It has been pretty obvious that I do not like the man. I can list probably 20 reasons easily and not cover all of them. No surprise there.

I have also been very clear that Donald Trump was, and still is, a much better choice than Kamala Harris.

It wasn’t that she was a Democrat. No, I would vote for a good solid moderate Democrat. I am not sure you can find one anymore, they are all chicken shit. Maybe John Fetterman, but do I really think he is Presidential material? No, I love the guy but President, I don’t think so.

Anyway, Harris did nothing under a President who was arguably the worst President of our lifetime. Not much of a resume builder for sure.

Trump was the choice.

Don’t get me wrong. I do think that Donald Trump has actually had some successes during this term and the country, no matter what every broadcaster, op ed opinion writer and Instagram hotshot has said, is in better shape in many respects than it was at the end of Biden’s term.

He has also had many failures as well.

The War in Iran is turning into one of them. It actually is a failure on so many levels and that is not a good thing, at all.

The Russians and the Chinese have sat back, supplied Iran with munitions and other technology and they are basically using Iran as a testing ground. To see what the Americans have. To see strategy. Just to see.

Costs them little and the intelligence they have learned was well worth it.

Truth be told, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taught the American military command a lot as well. There is a bad side of that too. The Russians have made tremendous mistakes and if they were the Germans or the Chinese, they would have learned from those mistakes so the next conflict would go differently. Thankfully, the Russians never learn. They invaded Afghanistan, learned nothing. Have had an ongoing internal battle with the Chechens and still have learned nothing. So, in my mind, the Russians were never really going to gain anything except hard currency from supplying weapons to Iran. The Chinese however are learning a lot and this will help them when they decide to take over Taiwan.

BTW, their window for that military event is closing. The Taiwanese are actively preparing for such an invasion and while the Chinese haven’t massed troops on their border, it’s pretty obvious something is afoot. The American Pacific Fleet, which should be a huge deterrent, is otherwise occupied, so the time is getting near. The geopolitical powers are all waiting.

This could be a much bigger disaster and unfortunately all of you MAGA nutbags, Donald Trump will be held responsible.

I still believe the concept of going in and trying to destroy the Iranians nuclear capability was a good one. They just didn’t have an exit strategy at all and that is why we are where we are.

The Trump battle with Canada has put me over the edge. This is where my opinion of the Trump Presidency drops to resemble a Democrats opinion, which to be kind is not very good.

This will go down in history as one of the dumbest moves any President has ever made and we have had Joe Biden as President so the bar is set very very low.

How can you start a trade war with the best neighbor you could ever possibly ask for. Both countries benefit greatly from the relationship and to start to knock away those relationships for what? Hard currency? To prove you have a bigger d***? It is stupid and irresponsible.

Prior to this escalation the Canadian Prime Minister was not polling well. He was hated by the conservatives. He was hated by two of the four Western Provinces and was battling his own party on a number of issues.

Then Donald Trump comes along. First, they should annex Canada and make it the 51st state. Moron. Then he says that he would welcome Alberta, with its 50 billion barrels plus of petroleum reserves and huge wheatfields to join the US. Dumb idea. He then throws some tariffs on certain items and the Canadians start taking products Made in the USA off the shelves. Idiot. Now this? A large-scale escalation of tariffs on major items that US businesses actually need to build things. Screwing up the supply chain in the US has already created its own inflation category. This would just accelerate it. Prime Minister Carney is now the most popular man in Canada.

The guy had the audacity to stand up to Donald Trump! Hell no!

All you MAGA shitheads should read this. This is the worst effing idea he has come up with yet and you want to keep the Chinese out of your World, then you don’t push your neighbor into their sphere.

I am not saying that is going to happen but if you think the Chinese aren’t salivating, guess again bucko.

They are already sending ships through the Northwest passage and have icebreakers coming out of their ship yards at a rate that hasn’t been seen in decades. The US, none.

You think that the Northwest passage thing is just to save time and money on shipping stuff to Western Europe, I think you may be wrong.

The whole point of this column is to say that I am looking at the Trump administration now and I think its failures are starting to outweigh his successes. Unfortunately, I do think that some of this will be reflected in the Midterm elections.

This is becoming a much more interesting election season for sure.

Pretty sorry state of affairs if you ask me. I get that no one watches any of the nightly news programs anymore and a lot of people rely on other sources to get their news but some people still do. A lot of people read the NYTimes online. Lot of people read the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, so while it may not have the power it used to, mainstream media is still a very powerful force in this country. Surprisingly, I think, overall that is a good thing. People still want to be informed. They can make the decision if the news they are reading or seeing is biased. People are free to decide what they want to believe and what they don’t.

I have faith in the semi intelligence of the population and while I may bitch about the media, I do know where they stand.

I bring this up because the media is doing a major disservice to the American people once again. The reporting across the networks (not as much at CBS by the way) is that this country is in the throws of a near recession or depression or stagflation or 20 other terms they use to describe the troubles on the home front.

It’s a disaster apparently around the country. Families are struggling. The cost of living has skyrocketed so much that many families are doing without eggs, milk, butter. Next thing you know, food pantries will be overwhelmed and there isn’t enough to go around.

Oh really?

Well, let’s look at the reality of the situation. Number one. Unemployment is stubbornly high. OK, it is above the Fed’s target for full employment but not by much. The several million people who are unemployed are not on the streets, they are not losing their homes, they not making a run on food pantries. This chronic slice of America is surviving just like they have always have in the past. They are working in unreported jobs. Meaning these people are working off the books. Sucks for the IRS but those famalies are surviving just like they always have. Paying bills. living their lives. Just because Mom is making 600 a week cash being a health aid and dad is working as an off the books painter or landscaper doesn’t mean they aren’t adding to society financially. It’s just not clear cut how much. In reality, who cares? As long as these families are doing what they have to to make ends meet, I am happy. Let us be very real about this “underground economy” it is real, it has been here forever and will continue to be here. People do what they have to do.

Number two. The media, other than CNBC, fails to report how strong corporate America is. How well most corporations are doing. The stock market is proof of this. While the AI play is still very strong, pretty much every boat is now floating and they aren’t floating like this because of hot air and whispers. The overall market is doing exceptionally well because companies are doing exceptionally well. Corporate earnings growth was supposed to take a slowdown this past quarter, it didn’t. Companies across the board are executing and executing well. Take that David Muir you pompous ass.

Number three. The reporting, when they do mention robust profits, downplays its impact on America in general and this really gets me going. If a corporation is doing well, really well, where does that money go? Sure executive compensation rises but a lot of times that compensation is in the form of stock options. Guy may make 20 million dollars in a year but 18 million is in some form of grant that will be allocated over time and is more complex than handing the person a 20 million dollar check. It’s performance based and the performance was very good. Pay the person. However, a company that has 15 billion dollars in profits doesn’t just bank it for a rainy day. They use it for research, development, stock buybacks, increased dividends. All of which end up being recirculated into the economy. Even if they do bank it, that money does not sit stagnant in some passbook savings account. Banks will lend it out to small businesses, big businesses. Cash never stops moving and when companies do well, more cash flows out. Never, ever is this mentioned in the media.

Number four. Corporate earnings and increased activity by those companies always trickles down to small businesses. A company is going to expand manufacturing capacity at a plant with these newfound profits. They hire local contractors, they hire regional contractors, those contractors need supplies. Regional businesses do well. Everyone benefits.

So the media reports on Taiwan Semi building two plants in Arizona at a staggering cost of 100 billion dollars. Sure a nice percentage is technology but how many union and non union people will be on those job sites? Buying new trucks at the local Ford dealership? Buying equipment. Paying those workers a higher wage. Those workers buying a new Toyota, built in Texas, for their sons or daughters. This is the story that is not reported. It is glossed over.

Why?

Simple, the worse they make the economy look, the worse Donald Trump looks but you ask a long haul truck driver if he is busy and how he is doing and who he says is responsible and it will always come back to President Trump. They can try to beat this man down but the actual economy tells a different story.

Now I don’t believe that Donald Trump is responsible for the booming real economy totally. He is the President and if the market sucked and we were mired in a recession I would have to have Trump share the blame. So when thing are going well, which they are, he should take some of the credit as well.

The thing that the mainstream media has lost track of is their actually connection to the bulk of this country. You report on bad economic times but yet every real fact tells a much different story. Americans see that yes, prices have risen but so have their wages. So have opportunities to do better.

The more you build a storyline that doesn’t line up with the facts, the less people will listen to your stories.

I see the tributes pouring in on Instagram and each and everyone moves me more than the loss of any other artist or person that is not family.

I don’t care if you think I am overstating, I just don’t think you can. Dolly was an Icon and a legend and every superlative you can put on a person

What Dolly was, and the World is desperate for this, she was good. The embodiment of good. I am not sure how to exactly describe this to people who only have anger in their hearts. They will never get it because they don’t know what it is. But for the rest of us, we all know. Dolly was good.

The stories and the legends, the Grammy’s, the Country Music Hall of Fame, The Rock Hall of Fame.

These will be the stories, but the real story, or one of them is that she was an East Tennessee girl. In her heart, she never left. She made her way to Nashville and to every Capital, big city, small city on the planet but she never left her East Tennessee roots behind.

She was what she was and everyone knew what that was. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body, exuded love wherever she went and was a positive force in this country and around the World.

She gave away over 300,000,000 books so kids could read. The impact of that alone may never be truly measured but think about how cool that is. Given stories to children to help them learn, to explore and to create on their own. I don’t think that a better legacy could ever be left.

She returned constantly back to her roots. Built Dollywood and employed thousand of East Tennesseans over the decades. Was generous with her time and her love.

Her ego was minuscule and her willingness to be self depricating was legendary. She knew who the Hell she was as was damn proud of her heritage and the people she loved.

In this World, I challenge anyone to give me the name of someone so selfless yet charismatic. Someone who never tried to be anything other than a plain ole’ singer/songwriter from East Tennessee.

I am not sure if the Catholic Church, In all their infinite wisdom would ever consider making Dolly a saint but I can’t imagine anyone on God’s green Earth that would argue that she was angel. A saint. With a personality as big as her hair and her boobs.

She was a person we loved and admired and I just hope that there are a million young girls that want to grow up and emulate her and her success in being a great human being. It is time for this very young generation to toss their useless love for Taylor Swift and Beyonce’ and become better people by following the path of love that Dolly blazed.

I really don’t think any words can truly express the impact that Dolly had on civilization. The World needed a Dolly because let’s be frank here, every other celebrity in any other field sucks compared to her.

I know my friends in East Tennessee and throughout the South are feeling this loss greatly because she truly was one of their own. Never gave up her roots for fake riches, she had all the riches she ever needed in Pittman Center and Pidgeon Forge.

Should be an alternate title but I sometimes think that no matter what we do, things just never get a full resolution. Sometimes things take years and cost billions and sometimes the news cycle just forgets about it.

Anyway, today we are looking at a huge, I mean huge play by the administration to end the war in Iran. Actually, that’s me and hyperbole at work again.

Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary announced more sanctions on Iran. The idea is ramp the sanctions up and bring the mullahs to their news. Yea ok. That will work.

I am not sure who is advising whom in The White House but I get the feeling they are finally seeing something they never expected. The regime in Tehran did not and will not bend to the will of the United States. They have complete and utter control of their country and will not give up that power, regardless of who is knocking at their door.

Now, you know the CIA has hundreds of analysts and you also know Israel knows these terrorists probably even better. Why wouldn’t anyone step up and say that launching an offensive at this regime will be costly and futile?

I just don’t get it.

I still believe President Trump was correct in trying to destroy the means of nuclear production in the country. I don’t anyone, friend or foe, would argue with the need to finally and completely end that ambition. Trump was the only president who actually had the balls and temerity to go in and try and accomplish that goal. Problem was and is, the administration had no plans for anything during or after the initial attempts. Zero. Now it’s a bit of a quagmire. Along with the fact that only Israel became involved it seems pretty clear that 1/2 the Worlds population could care less or their leaders are just chicken shit. Obviously, had the French, British, Germans gotten involved, the Straits of Hormuz would probably not been closed. You can go it alone sometimes, buy sometimes you need allies. What is really messed up is that they didn’t get involved because they dislike the Trump administration calling these weak backboned allies to task. So, they ignore the requests and the global energy system takes a hit. Pretty smart on their part don’t you think?

So now the administration is taking this drastic approach, bring the Iranian economy to it’s knees and they will back off and do as the President wants.

Are you EFFFing king me? That will never work and the 80 million Iranians that do not support this regime will be the ones to suffer even more. Growing descent in a population in a dictatorial nation only leads to one thing, bloodshed. The Iranian people know this all too well and will just make do with whatever the administration plans on doing.

They think that increasing sanctions will impact the regime? Haven’t they already learned that every volley gets returned with a Beijing postmark? The other packages all come back from Moscow.

Punish the countries that trade with Iran? Come on now. We are all well aware of the routes things take when they come from Iran. Money? Bitchslap the UAE which has a whole subindustry of converting cash flows and money laundering. They are always 16 steps a head of the US and every time their are more sophisticated means of detecting those money flows. The UAE finds a new angle. They have oil, they have tourist dollars and they have some of the smartest, most corrupt bankers in the World. Good luck with that. Oil tankers in mid sea change ownership four times before they land in India or China.

So sanctions are useless against this system. D Day? Dumbass Day.

Next little fire that looks like it may be put out is the new round of tariff threats between the US and Canada.

I said in Monday business column that I belief this might be the dumbest move by the administration yet. I still believe it. In typical Trump fashion, this may not happen and it seems the Canadians are not afraid to play chicken with us. They have Donald Trump’s number it seems and it more than likely, there will be positive movement by the time I publish this article.

I have said this over and over, no one wins a trade war. Rarely is it even a draw. Usely both sides lose and for what purpose? I still don’t know.

The administration was dancing a jig because the previous tariffs across the board generated over 130 billion in revenue for the Government. Number is a little suspicious but ok. It really never said the cost to the US consumer was but you have to believe we felt it. Now, they are rolling back those tariffs and companies are getting checks back. Sometimes for the full amount they paid. My question is, how come the consumer, that ultimately paid those increased costs, isn’t getting the relief sent back to them? No. What is going to happen is that that money stays in the pockets of the Jonh Deeres and Catepillars of the World and their profits will take a boost. That to me is a load of bullshit. Capitalism at it’s finest.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a capitalist through and through but sometimes the game is rigged.

The last thing that I wanted to go over was the fact that I do think that the Republicans may have a shot at losing the Senate. This is interesting because I have talked about how badly fractured the Democratic Party was but it looks like there are several fractures in the Republican Party as well. This has been a think that every media outlet has been pushing. The party is trying to split away from the MAGA forces and what not. Yeah, it’s coming from very biased sources and I do think there is some validity to it.

Not every Republican agrees with the Trump administration policies. You even hear some pundits talking about Liberal Conservatives. Huh? That’s an Oxymoron, No?

I do think that the party needs to pull itself back together and maintain focus on keeping at least one majority. It will suck because nothing will get done.

Oh wait. Honestly, nothing has gotten done, even with a majority in both houses. It’s obvious, that all my thoughts about wasted space in Congress is true.

It’s funny because I have seen and heard so many pundits and anchorpeople say that this is such a busy news week. Huh? They say that almost every week and you know, sometimes there really isn’t that much going on.

Exciting news as in regards to earnings? I mean come on. There is nothing exciting about any earnings announcement. It is numbers and short commentary. Big deal. I just don’t find that all that interesting. Important, absolutely, but interesting or exciting, give me a break.

Deals announced or trounced is moderately exciting but every one is a story told in many chapters and by the third or fourth chapter, it becomes old hat. Same old Same old.

Maybe, spend some time watching how the Paramount acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery plays out. That’s fun, because historically two of the three parts have been involved in interesting stories previously.

Paramount has been bounced around more than Caitlin Clark over the years.

Warner Brothers has been tossed around as well.

You have to wonder:A. Will the deal get done finally? B. At what actual cost? C. If not, then who?

I will go out on a limb here and say this. While I don’t know the full inner workings of any of the businesses involved and I am no corporate head, I can tell you in my mind Paramount is overpaying for this company. Sure there are some nice components here but let’s be real for a second. HBO has seen better days. The network now has shows like the reboot of the reboot of the reboot of Game of Thrones. Beat something to death and people will stop watching. They put out really bad shows like The Audacity. The network did Succession and now what do they have? A show with more unlikable characters than Succession. How is that possible. It’s terrible TV. What do they have? White Lotus? How many fantastic locations will you need to see? This isn’t “I need to sign up for HBOMAX”, it is, hopefully I signed up and they can sustain it. In other words no growth. CNN? They turn a profit when Donald Trump is in office,. Covering up for Joe Biden or pushing the Bernie Sanders/AOC agenda is not profitable. Movies, dying business. Discovery Channels, How many people actually watch” Wild pigs of Tupelo”?.

No, Paramount has a fat wallet, or should I say the Ellison family, and they want to be a player. That’s a recipe for disaster and this deal, if it goes through, will rival the Time Warner/AOL merger as the worst deal in US history.

What I will say though, it is interesting and I am sure Michael Lewis is already working on the book and Universal has bought the rights.

What’s the next story? Nvidia beating earnings again and setting off another rush to buy everything attached to AI? Ugh, starting to make me really wonder. Should I jump in at this point?

I will tell you for a fact, if I actually joined the fray, the market would collapse and the World would tilt on it’s axis enough so that El Niño would really show his teeth.

The planet does respond to the socio economic developments. I will give you a perfect example: The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 by beating my NY Yankees in the most improbable comeback in human history along the way. The planet was clearly upset as was I but when they beat the Cardinals in the World Series, that was it. later in the year we saw the utmost devastation when an earthquake in the Indian Ocean created one of this centuries most horrific disasters in Thailand. Coincidence? I think not.

So, will I set those wheels in motion again for Mother Earth. No, I will not. Your investments are safe.

I will focus on Big banks buying mid size players. That will be where my attention will be.

I don’t come up with these ideas on my own obviously. I think the WSJ had an article about the fact that two big players in the national banking scene are under the federally mandated cap on assets. Wells Fargo and Citigroup. Lots of fairly large regional banks may be under the microscope as we speak. I love Wells Fargo and any combination. I know that people’s opinion of this company are not the best but my experience and my dealings with them have always been great, As a consumer bank, I can say that their interface with their clients is the absolute best of all the banks I have dealt with. Their response time to queries and problems is fast and very efficient. Citibank, not so much. Citibanks website is about 20 years old and it looks it. It is under maintenance or some other excuse more frequently than any bank I have ever dealt with. Citigroups leadership is excellent however and if they ever actually care about the retail customer like they used to, they will be a very formidable competitor.

Some possibilities/? Regions Financial. M&T Bank (but why?) and Fifth/Third bank.

The story here might even be bigger and that’s something we should all be watching. The financial sector has had record profits for quarter after quarter and the need and thirst for these companies to expand and reach into new businesses will not rest. I think for the last half of this year, that will be the story.

Last thing and it’s actually developing into a full blown crisis is the trade war with Canada. I have not been shy about this and I will say it again. This could be the dumbest play in the Trump presidency, either term. That’s saying something my friends because the administration has done some very dumb things.

As you know I listen to some very conservative broadcasters and I am having second thoughts about these guys because they are actually trying to make a case for this type of trade war. You have the best neighbor you could possibly have and you want to basically create a wall between these two great countries. Punitive actions for what? I just don’t get it.

I will give you an example of the misinformation these conservative hosts have thrown out there to defend the worst policy in the last decade. They have thrown these numbers. The tariff on Canadian imports of US agricultural products is a staggering 110%. Incorrect. I have gone on countless website of the Canadian government and found zero evidence of this. Yes, when the Trump administration started imposing tariffs on various Canadian products, some Canadian tariffs were raised. Eggs, Milk, Cheese. al were increased but the amount we export to Canada is minimal. Very little impact on Minnesota farmers or Wisconsin cheeseheads. But they through out numbers to back a dumbass policy that is destroying our relationship with our closest neighbor.

I am no fan of Prime Minister Carney. he thinks selling oil to China and allowing them free access to Canadian technology is a good thing. When the Chinese decide to disrupt something important in Canada, they probably will not have the ability to stop them. When Chinese Ice Breakers and military ships cruise through the Canadian Arctic waters, I am sure the people in Ottawa will be thrilled.

Go to bed with a skunk, you are sure as hell going to stink like shit in the morning. I get it, that’s their journey but instead of taking a hardline stand against the Americans, negotiate in earnest and settle this soon. The Americans have to know that Carney and his administration are becoming more and more friendly with the Chinese delegations. Something needs to be done and this is where Trump can actually do the right thing, drop this bullshit and continue to have free trade between the two countries.

Now that is something to watch.

Our collective musical memory is set, we remember what we remember and where it brings us back to. I don’t remember what I had for dinner yesterday but I can remember the exact moment I heard a song. Where I was, who was there. Music is like that, that’s what makes it so important.

What I would like to do is go over a small sampling of the Songs of Summer. Some were released before summer or during the summer months. Some were not but became anthems of the Summer.

There is once again, no particular rhyme or reason to this list. No segue just random songs that always remind me of that special time of year.

First example is “Summer in The City” by the Loving Spoonful. Led by John Sebastian, they were one of the most popular groups in the mid 60’s. “Summer in The City” was their biggest hit I believe and every time I hear it, I think of two of my brother’s Friends ( or maybe it was my sister’s friends) had come over to paint my living room and that song was on the radio, on WMCA, The Good Guys. They were sweating their asses off and it fit. Stuck with me 60 years later.

Next we have War. The most underrated band of all time. It was actually a tossup, between “Summer” or “All Day Music”. You can play either one and feel the slow pace and easy living of summer.

While Alice Cooper’s “Schools out” is a logical choice for a column like this, what bugs the Hell out of me is when they play this song in November. Stupid. It should be played every May and June, that’s it.

Do you wanna talk Beach Boys? Jeez. I wouldn’t even know where to start. It certainly would not be “Kokomo” which is the top five of worst songs ever written. I mean, this is a group that started the whole West Coast beach sound. Jan and Dean, yeah but they palled in comparison. I don’t have a specific choice since I never really was a big Beach Boys fan but I do remember going to the beach, riding in a buddies car and his girlfriend had two Beach Boys 8 track tapes and she would play them constantly. She knew every word to every song and she song them. Full throttle! Get me outta this car, where are The Stones when you need them?

I am going to put “Summertime Blues” by The Who in here because I believe it is the first song I ever loved by the band and I became a huge fan after my brother brought home “Live at Leeds”. The original packaging. That was it! The band always kicked ass and never apologized. Harder, wilder than the Stones and Pete Townsend was a genius. How could you not love them?

Bryan Adam’s “Summer of 69” is also one that has always reminded me of Summer. I am not sure what time of year it was released but the story is one I wish I had actually dreamed of living. Playing guitar until my fingers bled. Jeez. I wished I had even the smallest amount of musical talent. I lived a fantasy through this song.

The Motels, “Suddenly Last Summer” is an iconic summer song. It touches on the end of innocence and the end of summer. Martha Davis has a beautiful voice and I was forced to buy the album for this one song. I never do that but I loved the song.

Another song from around that time that reminds me of my summers going out to the Hamptons and seeing a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac was “Boys of Summer” by Don Henley. Just a very specific story about a very specific time in a person’s life. Like any good song, it brings back specific memories.

A group that for some reason reminds me of Summer but doesn’t really have any Summer themed songs is The B-52’s. I have always loved the band. I think they just got it. Whatever “it” was, they had it. “Rock Lobster” or “Legal Tender” just reminds me of seeing them at Jones Beach one hot Summer night.

The next song has to be included no matter what time frame we are talking about. It might be the greatest Summer song of all time. Frank Sinatra’s “Summerwind”. You could not talk about a more perfect Summer song and quite possibly a more perfect song in general. His voice is perfect, the orchestration perfect and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. and orchestral arrangements by Nelson Riddle. Love it.

I would have to include “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina And The Waves on this list. Bouncy little jingle that is pure Summer. I don’t think they did anything of note after it but it was a number one single for a few weeks in 1983.

Those are just a few. If you have any other songs that bring back strong Summer memories just drop me a line.

Once again an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal got me think ing about why we have this surge in Socialists and Communists in this country. And yes, there are actual Karl Marx Communists in this country. They may dress as a Democrat but don’t be fooled.

The Op-Ed written by Kimberlee Josephson titled “How Colleges Produce Socialists” is eye opening and makes total sense now that I think about it.

Basically what she believes is that the sudden rise in young people believing that Socialism is the answer to our troubles is due to the university system in this country.

Not because Liberal professors are indoctrinating these young minds with their horseshit ideologies. No, it’s because the universities and colleges across the country give students the impression the cost of living in our society is or should be , free.

Think about it, students entering colleges come from homes where they may have had to work but for the most part, all the basic services were provided for them from birth.

Three meals a day, snacks, roof over their heads, transportation, sports, activities, movies, internet, cell phones. Most young people never had the responsibility of the costs associated with all of these things.

They go off to college and again, they aren’t writing checks for most everything the schools provide.

Yeah yeah, there is tuition. One check, supplied by someone (government,,family, financial aide) and their meals are provided. They have a meal card, no cash changes hands. They have someone along the line pay for it. They get free WiFI. An apartment or suite in a dorm. They don’t pay rent. Someone, somewhere does.

It’s all free. Entertainment, concerts, all discounted or free. Football, basketball games, free.

Busing around campus, free.

The point is, most (not all) students rarely struggle with the cost of living. Universities consolidate those costs and the burden is somewhere. It could be in the form of student loans or parents. Or scholarships. Whatever, the costs are never actually directly born by the user.

That is socialism.

The costs of Socialism are born by who? The government will provide basic living.

That is what a lot of students expect and then reality hits these kids and they want the same stuff they got in college for free, they want it now, as working stiffs in the Capitalist world.

Rude awakening, so when these Socialist morons get up and start preaching all the shit they are going to provide for them if they get elected, why wouldn’t I vote for you?

Without a doubt, her article expresses the ideas much better than I do but you know me. My ideas come flowing out and my fingers type them. Editor! no way. AI, blasphemy!!

I know there is an argument against what she is saying. That argument holds very true for the most part and I do believe that most students coming out of college want to work, they want to be contributing members of a capitalist society but they are struggling and perhaps a little lost and a smooth snake oil salesman like Zorhan work for them. Short term.

When the weaknesses of the Socialist mindset are exposed, most people come to their senses and send these people off to a community farm in Minsk.

We can only hope that they don’t truly destroy the fabric of this country. I believe they won’t. I do also believe that we will have to deal with these leaches for a few years to come.

The scariest thing of all of this rhetoric is that AOC is starting to think about a Presidential run in 2028. Without a doubt, that will be the most contentious election season in our history. She is a powerful force, albeit one of the dumbest candidates in US history, that will be hard to deal with.

She has 23 million followers on instagram and mobilizing that base is cheap and easy. She can get her ass kicked in every debate. Be made to be shown the fraud that she is and these idiots that follow her will still vote for her.

God help this country.

Old adage from seafarers back in the 1500’s I think.

That is the subject of today’s column if you haven’t guessed. Water.

The most mundane but important element on the planet and you barely hear about investors rushing into a water play. It’s not sexy at all. However, without it, nothing will function and the planet will die.

No, I didn’t get this idea from watching, “The Last House” on Netflix. I know the rundown on this film is about family and struggle but the star of the show is water, or lack of it, or where do these Boogie men come from? I was disappointed in the movie but I can’t say it was the worst thing I have seen. Anyway, it is about water.

You do see an occasional article in the Times or the Journal about the struggles out West regarding the Colorado river. How the glory days of development and expansion in Arizona are taking a serious toll on the lifeline to 45 million people and 5 to 6 million acres of irrigated lands in Arizona, Nevada and to some extent California.

Technology probably will never be able to fully solve the problems these people are encountering. AI will not be able to solve it either. Mother Nature is the only solution and she ain’t budging.

AI and water are an interesting combination I think. In places like Ohio where rainfall is pretty normal and the Aquifers where most Ohioans get their water from are stable, depleting slowly but still sizable and if needed Northern Ohio can drink from Lake Erie. Filtered of course but that’s a pretty big resource. So Ohio can afford and develop these massive data centers because they have water. Indiana the same thing. Virginia which has the largest capacity of present data centers and has a few dozen more in the planning stages, can handle the increased pressure. Electricity may be an issue, but most likely it won’t be water.

States that have, are going after this lucrative build out. Boggles my mind long term but we always have to remember, the politicians that approve these mammoth undertakings are only in it for the next election. That’s it. I am the best choice because I approved a 30 billion dollar construction project but the reality of any of those projects is the cost of the land, infrastructure improvements and construction are only a small portion of the total cost. It is the technology inside those buildings that runs up the bill. That is money that is spent elsewhere. When it’s all said and done, these projects generate additional tax revenue but not as much as you think. Sure they have 200-300 highly paid and skilled people working there and that definitely will improve the local economy but does it really? Employees making 250K a year are not looking for a median priced home. Those home are in the 250,000 to 300,000 range. They create construction jobs for more expensive homes, yes, but that puts a burden on the local economy.

Back to the water problem. Now Texas wants to take the lead on this boom and they have the land to do it. The Panhandle and North Texas will be seeing a huge increase in construction spending and while oil is still king, these data centers will probably top the spending that drillers and refiners have spent over the decades. Where is the water coming from? There are major landowners that have mineral rights for water as well as oil and they will benefit for sure and I do believe the technology does exist where they have a huge need for water at the beginning and because of technology, those needs slow down but that initial burst is immense. How do some of the driest counties in the United States supply hundreds of millions of gallons of water for these data centers?

That is the biggest question and a truly under-appreciated opportunity for investors. Where is the technology? Who will be at the forefront? Will this technology be transferrable to the West, which is bordering on a crisis.

Yes, all the moaning about stress on the electric grid is justified but I do think these companies will address that internally by building their own power generation and restarting shuttered Nuclear power plants, but water? That’s a much bigger challenge I think.

I am not one to recommend stocks and I won’t do it here but I will recommend the concept. Look towards companies that are involved in the construction and maintenance of water facilities. Again, it’s not sexy but sometimes it’s those nondescript duckling that turn into beautiful Mallards.

Thank you Sublime.

I don’t condone the use of drugs. It is a scourge this country needs to get rid of.

Ok, now back to Planet Earth.

Ever since the mid 60’s Rock and Roll has embraced the drug culture.or better yet, the drug culture embraced Rock and Roll.

Some of the best songs ever written were about drugs, the effects, the after effects.

We have lost so many great artists to drugs and yet no one has ever embraced that particular form of music. Until now.

Sublime’s “Smoke Two Joints” is an easy one. I have always liked Sublime. They are one of the few LBC bands that made it. That whole Long Beach white trash culture fascinates me. No reason why. Anyway, Sublime did numerous songs extolling the virtues of Gange and other mind altering alternatives.

I really have no clue where it started but one of the earliest references I can remember was “Momma Told Me Not to Come” by Three Dog Night back in 1970. The song made very clear references to the “Smell of Stale perfume”, which me and my friends found funny because weed never smelled like that to us. Surely there were songs that mislabeled pot but it just cracked us up. Were we high?

Lot of people will say that the Jefferson Airplane extolled the virtues of varied drug use in “White Rabbit”. No I say, it was all references to Alice in Wonderland. Which, if you think about it, The book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carrol, had to written under the influence of something in 1865. maybe Absinthe?

“Purple haze”. No doubt herein which Jimi Hendrix seemed to enjoy quite a bit.

“Sister Morphine” by the Stone. Maybe Keith Richards was telling an autobiographical story. Maybe Mick. All I know is that it’s probably the best drug referenced song ever.

“Cocaine” written by J.J. Cale, made famous by Eric Clapton has to go up there as well. The number one song on every strip clubs playlist since it was released by Clapton in 1977. I always wondered if Cale received any residuals from BMI/ASCAP for the times it was played there.

NRBQ, those comedy writers posing as a band in San Fransisco had “Whacky Tobacco” and “Rocket in my Pocket”. Fun times in the Bay Area.

Speaking of the Bay Area, it is miracle that anyone survived out there with their drug use and free love. Geez. I mean, Quicksilver messenger Service wasn’t talking about Mary Jane in “Fresh Air”? Or “What about Me?”

The Dead had dozens of drug songs. “Trucking”, “Casey joes” and pretty much any live Grateful Dead show was an acid trip waiting to happen.

“The Pusher” by Steppenwolf was a little different because John Kay obviously abhorred drug use and the push who fed everyone’s habit.

Those little mop tops from Liverpool were not above it all either. “Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds” was a very clear reference to tripping on Acid.

I could do a deep dive into Hip Hop and Rap and come up with 87.34% of the songs that have drug references but you have to put the king of it all, Grandmaster Flash and “White Lines” right up with the best rock songs.

“Brown Sugar” by the Stones may be referencing the ladies of the night in a New Orleans Bordello but considering where the Stones were at that time, hard to not think it’s about heroin.

How about “Gold Dust Woman” by Feetwood Mac, or The Eagles “Life in The fast Lane”

You see, this list can go on for days.

One more. It may not be about drugs but I am pretty sure there were lot being taken when it was written. “Fire” by Arthur Brown. Watch the video at your own risk,

I read what might be the best Op-Ed in a very long time over the weekend. Peggy Noonan’s called “Socialism Is Here—and It’s Serious”. I think everyone in this country, friend and foe should read it.

In the column Ms. Noonan eloquently states why we should be concerned with the rise of the Democratic Socialist of America and why it is so important in this age of political confusion.

I won’t go into all that she says because I think all my readers should get a hold of it and digest it. It is powerful stuff.

While I think every red blooded American already knows the true hypocrisy behind the Democratic Party and we have come to terms with it. Will we, as loyal Americans, ever have the chance or ability to change most Democrats minds? I doubt it. It holds true for most Republicans as well. You are what you are. Period.

The scary thought here is simple, you know I love simple, Democrat supporters are going to blindly vote for their party’s candidate, regardless if the POS is a socialist/communist or just a good moderate Democrat. The same holds true for Republicans.

The big difference as far as elections are concerned is that the Republican candidates are all pretty much the same. Some more conservative ( but not out of bounds as far as ideology) some moderate, some MAGA ass kissers. You know what you are getting regardless of there position on the spectrum. You may not truly love them, but they will be the party and toe the party line.

The Democrats are veering off into spaces that could irreparably harm this country. Let’s be totally honest here and not pull any punches. You want to fuck this country up forever, put socialists in charge.

There I said it. Go to hell if you think that electing someone who wants to get rid of the Supreme Court, wants to get rid of the Constitution, doesn’t believe in jails or in a police force is a good thing. Are you out of your goddamn minds?

This country is certainly not perfect but it has succeeded because we have been able to deal with the imperfections as they come. The Constitution was and still is a genius document that has no parallel in human history. Yes, The Magna Carta probably had a bigger impact on history up until the Constitution became the law of the land. This is a document that is alive and is interpreted constantly by scholars and layman alike and these fucktards want to abolish it?

Put what in it’s place you morons?

Get rid of police? Have no jails? Are these people actually that stupid? It seems they are.

It seems that they have never read a history book, or paid attention in any class that goes over civil liberties. Maybe this stupidity comes from liberals taking over school districts nationwide and recreating the educational path of these impressionable minds we call our children. I remember we had to salute the flag every morning and say the Pledge of Allegiance. Do they even do that now?

What are they teaching these kids? Certainly not how great this country is, even with it’s flaws.

That was the start of it, I am sure.

Did they not teach these kids how Socialism actually works? That no matter what form of it develops, there are still the haves and the have nots. Just like they say we have here. The big difference is here, in our society, under the Constitution, everyone has a legit chance to make something of themselves. Within the law, anyone can be successful. Please don’t give me the bullshit that this country is racist or sexist. There are racists in every society. Not just the US. There are sexists in every society. Not just the US. However here, those people are individuals and they can be dealt with.

I am going to digress a bit but it is to make a point that shows how freaking stupid this generation is. How it is more hypocritical than any generation before it.

You talk about the sexism in this country yet these students and Gen whatever the hell they are march to save Hamas. Or they march to fight Islamophobia yet do they actually know what they are supporting? You have Hamas, a terrorist organization that has vowed to kill every last Jew on the planet. That is who you support? Mass murderers? Rapist animals that slaughter innocent people. Cowards who use Mothers as human shields? Are you out of your minds? Yes, the Israeli response might be considered too much. If I live in Tel aviv, I would not think so. There probably will be investigations into a lot of what happened over there but when your countrymen were slaughtered for no reason other they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, so be it. I stand behind Israel and always will.

They march to support Islam in this country, These free woman walking and holding signs in support of their Muslim friends yet the women in these countries have none of the freedoms you enjoy. You hate this country and it’s systems, get the fuck out and live in Tehran and see if you have the same feelings when you see a woman stoned to death for falling in love with someone other than her prescribed mate. You see gay men and women hung from bridges. You support what you don’t understand or believe is actually happening. It is.

The biggest hypocrisy in American history is not Donald Trump you idiots, it you and your ilk supporting things you don’t understand fully.

The important thing about this not so gradual shift is actually two fold.

One, I think the past couple of generations are not succeeding to the extent they believe they should have. The cost of living is skyrocketed in places and become unaffordable. The generations that feel they will never get what they deserve are looking to alternatives. Someone or something that offer them hope.

For generations, the mantra was parents always wanted their children to do better than they have. That, to most parents, was all they ever wanted. We worked hard to give them a better life, or so the story goes. I know my parents wanted that and they did get it. I did well. I worked hard an earned everything I got. I wanted my kids to do just as well if not better. While they may never make the money I made, they have succeeded in so many other ways and they are great people to boot. That to me is a more meaningful measure of success. I am sure there are plenty of parents my age who can say the same thing. We were very fortunate because the World opened up financially for us and I think the World is not so open for the these following generations. They maybe have missed the mark a bit and are frustrated and that is how revolutions start.

It is obviously not that bad in this country and many many people are enjoying successful careers. Living a great life so what gives?

The generations after are not having the financial impact they think they deserve and are frustrated. The system that has worked for generations does not work for them. Maybe their expectations are too high, maybe it’s something else. Whatever it is, they want people in charge that have different ideas. Which is awesome but do these frustrated newly empowered people actully know what they are voting for?

Obviously not.

Do they actually look at for lack of a better term, The manifesto for the DSA? They couldn’t have because the parallels in history are just to obvious. The failures of that ideology abound.

Finally, All I can say is that it may take some hard lessons and more fracturing in this country before these suddenly revitalized idiots see that socialism will never work.

Oh wait, some countries in Europe have a complete successful socialist system in place and they are the happiest countries on Earth. Ok, you win, enjoy a tax rate of 65-80% and see how well that goes in this country. You people are idiots.

Since I am ranting and this has zero importance in anything on this planet except for the super minority of fans in the WNBA,

All 13,672 of you.

Before I start, I can not say I have ever watched more than 3 minutes of any game ever, worst type of basketball. I get that they play basketball like it is supposed to be played but watching games that are 56-54 or 80-45 has zero interest to me. Boring. slow and not worth watching.

However, you have the bright shining light of Sophie Cunningham. Getting toasted by people who are even dumber than the Socialist morons previously mentioned.

I don’t think there should even be a discussion about this, WNBA stands for Women’s National Basketball Association. Women. That is not some freakazoid who decides one day he is a woman. You can add or subtract whatever you want, you were birthed as a man or a woman. Sorry, genetics can not be changed. You are transgender, good for you, live your life in harmony, but don’t try to be something you actually are nor and never will be. I don’t think this is wading into anything too controversial.

Enis Kantor and Royce White have petitioned to play in the WNBA because the league leadership has no idea what a woman actually is. I hope they play, completely demolish the league and end this stupidity or end the league.

I am not sure what argument the trans community has regarding this. Do they think Kantor and White are making a mockery of the whole thing? They surely are and I am glad.

End this supposed controversy and say exactly what you are. A league for biological woman to play against other biological women and move on.

We are in a World where common sense no longer exists. It’s time to bring it back.

I have said it repeatedly and I think as this bullshit carries on for much longer, the World will find other sources.

They have.

Yes, inflation has ticked up but really, has it devastated World economies like all the brainiacs had suggested early on? No, it hasn’t. It won’t because the World always seems to figure out another avenue to get supplies.

All you have to do is look at Prohibition. Did Americans stop drinking? No, they found resourceful Italian Americans and Irish Americans who would either build a still in their bathtub or deal with suppliers from Canada and the Caribbean. Those resourceful gents made millions running imports through various locals. Everyone drank and everyone was happy. Sure prices went up but if little Johnny needed new shoes, he could wait another 6 months because Big Johnny needed liquor. Sacrifices must be made he would tell his wife.

You cut off supply from one place, supply always seems to show up from another place. The Chinese were initially panicked but not for long because the Russians were in desperate need of cash flow and they had the oil. With the Ukrainians hitting refineries in Russia, this might be a bit of a problem but if the Chinese are one thing, they are resourceful. They are also in full energy dependence transfer. Like it or not, they lead the word in renewable energy production. Is it enough? No, but they are full tilt into it and won’t stop until they have conquered their dependence on Middle eastern oil. My guess is at some point, Canada will be supplying them with enough oil to meet demands. Yes, that is our closest neighbor and one time number one ally selling oil to our biggest rival in every sense. Love Trump all you want, he has royally Effed up our relationship. That is a huge, huge failure on his part.

The US is pumping and exporting as much oil and natural gas as it physically can but there are limits to this export and that lies simply with shipping. There are what, 200 oil tankers still in the Gulf waiting for resolution? That is a very large amount of capacity without even taking into account the oil that is sitting in the holds of those ships. 250 million barrels of oil if not more.

As I have said, Oil is flowing into Western Europe, India, China and Southeastern Asia. It is just not all coming from the Middle East. You need it, you will find it. Prices of oil on the spot market reflect this. There are several projects that are being developed in the Middle East and around the World that will reduce the Straights importance and while everyone seems to think that the Iranians are playing with a very strong hand, they are not. Short term, their message is clear but the long term is that they will end up being less important as Venezuela ramps up. As Canada gets its oil to the West coast via pipeline. The Saudi’s risking their oil to that pipeline underway. Don’t forget the discovery in French Guyana in South America, apparently it could be one of the largest discoveries ever.

The Iranians may have outsmarted themselves. It will take a little more time but their game plan will only work for a short while.

The long term result will be pretty simple to invest in. The resolution and opening of the Straits will increase flow. It will also devastate oil prices because the demand is X, supply was Y. With resolution, supply will be Y times 5, no matter what China, India or anyone else will need. Ramping up production in South America will keep a lid on prices for quite a while.

Save this column and don’t let me be the first one to tell you I told you so. Do I see $50 a barrel oil in the mid term future? 100%. This where OPEC+ will be struggling to rein in supply. It won’t work. You think the Sheiks in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar are going to pull back production when their capital needs are so high, no way.

I know a few things. The Mets will forever be unwatchable. The Jets will mess things up somehow. The oil markets. Trust me on these things.

Looking at the economy in the US for the next few months is pretty easy as well. The AI trade will dominate markets and the news. That’s all you need to know forever.

UGH. I really am a little tired of this story to be honest. You can’t ignore it but the US economy is way more complex than AI’s impact on it. You have industries popping up, great companies coming to market ( the kind that actually produce something physical), investments all looking for a home.

This period of economic resurgence is based on this “Third Industrial Revolution” and that’s fine but I still like to look under rocks and see what’s hiding in plain sight.

We are in a period where the amount of money involved may not actually match what actually exist. By this I mean you have money coming out of nowhere investing in stocks that valuations don’t match the business. PE ratios that are out od skew with the actual bottomline of the companies affected.

That means that reality has not caught up to the valuations. There will be a crisis point.

The crisis point will be the tip of the iceberg and that is what I believe we will see. It won’t be Nvidia missing numbers for the first time in its history. I don’t know what it will be but when it happens, it is going to hurt badly.

I know I have been calling for this reckoning for at least 6 months. The market has gone up about 10% from my first call. Does that make me misinformed? No, I don’t think so. I think you just have too many people saying how great this Ai revolution is going to be for the winners. Yup. Invest 500 billion dollars over 5 years and see what happens.

I know I was probably one of the first people to express my concerns and now you are hearing random analysts all calling for caution.

I still do not see how any company can expect to recoup that investment? Even if that investment presents a return of let’s say 20 billion a year, it will take more than 25 years to recoup it. You put 500 billion in a TBill and get 4%, you get roughly 20 billion in tax free interest. You still have your 500 billion which you can redeem at any point. You can’t redeem a 40 billion dollar outdated Data center.

High school math I know. Oh but its way more complex that that. Actually it isn’t.

You build out massive infrastructure that only has a short term life expectancy. I mean, come on, does anyone believe that technology won’t improve whatever these wizards are developing in 2026? Moores principle exists for a reason, it’s true. 18 months and you are out of the game.

No thanks.

Investing is about understanding the risks and that kind of risk, right now, is being dismissed and that is where a lot of people are going to lose a lot of money.

YouTube

Now, we all know about YouTube and I am going to say something I don’t think anyone can argue with. In all the inventions and iterations that the Internet has created, I think that YouTube is probably the best thing to come out of the whole Internet experience.

You can pretty much learn anything, watch anything, listen to anything that has ever been recorded. All in one place.

Truth be told, I don’t spend a lot of time on YouTube for the very simple reason that it is the ultimate rabbit hole.One time I went to watch Metallica perform “Enter The Sandman” live somewhere and ended up watching out takes from Goodfellas. Don’t ask me how but I wasted 4 hours of my life and I got nothing out of it except pure joy.

What could be wrong with that?

Nothing.

This website is the destroyer of productivity I tell you.

Be that as it may, there is too much good stuff on there and whatever I bring up here is 1-1 millionth of the available great stuff.

I do not have a favorite video because I just can’t single out one that’s all. The following are just starting points for me when I have 3 hours to waste.

To all those people on YouTube that have these videos about making the best of every moment of your life, Go Ef yourself, watching Jimi Hendrix play “Fire” from some rare concert footage in Hawaii is not a waste, it is pleasure without the crack pipe.

Once again, a lot of these videos have been mentioned in other articles but I always like to repeat things because it’s easier for me and most people don’t pay attention to my suggestions, so I need to reiterate them.

First up is Billy Strings version of Zeppelin’s “Ramble On”. He had a whole set dressed as some sort of Hobbit from Lord Of The Rings I think and played a set of these semi mystical tunes. The guy is a treasure. He can cover pretty much any band, song or style of music. His Bluegrass covers are phenomenal. My only problem with YouTube concert footage is that some guys just don’t know how to film something properly and the sound is mediocre. That really holds true with alot of Billy Strings content.

Totally different genre’ but an equally impressive show was Janes Addiction doing “Jane Says”. One of my all-time favorite songs and the whole recording, as bad as it is, just really makes you feel like you are there. Perry Farrel was at the height of his ability during this concert and it’s pretty apparent that he was at the height of his drug use. You look at him now, he looks like an accountant from KPMG, back then, a Circus freak show outcast. The production is so bad that you can’t help but be distracted by it. Its strange because some was actually paid to do it and they failed. Still a very cool video.

Now for years I never got The Dave Matthews Band. I just couldn’t understand half of the lyrics to any song but it just dawned on me later in life how good these guys are. I mean good is an understatement. They are incredible and live, they have few equals. Picking a favorite is next to impossible but I know I have to pick one, or two and these are my choices: “Cortez, The Killer” from a concert in Central Park in 2003. I mean Warren Haynes came on stage and ripped it apart. Great song and probably one of the best covers ever. The other is “Don’t Drink The Water” from the same concert. Man, to be on the Central Park lawn that night!

I know that a lot of these recommendations are songs I already love and this next one is a pure example of that.”Lazy” by Deep Purple recorded live on the BBC in 1971 is one of the best examples of early rock and roll in black and white. The song off the record has one of the best intros ever and this live performance is no different. The vocals by Ian Gillian’s vocals are great, Richie Blackmore’s guitar solo at the beginning along with Jon Lord’s intro, make this a worth watching video.

Next up is Brandi Carlisle’s rendition of “Madman Across The Water” is amazing. This might be my favorite video of all time. I won’t go on about it, just watch it, tell me what you think.

This next one could be up for debate but I think it’s worth taking a look. Bruce Springsteen and Melissa Etheridge doing an acoustic version of “Thunder Road”. Such a unique version and I do think it works. The quality of the video is atrocious, not sure why but the vocals are excellent.

My next video is more of a full concert than you can watch on YouTube. Pink Floyd at Pompeii is unique in so many respects. First of all, it is one of the best concert films ever. There is a caveat however, it is not a concert in front of an audience, it is a concert in an empty Amphitheater in Pompeii. Ghosts and all. The quality of the footage is unparalleled. It’s a lot easier to film this type of concert since there are is no audience sounds to contend with. Plus and minus I guess but seeing Pink Floyd in its heyday perform anywhere to me is worth the staged aspect.

Watching Gov’t Mule perform any this worth the time but I really enjoy watching them perform with Grace Potter. Their version of Fleetwood Mac’s classic “Gold Dust Woman” is a perfect example. I think anything with Grace Potter is worth watching also. She has an amazing voice and an amazing presence and she doesn’t do that stupid shit that Stevie Nicks does. Well maybe a little.

It’s mid summer and I become more inconsistent during the warmer months

The summer doldrums are upon us and I really don’t have anything specific to write about. So, I am just going to riff.

The earnings season has been a mixed bag. The financials kicked ass, everyone else has puckered in and met expectations or beat them by a small margin. That should be enough to support the market at this lofty level, but it won’t.

Unfortunately, we are in a market cycle where one theme dominates every conversation and that conversation is finally looking more realistic.

I mean it really didn’t take a genius to sound the warning bell about the announced spending going into AI. Trillions, not billions are predicted and I am sure we haven’t seen the end of it. b

No you didn’t need to be a genius so why was I the only one who spoke common sense about it? Why? Because I have zero vested in it and I am no genius. The analysts who wrote these glowing papers about the spending and the build out. How fast it was going and the heights that AI will reach. All a load of bullshit.

The bottom line is and always will be ROI, Return on Investment. What will be your return? Uh, I don’t think it will be anywhere near what they spent. Plus, you risk hundreds of billions of dollars and not take into account the possibility of new technologies transforming the landscape yet again?

I would like to go back to the numbers for a second. I would take the Stargate project and do the numbers but it’s being developed so it’s really hard to say exactly, costs versus actual costs.

Let’s go with Meta’s project in Louisiana. Originally it was slated to cost 10 billion, now it’s 50 billion plus. Did anyone actually sit down and do the real numbers on this? That to me is the big question. They are hyper-scaling with super dense GPU’s and those babies are not cheap, but still. 50 billion? The land in that parish goes for about 12,000 dollars an acre, granted, they bought the land at a much higher price but as part of a 50 billion dollar budget, land was a pimple on the butt cheeks of the project. Ok, they are spending roughly 1 billion on local infrastructure improvements. That’s an awful lot of equipment and manpower. In a sparsely populated parish. Then the GPU’s and buildings. I have no idea what they cost but lets say they are 250K each, you need to buy an awful lot of them and Nvidia has won the bulk of the processing orders. Which leads me down a rabbit hole too. Nvidia has orders for hundreds of thousands of their most valuable GPUs. They have scaled up but can they meet demands? Competitors will come a running’ and costs will go down.

My point is, I think that the prices they have put on these projects is probably a little overdone. Even if everyone of these data centers builds its own power plants, at a cost of what, 1.5 billion? They won’t be spending what they say they will.

A side note, these Tech douches are all liberal, chia seed eating hypocrites. They build, build, build and then need fossil fuel powered energy to sustain their models.

Exxon to the rescue.

The bigger thing I think is that all of these projects are benefitting a smallish group of providers. The circle is small. Yes, they need concrete, they need electricians and plumbers but when they are all gone. The 200 people that work in these data centers will not provide a whole lot to their communities. Yet, states are giving tax breaks, free land, every sort of concession to win these mega projects and there long term benefit is nil.

I know, I know, I am rambling in a million directions with no clear path. So, I will clear it up for you a bit. The trillions may not work out to be trillions but the investment will be heavy no doubt. The scale will be amazing and for the three to five years that all these data centers will be built, the subgroups involved will make billions in profits. But, that will end. The data centers don’t need 4,000 people working at 60 dollars an hour and the tax revenue for years will be minimal. They will not be a blight on the soil but they won’t add much locally. Like riding along the Pennsylvania Turnpike and see warehouse after warehouse. Not the prettiest things but necessary just the same.

The last point I want to make is my opinion on SpaceX. A few people ridiculed me or at the very least disagreed with my feelings about the company. It’s down 20% from its IPO price. Do I need to say more? It’s down 47% from its all time high. Does anyone feel scammed yet? Wait, it’s coming. I still believe that this stock gets down to the 65-70 level, you buy it. Put it away for your grand kids and watch the Mets lose another series to the Marlins.

Which, I hope, makes people rethink jumping on board with the Blue Origin IPO. Probably will be a more traditional pricing model and then you will see the true valuation of companies in the space sector that doesn’t have Elon Musks name attached to it. I would be cautious on this one for sure.

It’s just a little superpower I have sometimes and I would like to share.

Traders, analysts and common folk see the escalation again in Iran and know that oil will spike. That’s a given.

Some of that is oil trader speculation , which I believe accounts for about 10-15% of every major move. These guys have the backing of major banks, hedge funds and private equity along with some fairly substantial family offices that are aggressive traders. So, the movement is not without some serious backing. Billions will roll into the oil futures markets and bump them or pound them. Happens every time there is some development in the Middle East.

I get that part of it. I also get how the more important purchasing of these futures contracts for airline, national reserve needs etc will keep the direction going.

Whoever is buying the oil now is trying to meet an unknown need in the future but that is the game every component of the oil market plays. They don’t want to miss a chance to buy oil at 89 dollars a barrel so they buy there and the industrial/governmental purchases stay with the buyer. For example: American Airlines might buy 300,000 barrels of oil in the futures market for their needs in October (delivery date of the contract). They are most likely not going to sell that contract even if oil goes back to 125 dollars a barrel. They need the oil for their business. They buy and hold. That is the nature of trading oil futures contracts.

The point of this little mini education lesson is to point out that the volatility in oil trading isn’t based on industrial contracts. It is spot market trading and the companies that do it, have profited in a very big way.

I digressed a little I think because my point is more about the fact that this time around the markets have not truly represented the actions in Iran and the Middle East in general.

The first go around we had an incredibly swift spike in oil prices. The futures traded as high as 112 dollars a barrel. Some contracts traded as high as 125 a barrel but were not reported to the media.

Uncertainty will do that to a market.

Now, we are in probably a worse position geopolitically and the high I have seen has been around 92 and change.

Why wouldn’t the market spike to those levels again? Is it going to? Will we see 125 a barrel oil being traded in the next week or so?

Probably not.

There is a little bit of a disconnect going on here and I do believe that energy traders who are wired into stuff we can’t even understand know something is different this time.

The two sides are wreaking havoc upon each other and that would telegraph to the World, shit is going to get worse before it gets better. Yet, The oil markets latest spike didn’t have the same zest as others. This spike seemed more like the traditional, “Oh shit, The Houthis blew up an Israeli fishing boat, now look what the Israelis are going to do” moment.

What could be different you wonder. I don’t exactly know and I will admit it might be a little early in this go around but I just think an acceleration in prices in oil won’t happen, given the intensity of the conflict.

With neither side in the right place as far as negotiating an end, this conflict could be one of those endless wars the media goes on about. That should keep oil prices elevated in the short term.

The confusion in the Straits of Hormuz is a bigger problem. Not sure why the greatest navy the World has ever seen has not opened this passage and blown the little militants that could right off the face of the planet? Why do these half baked IRG forces control a major choke point? Makes you wonder.

The president has said that he will clear passageway for ships and charge them. Like the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal. How is that any better than the Iranians wanting to charge up to two million dollars per vessel? It is the same thing.

As time goes on, major buyers of oil are reaching out to other sources to fill their needs. Granted this does take some time but you have already seen a ramping up of production in Nigeria, Venezuala and the US. Canada has vast supplies of oil in Alberta and they are working furiously to get it into a pipeline somewhere to take advantage of this price hike.

Yes, the Middle East is still vital but at what cost? The Saudis know this better than anyone and rest assured, the Kingdom isn’t sitting still. The nuclear deal they struck with the Trump administration is one sign that they are not sitting still. The problem is for them and every other country in the Middle East is they really have zero to offer the World other than oil. They are going to spend billions building data centers? Everyone is building them. They are going to change their economy? To what? The population is not the type of population that will go work in a factory building Toyotas. No, They can try and recalibrate their economies but the fact remains, they only have oil to offer the World.

With all this being said, it is becoming more apparent that the Saudis and their neighboring countries need to get more involved in finishing off the regime in Tehran. We have seen some limited action by the Kuwaitis and that may be a start. Having your neighbors fight back would be a first. I guess seeing missiles fly onto your soil gets your attention.

With the possible ramping up of other nations in the region tou would think that would have more of an impact on the price of oil. It hasn’t.

Again, what gives?

I do think this week we will see the oil market start catching up to events. Supply has been hindered by the war and demand is steady so that should let the oil market properly price everything in.

Finally, a resolution? Well, as I have said in previous articles, I do not trust the leaders of Iran to actually follow through on any negotiated items. They are a dispicable bunch and they can never be trusted. That just makes the whole situation harder to predict and in terms of timing, it may take years to resolve.

The reverberations from this have been felt around the globe and will continue to play out over the next few months and possibly years.

With all of this, the economy in the US is doing quite nicely and will continue to grow and yes, it isn’t all about AI. It’s about businesses staying in their lane and doing what they do best. Whatever it might be. The financials have been reporting and are breaking records that five years ago would seem impossible. Will that run end? Yes, it will but I can see the rush for profits continuing for another two quarters and 2026. The rest of the economy is chugging along quite nicely and the earnings for other sectors have held up as well.

It is a curse for the common man but inflation for corporate America is a blessing. I am sure every corporate CEO will have some long drawn out bullshit about the impact of inflation on their company as they rake in record profits, which translates into higher stock prices. Yes, indirectly, this rally has benefitted almost everyone. The media will play this up as the rich getting richer and yes, that is definitley happening but the regular guy who has an IRA and some retirement savings is doing well also. They may not be directly looking at their ownership in NVidia but something that they have their money in, has owned the stock.

Oil prices may impact the shopping habits a bit but like every other period of rising oil prices, the economy has adjusted. Rising wages, more work hours creates higher incomes and the price of oil becomes less important when you are working full time and doing well.

We have gone through this before and everyone seems to have made it through ok. No different now.

I think that’s one of Donald Trump’s greatest strengths and, at the same time, one of his biggest weaknesses. He trusts no one. Not his inner circle. Not the people surrounding him in Washington. Not world leaders who were once considered America’s closest allies.

No one.

Is he as paranoid as Richard Nixon was at the end of his presidency? Maybe. Perhaps even more so. Why would that ever be considered a good thing?

Whether you’re President of the United States or CEO of a Fortune 500 company, one of the most important skills you can possess is the ability to delegate. You have to trust the people you’ve put in place to do the jobs you’ve asked them to do. That’s what allows corporations to function. Governments too.

Trump doesn’t operate that way. He trusts only himself, and his ego doesn’t seem to allow him to let go. Controlling is probably too mild a word to describe his management style. When you’re responsible for a budget measured in trillions of dollars and an organization with more than three million employees, you have to let people do their jobs. Let the minions do what the minions do, Donald.

There isn’t one specific event that made me think about this. It’s more his long-standing distrust of China. To be clear, I’m not talking about the 1.4 billion Chinese people living around the world. I’m talking about the Chinese Communist Party under Xi Jinping. In street terms, Xi is a bad guy. Think Mao Zedong with 50 fewer pounds. If you know anything about Mao, you know history doesn’t remember him kindly. China has lived under this style of leadership before.

Trump’s distrust of the CCP doesn’t surprise me. Frankly, I understand it.

In my view, China has repeatedly demonstrated that it is a formidable competitor, not simply because of what it invents, but because of its long history of acquiring foreign technology, intellectual property, and industrial know-how through both legitimate and illegitimate means. Then they work relentlessly to improve it, manufacture it more efficiently, and sell it more cheaply than anyone else. The betterment of their people isn’t the objective. Dominance is. That’s not a mindset I would trust.

Iran is another example.

Has the regime in Tehran given anyone reason over the past four decades to believe it can be trusted? You can trust it to suppress its own people. You can trust it to support proxy groups throughout the region. But trust it to faithfully honor agreements? History suggests otherwise. When the latest memorandum intended to de-escalate tensions was followed almost immediately by renewed hostilities, I doubt anyone in the Trump Administration was genuinely surprised. If they had been, American forces wouldn’t have remained on high alert throughout the region.

The latest issue that has me scratching my head is the proposed nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia. Sure, it promises billions of dollars in contracts for American companies, and that’s part of a President’s job—selling America and creating economic opportunity. Donald Trump has generally been more aggressive about that than either the Obama or Biden administrations. But it’s still Saudi Arabia. Yes, they want to expand civilian nuclear power so they can reduce domestic oil consumption and export more crude to world markets. On paper, that’s logical. What isn’t logical, at least to me, is opening the door to future uranium enrichment capabilities. We spend enormous resources preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Why would we willingly create the possibility of another regional power eventually possessing the same capability?

Maybe it never happens.

But what if it does?

Then there’s Russia. I don’t think I need to spend much time explaining why trust isn’t exactly abundant there.

Ukraine presents a different issue. Before Russia’s invasion, Ukraine had long struggled with corruption. If anyone believes rebuilding the country after the war will somehow be free of political influence, sweetheart deals, and corruption, I think they’re fooling themselves. People are already talking about a modern-day Marshall Plan. Billions upon billions of dollars. History tells us that whenever that much money is flowing, politicians, contractors, lobbyists, and well-connected businessmen somehow find a way to line up at the front of the line. I hope I’m wrong. I just wouldn’t bet on it.

Maybe that’s where I’ve landed.

I have very little trust in what’s happening around the world today. I also don’t trust much of what I see online. Dogs don’t talk. And I’m still pretty sure a Chihuahua can’t drive a Jeep. Although these days…I’m not nearly as certain as I used to be.

Huh? Why?

Nobody told you to buy it at 210. If you’re underwater today, that’s investing. Everything about this offering was scrutinized to death. An IPO of this size isn’t thrown together over a weekend. Lawyers, accountants, investment bankers, regulators—every line of that prospectus gets picked apart. I’m pretty confident everything material was laid bare. People bought into the hype and paid above the offering price. That’s not fraud. That’s the market.

Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose.

NASDAQ bent over backwards to accommodate this IPO, and the incredible trading volume in those first few days showed just how badly investors wanted in. That doesn’t automatically make it a smart investment. You know what turned out to be smart? Not buying the retail allocation I was offered.

I know what you’re thinking. “Come on, Pete. You would’ve dumped it at 210.”No chance. I’m human. I’m greedy. If I’d bought those shares, I’d probably still be sitting on them today. The only reason I didn’t buy was because I’m a cheap SOB—and because I was skeptical. Maybe I’m not as dumb as some of you think.

The stock is sitting around 120.50 as I write this, and personally I don’t see a major recovery anytime soon. My issue has always been the valuation. We were being asked to accept roughly a trillion-dollar valuation for a company that lost billions of dollars last year. Yes, it’s one of Elon Musk’s greatest achievements.Yes, the technology is incredible. Those things can both be true. But eventually, businesses have to make money. Everyone tells me they’ll conquer space.

Okay…

How does that become a profitable business? Explain it to me. Getting people to the Moon is extraordinary. Landing on Mars would change history. But history doesn’t necessarily generate shareholder returns.

NASA contracts? Sure. But if someone pays you $500 million and it costs you $2 billion to complete the mission, that’s not exactly a winning business model. To me, the valuation assumes a future that still has to prove it can produce durable profits.

Then there’s Starlink. I actually like Starlink. I think it’s a phenomenal product. But it still faces a very practical problem: economics. In rural America, remote locations, ships, aircraft, or developing countries with limited infrastructure, it’s fantastic. But in suburban America? If I already have reliable fiber or cable internet for $80 a month, why am I paying hundreds for equipment and a higher monthly bill? Until the economics become competitive for the mass market, I struggle to see how Starlink alone carries the valuation people are assigning to the broader SpaceX ecosystem.

And one question still nags at me.Launching thousands of satellites isn’t cheap.

The infrastructure isn’t cheap. The maintenance isn’t cheap. Yes, Starlink generates meaningful revenue. But does the scale ultimately translate into the kind of profits that justify today’s valuation? I’m not convinced.

That’s why I still think the stock is expensive. Personally, I’d become much more interested somewhere around $60 a share. Then comes the inevitable argument. “Yeah, but it’s Elon.” You’re right. Elon Musk is one of the great entrepreneurs of our lifetime. No debate there. But investors are also paying for his AI ambitions. Again, maybe. The problem is that AI is becoming one of the most capital-intensive businesses ever created. Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and others are spending staggering amounts of money. Scale matters, and those companies already possess enormous advantages in infrastructure, distribution and cash flow.

Could Elon surprise everyone again? Absolutely. I would never completely bet against him. But history tells us even great innovators eventually face competition that catches up. The IPO certainly gives Musk another enormous war chest to invest across his companies. That’s a positive. Give Elon another $85 billion and he’ll probably build something remarkable. The question isn’t whether he’ll build remarkable things. The question is whether those things ultimately generate returns that justify what investors are paying today.

That’s where I remain skeptical. SpaceX has accomplished extraordinary things. It has reignited excitement about space exploration in a way no company has before. I genuinely admire that. But admiration isn’t an investment thesis. I’m an investor. And when I look at the numbers, I still can’t make the valuation work. Maybe one day they’ll be landing on Mars. That would be incredible.

I’ll happily buy the SpaceX hat that says “Mars 2045.” You’re just going to have to sell an awful lot of hats before that justifies a trillion-dollar valuation.

Today, again, I am going to experiment and I feel it may be one of those columns that I may have to add to periodically.

I know everyone has an opinion of who the greatest Rock and Roll Bands ever are. There are the top six or seven that have proved over the test of time, their greatness.

The Beatles still sound great and if you listen to the Beatles channel on Sirius XM for any length of time you will discover more and more about the band than you ever thought possible.

Led Zeppelin doesn’t have that designated radio station and they should but I think that is the band’s choice and not Sirius XM trying to ignore them. They get plenty of airplay and not just “Stairway to Heaven”.

Same with The Who and The Rolling Stones. They all get royal treatment and they deserve it. The Kinks? Probably should have mor respect but I still think most of the radio programmers and listeners still haven’t got Ray Davies and they probably never will.

The list is endless of great Rock and Roll and while I will always go by my brother’s maxim, “You ain’t legendary until you produce three legendary albums” . That makes making that list a lot easier and more truthful.

Some could argue that The Eagles never really got to that three album minimum. Eh, quibble, don’t quibble. I think they rank up there even though I could go through every album they have except for one, and find what I think is filler material or material that doesn’t rise to the solid songs on that album.

What I have done in the past is look for songs that never really got the airplay they deserved and were legendary songs, in my mind, and let the readers re-listen (or listen to for the first time) and decide.

This isn’t so much about that. It’s about doing a disection of a particular song and seeing that, in one song, you can agree that that band is one of the greatest.

To start, there really is not a Beatles song per se where I can do that but I think if you listen to the Medley on side two of Abbey Road you can understand the greatness of this band. This is a mixture of I think 8 different songs that somehow, if you broke up the 16 minutes you just wouldn’t get it. Only the Beatles could something like this.

A simpler example of a band’s strengths in one song would be “How Many More Times” by Led Zeppelin. Every strength this band had is personified in this one song. From Plant’s incredible vocals to Bonham’s power drumming it is the peak of what these guys could do. The best bass player in the World, John Paul Jones, gave the best bass licks on this and oh yeah, Jimmy Page’s bowed guitar ( what even is that?). Probably my favorite song by Zeppelin and this was on their first album released in 1969.

The Who’s “Amazing Journey” is another song that showcases every aspect of the band. Entwistle’s bass gives the song a rock solid foundation. The drumming by Keith Moon in this song is bordering on chaotic but he has always been a master of playing on that level and only did it spill over in live shows. Daltrey and Townsend are spotlighted as well. It clocks in at just over 5 minutes and in that 5 minutes you have The Who in all their glory and also the song basically lays the foundation for the whole rock opera Tommy. Great songwriting and great musicianship.

The Rolling Stones is actually the easiest one to do and I won’t repeat everything I have written about “Sympathy for The Devil” again but it is the greatest pure Rock and Roll song ever written and if you want to fight about it, i will meet you at the flagpole and we can discuss it.

The top four bands, probably little argument there and the songs that exemplify why they are the top four.

This next part is a lot harder to write because I don’t actually think any of these bands rises to the level of the top four but the songs I am going to write about do.

I will start with The Allman Brothers Band. Yeah, a very strong case can be made for them to be included but I just can’t find any three albums I would qualify to breech that stratus. I never include live albums so don’t throw that at me. In any event, there are probably 8 or 9 songs from their first five albums that you could say exemplifies the band but I choose and will always choose “Dreams”. It’s not perfect but it is that moody, bluesy type of song that the Brothers do so well. Just listening to Duane Allman play two different type guitars on this song brings goosebumps every time.

Here is a kicker for you. Maybe the greatest or one of the greatest Rock and Roll Bands from the US, The Beach Boys, made a sound that was never really duplicated. I know after listening and re-listening to Pet Sounds, I finally, 60 years late, finally got it. Amazing for it’s time. But how do you find a song that exemplifies the band that was harmonies and solid songwriting but used session musicians and there own performances mixed in. Plus, a 3 minute 11 second song is very hard to define as complete in regards to what i am talking about. “Do it Again” is a masterful song that was well written, the harmonies were perfect and evokes the whole Beach Boys era. Is it their best song? Probably not but if I were to listen to one song that would get me to where the Beach Boys are, this would be it.

Creedence Clearwater Revival would be my choice for greatest American Rock and Roll band and yes, I could make a solid argument for them having the minimum three albums required to be legendary. Funny thing, those three albums were all released in the same calendar year, 1969. Selecting one song that shows the band in a deeper more complex light is not easy because the band developed a few different sounds over their short time together. Some would say “I Heard it Through The Grapevine” in all it’s eleven minute glory would be the perfect song but I thing that “Ramble Tamble” from Cosmo’s Factory might do it. The lyrics are fun and then not so fun, political and irreverent. The song focuses on Fogerty , his vocals and guitar playing and in the end I think that is exactly what did the band in, John Fogerty.

I would have to include the Grateful Dead in this list because they were another great American band but there legend isn’t really from the studio, it’s from their live performances and with them being one of the original jam bands, I think you throw a dart at their set list and that song would show the virtuosity of this band. I really don’t think I can say that about any great band.

I look at Motown and it’s influence on music in the 60’s and 70’s and it dominated the 3 minute song. Great vocals, catchy lyrics but in the 40 or so artists that walked through those doors only three stand out to me: The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Stop your head scratching. I am talking about artists that have produced classic songs that exemplify the true nature of the band or artist. Songs that are three minutes or less can hardly do them justice. Yes, The Beach Boys rarely recorded a song over 3 1/2 minutes but it was the production and complexity. The Jackson 5 singing “ABC” is not complex. Catchy, yes, complex, no. With being said it is extremely hard looking at those three artists and coming up with one song that epitomizes their skills. The Temptations had such a stature at Motown that they could do something like “Masterpiece” or the extended version of “Papa was a Rolling Stone” and get away with it. Same with Marvin Gaye. Gaye is a little bit easier because I think everything you needed to know about Gaye was in “Inner City Blues” from possibly one of the ten greatest records ever made, What’s Going on. Stevie Wonder is another artist that isn’t easy to pin down as far as this is concerned. Brilliant beyond brilliant. Possibly the greatest single artist ever (sorry Elton and Billy) who has released 6 legendary albums (top that, anyone). I could put 20 songs out and there would be no argument but I will toss “Joy inside my Tears” from Songs in the Key of Life. This song is beyond beautiful and his vocals drip with love and some sadness. His piano playing plays second fiddle to the orchestration.

I mentioned Elton and Billy and I want to say I love them both. Elton John has put out a tremendous catalog of music. Tremendous. I repeat that because as much as I love Elton John, there is so much filler material on his albums (more so on later records) that it just seemed he was releasing songs just to release them but at the beginning of his career, there was soo much good material and that’s where I am going to go. To get an idea of talent, just listen to Tumbleweed Connection from beginning to end. The whole album is complex and simple all at once. His vocals, the writing, the music, all superb. Maybe replay “Amoreena”.

Billy Joel who is another artist that has a lot of material and some of it is just ok or bad. Howeverm the good stuff is great and while the album got panned by critics I think everyone should relisten to Streetlife Serenade. Yes, there are some bad tracks here and Billy didn’t even like the record but everytime I hear “Roberta” I know why I loved him so much. A beautiful song not filled with the poison he ingested while planting himself in LA.

Actions and Reactions.

There are actions on every front. Domestically, internationally, economically, militarily—you name it.

One thing you can say about Donald Trump, he doesn’t sit around waiting for things to happen. He goes out and blows stuff up and then sees what the reaction will be.

Is this really a good way for a President to act? Not really.

But he didn’t win the election because America disliked Kamala Harris. He won because he is a man of action and he made promises during his campaign that, having experienced Trump’s first term, voters knew there would be action.

Good or bad.

The thing about actions is that they always have consequences.Trump doesn’t seem to think in those terms and that is why the reactions are so important.He’ll wake up in the middle of the night, post something on Truth Social, and by morning markets are moving, diplomats are scrambling and ships are heading toward the Middle East.The following week he’ll come up with some grand plan where we bomb the hell out of the Iranian regime, they collapse, democracy magically breaks out and there is everlasting peace in the Middle East.

No plan. Just actions.

The world actually doesn’t work that way.

People tend to dig their heels in when you want to take their power or country away. Ask Vladimir Putin about that. Ukraine? Easy peasy. They have a comedian for a President. Think again. Actions without thinking about the consequences often produce some very bad reactions. Ukraine is suffering, but they are putting up one hell of a fight.

The Iranian regime isn’t collapsing and despite all the pressure, they continue to survive and adapt. Now it’s about reactions.

Actions and more reactions.

Theoretically, that could go on forever.

I think it was Sir Isaac Newton who first proposed something along those lines. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Or something like that.In nature it tends to hold true and lately I think it applies to geopolitics as well. Not perfectly, but close enough.

The President loves actions and appears to have little regard for reactions. Successful leaders implement actions and already have plans for the reactions.

They have an endgame in mind.

They understand what the likely response will be and they adjust accordingly.

I don’t think Donald Trump thinks like that. He thinks his actions are bold and impressive but gives little thought to the reactions that follow. Bold plans are great. Bold plans with a complete strategy are even better.

Take tariffs.

I can’t say the administration wasn’t prepared for the market reaction or for the response from our trading partners. You’d have to be an idiot not to expect complaints, retaliation and a lot of screaming. But did they think about the next step after the screaming stopped? The distrust these countries may now have toward the United States?

The possibility that they begin shifting away from us as a trusted trading partner? I’m not so sure.

Why?

Because Donald Trump appears to have the misguided notion that every country in the world needs us more than we need them. That may be partially true. But alliances change when your partner becomes unpredictable or when the cost of staying in the relationship starts outweighing the benefits. Yes, tariffs have helped bring some manufacturing back. Yes, companies have announced plans to expand facilities in the United States.

But think about that for a second.

Companies like Toyota and Hyundai don’t wake up one morning and decide to build a multi-billion dollar factory by lunchtime. These projects take years.Years of planning. Years of negotiations. Years of permits, site selection and financing. Many of those investments were likely already in the works long before the tariff boondoggle became front-page news.

Will some companies follow through because of tariffs?

Probably.

Will others come because of incentives, access to capital, logistics and proximity to customers?

Absolutely.

The reaction, however, may have a much longer shelf life than the action.That’s the part the administration may not have fully considered.

The same thing applies to NATO.

I actually agree with Trump’s position that our allies should spend more on defense. They should. Many of them have been getting a bargain for decades. But reducing our presence around the globe? I’m not sure about that one. In the unintended consequences department, higher defense spending overseas initially means more orders for American defense companies.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Western Europe is rapidly rebuilding its own defense industry. What starts as a short-term gain could become a long-term loss. And potentially a very big one. The reaction to Trump’s demands may ultimately be a Europe that is far less dependent on American defense manufacturers. If you think those countries can’t build products as good as—or better than—what we build here, think again. Many already possess the technology. Give them enough incentives and enough time and suddenly you’ve created your own competition. You may have just sacrificed a meaningful portion of future export business.You don’t think that’s significant?

Talk to me again in five years.

The Trump presidency may ultimately be remembered as one long experiment in both.

The actions are easy to see.

The reactions take longer.

And in politics, as in life, the reactions are often what matter most.

I really have no idea where this one is headed, but isn’t that what makes life interesting? You get up each day and see what adventure is waiting for you. It’s one of the reasons I wake up every morning—to learn something new and see what the day brings.

I scanned the Wall Street Journal today and, between AI and the war in Iran, there wasn’t much else grabbing my attention. So, since this is my Business Monday column, I guess I’ll ramble on about AI.

As you know by now, I am a man of the people. I never assume I know more than anyone else, and I genuinely enjoy learning. That’s what I’ve been doing with AI—trying to understand it and figure out its impact on both the present and the future.

As far as the present goes, what I have seen is a technology moving faster than anything I can remember. Even the internet felt slower.

We all knew one of the first places we would encounter AI would be those customer service chatbots. I’m not exactly sure when companies began rolling them out, but the difference between the early versions and today’s versions is pretty significant.

That said, they’re still not great.

By now, these things should be as human as humanly possible, and they aren’t. They do standard questions and answers very well. What they don’t do well are complicated problems that require context, judgment, or a full explanation.

I consider myself a fairly patient person. I try to explain things thoroughly to these chatbots, but they invariably get something wrong and I end up asking for human assistance. My success rate with chatbots is maybe 25%. With a human being, it’s probably closer to 90%.

I understand why companies use them—they save money. But what about the customer?

If I speak with a human, either on the phone or through an online chat, I usually walk away with my problem solved or at least explained. Maybe it takes three minutes. Fine.

Now, with a chatbot, I spend three minutes navigating prompts, explaining the situation, getting nowhere, and then spending another three minutes explaining everything again to a human. I’m not exactly thrilled by the efficiency.

Log into your bank account and see what I mean.

And please don’t get me started on being transferred to a call center halfway around the world. To be fair, that has improved considerably over the years, but there is still work to be done.

I have seen what ChatGPT can do. I’ve seen how convincingly it can mimic human interaction. Why wouldn’t large corporations enlist technology like that and spend the money to improve the customer experience?

I know we are still in the early innings of what could be an extraordinary industrial revolution, so I’m fascinated to see where it goes.

I do not have any paid AI subscriptions yet.

I’m too cheap.

The biggest impact—for better and worse—may be on social media.

The things people create on Instagram are both amazing and slightly frightening. The ability to make cats talk, dogs laugh, or historical figures suddenly appear in modern settings is incredible. Is it just me, or does nobody ever get tired of those videos?

That cat driving an eighteen-wheeler through the Arizona desert still cracks me up.

Most of it is harmless fun. The darker side, however, is something else entirely.

There has been considerable concern among academics, journalists, and policy experts about AI-generated misinformation. Surprisingly, I think some of those fears are overstated.

Maybe I am giving humanity too much credit, but I believe most people can recognize nonsense when they see it. People may be uninformed at times, but they are not stupid.

Yes, we all know President Trump can dance.

Dancing with Nancy Pelosi?

Come on.

I don’t think every outrageous AI-generated video or fabricated story is automatically believed by the public. Most people understand that these tools can manipulate images, audio, and video.

As Ronald Reagan famously said, “Trust, but verify.”

Believe it or not—and you can sue me for this—when I see a breaking story that feels a little off, I usually check CNN, the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal.

Yes, I know. Some readers just fell out of their chairs.

But think about it. If something truly significant has happened, one of those organizations is going to cover it. Maybe with a slant, maybe without one, but they will cover it.

That is why I probably distrust 75% of the sensational stories I see flying around social media.

I have childhood friends who send me some of these stories, convinced they are true, and I always find myself asking why.

The answer is usually simple. If a story reinforces a fear, a bias, or a deeply held belief, people are more likely to accept it without question.

That tendency existed long before AI.

There is one important point worth remembering.

The lifespan of almost every story on Instagram, X, Threads, or Facebook is incredibly short. Six hours later there is another outrage. Two days later nobody remembers the first one.

Everything comes back to Reagan’s advice:

Trust, but verify.

I do believe this industrial revolution is real.

Do I fear it?

Yes and no.

There I go sitting on the fence again.

Long term, there is certainly reason for concern. There are bad actors in this world, and eventually they will use these tools in ways we probably cannot even imagine today.

That worries me.

Job losses worry a lot of people. I’m retired, so perhaps I look at it differently. Historically, when one industry shrinks, another grows. The automobile replaced the horse. The computer replaced the typewriter. The internet replaced countless older business models.

We have no idea yet what opportunities AI will create.

Some people will suffer through the transition. Others will build fortunes.

That is how economic revolutions tend to work.

As I have mentioned before, I do have concerns about the sheer amount of capital being poured into the infrastructure required for AI.

META recently increased its projected spending on a massive data center campus in Louisiana. Tens of billions of dollars. That is for one project.

How do you justify investments of that magnitude when so many questions remain unanswered?

Perhaps they know something the rest of us don’t.

I certainly don’t have access to their boardroom.

Still, I have two questions.

First, is it possible that we end up with an oversupply of computing power?

The world is building data centers at a breathtaking pace. Does demand ultimately justify all of that capacity? If there is too much supply, prices fall. When prices fall, margins shrink.

It is a simple question, but one worth asking.

The second question is even more interesting.

What happens if quantum computing actually works?

IBM, along with researchers at universities and laboratories around the world, continues to make progress toward practical quantum computers. They are not there yet—not even close to replacing today’s data centers—but the advances are real.

If they eventually succeed, the implications could be enormous.

Imagine a technology capable of solving certain problems in minutes that would take traditional computers years.

Imagine doing it with dramatically less physical infrastructure.

Today, that sounds futuristic.

Then again, so did artificial intelligence a decade ago.

The history of technology is filled with examples of one breakthrough making an existing investment obsolete. Railroads displaced canals. Automobiles displaced horse-drawn transportation. Smartphones replaced dozens of standalone devices.

Could quantum computing someday do something similar to parts of today’s AI infrastructure?

I don’t know.

Neither does anyone else.

But if I were investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data centers, I would certainly be paying attention.

The AI revolution is real. Of that I have little doubt.

The question is whether the winners we see today will still be the winners ten years from now.

History suggests that is rarely a safe bet.

The perfect example of this betting on the wrong horse is this POS from Maine, Graham Platner. He of the Nazi tattoo. He of the multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against wome. Now he has a new one to deal with, a woman he dated five years ago accused him of forcing her to have sex with him. The details are out there on Politico if you want to read them. I am not going to be neither judge nor jury here and just say it is an even worse look than what this guy has already shown.

Accusations against this guy seem fairly common and with that being said, why would the Democratic party knowingly endorse this schmuck?

Before I rant on about this small but growing disaster, don’t for a second believe that the Republican Party hasn’t had it’s share of unworthy candidates in the past. It’s politic, being a pig comes with the territory.

Back to the Democrats and how they have steered a broken down train completely off the rails.

My first question to begin with is: Did they even vette this guy before they started working on him? It makes no sense to e. Maybe the Democrats feel that Senator Susan Collins is in such a weak position any oyster farmer with a Nazi tattoo and a penchant for sexually assaulting women can beat her. I don’t know but it seems he found a growing tumor in the Democratic Party and wanted to feed that tumor with some left wing nonsense. Hey, the bigwigs in DC said, here’s a clown who talks like AOC and that Bernie Sanders likes, let’s back his stupid ass and make sure AOC and her cauldron of witches along with Sanders, the surprisingly virulent communist, are happy.

Jesus, the party of JFK and FDR has sunk to such depths they must be spinning in their graves.

Common sense, which is becoming in less supply at the DNC, seems to be prevailing and it looks like the luster off of Platner’s rugged manly exterior and they may be pulling the plug. Obviously, another embarrassment for the party.

The next part of the Democrats misdirection is regarding John Fetterman. If you recall, I had all sorts of issues with him prior to him being elected. I knew nothing about him and boy was I wrong. He has turned out to be a voice of reason. While not as polished as his brthren, he speaks from a place no Democrat has ever visited, his heart. His love for this country surpasses that of anyone in Congress and that is how he treats his role. I don’t he really gives two shits about what members of his own party feel about him and that is where the divergence shows the true rot in the party.

They back a loser like Platner, believe Kamala Harris should have been President and that Governor Walz is an innocent upstanding man. They attach themselves to such a divergent (but not really) cast of idiots, ideologues and incompetants that it is no wonder they have horrible approval numbers across the board. Yet, they have a man that believes in the America that Democrats used to believe in. A man who may not like the President but he believes in the respect the office holds. A man who actually has common sense and is like the people he serves, blue coller, working class.

Maybe Fetterman leaves the party because they just aren’t the same party he joined years ago or he may remain and become a thorn in every Liberal’s side.

The continued support of the likes of AOC, Bernie Sanders, Mandami, and the assorted Marxists that are growing like mold underneath the sink is a sign of something more powerful that just looking for the worst people to lead the party into the future. It is a sign that a generation is making a statement. The generation of ambivalence is now using there numbers to shift the political landscape. Yes, change can be good and productive at times and maybe the American political system needed a kick in the ass because let’s be real here, our politicians in Washington suck. They have sucked for decades and there is actually no sign of relief from this suckdom.

The younger generation sees this and believes the right way to go is with political systems that have crashed and burned wherever they were allowed to fester.

Do these villains have any clue as to how to solve the issues of our day? Absolutely not. Hey, a solution? What;s that? No, the ideas that are presented if allowed to unfold can only make things infinitely worse.

You do not solve inner city problems with free things. Never worked, No incentive to pick yourself up and create some value for your family and your community is gone. Why work for it when it’s free? The younger generation will come out and say that is bullshit. No, it’s human nature.

However, they want change, they want to try a new system, one where everyone except high new worth individuals can thrive. Yet, they really don’t know what that means. Or how to actually achieve that.

The biggest example and the biggest thing that this next generation has no clue about is affordable housing.

Sure, everyone wants to be able to graduate college, get paid 125K to start and have a nice one bedroom on the lower east side of manhattan with a balcony doorman and costs $2200 a month. Reality is much different and if any of these entitled graduates had paid any attention to the first week in Econ 101, they would know that that is and always will be impossible.

I know thats not their issue. Of course these budding socialists want lower and middle income families to be able to afford to live in Manhattan, or Boston or LA, They want to fight for these underserved people. They want, they want , they want, yet they have no clue what the reality of the situation is as far as providing this type of housing.

Like, the cost. How in the world can a builder buy land, get the permits and building a 200 or 300 unit low to moderate rent apartment building and hope to make any sort of return on it. Lenders won’t lend and tying up 100 million or more to build such a building is a recipe for bankrupsy.

So, the idea is all well and good but the economics will never work. Oh, and another side thing. The money that would be borrowed is coming from the very people this generation vilifies, the super rich. Or even the very rich.

No, the pipe dream only happens when the city or state governments get involved and then the burden falls on everyone and that is hard for politicians to reconsile with the citizens. We need to raise taxes X per cent so we can buy the land and build these affordable homes. They like to be voices for a cause until their pockets are picked to pay for it.

The end result of this generations move towards balancing the scales as far as the rich and the poor will just end up being a more bloated state and local government with little progress to show.

Unfortunately for this socialist class, capitalism works better than socialism and they are moving to finding out how bad socialism actually is. I just hope it’s not too late for this country.