“‘This is going to be great television.’ But it wasn’t great. It was tragic. U.S. President Donald Trump’s comment at the conclusion of his unprecedented public outburst directed toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked a milestone in a momentous week: Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda became ‘America Alone … with Russia.’ Trump and Vice President JD Vance shouted at Zelenskyy, a beleaguered wartime leader [sic] struggling to defend his democratic [sic] nation against Russia’s invasion. They scolded him for not thanking Trump, who slowed to a trickle the flow of American weapons to Ukraine. In rejecting Trump’s request, Zelenskyy joined Trump’s list of ‘enemies.’ To get even, Trump is now helping Russia negotiate what it could not achieve after three years on the battlefield: the conquest of Ukraine.” (03/04/25)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Patrick Carroll
“When considering the prospect of a minimal or even non-existent state, many are understandably concerned about how society would function. Doesn’t the government provide vital services ‘behind the scenes’ that keep society running? Wouldn’t there be chaos and disorder without those services? These are legitimate apprehensions that are worth taking seriously. Leaping into a vastly different governing system could cause serious problems, so we need to be confident before we make the leap that we aren’t jumping into a dystopia. Fortunately, economic reasoning gives us good reasons to be optimistic.” (03/04/25)
“The fine art of celebrating while dissatisfied. Every win is a step forward, and every step forward is a celebration. Embracing the Better — a series about directional alignment.” (03/04/25)
“For the first time in years, the U.S. Congress is considering budget bills that could seriously rein in government spending growth. The big-budget news came out of the House of Representatives last week. The House passed its budget blueprint by a two-vote margin. House Concurrent Resolution 14 covers proposed spending for the entire U.S. government for the remainder of its 2025 fiscal year through its 2034 fiscal year.” (03/03/25)
“In the weeks leading up to the recent presidential inauguration in Washington, this country and an anxious world expected many different things from what might be called (to borrow the title of the famed William Butler Yeats’s poem ‘The Second Coming’) Donald J. Trump. But nobody expected this. Nobody at all. ‘We will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley where it should be and where it belongs,’ President Trump announced to a burst of applause during his inaugural address on January 20th. Continuing his celebration of a decidedly mediocre president, best known for taking this country on an ill-advised turn towards colonial conquest, Trump added: ‘President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent …'” (03/04/25)
Source: Fox News
by Grover Norquist & Alfredo Ortiz
“Now that House Republicans have agreed on a budget resolution to finance their legislative priorities, debate begins on the specific tax cuts to include in the final ‘big, beautiful bill’. At the top of this list is fulfilling President Donald Trump’s oft-repeated call to reduce the corporate tax to 15%. This tax rate cut would make the U.S. significantly more competitive and jumpstart our economy still feeling the effects of four years of anti-growth policies. According to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a 15% corporate tax rate would significantly boost GDP, wages and jobs. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which took effect in 2018, reduced the corporate tax from 35% – one of the world’s highest – to 21%, middle of the pack. In response, U.S. corporations increased their domestic investment by an average of 20%, according to an NBER study that analyzed 12,000 corporate tax returns.” (03/04/25)
“In my reading, Pylos and Sparta, the polities visited by Telemachus, is what the world looks like when you do not have the critical faculties acquired by traveling. Pylos is the world prior to an understanding of options, as only Odysseus has seen war, anarchy, orderly kingship, and various polities based on intoxication. Sparta represents post-traumatic tragedy and intoxication as a substitute for ongoing conflict. Ogygia is the rejected and intolerable utopia. Sparta vs. Ithaca is one meaningful contrast, but most of all The Odyssey is a comparison between Phaeacia and Ithaca, so to that contrast I shall now turn.” (03/03/25)
“While heads of state jockey and pontificate, the average Ukrainian defender simply doesn’t give a damn. The fight will go on regardless of whatever separate peace deals are brokered over their heads. Moreover, the threat of withdrawing Western support only further inclines them toward tools of last resort—nuclear and chemical, to be precise. When all other options for defending their freedom and sovereignty have been removed by far-away politicians, Ukrainian citizens will do what they must. This is what national defense looks like. As in the first days of the invasion, the national spirit of resistance is revived.” (03/03/25)
“Will President Trump and Elon Musk really slash government spending this year? If you believe Kalshi’s (pretty thin) betting market this morning, there’s a 34 percent chance that federal spending will be cut by at least $1 billion and a 5 percent chance of $1 trillion in cuts in 2025. I hate to break it to DOGE’s supporters, but those odds are wildly optimistic. Under the terms of the specific bet, even $1 billion in spending cuts is next to impossible.” (03/03/25)
“Elon Musk and DOGE are not making the government more efficient or effective, they are breaking it without any rational plan. Federal workers, 30 percent of whom are veterans, are being fired without any notice or consultation, many of them top performers. Instead of focusing on areas of actual waste, such as fossil fuel subsidies, prescription drug costs, Medicare Advantage overpayments, or defense contractors fleecing taxpayers, the administration is attacking the working class while pursuing tax breaks for the ultra-rich. In just one month, DOGE has fired thousands of federal workers who have dedicated their careers to delivering services and benefits to those who need them most. Last week, DOGE announced that at least 12 percent of jobs would be cut at the Social Security Administration …” (03/04/25)
