Metro surge

Operation Metro Surge is over and lasted 74 days with both sides claiming victory. The goal of the protestors was to drive out the federal officers and they succeeded. The goal of the government was to get increased cooperation from local authorities and they succeeded. The long-term ramification is that cities and states may be emboldened to defy the federal government. This flies in the face of the Supremacy Clause in the Constitution which states that federal law holds ultimate authority over conflicting state laws. The loophole used here was that the state does not have to cooperate with federal law but it cannot interfere the carrying out of federal law. The question to be answered then, could any of the activities by the protestors be considered interfering.

Epstein files

The Epstein files containing 3.5 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images go back to the early 1990’s. This time period includes the presidencies of Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden and Trump. Thus, the question arises, why hasn’t this information been released. Some suggest that reasons like national security and damage to innocent people preclude the release but others suggest the material is too embarrassing to elected officials and other rich and powerful people. One thing that is becoming clearer is the disdain these wealthy people have for the average citizen. With Epstein and some in his circle, the poor can be described as exploitative, dismissive, and in extreme contexts, contemptuous. The files suggest that the super-rich in this circle often viewed the poor and vulnerable as individuals to be used for their own purposes. This has spawned a new term called the Epstein Class. For some this is just an expansion on the old idea of east coast, college educated, liberal elites and how they see Midwesterners, the people who live in flyover country.

The new economy

Trump is destined to be one of the great presidents, not so much based on what he does but when he does it. After WW 2 the US guaranteed the safety of the oceans to all countries who agreed to help fight communism. This opened the door to free trade and all countries benefited. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and the world entered a period of change as globalization started to change over to nationalism. Countries started to become more independent of the US protection and began trading with one another. It cost US and Europe millions of manufacturing jobs and the Far East countries led by China moved from agrarian societies to industrial giants. In 2015 Trump appears on the scene just as demographics begins to weaken countries around the world. The manufacturing countries like China need consumers to buy their products and their population has been in decline for 50 years. They like many other countries find themselves with the ability to produce more than they can consume. Japan is a prime example. They have too many old and not enough young to support their economy so they must rely on consumers from elsewhere and they see the US as a prime market. They will produce products in the US, sell these in the US and use the profits to support their elderly. The US is in the beginning of a manufacturing revolution that will revitalize the middle-income workers. Wages and corporate profits will increase as AI creates new industries and robotics increases productivity.

MN protest

A short history of the Minneapolis protest against ICE. During the Biden years 10 million migrants crossed the border without being properly vetted. This led to increase problems for local law enforcement, overcrowding in schools and strain on healthcare facilities. Trump campaigns on the promise of deporting illegal migrants and polls supported that position. The procedure is to have local governments turn over criminal migrants to ICE but some cities preferred to release them into the community. This practice is not limited to illegal migrants. Individuals convicted of criminal offenses in the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota have been released from prison or avoided jail time in the past two years (2024–2025) through exonerations, commutations, and a high rate of judicial departures from sentencing guidelines. ICE came in looking for illegal migrants who were released as a part of overall releases and this cause problems to the point where regular citizens began to protest. About 700 agents will leave the city while 2,000 remain. The primary change is a transition to increased, established cooperation between federal agents and local sheriff's offices for jail access, aiming to make the state "less of a sanctuary". Google AI During the 2024 campaign support was heavily partisan, with about 68% of Republicans supporting mass deportations, compared to 42% of Democrats. 80% of Americans supported deporting migrants who were convicted criminals.

Marx

Karl Marx felt that revolution was inevitable because of inequality and that anything that helped the revolution was good. In today’s world the word revolution is too strong and societal change is more appropriate. This opens the door to illegal activities because the goal is no longer legal but moral. When a small number have most of the wealth then it is time to change. Waiting around for laws to change to help bring better paying jobs to the poor and increasing taxes on the rich is no longer acceptable. To accelerate change it is necessary to take action. This means protests, using what ever is necessary to force change even if it means violent protest. It is morally right to break the law if it means forcing equality of results.

AI Joe

Lawyers prepare for a case by conducting deep legal research, gathering and organizing evidence (discovery), interviewing witnesses, and creating a compelling narrative strategy. They identify case strengths and weaknesses, file pretrial motions to shape admissible evidence, and prepare opening/closing statements, ensuring all testimony is supported. A good trial lawyer requires a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, state bar licensure, and specialized skills in litigation, evidence, and persuasion. Key qualifications include extensive trial experience, commanding courtroom presence, analytical skills to handle complex data, and the ability to build, visualize, and execute a strategic case theory. Enter AI Joe the lawyer. He can instantly recall the details of any case. He knows the transcript of every court case. He has memorized every word in every law book ever written. He can analyze every success and every failure and adjust tactics. He is not emotional and is never bothered by ego or money. He can prepare for a case in an instant. He sits beside the prosecutor and defense attorney in every courtroom. He writes out the summations and suggests possible further actions.

Births

Birthright citizenship is in the news because of recent developments. For over 20 years, pregnant Chinese women have been traveling to the United States to give birth. Giving birth in the US has become a common practice for many wealthy Chinese families. In the past, many wanted to escape China's one-child policy. Today, some see it as a first step towards future immigration to the US. Over one million women have come here to have their babies. AP Jan 2025 A California woman was sentenced Monday to more than three years in prison in a long-running case over a business that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States to deliver babies who automatically became American citizens. Dong and her husband, Michael Liu, were among more than a dozen people charged in an Obama-era crackdown on so-called “birth tourism” schemes that helped Chinese women hide their pregnancies while traveling to the US to give birth. Such businesses have long operated in various states catering to people from China, Russia, Nigeria and elsewhere It is currently not illegal but the US makes it difficult to get a tourist Visa if that is the purpose of the visit. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on this in June