“We are apparently paying Bukele to take American deportees and imprison them. And our government’s official position, at this moment, is that once a person has left the territory of the United States, they not only have no recourse to American law, but the American president can do nothing to reverse an injustice concerning one of the imprisoned deportees, even in a case where the administration admits its own error. Once the administration puts someone on a plane to a foreign prison, he or she has no way out. And our president says he ‘loves’ the idea of sending American citizens there as well.” (04/14/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by James Price
“The United States gained much of its famous self-reliance and can-do spirit from its Anglo-Saxon heritage, and much of its skepticism of big government from its British origins to boot. So it should horrify Americans to learn just how much the motherland has forgotten its proud tradition of self-sufficiency and pride in being self-reliant. In fact, readers of a sensitive disposition may need to brace themselves for the following statistic: over half of British adults — 52.1% — now depend on the state for their livelihood. This nauseating discovery is the product of the Adam Smith Institute’s (ASI) new State Reliance Index.” (04/14/25)
Source: Chris Matthew Sciabarra
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“Though every Oscar that [Ben Hur] received was well deserved, in my opinion, I hold a special place in my heart for the Rozsa score. I didn’t get to see Ben-Hur until 1969 when it was re-released in all its 70 mm glory for its tenth anniversary run at the Palace Theatre in New York City. Walking into that immense, majestic theater at the age of 9, seeing that famous wall portrait of Judy Garland, who had recently died, I settled into my seat, not quite realizing the depth of the cinematic moments I was about to experience. But I recognized the first three notes of the Overture instantly. Throughout the 1960s, I had listened countless times to the film’s soundtrack, a staple on our Victrola. I fell in love with every aspect of Rozsa’s score. Finally, I was able to integrate Rozsa’s music with the remarkable images on screen.” (04/14/25)
“The male resist lib class is skeptical that international trade has hollowed out working-class America. Most economists agree automation did more to reduce manufacturing employment in the US than outsourcing. But this newsletter is about politics, not facts. And the politics just seems really, really obvious here. I am not good at math, but here’s my proposal. Let’s not self-immolate the entire global economy on the off chance that it will result in a couple hundred thousand Rust Belt male swing voters having a job that makes them feel manly. Let’s instead just write them all checks for $1,500 a month.” (04/14/25)
“The organization ‘The General Strike’ aspires to mobilize approximately 11 million people committed to coordinating a massive work stoppage. The magic number of 11 million equals 3.5 percent of the US population – a figure that organizers argue will be large enough to transform the US power structure and give workers the agency to shape the national destiny with heretofore unprecedented scope. But what would the strike stand for? There is no set of demands, no concrete goal elucidated on ‘The General Strike’ website. The values of ‘decentralization, dissent and diversity’ are listed along with the rather abstract hope to ‘dismantle the master’s house.’ Is there a way to offer a concrete means to dismantle the master’s house, to name the actual tool of deconstruction?” (04/14/25)
“Most of us can remember at least a few troubling scenes from George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984: the mandatory love demanded for the spectral dictator Big Brother; the malleability of facts at the Ministry of Truth; or the ruling party’s memorably grim slogans, ‘War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery.’ But for me, the most disturbing image of all — and I first read the book in high school — was the ‘Two Minutes Hate,’ aroused among the public by threatening images on giant video screens. Within just 30 seconds, Orwell wrote, ‘a hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledgehammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic.'” (04/14/25)
“Trump’s fixation with trade-deficit ‘offenders’ is punishing the very nations that could one day erase those deficits through development and prosperity. US consumers, businesses, and economic growth will all suffer as a result of the US president’s inability to grasp this elementary logic. There seems to be just one long-term strategy behind all this: unleash populism for immediate electoral returns, blame someone else for the problems that populism inevitably causes, and let someone else deal with the long-term consequences.” (04/14/25)
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Every day the Gaza holocaust continues, the western empire tells the truth about itself. The US government is telling you the truth about itself. Israel is telling you the truth about itself. Their western allies are telling you the truth about themselves. The western media are telling you the truth about themselves. One of the most important stages when preparing to leave an abusive relationship is the information-gathering stage. This is when you begin quietly observing and making note of your partner’s abusive behavior, letting them tell you the truth about themselves with their actions rather than their words. The information-gathering stage is important because long-term abusive relationships are usually very confusing for the victim; if the abuse were simple and easy to understand, the relationship wouldn’t have continued into the long term.” (04/14/25)
“‘It might not be sabotage,’ says Member of Parliament Jonathan Reynolds. ‘It might be neglect.’ Reynolds serves as the United Kingdom’s Business Secretary. He’s talking about the behavior of Jungye, the Chinese owner of troubled British Steel. Takeaway? Maybe China isn’t such a great economic partner after all.” (04/14/25)
