I Alone Can...Destroy Everything

9.14.26

Happy Monday! Welcome back to Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Let’s break down the latest news.

Oil Prices Are Surging—And So Is Everything Else…Oil prices are climbing as disruptions in the Middle East send shockwaves through global energy markets. Brent crude topped $109 a barrel Monday, while U.S. crude approached $105. The national average for regular gas hit $4.31 per gallon, up more than 45% since the U.S. and Israel launched the Iran war, while diesel reached a record $6.23 per gallon. The problem goes far beyond the gas pump. Diesel powers trucks, trains, boats and farms, meaning higher fuel costs can eventually raise the price of just about everything we buy. Economists warn the spike could become an inflation problem for months.

Common Sense Takeaway: Every single item we buy relies on diesel powered engines to get where it’s going. And no—oil companies are not going to take the hit for us. The damage is going straight to our wallets. There is no solution or end in sight for this war and circumstances just keep getting worse. Not only is our military running out of money and resources for this war, all of us are going to run out as well.

Trump Says AI Doesn’t Need Guardrails….President Trump is rejecting calls for stronger guardrails on artificial intelligence, arguing that the only “control” AI needs is a “STRONG AND SMART” president. His comments come as AI executives and researchers are increasingly warning that the technology is advancing too quickly and could pose serious risks. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for companies to slow the pace of AI development, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has backed at least one of the proposed safeguards. One Anthropic researcher who recently resigned went even further, warning that AI developers believe the technology could potentially threaten humanity. And Americans aren’t exactly clamoring for more AI. A recent NBC News poll found that 70% are more worried about AI than excited about it, while 69% oppose an AI data center being built in their local community—including 57% of Republicans.

Common Sense Takeaway: “I alone can fix it.” More like “I alone can…destroy everything.” This maniac has no idea what AI is capable of doing at this stage, let alone in the future with unchecked development. He probably doesn’t even know what AI stands for. There have already been multiple attacks by AI agents unprompted by humans that should scare everybody, one being the Hugging Face attack. If Donald Trump had one brain cell, he would force Congress to convene now on this topic, but we’re not so lucky.

Texas GOP Candidate Doubles Down on Racist Post….Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, is refusing to apologize after posting a photo of University of Texas students celebrating a football game and suggesting their presence reflected Americans being “displaced by foreigners.” The post was quickly condemned by several prominent Texas Republicans, including Sen. John Cornyn, House Speaker Dustin Burrows and state Rep. Jeff Leach. Rather than delete the post, French doubled down, arguing that the controversy was really about whether America should “prioritize Americans” over foreigners. This isn’t French’s first controversy: he previously faced calls to resign as Tarrant County GOP chair after posting a poll asking whether Jews or Muslims posed a greater threat to the U.S., and earlier this year called for the deportation of 100 million people.

Common Sense Takeaway: What a disgusting individual. Unfortunately, Bo is not alone in his beliefs. There’s a reason why most of the GOP, including Ken Paxton, refused to condemn his comments. They agree with them. The sad part is these students were more than likely born in America—and what’s more American than cheering on your college football team? First, it was “come here legally.” Then it was “come here legally but assimilate.” Now it’s just “don’t come here at all.”

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. If you enjoyed this newsletter, don’t forget to like and share. It means the world.

— Ally