The post Trump Is Raising Unemployment: He Wants a New Scorekeeper appeared first on CEPR.

From the Association of American Railroads (AAR) AAR Data Center. Graph and excerpts reprinted with permission.

The AAR Freight Rail Index (FRI), which measures seasonally adjusted month to-month rail intermodal shipments plus carloads excluding coal and grain, fell 0.5% in August 2025 from July 2025, its fourth decline in the past five months. Still, the index remains relatively strong: since 2008, it’s been higher than it was in August less than 15% of the time.
emphasis added

Rail intermodal volumes are closely tied to port activity (especially in the west) and the consumer side of the economy. In August, U.S. rail intermodal shipments were up 0.5% over last year. Average weekly intermodal volume in August 2025 was 284,316 containers and trailers, the most for any month since May 2021 and the most for August since 2018.
...
Meanwhile, year-over-year total U.S. rail carloads rose 0.7% in August 2025 over August 2024, marking six consecutive monthly gains. Eleven of the 20 major carload categories tracked by the AAR saw gains in August, the sixth straight month in which at least half the categories saw increases. Total carloads averaged 230,184 per week in August 2025, the most for any month since October 2022. In 2025 through August, total carloads were up 2.5%, or nearly 192,000 carloads, over last year.

The post Trump Thinks His Economy Is So Bad He Needs to Fake the Numbers appeared first on CEPR.

Avert your eyes! My Sunday morning look at incompetency, corruption and policy failures:

• It’s Only a Matter of Time Until Americans Pay for Trump’s Tariffs: Whether they come in the form of higher prices, lower quality or fewer options, tariffs can’t hide forever. (BW) see also See where Trump’s tariffs are driving up prices on household items (for now): Tariffs range from 10 percent to 50 percent on America’s top importers. (Washington Post)

• The Long, Painful Downfall of Intel: The Silicon Valley chipmaker’s journey from icon to a government project, with the sale of a 10 percent stake to the Trump administration, underlines how even the mightiest in tech can fall. (New York Times)

• US Manufacturing Shrinks for Sixth Straight Month: It’s only the third day of a much-feared month of September and sobering US economic news is already piling up. Yesterday it was six straight months of shrinking manufacturing. Today it’s job openings falling in July to the lowest in 10 months, adding to other employment data (including a report last month that caused Donald Trump to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics) showing America’s once-robust post-pandemic jobs landscape continues to darken. (Bloomberg)

• The Vibes are Broken. You have to watch what people do not what they say. People say a lot of stuff on the internet that doesn’t match reality. (AWOCS) see also PWC: Americans plan to spend 5% less this holiday season compared to last year, the first pullback since 2020: According to PwC’s 2025 Holiday Outlook survey, consumers expect their seasonal spending to decline on average by 5% from 2024 (PWC)

• American Unexceptionalism. Investors today take for granted that the S&P 500 is an inherently superior group of stocks to those outside of the U.S. This belief stems not merely from better returns from the S&P 500 over the past 15 years, but also from superior fundamental growth for the S&P 500 relative to other stock indices. Investors consequently pay significantly higher multiples for U.S. large caps than they do for other stocks. (GMO) see also Apologies: You Have Reached the End of Your Free-Trial Period of America! Want rule of law? That’s premium. (The Atlantic)

• Covid’s Corporate Welfare Kings: Funneling taxpayer money to Uber’s bottom line. (The Baffler)

• The defense against slop and brainrot: What I am doing to prevent myself from stagnating and rotting. (Kimchi & Gabagool) see also Making cash off ‘AI slop’: The surreal video business taking over the web: A mad rush of creators is using AI video tools to flood the internet — and turn a profit — with videos that can seem remarkably real. (Washington Post)

• Blue whales are going eerily silent—and scientists say it’s a warning sign: A six-year study off California’s coast shows how marine heat waves and noise pollution are silencing the ocean’s largest singers. Does saving the ocean start with hearing it? (National Geographic)

• Trump’s Space Research Cuts Are a Gift to China:  American astronomers say that without more funding to support telescope construction and research operations, the US risks ceding the field. (Businessweek) see also This tracking protects a $600 billion economy. Cutting it is foolish. Cutting space-tracking efforts risks collisions — and U.S. leadership in commercializing outer space. Earth’s upper atmosphere is getting crowded, with about 13,000 satellites orbiting Earth. Private companies are launching new ones at unprecedented rates. Elon Musk’s Starlink alone has more than 8,000 in orbit. There are about 29,000 pieces of orbital debris that can obliterate a satellite upon impact, and more than 1 million that we’re not tracking but that can cause serious damage. (Washington Post)

• Silent Coup: How Trump’s Allies Are Gaming Algorithms To Seize Your Feed. New research unravels the secret tactics behind Stop the Steal and other right-wing disinformation campaigns. (Weaponized)

Be sure to check out our special edition of Masters in Business interview, with Neal Katyal, Milbank LLP partner and former acting Solicitor General of the US. We sat down in the studio on Wednesday, August 27th, just two days before the D.C. Court of Appeals issued its decision in VOS Selection vs Trump on Friday, August 29th, finding the Tariffs unlawful. We also spoke after the decision, and he laidf out the path forward to the Supreme Court.

 

Punta Gorda has passed Austin as the worst performing city. Note that 4 of the 5 cities with the largest price declines are in Florida. And 11 of the 30 cities are in Florida. More cities (9) in California are now on the list.

Source: Calculated Risk

 

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To learn how these reads are assembled each day, please see this.

 

 

 

 

The post 10 Sunday Reads appeared first on The Big Picture.

At the Calculated Risk Real Estate Newsletter this week:

Click on graph for larger image.

• Q2 Update: Delinquencies, Foreclosures and REO

• Freddie Mac House Price Index Declined in July; Up 1.4% Year-over-Year

• What will happen with House Prices?

• Asking Rents Mostly Unchanged Year-over-year

This is usually published 4 to 6 times a week and provides more in-depth analysis of the housing market.

Fake Students Plague California Community Colleges, Displacing Real Enrollees

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

California’s community colleges are grappling with a surge in fraudulent enrollments, with 1.2 million fake applicants last year accounting for nearly 30 percent of new students, blocking real students from classes and costing millions in stolen financial aid, according to college officials.

The problem, exacerbated by the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, affects at least 90 of the state’s 116 campuses, said Marvin Martinez, chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District, and Jeannie Kim, president of Santiago Canyon College.

Before the pandemic, most classes were in-person, making fraud more difficult, Martinez said. But with 80 percent of courses moving online, bots and fake students can enroll from anywhere, including other states or countries.

“It’s happened on a massive scale,” Martinez told Epoch TV’s California Insider host Siyamak Khorrami.

“What’s made this situation of fraudulent enrollment so different than anything that I’ve seen before in my 36 years in higher ed is that it’s happened in almost 80 percent now of the campuses.”

At Santiago Canyon College, fall 2024 enrollment initially spiked 10 percent to 13 percent, Kim said, but faculty discovered many registrants were fraudulent. In one anthropology course, administrators raised the enrollment cap by 30 daily, only for bots to fill slots instantly, leaving just 12 to 15 genuine students. 

Faculty identified fakes through non-engagement, identical assignments, or invalid contact details, like phone numbers tied to businesses or defunct entities. Removing fraudulent enrollments cut the college’s headcount by 10,000 to 12,000 spots, with some bad actors enrolled in up to five classes each.

The fallout is severe. Real students are denied access to required courses, delaying graduations, certificates, and transfers to four-year universities.

“Counselors saw the crestfallen faces of students unable to get classes they needed to graduate,” Kim said.

Among faculty, morale has gone down as classes shrink to single digits, making them cost-inefficient yet necessary for student progress. “Faculty teach because they love their discipline, but it’s devastating to see classes dwindle,” Kim added. 

Low-enrollment classes were allowed to run, doubling budgetary strain to prioritize student needs. Financially, colleges face significant losses. California funds community colleges based on enrollment, but removing fake students can cut revenue by up to 23 percent, Martinez said.

 “You can’t get paid for fake enrollments,” he noted.

“It’s better to make that cut upfront than face audits later.”

In 2024, scammers stole $8.4 million in federal aid and $2.7 million in state aid, with losses since 2021 exceeding $18 million, state reports show. 

The colleges reported 20 to 25 identity theft cases, requiring notifications to victims and reports to the U.S. Department of Education.

Fraud motivations include exploiting Pell Grants, with “Pell runners” collecting up to $7,400 before vanishing, and harvesting personal data such as Social Security numbers for identity theft, Martinez said. 

Perpetrators, often international, use AI tools such as ChatGPT to mimic students, targeting no-prerequisite courses such as accounting or business. 

To combat the issue, colleges are deploying LightLeap.AI, an artificial intelligence platform from N2N Services, initially developed for course predictions but adapted for fraud detection.

Santiago Canyon adopted it for under $100,000 after Kim discovered it at a conference, and it is now scaled to 80 campuses statewide at about $75,000 per institution.

Processing nearly 3 million applications and flagging 360,000 suspected fraudsters, LightLeap.AI uses machine learning to analyze shared phone numbers, IP addresses, minimal application data, and suspicious course-taking patterns, achieving a 99 percent accuracy rate at Santiago Canyon. 

“One art faculty member was ecstatic, saying, ‘I have a clean roster. They’re all real,’” Kim recalled.

LightLeap.AI’s triangulation method cross-references application data with student information systems and proprietary blacklist/whitelist databases, identifying patterns such as multiple applications from one IP address. 

Operating in three stages—application, registration, and financial aid—it catches twice as many scammers as manual methods, freeing 7,500 seats for real students at Santiago Canyon. Its network effect allows fraud detection at one college to flag bad actors across 83 campuses, with a 92.3 percent effectiveness rate at West Valley-Mission. The system adapts to evolving tactics by incorporating geolocation data and reducing false positives through continuous learning. Since its intersession rollout, it has been applied across spring, summer, and fall terms, with updates to counter fraudsters’ use of generative AI.

Implementing LightLeap.AI presents challenges.

“We need tech-savvy staff, but community colleges can’t compete with tech industry salaries,” Martinez said. Budgets, unchanged in 20 years, hinder hiring, and manual verification tools like ID.me are voluntary and inadequate. 

A proposed $10 application fee, discussed in 2025, aims to deter fraud but risks burdening vulnerable students such as the homeless or undocumented, who struggle with ID verification. 

Online education is essential for working adults, who now outnumber recent high school graduates enrolled at community colleges.

 “Adult students—parents with jobs and bills—rely on online classes,” Martinez said. To support this shift, he urged Sacramento to increase funding for technology and staffing. “If it doesn’t happen, we’re going to keep losing money,” he warned. A 2025 state audit is evaluating fraud trends and mitigation effectiveness to guide future funding.

“We’re easy prey because bureaucracies react slowly,” Martinez said.

Kim emphasized ethical duty: “We’re public servants with a moral obligation to protect taxpayer dollars.” 

California community colleges serve about 1.8 million students annually, offering low-cost pathways to degrees and jobs. 

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/06/2025 - 11:40

These Are The US States That Added The Most Billionaires Over The Last Decade

The billionaire map of America looks very different today than it did a decade ago.

New faces and shifting fortunes have reshaped where the country’s wealthiest residents call home, and some states have vaulted ahead in the billionaire rankings as Visual Capitalist's Pallavi Rao shows in the infographic below.

The data for this map comes from two related Forbes sources.

Their 2016 billionaire breakdown (which used net worth figures as of November, 2015), and their Real-Time Billionaires List, accessed July, 2025.

Using both datasets, we mapped the net change in U.S. billionaires by state. Due to data limitations, this map does not count U.S. billionaires in Washington D.C. and overseas territories.

The South is Gaining Billionaires, Fast

While California leads by overall billionaire gains (+75), two southern states are in the top five.

Rank State Code 2015 Billionaires 2025 Billionaires Change in Billionaires 1 California CA 124 199 75 2 Florida FL 44 117 73 3 New York NY 93 136 43 4 Texas TX 48 83 35 5 Illinois IL 17 30 13 6 Massachusetts MA 10 23 13 7 Pennsylvania PA 10 23 13 8 Georgia GA 9 21 12 9 Nevada NV 8 19 11 10 North Carolina NC 3 10 7 11 Arizona AZ 9 15 6 12 Utah UT 1 7 6 13 Virginia VA 5 11 6 14 Connecticut CT 12 17 5 15 Ohio OH 6 10 4 16 Washington WA 13 17 4 17 Colorado CO 10 13 3 18 Louisiana LA 1 4 3 19 South Carolina SC 1 4 3 20 Hawaii HI 1 3 2 21 Maryland MD 8 10 2 22 Mississippi MS 0 2 2 23 Missouri MO 6 8 2 24 Montana MT 4 6 2 25 Nebraska NE 2 4 2 26 Tennessee TN 10 12 2 27 Alabama AL 0 1 1 28 Arkansas AR 5 6 1 29 Kansas KS 2 3 1 30 New Hampshire NH 1 2 1 31 New Mexico NM 0 1 1 32 North Dakota ND 0 1 1 33 Oregon OR 2 3 1 34 Vermont VT 0 1 1 35 Maine ME 1 1 0 36 New Jersey NJ 8 7 -1 37 Oklahoma OK 5 4 -1 38 West Virginia WV 1 0 -1 39 Idaho ID 3 1 -2 40 Indiana IN 4 2 -2 41 Michigan MI 11 9 -2 42 Wisconsin WI 9 7 -2 43 Wyoming WY 9 7 -2 N/A Iowa IA 1 1 No change N/A Kentucky KY 1 1 No change N/A Minnesota MN 5 5 No change N/A Rhode Island RI 1 1 No change N/A South Dakota SD 1 1 No change N/A Alaska AK 0 0 No billionaires N/A Delaware DE 0 0 No billionaires N/A U.S. US 540 869 329

In fact, second-ranked Florida added 73 billionaires—more than doubling its roster to 117—thanks to the influx of hedge-fund titans, tech founders, and pandemic-era corporate relocations.

Texas gained 35, cementing its draw as America’s energy capital and a swelling tech hub around Austin and Dallas.

With no state income tax and a cost of living well below coastal peers, both states have become magnets for high-net-worth individuals fleeing higher-tax jurisdictions.

Tech Hubs Keep Their Billionaire Edge, But is Growth Cooling?

California remains the undisputed leader with 199 billionaires in 2025—up 75 from 2015—anchored by Silicon Valley fortunes from companies such as Apple, Google, and OpenAI.

Yet the Golden State’s growth rate lags that of Florida and Texas, hinting at headwinds from rising costs and remote-friendly work patterns.

New York added 43 new billionaires, driven largely by finance and media exits, but also saw some flight to lower-tax locales.

Even with slowing momentum, these coastal giants still host 39% of all U.S. billionaires.

Unexpected Wealth Hotspots in the Mountain West and Midwest

Beyond the big four, several smaller states quietly punched above their weight.

Nevada added 11 billionaires, boosted by Las Vegas real-estate windfalls and a growing tech presence around Reno.

Utah’s count jumped six-fold on the back of booming software IPOs along the “Silicon Slopes.”

Illinois and Massachusetts each gained 13 billionaires, underscoring the enduring wealth-creation power of Chicago’s trading dynasties and Boston’s life-science clusters.

Conversely, traditional manufacturing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin slipped, each losing two members of the three-comma club.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Richest Billionaire in Every Country (That Has One) on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/06/2025 - 11:05

Victor Hanson: The Greatest Democrat Fear?

Authored by Victor Davis Hanson,

President Donald Trump’s greatest achievement within six months was simply ending illegal immigration as we had once known it — without “comprehensive immigration reform” or any other rhetorical trickery.

It remains difficult to find, much less deport, the 10 to 12 million illegal aliens who entered in the last four years.

Those who helped break the law, by design or indifference, now believe it was moral to destroy federal immigration law but immoral to uphold it.

And it is still unclear whether former President Joe Biden’s handlers deliberately sabotaged their own border for political and demographic purposes out of sheer orneriness or utter incompetence.

Many of the left’s cherished totems — massive Green New Deal subsidies, the diversity/equity/inclusion industry, biological males competing in women’s sports, and the USAID revolving door — are either comatose or in their death throes.

The historic drop-off in military recruitment reversed shortly after Trump took office.

Republican voter registration is up, and Democratic registration is down.

Abroad, Trump finds remarkable successes.

For now, there are pauses in the fighting between India and Pakistan, Egypt and Somalia, Cambodia and Thailand, Rwanda and Congo, Serbia and Kosovo, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Much credit is due to Trump for brokering ceasefires.

Iran will not get a bomb in the next four years — as seemed likely when Biden left office.

The Middle East’s current most grotesque terrorist cadres and states — Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis — are far weaker than they were when Trump entered office in January.

There is at least some engagement in envisioning the outlines of a ceasefire in Trump’s inherited Ukraine War.

The rub is finding the degree of ordnance necessary to convince Putin that increasing Russia’s casualties to more than one million will endanger his own dictatorship sooner than destroy Ukraine.

Breaking up the new three-billion-person China/India/Russia nexus hinges on ending the war.

The economy is still strong. Gas prices are at historic lows. Increases in all types of energy production proceed full bore.

Current GDP, inflation, unemployment, and the stock market — all at one time or another said to be in a crisis state — remain strong. Talk of an impending recession or hyperinflation is mostly muted.

No one quite knows either the full effects of Trump’s tariffs — especially given the injunctions issued by left-wing district justices — or of the promised over $10 trillion in foreign investments.

Much of Trump’s agenda will hinge on whether interest rates are lowered, Republicans survive the midterms, and the degree to which unelected left-wing lower-court justices can be stopped from hijacking the Constitution and de facto running the country.

As for the Democratic opposition, there is no counter agenda, no shadow government responsible leadership, and no willingness to craft bipartisan legislation.

Instead, the left’s strategy is that of the kamikaze: to destroy Trump at the cost of destroying the Democratic Party.

Otherwise, Democrats seek to prove so obnoxious in demonizing Trump that they create such mass hysteria that the weary electorate figuratively lies down, closes its eyes, covers its ears, and screams nonstop, “Make them all go away!”

Former foul-mouthed vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is now reduced to a ghoulish status. He recently boasted to an audience that rumors of Trump’s death — who survived two assassination attempts last summer — will thankfully one day prove true. 

The top of the failed ticket, Kamala Harris, wanders aimlessly without an office, constituency, audience, or ideas.

To remain viable, she knows she must continue touring and speaking.

But Harris accepts that the more anyone hears her word salads, the more they will remember her 2024 train wreck.

Head of the Democratic Party, Ken Martin, now screams that Trump is a fascist.

But by what standards does he judge? Did Trump try to take his rivals off state ballots?

Does he advocate for destroying the filibuster, the Electoral College, and the 156-year-old nine-justice Supreme Court, or packing the Senate by admitting two new states?

Are local, state, and federal prosecutors — a la Bragg, James, Smith, and Willis — coordinating with the White House and DOJ to indict Trump’s current chief adversaries, such as Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, or Josh Shapiro?

Did Trumpers hire a foreign spy to concoct a fake hit dossier on Democratic grandees?

Are his subordinates now spreading it to the media?

Are 51 conservative former CIA contractors and retired spooks swearing that Newsom or Harris is working with the Russians, Chinese, or any of our enemies?

The greatest Democrat fear?

That it has so institutionalized excessive executive orders, ad hominem lawfare, lower-court usurpation, state nullification of federal law, and federal intervention in higher education, the energy industry, and the nation’s open spaces that their own legacies empowered Trump and now will boomerang upon themselves — as the public applauds the karma.

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/06/2025 - 10:30

U.S. Tells "Maryland Father": No Asylum, Next Stop Eswatini

The "Maryland Father" (well, in the eyes of leftist corporate media), otherwise known as alleged MS-13 illegal alien gangster Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was notified by the Department of Homeland Security about deportation plans to a tiny African country. 

In an email to the alleged MS-13 illegal alien gangster, published on X by Fox News' Bill Melugin, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official informed the illegal that, given his concerns about being prosecuted and or even tortured in nearly two dozen countries, Eswatini is now considered the best fit.

The email added, "Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini, Africa." 

Homeland Security commented on X, "Homie is afraid of the entire western hemisphere."

Homie is afraid of the entire western hemisphere. https://t.co/lH7oZLaCKI

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 5, 2025

Last month, leftist activist District Judge Paula Xinis, overseeing the illegal's case, ruled that the El Salvador native cannot be deported until early October. This comes as the illegal has been fighting for renewed asylum claims. 

The Trump administration recently offered the El Salvador native the option of deportation to Costa Rica in exchange for a guilty plea. However, his lawyers rejected the offer. He has been accused of human trafficking by the federal government.

New data obtained by Newsweek of ICE data via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request showed that the Trump administration is on track to deport 276,207 illegals annually, or about 1.1 million over four years. 

In other news...

https://t.co/nZkBEj3GGi https://t.co/Zem0AayWUO pic.twitter.com/qJVpaAyJLb

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 5, 2025

. . . 

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/06/2025 - 09:55

...And The Legacy Media Wonders Why Nobody Trusts Them

Authored by Dr. James Allan via DailySceptic.org,

Last year when I was asked to write a chapter for a US book on the incredible inroads and attacks on our civil liberties during the thuggish Covid lockdown years I decided, in part, to rank the worst offending groups. The lawyerly and doctorly castes were bad. They were woeful in fact. But the politicians as a class, the ones who ultimately made the calls, were worse – and there were very few exceptions to that generalised claim, as any Australian knows who looks for politicians who, say, resigned from Cabinet on principle (nada, zero) or who spoke up publicly and loudly against the massive authoritarian over-reach and aping of the policies of the Chinese Communist Politburo (a mere handful at most). 

So I gave the silver medal for thuggish lockdown commitment and stalwart thuggery to the political class. However, in terms of letting all of us citizens down I reserved the gold medal for the journalists of the legacy media. As a class they exhibited no scepticism. No thinking for themselves. They were fearmongers and PR agents for the modellers, public health gurus, ‘nudge’ manipulators and politicos. Yes, there were some brave exceptions. But very few. What we got from the legacy media was a sort of attempt to play the type of media you’d see in George Orwell’s 1984, dealing in Big Brother doublethink. And all of that is on top of the verifiably huge drift towards the political Left of the legacy media over the last few decades.

Well, if you were hoping things would get noticeably better after the lockdowns ended, they haven’t. 

For just one instance, let me take you to the murders of two young children and the wounding of at least 17 others in Minneapolis, Minnesota last week. It took place at a Catholic school with the murderer shooting at random through a stained-glass window during the first school mass of the academic year. The legacy media embarrassed itself reporting on this because it went against all the progressive class’s and legacy media’s (but I repeat myself) deeply held shibboleths and Left-wing bromides. You see the murderer was a man, Robert Westman, who back in 2020 had changed his first name to Robin and come out as transgender. He said he was now a female. And he hated Donald Trump. And he left behind a sort of manifesto that oozed antisemitism along with other bits of nastiness.

How to report this? How to report this, while still genuflecting before the progressive worldview? Life for the legacy media is just so much easier when a multiple shooter is a white, heterosexual male, preferably with conservative leanings. Then the details can be reported pronto. And the label ‘white nationalist’ will just be begging to be used. Alas, it was not to be. So on the transgender front the legacy media tied itself in knots. NBC News described the shooter as “a person in her early 20s”. The New York Times also used ‘she’ to describe the murderer. CNN talking heads worried about ‘misgendering’ the person who had killed two primary school kids and wounded 17 others, some severely. These journalists definitely know what’s important in a story, don’t they? The Washington Post got itself in a bit of a conundrum because, as it reported, “it is unclear how the shooter identified at the time of the incident”. 

Likewise, the NPR that President Trump has just defunded wrote that we “do not know how the person currently identified” while the very Left-leaning Associated Press told readers “the shooter’s gender identity wasn’t clear”. 

Oh, and on CNN the former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man embroiled up to his neck in the Russian collusion scam against Donald Trump, made a point of calling the trans murderer by his preferred identity: “I’m sure [the killer’s mother] is grieving for her daughter” – also somewhat misdirecting the first port of call for sympathy you might think.

Meantime no legacy media outlet that I know of mentioned the fact that an awful lot of recent mass school shootings have been committed by transgender murderers – in Denver, Nashville, Uvalde, Georgia, Aberdeen, Philadelphia, the list goes on.

 In fact, it is a massively disproportionate number of such crimes being committed by transgender school shooters, a point I make for all the identity politics Lefties out there who insist on seeing the world in terms of groups.

I agree with the growing numbers of people who say the two most likely reasons for this are a) gender dysphoria is a severe mental illness which right now is not being treated as mental illness, but instead is being humoured and encouraged. Or, b) transgender people who transition are being subjected to intense doses of drugs that may be having an unpredictable effect on their behaviour or aggravating their pre-existing mental illness. Because let’s be honest. If you told someone you were Napoleon Bonaparte trapped in the wrong body that person would not make empathy his main response and cater to your self-delusion. He would try to explain that there is a mind-independent truth about the external, causal world. Likewise, the 47 year-old cannot identify as a 13 year-old to win some sporting competition. Because however he feels or whatever his preferences, he is not 13 years old. Again, the white woman doesn’t get to be black just because that’s what she would like and is how she sees herself. 

As one US commentator rightly noted after this Minnesota tragedy, “The trans movement has been a disaster in every way and should be re-examined from the ground up.” 

And the higher up the socio-economic ladder you go, the more sympathy you find for this toxic empathy. Rich, white women seem to be the most in its thrall.

The other big difficulty for the legacy media in reporting this shooting was the fact that the shooter hated Trump and wasn’t all-in on MAGA. Indeed, this shooter, Robert Westwood, had written “kill Donald Trump” on his gun. Now, how could they report that without pushing a characterisation that would help the current US President (a.k.a. ‘Hitler’)? Well, one of the terrestrial, longstanding main US TV networks tried to square that circle by reporting that the murderer had “Donald Trump’s name on his gun”. Yes, you read that sleight of hand correctly. Still want to know why the legacy media is dying and why conservatives, especially, no longer trust anything that they are being told by these partisan hacks? Why supposed Right-of-centre politicians pay any attention to these legacy media journalists is beyond me. Just look and see how Donald Trump and Pierre Poilievre treat them with disdain and copy that.

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/06/2025 - 09:20

The key economic report this week is the August Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The BLS will release the preliminary employment benchmark revision on Tuesday.

----- Monday, September 8th -----
No major economic releases scheduled.

----- Tuesday, September 9th -----
6:00 AM: NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for August.

10:00 AM: the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release the Current Employment Statistics Preliminary Benchmark (National) for March 2025.

----- Wednesday, September 10th -----
7:00 AM ET: The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

8:30 AM: The Producer Price Index for August from the BLS. The consensus is for a 0.3% increase in PPI, and a 0.3% increase in core PPI.

----- Thursday, September 11th -----
8:30 AM: The initial weekly unemployment claims report will be released. The consensus is for initial claims to increase to 240 thousand from 237 thousand last week.

8:30 AM: The Consumer Price Index for August from the BLS. The consensus is for a 0.3% increase in CPI, and a 0.3% increase in core CPI.  The consensus is for CPI to be up 2.9% year-over-year (up from 2.7% in July) and core CPI to be up 3.1% YoY (unchanged from 3.1% in July).

12:00 PM: Q2 Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States from the Federal Reserve.

----- Friday, September 12th -----
10:00 AM: University of Michigan's Consumer sentiment index (Preliminary for September).

EU Lawmakers Skeptical Of Digital Euro As ECB Renews Pitch

Authored by Jesse Coghlan via CoinTelegraph.com,

The European Central Bank (ECB) renewed its push to issue a digital euro, drawing pushback from EU lawmakers over privacy protections and potential risks to commercial banks.

ECB board member Piero Cipollone told a parliamentary economic committee on Thursday that a digital euro “will ensure that all Europeans can pay at all times with a free, universally accepted digital means of payment, even in case of major disruptions.”

Some parliamentarians pushed back over concerns that the digital currency wouldn’t protect user privacy, and that offering accounts backed by the central bank would undercut the private sector.

Legislation for the central bank digital currency (CBDC) has been before the European Parliament since 2023, and has faced delays amid political concerns and the 2024 elections.

Digital euro seen as fallback in crisis

The ECB’s Cipollone said the core of the bloc’s digital payment systems comes from non-EU providers, which could hinder the “capacity to act swiftly and independently — particularly in times of crisis.”

He pitched the digital euro as a fallback in cases of cyberattacks or network outages, and noted US efforts to promote dollar-backed stablecoins.

Source: ECB

Cipollone said a digital euro would “complement physical cash, which remains key for resilience and inclusion,” but added that digital payments are now “essential to daily life,” which the government is expected to ensure.

Lawmakers warn on privacy, risks to banks

Some lawmakers raised concerns about the privacy implications of a digital euro and the risk that EU citizens would choose to bank with the ECB over a commercial bank, as it would present a safer option.

On privacy, Cipollone stressed that the central bank “will not know anything about the payer and the payee” and that an offline solution for the digital currency “will be as good as cash in terms of preserving the privacy of the people.”

Pierre Pimpie of the right-wing Eurosceptic Patriots for Europe group said “accounts in private banks could be emptied” due to a digital euro and took issue with the ECB having control over setting a cap on user accounts, which he argued the bank could raise in a crisis.

Cipollone said the central bank’s cap would be set “on the basis of rigorous analysis” and added that if corporations and wealthy individuals “see a crisis in Europe, it will take them a second to buy a stablecoins denominated in a different currency.”

“The digital euro at that point would be the least of our problems,” he added.

ECB eyes 2026 law, rollout by 2029

Cipollone said the ECB was working under the assumption that digital euro legislation would be in place by the second quarter of 2026.

Three EU institutions must greenlight the digital euro, including the parliament, the European Commission and the European Council. Talks among them could take months.

After the law is passed, which could be as late as the middle of 2026, the ECB has to create and test the digital currency’s infrastructure, which could take up to three years, putting a potential launch around 2029 if no delays occur.

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/06/2025 - 08:10

These Are Europe's Best-Selling Car Brands So Far In 2025

Which car brands are winning Europe’s competitive auto market in 2025, and how much of their sales are electric and hybrid vehicles?

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, shows the best-selling car brands in Europe in the first half of 2025 so far using data from JATO Dynamics via Best-Selling Cars.

It also showcases the share of internal combustion engine (ICE) sales vs. hybrid and electric vehicle (EV) sales for each car brand.

Volkswagen Group Leads European Car Sales

Volkswagen Group remains Europe’s top car seller, with over 1.8 million units sold in the first half of 2025, as seen in the data table below.

While still heavily reliant on combustion engines (72% of sales), Volkswagen has steadily increased its electric offerings, which now represent 28% of sales.

Volkswagen maintains a significant lead over Stellantis, the second-largest car brand with 1.04 million units sold in H1 2025. Stellantis has the highest share of combustion cars sold among the top 10 car brands at 83%, with just 17% of sales coming from EVs or hybrid vehicles.

Europe’s Emerging Car Brand Competitors

Renault Group (704,023) and Hyundai Motor Group (540,917) were third and fourth respectively, with both of them having 43% of their sales coming from hybrids or EVs.

Premium brands like BMW group (40% electrified) and Mercedes-Benz (34%) are also rapidly transitioning towards more electric and hybrid offerings.

Meanwhile, Chinese-owned Geely Group (with 67% of sales EV or hybrid) is gaining ground in Europe with competitive EV offerings and ranked ninth in total sales with 202,230 just ahead of Nissan (165,645) and behind Ford (257,337).

Toyota’s Electrification Edge in Europe

Toyota ranks sixth with nearly 479,000 cars sold but stands out for its electrification strategy.

A remarkable 86% of its European sales were hybrids or EVs, the highest share of any top automaker. Toyota’s strong hybrid lineup and growing adoption of electrified models in Europe has helped it compete against larger-volume and domestic brands.

To learn more about EV adoption around the world, check out this chart on global EV adoption over time on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/06/2025 - 07:35

"The Time For Real Change Is Now!" - Conor McGregor Urges Irish To Lobby Councillors For Presidential Bid

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

Former MMA champion Conor McGregor has urged his online supporters to pressure local councillors into nominating him as a candidate for the Irish presidency.

In a video filmed outside Government Buildings in Dublin, McGregor attacked the government over homelessness, migration, and security.

“We have seen the homelessness of Irish children rise to levels unprecedented, proving this government’s refusal to abide by and respect our proclamation where all children of Irish are to be cherished. Instead, our children abandoned,” he said.

He also claimed tourism had declined and “danger on our streets has risen” as a result of mass immigration.

Citizens of Ireland, the time for real change is now!

As President, I will not sign any bill in law until it goes back to the people first!

If you want to see my name on the ballot for the Presidency, I urge you to contact your local county councillors today and ask them to… pic.twitter.com/LGDCSGN9vr

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 4, 2025

Describing himself as a “master of martial combat” and a “solution-driven man,” McGregor called on his followers to contact councillors.

“If you want to see my name on the ballot for the presidency, I urge you to contact your local county councillors today and ask them to nominate me,” he said.

“Our councillors are the backbone of our communities. They work harder and deliver more for the people than those in the Oireachtas, who continue to fail this country time and again.”

He told supporters he wanted to be “a president face to face with government officials with only one priority — to ensure that the country our founding fathers gave their lives for is strictly adhered to on behalf of its citizens.”

He tied his message to Ireland’s republican tradition, invoking the 1916 Proclamation.

“Ireland, under my tenure, the will of the people will be heard. Ireland under my tenure, we will return important articles of our constitution prior, and thus again aligning with Padraig Pearse’s proclamation,” he said, referring to the revolutionary who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising.

To run, a candidate must secure the backing of either four of the State’s 31 local authorities or 20 members of the Irish bicameral parliament.

McGregor’s plea suggests he is not confident about securing the latter, and is thus seeking the people to lobby their local councillors to get him on the ballot.

The Irish presidential election is scheduled to be held on Oct. 24.

Read more here...

Tyler Durden Sat, 09/06/2025 - 07:00

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of Colombia Tolima Los Brasiles Peaberry Organic coffee, grab a seat outside, and get ready for our longer-form weekend reads:

• MotorTrend Lived With A Tesla Model Y For 2 Years And Hated Every Second Of It: After opening its long-term review with a paragraph about the positives of the Model Y, MotorTrend got right into it with the second paragraph: To me, our Model Y is antagonistic to enjoyable driving. I dreaded getting in it and often pushed the speed limit so I could get out of it sooner. Few things have tested my patience like this car, and I have two younger brothers. If it were a person, I’d face charges for all the times I kicked its tire or punched its steering wheel out of visceral frustration. (Jalopnik)

• Who will be in charge of interest rates? Fed independence is a question of power. And, as with many institutions today, President Trump is trying to reduce the Fed’s power and increase his own. That dramatic backdrop makes today’s Senate confirmation hearing on Stephen Miran’s nomination for Fed Governor anything but normal. The term “Fed independence” will be invoked repeatedly, but words are not enough. (Stay-At-Home Macro)

• The Magic of In-Kind Bitcoin: Making new shares of Bitcoin ETFs just got a whole lot more interesting. (ETF.com)

• As he builds US power, Justin Sun fights to control his story: A crypto billionaire who once feared arrest in the US is now a Trump business adviser and White House guest. His lawsuit against Bloomberg reveals what he doesn’t want Americans to know about his crypto fortune. (Citation Needed)

• The Mortgage Buydown Backfire: Homebuyers made a big bet on lower mortgage rates. They’re paying a high price. (Business Insider)

• How Bombas Built a Fancy Socks Empire With $500 Million in Sales: More than a decade after their Shark Tank appearance, the company’s co-founders have successfully pushed into T-shirts, slippers and undergarments. (Businessweek)

• Long Read: My Mom and Dr. DeepSeek: In China and around the world, the sick and lonely turn to AI. (Rest Of World)

• The History of The New Yorker’s Vaunted Fact-Checking Department: Reporters engage in charm and betrayal; checkers are in the harm-reduction business. (New Yorker)

• The Structural Solar Surge. As China and the US are reducing policy support to the solar sectors, we review the drivers of the solar boom—the fastest in the history of electricity—and our outlook for slower but still rapid growth in global solar installations. n Structural solar surge. Solar energy, which has consistently beaten expectations, is likely to meet a high share of long-run global energy demand because three drivers of the surge look structural.  (Goldman Sachs)

• Is Universal Music Going to War with Rick Beato? Just when you thought major labels couldn’t get more stupid. But just when I think I’ve seen it all, some new kind of stupid comes my way via the music biz. And that’s the case right now. Universal Music Group has gone to war with Rick Beato… (The Honest Broker)

Be sure to check out our special edition of Masters in Business interview, with Neal Katyal, Milbank LLP partner and former acting Solicitor General of the US. We sat down in the studio on Wednesday, August 27th, just two days before the D.C. Court of Appeals issued its decision in VOS Selection vs Trump on Friday, August 29th, finding the Tariffs unlawful. We also spoke after the decision, and he laidf out the path forward to the Supreme Court.

 

This is the second longest run of positive payroll prints in history

Source: Jim Reid, Deutsche Bank

 

Sign up for our reads-only mailing list here.

~~~

To learn how these reads are assembled each day, please see this.

 

The post 10 Weekend Reads appeared first on The Big Picture.

The Power Of Siberia 2 Pipeline Deal Signifies The Failure Of Trump's Eurasian Grand Strategy

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

Trump’s escalatory signals in Ukraine, the Indo-US split that he induced, and the attendant alleviation of the Sino-Indo security dilemma freed Russia up to clinch the long-negotiated Power of Siberia 2 deal...

Trump’s Eurasian grand strategy has sought to preemptively avert Russia’s potentially disproportionate dependence on China in order to avoid having its natural resources turbocharge the superpower trajectory of the US’ only systemic rival. In pursuit of this, the US envisaged entering into a resource-centric strategic partnership with Russia upon the end of the Ukrainian Conflict, expecting that this shared goal would incentivize Putin into agreeing to significant territorial and/or security concessions.

Trump’s unwillingness or inability to coerce Zelensky into any of Putin’s demanded concessions paired with increasingly concerning reports about plans to deploy NATO to Ukraine to spook Putin into ditching his balancing act and pivoting to China. The successful clinching of their long-negotiated deal over the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which will nearly double Russia’s gas exports to China to ~100 bcm a year and at a cheaper price than the EU receives, signifies the failure of Trump’s Eurasian grand strategy.

Putin might have held out for longer had Trump not inadvertently catalyzed the incipient Sino-Indo rapprochement via his hypocritically punitive tariffs that aim to derail India’s rise as a Great Power. That spooked India into patching up its ties with China, which alleviated their security dilemma that the US was exploiting to divide-and-rule them. This in turn reduced India’s worries about closer Russian-Chinese energy cooperation that it previously feared could lead to Russia becoming China’s junior partner.

It was never officially voiced, but astute observers and those who’ve talked to Indian thinkers know that India was worried that China might leverage its influence over Russia to get it to curtail or cut off military exports to India, therefore giving China a pivotal edge in their border dispute. The Trump-induced Indo-US split and attendant alleviation of the Sino-Indo security dilemma freed Russia up to clinch the Power of Siberia 2 deal without fear of spooking India into the US’ arms and thus dividing-and-ruling Eurasia.

The growing convergence between BRICS and the SCO, which aim to gradually reform global governance via their complementary efforts to accelerate multipolar processes, is due in no small part to India’s embrace of both in response to new strategic threats from the US. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in seven years to attend the SCO Leaders’ Summit, during which time he held an important bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping, is expected to lead to a new normal in Sino-Indo ties.

The roots of their tensions haven’t been resolved, but Russia expects that they’ll now be better managed, ergo why it clinched its deal with China over the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline right after also concluding that the US won’t try to help it obtain any of what it wants from Ukraine. To review, Trump signaled escalatory intent in Ukraine reportedly as the quid pro quo for the US-EU trade deal and then Sino-Indo ties improved as Indo-US ones worsened, thus making Power of Siberia 2 politically possible.

Trump’s foreign policy towards Eurasia has therefore indisputably failed. His team’s misguided approach towards Russia and India in demanding too much of them led to those two and China working out their differences, which exist amongst themselves bilaterally but also regarding their ties with the US, and consequently accelerated multipolar processes at the expense of the US’ unipolar interests. The Rubicon has clearly been crossed after this latest pipeline deal and it’s anyone’s guess how the US will respond.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/05/2025 - 23:25

Pulque: A 2,000-Year-Old Sacred Mesoamerican Booze

Authored by Ross Pomeroy via RealClearScience,

The Mexica people ruled the Aztec Empire in the Valley of Mexico for its roughly 90-year duration between the 15th and 16th centuries. Mexica mythology tells of an intoxicated deity, Ometochtli, whose drink of choice was pulque. White and viscous, with a strong, yeasty odor of slightly spoiled buttermilk, pulque is produced through fermenting a sugary sap known as aguamiel, extracted from certain species of Agave plant. According to myth, the goddess Mayehuatzin, Ometochtli's sister, provided the aguamiel and plied him with his favorite fermented booze.

While pulque is today little known outside of Mexico, it has deep roots in human history, tracing back 2,000 years in Mesoamerica. Researchers at the Escuela Superior de Medicina del Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico City recently explored its longstanding significance in a paper published to the journal histories. 

The Mexica may have been most fond of pulque, but the Teotihuacanos, Otomies, Zapotecas, Mixtecas, and Maya also consumed it. "Anthropological evidence, including pottery, murals, codices, chronicles, and oral cosmological traditions, suggests that this... alcoholic beverage was already part of the diet of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan," the authors wrote. "Pulque is therefore one of the oldest, if not the most important, fermented beverages in Mesoamerican history."

One of the reasons pulque is relatively overlooked compared to other fermented beverages, such as kombucha (originating in ancient China) and kefir (hailing from the North Caucasus), is its exceedingly brief shelf life. Naturally fermented in an enclosed container over 12 to 24 hours, it reaches an alcohol concentration comparable to beer – roughly 4 percent to 6 percent – then rapidly spoils over the next 24 to 36 hours. 

Its transience made it a sacred drink and divine gift in ancient Mesoamerican cultures. "It was highly esteemed and reserved for the nobility and priesthood, who consumed it during ceremonial and religious rituals," the researchers described.

Today, pulque's transience makes it difficult to export and sell. While the Spanish conquistadors enjoyed it (and its intoxicating effects) after conquering the Aztecs, pulque over time fell out of favor compared to longer-lasting beer, tequila, and wine. European rulers also carried out a coordinated smear campaign against pulque in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

"This anti-pulque campaign, orchestrated by political elites, stigmatized the drink, its producers, and its consumers, depicting it as unsanitary and associated with poverty, indigeneity, and illiteracy," the authors wrote.

Currently enjoyed by locals and tourists in Mexico, pulque hasn't found widespread fandom anywhere else. Pasteurized versions – which last for months – do exist, but food writers express that the experience isn't remotely the same.

"It’s the original active fermented beverage which will simply go bad after a few days so it’s truly a locavore phenomenon," Max Garrone wrote for Flaviar.

As for the flavor, award-winning food writer Naomi Tomky calls it "intriguingly zingy."

"Natural or plain, pulque is an opaque milky color but fizzy and bright on the tongue. Sweet, but not cloying, lightly viscous but not slimy, and just ever-so-subtly yeasty, like the whiff of freshly risen bread dough hitting the oven."

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/05/2025 - 22:35

India Doubles Down On Russian Oil Purchases, As Trump Declares Both Are 'Lost' To 'Deepest, Darkest China'

President Trump on Friday said India and Russia seem to have been "lost" to China following Modi and Putin having met with President Xi Jinping this week, amid the leaders hailing the forging ahead of a new multi-polar order which seeks to thwart a purely Washington-centric global system.

"Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!" Trump wrote in a social media, with an accompanying a photo of the three leaders together at Xi's summit in China.

PM Modi, via X

This has been followed on Friday with India confirming that it will double down on Russian oil purchases, in defiance of US tariffs and threats.

"Where do we buy our oil from, especially since it’s a very expensive commodity, we pay a very high price for it and it’s the highest import, so we’ll have to decide what suits us best," Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interview.

She then emphasized somewhat defiantly, "We will definitely buy it." On the same day, this development reported in Reuters will only serve to exacerbate tensions: 

Top Indian refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), opens new tab skipped the purchase of U.S. oil in its latest tender and instead bought 2 million barrels of West African and a million barrels of Middle Eastern grade, trade sources said on Friday.

The state refiner also bought one million barrels each of Nigerian oil grades Agbami and Usan from French oil major TotalEnergy, and another million barrels of Abu Dhabi's Das crude from Shell, the people said. Nigerian oil has been bought on free-on-board basis and Das has been purchsed on a delivered basis for arrival at Indian ports in late October-early November. In its previous tender last week, IOC bought 5 million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate.

This comes amid Trump's escalating trade war with New Delhi, but he now seems resigned to simply admit India has been "lost" to China and Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this week hailed that India, among the largest economies on the planet, has not given in to US demands to stop purchasing its oil and other products.

A combined population of almost 3 billion...

"Such tariffs have already been introduced, for example, against India - our particularly privileged strategic partner, a major consumer of Russian goods, in particular, hydrocarbon raw materials," the top Russian diplomat explained.

"We appreciate the fact that New Delhi did not bend under pressure and remains committed to the principles of free trade," Lavrov stated. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/05/2025 - 22:10

Lone Senate Voice Criticizes Trump's Bombing Of Boat Near Venezuela

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Thursday criticized the Trump administration’s decision to bomb a boat near Venezuela over claims that it was carrying drugs, an action that was taken without providing any evidence.

"It’s hard to have any sympathy for drug dealers trying to import product into our country," Paul said in an appearance on Newsmax. "But at the same time, I guess, you might ask the question, ‘Where does it end? Are we the world’s policemen?"

Via Associated Press

The Kentucky senator said that US authorities wouldn’t bomb a boat if it were off the coast of the US and suspected of running drugs. “We all assume these people were bad people and drug dealers, but if they were caught off the coast of Miami, we would stop the boat. If they don’t shoot at us, we don’t shoot at them,” he said.

Paul said that the “reason we have trials and we don’t automatically assume guilt is what if we make a mistake and they happen to be people fleeing the Venezuelan dictator?”

He added that in the US, even the “worst people” accused of terrible crimes are entitled to a trial.

President Trump claimed that the strike on the boat killed 11 people who were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang the US government has labeled “narcoterrorists.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and other US officials have said more strikes are coming and are not ruling out the possibility of pursuing regime change in Venezuela, which may be the real purpose of the deployment of multiple US Navy warships to the Southern Caribbean.

Rand Paul: "The reason we have trials and we don't automatically assume guilt is what if we make a mistake and they happen to be people fleeing the Venezuelan dictator? ... off our coast it isn't our policy just to blow people up ... even the worst people in our country, if we… pic.twitter.com/UpKVFAy5XU

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 3, 2025

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denied the US accusations that he’s involved in drug trafficking and is vowing to fight if the US attacks his country.

Other Venezuelan officials have downplayed the US strike on the boat, claiming that the video Trump released purporting to show the bombing may have been a fake, AI-made video.

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/05/2025 - 21:45

A Stealth Fighter Pilot's Timeless Rules For Making Tough Decisions

Authored by Rebecca Day via The Epoch Times,

Clear thinking and effective decision-making skills are two pillars of personal and professional success. But it can sometimes be hard to know if you’re making the right call amid a sea of options. Or maybe too much information causes you to forgo a decision, sometimes referred to as “analysis paralysis.” U.S. Air Force pilot Hasard Lee tackles these common problems and teaches us an easy-to-apply, well-rounded system full of effective solutions with his book, “The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot’s Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions.” And as an experienced combat pilot and instructor, no one is better equipped to teach clear thinking and quick decision-making than Lee.

His book offers a contemporary approach to timeless wisdom. The nonfiction work incorporates practical tips and methods that are immediately applicable to a range of situations, from business decisions to everyday problems. But before Mr. Lee explains just how we can learn to think better, he first takes us into the high-speed professional life of a fighter pilot.

Author Hasard Lee. St. Martin's Press

An Exhilarating Read

From dogfights during some of combat’s most hazardous conditions to training sessions as one of the Air Force’s most skilled pilots, Lee’s extensive experience flying the world’s most complex combat jets, including the F-16 and F-35, is highly impressive. Through his debut book, he helps readers see that the pressure and chaotic environments he’s lived through are highly relatable.

Several of the book’s chapters begin with anecdotes of some of Lee’s most high-stakes missions. These riveting, eye-opening stories offer a bird’s-eye view of what it’s like to be an Air Force fighter pilot in the U.S. military. And this unique author experience is what sets “The Art of Clear Thinking” apart from the rest.

He takes us back in time to some of history’s most historic battles, including the American military’s invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. As it turns out, this historic mission was supposed to happen the day before. However, Royal Air Force Captain and meteorologist James Stagg, who worked closely with President Eisenhower during the mission, noticed weather radar had picked up stormy conditions that would directly affect the operation. The high winds alone, making the sea especially choppy, would make it tough for landing craft to successfully reach Normandy’s coastline. Heavy cloud coverage would also make navigation difficult for aircraft. A tough call had to be made. Troops needed to be instructed to either go forward with the mission despite inclement weather or postpone it to June 6, when a possible break in the storm was forecast.

General of the Army Dwight David Eisenhower circa December 1943. Public Domain

A little-known factor played a key role in the ultimate success of this foray: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s quick decision-making abilities and ability to prioritize a multitude of pressing tasks. His mental toughness and skill allowed his team to adapt to the situation and make the hard, risky decision to postpone the operation for 24 hours. It was met with much criticism. Any delay gave the Germans a chance to find out about the planned attack. Despite pushback, Eisenhower’s strategic thinking and ability to take vast amounts of information and prioritize what was necessary helped put American soldiers in an advantageous position.

A First-of-Its-Kind Program

With many combat missions and flight hours under his belt, Lee ultimately became an instructor. Instead of limiting his teaching solely to flight instruction, he became part of a group of fellow instructors who developed a “first-of-its-kind program” that treated mental toughness not as an innate character trait but as a skill that could be harnessed and learned.

During the program’s development, he drew on his years of experience as a fighter pilot. He also incorporated lessons learned during his time as a boxer while attending the Air Force Academy. While at the academy, he was introduced to the concepts behind sports psychology for the first time, which he continued to build upon throughout his professional career.

The visionary program he helped spearhead was such a success for the Air Force that it is now an integral part of every pilot’s training. The book features several of the program’s lessons that are easily adaptable to everyday life. Lee has spent time teaching the lessons included in “The Art of Clear Thinking” to people involved in many disciplines, from business executives to athletes on professional sports teams.

Lee understands why this type of wisdom is accessible to humans from all walks of life. In “The Art of Clear Thinking,” he states, “High performance isn’t something that can be turned on and off—to thrive in the cockpit, the pilots needed to thrive in their personal lives.”

This mentality built for success easily translates to anyone who wants to better themselves personally, accomplish goals professionally, and live all-around more fulfilling lives.

X-35B flying over Edwards Air Force Base. Public Domain

Inspiration for Every Reader

Athletes and other performance-based professionals can take advantage of Lee’s simple yet highly effective tactics to remain calm amid adversity. Tried-and-true breathing techniques and resetting one’s internal dialogue are included in the text, along with an easily digestible section on the science behind this type of sports psychology-based training. The book briefly delves into the science of the brain, its chemical reactions, and how that affects us physiologically.

Business professionals and goal-oriented individuals can particularly benefit from the author’s section on Humans as Decision-Makers, which highlights the importance of developing one’s critical thinking skills as opposed to only relying on technology to do all of the forecasting that often comes with trying to anticipate market conditions.

The core of this book revolves around conceptual thinking. Lee helps you understand how to apply an integrated system of ideas to a problem when information is sometimes either too abundant or too scarce and come up with a quick, effective solution. This is a big reason why it’s such a well-rounded work on mental fortitude. Man is only as good as his grasp of concepts, and Lee eloquently elaborates on this important point of reality in his chapter Fast-Forecasting:

“When we rashly turn over our decision-making to external aids, such as committees or computers, we lose the ability to bring the full power of our brain to bear on a problem. We, in essence, have carved out a hole in our understanding and replaced it with someone else’s solution. If we don’t learn the underlying concepts behind that new information, then we’re blindly trusting that it’s correct. We lose the ability to quickly reconfigure concepts into creative solutions, which is one of the great strengths of the human mind.”

Assess, Choose, Execute

Many more tips, tricks, and thought-provoking stories are discussed throughout this entertaining and helpful read. The book itself is laid out across three different overarching sections: Assess, Choose, and Execute, which make up a concept fighter pilots learn early on that is vital to their success: the Ace Helix. This method involves assessing the problem at hand, swiftly choosing the proper “course of action,” then prioritizing tasks that aid in the execution of decisions that will help reach the goal or solution efficiently.

The book’s readability and layout make it an easy read and one you can treat as a guide you can come back to over and over again. It’s a helpful reference tool that aids in navigating life’s complex situations that require quick, effective decisions.

Equal parts practical wisdom and philosophy, “The Art of Clear Thinking” is a great resource to have on hand for a calm mind and reasoned thinking.

* * * Patriots, these handmade flags are really cool. Made by ZH reader John O. Pick one up and support both ZeroHedge and John's work. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 09/05/2025 - 20:55