My Adirondack Diary

30/05/2026

In 5 weeks the USMCA trade agreement with Canada and Mexico is up for renewal, or amendment—or not. Prepare for 5 weeks of bluster and fabrications from you-know-who. I separate fact from fiction in this week’s Substack. Let me know what you think.

https://open.substack.com/pub/jcsteiniger/p/trump-thinks-we-are-getting-a-raw?r=2cye5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

21/05/2026

Today's NYT Editorial. (A free gift article). Worth the read, but you might want to wait until cocktail hour.

The president’s corruption and subversion of democratic tradition risk becoming the norm.

21/05/2026

Trump had already shown us that he is the most corrupt person to have ever occupied the White House. This week brought evidence that he could be the most corrupt person to have ever been in the building. And still, Republicans in Congress do...nothing.

The lights are no longer flashing yellow

16/05/2026

In strategic planning, "outputs" are not "outcomes". Hegseth does not understand the difference. I explore the confusion in this week's Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/jcsteiniger/p/outputs-v-outcomes?r=2cye5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

02/05/2026

(S)he sells seashells by the sea shore.
The shells (s)he sells are seashells, I'm sure.
Or maybe not......

https://open.substack.com/pub/jcsteiniger/p/buy-those-guys-a-drink?r=2cye5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

18/04/2026

The required precepts for a “just war” were laid down in the fourth century by St. Augustine of Hippo. Pope Leo, who led the Catholic Order of St. Augustine before ascending to the papacy, has opined recently about the war in Iran, calling for peace. Someone thinks that Pope Leo is all wrong, and also soft on crime. My mother would like a word.

https://jcsteiniger.substack.com/p/trump-v-leo

04/04/2026

So…it turns out disrupting the world’s oil and gas supply is not good for the US economy. Or anyone else’s. OK - Russia benefits enormously, but who would do that on purpose? Oh yeah.

(It ain't.)

21/03/2026

There are eerie and unfortunate similarities in the early chapters of the US-Cuba and the US-Iran stories. As the latest chapter in each is being written, we should remember how we got here.

Iran, Venezuela, Cuba all share a common story that we have all forgotten. And it is the reason that we will not have a hand in selecting their next leaders.

21/03/2026

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/20/nx-s1-5754021/trump-democracy-autocracy-dictatorship-reports

Three major new studies on democracy and freedom all find the U.S. is slipping further away from democracy. Leaders of two of those studies say President Trump's goal is to rule as an autocrat.

13/03/2026

From this morning's Semifor:

Russia is Iran war’s biggest winner

Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via Reuters

The Iran war’s biggest winner so far is Russia. Soaring oil prices pushed the White House to lift sanctions on the sale of Russian crude currently at sea, freeing hundreds of millions of barrels; oil prices “barely budged” on the news, The New York Times reported. Moscow was already profiting from the war. The same high prices have boosted its revenues by $150 million a day, with Urals crude up 40% month-on-month. It is “a stark reversal in fortunes,” the Financial Times noted: Moscow had been struggling with falling oil prices and lower sales to India under Washington’s pressure. The Kremlin will also be pleased the US has used huge numbers of munitions, notably advanced missiles that Ukraine badly needed.