“Matthew Lynn has written a powerful essay in which he chastises the economics profession for being so clearly wrong when it came to the effects of Donald Trump’s tariffs. According to him, when President Trump imposed sweeping and massive tariffs in April, the ‘mainstream economic establishment’ predicted inflation would surge, supply chains would crash, and the economy would be plunged into a deep recession. … Six months later, Lynn argues, none of this came to pass. … For our sins, Lynn insists that we economists must repent, acknowledge our mistake, and address why we ‘big thinkers got this one wrong.’ At a time when experts have been called into question on many fronts, it’s a compelling indictment. There’s just one problem. It’s built on a foundation of selective reading, convenient timing, and a fundamental misunderstanding of what economists actually said and what the evidence actually shows.” (10/20/25)
“Nicolas Sarkozy will become the first former French president in modern history to step into a prison cell on Tuesday, the former president indicated over the weekend. Sarkozy — once a star figure of French conservatism — was sentenced to five years in prison last month for allegedly having permitted his ‘close collaborators’ and ‘unofficial intermediaries’ to attempt to obtain financial backing from Moammar Gadhafi’s regime in Libya in exchange for economic and diplomatic favors as he prepared for his first presidential campaign ahead of 2007. … It’s unclear how long Sarkozy will remain incarcerated. Once behind bars, he will be able to request a sentence adjustment, which could allow him to serve his sentence differently, for example at home with an electronic bracelet.” (10/20/25)
Source: The American Conservative
by Peter Van Buren
“It is no surprise Hawaii, with some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws, now finds itself before the Supreme Court, seeking to defend its position against a challenge that could reshape many states’ approach to firearms. Hawaii has forced on its citizens one of the lowest rates of gun ownership via some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country. Let’s see if the latest challenge brings the Aloha state just a bit closer to the broader gun freedoms most Americans enjoy as a right.” (10/20/25)
“Vice President JD Vance – the guy who falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio – was upset after Politico reported ‘leaders of Young Republican groups’ shockingly ‘referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.’ However, Vance wasn’t noticeably outraged by the 251 times these GOP activists used vile terms or one’s proclaimed admiration for Adolf Hitler. He instead was upset by the ‘pearl clutching’ criticism of the chat group. … none of this edge-lording is surprising in a party that has swapped Ronald Reagan’s uplifting ‘City on a Hill’ slogan for ‘mass deportation’ placards.” (10/19/25)
“A motorcycle that is part of Vice President JD Vance’s security detail and a California Highway Patrol car were hit with shrapnel on Saturday after a 155-millimeter shell exploded over Interstate 5 during a live-fire demonstration for the Marines’ 250th anniversary on Saturday, according to a new report. Officials told The New York Times that the explosion was a ‘mishap’ and that no officers were injured. California Gov. Gavin Newsom had ordered the freeway to be closed ahead of the celebration after reports emerged that the Trump administration was planning to fire live ordnance at the event.” [editor’s note: I can attest from experience that a 155mm shell unexpectedly exploding overhead can be rather startling – TLK] (10/19/25)
Source: The Peaceful Revolutionist
by David S D’Amato
“In our discussion of GDP to this point, we have seen that it embeds and re-transmits deep descriptive errors, that it doesn’t attempt a distinction between qualitatively very different forms of output: pollution, nuclear weapons, and financial speculation are as valuable to GDPists as housing, food, or medicine. We have seen that this absurd and wildly self-destructive feature of our politics is ignored by both parties. GDP’s dramatic misrepresentation of social reality is tacitly accepted. But GDP is not just misrepresenting or misdescribing; it is actively shaping our policy preferences and decision-making because its flawed model is being treated as a direct proxy for positive social change and progress.” (10/19/25)
“Israel said it had resumed a truce with Hamas in Gaza after heavy fighting over the weekend, with the sides accusing each other of breaching a deal brokered by US President Donald Trump. Around 9:30 p.m. Israel time on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said it had ‘begun renewed enforcement of the ceasefire’ and warned it would ‘respond firmly to any violation.’ Israel launched strikes against Hamas in Gaza and suspended aid shipments on Sunday after blaming the Iran-backed militant group for an ambush that killed two soldiers in the southern part of the strip. … Hamas said it remained committed to the truce and that it had lost contact with, and therefore couldn’t be held responsible for, any Palestinian fighters operating in Rafah. Trump suggested that could be true.” (10/20/25)
Source: CounterPunch
by John W Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
“Masked gunmen. Tasers. Tear gas. Pepper spray. Unmarked vehicles. Intimidation tactics. Brutality. Racial profiling. Children traumatized. Families terrorized. Journalists targeted. Citizens detained. Disabled individuals, minors, the elderly, pregnant women, military veterans — snatched off the streets. Private property destroyed. This is not a war zone. This is what now passes for law-and-order policing by ICE agents in Trump’s America—and it is not making America safer or greater. What began as an agency tasked with enforcing immigration law has metastasized into a domestic terror force. … Make no mistake: this is not how a constitutional republic operates. It is how a dictatorship behaves when it decides the rule of law — in this case, the Bill of Rights — is optional.” (10/17/25)
