“The stock market has been throwing a temper tantrum over the Trump tariffs. The beatdown could get worse because President Donald Trump is expected to announce another round of import tariffs on Wednesday. The liberal media and Democrats in Congress — many of whom once supported tariffs — are feeding the flames. They hate Trump and want to see him fail. But is the market downgrade of American companies to the tune of roughly 10% a rational response to Trump’s trade restrictions? I am an economist, not a stock market sage, but it is worth a reminder that despite some higher tariffs imposed by Trump in his first term — which caused temporary stock sell-offs — those effects were truly transitory. The market later surged month after month. On average, stocks rose by roughly 60% in four years. Not a bad return.” (04/02/25)
“The former president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, says his US visa has been revoked. Arias, a Nobel laureate, said he was informed of the decision weeks after he had publicly criticised Donald Trump, comparing the behaviour of the US president to that of a Roman emperor. The 84-year-old, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in brokering an end to conflicts in Central America, said US authorities had given no explanation. Arias hinted, however, that it may be due to his rapprochement with China during the time he was president from 2006 to 2010. Speaking at an news conference in the Costa Rican capital, San José, Arias said he had ‘no idea’ what the reason for the cancellation was.” (04/02/25)
“A judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a Montana law that restricts transgender people’s use of bathrooms in public buildings. The measure signed into effect by Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, last week threatened to deprive transgender people of their constitutional right to equal protection under the law, Montana District Judge Shane Vannatta ruled. The law prevents people from using restrooms in public buildings that do not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. The five people who sued over the law were likely to prevail, Vannatta added in his ruling. The new law ‘is motivated by animus and supported by no evidence that its restrictions advance its purported purpose to protect women’s safety and privacy,’ Vannatta wrote.” (04/02/25)
“The business world thought Donald Trump would usher in a boom, only to get chaos and uncertainty. Businesses don’t like to make big plans when everything can change in an instant. That’s why merger activity in the U.S. has fallen by 18 percent in the first quarter of this year, despite the belief that pent-up dealmaking would soar once Biden’s aggressive antitrust enforcers were sidelined. The relative continuity in antitrust enforcement among Trump officials probably also has something to do with it. If a company in this environment is pursuing not one but a series of mergers, you have to wonder why they’d risk it. The reward payout must be significant: for example, moving toward a monopoly of the means by which Americans locate, buy, and pay for a home. Rocket is America’s third-largest mortgage lender, with $1.8 trillion in loans originated.” (04/02/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“It’s clear that Trump’s State Department spokeswoman has been instructed to respond to any and all questions about Israeli atrocities in Gaza by blaming everything on Hamas, without even pretending to care whether the allegations are true. For some background, Israel has just been caught perpetrating an atrocity so monstrous and so abundantly well-evidenced that even the mainstream western press have felt obligated to report on it. Outlets like the Guardian and the BBC are covering the story of how 15 medical workers for the Red Cross, Civil Defense, and the UN were apparently handcuffed and executed one by one by Israeli forces in Rafah before being buried in a mass grave. According to Palestinian Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal, they were each shot more than 20 times.” (04/01/25)
“The second administration of President Donald J. Trump has already started working its special magic across the Washington, D.C. capital region. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have fired tens of thousands of federal workers, with more to come. Those who have lost their jobs include people who find housing and other support for veterans struggling with mental illness. They include civil servants who maintained safeguards to prevent our nuclear weapons from becoming dirty bombs. They include healthcare researchers developing treatments for cancer and other killer diseases; workers who ensured that low-income, homeless, and rural students were able to get an education; agricultural researchers who opened up international markets to American farmers; and too many others to mention here. My neighborhood, located on farmland about 40 miles outside Washington, D.C., is among those wracked by this administration’s shakeup of the government workforce.” (04/01/25)
“In this age of rage, it is common for people to become the very thing that they despise in others, jettisoning their most cherished values to strike out at those they hate. Since the election, Democrats have shown that very self-destructive quality of rage in adopting anti-immigrant, anti-free speech, anti-labor, and even anti-environmental positions to get at Donald Trump or his supporters. It consumes every part of a person. It is addictive, and it is contagious. What these rage addicts will not admit, however, is that they like it; they need it. That was evident this week in New York, where democratic legislators are again moving to weaponize state laws for political purposes — just like they did with Trump. This time, they are targeting Elon Musk, whose dealerships, charging stations, and customers have been hit by political violence from the left.” (04/01/25)
“A Cornell University graduate student who had his US visa revoked due to protest activities against Israel has chosen to leave the US rather than be deported. Momodou Taal, who is a joint citizen of the UK and The Gambia, had his student visa revoked due to his on-campus protest activities last year as the Israel-Gaza war raged. Mr Taal previously sued to block his deportation, but on Monday posted on X that he had chosen to leave the country ‘free and with my head held high.’ It comes after a judge had denied his request to delay his deportation. The Trump administration is cracking down on international students who have been active in protests against Israel on university campuses. Mr Taal is at least the second international student to opt to leave the US after being targeted for removal by the US Department of Homeland Security.” (04/01/25)
“On March 7th the Trump administration announced the immediate cancellation of $400 million in government grants and contracts to Columbia University. Less than a week later, his administration followed up with a letter to Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, outlining the steps the university would have to take before negotiations to restore funding could even begin. Although largely without precedent, Trump’s demands are entirely in line with an evolving authoritarianism that seeks to destroy possible sites of political opposition. The demands included suspending or expelling some of those who participated in pro-Palestinian protests; centralizing disciplinary power within the hands of the university president; banning mask wearing on campus; increasing the numbers and powers of campus police; and putting the Middle East, South Asian and African Studies department under ‘academic receivership.'” (04/01/25)
“The Trump administration began mass layoffs of 10,000 staffers at U.S. health agencies on Tuesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation, with security guards barring entry to some employees just hours after they received dismissal notices. The cuts, which affect several high-profile agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services, including the FDA, CDC and the National Institutes of Health, are part of a broad plan by President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink the federal government and slash spending.” (04/01/25)
