04/14/25
Good morning! It’s Monday, April 14th.
National Donate a Book Day.
Little libraries. Big Libraries. School libraries. I realize this is ironic coming from me (if you don’t know, I’m becoming a bit of a book hoarder), but if you’ve got books to spare, especially some banned books, a great way we can fight back against the government doing things like gutting funding for libraries is making sure people don’t lose access to books.
And now, the news.
Attack on Governor Shapiro’s House
-via AP News
Pretty heavy group of stories here, but stick with me because, as improbable as it seems, we’re gonna end with an up.
Starting with the news that broke Sunday morning – a man has been arrested and will face charges of attempted murder, attempted arson, terrorism, and aggravated assault after he set fire to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s house.
The Governor was home with his wife, four children, two dogs, and another family who were staying with the Shapiro’s for Passover.
Everyone was evacuated and unharmed. The fire was extinguished, but the house has been badly damaged.
The suspect is Cody Balmer, a 38-year-old Pennsylvania man.
A motive is not yet known – I’m recording this on Sunday. This happened in the early hours – more information will come out.
When we know more, we’ll know more but in the meantime, at least everyone’s physically okay.
I don’t… really know what else to say here. I feel like I should have something to say about this attempt on a Governor’s life (and by the way, no the President hasn’t said anything), but honestly I’m coming up empty. I keep coming back to how we need to turn the temperature down in this country, and we do, but what does that look like in a country when the President of the United States stokes this violence? Provokes his followers.
And I don’t even want to say too much about that because we don’t know what the motives are yet. This attack took place on an extremely significant Jewish holiday. Was it political or antisemitism?
So I don’t know what to say.
I’m just glad they’re okay.
Tariffs
-via BBC, NY Times, and CBS News
Just a quick update on the tariffs – while the rest of the world has a 90-day pause on their reciprocal tariffs, the levies on all Chinese imports are now up to 145%.
In return, China has imposed a 125% tariff on all US imports.
In a statement, China's commerce ministry said, "We urge the US to take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of 'reciprocal tariffs' and return to the right path of mutual respect."
Following that Saturday comment and raise on tariffs, on Sunday, China suspended exports of critical minerals and magnets that are vital to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies, and military contractors around the world.
In addition to holding up papers I put on my fridge and then never look at again, magnets are used to build everything from cars to drones, robots, and missiles. This is in direct relation to the tariffs.
In response… Trump, joined by Elon Musk, Marco Rubio, RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Kash Patel, went to a UFC fight.
I guess I should also technically mention this as well, but I don’t want to because it is so clearly a lie but the White House released the president’s physical on Sunday and it’s basically a couple paragraphs saying Dear Leader is the healthiest person who’s ever lived.
In actuality, it says, "President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State."
Excellent cognitive healthy? I’m no doctor but I am… suspicious at best.
We should all be suspicious of anything regarding his health. Remember, he nearly died of Covid in his first term, and everyone lied about that. He got shot, and we never saw a report on his medical condition. None of that is normal. So we should be suspicious.
Another reason we should be suspicious? Because the report also notes his "frequent victories in golf events."
Whole world’s going to end up in the Stranger Things Upside Down so that a small man can feel big.
Trump vs the First Amendment
-via Washington Post, Politico, and NY Times
Last Thursday while I was driving home from work, I was talking to my mom and she said that Thursday felt like the day the country took a really hard turn. And she wasn’t wrong, but for some reason I didn’t feel like that. To me, Thursday was just another really bad day of news in a sea of really bad news days.
Just 12 hours later, I felt how she felt.
Like the country had just taken a really dark turn, and righting the ship suddenly just got immensely more difficult.
Because on Friday, two stories came out.
The first, an immigration judge in Louisiana found that Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate who is a legal permanent resident here in America, can be deported back to Syria.
This is not the final word, but it is significant.
He was arrested because Marco Rubio took advantage of a rarely used law that allows him to be deported because his presence in America promotes antisemitism. As a reminder, Khalil was one of the leaders of the pro-Palestine demonstrations at Columbia.
Being pro-Palestine is not being antisemitic. And while yes, some people did use the cover of those protests to be antisemitic (in both words and actions), Khalil was not one of those people.
I have said from the beginning, literally since the October 8th, 2023 episode, that we were going to have to hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time – what’s happening in Gaza is abhorrent. As is antisemitism. Both things are true.
Khalil’s presence in this country is not a threat to Jewish people in this country.
His possible expulsion from the country is a threat to every single person in this country. I don’t care if you were born here or not, understand that the government is now threatening to take away citizenship based on the way someone uses their First Amendment right.
Khalil was not arrested for a crime.
His status as a legal permanent resident is now at risk because he used his First Amendment right to protest.
And if they can do it to him, know that they will do it to anyone. It’s just a matter of time.
This will continue to play out in courts, all we can hope in the meantime is that Khalil isn’t taken out of the country while that’s happening.
The next story that came out on Friday, and played out further over the weekend, was that even though the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, said the Trump administration needed to bring Abrego Garcia, the man who is currently in a torture chamber prison in El Salvador on an administrative error, home as soon as possible… the administration is continuing to ignore them.
They are choosing to misinterpret the ruling as saying that if he makes it out of the prison, he can come back in to the United States, but they say they are under no obligation to facilitate his return.
He is there on an error. They are leaving him there on purpose.
So we’ve really got two stories out of one. First: they are leaving this man behind on purpose. They know it was an error, but now they’re saying that just because he immigrated to America from El Salvador, he must be in a gang. He’s never been arrested in either country. He’s just going to be left in this prison on racism alone.
And the second one is: what happens when the President ignores the court? What then? This is the first crack – if nothing happens, what happens? If there are no consequences for the president ignoring a direct order from the Supreme Court… then what?
Right now, that’s a rhetorical question. It gets less and less rhetorical as we go.
Lorena Gonzalez: The Voice of the People
-via NPR
And so those two stories were on my mind, on my heart, all through Friday and into Saturday.
But I was not raised to just let those things sit without asking myself what am I going to do about it. I was raised better than that.
And I was reminded of that on Saturday, because 36,000 came to Los Angeles and before Bernie and AOC came out for their Fight Oligarchy, Lorena Gonzalez spoke, introduced by Joan Baez.
She asked one big question – which side are you on? It’s a union question, in reference to a 1931 song written by the wife of a union organizer. The song asks, twelve times, which side are you on?
And it’s all about how great being in a union is. (As someone in a union, I obviously strongly agree – life’s better in a union.)
But Lorena used this moment to implore us to ask that question not just to people on the picket lines but to everyone in your life.
To yourself.
Which side are you on?
And if you’re listening to this, I can assume you’re on the side against Trump. Against authoritarianism. Against Fascism.
I’m asking you, Lorena is asking you (trust me, it carries may more way… she’s a big deal) – you need to ask yourself right now. Which side are you on? Will you stand by and watch people who are in this country legally be disappeared for using their First Amendment right? Will you stand by and watch the President disobey a court order and leave a man in a different country even though they know it was a paperwork error? Will you stand by and watch them defund our schools and our libraries and our museums? Will you stand by and watch them dismantle healthcare and social security?
Or will you be on the side that does… something.
Does something that matters.
It’s been… Jesus, it’s been almost 18 years since Carmen died. Sorry, sometimes I forget that more than like 3 people listen to this show. I forget that it’s at least 20 now. Carmen was my mom’s best friend. She helped raise me – she is Lorena’s mom.
And the day before she died, we had a couple minutes, just the two of us, and she told me that I needed to “just do something. Do something that matters.”
Now, at the time it was because I’d just told her I wanted to be a writer. But those words never left me.
Just do something that matters.
Which side are you on?
God, when I tell you how proud she would have been on Saturday, watching Lorena speak…
“Us poor folks haven't got a chance // Unless we organize” That’s one of the lines from the song.
They want us to feel like we haven’t got a chance. They want us to give up.
Maybe Friday was a day that the country took a dark turn that made righting the ship nearly impossible.
But Saturday was a reminder that it is not impossible.
That there is so much left to fight for and so much fight left in us.
Just do something. Do something that matters.
Which side are you on?
And that’s it. That’s the news.
I’m proud of Lorena. And Carmen.
Always, obviously, but especially right now.
But more than… just kidding. No way. You really think I’m gonna say more than Lorena and Carmen? I’ll get grounded!
More than dolphins, it’s also national dolphin day, because you too are a highly intelligent and social marine mammal with a unique ability to use echolocation… I’m proud of you.