Tag: fertilizer prices

Trump Double Standards

The political world had some fascinating headlines going this past weekend.

Five big reasons Republicans don’t deserve your midterm vote

Trump Tries to Trick Voters. They Treat Him to Pushback.

Trump cut funding for farmers — then unlocked billions for them before Election Day

That last headline is interesting. It highlights Trump’s patterns, IMO.

Trump likes to lie to win over voters (which some admire because he’s ‘telling it straight’ to them, in their mind). Then he makes solemn promises — over and over — about the great things he’ll do for people and the nation. Righteous declarations follow about who he is — a peace president who stopped eight wars, a unifier, a churchgoer who cares about everyone, a person who would never condone violence.

Then Trump broke many of his promises. Donald Trump often claimed that wasn’t what he said, that wasn’t what he meant, or that he was joking.

Next, Trump cut funding to programs and services. Some was done in secret, depending on the category of spending and how his ‘base’ feels about it. However and whyever Trump cuts, repercussions emerge. Experts often warn Trump and his supporters that those results will probably happen, but they ignore them, because TRUMP.

Then, lo, the results come in, almost as predicted. People become angry. If the angry people are part of Trump’s base, he slowly, belatedly, tries to fix things. Trump’s typical fix is usually a cash offer of dividends, subsidies, assistance. Those things sound terribly socialist, because such government handouts are branded as socialist by the right, but that’s okay; that’s Trump and his base.

That’s different.

It always is one standard for Trump and his supporters, and another for everyone else.

It’s the Trump Double Standard.

The debacle with the farmers can be traced across Trump’s second term.

Farmers’ problems began well before Trump came into office the second time as climate change, widespread heat, and drought changed weather patterns, and insurance costs skyrocketed. But I want to specifically address how Donald Trump’s actions actively worsened the situation for American farmers.

DOGE cut USAID funds because America First. As part of those cuts, the Food for Peace funds were cut. While the Food for Peace program fed people outside of the United States, Food for Peace bought billions of dollars of produce from American farmers. Just like that, that market was gone. Thank you, Donald Trump.

At the same time, funding for programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was frozen, leaving farmers who had already invested money into soil and water conservation projects completely in limbo regarding federal reimbursements. Thanks again, Donald Trump.

By this point, the financial strain from lost global markets, halted conservation rebates, and rising operational costs culminated in farm bankruptcies hitting a six-year high in 2026. Thank you again, Donald Trump.

Then, while farmers and most Americans were struggling to pay bills, Trump launched his war against Iran, immediately affecting global oil shipments and the international supply chain, resulting in higher prices for oil, diesel, and fertilizer for farmers. Thank you a fourth time, Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s solution for the problems he caused American farmers from the 2025 DOGE cuts, lost global markets, and higher prices from the 2026 Iran war was to throw money at it. Just days before the November 2026 midterms, the USDA scrambled to pledge $15 billion in emergency ad-hoc aid.

It’s too late for many farmers. They already declared insolvency. It’s also too late for those who are planning their fall purchases and next year’s crops. Not for the first time, Donald Trump, self-proclaimed expert in so many fields, failed to grasp the powerful negative impact of his decisions. And not for the first time, Donald Trump has No. Way. Out.

Thank you again, Donald Trump. Thank you for worsening the situation for farming in America. Thank you for raising the prices of food staples, oil, gas, diesel, and fertilizer. Thank you very damn much.

A change is needed. Vote blue.

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Facts & Response

Trump Administration (TA): Woke ruined everything! White men are being discriminated against! It’s not fair to white men!

MAGA: Yea! Woke sucks!

TA: Cities – especially blue cities – are the economic engines of the US. So let’s send ICE there and disrupt flights into them and cause a slowdown there because we don’t like them and their woke liberal policies.

MAGA: Yea! Libruls suck.

TA: Companies will move out of blue cities and blue states to red states.

MAGA: Yeah! Libruls suck.

Blue States: Even though the nation is going through a drought and there’s less and less water available to drink?

MAGA: Fake news!

TA: We have plenty of water, don’t worry. There is a drought going on, don’t worry. It’s weather! Louisiana isn’t sinking, don’t worry. The glaciers aren’t melting, don’t worry. The sea level isn’t rising, don’t worry. The average temperature isn’t rising, don’t worry. That’s all a Chinese Democrat Deep State hoax.

MAGA: Yeah! Hoax!

Media and Economists: The tariffs and war in Iran are driving up oil prices and disrupting supply chains. That increases energy and fertilizer prices. That raises transportation and shipping costs, food prices, healthcare costs, and consumer goods prices. 

TA: Prices might go up a little bit for food but don’t worry, we’ll be better off for it in the long run.

MAGA: Um…yeah.

TA: Don’t worry about the national debt, either. We’re all going to get so rich, it’ll be beautiful.

MAGA: Yeah.

Media and Economists: The rising prices will also affect insurance premiums because they’re tied to the costs of everything else. Insurance is also going up for many homeowners due to more extreme weather events and wildfires.

MAGA:

TA: Forget the Epstein files! It’s a Democrat hoax! They’ve all been released. They’re nothing.

MAGA: Grumble grumble grumble

TA: Look at this ballroom! Isn’t it beautiful? It’s the biggest and most beautiful in the world!

MAGA:

TA: Donors are paying for the ballroom! It’ll only cost 200 million! 300 million! 400 million! We need a billion dollars to make it safe!

MAGA:

TA: And look at this 250th celebration of our nation. Look at this fight we’re staging at the White House!

Media: It’s just like the Coliseum in Rome. Or the Olympic Games in Berlin before World War II.

MAGA:

TA: We’re winning the war in Iran! It’s already over! We obliterated their military! There is no more threat from Iran! It’s all or nothing! They’re running on fumes there! The people are going to rise up and take over! The Strait of Hormuz will be open, or else! We’ll bomb them more! The clock is ticking! They must give up their nuclear program! We destroyed their nuclear program! They have nothing!

MAGA:

Media: Trump has gone golfing today. He’s golfed 23% of the time he’s been in office.

MAGA:

TA: Biden!

MAGA: Biden sucks!

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Thursday’s Theme Music – Too Much

Ashland, Oregon — Thursday, April 16, 2026.

It’s fifty shades of spring green outside. How quickly the front yard tree went from being bare to full of green leaves. I was out there working on the yard the other day and noted how bare it was and wondered when its leaves would arrive. Then the leaves were full and green on it, as though they’d been delivered via Amazon. “Your leaves are on the way and will be delivered by 3:30 PM on Wednesday.”

It’s 46 now, up from 32 F, and expected to climb to 52 F. Thunderstorms are expected tomorrow.

In fifty shades of Trump, Republicans in Congress are sticking with their leader, refusing to hold him accountable for the war in Iran. Some have compared it to Operation Poseidon Archer under President Biden. It’s messy, but there was a difference in scope, costs, and intentions. Although President Biden’s operation lasted fifteen months, his administration notified Congress before military operations were ordered and carried out. Not so with Trump, who has been operating more unilaterally, limiting how much Congress is told, and sometimes not telling them until after the fact. President Biden’s operation was also well-defined in objectives and stayed in scope. Trump’s Iran war has been much broader and general, with no clear cut stated goals. While various reasons have been stated, Trump has also threatened to destroy Iran as a nation and attack civilian targets.

  • Operation Poseidon Archer cost about $400 million a day, with a total of $5 billion dollars for the first year of operations. Trump’s Iran war has spent $1 billion dollars per day on average, with an estimated expense of 35 to 51 billion dollar so far. Some experts believe that Trump’s Iran war could exceed one trillion dollars.
  • President Biden’s Yemen strikes had a relatively contained economic effect. Trump’s Iran war has caused gas prices to soar to $7 in some states while disrupting global air travel due to airspace closures.
  • Trump’s war has also affected the price of fertilizer for US farmers. The Strait of Hormuz closure has restricted access to components like sulfur, which is required to manufacture phosphate fertilizers in U.S. plants. Many small farmers are facing fertilizer costs which are 30 to 40 % higher than planned. The scale of the impact on increased cost for food and consumer goods will depend on how long Trump’s Iran war lasts.
  • Total deaths for President Biden’s Yemen operations were estimated at 106 to 337 lives. Trump’s Iran war has claimed an estimated five to ten thousand, so far. No US military members were killed in the Yemen operation, while Trump’s war cost fifteen US military members to date.

It all added up to too much. That was enough for Les Neurons to invite the Dave Matthews Band into the morning mental music stream with “Too Much” from 1996.

I eat too much
I drink too much
I want too much
Too much

Hey
Suck it up, suck it up
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up, yeah
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up
Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up baby

h/t to AZLyrics.com

Hope your day isn’t too much for you, and that all goes well.

Cheers

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