Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Mohamed Mouti
“When Donald Trump vowed to tackle excessive federal spending, few expected Elon Musk, the world’s most prominent entrepreneur, to lead the charge. Yet, in a move that reflected Trump’s unconventional style, Musk was appointed head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with dismantling the bloated federal bureaucracy. DOGE launched ambitiously, aiming to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, eliminate inefficiencies, and overhaul vast parts of the public sector. However, just months into the experiment, the initiative has faltered. DOGE now finds itself politically isolated, legally tangled, and far from fulfilling its promises.” (06/27/25)
“President Vladimir Putin signed a law June 24 that could spell the end of internet freedom in Russia. On the face of it, the law would simply push a new state-controlled app that Russians would need to use for all public services. But it may eventually lead to what Mr. Putin calls ‘a national messenger.’ That may then allow the government to ban all private internet communications, creating a digital iron curtain. As the war in Ukraine continues to go badly for Mr. Putin, he increasingly seeks to restrict independent news of the conflict, especially news of high troop losses. Last year, he throttled access to YouTube after already banning Facebook, Instagram, and X. With the new platform, he may soon block Russia’s leading messaging services, WhatsApp and Telegram.” (06/27/25)
“A village council meeting was unusually packed on May 12 as people across the lower peninsula called for officials to stand against the reopening of an immigrant detention center just north of Baldwin. The 1,800-bed, maximum-security North Lake Correctional Facility, owned by the for-profit prison corporation Geo Group, would become the largest such facility in the Midwest and second-largest in the nation. Several were concerned that an increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence would hurt Michigan agriculture. Others spoke of habeas corpus and humane treatment. ’We really don’t want Michigan to have a Dachau,’ said another, referencing the Nazi concentration camp. ‘I understand everyone’s concerns,’ Harold Nichols, Baldwin village president, assured the room before stating that the village council had little power to stop Geo Group, which operates 16 ICE facilities across the United States and was a large Trump donor.” (06/25/25)
“Even now, six months into President Trump’s second term, there’s a tendency to disregard President Trump’s sometimes fiery rhetoric as mere big talk. Americans ought to know better by now. Iranians certainly do, after Trump sent bunker bombs into their most secure nuclear facility. Similarly, when he ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into Southern California and told them to ‘do all in their power to … deliver the single largest mass deportation program in history,’ he wasn’t kidding. His order led to weeks of protests in affected areas, demonstrations that made no discernible dent in the president’s plans. This suggests that when Trump employs white supremacist memes in speeches and social media posts, he also means it.” (06/27/25)
“How can a single human being over the age of three be as needy as our Commander-in-Chief? We are governed by a person governed by bottomless insecurity and depthless self-hatred. If giving him a participation trophy would moderate his excesses, I’d say we should do it. But it wouldn’t. Nothing would. No amount of power, money, or fame is enough. No honor high enough. No Qatari plane free enough. Give him a Nobel Peace Prize and he’ll start whinging that he should have also won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his 2007 tome Think Big and Kick Ass. He’ll want the Biology Prize for fast-tracking the Covid vaccine he then disavowed. And then he’ll insist on that Oscar. Maybe we can just keep giving him prizes for the remainder of his term to distract him from the hard business of chopping up the nation and selling it for scrap.” (06/25/25)
“Does President Trump have any legal basis for his foreign policy actions aside from his personal entitlement to absolute power? Presidents have been scorning congressional leashes on their foreign interventions since at least the Korean War. But Trump’s erratic behavior and fevered comments almost make President Richard Nixon look mild-mannered.” (06/26/25)
“Letting this mess escalate to full-on civil war wouldn’t be good for anyone involved. On the other hand, ICE, the California National Guard, and the US Marine Corps need to read and heed the sign LA is hanging out. It says: NOT WELCOME. Until they take the hint and leave, they should be shunned as individuals and resisted as a group. Local businesses should refuse their patronage. Citizens should hide immigrants when they learn — from ad hoc early warning systems already operating — that ICE is coming. Activists should relentlessly impede and harass every organized movement of the ICE gang’s street troops.” (06/26/25)
“A foreign entity attacks American persons or property and the government warns that its sleeper cells have infiltrated the United States and it is somehow necessary to expand the powers of the government and shrink protections for civil liberties — and this shrinkage will somehow keep us all safe. The premise of this deeply flawed argument is that less liberty produces more safety. That premise is historically and morally erroneous. Even if we had cops watching us on every street corner or FBI agents virtually in every home, who will keep us safe from them? And who would want to live, who could be private and free, in such an environment? Here is the backstory.” (06/26/25)
“International students represent 71 percent of the full-time graduate students in computer and information sciences and 73 percent in electrical and computer engineering at U.S. universities. It is already much easier to transition from a student visa to a work visa and then to permanent residence in Canada and other countries than in the United States. International student interest in coming to U.S. universities will plummet without the ability to work in their field after graduation.” (06/26/25)
“After spending nearly two weeks in a secret bunker somewhere in Iran during his country’s war with Israel, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, might want to use the opportunity of the ceasefire to venture out. He is believed to be holed up, incommunicado, for the fear of being assassinated by Israel. Even top government officials apparently have had no contact with him. He would be well advised to be cautious …. When – or indeed if – he does emerge from hiding, he will see a landscape of death and destruction. He will no doubt still appear on state TV claiming victory in the conflict. He will plot to restore his image. But he will face new realities – even a new era.” (06/26/25)
