June 6, 2025
Eighty-one years ago today, American and other Allied forces landed on the beaches of western Europe to begin the long, deadly process of liberating an entire continent from Nazi rule. We urge you to take a moment today to remember those brave souls who never made it off those beaches, and the thousands of others who died in the years to follow.
The Trump 2.0 White House has had moments of controversy since January, but WHOA NELLIE, nothing could have prepared the nation for the Donald Trump/Elon Musk online battle royale we all watched play out in real time. In a series of unreal exchanges, Musk ripped the Trump budget and tariff policies, openly bragged about buying the 2024 elections, and accused the president of being an Epstein Island vacationer. Trump, as expected, reacted to all of this much like Michael Corleone did in the Godfather.
To top it all off, Steve Bannon briefly emerged from under the bridge where he makes a living scaring children to call for Musk to be deported. Incredibly, the odds of that happening are much higher than zero.
Lost in the cacophony was a pretty nice little jobs report for Team Trump, as the 139,000 new jobs created last month beat expectations and once again left the naysayers scratching their brain holders. We were told, after all, that there would be a second Great Depression well underway by now.
Tucked into the Big, Beautiful Bill the U.S. House passed last week is a provision that would ban all 50 states from regulating AI, leaving that job instead to Congress, a body well-known for moving with alacrity. Speaker Mike Johnson is scheduled to call up a bill to regulate AI in 2036.
Meanwhile, our own Gov. Josh Shapiro is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over cuts to farms and food banks that will cost Pennsylvania millions. Since it may take a hot minute to sort that out, perhaps consider donating your money/time to the local food bank. Food bank cuts won’t stop people from being hungry; they will stop people from eating.
Pennsylvania is also slated to lose $35 million in digital equity funds aimed at providing high speed access to poor Pennsylvanians. Medicaid, broadband, food banks… there seems to be a pattern emerging here. We will get back to you when we figure it out.
By the way, it is June, which means that it’s budget time here in the Commonwealth. So, welcome back, our friends, to the show that never ends! No, seriously, it really might never end this year. Without funding for mass transit and a looming Medicaid hole the size of Venus, it may be a real challenge to make one and one add up to two this June. Or July. Maybe August?
The state Senate this week officially banned TikTok from being downloaded on state-owned devices. And if yesterday is any indication, the feds will probably ban Elon Musk’s “X” from all federal devices by week’s end.
Meanwhile, the state House once again passed a bill that would give cyber charter schools a serious haircut in funding, potentially saving school districts more than $600 million. You may be shocked at how far $600 million would go in budget negotiations. “You say you need an increase in funding, Mr. Public School? Here is $600 million in savings. Now go away.”
States across the nation are in a battle to land much-coveted data centers for the burgeoning energy needs of AI development and operation. Data centers need a metric crap-ton of energy and a whole lotta water, too. Those two facts taken together would seem to suggest Pennsylvania, a net exporter of energy and not exactly lacking water, would be a helluva place to park a few of these things.
A bill to legalize Sunday hunting has also cleared the state House for what seems like the 30th time. This issue is starting to smell a lot like the bill that would legalize radar use by local police. The issues have been around so long that many people forgot why they were against them in the first place.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker is on a ROLL, cats and kittens. Not only is City Council poised to approve her proposed budget, but she is also making good on her signature issue, big loot for affordable housing. Parker is expected to head over to Ukraine this summer to broker a lasting peace deal, before returning in time to watch the Phillies win the World Series.
Shameless Client Plug time! First, check out our friend Alaine Arnot, CEO of the National Liberty Museum, who has a few wise words about the partisanship gripping the Republic.
Then, check out our pals at the Lycoming Mall, where the ongoing development efforts have landed none other than Bass Pro! Congrats to the entire team!
In our We Can’t Make This Up segment, we take you to Albany, where a local CBS news anchor stayed on the air after her water broke and she went into labor. The station’s attorneys were quick to point out that she was free to leave at any time, but she chose to stick around and try to, we assume, just go ahead and give birth live on the morning newscast. The baby comes out, and then over to Jim for a check on the morning traffic.
That’s what passes for news around here, as we anxiously await more musings from Downtown Drama Llama, otherwise known as the White House. Make sure to check back with us next week as we cover whatever we damned well choose. From all your friends at Team Triad, have a great weekend!