Mark Barry
markpbarry.bsky.social
Mark Barry
@markpbarry.bsky.social
Power engineer and project developer by recent trade, learner and amateur economist for fun.
November 12, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Tariffs are taxes. Regressive, economic momentum-sucking taxes with no upside. Trump's tariff rationale is as baffling as where he gets his numbers
Trump just claimed his tariffs have pulled in $2 trillion. Then literally hours later, he inflated that to $3 trillion. With this absurdity, he undermined his case for tariffs, revealing that he's just pulling numbers out of his ass.

On the pod we dig deep into this:
newrepublic.com/article/2030...
Trump Wrecks His Own Case for Tariffs as Bizarre SCOTUS Rant Backfires
As Trump unleashes confused statements about the Supreme Court case on his tariffs, a trade expert explains how he accidentally undermined his argument for them—and why all this is trending toward a m...
newrepublic.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Coach Tommy is the dumbest Senator. He's not ashamed to prove it either
Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville has said a lot of ridiculous things. After Zohran Mamdani won in NYC, it got worse.
November 12, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Mark Barry
“When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One"
November 12, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Kevin Hassett has never been right - ever. He has a thumbless grasp of economic concepts

HASSETT: We're comfortable that inflation has come way down

QUINTANILLA: Even though it's been increasing for 5 straight months?

HASSETT: Well I guess there's ups and downs and seasonals
November 12, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Apparently rep Burchett doesn't understand risk pools, insurance concepts, or economics. Exactly who does he imagine that people wanting to buy healthcare will buy it from?
Democrats have managed to push Republicans towards a single-payer healthcare system.
Tim Burchett: "It seems kinda crazy, but in the future maybe we oughta bring the patients and the doctors to the table and tell the insurance companies they can go take a flying leap."
November 12, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Next, Mike needs to work on Greg Abbott about getting a replacement for the late Sylvester Turner. Abbott's foot-dragging is discriminatory and only about denying representation for the constituents in that district.
BIG NEWS: Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva will finally be sworn in as a member of Congress tomorrow.

She is likely to be the 218th vote on the Epstein discharge petition, which would force a full vote to release the Epstein files in their entirety.
November 12, 2025 at 2:39 AM
‪There is a plan, based on recent video from the Oval Office: if an individual collapses, one dipshit ignores him altogether, about half of the people run out of the room, and the others go through his pockets and steal any change or loose bills.
McGovern: You don't even have a health care plan. You been promising one for over a decade and we've never seen it, because it doesn't exist.
November 12, 2025 at 2:34 AM
It's part of Mike Johnson's pro-life agenda. Hypocrisy now!
DeLauro: The president went to the supreme court to deprive kids of food. Unbelievable. And now wants to deny their parents healthcare.
November 12, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Reposted by Mark Barry
November 11, 2025 at 10:51 PM
There isn't one
Trying to think of a more vulgar person—or someone with less understanding of or appreciation for American history.

No one comes immediately to mind.
November 12, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Checks funded from so-called tariff revenue, which is tax revenue with a fancy name. This is a 100% on-brand Trump scam to take the money from shoppers wallets with extra taxes and then offer to give some of it back. It's a grifty vote-buying scam.
They really think he’s going to send them a $2,000 check, and it’s heartbreaking to see.
November 12, 2025 at 2:29 AM
You also can't say you are pro-life when you withhold nutrition benefits, cancel farm-to-school kitchen programs, or discriminate based on where a child (or anyone) was born. The Trump administration and Republican party are long on hypocrisy and short on honesty.
Adelita Grijalva hit the nail on the head: True troop support means funding veterans' health & housing, not slashing it! Let's keep backing our vets, their families, and the federal workers who serve them. #VeteransDay
November 12, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Reposted by Mark Barry
Adelita Grijalva hit the nail on the head: True troop support means funding veterans' health & housing, not slashing it! Let's keep backing our vets, their families, and the federal workers who serve them. #VeteransDay
November 11, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Tariff revenue is tax revenue, btw. On-brand for Trump, It's a grifty vote-buying scam.
More fun with Trumpy numbers.

He's floated sending $2,000 checks to every household, "except rich ones," whatever that means, financed by tariff revenues.

It would cost $265 billion. Tariff revenue since Liberation Day has totaled $151 billion.

Bit of a shortfall.
November 12, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Dr Oz is an toady, not an economist. We don't want him near plan design, nor do we want any of the other imbeciles and cretins that make up team trump. Maybe they can call @JonGruber from MIT to provide a hand
They’ve been trying to blow up the ACA for over a decade, yet they don’t have viable plan to replace it.

They don’t have anything to make it better because they don’t want to make it better.

What they want is the ACA gone and everyone at the mercy of private insurance again.
November 12, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Based on recent video from the Oval Office: if an individual collapses, one dipshit ignores him altogether, about half of the people run out of the room, and the others go through his pockets and steal any change or loose bills. #trumpcare
FOX NEWS: So what would Trumpcare look like?

DR OZ: Well, these are all ideas that we're still working on
November 12, 2025 at 2:13 AM
On-Brand. Trump Honors Those Who Helped Others Avoid Service at Tomb of the Unknown Podiatrist
Trump Honors Those Who Helped Others Avoid Service at Tomb of the Unknown Podiatrist
He thanked the fallen foot specialists who bravely risked their medical licenses so that others facing military service could be free.
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by Mark Barry
How Elon Musk’s Changes to X Made Our Discourse Far Stupider by Dave Weigel talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/how-e... talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/how-e...
How Elon Musk’s Changes to X Made Our Discourse Far Stupider
We don’t know the minute when X started throttling links to news,...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Mark Barry
Speaker Johnson has literally said he's "not promising anyone anything."

For once, I believe him.
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
It's how someone benefitting from a fortunate accident of birth justifies their luck. Stratification of wealth and the compression of what was once the middle class in the US makes the problem bigger and the rigging more inbuilt
Casual reminder that the myth of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is a cruel hoax designed to convince poor people from all walks of life that the injustices they face are a result of their own actions, rather than an oppressive system rigged against them.
November 10, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Why is air traffic control still subject to government shutdowns when it could be spun off as a private service paid for by user fees, like Canada and the UK? Most of the FAA would continue as a government function and there is plenty for them to do. Is it because private jet fees would rise?
The President wouldn't last five minutes as an air traffic controller, and after everything they've been through - and the way this administration has treated them from Day One - he has no business shitting on them now.
November 10, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Mark Barry
The President wouldn't last five minutes as an air traffic controller, and after everything they've been through - and the way this administration has treated them from Day One - he has no business shitting on them now.
November 10, 2025 at 4:53 PM
If only the base were gold - it would be an on-brand addition to the oval office
You can own this Tiffany-style Taco Bell desk lamp for $1,999.99 USD.

www.ebay.com/itm/15733876...
November 10, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Mark Barry
Trump and Hegseth booed mercilessly for 2 minutes straight tonight by Washington Commanders fans.
November 9, 2025 at 11:52 PM