US oil

The big Gulf Coast refineries were built years ago, the last being in 1976. At that time the heavy sour oil from Venezuela, Canada and Mexico were the main sources of crude. Later the light sweet crude from Texas became available along with oil from Saudi Arabia but these were more expensive and not suitable for the US refineries. America First Refinery is joining forces with a company from India to build a plant in Brownsville TX to refine light sweet crude from Texas and North Dakota. This will be the first new refinery built in the US since 1976. These refined oil products will be made and sold in the US. This is part of the overall strategy of making and selling products in the US as opposed to sending production overseas. This is the reindustrialization of America that will expand manufacturing in all areas.

Change in Iran

Israel became a country on May 15, 1948 and the next day they were invaded by a coalition of Arab states, including Egypt, Syrian, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon. That was followed up with 4 more wars, the last in 2006. The two-state solution between Israel and Palestine has been the goal and today that seems possible if Iran is neutralized. If the Iranian people are given the opportunity to replace the current theocratic dictatorship with a government elected by the people, Iran can become a part of the Middle East family. Next, using the Abraham Accords, the Arab countries can join forces with Israel to rebuild Gaza and set the stage for the long desired two-state solution. Countries around the world, with the exception of China and Russia, are behind the Iranian people in their quest for freedom. Iran has been a thorn in the side of the desire for peace in the Middle East since 1979 and this is the best opportunity to change the country that is considered the promoter of terrorism around the world.

SS

People often ask when is the best time to start social security but, in many ways, it is a moot question. This is because social security is like an annuity. It always pays out the same amount based on life expectancy. Example. Take $2,000 per month at age 62 or $3,500 per month at age 70. Life expectancy for a white male at age 62 is 20 years and 16 years at age 70. $2,000 per month for 20 years is $480,000 while $3,500 per month for 16 years is $672,000. If you start at invest $2,000 per month at 5% for 8 years you will have $235,000 and adding that to $480,000 you have a total of $715,000. This is one way that retired people can invest in the stock market with minimal risk. The reasons to start early are less about money but more about feeling well enough to do things when you are younger. One other point is that social security is racist. Example. A white female and a Black male both have the same work record and both receive $2,000 per month from social security. The Black male has a life expectancy of 15.5 years while the White female lives another 22 years. The male collects $372,000 and the female collects $528,000. One way to even things out is to privatize social security.

Tariff free

Germany was the economic power house of Europe all during the cold war. They manufactured high quality industrial products and exported them, many to the US. Before the Ukraine war (prior to February 2022), Germany maintained a massive, decades-long trade surplus, driven by strong manufacturing exports (machinery, cars, chemicals) and reliance on cheap Russian energy imports. In 2021 the trade surplus was $200 billion. They did this by producing quality products and using tariffs. In 2021 sending a $30,000 Cadillac to Germany cost an additional $11,000 in tariffs, fees and VAT. The cost to import a $30,000 German car to the US was $750. Germany’s debt to GDP ratio was 70% and the US was 120%. Trade deficits are counted as debt. Recent negotiations have tended to even this out with import tax on a $30,000 German car at $4,500 and the tax on shipping an American car to Germany remains the same. This encourages Germany to produce more cars in the US to avoid the tariff. As of early 2025, German carmakers are looking to expand North American output to secure their market position in the face of tariff risks, which has already seen a significant portion of German automotive jobs (up to 78,000) potentially moving to the U.S.. Tariff free is best but only if they are fair. Zero tariffs for all countries would be ideal.

Thorium first

CERN estimates that 1 ton of thorium is capable of producing as much energy as 200 tons of uranium. This is because 100% of thorium is available for fission where uranium is only .7% of usable U 235 and must be enriched to get rid of the unwanted U 238. Thorium is about 3-4 times more common than uranium in the earth's crust. Thorium's ore, monazite, generally contains higher concentrations of thorium than the percentage of uranium found in its respective ore. This makes thorium a more cost efficient and less environmentally damaging fuel source. Thorium is found in the waste products (tailings) in other mining such as iron and phosphate. Thorium is concentrated in coal ash. Over 5 billion tons of coal ash have been produced in the U.S. over the last century, with roughly 110–140 million tons generated annually. Ash from the typical coal power plant each year will contain 15,000 tons of thorium which according to Google AI could power the entire world for ten years.

Press

One important question regarding the Biden years is how much should the press influence elections. Many democrats and supporters believed that any president, even one in decline, was better than a second Trump term. While this is understandable based on politics, is it acceptable that the press feels this way. Here is Google AI Based on reporting, books, and investigations in 2025, there is a strong argument that a significant portion of the media and the Biden administration participated in, or failed to adequately report on, the president's cognitive decline, often dismissing signs as "cheap fakes". CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets often dismissed concerns as "ageism" or partisan attacks, even after reports, such as that by Special Counsel Robert Hur, suggested significant memory issues. This has affected the coverage of the president after the election. A 2025 YouGov poll found only 29% of Americans have a "fair amount" or "great deal" of trust in the media to report facts accurately and fairly, while 67% express little to no trust. This began when Trump was campaigning during his first term. Donald J Trump was not popular with America's newspapers. Of the 100 top circulation print newspapers, two endorsed him. More than 200 newspapers supported Clinton, while Trump received the backing of fewer than 20. This continues today as a recent analysis by the Media Research Center has revealed that 92% of the major network media coverage of Trump during his first 100 days Mistrust in the media is a continuation of a trend that started in the 1980’s when trust in the media was 70% and today it has dropped to 28%.

Iran attack

The last four presidents starting with George Bush, have said that it is US foreign policy that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. Bush used a diplomatic-first approach aimed at international isolation, coupled with economic pressure and the credible threat of military force. Clinton signed the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000, which authorized him to take punitive action against individuals or organizations known to be providing material aid to WMD programs in Iran. During his first term Trump pursued a policy designed to prevent Iran from acquiring nukes by dismantling the 2015 Iran deal and replacing it with a maximum pressure campaign of severe economic sanctions. Biden’s strategy was to prevent Iran from obtaining nukes by pursuing diplomacy to revive the 2015 plan while stating that military force was the last resort. So why now. The Syrian regime under Assad had collapsed closing down arms shipments from Iran to Hezbollah. Hamas in Gaza had been neutralized. Iran was in an economic tailspin and the people were revolting in the streets. Trump had damaged their underground nuclear site and Israel had grounded their air force. The US had surrounded Iran with a large military armada and the Israelis got word that the top Iranian leaders were meeting together and the time was right. Iran was the leading sponsor of terrorism in the world and for 40 plus years had been attacking US bases and soldiers and the stage was set for an invasion. The mass production of rockets and drones now revealed, tell the story of how Iran was planning on carrying out their long-promised destruction of Israel and the US, the Little Saten and the Great Saten. Iran was making 100 missiles and 10,000 drones per month while shouting death to America. This confrontation was inevitable and should have been done sooner but better late than never.