On Tuesday, September 22, the President told the United Nations he expected a deal with Iran after the midterms. On Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal, he told his staff he had turned down Iran's seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and expected the bombing to resume after the November election. The same day, a US official told Reuters the talks were "positive and constructive." Congress can't stop any of it. The Senate killed the war powers resolution 49–50 on Thursday, and the House is out until about November 9. So the one body that could vote on this war is away until after the vote that decides who sits in it, and the bombing is timed to start after the voters are done. Meanwhile, nine ships went through Hormuz on Thursday, against about 125 a day before the war. Brent closed Friday at $104.32, its second straight week above $100. Diesel sits a cent below its all-time record, and the Energy Secretary is asking refiners to hold back exports without ordering it. The Pentagon's wounded count rose by thirty-seven with no announcement, and a newspaper found them in the database. The same President asks Ukraine to stop hitting Russian diesel while his intelligence services help it choose which refinery parts to hit. And on Tuesday, September 29, he gives an address to the nation under the banner of a "Golden Age." Each of those facts is dated and on the record. Read them in order and the next six weeks are already on the calendar. The public story tells you to wait and see. The dates show the decisions were made before the speeches that denied them.