Good morning and welcome. Today is Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Looks like no more snow around here. They’re projecting 70 degrees outside the Florack Shack today. Yet, we’re being told that a 70% chance of snow is in the forecast for the weekend. The saying around here goes that if you don’t like the weather, wait a few minutes.
1801: The first official census in Great Britain, revealing a population of approximately 10 million.
1849: Abraham Lincoln applies for a patent (only U.S. President to do so) for a device to lift a boat over shoals and obstructions.
1862: The United States issues the first paper money in the form of $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1,000 notes.
1876: First telephone call: Alexander Graham Bell says, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.”
1891: Almon Brown Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Ks., patents the Strowger switch, a device that led to the automation of telephone circuit switching.
1931: Oswald Mosley leaves the British Labour Party and founds the NAZI- leaning “New Party.”
1945: Tokyo is firebombed.
1964: Simon and Garfunkel record the first version of “The Sound of Silence” at Columbia Studios in New York City.
1981: Kim Carnes releases the single “Bette Davis Eyes” (Billboard Song of the Year 1981).
Birthdays today include: actor Barry Fitzgerald (Going My Way, The Quiet Man); singer and actress Marion Hutton (The Glenn Miller Orchestra); James Earl Ray (MLK’s assassin); country music great Ralph Emery; actor Chuck Norris; singer Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean); Tom Scholz of the band Boston; Osama bin Laden; actress Sharon Stone; and Prince Edward. If today is your day, too, Happy Birthday.
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So, among the big headlines for the last few days has been a spike in Gasoline prices, resulting from Iran’s actions in the Straight of Hormuz. Fox News:
With the Iran conflict rattling oil markets and raising fears of supply disruptions, gas prices are climbing again, squeezing Americans already worn down by inflation.
This week, oil prices surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 as fallout from the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continued to roil global markets and investors priced in the risk of tighter supply.
With oil higher, gasoline and diesel prices are rising fast.
[…]Asked about the risk of disruptions, Trump said Monday evening he would keep the route open and threatened retaliation if Iran tried to interfere.
“I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply. And if Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level,” Trump said during a press conference in Florida.
“In the long run, oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones, missiles,” he added.
You’ll never believe it, but the Democrats — and by the way, the usual GOP Never-Trumpers, like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — are being opportunistic. The Democrats (and I would certainly include the lamestream media in that category) pulling this nonsense is to be expected. It’s what they do.
But Massie? PJ Media’s Stephen Green quoted him on this yesterday:
“This isn’t America First,” Massie blasted President Donald Trump on X on Sunday. “The price of gas has gone up $0.47 and the price of diesel has gone up $0.83 in 10 days due to War with Iran. And waging war costs American taxpayers about $1 billion per day, which comes out to $10 per family per day, or $100 since the war began.”
The argument Massie makes here is so outright lame that the only explanation for it is a set of facts, other than the stated ones, that he’s not mentioning. Money, perhaps, as Steve asks? If it isn’t the dollar signs, his commentary is the first example in the dictionary under the word “insanity.” As Steve points out:
Do you wonder what the price of gas might be if Iran could hold Hormuz hostage with nukes? “Let’s not find out” is a fair summation of Trump’s policy on that question.
Is Massie really saying that his 50 cents-a-gallon is of greater import than the elimination of the existential threat posed by the Mullahs? Is he really that far gone? Apparently so, if we take his word for it. But perhaps there’s another reason.
At the risk of being accused of knee-jerk support for a PJ Media stablemate, I think Steve is onto something here. Massie likes to position himself as a principled conservative. The money trail, however, raises serious questions about that.
That’s where the money part gets interesting, because the Kentucky Republican gets a lot of it from an unusual source — the Mahrouq family of Texas. After fleeing Jordan, “Sam Hussein Mahrouq built a large business empire, starting with auto dealerships,” Stock Mom reported on X. “His companies now include MEI Auto Finance, iKON Technologies insurance, and major real estate projects like the Caravan Court Hotel redevelopment. The family has also been active in local philanthropy in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, much of which is pro-Islam leaning.”
Mahrouq’s contributions to Massie’s campaigns are not the only place the family contributes, and that’s where the worry about Massie takes on a new level of concern:
For over ten years, the family has maxed out donations to the most anti-Israel progressives in Congress. They have given heavily to Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, and others. They also donated large sums to American Priorities PAC, where Sam Mahrouq gave 100k and smaller amounts to Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption. American Priorities PAC is a super PAC created specifically to fight AIPAC influence and support candidates who want to restrict aid to Israel. These groups push extreme anti-Israel agendas and team up with far-left organizations such as Justice Democrats.
As Steve says: “Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, Rashida Tlaib, and… Thomas Massie? “
Yeah, it’s like that.
In my own view, Massie is one of the few people with fewer redeeming qualities than the Democrats that he supposedly opposes. At least, the Democrats aren’t pretending to be conservative. I can’t imagine a large number of his constituents disagreeing with me on that point this morning.
Massie’s position makes more sense, given his money sources, than do his complaints about what is obviously a temporary spike in Gasoline prices that will soon be resolved as the Iranian regime is removed from the planet. Which, by the way, is an outcome that, if people like Massie had their way, wouldn’t happen, once his campaign contributors yanked on his leash.
My loud and heartfelt compliments to Stephen Green for exploring up this topic. It explains a lot.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
Thought for the day: Before you make the assumption that you suffer from low self-esteem or depression, make sure the people around you aren’t the cause.
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