Iran-US MOU

Is the memorandum of understanding leading to peace talks with Iran real this time? Which side seems to be the winner?

On May 25, The Hustings and the Allen Theatre in Annville, Pennsylvania held a live debate on the US-Israeli war on Iran. Although the fighting has stopped, there is still a lot to discuss regarding the gains for each side and whether peace will be permanent.

Continue the discussion in these right and left columns with your COMMENTS in an email to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

We’re also interested in reading your thoughts about Sunday night’s UFC Freedom 250 celebration in conjunction with President Trump’s 80^th birthday at the White House.

There’s also removal of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center and his trip to France for the G7 Summit.

So why not become a Citizen Pundit? We are like X-Twitter without the echo chambers, conspiracy theories, dubious facts and trillionaire ownership. --Editors

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MONDAY 6/15/26

Status of the War(s)

Your tax dollars hosting Sunday night's United Fighting Champtionship Freedom 250/Trump 80^th birthday party/ Flag Day event on the South Lawn of the White House [UFC image].

Trumpian Chess Move – President Trump said Wednesday he is suspending his nomination of Jay Clayton as his permanent director of national security until Congress passes his Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, with “Trump Jr.,” Bill Pulte remaining as acting director in the meantime, The New York Times reports.

Passage of the SAVE Act, which would require documented proof of US citizenship to register to vote and meant to help shore up the GOP’s thin majorities in the House and Senate, will not pass with Democrats having 47 votes in the Senate. Upshot is that Pulte, who does not have complete support of congressional Republicans, let alone any Democrats, could be acting director at least through the midterms.

•••

Still More Fuel Price Relief – The national average for a gallon of unleaded regular came down another 1.9 cents Wednesday to $4.025, says AAA. That’s up $1.05 from February 28, when the Strait of Hormuz was still open to oil tankers. Diesel is down 3.3 cents Wednesday, AAA says, to $5.162 per gallon average, up $1.347 from late February.

•••

It’s a Ballroom Ritz – As workers began to demolish the East Wing of the White House last autumn, President Trump promised his grand ballroom would cost $200 million and be financed by private donations (though the potential quid pro quo for such donations usually does not equate to a free lunch). Last March 31, Trump told reporters the ballroom would cost up to $400 million.

“This is taxpayer-free,” Trump said. “We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents.”

Showing signs of enterprise-journalism life, The Washington Post reported Tuesday Golden Grand Ballroom de Trump will cost taxpayers far more than one thin dime.

Cost is now estimated to be $600 million, according to a copy of the detailed project summary prepared by the ballroom contractor for the White House three weeks before the president’s “taxpayer-free” misstatement and obtained more recently by the WaPo. –TL

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TUESDAY 6/16/26

Zelenskyy at G7 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed President Trump pictures of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the religious landmark last week hit by a direct Russian attack, in a half-hour G7 summit meeting Tuesday that included French President Emmanuel Macron, The Kyiv Independent reports.

Trump was “visibly disappointed” and “appeared moved” by the photos of the 11^th Century monastery, sources familiar with the meeting in Evian-les-Baines, France, told the Ukrainian newspaper.

Zelenskyy, Trump and Macron also took part in a joint working session with other G7 leaders, according to the Independent, where Russia’s war against Ukraine was a key topic. G7 leaders agreed on supplying air defense support to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.

“We talked about both the systems and the missiles,” he told reporters.

•••

Doubt Accumulates – We were going to headline this news item “Doubt Builds,” but that would be too generous about the memorandum of understanding President Trump said Monday has been signed electronically with the Islamic Republic’s shadowy leadership. No text of that 1.5-page MOU has been released.

The formal, signed-in-person deal set for Geneva Friday starts the 60-day ceasefire clock running and will be signed on the US side by Vice President JD Vance [hmm -- and not Secretary of State Marco Rubio].

What’s more, bipartisan senators are ready to challenge the deal, as the law gives Congress 30 days after such a deal is transmitted to review the agreement and vote on a resolution of disapproval, CQ Roll Call reports.

“Trump must release the details publicly, brief Congress immediately and end this war for good,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said, somewhat predictably.

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), a MAGA-in Trump supporter who also is among the most hawkish Republicans on Capitol Hill lately, expressed concerns that “Iran’s view of the agreement seems different” than what the administration is laying out.

“Under our law, any nuclear deal with Iran will be sent to Congress for review and a vote,” Graham social media’d, according to Roll Call. “I look forward to reviewing the final product and I believe it is imperative that the architects of the deal, Vice President Vance and his negotiating partners, be part of this process in presenting the final deal to Congress.”

This could be an issue … Israel will not be bound by a US-Iran agreement that it withdraw from southern Lebanon, Michael Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition Tuesday. “We’re not withdrawing from Lebanon,” he said.

•••

Trump Attorney Defends Fraud Suspect – Latest potential case of the Trump White House favoring the filthy rich over the populous comes from The Wall Street Journal, which reports that the president’s personal attorney, Boris Epshteyn, has quietly joined the criminal defense for an Indian billionaire accused of fraud.

According to the WSJ’s scoop, attorneys for Gautam Adani, founder and chair of energy and logistics giant Adani Group, in 2025 pressed the Justice Department to drop his 2024 fraud case. But senior officials last year refused and gave the DOJ the “green light” to proceed.

Then, Epshteyn, who also is Trump’s legal coordinator and advisor, joined Adani’s law team from Sullivan & Cromwell, seven people familiar with the matter told the WSJ.

After two meetings between the legal team and DOJ officials, the WSJ reports, the Justice Department officials “took the unusual step” of asking a judge to dismiss charges against Adani and other defendants. The May 18 motion awaits the judge’s approval.

•••

More Gas Relief – AAA’s national average for a gallon of unleaded regular fell to $4.044 Tuesday, 2.1 cents cheaper than on Monday and $1.069 more than February 28. Diesel is $5.185 Tuesday, down 1.2 cents from Monday and $1.379 since before March. –TL

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MONDAY 6/15/26

Flow, Oil, Flow – Iran’s Supreme National Security Council confirmed Sunday that the Islamic Republic has finalized a 60-day ceasefire after “months of long and difficult negotiations” that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with both Iran and the US removing their blockades. The US and Iran are to sign the deal in Geneva on Friday and then begin negotiating limiting nuclear arms and lifting sanctions on Iran.

“The deal with the Islamic Republic is now complete,” President Trump posted on Social Media Sunday, according to The New York Times.

“Ships of the World, start your engines,” Trump wrote. “Let the oil flow!”

In a 28-minute phone interview with the NYT, Trump said the agreement, when reached, will assure a “permanently toll free” Strait of Hormuz.

“Following intense talks, we are pleased to announce that the peace deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted in social media, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”

Beside the two-month ceasefire, the agreement ends military operations on all fronts, including fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Earlier on Sunday, the NYT reports, Israel bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs in retaliation for rocket fire by Hezbollah.

Trump posted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed “no judgment” and demanded all sides “stand down.”

The president called both the NYT and WSJ later Sunday, before his UFC Freedom 250/birthday party/Flag Day event Sunday night.

He told the WSJ the deal includes Iran’s agreement not to obtain nuclear weapons, though he didn’t mention this in any of his myriad social media posts. He’s not in a hurry to extract Iran’s nuclear material, apparently.

“We’ll get the nuclear dust later on when we’re ready to go in and do it,” he told the WSJ. “I’d say over the next month or two, there’s no rush.”

Sen. James Langford (R-OK) told NBC News’ Meet the Press Sunday that unlike the Obama administration’s Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action, or JCPOA, Trump’s deal will prevent Iran from ever reaching nuclear weapon capability.

But there is no indication the agreement to be worked out in Geneva will prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability in perpetuity.

Before the breakthrough was announced, the NYT citing sources reported that the US was seeking a 20-year moratorium on Iranian nukes, while Iran wanted 10 years – and, The Art of the Deal ahoy, they’re likely to settle on 15 years.

But if the Islamic Republic fails to reach a final deal with the US on nukes, Trump told the NYT he would restart military operations against Tehran and make the US “the guardian of the Middle East in return for 20% of the Mid East region’s revenues.”

Front page of the New York Post pictured a stern President Trump with the headline “Locked and Loaded” while The Atlantic called the peace deal with Tehran “an Iranian victory.”

•••

Gas Relief – Oil prices continue to fall with the AAA’s national average for a gallon of unleaded regular dropping to $4.065 Monday, down 6.4 cents from last Thursday and up $1.09 from February 28. Average price of diesel is $5.197, down 10 cents from last Thursday and up $1.391 from the end of February.

•••

Trump Down – Following a federal court order, the letters spelling out “Donald Trump And” have been removed from the side of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts building in Washington, D.C. Crowds cheered the removal even as workers hid their de-lettering under a tarp, according to NPR.

Matthew Floca, chief operating officer and executive director confirmed to Politico that work crews had removed “all physical signage” from the building and grounds “that purports to rename the Kennedy Center after President Trump or any individual beside President Kennedy.” – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 6/15/26

This is Winning? II

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

By the time you read this, the war in Iran may be over. President Trump said it would be, though as this is being written mid-afternoon Eastern Daylight Time on June 14 and that means it is evening in Iraq, odds are it won’t be, at least not today.

Trump has repeatedly said over the past several weeks about how a “deal” was imminent. While these unfounded claims certainly diminished his veracity, even, perhaps, among those who still gave whatever he said lots of viability, it did have a positive effect causing slight downward movements on the price of oil, as some people figured the flow through the Strait of Hormuz would resume. It didn’t.

Funny thing about that.

More than one elected official who is hoping that saying nice things about Donald Trump will help them keep their jobs come November has said that it will be “a win” for the president if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

Does it occur to this elected official that prior to Operation Epic Fury the Strait of Hormuz was open; that the US Strategic Oil Reserve had a nice supply of 415-million barrels in it, and is now at about 349 million, the lowest level in more than 40 years; that gasoline was 39% cheaper and jet fuel 43% cheaper, both of which have an impact on their constituents’ vocations and avocations?

Yes, that will be quite a “win.”

Then there’s things like this, from Senator James Lankford (R-OK) on Meet the Press June 14: “I think people forget Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years. What President Trump is trying to do is to be able to end Iran’s constant attack of Americans, and American assets and American allies in that region and come and get us. So, to get an end to that is very, very significant. We have military bases all in that region because Iran is constantly attacking us.”

Now if we use his logic that Iran “has been at war” with us for 47 years and that consequently the US has built military bases in that region, the US has been at war with Iran for 47 years.

Perhaps now it is more kinetic.

But here’s the thing: just as it seems no one in the administration had figured the Strait of Hormuz would be seized by the Iranians, has anyone thought about the ramifications of President Trump’s posts like “a whole civilization will die tonight” or Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s quote on the White House website on April 8, “Iran begged for this ceasefire — and we all know it” on the Iranian people, especially the younger cohort who have seen the bombs come raining down and the structures and people being blown up?

Perhaps the deal will be reached so that the Iranian “nuclear dust” will be no longer a threat and there will be a pledge by the Iranian leadership that there will be no nuclear weapons now or in the future.

That is a good thing.

But it doesn’t take a nuclear weapon to wreak havoc. Remember there were 19 terrorists with box cutters on 9/11/2001 that took 2,977 souls and cost trillions of dollars to the US economy.

Back in April 2005 the first US Director of National Intelligence was appointed as a result of a recommendation in the “9/11 Commission Report.” The reason for the DNI was to coordinate efforts among the US intelligence agencies to prevent something like 9/11 from happening again.

When President Trump had appointed Bill Pulte to be the temporary acting DNI earlier this month he said he wanted Pulte “to execute the immediate and needed downsizing” of the office of the Director of National Intelligence.

That’s right: the organization that was established to keep the homeland safe — and which has done an excellent job since 2005 — is now to get the DOGE treatment.

Who could imagine that something bad could be the result of the US decreasing its intelligence capabilities — especially in a time when the Administration has done its damnedest to alienate many of our allies who once shared intelligence with us?

Probably not the people who didn’t see the Strait of Hormuz being closed.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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MONDAY 6/15/26

Presidents and Inflation

Commentary by K.E. Bell

Inflation isn't often the President's fault, at least not directly. Biden's inflation was horrible, but it was an outgrowth of the pandemic and, in fact, the US weathered the storm better than the rest of the world. Still, that was enough for Trump to get reelected. Why not put the fox back in the henhouse?

Now, inflation is directly the result of presidential policies, namely illegally enacted tariffs and ill-advised wars. We all want lower interest rates, but sometimes the adults in the room have to protect the economy to counteract a madman's impulses.

Bell is a contributing pundit for The Hustings.

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For Left and Right

President Trump took another turn away from the chances for a peace deal with Iran Wednesday, saying the country has taken “too long” to negotiate a peace deal that would have to include giving up its enriched uranium and opening up the Strait of Hormuz. This follows the downing of a US Army Apache attack helicopter (crew members survived) near the Strait.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index breached the 4% mark last month and the Democratic Party has gone all-in on its nominee for US senator from Maine, Graham Platner, despite his troubled past and far-left-from-center politics to challenge moderate Republican incumbent Susan Collins.

Defeating Collins in the November 3 midterms is key to the Democratic Party’s chances of taking control of the Senate.

Scroll down the center column to read why he appears to be a Trump-strength politician.

We welcome your civil comments on these and other current issues, including reactions from the right and left on Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s commentary on small businesses and the Trump economy, “What Do Business Owners Think?”

Also, do not miss Macaulay’s commentary on Trump’s walk-out from NBC’s Meet the Press last Sunday; “Trump Talks” in The Gray Area.

Become a citizen pundit by emailing your comments to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line, so we can publish your thoughts in the proper column. –Editors

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WEDNESDAY 6/10/26

Peace Deal Number 39, CPI 4.2%

The Consumer Price Index was up 0.5% month-over-month in May, for an annual rate of 4.2%, highest in three years and up from 3.8% in April, the Labor Department reports. [Bureau of Labor Statistics]

•Scroll down this column for President Trump’s reaction.

Trump Goes to 39 – CNN counts 39 times President Trump has announced an impending peace deal with Iran since the beginning of the war at the end of February. As with many of the previous 38 such presidential announcements, Thursday’s was a reversal of Trump’s threat to invade Iran by land and take over energy facilities including Kharg Island.

In the face of Trump’s most strident pronouncement to date, the punditocracy was more dubious than ever and Iran’s leadership denied any impending deal.

This deal is another Memorandum of Understanding, and the art of Trump’s dealmaking apparently relies on his administration’s making new demands just as a deal is about to be signed.

Weekend diversions … Not to say President Trump won’t Truth Social another coming bombing campaign and MOU or two over the weekend, but he turns 80 on Flag Day, Sunday, and he has bigger plans. The president celebrates his 80^th with UFC Freedom 250, the Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House lawn beginning 8 p.m. Eastern time Sunday (watch live on Paramount!).

It will be a big night for the Trump family in many ways – The Athletic reported in May that on March 25, the president purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of TKO Holding Group, according to his required May 8 stock trading disclosure with the US Office of Government Ethics.

TKO is parent of the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment. Trump says his family handles stock trades for him.

Not related to Flag Day/Trump’s birthday party, but related to the war on Iran, The New York Times, owner of The Athletic, reports that in February, Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million in stock in the Texas computer company, Dell. In last May, the Pentagon announced a $9.7 billion contract with Dell.

•••

De-NATO’d? – The US plans to significantly cut the number of aircraft and warships made available in Europe for North Atlantic Treaty Organization operations, two senior officials have told The New York Times. Planned cuts include:

•F-16 and F-15E fighter jets from 150 currently down to 100.

•Fewer maritime reconnaissance aircraft, from 26 down to 15, and a cut of all eight aerial refueling tanker jets previously available to Europe.

•Relocating a missile-launching submarine and an aircraft carrier, plus several warships and “scores” of jets.

•Reallocation of one of two groups of bombers previously assigned for Europe’s defense.

Germany’s Die Welt previously had published some of these details, according to the NYT.

•••

More Qualified than Pulte – Amidst widespread bipartisan opposition to Tulsi Gabbard fill-in and shopping mall scion Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, President Trump Truth Socialed Thursday that Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton is his nominee to take the position permanently (Politico). Trump’s social media post came in after the House and Senate left the Capitol for the weekend, so the confirmation process certainly will not come soon enough.

Senate leaders did get their early takes in, with Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) praising former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Clayton for having “a great reputation as being an incredibly competent manager.”

What greater praise could there be?

Conversely, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the notion of Clayton replacing fill-in Pulte would not move quickly on reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

“It doesn’t matter what they do,” Schumer said. “Pulte has got to be gone.” –TL

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THURSDAY 6/11/26

UPDATE: Negotiations On Again, Again? – President Trump has called off Thursday’s strikes on Iran, again, claiming on social media progress made in negotiations with the Islamic Republic, The New York Times reports. Iran did not immediately confirm, however, Trump’s post that discussions “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.”

Venezuelaing Iran – Makes sense that the foreign intervention the Trump administration figures is its most successful to date remains the model for all foreign interventions to follow.

With negotiations for a permanent deal apparently falling apart, President Trump says the US will strike Iran “VERY HARD” Thursday night, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The two sides have been trading strikes since a US Army Apache attack helicopter was downed Monday (with both crew members escaping unscathed), ending the ceasefire. On Wednesday, the US military apparently destroyed a drinking water facility on Iran’s southern coast, according to a New York Times analysis. US Central Command posted on X-Twitter that it has conducted attacks near the Strait of Hormuz “with precision munitions from US Air Force and Navy fighter jets.”

Trump’s Sisyphean quest to sign a deal with Iran, announced ad infinitum these past 14 or 15 weeks remains allusive. The US “in the not too distant future” will be taking Kharg Island, the main export hub off Iran’s southern coast, he said, “and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have in Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America.”

•••

He Loves It – When a reporter asked President Trump in the Oval Office for a reaction to May’s 4.2% CPI, the president said this: “You know what I really love? I really love the inflation.”

Perhaps Americans have become too accustomed to the president’s eccentric syntax as he attempts to shift the conversation from reporters’ probing questions to MAGA-friendlier subjects. That would explain Trump’s expansion on loving inflation he had promised as a candidate to bring down to nothing, in an exclusive interview with the New York Post: “I love the inflation number because of what I’m talking about. The numbers are going to be phenomenal because of what’s showing is that despite the fact we’re in a war, the numbers are much lower than anticipated, and when we’re out of that war, the numbers will be at lower numbers than they were before it started.”

Economist Claudia Sahm told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition Thursday, “’It could be worse’ is a really tough sell.”

•••

A Bit More Gas Relief – Will fuel prices “drop like a rock” if President Trump carries through with his threatened takeover of Iran’s oil and gas markets? We may soon find out. Meanwhile, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular continues to click down, according to AAA, at $4.129 Thursday, down 2.2 cents from Wednesday. That’s $1.156 less affordable than on February 26. Diesel came down 2.4 cents to $5.279, up $1.491 since the beginning of the war. –TL

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WEDNESDAY 6/10/26

It’s Not Over – That peace deal Iran has been on the brink of signing with the US is unlikely soon, as President Trump Truth Socials his anger over the shooting down of a US Army Apache attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz.

“They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them. Now they have to pay the price!!!” Trump TS’d Wednesday morning, hours after the US Military said it hit targets in Iran in a “proportional response” to the attack on the Apache, The New York Times reports.

Iran has not accepted blame for the Apache’s downing, in which its two crew members were saved, unscathed, by a drone boat.

•••

Platner to Take on Collins – Big news was Maine Democrats choosing Graham Platner, even though his one serious competitor, Gov. Janet Mills, backed out of the race earlier this year because she had a hard time raising sufficient funds, according to The New York Times. Despite the lack of competition, Platner took just 72% of the vote according to The Associated Press, with Mills, who has not yet congratulated the former oyster farmer, grabbing 20%.

Platner faces incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who occasionally casts an anti-Trump vote though it appears only when Senate passage of Trump’s agenda is guaranteed anyway. In his victory speech Tuesday, Platner said Collins has voted in Trump’s favor 95% of the time. An upset of Collins’ campaign for a sixth Senate term (she’s also chair of its Appropriations Committee) is considered crucial to the Democratic Party overturning its majority.

Writing in The Bulwark May 5, Jonathan V. Last called Platner “the post-Trump figure” and said he has a one-in-three chance of nabbing the 2028 Democratic nomination for president.

This was before the latest revelations that several of Platner’s girlfriends said he has a “toxic” personality.

Perhaps this latest in a series of revelations is Platner’s Access Hollywood tape moment, of sorts. Maine’s Democratic Senate candidate also has faced reports that he had a Nazi-esque skull & crossbones tattoo, since covered by a benign tattoo, and allegations that he sent sexually explicit text messages while married.

A Marine Corps veteran who served three tours in Iraq, Platner speaks of redemption and said in his victory speech he tries “to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than the day before.” Certainly not Trump-like.

But Platner, a progressive who has had the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) since early in his campaign, does have a two-word name for whom he is fighting for the voters of Maine, much like Trump has used the two-word term “deep state.”

Platner's "deep state" is the “ruling class.” –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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WEDNESDAY 6/10/26

What Do Business Owners Think?

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

Although big companies — whether it is Boeing or Meta, Apple or General Motors, ExxonMobil or NVIDIA — get most of the attention, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, small businesses account for 99.9% of all business, are responsible for 46% of private-sector employment and make up some 40% of the US Gross Domestic Product.

Small businesses — private enterprises with fewer than 500 employees — matter in a big way.

Consequently, you would imagine that politicians at all levels — yes, including the White House — would be rather attentive to how small businesses in the US are operating and how those who run those companies are feeling.

And they’re not feeling swell.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index, those business owners aren’t particularly optimistic.

In May their level of optimism was at 95.3, down 0.6 points from April.

While that might not seem like a big deal, consider this: The average over 52 years — yes, half a century-plus — was 98.0.

And here you have it: The Golden Age, the “hottest country in the world” isn’t making the people who are responsible for a big chunk of the economy and jobs feel very sunny.

What’s more (or in this case, less), people who run small businesses need to be more keenly aware of all elements of their operation, from the resilience of their supply chains to the cost of employee benefits, than the Big Guys, where there is a little manageable slop in the system.

Having as clear an outlook as is possible is key to small business owners.

The NFIB also tracks what it calls the “Uncertainty Index.”

Uncertainty is the opposite of clarity, and clarity is what small business owners are looking for.

The historical average of the Uncertainty Index is 68. A lower number is better than a higher number, which means more uncertainty.

What was the Uncertainty Index number in May?

91.

That’s nearly 34% above the average.

Some small business owners are probably rethinking their MAGA caps.

If you consider those results along with the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment, you’ve really got to question the business acumen of Trump, Lutnick and Bessent, just to name a few.

According to Joanne Hsu, director of the U-Mich surveys, “Sentiment is now just below the previous historical trough seen in June 2022.”

The number was 44.8 in May 2026.

The number was 50 in June 2022.

Although Trump likes to talk about the “bad economy” he inherited from Joe Biden, seems like his is measurably worse, whether you’re a business owner or buying goods and services from a business.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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WEDNESDAY 6/10/26

Refined Math on Iranian Nukes

More Math – I agree with Mr. Macaulay’s overall position and appreciate the extra numerical information.

One further refinement (ha ha) to the math: If the 440 kilograms is 60% enriched, i.e. 60% U235, then the total amount of U235 is 264 kg. Further processing would have to remove about 147 kg of U238 from the 440 kg total, to where those 264 kg of U235 make up 90% of the highly enriched bomb-worthy remainder. That brings the stockpile down to 293 kg. At 25 kg per bomb, that’s about 12 nukes rather than 17. –Hugh Hansen

•••

Calling all Citizen Pundits, whether from the right or the left.

Here are the week’s prominent issues begging for your comments:

•Another good monthly jobs report combined with persistently high inflation is likely to push the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee to interest rate increases. How will/should President Trump react?

•Do you support the $69.5-billion, three-year immigration enforcement reconciliation bill passed by the Senate Friday and headed for the House of Representatives?

•Are you in favor of the House measure passed Wednesday (with four Republicans joining Democrats) that would call on President Trump to withdraw from the war on Iran? (Be sure to read Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s dissection of Trump’s war rhetoric that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon in today’s right column.)

•Do you support the Trump Justice Department’s deal to establish a $1.776-billion Anti-Weaponization Fund with potential payouts to about 1,500 people convicted and pardoned by the president for their violent attacks on the US Capitol and police?

•Should the Senate confirm Todd Blanche as US attorney general?

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings (irrespective of your opinion of a specific issue) in the subject line. --Editors

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FRIDAY 6/5/26

Iran War, Week 15

May hiring “blew past expectations” (The Wall Street Journal) with 172,000 jobs added to the economy and the unemployment chart above [Bureau of Labor Statistics] showing a steady, unchanged 4.3% rate. Hiring was up for leisure and hospitality, local government and health care, while hiring for financial activities (AI bankers?) declined.

TUESDAY 6/9/26

US ‘Copter Down in the Strait – A US Army Apaché attack helicopter crashed early Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz, The Associated Press reports, but President Trump was quick to say its two crew members were not injured. Cause of the crash remains unknown.

Meanwhile, Israeli attacks have killed at least two members of Iran’s defense unit, Iran TV reports, per AP.

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MONDAY 6/8/26

UPDATE: President Trump’s Monday call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu worked, apparently. Israel says it is halting attacks on Iran, for now (per The New York Times). Iran also said it would cease shelling Israel, but like Israel warned it is ready to start right up again if necessary.

Ceasefire is Over, Between Israel and Iran – For the first time since the US-brokered ceasefire last April, Israel and Iran began launching missiles at each other over the weekend with the battles spilling into Monday, The Wall Street Journal reports. President Trump Truth Socialed that Israel and Iran must top.

•••

Oil Up, Gas Down – Oil prices were up 4% as Israel and Iran resumed fighting over the weekend, inching up toward the $100 per barrel level, according to Marketplace Morning Report, before settling down just below $92. Meanwhile, gas and diesel prices in the US continued to inch down in the wake of the now-suspended ceasefire.

Average national price of a gallon of regular unleaded slipped to $4.164 Monday morning, according to the AAA. That’s 9.7 cents cheaper than last Wednesday, but $1.191 over February 28. Diesel was down 9.3 cents from June 3 to $5.318 Monday, says AAA, up $1.521 since the beginning of the war.

•••

Leave the Press – President Trump again insisted the war with Iran is over and won (by his rebuilt military) before walking out on NBC News’ Meet the Press when host Kristen Welker pressed him on his unsupported assertion that Democrats are cheating on the California primary results.

“We’ve lost 13 people here and that’s a lot,” Trump told Welker in the interview that NBC News recorded at the president’s appearance in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin last Friday. That’s 13 people “too many,” he continued.

The president compared his four- to six-week war, now in its 15^th week and having reached the 100-day mark, with 19 years in Vietnam.

“But, if you look at Vietnam, where hundreds of thousands of people were killed, if you look at any one of the last seven or eight wars where many, many people were killed, we lost 13. And again, 13 is too many. I don’t want to lose any. But 13 is less than anybody’s ever envisioned. I think we’re doing a great job.”

Trump mentioned his “success” in quickly overturning the government in Venezuela (a model for what was expected with Iran) and called the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz “extremely effective” in diverting from Welker’s question about Iran’s blockade of the Strait that has driven up prices for oil, fertilizer, aluminum and other commodities.

Welker asked if Trump would ramp up the war on Iran if Iran kills more US citizens (this was a day before Israel and Iran began fighting) and the president said it “would be something that I would think about very seriously. But my red line would be if I think I wasn’t going to make a deal, or if I wasn’t going to make a deal fast enough. So we’re having very good negotiations with the people that are leading the country right now. It’s the third group that we’re dealing with.”

Trump refused to identify current Iranian leaders involved in peace talks with the US, and whether they might include supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father when he was killed in the initial round of US attacks on the Islamic Republic last February 28.

Welker also questioned the president on his controversial deal between the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service to set up a $1.776-billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that could pay “restitution” to Trump supporters who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 [the deal also exempts Trump, his family and his businesses from any future IRS audits].

Trump responded by repeating lies about the 2020 presidential election being “rigged” against him and said with no evidence, that last week’s California primaries also were rigged. Welker tried to determine whether the Anti-Weaponization Fund was off the table, as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said last week.

“Do you think that it’s appropriate that they have an election and five days later, they’re nowhere close to picking a winner?” the president responded. ABC, CBS and CNN are in on the rigged election, Trump asserted, as well as Welker, NBC and Meet the Press.

“You’re a one-sided crooked network,” Trump told Welker. “Sorry, let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you darling. Have a good time.” – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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FRIDAY 6/5/26

ICE Cubed – The Senate early Friday passed a “nearly $70 billion” ($69.5B to be closer to precise, according to The Hill) reconciliation bill that funds immigration enforcement through the rest of President Trump’s term by 52-47 vote after an 18-hour vote-a-rama in which numerous attempts to curb the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” failed.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) joined all Democratic senators – including John Fetterman of Pennsylvania – in opposition to the reconciliation bill, according to CQ Roll Call.

The bill must now pass the House before it’s forwarded to President Trump’s Resolute Desk. While it’s tempting to point to the four Republican House members who Wednesday helped pass a resolution calling on Trump to withdraw from Iran as a potential stopgap, this last portion of the fiscal budget has been a major GOP cause as Democrats sought to rein in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol following the January killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

“Most watched” challenge to the president’s $1.776-billion Anti-Weaponization (slush) fund according to Roll Call was Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) amendment that would restrict the fund’s payouts only for law enforcement officers (or next of kin) who died or suffered from the January 6^th attack on the US Capitol in 2021. The failed amendment would have carved out approximately $100 million for the fund, offset by a cut to ICE.

•••

Bolton Deal – Trump 45 national security advisor and “US out of UN” United Nations ambassador under President Bush 43, John Bolton, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of mishandling classified information, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. The tentative plea deal is subject to a judge’s approval and would result in a $2 million fine and zero to five years in prison, “much less” than if Bolton’s attorneys had taken the case to trial, according to NPR’s Ryan Lucas.

Bolton was indicted last October on 18 counts of mishandling sensitive information, much of it highly classified according to NPR’s Ryan Lucas, which the Justice Department said was sent via text and email to two family members.

•••

Another Trump Renovation Project – As employees of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Performing Arts prepare to remove all references to the current president, including, “The Donald Trump and…” lettering above JFK’s name, according to a memo obtained by Politico, Washington, D.C. has yet another construction/renovation “need.” Trump told reporters Thursday he will build a walkway connecting the back of the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River, The New York Times reports.

‘They’ who? … “We’re going to call it ‘the promenade,’” Trump said. “They want to call it the ‘Trump Promende’, but I don’t know if I want to do that. But it’s going to be beautiful. It’s a beautiful project, and it’s going to take the Lincoln Memorial right down to the Potomac.” – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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FRIDAY 6/5/26

Waiting for the Explanation

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

It takes approximately 25 kg of highly enriched uranium to produce a nuclear bomb.

That’s about the weight of a large bag of dog food or a five-gallon bucket of laundry detergent.

Iran has 440 kg of enriched uranium.

That means the ability to make 17.6 nukes.

Sort of.

You see, the uranium in Iran in question is enriched to 60%.*

And it takes >90% enrichment to make a bomb.

Now a couple of things to think about regarding that.

First of all, it only would take about a month to enrich the uranium to >90%.

As is often cited by those who are in support of the war against Iran (well, most of us consider it to be a war, not a skirmish, short excursion, trifle, or little detour, all terms used by President Trump), Iran has had a big beef with the US for 47 years.

That’s 547 months. Even if the Iranians only had the necessary equipment to refine its uranium for five years, that’s still 60 months.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed by the Obama Administration, Iran, the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the European Union in 2015. At the time Iran had some 10,000 kg of uranium. The terms of the agreement called for that to be reduced to 300 kg — which may have happened had the first Trump Administration not withdrawn from the JCPOA in May 2018.

After all, if Iran had 10,000 kg in 2015 and 440 kg in 2026, that’s a 95.6% reduction.

The other thing to think about is that “Operation Midnight Hammer,” conducted in June 2025, was said to have resulted in the “complete and total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear weapons program — and that was said by President Trump.

So: (1) Iran arguably has had a long time to make the nuclear weapons and there has been no evidence given to the American people (or anyone else for that matter, at least not publicly) that it was busy running those centrifuges and (2) presumably those centrifuges and the stockpile of uranium was obliterated last year.

So the whole “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon” rationale that gets repeated doesn’t seem to be something that was in any way imminent or, if we take the president at his word, possible given the claimed obliteration.

If we can’t believe that the capabilities were totally destroyed, can we believe that Operation Epic Fury did its job and so “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon”?

President Trump claims that gasoline prices will “drop like a rock” after the war and get to levels “that you’ve never seen before.”

What Americans have seen for the past 14 weeks are gas prices that have gone in the opposite direction.

Even though, according to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas in the US is $4.24 a gallon, down about a quarter-dollar from its recent peak, on February 26, the day before Operation Epic Fury commenced, it was $2.98 per gallon.

Roughly calculated, the average midsized SUV driver in the US has paid an extra $185 for gasoline over the past 14 weeks. For the average household, that’s about what is paid for a week’s worth of groceries — and, yes, the price of groceries is up, too, because of increased freight costs (diesel fuel has gone up an average 40% since February).

And the price of groceries will continue to remain high (no rock-like dropping) because the war has resulted in a 30% reduction in the global supply of fertilizer.

Were Iran to not only develop a nuclear weapon but deploy it, gas prices and grocery prices would be through the roof, something we can’t lose sight of.

But it does seem peculiar that months after the hostilities began there has yet to be any substantive proof offered by the Trump Administration about the actual threat presented by Iran to the homeland.

On CNBC on Monday, June 8 President Trump said of the still-high gas prices, “Once you explain that this is all about Iran having a nuclear weapon, people are willing to pay a little bit more.”

Agreed. But where is the explanation?

*Quick lesson: When uranium is mined, the material is generally 99.3% uranium-238 and 0.7% uranium-235. The U-235 is the element needed for nukes. So there is a refinement process (using centrifuges) to get rid of the U-238 and thereby getting the U-235. This process continues until >90% purity is reached.Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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FRIDAY 6/5/26

We’re Back

Due to a technical issue regarding our domain, The Hustings was incommunicado from Friday morning, May 29, to Monday evening, June 1. For the record, our domain is not for sale.

But the outage affected our email as well, so if you submitted a comment to editors@thehustings.news between May 29 and June 1 please submit it again.

If you didn’t, there’s still plenty for you to discuss in the right or left column.

Big question today outlined in the center column on the US-Israel war on Iran is whether Iran just might be winning this war, despite the Trump administration’s claims.

Scroll down that center column for the Trump administration backing off its $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Act – for now – and a bipartisan bill that would make sure it doesn’t happen.

Don’t miss Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s parsing of Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll results for President Trump, in today’s right column.

There’s also the withdrawal of country music star Martina McBride, hip-hop artist Young MC, half of Milli Vanilli, the Commodores and others from Freedom 250, the Trump administration’s celebration of the semi-sesquincentennial because those artists say they did not know they were being tapped to participate in a “partisan” event. President “Number One Attraction anywhere in the world” Trump will headline instead, with a campaign rally-style kickoff of the celebration. --Editors

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TUESDAY 6/2/26

Iran War, Week 14

Get ready for another rally -- The president, seen here attending the LIV Golf tournament at the Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C. (in Sterling, Virginia), will headline the Freedom 250 celebration on the National Mall. [White House photo]

THURSDAY 6/4/26

Trump Names Blanche His AG – While Republican Congress members and Democrats alike are kvetching over President Trump’s choice of Bill Pulte for director of the Office of National Intelligence, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is now set to be nominated to his position permanently. At a White House dinner Wednesday, Trump said director of the personnel office and other aides will nominate Blanche to become Pam Bondi’s permanent replacement, The Hill reports.

•••

House Wants an End to War – Yes, it’s symbolic, the measure the House passed Wednesday directing President Trump to withdraw US forces from Iran or win congressional approval to continue the war (per The New York Times). Even if the measure makes it through the Senate, Trump would then be expected to veto the measure. But the House vote, 215 to 208, is significant, because four Republicans joined all Democrats to pass the measure.

Those four Republicans are Reps. Thomas Massie (KY), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Tom Barrett (MI) and Warren Davidson (OH). –TL

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WEDNESDAY 6/3/26

Big Primaries Tuesday – Trump-endorsed ex-Fox News commentator Steve Hilton, (R, obv.) leads Democratic ex-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, 27.8% to 25.4% in California’s bipartisan primary, The New York Times reports via The Associated Press. The two leading candidates face off in the November 3 general election regardless of party – so they could both be Republicans or both be Democrats – and most California votes come in by mail and will be counted up to June 9 if they were postmarked by June 2.

That means out of 60 candidates for California governor, to replace term-limited and presumed 2028 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination Gavin Newsom (D), Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer is still in the running, with 19.6% of the vote so far. As is Republican Chad Bianco, with 11.3%.

Other key primaries … also according to the NYT via the AP’s tallies, in the Iowa Republican primary for governor, businessman-farmer Zach Lahn defeated last-minute Trump endorsee Rep. Randy Feenstra … for the Iowa Democratic primary race for US Senate, Paralympic gold medalist and state legislator Josh Turek defeated progressive state legislator Zach Wahls … for the Montana Republican primary for a US House seat, Trump-endorsed radio host Aaron Flint took the win over three other Republicans, including Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen … in the New Jersey Democratic primary for retiring progressive Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, US Army veteran and “sharp critic” of Israel’s war on Gaza Adam Hamawy is the nominee … in the New Mexico Democratic primary for governor, former Interior secretary and ex-US Rep. Deb Haaland defeated Sam Bregman, district attorney for the state’s most populous county and father of baseball all-star Alex Bregman.

Fa LA LA … Meanwhile, in the officially non-partisan race for mayor of Los Angeles, incumbent and erstwhile Democrat Karen Bass is in for the November general election, the Los Angeles Times reports, via the AP, with 34.8% of the primary vote, so far. Star of ‘00s reality show The Hills Spencer Pratt, a Republican who blames Bass for the burning down of his house in the January 2025 Palisades Fire is the incumbent’s likely challenger, with 30.4% of the vote so far. LA City Councilmember Nithya Raman still has a chance, with 22.3% of the vote as of Wednesday morning.

•••

From Real Estate to National Intel – Federal Housing Agency chief Bill Pulte does not have the background required to be director of national intelligence. But in classic Trump administration style, Pulte, 38, scion of one of the nation’s largest homebuilder families and often described as “Little Trump” according to The Wall Street Journal will skate by for now as actingdirector of national intelligence.

That will be necessary because lame-duck Republican senators primaried by Trump-backed candidates will not overlook Pulte’s lack of intel credentials.

“I don’t see any evidence of qualifications for that job, but willing to listen,”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who lost his primary last week to Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, told reporters Tuesday.

Writing in The Atlantic, never-Trump conservative pundit David Frum notes as a sort of consolation that unlike the national intelligence director he will replace, Tulsi Gabbard, Pulte has never publicly expressed admiration for Russia’s Vladimir Putin or former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Pulte, who often travels with Trump on Air Force One according to Politico, has enemies within the administration and evidenced by an “explosive spat” out in the open with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

“The president has so many smart people that he could listen to,” an ex-Trump official told Politico. “And he listens to Pulte, who just continuously fucks things up.”

Pulte has sicced the Justice Department into investigating Democratic lawmakers, Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook and New York Attorney General Letitia James, with none of his allegations of mortgage fraud having gone anywhere.

As, ahem, acting director of national intelligence, a position created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the US nearly 25 years ago, Pulte will be responsible for presenting Trump his daily intel briefing entailing 18 federal agencies, notes Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), on NPR’s Morning Edition. Pulte’s appointment could threaten passage of reauthorization next week of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702, which collects, analyzes and shares intel about national security threats, Warner says. FISA Section 702 accounts for 70% of the president’s daily intelligence briefing, according to the senator.

Will President Trump, known for his lack of interest in reading such reports, notice if it’s missing?

•••

CBS Fires Pelley – Paramount’s dismantling of CBS News’ 60 Minutes under Bari Weiss reached a new lowpoint Tuesday when Nick Bilton fired Scott Pelley, after the veteran correspondent apparently applied his incisive reporting skills to take down the new executive producer in a staff meeting.

“Yesterday’s performative display of hostility enacted in front of the staff instead of in a civil, private conversation demonstrated that you have no interest in contributing to the future success of the show, or approaching my new tenure with a mind open to collaboration and progress,” Bilton’s letter to Pelley and obtained by Mediaite, read in part.

•••

Is There Gas in the Car? – Fuel prices inched down again Wednesday according to the AAA, with the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular costing $4.261, down 2.9 cents from Tuesday. A gallon of diesel is $5.411 Wednesday, down 2.1 cents. Wednesday’s prices are +$1.288 for regular and +$1.614 for diesel, over the February 28 AAA averages. –TL

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TUESDAY 6/2/26

Dear Center Column – Before digging into local news, an 11 p.m. newscast asks, “Are hopes for peace in Iran fading?”

Dear 11 p.m. newscast – It appears you haven’t been paying attention. President Trump has ping-ponged between being ready to sign a peace deal with unnamed leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran and threatening to bomb the nation of 90 million back to the Stone Age for some 14 weeks now, driving up both the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Averages and the interest rates on US Treasury bonds. Monday’s flip-flop was nothing new, with those Iranian leaders taking the lead again and telling President Trump to stuff the peace deal after Israel extended its war on Lebanon to Beirut.

Latest is that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says the US supports its attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs so long as Hezbollah continues to attack northern Israel, The Guardian reports.

The endless flip-flop has prompted some pundits and analysts to conclude that Iran, and not the US, is winning the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will not be pleased.

Nor is President Trump pleased with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump reportedly “lashed out” on Netanyahu over his aggression on Lebanon, telling the PM “You’re fucking crazy,” according to an exclusive report in Axios.

Question of the day … Is Iran winning this war?

•••

Gas Relief – In the face of all this ceasefire turmoil and Iran’s persistent blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, gas and diesel prices continue to ease back from their wartime peaks. Average national price for a gallon of unleaded regular is down 13.6 cents from last Thursday to $4.29 Tuesday. That’s $1.309 over February 28. Diesel is 12.2 cents cheaper than last Thursday to $5.432, which is $1.635 above the price per gallon just prior to the war.

•••

‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ on Ice – The Trump administration has “signaled” plans to drop the $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund the president’s Justice Department negotiated with the president’s Internal Revenue Service in a deal over the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, CNN reports.

With heavy support from congressional Republicans as well as Democrats, Reps. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) have introduced the bipartisan Transparency for American Taxpayers Act to make sure the Anti-Weaponization Fund doesn’t pop up in the middle of semi-sesquincentennial celebrations and pay off the 1,500 or so January 6^th rioters who already have been pardoned by President Trump. After all, that $1.776 billion has a nice, semi-sesquincentennail ring to it.

Speaking with Suozzi on CNN’s AC360 with Anderson Cooper, Fitzpatrick warns that Congress must soon address the Federal Judgment Fund Act, a 1956 statue that allows Congress to settle legitimate lawsuits after the fact, which appears to be the basis of the Trump administration’s A-WF.

But first, the bipartisan stopgap to make sure the $1.776 billion fund is not allowed to happen. …

“This is a bipartisan bill to block the president’s $1.7 billion slush fund to pay off the January 6^th criminals and other maladjusted minions!” Fitzpatrick says on his website. –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 6/2/26

Dentistry & Donald

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

Whenever I go to the dentist the hygienist invariably asks: “Do you floss every day?”

If I looked at my record just from a few days preceding and a few following the appointment I could answer “Yes.”

But before or after, well, not so much.

Under the circumstances, with someone holding an exceedingly sharp instrument mere millimeters from my open mouth while I am in a defenseless position in a chair, I answer “Yes.”

In effect, the hygienist is conducting a survey of one.

Clearly those surveyed are not necessarily the most honest and forthcoming in their responses. It is necessary, therefore, to consider survey results with a large grain of salt (or a dislodged chunk of plaque).

But sometimes the numbers are so big even with caveats galore there has to be some veracity to the numbers calculated.

Which leads me to new Strength In Numbers/Verasight polling on how well our president is doing with regard to things Americans care about.

Again, realize the people answering the poll may not be fully forthcoming. But still, consider the magnitude.

Asked about how well President Trump is handling the issues the pollsters found the following:

Border security: 0%
Deportations: -12%
Immigration: -12%
Crime & public safety: -12%

Evidently the Wall that we no longer hear about has left people completely neutral, the whole ICE phenomenon is not making people particularly happy, and when you predicate your persona largely on being tough on crime (“Lock ‘em up!”) you might think the numbers would be above the net approval line, not below it.

•Education: -19%

Perhaps if more time was spent supporting our public schools and public and private universities, there would be some positive feelings. But no, the efforts all seem to be undermining and penalizing our educational institutions, and that is not going to make America great. Here’s something to think about: China graduates 1.3 million engineers each year while the US graduates 130,000. While some may argue the US graduate engineers are 10x better, that brings to mind whistling by the graveyard.

Look only at how the Chinese auto industry has developed in a matter of a few decades and now leads the West in terms of electric vehicles. Yes, we should eliminate grants to research universities because the president doesn’t like their politics.

Trade with other countries: -21%

Given the tariff situation, not bad. Not bad at all. But still underwater.

Elections and democracy: -22%

Remarkable about how the President keeps talking about crooked elections. Doesn’t it occur to him or any of his acolytes and minions that the so-called “crooked” elections not only put him in office but put the Republicans in control of the House and Senate? If these elections are as corrupt as he claims. . . .

•Government funding & social programs: -22%

You don’t hear much about DOGE anymore, but a lot of people are feeling the results of it, and those feelings aren’t good.

Foreign policy: -23%

Again, something surprisingly strong. Doesn’t foreign policy seem to be predicated on the president’s social media posts, and change from one to another? Diplomats? Who needs ‘em when you have real estate guys like Kushner and Witkoff? (Consider: those two know as much about geopolitics as my dental hygienist likely knows about New York real estate. Would it be fair to put her up against those two guys in a negotiation? So why does it seem sensible to put Kushner and Witkoff up against people who actually are trained in foreign policy?)

•Jobs & the economy: -25%

Wasn’t the President going to make the economy grow in a way that no one would believe it? Sure, Wall Street is doing remarkably well — but that’s largely predicated on the success of the tech companies and the massive investments in artificial intelligence. Think about this: The aforementioned cuts in research programs at US research universities as well as those made to federal scientific research programs, programs in the pre-Trump days that led to things like successful tech companies and AI, are going to put the US behind in the not-distant future. But Trump will be gone, so he doesn’t care.

•Health care: -28%

If you remember when Trump ran for president in 2016 excoriating Obamacare was something he frequently did, promising to create something far, far better. Clearly we’re still waiting. “Promises kept” was one of the 2024 campaign lines. Perhaps the “n” should be dropped from the final word in the previous sentence.

•Prices/inflation: -47%

“The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill.

“America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have — the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on earth — and we are going to use it. We’ll use it.

“We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export American energy all over the world.

“We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.”

That’s from the January 20, 2025, Inaugural Address.

Let’s see.

Inflation is up.

Energy prices are up, and the Strategic Oil Reserve is being tapped, not filled.
Manufacturing employment was 12.66 million in April 2025 and 12.59 million in April 2026.

Even if the people answering the questions of the pollsters were fudging things, being down 47% is a huge number, and the facts on the ground — as in what people are experiencing every time they go to the gas station and supermarket — show we are not in the Golden Age that was promised.

Far from it.

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TUESDAY 6/2/26

Whose Power is the War Power?

Left and right were mostly on the same page, if not in the same column debating the US-Israeli war on Iran at Wednesday evening’s Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts III at the Allen Theatre in Annville, Pennsylvania.

Each participant adhered to The Hustings’ ethos of echo chamber-free political discussion, agreeing and disagreeing with each other with civility and respect. That means the Allen Theatre and The Hustings are busy planning Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts IV. Watch this space for details.

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Left and right, moderate and progressive-to-MAGA are invited to our next live Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts III 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, at the Allen Theatre, 36 E. Main St. in Annville, Pennsylvania where we will take up the issue of the 12-week old US-Israeli war on Iran.

Confirm your attendance at this free, civil debate with an email to info@allentheatre.com or editors@thehustings.news.

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TUESDAY 5/26/26

Iran War, Week 13

President Trump visits the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings is resurfacing after placing a no-bid contract that a National Park Service analysis obtained by The New York Times says is adding a 20% surcharge costing the federal government at least $850,000 more than the typical 6% to 12% [White House photo].

Like Rolling a Rock Up a Hill – This hardly sounds like the “largely negotiated” done deal with Iran that President Trump described four days ago, but we suppose it’s something.

US officials are reportedly closing in on an agreement that could extend the ceasefire with Iran, lead to reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and set the table for more substantial negotiations, three American officials with knowledge of discussions tell The New York Times.

So. Another ceasefire and the Strait of Hormuz free and open, kinda like 14 weeks ago.

•••

His Own Retribution – The Justice Department has launched an investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former Elle advice columnist who won two civil judgments worth $88.3 million against then-former and future President Donald J. Trump over sexual abuse and defamation, CNN reports. The investigation reportedly hinges on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony tied to her lawsuits against Trump.

Speculation is that the investigation revolves around Carroll’s 2022 deposition, in which she said she had received no outside funding for her lawsuits, although she later revealed that billionaire Reid Hoffman had paid some legal fees and expenses.–TL

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THURSDAY 5/28/26

War On, Deal Off? – Iran targeted an unnamed US base in the Gulf Region, it says, in response to US strikes on southern Iran Thursday, The New York Times reports. This follows President Trump’s open cabinet meeting Wednesday in which he threatened to blow up Oman over Iran’s plan to toll the Strait of Hormuz in partnership with Oman.

Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry called Trump’s threats “dangerous” and “bullying,” according to The Guardian.

Washington and Tehran in recent days have suggested they were close to an agreement to resume open shipping in the Strait.

But at his cabinet meeting, Trump said this in response to a reporter’s question (per NYT): “The Strait is going to be open to everybody. Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it. But nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation we have.”

Clearly, Iran has learned since the war began in late February the power it has gained by controlling the Strait.

Meanwhile … The Israeli Defense Force conducted its first attack on Beirut in three weeks, after refraining from attacking Lebanon’s capital at Trump’s request, The Times of Israel reports. The IDF targeted an apartment building in the southern Choueifat area in an attempt to assassinate an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-connected military leader, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported.

While Thursday’s IDF attack on Beirut is its first in three weeks, Israel has been unrelenting in its war on southern Lebanon, where more than 1 million locals have been displaced from their homes, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

•••

Gassiness – Global oil prices were on the rise Thursday after the US and Iran reported missile strikes on each other. But there’s lag at the American pump: Average national price of a gallon of unleaded regular dropped by 6.5 cents from Tuesday to $4.426, Thursday, which is $1.445 higher than February 28. Diesel was down 3 cents from Tuesday to $5.554, or $1.757 higher than the war’s start. –TL

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WEDNESDAY 5/2726

Paxton Wins Texas Primary – Is state Rep. James Talarico the real winner?

Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton walloped – that’s a Texas word, right? – four-term Sen. John Cornyn in Tuesday’s GOP primary runoff. The numbers were 64.1% for Paxton to 35.9% for Cornyn, according to The Texas Tribune.

Democrats couldn’t be more delighted, as if Texas, which is just about MAGA central might have second thoughts about forwarding to the November 3 midterms the Trump-endorsed AG who has been impeached and suspended from office by more than 70% of his own party in the Texas House, according to the Trib. Paxton faced a federal investigation into corruption allegations lodged by former top deputies, who have filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging they were illegally fired for reporting Paxton to law enforcement.

Oh, and there’s the lawsuit by the state bar seeking to penalize Paxton for attorney misconduct.

Paxton was indicted on three felony counts of securities fraud, “that have loomed over nearly his entire tenure as attorney general,” the Trib reports.

Oh, and Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton has filed for divorce, citing “biblical grounds” and accusing the US Senate nominee of adultery.

Any wonder Paxton was endorsed by President Trump? --TL

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TUESDAY 5/2626

Where is That Deal? – A lot happened between Washington and Tehran through the Memorial Day weekend. None of it remotely resembled a peace deal.

Here’s the latest from The New York Times and The Guardian:

Iran Tuesday has threatened to retaliate against US strikes Monday that the US said are defensive, against Iran’s missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay more mines in the Strait of Hormuz (The Guardian).

The Islamic Republic accused the US of violating the ceasefire. Its Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a written statement that US military bases in the Middle East are no longer safe and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to respond forcefully to any US strikes (NYT).

These bellicose statements replaced negotiations after President Trump Truth Socialed Saturday that a deal with Iran was imminent, but he once again warned Iran had better reach an agreement or face annihilation. The Trump administration’s threats do not seem to scare the country that has chanted “death to America” for 47 years.

Iran did ease up slightly on repression of its own people, as President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered his country’s communications ministry to end its nearly complete internet blackout.

Trump Truth Socialed, again on Monday afternoon that Iran’s enriched uranium will either be turned over to the US and destroyed or is to be destroyed in coordination of Iran and the Atomic Energy Commission.

Iran officials traveled to Doha, Qatar, Monday to discuss negotiations …. Hours before the US Military announced strikes on Iran meant to protect US troops.

The upshot is … The Trump administration is struggling to reach the same level of compliance by Iran on its nuclear arms program that the Obama administration took two years to reach under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed and President Trump threw out in his first administration … while also working to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

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Slight Ease of Gas Pains – National average for a gallon of regular unleaded ticked below $4.50 Tuesday to $4.491, 1.6-cents lower than Monday, but up $1.51 over February 28. Diesel slid, too, by 7.2 cents from last Thursday to $5.584 per gallon, or +$1.787 versus the start of the war on Iran.

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Russia Targets ‘Decision Centers’ – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio to evacuate the US embassy in Kyiv as Russia prepares to begin strikes on Ukraine’s “decision-making centers” (per The Kyiv Independent).

Moscow has framed the planned hit as retaliation for Ukraine’s attack on Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast. The Kremlin claims the attack hit a dormitory in Starobilsk, though Kyiv counters that it was targeting a Russian drone command facility.

Russia staged its heaviest attack Tuesday on Ukraine since the beginning of the war, hitting every district in Kyiv. But that attack is seen as a sort of desperation as the four-year-old war hobbles Russia’s economy as Ukraine shows unexpected levels of resilience with its aggressive military drone program. – Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 5/26/26

Fissures in the MAGA GOP?

Agreement (Mostly) on the Iran War

Citizen debaters on the right as well as the left attending Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts III at the Allen Theatre in Annville, Pennsylvania Wednesday evening generally argued that President Trump’s war on Iran was a bad decision. All agreed that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

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President Trump’s failure to bring the US-Israeli war on Iran to an end and re-open the Strait of Hormuz is beginning to crack open the MAGA-Republican coalition on Capitol Hill. Before heading out of town for the Memorial Day weekend break May 19, lame-duck Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate, joined Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to force a resolution to bring a War Powers Act debate to the floor. The measure passed 50-47.

Whether you are right or left and agree or disagree with the four Republican senators on the issue, you are invited for The Hustings’ next Talking With, Not At … Debate & Donuts at the Allen Theatre, Wednesday, May 27 at 6 p.m. EDT. The event is free, but if you can please register via info@allentheatre.com or editors@thehustings.news.

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TUESDAY 5/26/26