Secretary Hegseth has become emblematic of how incompetent this administration is.

This is why William Wolfe—a vocal admirer of Christian Nationalist kingpin Doug Wilson—wants to influence the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It’s also why I’m so concerned about his organization and its ties to Peter Thiel ally Chris Buskirk (via American Reformer).

1/ Has Iran managed to reinvent the Sound Dues – the tolls that Denmark imposed for over 400 years on ships entering the Baltic Sea? Recent ship movements suggest that rather than completely blocking the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is monetising it instead. ⬇️

rural Wisconsin counties that went for Trump by roughly 20% voted for the liberal candidate today.

Treasury moves to gut financial research office Documents seen by POLITICO show plans are underway to reduce the data agency’s workforce, ahead of bigger proposed budget and staffing changes.

The Treasury Department is working on a plan to gut its office that researches financial market risks.

Because the office is funded by fees on the financial industry, this won't save taxpayers money. But it will make it harder to spot and prevent the next crisis.
www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

Pentagon To Host Good Friday Service Just For Protestants, Not Catholics

NEW: The Pentagon today invited more than 3,500 employees to attend a Good Friday service at its in-house chapel.

Except it’s only for Protestants, not Catholics. www.huffpost.com/entry/news-l...

The Tree of Memory is a 9-meter-tall metal sound installation in Zaporizhzhia, dedicated to Ukraine’s fallen Defenders.

📹 Ukraïner

James Talarico tonight:

"It doesn't matter what happens in this Republican runoff. We already know who we're running against: The billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system. Not any one politician ... We are running against the broken system and the powerful people who broke it."

Japan can be America's arsenal A guest post by Rie Yano.

Japan can be America's arsenal

Here's How Much Aid the United States Has Sent Ukraine | Council on Foreign Relations Eleven charts illustrate the extraordinary level of support the United States has provided Ukraine in recent years--though there has been no new U.S. aid legislation since 2024, and combined European aid tops U.S. contributions.

Ukraine became the top recipient of U.S. aid after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. However, there has been no new aid legislation since 2024 and the U.S. commitment to Ukraine has been called into question under the second Trump administration.

Here's how the aid compares—in 11 charts.

Former ICE lawyer Ryan Schwank: “I received secretive orders to teach new cadets to violate the Constitution.”

Bloomington police announce arrests in sex trafficking bust: "Rashad Johnson out of Maple Grove. This is the most disturbing arrest that we've had here. He is a backgrounder for ICE, Homeland Security, and federal agencies."

🥇🥇🥇

Trump Education Department cracks down on college student voting programs College students, who tend to vote more Democratic, represent one of the fastest-growing voting blocs.

🚨BREAKING: The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) launched an investigation and issued new guidance that could severely undercut efforts to expand voting among college students ahead of the 2026 elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

For those who don't know, Luttig was once considered the intellectual heir to Scalia. He was about as conservative a judge as you could find...

ICE agent asked why he's taking pictures of a legal observer's car, replies: "Cuz we have a nice little database and now you're considered a domestic terrorist. So have fun with that."

‘Patriot’ Front went to DC and people blasted clown music at them.

Trump's long-awaited healthcare "plan" is a joke He can barely bring himself to pretend he cares.

"When it comes time to produce something vaguely resembling a policy blueprint, Trump steps aside & the right-wing ideologues who surround him take over. His only job is to record a brief video, try to stay awake through a White House event on the subject, & then go back to not talking about it."

Ford has caved to MAGA pressure and suspended TJ Sabula, the auto worker who called Trump a “pedophile protector” to his face today.

“I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often — and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula said.

Breaking news: Every former Federal Reserve chief attacked the Department of Justice’s probe into US central bank head Jay Powell, accusing the Trump administration of behaving like an emerging market. ft.trib.al/aJHxEQx

Lawmakers, former officials denounce DOJ’s criminal probe into Fed Chair Powell Read more here.

NEW: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warns that Trump is pressuring the central bank into cutting interest rates through threats of criminal prosecution. The rare statement comes after the DOJ opened an unprecedented investigation into Powell over the weekend.

What Do Bank Share Prices Tell Us About Growth? The plummeting valuation of China’s banks suggests that investors are losing confidence in China’s growth prospects.

3/3
That's because, as I explain below, an option framework explains why share prices in a largely-insolvent banking system are effectively a proxy for expected GDP growth. At the time I wrote this, Chinese banks were trading at 3-4 times book.
carnegieendowment.org/china-financ...

Trump vetoes bill to fund Arkansas Valley conduit in Colorado President Trump vetoed a bill to fund a pipeline project to bring clean drinking water to communities on the Eastern Plains between Pueblo and Lamar.

NEW: President Trump's first veto of his second term kills a unanimous bill to fund a major drinking water project in Colorado. Trump had threatened punishment for Colorado for imprisoning his ally Tina Peters. www.9news.com/article/news...

JUST IN: AG Pam Bondi deletes a post touting a chart as proof of the Trump administration's success in reducing drug overdoses—after being informed the data actually reflected the *Biden* administration’s record.

China Starts State-Backed Venture Funds to Support Tech Startups China has officially launched a national venture capital fund and three large regional funds, together worth billions of dollars, as part of a push to foster home-grown tech champions and improve inve...

Bloomberg: "China has launched a national venture capital fund and three regional funds, together worth billions of dollars, as part of a push to foster home-grown tech champions. The national fund will run for 20 years."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

I riff on @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social’s discussion of institutions and growth to explain why banking may be an important missing link in economists’ understanding of how and why growth takes place.

Institutions and growth: How banks used to provide the liquidity that fuels innovation and growth

DOGE was A LOT less likely to cancel contracts from companies that donated money to Republicans than companies that donated to Democrats.

The Longest Suicide Note in American History The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy targets liberal democracy itself.

If we can't even identify our enemies then how can we fight them?

Trump's National Security Strategy is the longest suicide note in American history

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

In Depth: China Bad-Debt Managers’ Bet on Bank Stocks Could Backfire ‘Big Four’ asset management companies have each taken large stakes in major lenders, allowing them to use accounting magic to book instant profits

1/6
Very interesting Caixin article on how the Big Four AMCs, badly hurt by falling real estate prices and weak NPL resolution, are buying bank stocks and recognizing the gap between their prices and their higher book values as paper profits.

www.caixinglobal.com/2025-12-12/i...

A+ trolling from Zelenskyy