Today, Wednesday September 23, 2026, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on protecting women's sports. Not a single Democratic Senator was in attendance. Not one. So much for bipartisan debate on important issues. The only two Democrats to show up at all were Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar,D-Minn. Both of them left within the first hour of the hearing and Klobuchar never spoke. The Democrats also did not host a single witness for the hearing. 

Durbin's opening testimony was given to dismissing the issue of trans athletes in women's sports. He instead brought up issues like affordability, getting cellphones out of the hands of children, AI, and trust in government. Prior to leaving, Durbin would "refuse to treat this hearing like a responsible exercise of this committee."

All ten Democratic members of the committee were asked about their absence for either the majority of or the entire hearing. The only time Durbin addressed the issue of the hearing was when he raised concerns for the LGBTQ community, citing a study by the Trevor Project that found young LGBTQ+ are at a "higher risk of suicide," and potential sex verification checks for female athletes a result of protective measures for women's sports, while calling measures a "vendetta." When asked for clarification about the substance of those concerns, Durbin's office pointed to a press release from March 2025 that stated measures to protect women's sports would "subject women and girls to physical inspection by an adult if someone from an opposing team accused them of being transgender." 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal D-Conn., told a reporter that he didn't go to the hearing because he had a classified briefing on the Iran War. When asked about his overall stance on the issue of protecting women's sports, Blumenthal said, "I'm not going to talk about it in the hallway here." Democrats raised the concerns about "inspections" last year ahead of voting for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, but they were never substantiated in any language within the bill or even any examples of such examinations being used elsewhere. The only verification that has been publicly advocated by anyone has been "cheek swab DNA testing." Once again, the Democrats have completely mischaracterized the issue. 

The party's overall stance on the issue of trans athletes in women's sports has been unpopular. Several major polls; The New York Times, Quinnipiac and Pew Research Center have all shown that more than 70% of all Americans believe women's sports should not permit biological males to compete. 

Ahead of the 2026 mid-terms, many Democrats have distanced themselves from past support of trans athletes without explicitly backpedaling or changing their stance on the issue. The absence of the Democratic committee members at the Wednesday hearing aligns with that recent pattern. The Republicans and witnesses in attendance criticized the Democrats absence. 

Sen. Darlene Graham R-NC, said, "I'm also disappointed our Democratic colleagues left the room, because I think the risk of physical harm is real and has already happened."

Sen. John Kennedy R-La. criticized the Democrats by saying "I'm a little disappointed that my Democratic colleagues left. It's their right, but I'm disappointed."

Sen. Ashley Moody R-Fla. was the most critical of the Democrats who left. "The reason why it is only Republican senators discussing the topic is because the Democrats won't talk openly about the missed opportunities and challenges and what's been happening across our nation for our young women and girls. Shockingly, not one female Democratic Senator has engaged in this hearing or asked you any questions about your experiences, your concerns, your fears or what you may predict may happen in the future if we don't, as you said, lead." 

Currently, there are 23 states in the U.S. that do not have rules prohibiting biological males  form competing in women's sports. California, Maine and Minnesota have engaged in legal battles with the Trump administration over the issue after Trump signed an executive order to protect women's sports last February. 

Nike is taking a beating, and they deserve it...

 Michael Jordan, is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time. He was also the athlete most responsible for transforming Nike from a shoe company into a global sports empire. He once said, "Republicans buy sneakers, too." Jordan made the comment during the 1990 U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, after his mother urged him to support Democratic candidate Harvey Gantt. Jordan confirmed that he made the statement jokingly on a team bus. 

The line endured because it captured a basic business lesson. Companies benefit when everyone, regardless of their politics, buys their products. Nike stopped using common sense. 

After spending much of the past decade injecting left-wing politics into its brand, Nike has now been removed from the Standard & Poor 100, ending a run of nearly 18 years in the blue-chip index. S&P Dow Jones announced the move last week and Nike will no longer trade on the Index after Sept. 21. 

Nike isn't being kicked out of the Index because of questionable and dubious extremely partisan advertising. They're being kicked out because their stock value collapsed. 

Politics didn't wipe out $200 billion by itself. But Nike chose to alienate customers while it was already losing ground everywhere else. The sports apparel giant reached a market value of $281 billion near its peak in November 2021. Nike shares recently closed at $38.10 giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $56.5 billion. The stock was about 79% below its November 2021 record of $179.10. More than $220 billion in market value had disappeared. 

Being removed from the S&P 100 won't put Nike out of business. It will still sell billions of dollars of shoes and sign big-name athletes to sponsorship deals. But the titan of athletic wear is now worth about one-fifth of what it was five years ago and is no longer considered a blue-chip stock. 

Consider Nike's attitude toward China with their behavior in the U.S.. Nike made Colin Kaepernick the face of its 30th anniversary "Just Do It" campaign after he refused to stand for the national anthem, saying he wouldn't show pride for a country that "oppresses Black people and people of color." Nike apparently thought it was a message worth putting on billboards across the nation. 

In 2021 Nike faced blowback from Chinese consumers after the company expressed concern about reports of forced labor involving Uyghurs in Xinjiang. A few months later during an earnings call with then CEO John Donahoe, he made Nike's priorities clear. 

"We're a brand of China and for China," he said. Pretty big contrast with their attitude in the U.S. Nike took a pretty hard stand concerning perceived oppression in the U.S.. But when their business  in a communist country came under pressure, its CEO reminded everyone that Nike had been investing there for more than 40 years, operated thousands of stores and remained committed to the Chinese market. 

Nike was apparently willing to present anti-American messaging at home while continuing to grow in China by assuring Chinese consumers that the company was "of China and for China."

It blew up in their face. 

In 2021 when Donahoe made that declaration, Nike made $8.29 billion in revenue in China. Five years later, they were down to $5.85 billion. Nearly 30% of the business disappeared. 

In 2019, Nike pulled a Fourth-of-July themed Air Max sneaker because it said it could 'unintentionally offend.' A year later, the company launched its "For Once, Don't do it" racial-justice campaign and publicly embraced Black Lives Matter messaging. 

Then Nike partnered with Dylan Mulvaney in 2023 for a paid promotion of women's leggings and sports bras. At the time, OutKick reported that researchers and a Boston's Children's Hospital publication had described Nike as supporting a proposed study involving transgender youth athletes. A Nike executive, speaking to OutKick later said the study "was never initialized' and was not "moving forward." It was later reported that Nike had pulled out after critics had learned of it. 

Nike repeatedly made left-wing politics part of its identity and dared customers to object. Now they have left the S&P 100, its stock down 80% from its peak and its executives are trying to rebuild the product innovation and marketplace relationships that made the company dominant. 

Michael Jordan understood. What Nike failed to understand was they don't have to buy yours. 

Updating the grid...

 The electrical grid in the U.S. is very reliable by most standards. Notwithstanding severe storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and such, the infrastructure is stable and dependable. Oddly enough, electricity consumption from 2010 to 2020 fell by 1%. Owing to modern innovations such as LED's, efficient motors, stricter appliance standards, the electrical needs of the country went flat for a number of years. This became the norm, until it wasn't. 

The electrical utility industry experienced no growth for over two decades. The financial and practical circumstances surrounding this absence of growth resulted in little to no funding for apprenticeship programs, no training of personnel with specialized skills, and recruiting only to replace those lost to retirement and attrition, if that. The industries that support electrical utilities did the same. Manufacturers of transformers and electrical equipment, steel mills, were all planning based on requirements they had seen for decades. 

Beginning in 2020, electricity consumption has reversed two decades of decline and increased by 7%. Demand for large power transformers, the equipment through which nearly all of America's electricity passes through has surged 116% since 2019. The updating and expansion of power generation, data centers, grid expansion for increased population sparked big increases in demand all within a few years. The utilities and support industries apparently didn't see this coming and were not prepared. 

Roughly 80% of the large power transformers in the United States are now imported. The grain-oriented electrical steel required inside the transformers has but a single domestic producer. Lead times for a standard power transformer have stretched to nearly two and a half years, and even longer for the larger units that connect power plants to the grid. Prices for these critical components have increased more than 77% since 2019. The average transformer in use today is 38 years old, more than 70% of the fleet is more than 25 years old. The utility is finding themselves in the unfortunate position of trying to replace an aging base and build a completely new one with a supply chain that has been neglected for a generation. 

The hardware shortage gets a lot of attention. The human shortage is worse because it can't be expedited. At the present time, there is nowhere in America a person can enroll to learn how to design or build a large power transformer. The few university power engineering programs that still exist don't teach it. Such programs were shrinking before the boom began as students began to turn their interest to software and AI. 

The knowledge to wind a coil, design a core or run a high-voltage acceptance test is a learn-by-doing skill, taught on a shop floor by master winders, test engineers or metallurgists who understand why a core behaves the way it does. This kind of expertise lives in people, rarely written down. Considering that roughly half the utility workforce is now over 45 and a large share of them expected to retire in this decade. A new transformer factory can be built in a couple of years. You cannot create an experienced winder in a couple of years, not can you enroll one either. 

This is the situation no one in the industry planned for. Industrial capability cost nothing to lose and is wickedly expensive to rebuild. It took only 18 months of supply chain stress to expose the gap. It will likely take as much as two decades to close it. Every credible forecast indicates demand climbing through 2050. The impending result: disruption of service. 

The electrical grid and its supporting industries must be treated as growth industries once again. Meaning manufacturers must create new facilities and production lines with the demand forecasts to support them. Apprenticeships, training and recruiting must reflect that of high growth industries once again. Domestic material suppliers must retool and increase production capacity to meet orders. Capital investment must be directed to electrical capacity not just to the data centers that capacity will serve. 

Most of all, it means recalibrating from the status quo that 'worked' for the past 20 years. The industry landscape has shifted and electrical providers must shift with it, in real time. I'm sure many other countries are experiencing the same dilemma.

The Spanish Migration Problem

 This past week tens of thousands of Moroccans swam into the Spanish enclave of Ceute on the African coast within days of the Spanish Supreme Court ruling that no one entering by sea could be denied entry. This follows the launch of a unilateral illegal alien amnesty program by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Sanchez's program has generated more than a million applicants, twice that which was originally estimated. 

There were other factors feeding the crisis. Morocco likely allowed it to happen to pressure Spain on another matter, perhaps to attempt to reclaim the territories taken long ago as part of the Reconquista, Spain's centuries-long war of liberation against its Muslim occupiers. Morocco may have pushed the issue a little too far though; a smaller migrant rush was apparently shut down at Melilla, Spain's other African foothold. This kind of weaponization has been practiced as a form of one-sided war by weaker powers, e.g Turkey, Belarus, Cuba and others. 

The other reason migrant weaponization is effective against Western countries to begin with: the dysfunctional and outdated asylum policies left over from the Cold War.  Those limited policies morphed into pipelines allowing mass illegal immigration. These illegal aliens will request asylum and be supported by Spanish taxpayers until their asylum cases are decided, and even those rejected are not likely to be deported. 

The EU's recent migration pact was presented as a tightening of border controls, but in effect, it will serve to require other EU members to take their "fair share" of the illegals Spain has allowed in. Italy's Prime Minister has threatened to suspend the Schengen Agreement, which allowed passport-free border crossing in Europe. It will be interesting to see how Hungary (who supports strict external border controls) will accept its share of Moroccans illegals.

The timing of the Spanish Supreme Court's ruling on open borders stands in irony to our own Supreme Court's decision just days prior that allowed the president to physically prevent foreigners from crossing the border. Three of our justices that dissented on that judgment shared the suicidal view of their Spanish colleagues, that asylum law in effect applies to foreigners who aren't even in your country yet. 

If there is a saving grace to be founding this latest crisis, it may be that those who chose to violate Western sovereignty may be pushing the limits too quickly. Spain is sending the military to Cueta to restore order, though it remains to be seen whether their mission will be to push back or simply ensure an orderly process. But there is reason to hope given the EU's blessing of Poland's strong efforts to stop forced migration from Belarus. The EU has a big migration problem and it's going to take big measures to bring it under control. Hopefully before the 'collateral damage' becomes unbearable...

The next project...

 After considerable thought and reflection, I have decided on the direction and nature of my next writing project. I have completed two novels now, which have both been rewarding and fulfilling endeavors. The first, took about a year to complete. It was a work of fiction, but based on some possible, precarious events that might take place in the life of an engineer working on projects in various countries around the world. The second novel was a work of historical fiction rooted in family connections. I'm beyond pleased with both works. 

I'm a writer at heart, storytelling is my passion. I'll continue to write for as long as I am able. But after much contemplation, at seventy-two I've decided that based on the twists and turns and the places the path my life has taken me to, my next writing project should be a memoir. 

As fate would have it, some of the places my career has taken me have included some very close brushes with history. How does a very ordinary, unremarkable engineer collide with profound geopolitical events that shape history for decades to come? I don't know the answer to that, but I can tell the story as it happened. This won't be an autobiography, but a story of events and memories and how they changed me and affected the trajectory of my life. 

Does the Radical Left Have Ties to Cuba?

It doesn't get a lot of press attention, but then much of the most corrupt actions of the left don't. Cuba isn't exactly what one would label a 'stable' country. Not economically, not politically, not socially or culturally. Cuba has lived under a dictatorship for the last 74 years, since General Bautista seized power in a military coup. Dictatorships aren't exactly known for thriving economies, hence alliances with other authoritarian regimes are highly valued. 

Soon after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Fidel Castro turned to Moscow to counter U.S. pressure. In February 1960, Cuba and the Soviet Union signed their first major trade and economic agreement. For the next three decades, Cuba became a key Soviet satellite state in the Western Hemisphere, relying heavily on Soviet oil, weapons and economic subsidies. 

When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, Moscow abruptly cut off its massive subsidies and trade support. This triggered a devastating economic depression in Cuba known as the "Special Period." The economic alliance was revived after Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000. Since then Russia and Cuba have steadily rebuilt their political, economic, and military ties. In 2014, Russia wrote off 90% of Cuba's Soviet-era debt. Russia currently supplies Cuba with oil, agricultural products, and financial backing. Cuba consistently backs Russian foreign policy while Russia opposes the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Today Cuba remains a communist dictatorship. Call it what you will, but bottom line, Russia too is a communist dictatorship. If you don't believe that, just try getting crossways with Vlad Putin.  

It's a known fact that Russia interferes in American elections every chance it gets. It's all very clandestine and they're very good at it, and it's not going to end any time soon. But what about Cuba? Not so much as far as interfering in elections, but fanning the flames of leftist radical influence?  According to a new report from the U.S. State Department, yes. 

The Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples (ICAP), a Cuban intelligence and influence network, maintains social and financial ties with a number of prominent radical left-wing groups in the U.S. from Black Lives Matter to Code Pink, the State Department says in a recently released report. ICAP was founded in 1960 by Fidel Castro and purportedly exists to promote goodwill toward Cuba through a global infrastructure of 'friendship' and 'solidarity' organizations and deep, longstanding ties to U.S. universities, student groups and activist movements, according to the report. 

The group's network includes more than 2,000 solidarity organizations across 150 countries. Its expansive outreach is alarming, ICAP is run by Fernando Gonzalez Llort, a Cuban spy who spent 15 years in a U.S. prison after being arrested in Miami as part of the Wasp Network in 1998. Former officers of Cuba's Intelligence Directorate have claimed that about 90% of ICAP staff are affiliated with the Cuban spy agency. 

The Cuban regime leverages ICAP's 'solidarity' networks to drive policy, shape activist movements, and maintain a cabal of advocates and agents in the U.S., according to the State Department report. 

ICAP works closely with the U.S. based National Network on Cuba (NNOC), a coalition of more than 60 American groups, including the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the National Lawyers Guild, Code Pink, and Communist Party USA. While publicly proclaiming a commitment to lobbying for an end to the U.S. embargo, the group actually functions as a key point of contact for coordination between the Cuban regime and the American far left. NNOC works with ICAP to coordinate U.S. delegations to Cuba to hold "solidarity" conferences where American activists meet with Cuban officials to develop strategies for expanding Cuban influence networks in the United States. 

NNOC's propaganda has had a particularly profound effect on young Calla Walsh, who at 16 years of age was celebrated by the New York Times as part of an "influential new force in Democratic politics" for her work on the campaigns of Senator Ed Markey (D. Mass) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D. Mass). One year later, at 17, she was invited to Cuba. She then visited the country four times between 2022 and 2024. 

Her trips to Cuba ultimately led to her introduction to Fergie Chambers, a Marxist organizer and heir to the Cox Communications empire. Walsh met Chambers at a 2022 conference in Cuba. That meeting seemed to solidify her path to extremism. Today, Walsh is a full-time resident of Lebanon who has transgressed from a progressive to a hardened radical who has been placed on a suspicious persons watch list by the U.S. government for her extensive dealings with the governments of Cuba and Iran, as well as countless U.S. designated terrorist groups. She recently appeared in an Iranian state media interview calling the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "the greatest anti-imperialist leader" of her lifetime. 

The path to Walsh's radicalization included relationships with several of the groups cited in the report for having close ties to Cuba, including the People's Forum, Code Pink, and the Democratic Socialists of America. 

The People's Forum is one of the most significant left-wing protest groups in America. The group has served as a significant force in the protests against Donald Trump and ICE. They have received substantial financial backing, almost $5 million in 2022, a more than 800% increase from the prior year, owing to the political network of Neville Roy Singham. The People's Forum has played a part in organizing numerous protests, from a demonstration in New York City on October 8, 2023, celebrating Hamas attack on Israel as "an unprecedented liberation struggle," to teaming up with the New York chapter of Democratic Socialists of America to recruit almost 4,000 activists to counter ICE enforcement operations in the city.  

The Democratic Socialists of America has significantly expanded its relationship with, and support for Cuba. In 2019, the DSA announced plans to formally join NNOC. The DAS has since established its own Cuba Solidarity Working Group, has lobbying and campaign advocates, and has sent several official DSA delegations to Cuba. 

In the 1970's, Cuban propaganda turned Assata Shakur, a member of the Black Panthers and Black Liberation Army into the face of U.S. racism, black oppression, and anti-imperialism. Cuban leaders offered Shakur refuge after being convicted of murder and other charges and sentenced to life in prison in the U.S.. Shakur escaped prison with the help of an armed group from the BLA and Weather Underground. She fled to Cuba where she lived until her death in 2025. 

The State Department's report goes on to identify the National Lawyers Guild as having provided support to thousands of George Floyd rioters, and one of the most consistently relevant organizations in Cuba's U.S. network. In 2020 alone, the NLG claims to have coordinated legal support for more than 20,000 arrested protesters during the George Floyd riots. 

The leftist radical ties to Cuba are long-lived and rarely spoken of in the U.S.. Another of the embarrassing faces of the far-left in American politics. Were it not for the support of modern Russia, would Cuba be able to continue this perennial subterfuge?

What's going on behind the scenes with food prices...

With rising food prices, it's human nature and not to mention political bent to place blame. Who or what needs to be identified as the true culprit. All too often, the blame lands on the wrong culprit. 

Many seem to believe that domestic manufacturers and producers are responsible for rising food prices. While politically convenient, this blame game arrantly targets the wrong party while getting the economics of global supply chains, well, backwards. 

One of the key inputs to the American food supply is fertilizer. Its price, like that of other key inputs, is rising. This isn't coming from corporate greed or mismanagement. It's resulting from a combination of global supply chain disruptions, geopolitical instability, and misguided government policies both here and abroad. 

A perfect example of one of the most important, even critical components of the global food supply chain is fertilizer. Increased crop yields depend on it. When crop yields fall, food production declines and grocery bills rise. The production of fertilizer depends on the availability of of a complex combination of materials such as sulfur, ammonia, and phosphate rock. These raw materials are sourced from a variety of global sources and rely on international transportation networks. The supply chains involving these raw materials are currently under significant stress. 

The current war between Russia and Ukraine continues to disrupt key commodity markets and trade routes. Russia produced 7.5 million metric tons of sulfur last year making it the third largest producer in the world. Russia is an oil-rich country and sulfur is a by-product of oil refining. Lately, Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia's oil and fertilizer infrastructure have dramatically cut Russia's ability to supply sulfur. Russia's ammonia exports have also fallen to approximately 80% of pre-war levels. 

Tensions in the Middle East have only added to the uncertainty around energy production and shipping routes. With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 16 million tons of fertilizer remain in limbo while geopolitical events remain unresolved. To compound the situation, about half the world's supply of sulfur passes through the strait.

When supplies of critical raw materials shrink and the cost of accessing them rises, prices for consumers will naturally rise. This is completely unrelated to the 'end' market. The market is simply responding to a failure in the supply chain. 

Lowering prices will not come from penalizing producers. The solution will come from relieving the pressure created by global uncertainty. This begins with eliminating policies that unnecessarily raise costs for domestic producers and manufacturers. Permitting delays, burdensome regulations, including those restricting energy development and production all make it more difficult to produce fertilizer in the U.S.. America has abundant resources and tremendous production capability. Government legislators should be doing everything possible to make sure American companies  can source the raw materials they need domestically. 

At the same time, lawmakers need to be acutely aware of misguided trade practices. Raw materials need to be sourced from trusted trade partners, both foreign and domestic. Many foreign producers are facing the same pressures. Countries like China are exacerbating the situation with unfair trade practices of their own. China is the world's largest exporter of fertilizer. However, China has restricted the export of fertilizer and its raw inputs, including sulfuric acid. 

American officials  must pursue policies that promote a level playing field and supply chains that are not subject to global unrest. This leads not only to lower prices but ensures security of domestic food supplies.  If these issues persist through next year's planting season, Americans will be subjected to further price increases than they have this year, as many farmers had already purchased their fertilizer before the current disruptions. 

The laws of economics have not changed, nor shall they. If Washington is serious about protecting food supplies and lowering costs, it needs to distance itself from the blame game. Addressing this crisis requires analyzing what the root causes are, then effecting efforts at where the real problem lies. 

The Big Boy Steam Locomotive

 The first "Big Boy" 4014 steam locomotive was commissioned for Union Pacific Railroad and delivered in 1941. These massive locomotives were built to haul heavy equipment in support of the war effort (WWII), and normally operated between Ogden, Utah and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Big Boys are 133 feet long and weigh 1.2 million pounds. 

Due to their great length, the frames of the Big Boys are "hinged" or articulated to allow them to negotiate curves. They have a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, which means they have four wheels on the leading set of 'pilot' wheels to guide the engine; eight drivers on the first engine; another set of eight drivers on the second engine; and four wheels trailing that support the rear of the locomotive. 

Number 4014 was retired in December of 1961 after traveling over a million miles. Union Pacific reacquired it from Rail Giants Train Museum in Pomona, California in 2013 and relocated it back to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a multi-year restoration. It returned to service in May 2019 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad's completion. 

The seven other remaining Big Boys are on public display in St. Louis, MO; Dallas, TX; Omaha, NE; Denver, CO; Scranton, PA; Green Bay WI; and Cheyenne, WY. 

As the era of steam locomotives drew to a close with the dawning of the more efficient diesel engines, the machines that had helped build American cities, transported critically needed goods during World War II, and connected the nation from coast to coast, were quickly being relegated to scrap yards. By the early '60's, trains were being powered by diesel engines. In 2019, Big Boy #4014 was returned to Cheyenne, Wyoming for restoration. Since being brought back to life, #4014 has traveled 7,000 miles through 14 states, nearly 100 cities, and countless small towns and stretches of farmland as part of America's 250th anniversary celebration. 

The restoration of #4014 is a fitting symbol of the enduring strength of the working-class communities it visits. Experts had widely dismissed the idea of restoring the 600 ton locomotive to working order as impossible. Big Boy #4014 reminds us of an anxious nation that the sweat, ambition and community spirit that originally built America, still lives. It was merely waiting for the whistle to wake it once again. 

Enjoy the video of Big Boy #4014. Big Boy #4014

High Prices, Who's to Blame?

Like many countries around the world, the U.S. has been beset with rising prices. Especially since 2020 when Joe Biden took office. Seems no commodity, even essential goods has been spared. Politics likes to find a scapegoat for this, almost always to gain points for the party.  The problem is, they rarely get it right. The target for the blame typically gets pinned on the wrong group. 

Identifying a singular culprit for rising prices, or inflation, is often very difficult. Usually because it's not just one culprit. Inflation doesn't happen because a certain manufacturer or industry decides to raise prices to increase their profit margin. Most companies take pride in gaining increased profits due to internal improvements in efficiency and technology. In other words, they earn them. Simply raising profit margins over time without increases in efficiency and better business practices isn't sustainable. 

Getting products and services to market doesn't begin and end with the end supplier to the consumer. There is a "supply chain" that supports the end supplier with raw materials. They might be iron ore, crude oil, minerals, or any material that is obtained from the earth. 80% of all goods consumed on earth begins with a raw material from one of those three groups. It may be a tennis ball, an X-ray machine, a bottle of wine, a car, a pair of headphones, a light bulb, the list is endless. There are some that don't originate with raw earth materials. For instance leather. The seats in our cars, the materials on our sofas that we sit on at home, the wool in our favorite sweaters, cotton for clothing, and many others. Even materials that don't originate with raw earth materials, they are still dependent on the supply chain. Leather needs dyes that require gases and minerals to manufacture. Cotton and wool also require dyes and chemicals to clean and process the fibers. 

Here's the real kicker. 100% of all goods consumed on earth require energy at some point in the supply chain, if not all points. And the vast majority of the world's energy (86%) comes from raw earth materials. 

Supply chains are more often than not complex networks of sources of materials, labor, energy, and services that work together to produce an end product on the market. When even one link in the 'supply chain' is disrupted, this can cause a delay or even a lack of availability of a product in the market. At this point, the laws of supply and demand step in. Assuming the demand stays constant, a lack of supply will result in a price increase. 

Here's another 'real world' example to consider. The Iran war and the blockade and stoppage of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has seriously stymied the flow of crude oil to many countries. Crude is of course the source of energy for countless industries in many countries. If a country's crude supplies are disrupted, energy costs are going to increase. The cost increase is going to passed down the supply chain. It will cost more to refine or process the raw earth material. Energy plays a major role in manufacturing as well. The end product now costs more, but not as a result of the manufacturer raising prices, or even the energy provider. The higher prices are attributable to the very first link in the supply chain, the crude supplier. Arguably, even the crude supplier can deflect blame. A geopolitical event shut down the suppliers ability to deliver his cargo. 

That's just one of a myriad of possibilities. Twenty-first century global economics is a complex subject. No country is completely self-dependent. Suppliers have suppliers who have suppliers who have suppliers... And the suppliers are scattered around the world. Given the helter-skelter nature of world geopolitical 'events', one can see how easily and abruptly a link in a supply chain can be disturbed. One event in the Gulf of Oman can affect prices in dozens of countries.  It did, and it's not over yet...

Zhoran Mamdani and his lies...

 Zohran Mandani took aim at U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) agents, Elon Musk, and what he called the "arena of supremacy" in the U.S. during an immigration-themed America 250 speech Friday ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. Let's take a look at some of his statements and break them down.

Mamdani blasted the world's first trillionaire, a milestone Musk achieved with the IPO of SpaceX last month. "We see the wealthiest country in the history of the world, one where children go to sleep hungry while the world's first trillionaire hungers for more." What a convenient little twist of propaganda. Does Uganda have children going to sleep hungry? India? Algeria? Mexico? Who is best managing that issue? Try again Zhoran.

We see monopolies dominating every industry... Ask the executives at Google, Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm, Meta, and Apple, to name a few, how their attempts to monopolize their industries worked out. The activities in question were promptly shutdown and billions in fines have been paid. Keep trying Zohran.

Oligarchs who buy elections... Yes, there have been numerous attempts to do this in America. Some of the worst offenders are Russia, George Soros, Neville Roy Singham, Hillary Clinton, the progressives of the Democratic Party. Keep trying Zohran.

We see masked agents terrorizing our streets, eating food cooked by our undocumented neighbors before spiriting them away in unmarked vans... I think you have left off an important prefix to 'terrorizing' Zohran. That should be unterrorizing our streets. The job of ICE is tor find and remove undocumented illegal criminal aliens from our streets. They are quite good at that and would be even better if the policing agencies of your so-called sanctuary cities would cooperate according to U.S. laws. Your sanctuary cities are also quite adept at releasing criminal illegal aliens back onto the streets after committing heinous crimes after without requiring bail. Numerous lives of American citizens have been lost to heinous crimes committed by illegal criminal aliens. 

"We see a nation whose immense wealth has been built by those with calloused, dirt-streaked hands, those who toil on factory floors and chisel into stone. And we see a nation that has allowed so much of that wealth to be held instead in the soft hands of a precious few." Precious few, Zohran? Approximately 5% of Americans hold $1 million or more in retirement accounts. About 20% have a net worth of $1 million or more. Over a third of Americans have a net worth of a half million or more. Is the what you call "a precious few?" Try again Zhoran...

Mamdani, who was sitting at George Washington's desk during the remarks (I'm sure he would be so proud...), also praised the legacy of immigrants, claims they have overcome riots aimed at their very existence. The vast majority of riots have been aimed at the police agencies tasked with removing the illegal criminal aliens. Wrong again Zhoran. 

"Over the years, despite laws enacted by the federal government to bar their entry...". We have immigration laws to control immigration just like every other sovereign nation. Follow the laws and you can be become a U.S. citizen. Just like you did Zhoran. More lies to fit your narrative. 

He speaks of wealth as if it were malicious, the vast majority being ill-gotten gains.  He has never spoken of his own family's wealth, or it's origins. 

"Even from the air, we could make out the promise of America, the promise of the beautiful patriotic work of rendering America, year after year, a little more faithful to its founding ideals," he said. Socialism, which apparently is close to your heart, is not a founding ideal of America. Neither is Marxism, Communism, Maoism, Naziism, Fascism. I think I speak for millions of Americans when I say we will not stand for any such philosophies. They are mere experiments that have been tried around the world throughout history, and have failed every, single, time. 

We do not care about the color of immigrant's skin. We care about them following our laws and assimilating into our society. We care about their behavior. We do not care what religion they practice. The first amendment of our constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Unlike some religions around the world, we do not allow one religion to infringe upon another. 

America, from the perspective of "the powerful" is an arena of supremacy where only a select few are allowed freedom, according to Mamdani. "Where not all are created equal. America belongs only to those with the right accent or the right shade of skin. At every moment in our past, those who lead through exclusion and isolation have tried to win power and enrich themselves by turning us against each other." 

Zhoran, I have a suggestion for you. Educate yourself. Try to be objective and open-minded. Read about American history. Read about world history. Learn some facts. Stop spreading lies and propaganda. Many of us here in America have done just that. That is why when we hear your lies we cringe. We pity you and your ignorance. And as for socialism... Take it to Uganda. Take it somewhere else. We are not interested, and we will not allow it. But dont take my word for it. Keep trying, and find out for yourself. 

Less politics, more life, more stories...

 I started this blog over 15 years ago. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be where it is today. I have readers, literally all over the world. I've traveled to many places in the world over the years, but some of my readers are from places I haven't been to. And it keeps growing. This past week I have acquired readers in Togo, Tunisia, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Guatemala, Indonesia, and more. I thank each and every one of you. I am honored that you are interested in what I have to say. 

Many of my posts have been about topics concerning American politics. America, like your own country, is constantly going through turmoil of some sort. We struggle with it just as you do. We wonder about our future and what it's going to look like. We constantly ask ourselves, is it going to get better, or worse. And of course, there's that big question, what will it be like for our children, and future generations. We do have an obligation to them, are we doing all we can do? These are universal questions. 

I do understand that there is more to life than American politics. All of you, wherever you may be, have to deal with politics in your own homeland.  But analyzing politics is a never-ending, no-win game. Considering all the variables, there's no way to consistently and accurately determine or forecast what will develop going forward. Humans are flawed, their behavior is flawed, and they are unpredictable. Need I say more. 

At this stage of my life, I am a writer. I have published two novels, I consider them some of my best accomplishments in life. I'll continue to write more novels. I enjoy it and that's the best reason I can think of to write. I'll also continue to publish articles on this blog. I enjoy that as well, and I hope you enjoy reading them too. I'll also endeavor myself to write about life topics, as opposed to political. I firmly believe that our lives are much more interesting than politics. No matter where we live in the world, we all deal with many of the same issues; hardships, loss, grief, accomplishments, successes, failures, it's an endless list. I'll write more about those things in the future, those are the very things I write about in my novels. I do hope you'll read my novels so you can relate to my blog articles. They're both available on Amazon under C. Clayton Lewis. 

Once again, thank you for reading and I wish all of you the very best. 

C. Clayton Lewis