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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Jacob Silverman, Contributing Writer - The New Republic
Stephan:
Three things stood out for me about “king” Trump’s culture war speech Tuesday night. First, the astonishing number of lies he told. I have never before seen anything like that happen. Second, the incredible corruption criminal Trump and his Frankenstein Musk represent. Third, the feeble response of the Democrats. I think they all should have gotten up a few minutes into the speech and marched out of the room. I don’t know who came up with holding those little paddle signs, but I thought it was pathetic.
Illustration by Gustavo Magalhães
In the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, political ethics watchers, an endangered breed, worried about the increasing number of ways in which Donald Trump seemed to be for sale. “Trump keeps creating avenues for people to quietly give him money,” ran a Washington Post opinion headline, referring to the glitzy, $100,000 watches that Trump had recently presented for sale—purchasable with bitcoin.
Steve Benen, an MSNBC columnist, suggested a dark scenario: “A hypothetical wealthy donor wants to give the former president a $100,000 donation—far in excess of the legal limit—so he or she buys an expensive watch. At that point, the nominee could take his cut and write a comparable check in support of his candidacy, since there is no legal limit on what candidates can spend on their own campaigns.”
In the era of unlimited super PAC giving—when Elon Musk could throw hundreds of millions of dollars; the influence of X, the social media platform he owns; and his personal celebrity behind Team Trump with barely a regulatory hiccup—these concerns seemed practically […]
I agree with this article. Had I been a journalist reporting on what passed for criminal Trump State of the Union speech the first thing I would have done is put up a chart listing his lies (essentially almost every sentence that came out from his overly cosmetized face), and then brought in independent experts to explain these lies. The sad reality is, while CNN and even the BBC mentioned a few of the lies and fact-checked them, I have not seen a single journalist or media platform do it in the detail in which it should have been done. The fact is journalists either cannot or choose, or are told, not to properly cover the Trump dismantlement of the U.S. government or the massive corruption that is occurring.
People attend a protest march against U.S. President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Eric Adams in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park in New York City, U.S., February 22, 2025. Credit: Eduardo Munoz / Reuters
The American press is “not equipped” to cover a true authoritarian strongman presidency like President Donald Trump is creating, warned Huffington Post senior White House correspondent S.V. Dáte in a dire analysis Wednesday.
“The Washington, D.C., press corps, used to playing small ball for small exclusives, has been suddenly thrust into a presidential administration that appears hell-bent on transforming our constitutional republic into something entirely different,” wrote Dáte. “For decades, the coin of the realm in political journalism was access. Who you knew determined what you knew, and especially what ‘inside’ information the people you knew were willing to give you.”
That kind of reporting can often lead to big scoops in a political environment where politicians play by the rules and care about norms and democracy. But it’s wholly inadequate for the beast the free press, and the American people at large, now face, he […]
The fundamental source of the problems with America is Republican frightened, resentful, ignorant Americans. They are the ones who elected this monster, and they are also the ones who are going to be most severely impacted by his greed, corruption, and madness.
A large majority of speech watchers approved of what they heard from President Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night.
The viewership was heavily Republican — historically a president’s party draws more of their own partisans. This was no exception, and they liked what they heard.
This CBS News/YouGov survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of speech watchers immediately following the president’s address to Congress.
Most speech viewers described the president as “presidential, “inspiring” and more “unifying” than “divisive.” A big majority also called it “entertaining.”
Most said Mr. Trump talked a lot about issues they care about.
Most viewers who tuned in say the speech made them feel “hopeful” and “proud.”
The Democrats who did watch mostly described it making them feel “worried,” and for 4 in 10, “angry.”
Coming in, viewers said they wanted to hear about plans for lowering prices, and about two-thirds of those who watched […]
Damian Carrington, Environment Editor - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan:
What this article is telling us is that a tiny percentage of humans are endangering the matrix of life on Earth. As this report says, “Global emissions must fall by 45% by 2030 if the world is to have a good chance of limiting temperature rise to 1.5C, the internationally agreed target. However, emissions are still rising, supercharging the extreme weather that is taking lives and livelihoods across the planet.” Frankly, I don’t think we are going to make this commitment or reach this goal. In 15 years I think the entire Earth will be in crisis because of this greed.
Half of the world’s climate-heating carbon emissions come from the fossil fuels produced by just 36 companies, analysis has revealed.
The researchers said the 2023 data strengthened the case for holding fossil fuel companies to account for their contribution to global heating. Previous versions of the annual report have been used in legal cases against companies and investors.
The report found that the 36 major fossil fuel companies, including Saudi Aramco, Coal India, ExxonMobil, Shell and numerous Chinese companies, produced coal, oil and gas responsible for more than 20bn tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2023.
If Saudi Aramco was a country, it would be the fourth biggest polluter in the world after China, the US and India, while ExxonMobil is responsible for about the same emissions as Germany, the world’s ninth biggest polluter, according to the data.
Global emissions must fall by 45% by 2030 if the world is to have a good chance of limiting temperature rise to 1.5C, the internationally agreed target. However, emissions are still rising, supercharging the extreme weather that is taking lives and livelihoods across the planet.
I have gotten to a point where I can not stand to hear Trump’s voice, but last night as he spoke I turned the captions on so I could read what he was saying as he said it. The whole speech was either bragging or lying or both. What I did not understand was why the Democrats did not all get up and walk out of the chamber. That is certainly what I would have done. As I read the captions I realized that in addition to his sheer nastiness, Trump is now echoing the MAGAt think tanks that now dot Washington, and seek to legitimize what he says with papers and social media posts. We have become a country I don’t recognize. A small majority of American voters has chosen a Congress and a President that are in the process of inflicting so much damage to the United States, that it is going to lead us into a recession and possibly a depression. Even worse it is going to render us unprepared for the climate disaster that is descending upon us.
The exterior of Heritage Foundation headquarters is seen in Washington, D.C., June 7, 2024. Credit: Francis Chung / Politico
President Donald Trump took office eight years ago as the ultimate outsider whose rhetoric often shocked Washington but was seldom taken seriously by the policy shops that have long helped administrations transform their agenda into action.
Now, he has an army of think tanks and other advocacy groups behind him, reverse-engineering even his off-the-cuff statements into white papers, training legions of his acolytes — and jockeying for influence.
All want to be seen as part of the MAGA brain trust, a paradoxical and often tricky job for a president who prides himself on operating from his gut and disdains the traditional policy process. That means when Trump says he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico, turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” buy Greenland, or ignore congressional spending laws, there’s likely now someone who not only takes the idea seriously but can tell you why they think it’s a sound policy that fits into a broader worldview.
Joshua Kirby, Economic Reporter - The Wall Street Journal
Stephan:
This is from yesterday’s Murdoch owned The Wall Street Journal, hardly a Democratic or liberal publication. Since I read Project 2025 I have been predicting on SR that the United States is probably going to go into a recession. TWSJ seems to think it may be worse than that. I hope they are wrong, and it doesn’t get that bad.
A Canadian coast guard vessel navigates the Detroit River which connects Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and Detroit, Michigan, Credit: Carlos Osorio / Reuters
The world economy could face a crash similar to the Great Depression of the 1930s unless the U.S. rows back on its plans to impose steep tariffs on imports, a senior official at the International Chamber of Commerce warned.
“Our deep concern is that this could be the start of a downward spiral that puts us in 1930s trade-war territory,” said Andrew Wilson, deputy secretary-general of the ICC, which promotes global business and trade. High tariffs on foreign goods imported into the U.S. in that decade contributed to a damaging global recession. The downturn plunged nearly a third of the global workforce into unemployment and slashed production at heavyweight industrial economies Germany and the U.S. by half, according to research from the International Monetary Fund.
The likelihood of a similarly severe blow to the global economy is high, Wilson said in an interview Tuesday. “Right now it’s a coin-flip,” he said. “It comes down to whether the U.S. administration […]
I have seen several estimates on what the Trump MAGAt Party’s impact on the economy is going to cost each American household; this one seems the most fact-based. Maybe $1,600 this year is not that much to you, but to millions of U.S. families it is going to have a serious impact. And after the State of the Union remarks, I think this may be an underestimate. We will see.
A car hauler heads to cross the Ambassador Bridge on the first day of President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico on March 4, 2025. Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty
“The trade war Trump is igniting will weaken our economy and cause chaos in our marketplace as Americans pay the cost in the form of higher prices on everyday items,” said Rep. Don Beyer.
As U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs took effect on Tuesday, Congressman Don Beyer released a Joint Economic Committee report showing that the policies could cost the average working-class family in the United States at least $1,600 annually.
“The tariffs Trump just imposed on Canada, Mexico, and China will raise costs by up to $2,000 per year for an average American family,” Beyer (D-Va.) said in a statement. “The trade war Trump is igniting will weaken our economy and cause chaos in our marketplace as Americans pay the cost in the form of higher prices on everyday items.”
This is a trend that I find increasingly alarming, and have been predicting since Trump became a candidate for the Presidency again. The U.S. healthcare (read illness profit) system is already the worst in the developed world. But, because of what “king” Trump and his Frankenstein Musk are doing, with the supine acquiescence of the Trump MAGAt (I don’t think the term Republican is appropriate anymore) congressional members, it is going to get much worse. For the reasons described in this report, there is also going to be a growing disparity between the Red and Blue states, particularly for women. Ob/GYN trained physicians, nurses, and medical technicians are leaving Red states, taking their skills with them. I predict that large portions of Red states, most notably in rural areas, are going to become medical deserts where women and girls will be unable to obtain local medical care at all. And, since telemedicine is supposed to end in April, the only alternative for those women and girls to even get minor questions answered is going to be hours of driving, or no care at all.
Protestors demonstrate at the March for Reproductive Rights organized by Women’s March L.A. on April 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Credit: Mario Tama / Getty
“Workers are not willing to trade their health and autonomy for a paycheck,” said one advocate.
Republican lawmakers across the United States are determined to force people who become pregnant to carry their pregnancies to term by passing abortion bans and “fetal personhood” laws, but a new report shows that in many states, they are choosing choosing restrictions on reproductive rights over their states’ workforce.
“Workers are not willing to trade their health and autonomy for a paycheck,” said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) as the group released a report Monday on “brain drain” in states with abortion bans.
The group analyzed a survey of 10,000 adults by Morning Consult and found that 1 in 5 respondents who are planning to have children in the next decade has moved to a […]
