“Not so long ago, Ammon Bundy was the most famous right-wing militia leader in America. His two armed standoffs with federal agents had made him the face of the Patriot Movement: a loose assemblage of anti-government extremists, Second Amendment maximalists, and more than a few white nationalists. Even some mainstream elements of the Republican Party embraced him as a modern folk hero. But Bundy’s criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown now threatens to make him a pariah within his own community.” (02/01/26)
“Many news reports treat the absence of a large rise in inflation since Liberation Day as a puzzle, a big problem for economists. And of course Trump and co. are crowing that all the experts were wrong. But if you look at the actual numbers, there isn’t much if any puzzle. The key point is that effective tariff rates have risen much less than headline rates. Partly this is because there have been some major carve-outs, like Apple’s exemption from tariffs on India. Partly it’s because high tariffs have led firms to take advantage of exemptions that were already on the books but weren’t worth the paperwork when tariffs were lower.” [editor’s note: Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that price increases are a symptom of inflation, not inflation itself? – TLK] (02/01/26)
“The murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by masked federal agents earlier this month shocked our consciences. But it is important to understand these killings were the inevitable result of a culture of violence and lawlessness at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in which masked DHS agents have been routinely engaging in brazenly criminal acts across the country for months with no accountability or oversight. To be clear, punching someone in the face because you don’t like the sign they are holding is a crime. Same with pulling a gun on or spraying bear mace at a peaceful bystander. And yet we have seen literally thousands of clearly documented crimes like these committed by DHS agents over the past year with no consequences or even investigations. This is part of a broader culture of lawlessness and contempt for accountability that permeates DHS and ICE.” (02/01/26)
