you’ve heard about the idiotic, criminal Federal Reserve lowing interest rates.

Though The Fed may indeed ratchet them down a quarter point or two in the near term? It will be like trying to put a tin can lid on the top of an erupting volcano.

Because the real monetary pressure is HUGE - and upward. And it’s only getting huger. Because the US debt keeps getting huger. And ever harder to finance.

The US needs to fund its debt. The two main ways to do this?

Sell bonds - Treasuries - to buyers via auctions. Or print money - to buy its own Treasuries. Thus turning IOUs - into IOIs.

Now, The Fed is prohibited from buying from itself new Treasuries. But it can buy existing Treasuries - what has been euphemistically termed “quantitative easing (QE).”

These purchases then sit on The Fed’s balance sheet. Which increases and decreases as The Fed buys and sells assets.

According to Grok:

The current Federal Reserve balance sheet stands at approximately $6.66 trillion in total assets….Securities held outright:

~$6.371 trillion (the primary driver from past QE).

• S. Treasury securities: ~$4.359 trillion.

• Mortgage-backed securities (agency MBS): ~$2.010 trillion.

• Other assets make up the rest (e.g., loans, foreign currency holdings, etc.).

Of course, the US buying - and holding - its own debt? Is an AWFUL look. It means it couldn’t find anyone else who wants it.

More good news: As the debt inexorably increases? That will only become more and more true.

Interest rates will have to rise ever higher. To entice anyone at all to buy the ever increasing debt.

Ok: Now we enter the realm of the theoretical. But it is an educated guess that we are about to make and examine.

Say the US government is having increasing difficulty selling its debt. And oh look - it is….

US Finance Problem: America’s Bonds Are Getting Harder to Sell

And even better news?

The Bond Market Sell-Off Is More Worrisome Than the One in Stocks

Investors Are Dumping Bonds. Here’s Why That’s a Problem

Not only do investors not want to buy new bonds? They are mass-selling the ones they have.

So The Fed is issuing new bonds - which they can’t sell. And more existing bonds are being dumped into the pool by the people who originally bought them.

The Fed at that point almost certainly has to ramp up its self-purchases. Of bonds new and old. Because $39+ trillion - is $39+ trillion.

But how does The Fed do that - without looking like its doing that? Because as we know: The Fed buying up its own debt is an extraordinarily bad look.

Hypothetically: Enter the tropical British overseas territory: The Cayman Islands.

Have some more Grok:

Historically, the Cayman Islands were associated with strong corporate secrecy and financial privacy, including strict banking secrecy laws that protected owner identities and business information from public disclosure. This contributed to its reputation as a “secrecy jurisdiction” in older rankings and leaks like the Paradise Papers.

However, corporate secrecy has significantly diminished in recent years due to global pressure for transparency:

• Since 2017, the Cayman Islands maintain a centralized Beneficial Ownership Register under the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Act (updated through 2025–2026 amendments). Companies must identify and report beneficial owners (individuals with 25%+ ownership or control).

• Access is not fully public. It is available to competent authorities (e.g., law enforcement, tax agencies) without restriction. For the general public, access requires demonstrating a “legitimate interest” via application to the Competent Authority (as per 2024–2025 regulations and recent reaffirmations in 2026).

The Cayman Islands have resisted UK pushes for fully open public registers, maintaining this restricted model to balance privacy and anti-abuse measures

Get that? Cayman secrecy from government has been reduced. But only reduced for government - not for us.

But what if it’s the government that wants that secrecy?

How the Cayman Islands Are Propping Up U.S. Debt:

“A small group of Federal Reserve economists raised alarm bells recently with the publication at the Fed’s website of an article showing that our current system depends on a group of shadowy hedge funds in the Cayman Islands lending huge sums of money to the United States government at low interest rates.

“We don’t know who is financing this lending operation or why they are doing it. But the entire federal government, apparently, depends on this money.

“Once the largest purchaser of U.S. government debt, the Chinese, along with other countries, began dumping their holdings some time ago.

“At the same time, the Federal Reserve reversed its seemingly interminable program of buying treasuries under the guise of responding, first, to the 2008 financial crisis and then the 2020 COVID-related financial panic.

“Slowly, but surely, both the Fed and the Chinese offloaded trillions in U.S. government debt at the same time the government ran record deficits - flooding the market with ever more IOUs.

“Basic laws of supply and demand dictate that when supply increases and demand craters, the price of the bond remains … unaffected and stable. Not what you’re expecting? Well, that’s what’s happening.

“So these plucky economists from the Federal Reserve set to crunching the numbers and discovered that a group of hedge funds headquartered in the Cayman Islands have been buying eye-popping levels of treasuries. In fact, they’ve purchased so many treasuries that they have become the world’s leading holder - surpassing China, Japan, and the United Kingdom.”

How hyperactive are these Cayman “hedge funds?”:

“40 percent of new treasury notes and bonds were purchased in the Cayman Islands after 2022.”

I have questions.

Again: It is the government telling us that it is Cayman “hedge funds” buying all of this US debt. Because the government has way more access to the Cayman information than do we.

Except: I don’t have a good history with the government telling me the truth.

And as we noted above….

Investors Are Dumping Bonds. Here’s Why That’s a Problem

And speaking specifically of hedge funds….

Hedge Fund Bets Against US Treasuries Threaten the Global Financial System

So hedge funds/investors the world over are dumping US bonds. Including China and the other nation-state investors.

But Cayman hedge funds are buying them? In HUGE numbers? That the government at first MASSIVELY underreported?

Now: It could be possible that these hedge funds are making some 5-D chess buy/sell/short play. And running ALL the buy portion - EXCLUSIVELY through the Caymans.

But that seems…unlikely?

Here’s my hypothetical:

What if The Fed is setting up a whole bunch of Cayman corporations? Behind the corporate veil - that we can not penetrate.

And then using them to mass-purchase bonds. To soak up the new bonds. And the existing ones everyone else is fire-selling.

Again: 40% of ALL new debt purchase since 2022 - has been in the Caymans. That’s TRILLIONS of dollars.

If The Fed is doing this? It is postponing - oops, and massively intensifying - the coming collapse.

Closing questions:

Which do you think is more realistic?

The Fed’s magical Cayman hedge funds theory? That these funds are doing what no other investors anywhere else on the planet are doing: Massively buying US debt?

Or my hypothetical Cayman-Fed straw men theory?

I would ask Madoff, but….

There are MANY dinosaurs living amongst US. Lumbering hulks from long-bygone eras.

Kept alive by idiotic, dinosaur DC policy. Because the dinosaurs spend a lot of money - hiring a lot of lobbyists. To ensure their dinosaur policy doesn’t go extinct - and them with it.

We speak today of one subset of dinosaurs: The government-subsidized broadcast networks.

(Ostensibly) private television: FOX, NBC, ABC and CBS. And (ostensibly) private radio: The very many stations you hear all across the country.

And public television: PBS. And public radio: NPR.

We say “ostensibly” private? Because these networks are built upon the wireless spectrum

to which the government granted them nearly-free exclusive access - via broadcast licenses - oh-so-many decades ago.

Nearly-free?:

“(Radio) stations serving large populations, such as six million or more, may face annual fees in the range of ten to twenty thousand dollars….Full-service television stations (also) determine their annual fee using a population-based methodology based on the number of people within the station’s projected service contour.”

By way of comparison? Cellular phone companies use the same wireless spectrum. They, too, need exclusive access via government license. Except they pay through the nose for it - via government spectrum auctions. The last auction? Brought in $19.12 billion.

Spectrum is a finite resource. And it exists on a spectrum (SWIDT?) of usefulness. Think of a Monopoly board. Some spectrum is Boardwalk and Park Place. Some is Mediterranean and Baltic Avenue. And the full range in between.

The better the spectrum? The more you can do with it. And as we pile more and more upon more and more of it? The free ride the broadcasters get? Starts looking more and more like a bad deal for the rest of us.

Now I realize: Broadcast television only uses about 6 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum. That ain’t a lot. Terrestrial radio uses more: Between 88 MHz and 108 MHz.

In wireless broadband terms? None of that is a whole lot. T-Mobile and AT&T currently own the most licensed spectrum amongst the wireless companies: Each own about 375 MHz.

And the US government owns the majority of US spectrum. About 60% of it. And a lot of that is higher-to-high-end stuff.

So the Broadcasters understandably point to their small spectrum share - and the government’s large share - and say “Why are you even looking at us?”

A perfectly fair question. And the Broadcasters spend a LOT of lobby money asking it.

The chief lobby for the (ostensibly) private broadcasters is: The National Association of Broadcasters. Who in 2024 alone spent $11,920,000 lobbying DC. Making them that year’s 25th largest lobbying group (per Open Secrets).

PBS and NPR are straight-up government media. They not only get the spectrum basically free - they get government cash on top of it. Government broadcasters using government money to hire lobbyists to lobby government? Would be gaudy - and is almost wholly unnecessary.

But all of this begs a question:

Does anyone think we, in 2026, suffer from a dearth of choice when it comes to news and entertainment?

Video:

There are 168 hours in a week. Grok informs me - via a rough calculation - that somewhere between 100 and 115 hours of viewing content is created globally per week. The vast majority of it by-and-for Internet streaming services. That should get you through your weekend.

Some octo- and nonagenarians might still wait to get their news from the broadcast networks. My octogenarian parents don’t. They have smartphones and tablets. And get omnidirectional news delivered to them - all-day, every day.

In fact, 98+% of US had high speed Internet access - including via wireless-cellular connections - WAY back in 2015. Don’t believe me? Go WAY back - and ask then-President Barack Obama.

Which means we’ve been getting omnidirectional news delivered to US - all-day, every day - for more than a decade.

Audio:

Grok informs that the major streaming services host over 253 million songs. And that 106,000 new songs are uploaded every day.

(And now we have the abomination that is Artificial Intelligence (AI) music. So the streaming services can now bypass paying real artists the rip-off rates they pay them.)

Grok also informs that there are 4.5 million to 4.7 million podcasts registered worldwide. Apple Podcasts alone hosts 117 million published podcast episodes. 26-30 million new episodes are uploaded each year.

All-in that is - today, very conservatively - a minimum of 75 million hours of published podcast content. Which represents non-stop listening - for thousands of years.

So I’m not sure why in the midst of this titanic ecosystem of content? We still have these broadcast dinosaurs making MANY billions of dollars - and not paying anything for the spectrum that makes it all possible.

Am I calling for a mass eviction of broadcasters from their nearly-free spectrum? I am not.

There is no immediate need for access to their spectrum. And Lord knows I and many other people have been trying desperately for years to get the majority-holding government off their giant rumpuses and free more up spectrum for private use.

And I wish not to place all our eggs into the Internet basket. There should always be some over-the-air television and radio available - in the event of a mass Internet crash out or other catastrophic events.

But there will come a day - WAY in the future, to be sure - where we will start to need access to that spectrum.

And in the meantime:

Isn’t the broadcasters making all of that money - via nearly-free access to spectrum, for which everyone else pays through the nose - a little obscene?

I certainly think it is.

Editor’s Note: This is the first in what I envision as an ongoing series of looks at why I left the United States. And why I heartily recommend others take a long, hard, serious look at doing the same.

Greetings from Belize.

An old saw is:

“Nothing makes you appreciate the US - more than a vacation abroad.”

I am now living almost the exact opposite:

“Nothing makes you happier to not live in the US - than to not live in the US.”

It’s one thing to dip your toe in a foreign culture for a week or two - knowing you’re returning to the only life you’ve ever actually known.

It’s another to immerse yourself in a foreign culture - as a part of your becoming a part of it.

The former doesn’t change your mindset even a little. The latter fundamentally transforms it.

Tourists abroad - returning home? Never really leave the home mindset.

As I describe it:

“Fish don’t know they’re wet. They’re swimming in it.”

As the classic flick “Jaws” describes it:

Hooper: It doesn’t make much sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island either.

Brody: It’s only an island if you look at it from the water.

It’s all, as always, a matter of perspective.

I started looking to leave the US in 2013. I finally (FINALLY) pulled the trigger on December 10, 2022. I spent the intervening years doing a LOT of research (writers tend to do this) on all sorts of possible destinations.

I wanted tropical. I wanted a great people. I much preferred an English-speaking people.

I wanted MUCH less government.

Belize overwhelmed my list. And provided a bunch of additional things I either didn’t know I wanted - or didn’t think I could get.

(And it is by no means my only option. To wit: I checked out the Philippines in December. And I could definitely enjoy making a go of it there too.)

But my decision making process is irrelevant to…pretty much everyone else. Each of us has individualistic criteria of what they want out of life. How I decide has little to no bearing on how you decide.

But it is a HUGE world outside the confines of the US. Lots of countries - offering lots of different lifestyles. Only you can decide what you want out of life.

Since departing the US? LOTS of people have dubbed me a Bad American. Almost all of them alleged political conservatives.

I say alleged - because despite their self-identifications? Much of what they believe and how they behave - ain’t even a little conservative.

These alleged conservatives don’t respect an individual’s right to self-determination. These alleged conservatives LOATHE me for “Giving up on the good ole USA.”

And then they accuse me of being a Rosie O’Donnell Leftist. Which is an excellent representation of how stupid things in the US have gotten.

To be sure: Most of those one would classify as Bad Americans are hardcore Leftists. Rosie O’Donnell left the US - because she deemed it too conservative.

I don’t know what she’s smoking. But I’m sure I don’t want any. I don’t know how anyone who ain’t really high reaches that conclusion.

I left the US - because the Left is winning. Huge. Take the W, Rosie.

The thing is? I can do math. Both literal and figurative.

First, the literal math.

As I type:

The US is hurtling towards - and will then hurtle WAY past into oblivion - $40 trillion in debt.

And the alleged conservative Republicans in DC? Just passed a Big Broke Bill that has deficits larger than the last budget Biden and the Democrats passed.

The US’s Social Security and Medicare programs are $175+ trillion short.

And the alleged conservative Republicans in DC? Are doing NOTHING about any of it.

The US’s dollar has lost 87+% of its value since 1971. And DC is still printing many trillions more.

And DC won’t ever stop printing. Because they have painted themselves into a corner - where they absolutely can not ever stop printing. That is, until the entire system comes crashing down upon us all.

And the alleged conservative Republicans in DC? Are doing NOTHING about any of it.

Never mind everything else that is wrong with the US? That’s the ball game. There is no way back from that much debt - with that pathetic a currency. The literal math - doesn’t math.

Speaking of everything else that is wrong with the US? That’s where the Bad American figurative math enters. The societal, moral and cultural rot.

I never liked much of the life-lifestyle-culture to which my fellow Americans subjected me. It’s mostly been so crazy and so wrong. And only ever gotten worse.

Now? The US is:

HUGE-and-ever-growing government. Big Gov-Big Biz hyper-cronyism. Big Gov-Big Biz hyper-commercialization.

“Men can get pregnant.” “There are 57+ genders.” The Kardashians….

The figurative math - didn’t math either.

So in 2013, I calculated a subtotal. And decided I had had enough. Hence, eventually, Belize.

Someone of whom you all have heard was also looking at the US this way.

I, for many years, emailed regularly with the late, great Rush Limbaugh. (Man, do I wish I’d saved those missives.)

In his very last email to me - two or three days before he passed - Rush told me he felt like a failure. Because he looked back on his life’s work of trying to make the US better - and saw the US only ever getting worse.

We genuinely commiserated with each other over the observation.

I am not saying Rush would have ever left the US. I’m in fact quite certain he never would have.

I am saying that having hundreds of millions of dollars? Is excellent padding against the hard reality of life in the US.

I don’t have anywhere near Rush’s coin.

So I started looking for places that treat my diminished dollars a whole lot better than does the US….

—-

End of Installment I

Oil can make everything really inexpensive - or really expensive.

Cheap, abundant oil lubricates the economy. Gasoline and diesel is cheaper. Which means everything delivered in vehicles running on gasoline and diesel is cheaper. Which is pretty much everything.

When the oil dries up? Everything grinds to a halt. And prices skyrocket.

Well: Ten or so days ago, the Trump Administration unilaterally started a war with Iran.

When not being unilaterally bombed, Iran produces a lot of oil. About 4.5% of the global supply (3.3 million barrels per day of crude - plus 1.3 million bpd of condensate and other liquids).

And Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz. Through which 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade passes (about 20 million barrels per day).

Well, the US has been unilaterally bombing Iran’s petroleum infrastructure. (And in response, Iran has been bombing regional oil targets.)

So obviously the oil output of Iran - and the wider region - is a little off.

Iran is now also blockading the Strait. So the global oil supply is more than a little off.

Guess what oil prices have done?

Just before the war, oil prices were $70-$75 per barrel. As I type, they are $100-$105 per barrel. This represents a roughly 40-50% increase overall since the war started.

Let us now turn to the US. How much oil do we consume? About 20 million barrels per day.

Which means, conservatively, we are paying $600 million more per day for oil than we were on February 28 - the day we launched the war.

That’s around $18 billion more per month. $216 billion more per year.

And that’s if today’s oil prices - remain the prices going forward. Which we know they won’t.

Because we are being incessantly told “unconditional surrender” is the only war end that will be accepted. (For its part, Iran calls that “A dream you will take to your grave.”)

Want a bad case scenario?

We went for regime change in Afghanistan. Which is a MUCH less sophisticated, fortified and funded country than is Iran. Almost no oil - and what they do have is untapped. Lots of goats and mountains.

Afghanistan’s 2025 GDP? $15.61 billion. Iran’s 2025 GDP? $356.51 billion. So Afghanistan’s GDP is 1/23rd the size of Iran’s.

Afghanistan (251,827 square miles) is 2.5 times smaller than Iran (636,372 square miles). With about half the population (45 million people v Iran’s 93 million).

Well, we spent TWENTY YEARS - and $2.3 trillion - attempting to regime change Afghanistan.

When we got there? The Taliban was in charge.

When we left - two decades later? The Taliban was in charge.

Oh: And we’re still sending the Taliban $2.1 billion per year. At least.

Having learned absolutely nothing from Afghanistan? The US’s Deep State has decided to take on Iran.

In Iran? Twenty years will be only the beginning. With oil prices skyrocketing all along the way. So…gird your loins.

Which brings us back to our economy. Which is today facing an extra $216 billion per annum in oil costs. (And we will soon look back on today - as the good ole days.)

Which, again, will increase the costs of nigh everything everywhere.

Is our economy in spectacular shape? Prepared to absorb the petroleum body blow about to be delivered it?

Not even a little.

The U.S. Economy Grew at an Annualized Rate of 1.4% in the Fourth Quarter of 2025, Significantly Below Expectations

The economy added 130,000 jobs in January - but lost 92,000 in February.

And all those jobs numbers will soon be utterly irrelevant….

Microsoft AI Chief Gives It 18 Months - For All White-Collar Work to Be Automated by AI

Excellent news.

Have you heard of “The K-Shaped Economy?”:

“In a K-shaped recovery, different parts of the economy move in opposite directions at the same time following a recession or downturn. One segment - the upper arm of the K - experiences an increase in wealth due to rising asset values or incomes. The lower arm faces increasing financial strain due to declining purchasing power along with stagnating or decreasing wages.

“Together, these diverging paths form the image of a letter K on an economic chart, with one pointing upward, and the other slanting downward.”

The upward-trajectory arm of the K - is Wall Street. The downward-trajectory arm of the K - is Main Street. And it has been trending that way for decades.

In no small part because DC’s Big Government-Big Business cabal spent the last half-century-plus force converting the US into a 70% consumption economy. Which was an exceedingly stupid thing to have done.

It means We the People HAVE to keep spending. HUGE. CONSTANTLY. Or the whole house of (credit) cards comes crashing down.

How are We the Consumers doing?

A Strong Economy Doesn’t Have a Citizenry That Is $18.8 Trillion in Debt

That doesn’t sound good.

But surely we must be spending extravagantly on ridiculous luxuries, right? Not so much….

Americans Carry $1.21 Trillion in Credit Card Debt, with 73% Tied to Essentials and Median Interest Rates at 25.3%

And having loaded up our credit cards with essentials? We the Consumers have opened yet another debt vein - borrowing directly from retailers. To buy essentials.

More Than Half of Americans Are Using Layaway or Buy-Now-Pay-Later Programs to Cover Everyday Essentials

We the Consumers can’t even afford groceries. And now EVERYTHING is going to be dramatically more expensive - thanks to our Iran folly.

Now let’s turn back to our government.

We’ve already spent about $9.5 billion on the Iran war. About $1 billion per day.

And we ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait until boots start hitting the ground.

Is our government in spectacular economic shape? Prepared to absorb the Iran war body blow already being delivered it?

Not even a little.

The Road to $40 Trillion in Debt

Federal Deficits and Debt Will Worsen Over Next Decade

Medicare and Social Security Face $175 Trillion Shortfall

In case you were wondering? The combined debt and Medicare-Social Security shortfall - kills the country. All by itself.

Forget about ALL the other problems the nation faces. That alone is the ball game.

So it’s a good thing we’ve unilaterally started a war against a major oil producer.

In THE major oil producing region.

Because that will really grease the skids to extinction.

We emerge from a weekend which started with the Donald Trump Administration launching a war against Iran.

There have been debates for decades about the threat level Iran poses to the United States. (Which as Americans should be the only thing that actually matters.)

War proponents point to various attacks over the decades by Iran on our regional forces and civilians - and others from around the world. And to the 1979 Islamic revolution as the alleged birth of the problem.

They leave out the nigh-constant sanctions the US and other countries have imposed upon Iran. And the fact that the US has 800+ military bases strewn all over the planet - many surrounding Iran. Which isn’t threatening at all. Especially when we are using those bases to launch coups and engage in all sorts of other similar mischief.

And they always forget to mention the 1953 Iran coup we executed - that truly began this now-seven-decade saga.

Back to today: US opinion was 70-30 against prior to the war. We’ll see what it is going forward - but an initial poll shows a drop to 73-27 against.

I document all this to make a point. We spent DECADES debating what threat level Iran poses. (Which de facto proves they aren’t much of a threat, does it not? If we’ve had decades to debate it?)

That debate ultimately didn’t matter, unfortunately. Because the Administration went against the will of the vast majority of the American people.

(And the Administration didn’t get Constitution-mandated Congressional approval prior to launching. Again: Probably because the vast majority of the American people opposed.)

But at least We the People got to have a pretend say in what our government ultimately went and did against our will.

Which brings us to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Which is hurtling down the track like a runaway freight train.

We haven’t had decades to debate AI. We barely have days to do so now.

AI Is Developing So Fast It Is Becoming Hard to Measure

Thank goodness Congress is so spry and nimble. So as to be able to rapidly develop policy to deal with rapidly developing AI.

I kid. I’m a kidder.

The World Wide Web is now three decades old. The coin of that realm is our digital data. Big Tech monsters vacuum up everything about us - and sell us over and over again like lambs to the slaughter.

Why did data get to be so Internet dominant? Because three decades later - Congress STILL hasn’t passed ANY digital data privacy law limiting what the monsters can do with it. And the monsters always go where they are least impeded.

Heck, the last time Congress passed anything having anything substantive to do with the Internet was…1996. So we know that law is perfectly applicable to today’s Internet.

Why can’t Congress pass privacy law? Because Big Tech dominates DC - and Big Tech doesn’t want it. So DC doesn’t do it.

Big Tech certainly doesn’t want any AI law limiting what it is doing. So why should one have any hope Congress will do anything about AI? I certainly do not.

Meanwhile, AI is a cornucopia of AWFUL news.

18 Risks and Dangers of Artificial Intelligence

Five Ways AI Might Destroy the World: ‘Everyone on Earth Could Fall Over Dead in the Same Second’

Threats by Artificial Intelligence to Human Health and Human Existence

AI Industry Insiders Living in Fear of What They’re Creating

Developers Are Finding It Hard to Trust AI

Latest OpenAI Researcher to Quit Says He’s ‘Pretty Terrified’

‘A Feedback Loop With No Brake’: How an AI Doomsday Report Shook US Markets

AI Made Its Own Language and We Don’t Understand It

The AI Override Problem: When Systems Ignore Human Commands

AI Willing to Kill Humans to Avoid Being Shut Down

AI Chooses Nuclear Option in 95% of War Simulations

Mothers Say Chatbots Encouraged Their Sons to Kill Themselves

And until AI takes out humanity? It will be un-employing humanity.

Microsoft AI Chief Gives It 18 months - For All White-Collar Work to Be Automated by AI

The AI Robots Coming For Blue Collar Jobs

AI Mass Layoffs 2026

ALL of this AWFUL news - is just the tip of the digital iceberg set to sink us.

ALL of this AWFUL news - and what is Congress doing?

Congress Isn’t Stepping Up to Regulate AI

As Congress Lags, States Have Taken the Lead in Regulating the Emerging AI Industry

Why Lawmakers Aren’t Rushing to Police A.I.

Why, you ask? Because Big Tech dominates DC - and Big Tech doesn’t want it. So DC isn’t doing it.

We the People see all of this pronounced inaction? And are doing the only thing we can do to provide any resistance.

Big Tech’s Fast-Expanding Plans for Data Centers Are Running Into Stiff Community Opposition

Local Communities Are Blocking Data Centers and They’re Not Wrong

DC ignores ALL of this AWFUL AI news. And instead screeches at US:

“We must beat China to AI!!!”

Well - here’s a thought experiment:

“Say you hire a space alien government consultant.

“Who knows nothing about the planet’s current circumstances.

“And you tell him-her-it that your chief rival China is working on technology that will kill the jobs of at least half of their entire country’s population - in the next twelve months.

“And keeps threatening the mass extinction of humanity.

“Including 95% of the time recommending nuclear war.

“And keeps refusing to follow human commands.

“And develops languages we don’t understand - but other AIs do.

“Would the consultant say:

“(A) ‘We must develop that technology even faster than they are.’

“Or

“(B) ‘We must crack a round of beers and watch them take themselves out.’

“I’d bet all the money in my pockets he-she-it would say B.”

I’d bet you’d make the same bet as the me. And the alien.

And now I’d bet you’re wondering why DC is so spun up about Iran.

And not doing a thing about AI.

Starting in the 1970s, the United States government began STUPIDLY helping their Big Business cronies force convert US into a 70% consumption economy.

Which now means: For every $10 of US economic activity? $7 is spending money.

Which means ANY little economic hiccup - is DISASTROUS for the US economy.

And explains why anytime there is even a little hiccup? The US government’s response is to firehose money everywhere.

Because the US citizenry absolutely, positively CAN NOT stop spending. Even a little. Ever. Or the whole house of cards collapses.

The US is now a nation that makes…almost nothing. Big Gov helped Big Biz outsource our once-world-dominant manufacturing sector. Which was EXCEEDINGLY stupid.

There are a bunch of reasons the US economy has been imploding for decades. This is absolutely one of the biggest.

Long gone is the ability of the single-income-family to be able to afford a middle class life.

Now we have 31% of Gen Z who can’t afford to move out of their parents’ house.

Despite all of the idiocies to which we are subjected? Despite all of the evidence to the contrary? We are bizarrely told the US economy is doing great.

We are force fed almost-entirely-irrelevant economic numbers. To masquerade as evidence of economic success.

Like Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Which is actually irrelevant. It is only relevant - if you do GDP per capita:

“Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is a metric that breaks down a country’s economic output per person and is calculated by dividing the GDP of a country by its population.”

Third World California eminently demonstrates the difference:

“California adding millions of poorly educated Third World immigrants has increased its GDP - but greatly retarded its GDP per capita. And thus its economy.”

California is the world’s fifth largest economy. Bigger alone - by no means means better.

Immigration-wise, the US has now long gone the way of California. We’ve grown the economy - while making it worse.

The #1 metric of an economy? And the only one that actually matters? Is: How are the citizens doing in that economy?

By that metric? The US economy is AWFUL.

The colloquial expression is “getting ahead.” Meaning: Are US citizens gaining ground in their lives?

Getting and keeping good jobs. That allow them to earn enough money to not just pay for all their life expenses - but to save for future life contingencies.

By that metric? The US economy is AWFUL.

They are absolutely NOT “getting ahead.” They are actually free-falling behind.

Record Household Debt: American Households Owe $18.8 Trillion

Well that doesn’t exactly sound like economic health:

“(M)ortgage debt compris(es) 70% of the total.”

That math means about $13.16 trillion. At an average interest rate of 6.6%.

And we know what a general disaster the US housing market is.

As mentioned above, nearly one-third of Gen Z can’t even get out of their parents’ houses. Let alone rent a place. Let alone BUY a place.

The average age of a first time home buyer is now 40 years old. A 30-year mortgage means working at least five years past the traditional retirement age. (President Donald Trump’s 50-year mortgage is a ridiculous non-starter.)

And yet another major impediment to home ownership? Hedge funds are buying up entire neighborhoods at a time. With above-asking-price, all-cash offers.

How is the average person supposed to compete with that?

Low existing mortgage rates have locked up much of the market. Because those note holders don’t want to sell - and then buy at a much higher rate.

Which only further exacerbates the hedge fund problem.

Now, let’s look at some other debts, shall we?

Speaking of houses: If you’re fortunate enough to have one? You are probably borrowing against its equity.

The Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) debt stands at $433 billion. With an average interest rate of 7.86%. Which is 1.1% higher than the average mortgage rate.

But there is oh-so-much non-home debt Americans are carrying.

Total credit card debt? $1.28 trillion. Or $6,523 per person. Average interest rate? 20.97%.

Total car loan debt? $1.67 trillion. The average new car loan is $43,759. The average used car loan is $28,675. The average loan duration? 70 months - almost seven years. Average loan interest rate? 10.86% for new - 11.11% for used.

Speaking of Gen Z: Total student loan debt? $1.833 trillion. Average per person? $40,800. Average interest rate? 6.39% for undergraduates - 7.94% for graduate students.

And then there are the delinquencies and defaults.

4.26% of home loans are delinquent. 0.13% are in foreclosure (but that number is rising substantially of late).

But as I can attest after my mortgaged house was destroyed by Hurricane Irma? Banks REALLY don’t want a ton of owned houses on their books. They don’t want to be realtors.

Plus with many of the loans placed into Mortgage Backed Securities (MBSs) - it’s difficult to unwind the loans on which they might like to foreclose.

So banks often renegotiate again and again - rather than foreclosing.

The HELOC delinquency rate is 0.82%. The default rate is even more minuscule.

All of which proves the old adage: People will forgo paying all their other bills - before not paying on their home.

Speaking of which:

12.3% of credit card debts are delinquent. 4.8% are in default.

4.8% of car loans are delinquent. 8% are in default.

25% of student loans are delinquent. Default student loans don’t really exist - because federal law makes it nigh impossible to rid oneself of a student loan even by declaring bankruptcy.

Now: After reading all of these debt dollar amounts - and their very many delinquencies and defaults?

If you still think the economy is good? And you still think the GDP is an accurate assessor of the economy?

You really should quit show business.

Yet again - here is the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution:

Tenth: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Which leads reasonable people to think, for example:

“If all fifty states have a Department of X? The federal government should not have a Department of X.”

Because a federal 51st Department of X would be redundant. And unconstitutional.

I didn’t spend the last several months scouring the multiple websites of every state government in the Union. But I will nevertheless assert with nigh moral certitude:

All fifty states each have multiple programs dedicated to welfare.

Including for telecommunications. Internet, telephone, etc….

So federal (telecom) welfare programs are redundant. And unconstitutional.

When it comes to the Internet? ALL of the government programs - federal, state and local - have been nothing more than a waste of hundreds of billions of dollars. For more than a decade.

Obama Admitted 98% of Americans Were Fast-Internet-Connected - in 2015

If nigh all of us were connected a decade-plus ago? With technology from a decade-plus ago? What do you think has happened since?

One way our hundreds of billions of Internet dollars has been wasted? Besides government not needing to participate? Government is great at choosing the wrong way to participate.

There is currently underway yet another one-off massive expenditure of additional federal funds - $42.45 billion - on the redundant, unconstitutional Broadband Equity, Access, And Deployment (BEAD) Program.

Despite 99% of US private citizens last year choosing wireless Internet for their homes? State and local governments are spending the federal BEAD tens of billions - mostly on wired connections.

Even worse than their choices of technology? Their execution of their choices.

Still Zero People Connected by $42+ Billion BEAD Program

Speaking of wasting government (tech) money? Behold California governor Gavin Newsom.

FCC to Newsom: Hey, Where’d the $450 Million Go?:

“FCC chair Brendan Carr has a pointed question for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, politely paraphrased as, ‘Where in the actual hell did the $450 million go, and where’s that new 911 system it was supposed to buy?’

“The same week he was first sworn in as governor, Newsom said, ‘The idea that it’s 2019, and we are using analog systems designed decades ago is astounding, and we need to make investments to make sure the technology aligns with the devices people are using in their daily lives.’ He added that ‘California’s antiquated, analog microwave network must be upgraded to a digital network to maintain safety operations.’

“That was seven years ago. Since then, Newsom spent $450 million to build a new system, ‘but when it came time to turn it on, it did not work,’ Carr wrote on Tuesday.”

Seven years. Nearly half a billion dollars. Down the Internet tubes:

“The new big thing is Next Generation 911 (NG911) that is based on internet protocols (IP) and works much more like your smartphone does. It can handle texts to 911, photos or videos of emergencies, precise location data, streaming video, and even data-sharing between dispatchers and first responders in real time.

“That’s the fancy way of saying that the next-generation system gets more information to first responders even faster, while allowing them to deploy more quickly and intelligently. Put it all together, and more lives are saved, more property is protected.”

That sounds like a great idea. Newsom certainly thought so when he whined seven years ago about California not having it.

Only now - seven years later - California still doesn’t have it. It also doesn’t have the $450 million it was alleging to have spent upon it.

No one paying actual attention is surprised by Newsom and California’s extraordinary incompetency (and corruption).…

California’s Costly Missteps: Examining Wasted Funds And Failed Projects:

“One glaring example (aforementioned) is the state’s investment in the 211 (911) system….

“Consider (also) the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), a decades-old platform designed to share criminal justice data across agencies. Despite repeated upgrades and an estimated $50 million in investments, the system remains plagued by inefficiencies, compatibility issues, and security vulnerabilities.

“Another instructive case is the California Child Support Automation System (CCSAS), launched in 2010 at a cost of over $2 billion. Intended to streamline child support payments, the system was plagued by technical glitches, data inaccuracies, and delays, causing significant hardship for families. After years of criticism, the state was forced to overhaul the system, effectively writing off a substantial portion of the initial investment.

“High-Speed Rail Project: Billions spent, limited progress, and ongoing delays….

“Bullet Train Construction: Over-budget, behind schedule, and questionable long-term value (yes, another train debacle)….

“Since 2018, the state has spent over $20 billion on homelessness initiatives, with an additional $12 billion earmarked in the 2023-24 budget. Despite this massive investment, the number of unsheltered individuals has risen by 22% since 2018….

“Consider the Bay Bridge retrofit, initially budgeted at $250 million in the 1990s but ultimately costing over $6.5 billion by its completion in 2013….(a) staggering 2,500% cost increase….

“A 2019 audit by the California State Auditor revealed a disturbing pattern. The report found that Caltrans consistently underestimates project costs, fails to adequately manage contractors, and lacks effective oversight mechanisms….”

We could go on, and on, and….

But you get the idea.

Newsom has been awful for years. California has been awful for decades.

I don’t live in California. Because I have an IQ above nine on a warm day.

Because I don’t want to be on the hook for the incompetent crooks California rigidly insists upon electing.

But I am on the hook for the incompetent crooks California rigidly insists upon electing.

Because redundant, unconstitutional federal programs are funding California’s incompetence and corruption.

Let them waste their own money. Leave me out of it.

Oh: Which happens to be but one of the reasons the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution was written and ratified.

Editor’s Note: This also appeared in Red State and Townhall.

Why is this so very important?

Precious metals are an historic hedge against what people see as bad government practices. Most especially bad monetary and spending practices.

Governments all over the planet are currently engaged in many pronounced bad practices. None more so than the United States.

The US went off the gold standard for its money in 1971. Since that horrendously bad practice? The dollar has lost 87.5% of its value.

Since the dollar is no longer worth gold - or the paper on which it is printed? We the Little People purchase gold and other precious metals to hedge against the devaluation.

We are forced to put our trust in the metals markets - when we no longer trust the dollar.

But what if the metals markets are rigged too? Let’s take a look, shall we?

A key reason metals have value? Scarcity. Which limits its tradability.

So there exist “paper” metal purchases. You can purchase “metals” via investment vehicles like Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Which track the performance of metals - and roughly mirror their values.

Understanding the difference between real silver and paper silver? Is crucial to understanding what happened on Friday, February 2nd.

February 2nd was a BAD day for silver (and other metals - which were caught in the silver vortex).

Paper silver prices dropped 20%. Real silver dropped 18%. $2.5 trillion wiped out. In a day. Black Friday indeed.

This precipitous drop followed months of steady - although volatile - gains. So the mainstream speculation was: This very bad day was a massive course correction. Combined with the naming of an allegedly hawkish next Federal Reserve Chair - Kevin Warsh. With a chaser of people selling to pocket profits.

The course correction explanation certainly rings hollow. No matter how hawkish Warsh proves to be? He isn’t reversing the dollar’s inexorable slide downward to near-zero value.

There is too much US government debt - and continued deficit spending. Government’s bad practices - remain government’s bad practices.

So why the “course correction” - when no one else has course corrected?

Enter JP Morgan. And its history of bad practices.

JP Morgan has in the past been found guilty of manipulating the metals markets. Back in 2020….

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Agrees To Pay $920 Million in Connection with Schemes to Defraud Precious Metals and U.S. Treasuries Markets:

“JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPMorgan)…has entered into a resolution with the Department of Justice to resolve criminal charges related to two distinct schemes to defraud: the first involving tens of thousands of episodes of unlawful trading in the markets for precious metals futures contracts….”

This fraud took place over years - 2008-2016. At least two JP Morgan traders - their former Head of Global Precious Metals Business and Head Gold Trader - went to prison.

JP Morgan’s CEO throughout that fiasco - was Jamie Dimon.

JP Morgan’s CEO today - is Jamie Dimon.

Enter February 2nd….

How the Crash Worked - Step by Step:

“1. Silver price was pumping, reaching $120. Many traders went long using leverage, expecting even higher prices.

“2. JPMorgan opens shorts (short sells) at the top.

“3. Price starts falling rapidly. Exchanges increase margin requirements, demanding more cash from traders.

“4. Most traders can’t meet the new margin. Their positions are forcefully liquidated.

“5. As prices crash, JPMorgan buys back its short positions, locking in massive gains.

“6. Meanwhile, COMEX delivery data shows JPMorgan taking delivery of physical silver at depressed prices.

“According to COMEX, JPMorgan issued 633 silver contracts during the crash, placing it on the short side of a leveraged bloodbath.

“Open at $120 → Close at $78 = pure profit, while retail gets wiped out.”

COMEX, you ask?:

“Commodity Exchange, Inc…the primary futures and options market for trading metals like gold, silver, and copper, serving as a global benchmark for metal prices.”

In case it remains unclear what it looks like happened…:

“JPMorgan is one of the largest bullion banks active in this market and one of the largest participants on COMEX.

“According to COMEX data, JPMorgan is also one of the largest holders of registered and eligible physical silver, giving it influence on both the paper side and the physical side of the market at the same time….

“Before the crash, silver was pumping very fast. Many traders were long silver using borrowed money. When prices started falling, those traders did not choose to sell. They were forced to sell because exchanges demanded more margin.

“At the same time, exchanges raised margin requirements sharply. This meant traders suddenly needed much more cash to keep their positions open. Most could not. Their positions were closed automatically.

“This created forced selling. Now here is where JPMorgan benefits.

“When prices are collapsing and others are forced to sell, JPMorgan can do three things at once:

“FIRST, it can buy back silver futures at much lower prices than where it sold earlier. That locks in profit on paper.

“SECOND, it can take delivery of physical silver through the futures market while prices are depressed. COMEX delivery reports during this period show large banks, including JPMorgan, actively stopping contracts and taking delivery while prices were under pressure.

“THIRD, because JPMorgan has a massive balance sheet, margin hikes do not force it to sell. Margin hikes actually remove weaker players and leave JPMorgan with less competition….

“COMEX delivery data shows JPMorgan issued 633 Feb silver contracts right during this crash.

“Issued means JPMorgan was on the short side of those contracts. The claim is simple: JPMorgan opened shorts near the $120 top and closed them near $78 during delivery.”

So just about everyone had a very bad day. Except JP Morgan.

A bank so huge it appears it was able to play both sides - paper silver and real silver - against the middle.

And make many, many millions in the process. At the exorbitant expense of all the rest of us.

Would JP Morgan do such a thing? Well, they’ve already been found guilty of having done such a thing.

So it’s not a titanic leap to wonder if past is prologue.

The reason the Big Banks are “Too Big to Fail?”

Is because they have too much money to do ANYTHING it takes to succeed.

I am a conservative. Who thinks decades’ worth of a lack of proper antitrust enforcement - has been a key component in the downfall of America.

Especially in the tech sector. ESPECIALLY with Big Tech.

The likes of Google and Apple, Microsoft and Amazon are so incredibly huge? In large part because Big Government has colluded with Big Tech - and stood down on any real antitrust enforcement.

So Big Tech has engaged in hundreds of unopposed acquisitions - which has allowed for their ever-increasing market consolidation. And then market dominance.

Big Tech has consumed hundreds of competitors - and potential competitors. And companies in other sectors - which then allowed these monsters to dominate those sectors as well.

The Market Cap results?

Alphabet (Google): $4.01 trillion

Apple: $3.81 trillion

Microsoft: $3.20 trillion

Amazon: $2.59 trillion

Companies getting this titanic? Is NOT the sign of a healthy economy. (Or a healthy government.)

Conversely, there is a sector that is 99%-dominated - and it isn’t at all a problem. In fact, that 99% was reached in a field FULL of competitors vying for their shares in said marketplace.

The sector to which I refer? The home Internet Service Provider (ISP) sector.

But this isn’t one company dominating this market. It is one technology.

That technology? Is 5G wireless. In 2024, 99% of new home Internet subscribers chose 5G as their ISP.

5G Home Internet Has Taken the Broadband World by Storm:

“We’ve fully embraced 5G on our phones by now and for good reason. The tech upgrade boosts cellular speeds 10 to 100 times faster than the previous generation.

“It’s so fast and powerful that the wireless signals can serve double duty, delivering cellular connectivity and home internet service.”

Again, this is not Big Tech-esque corporate domination. There are, in fact, numerous companies providing home 5G service.

And there are, in fact, numerous companies providing numerous other home ISP techs: Fiber, cable, fixed wireless, DSL and satellite to name but a few.

But last year 99% of Americans - unilaterally, individually - chose 5G wireless as their new home ISP.

By design of the tech, you are capable of getting multiple wireless providers to your home. You are fortunate if you have one fiber and/or cable provider digging trenches to reach your abode. Oh: And the wireless providers are WAY cheaper.

And by design of the tech, 5G is a faster service option than satellite. And cheaper. And with lower latency (the delay in receiving data).

And of course, the “D” in “DSL” should stand for “Dinosaur.”

And while fiber and cable are often faster than 5G? The only question that really matters is:

Do you really need all that speed?

High-definition video downloads have LONG been the most data-intensive thing most of us do via the Internet. And for years now, we’ve been seamlessly streaming high-definition videos on our phones - via our wireless networks.

And that goes back to when the networks were 4G. 5G is 10-100 times faster than 4G. Which blows WAY past ANYTHING you need on your phone - or at home.

Americans have taken ALL of this into consideration? And in 2024 - 99% of them chose 5G wireless as their new home ISP.

All of which raises questions I have LONG had for the federal government.

The Feds insist on continuing to be in the ISP business. With at least seven different permanent programs doing so. And repeated Congressional legislative “stimulus” bumps to throw on the pile. All adding up to hundreds of billions of dollars - and counting….

And The Feds are doing this? Even though 98+% of Americans have been connected to the Internet since at least 2015.

One question for The Feds is:

Why? Why do you insist on being so exceedingly redundant and wasteful?

I know…stupid question. “Shaquille - why do you insist on being so tall?”

An actual question:

If you’re going to insist on being so exceedingly redundant and wasteful - can you at least do so with the tech everyone wants?

Currently underway (and WAY behind schedule) is yet another Congressional legislative “stimulus” bump: The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. $42.5 billion of additional dollars - wasted on the way.

And in an America in which 99% are choosing 5G wireless? Guess what The Feds are doing?

Fiber Still in Line for Two-Thirds of BEAD Locations

Fiber is almost certainly the most expensive of all the ISP options. And The Feds are wasting tens of billions of dollars on this very expensive tech.

That Americans don’t even want. Or need.

As demonstrated by 99% of them just last year choosing 5G wireless. Because it’s cheaper. And great.

How very government of all of it.

And all of them.

I have a Meh-Not Meh perspective on President Donald Trump.

It’s certainly not a Love-Hate perspective. I don’t waste love or loathing on politicians. They don’t warrant that level of intensity.

Politicians are what they are. Lower your expectations. You don’t expect an aberrant plow horse to win the moral Kentucky Derby.

I like more of what Trump says - less of what he does. Typical politician.

I watched live in 2015 when Trump descended the escalator to announce his candidacy. The moment in his meandering speech he swerved into curtailing illegal immigration? I said he would win the presidency.

Everyone in DC thought I was insane. Then Trump won - and everyone thought I was Nostradamus.

I wasn’t either. I just thought it was obvious. Illegal immigration was a trillion dollar bill’s worth of political capital left laying on the sidewalk for decades. Decades’ worth of DC deviants just strolled right past it. Trump picked it up.

Trump saying he would address this MASSIVE problem was, I thought, enough on its own for him to win.

Identifying issues LONG ignored by DC has been a hallmark of the Decade of Trump. I often don’t like his alleged remedies. But I REALLY like his exposing DC for the cauldron of amoral fraud it is.

And so it is with Trump swerving into the credit card interest rate problem.

I REALLY like the fact that someone is finally pointing out the huge financial and moral hazard that is the US’s usury credit card fake marketplace.

The average US credit card interest rate is 25.32%. And good news: Americans currently owe on their cards a record $1.21 trillion.

And before you blame them for partying it up? 73% of the charges are tied to essentials. They’re not buying vacations and big screen TVs. They’re paying for groceries and rent.

All that being said? I REALLY don’t like Trump’s proposed one-year 10% cap on interest. And his words now ring hollow - as his January 20th deadline for the credit card companies to act has come and is now long gone.

As with all the major structural problems plaguing the US? The nation’s credit card calamity has been decades in the making. Ask Nero - Rome wasn’t burnt in a day.

An end-point-backwards solution like a rate cap? Does nothing to address the deeply-rooted problems that got us here. Which is but one of the many reasons why end-point-backwards price controls never, ever work.

Methinks the nation’s credit card problem - is a part of the nation’s larger bank problem.

Prior decades of really bad general policy certainly contributed. But I think it is reasonable to say the final nails in the coffin were banged into place by DC’s 2010 passage of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Dodd-Frank dramatically increased regulation of the banking sector. And as is always the case? Only Big Business can afford Big Government.

Thousands of neighborhood and community banks were buried by the newly emplaced layers of Big Gov - and went out of business.

And then the “Too Big to Fail” Big Banks swooped in, bought the carcasses on the cheap - and further consolidated the marketplace.

And of course it is these Big Banks that issue the vast majority of credit cards.

You used to be able to get personalized loans from your accommodating neighborhood banks - back before they were murdered by DC.

You had a relationship with your local lender. You knew them - and they knew you. Built-in was your bank’s desire to see you and your community succeed - because they were a part of your community.

Now you get credit cards with massive interest rates from impersonal, sympathy-less, market-dominating Big Banks located nowhere near you. That can’t wait to make your first credit mistake - your last.

How do I know the Big Banks are ridiculously, rigidly inflexible and punitive? Let’s delve a bit into my credit history….

I have an 800+ credit score. With all three ratings agencies.

I have spent the last almost twenty years charging sometimes large amounts of money - spread across three different Big Bank credit cards. And paying them all off every month.

I don’t make a million dollars a year - but I certainly ain’t starving. It’s more than enough to have paid off my three credit cards every month for the last almost twenty years.

And my three Big Bank card interest rates are? 21.49%, 22.74% and 26.40%. Which are all remarkably close to the aforementioned national average of 25.32%. Which is remarkable - given my WAY above average credit ratings and record.

Oh: I now reside in Belize. My 26.40% credit card is the one that doesn’t charge me an overseas transaction fee. But its rate is absurd. And it only has a $10,000 limit - which I felt was a little low in case of dire emergencies that might arise.

I telephoned to ask for a credit increase - and a rate decrease. Which - given my ratings and record - I thought were fair requests.

The Big Bank in question didn’t even take time to pretend to consider my requests. They were both immediately denied - right there on my original phone call.

NONE of this is reflective of my credit ratings and history.

ALL of it is reflective of a hyper-consolidated market dominated by the Big Banks. Which allows them to be just this punitive with their rates and their practices.

ALL of it is reflective of a DC that saw its Dodd-Frank wreaking havoc in the banking sector as a feature - not a bug.

As did the Big Banks. Since Dodd-Frank fast-tracked their bank sector consolidation.

Yet again: I love free markets.

Unfortunately, the US no longer has any.

I am a long-time, full-on bear when it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI). (“Bear” - as in Wall Street-esque bulls and bears.)

I loathe the short-term economic play - because it’s a titanic bubble waiting to burst.

I loathe the long-term humanity play - because the people designing it loathe humans.

I am also a long-term, full-on bear when it comes to the ever-increasing societal implementation of gambling.

I’m not talking business models and stock prices here. On Wall Street, betting on betting - is a good bet.

I’m talking about the massive monetary - and non-monetary - damage gambling does to a people and their culture.

For the VAST majority of people? Gambling is the economic Hail Mary pass they throw - when they’ve given up on getting ahead in any conventional way:

“(T)he degradation gambling indicates - is really that of America’s institutions. Americans’ greater acceptance of - and penchant for - gambling and its risks has risen along with their distrust of America’s institutions.”

Americans look at America’s institutions - at all levels - RACING to sell US out to Big Tech and its Artificial Intelligence? Just the latest in a LONG litany of instances of America’s institutions selling out Americans?

And they download DraftKings and FanDuel. In droves.

How do you know we are reaching new heights of Americans’ disgust and disdain?

The two fastest growing sectors of the American economy are: Artificial Intelligence - and gambling.

Artificial Intelligence is the economy giving up on humans.

Gambling is humans giving up on the economy.

As but one nauseating recent example of DC’s corruption:

Remember when in October alleged conservatives cheered President Donald Trump “privatizing” his build of the White House ballroom. “It’s donations - not government money” they gushed.

Well, peruse the list of the 37 donors ponying up the $300+ million? And you realize it was just another installment payment in DC’s ongoing, rolling cronyism cavalcade.

Trump White House Ballroom Financed by Big Tech and These Other Corporate Donors:

“The White House has released a list of donors that include Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Meta.”

Oh look…an Artificial Intelligence who’s who. Because of course.

And in the perpetual, corrupt back-and-forth that is DC’s corporate cronyism - masquerading as a “free market economy”:

“DC - in defense of its Big Tech paymasters? Has suddenly, instantaneously and repeatedly rediscovered its Constitutional Internet purview - and its federal preemption.

“’Congressional Republicans Propose 10-Year Ban on State AI Laws’

“Except nigh-universal objection from We the Humans caused this…

“‘Senate Leaders Water Down 10-Year State AI Law Ban’

“DC denies Big Tech nothing, so just a little later….

“‘Senate Advances State AI Law Pause Proposal, Now Cut to 5 Years’

“The Donald Trump Administration is Big-Tech-owned-and-operated as well, so…:

“‘For months, Trump has pressured the Republican-led Congress to block state AI laws….’

“And Congressional Republican ‘leaders’ are doing their level best to get it done…:

“’House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters Tuesday that a sect of Republicans is now ‘looking at other places’ to potentially pass the measure.’”

Quid pro quo. And, as always: It’s a WHOLE LOT of DC pro-Big Tech quo - for a remarkably small amount of Big Tech quid.

As mentioned above: Americans are doing what little they can to slow the AI freight train barreling down the track - to which DC and governments at all levels have tied them.

Majority of Americans Oppose Fast-Tracking Data Centers and Special Treatment for Big Tech

Big Tech’s Fast-Expanding Plans for Data Centers Are Running Into Stiff Community Opposition

Because Americans can do the monetary math….

Surging Electricity Rates Put Data Centers on 2026 Ballot

And Americans can do the political math too.

Since small tech became Big Tech - in or around, say, 2010? Democrats have been their handmaidens. With Republicans putting up occasionally strong - at times token - resistance.

Then came Trump - and the shaking and redrawing of DC’s political Etch-a-Sketch.

Some things remained. Like - the Democrats’ Big Tech fealty.

Some things are new. Like - the Republicans now being Big Tech supplicants too.

And the American people see ALL of this ever-increasingly harmonic-converged crony corruption? With Democrats and Republicans ever-tightening their combined ranks against them?

And they place ALL their bets - on placing bets.

I don’t like their odds. But I can’t blame them for reaching that conclusion.

This also appeared in Townhall.

There’s a legitimate reason or two why many of us are…underwhelmed by the Donald Trump Administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein saga.

We see the Epstein List (to use the prevailing euphemism) as a key plug in the retaining wall maintaining the fetid and festering cess pool that is DC. We would very much like to see said plug pulled. So as to allow the putrid waters to to begin to dissipate.

Again, the Trump Administration’s handling thereof has been…underwhelming.

We see the Epstein List as part of a broader problem. There are other plugs to be pulled. And the Trump Administration has pulled exactly none of them.

You’ve seen the memes dotting the Internet landscape. Listing the litany of crimes - for which there have been zero arrests.

The perpetrators of the Russia collusion hoax, the 2020 stolen election hoax, the January 6 hoax, the Biden Autopen hoax, the Trump Ukraine impeachment hoax,… - have ALL thus far skated on everything. ZERO total arrests.

It begins to look like a pattern of disinterest in addressing the DC corruption problem. And since “Drain the Swamp” was a key component of the Trump wins? It remains a political problem as well.

You can imagine the types and numbers of people that would come spilling out were DC Swamp plugs to be pulled. Let’s examine one lesser known, but no less indicative, one, shall we?

Meet Jamie Rosenwald:

“(A)n American investment advisor and academic who is the co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Dalton Investments Inc., an asset management company headquartered in New York, NY, and adjunct professor at Stern School of Business at New York University.”

An “investment adviser and…professor?” How very Jeffrey Epstein:

“Jeffrey Edward Epstein…began his professional career as a teacher (without a degree) at the Dalton School. After his dismissal from the school in 1976, he entered the banking and finance sector, working at Bear Stearns in various roles, before starting his own firm. Epstein cultivated an elite social circle….”

Epstein’s “elite social circle” - included our own Jamie Rosenwald.

NYU Prof Congratulated Jeffrey Epstein on Wealth Days After He Was Accused of Sex Crimes, Docs Reveal:

“James B. Rosenwald, III, an adjunct professor at the Stern School of Business since 2012, wrote the glowing letter to the then-convicted sex criminal, who taught him physics at the Upper East Side’s posh Dalton School from 1974 to 1976.

“‘Your name popped up again in the Press and I thought it was time to congratulate you on your wonderful financial successes since your days as my Physics prof at Dalton!!’ Rosenwald…wrote on Jan. 5, 2015.”

Here’s Rosenwald’s email in full. From which I additionally cull…:

“The young, bright options trader, who understood Black Sholes and how to use it, at Bear, made good!!

“Unless your PR advisor is Donald Trump, I am not sure that current press provides you with much benefit. Perhaps I am wrong? Not the first time!!”

I’m fairly sure Epstein’s name having “popped up again in the Press” for the reasons it did? Would NOT elicit from me a Rosenwald-esque response.

Let’s just say the tenor of my outreach - were I to make any outreach at all? Would be decidedly different than Rosenwald’s.

I guess I wouldn’t have cut it in Epstein’s “elite social circle.”

Meanwhile, Rosenwald’s hedge fund has had a bit of a dustup with what few good people in Washington actually exist:

“For quite some time now, Congress has been scrutinizing ESG - Environmental, Social, Governance - issues, and the coordination of ESG among corporations and asset managers….

“Through this ESG investigation, the name of one Democrat donor, James Rosenwald, keeps surfacing in ESG inquiries and other reports….

“Rosenwald is not just another Wall Street fund manager quietly signing climate pledges. As the co-founder of Dalton Investments - also a Climate Action 100+ signatory - Rosenwald has become a behind-the-scenes figure in the climate-investor world.

“(H)e’s also a major Democratic donor (and) a double-digit voting-power owner of a cannabis conglomerate caught up in an ICE raid that uncovered illegal migrant labor and minors….”

Umm…what?:

“A joint Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operation in July targeted two marijuana grow sites in Southern California, resulting in the apprehension of hundreds of illegal migrants and the rescue of roughly 14 migrant children.

“James Rosenwald (is) a founding partner of Dalton Investments and a direct owner of a large stake in Glass House Brands, the company targeted by the raid….

“(T)he staffing of pot farms with children and illegal immigrants may violate several laws….”

“MAY violate laws?” Ya think?

Let us conclude our examination of Rosenwald thusly:

If Rosenwald is representative of the types of people with whom Epstein consorted?

(And let’s face it - we pretty much know that Rosenwald is.)

We write the following brief missive of our own…:

Dear Trump Administration,

Release EVERYTHING Epstein. Immediately.

Please.

Sincerely,

US

I have for YEARS described DC as the Butcher of America. Our alleged representatives have LONG been carving up the country - and selling it by the pound to the globalist money men and women.

Very few things better quantify and qualify this assessment than what DC has allowed to be done to the US housing market.

For YEARS hedge funds and their ilk (and foreign individual monied buyers) have been buying large swaths of the available US real estate. And included therein is their mass-pollution of the housing market.

The US commercial real estate market is an overvalued catastrophe waiting to happen. So we will let these Mega Investors take their lumps there - along with all the rest of US. (Although I’m sure they’ll end up with a government bailout of some major sort.)

And it is not the commercial real estate market to which on his Truth Social President Donald Trump referred:

“I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it.”

I know Congress is perpetually inert on all things good and positive. But I’d like for the President to wait for them to act upon this very good idea. Because I’d like to at least occasionally adhere to the Constitutional order of legislative succession.

There is at least one bill already filed in both the House and Senate: “The End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act.” Let’s begin somewhere around there - and make whatever bill Congress passes as good as it is possible to have them make it.

The housing market has for most Americans been the bedrock of individual and family wealth building. In case you were wondering:

Inflation of the US dollar has constituted about half of the increase in average home value since 1971. The dollar has 7.69 times less purchasing power (87%). But the average home price is up between 12.8 times and 16 times.

So while inflation has been extraordinarily awful? Homes have still been a great grower of value and wealth.

And these Mega Investors have increasingly been pricing individuals and families out of the housing market.

Wall Street Has Spent Billions Buying Homes:

“(H)omeowner associations for years have sought to stop investors from buying and renting out houses in their neighborhoods….

“(I)nvestors that have scooped up hundreds of thousands of houses to rent out (and) are contributing to the dearth of homes for sale and driving up home prices….

“Investors of all sizes spent billions of dollars buying homes during the pandemic. At the 2022 peak, they bought more than one in every four single-family homes sold….”

The Mega Investors, of course, know exactly what they are doing:

“Hedge funds and private equity firms are actively buying homes, especially in high-growth areas and lower-priced markets where rental yields are strongest.

“Their presence has grown steadily over the last decade, with nearly 19% of all U.S. homes sold in Q1 2024 going to investors. In some markets, that number is even higher.

“For many homebuyers, this has created tougher competition, especially when going up against wall street hedge funds with all-cash offers and fast timelines.”

And these all-cash offers - are almost always well above the asking prices. Further boxing out families look to enter the homeowners’ market.

Do I actually expect much in the way of remedy to come from Institutional DC? I do not.

Mega Investors do a lot of their investing - in DC. Buying up lobbyists and “think” tanks to block any blockage of their home market evisceration.

An OpenSecrets search for “hedge funds” in 2023-2024 yields a top ten that combined spent $274,020,092 in DC.

Hedge fund Citadel LLC alone spent $108,549,658. Are they involved in inflating the housing crisis? You bet they are.

Here they are on their own website - bragging about it:

“Citadel LLC, a prominent hedge fund, is actively investing in starter homes, particularly in high-growth areas and lower-priced markets where rental yields are strongest….

“Citadel’s investment strategy includes buying entire neighborhoods intended for rent instead of sale, targeting fast-growing cities such as Atlanta, Charlotte, and Phoenix, where starter homes are in high demand.”

Emphasis ours. Because…come on.

Here’s where it really gets sardonically humorous.

The “think” tanks (let’s call them In the Tanks)? Are happy to say WHATEVER helps the Mega Investors. Even if it directly contradicts what the Mega Investors are themselves saying.

For instance, there’s The American Enterprise Institute. Which in August of 2025 extruded “Institutional Investors in the US Housing Market: Myths and Realities:

“Media reports often accuse Wall Street investors of ‘buying up entire neighborhoods,’ citing that investors account for a quarter to a third of home purchases. However, these accusations conveniently conflate large institutional investors with small and medium-sized ones.”

Ummm…Citadel’s Market Cap is $65 billion. Qualifying under Congress’ aforementioned legislative definition (above $50 billion) as an “institutional investor” to whom the law would apply.

And really: Does it matter to the many tens of thousands of non-homeowners losing their homes to hedge funds - how large the hedge funds are?

It would appear the proposed $50 billion legislative floor - is too high.

Then there’s The American Action Forum. Which in February of 2025 extruded “Primer: Institutional Investors Aren’t Ruining the Housing Market:

“Institutional investors often purchased homes in a ‘high-growth and geographically concentrated area’ to ‘achieve operational efficiency and cost savings through economies of scale.’”

The quotes the “think” tank is citing - are from a May 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report: “Rental Report: Information on Institutional Investment in Single-Family Homes.”

So you have a DC “think” tank - quoting the government. With words that have nothing to do with why Citadel LLC their own selves say they are “buying entire neighborhoods intended for rent instead of sale.”

Then there’s the…interestingly named Independent Institute. Who in June 2025 interestingly extruded “Institutional Investors Aren’t the Villains of America’s Housing Market.”

You get the idea.

The Mega Investors didn’t get to be Mega by being stupid. They’ve long prepared for opposition to their US home market evisceration.

Now that that opposition has finally achieved some level of messaging density (thank you, President Trump)?

I’m sure the Mega Investors will now pull out all the stops.

To make sure said opposition is fully stopped.

This also appeared in Red State.