Questionable Policy Decisions from Tehran to Tallahassee – Top 3 Takeaways – March 20th, 2026
Takeaway #1: Blowing up energy doesn’t end well
Right about now, when you think of energy and stuff being blown up, the biggest concern might be if it’s going to blow a hole through your wallet the next time you fill up. And the bottom line is that once again $4 gas is here due to the impact of the Iran war and specifically about 20% of the world’s energy supply currently being offline...even though that part of the world only accounts for 2.7% of U.S. energy...which is an important point as far as we’re concerned. It’s worth mentioning that no matter what happens in the middle east there is a 0% chance of an energy shortage in this country. That’s of course the inherent benefit of being almost entirely energy independent. For much of the first three weeks of this thing simply trying to secure the Strait of Hormuz so oil tankers can get through has been a key focal point. But our allies in NATO were MIA in helping out in any meaningful way, and the U.S. Naval fleet was and is too busy prosecuting the war to be repositioned as an escort. So, the status quo stalemate through the Strait persisted. Btw, if you want to know just how useless our allies in the EU and for that matter in Japan are yesterday they put out a joint statement saying this: We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces. We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping, and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2817. I truly wonder if these people actually take themselves seriously or is this just designed so they can turn around to their constituencies as energy prices spike and say that they’re doing something? You’d have to be more than just low IQ to think that you’re going to issue a statement to the governing body of what has been the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism “condemning their actions in the strongest possible terms” and calling on them to adhere to a U.N. Resolution and...
Takeaway #2: Thinking that you’re going to get anywhere
I mean seriously, what’s the expectation, that suddenly the Mullahs that have been pledging death to America and death to Israel while funding and arming Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis while pledging to spread the world in blood to bring about Islamic rule are suddenly going to rethink things because of a U.N. resolution? Which btw, is a reminder about how next to NATO, and arguably ahead of it, the most useless organization in the world is the U.N. As a sign of the Mullah’s current thinking, for those who’re still in doubt, just yesterday they executed three people for protesting the Iranian regime in January – including a 19-year old champion wrestler who was famous throughout the country. Anyway, until the past couple of days the timing of when energy getting through the Strait of Hormuz may have seemed as though it was the biggest risk. But increasingly it isn’t. From the onset of the war my biggest long-term concern hasn’t been about whether we will win the war. Remember this is Donald Trump we’re talking about...the outcome in that regard isn’t in doubt. But the questions I’ve had have been about timing, and as to what will be left in the Gulf to ship through the Strait of Hormuz. Defeating the Iranian regime sufficiently is hard. Preserving energy assets in the region is far harder. Over the past few days, we’ve seen attacks on energy assets targeted by Israel and Iran which isn’t helpful. Israel going after Iran’s energy and Iran going after the biggest assets it can currently reach – including hitting the world’s largest LNG factory in the UAE. The more of this that takes place the longer the implications will last, and the less energy that there will be to ship through the Strait whenever it’s once again determined to be safe. Blowing up energy doesn’t end well for anyone when prices around the world are determined at worldwide market rates.
Takeaway #3: Lessons from California
Here’s an opinion piece published in the LA Times this week: Even as a passionate Democrat, I would be more than open to voting for a solid Republican candidate for governor. Our Democratic administration and Legislature have not, in my view, made sufficient enough headway on our state's two most vexing issues — homelessness and the high cost of housing — to continue to receive my unwavering support. Perhaps a supermajority isn't everything it's cracked up to be. I’m not surprised that there are loyal Democrats in California thinking this way, I am somewhat surprised that the LA Times has now published those thoughts, which perhaps is a bit of an admission of the failure of that state’s Democrat rule. It’s long been that case that California’s failures have only aided Florida’s success. But there’s also a risk for our state that was articulated in the aforementioned op-ed. The reason Florida has had so much success from having the top ranked education system to the top ranked economy is due to great public policy. But over the past two years since the advent of Daniel Perez as Speaker of Florida’s House, he’s been more interested in fighting Governor DeSantis than he has been in establishing effective public policy to address our state’s biggest needs and greatest concerns – which, much like the country as a whole, involve public policy. Perez’s contention had been that Governor DeSantis had gained too much power and influence in this state and that he needed to reestablish the state House as an independent co-equal branch of government. When Daniel Perez gave his “farewell speech” last week at the end of the session, he said he was proud to have “taken back the House” during his two years. That’s his big accomplishment? What’s that mean to you? When Democrats have a supermajority in power, they can absolutely destroy a wonderful state through bad public policy. What Republicans risk in this state, is that without significant Democrat resistance in Tallahassee, they instead turn on each other out of ego, self-importance or some other foolish thing that doesn’t have to do with you or me or any of their constituencies. How would you grade the performance of the state legislature this year? Most Floridians wouldn’t be able to tell you the first meaningful thing they’ve done in over a year. And for a good reason. Just like what was voiced by the Californian, they haven’t been focused on the biggest issues facing most Floridians. There’s still an opportunity to fix this through the upcoming special session (or two or three). It’s important that the GOP supermajority doesn’t become its own worst enemy by legislators taking for granted has it is that it became this way in the first place. Democrats have a supermajority in California because most Republicans fled the state. Florida gained a supermajority through great public policy that also led to Republicans fleeing blue states to come our way. DeSantis was and is a great governor who leads with effective public policy. For the legislature, it’s time to get back to doing what it was that made this state so great – which btw, happened to be taking DeSantis’s lead.