World Carnage Begins to Take Its Toll; U.S.-Iran Tensions Escalate; Oil Higher, Gas Prices Rising

President Trump thinks making the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory is a good idea. Concerning the idea that Oman might agree to a deal with Iran that the president doesn't like, he responds, "we'll bomb the sh-t out of them."

It is just this kind of Neanderthal, thuggish rhetoric that is fueling distrust and destruction around the world. In just a few short years, the United States has gone from being a beacon of freedom to the most belligerent beastly nation on the planet. Maybe it's always been that way, just now there are no pretenses.

U.S. militarism used to be cloaked in terms appealing to the public. "They hate us for our freedoms," was a rallying cry for invading Iraq, for instance. Now, the messaging is not necessary. When the U.S. struck Venezuela and kidnapped its president and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Nicolas Maduro, there wasn't any message other than, "we're taking their oil." With Iran, the public is supposed to believe that the country's leaders - most of whom have been assassinated - sponsored terrorism that killed thousands of Americans. It's mostly a lie. If the administration could tie them to something on the scale of 9-11, they surely would.

So it is that the United States has become a fire-breathing dragon that sees conquest and submission as its justifiable aims. The U.S. prefers aggression over diplomacy, and bombs over cooperation. The cabal currently operating in Washington, D.C. has no boundaries, plays by its own rules, and if you don't like it, the military industrial complex will come gunning for you and your family.

It's a shame that what was once a wonderful country committed to the rule of law is now under control of madmen and lunatics. You get what you pay for, and the wealthy political donors have paid handsomely for politicians without conscience, who think nothing of wiping out entire populations if it serves the will of their banking, military, and Big Pharma constituents.

The United States has put the world in a painful vice and there will eventually be a big price to pay. The bill goes to the American people.

Aside from the daily dose of grotesque posturing and threats, there isn't much happening on Wall Street. Monday was about as dull as session as there has been all this year, but, thanks to the boaster-in-chief and his entourage of useful idiots, some investors have awakened to the madness of megalomania and are about to unload scads of stocks upon which they have made outsized profits.

U.S. stock futures are pointing toward a negative open to the cash market. Dow futures are down 54 points, NASDAQ futures are lower by 388, and S&P futures are down 38 with the opening bell a half hour away. WTI crude oil is approaching $85/barrel. Gas prices aren't going down any time soon.

There will be a reckoning. It's likely already begun and Tuesday looks to extend the moribund trading from Monday.

At the Close, Monday, August 17, 2026:
Dow: 53,459.78, -272.63 (-0.51%)
NASDAQ: 26,644.91, -84.25 (-0.32%)
S&P 500: 7,745.06, -40.70 (-0.52%)
NYSE Composite: 24,717.81, -103.87 (-0.42%)