Uncategorized

Trump’s “Operation Aurora” swept up only one suspected gang member — but set the stage for a radical expansion of government power.

The post How a Landlord and a Florida PR Firm Helped Trump Kick Off the Tren de Aragua Gang Panic appeared first on The Intercept.

I was recently reminded that, five years ago, I wrote about launching Teach Anywhere—a website built in just over 53 hours, fueled by urgency, caffeine, and a deep desire to provide some kind of structure in the face of absolute uncertainty. It wasn’t perfect, but it existed. And in that moment, existing was enough. Looking […]

Full disclosure: I made this dish literally one year ago. No lie. 3/11/24 is scribbled at the top of my notes. Thankfully, I took notes. Otherwise, I’d have absolutely nothing to say. The goal was for DiS at 7:15. I assembled the beef patties the night before. At 5:30, I started the bread pudding. IContinue reading 212. Teriyaki Beef in Bacon →

Trump and his minions believe they have a mandate to completely dismantle the American economy. I guess it’s because the “vibes” over egg prices were so bad? Really? Axios reports: President Trump believes it’s worth risking pain to achieve his medium-term goal of rewiring the U.S. economy. He is attempting a form of economic shock therapy, while accepting there could be collateral damage. That willingness to shrug off risks of inflation or recession is now rattling financial markets and confidence — and has itself emerged as the biggest near-term economic risk. The administration has embraced that the economic disruption it envisions could be painful. Not painful for them of course. Trump’s cabinet is full of billionaires. Axios says this means that there will be no Washington cavalry coming to save us. I kind of doubt anyone believes that anyway. Trump is seeking to rapidly undo a global economic order that has been decades in the making. Americans enjoyed the fruits of cheap goods made around the world, at the cost of a diminished domestic manufacturing base.

This is the Polish foreign minister: Speaking of small men… That’s li’l Marco trying to make amends with Elon by doing a very adorable little Col. Nathan Jessup impression: And, needless to say, Musk is very much threatening to pull Starlink and he will have Trump and Putin’s total support if he does it. In fact, it will probably be their idea. (I guess his statement that he challenged Putin to one on one physical combat is supposed to make us all tingly down there or something… I’m not sure. But it’s a very weird non-sequitur.) Update: Trust him? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Mediaite reports on the latest GOP 2028 tea: When President Donald Trump sat down for an interview with Fox News last month, anchor Bret Baier asked what should have been a softball question: “Do you view Vice President JD Vance as your successor, the Republican nominee in 2028?” Trump’s response was glaring. “No, but he’s very capable,” the president said matter-of-factly. “I mean, I don’t think that it, you know, I think you have a lot of very capable people. So far, I think he’s doing a fantastic job. It’s too early, we’re just starting.” Well! That’s quite a denial. However, according to Mediaite, people around Trump weren’t surprised because he’s really grooming his number one son, Don Jr to run. Yes, you read that right. Three high-level sources told Mediaite that Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son and an omnipresent MAGA evangelist across the internet, is seriously considering a run for president in 2028.

Trump welcomes Putin, abandons liberal democracy Donald Trump’s Oval Office ambush of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (with a strong assist from J.D. Vance) was embarrassing and shocking in perhaps equal proportions. The convicted felon now occupying the White House got there with the approval of not even half of American voters (and only 64 percent of them) and with a little help from a “friend” of his and an enemy of democracy: Russian president Vladimir Putin. Trump immediately set about surrendering U.S. leadership in the post-WWII order. He has in fact already dismantled it. As obsessed as Mr. America First is with winning, the real winner of the 2024 presidential elections was Putin, writes Franklin Foer in The Atlantic. The Oval Office shouting match was a fist-pump moment for Putin signifying his “ultimate victory,” the moment when “the United States, became his most powerful ally.” Except Foer’s conclusion is only true if one accepts (as the felon-who-would-be-king does) that Trump is the state. The other half of U.S. voters would strenuously disagree.

Trump 2.0 might as well use bombs and arson If citizens feel whipsawed by the contradictions and backpedaling by Trump 2.0 policy malfeasance, it is hardly surprising. It’s not just the obvious intention to privatize government services things ought to be public (and not-for-profit), it’s the threat those privatizing efforts pose to “Americans’ health, safety, and economic security,” writes Heather Cox Richardson. Social Security is a perennial target for the right, and is once again. Trump 2.0 will sabotage it, collapse it, then argue that Republican dysfunction by design is reason to kill it: In another blockbuster story that dropped yesterday, the Social Security Administration announced it will begin to withhold 100% of a person’s Social Security benefits if they are overpaid, even if the overpayment is not their fault. Under President Joe Biden the agency had changed the policy to recover overpayments at 10% of monthly benefits or $10, whichever was greater.

Center-right French senator Claude Malhuret gave a speech last week that was heard around the world. He’s an epidemiologist and former leader of Doctors Without Borders. This one’s for the history books. Europe is at a crucial juncture of its history. The American shield is slipping away, Ukraine risks being abandoned, and Russia is being strengthened. Washington has become the court of Nero: an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers, and a buffoon on ketamine tasked with purging the civil service. This is a tragedy for the free world, but it’s first and foremost a tragedy for the United States. [President Donald] Trump’s message is that being his ally serves no purpose, because he will not defend you, he will impose more tariffs on you than on his enemies, and he will threaten to seize your territories, while supporting the dictators who invade you. The king of the deal is showing that the art of the deal is lying prostrate. He thinks he will intimidate China by capitulating to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but China’s President Xi Jinping, faced with such wreckage, is undoubtedly accelerating his plans to invade Taiwan.