Lone Candle
Champion of Truth
“President Donald Trump is ratcheting up pressure on Republicans to redraw congressional maps across the country, going as far as weighing a primary challenge to New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte if she continues avoiding a remapping effort in her state.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/redistricting-republican-loyalty-test-trump-00584932
Judge excoriates Trump in blistering decision calling efforts to deport pro-Palestinian academics illegal
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/judge-young-ruling-trump-deportation-free-speech-00588114
“The president suggested “dangerous” American cities should be used as Pentagon “training grounds” during a dark and winding 72-minute speech.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/trump-military-cities-training-ground-00587977
“President Donald Trump has struck a multi-pronged deal with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to lower the price of some of the company’s medicines, while clearing a path for the drugmaker to receive a three-year reprieve from certain tariffs.
The drugmaker will participate in a new direct purchasing platform named TrumpRx.gov that will let American patients buy a “large majority” of its primary care treatments and “some select specialty brands” at a discount. Those drugs will be offered at “savings that will range as high as 85% and on average 50%,” Pfizer said in a press release Tuesday.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/pfizer-trump-strike-drug-pricing-deal-00587993
“It marks a win for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has personally driven efforts to attract U.S. researchers in a direct response to the Trump administration’s deep cuts to academic programs. Europe has positioned itself as a safe haven by emphasizing academic freedom and increasing the funds available for those who wish to relocate.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/european-research-council-funding-us-researchers-relocation-europe/
“Trump’s overall job approval held steady at 43 percent, with 54 percent of voters saying they disapprove of the president’s job. That’s almost identical to Trump’s figures from April, when 42 percent of voters approved of his job and 54 percent disapproved.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/30/trumps-approval-poll-nyt-00586394
China has been trying to attract top intellectual talent for years. Trump is discouraging such talent from working in the U.S. and China is encouraging them to live in China. This is hugely dumb policy that could make China the clear leader in world technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvuymfuJx9Y
“Electronic Arts, the maker of video games like “Madden NFL,” “Battlefield,” and “The Sims,” is being acquired for $55 billion in what could become the largest private equity-funded buyout in history.
Silver Lake Partners, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF, and Affinity Partners will pay EA’s stockholders $210 per share. Affinity Partners is run by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.”
https://thehill.com/business/electronic-arts-ea-acquired/?tbref=hp
“Despite the polls showing overwhelming public concern about climate change, another type of poll sends the wrong signal to politicians. When pollsters ask people to rank issues in order of importance, climate change typically finishes near the bottom. Yet global warming is not a freestanding issue. It has a significant impact on the issues that rank high, including the economy, cost of living, jobs, inflation and energy prices. ”
https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/5524414-trump-climate-policies-threats/?tbref=hp
“President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics has drawn surprising opposition from conservative economists, and for good reason.
When Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the former commissioner, he baselessly denounced her for publishing “rigged” job numbers to make him look bad. Her replacement, whom Trump capitalized as “Highly Respected Economist, Dr. E.J. Antoni,” would supposedly “ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.”
Don’t count on it.
Almost nobody bought Trump’s claim. Antoni has meager credentials and no relevant experience for leading an agency with over 2,000 employees, responsible for measuring all “labor market activity, working conditions, price changes and productivity in the U.S. economy.”
Antoni is just five years out of graduate school at Northern Illinois University. His only professional jobs have been with right-wing policy shops.
…
Economists from multiple conservative think tanks have weighed in against Antoni’s appointment, citing his inexperience and incompetence.
The American Enterprise Institute’s Stan Veuger warned that Antoni’s work “has frequently included elementary errors or nonsensical choices that all bias his findings in the same partisan direction.” His colleague Derek Scissors was even more dismissive, saying Antoni “writes drivel for political reasons.”
David Herbert, of the American Institute for Economic Research, called for the Senate to reject Antoni’s nomination, citing “his inability to understand basic economics.”
Likewise, Daniel DiMartino of the Manhattan Institute called Antoni “unqualified for the labor market data collection and analysis role” when he doesn’t know what he’s “talking about.” Jessica Riedl, another Manhattan Institute fellow, described Antoni’s publications as “probably the most error-filled of any think tank economist.”
Even the Wall Street Journal editorial board, ordinarily supportive of Trump’s nominees, was skeptical, noting that Antoni’s “commentary at Heritage has been highly partisan,” while the BLS job “demands nonpartisan professionalism.””
https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/labor/5523873-trump-bls-nominee-opposed-economists/?tbref=hp