This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Monday, March 9, 2026.

Triple A is reporting that gas prices in Wilmington jumped 50 cents from last week to this week.  The national average increase was nearly 27 cents.  The biggest increase was in the cost of diesel.

Since just about everything in our economy is driven by the cost of oil, we will most likely see other cost increases – or a halt to the dropping prices – that has marked the Trump administration.

These are small prices to pay for the elimination of the one of the most evil, vile and dangerous regimes in the world – Iran.

There is no question that the Ayatollahs of that country unabashedly supported terrorism around the globe.  From the October 7 Iran-backed attack in Israel that slaughtered over 1200 civilians to the other proxy warfare that Iran has engaged in, they have blood on their hands and are a clear and present danger to the civilized world.

Beyond the international, Iran’s treatment of women in particular is beyond the pale. From a report from Human Rights in Iran from March of 2025:

In Iran, women are second-class citizens—systematically oppressed by laws and policies that serve only one purpose: to entrench the power of the government. For over four decades, the Islamic Republic has restricted women’s rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance, child custody, work, the courts, political office, travel, lifestyle, and clothing—using their bodies and freedoms as tools of domination—and has blatantly failed to protect women from gender-based violence.

Additionally

In Iran, girls can be married at age 13 or younger with the consent of a judge and male guardian. Figures released by the Statistical Center of Iran showed that between the winter of 2021 and 2022, at least 27,448 registered marriages of girls under the age of 15 were recorded, along with 1,085 cases of childbirth within this age group. These forced child marriages—essentially child rape—occur in a country that lacks the laws, policies, and services to protect women from domestic violence.

In this women’s history month of 2026, it seems appropriate that we suffer an increase in prices to stop such atrocities and bring Iran to an unconditional surrender.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample.  Thanks for listening.

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