Trump’s attack on Fed Chair Powell is NOT unprecedented. Trump is imitating Argentina, Russia, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and other "tin pot" dictators in their approach to our central bank. This political takeover is usually followed by hyperinflation & economic collapse. Worth a listen.

Don't doubt that Jay Powell is ready to lob back whatever grenades are thrown his way. I've never seen a central bank release an evening video so directly taking on a head of state. In this case, the medium is the message: Powell is taking his case to the people.

The Department of Justice has become the Department of Recriminations, and it would be terrible for the Federal Reserve to become the Federal Subserve. Congress didn't give Trump the power to run monetary policy, and it's up to Congress to ensure that he doesn't just steal it.

Attempting to criminalize the actions of an independent public servant, Fed Chair Jay Powell, for the sin of acting independently is an outrage. It's bad economics, bad politics, bad for the rule of law, bad for the public sector, bad for American credibility and bad for Americans.

This is REALLY going to help international confidence in the stability of American markets....

Is this the coldest ICE protest?

FYI: Judge Ellis (Chicago ICE case) noted in November that video evidence shows ICE "brake-checked other motorists in an attempt to force accidents that agents could then use as justifications for deploying force."

It's actually a good thing that previously apolitical normies are finally getting angry and starting to speak out. We need the numbers in the streets and at the polls. If your response to them is "no, fuck you, too late," then you don't actually care about stopping Trump. You're just preening.

It is impossible to overstate the degree to which the entire national political media's coverage of the 2024 presidential campaign, especially once Harris won the nomination, was deeply, fundamentally, shamefully unserious about the stakes & the candidates.

I can still recall all the tut-tutting from the media when Harris made this argument.

Tapper to Noem: "I just showed you video of people attacking law enforcement officers on J6. Trump pardoned them all. You said Trump is enforcing all the laws equally. That's just not true. There's a different standard for LEOs being attacked if they're being attacked by Trump supporters."

“A coup is happening in the United States.” Jason Stanley, author of How Fascism Works, argues that President Donald Trump is leading an unlawful takeover of the US government. From our friends at @revealnews.org:

Trapped in for-profit ICE camps for nearly a year. Arrived healthy. "By 7 July, Gamboa had been diagnosed with at least 10 conditions [...] sepsis, rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which damaged muscle tissue breaks down rapidly, [...] protein malnutrition and toxic encephalopathy."

The message from the White House this morning is that, once again, it falls on ordinary American citizens to remain calm and professional when dealing with the heavily armed agents of the government because they are very emotional and might fly off into a murderous rage at the slightest insult.

On fire and on point:

Andrew Weinstein lays out the issue perfectly.

LETTERMAN: “.. CBS News is a wreck. It’s just gone. .. The integrity of CBS News .. has been trampled on, pissed on and eviscerated by these idiots that have taken it over.” @letterman.bsky.social $PSKY youtu.be/CHYksa07oQA?...

Well...

The U.S.-Born Unemployment Rate Rose After Trump Reduced Immigration www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...

Who could possibly have foreseen this? /s (Answer: Anyone whose knowledge of immigration-and-economics, especially through US history, extends beyond Jean Raspail's "Camp of the Saints.")

2/2 Apart from obvious reasons, an underappreciated one: -All developed economies (every one) see birth-rates falling, as average income goes up. -Euro countries, Japan, S Korea, + China & Russia have steeply aging population. -US different *only* because of immigration. You can look it up.

Excellent thread

I can't say this loudly enough: THEY ARE TRYING TO NORMALIZE THE KILLING OF CIVILIANS FOR PARTICIPATING IN FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTED PROTEST ACTIVITIES.

Catch up on everything economics, as my pal, mollyjongfast.bsky.social pushes me to drill down deep on all of it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDhQ...

Like I’ve been saying: I think one of the big political stories of the year is going to be non-conservative Christians getting loud.

If you want cheaper burgers, you don’t corner the market on ketchup—you raise the supply of beef. If you want cheaper housing, you build more homes. Financial condiments won’t fill the plate.

We have to be clear about what the Trump Administration is doing: They are taking basic American virtues and freedoms — the ability to speak truth to power and freely — and turning them into crimes. We must see through this.

The number one cause of death for ICE officers is COVID19. Maybe that’s why they wear masks?

Justice matters.

Indeed. The things that would have been disqualifying, like a history of criminal violence, membership in established hate groups, and a complete lack of impulse control, are now hiring priorities.

They have been actively recruiting as many "bad apples" as they can get to join. Not just ICE, but CBP as well.

Also, the influence operations working to justify and pave the way for Trump's takeover of Greenland are fascinating. I don't have capacity to make this a case study, but if anyone is looking for a Master's project on networked propaganda in the geopolitical sphere, this could be a productive case.

There's A LOT going on right now in struggle b/w democracy & authoritarianism, so it's hard to keep up. But it's going to be REALLY important that we pay attention to (and keep pushing back against) how election lies (from 2020) are being mobilized in ways that threaten election integrity in 2026.

The Verge covers the details here: www.theverge.com/news/859309/...

I am quite sure that the Trumpsters who tried to overthrow the government on January 6 we're asked to stop. The police officers did not shoot them in the head.

President Trump humiliated himself Friday when Secretary of State Marco Rubio tried to slyly pass him a note during a meeting with oil executives, and he immediately read it aloud. Marco just gave me a note. ‘Go back to Chevron, they want to discuss something,’” Trump read. trib.al/lOv9Fso

MINNESOTA: “I’m Native American! This goes against everything I stand for.“ A couple with a baby in the house face an impossible choice when a terrified female door dash driver runs inside to escape ICE. (They ultimately run them off 💪🏽) Trump’s America. Full: www.instagram.com/reel/DTUXFIy...

The porn aspect of what ICE/CBP crucial. Here's an excellent piece of journalism on how they literally stimulated riots for the camera in Chicago. chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Has Trump demanded Putin cease this?

Republicans have been rather stalwart in their support for Trump. They would rather join in the lie to revel in the thrall of group violence than admit they were wrong and avert a new low in their moral degeneration.

Or when the ref starts rewriting the rules in the middle of the game... and then keeps changing his mind depending on who pays him off.

Together, the administration’s pervasive and reflexive disdain for facts—what can literally be seen without dispute—and the reflex to taint a woman now dead, crystallize a new level of ugliness for an administration that shamelessly admits: Violence is us.

2025 is now, officially, the worst year for job creation outside of recession since 2003. @byheatherlong.bsky.social

Massie reminds the DOJ that laws will outlast regimes.

SHOCK CELL PHONE VIDEO: Renee Good's final words to her murderer: “That’s fine dude, I’m not mad at you.” ICE agent Jonathan Ross after shooting and killing her seconds later: “Fuckin’ bitch.” Via Alpha News

The Trump administration is excusing murder by ICE using the same lies as those told by Maduro’s regime. These lies are part of the logic of death squads. Govt controls the story & the next murder is easier. And suddenly this is normal and people simply disappear. snyder.substack.com/p/maduro-in-...

Renee Macklin Good's wife, Becca Good, released a statement and it moved me to sobbing tears: archive.is/ur35j

This should be really embarrassing. But then, everything about this guy is fake.

There was no "right" one.

Yep. It's incitement.