Source: The Daily Economy
by Barry Brownstein

“If you maintain that over time, the United States has been the best country at exemplifying the teachings of Adam Smith, you would get no argument from me. Sadly, that imagined crown no longer fits. By one calculation, with President Trump’s new tariffs, the United States ‘is about to have the highest tariff rate of any advanced economy’ with a rate of ‘around 22 percent — up from 1.5 percent in 2022.’ Smith’s teachings on markets and human nature established the foundation for a free trade policy. It would seem the fate of humanity is to forget timeless truths, endure the consequences, and struggle to recover those truths.” (04/21/25)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/adam-smith-vs-the-tariff-state-a-timeless-case-for-free-trade/

Source: Fox News Forum
by Vivek Ramaswamy

“Mark Twain once quipped, ‘No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.’ In the 1800s, his wit was aimed at lawmakers — but if he were alive today, he’d likely reserve his sharpest criticism for unelected bureaucrats, who often wield more power than those we elect. Unlike legislators, these regulators don’t take recesses. They’re ‘in session’ 40 hours a week, every week, quietly issuing rules that extend into nearly every corner of American life. Most Americans are aware that federal agencies — the infamous ‘alphabet soup’ in Washington — have overstepped. But the problem is just as pervasive, and perhaps more dangerous, in all 50 state capitals. The truth is simple: in today’s America, the regulatory state isn’t solving problems — it is the problem.” (04/21/25)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/vivek-ramaswamy-why-its-time-take-administrative-state

Source: Antiwar.com
by Ted Galen Carpenter

“For Americans who still labor under the delusion that Donald Trump is an advocate of realism and restraint in foreign policy, the events in Yemen should come as a rude awakening. Unfortunately, the most prominent indicator took a form that enabled the president’s political opponents to evade their own share of the blame for the tragic events in that country. Revelations that members of Trump’s national security team had conducted a discussion of highly classified information about war plans in Yemen over an insecure system exploded in the news media last month. … However, the dominant focus of most news stories about the episode was both revealing and depressing. Critics vehemently denounced the Trump team for an egregious inability to keep the Yemen war plans secret. Very little of the criticism from journalists or members of Congress condemned the participants in the chat for planning to wage an unconstitutional war.” (04/21/25)

https://original.antiwar.com/ted_galen_carpenter/2025/04/20/trumps-unconstitutional-presidential-war-against-yemen/

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“Don’t try to sanewash what’s happening. It’s evil, but it isn’t calculated evil. That is, it’s not a considered political strategy, with a clear end goal. It’s a visceral response from people who, as Thomas Edsall puts it, are addicted to revenge. If you want a model for what’s happening to America, think of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. … The Cultural Revolution was, of course, a huge disaster for China. It inflicted vast suffering on its targets and also devastated the economy. But the Maoists didn’t care. Revenge was their priority, never mind the effects on GDP. … There is, however, one big difference between Chairman Mao in 1966 and President Trump in 2025: Trump probably — probably — doesn’t have the cards.” (04/21/25)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trumps-cultural-revolution

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“Former Trump campaign manager and advisor Kelly Anne Conway, substituting for regular host Sean Hannity, opened the program by showing a picture she explained was ‘Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen staring affectionally into the eyes of admitted illegal [sic] immigrant and accused serial wife abuser and human trafficker with suspected gang ties, who was recently deported to his home country.’ Others claim Garcia is ‘a loving father and husband,’ who ‘has never been charged with or convicted of a crime in the United States.’ But whether adangerous criminal or an innocent, hard-working family man, Garcia’s status is hardly the issue. This is about whether our government must follow its written Constitution.” (04/21/25)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/04/21/the-hill-to-die-on/

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“Just a few days after being found liable of monopolizing digital advertising markets, Google will soon find out its penalty for monopolizing online search markets. On Monday, the remedy phase began of a trial that found that Google illegally muscled out competition in search by purchasing default space on devices and browsers. ‘This is the time to tell Google and all other monopolists watching (and they are watching) that there are consequences when you break the antitrust laws,’ said David Dahlquist, the attorney representing the Justice Department, in opening arguments. This is the first major monopolization case in 25 years, successfully argued by Joe Biden’s Justice Department antitrust division. Now Donald Trump’s antitrust division must argue the remedy phase, where they are calling for a partial breakup of Google. The hearing before Judge Amit Mehta in D.C. district court is scheduled to last three weeks.” (04/21/25)

https://prospect.org/power/2025-04-21-google-antitrust-breakup-chrome/