Trump’s Syrian Outreach Turns an Enemy Into a Friend

“the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a three-page waiver lifting almost all economic sanctions on Syria unconditionally.”

“the Syrian government handed back the old U.S. ambassador’s residence to Thomas Barrack, who serves as both U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria.”

“a waiver isn’t a permanent end to sanctions. The sanctions imposed by Congress have to be lifted by Congress…Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it should do exactly that.”

https://reason.com/2025/05/30/trumps-syrian-outreach-turns-an-enemy-into-a-friend/

What J.D. Vance Gets Wrong About Judicial Deference to Executive Power

“Let’s start with the role of the courts. The idea that the judicial branch owes special deference to the elected branches of government was thoroughly rejected by the framers and ratifiers of the Constitution. “As to the constitutionality of laws,” Luther Martin told the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia on July 21, 1787, “that point will come before the judges in their proper official character. In this character they will have a negative on the laws.” Federal judges, Martin explained, “could declare an unconstitutional law void,” thereby overruling the actions of the elected branches. None of the delegates disagreed with that.

“This Constitution defines the extent of the powers of the general government,” Oliver Ellsworth told the Connecticut Ratification Convention on January 7, 1788. “If the general legislature should at any time overleap their limits, the judicial department is a constitutional check. If the United States go beyond their powers, if they make a law which the Constitution does not authorize, it is void; and the judicial power, the national judges, who, to secure their impartiality, are to be made independent, will declare it to be void.”

James Madison, often called the “father of the Constitution,” made the same point in his June 8, 1789, speech to Congress introducing the Bill of Rights. The proper role of the courts, Madison said, was to act as “an impenetrable bulwark against every assumption of power in the legislative or executive.””

https://reason.com/2025/05/30/what-j-d-vance-gets-wrong-about-judicial-deference-to-executive-power/

How Not to Lose Your Air Force (On the Ground) – Hardening, modern threats & air base defences

Advanced air forces are vulnerable to enemies destroying their planes on the ground. Having a cheap drone destroy your ridiculously expensive plane is a bad exchange. Air forces can build hardened shelters and decoys to limit the damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr-wqGyF4cU

Texas Ten Commandments Bill Is the Latest Example of Forcing Religious Texts In Public Schools

“Texas has become the latest state to pass a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. The bill, which is already being legally challenged and is unlikely to pass constitutional muster, is part of a recent trend of red states attempting to inject religious texts into the classroom.”

https://reason.com/2025/05/30/texas-ten-commandments-bill-is-the-latest-example-of-forcing-religious-texts-in-public-schools/

These 4 Industries Successfully Lobbied Trump for Tariff Exemptions

“When industries can boost profits more easily by lobbying for tariff exemptions than by competing in the marketplace, they will—and those incentives grow stronger as government intervention in the economy increases.”

https://reason.com/2025/06/03/the-list-who-got-a-tariff-exemption/

Hospitals stunned by Senate GOP’s Medicaid plan

““No senator wants to be the reason their local hospital shutters its doors, and now is their opportunity to stop that from happening,” said a source familiar with hospital industry thinking, granted anonymity to speak freely on strategy.

More than 250 hospital leaders flew into Washington on Tuesday to urge senators to preserve Medicaid as part of an American Hospital Association lobbying campaign. The association spent almost $8.5 million on lobbying in the first quarter of the year, a high water mark dating back almost two decades.

“There are aggressive conversations ongoing … to make sure that all senators recognize the vulnerability that it is going to potentially put all of our hospitals in,” said one stakeholder granted anonymity to speak on strategy”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/17/hospitals-senate-medicaid-megabill-taxes-00410769

An Interview With Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan

Trump’s Border Czar says ICE is just enforcing the law. If you don’t like ICE enforcing the law when it comes to illegal immigrants, then contact Congress and tell them to change it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOgV_3IwPpA

Doing the Math on Trump’s Economic Impact — ft. Justin Wolfers | Prof G Markets

Wealthy people and great entrepreneurs aren’t going to not start that great business because they will pay more taxes if they make it big. Either way, if successful, they would have done something great and will be rich.

The most profitable and flexible workforce for Americans is illegal immigrants.

When we put tariffs on China, we are saying every country on Earth can get low inputs from China except America, making American business less competitive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKLdzBun4sk

The Tariff Downturn

“”The OECD now forecasts global economic growth to slow to 2.9% this year from 3.3% in 2024,” notes Bloomberg. “It expects the rate of expansion in the US will tumble further, to 1.6% from 2.8%—an outlook that is significantly lower than its projection in March.””

https://reason.com/2025/06/03/the-tariff-downturn/