The Great Leap Forward

MAO ZEDONG: Hold high the great banner of the proletarian cultural revolution, thoroughly expose the reactionary bourgeois stand of those so-called "academic authorities" who oppose the Party and socialism, thoroughly criticize and repudiate the reactionary bourgeois ideas in the sphere of academic work, education, journalism, literature and art and publishing, and seize the leadership in these cultural spheres. - "Circular of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party", May 16, 1966

RICHARD NIXON: The press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy. The professors are the enemy. The professors are the enemy.

JD VANCE: There was a wisdom in what Richard Nixon said approximately 40, 50 years ago, the professors are the enemy.

That last bit of oafish fatuity was uttered by a guy who got his undergraduate degree from Ohio State and law degree from, yeah, Yale. So if you are wondering why the administration is after universities with such a vengeance, let me assure you it isn't about anti-semitism or DEI. I mean, Trump has grumbled that Jews “are only in it for themselves” and “stick together,” aides told the Washington Post.

No, it's about control and promoting a version of history, politics and economics that fit the Project 2025 playbook. In fact, the man Trump is seemingly fashioning his moves on is Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orban. From a brilliant essay by Paul Blumenthal...

Orban won power with a resounding electoral victory in 2010 and quickly moved to use the law to keep himself there forever. He gutted the civil service to remove anyone perceived as disloyal, cut funding for newspapers, universities and nonprofits; packed the judiciary with loyalists; gerrymandered legislative districts; seized control of the prosecutor’s office and amended the constitution to centralize all power in his hands. While opposition still exists, his party has not come close to losing power since.

Once securely in power, Orban took his vision and his autocracy playbook international with a bid to build ideological allies — including to the United States.

In 2023, he teamed up with the Heritage Foundation, the conservative nonprofit that led the Project 2025 plan for Trump’s second term, which entered into a working agreement with The Danube Institute, Orban’s chief vehicle to export his illiberal ideology, according to a report by The New Republic. When Orban visited the U.S. in 2024, he spoke to a closed-door group at the Heritage Foundation. The Conservative Political Action Conference has twice hosted its events in Hungary with Orban’s blessing.

Does any of this sound familiar?

So, let's review where we are now, class. Listen up, Bueller.

Reuters reports...

Global brokerages raise recession odds; J.P.Morgan sees 60% chance.

Yep, the worst two days in the stock market since the pandemic, and they can thank their lucky stars that the second was a Friday. Will it continue? We will see, but the retaliatory tariffs levied in response don't make me hopeful. Buckle up for more inflation, higher unemployment and tighter family budgets.

That is the prediction from everyone who isn't on Fox.

But that won't apply to Congress. Republicans, who railed against that wacky spendthrift Biden, are preparing to add over $5 trillion to the deficit in the next ten years by way of a budgeting gimmick that makes it seem like it isn't actual debt. Here's a little secret...it is.

The only bright spot for Republicans in the market carnage is that apparently, Nancy Pelosi lost millions. That's how you own the libs, eh? Worth every penny.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped a combined 9.5% over Thursday and Friday. For comparison...

Largest single-day drops for Dow Jones Industrial Average

Now, this must be a record. In just three months we have alienated all our longstanding trade and military allies, started a trade war that will sink the economy, slowed projected GDP growth to a crawl, gutted the civil service, put all our social safety net programs in jeopardy, caused untold damage overseas creating gaps that China and Russia will be happy to fill, and are prepared to hand over a sovereign nation that has fought heroically to a rapacious and deadly rival.

Have I missed anything?

And the lies keep coming. Stephen Miller, the poor man's Goebbels, actually claimed on Fox, of course, that they were handed an economy in a full-fledged depression on January 20th.

"We inherited from Joe Biden an economy in total free fall. There has been zero jobs growth for American workers in four years. All the jobs growth had gone to foreign workers. That is a depression, not a recession, that is a depression for the American worker. We had debt and deficits that were rising unsustainably that would lead us into a certain debt and deficit crisis. We had inflation that was in high double digits crushing the American family, making it impossible to afford the essentials of life.

We had an economy that was in a state of calamity and catastrophe."

And, of course, there was no pushback from the Fox "anchor." Just to help her out, none of that is in fact true.

Here's the actual record.

Real GDP grew 5.9% during Biden's first year, the fastest rate since 1984. Amid record job creation, the unemployment rate fell at the fastest pace on record during Biden's first year, from 6.4% in January 2021 to 3.9% by December 2021.

In 2024, the number of persons with jobs continued setting records monthly, reaching 159.3 million in November, about 7.0 million jobs above the pre-pandemic peak, which had been regained in June 2022. The unemployment rate increased from 3.7% in January to 4.2% in November.

The stock market (S&P 500 Index) increased 29% from December 2023 to November 2024, using monthly average levels. Real (inflation-adjusted) hourly wages increased from $30.29 in January to $30.57 in November, among the highest readings for data back to 1964, indicating robust purchasing power despite inflation in 2021-2022.

By 2024, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, saw a 2.9% increase from December 2023 to December 2024, with food prices rising 2.5%. The target the Federal Reserve considers ideal for inflation is 2%. Darned close.

If that is a depression, bring it on. But I know, what about eggs? Prices of eggs are indeed down, because we now import more from lower-priced countries. But, and it's the big but, with tariffs now involved, those prices will rise again.

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

I know I've thrown a lot of numbers at you, but we have seen a lot of economic carnage in the last few weeks. And in fairness, the response of the Democratic party has been equally robust. Hakeem Jeffries spoke for a really long time on the House floor. That'll show 'em.

Meanwhile, the deranged, psychotic white nationalist Laura Loomer, for whom the word crazy is woefully inadequate, is now a White House advisor. The woman who says 9/11 was an inside job, school shootings are faked, called Kamala Harris a DEI Shaniqua, which was her idea of a "black" name, and said if Harris won, the White House would "smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center and the American people will only be able to convey their feedback through a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the call that nobody will understand," had a meeting with President Trump the other day.

She seems to have done opposition research on members of the National Security Agency staff and when it was over, Trump fired up to 10 people, including a 4-star Air Force General Timothy Haugh for not being loyal enough to Trump.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, I guess because the Signal App was just too secure, has been conducting government business over that super, double-secret platform G-Mail. I know it works for my wife and 28-year-old daughter to keep in touch, so I'm sure it's fine for war plans and such.

But does any of this really matter? Fox "News" is setting new records for viewership. And on there, Judge Jeanine Boxwine said the other day that she didn't care if her 401K lost value. In fact, this stock market reset just prepares the way for the new "Golden Age" Trump keeps mewling about.

Oh, wait. I'm being told this isn't correct. Here is the actual Judge...

Sorry for the error.

And of course, MSNBC matches them with commentary from the left side for their, oh, tens of viewers.

So, that's a lot to absorb, isn't it? Don't you wish you had some respite from the daily news bombardment? The world's carmakers are here for you. Bloomberg reports that luxury brands are now turning the auto cabin into a wellness center. Here's is an option for the Lincoln Nautilus...

This “multisensory stress-reduction initiative,” as Lincoln calls it, combines a dizzying array of elements: There’s a stereo, 30-way adjustable heated/cooling/massaging front seats, an air filtration system, multicolored door/dash/footwell ambient lighting, high-definition screens and integrated scent atomizers to offer three “immersive relaxation” or “invigoration” sequences, each lasting from five and 10 minutes. One of the sequences even offers a guided meditation produced in partnership with the sleep and wellness app Calm.

And if a foreign make is more your cup of tea, despite the tariffs...

Mercedes-Benz’s “Energizing Comfort,” BMW’s “Caring Car” and Genesis “Mood Curator” programs all utilize similar suites of vehicular creature comforts to help its occupants use the interior space as a place to chillax and reinvigorate.

OK, the risk of falling asleep during your drive goes up exponentially, but at least you can forget Hannity and Rachel for a few minutes.