“Why are ordinary people, living ordinary lives, some even seeking to become American citizens, finding themselves in cages and facing deportation? Let’s not kid ourselves: It was going to come to this eventually. Authoritarian police states never stop looking for victims and scapegoats. They eventually collapse, thankfully, but until they do it’s open season on enemies, real and imagined. But why so soon? Because Donald Trump’s promise to deport millions of immigrants has, so far, proven itself an epic fail. At the moment, the US government is deporting people at half the pace of the Obama regime. … It’s easier to reach an artificial ‘quota’ by kidnapping immigrants who show up to appointments on demand than it is to track down a handful of real criminals in their lairs, or nab foreign-born workers quietly making their livings (and making our lives better) while avoiding contact with “law enforcement.” (05/29/25)
“During the past three months, the Trump administration has sought to withhold the delivery of governmental benefits in order to punish or reform its perceived political opponents. These opponents – in the understanding of the White House – are colleges and universities that permit speech the White House claims is hateful, law firms that represent clients or employ lawyers who have been vocally critical of the administration, and even one of the 50 states because of language used in a statute and words articulated by its governor. Can the federal government condition the acceptance of benefits upon the non-assertion of a fundamental liberty? Asked differently, can the feds withhold privileges to those lawfully entitled to them because it disapproves of the speech of the recipients of the privileges? In a word: No.” (05/29/25)
“The debate over President Donald Trump’s tariffs often focuses on whether they are prudent. Defenders insist that Trump’s tariffs will help make America great again and boost national security. Critics counter that they’ll wreck the economy. But the strongest argument against the tariffs is actually that they are unlawful. Neither the Constitution nor any statute authorizes Trump to impose what he ordered. Now, months after sticklers for the rule of law began making that argument, it has finally been vindicated: Yesterday, the United States Court of International Trade, the federal court with jurisdiction over civil actions related to tariffs, struck down almost all of Trump’s tariffs in a 49-page ruling. … the Constitution is clear: Article I delegates the tariff power to Congress, and Article II fails to vest that power in the presidency.” (05/29/25)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin
“American universities have long feared that the Chinese government will restrict its country’s students from attending institutions that cross Beijing’s sensitive political lines. Universities still fear that consequence today, but the most immediate threat is no longer posed by the Chinese government. Now, as the latest punishment meted out to the Trump administration’s preeminent academic scapegoat shows, it’s our own government posing the threat.” (05/29/25)
“President Trump has been in office since Jan. 20, 2025 — four months. This is fast approaching 10 percent of his second term next month. He has issued an unprecedented number of executive orders covering a swath of issues, including energy, immigration, climate and DEI, to name just a few. Those garnering the most attention have focused around tariffs on goods imported into the nation, with the intent to reduce the trade deficit by encouraging more domestic production. Yet whenever unfavorable news comes in, the first response has been to blame his predecessor. This has become the theme of the administration. … Blaming the previous president may appease the president’s most committed supporters. However, it demonstrates weakness. Whining about the ‘hand that you have been dealt’ does not change the cards. As Harry Truman said, ‘the buck stops here.'” (05/29/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Gaza’s youngest social media influencer has been killed by Israeli forces after touching tens of thousands of lives with her stories of survival in the besieged Palestinian territory. Her name was Yaqeen Hammad. She was 11 years old. Israeli forces fired upon starving civilians in Gaza on Tuesday when they rushed inside a facility holding aid …. A new report from the Associated Press confirms that Israeli forces have been using Palestinians as human shields in Gaza as a matter of policy. This is actually using human shields in the very real sense of deliberately forcing civilians between yourself and potential enemy fire, not in the fake sense of being somewhere near civilians as per the made-up ‘human shields’ narrative that Israel uses to blame its daily massacres on Hamas.” (05/29/25)
“This morning, I awoke to the news that Elon Musk is leaving government work! The man whom Trump put in charge of the ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ who promised to cut government ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ by $2 trillion — revised downward to $1 trillion, further revised downward to $175 billion (and even this figure is in doubt) — is now so disillusioned with Washington, D.C. that he’s decided it’s time to go back into the ‘private’ sector. He’ll no doubt pay a lot more attention to his many businesses, especially Tesla, which has suffered from a drop in its stock value and even violent attacks against some of its dealerships. … Nevertheless, Musk’s departure from the Trump administration does not in any way, shape, or form indicate a severing of his incestuous relationship with The State. Musk’s long march through the political institutions, which reached its apex with the DOGE appointment, is as vibrant as ever.” (05/29/25)
“Protectionist: Over the past half-century, American industry has been hollowed out by international trade. We don’t make things anymore. That’s why we need protective tariffs. Boudreaux: You’re factually incorrect. US industrial output hit its all-time peak in February of this year, higher by 155 percent than it was in 1975, when America last ran an annual trade surplus and 19 percent higher than in 2001, when China joined the WTO.” (05/29/25)
“Alejandro G. thought that driving full-time for Uber in Houston offered freedom — flexible hours, quick cash, and time to care for his young son. But that promise faded fast. ‘There are hours when I make $20,’ he told me. ‘And there are hours when I make $2.’ As his pay dropped, he pawned his computer and camera, began rationing the insulin he takes to manage his diabetes (putting his health at risk) and started driving seven days a week, often late into the night, just to break even. Alejandro, whose real name is withheld for his privacy, is one of millions of workers powering a billion-dollar labor model built on legal loopholes. Companies like Uber insist they are tech platforms, not employers, and that their workers are independent contractors.” (05/29/25)
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Gigi Foster, Paul Frijters, & Michael Baker
“The doomsayers of the 1890s saw our cities drowning in horse poop. The doomsayers of the 1930s saw a final battle between freedom and fascism. The doomsayers of the 1950s and 60s saw the Cold War ending in nuclear apocalypse. The doomsayers of the 1980s saw the world about to boil with global warming. The doomsayers of 2001 saw a final reckoning between 1.5 billion Muslims and 2 billion Christians. The doomsayers of 2020 saw a rerun of the Black Death. They were all wrong. Terrible wars and huge losses did occur, but in spite of them, human progress has been relentless. Every decade of the modern era has ended with more people living longer on this planet. Threats were real, but underneath it all we humans still kept making headway, improving life on average for the masses.” (05/29/25)
