Trump Education Department Problem Just Got Worse, Andrew Shulz Tesla Controversy, & Today's News
PDS Published 03/20/2025
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We need to talk about why Germany is now warning its citizens about the increased risks they may face while traveling to the United States.
And more broadly, the rapidly growing number of stories that show that even if you’re in or trying to enter this country legally, if you’re not a citizen, and in some cases, even if you are, you might be caught up in Trump’s immigration crackdown.
And so starting with this Germany thing, I will say, the country hasn’t issued like a full-on travel advisory, they’ve just updated some existing guidance –
Warning travelers that tougher immigration enforcement under Trump could land travelers in detention or see them face deportation. []
But notably, this is coming in response to several German nationals being detained trying to enter the country, some being held for days before, and allegedly facing pretty rough treatment in the process.
One German tourist, for example, reportedly spent more than six weeks in detention, including eight days in solitary confinement. []
Another reportedly spent more than two weeks in custody, claiming he was denied a translator, and that he spent time chained to a bench along with other travelers. []
With both saying they were flown back to Germany without a clear understanding of why they were detained in the first place. []
And notably, in the second case, his partner, who’s an American citizen, came trying to get answers from officials, and she said they not only searched her car…
But when she raised objections, she says two ICE officers detained her and took her to a separate room, where she was subjected to a humiliating body search. []
After afterwards was also chained to a bench for a time before being released. []
And on top of those cases, a German green card holder, a permanent U.S. resident living in New Hampshire, has also claimed to have been “violently interrogated” by border officials after returning from a trip to Luxembourg –
With his mother telling reporters that he had been held at Boston’s Logan airport for hours, stripped naked, and put in a cold shower by two officials. []
Also claiming that immigration agents had put pressure on her son to give up his green card.
And claiming he was given little food or water, and denied access to his medication for anxiety and depression. []
And with that, he actually required medical attention at some point during the interrogation and ended up in the hospital. []
But he’s now being held in a detention center in Rhode Island.
With U.S. Customs and Border Protection service telling the media the claims about his case were “blatantly false” without saying which points it disputed. []
Also saying in a statement:
“When an individual is found with drug-related charges and tries to reenter the country, officers will take proper action.” []
However, as of recording, it’s not exactly clear what those charges are.
Right, he does reportedly have some misdemeanor cases associated with him from several years ago, including ones involving drug and alcohol abuse. []
And so it’s not clear if that’s what they’re talking about or it’s something new.
But court records show that Schmidt completed a recovery program in Nashua in May of 2024. []
And in any case, according to one immigration attorney, even with those prior charges, the alleged treatment of this man is extreme. []
And with all that, we’re seeing reports in general that immigration officers are employing more aggressive questioning tactics with immigrants and tourists trying to enter the country.
At least, that’s according to lawyers and former immigration officials speaking to the Wall Street Journal, who also say border agents are more frequently detaining people.
With them also noting that officials are now requiring most immigration applicants to submit their social-media handles with applications –
And have been increasing searches of people’s cellphone contents at airports as well. []
And all this may be in response to one of Trump’s day one executive orders calling on immigration officials to apply “enhanced vetting” measures to visa and green card applicants, including immigrants re-entering the country.
With lawyers telling The Journal the directive appears to have put pressure on officials to find more violators, with the goal of tightening restrictions on who is allowed into the country. []
And with that, of course, Germans are far from the only ones being caught up in this.
Right, a British tourist was detained by US authorities for 10 days reportedly due to the fact that she was planning to stay with a host family in exchange for helping out round the house and not having a work visa.
There was also the case of Jasmine Mooney, the Canadian who was in an “American Pie Video” and said she was held for twelve days in rough conditions, shackled at certain times.
And actually on that note, you had Canadian MP Charlie Angus today calling on Canadians to avoid travel to the United States "if at all possible"
“We have seen too many stories of citizens being pulled out of airport lines and being fingerprinted and reported as though they were criminals. Citizens being kidnapped through the legal detention by ICE. And it's not just Canadians. We see the attack on backpackers, students, doctors, professors.”
And with that, also calling calling on his government to, quote, “stand up for [its] citizens who are being denied their rights through arbitrary detention in the United States.”
“People whose phones are being seized and searched for any kind of incriminating evidence that they're somehow progressive or woke, that's not the actions of a democratic nation. That is the creep of totalitarianism. That is the creep of fascism and we need to call that out.”
And then, this week, we’re learning about a French scientist reportedly denied entry to the U.S. after immigration officers searched his phone and found messages expressing criticism of the Trump administration.
With one unnamed source telling the French news agency AFP that the individual underwent a random check on arrival, during which his work computer and personal phone were searched –
With authorities claiming to have found messages "that express hatred towards Trump and can be qualified as terrorism.”
Also confiscating his professional and personal equipment and sending him back to Europe the following day. []
You also had another source reportedly telling AFP that authorities accused the French researcher of “hateful and conspiratorial messages.”
With him actually briefly being the subject of an FBI investigation until the charges were dropped following his expulsion. []
However, according to the French minister of higher education and research, who said the scientist had been on assignment for the French National Center for Scientific Research and traveling to a conference near Houston –
The researcher has simply sent messages “expressing a personal opinion on the Trump administration’s research policy.” []
And of course, unless there’s more information yet to come out, many would say the possibility that criticism of Trump has been equated to terrorism is pretty fucking terrifying.
But it’s also may be, in the eyes of some, unsurprising considering how we’ve the question of free speech has become central to other high-profile immigration cases –
Right, with these not involving people arriving in the country but people already living here, such as Mahmoud Khalil (Mawk-Mood Kah-Leel — “Mawk” like “hawk”) –
The detained Palestinian activist and legal permanent resident still not charged with any crime.
Right, he was deemed “deportable” on the basis of a little-known provision in Immigration and Nationality Act giving the secretary of state the discretion to deport noncitizens if there is, quote…
“....reasonable ground to believe” that their “presence or activities in the United States…would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States .” []
And with that, just this week, a federal judge has ordered his case to be moved to New Jersey, where he was first held –
Denying the Trump administration’s request to move the case to Louisiana.
But also siding with the administration against moving his case to New York, where was originally arrested.
But in any case, following Khalil’s detention, Trump promised that it was “the first arrest of many to come.”
And we’re seeing that now as immigration authorities have detained a Georgetown graduate student by doubling down on the same questionable legal argument they’ve used to justify Kah-Leel’s detention.
His name is Badar Khan Suri (Bod-er Khan Soo-ree - LISTEN)
He’s an Indian citizen in the U.S. on a valid J-1 student visa and his area of study is reportedly peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin alleging on X that Soo-ree was “actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.”
And going on to claim that she has “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.” []
However, Soo-ree reportedly has no criminal record and has not been charged with a crime.
And, his lawyer said that Soo-ree denied all of the allegations in McLaughlin’s statement–
Adding that he believed the accusations against Soo-ree were “seemingly based on who his father-in-law was.” []
With that, I will say, his wife’s dad is reportedly a former adviser to the Hamas leader whom Israel assassinated last year in Iran.
However, the dad has said that Soo-ree was not involved in any “political activism” including on behalf of Hamas. []
And he also left his position in the Hamas-run government in Gaza more than a decade ago, does not currently hold a senior position within the group, and has in fact publicly criticized Hamas’s decision to attack Israel on October 7th, 2023. []
With all that, Georgetown said in a statement that it was not aware of Mr. Soo-ree “engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention” and adding:
“We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.” []
With his lawyer also releasing a statement saying:
“Seeing our government abduct and jail another innocent person is beyond contemptible.”
“And if an accomplished scholar who focuses on conflict resolution is whom the government decides is bad for foreign policy, then perhaps the problem is with the government, not the scholar.” []
But with that, I gotta pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on all this?
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The Tesla backlash is only growing.
Right, yesterday we talked about some reactions to its stock falling in recent months as well as nationwide protests against it and a string of vandalism attacks targeting Tesla centers and dealerships.
And just last night, the FBI deputy director wrote that:[]
“Our teams are actively working on the Tesla incidents and the swatting incidents, along with our other responsibilities to keep the Homeland safe.”
With that just being one of many responses we have seen to all this.
With Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick going on Fox News last night and not only condemning the vandalism, but telling Americans to buy stock in the company:
“I mean this is just so outrageous. You have probably the best entrepreneur, best technologist, best leader of any set of companies in America working for America, and you have this sort of weird part of the Democratic party attacking him.” (0:30-0:47)
“If you wanna learn something on the show tonight, it’s buy Tesla. It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again.”(0:59-1:08)
And you had CNBC noting that having a cabinet member endorse a company’s stock is a “highly unusual” move.”[]
With the outlet adding that conflict of interest rules prevent federal employees from using their roles to:
“‘endorse any product, service or enterprise,’ save for very limited situations, none of which appeared to apply to Lutnick.”
But it doesn't seem the endorsement helped much, as this morning during pre-trading, Tesla stock took a dip.
And while there was some upward fluctuation, as of this afternoon it was still down just a hair for the day. []
And it is down around 5% over the last five days, and nearly 40% since the start of 2025.
And yesterday, we talked about how the likes of Tim Walz was joking about Tesla’s stock plummeting, saying looking at it in his stock app gives him a boost.
With tons of people slamming him for celebrating the fall of an American company. [][][][][]
And that discourse has only grown since then, with a ton of people chiming in on both sides.
Andrew Schulz went on Theo Vonn’s podcast yesterday and said it’s not fair to root for Tesla as a whole to fail, even if you don’t like Elon:
“Yes I understand that he’s antagonizing people, he’s rubbing people the wrong way, you don’t like the guy, you don’t like the beliefs, you don’t like what he’s doing. And there are things to criticize, I’m not saying there aren’t things to criticize. Nobody’s above criticism. But to punish that car company that is 100% made in America made by people living in America…Americans rely on those jobs. Like, maybe we criticize another thing, right? Like what is your goal? LIke we shut down those factories and those Americans lose their jobs? Does that make you feel better about your gripe with Elon?” (1:40:59-1:41:30)
You also had the House Judiciary Republicans writing that it is “disgusting” for Democrats to root against Tesla. []
But there has been a backlash to that backlash for two reasons, right.
You had some noting that if the concern is Americans losing their jobs, well, that’s why some are mad at Elon in the first place.[][]
And others just noting this is a game that two sides can and have played, right.
With Bud Light actually trending on Twitter this morning as people noted conservatives previously boycotted and raged against the company after it partnered with a trans content creator, Kid Rock even shooting cans of the beer.
That boycott impacted sales and distributors, and at the time, that same House Judiciary GOP account tweeted:
“Bud Light. Disney. Target. Go WOKE. Go BROKE.”[]
So people argued that just the same, conservatives have rooted for the failure of American brands based on political ideology.[][]][
So that is a whole ongoing back and forth there.
But then that brings us to the last piece of Tesla news, which is that there is a major Cybertruck recall.
This impacts essentially all Cybertrucks sold in the first 15 months that the cars entered the U.S. market, []
With that totalling to over 46,000 vehicles, though the company estimates that only around 1% will have the defect at issue. []
Which is a part called the cant rail, which is a “stainless-steel exterior trim panel” that can apparently “delaminate and detach from the vehicle []
And that detached panel can become a road hazard and increase the risk of accidents.
So Tesla is offering service free of charge to replace that part.
And there have been a handful of Cybertruck recalls since it hit the market. []
But many outlets have noted the timing of this one could just be another setback for the company as its stock is already on the decline.[]
But I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here, obviously there is a lot going on, so anything you have on any of this, I would love to hear.
Kimye Tate
Andrew Tate has entered the potential custody battle between Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
And because that is kind of a plot twist, I’ll give you a little TLDR to bring you up to speed here: The co-parenting situation between Kim and Kanye has seen some complications lately.
Over the weekend, Kanye released a track that featured both Diddy and North, one of the daughters that he shares with Kim.
And Kim tried to use a copyright on North’s name to block that song from being released, with her reportedly telling Kanye she wanted to protect their daughter from any association with Diddy, who is accused of sex trafficking in a massive federal indictment.[]
But the song still made its way online, and this week tabloids reported Kim is considering taking Kanye to court to strip him of custody of their children.
And that was apparently not the only frustration Kim has had with Kanye lately.
Because TMZ reported last night that Kim previously had to pull the plug on a visit North had with Kanye after learning that Andrew and Tristan Tate were going to be arriving at the location.[]
And this was apparently one of several issues brought up during a recent emergency mediation meeting between the former couple and their lawyers.
And this news broke not long after Kanye went on a Twitter rant accusing Kim of being a sex trafficker for letting North appear on an FKA Twigs song, also writing: []
“THE KARDASHIANS ARE SEX WORKERS AND THEY SEX TRAFFIC ALL OF THE BLACL CHILDREN THEY STRATEGICALLY PRODUCE.”[]
And this situation just blew up online as people were disturbed that Kanye reportedly invited the Tates to be around his daughter, given the allegations and investigations they are facing both in the US and abroad.
With some accusing him of grooming and writing that bringing “misogynists” accused of trafficking..:[][]
“around your FEMALE daughter is insane he needs to lose custody asap and Kim needs to file that restraining order.”
Others saying:
Right, people thinking that with this combined with Kanye’s recent Twitter controversy and Nazi shirt debacle, he should not have custody of the kids. [][]
And this is just some of the Kanye news in the headlines right now, he also released an album-film hybrid project that stars his son Saint.
And he is facing backlash for tweets he posted then deleted about Beyonce and Jay-Z’s kids.
But I would love to know your thoughts on any of this.
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I have three pieces of education-related news we need to talk about today.
Starting with this incredibly confusing situation with the Trump administration and federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania.
Right, yesterday, the White House rapid response team announced on X yesterday that the Trump administration had paused $175 million in federal funding from Penn over, quote:
“its policies forcing women to compete with men in sports.”[]
Right, and that was essentially all the information they gave us — even Penn didn’t really seem to know any more than we did.
With a spokesperson for the university telling multiple outlets yesterday that the school has yet to receive any official notification of the funding freeze or any details.
But despite the vague statement, it was widely speculated that the rapid response team’s post was referencing Lia Thomas —
A transgender student-athlete who was allowed to compete on Penn’s women’s swim team in 2022, becoming the first trans woman to win a Division I NCAA title.
But her inclusion and success generated a lot of criticism and lawsuits alleging that she was given an unfair advantage by being allowed to compete in the women’s category.
And those accusations have resurfaced again recently amid the Trump administration's broader crackdown on transgender Americans.
Right last month, three of Thomas’ former teammates filed a lawsuit last month against Penn, Harvard, the Ivy League, and the NCAA for violating Title IX (Title 9).
And, very notably here, that move came just one day before Trump signed an executive order effectively banning trans women from competing in women’s sports.
Arguing that such allowances violated Title 9 and threatening to withhold federal funds from any school that went forward with such policies.
Then, just one day after that, the Education Department announced that it had launched an investigation into San Jose State and Penn for allowing trans women to compete on men’s teams.
But here’s where things start to get sticky: Lia Thomas hasn’t competed at Penn since she won the title in 2022.
And, according to reports, the school no longer has ANY trans athletes competing on women’s teams.[]
With a spokesperson for the university insisting that when Thomas was only allowed to compete because the national collegiate standards at the time permitted it, saying:
“Penn has always followed NCAA and Ivy League policies regarding student participation on athletic teams. We have been in the past, and remain today, in full compliance with the regulations that apply to not only Penn, but all of our NCAA and Ivy League peer institutions.”
What’s more, a White House spokesperson also told The Washington Post the decision to halt funding to Penn WASN’T the result of the Education Department’s investigation into the school for alleged Title 9 violations.[]
Saying instead that the Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services were withholding the money as part of a review of discretionary funding.
BUT they didn’t specify what that discretionary funding was or explain why it was being paused if not in connection to a Title 9 violation.
Which is really confusing because the spokesperson STILL emphasized that this was about Lia Thomas, saying:
“UPenn infamously permitted a male to compete on its women’s swimming team, overturning multiple records hard-earned by women, and granting the fully intact male access to the locker room.”
What’s more, the White House also hasn’t said what needs to happen in order for the funding to be reinstated.
Which is especially confusing given the fact that no trans athletes compete on women’s teams at Penn right now.
So yeah, it’s really unclear exactly what’s going on here, why these funds are being withheld, or even what policy the administration is doing this under.
Right, Trump’s order banning trans athletes specifically required the Education Department to take enforcement action, but this move is apparently coming from the DoD and HHS.
One of the biggest teachers’ unions sues Education Department for shutting down affordable student loan repayment plans relied on by over 12 million
But, on the note of the Education Department, that brings us to our next story.
Which is that one of the American Federation of Teachers — one of the biggest educator’s unions in the country — is suing the agency, accusing the agency of “effectively breaking the student loan system.”
Specifically, the AFT alleges that the department is blocking millions of student loan borrowers from accessing affordable repayment plans and student loan forgiveness programs that are authorized under federal law.
Right, and this suit comes as the federal student loan repayment system is currently undergoing a major crisis that has left millions stuck in forbearance due to a legal challenge to an income-driven repayment program enacted by the Biden administration.
And that program — called SAVE — allowed students to repay their student loans based on how much money they made, with the idea there being to keep payments affordable and avoid defaulting.
But SAVE has faced a legal challenge from a group of red states, and last month, a federal appeals court ruled that it was illegal and blocked student loan forgiveness under three other income-driven repayment programs — aka, IDR.
And while the court stopped short of striking down the other programs, Trump’s Education Department responded by shutting down ALL IDR plans — including one that the appeals court itself EXPLICITLY said wasn’t part of the ruling.
And that had an absolutely massive impact.
Right, according to reports, more than 12 million student loan borrowers use IDR plans, and over 1 million borrowers were waiting for their applications to be processed when the agency shut everything down.
But now, no new applications are being processed, people enrolled in SAVE or the other three plans the court blocked are unable to move to new plans or apply for income-based adjustments to their payments —
And borrowers who need to recertify their income for an existing plan — which is an annual requirement — they are being blocked from doing so, resulting in massive increases to monthly payments.
What’s more, the administration’s efforts here have also blocked one of the biggest avenues of student loan forgiveness — the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program or PSLF.
Right, the PSLF provides forgiveness in as little as 10 years for borrowers who commit to work for nonprofit or government employers rather than taking more lucrative private sector jobs.
Think teachers, nurses, public defenders and prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and military service members — they can all qualify.
BUT PSLF requires most borrowers to repay their loans under an income-driven repayment plan in order to qualify, so by pausing all IDR programs, the Trump administration effectively blocked borrowers from PSLF as well.
And so, as a result, AFT argues in its lawsuit that the Education Department’s decision to suspend all IDR programs goes way beyond the appeals court decision —
Which only determined that Biden’s SAVE program was illegal and said nothing about blocking access to all the other plans.
With the AFT accusing the administration of overstepping its authority, arguing:
“Congress provided clear and specific directives to the Department so that millions of Americans could repay their loans without being hindered by the debt.”
And going on to accuse the administration of violating Congressional power and directives by shutting down all IDR plans without any indication of when or if they will be revived.
Trump reportedly set to sign executive order dismantling the Education Department today
But honestly, a lawsuit is the least of the Education Department’s concerns right now, because the final education-related story I want to hit is that we are once again seeing reports that Trump is going to sign an order aimed at dismantling the agency entirely.
Right, and if you feel like you’re experiencing déjà vu, it’s because we saw the exact SAME reports a few weeks ago.
Now, nothing official has been released yet, but according to sources and a White House fact sheet obtained by the media, it appears that this is the exact same order that was reported earlier this month.
And specifically, as we talked about at the time, the order would direct Education Secretary Linda McMahon (McMan) to, quote:
“to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure [of] the Department of Education and return education authority to the States.”
But, as we talked about last time, it’s really unclear what exactly McMan can actually do here.
Right, the Education Department was created by Congress, so only Congress can fully dismantle it.
Now McMan, for her part, has indicated that she would move some of the agency’s key functions to other departments.
But experts say that ALSO would likely require congressional approval because many of those operations are explicitly assigned to the Education Department under federal law.
Right, for example, some of the Education Department’s main tasks are to administer federal grant programs that provide billions of dollars in federal funding for low-income schools and students with disabilities.
As well as overseeing the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program.
But Congress specifically gave that power to this one agency, not any others.
And with that, you had a senior administration official telling The Washington Post that those programs “will NOT be touched.”
But, as the outlet explains, those programs “make up the bulk of the Education Department’s budget and work,” so “It’s not clear what that means or how the White House expects significant change without touching those programs.”
Right, state and local governments already carry most of the responsibility for education — they provide around 90% of the funds and determine most of the rules.
The Education Department doesn’t set curriculums or decide most school policies — again, most of its work is supplementing funding for at-risk, high-need students and deals with loans.
So beyond that, it’s unclear what McMan can really cut — especially given the fact that the department has already been heavily gutted by the administration and DOGE, which began sweeping layoffs last week.
Right, by the administration’s own count, 1,300 workers have been told they would lose their jobs, and nearly 600 others have chosen to leave — meaning that the workforce is already roughly half the size it was when Trump took office.
But, I mean, the Trump administration’s playbook here seems to be to just plow ahead anyway and hope the courts move in their favor — or at least break everything so bad that it can’t really be pieced back together even if it’s ruled illegal.
So, as far as what happens next, we’ll just have to wait and see when Trump signs this order — but it’s probably going to be the second show goes up just to fucking spite me.
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Just like we talked about on Tuesday… It looks like the war in Gaza is back on.
Because after conducting airstrikes, Israeli forces have now conducted a massive ground operation in the territory. [broll]
On top of that, Hamas has responded with its own rockets into Israel.
Outlets like NPR and CNN state that Israel is the one that broke the nearly two-month ceasefire after negotiations broke down.
But some have pushed back against that, claiming that the ceasefire ended 10 days ago.
...The counterargument is that the devil is in the details though.
Hamas wanted to continue the original deal and release hostages in waves as Israel complied with leaving Gaza.
While the higher ups argue over the specifics, hundreds on the ground have reportedly died, including at least 200 children.[]
Israel claims that the ground operations are supposed to be “targeted” and meant to hit Hamas weapons’ caches and infrastructure.
But through the fog of war right now it’s hard to tell if that’s actually the case.
What we have seen is that families which have gone to the ruined parts of northern Gaza being forced to flee again ahead of the Israeli advances.[]
While all that is bad enough, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that it’s likely going to get a lot worse unless Hamas releases the remaining hostages:
“Citizens of Gaza, this is your last warning… The airforce attack against Hamas terrorists was only the first step. The rest will be significantly worse and you will pay the price.”
“Unless all of the Israeli hostages are released and Hamas is expelled from Gaza, Israel will act with forces never before seen. Take the US president’s advice: return the hostages and expel Hamas and other options will be presented to you, including relocating to other places in the world for those who wish.”
“The alternative is utter devastation and destruction…” [broll]
Hamas' response to the attacks were a series of rocket attacks into the Tel Aviv area… all of which were either intercepted or fell into “open areas” according to local officials. [broll]
The return of hostilities -- and especially of Israeli ground troops returning to Gaza -- have sparked serious protests in Israel. [broll] [2] [3]
For three days now, thousands have taken to the streets to protest and demand that talks take place instead of force to try and get the release of the 59 remaining hostages.
Many feel that a return to fighting just means that Prime Minister Netanyhu’s government has signed the hostages’ death warrant.
Near Netanyahu’s residence, people waved Israeli flags and called for new elections.[]
This doesn’t seem to be a small but dedicated group of Israelis who feel this way either.
Polling indicates that a majority of Israelis don’t want hostilities to resume.
Outside of Israel we’ve seen figures like Senator Bernie Sanders call for military aid to Israel to end -- which is extremely unlikely considering President Trump's stance on Israel and Gaza right now.
While other US Senators like John Fetterman have been far more pro-Israel.
Right, he’s even in Israel accepting a little medal that commemorates the invasion of Southern Lebanon and told reporters:
And shortly after Israel resumed its airstrikes on Gaza he wrote:
“Hamas does not want peace.
I unapologetically, 100% stand with Israel, and demand the release of all remaining hostages.” []
So it looks like despite a slim chance that peace was on the horizon, we’re back to more bloodshed over Gaza.
And who knows what will happen from here,
because the first time around the US administration at least lost some of its appetite to support Israel: cutting off arms shipments and trying to provide aid to Gaza… even if many felt it wasn’t enough.
But this time, Trump is 100% on board with getting Palestinians out of there and turning it into a “riveria.”
So I’m going to once again ask everyone who felt that Kamala Harris would be just as bad as Trump on Gaza… do you still feel that way?
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The global human population may have just increased by billions of people.
Right, so currently, the United Nations estimates humanity to consist of about 8.2 billion beautiful bastards. [B roll]
But new research published in the journal Nature Communications suggests otherwise. [Study]
With it claiming that the five most widely used global population datasets significantly undercount the true numbers. [Image]
This because they’re based on census data, which the study’s authors argue is flawed for several reasons.
Most notably that counts are often underfunded, “communities in remote locations or impacted by conflict and violence are difficult to access, and census enumerators often face language barriers and resistance to participation.” [Quote]
With the paper citing Paraguay as an example, saying the 2012 census there “may have missed a quarter of the population.” [Quote]
And adding, “This is remarkable, as countless studies have employed these datasets without questioning their accuracy in the rural domain.” [Quote]
So to get a more accurate picture, they looked at over 300 rural dam projects across 35 countries. [Image]
You see, when dams are built, people have to be resettled, and the numbers are usually very precise because companies have to compensate anyone affected by the project. [Quote, find “compensation”]
So by comparing that data to the traditional population datasets, this study tried to gauge the difference, and oh boy was there a difference.
With it finding that the previous estimates undercounted the rural population by anywhere between 53% and 84%. [Quote, find “53”]
With the biggest discrepancies found in China, Brazil, Australia, Poland and Colombia. [Quote same link, find “Poland”]
And keep in mind, current estimates suggest over 40% of the world's 8.2 billion people live in rural areas. [Quote, find “43”]
So while the study stopped short of throwing out its own population figure, that would suggest there’s hundreds of millions if not billions more people than we’ve long thought. [Image]
Which is huge, because policy makers have been using these datasets to make important decisions for decades.
On everything from resource allocation, infrastructure planning and public health to disaster preparedness and environmental conservation.
Now I’m not sure if this has any implications for the debates around overpopulation and falling birth rates.
Since, you know, assuming the study’s correct, these aren’t new people; they’ve been here the whole time.
But it still feels like they just popped into existence yesterday, so to all the new members of our species, hey y’all! Welcome to Earth!
We’ve got cheeseburgers and rollercoasters and sex and all this other cool stuff.
I’m also selling Beautiful Bastard merch, if you brought money from whatever dimension you came from.
And uh … oh yeah, unfortunately the Earth’s not doing so hot; well actually it’s a little too hot, to be precise.
So you kind of got here just as the party’s ending, but hey, enjoy the banger while it lasts.
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For your daily dose of goodness, we’re gonna revisit the most horrifying story that we covered last week: the 32-year-old man allegedly held captive by his father and stepmother for 20 years.
Right, he said he was imprisoned inside a tiny storage room, and for a couple hours a day on some days he was able to have access to the rest of his house, since he was 11 years old. [B roll, 00:51 - 01:30]
Adding that he was starved, deprived of medical treatment, left without heating or AC, forced to do chores, just basically denied any shred of human dignity whatsoever. [Same B roll]
You know, the guy who reportedly weighed just 68 pounds at five-foot-nine when they found him. [Same B roll]
Well as horrible as all that is, I’m happy to say that his local community, his country and even the wider world has rallied around him since learning of his courageous escape.
With the mayor of the town where he lives reaching out to Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury, a nonprofit that assists victims of domestic and sexual violence, and they organized a GoFundMe for the man.
Now the initial goal was just to raise 10,000 dollars, but y’all, the money flowed in like a river of milk, honey and love.
With over 2,000 people donating more than 115,000 dollars so far after just one week, and the numbers keep climbing. [GoFundMe]
So you have Safe Haven, which is setting up a trust for the man, saying the money will be used to pay for medical and dental care, counseling and therapy for physical and emotional recovery, housing and daily living expenses and support for legal fees. [Quote, find “therapy”]
With the group’s executive director telling Fox News:
[Clip, 00:46 - 01:07] Caption: “From what we know, the education stopped at age 11, so he's going to need educational resources. He probably doesn't even know about technology these days. Anything that he's dealing with medical, from, you know, the weight loss to rebuilding his muscles to being able to, you know, walk properly. Physical therapy. Emotional therapy.” [Quote]
And the money is one thing, obviously a crucial thing, but so many of the notes attached to the donations are just heartwarming.
With people writing things like:
“I just want you to know that you are such a brave and strong person that deserves the world. You've always deserved that, and I hope from here on out you get to live a beautiful life full of hope and kindness.” [Quote]
As well as: “Go to school. Ride a horse. Watch a sunset/sunrise. Go to a theme park and ride the rides. Eat all different foods. Be good to yourself. … We're your brothers and sisters and we are so sorry this happened to you.” [Quote same link]
Or one of my favorites:
“You’ve inspired me a lot, you've inspired all of us to keep living. So thank you.” [Quote same link]
But now it looks like the man’s even gonna get some love from people who are less than strangers.
Because his biological mother just told NBC that she gave up custody of him as a baby, and she’s been looking for any sign of him ever since. [Quote, find “custody”]
Saying that when he became an adult, she and her daughter, the man’s half-sister, scoured the internet for his whereabouts. [Quote same link, find “scoured”]
With the daughter saying:
“I just want him to know that he has a big sister, and I’ve always known he’s existed, and I’ve always loved him, and I’ve always been trying to find him. I’ve been looking for him for over a decade. … And ... there was nothing. No social media, no court records, no ancestry information, nothing.” [Quote same link]
And the mother adding:
“He does have everybody here, on both sides, on both sides of his family, that love him and have looked for him. We all love him. I love him. He’s so strong, and I’m so proud of him for doing what he needed to do. I wish he did it sooner.” [Quote same link]
So yeah, I have no doubt that this man will carry the burden of his trauma for the rest of his life, but at least he won’t be carrying it alone
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