Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“Armageddon may (or may not) be on hold for a little while, so let’s talk about other issues, like the state of the economy — in particular, what’s going on with job growth, where important things are happening. Are they good things or bad? Well, it’s a bad news/good news/but the good news is really bad news situation.” (04/09/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/job-growth-on-ice

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by James R Webb

“Despite the challenges ahead for the U.S. in securing a durable peace, there is perhaps a massive potential political opportunity for President Trump to fulfill a campaign promise. A core promise that attracted independents and conservatives, and arguably was the single biggest driver of both of his electoral victories, was the removal of American troops from the Middle East. Preventing the continuation of, or yet another war with the U.S. is arguably Iran’s most meaningful demand, and perhaps the most valuable for the U.S. at the bargaining table. At this juncture, American basing across the region only serves to pressure and threaten Iran, whose existence is not and never has been an existential threat to the U.S. homeland. Further, what better way for President Trump to demonstrate victory than to publicly declare that our objectives have been met and that the troops are coming home, thus making a splash heading into midterms?” (04/09/26)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-ceasefire/

Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jackie Calmes

“Amid all the alarming and unhinged comments of the president of the United States in recent days threatening Iran with genocide — remarks beyond even the usual cray-cray blather from Donald Trump — it was a statement from his spokesperson on Tuesday that really put the madness in the White House in perspective. ‘Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do,’ Karoline Leavitt said. … A mad king reigns, virtually unchecked. And as a practical matter, there is nothing under the Constitution, neither impeachment nor removal under the 25th Amendment, that can be done about him. There’s only voters’ opportunity to eject the complicit Republican majorities in the House and Senate in November’s midterm elections, to install a Democratic — and democratic — check on Trump for the remaining two years of his term.” (04/09/26)

https://archive.is/zrPPw

Source: Foreign Policy
by Stephen M Walt

“The United States is still good at many things, but holding elites to account is not one of them. President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush pardoned the officials responsible for the Iran-Contra scandal, and Barack Obama declined to prosecute the men and women who had authorized the illegal use of torture. The architects of the disastrous wars in Vietnam and Iraq remained respected members of the establishment for the rest of their lives, in some cases occupying leadership posts or comfortable sinecures at prominent institutions and continuing to opine on foreign-policy matters whenever they wished. Nor were the fraudsters who brought us the 2008 financial crisis ever held to account—we just turned the page and moved on. Given that record, it isn’t so surprising that the United States tends to repeat past errors.” (04/09/26)

https://archive.is/hn2CD