Episode 161: #PopeyTalk #ArrestingJudges #OverpoweringMusk

Cathy and Troy break down the death of Pope Francis, a man of the people who brought progressive reform to the Catholic Church on issues of homosexuality and economic justice, following a decade of right-wing rule from his predecessor Pope Benedict who resigned in the middle of the church sex abuse scandal.We discuss who the next Pope may be, and hope for a Cardinal from the Phillipines who would be the first Asian pope and could continue the legacy of Francis. Or will the church shift back to the right with a euro-centric traditional Italian leader.Meanwhile, Trump embarrassed the U.S. at the Pope's funeral while enacting draconian policies at home.A judge is arrested trying to protect a migrant from ICE who was in her court to be tried for a misdemeanor. The Trump administration is moving the needle on dismantling the independence of the judiciary, and it will only be a matter of time before federal judges are arrested simply for blocking Trump's dictatorial orders.Meanwhile, Elon leaves DOGE to return to Tesla and finds it a complete dumpster fire as profits tank 71% in the first quarter of 2025. He has some explaining to do to the Tesla board. Could not have happened to a nicer guy.All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...Subcribe to the show here for more exclusive content.

Cathy and Troy break down the passage of the SAVE Act in the U.S. House, a bill designed to disenfranchise millions of legal voters by requiring proof of citizenship presented in person to register to vote in federal elections. The biggest targets of the bill are Americans overseas, including the military, who can't get back to register in person, and married women or any individual who has changed their name legally, since names that don't match a birth certificate may not be eligible to vote. Meanwhile, Cathy deep dives the state of the economy by looking at the falling dollar and rising treasury yields, which is a fancy way of saying no one wants to invest in the U.S. anymore after Trump's disastrous tariff policy and market collapse. What does this mean for the future? A world where the dollar is no longer the standard currency, nations make economic deals with China and no longer partner with the U.S., and potential collapse of the U.S. economy finally due to unsecured debt. Awesome. Now what emerges from the rubble when all this over? All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...Support Cathy's break from teaching to fight back without getting fired here.Support our show by becoming a Patreon subscriber here.

Cathy and Troy break down a disastrous week for the U.S. economy after Trump's Liberation Day unveiling of tariffs on the entire world. The U.S. has declared economic warfare, and countries are responding in kind. In response, the markets are in free fall. This is not a normal stock correction; investors are terrified of the instability of Trump and the looming recession. Stock futures reveal that more drops may be coming as the American economy teeters on a 1929 styled cliff, completely created by Donald Trump, as the seeds of MAGA fascist chaos bloom into full on class warfare of billionaires on workers. Retirement accounts are being wiped out and companies are preparing to lay off workers as Trump is unapologetic.Meanwhile, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker breaks the record for longest Senate floor speech; raging for 25 hours against the corruption, incompetence, and cruelty of the Trump administration, breaking the previous record set by racist senator Strom Thurmond who filibustered the Civil Rights act of 1957.Performative? Or inspirational and effective? Booker's speech is the first major act of a Democrat fighting back against Trump in Congress while in the minority.All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...For more exclusive content, subscribe here.

Cathy interviews Bloomberg Economist Kathryn Anne Edwards about the coming, completely avoidable, recession. In no universe should the U.S. go from under 4% unemployment to staring down a recession in less than 100 days.Kathryn describes how Donald Trump manufactured a recession through tariffs, and explains how useless massive tax cuts over the last 20 years have given us nothing but a broken society, national debt that's trending in the wrong direction, and non-solutions to market death with almost nothing in return for the vast majority of Americans. And their next target is Social Security and Medicare. Republicans are setting the stage to gut thew most popular and successful government program in history, all for yet another useless tax cut for the rich.In spite of this, Kathryn preaches optimism, saying the only victory for Trump and Elon Musk is for people to give up on a better future. This is why Trump is such a fan of prefacing his horrible policies by saying, "what do you have to lose?" He knows so many people have lost faith that things can get better. But nothing they are instituting cannot be undone, we just have to finally agree to fix our problems. We are three bills away from a thriving society.All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...Check out Kathryn's new podcast, Optimist Economy, here.

Cathy and Troy break down the horrifying prospect of Donald Trump using U.S. troops to expel Palestinians from Gaza in order to make way for hotels. He hinted at it on the campaign trail. Could Trump Tower Gaza be coming? And with it WW3 and armageddon, as a battle of literally Biblical proportions would be in store with every Muslim nation on earth arming up to expel the Americans from the holy land?Trump signals the rule of law is dead with a Napoleon quote just in time for talks with Russia, as JD Vance humiliates himself and the United States with a god awful speech to European leaders at Munich.And Europe holds an emergency meeting to discuss what to do about a belligerent Trump administration allied with Russia (which even Russia doesn't want) after Trump refuses to allow any European delegation to the Ukraine peace talks. Zelensky makes it clear he won't recognize the results and instead calls for the creation of an Army of Europe.And we debunk some of the more ridiculous claims made by the bootlickers following along as DOGE tears apart the U.S. government to benefit Elon. What does Elon have on Donald Trump?All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...For more exclusive content, please subscribe here.

Cathy and Troy react to the stunning developments in D.C. as an unknown cadre of Elon Musk cronies sieze control of the U.S. Treasury, take over payment servers controlling trillions of dollars of U.S. assets, and shut down global aid fund USAID. This is a coup of the richest man on earth being given permission to infiltrate and corrupt the United States government at will.Trump's tariff wars kick off in earnest as Canada hardens the border and looks to Europe for their future, having seen enough of what it means to partner with the United States. At the last minute Trump delays tariffs with Mexico, demonstrating what it means to rule by chaos.And after firing the FAA director and trimming down air traffic control even beyond critically low levels, planes are starting to fall out of the sky. American society has begun to crumble. Where will all this lead.All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...For more exclusive content, please subscribe here.

The Trump presidency is officially here and less than one week in we are already seeing the exact effects that were forecast of a fascist government coming home to the United States. Immigrant communities brace for the effects of Trump's ice raids that are also sweeping up American citizens, making the U.S. a "show me your papers" society. But are the mass deportations a distraction for the next move? Private concentration work camps for people that can't be deported? Trade wars begin in earnest with other nations, as Trump's America even makes Russia look like a sensible alternative.Meanwhile the world's richest man and Trump's co-president Elon Musk stirs up controversy by throwing up a nazi salute. But it's not an isolated incident, as Musk is actively campaigning for the AfD in Germany, the ideological descendent of the nazi party. Know your rights and protect yourselves.Get your official state department issued passport today here. If you want to leave the country, research nations with digital nomad visas here.If you want to move your pets out of the country, here is one company that can help you.

Cathy and Troy debunk the firestorm of lies surrounding the horrendous and heartbreaking wildfires in Los Angeles. Never missing an opportunity to spread division, Donald Trump and his army of miserable right-wing influencers push dangerous lies disparaging public officials, including fire fighters, and mock the suffering of Californians. Shame on them.To support families impacted by the fires in Los Angeles, please go here.Political personalities on full display at Jimmy Carter's funeral, with all former presidents and first ladies, along with Kamala and Dougie, forced to endure the stinky presence of Donald and Melania Trump. Its amazing that he actually showed up. Obama gets heat for sharing a moment of brevity with the soon to be 47th. While George W. Bush, Kamala, and Karen Pence blot out the sun with the amount of shade.And TikTok prepares to shut off the lights in the United States, barring a last minute save from SCOTUS, Biden, or even Trump. Tune in to see where you can find us after the clock app falls. We hope you had the time of your lives...All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...For more exclusive content, please consider subscribing here.

Cathy and Troy remember the legacy of Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, who is often tarnished by Republicans because he was defeated by Ronald Reagan, but it was Carter who restored dignity to the White House and attempted to re-build an America based on compassion, civil rights, and public service, while Reagan built a United States of rampant consumerism, greed, corruption, and the destruction of the middle class.CEO avenger Luigi Mangioni heads to trial with a high powered Manhattan Attorney and pleads not guilty. Will he be acquitted? Whatever you think of his methods, Luigi has ushered in a new era of class consiousness and dread for CEO's who have delared war on working people for decades.And Donald Trump threatens imperial expansion into Greenland, Panama, Canada and Mexico while the U.S. media sane washes his plans as akin to the Loiusiana Purchase. Are we heading into WW3 at the hands of the man whose supporters said was the only one who could bring world peace? Cathy and Troy break down real world war of 5 (6? 7?) kings, with a potential alliance brewing between the U.S. and Putin's Russia, against Europe, Asia and Latin America tying their fortunes to China.All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...For more exclusive content, subscribe here.

Cathy and Troy discuss the stunning events in Syria over the weekend, with the brutal Assad regime falling after 13 years of civil war, and the Syrian people finally liberated in a sequence of events tied to other geopolitical earthquakes, like a challenge to the pro-Russia government in Georgia, and a military coup put down in South Korea.People all over the world are fighting back against authoritarianism. Will that come home to the U.S.?And a faceless John Doe becomes an unexpected celebrity after gunning down the CEO of a health insurance company famous for denying needed healthcare access to its customers. Is it right to celebrate the death of really bad people? Is this the tipping point for French Revolution 2.0, as billionaire oligarchs prepare to take over the U.S. government, and a whole generation raised on gun violence and active shooter drills prepares to push back in the exact way society taught them how to.All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...Read Cathy's blog "Confessions of a Florida Teacher" here.For more exclusive content, subscribe here.