Apocalypse Soon

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On our radar this week…

The battlelines are drawn in Michigan and across the nation over the tandem futures of data centers and artificial intelligence. Unlike the decades-long warnings over climate change threatening the future of the planet, the lighting speed of A-I development has catapulted the tech issue to the top tier of political issues.

It seems like ancient history, but in reality it’s only been a week since Donald Trump demanded fealty from the MAGA masses at his self-praising two-day “Trump is a Loser” rally in Dallas.

A coalition of prominent Jewish political leaders is forming behind the candidacy of Abdul El-Sayed for the Senate. The biggest names on the list include the scion of the Levin political dynasty, former Congressman Sandy Levin, and former U.S. Senator Al Franken.

Mike Rogers dodged the first scheduled U.S. Senate debate, leaving Dr. El-Sayed facing off against an empty lectern … and responding to a grilling from a TV journalist, Fox-Detroit reporter Roop Raj, accused by Rogers of being a Democratic sympathizer.

A new study shows widespread confidence in our elections among Michigan voters. Three-quarters of those polled say they are certain the November election will be fair, secure and accurate. Other findings in the poll:

More than 85% of voters trust their local elections, believing local elections are fair and accurate.
Two-thirds of Michigan voters support states having power over elections, as Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution stipulates.
A majority of Michigan voters are not concerned about noncitizens voting, reflecting a 16-point swing from 2025, when more voters worried about noncitizen voting.
Nearly 6 in 10 voters oppose the state surrendering private voter data to the federal government, which is suing Michigan for personal information, even though a federal judge has blocked the Trump Administration.
More than 61% of voters support the U.S. Department of Justice sending monitors to Michigan to observe the November elections.

The bottom line in the fall campaign is the cost of living, and that’s getting even worse for Republicans. The average price of gas in Michigan has soared to $4.75/gallon with many areas seeing $5/gallon gas. That’s an increase of $1.56 from a year ago. Diesel fuel – which impacts the shipping of just about everything – is a staggering $6.32/gallon. That works out to around $1/mile to fuel a typical freight-hauling tractor trailer. A typical big rig holds 300 gallons – meaning up to $1,900 for a fill-up.

U.S. consumers have collectively spent about $107 billion more on gasoline and diesel during the Iran conflict and disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict than they would have had there been no war, according to estimates by the Climate Solutions Lab at Brown University. That averages to more than $500 million a day since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

Donald Trump’s in a fiscal funk after the Fed raises interest rates. He’s threatening to cut off trade with the world if the Fed doesn’t reverse itself, even after declaring economic war on our neighbors in Canada. He’s also fuming over a court decision preventing his stooges on the Kennedy Center Board from adding his name to the building. In his latest tantrum he’s threatening to tear down the building if he can’t put his name on the monument to John Kennedy, with a news photographer catching Trump reviewing a plan to demolish the DC landmark.

The forever war in Iran, record deficits, inflation going up, a trade war with Canada, record-smashing corruption, a pre-occupation with building monuments to Donald Trump: the GOP message – it’s all Joe Biden’s fault, at least, in the eyes of J.D. Vance. That seems to be the definition of political desperation.

And in the firehose of corruption flowing out of DC, we don’t even have time to talk about Putin’s buddy paying for Don Junior’s wedding, Dad turning DC’s public golf courses into country clubs, the entire family cashing out their crypto company after making billions at the expense of the MAGA flock, the continued Epstein files coverup, the Attorney General crossing the line into outright political campaigning, Bobby Kennedy Junior’s pledge to champion the cause of anti-vaxxers, the House Speaker Mike Johnson shutting down the do-nothing House to avoid a Pete Hegseth impeachment vote, the hundreds of millions to train pilots to fly Trump’s so-called free Qatar airplane, the continuing expensive saga of the Reflecting Pool or the White House power struggle between Melania and Natalie.

Since convening in January 2025, the 119th Congress has passed 108 major laws — and only 36 this year. Up to this point on the calendar, no Congress has passed fewer laws in modern American political history — except for the last Congress, which was also led by Johnson>