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Tariffs, Trump, and the Theater of Economic Toughness

When people talk about Donald Trump and tariffs, they often talk past each other. Supporters frame tariffs as bold economic nationalism. Critics sometimes dismiss them as pure stupidity. Neither explanation really gets at what was actually happening. Tariffs under Trump were not primarily an economic strategy. They were political theater. Loud, confrontational, easy to explain in a tweet, and perfectly suited to a worldview that mistakes domination for governance. That matters, because tariffs themselves are not inherently right-wing. The left has a long and complicated relationship with trade barriers. The problem was not that Trump used tariffs. The problem was how, why, and who ultimately paid for them. Let’s unpack that without pretending this was some 4D chess masterclass or, on the other hand, a random tantrum with spreadsheets attached. What tariffs actually are, minus the mythology A tariff is a tax on imported goods. That’s it. It is not a fine imposed on a foreign government....
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The U.S. Captures Venezuela’s President: Imperialism Unmasked

  On the early morning of January 3, 2026, the United States carried out an unprecedented military operation against Venezuela that culminated in the capture and removal of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from Venezuelan soil. President Donald Trump proudly announced that U.S. forces had executed a “large-scale strike” and that Maduro was now in U.S. custody, soon to face federal charges in New York. The administration even declared its intention to temporarily run Venezuela while overseeing a “transition” of power. This moment isn’t just a geopolitical headline — it’s a stark illustration of unrestrained U.S. imperial authority in the 21st century. Reuters +1 What Happened The assault began in the dead of night with aircraft and explosions over Caracas and other parts of Venezuela. U.S. special operations forces reportedly carried out a coordinated assault — dubbed “Operation Absolute Resolve” — involving air strikes and elite ground units targeting Maduro’...
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Trump’s Prime-Time Address Wasn’t a State of the Nation. It Was a State of the Narrative.

  On December 17, President Donald Trump delivered a rare prime-time national address from the White House. The setting was formal, the tone solemn, and the framing unmistakable. This was meant to look presidential. It was meant to feel stabilizing. It was meant to reassure a public still anxious about prices, wages, and the future. What it actually delivered was something else entirely: a tightly packaged narrative exercise designed to declare victory where none has been clearly earned, shift blame where responsibility remains unresolved, and reassert personal authority in a moment when economic confidence is fragile. The Performance of Presidential Gravity Trump understands television. He always has. The address was short, visually controlled, and stripped of the chaos that often defines his rallies and off-the-cuff remarks. No crowds. No hecklers. No interruptions. Just Trump, a camera, and the symbolism of state power. That alone matters. Prime-time addresses are traditiona...
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Ron DeSantis Declares a Civil Rights Group “Terrorist.” Welcome to Florida.

  There is, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a new terrorist organization operating in the Sunshine State. Not a shadowy militia. Not a violent underground cell. Not even a group the federal government has ever accused of terrorism. It is, somehow, a civil rights organization. With a quiet executive order posted to X, DeSantis declared CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, to be a threat to Florida’s democracy. Not American democracy, mind you. Just Florida’s. Apparently we now run our own parallel national security apparatus down here, complete with a bespoke enemies list curated by the governor’s office. If this all sounds surreal, that’s because it is. What CAIR Actually Is CAIR is a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with chapters across the country, including Florida. For decades, its work has focused on First Amendment protections, religious freedom, anti-discrimination cases, and civil liberties. In other ...
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“Alligator Alcatraz” and the Business of Human Cruelty in Florida

  When Amnesty International releases a report using phrases like torture , enforced disappearances , and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment , that is not rhetorical inflation. That is an alarm bell, clanging hard enough to wake anyone who still believes the United States’ immigration detention system is merely “imperfect” rather than fundamentally brutal. Last week, Amnesty International published a damning investigation into conditions at Florida’s Everglades detention facility, grimly nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The report calls on the State of Florida to shut the facility down entirely, prohibit state-run immigration detention, and redirect money away from cages and toward healthcare, housing, and disaster relief. In other words, it asks Florida to behave like a functioning society rather than a punishment laboratory. What Amnesty found should shock no one who has been paying attention, but it should still horrify anyone with a functioning conscience. A Prison Camp...
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The Constitution Party: Because Reality Wasn’t Originalist Enough

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you cross-bred a pocket Constitution, a time machine stuck on the year 1789, and a Facebook uncle who thinks the IRS is a front for lizard people, you don’t need to wonder anymore. The Constitution Party already exists. And boy, do they have thoughts —mostly about how the United States should return to an era before indoor plumbing, universal suffrage, and the concept of weekends. Let’s begin with their core belief: “strict constitutional originalism.” Sounds tidy, right? Except the Constitution Party’s version of originalism isn’t about what the Constitution actually says. No, that would be far too straightforward. Their version is more like the Constitution as remembered by someone who skimmed a YouTube summary of the Federalist Papers while half-asleep. Take the 14th Amendment . You know—the one that explains how citizenship works. The Constitution Party has decided that the text doesn’t say what it clearly says. According to them, i...
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