If it's Thursday, this must be Astana.
Only 1,402 days to go...
Living through these times…
How to Spend Less Time on Social Media (or Leave It Altogether)
If you’re feeling overwhelmed but don’t quite have the willpower to curb your online habit, your phone can help you manage your time online.
Happiest Cities in America (2025)
‘Ted Lasso’ Is Coming Back (yeah!)
Finding the humor…
Minnesota Republicans Want to Classify ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ as a Mental Illness
Republican senators in Minnesota have filed a bill seeking to classify the so-called “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a mental illness. SF2589 states that “‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ means the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump.” It says symptoms may include “Trump-induced general hysteria, which produces an inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences and signs of psychic pathology in President Donald Trump’s behavior.” … The measure is scheduled to be read before the Minnesota Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Monday.
Thought for the day in honor of his birthday…
“Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt.” ~Henrik Ibsen
Must Read Article:
The Trump-Tariff Advice: Eat Less
I think of “Eat Less Taft” as I hear President Donald Trump’s appointees defend their administration’s consumer-crushing tariffs. On Meet the Press this past Sunday, the near-billionaire Treasury secretary proclaimed that “the American dream is not ‘Let them eat flat-screens’” and “the American dream is not contingent on cheap baubles from China.”
Trump promotes tariffs as a way to shift the costs of financing the U.S. government from Americans to foreigners. His commerce secretary suggests that tariffs might do away with the need for income taxes altogether. Income taxes fall most heavily on the affluent; tariffs fall most heavily on the middle class and poor. Trump has sold his party on tariffs as a way to redistribute the cost of government away from his donors to his voters.
Quote of the day:
“The president illegally fired me from my position as a federal trade commissioner, violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent. Why? Because I have a voice. And he is afraid of what I’ll tell the American people.”
~ Rebecca Kelly Slaughter
What I’m reading today…
Kennedy’s Alarming Prescription for Bird Flu on Poultry Farms
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official, has an unorthodox idea for tackling the bird flu bedeviling U.S. poultry farms. Let the virus rip….Yet veterinary scientists said letting the virus sweep through poultry flocks unchecked would be inhumane and dangerous, and have enormous economic consequences.
Give back the Statue of Liberty, French MEP tells US
“We’re going to say to the Americans who have chosen to side with the tyrants, to the Americans who fired researchers for demanding scientific freedom: ‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty.’”
Trade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardest
As President Trump imposes tariffs on products from countries around the world, foreign governments are answering back with tariffs of their own. China has targeted corn farmers and carmakers. Canada has put tariffs on poultry plants and air-conditioning manufacturers, while Europe will hit American steel mills and slaughter houses.
The retaliatory tariffs are an attempt to put pressure on the president to relent. And they have been carefully designed to hit Mr. Trump where it hurts: Nearly 8 million Americans work in industries targeted by the levies and the majority are Trump voters.
Tariffs on lumber and appliances set stage for higher costs on new homes and remodeling projects
The Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China — some already in place, others set to take effect in a few weeks — are already driving up the cost of building materials used in new residential construction and home remodeling projects. The tariffs are projected to raise the costs that go into building a single-family home in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Such costs are typically passed along to the homebuyer in the form of higher prices, which could hurt demand at a time when the U.S. housing market remains in a slump and many builders are having to offer buyers costly incentives to drum up sales.
Tesla Takedown protest movement grows as Trump threatens criminal charges
With sign waving and slogan chanting, these so-named Tesla Takedown demonstrations have become a flashpoint of public anger at Musk; there has also been an uptick in ostensibly unrelated instances of vandalism at Tesla dealerships.
In response to the Tesla Takedown movement and its overlap with more extreme cases of anti-Tesla actions, Musk has personally targeted participants, alleging the grassroots movement is a conspiracy against him backed by the Democratic Party and George Soros, among others….
In spite of Musk and DOGE's plummeting popularity, the Trump administration and Musk have made a point of attacking the Tesla Takedown movement with threats of criminal consequences while at the same time alleging the protests are an inorganic political operation. Protesters are trying to "illegally and collusively boycott Tesla," Trump said in a Truth Social post.
New Tesla Dealership Vandalized, Buffalo Grove Woman Charged: Police
The Stock Market Won’t Save Us
But since Trump took office, the stock market has been down quite a bit, lower than it was before the election. This is not the biggest crash in American history, but it is notable. It’s particularly notable as a reaction to a Republican administration; it’s not like the news has been dominated by aggressive action against climate change or pollution or some other non-GDP measure. Instead, we’ve seen that despite their hyping of DOGE as a fiscal policy measure, the GOP has no intention of balancing the books…Trump’s tariff lines — taxing foreigners and making stuff here at home — sound good to people. But what he’s actually doing is creating a huge mess, and it’s not the kind of mess he can hide.
Does Trump Want America to Look More Like Saudi Arabia?
There is another way of thinking about his brand of political economy and a potential model for it. We might think of the autocratic, oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf. Specifically, we might think of Mr. Trump’s vision as an attempt to transplant the political economy of Saudi Arabia onto the United States.
The relationship between Mr. Trump, his family and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia runs deep. His hotel business dealings in the region have grown since his previous term in the Oval Office, and his ties to Saudi Arabia now extend to golf, a sport the kingdom has aggressively expanded into. One of its tournaments has been hosted by Mr. Trump’s signature course in Miami, and the president made time recently to assist in talks to broker a deal between LIV Golf, which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and the PGA Tour.
The Trump administration’s growing hostility toward independent journalism — increasingly selecting allies for press access and triggering investigations into critics of the president — echoes Saudi Arabia’s disregard for press freedom. The World Press Freedom index ranks the kingdom 166th out of 180 countries.
Trump Vows to Authorize Coal-Fired Power to Counter China
Last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Bloomberg Television the administration was considering using emergency powers to bring back coal-fired plants that have closed and stop others from shutting. Separately, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said earlier this month the administration was working on a “market-based” plan to stem the closing of US coal-fired power plants.
FDA staff return to crowded offices, broken equipment and missing chairs
While many agencies switched to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA began embracing the practice a decade earlier. Most employees had the option to work from home at least two days a week — flexibility that was seen as a competitive perk for recruiting highly trained experts who can often earn more working in industry.
By 7:30 a.m., many on-campus parking lots were full, with cars parked along side streets, according to employees. Some workers reported waiting up to one hour to clear security checkpoints, and photos viewed by the AP showed lines of employees winding out doorways, along sidewalks and around corners.
So much for government efficiency… thanks to the DOGEfather
The Trump Administration’s First 100 Days
Deportations: The Trump administration has asked a federal judge to dissolve the orders he put in place barring it from deporting suspected members of a Venezuelan street gang from the country under a rarely invoked wartime statute called the Alien Enemies Act.
Medical Research at Columbia: Dozens of medical and scientific studies are ending or at risk of ending, leaving researchers scrambling to find alternative funding.
U.S. Military Academies: President Trump moved to stack the boards overseeing U.S. military service academies with conservative activists and political allies, including Michael T. Flynn and Walt Nauta, who were charged in connection with earlier investigations of Trump and his presidential campaign.
E.P.A.: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research department, firing chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, according to documents reviewed by Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
Law Firms Questioned: Trump’s acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent letters to 20 law firms requesting information about their diversity, equity and inclusion-related employment practices.
V.A.: The Department of Veterans Affairs is phasing out gender-affirming medical treatments for veterans, including hormone treatment for patients newly diagnosed with gender dysphoria, the V.A. said.
U.S. Postal Service to shed 10,000 jobs over next month
Earlier this month, Musk said the USPS is a prime candidate for privatization.
Trump has also previously expressed interest in privatizing the service, while Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has voiced support for having the Commerce Department in charge of the USPS.
What I am watching…
What I read every day…
