We posted this question on X:
Is the US trying to tie numerous nations into a World War?

Share

Thank you, to all the great Conspirators who joined us to discuss the Pirate-in-Thief, the bogus nature of Antitrust law, the Hawley move to ID everyone who wants to use the intergnat, and more! We got to discuss the journalism of great reporters so, please follow them if you haven't had the opportunity! And join us, m-f 6 PM on Rumble or my X! The audio Pod is ready shortly after the show, via Spotify or Substack! Here is what we got to discuss tonight!

Subscribe now

Today, a few news sources and commentators are noticing that Trump has a new military operation in the Persian Gulf, something he has done to semantically skirt the already Constitution-diluting War Powers Act. It’s the sadly, darkly ironic “Project Freedom”. Here is some info on it, and here is more, from AntiWar, and, already, it is seeing Iran respond appropriately, noting that the nation of Iran has territorial water claims that extend 12 miles past the islands in the gulf that are part of Iran, meaning that the Strait of Hormuz not only is Iranian and Omani mutual territory, but that areas that are not even as tight as that region also fall into Iranian territorial claims.

THIS AFTER TRUMP ADMITS TO USING THE US MILITARY “LIKE PIRATES” (He could change that to “WE ARE PIRATES” in the US govt., in all respects, as all statism is - piracy.)

THUS, we see this: “US Central Command Says It Destroyed Six Iranian Boats; Iran Denies Naval Losses - News From Antiwar.com” LINK

YET, IRAN claims it hit two US ships — this is disputed, as the US claims are disputed re the above

Not good

Headline: “UAE reports missile and drone strikes incoming from Iran | News | Al Jazeera” LINK UAE authorities reported an Iranian drone strike sparking a fire at a petroleum/oil facility (Fujairah Oil Industry Zone / petroleum complex / export terminal) in Fujairah. UAE air defenses intercepted several incoming Iranian missiles/drones (some destroyed over territorial waters, one in the sea). Three Indian workers were moderately injured. Fujairah is a key oil export hub bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Iran denied direct responsibility for striking UAE facilities, calling it the result of “American adventurism” or denying involvement altogether.

Share Gardner Goldsmith

Subscribe now

It might be worth mentioning that this Congressman is right. Despite some Boston talk radio hosts calling him “Moron Moulton” it appears that Mr. Moulton has a better grasp on War Crimes history than many commentators and Mr. Hegseth. Headline: “Rep. Seth Moulton says Hegseth is ‘guilty’ of war crimes, links him to Nazis | Fox News” LINK Of course, Mr. Hegseth has been committing War Crimes since he carried out Trump’s commands to attack Yemen early in 2025. Here is more, from last fall LINK AND HERE IS SEN MARK KELLEY handing Hegseth his proverbial head. LINK

Here’s an idea that disregards American Indian land rights — again. Headline: “Trump gives go-ahead to major new Canada-US oil pipeline” LINK

The culturally significant sites and areas of concern along (or near) the proposed Bridger Pipeline Expansion route were, in many cases, originally part of Native American tribal territories or hunting grounds explicitly protected under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. These were not ceded to the U.S. in that treaty but were later lost or opened to non-Indian settlement through U.S. actions that courts and historians have widely recognized as violations of the treaty. Today, they are no longer reservation or tribal trust land (which is why the pipeline route avoids current reservations), but tribes continue to assert treaty-based rights, cultural connections, and consultation requirements over them.

Quick Background on the Relevant Treaty Lands

The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty (signed by the U.S. and bands of the Lakota/Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho, and others) had two key parts relevant here:

• It created the Great Sioux Reservation (including the Black Hills, a sacred area).

• It also designated vast “unceded Indian territory” (Article 16) north of the North Platte River and east of the Big Horn Mountains. This included large parts of what is now eastern Wyoming, southeastern Montana, and adjacent areas. No white persons could settle or occupy these lands without tribal consent. Tribes also retained hunting rights in these and additional areas (Article 11) “so long as the buffalo may range thereon in such numbers as to justify the chase.”

  Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.

  Share

These unceded territories overlapped significantly with the traditional homelands and hunting grounds of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho, and allied tribes (including Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Mandan, Arikara in broader regional contexts). The pipeline’s route—from the Montana-Canada border south through eastern Montana counties (e.g., Phillips, Valley, Roosevelt, etc.) into northeastern Wyoming (e.g., Crook, Weston, etc., toward Guernsey)—passes through or near these historical unceded areas.

How These Lands Were Lost - The U.S. broke key promises in the treaty:

• After gold was discovered in the Black Hills (1874), the U.S. attempted to buy the land. When tribes refused, Congress passed the 1877 “Manypenny Agreement”/Act, which unilaterally seized the Black Hills and extinguished hunting rights in the unceded territories. This was done with signatures from only a small fraction of adult male tribal members (far short of the treaty’s required 75% approval for any land cession).

• The U.S. also allowed settler encroachment, military posts, and roads in violation of Article 16.

• In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Sioux Nation that the taking of the Black Hills was an illegal 5th Amendment taking and awarded compensation (now worth over $1 billion with interest). The tribes have refused the money, demanding the land back instead. Similar patterns occurred with other tribes’ claims in the region.

The result: The unceded territories were gradually opened to homesteading, railroads, and private ownership. What had been treaty-protected Indian hunting/cultural lands became the mix of private ranches, farms, BLM land, and state land that the pipeline now crosses.

Here are Specific Cultural Sites/Ties Mentioned in Opposition to the Pipeline LINK

-Tribal and environmental groups (e.g., Honor the Earth, Earthjustice) highlight that the pipeline route cuts through:

• Unceded 1868 Treaty hunting territories themselves (recognized as areas of ongoing cultural/religious significance).

• The “Warrior Trail” (alongside Highway 212 in southeastern Montana), which includes historic sites from the Great Sioux War (1876–77 era battles and trails tied to Lakota/Cheyenne resistance).

• Areas linked to sacred sites, burial grounds, and traditional cultural properties in the broader Powder River/Belle Fourche/Cheyenne River drainages (near the Black Hills sacred landscape).

• River crossings (Missouri River, Poplar River, etc.) with downstream cultural/water impacts to tribes like Fort Peck, Standing Rock, etc.

  earthjustice.org

These are not random “cultural” concerns—they stem directly from the treaty-protected status and centuries of tribal use. Even though the land is now privately owned or federal, federal law (e.g., National Historic Preservation Act Section 106, National Environmental Policy Act, Executive Order 13175) requires agencies to consult tribes about impacts to such resources during permitting. Critics argue the recent Trump cross-border permit rushed ahead before full tribal consultation and cultural surveys were complete.

The cultural sites are tied to lands that were originally tribal under the 1868 treaty (unceded and protected). The U.S. did break those treaty obligations through later legislation and actions, leading to the loss of tribal control. That history is exactly why tribes are raising alarms now—even though the pipeline itself does not cross modern reservation boundaries. The ongoing EIS process will

Israel’s approach to a “ceasefire” not only is to kill, seize land, and destroy everything from farms to schools to religious sites, the Israeli government is RAMPING UP the violent aggression. Headline: “Scores Killed in Israeli Strikes on Southern Lebanon Despite Ceasefire ‘Holding’ - News From Antiwar.com” LINK

And, yes, of course, the Israeli government (and many of the civilians, if not most, according to polls) want to steal the rest of Lebanon.

More

The Samud Flotilla:

MORE - VERY Important, given that one of these men is Palestinian, and the Israeli’s might continue to cage and torture him

It looks like the Occupation Goons will continue to cage them

Share

Trump is increasing the terrible blockade against Cuban people. Here is Antiwar on the matter. Headline: “Citing Bogus ‘Threats’ to US, Trump Expands Already Devastating Sanctions on Cuba - Antiwar.com Blog” LINK

Headline: “US Launches 61st Airstrike of the Year in Somalia - News From Antiwar.com” LINK

Hep-hep! How thrilling! Headline: “Americans spent $125 million more on gas Friday than they did a week ago” LINK

HEADLINE: “China’s Commerce Ministry blocks US sanctions against five refineries” LINK

Here is Antiwar on it! LINK

Share Gardner Goldsmith

Subscribe now

Many “commentators” are discussing the demise of Spirit Airlines. But, from the samplings of “MAGA” streamers and radio hosts I took this morning, through mid-morning, all of them are focusing on the personalities behind the federal government forbidding Jet Blue from buying Spirit in 2024, not the price of jet fuel that Trump’s aggression against Iran has caused, and not the federal block of the Jet Blue buyout, which the Bidenistas and folks like Senator Liz Warren (D-MA) made sure to impose/inflict on the willing buyer and seller. For reference to the historical background of what first looked like a Frontier Airlines purchase of Spirit, but later saw a better proposal from Jet Blue that was BLOCKED by the so-called “Justice Department”, as well as an overview of the upward price curve of fuel (gas, diesel, jet fuel) please see yesterday’s Sunday News Assembly… Today, I would like to offer you a sample of justified criticism of Warren, but I also want to offer you key points about the anti-constitutional, immoral, and anti-economic nature of all federal Antitrust “law”.

Here is Warren, from 2024

Jim Geraghty, of National Review, offered

But that kind of analysis actually ASSUMES THE ACCEPTABILITY of federal Antitrust, on moral and constitutional levels, both of which are unwarranted…

AND SMALL CARRIERS ARE RUMBLING RE A $2.5 BILLION Federal BAILOUT

A trade group called the Association of Value Airlines (representing Spirit, Frontier, Avelo, Allegiant, Sun Country, etc.) formally pitched the Trump administration for $2.5 billion in targeted government assistance/liquidity pool in late April 2026. The proposal would offset extra fuel costs (jet fuel prices have roughly doubled and are averaging over $4/gallon due to Middle East tensions and Strait of Hormuz issues) in exchange for warrants that could convert to equity stakes in the carriers. They argue smaller carriers are hit harder because their price-sensitive customers can’t absorb big fare hikes as easily as legacy carriers like Delta or United.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and the DOJ announced today a new focus on “antitrust enforcement” against the “Big Four” packers (JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, National Beef) over alleged collusion, price-fixing, and market concentration— and, get this, she explicitly tied the move to “food security as a national security concern” due to foreign ownership (e.g., Brazilian-controlled JBS and National Beef) and “reduced competition for ranchers.” This comes as a response to a November “Presidential Directive” (perfect to fit a PR-link to Thanksgiving and the fact that prices were RISING not dropping — Trump and his pals had their bogeymen ready)… LINK.

The Chump Administration moves are mixed, here. Some, positive, some, highly fascistic. Proposals to make higher line speeds permanent in poultry and pork processing plants (building on first-term efforts and modernized inspection systems), which the Meat Institute (industry group) had lobbied for as a way to reduce outdated restrictions. These have been long-standing requests from ranchers and sellers. LINK

• Reductions in overtime and holiday inspection fees for small and very small processors (e.g., 75% reduction for very small establishments). (Based on recommendations from years ago).

• Withdrawal or rescission of certain Biden-era USDA rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act (e.g., on inclusive competition/market integrity and poultry grower payments) that the industry viewed as adding compliance costs and limiting flexibility. LINK

• Expansion of remote/instrument-enhanced beef grading pilots, which cuts staffing and logistical costs for smaller processors.

These align with broader deregulatory goals but are paired with intensified antitrust scrutiny on the dominant players.

BUUUUT, the US is creating government-run or subsidized programs to FUND domestic (especially small and mid-sized) meatpacking firms. The USDA’s Beef Industry Plan (released around October 2025 under Secretary Rollins) explicitly includes targeted assistance to expand processing capacity, promote local/regional supply chains, and counter Big Four dominance. Here are some of their wondrous, key elements:

• Fourth round of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) grants: Up to $2 million per award, potentially supporting ~50 small processors for facility expansions, equipment, and modernization focused on local beef markets.

• Prioritized access to up to $25 million in guaranteed loans via USDA’s Business and Industry Loan Program for beef processors.

• SBA low-interest loans prioritized for new small meat/poultry processors to offset startup costs.

• These are framed as diversifying the supply chain and bolstering resilience (with “food security is national security” rhetoric).

Additional steps include encouraging federal food procurement programs to buy more domestically produced beef and opening more grazing land, which, of course, expands the size of the government involvement in the market, in the former, and doesn’t address the unconstitutional nature of trying to control “grazing land” in the first place.

Share Gardner Goldsmith

Here they come. “Farm bill may ease cost burden for farmers; ag groups urge US Senate action” LINK

Yep. More. Headline: “Car industry hit: Trump announces 25% tariffs on EU imports” LINK

Federal antitrust law, epitomized by the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, stands as one of the most misguided interventions in American economic history. Far from promoting competition and consumer welfare, it is immoral, anti-economic, and unconstitutional. As scholars at the Mises Institute and the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) have documented for decades, antitrust enforcement punishes success, distorts markets, and violates core constitutional limits on federal power. Dominick T. Armentano, author of the seminal works Antitrust and Monopoly: Anatomy of a Policy Failure and Antitrust: The Case for Repeal (published by the Mises Institute), has exposed these flaws with unmatched clarity. LINK (Here is an excellent expose of Warren’s antitrust adoration, by Prof Armentano. And, here is another excellent piece by Armentano, on the early days of the evil Antitrust push.)

The Sherman Act’s constitutional foundation is a blatant stretch of the Interstate Commerce Clause in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. The clause was never intended to grant Congress preemptive regulatory control over private interstate trade. In a February 1829 letter to Joseph C. Cabell, James Madison—the principal architect of the Constitution—explained its true purpose: the power “grew out of the abuse of the power of the importing states in taxing the non-importing, and was intended as a negative and preventative provision against injustice amongst the states themselves, rather than as a power to be used for the positive purposes of the General Government.” Madison foresaw that a literal reading could lead to overreach, but he insisted the clause served only to resolve state-versus-state conflicts, not to police voluntary business arrangements between individuals or firms across state lines. The Sherman Act’s federal assault on “restraints of trade” and “monopolization” ignores this original understanding, transforming a limited dispute-resolution tool into a sweeping regulatory weapon.

Economically, antitrust law is a disaster. In a genuine free market, businesses grow large precisely because they are more competitive: they innovate, cut costs, expand output, and win the voluntary patronage of consumers. As Armentano notes in his Mises Institute analyses, market dominance reflects efficiency, not coercion. Consumers freely choose superior products and services, rewarding the best performers. Yet antitrust enforcement inverts this process. “Antitrust’s dirty little secret,” Armentano writes, “is that the laws have been employed consistently to hamper successful business organizations and protect their less efficient rivals. One would be hard-pressed to discover a more immoral or irrational public policy toward business, or one more worthy of repeal.”

History confirms this. Classic cases, from Standard Oil to Microsoft, targeted firms that delivered lower prices and better quality. Private antitrust suits—comprising over 90 percent of litigation—routinely involve less-efficient competitors dragging more-efficient rivals into court. The Mises Institute and FEE emphasize that such rent-seeking distorts resource allocation, raises costs for consumers, and stifles innovation. Armentano’s exhaustive case studies in Antitrust and Monopoly reveal that the laws do not protect competition; they shield politically favored incumbents from market discipline.

Morally, antitrust is indefensible. It criminalizes voluntary agreements over legitimately owned property—licensing deals, mergers, pricing strategies—without evidence of force or fraud. Armentano, in his FEE essay “The Immorality of Antitrust Law,” argues that these statutes are “inherently discriminatory” and “abusive of liberty and justice,” echoing Adam Smith’s warning against laws that interfere with consensual trade. They empower government bureaucrats and envious rivals to second-guess entrepreneurial decisions that consumers have already endorsed in the marketplace.

The Mises Institute and FEE have long advocated total repeal. Armentano’s work proves that antitrust is not reformable; it must be abolished. Only then can free-market competition—driven by consumer sovereignty—flourish unmolested. In a world without antitrust, businesses would rise or fall on merit alone, delivering greater prosperity and respecting the constitutional order Madison envisioned.

One of the keystones of “Antitrust” is the idea that a company can be engage in “horizontal” or “vertical” integration.

By “HORIZONTAL,” Antitrust advocates mean the practice of a company buying or making deals with competitors or smaller companies in regions where the company does not operate. This allows businesses to seek efficient companies and offer them profit to merge, and provides the buying company the chance to discover efficient businesses and incorporate them into their models. Trial and error reveals the success or failure of such activity, based on consumer response. As long as there is no government-supported company or government-backed merger, the company (companies, combined) might, indeed, grow in market share, but they will be prohibited from raising prices beyond what consumers accept without introducing the market-visible opportunity for new parties to enter and compete, catering to the dissatisfied consumers. If big companies try to buy out every new competitor, that harms their bottom line if the merger is done merely to eliminate competition. It harms efficiency and is a new drag on the business. Thus, companies rarely, if ever, try to do that except in dramatic movies.

VERTICAL INTEGRATION is the practice of a company investing in portions of its needs along a supply chain, allowing it to be self-sufficient when trading shocks (like TARIFFS) arise. This rarely is cited by rabid Antitrust goons as a “rationale” for the US government to attack a company.

Typically, the Antitrust division, as Armentano notes, is geared to welcome politically favored business people who want the DoJ to burden their competition (competition which, in the history of Antitrust, usually has been more efficient). It’s a Rent-Seeking weapon to help the politically connected and to demonize REAL competitive businesses.

The only group of people who are not open to competition are governments and the crony businesses they favor.

Share Gardner Goldsmith

As if he were a crackhead giving advice about sobriety, Josh Hawley never ceases to be a source of bad, dangerous ideas Headline from Reclaim The Net “Senate Panel Backs GUARD Act, AI Age Verification Bill” LINK

This is from Saturday. “Family of six held by ICE arrives back in Colorado as lawyer attacks ‘kidnapping’“ LINK

Another ICE kidnapping victim dies in an ICE cage “Another detainee dies in ICE custody” LINK

We mentioned this in the Sunday News Assembly. The creation and sale of the drug are not attacks on people, but the ingesting of it by pregnant women, if they do so knowingly, is an attack on another person. Headline “Appeals court blocks FDA rule that allows women to obtain abortion drugs by mail” LINK

That’s it for now, all!

Subscribe now

Many thanks for supporting freedom, and for sharing the links! And remember, you can back us here by becoming a paid subscriber if you would like, and feel free to watch Liberty Conspiracy LIVE on Gardner’s X @gardgoldsmith and on Rumble! Spread the word! Thanks, again! Please feel free to SHARE the links, and join us every M-F at 6 PM on Rumble, and my X @gardgoldsmith — and you also can donate to help the Liberty Conspiracy, itself! Just visit PayPal to help out! You also can mail GG at:

Gardner Goldsmith
PO Box 581
Amherst, NH, 03031 :)

Leave a comment

Share

Share Gardner Goldsmith

The US continues to diminish our buying power, increase our costs, limit our market choices, target our speech, restrict our movements, and destroy trade arrangements, worldwide.

Today, we begin with an excellent investigation by Richard Medhurst, on his theory that the US is leveraging its kinetic attack on Iran and the longer US/EU/NATO/Ukraine proxy war against Russia as two prongs in a tool to redirect European energy consumption to be fulfilled by US interests and to increase the cost of Middle Eastern fuel, again making US fuel more attractive. The problem with this theory is that the US has engaged in these kinetic and proxy conflicts without substantially increasing US fuel exploration, recovery, transport, and refining. Those are still about three years away and so US capacity is not sufficiently elastic to handle a large redirection of world demand. Instead, as prices for fuel rise, formerly illogical and un-economic systems such as solar will appear more reasonable, not because their prices drop, but because the normally inexpensive petrochemical fuels are skyrocketing in price.

Then, it’s onward, to the “Rest of the stories,” to color a phrase from the late, great Paul Harvey…! As always, please feel free to read all, or just portions, of the Assembly, to leave and return, and to SHARE the internal links and the whole release! Be sure to head to Rumble or Gardner’s X at 6 PM eastern each M-F for the news, from Liberty Conspiracy LIVE! We hope to provide as much big info for freedom fighters as we can!! ALSO, check out the new Former Star Trek Writing Fellow Channels - On YT, and on Rumble!

AND feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the Assembly, and you also can donate to help the Liberty Conspiracy, itself! Just visit PayPal to help out!

And now, as Mario and Luigi might say, “Let’s-a-GO!!

Subscribe now

Share

Here is his Substack release that digs into the multi-decades, multi-national US plan

Here is his documentary:

No, Congress didn’t even bother to abide by their own “beyond-the-Constitution” “War Powers Act” deadline of 60 Days. LINK
And… Yes. Trump literally admitted to acting like a pirate.

The Chinese rep to the UN just explicitly said that the US actions against Iran run contrary to “legal” world agreements, under the UN charter — which the US co-wrote.

The price of jet fuel has risen more than 54% year-to-year as of this date (we will see the punch that landed on Spirit Airlines in a separate section, soon…) and fertilizer virtually is at near ZERO passing through the Strait of Hormuz. In A SINGLE MONTH, the stoppage became so complete, that, year-to-year, it equals approximately 95–100% (near-total collapse to a trickle), with an aggregate decrease of roughly 3 million metric tons for April 2026 vs. April 2025. Note the X post coming up… The Kpler chart quoted in the post (and widely referenced) tracks weekly fertilizer exports (primarily urea) through the Strait of Hormuz from November 2025 to April 2026. Pre-conflict weekly volumes (November 2025–early March 2026) typically ranged from ~0.5–0.8 million tons per week. In April 2026, exports fell to a trickle, with tiny weekly bars visually around 0.05 million tons or less (near zero).

Let’s expand on this important ECONOMIC supply shock info.
As we go to “print” on the evening of May 2 we can look at the latest EIA data through late April…
-U.S. retail gasoline and diesel prices have risen sharply year-over-year—roughly 30% for gasoline and over 50% for diesel—driven primarily by the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran that began in late February 2026 and disrupted oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Jet fuel wholesale/spot prices have roughly doubled or risen 80–100%+ YoY in the same period. Prices spiked dramatically in March–April 2026 and have remained elevated (with some weekly fluctuations). Here are details from “official” U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data (retail pump prices for gasoline and on-highway diesel; wholesale/spot for jet fuel, as jet fuel is not typically sold at retail pumps like the others). All figures are U.S. national averages in dollars per gallon.
-Gasoline (EIA all grades/all formulations retail; regular-grade weekly is very similar)

• April 2026 monthly average: $4.236

• April 2025 monthly average: ~$3.30 (regular ~$3.17–$3.30 range)

• Year-over-year rise (April-to-April): +~$0.94 / ~+28–34%

• Rise in the month of April 2026: From March 2026 average of $3.771 → +$0.465 / ~+12.3% MoM

• Latest weekly (week ending April 27, 2026): ~$4.123 (EIA); some private trackers like AAA reported national averages near $4.30–$4.43 in early May amid ongoing volatility.

• YoY on latest weekly: +~$0.99 / ~+31% (from ~$3.13 one year prior)

-Diesel (EIA on-highway/No. 2 ultra-low sulfur retail) LINK

• April 2026 monthly average: $5.501

• April 2025 monthly average: $3.567

• Year-over-year rise (April-to-April): +~$1.93 / ~+54%

• Rise in the month of April 2026: From March 2026 average of $4.921 → +$0.58 / ~+11.8% MoM

• Latest weekly (week ending April 27, 2026): $5.351

• YoY on latest weekly: +~$1.82 / ~+51% (from ~$3.53 one year prior)

-Jet Fuel (Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index / U.S. Gulf Coast spot/wholesale kerosene-type; commercial aviation benchmark)

• Recent (as of May 1, 2026): ~$4.13 (Argus simple average across major hubs)

  airlines.org

• Year-over-year (to early May 2026): Roughly doubled (or +80–100%+); early 2025 levels were in the ~$2.0–$2.5 range before the 2026 supply shock. Some analyses note ~+60% since late February alone, with full YoY even higher due to the conflict.

  americanprogress.org +1

• April 2026 changes: Sharp spike early in the month (Gulf Coast spot hit highs near ~$4.07–$4.88 before moderating slightly to ~$3.71–$3.91 by late April). Monthly averages were significantly elevated vs. 2025; general aviation Jet-A retail (FBO survey) averaged $8.63 in April 2026, up ~$2.03 YoY. LINK

We also should note:

• These are national U.S. averages (including taxes where applicable for retail fuels). Regional prices vary widely (e.g., much higher on the West Coast).

• The April 2026 monthly surges (and ongoing elevation) reflect the geopolitical oil supply disruption; pre-conflict 2026 prices were actually lower than 2025 in Jan/Feb before the sharp reversal. LINK

• Data is from EIA’s Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (released April 28, 2026, covering through April 27) and monthly averages; jet fuel from Argus and EIA spot series. The next EXCITING weekly EIA update is Tuesday, May 5.

And, though I don’t put much stock in polls and rarely find them of interest, this might be something to note.

Subscribe now

A 45-year-old man named Guido Reichstadter is camping atop the Federick Douglas Memorial Bridge, over the Potomac River in DC, to protest the US attacks against Iran. By the time this is before your eyes, the cops might have grabbed him…

This post, from Daniel Davis, is an easy “click and read”, but I am going to copy and paste his content here, so that those who might not be inclined to click might have a greater chance to see his thoughts.

Here is what he says:
‘Iran today reportedly issued the United States a 14 plan to end the war in a response to Trump‘s latest demands for a negotiated end. But President Trump is reported to have rejected those terms and it’s already DOA.
Meanwhile, Trump is in a real time crunch, with no obvious exit ramps.
According to the Washington Post today, the Admin has all but run out of options to mitigate the rising cost of gasoline and its impact on American consumers. According to the Post:
“As the conflict stretches into its 10th week, the White House has exhausted many of the policy levers the federal government can use to mitigate surging gas prices, and the options that remain carry other economic and political risks for the president…
“‘We are entering into what could become a much larger energy crisis in the weeks ahead,” said Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, “and instead of realizing a potential mistake, both the White House and Iran seem to be dug in.’”
But according to Drop Site News @DropSiteNews, the main points in the Iranian plan reflect essentially a maximalist demand, which is nearly impossible for Trump to accept.
Drop Site News reported the plan: “includes demands for guarantees against future military aggression, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from areas surrounding Iran, lifting the U.S. naval blockade, unfreezing Iranian assets, compensation payments, sanctions relief, and ending the war across all fronts, including Lebanon. It also outlines a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz.”
Time is not on Trump‘s side. Iran can definitely suffer the effects of the blockade longer than Trump can survive the economic pressures building up inside the United States and externally among our allies in Asia and in Europe.
That puts Trump in a dangerous position: either he 1) engages in genuine diplomacy, with Iran in which he is forced to concede some points that Iran wants (in order to *get* points Trump wants), which Israel will view with great fear, and his hawkish wing in Washington will strongly push back against — but which is the most effective way to quickly restore the flow of oil out of the SOH — or he will have to 2) listen to the hawkish elements in his administration and restart the war in a vain hope that one more big military bombing campaign will do what the first 40 days did not.
But there is virtually no rational chance that succeeds, and a very high probability it would fail. Worse, it will certainly spawn a retaliatory attrack from Tehran against our GCC allies, and Israel, targeting their energy infrastructure, which would be catastrophic for the price of oil. That would therefore skyrocket, on a long-term basis, gasoline prices in the United States, and along with it the price of nearly everything else.
That is the horrible situation President Trump has gotten himself into by choosing this war back in February. It truly is as simple as take the ugly deal now, or worsen our situation by trying more military force.’

And things literally are changing as we write and publish the Assembly. These next two reflect what appears to be Trump’s decision to extend his attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz and/or Trump’s desire to add kinetic strikes in Iran to the blockade.

Share

To round-off these points, let’s turn to Ben Norton’s analysis of the US strategy to position US production as being the leading one on Earth. The plot Richard Medhurst theorizes is in action seems to fit the observations of Ben’s presentation, as well.

Some of the Samud Flotilla members whom Israel kidnapped the other day, in international waters remain their kidnap victims

Here is the official Flotilla tracker LINK

Oh, and let’s take a look at this bizarre, evil occupier, war criminal, again…

Subscribe now

We have noted that Azerbaijan’s Islamic government is allied to Israel. Not only is it tied to Israel, it also is tied to the persecution of Christians and Armenians - which Mike Huckabee and the US seem to overlook, intentionally, in their zeal to block Iran exports and isolate that nation and its people from the rest of the commercial world. Headline: “Israel's New Ambassador to the 'Christian World' Served as Envoy to Azerbaijan During the Ethnic Cleansing of Christians from Nagorno-Karabakh - News From Antiwar.com” LINK

Share

Headline: “State Department clears $8B arms sales to Gulf nations” LINK From the article (News Nation) “Purchases approved included an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) to the United Arab Emirates for $147.6 million, to Israel for $992.4 million and to Qatar for $992.4 million. The State Department also approved the replenishment of Qatar’s Patriot missile capacity for $4.01 billion and an Integrated Battle Command System to Kuwait for $2.5 billion.”

Note the headline: “Trump says US will reduce number of troops in Germany ‘a lot further’ than withdrawal of 5,000” LINK Buuut, of course, this is not exactly what Trump is depicting it to be. These soldiers will remain deployed in foreign lands. Trump’s comments and the Pentagon’s announcement refer to a phased drawdown of U.S. troops from Germany that is not an immediate full return of forces to the United States. Instead, it involves redeployment: very few troops heading home, others repositioned to other overseas locations. LINK

Here’s a clear breakdown based on official statements and reporting:
The Initial Announcement (The 5,000-Troop Withdrawal)

• On Friday (May 1, 2026), the Pentagon announced it will withdraw approximately 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany. This is roughly 14% of the current ~35,000–36,000 active-duty U.S. service members stationed there (the largest U.S. military presence in Europe).

• The drawdown is not immediate. It is expected to take place gradually over the next 6–12 months as part of a broader force-posture review.

• This fulfills a threat Trump made earlier in the week after a public spat with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Merz had criticized the U.S. handling of the ongoing war with Iran (including comments that the U.S. had been “humiliated” by Iran and lacked strategy). It wasn’t that Merz opposed the Trump crimes, he thought Trump wasn’t forceful enough. Trump, of course wants Germany and other European nations to join the US in the illegal blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

This is a sad report, a terrible reality. Many who oppose the death penalty do so because they do not want to see the government (state) kill an innocent person. Yet, many of the same people support armed police, who can, and do, kill many more people each year than are killed under the death penalty. Some might argue that this pits apples against oranges, that they are different in a meaningful way. Not true. Despite the “death penalty” being more deliberative, in court, while police decisions often are spur-of-the-moment, the result can be the same - the death of an innocent person. If one opposes his money paying for agents of the state killing an innocent person, then one must oppose armed police, and, in fact, oppose the state/polis, itself. The polis always claims for itself the power to kill anyone who consistently resists its demands of money, its piracy, and threats. And, of course, none of us has a right to force our neighbor to pay for something, including “police” forces. Here is the sad end of life, taken by government. Headline: “British wife's three-word scream as she watched her US husband be executed” LINK

Subscribe now

This is pretty cool to see. Headline: “'Arrest us, I dare you': Veteran selling '8647' merch says” LINK

Headline: “Federal court blocks abortion pills by mail nationwide, drug maker appeals to Supreme Court - LifeSite” LINK

Regardless of the outcome of this, the key for “constitutionalists” is that there is nothing in the US Constitution that allows for the US to ban the sale or mailing of this substance. The fact that it CAN kill a newly conceived fetus does not mean that the creation of it is a crime, just as the creation of a knife is not a crime. In this case, the drug really has one “use”, so those who create it know that potential, but the act of taking the life does not come with the creation of the drug. Is this, morally speaking, abetting murder? I think one could make a strong moral argument for that position. But, again, the chemical does not kill upon being created, and the woman to takes it is the one committing the murder. That is up to state statute to handle, based on the US Constitution. It is not up to the US government to ban the sale or transport of the drug.

This piece, from Judge Napolitano, is very worthwhile… LINK

Share

Yep. Spirit Airlines is ending operations. Liz Warren blames this on the increase in jet fuel prices. But she praised the other spear that was thrust into Spirit two years ago, a blow from the Antitrust goons at the DOJ. The airline was all set to merge with Jet Blue. Buuuut, the US government wouldn’t allow it, claiming that such a merger, which the two would have done to be more competitive and attractive to consumers, would have been “anti-competitive.” Thus, the organization of the government, which claims a monopoly on the “legal” use of aggressive violence against people and their plans, threatened the companies, and stopped the merger. NOW? With one less airline, the market is… less competitive, by the definition of the term.
How the jet fuel spike and blocked merger contributed to Spirit’s closure:

• The jet fuel price shock (2026 Iran conflict): The U.S.-Iran conflict (beginning late February 2026) disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, causing U.S. jet fuel prices to roughly double—from around $2.20–$2.50 per gallon in Spirit’s pre-conflict forecasts to $4.00–$4.88+ per gallon by March–April 2026. Jet fuel is ~25% of an airline’s costs. Spirit’s ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring plan (its second bankruptcy filing in under a year) had assumed much lower fuel prices ($2.24/gal for 2026). The surge added hundreds of millions in unexpected costs that Spirit could not absorb or pass on fully to its highly price-sensitive customers. This turned projected margins negative and exhausted cash reserves.

• The blocked merger (JetBlue-Spirit, 2024): In 2022, Spirit first agreed to merge with Frontier. JetBlue then made a higher offer, which Spirit accepted. The Biden DOJ sued to block the JetBlue-Spirit deal on antitrust grounds (arguing it would reduce competition and raise fares). A federal judge sided with the government in early 2024, killing the merger. Critics (including current Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy) argue this left Spirit financially weakened and unable to consolidate with a stronger partner. Without that lifeline, Spirit entered Chapter 11 in late 2024/early 2025, restructured once, then faced a second bankruptcy filing in August 2025. High fuel prices in 2026 made successful exit from that second Chapter 11 impossible. LINK

• Final trigger: A proposed ~$500 million federal bailout/liquidity package under the Trump administration fell through in late April/early May 2026. Bondholders rejected terms, and no deal was reached. Spirit announced it could not continue and began an orderly wind-down.

Frontier itself sought $2.5 billion in industry-wide federal relief (along with Avelo and others) for the same fuel costs but remains operational. Its shares actually rose sharply on news of Spirit’s shutdown, as analysts see capacity reduction in the ULCC segment as a potential tailwind.

What happens to the Spirit Airlines corporation now? Spirit is not continuing to operate under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (the reorganization chapter that lets companies keep flying while restructuring debt). Instead:

• It has fully ceased operations (all flights canceled as of early May 2, 2026). This is effectively a wind-down/liquidation process, more akin to Chapter 7 or an out-of-court shutdown after failed Chapter 11 efforts.

YET, Senator Liz Warren claimed the Spirit announcement is due to juuuust the price spike for fuel, overlooking her own opposition to the merger with Jet Blue. Here are her own words LINK

That’s it for textual links! Now, here are great video offerings (in addition to the two you see above)…

ONE! Interesting Books, Reviewed, the great YT channel, offers another great video on a pertinent political-banking subject tracing back to the revolution in Russia, and more.

TWO!

Glenn Diesen is unflagging. He and Prof Mirandi spell out what things look like on the ground in Iran.

THREE!

More, key information. From Mario Nawfal and Larry Johnson

That’s it for now, all! Thank you for caring about freedom and being energized to push the principles! And come back Monday for our new DAILY NEWS NOTES! It’s for paid subscribers, and will give you a midday look at some of the breaking news you might want to follow, to compare notes with others, and utilize to keep an eye on the statists in politics and the statists in the “commentary/reporting” realm! Remember, you can watch Liberty Conspiracy Live, each weeknight, at 6 eastern! Help others learn about all the facets of freedom, from markets, to privacy, to speech, to parental control and education, and much MORE! You can watch, listen, and join the chat for freedom as we broadcast on my X and Rumble. Hit me up at X as @gardgoldsmith there and on GAB as “GardnerGoldsmith”! And, of course, I want to mention that if you’d like to get some of my fiction, grab my current novellas at Amazon and Barnes and Noble!! As a rocking opener, I recommend “Fishing” as a dark, well-composed crime tale with some very unusual turns (this contains some scenes of dark violence, so please, be warned)…

…Or feel free to get “Bite” for a different take on vampirism, and “Wall” for a cryptoarcheological adventure set in 1960s China. And I have three novels and two more novellas in their final editing phases, soon to be on the way!

You also can donate to help the Liberty Conspiracy, itself! Just visit PayPal to help out! You also can mail GG at:

Gardner Goldsmith
PO Box 581
Amherst, NH, 03031 Be Seeing You!

Thank you for supporting the ideas and the scholarship of freedom. God bless, everyone!

Leave a comment

Share Gardner Goldsmith

Share

Subscribe now

Big thanks to Karen Carpenter, of Knights of the Storm, for her great addition to our program tonight, getting us on-the-ground images of gas prices in CA, and to all our fellow Conspirators for joining us as we gutted the monster of govt, looking at key news stories of the day and getting lessons for freedom from them! Big …

Mighty thanks to the great Conspirators who joined us tonight to dig into the breaking news and to look back and be sure not to get Newscycle Amnesia. Thanks, also, to those who enjoyed our Theology Thursday segment on Christian Anarchism, and to all the fine journalists whose work we got to cover! If you haven't been able to follow them yet, I hope the links serve you well... Join the Conspiracy for Freedom, m-f 6 pm on Rumble and X. The audio pod usually is ready about 70 minutes after the end of the stream, and is free, from Spotify and here on Substack! Here are some of the big items we got to discuss tonight!

Subscribe now

Share

As Antiwar reports and Thomas Massie notes, virtually all of the House GOP and some Dems voted to renew the clear breach of the 4th Amendment - one day before the April 30 deadline for its expiration.

SO, what now? Technically, it’s supposed to be no longer applicable, so all such warrantless spying is supposed to stop. Meanwhile… The bill now faces a major roadblock in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has called the House version a nonstarter because House Republicans attached an unrelated permanent ban on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which senators from both parties oppose as a “poison pill.” Instead, the Senate is planning a short-term “clean” extension (likely ~45 days, pushing the deadline into mid-June) of its own, which would then need to go back to the House. No Senate vote has occurred on the House-passed three-year bill, and none is expected on its current form.

(Note: An earlier short-term 10-day extension to buy time until April 30 passed both chambers earlier in April—the House by voice vote/unanimous consent late on April 17 and the Senate unanimously the next day—but that is separate from the bill referenced in the Amash post.) The situation remains fluid as the April 30 deadline approaches, with Senate leaders prioritizing a temporary punt over the House bill. Here is the Roll Call List LINK

-Daniel McAdams and Ron Paul offer keen insights about this and more, in the Ron Paul Liberty Report, today.

Is this bluster? If not, when will the US have them ready? Headline: “US May Deploy New Hypersonic Missile Against Iran as Trump Considers Restarting the Bombing Campaign - News From Antiwar.com” LINK

The Cost of it all, so far? LINK

Your taxes have been insufficient to pay for all of this, and so the US politicians have gone into massive debt.

This info from Mario is spot-on. Since the start of the war with Iran (Operation Roaring Lion) on February 28, 2026, Israel has received over 115,600 tons of military equipment.

• This has arrived via 403 flights (airlifts) and 10 ships (sealifts).

• The latest delivery (announced April 30, 2026) involved two cargo ships + multiple planes carrying approximately 6,500 tons of munitions, military hardware, trucks, JLTVs, and other gear in a single 24-hour period LINK

Chancellor Merz shows his astounding double-facedness here, so who knows how long he will remain standing on his new position?

The US cannot keep up a miliary assault and really cannot keep up a true “blockade”. It only can threaten small numbers of shippers in the hope of intimidating the rest.

This is a good point

This recap of Trump’s illegal war is from RT. Good work, as usual. Headline: “60 days later: The US-Israeli war on Iran so far — RT World News” LINK

-Trump and Putin had a phone conversation yesterday. Dave DeCamp has it covered

-Meanwhile, the US via Rubio has disseminated an “invite” to “friendly nations” - to be delivered by the US embassies in those nations - to have them join a “force” that would control the Strait of Hormuz. Perhaps you’ve heard this song before? In this case, the invite is rather empty, and doesn’t ask for military from those nations. It seems to be an invite to “share” the spoils of creating a Euro-American police force that would initiate its own toll system, and the “forces” would be placed under a different name. Here is RT on it: LINK

As you might know, according to numerous reports coming from Moscow, a small, but growing, number of Russian government members are pushing for Putin to be more forceful and to be faster in his engagement with Ukraine. Now, with US and NATO help (the only way they can engage in such strikes is with US and NATO help) Ukraine has dealt severe damage to the Russian energy export sector.

Excellent reporter Richard Medhurst notes that this is part of a larger US plan to harm foreign energy exports, shift demand to the US, and prop up the US Dollar. This plan will not work, either in the Persian Gulf, against Russia, or by threatening to take Greenland. Here is that pertinent section of his thoughts (which are very valuable, and he does not say that he thinks it will work, either, just to be clear), during his appearance with Judge Napolitano, today.

This is a very important line if thinking. Twenty-five years ago, a friend of mine who worked in Military Intel told me that the US had long-term plans for pipelines in Syria, but, of course, they had to overthrow the government there. In the wake of Syria’s 2024 US-backed coup and the Trump administration’s 2025 sanctions relief, the U.S. government is advancing energy deals to position the country as a regional pipeline transit hub. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack’s strategic proposal calls for reviving and expanding pipelines through Syrian territory to link Gulf and Iraqi energy fields with Turkey and Europe, bypassing vulnerable maritime routes like the Strait of Hormuz. The centerpiece is the $4.5-billion revival of the long-dormant Kirkuk–Baniyas oil pipeline, which would carry Iraqi crude across Syria to Mediterranean ports, generating vital transit revenue for Damascus. Complementary projects include the Qatar–Turkey gas pipeline via Jordan and extensions of the Arab Gas Pipeline. American firms Baker Hughes, Hunt Energy, and Argent LNG are simultaneously developing a national energy masterplan covering oil and gas exploration, production, and power generation. Israel is part of the plan, and now has even more land taken from Syria as part of the deal. Al Sharaa has not reacted to Israel’s land theft. None of this will happen if Iran stands and Turkey turns away from the US.

This offers the picture, succinctly…

Share Gardner Goldsmith

Not only is Israel not upholding anything remotely close to a “ceasefire” there, Benjamin Neanderyahu is posting video of his troops engaged in war crimes.

MORE, thanks to Rania Khalek

More - if only Karoline Leavitt’s husband were truly concerned about the lives of journalists…

The IDF even bombs CEMETERIES in Lebanon

Headline: “Israeli Strike Kills Paramedic in Gaza as IDF Continues Constant Ceasefire Violations - News From Antiwar.com” LINk

and another flotilla headed to Gaza, pirated by ISRAEL in international waters

MORE

Yep. Not good.

Share

Subscribe now

Yeah. PA Congressman Dan Meuser is wildly upset that someone should use the term “86” and slyly imply with the added “47” in a photo that he is meaning to “86” Donald Trump.

Meuser calls for “civil discourse” - which doesn’t seem to be his own approach, as evidenced in this video chat outside the Capitol.

ANnnnnndddd… Since the term “86’d” comes from restaurants that had numbers on their menu, and used the number 86 to mean they were out of it, the idea that he was calling for an assassination, specifically, of Trump is impossible to determine. Clearly, this is an abuse of the federal “Justice” system, which already is abusive to us, we who are forced to pay for it. And why are folks like Meuller so animated, but he and his ilk were silent when, in 2022, Jack Prosobiec posted virtually the same thing, referring to a different President?

It’s not a huge deal, and Comey is not an upstanding guy, but the censorship matter is important, and the hypocrisy is amazing.

In the temple courts, the Pharisees and Herodians laid their trap. “Is it lawful to pay the poll tax to Caesar or not?” (Matt 22:15-17). They sought a simple yes or no: affirm the tax, affirm the claim of “authority” of the Roman state, and alienate the Jewish crowd; deny it and hand Jesus to Roman executioners on charges of sedition.

Jesus, perceiving their malice and hypocrisy, knew precisely what they wanted: a pretext to arrest Him. Instead He asked for a Denarius. “Whose image and inscription is this?” He asked.

“Caesar’s,” they answered. Then came the reply that has been misread for centuries: “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

To every listening disciple the deeper meaning was unmistakable. The coin bore Caesar’s graven image, but the metal, and everything around them, including THEM, had been created by God and belonged to God.

And human beings bear the image of God (Gen 1:27). Creation itself is stamped with the Creator’s likeness. Therefore everything—land, labor, loyalty, life—belongs to God alone. Nothing truly belongs to Caesar. Christian anarchists have always heard this as Jesus’ quiet demolition of the state’s claim. Dorothy Day captured it perfectly: “If we rendered unto God all the things that belong to God, there would be nothing left for Caesar.” Christ did not endorse taxation; he exposed its irrelevance. The empire may print its filthy coins and demand them back, but the kingdom of God owes the state nothing. In the end, Caesar owns only what God permits him to counterfeit for a little while. Everything else—everything real—belongs to the King.

That’s it for now, all! Many thanks for supporting freedom, and for sharing the links! And remember, you can back us here by becoming a paid subscriber if you would like, and feel free to watch Liberty Conspiracy LIVE on Gardner’s X @gardgoldsmith and on Rumble! Spread the word! Thanks, again! Please feel free to SHARE the links, and join us every M-F at 6 PM on Rumble, and my X @gardgoldsmith — and you also can donate to help the Liberty Conspiracy, itself! Just visit PayPal to help out! You also can mail GG at:

Gardner Goldsmith
PO Box 581
Amherst, NH, 03031 :)

Share

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

LIBERTY CONSPIRACY NEWS NOTES:

Hi, everyone! I want to thank Eric Peters (here on X) of EricPetersAutosDotCom, for joining us to offer his expert views on the gas market, the immoral Trump attacks on Iran, the growing technocratic auto control grid, and free market alternatives! Big thanks to all our fellow Conspirators for joining us, and to the fine journalists whose work we got to feature tonight! Check them out, and join us m-f 6 pm on Rumble or on X “AT” gardgoldsmith! The Audio Pod is on the way in an hour, via Spotify and here on Substack! Here are some of the key stories we got to discuss tonight! Spread the word, and feel free to offer your thoughts and links!

Share Gardner Goldsmith

Share

Subscribe now

WAR

Trump Posted this early this morning. Alice Cooper might not appreciate it.

And Trump is taking his closest advice from utter war hawks, like Mark Theissen. Here is Antiwar on it LINK

IRAN

We begin with a debate that, on both a constitutional level and a moral level, should not be necessary, but the US Congress and most pop media assets of the DC establishment seem disinterested in noting that Congress is supposed to Declare War before a Prez can command the troops against a nation-state. That said, the deeper moral lesson is that, even if the Constitution were amended to allow for a Chief Exec to unilaterally rally troops and engage in military hostilities against a nation state, that would not grant any of those people any moral authority to force the cost of their adventuring onto you. But, with those points established, we can look at the question that some folks are discussing here in the “Moscow Studios” of Liberty Conspiracy and note that this major, pressing question gives us greater insight into just how Trump went about his unilateral attack on Iran, and how certain members of Congress are trying to spin it, to hide his malefaction…

What’s the issue? As we reported last night on Liberty Conspiracy Live, even if one were to accept the constitutionality of the 1973 War Powers Act (it’s not constitutional), April 29 marks the end of the 60-day period allowed by that act for a Prez to toss troops and weapons against foreign nations. YET, some claim that the “end date” is May 1, and some claim it’s May 2. Why the differences?

The reason is that, as we also discussed last night on Liberty Conspiracy Live, Trump on Feb 28 did not officially tell members of Congress he was committing the military to kinetic hostilities when he started (again, after last year’s June bombings and attacks on Iranian nuclear power facilities). Here’s what actually happened, based on the public record:

• The operation: On February 28, the U.S. and Israel breached international law and the US broke the Constitution by initiating major joint airstrikes on Iran under “Operation Epic Fury.” This included strikes on Iranian military sites, missile/drone capabilities, naval assets, defense infrastructure, and other targets. It escalated quickly, involved the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and led to ongoing combat, a naval blockade, and eventual ceasefire talks. Trump niether sought nor obtained “approval” beforehand. The administration did not ask Congress for authorization under the War Powers Resolution or otherwise. This triggered immediate criticism from many lawmakers (mostly Democrats, plus a few Republicans like Rep. Thomas Massie) that it was an unauthorized “war of choice” violating Congress’s constitutional power to declare war.

• Notification was very limited and last-minute. The White House had Secretary of State Marco Rubio call the “Gang of Eight” (the top bipartisan congressional leaders plus the chairs/ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees) shortly before the strikes began. Rubio reached and briefed seven of the eight; the Armed Services Committees were briefed only after strikes started. Most rank-and-file members of Congress received no advance notice.

• Many members publicly complained about the lack of information. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and others demanded immediate briefings, saying the administration hadn’t provided “critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat.” Critics (including some who were in the Gang of Eight) argued the president moved forward without proper consultation or scrutiny, especially since Pentagon briefings to Congress later acknowledged no intelligence showed Iran was about to attack U.S. forces first.

The administration later submitted the required War Powers Resolution report to Congress (on March 2, within the 48-hour window), justifying the action under the president’s commander-in-chief powers for self-defense and national interests. But that was after the strikes had already begun. Several attempts to pass resolutions forcing congressional approval or ending the operation failed, mostly along party lines.

**Thus, today actually is the deadline for the end of the War Powers Act “permission”, but MAGA maniacs claim the deadline is May 1 or 2. - What ought to happen prior to that is someone submitting Articles of Impeachment for Trump, for numerous crimes, but that won’t happen. LINK LINK LINK

ENERGY AND ECONOMIC CRISIS

This insane mode of operation and the solipsistic mindset are affecting fuel prices and supplies of food, substrate petrochemicals, and, eventually, even electricity. Trump has unleashed hell, and appears determined to continue with his attempt to “blockade” the Persian Gulf. Here are key aspects of the current situation this statism has created:

First, not only is the US consumer competing against world demand to get oil,

… yes, not only is the US Consumer competing against world demand, the Trump Admin recently IN ONE WEEK released over 7 MILLION barrels of oil for “competitive bidding” allowing oil corporations to buy it and resell it on the world market. But that is just a (pun intended) drop in the bucket. Robert Barnes re-posted this:

The U.S. is executing a 172 million barrel emergency exchange/loan program from the SPR as the U.S. contribution to a larger IEA-coordinated release of 400 million barrels globally. This started in mid-March 2026.

• The DOE awards loans/exchanges (not outright sales in the traditional sense) via competitive bids to private oil companies and commodity traders.

• Recipients take physical delivery of the crude from SPR sites on the U.S. Gulf Coast (e.g., Bryan Mound, West Hackberry, Bayou Choctaw in Texas/Louisiana).

• Companies must repay the barrels later plus a premium (extra oil, often 10–22% more, depending on the tranche), so the administration states this refills the SPR at no net cost to taxpayers.

• Deliveries began immediately after awards and are ongoing (over 120 days total for the full volume). As of mid-April 2026, roughly 80+ million barrels had been awarded across multiple tranches, with more than 10 million already delivered to market.

Who Receives the Oil (Official DOE Awards) - Recent tranches (publicly announced by DOE) went to:

• Second batch (April 2026): Gunvor USA, Phillips 66 Company, Trafigura Trading, Macquarie Commodities Trading (8.5 million barrels).

• Third batch (April 2026): BP Products North America, ExxonMobil Oil Corp, Marathon Petroleum, Shell Trading, and others (26 million barrels).

• Earlier tranches included similar majors and traders (Vitol, etc.). Total to 12 companies so far, with global traders like Trafigura (21M barrels in one report) and Shell (~18M) among the largest.

These firms are primarily U.S. refiners or international traders who can refine the crude domestically or export it (or refined products).Where the Oil Ends Up (Destinations)

• The U.S. government does not publicly track or report final destinations after the awards. SPR crude enters the commercial market, and buyers decide how to use or move it. (This matches historical practice, per Congressional Research Service analysis.)

• Independent shipping data (Kpler and similar trackers) provides the best visibility:

  • Europe is a major destination for tracked SPR cargoes. Example: Supertanker Eagle Versailles carrying ~2.1 million barrels of Bryan Mound medium-sour SPR crude en route to Rotterdam, Netherlands (Europe’s largest oil trading/refining hub, with pipelines to Germany/Belgium). European refineries (many configured for sour grades) have been active buyers due to lost Russian supplies and no major EU reserve drawdown.

  • Latin America: Confirmed cargo of Bayou Choctaw SPR crude to Peru’s state oil company (delivery scheduled for May 2026).

  • Asia: Some SPR barrels have been marketed there, but volumes appear smaller recently due to softening oil prices and high transatlantic freight costs. However, overall U.S. crude exports (not SPR-specific) have hit records (~5+ million barrels per day in April/May 2026 per Kpler/Vortexa data), with a large surge to Asia (e.g., China, India) as buyers replace lost Middle East supplies from the Hormuz disruptions. The SPR release adds to total U.S. supply and indirectly supports this export wave.

In short: The SPR oil boosts global supply via private companies. Confirmed physical flows show Europe as a key near-term buyer for specific SPR cargoes, while the broader export surge (enabled in part by the SPR release) has heavily targeted Asia amid the crisis. No evidence of direct government-to-government shipments. For the most up-to-date official details, check DOE announcements (energy.gov) or EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report (released today for the week ending April 24, 2026). Shipping trackers like Kpler give real-time cargo flows but are commercial, not government data.

OIL PRICE - HIGHEST SINCE 2022

Since the start of 2026:

The US DC Establishment is more focused on building that “Ballroom” as on-the-ground gas prices rise at a faster pace than the price of oil.

As W said, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” ??????

FARM BANKRUPTCIES

Perhaps Trump can shift US farmers into a different crop, with the help of the US military, as the US did in Afghanistan

People are increasingly worried about making ends meet

And the chart here is valuable, as far as polls go (with the note that Trump’s disapproval rating is now nine points higher than this chart showed as of its date of finalization).

Pete Hegseth appeared before Congress today, and, again, showed watchers that the Trumpers not only cannot keep their “nuclear weapons pursuit by EEEEVIL IRANIANS” narratives straight, they can’t figure out what the narrative should be.

And Hegseth would not acknowledge that his bloodthirsty warmongering is costing us thousands, right now.

Subscribe now

Share

More

Code pink confronted him

Here is key thinking from Ron Paul and Daniel McAdams LINK

Subscribe now

Share Gardner Goldsmith

IRAN “TALKS”

The Iranian government officials know it is important not to allow the US to slide out from the fact that it was Trump who started this. They are adamant that before any talks, the US must lift its blockade and that they will not discuss nuclear enrichment until after a peace is achieved. Key information. Abbas Aragchi did well traveling to Pakistan, Oman, and Russia, to shore-up support. Here is some coverage of that from Larry Johnson and Daniel Davis on Daviel Davis’ Deep Dive.

Daniel Davis offered additional key thoughts the other day, and I want to be sure to provide them to you, this in response to Jerky Jack Keaneeee.

TRUMP - MONEY OFF DEATH

Subscribe now

Share

YEMEN - ONE YEAR ON

ANTIWAR has it “One Year After Bombing, Amnesty Calls for US Strike on Yemen Migrant Facility To Be Investigated as a War Crime - News From Antiwar.com” LINK

WEST BANK

Key, again, thanks to ANtiwar for linking it on their site Headline “Ex-Mossad chief says Israeli settler violence reminds him of the Holocaust | Middle East Eye” LINK

LEBANON

SOUTH KOREA

This, just a brief mention, is more evidence of a shift away from Western Pacific, Asiatic adoration of the US and its military-corporate colonialism

CUBA

Share Gardner Goldsmith

IMMIGRATION POLICE STATE

Florida: Headline “North Miami rally urges extension of TPS for Haitians ahead of Supreme Court hearing” LINK

COVID - NIH, INDICTMENT

That’s it for now, all! Many thanks for supporting freedom, and for sharing the links! And remember, you can back us here by becoming a paid subscriber if you would like, and feel free to watch Liberty Conspiracy LIVE on Gardner’s X @gardgoldsmith and on Rumble! Spread the word! Thanks, again! Please feel free to SHARE the links, and join us every M-F at 6 PM on Rumble, and my X @gardgoldsmith — and you also can donate to help the Liberty Conspiracy, itself! Just visit PayPal to help out! You also can mail GG at:

Gardner Goldsmith
PO Box 581
Amherst, NH, 03031 :)

Leave a comment

Share

Subscribe now

LIBERTY CONSPIRACY NEWS NOTES:

Many thanks to all the great Conspirators who joined us tonight, and to all the fine journalists whose work we got to feature - if you haven't had the chance to follow them, plz check them out! And join us, m-f 6pm on Rumble or my X! - Here are some of the major subjects we got to discuss tonight!

Subscribe now

Share

BREAKING

COMEY INDICTED - AGAIN.

It’s a distraction and likely won’t lead to anything, but it can serve as a reminder that in a collective “justice” system, goons like Comey can engage in nefarious activity using your money while he is in “office” aaaaaannnd later, other goons can target him with accusations of issuing goofy “threats” — and spend your money on that, too. Headline: “Comey indicted again on charges stemming from Instagram post - CBS News” LINK

Evidently, the matter of speech and “threats” is now the weapon of the MAGA gang. Thus, since the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack, numerous of the purportedly “conservative” Trump supporters have claimed that it’s criticism of Trump and his regime that “radicalizes” people to attack. Same old song as the Clinton regime tried to use against conservative talk radio (basically, Rush and G. Gordon Liddy, on a national level) after the OKC “bombing” (likely more of a US-committed multiple-explosives building collapse and mass casualty covert op). Here is Mark Levin, calling for censorship.

And, of course, after Jimmy Kimmel told a joke about Melania having the glow of an “expectant widow,” Trump and Melania freaked out, spoke out, and now are siccing Brendan Carr and the FCC on Disney. LINK

-Get this, Melania’s assistant appeared on FoxNews to say that Kimmel’s joke inspires people like Cole Allen to engage in violence. This, literally, is an assistant to the wife of a man who recently posted that he would end an entire nation-state and its civilization/population, who threatened to bomb “back to the stone age”, and who has killed thousands in Iran, Venezuela, the Caribbean, the Eastern Pacific, and Syria (his previous administration). He literally had his forces kill nearly 170 children on the first day of his attack on Iran, then, soon thereafter, killed nearly two-dozen civilians in a sports arena in Iran. Here is video we’ve recorded and want to present to you in this, as embedded material.

Part 2

Share

MORE, THE PRESS AT THE PENTAGRAM

Headline: “Pentagon can require reporters to be escorted during appeal process, judges rule - CBS News” It’s a continuation of the “Hegseth demands you sign a loyalty oath” matter from earlier this year.. . Amazing. LINK

AND, Mark Levin, of course…. Because, a few years ago, he was upset that Biden might be censoring people. Now? Well, Trump is in office and SHOULD censor people, especially if they don’t like Trump killing innocent people, which was the big core of the Cole Allen manifesto.

Just be sure to believe the politicians. They never lie.

-All, while the Trumpers salivate for his gilded “private-donation-funded” ballroom. Questions circle it, especially regarding the potential for access-corruption, but, more radically (to the root) the question of cost for the bunker Trump wants beneath the ballroom are not being answered by Mr. Goldfinger. LINK

-Lindsey Graham thirsts for it.

-Here is some background on the scheme. “The Top-Secret Bunker Beneath Trump’s White House Ballroom, Explained” LINK

-But Rand Paul is pushing for its construction - Here is the DHS crowing; “Chairman Paul to Introduce a Bill to Move President Trump’s New Ballroom Project Forward - Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs” LINk

-And wasn’t Trump upset at the Fed Chairman for “cost overruns” on a Federal Reserve construction project? LINK

-But they know everything the government does will bring more “security” - like the security the GOVT brought to the WH Correspondents Dinner.

And then there is Trump’s “buy American” hypocrisy - Headline: “Trump slapped a 50% tariff on foreign steel to ‘protect American jobs.’ His $400M White House ballroom is being built with European steel — for free” LINK

Share Gardner Goldsmith

IRAN

The unconstitutional, permitting-the-Prez-to-kill-and-command-troops “War Powers Act” window of 60 days closes tomorrow. But will the members of Congress even bother to pay more than lip service to it? Highly unlikely. During his FIRST term, they should have impeached Trump for his countless unconstitutional acts, but focused, instead on less fundamental matters. Headline, from a few weeks back, to show you how Time mis-reports on it, not bothering to call it a DECLARATION of WAR. LINK

-Antiwar covers the news that the majority of people whom the US has killed this year in Iran were civilians. Headline: “Iran Says Nearly Half of Iranians Killed by US-Israeli Bombing Campaign Were Civilians - News From Antiwar.com” LINK

-Rubio’s lies. Let’s remind the world about at least a few of them. Antiwar, again, has key reporting. “Rubio Says Iran Cannot ‘Normalize’ Its Control of the Strait of Hormuz - News From Antiwar.com” LINK MORE

Gas Prices in the US shot up, again. The highest since August of last year.

Share

LEBANON

Headline: “Israeli Strikes Escalate With Attacks Reported in Southern, Eastern Lebanon - News From Antiwar.com” LINK And here is more, from Dave DeCamp

KING CHARLES IS IN THE US

Heah. Here’s what I observed while suffering through his speech.

Subscribe now

US KILLS MORE IN EASTERN PACIFIC

Via Antiwar (remember their fundraiser at the site)! LINK

Karen Kwiatowski offers key thoughts with the Judge, on the massive problem of US warmongering

Share Gardner Goldsmith

US ECONOMY

The Housing liquidation already has begun in a few regions of the US. And it will explode, even more rapidly, if the US does not lay off Iran.

ENERGY - US

This offers added info that one can combine with the research I offered last week re oil/gas exploration, recovery, and refining in he US. Headline “Trump runs into trouble with his ‘drill, baby, drill’ policy: The US is facing fuel shortages, despite being the world’s top producer” LINk

TARIFFS - ONE AUTO DEALER’S EXPERIENCE

Headline: “Tariffs have cost the auto industry billions. A North Texas dealership owner reflects” LINK

And this US “Trade Rep” doesn’t LIKE free trade. He doubles down testifying in Congress, Headline “’We’re not gonna go back’: Jamieson Greer shows that he couldn’t care less about the American people, doubles down on Trump’s tariffs” LINK

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

US DEPT OF EDUCATION

The Supreme Court is allowing Trump to fire over 1K of the parasite/bullies, while many of the employees engage in a longer legal process to challenge his ability to do so. The SCOTUS never bothered to mention that the Department of Education is fiercely unconstitutional and immoral, but why should one expect that any more? LINK

THE “KILL THE CAR KILL SWITCH” AMENDMENT

Just a reminder that it didn’t pass. Why does the US govt claim such power over private exchange? The very word EXCHANGE tells us that the market for cars is not coercive. It’s the govt that coerces.

IMMIGRATION POLICE STATE

Schumer is upset that Trump is funding an internal US thugforce. Has Schumer ever opposed the increases in DHS spending they’ve passed year after year, or the renewal of FISA? How about the very concept of ICE and the DHS? How about the “war on drugs”, which also is NOT sanctioned by their magical Constitution? Headline: “$140 billion to ICE and Border Patrol: Chuck Schumer blasts GOP colleagues funding Trump’s ‘private army,’ refusing reforms” LINK

MORE COURT NEWS Headline: “Appeals court rules Trump asylum ban at southern border is illegal” LINK

FINALLY, here is an excellent piece on the immorality of the US use of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thanks to Antiwar for finding it and getting it to more folks. Headline:”Nuclear Weapons Didn’t Save Lives in 1945. They Wouldn’t Today Either - Antiwar.com” LINK

That’s it for now, all! Many thanks for supporting freedom, and for sharing the links! And remember, you can back us here by becoming a paid subscriber if you would like, and feel free to watch Liberty Conspiracy LIVE on Gardner’s X @gardgoldsmith and on Rumble! Spread the word! Thanks, again! Please feel free to SHARE the links, and join us every M-F at 6 PM on Rumble, and my X @gardgoldsmith — and you also can donate to help the Liberty Conspiracy, itself! Just visit PayPal to help out! You also can mail GG at:

Gardner Goldsmith
PO Box 581
Amherst, NH, 03031 :)

Leave a comment

Share Gardner Goldsmith

Subscribe now