The dots that matter

In a sky crowded with explosions and mass murder, some barely twinkle. Still, they fit more or less neatly into our (hypothetical) big picture.

Wednesday, March 04th, 2026

Bill Bonner, from Youghal, Ireland

We connect the dots. Sometimes right. Sometimes wrong. And always in doubt.

Mr. Trump’s policies often appear contradictory, fickle, or incoherent. The Washington Post has trouble keeping up with them:

White House offers shifting rationales for war with Iran

MAGA fans have been forced to explain the confusion by saying in effect that like God, Trump works in mysterious ways. He plays ‘4-dimensional chess,’ they claim. He’s looking at ‘third order effects,’ they believe.

The latest big dot – war with Iran -- is easy to connect, but only when you see it as a part of his larger purpose in life (of which he is unaware)...to run the US empire onto the rocks.

Just look at the alternative explanations for Trump’s major policy initiatives...

...that he was trying to restore ‘conservatism’ to the US government. But there has been nothing ‘conservative’ about America’s Supreme Leader...and two of the last ‘conservatives’ left in Congress, Rand Paul and Tom Massie, along with Tucker Carlson and ex-rep Marjorie Taylor Green, have become his arch-enemies.

...that he would rein in the Deep State and the Washington Establishment. But now the federal government — deep and shallow — has more power than ever.

...that he was a financial genius, who would make us all rich. He promises big ‘dividend’ checks...but will have to ‘print’ the money; US debt – a burden we all share -- increased $8 trillion during his first term....and another $2.2 trillion last year.

...that he was going to bring peace to the world. He’s bombed more countries than any previous president.

...that he was only using the presidency as a way to get personally richer...and more powerful. Well, yes...that may his conscious motive; but History may be using it for her own ends.

The only explanation that works is that he is doing the gods’ dirty work, helping to reduce the outsize power of the USA.

Let’s look at the most recent dots. In a sky crowded with explosions and mass murder, some barely twinkle. Still, they fit more or less neatly into our (hypothetical) big picture.

CNN:

Trump administration drops suits against law firms with ties to Democrats and other Trump foes

The cases had been some of the most shocking attempts at retribution by Trump for his own past legal issues, with Trump aiming at large and well-known firms with prominent lawyers who had ties to Democratic administrations and the party.

The Big Man favors confrontation over cooperation. In the news item above, POTUS has had to abandon his attack on the law firms. But it is still a success...even the most prestigious law firms in the country know that they are not immune to the president’s wrath. They must now be looking for ways to curb presidential power.

Here’s another little dot that should fit the same story line, bringing more arbitrary power to the executive branch. Daily Beast:

Trump goon threatens airline industry over wife’s flight delay

White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair has been complaining online about delays he and his wife have experienced this week while flying American Airlines.

“Today, American Airlines delays me 2.5 hours because someone failed to notice empty hydraulic fluid before it was time to go down the runway. Yesterday, they apparently forgot to BOOK A PILOT for my wife’s flight,” he alleged.

“I’m going to take a new interest in the airline industry,” he continued.

Uh oh. The airline industry must be looking to jettison arbitrary federal oversight too.

Another one. The Big Man doesn’t like dissent. He decrees that the US no longer work with the best companies, but with those who give him no independent opinions. CBS News:

President Trump announced Friday that he is ordering all federal agencies to “immediately” stop using Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology, as the company neared a Pentagon deadline to drop its push for guardrails over the military’s use of its AI.

“I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!”

And here’s a more ominous dot that fits the pattern. The Guardian:

Trump’s Iran strikes accelerate the world’s drift from dollar dominance

The trade-weighted dollar, measured against a basket of global currencies, has lost 7% of its value over the past year...As Francisco Quintana, of Edinburgh Law School, puts it: “...t’s becoming more and more clear that it may not be the best thing to have such a huge dependence on the US, which is becoming less and less reliable.”

We squint...we strain our eyes...the dot matrix is evolving...still unclear...still imperfect...

Like everyone else, we wait for the picture to take shape.

Regards,

Bill Bonner