All Distraction, No Action:
America's Favorite Miniseries
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"The 47th Presidency: Now Playing—Distraction, Dealmaking, and Delusions of Grandeur"
Unfortunately, Trump has returned to the Oval Office, transforming it into a flashy display with gold accents. 45 has become 47, and while his supporters celebrate, the rest of us are focused on trying to save the country. Meanwhile, something far more significant is happening—away from the spotlight, off the script, and under the radar.
While the public is locked in on the noise—the slogans, the vendettas, the endless media melodrama—Trump is doing what he does best: making deals. Not with farmers in Iowa or union shops in Michigan. He’s making deals with the Gulf monarchies and Vladimir Putin.
As America debates 86-47 and due process, Trump shifts his focus eastward leaving the Constitution in the rearview mirror.
The New Foreign Policy: Cash Over Country
Trump’s second term isn’t about governing. It’s about leveraging the presidency as a personal brand accelerator. Under the guise of “America First,” he’s laying out a new doctrine: Trump First, Everyone Else Later.
Let’s talk specifics.
Saudi Arabia & the UAE
Trump has returned to power with an already established relationship with Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi elite. Now, it’s not just golf tournaments and Jared Kushner’s $2B “venture capital” fund—it’s strategic partnerships that blur the lines between U.S. national interests and Trump Inc. business interests. Reports suggest new talks around defense contracts, real estate developments, and private investments flowing directly into Trump-affiliated entities.
It’s diplomacy with a price tag—and the invoice goes to American credibility.
Russia
Then there’s Putin. While previous presidents kept the Russian dictator at diplomatic arm’s length, Trump 47 is back to praising his “strength,” calling Ukraine’s war “not our problem,” and quietly signaling a shift in U.S. posture toward appeasement rather than deterrence.
Behind the scenes? Whispers of energy partnerships, sanctions relief conversations, and backdoor arrangements that favor oligarchs and Trump-aligned interests alike. All while Ukraine bleeds and NATO holds its breath.
This isn't realpolitik. It's dealpolitik.
The Distraction Economy
Every tweet, every insult, every inflammatory headline—it’s all part of the misdirection. While people are debating whether he called a reporter “nasty” or just “rude,” he’s meeting with foreign financiers behind closed doors.
The chaos is the cover.
The circus is the security blanket.
The noise drowns out the real music.
Just like in the first term, Trump knows the media better than they know themselves. Give them scandal, and they’ll forget to ask about shell companies, foreign banks, and executive orders with suspiciously specific beneficiaries.
Why It Should Scare the Hell Out of You
Trump’s second term isn’t a rerun. It’s a refined version of the original—with fewer guardrails, more loyalists, and a sharper eye for where power and profit overlap. The Department of State has been quietly sidelined, intelligence agencies are being purged of "disloyal" voices, and foreign policy is being steered from Mar-a-Lago conference rooms and private jet tarmacs.
And while America debates whether Trump is a threat to democracy, he’s already exporting influence, importing capital, and treating the presidency like a global franchise opportunity.
Final Word
You can chant. You can protest. You can post memes.
But unless we focus on the real game—the deals, the dollars, and the disappearing diplomacy—we’re just passengers in Trump’s return flight to empire-building.
And here’s the punchline:
It’s not about left or right anymore.
It’s about whether the presidency is a position of public service—or just a very profitable business venture with diplomatic immunity.
Spoiler alert: Trump 47 is betting on the latter.
"The Art of the Tariff: Making Imports Expensive Again"
by Mo Tanner
Tariffs that can be imposed or removed on specific imports at the whim of the President provide a significant risk that they can be used to reward supporters or punish opponents. In addition, those knowing about these decisions in advance will be tempted to profit from that knowledge.
The constitution assigns the authority to impose tariffs to Congress. Congress has delegated its authority to the President during national emergencies. Small businesses have sued alleging the tariffs are invalid since there is no national emergency. Given recent Supreme Court decisions invalidating regulations issued by executive agencies under Congressional delegations, the small businesses may prevail although the litigation may take years.
The tariffs imposed on imports from China recently were reduced from roughly 145% to 30%. That still is higher than the roughly 21% in place at the beginning of the year. This reduction will be in place for 90 days. However, the tariffs placed on many traditional U.S. allies remain in place. No one really knows what the rates in China will be after 90 days or what the rates on those traditional allies will be. One stated goal of imposing the tariffs was to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. That goal has been abandoned, at least for 90 days, for Chinese exports.
An immediate impact of tariffs is increased prices on imports. As those increase domestic producers will be tempted to raise prices as well. Amazon considered disclosing the number of tariffs on items it was selling. The President complained—he doesn’t want us to know the cost of his tariffs. Amazon dropped the idea. Mr. Bezos had contributed heavily to Trump’s re-election to protect Blue Origin’s contracts for space operations. He certainly does not want to lose the President’s favor now.
The following large retailers have announced tariffs will cause price increases: Walmart, Mattel, Microsoft, Black & Decker, Procter & Gamble. The President contacted Walmart and asked them to cut profits instead. Whether Walmart will do this remains to be seen. Small businesses selling products also sold by Walmart will have less ability to cut profits, resulting in an erosion of their competitive position.
Before deciding to build a manufacturing plant, a corporation must evaluate whether it can be operated profitably. This requires some level of confidence about what tariffs on competing imports will be. That is impossible when tariff rates are subject to erratic changes made at the whim of the President. If a decision to build a plant is made, land must be located and acquired. Financing must be arranged. The plant must be designed and built. Machinery must be ordered and delivered. The machinery is likely to be highly automated and may take up to a year to produce. A work force must be hired and trained. The factory must work out manufacturing or quality issues before starting full production. It is likely to take a minimum of 2 years to complete all these steps even if they are accomplished concurrently to the extent possible. Of course, whether prices actually will decrease once the new factories are online is unknown.
Consider the President’s comments on toys—that children will be fine having two dolls— perhaps three or five—instead of 30. 80% of the toys sold in the United States come from China. It is unlikely they can be replaced by exports from other countries, which also, would be subject to tariffs. Other countries would not add manufacturing capacity to supply an export market that probably would not exist in a few years.
Assume a resulting 50% decrease in sales—far less than the President’s comment suggested. Large retailers like Walmart likely would survive. Small toy stores certainly will have to cut jobs and, unless their fixed costs were quite low, would go out of business. The same dynamic will occur in other parts of the economy subject to large import duties, resulting in the closure of many small businesses and job losses.
Let us next consider the impact on exports. Countries subjected to increased import duties will increase tariffs on imports from the United States. Cotton exports provide a good example of what may happen. In 2023 the United States was the 4th largest cotton producer in the world behind China, India, and Brazil. It exported about 70% of its production, amounting to 15% of world exports. Since 85% of world exports originate elsewhere many exports from the U.S. could be supplied by other countries whose exports will not be subject to high or unpredictable tariffs. This easily could cut the demand for cotton grown in the U.S. significantly.
Exports of other agricultural or industrial goods from the United States also will be impacted by uncertainty about what tariffs may be imposed on them. Once export markets are lost, they may be very difficult to restore.
Congress must re-assert its authority over tariffs to prevent long term damage to the United States economy.
89th Texas Legislature - May 19, 2025, Update
by Angela Nixon
Texas has real, urgent problems—looming water shortages, aging infrastructure, and a public education system in crisis — to name a few. Yet as the 89th Texas Legislature enters its final two weeks, pressing issues have so far taken a backseat to ideological grandstanding. Here’s a rundown on some of the bills that require attention and action - see What Can I Do? below for more on how you can make your voice heard.
Say a Prayer for Public Schools
Lawmakers rushed the private school voucher scam (SB 2) to the Governor’s desk for signature, but they are moving more slowly when it comes to funding public education. House Bill 2 is an imperfect bill, but it would provide $7.7 billion in funding for public schools, including a nearly $400 increase in the basic per-student allotment. HB 2 passed the Texas House in mid-April with overwhelming bipartisan support and has been sitting in a Senate committee ever since. On May 15, with just over two weeks left in the session, Senator Brandon Creighton introduced a counterproposal to HB 2, which includes a much smaller $55 increase in the per-student allotment. Time is getting short for the House and Senate to pass a bill that would begin to fill the gaping hole in public education funding on behalf of the state’s 5.4 million public school students.
Meanwhile, the Senate did see fit to prioritize SB 11 and SB 965, bills that allow for religious speech, prayer and bible study in public schools. SB 11 and SB 965 both passed the Senate and may soon make it to the House floor for a vote.
The Senate also saw fit to pass SB 10, which requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments in the classroom. SB 10 was approved by the House Education Committee and may soon be headed to the House floor.
Don’t Say LGBTQIA+ in School
While they were at it, the Senate also passed SB 12, which bans Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in all Texas public schools, including prohibiting instruction on LGBTQIA+ topics. SB 12 passed the Senate, was approved by the House Public Education Committee and may soon be considered on the House floor. See below for other bills targeting trans Texans.
Thought Police Coming for School Libraries
SB 13 would create school library “advisory councils,” made up of politically appointed parents, who would have decision making authority over what books students can access. SB 13 passed the Senate, was approved by the House Public Education Committee, and may soon go to the House floor.
Thought Police Coming for Higher Ed SB 37 would give the state government unprecedented power over public universities in a number of areas, including curriculum content, hiring and firing, and faculty senate governance. The bill says a university’s core curriculum cannot, "advocate or promote the idea that any race, sex, or ethnicity or any religious belief is inherently superior to any other race, sex or ethnicity or any other religious belief.” It also says faculty senate representatives can be removed for "using [their] position for political advocacy.” SB 37 strikes at the core values that define higher education: institutional autonomy and the pursuit of knowledge free from external coercion. This push to establish political control of academia could have lasting consequences for the integrity and reputation of Texas’s higher education system. SB 37 was approved by the Senate and is pending in the House Education Committee.
Local Control: A Casualty of Ideology
A number of bills would further limit the authority of local governments, particularly progressive-led cities, to enact measures for the benefit of their citizens. SB 2858 would restrict or “preempt” local authority in a number of areas, including elections and criminal justice. It was passed by the Senate and approved by the House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
Some other bills aimed at “reining in” local governments include:
SB 689 - Prohibits cities and other governmental entities from establishing or maintaining DEI initiatives or programs.
SB 617 - Requires cities to satisfy hearing and notice requirements before they convert property for use by homeless people (approved by both chambers, sent to Governor).
SB 2010 - Prohibits local governments from establishing guaranteed income programs.
SB 8 - Requires local sheriffs in counties with a population of 100,000 or more to enter into immigration enforcement agreements with ICE.
SB 317 - Restricts the ability of local governments to remove, relocate, or alter monuments or memorials, including those associated with historical injustices.
SB 33 - Prohibits local governments from giving money to entities that provide assistance to women seeking an abortion.
HB 3225 - Requires municipal public libraries to remove all “sexually explicit” books from children and young adult sections.
Hell Bent on Making it Harder to Vote
Texas is among the most restrictive states when it comes to voter access, yet lawmakers are determined to erect new barriers to the ballot box. One of these is Senate Bill 16, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, when noncitizen voting is already illegal and exceedingly rare. The bill threatens election officials with criminal penalties for errors in administering its requirements, and is sure to create a climate of fear, deter voter registration efforts, and further suppress turnout. SB 16 passed the Senate, was approved by the House Elections Committee, and may soon be headed to the House floor. Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote at the federal level (the SAVE Act). Taken together, these two measures offer a solution in search of a problem, targeting a non- existent issue while imposing unnecessary burdens on voters and election administrators.
Expanding Punishments for Abortion
SB 2880 is a horrendous bill aimed at expanding civil and criminal penalties around abortion and abortion-related assistance. The bill passed the Senate and is currently in the House State Affairs committee. It’s long, but the following statement by Senators Alvarado, Blanco, Cook, Eckhardt, Gutierrez, J. Hinojosa, Johnson, Menéndez, Miles, West, and Zaffirini, clearly explains why this bill needs to be stopped: “Senate Bill 2880 is an extreme overreach of state power that creates a de facto abortion travel ban, weaponizing civil penalties to intimidate and punish those who support a Texas woman's decision to seek reproductive care—including lawful care in other states. While Texans have a constitutional right to travel, this bill targets that freedom by threatening family members, friends, doctors and anyone else who assists someone in accessing medication abortion outside Texas. The real purpose of this bill is fear. Whether lawsuits succeed or not, the threat alone deters support, isolates pregnant Texans and undermines public trust in the legal system. The bill tells Texas women: you're alone. And it tells doctors, family members, clergy and out-of-state providers: help them and you're next. Chillingly, the bill also provides new tools to abusive partners, allowing them to sue, weaponize private medical information and further control survivors.
The bill expands on the vigilante-style civil enforcement mechanism first seen in S.B. 8 (the "bounty hunter" law), which encourages private citizens to sue anyone who "aids or abets" an abortion. S.B. 2880 builds on that strategy with specific, sweeping provisions aimed at medication abortion with an outrageous $100,000 penalty. It creates new civil liability for anyone who manufactures, mails, transports, delivers, prescribes or provides abortion-inducing drugs—even if that support happens entirely outside Texas. This includes liability through wrongful death or personal injury claims and exposes anyone who supports Texas women to harassment and financial ruin. Notably, S.B. 2880 includes a provision to block judicial review, asserting that Texas courts lack jurisdiction to consider or invalidate any part of the bill. At the same time, it extends the $100,000 penalty to judges who dare to review the law and find it unconstitutional as well as attorneys who dare to represent clients in those proceedings.
Most egregious, S.B. 2880 quietly revives Texas's Pre-Roe abortion ban and treats it as enforceable despite court rulings that have enjoined it. By explicitly incorporating the 1925 law into the bill's definition of "criminal abortion law," S.B. 2880 opens the door to both civil and potentially criminal action under a long-superseded legal framework. This 1925 law does not exclude pregnant women from prosecution and explicitly criminalizes "furnishing the means" of abortion—a vague clause that could be used to target those who assist with abortion-related travel. The bill author has refused to address this critical and dangerous loophole—one he willingly fixed in S.B. 31. By declining to ensure that the outdated and punitive 1925 abortion law is not revived through S.B. 2880, the bill author is actively opening the door to the criminalization of women seeking out-of-state abortion care as well as anyone who helps them including spouses, friends and loved ones.
This threat is not theoretical; it is written directly into the text. In SUBCHAPTER F, Section 171A.351, the bill defines "criminal abortion law" to include "any law of this state imposing criminal penalties on abortion, including Chapter 6-1/2, Title 71, Revised Statutes." That language refers explicitly to the 1925 statute which, again, does not exclude pregnant women from prosecution and specifically criminalizes "furnishing the means" for any abortion did not deem a medical emergency. This clause—which appears in no other abortion law currently on the books in Texas—can be interpreted to criminalize those who help someone obtain legal abortion care in another state. It’s quiet reactivation through S.B. 2880 poses an unprecedented threat. The bill author claimed that provisions explicitly criminalizing travel were removed from the original version of the bill. However, if S.B. 2880 revives a law that already criminalizes abortion-related travel assistance, then that reassurance rings hollow.
Furthermore, Section 171A.352(b) grants the Attorney General sweeping authority to sue these individuals for "civil damages or injunctive relief." In doing so, S.B. 2880 not only revives criminal exposure—it empowers the Attorney General to enforce it through civil litigation, dramatically expanding state authority to pursue and punish Texans for exercising a constitutionally protected right to travel.
In its current form, S.B. 2880 is a backdoor effort to fully reinstate the 1925 law. It is a vote to criminalize women, trap them within the borders of Texas and to threaten anyone who tries to help them—regardless of whether the abortion occurs legally in another state. This includes survivors of rape and incest and those facing lethal fetal diagnoses. It is harsher than any abortion law currently on the books and it represents a deliberate step backward into an era of cruelty, surveillance and state control over private medical decisions.
Texans deserve compassion and clarity, not intimidation. S.B. 2880 is an unconstitutional, overreaching and harmful bill that must be stopped. The consequences for Texas women—and anyone who supports them—are too severe.”
Senate Bill 31, known as the "Life of the Mother Act," aims to clarify when the emergency medical exception to the state's abortion ban applies. Under the bill, a physician would not be required to withhold medical treatment if doing so would create a greater risk of the woman’s death or “substantial impairment of a major bodily function.” While the bill is helpful, it does not delineate clearly enough when the medical emergency exception applies, and there would still be no exception for fetal anomalies, rape, or incest. SB 31 passed the Senate, was approved by the House Public Health Committee, and may soon be up for a vote on the House floor.
Juvenile Justice: No Reform, Just Harsher Treatment
From a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report: “Children in the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s secure facilities are exposed to conditions that cause serious and lasting physical, mental and emotional harm. At the same time, they are denied treatment and services they need to cope with their environment, earn release, return to their communities and become productive citizens. This harmful environment undermines any rehabilitative purpose in their commitment.” A House bill that would have begun to address these conditions is effectively dead as of last week (HB 31). Meanwhile, bills that would require stricter treatment for juveniles in the system continue to move forward (e.g., SB 1727). The House did approve a bill (HB 3006) requiring Texas prison officials to install air conditioning across the state's prison facilities - but not until the end of 2032.
Targeting Trans Texans
Republican lawmakers are fixated on finding more ways to hurt trans people. the anti-trans bills still pending:
HB 229 - Defines men and women based on reproductive organs at birth and requires that state records reflect this. If this bill becomes law, more than 120,000 trans Texans would be forced to be defined in state records by the sex they were assigned at birth, even if they’ve previously changed their birth certificate or driver’s license to reflect the gender they identify as.
SB 240 - Requires trans people to use public bathrooms based on the sex they were assigned at birth and provides a private civil right of action for violations.
SB 1257 - Requires health plans to cover gender transition “adverse effects” and reversals (approved by both chambers and sent to the Governor).
What Can I Do?
There’s still time to make your voice heard. You can check the current status of a bill and find contact info for committee members on the Texas Legislature’s website (https://capitol.texas.gov). Find contact information for your Texas House Representative or State Senator here https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home. If you’d like to join the Travis County Texas Dems TX Lege Rapid Response Team to receive updates and get action alerts on pending bills.