Kai Ryssdal
@kairyssdal.bsky.social
Dad, husband, host @Marketplace. IPAs. Soccer referee, trail runner, mountain biker. Veteran. kryssdal@marketplace.org
👇
If the US had a Congress, it would be raising hell over the president ignoring Congress’s war powers and preparing to start another Middle East war without authorization or even debate.
Except the Republican majority doesn’t want the US to have a Congress, so it effectively doesn’t.
Except the Republican majority doesn’t want the US to have a Congress, so it effectively doesn’t.
February 19, 2026 at 2:34 PM
👇
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
The British monarchy is more accountable to the public than the American presidency.
February 19, 2026 at 2:04 PM
The British monarchy is more accountable to the public than the American presidency.
Show me the lie
February 19, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Show me the lie
Tell me you don’t understand the economy without telling me you don’t understand the economy
THE UNITED STATES TRADE DEFICIT HAS BEEN REDUCED BY 78% BECAUSE OF THE TARIFFS BEING CHARGED TO OTHER COMPANIES AND COUNTRIES. IT WILL GO INTO POSITIVE TERRITORY DURING THIS YEAR, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY DECADES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!
February 19, 2026 at 12:31 AM
Tell me you don’t understand the economy without telling me you don’t understand the economy
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
If the VA goes on with this, they should change their motto to “To screw over they who hath borne the burden so that we can fleece the pockets of our overlords”
Military veterans and advocacy groups are slamming a new rule recently implemented by the VA for determining disability compensation, predicting it will lower disability ratings and reduce benefits for service-related illnesses and injuries.
Veterans slam new VA rule for determining disability ratings
The new rule states that a disability level must be based on how well a veteran functions while on medication and not on the underlying impairment.
www.stripes.com
February 18, 2026 at 11:20 PM
If the VA goes on with this, they should change their motto to “To screw over they who hath borne the burden so that we can fleece the pockets of our overlords”
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
OMG. it's much worse than I thought.
"We certainly appreciate being able to be the exclusive partner."
—CNBC's Sara Eisen at the Liberty World Forum, a crypto venture founded by the Trump family, among others.
"We certainly appreciate being able to be the exclusive partner."
—CNBC's Sara Eisen at the Liberty World Forum, a crypto venture founded by the Trump family, among others.
CNBC is platforming the Grifter Bros.
SMDH.
SMDH.
February 18, 2026 at 3:47 PM
OMG. it's much worse than I thought.
"We certainly appreciate being able to be the exclusive partner."
—CNBC's Sara Eisen at the Liberty World Forum, a crypto venture founded by the Trump family, among others.
"We certainly appreciate being able to be the exclusive partner."
—CNBC's Sara Eisen at the Liberty World Forum, a crypto venture founded by the Trump family, among others.
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
This is important —>
In departure from norm, Coast Guard demands immigration papers on Louisiana docks
In St. Bernard Parish, fishing deckhands fear death and detention amid regular immigration sweeps – not by ICE, but the Coast Guard
lailluminator.com/2026/02/18/c...
In St. Bernard Parish, fishing deckhands fear death and detention amid regular immigration sweeps – not by ICE, but the Coast Guard
lailluminator.com/2026/02/18/c...
In departure from norm, Coast Guard demands immigration papers on Louisiana docks • Louisiana Illuminator
Seafood workers say that the Coast Guard, in a departure from the norm, has conducted about seven sweeps since early November, resulting in multiple arrests.
lailluminator.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:03 PM
This is important —>
Fundamentally not at all. But when he says this stuff out loud it still just gobsmacks me every time.
February 18, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Fundamentally not at all. But when he says this stuff out loud it still just gobsmacks me every time.
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
It should not be lost amid the current idiocy of CBS kiboshing Colbert's interview over "equal time" that the current president *hosted SNL as a candidate* www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/a...
Review: Donald Trump on ‘Saturday Night Live’ (Published 2015)
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:34 PM
It should not be lost amid the current idiocy of CBS kiboshing Colbert's interview over "equal time" that the current president *hosted SNL as a candidate* www.nytimes.com/2015/11/09/a...
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
Suggested discipline:
Forced to listen to an audiobook of “Dow 36,000” on repeat for the rest of their days
Forced to listen to an audiobook of “Dow 36,000” on repeat for the rest of their days
Hassett on new study from NY Fed showing 90% of tariff burden is being shouldered by US firms & consumers: "The paper is an embarrassment. It's I think the worst paper I've ever seen in the history of the Fed system. The people associated with this paper should presumably be disciplined."
February 18, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Suggested discipline:
Forced to listen to an audiobook of “Dow 36,000” on repeat for the rest of their days
Forced to listen to an audiobook of “Dow 36,000” on repeat for the rest of their days
This answer - from one of the president’s key economic advisors - is disgraceful.
And, fwiw, the number for tariff pass through is closer to 94-96 percent
And, fwiw, the number for tariff pass through is closer to 94-96 percent
Hassett on new study from NY Fed showing 90% of tariff burden is being shouldered by US firms & consumers: "The paper is an embarrassment. It's I think the worst paper I've ever seen in the history of the Fed system. The people associated with this paper should presumably be disciplined."
February 18, 2026 at 2:22 PM
This answer - from one of the president’s key economic advisors - is disgraceful.
And, fwiw, the number for tariff pass through is closer to 94-96 percent
And, fwiw, the number for tariff pass through is closer to 94-96 percent
👇
Real insane part of this clip is Hassett saying in the beginning that NY Fed researchers “should be disciplined” for…writing an economics paper that comes to a conclusion the president dislikes? A conclusion that matches the vast majority of economic evidence on tariffs? Nuts
Hassett: "The basic theory of President Trump's tariffs is sure, we're importing stuff from China, but we've got producers in US who make stuff, maybe at alightly higher place. If we bring stuff home, create demand, then that will hurt China & drive up wages & American consumers will be better off."
February 18, 2026 at 2:17 PM
👇
And, again, it reveals the place of fear and weakness from which Hegseth operates
"Army officers do not choose their bosses. They serve where assigned, executing lawful orders in support of national policy. To punish an officer for having served under a particular senior leader is to misunderstand the very nature of military service."
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
America’s Generals Shouldn’t Face Political Loyalty Tests
Keeping politics out of the military is what keeps the military out of politics.
open.substack.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:15 PM
And, again, it reveals the place of fear and weakness from which Hegseth operates
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
Counterpoint:
Don’t upload your medical records to any LLM.
That’s fucking insane.
Don’t upload your medical records to any LLM.
That’s fucking insane.
February 18, 2026 at 2:07 AM
Counterpoint:
Don’t upload your medical records to any LLM.
That’s fucking insane.
Don’t upload your medical records to any LLM.
That’s fucking insane.
Ummmm
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on tariffs: "It's not regressive. Most consumption in America is done by the wealthiest people. So the idea it's somehow regressive is just wrong."
February 17, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Ummmm
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
“Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying ‘His color is not mine,’ or ‘His beliefs are strange & different,’ in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this nation.”
~President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
~President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
February 16, 2026 at 10:09 PM
“Justice requires us to remember that when any citizen denies his fellow, saying ‘His color is not mine,’ or ‘His beliefs are strange & different,’ in that moment he betrays America, though his forebears created this nation.”
~President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
~President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
Marshall said of World War II "I doubt there was any one thing, except the shortage of LSTs, that came to our minds more frequently than the political factors."
Every conflict where we translated military success into long-term success was because we had warrior-diplomats who brought together all elements of national power to do so.
February 16, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Marshall said of World War II "I doubt there was any one thing, except the shortage of LSTs, that came to our minds more frequently than the political factors."
👇
too many ads this Olympics
February 16, 2026 at 1:47 AM
👇
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
Also there is little evidence that Trump in any way understands our collective inheritance — let alone is proud of it….
If you think there’s NOTHING in our heritage (or in any nation’s) to be unapologetic about, you’re a fool. A dangerous fool.
February 15, 2026 at 9:56 PM
Also there is little evidence that Trump in any way understands our collective inheritance — let alone is proud of it….
Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso’s Airspace
www.nytimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:07 AM
Reposted by Kai Ryssdal
Once more: Columbia could have fought; it chose not.
NEW: The Trump administration has dropped its appeal of a federal court order blocking its $1.2-billion settlement demand to UCLA over alleged campus civil rights violations: www.latimes.com/california/s...
Trump administration drops its appeal of court order blocking $1.2-billion UCLA settlement
The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a major higher education case in which a federal judge blocked its $1.2-billion settlement proposal to UCLA over alleged civil rights violations. But it ...
www.latimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Once more: Columbia could have fought; it chose not.
Completely agree
I realize media doesn’t think it’s a big deal that Trump, Vance & Hegseth continue to give partisan political speeches to troops, evidenced by the fact that they are never asked about it nor are members of Congress, but it is one of the most dangerous things happening right now.
February 14, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Completely agree