Miscellaneous material to start your week.
- Paul Krugman writes that the combination of anti-fascism protests and Donald Trump's crackdown on them could be crucial in determining whether the U.S. sees an end to even the pretense of democracy. G. Elliott Morris notes that Saturday's "No Kings Day" protests were attended by millions of people. And both Toby Buckle and A.R. Moxon discuss how the contrast between the widespread and energetic anti-regime protests and the desultory Trump birthday parade shows the power of popular outrage and dissent.
- Shawn Micallef notes that this year's Pride events are particularly important as a means of protest. And Dale Smith discusses how book-banning and online age verification - both of which are being pushed as part of an anti-LGBTQ agenda - each serve as tools of authoritarianism.
- Desmond Cole is the latest to highlight how Mark Carney is adopting Trump's mass surveillance and hostility toward immigration even while pretending to defend Canada against them. Karl Nerenberg notes that Carney is using the U.S. threat as an excuse to bypass democracy on behalf of corporate interests, while David Thurton reports on the justified backlash against the flattening of Indigenous rights and environmental protection in the name of megaprojects. And Mitchell Beer reports on Simon Donner's warning that Carney's theory about "decarbonized" fossil fuels is patently absurd to anyone with so much as a grade-school understanding of chemistry.
- David Dayen writes about the damage Trump's signature economic bill will do to the U.S. - exacerbating inequality, stifling productivity and worsening public health - if it passes. And Ryan Ermey reports on new research showing that Americans are already seeing declining spending power and quality of life.
- Issie Lapowsky interviews Megan Greenwell about the harm done by private equity as it undermines functional businesses in the name of short-term wealth extraction. And Jason Hickel makes the case for economic democracy as a necessary system to ensure that human survival and well-being are given any weight in political decision-making.
- Finally, Yei Ling Ma reports on the choice by Wal-Mart and other major companies to pull out of an agreement on reducing plastic contamination before it takes a penny out of their immediate profits. And Kaylie Tiessen warns that sellers' inflation figures to be making a return to Canada soon as corporate retailers turn confusion about inflation and tariffs into windfall profits.