West Wing Report (Edited by Paul Brandus)

Bio: 5-time author, speaker 7 presidential libraries. Dow Jones / MarketWatch columnist. Worked in Moscow for 5 years, New York 11. Also London & L.A. Network TV, Capitol Hill, White House. Been to 67 countries but only 43 states. Longtime venture capital investor. Meet my Corgi:

Gasoline up $1.02 in six weeks, now $3.91 (AAA national avg.)

Folks today tend to read only the headlines, but this story is quite substantive and illustrative of a variety of broader issues/problems bloomberg.com/news/features/…

Economists estimate Americans will pay an extra $740 in gas costs this year, nearly offsetting the highest projected tax refund boost of $748 (via @MarketWatch)

Gasoline up 98 cents in five weeks, now $3.88 (AAA national avg.)

-The government’s changing story on the war is catnip for manufacturers of Disinformation -Chatbots can plan school shootings, bombings -Algorithms creating the “first draft of history” -My latest “Disinformation Wire” newsletter is out. Hope you’ll subscribe disinformationwire.substack.com

-The government’s changing story on the war is catnip for manufacturers of Disinformation -Chatbots can plan school shootings, bombings -Algorithms creating the “first draft of history” My latest “Disinformation Wire” newsletter is out; Hope you’ll subscribe disinformationwire.substack.com/subscribe?next…

Gasoline up 94 cents in five weeks to $3.84 (AAA national avg.)

America’s top counterterrorism official - and strong, pro-MAGA supporter - quits, blasts Trump for allowing America to get sucked into another Mideast war

Gasoline up 89 cents in five weeks, now $3.79 (AAA nationwide avg.)

1) The president’s PAC is using photos taken at a dignified transfer of US service members killed in Kuwait to raise money. 2) he was offended last night that a journalist asked if that was appropriate

Gasoline up 81 cents in five weeks, now $3.81 (AAA natl. avg.)

To Address Farm Labor Shortage, Trump Administration Turns to Migrant Workers nytimes.com/2026/03/15/us/… via @NYTimes

What the government means is the "public interest" as it defines it, irrespective of unpleasant but truthful facts which may upset its preferred narrative

Gasoline up 79 cents in five weeks, now $3.69 (AAA natl. avg)

Gasoline up 77 cents in five weeks, now $3.67 (AAA natl. avg)

Zakaria;

Gasoline up 73 cents in five weeks, now $3.63 (AAA natl. avg)

U.S. economy grew at 0.7% annual pace in 4q, the Trump admin. says this AM. The original forecast was twice as much

President Kennedy’s abandonment of Cuban rebels in 1961 and Bush Sr.’s abandonment of the Kurds in 1991 (Halabja ring a bell?) and Trump and the Kurds in term one are examples of why Iranian citizens may not rise up, as Trump hopes. U.S. has history of abandoning friends

via @semafor - Trump says higher energy prices is a good thing