Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“When the ship starts sinking, the rats start jumping. In politics, when a party or movement is soundly demolished at the polls, you can expect to see stalwarts flake off and go the way of the opposition, or ‘their own way.’ But the honorable time to do that is before the insider position becomes untenable. Not after. Late timing smacks of opportunism. Case in point: Karine Jean-Pierre, former Press Secretary to President Joe Biden.” (06/05/25)
Source: SFGate
“Cutting off the horns of sedated rhinos with a chainsaw has been viewed by wildlife conservationists in Africa for more than 30 years as a necessary evil to save the iconic endangered species from poaching. They hoped the drastic action was working, but evidence was scarce. Now, a study published Thursday in the academic journal Science has found that dehorning rhinos has led to a large reduction in poaching in game reserves in and around the Kruger National Park in northern South Africa — an area that’s home to 25% of the world’s rhinos and is especially vulnerable to poaching. The results of the seven-year study that ended in 2023 are seen as long-awaited evidence that removing rhinos’ horns — which needs to be done every one to two years because they grow back — helps them survive, even if the animals lose part of their makeup.” (06/05/25)
Source: San Diego Union-Tribune
“U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday at a time when stalled tariff negotiations between their two countries have roiled global trade. The conversation was reported by Xinhua, a Chinese state media outlet. The White House did not immediately comment. … Trade negotiations between the United States and China stalled shortly after a May 12 agreement between the two countries to reduce their tariff rates while talks played out.” (06/05/25)
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/06/05/trump-xi-talk-tariffs/
Source: The Bulwark
“GOP Civil War: MAGA is Imploding in Real Time.” (06/04/25)
Source: Reason
by Stephanie Slade
“Fusionism holds that virtue and liberty are mutually reinforcing, and that neither is possible in any lasting or meaningful way without the other.” (for publication 07/25)
https://reason.com/2025/06/05/the-fusionist-politics-of-ronald-reagan/
Source: The American Prospect
by Gabrielle Gurley
“On April 30, the Texas Economic Development Corporation published a blog post boasting that Texas is ‘rapidly becoming the renewable energy capital of the U.S. … As wind, solar, battery storage, and hydrogen energy continue to expand, the Lone Star State is helping shape a more resilient and diversified national grid’. It may surprise some people that Texas is the American poster child for clean energy. But a fortunate mix of climatic and topographic elements has made it the leading state in the nation for wind energy generation, while second for solar and battery storage. Billions and billions of dollars of investments unlocked those resources, and its business-friendly opportunities … have sparked one of the strangest regional energy revolutions in the world. Sprinkle in generous federal clean-energy tax credits, and the country’s largest industrial and consumer energy market has been booming.” (06/05/25)
https://prospect.org/environment/2025-06-05-texas-legislature-beats-back-assault-on-clean-energy/
Source: CNBC
“The European Central Bank on Thursday announced a 25-basis-point interest rate trim and lowered its inflation expectations on the back of a stronger euro and lower energy costs. This takes the deposit facility rate to 2%, down from a mid-2023 high of 4%. Ahead of the announcement, traders had been pricing in an almost 99% chance of the quarter-point cut according to LSEG data. … Euro zone inflation fell below the 2% ECB target rate in May, hitting a cooler-than-expected 1.9% according to preliminary data published earlier this week. Economic growth however has continued to be lacklustre even as interest rates have eased. The latest estimate shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the euro zone expanded by 0.3%.” (06/05/25)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/05/european-central-bank-decision-june-2025.html
Source: System Update
“Sen. Rand Paul On Opposing Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, Tariffs, His Role in the Senate, Ukraine, Free Speech, and More.” (06/04/25)
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak
“Most economic commentators consider a weakening in economic statistics such as gross domestic product (GDP) as indicative of a weakening in the economy. According to most experts this decline in the GDP, which is labeled a recession, as a rule arises because of a decline in the overall demand for goods and services. This is seen as predominantly because of a decline in the private sector’s buying of goods and services. Consequently, it is recommended that the central bank should step in and strengthen the private sector’s demand. … We suggest that the subject matter of recession is not a weakening of GDP and various other economic indicators as such but the liquidation of various nonproductive activities that have emerged on the back of the easy monetary policies of the central bank. We label these activities bubbles.” (06/05/25)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2025/06/why-recessions-are-not-about-declining-gdp/
Source: Wired
by Jessica Klein
“Trump’s inner circle has taken over one of the biggest crypto conferences in the world — drowning out protests from diehard bitcoiners who believe their ‘nerd money’ shouldn’t be political.” (06/05/25)