Canada's Antagonism

Plus: Betting scandal in the NBA, inside the most worrisome porn subculture, and more...

Reagan, weaponized: President Donald Trump said last night that he was ending tariff negotiations with Canada over a video the province of Ontario put out criticizing Trump's tariff approach using the words of former President Ronald Reagan, a vociferous opponent of tariffs, from a 1987 speech on the dangers of protectionism and the importance of free trade:

"When someone says, 'Let's impose tariffs on foreign imports,' it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works—but only for a short time.…High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars.…Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.

Throughout the world there's a growing realization that the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition. America's jobs and growth are at stake."

Amusingly, Trump seemed to understand where Canada was coming from.

"I see foreign countries now, that we are doing really well with, taking ads, 'Don't go with tariffs,'" Trump told reporters Tuesday. "They're taking ads. I saw an ad last night from Canada."

"If I was Canada I'd take that same ad also," he added.

Oddly, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation released a statement saying that Ontario "misrepresents" the words of the former U.S. president. How, exactly? Or are they simply showing fealty to Trump?

Listen to President Reagan's unedited remarks here: https://t.co/1gQUcbR4eZ pic.twitter.com/iqmjSuypp0

— Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute (@RonaldReagan) October 24, 2025

 

All these words are Reagan's, from that speech, but some sentences have been moved around a bit, and chunks have been cut. The meaning has not been distorted, and it's in no way a misrepresentation of Reagan's perspective on free trade and protectionism.

But these are the times we're living through: It's no longer Reagan's Republican Party, and free trade is no longer popular in American politics. Trade negotiations are put on pause whenever a president is personally offended, never mind the many Americans who could've stood to gain from altered tariff levels on auto parts and steel, had the talks continued.

Betting scandals in the NBA:  "Long-simmering fears over America's sports-betting boom erupted into scandal Thursday morning as FBI agents arrested two high-profile NBA figures, including Hall of Fame guard and Portland Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups, who authorities said was involved in a mob-run rigged poker scheme and supplied information to sports bettors about his team," reports The Washington Post. "Billups was arrested in Portland, Oregon, just hours after his Trail Blazers team lost its season-opening game Wednesday night. He was charged with money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy over his alleged participation in rigged poker games that also involved members of Mafia crime families, also called La Cosa Nostra."

But authorities separately nabbed Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, who was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. "Rozier, 31, is charged in that indictment for allegedly taking himself out of a game on purpose in 2023 so a co-conspirator could place a bet and win," reports The Athletic. "These charges stem from the ongoing investigation that produced a guilty plea—and subsequent lifetime ban from basketball—for former Raptors player Jontay Porter, who bet on NBA games and manipulated his own performance so co-conspirators could win money on prop bets. Porter pleaded guilty in July 2024 to one felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud."

Damon Jones, a former player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was charged in both scandals. The charges against Rozier and Jones are "one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States," according to U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr.

I'm rather worried about the degree to which this has compromised the integrity of the NBA, but the tweets are rather hilarious:

I for one am shocked that NBA employees are gambling. How did they get sucked into that kind of activity?

I really hope they address this on the FanDuel Pregame show sponsored by bet365, right before the big game at DraftKings arena

— Joey- Cade Smith enjoyer (@GuardsJoey) October 23, 2025

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver:

"We take these charges extremely seriously. There is no place for gambling in our game. Any players or coaches involved will be banned for life.

Also, new DraftKings customers can use promocode "FBI" to get $150 in free bets by placing a $5…

— JC - Former World Champion LLC (@JoshOnAir) October 23, 2025

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Scenes from New York: I would not go so far as to say "everyone likes them."

Canal street today, after ICE swept through w/ DHS, the FBI & the IRS, arrested everyone & launched an investigation into "counterfeit trading."These markets are as old as Chinatown and are tolerated because they are a massive boon for tourism and everyone likes them. pic.twitter.com/EMKAV1n6F2

— anika (@champagnesucks) October 22, 2025

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QUICK HITS

• "No one, besides maybe Neil Postman, could have predicted the formation of an international pornography cult," writes Daniel Kolitz in Harper's Magazine. "But the gooners' rise does, in retrospect, possess a certain inevitability. Anyone paying attention to online porn's evolution over the preceding twenty years could sense, in its brain-melting variety and abundance, the blueprint for a new kind of person, a new relationship to human sexuality." ("Is there a timeline, a regulatory environment, in which the internet does not turn into a highly efficient manufacturer of niche suicide cults? I find it hard to imagine," concludes Kolitz. Whole piece is worth a read.)
• From Semafor: "Trump has refused to rule out striking inside Venezuela or even a troop presence on the ground. He said last week that he has approved CIA activity inside Venezuela, though he declined to say whether that activity includes toppling [Nicolas] Maduro, who's seen by both parties as an illegitimate leader after last year's elections. 'Wouldn't it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?' Trump told CBS News last week. 'But I think Venezuela is feeling the heat.'"
• Details on the "Palestinian prisoners" released by Israel as part of the final swap deal to get the hostages back. I've always found prisoner to be a bit of an odd term: Not all of them were charged with crimes, sure, but many of them were in fact convicted of terrible acts of terrorism—think suicide bombings. Yes, they're prisoners, but they're also criminals or terrorists. (Again, not literally all of them, but the more you get into the weeds about why they were imprisoned, the more it makes sense.)
• Nazi-tat-bearer Graham Platner decides to stay in the race for U.S. Senate, taking actions such as "hiring a compliance firm and sending non-disclosure agreements to staffers" per Politico. 
• "American 'State Capitalism' Is Destined for Failure," writes Bloomberg's editorial board.