Sorkin is not unique in his comparison of 1929 and now, there have been a few other articles that described the parallels and the danger. The AI bubble shows signs of bursting, real estate is insanely over-priced, as if we learned nothing from 2007, and the rush to buy stocks and party like it's '29 all over again is happening as we speak.
The tech bros push AI because they have run out of ideas. Even my iphone 'upgrades' have become boring as hell. Ohh, my keypad is "glass" now. Big wow. And while there may be a place for it in science/research, they ignore that most Americans hate it and avoid it like the plague. I mean, you can't even watch an innocent Reel now without the pervasive, fake AI videos showing up which are, truly, an insult to our intelligence as are the attempts at AI customer support. And we're proud of people no longer knowing how to write a simple paragraph? I have turned it off in every app I can.
As a retiree and physically unable to go back to work if I wanted, I went against my financial advisor and pulled almost everything out of the markets. I have one little international fund that has always done well and I figure is my hedge against the American market collapse coming. I have no trust in the American economy. These financial advisors always sing songs of rainbows to keep you in the markets. I can't afford another 2008 so i have most everything in CDs...at least until the banks start collapsing again.
Particularly as we have no one credible or competent in charge. We were so lucky in 2008 that Obama was coming in when he did accompanied by competence.
Immediately take his gross name off the KENNEDY CENTER or he will charge royalties for every show is put on. If he wants his name up somewhere then put it on the bathrooms.
Trump-men's room and Trump-ladies room and TRUMP-15 and under girls room.
that should make him happy. (cameras in the under 15 girls room.)
At least things like the Kennedy Center and the brothel decor inside the WH are easy fixes once he kicks the bucket. I'm more worried about the trashing of laws and "norms" that will likely take a generation of good leadership to correct (which sounds like a pipe dream), to right this sinking ship. Look at all the expertise we have lost in the FBI and DOJ and CDC and NIH alone. Right now I'm grateful I won't be alive in 20 years.
piggy is simply a modern day "con man". Blows my mind that many cannot see that. he himself admits he's a liar. he just calls them "alternative facts". School his entire life by his racist criminal father so it's all he knows. THERE will NEVER BE ANY TRUTH from this con artist EVER!
The Trump Administration is pushing digital ID. We are seeing new testimony in Congress saying the right kind of digital ID will save the federal government $1 trillion a year in expenses.
Greatest Immediate Danger is Digital ID – Catherine Austin Fitts
BREAKING: The DOJ is engaging in a cover up. Most of the files are heavily redacted, with very few fully released.
There are disturbing images of Epstein with victims. There are images of Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, and others. Donald Trump is not in any of the ones I've reviewed.
They definitely are. Ben showed all those "blackout lines." That sums it up perfectly. They really think we're stupid. Well, we aren't but the republiCRAPS sure are.
Thank you Ben and Sorkin. Sometimes it seems hopeless if we can ever get back to democracy again.But i'm not giving up. You always give us some kind of hope and we thank you for that. God bless you guys for everything you do by keeping us informed.
In the area of healthcare, I am very concerned in the sweeping changes being made based on junk science! The reaction to this resulting in loss of coverage by insurance which could be disastrous for some people. Such as medication being withdrawn, or some trials being cancelled which might actually result in death for some.
Thank the quack RFK who knows nothing about health. Interesting that the Dingbat in the Oval Office, who knows NOTHING about everything, also hires RFK who also knows NOTHING about everything--especially about health.
The Post-Legitimacy [Supreme] Court (December 2025) [Edited for clarity; original at Source]
There are several signs of the Court’s lack of regard for what the public, or even the legal profession, thinks of its actions. [T]he Court has in recent months indicated its willingness to let the President remove from office almost anyone he pleases. After decades of a “death by 1,000 cuts” approach to limiting reproductive freedom, the Court in Dobbs … declared an end to that right’s recognition. And now … Chief Justice Roberts and his colleagues appear ready to declare what remains of the VRA [Voting Rights Act] unconstitutional. By nullifying the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] as to funding disputes, the Court has allowed President Trump to dictate federal spending without having to assess, explicitly, whether he may lawfully do so.
[Trump and] Stephen Miller, have ordered hundreds of heavily armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into “Democrat-run” cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, promising to “clean up our cities” and “shatter” deportation records. [T]hese campaigns have amounted to a campaign of terror against migrants and, more generally, Latinos ([and] Black Americans), with masked agents smashing car windows, dragging asylum seekers from court hearings, and storming an apartment complex using Black Hawk helicopters and chemical munitions. The situation is made even worse … [because] emergency docket decisions are made without the benefit of full briefing, oral argument, or even deliberation among the Justices. “If one believes that briefing, arguing, and deliberating matters are essential to a system of law … we should be deeply troubled by their absence when the court is issuing major rulings without them.”
[Trump], has been able to consolidate an incredible amount of power in mere months, and the sentiment that the Justices might be a “bulwark” against authoritarianism, once pervasive, is now all but lost. [T]he Supreme Court’s majority has relinquished legitimacy as a criterion of its own performance, our evaluative corollary is that we should cease pining for its return, and draw the consequences of living in the aftermath. For that reason, we conclude by arguing that … the strategic calculus of response to a post-legitimacy Court has much broader ramifications. It should lead to abandonment of centrist resistance to progressive strategies of late to delegitimate and democratize the Supreme Court. Once it is obvious that the body is set on delegitimating itself, and that countering its own erosion of its standing will not work, it turns out there is a better and more fruitful alternative. It is a more democratic country, not “nihilism, that is the best replacement for a higher judiciary that has more and more deprived itself of any publicly accepted rationale for power.
Far from a consensus that the Supreme Court, or Constitution, or legal system doesn’t matter … the emerging position is that those institutions are not good, or even unacceptably bad, and that something better must be put in their place. The situation requires new strategies and new thinking—not cynicism about the law, but embracing the hopeful possibility that when the Supreme Court itself insists that it is no more than politics by other means, it has prepared the possibility of new demands for its disempowerment and marginalization.
Source: The Post-Legitimacy Court (December 2025) Ryan Doerfler is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Samuel Moyn is Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. https://tinyurl.com/26mjtccs
The holidays may be merry, but for many Americans, they come with a heavy financial burden. A new MoneyLion survey reveals that nearly 80% of Americans plan to spend the same or more than last year — with average spending now topping $2,000. That’s putting strain on wallets and emotions — 27% feel pressure to spend more than they have and 36% feel anxiety after viewing their bank statements after the holidays.84% of Americans plan to use credit cards to manage holiday spending, and 30% plan to use buy now, pay later (BNPL). Meanwhile, 14% plan to take out a personal loan. However, nearly half (46%) don’t realize BNPL can affect their credit. 25% of Americans are planning to take an extra job to help supplement their income for the holidays, including 44% of Gen Z and 34% of millennials.
Source: Holidays Breed Anxiety for Americans as Avg. Spending Tops $2K, Survey Finds https://tinyurl.com/4f92a6x6
Thanks Kelvin, this septuagenarian will be watching her pennies this year and only purchasing what she has money for since my only income is social security!
Great interview. I wonder why titans of industry don't simply run in stealth mode trying to avoid the eye of Sauron, to use a literary metaphor? I understand the various commitments that CEOs have to their shareholders, boards and employees but avoidance would be my tactic or that of Costco, simply running the ship you've always sailed and let the chips fall where they may which in this case increased their sales versus Target who's sales have steadily tanked not understanding how acquiescing to trump's bluster has permanently insulted their customer base.
Blue states do tend to have higher prices especially for housing. However, wages are usually higher in blue states and GDP is higher. Services and education are better in the blue states. So it is sort of apples versus oranges.
...and we cherish and want to keep our freedoms...whereas those tho reside in red states don't--they'd rather be told what to do by the Dingbat Dictator in the Oval Office and his cronies (republiCRAPS, that is). No independent thinking in those states.
Sorkin is not unique in his comparison of 1929 and now, there have been a few other articles that described the parallels and the danger. The AI bubble shows signs of bursting, real estate is insanely over-priced, as if we learned nothing from 2007, and the rush to buy stocks and party like it's '29 all over again is happening as we speak.
The tech bros push AI because they have run out of ideas. Even my iphone 'upgrades' have become boring as hell. Ohh, my keypad is "glass" now. Big wow. And while there may be a place for it in science/research, they ignore that most Americans hate it and avoid it like the plague. I mean, you can't even watch an innocent Reel now without the pervasive, fake AI videos showing up which are, truly, an insult to our intelligence as are the attempts at AI customer support. And we're proud of people no longer knowing how to write a simple paragraph? I have turned it off in every app I can.
As a retiree and physically unable to go back to work if I wanted, I went against my financial advisor and pulled almost everything out of the markets. I have one little international fund that has always done well and I figure is my hedge against the American market collapse coming. I have no trust in the American economy. These financial advisors always sing songs of rainbows to keep you in the markets. I can't afford another 2008 so i have most everything in CDs...at least until the banks start collapsing again.
But this is worse...............far worse than that.
Particularly as we have no one credible or competent in charge. We were so lucky in 2008 that Obama was coming in when he did accompanied by competence.
Absolutely.
Please do not compare this administration to any other. They lie and are off the rails!
You're way too polite, Greta!!!!!!!!
Immediately take his gross name off the KENNEDY CENTER or he will charge royalties for every show is put on. If he wants his name up somewhere then put it on the bathrooms.
Trump-men's room and Trump-ladies room and TRUMP-15 and under girls room.
that should make him happy. (cameras in the under 15 girls room.)
I really expect that attendance is going to drop even more now that his name is on the building.
Not only will attendance drop off, but think of how many performers will pull out as well.
It's quite sad. I used to like going to the Kennedy Center. It was always such a special occasion.
At least things like the Kennedy Center and the brothel decor inside the WH are easy fixes once he kicks the bucket. I'm more worried about the trashing of laws and "norms" that will likely take a generation of good leadership to correct (which sounds like a pipe dream), to right this sinking ship. Look at all the expertise we have lost in the FBI and DOJ and CDC and NIH alone. Right now I'm grateful I won't be alive in 20 years.
❤️ 💙 💜 💖
piggy is simply a modern day "con man". Blows my mind that many cannot see that. he himself admits he's a liar. he just calls them "alternative facts". School his entire life by his racist criminal father so it's all he knows. THERE will NEVER BE ANY TRUTH from this con artist EVER!
Please get some new meds. Your existing meds aren't working anymore!
It’s hilarious when Bessent tries to lie. He’s so bad at it.
The Trump Administration is pushing digital ID. We are seeing new testimony in Congress saying the right kind of digital ID will save the federal government $1 trillion a year in expenses.
Greatest Immediate Danger is Digital ID – Catherine Austin Fitts
LIONESS OF JUDAH MINISTRY
·
FEB 19
BREAKING: The DOJ is engaging in a cover up. Most of the files are heavily redacted, with very few fully released.
There are disturbing images of Epstein with victims. There are images of Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, and others. Donald Trump is not in any of the ones I've reviewed.
My initial review of the files: https://open.substack.com/pub/aaronparnas/p/news-epstein-files-heavily-redacted?r=mwv7z&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Of course!! They purged them
@Aaron
Of course!! They
purged them
There are disturbing images of Epstein with victims. There are images of Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, and others.
Donald Trump is not in any of the ones I've
reviewed.
Of course!!
They purged them
They definitely are. Ben showed all those "blackout lines." That sums it up perfectly. They really think we're stupid. Well, we aren't but the republiCRAPS sure are.
@Natalie Melissa
Guess who's behind this push? The Nerd Reich players whispering in his ear: Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Mark Andreesen, Shady Vance et al.
You left "Elon Musk"
the satanic one
"Zuckerberg"
Bill Gates and the list is long👹😡
That's why I included "et al."
@Oakown
@Oakyown
@Oaktown 👏👏👍
@Natatie Melissa
Didn’t they push for the Ten Commandments to be posted in all classrooms, isn’t one of the commandments “Thou shall not LIE”?
Bingo! And the republiCRAPS--who claim to be so "religious," don't know what any of them are.
Unemployment is up ! Tell them to ask their precious AI
Thank you Ben and Sorkin. Sometimes it seems hopeless if we can ever get back to democracy again.But i'm not giving up. You always give us some kind of hope and we thank you for that. God bless you guys for everything you do by keeping us informed.
MTN should have a T-shirt/cap emplazoned with, "Here, play this clip..."
As a matter of fact... --> https://store.meidastouch.com/search?q=play+the+clip&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
That's brilliant!
In the area of healthcare, I am very concerned in the sweeping changes being made based on junk science! The reaction to this resulting in loss of coverage by insurance which could be disastrous for some people. Such as medication being withdrawn, or some trials being cancelled which might actually result in death for some.
Thank the quack RFK who knows nothing about health. Interesting that the Dingbat in the Oval Office, who knows NOTHING about everything, also hires RFK who also knows NOTHING about everything--especially about health.
The Post-Legitimacy [Supreme] Court (December 2025) [Edited for clarity; original at Source]
There are several signs of the Court’s lack of regard for what the public, or even the legal profession, thinks of its actions. [T]he Court has in recent months indicated its willingness to let the President remove from office almost anyone he pleases. After decades of a “death by 1,000 cuts” approach to limiting reproductive freedom, the Court in Dobbs … declared an end to that right’s recognition. And now … Chief Justice Roberts and his colleagues appear ready to declare what remains of the VRA [Voting Rights Act] unconstitutional. By nullifying the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] as to funding disputes, the Court has allowed President Trump to dictate federal spending without having to assess, explicitly, whether he may lawfully do so.
[Trump and] Stephen Miller, have ordered hundreds of heavily armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents into “Democrat-run” cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, promising to “clean up our cities” and “shatter” deportation records. [T]hese campaigns have amounted to a campaign of terror against migrants and, more generally, Latinos ([and] Black Americans), with masked agents smashing car windows, dragging asylum seekers from court hearings, and storming an apartment complex using Black Hawk helicopters and chemical munitions. The situation is made even worse … [because] emergency docket decisions are made without the benefit of full briefing, oral argument, or even deliberation among the Justices. “If one believes that briefing, arguing, and deliberating matters are essential to a system of law … we should be deeply troubled by their absence when the court is issuing major rulings without them.”
[Trump], has been able to consolidate an incredible amount of power in mere months, and the sentiment that the Justices might be a “bulwark” against authoritarianism, once pervasive, is now all but lost. [T]he Supreme Court’s majority has relinquished legitimacy as a criterion of its own performance, our evaluative corollary is that we should cease pining for its return, and draw the consequences of living in the aftermath. For that reason, we conclude by arguing that … the strategic calculus of response to a post-legitimacy Court has much broader ramifications. It should lead to abandonment of centrist resistance to progressive strategies of late to delegitimate and democratize the Supreme Court. Once it is obvious that the body is set on delegitimating itself, and that countering its own erosion of its standing will not work, it turns out there is a better and more fruitful alternative. It is a more democratic country, not “nihilism, that is the best replacement for a higher judiciary that has more and more deprived itself of any publicly accepted rationale for power.
Far from a consensus that the Supreme Court, or Constitution, or legal system doesn’t matter … the emerging position is that those institutions are not good, or even unacceptably bad, and that something better must be put in their place. The situation requires new strategies and new thinking—not cynicism about the law, but embracing the hopeful possibility that when the Supreme Court itself insists that it is no more than politics by other means, it has prepared the possibility of new demands for its disempowerment and marginalization.
Source: The Post-Legitimacy Court (December 2025) Ryan Doerfler is Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Samuel Moyn is Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University. https://tinyurl.com/26mjtccs
The holidays may be merry, but for many Americans, they come with a heavy financial burden. A new MoneyLion survey reveals that nearly 80% of Americans plan to spend the same or more than last year — with average spending now topping $2,000. That’s putting strain on wallets and emotions — 27% feel pressure to spend more than they have and 36% feel anxiety after viewing their bank statements after the holidays.84% of Americans plan to use credit cards to manage holiday spending, and 30% plan to use buy now, pay later (BNPL). Meanwhile, 14% plan to take out a personal loan. However, nearly half (46%) don’t realize BNPL can affect their credit. 25% of Americans are planning to take an extra job to help supplement their income for the holidays, including 44% of Gen Z and 34% of millennials.
Source: Holidays Breed Anxiety for Americans as Avg. Spending Tops $2K, Survey Finds https://tinyurl.com/4f92a6x6
Thanks Kelvin, this septuagenarian will be watching her pennies this year and only purchasing what she has money for since my only income is social security!
Great call, uRNangel423!
IMO, being with people and sharing love and laughter far exceed often unwanted gifts
Love the last topic! All topics of course what a beautiful ending
Great interview. I wonder why titans of industry don't simply run in stealth mode trying to avoid the eye of Sauron, to use a literary metaphor? I understand the various commitments that CEOs have to their shareholders, boards and employees but avoidance would be my tactic or that of Costco, simply running the ship you've always sailed and let the chips fall where they may which in this case increased their sales versus Target who's sales have steadily tanked not understanding how acquiescing to trump's bluster has permanently insulted their customer base.
Blue states do tend to have higher prices especially for housing. However, wages are usually higher in blue states and GDP is higher. Services and education are better in the blue states. So it is sort of apples versus oranges.
But blue states also contribute more money to the treasury that’s passed onto the red states!
...and we cherish and want to keep our freedoms...whereas those tho reside in red states don't--they'd rather be told what to do by the Dingbat Dictator in the Oval Office and his cronies (republiCRAPS, that is). No independent thinking in those states.