Will Extreme Spending and Partisanship Undermine Trust in State Supreme Courts?

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week. When Susan Crawford, Wisconsin’s newly elected Supreme Court justice, took the stage in Madison on Tuesday night to claim victory, four women flanked her,…

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2469 – Trump’s Tariffs Melt The Stock Market w/ David Dayen

Happy Friday! Sam welcome David Dayen from The American Prospect and Organized Money podcast about Trump’s tariff-pocalypse. https://prospect.org/  https://www.organizedmoney.fm/ First, Sam runs through updates on Trump’s global trade war, Congress’ attempt to regain authority over tariffs, South Korea’s impeachment of now-former President Yoon, Trump’s firing of national security officials, the Trump Administration’s public health whoopsie, the Senate’s budget reconciliation, the confirmation of Dr. Oz, Schumer’s polling, Trump’s attack on Brown University, DOGE vs. Social Security, and US aid to Israel, before watching Scott Bessent explain why good markets are bad and bad markets are good. David Dayen then joins to tackle the myriad insanities that led to Trump’s imposition of these tumultuous tariffs, walking through the nonsensical (and potentially AI-generated) formula Trump used to calculate them and the utter dearth of any complementary incentive structure or strategic targeting to go the tariffs, all suggesting that they’re perhaps more grounded in an attempt to bully and punish the rest of the world economically while working-class Americans pay the cost. After expanding on the Bessent “box” theory of Trump’s tariff agenda, Sam and David get in some solid digs at Schumer as they touch on Congress’ ongoing attempt to take back tariff power and ponder the future of a GOP turn on Trump’s economic sabotage, before unpacking what to expect from to the GOP’s ongoing budget reconciliation push. Wrapping up Dayen posits a strong theory on a Conservative push to use rising prices amid tariffs to justify tax cuts, before watching some open criticisms of Trump from Ron Johson and Ted Cruz. And in the Fun Half: Sam tackles the return of Laura Loomer to Trump’s inner circle, now in the capacity as some form of National Security advisor, parses through some highlights from his appearance on PBD, including an attempt to address some Social Security misinformation, and watches Judge Jeanine make some blatantly incorrect statements about the future of the US economy. Plus, your IMs! Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase! Check out today’s sponsors: SunsetLakeCBD.com: 30% off new Super Lemon Haze CBD Vape Cart & all other hemp smokables: Coupon code VAPE30 FastGrowingTrees: Get 15% off your first purchase. FastGrowingTrees.com/majority Liquid IV: Embrace your ritual with extraordinary hydration from Liquid I.V. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to https://LiquidIV.com and use code MAJORITYREP at checkout. That’s 20% off your first order when you shop better hydration today using promo code MAJORITYREP at https://LiquidIV.com. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza’s music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder – https://majorityreportradio.com/  

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2468 – Trump’s Terrible Tariffs; Israel Seizes Gaza Land; Tesla Sales Plummet w/ Omar Baddar, Paris Marx

It’s an EmMajority Report Thursday! The guests will be political analyst Omar Baddar on Israel’s renewed attacks in Gaza, and Paris Marx, host of the podcast “Tech Won’t Save Us,” about how Elon Musk is running Tesla into the ground. First, Emma runs through updates on Trump’s tariff turmoil and responses in both the Senate and House, Mike Waltz’s security issues, Laura Loomer’s return to the White House, Israel’s seizure of land in Gaza, a joint US-Israel attack on Syria, Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, and Eric Adams’ announcement that he’s running as an independent, before diving deeper into Trump’s tariff announcement, including the bunk equation they used to calculate this policy, and the obvious, extensive impact it will have on everyday Americans. Omar Baddar then joins, jumping right into Israel’s major escalations to their ongoing ethnic cleansing of Gaza, with Netanyahu’s recent announcement that Israel would be going ahead with a full-scale land seizure in North Gaza, adding a “second Philadelphi Corridor” south of Gaza City amid their revamped military barrage, all under the dishonest pretense of saving the hostages. Baddar and Emma then look to Israel’s expansion of hostilities even outside of the genocide of Palestinians, with repeated bombardments against Lebanon – including occasional strikes on Beirut – ongoing despite an alleged ceasefire, unpacking the country’s (and Netanyahu’s) extensive history of pushing an agenda of regional chaos to bolster their position as Middle East watchdogs for the West, with Israel serving major roles in spurring the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and in gutting the Iran Nuclear deal under Trump 1.0. Omar wraps up by touching on the growing backlash to Israel’s belligerency on the international stage, and whether there is hope to be found in both regional and global actors turning away from the US-Israel imperial coalition. Paris Marx then gets right into the wonderful revelations in Tesla’s quarterly earnings report, walking through the devastating drop in sales amid mass recalls, a diversifying EV market, and overwhelming global backlash to the fascist politics of Elon Musk. Marx then tackles the particular failures of Tesla’s *ONLY* new major model release in recent years with the Cybertruck, and how it represents the greater issue of allowing a deranged billionaire to make outrageous promises completely detached from the material reality of both his company and modern technology, before shifting to the explosive impact Chinese products are currently having on the EV market, with BYD proving clear affordability and profitability even in European markets, developments that are all in line with America’s dwindling role as a global economic leader. Paris and Emma wrap up by examining the growing existential threat facing Elon Musk and his companies as backlash to his corrupt business practices and corrupt politics hits back at Tesla and Starlink profits in Europe and Canada, all while he continues to tie his billionaire lifestyle to the worth of those stocks. And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt Binder and Brandon Sutton as they watch Trump Cabinet members come out of the woodwork to plead with the public not to panic or get upset over their complete decimation of the global economy and mass inflation it will cause. They also talk with Cassie from Indiana about state-based pushback to the Trump Administration, and listen to Senator Jim Banks’ wild victim blaming as our public health apparatus faces massive job cuts, plus, your calls and IMs!
   Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase! Check out today’s sponsors: FastGrowingTrees: Get 15% off your first purchase. FastGrowingTrees.com/majority Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza’s music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder – https://majorityreportradio.com/

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2467 – Fighting Trump’s Power Grab w/ Robert Weissman, Rohan Grey

It’s Wednesday! Sam and Emma are joined by Robert Weissman, co-president of the non-profit advocacy organization Public Citizen, which has filed 8 lawsuits against the Trump administration and says they have more coming. Later, Rohan Grey, Assistant Professor of Law at Willamette University, discusses his latest research on the Trump administration’s attempt to seize direct political control over the core payments software of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which handles spending for most of the federal government, to block funds to politically disfavored agencies and programs. First, they run through updates on the victory by liberal Susan Crawford in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Democrats’ growing margins in deep-red regions, Trump’s tariff fears, the GOP’s anger at proxy voting for new parents, Mike Waltz Gmail whoopsie, Senator Cory Booker’s marathon filibuster, the closure of free measles vaccine clinics in Texas amid a breakout, Ed Martin nomination for D.C. U.S. Attorney, Tesla’s tanking earnings, and the Senate GOP’s budget reconciliation, before expanding on the beautiful revelations around the toxicity of Elon Musk in US politics as seen in the incredible leftward swing amid his intense campaigning for conservative Brad Schimel Wisconsin. Robert Weissman then joins, first previewing the typical work of Public Citizen including advocacy, litigation, and organizing on behalf of the public against corporations, touching on everything from trade and consumer financial protection to drug pricing and campaign finance laws. Weissman then unpacks Public Citizens tactical shift under Trump 2.0, walking through the various legal battles they have taken on against Trump’s attempt to dismantle the federal U.S. government through executive reform, with a particular focus on their case to save the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – an agency birthed from the 2008 Financial Crisis’ overwhelming impact on consumers – also touching on their effort to protect USAID and the Department of Education. Robert, Sam, and Emma expand on these lawsuits’ ultimate goal of preventing the full-scale deletion of these agencies, understanding that, even with success, the Trump Administration will constantly be searching for (and finding) new ways to obstruct any accountability or pushback from this project, and focusing instead on ensuring the potential of rebuilding under future leadership, before wrapping up by looking to the upcoming fights over Trump’s insistence on using his executive power to fire any and everybody, and the role of “national emergencies” in bolstering executive power. Rohan Grey then joins, diving right into Elon Musk’s outrageous (and obviously untrustworthy) agenda of digitizing America’s fiscal regime, stepping back to walk through the process by which US fiscal policy operates, with said policy – be it spending, taxation, issuing debt, etc – originating in Congressional legislation, moving through the Office of Management and Budget under the President to manage the allocated spending over the allotted time, to the Treasury’s instructions with the Federal Reserve as the ultimate entity in charge of the dollars. After expanding on the utter absurdity of Elon’s plan – outside of if, perhaps, you wanted to completely rid the system of accountability or pushback – Rohan, Sam, and Emma parse through DOGE’s opaque takeover of the Bureau of Financial Services amid their project to indiscriminately cut funds, including Elon setting up an obvious assault on Social Security, wrapping up by expanding on what a botched system shift for the federal payment systems would look like, and assessing a more realistic idea for bringing our systems into the modern era. And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma listen to Wisconsin Justice Susan Crawford celebrate winning an election against tens of millions of Elon Musk’s money, unpack Elon’s very-related copium, and watch Fox try to justify the extensive negative impact Trump’s tariffs will have on the American people. The MR Crew also touches on Cory Booker’s marathon filibuster (and the tactics underneath it), admires Lauren Boebert’s self-assured idiocy, and dissects the blatant inhumanity on display with the Trump Administration’s justification for their indiscriminate renditioning of migrants – legal or not – to a Salvadoran gulag, plus, your IMs! Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase! Check out today’s sponsors: FastGrowingTrees: Get 15% off your first purchase. FastGrowingTrees.com/majority Nutrafol: Get $10 off your first month’s subscription + free shipping at Nutrafol.com when you use promo code TMR10 Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza’s music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder – https://majorityreportradio.com/

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