“I believe that ICE, an agency that was just formed in 2003 during the Patriot Act era, is a rogue agency that should not exist.”
......... “House Democrat Minority Leader AOC is doubling down on their party’s most extreme, unhinged agenda, while the rest of her party is bending their knee to the radical wing. At this rate, the Democrat platform in 2026 will be a fever dream of defunding the police, wide open borders, and far-left hellscapes.” ....... her support for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, challenging Democratic Party leadership, her belief in “democratic socialism,” being funded by small-dollar donations, and her conviction that ICE should “not exist.” ........ ICE "arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants and removed 65,682" during "the first 100 days of Trump's second term." ......... According to the White House, three in four of these arrests involved individuals accused of committing a crime. ........ "While President Donald J. Trump, his administration, and the heroes of ICE work overtime to rid our country of criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, and gangbangers, top Democrats are doubling down on their call to eliminate the agency responsible for getting these animals off our streets," the White House said in a statement. .......... House Speaker Mike Johnson chimed in on X Wednesday, saying, "Democrats still want to CLOSE DOWN ICE and OPEN UP our borders. It's not going to happen. Under President Trump, our border is SECURE once again, and with the One Big Beautiful Bill, we'll provide ICE with additional funding for 10,000 new ICE officers and more detention space." ........... Ocasio-Cortez has been vocal about what she describes as a climate of fear, telling a crowd in Montana on Senator Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour: “We are watching as our neighbors, students and friends are being fired, targeted and disappeared...Our co-workers, U.S. citizens and immigrants alike are being disappeared off the street by men in vans with no uniform.” ........... A Fox News Voter Analysis in 2024 found that 52% of voters believed Trump was the better candidate to handle immigration, compared to 36% for Harris. Immigration was ranked as the most important issue by 20% of voters in that analysis.
I need to articulate this better, but the core idea is solid:
1. Build your capacity for what's possible. 2. Set goals that challenge you and push beyond your comfort zone. 3. Achieve them, then aim higher. https://t.co/qg43BMRJ31
I have a VC friend and a hedge fund friend who shadowed each other at their respective firms: attended IC meetings, diligence sessions, & team meetings.
The VC left awed and impressed at how well run the hedge fund was. In his words, "these guys go to a level of detail &…
Over 80% of millionaires started out poor or middle class. How did most of them break through? No, it’s not day trading, market timing, or speculation. Most got there by saving part of every paycheck in their 401k. Start today, no matter how small the amount. Break through. pic.twitter.com/UISU2U9Op5
The Perils of Bypassing the Democratic Process: A Lesson in Governance
In the intricate machinery of American governance, the separation of powers stands as a cornerstone, designed to ensure checks, balances, and deliberation. Yet, recent actions by high-profile figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk reveal a troubling disregard for this foundational principle. Their approaches—marked by unilateral decisions and a sidestepping of Congress—demonstrate not only political missteps but also a fundamental misunderstanding of how lasting change is achieved in a democracy. This blog post explores the consequences of their actions, from trade wars to budget battles, and underscores why respecting the democratic process is not just a formality but a necessity.
The Trade War Blunder
When President Donald Trump initiated a sweeping trade war, imposing tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of goods, he did so with little consultation with Congress. This was no small matter. The trade war, one of the most disruptive in modern global trade history, rattled markets, raised costs for consumers, and strained international alliances. While the executive branch has authority over trade policy, bypassing Congress—a body representing diverse economic interests—meant missing out on critical debate and oversight. The result? A policy that, while bold, often lacked the nuance needed to mitigate its economic fallout. Farmers faced retaliatory tariffs, supply chains buckled, and American consumers bore the brunt through higher prices.
Congress exists to deliberate, to weigh the consequences of such monumental decisions. By sidelining it, Trump not only alienated potential allies in his own party but also set a precedent for governance by fiat. This approach may deliver short-term headlines, but it erodes the collaborative framework that ensures policies are sustainable and broadly supported.
The DOGE Debacle
Elon Musk’s foray into government spending reform, through his involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), further illustrates this disconnect. Tasked with slashing $2 trillion from the federal budget, Musk’s ambition was audacious. Yet, the outcome—eliminating agencies like USAID while boosting defense spending—lacked the legislative grounding to endure. Musk’s subsequent frustration, aired publicly when his cuts failed to materialize in Trump’s budget bill, betrays a fundamental misunderstanding: executive proposals are not law. They are, at best, sandcastles—impressive until the tide of Congress washes them away.
Musk’s DOGE initiative, while eye-catching, ignored the reality that budget authority rests with Congress. The Constitution explicitly grants the House and Senate the power of the purse. Proposing sweeping cuts without building coalitions in Congress is akin to shouting into the void. It’s not enough to have a vision; it must be shepherded through the legislative process, with its hearings, debates, and compromises. Musk’s public lamentations about the budget bill reflect a political naivety that undermines his broader goals. Without congressional buy-in, his efforts were doomed to be symbolic rather than substantive.
Why the Democratic Process Matters
The separation of powers is not a bureaucratic hurdle; it’s a safeguard. It ensures that no single branch—or individual—can dominate the system unchecked. Congress, for all its flaws, represents the diverse interests of the American people. It’s where ideas are tested, refined, or rejected through deliberation. Bypassing this process risks policies that are poorly thought out, lack legitimacy, or fail to endure. Trump’s trade war and Musk’s budget cuts, while bold, suffered from this lack of collaboration. They sent bad signals to markets, allies, and voters, who saw governance reduced to spectacle rather than substance.
Respecting the rule of law and working with Congress isn’t just a good idea—it’s the only way to achieve lasting change. The democratic process, with its messiness and compromises, ensures that policies reflect a broader consensus. It prevents the kind of overreach that invites backlash or reversal. For figures like Trump and Musk, accustomed to the swift decision-making of the private sector, this may feel like a straitjacket. But governance is not a corporate boardroom. It’s a shared endeavor that demands patience, coalition-building, and respect for institutional roles.
The Path Forward
The sound and fury of unilateral action may grab attention, but it rarely delivers enduring results. Trump and Musk, for all their influence, have shown the limits of bypassing Congress. Their missteps harm not just the politics—alienating lawmakers and eroding trust—but also the economics, as markets and citizens grapple with the fallout of poorly coordinated policies. The lesson is clear: governance is not a solo act. It requires partnership with Congress, adherence to the rule of law, and a commitment to the democratic process.
As the nation moves forward, leaders must heed this lesson. Bold ideas are valuable, but they must be tempered by the realities of a system designed to balance power. Working with Congress isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a recognition of strength in collaboration. Only through this process can policies be built not on sand, but on a foundation strong enough to withstand the tides of time.
This is not complicated. The current deficit is 7% of GDP. The deficit after this big beautiful bill will be 7.9-8.6% of GDP over the next 10 years. No accounting gimmick. As @elonmusk recognizes, it increases the deficit. That's not any gimmick. It is just a fact. https://t.co/RyHdZ670Xh
Based on current birth rate trends, in 3 generations the population of South Korea will decline by 95%.
For context in the 3 generations following Cortes’s conquest of the Aztecs, with the introduction of smallpox, yellow fever, malaria and the rest, the population of Mexico…
Thailand has 36 Michelin star restaurants. What is not well known is that the Thailand tourism dept pays Michelin to review their restaurants. It seems like a good investment for a country to make. 🇮🇳 should definitely consider this to promote tourism.https://t.co/VvXr0evATv
If you think stocks are going higher because some court blocked Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs, let me tell you something…
You’re right. Lol.
— Douglas A. Boneparth (@dougboneparth) May 29, 2025
My dad is currently on a demo zoom call w a startup I’m doing diligence on (he’s legit interested in buying their software for his company, so he scheduled one) & I’m sitting here terrified he’s embarrassing the hell out of me w/ dad jokes or telling them he’s proud of me 😅😂…
St. Louis: Where Progress Poses for Pictures While the City Bleeds
I moved to St. Louis in January. New city, new chapter, trying to settle in. Everyone I met here told me the same thing: “St. Louis is a cool little place. We’re progressive. We care. It’s not what it used to…
He was a CS major at Stanford before dropping out halfway through. If that's nontechnical, the canonical startup founder at this point is nontechnical.
My idea for an AI Tinder is training an LLM on your personality, values, quirks, flaws, everything. Then your AI proxy chats with everyone else's AI, 24/7. You don’t swipe, you don’t text. You just get handed the best matches, with receipts on why their AIs clicked with yours.
