Source: Cato Institute
by Scott Lincicome

“Companies tend to overpromise and underdeliver, while higher costs and uncertainty could trigger a retreat.” (04/02/25)

https://www.cato.org/commentary/three-big-reasons-doubt-trumps-tariff-driven-investment-boom

Source: Fox News
by Hugh Hewitt

“If President Trump wants to secure a national security legacy that will never be other than history changing, the time to do so is fast approaching. The Institute for the Study of War recently published this summary of the moment: ‘Senior Iranian officials are continuing to threaten nuclear weaponization, likely to try to deter a potential US or Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities amid new US threats to strike these facilities. Senior Supreme Leader Adviser Ali Larijani stated on March 31 that a US or Israeli strike on Iran would ‘force’ Iran to develop a nuclear weapon to ‘defend its security.’ Western media reported in January 2025 that Larijani had made secret trips to Russia to gain Russian assistance on Iran’s nuclear program. Hardline Iranian Parliamentarian Ahmad Naderi separately stated on March 31 that the United States ‘wouldn’t dare threaten to bomb’ Iran if Iran ‘had an atomic bomb’.'” (04/03/25)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/morning-glory-trump-has-drawn-red-line-iran

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“I’m aware of the innumeracy of the Trump administration, apparently using a shortcut AI formula to reset global trade imbalances and trying to bullshit their way through the criticism. But I think we give too much credit to Donald Trump and his lieutenants when we suggest that they’re pursuing a misguided trade policy, or that they aren’t pairing tariffs with the necessary steps to boost domestic manufacturing. Those things are true, of course: U.S. trade policy has been deeply inequitable for decades, favoring multinationals over workers and the environment, giving benefits to those corporations in free-trade agreements that they could never get through normal legislative channels, and handing over economic decisions to Wall Street. But these careful explanations, however correct, have nothing to do with what we saw on display in the Rose Garden yesterday. Because these aren’t really tariffs at all.” (04/03/25)

https://prospect.org/economy/2025-04-03-theyre-not-tariffs-theyre-sanctions/

Source: Persuasion
by Ben Cohen

“I understand the anger many feel toward Musk. He’s become a symbol of everything broken in corporate capitalism — a billionaire who uses his wealth to dismantle public institutions while enriching himself. His flirtation with authoritarian politics, alliance with Donald Trump, and near-constant stream of conspiratorial rhetoric on X have only deepened the sense that he’s actively working against democracy. … It is easy to see why the rage has boiled over into real world acts of vandalism and violence. How else do you hit back at the world’s richest man? But the destruction of private propert — —and the physical threats now facing ordinary Tesla owners — reflects something deeper and more troubling in segments of left-wing activism.” (04/02/25)

https://www.persuasion.community/p/theres-noting-righteous-about-vandalizing

Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri

“Millbank is the latest Big Law firm to make a deal with Trump in response to an executive order targeting their business. This brings the current count to four, with many more accommodating the administration’s whims in big ways and small. Trump is doing battle daily with federal judges, but they, at least, have a somewhat secure institutional perch that they exercise their authority from—in as much as any institution is secure these days. But while some firms are trying to hold the line, most have bandwagoned into a position of accommodation. … If we’re to have any legal system to speak of come 2026, we need to stop these firms from bandwagoning now. State bars have the power to make this happen by threatening any prospective defectors. If you are a lawyer yourself, please consider raising this issue with your state bar as soon as possible.” 904/02/25)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/state-bars-need-to-stop-the-bleeding/