Author: sauer@technologists.com

curated news excerpts & citations

Bill McKibben: A different kind of leader gives a different kind of speech

An afternoon with the Pope
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If you’d told me 20 years ago that the Roman Catholic Church would emerge as perhaps the most progressive large global institution, I would have giggled. And I am well aware of the Church’s myriad defects (though feel free to enumerate them further in the comments section below; you won’t offend me, a sometime Methodist). But beginning with Francis’s noble gestures and continuing with his mighty encyclical Laudato Si—a thorough and scathing critique of modernity, and probably the most important document of this millennium so far—the Vatican has been out in front in many ways.

And the sense I got from listening to the Pope speak this afternoon is that that will continue.
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John Pavlovitz: Bad Bunny and MAGA’s Super Bowl of Racism

Within nanoseconds of the NFL announcing that Latin rapper Bad Bunny would be performing the Super Bowl Halftime Show, the Trump cult tore itself away from Charlie Kirk martyrdom, MAGA church shooter retcons, restaurant logo crusades, and pro-ICE posturing to launch into a full-on frenzy of performative white histrionics in protest.
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He is the literal embodiment of the American Dream that the GOP has spent decades waving in our faces.

So, what’s the problem?

Let’s just say it’s a pigmentation issue, with a side order of MAGA cultism and a dash of homophobia thrown in.

As I mentioned, Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico, which a terrifying number of MAGAs don’t seem to know is an American territory, as they’ve fallen all over themselves to decry the supposed insult of a “non-American” artist playing the Super Bowl. (Something tells me the objections weren’t leveled at the Who or the Rolling Stones or U2, but in those cases the melanin was more compatible and palatable.)

Many of the outraged Right have suggested that ICE should show up at the game and deport Bunny. Deport him from where, exactly? Others have (without merit) bristled at a guy who “doesn’t speak English,” while they still can’t differentiate they’re, their, and there.

This kind of knee-jerk, mob mentality vitriol is what Trump’s movement has fostered and fomented, and what it demands.

A self-described gender-fluid Latin musician who sings predominantly in Spanish has previously criticized Donald Trump and recently lamented the inhumanity of ICE? He must be condemned and vilified and eradicated because membership in the mindless death cult of white American intolerance they now call home requires it.
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James Eagle: Tariff receipts have exploded

I’ll admit my bias upfront: I deeply oppose tariffs because they contradict everything I believe about free trade. Trade is the thread that stitches our world together, compelling us to engage with one another whether we like it or not.
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Here’s the dirty secret about tariffs: they’re a magnificent tax machine. Monthly customs receipts have rocketed from $7-8 billion to nearly $30 billion, while the trade deficit yawns at the same old $90-110 billion, utterly unmoved by the current protectionist theatre.

American businesses and shoppers meanwhile foot most of the bill through higher prices. Clever multinationals meanwhile, simply shift their supply chains, shipping through Vietnam or Mexico rather than bringing jobs home. It’s taxation dressed up as trade policy.

For investors, this is perverse: retailers and car manufacturers are bleeding margins while government coffers swell. The speed of it all is breathtaking. Tariff receipts nearly quadrupled overnight, yet the trade deficit couldn’t care less. Anyone betting this windfall will last is dreaming. It’s a transfer of wealth from the private sector to the public sector. This is cyclical cash grab, not structural reform, and the hangover will be spectacular.
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Charlotte Clymer: America Brought to You by Bad Bunny

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The Super Bowl is a distillation of all things America: sports and celebrity and military pageantry and unabashed patriotism and unapologetic commercialism all being slammed together, and in terms of annual events, more human beings on this planet watch it live, together, than anything else.

And it’s because of all those elements that most American conservatives perceive it as a showcase of American exceptionalism. It’s not that it’s inherently conservative or that non-conservatives don’t watch it; it’s that the sheer scope of the Super Bowl combined with all the patriotic bits make it a crown jewel in their argument for American cultural hegemony.

That’s why when Apple Music and the NFL announced last night that Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny—Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio—is headlining Super Bowl LX this upcoming February, my jaw dropped.

For those unfamiliar, Bad Bunny is one of the biggest entertainers in the world. Were you to remove Taylor Swift and Beyoncé from the metrics conversation, he’s easily the biggest. He led global streaming charts from 2020-2022, and he’s still among the top three even now. His Un Verano Sin Ti world tour in 2022 dominated that year, and only Taylor Swift has surpassed his touring numbers since.

Based on both merit and marketing, Bad Bunny is an obvious choice to headline the Super Bowl.

But he’s also an outspoken LGBTQ ally, particularly on trans rights. He has been consistently critical of Trump, especially in regards to immigration. Earlier this month, he announced he would not include any U.S. dates for his 2025-2026 Debí Tirar Más Fotos world tour out of fear for his fans given the fascistic crackdown by ICE. He notably endorsed Vice President Harris last year after Puerto Rico was mocked at Trump’s infamous Madison Square Garden campaign rally.

Oh, and he performs solely in Spanish. That’s right: he does not rap or sing in any language other than Spanish. He does speak English, but he’s not a “crossover” Latin artist as an intentional choice. He has made it clear that he wants Spanish-language music to be normalized in the global marketplace, and so, he only produces work in Spanish.
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – September 27, 2025

Yesterday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released items from a third batch of documents associated with the criminal investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Republicans have been slow-walking the release of those files since news broke that they mention President Donald J. Trump, a close friend of Epstein during the years of his sex trafficking. The batch of documents includes phone message logs, flight logs and manifests, and Epstein’s daily schedule.

Those documents show that billionaire Peter Thiel, who financially supported Vice President J.D. Vance’s Senate campaign, and Trump ally Steve Bannon had scheduled meetings with Epstein. And they show that Elon Musk had a pending trip to Epstein’s private island.

Trump responded hours later by ordering his administration to declassify and release all government records related to…Amelia Earhart. …
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Dispatch: ‘Good Luck To All!’

Donald Trump’s slow-motion surrender in Ukraine

It is not true that Donald Trump has been promising a health care plan—and failing to deliver it—since 2016. In fact, Trump has been promising a health care plan—and failing to deliver it—since 2011. “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated!” he famously explained. Some people knew, and by “some people,” I mean everybody but Trump.

No one knew trade could be so complicated, either, I suppose—that trade war that is “good, and easy to win” is not working out as planned. Or the deficit—witness the fiasco DOGE turned out to be. Or bringing down prices. Crime, immigration, entitlements—all too complicated for this guy.

And then there’s Ukraine.

Back when Trump was just a Page Six grotesque and social climber, Spy magazine famously described him as a “short-fingered vulgarian.” It turns out that his fingers aren’t the problem, but his short little attention span—not his grip, but his grip on the issues and, from time to time, on reality.

Trump has had enough of the Russia-Ukraine war. And so he says that the U.S. role will now be to sell weapons to NATO “to do what they want with them.” He added: “Good luck to all!”

Trump being Trump, he is all over the map (the map upon which I suspect he could not identify Ukraine with one of those short fingers). Not long ago, he was sure that Ukraine couldn’t win—he also claimed that Ukraine had started the war—and that the Ukrainians needed to get to a negotiated settlement as soon as possible. Now he says he thinks the Ukrainians may be able to take back all of the territory occupied (and annexed in some cases) by Russia, a proposition that is, unhappily, at least as implausible as any other dumb thing that has come out of Trump’s mouth. He writes (on social media, of course) that he came to this conclusion “after getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation.” (As always, the illiterate capitalization is in the original.)

Donald Trump has served a full term as president of these United States and then spent most of Joe Biden’s term getting ready to run for another term of his own, which he is now well into—and he’s just now “getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia” situation?

Who knew a sprawling military, political, and cultural conflict … wrapped up in, oh, 1,000 years of history … could be so complicated?
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Adam Kinzinger: Trump’s Words Are Fueling Violence: Why Leaders Must Step Up

America needs calming leadership—not reckless blame and division.

Donald Trump’s words are not harmless bluster. They shape the national mood and, too often, the behavior of those listening. The danger of that rhetoric became starkly clear again with the last two politically charged shootings, including the attack on an ICE facility in Dallas yesterday. Instead of urging patience or unity, prominent voices on the right quickly blamed “the left,” painting millions of Americans as complicit. This is more than cynical politics—it is reckless and destructive.

A president’s job is not to pour gasoline on a fire. From Washington to Lincoln, from FDR to Reagan, presidents have generally recognized their unique power to calm the country when passions run hot. Even when they were deeply partisan, they understood the office carries an unwritten duty to keep violence from escalating. Trump is the first modern president who openly rejects that responsibility. He thrives on the spectacle of grievance, fueling division with each rally chant and social media post.
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If Donald Trump will not meet this basic standard of leadership, others must.
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Dean Blundell: Sniper Fire at Dallas ICE Facility: THREE Migrant Detainees Gunned Down In Dallas Today. Here’s [what] We Know…

Jack Hopkins: Shooting In Dallas: Stop Selling the Story Before You Know It

NY Times: Dallas Shooting Suspect Had Extensive Online Footprint but Little on Politics

Ken Klippenstein: The ICE Shooter’s Politics

Joshua Jahn’s friends speak
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Dispatch: Trump Can’t Fix the Deficit by Attacking the Federal Reserve

The president claims lower interest rates would save us $1 trillion annually. He’s wrong.

President Trump has declared war on the prized independence of the Federal Reserve in an attempt to essentially run monetary policy out of the White House. He has attempted—illegally and on dubious grounds— to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, threatened to fire Chairman Jerome Powell, and installed a top White House economist into a key Federal Reserve position. This White House pressure surely drove the Fed’s decision to reduce rates by 0.25 points on September 17.

Going to war against the Federal Reserve seems baseless when current interest rates—while above the anomalous 2010s levels—are not high by historical standards. Moreover, rates are not holding back the current economy, and they may even be too low to combat the recent inflation uptick. However, President Trump has offered an additional argument: Lower interest rates would reduce Washington’s interest on the national debt, “saving us $1 Trillion per year” in reduced budget deficits. This sacrificing of Federal Reserve independence to help the Treasury sell cheaper debt is known to economists as “fiscal dominance.”

Setting aside legitimate concerns over central bank independence and the illegal firing of Fed officials, would fiscal dominance really provide substantial budget deficit savings? The clear answer is no.
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Nate Silver: What is Schumer’s shutdown endgame?

Democrats are in what chess players call zugzwang, where there aren’t necessarily any winning moves. But focusing on tariffs and inflation would be a better approach than Schumer’s plan.
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In the Times story, I argue that Democrats should tie their support for any government funding bill to tariffs — more specifically, to passage of the Trade Review Act, which would allow Congress to reassert its constitutional role in levying tariffs. I see several advantages here: it highlights an issue where Trump is behaving abnormally and violating the separation of powers, but which is still highly legible to voters and indeed perhaps the only thing that has proven to dent his popularity so far. And it could drive a wedge between the various factions of the GOP.
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