Conflicts of Interest, episode 778
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump White House Gives Full Throated Support for Israeli War Crimes.” (04/02/25)
The Logical Contradictions of Trump’s Case for Tariffs
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“Tariffs ‘will always be the best way to max out our economic power,’ President Donald Trump declared during his first term, predicting that his trade war would ‘MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN.’ Not rich enough, apparently, because Trump is still touting the magic of tariffs, which he says will ‘pay off our debt’ and ‘MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!’ Judging from the dizzying array of tariffs that Trump has imposed this time around, he believes what he says. But his faith is rooted in claims that are logically inconsistent as well as economically implausible.” (04/02/25)
https://reason.com/2025/04/02/the-logical-contradictions-of-trumps-case-for-tariffs/
SCOTUS receptive to South Carolina bid to defund Planned Parenthood
Source: Reuters
“Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic on Wednesday to South Carolina’s bid to strip Planned Parenthood of funding under the Medicaid program in a case that could bolster efforts by Republican-led states to deprive the reproductive healthcare and abortion provider of public money. The justices heard arguments in South Carolina’s appeal of a lower court’s decision barring the Republican-governed state from terminating Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.” (04/02/25)
Got Immigration Problems? Fix Foreign Policy First
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Lora Karch
“As Syria begins to collapse into another civil war, western nations brace for the inevitable surge of Syrian refugees to their borders. Amid a national immigration crisis, America should consider how its own foreign policy perpetuates this problem. Over 1,500 people have been killed since the clashes earlier in March, including 1,000 civilians. Many call it the worst violence we’ve seen since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December, yet it’s nothing new for those monitoring the situation since the Arab Spring. In America, immigration discussions among both political camps overlook how U.S. foreign policy contributes to the growing problem. Syria’s fourteen-year conflict demonstrates how American hard power intervention worsens conditions on the ground for civilians, prompts mass migration, and enables extremists to assume control.” (04/02/25)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/got-immigration-problems-fix-foreign-policy-first
Hungary: Orbán to Host International War Crimes Fugitive
Source: US News & World Report
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive in Hungary’s capital on Wednesday to meet with the country’s nationalist prime minister despite an international arrest warrant for the Israeli leader over the war in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu’s four-day visit to Budapest is a sign of both his close relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the latter’s growing hostility toward international institutions, like the International Criminal Court, of which his country is a member. Orbán, a conservative populist and close Netanyahu ally, has vowed to disregard the ICC warrant against the Israeli leader, accusing the world’s top war crimes court based in The Hague, Netherlands, of ‘interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes.'” (04/02/25)
The Learning Curve, 04/02/25
Source: Pioneer Institute
“Hoover’s Dr. James Lynn Woodworth on CREDO, NCES, & Data-Driven Policy.” (04/02/25)
Will DOGE Succeed Where Others Have Failed?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
“The world is watching the United States’[s] Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with bated breath, though with mixed expectations, whether it’s with hope, curiosity, trepidation, or abject horror. DOGE, originally the United States Digital Service, is headed up by Elon Musk, who proudly waved a chainsaw given to him by Javier Milei in praise of his efforts, and who has so far saved US taxpayers $115 billion. We’re all watching for different reasons, but for most conservatives and right-of-center parties, it is in the desperate hope that DOGE will succeed where they have failed. Across the developed world, nations are searching for a solution to out-of-control government spending and seemingly coming up short.” (04/02/25)
https://fee.org/articles/will-doge-succeed-where-others-have-failed/
How States Can Help President Trump Make America Great Again
Source: The Federalist
by Joy Pullmann
“The New York Times recently released data putting Indiana in the top 10 states Americans relocated to in 2023. Here’s that list, in order according to relocation numbers: Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Seven of these are completely Republican-controlled, and two have Republican legislatures. Indiana is the only state on the list without a warm or mountainous climate. Professor Michael New pointed out that eight of these ten states enacted strong pro-life laws after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. It didn’t damage their attractions one bit. Republican leaders are constantly economically blackmailed into inaction in the culture war, but it turns out the blackmailers are bluffing.” (04/01/25)
https://thefederalist.com/2025/04/01/how-states-can-help-president-trump-make-america-great-again/
MA: Turkish student abducted by ICE was moved to Vermont before judge’s order
Source: SFGate
“A Tufts University doctoral student from Turkey who was [abducted] by immigration authorities had been moved to Vermont by the time a federal judge ordered authorities to keep her in Massachusetts, lawyers for the U.S. government said. Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was taken by immigration officials as she walked along a street in the Boston suburb of Somerville on March 25. She was put on a plane the next day and moved to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in remote Basile, Louisiana. There was no available space to detain her in New England, the Justice Department lawyers said. U.S. District Judge Denise Casper … responding to a petition filed last week by Ozturk’s lawyers, issued a ruling on March 28 that Ozturk can’t be removed from the United States ‘until further order of this court.’ But on Tuesday, lawyers for the Justice Department argued that the judge lacks jurisdiction to decide Ozturk’s case.” (04/02/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/detained-tufts-student-taken-from-massachusetts-20254376.php
Against British Censorship
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“The dictates of the neo-redcoat British government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are out of control. Starmer’s Labour government wants the whole world to obey its censorship demands. The latest is that its Office of Communications, called Ofcom, is threatening the American social media platforms Gab and Kiwi Farms with mega-steep fines for unwaveringly safeguarding the freedom of speech of users. Which of course Gab and Kiwi Farms have every right to do.” (04/02/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/04/02/against-british-censorship/