Source: The Contrarian
by Jennifer Rubin

“After two days of watching the markets tank, President in Name Only Donald Trump’s lackeys began to talk about a ‘compromise’ on his wrongheaded, disastrous rollout of steep across-the-board tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China. This is a common Trump stunt: Make a boneheaded move, watch the fierce blowback, make a meaningless deal, and declare victory. In this case, the ‘compromise’ appears to include a one-month reprieve from tariffs for automakers. However, after the one-month pause, those tariffs apparently will go into effect. No such relief was offered for other goods. Whatever wiggle room Trump provides, the damage is done. Markets, businesses, and consumers are rattled. … Why does he needlessly make such objectively self-destructive moves? His tariffs certainly cannot be justified economically, and the predictable results are so severe, they make even less political sense.” (03/06/25)

https://contrarian.substack.com/p/trumps-economic-trainwreck

Source: Persuasion
by Heather Parry

“Writers are often so keen to be good at something, to be artistic, that we forget the basics. We forget that writing is a method of communication, and unless you’re being unclear for a very specific reason that will eventually reveal itself, in communication, clarity is key. When it comes to first attempts at literary fiction, though, there’s often a different issue. That issue is that nothing fucking happens in it. When I started writing short stories I had excellent free mentoring from much-lauded Glasgow writer Kirsty Logan. The most irritating but insightful thing she would say to me, when I presented her with my stories, was this: ‘What is this story about?’ And more often than not, I didn’t know. The problem was that I had all these ideas, but the ideas were situations; they were not stories.” (03/06/25)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/modern-life-is-ruining-storytelling

Source: New York Post
by Robert Holden

“As a lifelong Democrat, I never imagined I would watch my own party embarrass itself so thoroughly — and so publicly — as it did during Tuesday’s joint session of Congress. From obnoxious booing to childish protest signs to a sitting member of Congress having to be physically removed from the chamber, Democrats turned what should have been a solemn, dignified event into a bad reality show. … Nothing was more disgraceful than when my colleagues refused to stand or clap when 13-year-old DJ Daniel, a brain cancer survivor, was made an honorary Secret Service agent.” (03/05/25)

https://nypost.com/2025/03/05/opinion/as-a-democrat-im-embarrassed-for-my-party-and-worried-for-the-nation/