Whatever one's opinion on the War in the Middle East, one thing that stands out is the joint effort by Israeli and U.S. governments and their lackeys in the mainstream media to paint the narrative in a manner that is - to say the least - not entirely disgusting and repugnant.
Worldwide, people are supposed to believe that making war is an overall good thing for everybody. It's not. Things get blown up. People die. How that equates to something good, as in "short term pain for long term gain", takes an exceptional leap of faith... and stupidity.
People are also led to believe that Iran is an evil, terrorist state when it's not. Also, the U.S. and Israel are winning, an exceptionally false account, being that most of the U.S. bases in the Middle East have been destroyed, some beyond repair, much of Israel has been mercilessly struck by more than 50 waves of missile attacks with extensive death and damage, the U.S. Navy won't get anywhere near Iran for fear of being blown out of the water, the Strait of Hormuz has been essentially closed to commercial traffic for nearly three weeks, crude oil is approaching $100/barrel, the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $3.93, and president Trump is asking for $200 billion more for a military "escapade" that's costing about $1 billion a day of money the U.S. does not have and will have to borrow.
Nobody is winning at this point. It's more like posturing.
At the start, this war was supposed to be over in a few days, a week, then two weeks, then four, and now, maybe by September. Why anybody believes the people promoting this nonsense is a mystery. Truth is, most don't.
Beyond the ravages of war, there are other matters to consider. America's stature as a reliable partner and honest negotiator has been permanently destroyed. Trump asked NATO countries for assistance (which, by the way, would not be needed if the U.S. were winning) in their war effort. The answer was a loud, unanimous, NO.
As far as markets are concerned, the slaughter in precious metals is a textbook example of manipulation. During times of war, prices for gold and silver always have gone up. Not this time... because it's different.
What isn't different is he effect on stocks. All the major indices are lower.
From recent all-time highs for each, as of Thursday's close, the Dow is down 8.30%. The NASDAQ is down 7.80%. The S&P 500 is down 5.32%. At least two of the major indices were about to fall into "official" correction territory - down 10% - yesterday, until Benjamin Netanyahu magically appeared to claim that he's alive and that the war is being won. Hurrah!
This is going to get worse. All of the majors are looking at a fourth straight week of losses. Through Thursday's close, the Dow is down 537 points. The NASDAQ is down 14 points and the S&P is down 18.
Futures are indicating a soft open. Gold and silver are recovering.
Total U.S. government debt passed $39 trillion this week.
Winning seems a bit overrated.
At the Close, Thursday, March 19, 2026:
Dow: 46,021.43, -203.72 (-0.44%)
NASDAQ: 22,090.69, -61.73 (-0.28%)
S&P 500: 6,606.49, -18.21 (-0.27%)
NYSE Composite: 21,941.03, -55.57 (-0.25%)
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