In Commonplace, Nicholas Phillips takes on the new trope that import tariffs serve the interests of the “deep state” that populists want to dismantle. It’s the opposite, Phillips argues: the current regime of “free” trade (in fact, heavily rules-bound and highly unequal) has been concocted main by unelected officials and little-known bureaucratic agencies – the deep state’s very pillars. They are now terrified by a democratically elected, pro-tariff President and are grasping for ways to avoid losing control.
A b****, or a mere piece of sh**?
The unconquerable Mark Steyn parses the subtleties of Ukrainian gutter-talk to evaluate whether Volodymyr Zelensky expressed mere exasperation with his U.S. hosts at the infamous White House dust-up last week, or actually likened Vice President J.D. Vance to a morsel of excrement. Writing in Jewish World Review, Steyn suggests Zelensky swallow his sense of entitlement, ditch the advice of his European “friends” and recognize reality. By yesterday, Steyn’s suggestion had proved prophetic.
