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Max Notes
He may tank this economy faster than even I anticipated. This week was bonkers, even for Trump. The chaos of the confirmation hearings, disgustingly racist response to the tragic helicopter crash, confusion over agency funding and retirement packages was capped off by a declaration that Trump is moving forward with tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China. Mexico and Canada are scheduled to take the brunt of it with 25% tariffs, which made the markets and pretty much anyone with a brain wondering what the fuck is going on.
Food, fuel, minerals, timber, machine parts, you name it. Border crossings have declined sharply already due to his tough talk and actions, which was presumably the impetus to impose tariffs. Nevertheless, Trump is moving forward with (it seems) blanket tariffs because, “We don’t need what they have.”
Maybe someone with influence will get in his ear about this but he seems pretty dead set on making this happen.
There is also confusion surrounding his order to freeze all foreign aid except in cases of “life-saving assistance.” As the largest provider of humanitarian relief in the world, shutting down funding abruptly will send NGOs the world over into complete chaos and disarray. This one isn’t a surprise either, as Project 2025 explicitly targeted foreign aid organizations, particularly those who work closely with USAID.
Taken together, these actions will present immediate danger to three of our largest trading partners—Canada, Mexico and China—and throw underdeveloped nations into utter chaos. There’s only so much the global economy can withstand at once. We may get to those barn nails a lot faster than we previously thought. But you know one thing for sure, the first comprehensive bill they’ll present to Congress will include massive tax cuts for the wealthy. They’re nothing if not ballsy.
Other things I’m obsessing over…
Wee bit of schadenfreude on my part, I admit it. But I’m seeing a bunch of these kinds of videos going around.
Listen to this week’s post-show musings to understand the depth of my (and 99’s!) obsession with Lively v. Baldoni and why it’s okay to be intrigued.
Watched 3 classics before my youngest went back to school in an effort to build up her ‘80s/‘90s era references. Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets & When Harry Met Sally. What would you add to the list the next time we get this kind of couch time?
Note that 2024 is a partial figure. This is one of the charts we pointed to in the episode this week. The light blue (the vertical line at the base of the yearly graphs) is the one to focus on in the coming months. You’ll see that Trump has his work cut out for him to reach the heights that Obama did. What you’ll absolutely see is the Returns number drop precipitously. Listen to the full episode to understand why.
Headlines
No Way Out
This Baffler piece paints a grim picture of what’s to come in Gaza. I don’t know what else to say.
From the article:
“Netanyahu’s right-wing governing coalition partners have already threatened to bring down his government if Israel does not resume its campaign in Gaza after the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, regardless of the fates of the remaining hostages. But beyond that, Netanyahu will expect a return on his investment. By framing a ceasefire in Gaza as a major concession, he can demand full cooperation and support from the Trump administration when it comes to a whole host of Israeli priorities, ranging from annexing of vast swathes of the West Bank to moving forward with direct attacks on Iran.”
“Keep your hands on the wheel.” “Yes sir, no sir.” “Ask permission to reach for your license.” “No sudden moves.” These are just a few key multi-generational instructions Black American parents have been giving their children, aka “the talk.” Now, generations of Hispanic children will pass along words of wisdom in white America such as, “don’t open the door,” “stay quiet,” “ask for a lawyer.”
From the article:
“‘Don’t open the door, remain silent if you’re arrested, tell your children not to open the door, and don’t sign anything,’ Zavala told the crowd, most of whom are members of Arise Chicago, which organizes primarily Polish and Latino immigrant workers in low-wage industries like food production, manufacturing, domestic labor and food service. The same principles apply if ICE shows up to your workplace, he underscored, and employers should know that ICE can’t enter without a warrant signed by a judge — unless the employer or another authority lets them in.”
There are already stories of people losing their life savings on Trump and Trump adjacent meme coins. From bankrupted crypto exchanges to fizzled NFTs, the speculative fervor around crypto is stubbornly resistant to facts and experience. I’m sure it will all end well.
From the article:
“In the wake of the spectacular implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s unregulated crypto exchange, FTX, the Biden administration, and the SEC spent two years filing legal complaints against crypto companies and making it clear that the commission considered digital assets to be securities — a classification that comes with significant oversight. But the government was in no position to go after every one of the hundreds of thousands of new crypto tokens and assets. Instead, it targeted the exchanges that sold them, and also set forth guidance to banks, discouraging them from offering crypto custody services to their customers.”
Given the turmoil and disgust surrounding Trump’s shock and awe deportation campaign, we thought it a good time to dig back into the immigration issue and update some of our findings from prior episodes. There’s no question Trump’s ICE is more brutal and seemingly indiscriminate, so we tried to put these efforts in context with prior administrations. Then we zoom out to look at root causes of immigration and the failure of U.S. foreign policy toward the LAC.
Here’s a snippet from the pod:
Max: “So far Homeland—which I’m using as a catch all for Border Patrol and ICE—has claimed 969 arrests and 869 detentions on a single day. Compared to the most recent reports of a benchmark day in 2024 under Biden, this represents a 3x increase in activity, presuming all of these people are going to be shown the door and not simply held indefinitely in detention centers. If this holds, which would be historic, then the Trump administration would be on pace to remove 1,800 people per week if they worked seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, which would put him ahead of Obama’s height of around 1,200. All told, this would equal around 650,000 removals compared to 435,000 under Obama in 2013.”
“In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, we discuss the recent escalation in ICE raids across the country, including arrests at sensitive locations like churches, schools, and hospitals, following the Trump administration’s revocation of the sensitive locations policy.”
“Medicare for All is the leading proposal to achieve universal health coverage in America. But what is it exactly? How would it work? More importantly, is it practical or practicable? This book goes beyond partisan talking points to offer a serious examination of how Medicare for All would transform the way we give, receive, and pay for healthcare in America.”
“It’s all about dominance, exploitation and cheap labour that is too scared to even complain, and will accept wage theft as just the way it is, in a country that still employs slavery in their privatized prison system.”
The leftist political commentator is known for challenging the status quo and conducting insightful interviews that often center on power dynamics in politics.
“OCAD stands for Organized Communities Against Deportations. We’re a group of undocumented, unapologetic, and unafraid organizers building a resistance movement against deportations and the criminalization of immigrants and people of color in Chicago and surrounding areas.”
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