Trump Said Tariffs Would Reduce the Trade Deficit. Instead, It Hit a Record High in 2025.
It's a good thing that trade deficits aren't actually a national emergency.
Latest
96 Percent of People Charged With Human Trafficking Are U.S. Citizens
Just 26 undocumented immigrants faced federal trafficking charges in 2023.
The Epstein Files Obsessives Keep Lying About Their Critics
Tara Palmeri insinuated that Michael Tracey disagrees with her because he's paid by Epstein associates. That's a lie.
War With Iran?
Plus: the same ole hawkish lies, a familial connection to Barry Goldwater's nomination, and the future of media is prediction markets on Substack.
Judging the Alito Retirement Rumors
Is the conservative Supreme Court justice planning to retire this year?
Washington's Millionaire Tax Is Economic Suicide
Washington has enjoyed decades of spectacular economic growth as a direct result of the absence of state income taxes. The new measure threatens to change all that.
A Consumer Fraud Complaint About 'Boneless Wings' Won't Fly, a Federal Judge Rules
Aimen Halim sued Buffalo Wild Wings, saying he was tricked into buying chicken breast nuggets when he thought he was getting deboned wings.
The Hawks Are Lying Us Into Yet Another Middle Eastern War
Like the Iraq War, the planned war with Iran is built on false premises. Unlike the Iraq War, there hasn’t even been a real public debate.
When Police Can Keep Seized Cash, Abuse Follows
An Oklahoma City scandal highlights how civil forfeiture incentives undermine accountability and public trust.
Was It a Coincidental Traffic Stop or AI-Powered Surveillance?
When former LSD kingpin Seth Ferranti was pulled over in Nebraska, police claimed a traffic violation.
Blaming Buildings for Sex Trafficking
And paving the way for increased surveillance of all women
Mamdani To Increase NYC Property Taxes by 9.5 Percent To Balance Budget if Income Taxes Are Not Raised
So much for "the warmth of collectivism."
Can Iran's Protest Movement Topple the Regime?
Exiled journalist Fardad Farahzad discusses how Iranians get uncensored news, the state of the protest movement, and whether the Islamic Republic is losing its grip on power.
Stephen Colbert Says CBS Killed an Interview Because of FCC Equal-Time Rule
If anything, the incident just provided further proof that the equal-time rule should be abolished.
Helen Andrews Is Wrong About Asians, Admissions, and Affirmative Action
Her central claim—that forcing Harvard to end racial discrimination has only harmed whites—is not supported by the data she cites.
Austerity Socialism
What's a "tax the rich" mayor going to do when he can't actually tax the rich?
The Trump Administration's War Against ICE Critics
By conflating opposition with terrorism, federal officials go down a dangerous path.
Trump's Blatantly Unconstitutional Attempt To Punish His Congressional Critics Hits 2 Roadblocks
A grand jury and a federal judge rejected the president’s vendetta against legislators who produced a video about the duty to refuse unlawful military orders.
DHS Wants To Unmask Online Critics
Plus: The FCC targets Disney and Comcast, new Epstein associates revealed, and Trump’s tariffs cause growing rifts with U.S. allies.
Department of Homeland Security
Prosecutors Admit the DHS Account of an ICE Shooting Was Based on Lies
The department's pattern of dishonesty supports a presumption of irregularity.
Tom Homan Defends Masked ICE Agents by Claiming Threats Are Up 'Over 8,000 Percent'
Homan's numbers are misleading, but even if they weren't, it wouldn't justify allowing an entire federal law enforcement agency to operate in anonymity.
Florida Embraces New Urbanist Mega-Developments
Plus: Zohran Mamdani's rent rip-off hearings exclude public housing tenants, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is a "yes" on rent control, and the intersection of zoning and qualified immunity.
The Olympics Will Never Achieve World Peace If It Keeps Clamping Down on Free Speech
Plus: Olympic hockey almost didn’t happen, how to pad the medal count, and a reader survey on fixing the Olympics
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
Plus: Tariffs, tariffs, and even more news about tariffs! And George W. Bush has some interesting thoughts about George Washington.
Report: The FBI Bent Its Own Rules To Spy on 1,100 'Sensitive' Targets
Opening investigations requires evidence, so the feds created “assessments.”
As a Former Cop, I Have to Ask: What the Hell Is ICE Doing?
Videos of recent immigration enforcement raise serious questions about authority, escalation, and the professional standards officers are trained to follow.
The E.U. Wants 'Deforestation-Free' Products. Consumers May Pay the Cost.
In its effort to protect global forests, the E.U. is imposing complex tracking requirements that could raise prices and create new trade hurdles.
In Mamdani's War on Delivery Apps, New Yorkers Are the Collateral Damage
New York City's own past policies are to blame for much of the gig economy drama, which Mayor Mamdani will further exacerbate.
Trump's FTC Chairman Sends a Threatening Letter to Apple for Not Promoting Enough Conservative Media
Chairman Andrew Ferguson continues the Federal Trade Commission’s crusade against free speech with an official letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Trump's $10 Billion Lawsuit Against the BBC
A federal judge has set the date for the president's push to punish a news organization he dislikes, again.
A Federal Judge Explains Why Trump Can't Jail Legislators for Producing a Video That Offended Him
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon notes that Sen. Mark Kelly's comments about unlawful military orders were "unquestionably protected" by the First Amendment.
How Much Is Kristi Noem's Alleged Adultery Airplane Costing You?
If the DHS secretary is actually having a high-flying affair with Trump adviser Corey Lewandowski, the taxpayers are the ones getting screwed.
Ring Drops Controversial Partner After Super Bowl Ad Backlash
The move is a rare win for privacy, both for users and their neighbors.
The Cowardice of the Republican 'Tariff Skeptics'
Finally given a chance to influence trade policy, the vast majority of House Republicans decided it was more important to keep President Donald Trump happy.
The El Paso Drone Scare Is the Future of National Security Paranoia
Fear over mysterious objects in the sky keeps disrupting society.
Wuthering Heights Is a Kinky, Revisionist Fever Dream
A problematic hyperpop romance that collides with the manosphere
The Feds Used Threats To Silence Their ICE-Tracking Speech. Now They're Fighting Back.
A lawsuit argues that Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem coerced Apple and Meta to censor two popular ICE-monitoring tools, which violates Americans' right to freedom of expression.
DOJ's Antitrust Chief Resigns Amid Accusations of Corruption Among Top Officials
Gail Slater resigned from her position as Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division after butting heads with Attorney General Pam Bondi over merger enforcement.
Hot Mess at the DHS
Plus: boat subsidies, metaphor alerts, and more Epstein fallout...
Kristi Noem's Response to ICE Killings in Minnesota Exposes Conservatives' Double Standard on Gun Rights
The Second Amendment protects your right to carry a gun at a protest.
The ATF Created a Backdoor Gun Registry. Lawmakers Want an Explanation.
Federal law bans the creation of a gun registry, but regulators made one anyway.
Review: The Anarchist Writings of Robert Anton Wilson
"I'm the kind of anarchist whose chief objection to the state is that it kills so many people," Wilson said in a 1976 interview
