We were told that getting tough on illegal immigration meant targeting criminals living in the US. But without due process, we can't be sure who the criminals are. In the small New York village of Sackets Harbor, the issue came to head recently. Sackets Harbor might seem like an unlikely place for fight about the arrest of immigrants. It's the region border czar Tom Homan calls home and a county Trump won by double-digits. But even here, "some Americans see the detention of schoolchildren as a line that should not be crossed." This is the story of three students who were rounded up by ICE and the teachers and town who fought to get them released. It gives new meaning to the adage, it takes a village, and provides a reminder of what people who come together to stand up for what's right can sometimes accomplish. WaPo (Gift Article): Trump border czar’s town stood up for 3 kids detained by ICE — and won. 2Obey WatchTimothy Snyder, the author of On Tyranny is a veritable cult hero among the pro-democracy, book-reading crowd. Jason Stanley has built a brand explaining fascism and identifying its warning signs. Both have left Yale and moved to Canada. I've written about it some, but it's been on my mind constantly, and left me wondering where their exodus leaves those who have read, shared, and promoted their work. George Packer in The Atlantic(Gift Article) feels a lot like I do. Be a Patriot. "When I heard the news of the Yale exodus, I wondered if my failure to explore an exit makes me stupid and complacent. I don’t want to think I’m one of the sanguine fools who can’t see the laser pointed at his own head—who doesn’t want to lose his savings and waits to flee until it’s too late. Perhaps I was supposed to applaud the professors’ wisdom and courage in realizing that the time had come to leave. But instead, I felt betrayed ... Snyder’s best-selling pamphlet, On Tyranny, is an instruction manual on how to resist authoritarianism. Lesson 1 warns: 'Do not obey in advance.' It’s hard not to conclude that the Yale professors are doing just that." 3Our Bond Was Our WordThe market seems to have come to terms with the fact that all the tariffs have not been paused and team behind the wildly unclear strategy for those tariffs is still running the show. Hence, today's plunge. There are countless theories as to why Trump retreated from initial tariff proposals. The most likely reason was the action in the bond market. Long story short, investors around the world have started to lose faith in the US. "Normally when investors are this scared they seek safety, and nothing is safer than the dollar and Treasury debt. But despite mounting fear of recession, the usual flight to safety hasn’t materialized. That is for several reasons, some relatively superficial, such as inflation risks, and one more fundamental." WSJ (Gift Article): The Dollar and the Bond Market’s Ominous Message for Trump. 4Getting Your Rock Off"The first problem, she says, is the reduced value placed on recorded music by streaming sites like Spotify, which pays $.003 to $.005 per stream on average ... That leads to the next problem: live music is not making up for the loss in streaming revenue." That has led to what some artists see as a way to make up some of the revenue they're losing in the modern music business landscape. NPR: Why would a musician join OnlyFans? Because making a living is only getting harder. (Now if my wife sees an OnlyFans charge on the credit card bill, she'll know I'm doing whatever I can to support musicians.) 5Extra, ExtraDownunder Mifflin: "Modern paper was invented in China during the Han dynasty about two millennia ago, but centuries passed before the material’s use as bath tissue became commonplace. People would instead clean themselves with whatever they had on hand — corn cobs, leaves, shells, you name it. When paper became more readily available beyond the wealthiest echelons, folks would simply reuse items like newspapers and 'the Sears catalogue, and then the Sears catalogue went glossy and we stopped using that.'" Then came modern toilet paper. Then came the endless quest to improve it. WaPo (Gift Article): The corporate quest to make better toilet paper. 6Bottom of the News"Attending the Masters for the first time was a new experience for Thomas Abraham, and it wasn’t just about the golf. The 16-year-old from Houston had the rare opportunity to use a public telephone for the first time." No cellphones are allowed at Augusta. Break out your pocket camera and remember to write down important numbers.
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