David D Dayton

The State of Trump's Trade War: Short- & Long-Run Consequences of Optics vs. Economics Symbolism wins, technocracy bends: the public sees “tough,” firms get exemptions, and growth pays the tab. And then cycle repeats: unilateral tools plus attention incentives make escalation cheap...

"Trump’s trade war runs on optics alone, not economics. Loud tariffs with quiet unwinding. That mix stabilizes the short run. But it likely seeds a decade of productivity drag. The real supply‑side costs to U.S. growth are likely to be substantial."
open.substack.com/pub/braddelo...

Room in a villa in Tuscany, a long polished wood dining table and chairs before wide open twin windows giving arched views of green trees

#BlueSkyArtShow #inside #Tuscany
#photography #iPhonephotography #mobilephotography #shotoniphone

President Bystander stumped when asked about pardon he signed hours earlier On Thursday morning, Trump signed one of his most scandalous pardons to date. On Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t explain his actions from hours earlier.

"On Thursday morning, Trump signed one of his most scandalous pardons to date.

On Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t explain his actions from hours earlier..."

www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

A tweet from No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen says, “This is not satire, by the way.” It quotes an earlier tweet from the same account that claims, “The Pentagon announces they are replacing The New York Times’ press credentials with the MyPillow guy’s media outlet.” Below are three images: a serious portrait of a man in a suit, The New York Times logo, and Mike Lindell (the MyPillow founder) holding one of his pillows and smiling.

We’ve become a bad joke.

YouTube video by Reagan Library President Reagan's Radio Address on Free and Fair Trade on April 25, 1987

So they didn’t like the ad. Let’s just post Reagan’s 5 min speech against tariffs as it appears on YouTube.

Over and over. On all platforms (some of y’all are still on X).

*1981 Sherrilyn horrified by 2025 Sherrilyn saying “let’s post Reagan’s speech.”

youtu.be/5t5QK03KXPc

Trump: “I fixed inflation”

Reality:

Trump's hissy fit about Canada is going to cause MORE American businesses to lose markets-just like soybean farmers and cattle ranchers-and therefore costs will rise AGAIN

US ‘on a trajectory’ toward authoritarian rule, ex-officials warn A network of former intelligence and security officers says democratic decline is accelerating under Trump’s rule

Retired intelligence analysts confirm what the political scientists are telling us — and what the world outside is telling us — the goal of these people is the end of law, the end of democracy, and the end of a recognizable republic.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Good. Took too long, but I’ll take it.

Hakeem is a hack and, along with Schumer, has to step down before the Dems can start to earn back a bit of respect.

I think one of the things that non-evangelicals find most annoying about evangelicals is when they claim that other people can’t lead happy and fulfilling lives unless they believe in the same things that they do.

I don’t need to explain why it’s wildly unacceptable for the military to be illegally privately financed by the president’s wealthy allies, right?

YouTube video by David Dayton No Kings anthem

A No Kings anthem to the tune of “Sloop John B”

#nokings
#June14 #peacefulprotest

youtube.com/shorts/usoPu...

Reminder: We spent YEARS reading thousands and thousands of articles on the Tea Party and how it was a true expression of the American people's will, and it never mounted anything nearly as big as Saturday's No Kings rallies. [1/3]

Why does the oligarchy love Trump?

Yes, the tax cuts — but that’s not all.

Watch.

cc: @gavinnewsom.bsky.social

Peep the byline

More of Portland #NoKings frogolution 🐸💙

The 100 lowest-paying US corporations spent $644B on stock buybacks from 2019 to 2024.

Buybacks artificially boost share prices and inflate CEO pay.

The typical worker at these companies earned $35k last year.

Meanwhile, the average CEO was paid $17.2M

See the problem?

A warning over a highway near Interstate 5 in Los Angeles that reads “live weapons over freeway”

We just live in a john carpenter movie now.

Chicago Mayor Issues Defiant Call For A General Strike It was an audacious proposal, given that the U.S. has never held a true, nationwide general strike.

Whoa. Chicago mayor calls for a general strike; now we're talking

www.huffpost.com/entry/chicag...

What exactly was the reason we needed to fire artillery shells over I-5?

So JD Vance can feel like a real boy?

Couldn’t he and Hegseth have just done some pushups together?

I'm grateful to @60minutes.bsky.social featuring our study published @justsecurity.org.

Link to the study (on the 'presumption of regularity'): www.justsecurity.org/120547/presu...

The '3.5% rule': How a small minority can change the world Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts – and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.

one category of show prep material for TRMS staff is something we've always called "subway reading".

it's something that's not exactly current events or new reporting... but nevertheless relevant food for thought given the news we're in.

today's subway reading:

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Californians, this is it. In honor of the No Kings protests and to protect democracy, get that Prop 50 ballot in and vote YES.

Remind your friends, your family, and everyone you know—democracy only works if we do.