PAUL GORDON

During the previous administration many of us tired of hearing a sarcastic “Thanks Biden” every time gas prices went up.

Then during the first year of Trump Part Duh we heard “Thanks Trump” when gas prices went down, even though the price of just about everything else went up thanks to his tariffs.

So what do we say now? I mean, we were able to defend Joe Biden on the gas prices because there really wasn’t anything he did to cause the prices to go up, right?

But now, as we are seeing gas prices soar the last few weeks, reaching beyond Biden numbers, Trump practices can be directly blamed. The war against Iran has caused oil prices to increase and some experts believe the oil crisis will be around a while.

I am quite sure many of us remember the lines at gas stations in 1980 when the last big bash with Iran caused a disruption in oil deliveries from the Middle East. Could that happen again, or should we expect some sudden opening in the Strait of Hormuz?

I really would like to believe this war is necessary, or at least prudent; that without the attacks from our military and Israel there was a real threat that Iran was on the precipice of having a nuclear weapon.

But the cynic in me keeps thinking about the agreement President Obama hammered out with Iran in 2015 that aimed to guarantee Iran would never have nuclear capabilities. Trump, you may recall, withdrew the U.S. from that pact during his first term in 2018.

Could that agreement have prevented the loss of life of American soldiers and Iranian citizens, including 160 or so children at a school that was hit?

So as we cuss about the gas and grocery prices, worry about how to pay for a medical procedure when we can’t afford insurance, and stop doing recreational activities because it all lacks affordability, we give a different — and yet familiar — meaning to the phrase, “Thanks Trump.”

Oh, and the Epstein files are still out there.

New recruiting tool

Hey, how about that Pete Hegseth? Just when it looked like his rules on the fitness of our soldiers were going to deplete our military forces a bit too much, he comes up with a new recruitment strategy: Food.

Yessir, the mess halls are sure going to look different with all the steaks and lobsters filling the refrigerators. Where else will the $15.1 million worth of ribeyes and $6.9 million worth of lobster go?

Of course, there are mess halls on military installations reserved for officers. Maybe they’ll get most of the gold-plated chow.

And don’t worry about the millions of people who can no longer afford health care. Whoever plays that $98,000 Steinway grand piano Hegseth bought will probably serenade them.