“The U.S. Constitution is very specific about the powers of Congress and very vague about the powers of the president and the judiciary. While the authors of the nation’s founding documents were explicit that power had to be divided between three coequal branches, the legislative, executive, and judicial, they did not anticipate the authoritarianism of President Donald Trump, the cowardice of congressional representatives beholden to a populist demagogue for endorsements and campaign funds, nor the reactionary ideology of a right-wing Supreme Court. It is not fair to blame the founders for events 250 into the future, with the United States in the midst of a major constitutional crisis. In 1787, Benjamin Franklin placed the responsibility for upholding the Constitution on future generations when he warned that the new government is ‘A republic, if you can keep it.'” (03/26/25)
“To intentionally damage or destroy someone’s personal property is wrong. To vandalize it because you don’t like the company that makes the item is both wrong and stupid. There’s no excuse; it makes you the bad guy. If you mess with someone’s personal property, I have no sympathy when the consequences come home to roost. Even if you believe those consequences are out of proportion. Respect for private property is non-negotiable. Thieves and vandals of personal property get no support from me.” (03/26/25)
“Merton learned bitter lessons about those with loud, passionate voices professing solutions with no foundation other than their own ‘strange, stubborn prejudices.'” (03/26/25)
“The amount of damage the second Trump administration has already done on many fronts, from foreign policy to public health to America’s economic prospects, both for the months ahead and in the long run, is astonishing. And they’re just getting started. But whenever I talk with other people about one of these disasters, I find them arguing about how to think about what’s happening. Are we looking at mind-boggling incompetence on the part of what Dan Drezner, using the technical language of international relations theory, calls ‘the dumbest motherfuckers alive?’ Or are we looking at a sinister plot to destroy America as we know it? The answer is ‘yes.’ These people are both incompetent and evil.” (03/26/25)
“Social Security is in danger. As my colleague Bob Kuttner has written, the system has endured a series of body blows, including alleged security measures that force beneficiaries to go into Social Security field offices rather than problem solving over the phone, even as those offices are seeing cuts to an already threadbare workforce and prolonged waits for recipients. The Washington Post has documented the repeated website crashes, floods of unanswered calls, and long waits for service that represent ‘a destruction of the agency from the inside out,’ according to Sen. Angus King (I-ME). Such barriers to access deny benefits, plain and simple. Other recipients are seeing their benefits terminated improperly, as part of a fruitless hunt for largely nonexistent benefits fraud.” (03/26/25)
“From the cereal aisle to TikTok, an abundance of choice can leave us feeling unsatisfied. Most social media lacks the disciplined hand of market costs — at least for now.” (03/25/25)
“The province of Québec, in our northern neighbor of Canada, has a motto: Je me souviens. ‘I remember.’ It’s a promise — and a threat — from a province that has always prided itself on its distinction, its unique cultural and historical heritage. Today, when our government is engaged in despicable and unjustifiable saber-rattling against our Canadian friends, it seems appropriate that we take it up as a motto of our own. At a time when the Trumpist corruption and degradation of our government, our values, and our society continues at a frightening pace, I believe it is imperative that we remember. It is essential, if we want to rebuild something worthwhile someday, that the Democratic Party, or forces associated with it, begin work now on an explicit, open, and public program of accountability and reconstruction.” (03/26/25)
“‘Election fraud,’ said the president. ‘You’ve heard the term? This will end it, hopefully.’ The ‘This’ being an Executive Order dated March 25, 2025, entitled ‘Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.’ Interestingly, the opening unfavorably compares the American ways of voting with foreign nations.” (03/26/25)
“President Donald Trump has promised to create millions of new high-paying jobs. One easy first step to doing that is to repeal Biden regulations on America’s 4 million business partnerships (sometimes known as S corporations) that are prolific job creators. The latest estimates find 10 million Americans employed by these business partnerships, with $800 billion paid in worker salaries and benefits. … The profits from these enterprises are passed through to the 28 million partners, who make tax payments based on their share of those earnings. These have been the tax rules governing partnerships for many decades. The Biden administration didn’t like the tax rules, so instead of asking Congress to change them, then-President Joe Biden’s Treasury Department worked through the back door to unilaterally modify the rules as part of its ‘fairness’ agenda.” (03/26/25)
“There is no plan in place to fund the Ukrainian budget after 2025. Even if the war ends by the summer of 2025, it will take some time to reduce military expenditures, leaving European nations on the hook. It’s not clear that European elites have fully understood the political costs, however much longer the war continues. With intensive, U.S.-brokered negotiations ongoing in Saudi Arabia involving separate Ukrainian and Russian delegations, hopes are rising that the Trump administration will finally be able to bring an end to the war. But even if the war ends tomorrow, it would be unwise to assume that Ukraine could reduce military spending close to prewar levels.” (03/26/25)
