Source: Palm Beach Examiner
by Karl Dickey

“So, it’s almost 2 1/2 months in with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the U.S. government, and I thought we’d take a look at what they are up to. DOGE, by the way, is simply the renaming of former President Obama’s Digital Services Agency. You will remember that Obama wanted to do the same thing as DOGE; see the video below to see how Obama wanted to ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse similar to what DOGE is doing. Strangely, now that Republicans are in office, this is now bad.” (04/03/25)

https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/doges-war-on-waste-a-libertarian

Source: The UnPopulist
by Matthew McManus

“Trumpism’s novelty, in the vast historical sweep of era-defining ideologies, means it is still quite possible for any faction within it to effectively shape it in its own image. Of course, any faction that does seek to define it will need to incorporate some of the other groups in temporary alliances and sideline yet others. What can the Musk-Bannon dispute tell us about how this might happen?” (04/03/25)

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/will-the-deep-fracture-between-tech

Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison

“Trump’s massive escalation of his trade war was far worse than expected. … Many news reports have referred to these tariffs as reciprocal because that is what the administration calls them, but there is nothing reciprocal about any of this. The countries targeted with significantly higher tariffs have generally low tariffs on American goods. Trump’s trade war is as far from tariff reciprocity as it is possible to get. The president has arbitrarily imposed one of the largest tax increases in American history. As Americans realize what he has done and how much it is costing them, the political backlash will likely be severe. If there is any good news in all of this insanity, it is that Trump has probably destroyed his presidency in just the first three months of the new term.” (04/03/25)

https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/an-economic-war-based-on-lies

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“When we consider all of the lies and slogans (generally also a bunch of lies) that politicians and their kind have thrown at us over the years, it is clear that much of human misery in the 21st Century is due to their antics. The rise of Trump 2.0 has pointed that fact out even more. For one thing, it is not always (or even commonly) the action that causes various groups to go ballistic, it is who is taking the action. Of course, anytime that money is sucked away from the parasites that have long lived on the government (taxpayer’s) teat, they are going to scream.” (04/03/25)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/04/03/solving-the-worlds-problems/

Source: TomDispatch
by William J Astore

“I read the news today, oh boy. About a lucky man named Elon Musk. But he lost out on one thing: he didn’t get a top secret briefing on Pentagon war plans for China. And the news people breathed a sigh of relief. With apologies to John Lennon and The Beatles, a day in the life is getting increasingly tough to take here in the land of the free. I’m meant to be reassured that Musk didn’t get to see America’s top-secret plans for — yes! — going to war with China, even as I’m meant to ignore the constant drumbeat of propaganda, the incessant military marches that form America’s background music, conveying the message that America must have war plans for China, that indeed war in or around China is possible, even probable, in the next decade. Maybe in 2027?” (04/03/25)

https://tomdispatch.com/ending-militarism-in-america/