Dateline:  MiredVille September 20, 2026

As everyone knows, Trump’s military operations failed to achieve his twin goals of regime change and destruction of Iran’s nuclear capability. In desperation, he’s repeated two assurances like a mantra: Iran wants badly to make a deal and the war will end ‘soon’ but not before the midterms.

Of course Iran wants to make a deal because they never keep them. But, there won’t be a deal, if ever, before the midterms. Iran believes, correctly, that the continuation of the war – and its adverse impacts on the American economy – will hand the Democrats control of both houses of Congress. Trump is right about the timing – the Dems will end the war as soon as they can after the midterms.

The war has been a botched-up mess from the start. A few days before it began, Trump encouraged the Iranian people to take over their government once he had destroyed the regime. Unfortunately, his military ops did not dislodge the regime.

Instead, the day after the first U.S. bombs fell, Iran seized control of the Strait of Hormuz, a move we did not foresee.  Since then, we’ve been mired in a war where our goals have been frustrated, the end is not in sight and food and gas prices in the U.S. are rising.

Meanwhile, VP Vance says idiotic things  like the war is not a war, the war is not against Iran it’s against their nuclear program and we have substantially delayed Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon. But, delay was not the goal. Destruction was the goal.

The damage to our economy has created a very disgruntled votership. Trump’s favorability rating has fallen to a second term low of 33%. He seems wedded to his current position of no change until after the midterms. The change we’re going to get may not be what he expects.

Dateline:      ChaosVille, July 20, 2026

Conservative House GOP’rs crowed last week over forcing a deal on their terms with Speaker Johnson to end the month-long shutdown of House business.

The operational closure was the result of fourteen GOP members joining Democrats to reject a procedural rule necessary to permit business to go forward. The rule would have permitted debate and final votes on a slate of pending legislation generally favored by Republicans. Rejecting the rule blocked voting on the measures which left nothing for House members to do but go home.

The deal reached with Johnson pairs the SAVE America Act with a State Department funding bill. After passage, the joint legislation will be sent to the Senate where chances of enactment are unclear. Three prior attempts to pass the SAVE America Act in that Body have failed.

This entire episode is a convoluted mess on several levels. For example, that the House rules require “Mother May I” permission before work can proceed is ridiculous. The entire business of Congress grinds to a halt when, as in this case, Mother is uncooperative.

Further, forcing House passage of a piece of legislation that the Senate has rejected three times is the definition of insanity.

Speaker Johnson blames the chaos on slim margins. There are simply too few Republican members of the House to avoid crashing into brick walls. But the procedural rule that crippled business in this case is a longtime hurdle that a true leader must negotiate successfully. It wasn’t done in this case which is the real problem.

Dateline:      WhatThe?Ville, June 20, 2026

After days of suspense-building over its actual provisions, the much-anticipated MOU with Iran was finally made public. Trump claims that the framework amounts to total victory over Iran. However, the provisions spell a different story.

The resolution of most of the issues between the US and Iran are left to further negotiation. A 60-day period has begun to try to settle those matters.

The MOU does resolve three issues immediately: (1) the unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz; (2) US facilitation of Iran’s oil sales; and (3) the US release of Iran’s frozen assets to its radical regime. The value of the assets are estimated to run into the tens of millions, even hundreds of millions, in US dollars.

What’s wrong with this deal? After almost four months of military operations, the destruction of Iran’s enriched uranium, the primary justification for the conflict, is still TBD.

Further, Trump has abandoned the fate of the Iranian people to the radical regime. And Israel’s self-defense right is severely criticized even in the face of Hezbollah attacks.

Under the MOU the US gives Iran immediate, and significant, economic relief and 60 more days of stalling while the US gains nothing. True, the Strait is freely open once again, but it was closed on March 1 by Iran only after the US commenced Epic Fury. So, the framework restores passage through the Strait to the status quo ante bellum. That’s not a gain. It’s a costly climb out of the hole Iran put us in.

Trump’s motivation for the immediate opening of the Strait is political. The skyrocketing price of oil and the goods and services dependent upon it must come down or the GOP will suffer significantly in the midterms. Big loses will tie Trump’s hands for the remainder of his term. He’s willing to sacrifice others to avoid that result.

The only crowds that cheer that on are in the IRGC.

Dateline:      DecisionVille, May 31, 2026

It seems that President Trump’s massive ego is the motivating factor for too many of his actions.

In the first year of his second term, Trump put his name in the title of the Kennedy Center (“The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts”). It is now referred to as The Trump Kennedy Center. Trump’s justification was the amount of money his administration would spend renovating the complex.

A federal judge ruled on Friday that the renaming was unlawful. Since Congress named the Center only Congress can change the name.

Trump also has an unfortunate habit of referring to himself as “your favorite President”. He’s given himself the honorific on several occasions such as the 2025 Daytona 500 and, more recently, to troops in the Strait of Hormuz.

In March, Trump’s people announced that his signature will appear on future paper currency in commemoration of the Country’s 250-year anniversary. Trump also wants his likeness on a gold coin. The design of the coin has been approved by a federal arts panel.

Trump’s Treasury Secretary announced on Friday the creation of a new paper currency. The $250 bill will bear Trump’s angry-looking visage, again commemorating our upcoming anniversary. The new currency requires Congressional approval.

Trump’s egomaniacal nature is a major turn off for voters of all political stripes. The Dems push it repeatedly as a prime example of why they must win the midterms.

Aggravating as Trump can be, his accomplishments are unparalleled. He is a super star in foreign relations and has put the U.S. economy back on a business footing. Even with the Iran conflict, the economic forecast is extremely positive.

Meanwhile, the Dems have become the Progressive Party, sliding into socialism and beyond. Their pitch is to change fundamentally American governance and culture to a morass of government control, higher taxes and loss of individual freedoms.

There really is only one choice. Trump.

From the launch of Epic Fury, President Trump’s messaging on the purpose of the conflict has been mixed.

Within one week of the commencement, the goals were variously stated as destruction of Iran’s military, including nuclear, capability; freedom for the Iranian people; ending the current regime and preventing Iran from funding terrorists outside its borders. The motivation for the conflict was stated as defense of the U.S. or being forced into action by Israel depending on the day the question was asked.

Almost three months have passed since conflict began. Some of Iran’s military capability has been destroyed. The Strait of Hormuz is closed. The economic fallout of the closure has hit countries across the globe including ours. Negotiations have been on-going and endlessly fruitless.

A few days ago, Trump announced the prospect of a memorandum of understanding with Iran and the Gulf Arab nations that could lead to the end of the conflict. He’s given the parties 60 days to negotiate the MOU. At least one source claims that the terms include, among others, a gradual opening of the Strait, Iran handing over its enriched uranium and the U.S. unfreezing Iran’s monetary assets held overseas.

These terms are a very far cry from the objectives Trump stated in the early days of conflict. No regime change, no total destruction of Iran’s military capability, no regime change and no freedom for the Iranian people.

Through all of this the light has finally dawned on Trump’s conflict objective, that is, the Gulf Arab nations solidifying a permanent alliance with Israel and the U.S. Apparently, the alliance is more important than the failed objectives of the early days of conflict.

Very eerie.