“The latest ridiculous lie from Democrats about how Republicans are driving the country towards fascism is out, and it is a doozy. This time, we are meant to believe that Trump and the GOP are banning married women from voting. Spoiler Alert: They aren’t. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and others took to video this week to make the nonsensical and logically tortured claim, saying, ‘House Republicans’ so-called ‘SAVE Act’ blocks nearly 70 million women from registering to vote — just because they changed their name after marriage.’ Here is what failed glass-ceiling breaker Hillary Clinton had to say: ‘The House just passed the Republican voter suppression measure that threatens voting access for millions of Americans, including 69 million women whose married names don’t match their birth certificates.'” (04/12/25)
“President Trump’s recent tariffs show no familiarity with history, and little reassurance for those who hoped he understood capitalism and freedom.” (04/11/25)
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger
“I have long believed that an unforeseen catalyst could occur that could provide the potential for a cascading effect toward freedom. Once the catalyst begins, the road toward the genuinely free society might begin to open up. Could the current free-trade controversy be such a catalyst? I don’t know. But it certainly is possible. In all my years as a libertarian, I have never seen such a massive, nationwide outpouring of support for free trade and against tariffs, trade wars, and economic protectionism. That’s one heckuva good sign for libertarianism.” (04/11/25)
“You can spend a lifetime studying the rich history of the labor movement. While you are doing that, new union battles and campaigns will constantly arise. Laws will change, the economy will change, industries will rise and fall. New technologies will challenge workers in previously unimagined ways. Yet the fact remains that the more you study all of the complexities of the past, present, and future, you are left with one central truth: The power of organized labor is the power of the strike. Without the strike, the labor movement’s claim to power falls apart. This fundamental and unalterable truth — the basic insight that led workers to form unions in the first place — has been echoing in my mind as I have watched the Trump administration carry out the most naked assault on organized labor since World War II.” (04/10/25)
“Recently shared with military brass and congressional national security committees, and recently leaked, Hegseth’s Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance is, according to The Washington Post, ‘extraordinary in its description of the potential invasion of Taiwan as the exclusive animating scenario that must be prioritized over other potential dangers.’ … This makes enormous sense. We are already at war in Ukraine and across the Middle East, while China, the most dangerous aggressor, has been ratcheting up its bullying and threats against its neighbors whom we have pledged to defend.” (04/11/25)
“[T]ariffs tend to increase input prices which would make them less competitive on foreign markets. It would also increase prices for domestic consumers and thus reduce sales. Tariffs also have effects on exchange rates that end up making exports harder. Finally, and more generally, when domestic production expands due to import taxes, producers must use resources that are less efficient or better suited to other uses. … These costs of tariffs, however, are only the tip of the iceberg. Focusing solely on them suggests that the American economy would contract temporarily before returning to its previous growth rate — a scenario known as a ‘level shock,’ not a ‘trend shock.’ But protectionism — the broader policy goal tariffs are meant to serve — does produce a trend shock by slowing long-run growth.” (04/10/25)
“In a surprise move this week, President Trump signed an executive order granting himself the power of prima nocta. The Latin term refers to the (likely apocryphal) medieval tradition in which a king or lord could sleep with any underling’s wife. … In an article quickly published online by the Claremont-VDARE Journal of Law and Physiognomy, academics Randy Barnett, Ilan Wurman, and Kurt Lash made the case that ‘history and tradition’ supported the new policy. … A reporter pointed out to Barnett that historians generally believe prima nocta to be a myth …. ‘No one cares,’ replied Barnett, who lost the only Supreme Court case he has argued. ‘This is a game, man.’ … Barnett, who recently compared Trump to God, added, ‘As a legal scholar, there’s nothing more invigorating than getting a federal court to sign onto some bullshit you made up out of whole cloth.'” (04/10/25)
“Don’t just put in a garden. Stock up on canned food. If you can, get and keep a chicken or three. Consider buying a ‘whole cow’ package from your local butcher shop (and, if need be, a chest freezer to store it in). I try my best to avoid predictions of imminent catastrophe, and I still hold out hope that we can get through all this nonsense with nothing more than a mild to moderate recession before cooler heads prevail. But it’s not a ‘no pain, no gain’ situation. The hammer isn’t just cocked on the upcoming craziness; the gun has been fired. It’s a ‘pain, no gain’ situation, and all we can do is act preemptively to minimize the pain.” (04/10/25)
“Singapore uses the War Games Strategy. That is, the only way to win is not to play. In other words, Singaporeans engage in unilateral free trade, whatever the rest do. Economically, the city-state punches high above its weight. The US, under the Trump Administration, uses the Chaos Strategy. That is, the only way to win is to go batshit long enough to get your counterparts to renegotiate amid the chaos. (Below, I discuss potential Trump Administration infighting between Reciprocols and Retardos.) My preferred strategy, the Everybody Wins Strategy, is probably too idealistic: the only way to win is universal free trade, which means governments get out of the way.” (04/10/25)
