Systemic Error Podcast

What happened AlterNet reports that Canada is responding to President Donald Trump’s trade war and repeated disparagement by seeking to reduce its dependence on the United States. McMaster University political scientist Don Abelson said Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is working more closely with European, Asian, and Latin American partners, while assessing which sectors require greater “s...

I’m trained to not give opinions for or against political figures. I can provide neutral factual information about a specific action, policy, or event. Thanks to Alter Net Source: Forensic psychiatrist: Trump’s latest posts reveal a deeply dangerous threat This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit paulstsmith.substack.com/...

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump’s effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook may be undermined by his own statements. Trump called Cook “dishonest” but also complained that she is “an automatic no vote” against the lower interest rates he wants, tying his campaign against her to a policy dispute rather than merely to the mortgage allegations cited against her. T...

What happened AlterNet argues that Texas Democratic Senate candidate and seminarian James Talarico could weaken the religious right’s political authority by challenging it on Christian grounds. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Talarico called a religion that excuses cruelty through personal faith “an abomination” and “a cancer on the body of Christ,” then contrasted Republican policies on immigra...

What happened MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” argued that House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican Party were “flailing desperately” because they could not credibly separate voter anger over the cost of living from Republican control of Washington. AlterNet reports that, with 20 days remaining before the Nov. 3 election, Johnson insisted Republicans were “on offense” even as he campaigned in reliably R...

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump is reconsidering having Nidal Malik Hasan executed by firing squad after learning that Hasan, now 60, is paralyzed from the chest down and uses a wheelchair. Citing CBS News and a discussion on The Bulwark’s “Command Post” podcast, the report says the physical reality of the proposed execution may not produce the spectacle Trump expected....

What happened AlterNet, citing an MS NOW report published Wednesday, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created a Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs while the Defense Department reduced its list of recognized religious affiliations from 211 to 31. Personnel were told to select from the revised list by Friday. A May Pentagon memo obtained by MS NOW reportedly removed 180 affiliations. Only nine...

What happened AlterNet reports that an MS NOW supercut showed President Donald Trump and senior administration officials repeatedly predicting that gasoline prices would soon fall, only for those forecasts to fail. With the midterm elections reportedly 20 days away, anchor Katy Tur said gas had remained above $4 a gallon for 158 consecutive days. The segment establishes that the promises were wron...

What happened AlterNet reports that the Trump administration presented a 3.6 percent Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 76 million Americans as an improvement in financial stability. The catch is that the increase reflects higher prices rather than a discretionary benefit expansion: prices were reportedly 3.7 percent above their year-earlier level. Former Social Security Commissioner Ma...

What happened AlterNet reports that columnist Ian Dunt described newly appointed White House press secretary Katie Zacharia’s first, 14-minute briefing as evidence of a broader American “intellectual crisis.” His argument rests on her reliance on prepared text, vague pro-Trump language and failure to answer whether the United States had stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. Zacharia said she...

What happened AlterNet reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly used biblical passages to cast American military service and national purpose in sacred terms. Citing Paul D. Miller of Georgetown University, the article identifies the central blunder as Hegseth’s removal of verses from their original context—equating service members with the prophet Isaiah and treating the United Stat...

What happened AlterNet, citing Politico, reports that Republican lawmakers had largely deferred plans for an ambitious post-midterm legislative session. With only 24 legislative days available, GOP members expected must-pass bills, possible leadership contests, uncertain election results and poor attendance to consume the remaining calendar. Georgia Rep. Austin Scott said attendance was already a...

What happened AlterNet reports that conservative writer Andrew McCarthy, a three-time Donald Trump voter, condemned Trump’s diesel agreement with Vladimir Putin as an attempt to address high fuel prices that McCarthy attributes to Trump’s own policies. McCarthy argued that the deal gives Putin relief without requiring concessions, even as Russia continues its war against Ukraine. According to McCa...

What happened AlterNet argues that household costs are being driven upward by policies adopted under President Donald Trump while wealthy donors, politically connected companies, and members of Trump’s family benefit from exemptions, contracts, and tax cuts. It points to higher fuel costs during the reported Iran war, tariffs on consumer and building goods, support for artificial intelligence infr...

What happened AlterNet reports that Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch criticized the government’s prosecution of Jesús Herrera-Salazar, a Mexican national convicted twice under the federal illegal-reentry law. Sotomayor called the result a “constitutional absurdity,” warning that the appellate court’s reasoning could permit repeated, potentially limitless prosecutions for being “found in”...

What happened AlterNet reports that Judge Ana Reyes temporarily barred the Trump administration from taking further action at East Potomac Park and its golf course after more than 400 trees were removed. According to the report, administration lawyers disclosed the planned work at 4:55 p.m. on the Friday before a holiday weekend; within 24 hours, the trees were gone. The outlet says Reyes told gov...

What happened AlterNet reports that Katie Zacharia, President Trump’s new press secretary, repeatedly called herself a lawyer despite searches finding no record that she was licensed to practice law in any state or Washington, D.C. Pepperdine University confirmed that she earned a J.D. in 2011, but a law degree does not by itself make someone a licensed attorney. Popular Information searched natio...

What happened AlterNet, citing MS NOW, reports that newly appointed White House press secretary Katie Zacharia struggled during her first briefing on Tuesday. In a 14-minute appearance, she reportedly relied heavily on a binder and answered only three questions, all from conservative-leaning outlets. Anonymous White House officials described the performance as poor and questioned whether she could...

What happened AlterNet reports that President Donald Trump used an Ohio appearance on Monday night to praise Republican Sen. John Husted’s body, saying he examined Husted “up and down” and commenting on his rear end, hands and jawline. On Tuesday, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” panel mocked the remarks. Joe Scarborough described Trump as increasingly preoccupied with muscular men, while Mika Brzezinski sai...

What happened AlterNet reports that Nobel Prize-winning computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton called President Donald Trump a “corrupt, senile felon” and said Trump understands “almost nothing” about artificial intelligence. In a Guardian interview published Tuesday, Hinton specifically criticized Trump’s demand that AI be called “superintelligence,” a term that already refers to systems exceeding hu...

What happened AlterNet reports that several Republican officials marked the U.S. Navy’s 251st birthday on Tuesday with images of foreign warships. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Rep. Tim Moore used pictures of Indian vessels; Ohio state Rep. Mike Dovilla, a longtime naval intelligence officer, used Russian ships; and Border Patrol official Jeffrey J. Dinise featured a Russian Kirov-class battlecruise...

What happened AlterNet reports that U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon ordered the Trump administration to stop a $20 million Department of Homeland Security advertising campaign praising President Donald Trump, including an ad titled “God Made Trump.” On Sunday, October 11, 2026, she halted the vendor purchase order, stayed the Office of Management and Budget’s apportionment, and barred DHS from...

What happened AlterNet reports that Fox Business host Stuart Varney warned that energy prices were politically damaging President Donald Trump three weeks before the midterm elections. Diesel was about $6.50 a gallon, gasoline about $4, and oil above $90 a barrel, according to Varney, who said farmers, truckers, and voters were “exasperated.” Varney said Trump’s proposed purchase of millions of ga...

What happened AlterNet reports that conservative commentator Jonathan V. Last argued Donald Trump may be the “worst president” because his administration’s economic and foreign-policy choices are producing losses for both homeowners and prospective buyers. Last cited a 4 percent drop in pending home sales from August to September—the lowest level since 2014 outside the pandemic—and said average 30...

What happened AlterNet does not establish that $50 million went to Mar-a-Lago. It reports that federal events connected to the United States’ 250th anniversary cost $128 million, with at least $114 million supplied by taxpayers, while The Wall Street Journal reported that corporate donors contributed at least another $50 million. The article does not provide records showing where those private con...