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/

Will the U.S. Join Israel’s War With Iran? | The Daily

Good description of Trump’s attempt to negotiate with Iran, it not yet succeeding, and then Israel deciding to attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tFSro590Xg

The Next Conservative Civil War Is Coming

“the more tangible potential rupture with at least parts of the conservative legal movement is coming over Trump’s decision to nominate Emil Bove — formerly Trump’s criminal defense lawyer, currently Trump’s enforcer at the Justice Department — to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Prominent members of the conservative legal movement have been publicly speaking out against Bove’s nomination, arguing that he would be more loyal to Trump than the rule of law. That in turn has sparked a backlash against Bove’s critics from Trump allies eager to install a new set of judges who may be less tied to the old guard on the right.”

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/06/16/emil-bove-nomination-conservative-legal-civil-war-00405837

Inside the clashes between Trump and Gabbard

“At 5:30 a.m. on June 10, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard tweeted a cryptic, three-minute video warning that “political elite and warmongers” are “carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers” — and that the world is “on the brink of nuclear annihilation.”

Trump saw the unauthorized video and became incensed, complaining to associates at the White House that she had spoken out of turn, according to three people familiar with the episode — two of them inside the administration and all granted anonymity to describe sensitive dynamics.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/17/gabbard-trump-00411685

No More Student Visas? No Problem.

“Just how mad is Beijing about President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke student visas for Chinese nationals? Not as mad as it says, and not as mad as one might expect. Publicly, China’s leadership will likely complain that Trump’s action is yet another attempt to thwart the country’s rise. But in reality, Beijing would probably just as soon keep its smartest kids at home.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/no-more-student-visas-no-110000356.html

Trump officials reverse guidance exempting farms, hotels from immigration raids

“The Department of Homeland Security on Monday told staff that it was reversing guidance issued last week that agents were not to conduct immigration raids at farms, hotels and restaurants – a decision that stood at odds with President Donald Trump’s calls for mass deportations of anyone without legal status.

Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including its Homeland Security Investigations division, told agency leaders in a call Monday that agents must continue conducting immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels and restaurants, according to two people familiar with the call. The new instructions were shared in an 11 a.m. call to representatives from 30 field offices across the country.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-officials-reverse-guidance-exempting-133327303.html

Gavin Newsom on the LA Protests, Trump’s Response and Why It’s a Defining Moment for Democracy

Local law enforcement had the vandals and rioters under control and sending the military was uncalled for.

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

Inside a Trump ICE Raid | The Daily

Stephen Miller is leading the Trump administration’s push to increase deportations, setting an escalating daily goal. ICE has mostly stopped differentiating between violent criminals and other illegal immigrants.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmO6dk4UuAM

The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Add $2.4 Trillion to the Deficit

“In March, President Donald Trump stood before a joint session of Congress and vowed to “do what has not been done in 24 years: balance the federal budget.”

The first major legislative package of Trump’s second term, however, will throw the federal budget farther out of balance, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concluded in an updated assessment of the bill.

The CBO estimates that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cleared the House late last month and is awaiting a vote in the Senate, will increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years. The bill will reduce tax collections by an estimated $3.75 trillion over that period, while reducing government spending by an estimated $1.3 trillion.”

https://reason.com/2025/06/04/the-big-beautiful-bill-will-add-2-4-trillion-to-the-deficit/

The world in flux and Trump’s role in a new equilibrium – Stephen Kotkin Lecture – Apr 25

The insanity, cuelity, and incompetence of Trump on the global stage is pushing forward a global transition that needed to happen. Europe needs to pay its fair share to defend itself and the world can’t continue to let China take advantage of the system. The U.S. led world order is undemocratic and deeply flawed, but what is the alternative?

The Biden administration went to Europe and asked if war breaks out in the Pacific, are you with us? Europe said no. Yet, they expect the U.S. to protect them from Russia.

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