“Donald Trump’s mind is a scary place; no one really knows what goes on there. But it sometimes is interesting to speculate. Trump is now proposing to give us all tariff rebate checks of ‘at least’ $2,000 a piece and to use the rest of the tariff revenue to pay down the national debt. This arithmetic on this doesn’t work. We’re on a path to take in around $270 billion this year in extra revenue due to Trump’s tariffs. … Doing the simple arithmetic, the country has 340 million people. If 10 percent of these people fit Trump’s definition of high-income, and therefore don’t get the rebate, roughly 300 million people would get the checks. At $2,000 a piece, it would come to $600 billion, more than twice what Trump is collecting from us with his import taxes. Since he’s already $330 billion short, how can Trump think he has money to pay down the national debt?” (11/13/25)
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Nick Cleveland-Stout
“In late September, RS reported that Israel is paying a cohort of 14-18 social media influencers an estimated $7,000 per post through a firm called Bridges Partners. The filing, disclosed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, indicated that Israel began paying these influencers in June as part of a campaign called the ‘Esther Project.’ Yet, despite this cohort posting on social media for the past five months, not a single influencer working for Israel appears to have publicly acknowledged their work for Israel. Today, the Quincy Institute (the parent organization of RS) and Public Citizen sent a joint letter to the Department of Justice in an effort to change that.” (11/13/25)
“Troy Lake, the mechanic who helped truckers and bus drivers keep their vehicles going by removing crippling emissions systems, paid the price — jailed for this ‘crime,’ and also fined $52,000.
Prosecutors made an example out of the Wyoming fix-it man for following a practice that had become mandatory to keep rigs — in his case, at least 344 heavy-duty diesel trucks — on the road. I’ve discussed his case, saying that President Trump should pardon him for this non-crime. Though Troy Lake served about seven months in a federal prison, and he’s been out for a while, the conviction was still hanging over his head. Now President Trump has indeed pardoned Mr. Lake.” (11/13/25)
“Well, now we have it. On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released another batch of documents related to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Among them were several emails about Donald Trump. One was from Epstein to his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell back in 2011. He wrote: ‘i want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump.. [victim] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc. im 75 % there[.]’ (Excuse the spelling and grammar errors, that’s all Jeffrey.) By now, we’re all familiar with what ‘spent hours’ meant in the context of rich, powerful men and Epstein’s victims—particularly given the reference to ‘barking,’ which has to mean going to prosecutors or the media.” (11/13/25)
“This week, Bolivia inaugurated a new president, Rodrigo Paz, whose rhetoric blends nationalism with a market-friendly appeal under the slogan of ‘love for the patria’ and ‘capitalism for everyone.’ The ceremony, held in the Congress of La Paz beneath an Indigenous banner symbolically restored after two decades of hyper-interventionist politics inspired by the Socialism of the 21st Century, marks a rhetorical break but not necessarily a structural one. Labelling Paz as ‘centre-right’ is less an ideological definition than a chameleon strategy emblematic of Bolivian — and increasingly global — populism, where socialist interventionism adapts to the language of pragmatism and inclusivity. Nevertheless, his rise carries a modest symbolic weight: a tentative sign of renewal in a state weakened by decades of extractive statism and institutional decay.” (11/13/25)
“Despite boasting that he is the ‘president of peace,’ Donald Trump is threatening to lead the U.S. into three new wars, against Iran, Venezuela, and Nigeria. All three would shred what is left of America’s claim to uphold the international order, and all of them would further endanger America’s standing in the targeted regions. All of them are also pointless because they are based on false premises.” (11/13/25)
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Michael Hurley
“Recently, FIRE learned that Texas State University is taking its own stab at institutional reform. It is conducting a ‘curricular review’ built around a guide titled ‘Value Neutral Instruction and the Curriculum,’ which encourages faculty to frame their teaching around inquiry and intellectual exploration, rather than beginning from predetermined conclusions. This is a sound pedagogical goal. Professors should present competing arguments and perspectives to students, teach them to evaluate the evidence and think critically, and arrive at their own conclusions. And the guidance does much more than most to protect the core of academic freedom and stay within constitutional bounds. However, like many other efforts at curricular reform, it nevertheless risks chilling protected expression and infringing upon academic freedom. The Devil, as they say, is in the details.” (11/12/25)
