Fountainhead Forum, episode 289
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Mark Pellegrino on the American Capitalist Party and working in Hollywood.” (04/01/25)
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
War, Doublethink, and the Struggle for Survival: Geopolitics of the Gaza Genocide
Source: Antiwar.com
by Ramzy Baroud
“In a genocidal war that has spiraled into a struggle for political survival, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and the global powers supporting him continue to sacrifice Palestinian lives for political gain.” (04/02/25)
Nice Try, President Trump, But There Is No Third-Term Presidential Loophole
Source: The UnPopulist
by Paul Gowder
“While most of us are aware that the Constitution prohibits a president from serving more than two terms, some legal scholars have argued that there is a loophole that Trump, despite being twice-elected, could exploit. Unlike his plainly unconstitutional attempt to abolish birthright citizenship for everyone except the children of citizens and green card holders, the third-term question has been a live and serious debate within legal circles for years prior to Trump’s ascent. Now for the good news: The best reading of the Constitution really does rule out a third Trump term. In the end, even the sophisticated legal arguments for allowing a third presidential term depend on exploiting loopholes in a document that isn’t written to exhaustively anticipate and exclude them and therefore, as Chief Justice John Marshall warned us, end up undermining the very foundations of our Republic.” (04/01/25)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/nice-try-president-trump-but-there
Turkey: Regime Whines About Opposition Calls for a Day of No Shopping
Source: US News & World Report
“Turkey’s government denounced opposition calls for a mass commercial boycott following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu that sparked nationwide protests, describing them on Wednesday as an economic ‘sabotage attempt.’ After the mayor was detained two weeks ago, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) had called for a boycott of goods and services from companies with perceived ties to President Tayyip Erdogan’s government. That call widened on Wednesday to include a halt to all shopping for one day, prompting some shops to close in solidarity with those criticising the arrest as a politicised and anti-democratic attempt to hurt the opposition’s electoral prospects. Imamoglu is Erdogan’s main political rival and the CHP’s presidential candidate for any future election. Trade Minister Omer Bolat said boycott calls posed a threat to economic stability and accused those advocating them of seeking to undermine the government.” (04/02/25)
Nonzero, 04/01/25
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Authoritarianism in the US and Abroad | Robert Wright & Almut Rochowanski.” (04/01/25)
Don’t Assume Trump Is Joking About a Third Term
Source: Persuasion
by Sam Kahn
“Why am I so sure that Trump is not, as The New York Times assures me, joking when he discusses a third term? Well, for one rather literal-minded reason, because he told NBC News ‘I’m not joking’ in a recent interview. That brings us, of course, into one of the finer political arts of the Trump era: the deciphering of Donald Trump’s sense of humor. The theory here — which has gained surprisingly wide-ranging acceptance — is that Trump’s sense of humor is a kind of carefully calibrated ultrasonic instrument designed to infuriate liberals, whereas his supporters can take everything with an easygoing swagger. … But, like the sort of school bully who’s just kidding right up until the moment he snatches your lunch bag out of your hand (and then assures you afterwards that it was no big deal), Trump’s gags deserve to be taken seriously.” (04/01/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/dont-assume-trump-is-joking-about
“The Problem Factory” — Preemptive risk aversion in infrastructure planning and the role of professional services
Source: Niskanen Center
by Dan Davies
“In a small site of special scientific interest about 20 miles northwest of Oxford, a ‘shed’ is being built. Or at least, that was how Jon Thompson, the chief executive of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project, described the Sheephouse Wood Bat Protection Structure. … The ‘bat shed’ became the subject of media controversy in 2024 when … Thompson revealed that it, alone, had added £100 million to the bill. It makes a useful starting point for discussing a general question of costs in infrastructure, not just in the UK but in many countries with a similar economic and legal structure. Why do things like the Sheephouse Wood Bat Mitigation Structure seem to happen so often? More to the point, why do they appear to particularly afflict the common law countries?” (04/01/25)
FL: Republicans win two special elections for House seats
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Republicans on Tuesday won special elections for two US House of Representatives seats in Florida vacated by Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, dashing Democratic hopes for an upset victory in the first federal special elections held since the president began his second term. … Democrats were not expected to be competitive in the heavily Republican area, but the final tally appeared much closer Tuesday than it was in November.” (04/01/25)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/republicans-florida-special-elections-results
Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 04/01/25
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Jacob Hornberger (Future of Freedom Foundation) comes on to discuss the JFK files release, JFK Records Act, national security nonsense in holding the files for so long, Ian Freeman update, etc.” (04/01/25)
Recent Mistakes I’ve Made
Source: EconLog
by David Henderson
“I used to think that Donald Trump was an ignoramus who didn’t understand the gains from trade. But now I realize that he understands it better than we economists. All we have are our models and our logical reasoning. Trump has experience as a trader in the real world who understands that in every trade, there is a winner and loser. He also understands that when domestic car companies charge low prices to Americans, that’s good, but when foreign car companies charge low prices, that’s bad. … I wasn’t wrong to criticize Kamala Harris for advocating price controls during the presidential campaign. But I’m wrong for having criticized Donald Trump for warning auto companies not to raise prices …. The difference is that Harris is a Democrat and Trump is a Republican and that makes all the difference.” (04/01/25)