Retiring Guy's Digest: 2026-10-18

Saturday, October 24, 2026

Just in time for the midterms: gas prices reach highest level since April

Photo by Retiring Guy (10/24/2026)

Headline: New York Times, 10/23/2026)

Joe Rennison reports on the impact on oil prices as a result of Trump's War of Whimsy:

Oil prices rose further on Friday, as hostilities across the Middle East continue to raise fears in the energy markets that the oil supply from the region would remain throttled.

The price of Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose to $116.72 a barrel on Friday, taking its increase for the week to 6.2 percent, its biggest weekly rise in two months. [emphasis added]

Brent prices have risen 60 percent since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 and are now at their highest level since April, and close to their highest levels since the war began.

WTI, the U.S. benchmark, topped $103 a barrel on Friday, up more than 50 percent since the start of the war.

Related posts:

October 2026

Yet another empty gesture from a flailing Trump administration. (10/23)

The main issue is that Trump is driving the Blunder Bus. (10/18)

Gesture running on empty: Regular or dyed, price of diesel fuel remains well above what it was prior to Trump War of Whimsy. (10/8)

August-September 2026

Just in time for the midterms: Trump War of Whimsy causes price of diesel fuel to skyrocket. (9/27)

Dear Caden Perry @journalsentinel: How is it you can write an article about 'nightmare' diesel fuel prices squeezing farmers without mentioning Donald Trump and the Iran War? Best, Retiring Guy

GasBuddy, your plates of crow are ready!! (9/20)

Thanks to Trump War of Whimsy, Jonathan Robidoux and many other American homeowners will pay considerably more for heating oil this winter . (9/20)

Trump's clown cabinet: It took just 19 days to upend Scott Bessant's oil pipeline proclamation. (9/18)

Global reverberations of Trump War of Whimsy: Anger and protests over energy prices. (9/17)

On Day 195 of Trump War of Whimsy, oil prices are up 50%. (9/12)

On Day 189 of Trump War of Whimsy, price of diesel fuel hits all-time high in United States. (9/7)

On day 160 of Trump War of Whimsy, we learn that it's been a bonanza for Big Oil. (8/1)

May 2026

On Day 80 of Trump War of Whimsy, skyrocketing price of diesel fuel wreaks havoc on school budgets. (5/18)

Day 77: Price of diesel fuel hits record high. (5/15)

Barron County Wisconsin reports 2nd outbreak of bird flu in a week

Headline: WATT Poultry, 10/23/2026

Roy Graber reports:

For the second time in less than a week, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) reported that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in a commercial poultry flock in Barron County.

The latest flock infection was announced in a press release that was issued on Oct. 22. The earlier HPAI case was announced on Oct. 19.

DATCP stated that its animal health officials were working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a joint incident response regarding both flocks. The affected premises were quarantined to restrict movement of poultry and poultry products. Birds on the property were depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.

DATCP has not offered more specific information concerning the type of commercial poultry involved, or how many birds were in either of the flocks

Related posts

October 2026

Barron County Wisconsin reports its 2nd case of bird flu in 2026. (10/20)

Jefferson County Health Department in Wisconsin takes proactive approach to bird flu. (10/14)

Racine County Wisconsin reports bird flu on backyard flock. (10/7)

June 2026

Avian flu outbreaks reduce egg production in Wisconsin by 50%. (6/16)

April 2026

Odor of composting bird carcasses is not pleasing to residents of Palmyra Wisconsin. (4/25)

March 2026

Jefferson County Wisconsin experiences residual effect of bird flu: Thousands of gallons of

Sounds like Wisconsin Republicans want to sell public lands to CAFOs to bury millions of chickens infected with bird flu. (3/17)

Wisconsin bird flu update: 3 million dead chickens composting in your neighborhood is not

Wisconsin puts poultry shows and exhibitions on hold in 20 southern counties due to recent bird flu outbreak. (3/14)

3.1 million chickens zapped by bird flu at two CAFOs in southeast Wisconsin. (3/6)

Backyard case of bird flu reported in Dane County Wisconsin. (3/5)

December 2026

Avian flu detected in Wisconsin dairy herd. (12/14)

October 2025

Avian flu threat results in cancellation of WIsconsin poultry show. (10/11)

Jefferson County Wisconsin reports second case of avian flu in less than a week. (10/3)

September 2025

That Jefferson County Wisconsin farm lost more than 3 million laying hens. (9/30)

Wisconsin reports first 2025 commercial case of avian flu in poultry flock without providing any specifics. (9/29)

Ebola spreads to Nigeria

Headline: New York Times, 10/20/2026

Matthew Mpoke Bigg reports:

Nigeria on Tuesday announced its first case of Ebola during the current outbreak, as the virus continued to spread internationally.

The woman who was infected recently flew to Nigeria from Uganda and received the diagnosis several days after starting treatment at a private hospital in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, according to a statement by the Nigerian health ministry.

“She is currently in isolation and receiving medical care,” said the statement, which was posted on social media.

The epicenter of the world’s fastest growing Ebola outbreak is at the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 1,600 miles southeast of Abuja. More than 4,600 people have died in Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent’s main public health body. [emphasis added]

Related posts:

2026

An Ebola outbreak like never before. (10/20)

Kenya reports its first-ever case of Ebola. (10/8)

The last time Retiring Guy checked in May the number of Ebola deaths was 131. (8/21)

Donald Trump drive his Blunder Bus into the Ebola outbreak. (7/21)

In one day, the number of Ebola deaths increases 64%. (5/19)

DOGE chickens come home to roost: World Health Organization declares global health emergency due to Ebola outbreak in Congo. (5/18)

2025

First Felon Donald Trump sets the stage for the next pandemic. (3/27)

Trump’s Art of the Deal, with strings attached

AI-generated image requested from Manus 1.6 Lite

Headline: New York Times, 10/22/2026

Valerie Hopkins reports:

Last October, President Trump imposed significant sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, complaining that negotiations with President Vladimir V. Putin over ending the war in Ukraine “just don’t go anywhere.”

A red-carpet welcome for the Russian leader in Alaska had done nothing to bring peace. A planned summit in Budapest had fallen apart. Mr. Trump had started to acknowledge that Mr. Putin might just be playing him, with no intention of making peace. Faint Ukrainian hopes glimmered of a Trump-Putin break.

But the Russian president was playing a longer game.

Now, exactly a year after the oil sanctions, Mr. Putin has never been so close to his goal of normalizing relations with Washington without having to make any compromises on Ukraine.

Related posts:

2026

The Three Authoritarians gang up on Ukraine. (10/20)

Putin continues to pull the strings on Trump (sanctions law edition). (10/18)

From the looks of it, Trump chooses autocracy over democracy. (9/26)

Donald Trump claims Germany's Saxony-Anhalt as his own. (9/11)

Pulling the strings on Donald Trump (G20 Finance Committee meeting). (9/3)

2025

Trump's authoritarian moves are making all Americans less safe. (8/22)

Wisconsin elections: What a difference 5 months and the road to authoritarianism makes! (4/2)

Trump is barreling down the road to authoritarianism yet the media promotes Hooters bankruptcy as a top story. (4/1)

Trump's march to authoritarianism turns USA into a hostile state. (4/1)

Meet the Wisconsin roadies on the Trump Authoritarian Regime Tour. (3/29)

: This is exactly what an authoritarian's henchman and fulltime sycophant would say. (3/4)

MISCREANT PREACHERS: Child sexual abuse in the Name of the Lord (#413 in a series)

Mugshot and headline: Montrose Daily Press, 10/22/2026

Katharhynn Heidelberg reports:

A pastor who formerly worked at a local church has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, according to jail records and an announcement from his former church, which has severed ties with him.
Benjamin Garate, 72, was arrested Wednesday. He is also suspected of child abuse and another sex crime, the nature of which suggests he knew the alleged victim independently of his role with his former church.

Other miscreant preacher posts (which cover a multitude of sins):

October 2026

Richard Shealy. (10/23)

Carl Lentz. (10/22)

Jerry Finchum. (10/19)

Jared Salmons. (10/17)

Cristian Popescu. (10/15)

Reginald W. Atkins. (10/14)

Brandon Dillard. (10/13)

Andrew Benton. (10/10)

Terrance Booker. (10/7)

Jared Denney. (10/6)