“Presidents love to point out that they’re ‘chief executives,’ but the emphasis always seems to be on ‘chief.’ What is an executive? One who executes. What does the president execute? The law, as passed by Congress. The president, according to the Constitution, is ‘chief of doing whatever Congress says to do’ on everything, foreign policy included. The Supreme Court serves as referee when arguments arise as to the constitutionality of Congress’s instructions or the president’s execution of those instructions. Congressional abdication of responsibility and judicial abdication of authority have, over time, given us an ‘imperial presidency’ of which Donald Trump is just the current instance.” (04/15/25)
Source: Chris Matthew Sciabarra
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“DeMille completed his early Biblical trilogy with The Sign of the Cross in 1932, which takes place during Emperor Nero’s persecution of the Christians. The film has some parallels to Sienkiewicz’s novel, Quo Vadis. But it ran into some trouble in 1934 when the Motion Picture Production Code (otherwise known as the Hays Code) began cracking down on content deemed ‘unacceptable.’ With a naked Claudette Colbert bathing in a tub of milk and a problematic ‘lesbian’ dance scene, the film was recut when it was rereleased in 1938. … DeMille was keenly aware that the Bible had enough salacious content to satisfy the most prurient interests. His ability to delicately balance the sacred and the profane in the dramatization of timeless Biblical stories was one of the keys to the success of these epics. He often observed: ‘What else has two thousand years’ advance publicity?'” (04/15/25)
“Hear me out, members (and staffs) of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee. Do not raise taxes on anyone, even those making a million or more a year. That should be a red line for Republicans. But you need revenue to pay for extending and expanding the Trump 2017 tax cuts that powered the explosive growth of his first term before the Covid curtain came down. Here’s an option. According to the Investment Company Institute, Americans had $8.9 trillion invested in 401(k)s and $15.2 trillion in IRAs in the third quarter of 2024. Let’s call it $22 trillion in yet-to-be-taxed money.” (04/15/25)
“Trump’s reset of the global economy has changed the trade debate. Whatever challenges were posed by an international trading regime imperfectly managed by the World Trade Organization pale compared to a worldwide trade war waged by an impulsive president who is even perplexing his aides. The immediate question is: Should we have a trade war or peace? A trade war is stupid. Economic stability gets nuked when leaders launch tariffs like they are firing missiles. The Trump argument is that since we were getting ‘ripped off,’ risking a recession is necessary to make trade policies fair. This argument misses any explanation of why Americans must suffer to make trade policies fair and how making them pay higher prices gives Washington leverage to forge better trade deals.” (04/15/25)
“The United Network for Organ Sharing operates the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. Dozens of regional organ procurement organizations (OPOs) are the on-the-ground non-profit groups in various cities and states responsible for recovering organs from deceased donors. For living donors, there isn’t a single national registry for kidneys — instead, there are three main national registries but also hundreds of smaller registries specific to individual transplant centers. … But even with reform, there simply aren’t enough kidneys to go around. … We need living donors to fill the gap. And we know how to increase the number of living donors: by paying them.” (04/15/25)
“Millions of people around the world were at the edge of their seats over the weekend, waiting to hear whether Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff’s indirect talks with the Iranian foreign minister would ratchet down tensions or would break down and bring on a major Middle East war. If it seems bizarre that the outcome of a meeting between a US president’s designated negotiator and a foreign government minister could determine whether we plunge into possibly our biggest war since World War II, that’s because it is bizarre. In fact, this is an excellent example of why our Founders were so determined to keep warmaking authority out of the Executive Branch of government. No one person – much less his aide – should have the power to take this country to war.” (04/15/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“On Sunday Israel bombed the al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, which readers may remember as the hospital that Israel ferociously insisted it didn’t bomb in October 2023 and accused anyone who said otherwise of antisemitic blood libel. According to a statement from the Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Jerusalem, this is now the fifth time this hospital has been bombed since the beginning of the Gaza onslaught. The IDF is predictably claiming there was a Hamas base in the hospital, because that’s what they always do. The hospitals are Hamas, the ambulances are Hamas, the journalists are Hamas, the UN is Hamas, the schools are Hamas, the children are Hamas, every building in Gaza is Hamas, and anyone who disputes this is also Hamas. God this gets old.” (04/15/25)
“A Jewish supremacist known for his role in the violent settler movement, Netanyahu’s national security minister reportedly plans to meet with Kristi Noem, and more.” (04/15/25)
“The Economist has declared Europe the Land of the Free. One proof is that in Europe, no tech oligarchs are ‘spending their weekends feeding bits of the state ‘into the wood chipper.’’ This is an ill-considered allusion to the efforts of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to reduce the bloat and fraud in U.S. government spending. And the trillions in U.S. federal debt. Which are unsustainable. Because magic doesn’t work.” [editor’s note: Rearranging deck chairs for one’s friends’ comfort doesn’t stop the Titanic from getting lower in the water. I’ve yet to see evidence of Musk/DOGE actually trying to reduce bloat or debt – TLK] (04/15/25)
Source: The American Conservative
by Adam Gallagher
“Trump is making the right call by kickstarting diplomacy to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. Preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon through diplomacy advances U.S. interests in the Middle East. A new accord would not only put Iran’s nuclear program in a box, but give Washington a better shot at retrenching from a region of declining strategic importance. The president would be smart to ignore Netanyahu’s advice about the talks and the contours of a potential deal. Netanyahu, the longest-serving premier in Israeli history, has an extensive history of providing counsel to U.S. policymakers that turns out to be at odds with U.S. interests.” (04/15/25)
