Of Biblical Proportions

Church and State, the Chief Beef

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Then things got a little out of hand. Let's fast forward a bit to Oklahoma, circa 2025, for the latest. State superintendent of public instruction Ryan Walters is pushing a mandate requiring that public school students learn from the Bible. (He also famously "proposed spending $3 million to buy 55,000 copies of the Bible that has been endorsed by the president and for which he receives royalties.") The mandate is getting pushback from some unexpected places. "Opposition here has come from pastors, religion professors, students, parents, teachers, school board members, and the school district superintendent, among others. The prevailing philosophy among Norman residents, who are predominantly Christian, is that they do not want the state—and namely, Walters—mandating how children should be taught scriptures. They want their children to learn from holy books at home or in church." Vanity Fair: How Oklahoma’s Right-Wing Superintendent Set Off a Holy War in Classrooms. Yes, this bible studies mandate is so extreme that even many of the most religious Oklahomans view it as decidedly not OK. But plenty of things that once seemed extremely extreme are now common in our daily headlines, and the Oklahoma fight is representative of a broader religious war being fought to post the ten commandments on campuses, use public funding for religious schools, merge the idea of American and Christian identities, and constantly push for the de-separation of church and state. If you have an idea idea how to reverse this trend, pray tell.

2

Beef with the Chief

Kings don't have much patience for negative feedback from other branches of government. And so it is with Trump who "called for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg after he blocked the deportation of Venezuelan migrants." In a social media post, Trump (like Musk and others running the country) called for getting rid of judges who uphold the law. "This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President - He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES ... This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!" This kind of quackery would be easy to dismiss if it weren't coming from the president of the United States who is leading a transparent, concerted effort to ignore, defy, and damage the judicial branch. And I'm not the only one worried. "Chief Justice John Roberts pushed back on President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric against the federal judiciary on Tuesday in a highly unusual statement that appeared to be aimed at the president’s call to impeach judges who rule against him. 'For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose." It's a positive sign that the Chief Justice would give voice to these concerns. The big question is whether—after giving Trump so many court wins (including the bewildering immunity ruling)—it's too late to tame the beast.

3

Cell Salvador

There's the legal debate about Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport people (which led to the judge's ruling, the Trump call for impeachment, and the Chief Justice's rebuke). Then there's the human story. "Unbeknownst to his family, Yamarte had been put on a plane after President Donald Trump secretly signed a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The wartime provision gave Trump the power to quickly remove Venezuelans accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, taking away their chance to make their case to a judge before deportation. A federal judge blocked Trump from using the power and ordered the administration to turn around any planes that were already in the air. Three planes landed in El Salvador hours later." It's important to understand that many people aren't just getting deported back to their home countries. They're getting shipped off to one of the world's most notorious prisons in El Salvador, sans any criminal conviction. WaPo (Gift Article): For four Venezuelan friends, Alien Enemies Act cuts short an American dream.

4

Make America Allocate Again

"In a quarterly report published Monday, the Paris-based research body cut its growth forecasts for most of the world’s largest economies over this year and next, the main exceptions being China, Argentina and Turkey. Its largest downgrades were reserved for the two economies that trade most heavily with the U.S. and face significantly higher barriers to their exports." Mexico and Canada stand to be the most hurt by the trade war. But they won't be the only ones. Much of world's economy could suffer. WSJ (Gift Article): U.S. Tariff Increases to Slow Global Economy, Boost Inflation.

+ And it's not just your portfolio. The stock market is suffering. And investors are pulling out in a big way. BofA Survey Shows Biggest-Ever Drop in US Stock Allocations. "While high valuations and tepid economic growth have made investors jittery about the US, European markets are riding a wave of newfound optimism with Germany getting ready to unlock billions in defense and infrastructure spending." Make Europe Great Again?

5

Extra, Extra

Ceasefire Ceased: With the ceasefire talks stalled, the resumption of war in the Middle East approached like a slow motion disaster. Now it's here. CNN: Ceasefire shatters as Israel pounds Gaza with wave of deadly strikes. Here's more from BBC. And from The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Gaza Cease-Fire Was Always Going to End. "More war is not what the people of Gaza or Israel want. But Gazans have no ability to control or restrain Hamas, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not responsive to the preferences of the Israeli public."

+ A Call Between Allies: "President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a lengthy phone conversation on Tuesday as the White House pushes for Russia to sign off on its 30-day ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The White House and Kremlin did not offer any immediate details about the substance of the conversation, but both confirmed that the call had ended." (Well, I guess that's a start.)

+ Native Tongue Tied: "Until recently, a page on the Defense Department’s website celebrated Pfc. Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian who was one of the six Marines photographed hoisting a U.S. flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, as an emblem of the 'contributions and sacrifices Native Americans have made to the United States, not just in the military, but in all walks of life.' But the page, along with many others about Native American and other minority service members, has now been erased." Amid ‘DEI’ purge, Pentagon removes webpage on Iwo Jima flag-raiser. Then there's this: The military banned cultural awareness celebrations – except for St. Patrick’s Day. And this: "After a recent change by the Trump administration, the federal government no longer explicitly prohibits contractors from having segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains." (We've segregated America from decency.)

+ Peace Out: "As Mr. Stanley opened a door leading to the roof of the building, which is directly opposite an entrance to the White House, he tripped an alarm that alerted the Secret Service to his presence. It created a dramatic scene as a uniformed officer rushed to respond." Oh it was nothing, just Elon Musk’s Starlink Expanding Across the White House Complex. And a headline that perfectly captures this American moment: Musk’s Team Evicts Officials at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

+ Wiz Bid: Google acquires cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion. "Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has announced its largest-ever acquisition, entering into a deal to buy New York-based cybersecurity firm Wiz, making it a part of its Google Cloud division. This is the company’s second attempt to buy Wiz after talks stalled last year at a lower $23 billion evaluation." In part, the move is a big bet that the Trump administration will approve the merger.

+ Innovate Expectations: FastCo has an interesting look at The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025. The top five: Waymo, Nvidia, Nubank, WNBA, and Byd.

+ Guess Who's Back: "NASA’s two stuck astronauts headed back to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to close out a dramatic marathon mission that began with a bungled Boeing test flight more than nine months ago." Let's wait a few hours before we answer their first question: "So what's been going on down here?"

+ Play Ball: The regular season started early for two major league teams who met in the Tokyo Dome. The result was one we might need to get used to. Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto lead Dodgers past Cubs in Tokyo opener.

6

Bottom of the News

"The residents of what Ms. McMahon described as a 'country club for older animals' are sectioned off from three other islands inhabited by youngsters via a mesh gate in the water. They can still see their fellow seabirds, but from the remove of a craggy rock island that has less pecking and noise. 'The birds are definitely quieter, there’s less territoriality,' said Ms. McMahon. 'There’s a little bit more laying down and resting.'" NYT (Gift Article): At a Penguin ‘Retirement Home,’ a Slower Pace and Plenty of Fish.