🚨 War-Time Rations – April 23 2026

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Lead: Rationing Is Back on the Table

Photo credit: The National WWII Museum

Shortages are coming, according to Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank, and that means that governments could begin food rations.

The war in Iran is disrupting supply chains in Europe and the domino effect of that can be devastating. The widespread concern about oil and gas is just one piece of the puzzle. The other is fertilizer.

One third of the world’s fertilizers are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. If farmers can’t get it, they can’t grow what the planet needs, which will drive up prices and create shortages.

“If the price of food increases significantly, it is not going to just be the price of food, it is going to be inflation expectations,” Lagarde said in a speech this week. “The adjustment shifts from prices, which we are putting up with now, to possibly rationing with very different economic consequences.”

Rationing is already happening. Airlines are canceling flights that they can’t run without jet fuel. How long until other businesses have to do this too?

The last time the U.S. saw serious rationing was World War II when access to fuel, food, and basic goods was controlled because supply simply couldn’t meet demand. Each household got a ration book with stamps or coupons that allowed them to buy only a set amount of, say, meat, sugar, gasoline, or coffee. Without the stamp, families simply could not buy those items, even if the shelves were full.

Cars were given windshield stickers to show how much fuel they were allowed to buy.

Families were encouraged to grow “victory gardens” to supplement the food that they could not buy.

This wasn’t like the “I can’t find toilet paper” phase of the Covid pandemic. This was systemic control. It shaped what people could eat, how they could travel, and how they lived.

And it didn’t begin with a government announcement. It began with shortages, constraints, and rising prices, just like we are seeing right now.

By the time it’s called rationing, it’s already here.

Why “Inshallah” Hit a Nerve

Photo credit: Getty Images

The Internet lost its mind this week when actress Anne Hathaway used the phrase “Inshallah” in an interview. Why is this significant? Because it adds an Arabic word into common phraseology that has not been there before.

Arabic speakers know this word intimately. It means “if God wills it.” Think of how English speakers add the words “hopefully” or “God willing” to their sentences and you get the idea.

Foreign languages slip into English all the time. Americans say “oy vey,” the Hebrew expression for frustration, or “c’est la vie,” the French phrase meaning “that’s life,” without thinking twice.

But English speakers don’t casually drop Arabic phrases the way they do Spanish or French, even though Arabic is already baked into the language through words like algebra, coffee, and alcohol.

So why is it noticeable when it is used in pop culture now? I have two theories.

One theory, the more cynical one, is that Hollywood is trying to cater to those that might be boycotting their movies.

The other, less cynical, is that Anne Hathaway is expressing a popular sentiment of solidarity with the Arab world because that is increasingly fashionable.

Either way, it doesn’t feel neutral. It feels connected to conflict, to identity, to everything people are already watching and arguing about regarding Arab nations.

That reaction isn’t really about one word. It’s about when a culture becomes visible and why.

Rethink What You Put in Your Mouth

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News by The Numbers

Photo credit: CSIS

7. That is how many key munitions the U.S. is running shockingly low on due to Operation Epic Fury, according to a new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

70. That is the age that a German politician wants to use as the new age limit for military reservists, saying that this is fine because, he explained, “people are staying fit longer.” If you advocate enlisting a 70-year-old man, you are the bad guy.

86%. That is the disapproval rating for Congress, a record high. Obviously.

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