The Conversation -- May 27, 2025
“The New Dark Age.” Adam Serwer of the Atlantic: “The warlords who sacked Rome did not intend to doom Western Europe to centuries of ignorance.... The same cannot be said of the sweeping attack on human knowledge and progress that the Trump administration is now undertaking—a deliberate destruction of education, science, and history, conducted with a fanaticism that recalls the Dark Ages that followed Rome’s fall. Every week brings fresh examples.... By destroying knowledge, Trumpists seek to make the country more amenable to their political domination, and to prevent meaningful democratic checks on their behavior. Their victory, though, would ... annihilate some of the most effective systems for aggregating, accumulating, and applying human knowledge that have ever existed. Without those systems, America could find itself plunged into a new Dark Age.... One obvious cost is the damage to technological, scientific, and social advancement. Another will be the impossibility of self-governance, because a public denied access to empirical reality cannot engage in self-determination as the Founders imagined.... Like the catastrophic loss of knowledge in Western Europe that followed the fall of Rome, it is a self-inflicted calamity. All that matters to Trumpists is that they can reign unchallenged over the ruins.” Thank you to laura h. for this gift link.
Pardons for Sale. Price: $1MM PLUS. Ken Vogel of the New York Times: Paul “Walczak, a former nursing home executive who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes days after the 2024 election, submitted a pardon application to ... [Donald] Trump around Inauguration Day.... Still, weeks went by and no pardon was forthcoming.... Then, [his mother Elizabeth] Fago was invited to a $1-million-per-person fund-raising dinner last month that promised face-to-face access to Mr. Trump at his private Mar-a-Lago club.... Less than three weeks after she attended the dinner, Mr. Trump signed a full and unconditional pardon.... The case of Ms. Fago and Mr. Walczak is the latest example of the president’s willingness to use his clemency powers to reward allies who advance his political causes, and to punish his enemies.” MB: According to the report, The son is a crook who stole $10MM of nurses' withholding taxes, and the mother was involved in handling Ashley Biden's stolen diary.
Peter Eavis of the New York Times: Donald “Trump and some members of Congress want to revive a depleted American shipbuilding industry to compete with China, the world’s biggest maker of ships by far.... Last month, Mr. Trump issued an executive order aimed at revitalizing American shipbuilding.... It is such a daunting goal that some shipping experts say it is destined to fail.... The Philadelphia yard won’t have space for new orders until 2027, and other American shipyards are so tied up with filling orders for the Navy that they don’t have the capacity to produce commercial vessels. It takes far longer to build ships in the United States than in Asia, and costs nearly five times as much. The Philadelphia yard makes roughly a ship and a half a year, compared with around a ship a week at Hanwha’s larger facilities in its home country.... In the last 10 years, Chinese shipbuilders delivered 6,765 commercial ships, nearly half of global deliveries, according to data from BRS Shipbrokers. Japan delivered 3,130, South Korea 2,405 and the United States just 37.”
Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: “NPR sued ... [Donald] Trump on Tuesday over his executive order that aims to end federal funding for NPR and PBS. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington by NPR and other public radio organizations..., said Mr. Trump’s order violated the Constitution and the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech. 'The president has no authority under the Constitution to take such actions,' the lawsuit said. 'On the contrary, the power of the purse is reserved to Congress.'”
Susan Svrluga of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration leveled another blow at Harvard University on Tuesday, directing federal agencies to cancel or redirect contracts with the Ivy League school. According to a senior administration official, the U.S. General Services Administration will send a letter to federal agencies Tuesday asking them to identify any contracts with Harvard and whether they can be canceled or redirected elsewhere. The review would include about 30 contracts that federal agencies currently hold with Harvard, worth about $100 million, according to a Trump administration official....”
Nahal Toosi of Politico: “The Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study in the United States to undergo social media vetting — a significant expansion of previous such efforts, according to a cable obtained by Politico. In preparation for such required vetting, the administration is ordering U.S. embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for such student visa applicants, according to the cable, dated Tuesday and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.”
Mattathias Schwartz of the New York Times: “A federal judge [-- Brian Murphy of the District Court in Massachusetts --] expressed frustration on Monday night with the government’s failure to give due process to a group of deportees the administration is trying to send to South Sudan but is now holding in Djibouti, as he had mandated last week.... On Monday night, Trina Realmuto, a lawyer for the migrants in the case, confirmed that her team had not been given phone access to them.” Politico's report is here.
Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: “An enduring rift among Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s cadre of senior advisers has divided the Pentagon’s front office and fueled internal speculation about his long-term viability in the Cabinet post after several episodes that attracted White House scrutiny.... The conflict within Hegseth’s inner circle persists even after he purged several political appointees in April and attempts to portray a sense of unity among his remaining brain trust. His claims, however, are belied by continued behind-the-scenes dysfunction, brought on by unresolved personality conflicts, inexperience, vacancies in key leadership roles and a steady-state paranoia over what political crisis could emerge next, current and former officials said.”
Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: “The White House has lost confidence in a Pentagon leak investigation that Pete Hegseth used to justify firing three top aides last month, after advisers were told that the aides had supposedly been outed by an illegal warrantless National Security Agency (NSA) wiretap. The extraordinary explanation alarmed the advisers, who also raised it with people close to JD Vance, because such a wiretap would almost certainly be unconstitutional and an even bigger scandal than a number of leaks. But the advisers found the claim to be untrue and complained that they were being fed dubious information by Hegseth’s personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, who had been tasked with overseeing the investigation.... One Trump adviser recently told Hegseth that he did not think ... any of the fired aides ... had leaked anything, and that he suspected the investigation had been used to get rid of aides involved in the infighting with his first chief of staff, Joe Kasper.”
Rachel Roubein, et al., of the Washington Post: “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that his agency would no longer recommend the coronavirus vaccine for healthy pregnant women and healthy children — a rare move that bypasses the traditional system of vaccine recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a 58-second video posted on X, Kennedy said the vaccine had been removed from the CDC’s immunization schedule for those two groups of people.... Currently, the CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older receive the coronavirus vaccine annually.”
Isabel Kershner & Fatima AbdulKarim of the New York Times: “... on April 6, near ... a village in the West Bank where most of the residents have U.S. citizenship, Israeli soldiers gunned down Amer Rabee a 14-year-old Palestinian American boy who was born in New Jersey.... The Israeli military has accused Amer and two of his friends of hurling rocks toward the highway and endangering civilians. It described the boys as 'terrorists,' and said its soldiers had 'eliminated' one and shot the two others. Amer’s family and one of the surviving boys deny the accusation, saying that they were picking almonds. Amer was shot multiple times in his upper body.... Amer’s killing has added to accusations that the Israeli military uses excessive force and operates with impunity.... Amer’s death has also raised questions about the American response to helping its own citizens. Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker of New Jersey have called for an American-led investigation into Amer’s death, but the Trump administration has remained largely noncommittal.”
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Erica Green of the New York Times: Donald “Trump memorialized the nation’s fallen soldiers in a speech at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, recognizing the families of servicemen and servicewomen who died fighting for their country hours after airing grievances and attacking his political opponents on social media.... He also used the occasion, traditionally a solemn day of tributes, to indirectly criticize his predecessor, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., for his border policies while valorizing his own return to office.... In his remarks, he largely stuck to his efforts in recent weeks to connect his return to office to a restoration of the nation’s military might.... It was a starkly different tone than he used on social media before the remarks. On Truth Social, he posted a message that did not mention veterans but wished a 'HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL LEFT MINDS.' Trump also railed against what he called 'USA HATING JUDGES.'...
“During his remarks on Monday, after musing about returning to office for a second term in time to host soccer’s World Cup and the Summer Olympics — a quirk of timing he attributed to divine intervention — Mr. Trump highlighted the upcoming [U.S. Army's 250th] anniversary celebration, which he said 'blows everything away.' Mr. Trump said that in some ways he was glad that he didn’t have a consecutive second term in the White House because he would have otherwise missed hosting all three events. 'Can you imagine?' he said. 'I missed that four years, and now look what I have. I have everything. Amazing the way things work out.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, Donald. God wanted you to “have everything.” And to spoil “everything” for the rest of the world. The ancient Gnogtics called the Hebrew god the “Demiurge,” an imperfect creator-god who was 'impious in his arrogance.” I guess they got that right. ~~~
~~~ Gregory Svirnovskiy of Politico: “... Donald Trump rang in Memorial Day with an address at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, departing from his somber message to slam the Biden administration, reaffirm his support for embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and look ahead to the coming 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.”
Astha Rajvanshi of NBC News: “The Kremlin on Monday pushed back at ... Donald Trump’s comments that dubbed ... Vladimir Putin 'crazy,' mulling whether the American leader was suffering from 'emotional overload.' While thanking Trump for 'helping start' the negotiation process between Moscow and Kyiv, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said these talks went 'hand in hand with an emotional overload of absolutely everyone and with emotional reactions.'” MB: Every leader in the world knows Donald Trump is an unbalanced loon, and Putin is one of the few not afraid to say so.
All Talk, No Walk. David Sanger of the New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s rare criticism of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia came after a weekend of the largest bombardment of Ukrainian cities over the past three years, mostly aimed at civilian targets.... The Russian attacks also happened only days after Mr. Trump had what he described publicly as an 'excellent' two-hour phone call with Mr. Putin that Mr. Trump promised would immediately lead to direct peace negotiations.... Mr. Trump has never linked [Russia's] attacks [on Ukraine citizens] with his own decision, reaffirmed last week, to refuse to join the Europeans in new financial sanctions on Russia, or to offer new arms and help to the Ukrainians. The result is a strategic void in which Mr. Trump complains about Russian’s continued killing but so far has been unwilling to make Mr. Putin pay even a modest price.... The pattern is a familiar one, several outside experts and former government officials said. Mr. Trump signals he is pulling back from a conflict he often describes as Europe’s war, then expresses shock that Mr. Putin responds with a familiar list of demands that amount to a Ukrainian surrender, followed by accelerating attacks. Mr. Trump episodically insists he is 'absolutely' considering sanctions, including on Sunday.” Related stories linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: Donald “Trump floated a new plan on Monday for the $3 billion he wants to strip from Harvard University, saying in a social media post that he was thinking about using the money to fund vocational schools. 'I am considering taking THREE BILLION DOLLARS of Grant Money away from a very antisemitic Harvard, and giving it to TRADE SCHOOLS all across our land,' Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media platform.” A CBS News report is here. MB: If trade schools that apply for the grants are training people for jobs that exist, then I'm all for giving them billions of dollars. But it's counterproductive to take that money from Harvard to scratch Trump's bullying itch.
Sabrina Malhi of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump announced on Monday his pardon of former Culpeper County, Virginia, sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was convicted of federal bribery and fraud charges in December. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Jenkins was a victim of the 'Biden Department of Justice, and doesn’t deserve to spend a single day in jail.' Jenkins was sheriff for 12 years before being voted out of office after his indictment on bribery charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing wealthy businessmen as unpaid auxiliary deputies. Prosecutors said the men paid for badges so that they could avoid traffic tickets and carry concealed firearms without a permit.... The Justice Department issued a news release in March [i.e., during the Trump administration] applauding the original conviction and condemning Jenkins’s actions.” ~~~
~~~ Stacey Dec of ABC News: "Scott Jenkins ... was set to report to jail on Tuesday. 'Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden DOJ,; Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social. ;In fact, during his trial, when Sheriff Jenkins tried to offer exculpatory evidence to support himself, the Biden Judge, Robert Ballou, refused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade.... As we have seen, in Federal, City, and State Courts, Radical Left or Liberal Judges allow into evidence what they feel like, not what is mandated under the Constitution and Rules of Evidence,'... Trump praised Jenkins as 'a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left "monsters," and "left for dead."'"
~~~ Marie: Why, Donald, I just wholeheartedly agree with you, Why should Sheriff Jenkins "spend a single day in jail" for taking a measly $75K in bribes when you take hundreds of thousands -- nay, millions -- of dollars in bribes from "wealthy businessmen," emirs and such every chance you get. And there you sit, a free man. Equal justice under the law, I say.
More on that Commencement Speech/Grievance Oration via RAS via digby digby from Chris Jackson on X: "Donald Trump broke tradition today at West Point — leaving halfway through commencement and skipping the time-honored handshake with graduating cadets. Last year, President Biden stayed to shake the hand of every single one of the 1,000+ graduates. Because he respects them. Trump just sees props. Absolutely disgraceful." digby has more on that "inspirational speech." (Also linked yesterday.)
Paul Krugman on Trump's tariff threats: “... let me offer some advice, to the Commission and the EU as a whole: Don’t try to appease Trump. You can’t make any substantive concessions, because your policies toward U.S. exports are already quite favorable. And even giving Trump some kind of symbolic, meaningless win will only embolden him, confirming his false belief that 'they’ve treated us very badly over the years.'... The EU and the US both have significant tariffs on a few of each others’ products, but until Trump went on his rampage average tariffs were very low — less than 2 percent — in both directions. Trump and those around him rant about European value added taxes, and it’s true that US producers have to pay, for example, 19 percent to sell to German consumers. But so do German producers! A VAT is a sales tax, not an import barrier.... There’s less to that European [trade] surplus than meets the eye. Yes, Europe sells us more goods — physical stuff like cars and olive oil — than it buys. But we sell them a lot more services, things like financial services and software design. Trump only talks about our deficit in goods, but our deficit in goods and services is significantly smaller.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't think Trump understands the first thing about services because they are not something he can "see" the way he can see a Volvo. One piece of evidence Trump doesn't get it: one of our important exports to Europe (and elsewhere) is scientific services. And the Trump administration is doing everything it can to destroy the U.S.'s scientific ingenuity. In fact, I've seen several articles (at least one of which I think I linked way back when) about how European countries are happily offer employment to the scientists the U.S. trained and Trump fired. We may recognize the short-term costs of Trump's stupid ideas, but the long-term costs are likely to be much greater.
Mattathias Schwartz, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration is trying to deport a group of eight migrants to South Sudan, a country on the brink of civil war. The men, who are from countries including Vietnam, Cuba and Mexico, are currently believed to be held at an American military base in the East African nation of Djibouti, after a federal judge ordered the administration not to turn them over to the government of South Sudan.... The Trump administration is attempting to ... [send] large groups of people to dangerous places like South Sudan, Libya or a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, with little or no due process, even if their countries of origin are willing to take them back.... The administration’s ultimate goal, experts say, may be to shape the behavior of other immigrants through fear.”
Hegseth Is Peddling Nonsense. Thomas Ricks in Politico Magazine: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is fond of talking about the need to focus on 'warfighting.' He wants 'lethality,' bigtime. That sounds tough, so it plays well on Fox News. But ... the more you know about military operations, the more you understand that you don’t want to focus on fighting. That gets people killed — like your kids or grandkids.... The best way to win wars is by helping other countries be ready.... Another Hegseth target is too many officers at big military commands. He wants to 'downsize, consolidate, or close redundant headquarters.'... But when you get yourself into a real war, you know what is essential? Smart, well-trained staff officers who know how to write, calculate and plan on the fly.... Yes, that might sound boring on the campaign trail or evening news. But remember that knowing how to actually wage war alongside allies is the way to victory. Not this macho nonsense Hegseth is peddling.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Whether or not you think Ricks has it just right, what is abundantly clear is that the American people have given immense military power to immature boys in men's bodies: Trump, Hegseth, Rubio, et al. This is a recipe for disaster on a truly Earth-shattering scale. Drunk Pete can hardly wait to get in the Situation Room during a hot war and live-text friends and family about all the dramatics; "Dr. Strangelove" come to life.
You can check this Democracy Labs interactive map to see how much your Congressional district would lose in Medicaid funds if the House bill -- currently sitting in the Senate -- is passed into law. Thanks to RAS for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.)
Sam Roberts of the New York Times: “Charles B. Rangel, the former dean of New York’s congressional delegation, who became the first Black chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, only to relinquish that position when he was censured for an ethics violation, died on Monday in Manhattan. He was 94.” (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's obituary is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Akhilleus's mention of walking his dog Rocket (see today's Comments) reminded me of a day I was walkng my dog Bronte in downtown Manhattan when I heard a familiar voice: it was Gov. Mario Cuomo giving a little extemporaneous speech on the steps of City Hall. I stopped to join the small crowd gathered to hear him. Even though Cuomo was speaking off the cuff, it was quite a fine little speech. Afterwards, the governor approached me (because of Bronte, I think), and we had a little chat. I walked on, and I heard someone else speaking on another set of steps nearby. It was Charlie Rangel, also speaking extemporaneously about some issue of the day. His speech was every bit as powerful as Cuomo's. These men were not only exceptional orators; they were also very smart guys who knew what they were orating about.
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Arkansas. Ali Watkins & Mark Walker of the New York Times: “A manhunt entered its second night in northern Arkansas after a former police chief convicted of first-degree murder and rape slipped out of a high-security prison, dressed in a fake law enforcement uniform. The search began Sunday afternoon, during a routine inmate count. Grant Hardin — one of about 1,000 housed at Calico Rock North Central Unit — had already been missing for 15 to 20 minutes before anyone noticed, officials say. Mr. Hardin, 56, who had previously served as the police chief in Gateway, Ark., escaped around 2:50 p.m., county officials said. He is considered extremely dangerous.” The reporters recite some of Hardin's history. He is one evil guy.
Louisiana, etc. Isabella Kwai of the New York Times: “The authorities in Louisiana and Texas on Monday captured another three of the 10 inmates who made a brazen escape from a New Orleans jail this month, leaving two still at large. Six people were also arrested and charged for helping two of the escaped inmates, the Louisiana State Police said. The escape on May 16, one of the largest jailbreaks in Louisiana history, set off a manhunt by the police and the FBI. Investigators have said the escapees likely had help on the inside, and a dozen people have charged with aiding them before and after the break.”
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This historic honor matches the weight of our times. It speaks to our enduring tradition and friendship, to the vitality of our constitutional monarchy and our distinct identity, and to the historic ties that crises only fortify. -- Canadian PM Mark Carney, in a statement
Translated to American English: Screw you, Donald. We have a real king. ~~~
~~~ Canada/U.K. Rob Gillies of the AP: “Britain’s King Charles III arrived Monday in Ottawa on a visit that Canada’s leader says will underscore his nation’s sovereignty amid ... Donald Trump’s talk of the United States annexing its northern neighbor.Trump’s repeated suggestion that the U.S. annex Canada prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to invite Charles to give the speech from the throne that will outline his government’s agenda for the new Parliament. The king is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.... Carney, the new prime minister and a former head of the Bank of England, and Canada’s first Indigenous governor general, Mary Simon, the king’s representative in Canada, greeted the king and Queen Camilla at the airport.”
Israel/Palestine, et al. Kelby Vera of the Huffington Post: “Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he now believes his country’s relentless assault on the Palestinian people amounts to 'war crimes' and must be stopped. Addressing the people of Israel in an article written in Hebrew and published by Haaretz on Thursday, Olmert, who served from 2006 to 2009, condemned current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for 'waging a pointless war, without a clear goal or plan, and with no chance of success,' according to Google’s translation of the piece.... 'What we are doing in Gaza is a war of extermination: indiscriminate, unrestrained, brutal, and criminal killing of civilians,' he said.” ~~~
~~~ Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: “In recent weeks, partners such as the United States, Britain and France have become more willing to place Israel under overt pressure, culminating in ... [Donald] Trump’s call on Sunday for the war to wind down. 'Israel, we’ve been talking to them, and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation as quickly as possible,' Mr. Trump told reporters in New Jersey shortly before boarding Air Force One. Those comments contrast with the public position Mr. Trump held entering office in January, when he blamed Hamas rather than Israel for the war’s continuation.... The German government, normally a steadfast supporter of Israel, expressed unusually strong criticism of Israel’s expanded attacks in Gaza. 'What the Israeli Army is doing in the Gaza Strip right now — I honestly don’t understand what the goal is in causing such suffering to the civilian population,' said Friedrich Merz, Germany’s new chancellor, during an interview broadcast on television on Monday. The German shift came days after a similarly worded intervention from the right-wing Italian government, another ally of Israel that has previously avoided such strong condemnation of Israel. 'Netanyahu must halt the raids on Gaza,' said Antonio Tajani, the Italian foreign minister.... In turn, those comments followed a coordinated effort by Britain, Canada and France to criticize Israel’s decision to expand its operations in Gaza.”
Donald Trump, spreading bad economic news among our (former) friends ~~~
~~~ Sweden. Jared Gans of the Hill: “Volvo announced it plans to cut 3,000 positions as ... [Donald] Trump’s tariffs continue to rattle the auto market. The Sweden-based car company said in a release Monday that the move is part of its 'cost and cash action plan' that is designed to build a stronger company as the industry faces 'considerable challenges in its external environment.' The release states that the layoffs will primarily affect office-based positions in Sweden, representing 15 percent of its global office-based workforce.”
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Reader Comments (8)
Found this in a NYTimes article about a Chinese SF writer I hadn’t heard of.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/world/asia/a-science-fiction-writer-wrestles-with-chinas-rise-and-his-own-decline.html
"He (Han Song) was born in the southwestern city of Chongqing during the Cultural Revolution, the 10 years of populist bloodshed unleashed by Mao Zedong. Scientific expertise was demonized as bourgeois, and universities shuttered.”
Are we experiencing a Cultural Revolution of our own? Is the Pretender our Mao?
A Cultural Revolution? Adam Serwer, of The Atlantic, calls it a New Dark Age
The engines of American scientific inquiry and ingenuity, such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, are under sustained attack. Historical institutions such as the Smithsonian and artistic ones like the Kennedy Center are being converted into homes for MAGA ideology rather than historical fact and free expression. Libraries are losing funding, government-employed scientists are being dismissed from their jobs, educators are being cowed into silence, and researchers are being warned not to broach forbidden subjects. Entire databases of public-health information collected over decades are at risk of vanishing. Any facts that contradict the gospel of Trumpism are treated as heretical.
Thanks, Laura
So what do we have? A Communist and a Capitalist leading us into the same Dark Place.
What do these two divergent philosophies have in common?
Nothing but in the elder Mao and our pretend president the same mentalities leading the way. A will to dictate all to all. Reality be damned.
Dictators, in short.
@Ken: That should be 'dick-tators', in short.
Donnie shows once again that he doesn't know what he is doing.
""We're not looking to make sneakers and T-shirts. We want to make military equipment. We want to make big things. We want to make, do the AI thing," Trump said.
"I'm not looking to make T-shirts, to be honest. I'm not looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other locations. We are looking to do chips and computers and lots of other things, and tanks and ships," Trump said."
That would need sustained and targeted tariffs. Also he is undermining the CHIPS act because it was sign by Biden to do what he claims he wants to do. Scientific research is vital to his big boy weapons which he is the process of not only destroying, but sending current and future experts around the world. FH runs most of what he touches into the ground. The million dead Americans and a coup were not sufficient for a majority of our ignorant voting public. So, now he is destroying us all in the stupidest ways possible. Undermining our strengths. Our diversity, scientific prowess, alliances, humanitarian goodwill, and even our economy. All for a quick buck and some empty flattery and revenge for all the people who pointed out his lazy criminality and enormous stupidity.
MAGA Murder Budget
"Republicans’ big bill scared bond markets. That’s bad news for your wallet.
Investors are worried that Trump and the GOP are acting in ways that will both lower growth and raise interest rates, a toxic combination."
Like Ken, Drew Pavlou, (a young Australian political activist that Jonathan Last recommends in today's Bulwark piece) is also thinking about the similarities between the communist and the capitalist.
Drew writes:
MAGA Maoism: Trumpism as a Third World Movement
"Like Chairman Mao, President Donald Trump subscribes to a wide range of bizarre crackpot theories about economics, politics and world affairs. And like the Great Helmsman, he too has managed to concentrate an extraordinary amount of power in his hands, building up an immense personality cult so as to terrify other figures in his party into submission."
....
Thanks, Marie, for the sweet memory of Mario Cuomo and Charles Rangel both speaking extemporaneously on the courthouse steps years ago-- with Bronte also present!
I must admit I have been skipping reading Realitychex for the past two or three days just because all the news is so very troubling and anxiety-producing. (Just like the exchange between Ken and Laura today, so much to worry about).
Wish I could understand the Hegseth story. I've read the Guardian article twice and skimmed the Washington Post article and it's all so convoluted and so many bad actors involved. Another basket of deplorables, apparently.