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In an effort to extort Greenland from Denmark, Trump has ordered a 10% tariff on goods from EU nations that have opposed the US expropriation effort beginning in February. He has threatened to raise that to 25% if they don’t capitulate. A couple of points: • The tariffs are mostly a nothingburger for EU economies: “ At face value, a 10% tariff rising to 25% would have minimal economic consequences, Capital Economics chief economist Neil Shearing said in a note Sunday, estimating they would reduce GDP in the targeted NATO economies by 0.1-0.3 percentage points and add 0.1-0.2 points to U.S. inflation.” • Europe owns a lot of treasuries, which helps keep America’s debt service low. “European countries own $8 trillion of US bonds and equities, almost twice as much as the rest of the world combined,” Saravelos pointed out. “In an environment where the geoeconomic stability of the western alliance is being disrupted existentially, it is not clear why Europeans would be as willing to play th...

While Elon was out slashing jobs and programs, Trump and his family continued to grift on the taxpayer dime. Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago alone have cost millions this year alone. Imagine the government efficiency if he was forced to live in the White House! Then, there are the bills racked up by his family. “The documentation does not specify which hotel the agency has booked, but   taxpayers laid out nearly $28,000   for [Eric Trump’s] Secret Service detail to stay at the Trump-owned property while accompanying him to Doonbeg on a 2017 business trip. When President Trump visited Doonbeg in 2019, his hotel   billed the Secret Service more than $10,000   for agents’ lodging during the two-day trip, and that same year   charged taxpayers over $15,000   to house then-VP Mike Pence’s Secret Service detail for two nights.   “Eric   once claimed   that the family business let the Secret Service stay at their hotels for free or at cost. However, ...

The privileged elitists on Trump’s cabinet can’t help themselves. They broadcast how, like Trump himself, they’re out of touch. “ Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins made waves this week with claims that the Trump administration’s   revamped food pyramid   leaves plenty of room for Americans to maintain a healthy diet for as little as $3 a meal.   “In an interview Wednesday with News Nation, Rollins said her agency came up with plenty of low-cost meals that conform with the new dietary guidelines, which call for Americans to eat more red meat and butter, and less processed food. “Are we asking them to spend more on their diet? And the answer to that is no.”   “She said the agency ran “over 1,000 simulations” and found that “it can cost around $3 a meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, you know, a corn tortilla and one other thing.” How big a “piece.” What is “one other thing?” Here’s a reality check: “ “Is it possible to cook one healthy meal for $3? Yes...

“ President Donald Trump said he intends to sign an executive order that would give an exclusive four-hour broadcast television window to the Army-Navy Game. “Under my Administration, the second Saturday in December belongs to Army-Navy, and ONLY Army-Navy!” he wrote on Truth Social Saturday. “I will soon sign a Historic Executive Order securing an EXCLUSIVE 4 hour Broadcast window, so this National Event stands above Commercial Postseason Games. No other Game or Team can violate this Time Slot!!!” Oh, honestly. Why is the Trump nanny state seizing control of football broadcasting? Look, I’ve never seen an Army-Navy football game, either in person or on tee-vee. But I’m fine with people who enjoy that sort of thing. Why does the POTUS need to commandeer broadcast time to support a form of entertainment? Could he be soliciting bribes from competing sports networks? https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/18/business/trump-plans-executive-order-army-navy-game-broadcast/  

Two “deadlines” have come and gone for the SCOTUS to rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s tariffs. Meanwhile, Trump is throwing brush-back pitches. He bleated on social media: “ "If the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE’RE SCREWED!" So the tariffs aren’t to enforce fair trade practices, they’re a “National Security bonanza?” What does that even mean? Since when was national security about bonanzas? “ The court heard arguments in early November. Both conservative- and liberal-leaning justices asked skeptical questions of the method by which the president imposed his most sweeping duties. Trump imposed his tariffs by invoking a 1977 law meant for national emergencies.” A favorable outcome in a national emergency isn’t a bonanza. A bonanza is a windfall profit. Trump is admitting that his intention was money-making, not national security. Look, if the SCOTUS overturns the national emergency justification, it will b...

The Islamist Republic of Iran is in deep doo-doo, much of its own making. It has few allies among the Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East. Recently, internal dissent has led to street protests and a violent state response. Now, Trump proposes to attack Iran to promote regime change. It’s unlikely to work. US attacks will allow the Ayatollahs to rally Iranians to their government. Hermann Goering understood this: “ Naturally the common people don't want war . . . but after all it is the leaders of a country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or parliament or a communist dictatorship. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.” And not just for Hitler and Nazi Germany. It worked for Stalin to deflect from the failures and violence of Bolshevis...