Quick Takes

Wednesday Windings

Midweek Quick Takes This week’s debates have thrust antisemitism, political violence, and media accountability into sharp focus, exposing deep divides in American discourse. On The Tara Palmeri Show, Scott Jennings clashed with the host over the roots of political violence, citing incidents like the May 22, 2025, assassination of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., and the June 1, 2025, Boulder attack, injured 12 people with Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israel event, as evidence of left-wing antisemitic aggression. A CNN panel on NewsNight with Abby Phillip further highlighted tensions, with conservative voices challenging denials of antisemitism among progressive figures like…

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Friday Falls

Friday Quick Takes It has been a hot minute since I've done a Quick Takes post, so without further ado let's get into them. Fake Jake Takes a Fall Jake Tapper's CNN show, The Lead with Jake Tapper, has experienced a significant ratings decline, averaging 525,000 viewers from April 28 to May 25, 2025, marking a 25% drop from the previous year and the lowest ratings in nearly a decade. This downturn coincides with the release of his book, Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, co-authored with Alex Thompson. Despite extensive promotion on…

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Reds

Thursday Quick Takes The Woke Church The Episcopal Church’s decision to terminate its nearly 40-year participation in the U.S. refugee resettlement program, prompted by the Trump administration’s directive to resettle 49 white South African Afrikaners (Boers), reveals a troubling departure from the Gospel’s universal call to love and serve all in need, regardless of race. The church, led by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, justified its withdrawal by framing the Afrikaners’ fast-tracked asylum as a violation of racial justice, given their historical ties to apartheid and the broader suspension of the refugee program serving mostly non-white applicants. This stance, however, elevates a…

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Monday Minutes

A Winning Weekend China Brought to Heel On Monday, the U.S. and China signed a temporary trade deal in Geneva, prompted by the 145% U.S. tariffs imposed on April 2 that slashed Chinese exports to the U.S. by 21% in a single month. China’s reliance on the U.S. consumer economy, which absorbed $427.2 billion of their exports in 2024, made this loss crippling, forcing them to the negotiating table. The deal lowers U.S. tariffs to 30% for 90 days, with a 10% baseline and 20% fentanyl-related duties, while China cuts its 125% retaliatory tariffs to 10% and lifts restrictions on rare…

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Humpday Headlines

Harumph In the words of the great Levi Stubbs, "This one's gonna be SHOATE!" For this blog at any rate. Social Security is Not Your Money Rep. Mark Pocan has pronouns in his bio, which helps to explain this mess straight out of the David Hogg School of Spares and Edginess. Let’s be clear: Social Security is your f*cking money. - Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) May 6, 2025 Do you even Nestor, bro? No, it's not your money. I'm sorry, but you've been lied to your entire life just as your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents were lied to. Your tax…

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Mmm… Monday

Brought to You by the Letter M-M-M Today's Quick Takes go from bad to worse and then I let you off the hook with a little humor. Meta's Malice: Robby Starbuck sued Meta for $5M in, claiming their AI chatbot defamed him with false accusations of Capitol riot involvement and extremist ties, harming his reputation. Chasing the Dragon from the Market China Faces the Same Economic Realities the Soviets Did in the 1980s As the U.S.-China trade war escalates, two starkly different visions for confronting China’s economic might are taking center stage. The Trump administration’s 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, effective…

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Friday Focus

Friday Quick Takes Big Balls Last night, the Jesse Watters Primetime studio lit up with the energy of Elon Musk and a group of young Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team members, gathered at their Eisenhower Building headquarters for an exclusive Fox News interview. The discussion, centered on their mission to slash government waste and inefficiency in the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, revealed not just their achievements but the grueling commitment behind them. Musk, leading DOGE as a “special government employee,” spoke with intensity about the team’s relentless pace, describing workdays stretching 16 to 20 hours,…

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The Wednesday Wrap

Scooped On Thursday morning, the political landscape was rocked by a breaking story that appeared to signal a major upheaval in the Trump administration. At 07:35 CDT, veteran journalist Mark Halperin took to X, dropping a bombshell: three sources had confirmed that Mike Waltz, the National Security Advisor, along with his deputy Alex Wong and others at the National Security Council, were on their way out, potentially that very day.[1] Halperin’s post, amplified by his YouTube show "The Morning Meeting" at 09:00 CDT on @2waytvapp, painted a picture of a swift and decisive ouster, with no hint of Waltz’s next move.…

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Magistrate Monday

Habitual Line Steppers The Tom Homan Show There are over 700,000 criminal illegal aliens that are known by ICE to be in the United States. That's a Congressional District.  There are 20 million illegal aliens currently in the United States.  That's the fourth largest state. During the White House press briefing this morning, Border Czar Tom Homan delivered a stern message to undocumented immigrants, emphasizing the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement policies. He urged those in the U.S. illegally to self-deport using the CBP One Home app, warning, “You cannot hide,” and declared that starting that day, failure to register with…

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The Friday Freakshow

Dateline: Body and Soul Prologue -- Freak Body and soul, I'm a freak I'm a freak Silverchair--"Freak" A Morning Meditation: Rising in Hope As dawn spills across the sky, weaving gold and pink through the fading night, I rise to meet the morning, my heart stirring with the weight of yesterday. My imperfections linger like mist-the sharp word I spoke in haste, the opportunity I let slip, the quiet guilt of not being enough. The world outside my window hums with its own brokenness: fractured relationships, restless news cycles, a collective ache for something better. Yet, in this tender hour, as…

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