“First Elon Musk seized control of the federal bureaucracy and broke it. Then he commandeered the campaign of the conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel and tanked it. Handing over the keys to our government and our democracy to oligarchs would appear to be a bad idea. Yet our elections may soon be owned lock, stock, and barrel by the mega-rich.” (04/17/25)
“The Trump administration is claiming powers in both domestic and foreign affairs that vastly exceed those of prior presidents. He bases his claim on his unprecedented ‘mandate’ in which he did not get even a majority of the votes. His popular vote victory margin was less than Hillary Clinton’s margin in her Electoral College loss to Trump in 2016. But facts mean little to Trump and his followers. This is a big problem. We probably would not want to see unchecked powers going to any presidential administration, no matter how competent, but it is especially dangerous in the hands of incompetents who often do not have a clue.” (04/17/25)
“Only three months into his second term, Donald Trump’s national security team looks to be seriously divided. As I reported late last year as the administration was taking shape, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who led the transition and is known to have played a major role in vetting candidates for top national security posts, was intent on repeating the mistakes of the first Trump term by handing hardline neoconservatives plum roles within the administration, including, fatefully, the job of national security adviser to Florida Congressman Michael Waltz. The division between America First stalwarts such as Vice President JD Vance and neocons like Waltz burst out into the open last month thanks to Signal-gate.” (04/17/25)
“The decision by the military-led Alliance of Sahel States to impose a 0.5% import duty on goods from the nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has added a new twist in the rift plaguing the West African bloc. The tariff, which exempts only humanitarian aid, threatens to upend free trade and provoke retaliation, effectively creating a trade war within the region at a time when Africa’s exports to the crucial U.S. market face new challenges.” (04/17/25)
“In Washington, facts are often the first casualty of politics. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the debate over the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 — President Donald Trump’s signature tax reform law from his first term in office. As debates rage whether to extend the TCJA’s individual tax cuts, left-wing politicians and legacy media outlets are ramping up their usual misinformation campaign. We’ve all heard the talking points: The TCJA was a ‘wealth transfer’ that came ‘at the expense of working families,’ a ‘giveaway to billionaires,’ or my personal favorite, a ‘reverse Robin Hood’ scheme to rob the working class for the benefit of the ultra-wealthy.’ There’s just one problem: none of that is true.” [editor’s note: Neither is it true that there were any tax cuts. If spending isn’t cut, taxes aren’t cut. Payment is just deferred with interest added – TLK] (04/17/25)
“‘So, who brought who out of poverty?’ asks Frank Dikötter about China’s economic rise. The Dutch historian and author of four excellent books on Chinese history … recently spoke at length with Peter Robinson, host of the Hoover Institution’s ‘Uncommon Knowledge’ podcast. Calling it ‘conventional wisdom,’ Robinson offers that ‘the number that I found over and over again was eight to 900 million people lifted out of poverty since Deng Xiaoping announce[d] his reforms in ’78.’ ‘That’s all propaganda,’ declares Dr. Dikötter. ‘The people in the countryside have lifted themselves out of poverty.'” (04/17/25)
“Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud is in town, reportedly to plan President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president is again exhibiting his affection for ruthless political leaders who have wreaked human carnage and destabilized the Middle East, with ill effects the world over. In doing so, he is sacrificing American national interests.” (04/17/25)
“[T]he parasite called Harvard University is claiming that Trump is no different from past occupiers of 1600 PA Avenue NW. While stating the lie that he is doing something ‘extraordinary’ (different). We here at TPOL do not disagree: Trump’s regime has 95% in common with the past dozen or so presidential administrations. Most of that in common being bad or even evil, in our opinion. And we disagree with them all: to put it simply, NO university, NO school, NO educational facility should get a single penny of FedGov money (stolen or not). Such money (those payments) are NOT authorized by the Constitution. The state and schools should be as separate from each other as the state and churches, or the state and selling food, for that matter. ” (04/16/25)
