“How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” —  song from movie The Sound of Music Set in the time of Nazi Germany. Now let’s take that question to a different realm. How do you solve a problem like Hitler ?  His “fight to the death” strategy and indoctrination of the German people led to the utter destruction of Germany.  There were no holds barred by the Allies to defeat the Nazis, which unfortunately meant that many civilians lost their lives, and infrastructure decimated.  Th

I watched Trump’s Press Conference today.   The latest plan: a hard deadline (Tuesday night) for Iran to meet U.S. demands (including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and broader concessions). He warned the U.S. could “Take out” Iran or “the entire country… in one night” Would Launch large-scale strikes on infrastructure such as: power plants bridges He indicated the U.S. already has detailed plans ready to execute quickly and decisively. Of course, the shallow media kept aski

You may want to read previous Cogport posts for background and context. Trump made a bold move to remove the Communist Dictator Maduro from Venezuela. Maduro’s regime took money from oil profits, but let the oil infrastructure decline – working at only 20% of previous capacity. American companies are now working to recover and expand the capacity of Venezuela’s Oil Reserves. This great improvement expands global oil supplies which will keep prices down.  And the action will i

The war in Iran continues, but the radical leadership's time in existence is over. You can see the daily news on what is happening, so Cogport will not dwell on that. Major question: What is the end game ? Sentiments vary about regime change. Here is Cogport Opinion. If there is not a regime change, what is the point of this War? The public is getting mixed messages from Trump on the final outcome. The Administration claims to have negotiations with people in Iran, identity u

The Future of U.S. economic growth from AI Technology is dependent on key factors ·         Energy Availability. ·         Regulatory Restrictions. ·         Capital Funding. ·         Ease of Hiring Foreign Workers with Technology Skills. The global potential for AI over the next 10 years is huge. Unfortunately, U.S. policy is not advancing the potential. First, the energy grid is in a critical situation.  The high demand for electrical energy used by AI Data Centers is not

Cogport previously posted 2 reports about the factors in Global Foreign Policy leading up to the action against Iran.  Please read. Since the last post on March 16, the actions in Iran by U.S. and Israel have continued with a major depletion of Iran’s military capacity.  The NATO countries still decline to help open the Strait of Hormuz which has created a large increase in the price of Oil.  That is an event that will have significant impact on the future of NATO and the maj

Cogport previously posted about the factors in Global Foreign Policy leading to the action against Iran.  Please read. In the last three weeks some things have become clearer. Our European “allies” have given no support to help in the Straits of Hormuz, although they have the capacity. Our long history of Eurocentric-based foreign policy is coming to an end. What is failing: ·        The United Nations ·        NATO Ukraine is another example of how the EU countries fail.  Th

The first year of Trump’s new term has produced Major Impacts on Foreign Policy and International Trade planning in all countries.  The strategic implications are huge.   Here is a Summary of actions that have created a whole new thought process for international relations: Energy Policy – The U.S. has become the world’s largest producer of both oil and natural gas.  Arabian Investment Agreements – funds invested in business in the U.S.  Support for peace with Israel. NATO –

The Supreme Court has ruled by a 6-3 decision that Trump’s tariff deals are unconstitutional. Here is the background: Trump made the observation that tariff policy was inherently unfair to the U.S. economy and workers.  He elected to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose broad, global tariffs, and negotiate new deals. The IEEPA is poorly designed, but the President clearly has limited authority to impose tariffs - only in special situations su

Cogport.com posted policy articles about the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 8/11/25 and 8/16/25.  These are still available on our post list and are recommended for background reading. In Summary, Cogport concluded that more support was needed for Ukraine to oppose an incursion by Russia (Putin) intended to expand their territorial domain.  A throwback to the days of the Soviet Empire which collapsed in the 1990’s. Let’s look at what has happened since last August reports. T

The GAO has previously estimated that the federal government loses between about $233 billion and $521 billion per year  to fraud, based on data from 2018-2022. This range is widely cited as a proxy for ongoing fraud risk. That is money that costs taxpayers and adds to the Federal Deficit. The Deficit was $ 1.78 Trillion in 2025.   Eliminating Fraud could reduce the Deficit by up to 30%. Unfortunately, The GAO estimate may be only the tip of the iceberg. Recent revelations ha

In the previous 5 Parts of this Series, Cogport reviewed the current situation of energy shortage and proposed a plan for added capacity by 2030. We encourage you to read the previous reports for detailed background. Here is a basic Summary of the situation: Energy is already in Short Supply versus growing Demand. Cogport proposes addition of 260,000 Megawatts of capacity by 2030. The total estimated cost of investment is $ 636 Billion. For the short term, Cogport proposes ne

The First 4 Parts of this Series are recommended for reading to have the background facts about the U.S. Energy Grid. To summarize, Cogport estimates a demand for an additional capacity to produce electric energy of 260,000 MW (260 GW) by 2030. The U.S. currently has about 597,000 MW (597 GW) of capacity which is already in a shortage situation. Based on the information provided earlier in the Series, Cogport suggests a proposed plan for new plants to meet future demand: SHOR

In Part 3 we estimated the cost of Construction for new plants from different Fuel Sources.  Let’s break it down by cost per MW of Usable Capacity Cost to Build New Plants – Initial Investment Required Per MW Type                                          Initial cost per MW                    Construction                                                  of Usable Capacity                    Leadtime                               Coal                                        $ 6

In Parts 1 and 2, Cogport reviewed the Current Situation of the Electric Grid Capacity, and Future Demand. The Analysis showed that the U.S. needs to add 260,000 Megawatts (MW) of capacity by 2030. The future Demand shows we need 260 new plants producing 1,000 MW on average. That is a challenging goal considering the cost of new plants, and the long lead-time to build them The Public Utilities have no plans for this kind of investment and Government Policy is nowhere to be fo

In the First Part of this Series (12/29/25), Cogport compared Demand and Supply on the U.S. electricity grid.  It is suggested that you view that report for background. Here is a Quick Summary: Existing Usable Capacity  …………………..    596,507 Megawatts (MW) Current Demand ………………………….…    466,000 MW The U.S. is currently consuming 78% of Usable Capacity. That is a dangerously high demand level situation versus capacity.  It leaves little room for events that could affect supply.

This post is the start of a Series about the U.S. Electrical Grid. Electric is a critical component of our Infrastructure that has been neglected for lack of policy vision. It is not an easy fix. This Series is data intensive to provide a full background on the subject. Cogport will present the basic Data and provide Commentary to explain. We hope you will take it all in; we will try to break it down to digestible bites. The Basic Background: The Total U.S. Demand  for Elect

EV’s are a growing portion of the total U.S. auto fleet.  This Report covers the current situation and future potential.   Approximately 100 million passenger cars  are registered in the United States About 6.5% (6.5 million) of those are electric vehicles (EV’S)  and Hybrids . In 2024 , Total U.S. New Car Sales were……… 16 Million   Number of EV’s ………………………………… 1.6 Million   About 10% of New Vehicle Sales were EV in 2024. Future Forecast for EV Sales:   Recent industry anal

Cogport proposes Initiation of a New Amnesty program for Illegal Immigrants. It's been done before. Background Ronald Reagan   proposed and passed a  law with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants with the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 . Amnesty for Undocumented Immigrants Offered legal status  (and a path to permanent residency and citizenship) to undocumented immigrants who: Had entered the U.S. before January 1, 1982 , and Had resided contin

In early 2024, Cogport did a Six Part Series covering the long term changes in Global temperature and factors (Greenhouse Gases, etc.) that affect the Climate.  Summary:  Mankind has thrived in a Goldilocks Age of climate with moderate temperatures in a sweet spot – not too cold, not too hot. Over 4 Billion years, the planet has changed from Fire to Snowball Earth to many ranges in between. Here is an update on recent trends on the average annual temperature  in the U.S. (con