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The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Monday, February 23, 2026

February 23, 2026 | FlaglerLive | 19 Comments

Missing American Justice by Pat Bagley, PoliticalCartoons.com
Missing American Justice by Pat Bagley, PoliticalCartoons.com

To include your event in the Briefing and Live Calendar, please fill out this form.

Weather: Sunny, with a high near 55. Wind chill values as low as 25 early. Breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 32. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

  • Daily weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville here.
  • Drought conditions here. (What is the Keetch-Byram drought index?).
  • Check today’s tides in Daytona Beach (a few minutes off from Flagler Beach) here.
  • Tropical cyclone activity here, and even more details here.

Today at a Glance:

The Flagler County Commission meets in special session at 11 a.m. to ratify a proposed agreement with Flagler Beach resolving conflicting issues over Flagler Beach’s annexation of Veranda Bay and Summertown. At the Government Services Building, 1769 E. Moody Boulevard, Building 2, Bunnell.

Community Preparedness Workshop: A monthly preparedness workshop open to the public that provides general preparedness information, practical tips, and strategies to keep households safe and ready for emergencies. 11 a.m. at Flagler County Emergency Operations Center, 1769 E Moody Blvd, Bldg 3, Bunnell. Anyone interested in learning how to prepare for disasters is encouraged to attend. For more information and to register, visit www.FlaglerCounty.gov/emergency and click on “Community Training,” or call 386-313-4200.

The Cold-Weather Shelter known as the Sheltering Tree will open tonight: The shelter opens at Church on the Rock at 2200 North State Street in Bunnell as the overnight temperature is expected to fall to 40 or below. It will open from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. The shelter is open to the homeless and to the nearly-homeless: anyone who is struggling to pay a utility bill or lacks heat or shelter and needs a safe, secure place for the night. The shelter will serve dinner and breakfast. Call 386-437-3258, extension 105 for more information.  Flagler County Transportation offers free bus rides from pick up points in the county, starting at 3 p.m., at the following locations and times:

  • McDonald’s at Old Kings Road South and State Road 100 at the dirt road on the east side, 4 p.m.
  • Circle K at Kingswood and Old Kings Road, 4:40 p.m.
  • Dollar Tree behind Carrabba’s in the Dollar Tree Parking lot, 4:50 p.m.
  • Palm Coast Main Branch Library, northwest corner of Palm Coast Parkway and Belle Terre Parkway, 4:55 p.m.
  • Bunnell Free Clinic, 703 Moody Boulevard, 5 p.m.
  • Bridges United Methodist Church in Bunnell, 205 N. Pine Street, 5 p.m. (listed as the same pick-up time because of the close proximity)

The shelter is run by volunteers of the Sheltering Tree, a non-profit under the umbrella of the Flagler County Family Assistance Center, is a non-denominational civic organization. The Sheltering Tree is in need of donations. See the most needed items here, and to contribute cash, donate here or go to the Donate button at this page.

Free Tax Preparation Services in Flagler County: The AARP Foundation’s Tax Aide provides free tax preparation services at six locations in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Flagler County through April 15, but you must make an appointment first and fill out paperwork. To do both, go here.

The Bunnell City Commission meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 2400 Commerce Parkway, Bunnell. To access meeting agendas, materials and minutes, go here.

Nar-Anon Family Groups offers hope and help for families and friends of addicts through a 12-step program, 6 p.m. at St. Mark by the Sea Lutheran Church, 303 Palm Coast Pkwy NE, Palm Coast, Fellowship Hall Entrance. See the website, www.nar-anon.org, or call (800) 477-6291. Find virtual meetings here.

Free Tax Preparation Services in Flagler County: The AARP Foundation’s Tax Aide provides free tax preparation services at six locations in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Flagler County through April 15, but you must make an appointment first and fill out paperwork. To do both, go here.

 

pierre tristam

Notably: Remember when James Baker, secretary of state during the first Bush administration, told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Convention: “Now is the time to lay aside, once and for all, the unrealistic vision of a greater Israel. Israeli interests in the West Bank and Gaza, security and otherwise, can be accommodated in a settlement based on Resolution 242. Forswear annexation; stop settlement activity; allow schools to reopen; reach out to the Palestinians as neighbours who deserve political rights.” Any American speaking those lines at AIPAC today would be lynched. Anyone speaking them outside of an AIPAC hall would be branded an anti-Semite and sent packing. No, we’re back to the “Greater Israel” dream, spoken by Moshe Dayan immediately after the June 1967 war: “Our fathers had reached the frontiers which were recognized in the UN Partition Plan of 1947 [56 per cent of the land]. Our generation reached the frontiers of 1949 [78 per cent of the land]. Now the Six Day Generation [of 1967] has managed to reach Suez, Jordan and the Golan Heights. This is not the end.” The colonists of the West Bank have been making that clear for decades. In his interview with Tucker Carlson (I think on Feb. 20), Mike Huckabee, the American ambassador to its 51st state, made it national policy. As the Times described it: “He questioned Mr. Huckabee about Genesis 15, the biblical chapter that promised the descendants of Abraham the lands from Egypt to the Euphrates River, in modern-day Iraq. Asked if Israel had the right to that land, Mr. Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, replied, ‘It would be fine if they took it all,’ spreading out his hands as if to encompass it. ‘But I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about here today,’ Mr. Huckabee added. ‘They don’t want to take it over, they’re not asking to take it over,’ he added.” Not quite accurate: the annexation of the West Bank, and now half of Gaza, is a routine discussion point in Israeli government circles, Greater Israel is stated policy for a few minority parties in the Knesset, it is the stated desire of the majority of colonists in the West Bank, and it has been an Israeli dream going back to its Zionist projections over a century ago, Ben-0Gurion’s dream included, as Noam Chomsky points out. Meanwhile, the Times, reminds us, “Mr. Huckabee has long supported Israel taking ownership of the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. In 2017, before he became ambassador, he said that Israel had “title deed” to Judea and Samaria, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.”

 

Now this:


The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.

April 2026
flagler beach farmers market
Saturday, Apr 04
9:00 am - 1:00 pm

Flagler Beach Farmers Market

In Front of Flagler Beach City Hall
flagler beaches
Saturday, Apr 04
9:00 am - 10:30 am

Flagler Beach All Stars Beach Clean-Up

scott spradley
Saturday, Apr 04
9:00 am - 10:00 am

Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley

Law Office of Scott Spradley
grace community food pantry
Saturday, Apr 04
10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way

Flagler School District Bus Depot
Saturday, Apr 04
10:00 am - 8:00 pm

2nd Annual Italian Festival

Flagler County Fairgrounds 150 Sawgrass Rd Bunnell, FL 32110
Saturday, Apr 04
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Book Dragons, the Kids’ Book Club, at Flagler Beach Public Library

315 South 7th Street, Flagler Beach
Saturday, Apr 04
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

“My Fair Lady,” at Daytona Playhouse

Daytona Playhouse
Saturday, Apr 04
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Celebrating Celine! with Jenene Caramielo, at the Fitz

Flagler Auditorium/Dennis Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts
Saturday, Apr 04
7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

“Godspell,” at the Limelight Theatre

Limelight Theatre
Saturday, Apr 04
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy

Cinematique of Daytona Beach
Sunday, Apr 05
9:30 am - 10:25 am

ESL Bible Studies for Intermediate and Advanced Students

Grace Presbyterian Church
grace community food pantry
Sunday, Apr 05
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way

Flagler School District Bus Depot
Sunday, Apr 05
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Palm Coast Farmers’ Market at European Village

European Village
Sunday, Apr 05
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

“My Fair Lady,” at Daytona Playhouse

Daytona Playhouse
al-anon family groups logo
Sunday, Apr 05
3:00 pm

Al-Anon Family Groups

Bridges United Methodist Fellowship
No event found!
Load More

For the full calendar, go here.


FlaglerLive

Dayan was put in charge of a commando unit, Regiment 89, soon noted for slashing raids into Arab towns, his troops killing indiscriminately, feeding the panic that led to the mass exodus of Palestinians. He led his men into the city of Lydda (near the site of what is today called Ben Gurion Airport), where they shot everyone they saw— more than a hundred civilians in less than an hour. The next day, the Israeli army carried out a systematic massacre of hundreds more and the expulsion of thousands of the town’s surviving citizens, many of whom would die on the trek toward the ruined lives that otherwise awaited them. They joined hundreds of thousands of others who swelled the refugee camps of neighboring countries, destabilizing those governments and opening an era of terror that continues to find its justification in the loss of a nation that never actually got the chance to exist.

–From Lawrence Wright’s Thirteen Days in September (2014)..

 

The Cartoon and Live Briefing Archive.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dennis C Rathsam says

    February 23, 2026 at 8:02 am

    That emptey jail sell will soon be filled with Democrates. From The Russia Collooson, the flooding of ballots for Biden. The wallets of so many prominate congressmen & ladies, & Senators! It takes time to build a iron bound case against these crooks. Seems once Democrates get elected, they turn into Millionaires over night…. And lets not forget the rapid FRAUDE in many Democrat states.Minn, Maine, & now Ca, the stealing of dollars from WELFARE. I wouldn’t wanna be in Bill & Hillarys shoes now! Once considered American Royalty…. Now just American crooks, perverts & liars.

    0
    Reply
    • Laurel says

      February 23, 2026 at 9:13 pm

      Could you, just one time, post some credible evidence that can be researched to back up your allegations?

      4
      Reply
      • Laurel says

        February 25, 2026 at 3:39 pm

        Apparently not. So, why take you seriously?

        1
        Reply
      • Skibum says

        February 25, 2026 at 10:54 pm

        He obviously cannot spell, and I doubt he is able to read above the level of comic book drawings so don’t hold your breath trying to illicit any kind of rational response.

        Reply
  2. Pogo says

    February 23, 2026 at 8:57 am

    @Genocide Joe has got to go

    … meanwhile:

    TN bill would allow death penalty for women who have an abortion

    Tennessee has some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country. The Human Life Protection Act prohibits all abortions from fertilization, without exceptions for rape or incest.

    “…Two Tennessee Republicans are seeking to impose the death penalty on women who have abortions, requiring the same penalties for women “involved in the homicide of her own unborn child” as defendants charged with homicide…”
    https://archive.is/Frofl#selection-315.0-319.183

    8
    Reply
    • Laurel says

      February 23, 2026 at 9:15 pm

      Yeppers, “right to life.”

      This Tennessee bill is proof it’s not about life, it’s about control of women. That’s it.

      3
      Reply
  3. Laurel says

    February 23, 2026 at 8:57 am

    As long as the current administration is in power, there will little to no justice. The cover ups aren’t even subtle anymore.

    Federalist Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is now getting death threats for voting against Trump’s tariffs. Is that what the Federalist Society had in mind?

    Ooops! Looks like their plan for America has gone sideways. Interesting. What to do, what to do?

    5
    Reply
  4. Pogo says

    February 23, 2026 at 9:19 am

    @A winter of discontent

    … FWIW
    https://www.jcbruce.com/p/florida-legislature-at-mid-term-if?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=2xozwn&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

    Trump and Major Kong say MAGA

    6
    Reply
    • Laurel says

      February 23, 2026 at 9:16 pm

      Slim Pickens rides again!

      1
      Reply
  5. Sherry says

    February 23, 2026 at 12:34 pm

    BOYCOTT The State of The Union Address!

    This from Robert Reich:

    Friends,

    I’m not going to watch the State of the Union address Tuesday night. I urge you not to, either.

    I hope Nielsen (or whoever makes such estimates these days) will find that far fewer Americans watched Trump’s State of the Union than have watched any other State of the Union in recent memory. It will drive Trump nuts.

    There are plenty of other reasons for not watching.

    First, he doesn’t deserve our attention. He’s abused and defiled the American presidency, even worse than he did in his first term.

    He’s openly taken bribes. He’s blatantly usurped the powers of Congress. He has overtly used the Justice Department to punish people he considers his enemies and pardon people loyal to him. He has willfully rejected the rule of law, broken treaties, literally destroyed part of the White House, thumbed his nose at our allies (including our closest and heretofore loyal neighbors), and utterly failed his constitutional duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. He lies like most people breathe. He’s a fraud and a traitor.

    Second, we already know what he’s going to say because he’s already stated and restated his lies every chance he gets. He says the economy is in wonderful shape, that he’s settled six wars, that he’s brought peace to the Middle East, that he’s made America safer and more secure, that the 2020 election was stolen from him, ad nauseam.

    He assumes that if he repeats these lies often enough, people will believe them. Why should we give him more of an audience for his lies?

    Third, he refuses to be president of the United States but only of the people who voted for him in 2024.

    He talks in glowing terms about “my” people while denigrating “them” — those of us who didn’t vote for him, who still disapprove of him, or who refuse to give him whatever he wants.

    He won’t even fund so-called blue states. So far this year he’s axed over $1.5 billion in blue-state grants, contrary to the wishes of Congress.

    If he doesn’t believe he’s my president, why should I treat him as my president and watch his State of the Union?

    Fourth and finally, I already know the real state of the union. It sucks.

    The economy has been good for big business and wealthy Americans but shitty for small businesses and average working Americans.

    Although Trump repeatedly promised that his tariffs would reduce U.S. imports, shrink the trade deficit, and lead to a revival in American manufacturing, the opposite has happened. The annual trade deficit in goods last year hit a record high. And U.S. manufacturers cut 108,000 jobs.

    In the 2024 election, Trump also promised to bring down prices, but inflation is still steaming ahead. Prices grew at an annual rate of 3 percent in December. He’s so out of touch with what most Americans are enduring that he calls the crisis of affordability “fake news.”

    He promised to control immigration, but 6 out of 10 Americans think he’s gone “too far” by sending federal agents into American cities who have caused mayhem and murder.

    He promised to avoid foreign entanglements, but he abducted the president of Venezuela, killed more than 150 Venezuelans, and is now planning to attack Iran.

    His menacing the Middle East has created another inflation risk: The possibility that a key oil export route will be disrupted has caused the price of Brent crude to soar.

    For all these reasons, I’m not going to watch Trump’s State of the Union. I recommend that you don’t, either.

    Your senators and representatives in Congress should boycott it, too. You might call their offices to suggest this. (Some Democrats are already planning to skip it, opting instead for a counter-programming event on the National Mall dubbed “The People’s State of the Union.” Good!)

    And why the hell should justices of the Supreme Court show up, especially after he says he’s “ashamed” of the six who decided his tariffs exceeded his authority — calling the three Democratic appointees a “disgrace to our nation” and the three conservatives who voted against him “fools and lapdogs for the RINOs and the radical left Democrats,” “very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” “swayed by foreign interests,” and “an embarrassment to their families”?

    Boycott the State of the Union! It’s the least we can do!

    5
    Reply
    • Laurel says

      February 23, 2026 at 9:38 pm

      This is interesting, because, without talking to anyone else, my husband and I have already decided we are not going to watch. We’ve watched plenty of his self aggrandizing speeches, and it’s the same, tired, out of touch, old story: me, me, me, I, I, I, Biden bad, Obama bad, all other Presidents bad, everything is the most wonderful ever because of me, the stable genius. The radical left are vermin. The immigrants are murderers and rapists. The Supreme Court Justices are traders.

      I cannot recall a time in my life, before now, that ANYONE would listen to this shit for more than one minute, from ANYONE!

      I asked my husband who are the 40% who like his crap, and he said “Of that 40%, 20% are the prejudiced, and 20% are investors.” That about sums it up.

      Trump is supposed to be trying to represent 100% of U.S. citizens. He is not, and he will not. He can blow his hot air out into space for all I care.

      3
      Reply
  6. Sherry says

    February 23, 2026 at 2:39 pm

    More corruption and waste of taxpayer’s $$$ from the trump administration! This from Adam Kinzinger:

    Last night, videos hit social media showing Kash Patel in Milan celebrating with Team USA men’s hockey after their gold-medal win. It had all the energy you’d expect from a championship locker room — beer spraying, chants, big smiles, the kind of moment athletes dream about their whole lives. If that were the entire story, I would not care. Public officials are allowed to be human. They are allowed to celebrate an victory. There is nothing scandalous about enjoying a win for your country, in and of itself.

    The issue is not the partying. The issue is the plane.

    Reports indicate Patel flew to Italy on a Justice Department aircraft, with the trip described as including meetings with Italian officials and security coordination around the Olympics. The FBI has said it was not a personal trip and that any personal portion would be reimbursed. If that is true, then provide the itinerary. Detail the meetings. Clarify the security purpose. Document any reimbursement. Transparency is not complicated when everything is on the level.

    4
    Reply
  7. Ray W. says

    February 23, 2026 at 3:54 pm

    A Republican Texas Railroad Commission candidate, previously condemned by Texas’ Lt. Governor for conducting an online poll asking whether Jews or Muslims pose a greater threat to America, recently posted to X:

    “Since we are going to denaturalize and deport all third-world savages who hate our country, I am calling for adding these third-world savages, who we conquered, then bizarrely let have a nation within our nation, to the list.”

    The candidate, Bo French, linked to the post a photograph of three Native Americans flipping a bird at Mount Rushmore. The reporter wrote of the fact that Mount Rushmore is a site sacred to Native Americans that was long ago taken in violation of treaty without consent.

    French eventually took down the post.

    When Snopes fact-checked whether the post about deporting “several Native Americans” had actually been posted, French wrote:

    “Snopes knows I didn’t call for deporting all Native Americans, but they published this FAKE NEWS story anyway. There are no honest people on the left. None.”

    As an aside, French has also called for denaturalizing the Puerto Rican-born Texas Tribune journalist, Carlos Noguera Ramos, over his reporting about French.

    Make of this what you will.

    Me?

    Can an American, either Native American or Puerto Rican, who has never been naturalized, be subjected to denaturalization by whim and caprice? Yes, arguably, citizenship for all Puerto Ricans is a legislatively-crafted right, not a Constitutional 14th Amendment right, but can a Republican state-level executive branch candidate, if elected, reverse on state authority a federal or constitutional right? Exactly who is concocting fake news here?

    5
    Reply
    • Ed P says

      February 24, 2026 at 5:21 am

      Hello Ray W,
      Brings to mind the lyrics of Stealers Wheels….
      Clowns to the left of me
      Jokers to the right,
      Here I am, stuck in the middle with you

      Ever wonder when we will hit bottom so we can bounce back up?

      1
      Reply
      • Ray W. says

        February 24, 2026 at 11:04 am

        Yes, , Ed P., commonly.

        I long for a day when the politically vengeful and the dishonest among us lose their grip on our discourse. I wish for a booming economy during the Trump years. Our federal debt issue is becoming all too real, and I accept Fed Chair Powell’s reasoning that we have but one narrow path out of the problem, i.e., long-term healthy GDP growth coupled with long term inflation at or below the target rate of 2%. I hope that decisions on government support for research to aid growing industries will be based on economic factors and not on partisan political myopia.

        10 years ago, a friend was excitedly telling me of his upcoming flight to Miami to attend JEB’s announcement of his run for president. He asked if I would consider voting for JEB. I answered that if I could be convinced to believe that JEB would actually listen to the best economic advice available, and not just to partisan economic advice, yes, I would consider that choice.

        2
        Reply
      • Ray W. says

        February 24, 2026 at 12:21 pm

        I don’t remember how old I was when my father talked of handling obstinate clients. He said that sometimes the only thing you can do for someone is to stand back and watch as he drowns in his own spit. To me, that gave new meaning to the phrase “spitting mad.”

        Over time, I developed a client control coping mechanism of intentionally pissing a client off until he becomes spitting mad. I would wait some days or weeks and then try to reel him back in so that he would listen to reason. Worked over and over again.

        The last time I did this with a client, I represented a white nationalist bigot accused of murdering a Black prostitute. His DNA was on a TV power cord tightly wrapped around her neck. His semen was collected from her anus. She was found in the bathroom of his motel room. Motel video put him at the scene, taking a bag of something out of the room. He had texted her that evening asking that she bring lubricants. It wasn’t their first time together.

        His family, equally racist, could not believe he would consider having sex with a Black woman.

        My co-counsel was a Black woman.

        Surly and combative, he was a most difficult client.

        One day, just before trial, as I walked with co-counsel to the St. John’s jail entrance, I said all I had left was to piss him off. I couldn’t have a surly client at trial. So, I pissed him off. As he lost emotional control, corrections officers raced into room, taking him out as he cursed. Walking out, I told co-counsel we would soon see if I could bring him back. A week or so later, we returned to the interview room. He was waiting. He rose and pulled out a chair for co-counsel to sit in. He shook my hand. We discussed his case. Different client.

        I am doing this right now with Dennis C. Rathsam. He is getting so out of emotional control that he is exposing exactly who and what he is to everyone. I will at some point step back and then see if he can’t be persuaded to listen to reason. Maybe I can. Maybe I can’t.

        I want zealous advocates to oppose me. So I pissed you off. You actually announced your plan to quit the FlaglerLive site for a time. I expressed my regret that you were leaving. Now, I read more and more well-reasoned arguments. Not because of me, but because of you. There are hundreds of arguments about immigration, many of them based on hatred and lies. I zealously advocate a reasoned position, based on the well-researched positive value of immigrants to the nation.

        2
        Reply
  8. Sherry says

    February 23, 2026 at 7:31 pm

    The Maga criminal grifter, trump, is massively enriching himself and his family with “BILLIONS” of dollars by corruptly asserting the power the duped Maga cult members gave him:

    The World Liberty Financial Deal
    The transaction centered on World Liberty Financial, a crypto company co-founded by the Trump family and Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East.
    CNN
    Investment Details: Four days before Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, an investment firm connected to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan—the UAE’s national security adviser and brother to the president—purchased a 49% stake in the company for $500 million.
    Direct Payments: Of the initial $250 million payment, approximately $187 million was steered directly to Trump family entities. An additional $31 million was reportedly directed to entities affiliated with Steve Witkoff’s family.

    Operational Ties: Two executives from the Emirati-backed firm G42 joined World Liberty Financial’s five-person board alongside Eric Trump and Zach Witkoff.
    The New York Times

    Conflicts of Interest
    The timing of the deal has sparked significant ethical and national security concerns among lawmakers and ethics experts.

    AI Chip Reversal: Months after the investment was finalized, the Trump administration approved the annual export of 500,000 advanced U.S. AI chips to the UAE. These chips had previously been restricted by the Biden administration due to concerns they could be diverted to China.
    Ongoing Investigations: On February 23, 2026, legal and advocacy groups formally requested an investigation by the Commerce Department’s Inspector General to determine if the administration’s policy reversal was influenced by the $500 million investment.
    Yahoo Finance

    4
    Reply
  9. Ray W. says

    February 23, 2026 at 9:17 pm

    The Society of Petroleum Engineers publishes an industry journal named The Journal of Petroleum Technology.

    Curious about whether there exists a classification of shale rock formations, I found a December 31, 2019 JPT paper titled: What’s the Difference Between Tier 1 and Tier 2? Not Much.

    The question addresses the Permian Basin, alongside a second Texas shale rock formation not relevant to the story, but for oil extraction occurring there, too.

    The article identifies four well output categories. Of all operating oil and natural gas wells that produce oil equivalent fossil fuels, including natural gas liquids, the lowest output category is fewer than 500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed). Then, there are wells producing between 500 and 999 boed. Next are wells with outputs between 1,000 and 1,499 boed. Finally are the wells pumping out more than 1,500 boed.

    In the Permian, there exists a region known as Midland. Six percent of all Tier 1 wells produce more than 1,500 boed, the same percentage of high-producing wells identified as Tier 2 and Tier 3 wells. But 57 percent of Tier 2 and Tier 3 wells produce fewer than 500 boed, as opposed to 42 percent of Tier 1 wells.

    Make of this what you will.

    Me?

    I know these are just numbers, but the point is that in one region of the most productive shale rock formation in the world, as of late 2019, only six percent of all the operating wells could be called as belonging in the highest category of oil output, where roughly half of all the wells fell into the least productive category.

    Many more recent Permian Basin articles refer to a maturing Permian oil patch. The low hanging fruit may have already been plucked. New drilling is releasing fewer and fewer barrels of oil per lateral foot drilled. American energy extractors are contracting to explore in other shale rock formations located in other countries. Projections have Permian Basin output leveling off and then declining. The famed Shale Revolution of 2009 to about 2015 may be ending. Fewer and fewer drilling rigs of all types operate across the country today, though it is true that extraction efficiencies continue to increase.

    Tier 1 category acreage is supposed to encompass the best “reservoir oil rock.” What happens when such formations become depleted? Just over six years ago, an industry journal, perhaps the flagship of all oil industry journals, was publishing an article describing the loss of distinction between the highest tier and the two lower tiers. What does that tell us?

    I am not saying we are running out of oil. What I am suggesting is that future extraction efforts may continue to decline in overall productivity as the fruit more and more evades our grasp.

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    Reply
  10. Ray W. says

    February 23, 2026 at 10:41 pm

    Earlier today, during an announcement of an aid package, including long-range missiles, Sweden’s defense told reporters that Sweden will not place geographic restrictions on the use of its missiles.

    Should the Ukraine choose to use Swedish weapons to recover sovereign land lost to Russian invasion, including Crimea, Sweden will support the decision.

    Make of this what you will.

    Me?

    More and more, European officials are asserting that the Ukraine is winning the war. Many experts report that when Starlink blocked a Russian hack into its system, a block blinding Russian battlefield intelligence, Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack that may have liberated over 300 square kilometers of Russian-held Ukrainian land so far.

    Independent sources claim that Russia lost over 34,000 soldiers killed in December alone, not counting the wounded, and that over the last two months, the sum of Russian battlefield dead outnumbers Russian recruiting.

    A former Russian central bank advisor, now with the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, writes that Russia’s economy is split between a productive military manufacturing bloc and a seriously unhealthy remainder of an economy.

    She argues that the Russian economy has entered a “death zone”, likening the situation to that of a high altitude athlete.

    The Russian military, according to the former central bank advisor, is losing to destruction on the battlefield the recent manufacturing inputs delivered to factories making tanks and armored personnel carriers, meaning that Russia is now, after four years of continuous wastage, consuming more than its present; it is consuming its future.

    Economic reserves set aside before the war are virtually exhausted. Military manufacturing and human wastage on the battlefield has stripped the remainder of the Russian economy of needed labor. Russia has had to resort to bringing in Indian laborers. Money spent on recruiting young men who then die or return crippled vanishes from the economy. Russian jails and prisons have been stripped of men able to fight.

    The researcher writes that the Russian “body is metabolizing its own muscle tissue for energy”, a condition that occurs at high altitude when body mass is consumed faster than the body can repair itself.

    Opines an Institute for the Study of War expert:

    “With recruitment rates declining, inflation rates rising, and his troops’ ability to actually seize the territory he desires in question, it won’t be long before Putin has to force his population to suffer economic hardship – and death.”

    2
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