Source: The Hill
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested 20,000 National Guard troops to help with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, a DHS official confirmed to The Hill Thursday. … A Defense official also told The Hill that the Pentagon ‘received a request’ this week but was not able to share the contents because planning is in the initial stages and predecisional. … It is unknown what role National Guard members would take in the immigration crackdown, such as whether they would be involved in rounding up and [abducting] people for deportation or just transportation or security. It’s also unclear whether state governors would have to approve the plan or if President Trump would move to federalize the National Guard to take control of its troops.” (05/15/25)
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5303004-dhs-requests-20000-national-guard-troops-to-help-with-mass-deportations/
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“To ‘corrupt’ a person or thing (per the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary) is to ‘draw aside from the path of rectitude and duty … debase or render impure by alterations or innovations.’ In order for the Qataris to ‘corrupt’ Trump, he’d necessarily have displayed some semblance of ‘rectitude’ prior to their interactions. Americans knew that was far from the case before they elected him to the presidency the first time in 2016, and gathered eight more years of demonstration proofs to the contrary before electing him a second time in 2024. The golf resort deal and the 747 ‘donation’ may be immoral and illegal, but that’s just the story of Trump’s entire adult life in business, entertainment, and politics. There’s nothing honest or dutiful there for the Qataris TO corrupt. They’re just cashing in on his best-known character trait. Nor is Trump an outlier in American politics.” (05/15/25)
https://thegarrisoncenter.org/archives/19587
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Make Hollywood Great Again?” (05/15/25)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/make-hollywood-great-again
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“The United Nations has said it will not take part in a US-backed humanitarian operation in Gaza because it is not impartial, neutral or independent, as Israel pledged to facilitate the effort without being involved in aid deliveries. ‘This particular distribution plan does not accord with our basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and we will not be participating in this,’ deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters on Thursday. The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will start work in Gaza by the end of May under a heavily criticised aid plan that the UN aid chief Tom Fletcher described as a ‘fig leaf for further violence and displacement’ of Palestinians in Gaza.” ()5/15/25)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/15/un-rejects-us-backed-gaza-aid-plan-citing-lack-of-neutrality
Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy
“If you voted for President Donald Trump last November because you believed he’d increase economic freedom, it’s safe to say you were fooled. Following a reckless tariff barrage, the White House and its allies are preparing a new wave of tax code gimmickry that has more in common with progressive social engineering than pro-growth reform. And don’t forget a fiscal recklessness that mirrors the mistakes of the left. Defend these policies if you like, but let’s be clear: The administration shows no coherent commitment to free market principles and is in fact actively undermining them. Its approach is better described as central planning disguised as economic nationalism.” (05/15/25)
https://reason.com/2025/05/15/trumps-tax-plan-is-a-leftist-economic-agenda-wrapped-in-populist-talking-points/
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Walmart is preparing to raise prices in the US as soon as this month, as its own costs increase as a result of the new tariffs on imports imposed by President Donald Trump. The plans by the world’s largest retailer come as White House announcements in recent weeks have resulted in most goods from around the world facing new import taxes of at least 10%, with products from China facing higher duties of at least 30%. Reporting to investors on the firm’s performance on Thursday, chief executive Doug McMillon said he was grateful that the Trump administration had, for now, suspended plans for more aggressive levies. But he said that his firm was still likely to raise prices to cover the new costs.” (05/15/25)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd62427ypw6o
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson
“The problem with the FAA is not a lack of political will or the failure of Congress to fund the system. Rather, the problem is that a government agency oversees air traffic control (ATC) instead of private enterprise.” (05/15/25)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/make-flying-safe-make-air-traffic-control-profit-seeking-business
Source: Financial Times [UK]
“Donald Trump has said that ‘nothing is going to happen’ on a Russia-Ukraine peace deal until he and Vladimir Putin meet, damping expectations for talks between Russian and Ukrainian ministers due in Turkey. The US president’s comments threatened to thrust the latest peace efforts into disarray, as Russian and Ukrainian negotiators were set to meet for the first time since 2022. … Trump had previously said he was open to taking a detour for the talks in Turkey, but decided not to after the Russian president made clear in the eleventh hour that he would not attend.” (05/15/25)
https://archive.is/NUyHU
Source: The Daily Economy
by Zachary Yost
“The future of America will not ultimately be decided by our formal constitution, but by small choices in human hearts and daily lives.” (05/15/25)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/can-the-constitution-survive-the-age-of-rousseau/
Source: Reuters
“The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, but job opportunities are becoming more scarce for those out of work as economic uncertainty from tariffs discourages businesses from boosting hiring. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits held steady at a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended May 10, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 229,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have moved in a 205,000-243,000 range this year, consistent with a historically low level of layoffs.” (05/15/25)
https://archive.is/XeDj6
