THE TRADE WAR: Trump tariffs have little impact on prices so far, defying grim forecasts.

Prices climbed at an unexpectedly slow pace last month, offering a boost to President Donald Trump, whose aggressive trade policies have sparked fears of a resurgence in inflation.

The Labor Department on Tuesday reported that prices rose at an annual rate of 2.3 percent, the smallest increase since early 2021. While price growth in so-called core sectors of the economy — which exclude volatile food and energy costs — remained elevated at 2.8 percent, April’s Consumer Price Index contained only scant evidence that Trump’s tariffs have meaningfully driven up the cost of living.

Kudos to Politico for framing the story this way.

Now then — what will they do with all those experts who provided the grim forecasts?

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: ‘The Issue Is Never the Issue’: How the Commies Dupe Their Dopes Into Protests and Violence.

NEW LEFTIST LAWN SIGN JUST DROPPED:

Earlier:

● This is CNN: Someone Should Be Fired After CNN Analyst Goes on Wild, Racist Rant Against White South Afrikaners.

● Episcopal Church Refuses to Resettle White Afrikaners, Ends Partnership With Us Government.

THE NEW DARK AGE: Colorado’s forced march to energy uncertainty.

“Energy isn’t a luxury,” Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Travas Deal recently told my Power Gab co-host Jake Fogleman and me. His concern? The direction of Colorado’s energy policy—away from affordable, reliable baseload power and toward costly, intermittent wind and solar.

He’s right. Reliable power is not optional. It’s a matter of life and death. We saw that in Texas during 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, where 246 people died amid rolling blackouts that nearly triggered a catastrophic grid collapse.

We’re seeing blackouts in Colorado, too. At the same time, the cost of power in Colorado is skyrocketing. Residential rates have increased over 85% since 2003, higher than inflation.

Yet Democrat Governor Jared Polis is doubling down on this dangerous trajectory to enshrine his unrealistic campaign promise of a grid powered by 100% “renewables” into state law. A draft bill circulated at the Capitol earlier this year mandates a 95% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electricity sector by 2035 and 100% by 2040. This far exceeds the ambitious targets codified in 2019: 80% carbon emissions reduction by 2030.

The only way to meet this emission goal is to shut down the remaining coal and natural gas baseload, blanket the state with industrial wind turbines, utility-scale solar installations, and industrial batteries, force Coloradans into electric vehicles, require heat pumps, and drain Coloradans’ bank accounts.

That last part is key.

Previously: ‘F’ Is for Democrat: Colorado’s Collapse Under One-Party Rule.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: If Dems Want to Act Like Children They Should Be Put in Jailed Timeouts. “Honestly, these people are all lucky that Trump isn’t the vindictive destroyer of political enemies that they keep making him out to be. His administration is responding within the bounds of the law. If he wanted to become extra-judicial like his enemies are, he’s in a position to really make things difficult for them.”

IT REALLY IS THIS SIMPLE:

"Our sources lied to us." Okay, but most voters didn't have "sources." They had eyes. And they were told brazen lies by people who also had eyes.

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) May 13, 2025

Related:

Cranky old news editor from the '50s to cub reporter: "If your mother says she loves you, check it out."

Seasoned DC pro, circa 2025: "They lied to me but I didn't check it out until the election was over and I could cash in on a book deal." https://t.co/jiu4xKg4H6

— Stephen Green (@VodkaPundit) May 13, 2025

Finally: Watching Jake Tapper cash in on his own professional malfeasance is probably the most Beltway thing ever.

For now, anyway.

YOUR FINGERPRINT AND THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE: We hear a lot more about the Webb Telescope these days, but it wasn’t that long ago that the Hubble was star. So check out this interesting look on HillFaith at the connection between the latter and a human fingerprint.

THIS ONE FLEW UNDER EVERYBODY’S RADAR YESTERDAY: Trump Giving the New Syrian Boss Rope to Hang Himself With…or Not.

This is a gobsmacking move.

An ‘Only Trump could do this’ move.

As always, ever so interesting how it all came together, with Al-Sharaa seeking out the US, not vice versa. And the Syrian representative spun a dream of a Trump Tower in Damascus one day.

…Speaking at an investment forum on Tuesday, Trump said that he planned to lift sanctions on Syria after holding talks with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “to give them a chance at greatness”.

…Sharaa, who is keen to normalise relations with the US, has reportedly offered Trump a number of sweeteners including the Trump tower in Damascus, a demilitarised zone by the Golan Heights that would strengthen Israel’s claim to the territory it has occupied since 1967, diplomatic recognition of Israel, and a profit-sharing deal on resources similar to the Ukraine minerals deal.

The idea to offer Trump a piece of real estate with his name on it in the heart of Damascus was thought up by a US Republican senator, who passed on the idea to Sharaa’s team.

I can’t imagine who the senator was, but I’ll bet his last name might have something to do with a cracker often used for sweet pie crusts…just sayin’. What a hoot.

Trump will talk to anyone who sincerely wants to talk to him. It’s like his magic power.

If it works – and it’s all on the Syrians – it’s going to plug several gaping holes using available assets.

Read the whole thing.

ICYMI: David Plouffe Is the Michelangelo of Play-Doh. “The thing is, Concha is entirely correct that Plouffe’s decisions on Al Smith, Rogan, Walz, and Cheney all led to disaster. What Concha misses is that, as bad as those choices were, the alternatives were worse.”

AT AMAZON: Save up to 30% on Pet Day. #CommisisonEarned

IT’S THE VERBOSITY, STUPID: James Carville warns Democrats far-left jargon like ‘equity’ is turning voters off: ‘Just not helpful.’

RACISM, STRAIGHT UP:

“Helping whites people is against what we stand for.”

One of the great things about the Trump Afrikaner refugee policy is that it’s getting people, including church leaders, to say what they really think about white people. No more inferences now. It’s out in the open. Good. https://t.co/asF2erMOKZ

— RAW EGG NATIONALIST (@Babygravy9) May 14, 2025

MAKE ARMS EXPORTS GREAT AGAIN: Trump signs deals with Saudis, including biggest-ever $142 billion arms agreement.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital. The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun belts.

“I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said later during a brief appearance with the crown prince at the start of a bilateral meeting.

They later signed more than a dozen agreements to increase cooperation between their governments’ militaries, justice departments, and cultural institutions.

Additional economic agreements were expected to be inked later Tuesday at a US-Saudi investment conference convened for the occasion.

Prince Mohammed has already committed to some $600 billion in new Saudi investment in the US, but Trump teased that $1 trillion would be even better. The agreement includes a mammoth arms deal described by the White House as the largest “in history” between the allies, worth nearly $142 billion.

It’s still too soon to bring the Saudis on board as the capstone to the Abraham Accords, but I wonder if this arms deal was a sweetener.

FIRE THEM: Library of Congress Staffers Block Access for Trump Administration’s Nominees.

I CONTINUE MY TRECK THROUGH THE SCIENCE FICTION IMPRINT THAT MADE ME A SCIENCE FICTION READER… AND WRITER:  The Martian Chronicles – Reading the Future of the Past.

GEORGE GASCON* SMILES: Menendez brothers have sentenced reduced to 50 years in prison opening possibility for parole.

Erik and Lyle Menendez are eligible for parole 35 years after they were imprisoned for murdering both of their parents.

The brothers faced Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, where Judge Michael Jesic reduced their sentences from life without parole to 50 years to life.

This change means they’re now eligible for parole under California‘s youthful offender law because they committed the crime under the age of 26.

* Which means George Soros smiles. Gascon may have been tossed out of office, but plenty of Soros-backed D.A.s remain. As Tom Cotton wrote in 2021: Recall, Remove & Replace Every Last Soros Prosecutor.

HOW IS IT THAT EVERY NEW SCHOOL REFORM MAKES THINGS WORSE?  I dread to think where this Schools Bill will lead us.

FARAGE HAS TO PROVE HE CAN DELIVER:  Farage is spearheading a political revolution.

CALL THE PEST CONTROL:  Top GOP Members of Congress Call for Destruction of Hamas.

LET’S SEE SOME ARRESTS:  First-in-the-Nation: U.S. Indicts Sinaloa Cartel Leaders for Narco-Terrorism.

SHE DOES LOVE REGULATING FOLK:  Trojan Horse for Increased Regulation’: Groups Raise Alarm on Elizabeth Warren’s Plan for Banking Sector.

TIP OF THE ICEBERG, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:  ICE cracks down on DC-area businesses, nearly 200 illegal immigrants arrested.

THE TALK TED IS SCARED TO SHOW:  When ideas become too dangerous to platform.

WE DON’T OWE ANYONE REFUGE. BUT IF WE GRANT IT, THEY SHOULD HAVE SKILLS, THEY SHOULD HAVE FAMILIES, THEY SHOULD ARRIVE WAVING AMERICAN FLAGS:  A hearty warm welcome to the genuine refugees from South Africa.

CHAINSAW. MORE CHAINSAW:  Introducing the DOGE Deregulation Leaderboard! Comprehensive list of repeals of burdensome or obsolete regulations, including the cost savings to the American taxpayer. $28.7B so far.

AND FOR YOU, YES YOU: The x-less.