The Complicated Reality Behind High Gas Prices
Posted By: earlybird, 5/6/2026 10:55:04 AM
Average gas prices in the United States have gone up by almost 40 percent since March 1. The reason appears straightforward: Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz in response to the U.S. military operation that decapitated its regime and degraded its military. Hundreds of tankers trapped behind the strait cannot deliver their oil, depriving the world of 7 percent to 10 percent of its supply. Although that explains drastic price increases and even shortages in Europe and Asia, the United States gets almost no oil through the strait. In theory, the country should be energy-independent, as it is a net petroleum exporter. But in reality, the United States is highly intertwined
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The South Carolina House voted last night to open the door for redistricting in a special session a week from now. The measure still has to pass the South Carolina Senate; however, with the Indiana outcome at the forefront of their political future, the redistricting is more than likely.
As a consequence, South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn is potentially going to lose his gerrymandered seat in congress. Given Clyburn’s stature as one of the key architects of the DNC ballot harvesting and election counting fraud via the AME Church network, Democrats are apoplectic.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio travelled to Rome, Italy, for discussions with the Pope and Prime Minister. Secretary Rubio holds a press conference following his diplomatic trip. The press questions cover the meeting with the Pope, foreign policy discussions and ongoing international relations between the United States, Italy and NATO allies.
Secretary Rubio notes President Trump is reevaluating current troop deployment throughout Europe and President Trump will make further decisions on troop levels based on a variety of factors. The previous “base denials” is one of the factors for decision-making. WATCH: (video)
The Virginia Supreme Court has struck down a congressional redistricting map approved by voters in a referendum last month, ruling that the Democratic-controlled Legislature failed to follow constitutional procedures when advancing the measure.
The proposed map would likely have favored Democrats, giving them four additional congressional seats and creating a projected 10-to-1 advantage over Republicans in the state’s U.S. House delegation.
The decision could strengthen Republican efforts to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of the midterm elections.
The U.S. Court of International Trade on May 7 struck down President Donald Trump’s 10-percent global tariffs under the Trade Act of 1974.
The court ruled 2–1 in favor of small businesses and several states that contested the tariffs, which had taken effect on Feb. 24. The dissenting judge said it was premature to rule on the dispute.
The challengers had argued that the tariffs were the Trump administration’s attempt to sidestep a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the president’s tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The White House has published the official 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy with a foreword by President Trump. [SEE HERE]
Within the outline the White House breaks down the threats and strategies for each region. It is well worth reviewing the entire document which is written in plain language that avoids any misinterpretations. (pdf image)Regionally, the White House outlines specific threats and policies. Given the current situation with drug and human trafficking cartels as well as regional conflict in the Middle East and vulnerabilities in Europe, each of these points of material interest should be highlighted (emphasis mine).
In recent developments President Trump’s ‘project freedom’ operation to open the Strait of Hormuz for captured shipping interests has been paused following Saudi Arabia’s withdrawal of support and their revocation of Saudi air bases for U.S. operations.
The issue behind the Saudi decision is not that complicated if you understand the longer-term background. However, the issue behind the Saudi decision also highlights a key ¹flaw in the Promethean analysis of the relationship (and the reason I caution everyone to sip slowly from this information source).The cliff notes version is that Saudi Arabia and many of the Gulf States look at the negotiations between President Trump and Iranian interests with skepticism.
Tennessee State Rep. Justin Pearson is known for his disingenuously performative political stunts. He took it too far again on Thursday, screaming in the face of state troopers — completely unprovoked — because his state’s redistricting special session didn’t turn out the way he had hoped. To quote Pearson: “Move the f*** back! Boy! The f*** is wrong with you? You stupid motherf*****!” The theater kid played the tough guy in front of the cameras, but instead of signaling that he won’t go down without a fight, he looked like a sore loser who disrespects the people there to protect him from political violence.
Well, well, well… look at that. Trump said D.C. officials were cooking the books on crime, and now 13 of them are facing termination over alleged crime-data manipulation.
Funny how that keeps happening.Dems have been pushing their soft-on-crime agenda while also trying to convince Americans that crime in D.C. is down. They want you to believe their cities are safe, and anyone who notices all the carjackings, shootings, robberies, beatings, and random chaos must be watching too much Fox News. But regular people know better because they’re the ones living with it every single day. These are the people getting attacked, robbed,
Something is going to happen, I’m not entirely sure what it is, but something is going to happen on May 8th and 9th as Russia pauses the conflict with Ukraine to celebrate one of their most treasured holidays, Victory Day.My spidey senses are telling me, Ukraine and the EU are planning something very controversial to coincide with this national holiday in the Russian Federation.
Germany has done this before, but this time with President Trump pulling back from NATO, this year holds a different context.GERMANY – Berlin police published an administrative order on 6 May restricting freedom of assembly and access to public spaces
The storage clock is ticking as tankers that exported 3.2 million barrels of crude oil per day remain bottled up in Iranian ports due to the blockade by the U.S. Navy.
The blockade is part of a global vise denying Tehran $13 billion in monthly revenues and seeking to paralyze Iran’s petroleum industry by forcing it to shut down when it runs out of space to store what it can’t ship.
Since U.S. President Donald Trump imposed the blockade on April 13, at least 1.5 million barrels of Iranian oil have been stored every day because there’s no place to move it.
The man accused of sparking the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles was upset that he didn’t have plans for New Year’s Eve and ranted about being angry at the world before the initial blaze was sparked, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.(snip) According to court filings, Rinderknecht ranted to passengers about accused UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism. In an interview with investigators on Jan. 24, when asked why someone might commit arson in the Palisades, Rinderknecht “responded that it would be out of resentment of the rich enjoying their money as ‘we’re basically being enslaved by them,’” and again referenced Mangione’s alleged crime, the documents
Average gas prices in the United States have gone up by almost 40 percent since March 1. The reason appears straightforward: Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz in response to the U.S. military operation that decapitated its regime and degraded its military. Hundreds of tankers trapped behind the strait cannot deliver their oil, depriving the world of 7 percent to 10 percent of its supply.
Although that explains drastic price increases and even shortages in Europe and Asia, the United States gets almost no oil through the strait. In theory, the country should be energy-independent, as it is a net petroleum exporter.
But in reality, the United States is highly intertwined
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Don’t break up because of that Mam!
New York leaders are desperately trying to stop billionaire bigwigs from hightailing out of the Big Apple with their cash, businesses and thousands of jobs — as fears mount that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s policies will accelerate the Empire State’s nation-leading loss of wealth.
The splashy one-two punch of Citadel CEO Ken Griffin and Apollo Global Management honcho Marc Rowan pledging to expand outside New York City has been coupled with a silent wave of businesses “quiet quitting” the city over its hostile environment, insiders told The Post.
Dem representative admits to working with
Mexico to sneak oil into Cuba, despite blockade 22 replies
Mexico to sneak oil into Cuba, despite blockade 22 replies
A Democratic lawmaker is drawing backlash after saying she spoke with foreign ambassadors about getting oil to Cuba despite U.S. sanctions, defending the outreach as "literally our right and responsibility."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., made the remarks during a recent Seattle briefing following a congressional delegation trip to Cuba, where she discussed the island’s worsening fuel shortages and U.S. policy toward the communist regime.
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The Barack Obama Presidential Center won't be open to the public for another few weeks, but the gift shop is already up and running. All proceeds will support the Obama Foundation and its mission to "inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world." The foundation is also responsible for funding and operating the new presidential center, which has been described as a "hideous eyesore" befitting the colossal vanity of a tinpot dictator.
So, what are you waiting for? You can help fund Obama's brutalist monstrosity right now by purchasing some of the inspiring items for sale on the center's website. This gorgeous lapel pin ($30) This "unique accessory" was designed
The South Carolina House voted last night to open the door for redistricting in a special session a week from now. The measure still has to pass the South Carolina Senate; however, with the Indiana outcome at the forefront of their political future, the redistricting is more than likely.
As a consequence, South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn is potentially going to lose his gerrymandered seat in congress. Given Clyburn’s stature as one of the key architects of the DNC ballot harvesting and election counting fraud via the AME Church network, Democrats are apoplectic.
The Deep State leaked a CIA Iran war dossier to the Washington Post that refutes Trump’s claims that the Iranian Regime’s missiles are mostly decimated.
On Wednesday, President Trump sparred with a reporter in the Oval Office during a meeting with UFC fighters.
The reporter asked Trump about his decision to pause Project Freedom amid a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump told the reporter that the US military has decimated Iran’s missile capabilities and they probably only have about 18 percent left.
Families hoping to make memories on a cruise were unknowingly surrounded by alleged child predators working aboard the ships, according to law enforcement officials.
US Customs and Border Protection boarded five cruise ships, including a Disney cruise docked in San Diego, between April 23 and 25 as part of ongoing child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) enforcement operations, a CBP spokesperson told The California Post.“After boarding the vessels and interviewing 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one suspected crew member from Portugal, and one from Indonesia, [snip] several immigration rights groups were up in arms about the Disney arrests, and also claimed four “seafarers” were arrested on the Holland America
He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Best
17 replies
Well, Seattle, like New York, has elected a real extremist as mayor. Katie Wilson, a despicable woman who looks as though she could be Abigail Spanberger’s sister, and as though she uses a broom for transportation, has decided to singlehandedly drive Seattle deeper into liberal hell than it already is. Like Spanberger, Wilson is tough to look at. True, neither is physically attractive, but the major reason for that is the smug, nauseating arrogance that they reek of. Both have stomach-turning smirks that cement their place in the despicable hall of fame.
Like Spanberger, Wilson wasted little time instituting the Democrat destruction of the city, and even the liberal rag,
Just weeks before Memorial Day and amid the United States’ 250th anniversary year, a city council member in Lynnwood, Washington, launched into a tirade against the American flag, declaring that the Pride flag is far more relatable to her and suggesting the 27 US flags at Wilcox Park should be replaced. According to the Lynnwood Times, Councilwoman Isabel Mata made the remarks during the May 4 City Council meeting while discussing the city’s flag display policies. “To me, a pride flag is way more relatable than an American flag. I would not raise an American flag at my house because I just, I wouldn't. I wasn't even born here.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified the hantavirus outbreak as a “Level 3” threat and activated its Emergency Operations Centers, sources told ABC News Thursday.
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The CDC is actively monitoring the situation, including by activating the Emergency Operations Centers.
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Earlier this week, we editorialized about the Great Green Grift of the climate hustlers who line their own pockets as well as those of their co-conspirators. Today we dig into the science, which has been repeatedly abused, often abandoned and artfully prostituted to support the global warming racket.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has long been treated as always having the first and last word on global warming. Google’s artificial intelligence says it’s “widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on climate science, providing essential, peer-reviewed assessments that inform international policy.”
Barack Obama appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Monday night and had the audacity — the actual audacity — to lecture America about presidents misusing the Justice Department.
And he did it with a straight face.
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Spooked by Creepy Mamdani Video, Billionaire
Prepares to Flee Hostile NYC and Take
His Jobs With Him 14 replies
Prepares to Flee Hostile NYC and Take
His Jobs With Him 14 replies
It started with an undeniably creepy, stalky video starring New York City's dashing young communist mayor, Zohran Kwame Mamdani. The mayor posted the video on Tax Day, April 15. In it, he announced the creation of a so-called pied-à-terre tax — a tax on luxury second homes within city limits. That was the commie part of the video; the creepy, stalky part was that he chose to film it in front of a building that houses a penthouse belonging to one individual billionaire. Mamdani called the man out by name — Ken Griffin, founder and co-owner of the Citadel hedge fund and securities empire — and stoked envy by disclosing