Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Elizabeth Beavers
“In yet another example of Donald Trump announcing new policy via social media, the president has now pledged to crack down on ‘illegal protests’ at universities, warning that ‘agitators’ will be headed to jail or targeted for deportation. … Many may see this and not be very alarmed. After all, peaceful protest isn’t illegal. But what many do not realize is that counterterrorism law gives enormously wide-ranging discretionary authority to the president, to law enforcement, and to immigration officials that could be used to squelch free speech and dissent. For example: providing material support for terrorism is a federal crime. This may seem fair enough on its face. But the breathtaking scope of this provision becomes more clear once we see how the terms are defined.” (03/06/25)
“The last few weeks have been the most destabilizing for Social Security in its 90-year history. America’s historic retirement security program has survived world wars, pandemics, and recessions. But without a rapid course correction, it may not survive Donald Trump and Elon Musk. In mid-February, Musk demanded access to private Social Security data. When the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) declined, President Donald Trump immediately replaced her. He leapfrogged over 120 more senior employees to install a DOGE sympathizer, Leland Dudek. Dudek is reportedly planning to lay off at least 15 percent of SSA’s already understaffed, overworked workforce.” [editor’s note: If it takes a bloated bureaucracy to deliver checks to those who should have been allowed to save for their own retirement, we are seeing the problem – SAT] (03/06/25)
“Donald Trump’s imposition and changing of tariffs, all by his lonesome — without Congress — vexes more than a few critics. His authority to do this, however, derives directly from laws passed by Congress. … if free traders and others are alarmed at Trump’s seemingly dictatorial powers regarding tariffs, it isn’t new. It has been built into the Imperial Presidency. While Congress could take its constitutional authority back, there is certainly no groundswell to do so. Also not new? What setting up high tariffs have historically done: elicit similar tariffs in retaliation.” (03/05/25)
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants the United States to defend Ukraine. However, even the Biden administration said no. President Donald Trump has demonstrated in recent days that he is even less likely to agree — especially after Zelensky said the end of his nation’s war with Russia ‘is still very, very far away.’ The Russo–Ukrainian War is a great tragedy. Primary blame for the conflict lies with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. However, American and European officials recklessly flouted their assurances to Moscow and challenged its security concerns, then denied their complicity after war erupted. They too are drenched in blood.” (03/06/25)
“President Trump earlier this month suggested to Premier Ishiba that Japan buy more U.S. fuel and participate in a $44 billion project to develop liquified natural gas (LNG) in Alaska. If pricing is competitive, increasing and diversifying LNG sources would be beneficial for Japan, an important ally. Increasing LNG sales would be positive for U.S. gas producers’ revenue, but it could also increase domestic gas prices, erasing a U.S. competitive advantage, hurting consumers and businesses alike. These two competing factors must be balanced, and U.S. domestic gas production must grow.” (03/05/25)
“Half the time I think the Democratic Party is the most destructive force on the planet, and the other half of the time I think they’re an improv comedy troupe doing an absurdist sketch featuring the most ridiculous ways a political party can implode. What they want to do legislatively firmly falls into the category of the former, how they go about it is all in the latter. … Democrats tend to come off as performance art – if you’ve ever seen an ‘artist’ make a complete fool of themselves in public to the point that other people have to come along afterwards to ‘explain’ how the stupidity you just witnessed was actually brilliant commentary on something or other.” (03/06/25)
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen
“When President Donald Trump announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the initiative was met with both enthusiasm and skepticism. The prospect of cutting $1-2 trillion from the federal budget by 2026 was an ambitious goal, and one that resonated with fiscal conservatives seeking to rein in government spending. However, early results indicate that despite bold promises, the entrenched realities of government spending are proving to be formidable obstacles.” (03/05/25)
“According to a Wall Street Journal story, some members of Congress are beginning to start waking up to the current president’s power grab …. Budget and tariff policy are two areas where some suspect that Congress should not have delegated so much power to the president. It could happen here, ‘it’ being despotism of the harder sort than the Tocquevillian soft sort that we have already gotten used to. Instances of the problem are too numerous to be listed here. My post of yesterday suggests that one man has apparently been granted the power to close America to the rest of the world if he feels like it. Let me mention three other incidents that seem symptomatic of a general rejection of anything that looks like the remnants of classical liberalism.” (03/05/25)
“The Trump administration, after legal challenges, abruptly reversed its mass firings of so-called ‘probationary’ federal employees. But it is moving speedily to find other ways to hobble the administrative state, focusing dubiously on instituting large reductions in force, while claiming that federal staffing levels are unreasonably high to carry out executive branch duties. One of the first agencies to comply was the Social Security Administration (SSA). Last week, I reported that the agency, which enrolls and manages benefits for over 73 million Americans, was undergoing ‘a significant workforce reduction,’ even though the agency was at a 50-year staffing low before Trump took office.” [editor’s note: If bloated staff-totals are essential for delivering checks to those already on retirement or now eligible for such, we’ve seen the problem in high relief – SAT] (03/06/25)
