DL Open Thread: Saturday, March 7, 2026

What a real President should sound like.

What The Pro Rasslin’ Heel Masquerading As President Has Done:

Until quite recently, oil and gasoline prices had been a bright spot in the affordability fight, registering modest price declines since Trump took office. But since we bombed Iran, energy costs have risen sharply. To put things in perspective: Oil prices are up about 20 percent so far just this week.

The top crude oil expert at S&P Global Energy warned that the military conflict has the potential to become “the largest oil supply disruption in history.” That’s because about a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, on Iran’s southern coast—or at least, it used to. Iran warned tankers and other commercial vessels not to transit the strait, and at least nine of them have now come under attack in the Gulf region. Shipping traffic through the strait has virtually stopped.

We’re now seeing the fallout: Iraq, for instance, slashed oil production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day because it’s unable to load tankers and is running out of storage. Refineries in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain have slowed output or shut down entirely; one in Bahrain was reportedly hit by a drone strike today. Meanwhile, China has begun hoarding fuel.

Other energy markets are affected, too. Qatar, which supplies about 20 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas, halted LNG production after a drone attack. Production there will take weeks to restart.

As a result, downstream firms that require LNG to operate are closing shop, too. For example, the Gulf region is responsible for nearly a tenth of the global aluminum supply. Already this week, multiple major aluminum smelters had to initiate shutdowns; one company says it may take up to a year to restart production.

Production of methanol and other chemicals has also been disrupted. Same with fertilizers used to grow the world’s food supply: Roughly 35 percent of global exports of urea (the most common nitrogen fertilizer) and 45 percent of global exports of sulfur (used to produce phosphate fertilizers) traversed the Strait of Hormuz. Fertilizer prices are already spiking, and American farmers are freaking out. Consumers may see “higher prices for bread within six to 10 weeks, eggs within a few months and pork and broiler chicken within six months,” according to an estimate from food-system expert Raj Patel.

I’m far from an expert on the stock market.  But I think, if anything, Wall Street has strongly underestimated the carnage that Trump is causing.  I, for one, don’t see it as a ‘buying opportunity’.

At least Susie Wiles is on the job:

We live in a time when those who rule over us mix malevolence and absurdity. We have an example of this in this Politico article. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is telling advisors to “bring ideas to the Oval Office to lower gasoline prices in the wake of the U.S. attack on Iran.” One of the oil executive sources for this story says the White House is “looking under every rock for ideas on improving energy prices, especially gasoline prices.” Trump’s Energy and Interior Secretaries are “are getting screamed at to find some good news” on bringing down oil and gas prices.

No one looks great when they’re in the midst of a chaotic situation. But I don’t think it’s a stretch at this point to think that Trump himself and certainly the people focused on the midterms didn’t connect the dots about the near certainty that starting a regime change war would lead to at least some significant upward pressure on gas prices.

I think Trump’s gonna send troops:

Military insiders fear President Donald Trump just signaled a potential Iran deployment after the U.S. Army abruptly yanked the elite 82nd Airborne Division’s headquarters from a major training exercise this week.

The rapid-reaction force, based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, can mobilize 5,000 soldiers anywhere globally within 18 hours, The New Republic’s Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling noted Friday.

“The U.S. Army spontaneously canceled a training exercise for an elite team this week, raising concerns that the soldiers may soon be expected to deploy to Iran,” the analysis said.

I’m sure all the senators who abandoned their responsibility to reign in Der Furor will be thrilled with the news.  Caskets to Dover AFB coming soon…

Meet The New DHS Boss–As Nutty As The Previous DHS Boss.  Please click on the lin. You’re welcome.

Dover To Homeless: You’re On Your Own:

In the midst of continued debate over panhandling and homelessness in Dover, city leaders have turned their ire toward the People’s Church Community Center, a homeless shelter in the heart of the city.

Dover City Council’s Committee of the Whole – a committee made up of all nine council members and two additional community members – voted unanimously at a meeting on Feb. 26 to deny the church’s request for $47,000 in city funds to be spent on workforce development programs at the shelter.

The shelter, considered to be one of the few homeless service centers in the resource desert that is Kent County, has served nearly 500 people since October 2025 alone, director Teresa Campbell Harris told Spotlight Delaware. The church, which Harris described as “low barrier,” serves daily meals and operates as a Code Purple overnight shelter in the winter months.

But city council members and residents in attendance at last week’s meeting waged a series of criticisms against the shelter, including that it is a “magnet” for individuals doing drugs or engaging in prostitution outside the building.

City Council President Fred Neil railed against the shelter during the meeting, saying the city received 17 “articulate letters” complaining about the People’s Church. (In addition to how many inarticulate ones?) He also said the city has received threats of a lawsuit over the shelter, but did not say from whom.

“The services offered at the center have become a magnet for individuals whose actions are systematically destroying the quality of life and devaluing the property of residents,” Neil said at the meeting.

This Fred Neil guy is the early favorite for Asshole Of The Year.  I’m sure he has a plan.  Ship the homeless to Philly, or, better yet, to Wilmington:

Let’s let Kristi Noem’s dog pay their final respects:

Cricket has the last word.

What do you want to talk about?