This Carbon Based Life

By David Glenn Cox

I recently saw an analysis that speculated that the Iran war could go on until early 2028. This was corroborated by Donald Trump’s insistence that the war will be over any day now. I mean, after all, Trump is always wrong about everything. So who do we believe: Trump or the experts? But I just don’t believe in 2028, though nothing really surprises me anymore. I just don’t believe the American economy can hold out for that long.

It was in the candy aisle at the local grocery store. Two gentlemen were looking at the chocolate as one said to the other. “Chocolate is just too damn expensive anymore.” I offered, “If you think that’s bad,” as I pointed across the aisle to a can of mixed nuts for $16.75. Not a huge can, but just a regular-sized can. The rising cost of diesel fuel swamps all boats. The Houthis just struck a Saudi oil pipeline to the Red Sea yesterday. The backdoor Saudi Arabia has been using to avoid the Persian Gulf route. The Saudis requested Big Bubba Donald use his air force and mighty Navy to smite the Houthis. No word yet on Donald’s reply.

Wall Street, as would be expected, sees the event and answers, “Duh, what?” To begin with, even before the Houthi attack, there was a growing oil deficit. Only two-thirds to three-quarters of pre-war levels of oil are escaping the conflict to market. Markets know their own levels, so the pre-war level is the baseline of what the market requires for stability. As long as the volume of oil is below that level, prices can only be expected to rise. Now factor in the new damage to the Saudi oil pipeline. This is the Iran war spreading out. The other day, the US Central Command struck five Iranian oil tankers. Turns out three of those ships weren’t Iranian after all, they were Russian. What whoa!

Wall Street is singularly focused on artificial intelligence. We’re going to make a lot of money! Problems and fears of AI running amok? We’re going to make a lot of money! Public resistance to AI? So what? We’re going to make a lot of money! But so far, they have only borrowed a lot of money. Public resistance to AI is rising fast and has already become an election issue. The same folks who brought you high gas prices and soaring grocery prices, also want to put an AI data center or an ICE concentration camp in your backyard.

Diesel fuel prices here in Arizona hit an all-time high of $6.41 this week, after hitting an all-time high last week of $6.25 per gallon. Nobodies is buying chocolate or nuts. Fewer people are eating fast food. People are cutting back, and what does that mean for our economic future? I watched a local news story from out of Oklahoma about Trump’s trade war with Canada. They are genuinely freaking out as 20% of all products leaving Oklahoma are/were destined for Canada. The same story is told in Michigan and Maine and all across the country. Trump’s insanity has finally struck a nerve.

“Let them eat cake!” Trump’s not scared! He doesn’t care how much business Oklahoma or Michigan will lose. He’s not scared! He’s not going to lose his farm or cattle ranch! If the peasants have no bread… Crying farmers and desperate cattle ranchers beseeching the heavens, asking, “How could this happen to me?” I didn’t like the idea of men playing women’s sports and now I’m gonna lose my farm!

A Dallas restaurateur said the crowds were negligible during the Republican micro convention. That tells me the crowds were largely locals, who ate at home. But he did have one celebrity sighting. Pete Hegseth and company came into his bar. (Surprise, surprise!) It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn’t it? “Pete Hegseth walks into a bar.” I’m sure they only ordered iced tea or lemonade.

But I saw the video of the alleged protester who ran through the micro convention with a Mexican flag. No reports of any arrests for disorderly conduct. It was as if this magic protester had just vanished. (Poof! Gone!) But the crowd erupted in what can only be described as “Two Minutes of Hate!” Straight off the pages of Orwell’s novel. They screamed and cursed and shouted their anger and disdain. Why? Are we at war with Mexico and nobody told us? Did Mexico bomb our ships in Pearl Harbor? I’m all for remembering the Alamo, but this is ridiculous .

It was a crowd of Republicans angrily venting their spleen at Goldstein. Goldstein was the problem! It was Goldstein who caused high fuel prices. He’s responsible for soaring grocery costs. The visceral hatred was astounding. Never mind what their holy meat puppet was doing to their economy. It was Goldstein! Attention all Outer Party Member proles! Big Brother, out of the goodness of his heart, is going to increase the chocolate ration by $5,000! While I’m still waiting on my Doge check and my tariff rebate. Just think, with my $9,000 in checks, I could fill my tank and buy some chocolate, Winston!

But it also explains the poor ratings for the micro convention. The true believers still believe! There’s a check coming with their name on it! But that faith did not extend to the viewing audience at home. The supposed purpose of the convention was to promote Republican candidates between Trump speeches, and on that score, it didn’t move the needle one iota.

The biggest stories in the country right now are rising fuel prices, and rising grocery costs. Did the convention address any of those concerns? NOPE! It’s all Joe Biden’s fault. Hey Look! A Mexican flag! Staged and sanitized for your submission. A lone protester with a Mexican flag at a Republican micro convention, for what purpose? For the purpose of feeding red meat to the hungry proles. For the purpose of jazzing up JD Vance’s speech. There he is, Goldstein! Get him! “If he doesn’t like America, he can get his ass back to Mexico!”

“The horrible thing about the Two Minutes of Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but, on the contrary, that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretense was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic.” ― George Orwell,