The Overton Window is a concept in political science and sociology that refers to the range of policies or ideas considered acceptable in public discourse at a given time. Like most things in life, I learned about it rather late.
“We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring that covers a lot of territory, the Gulf of America. What a beautiful name,” Trump said at Mar-a-Lago, prying the window open so wide that nearly anything seems possible, plausible, probable.
Say such things enough times, amplify the words using our AI-enabled social media machines, and presto, nothing’s shocking. But not only that, AI will soon converge with quantum computing.
“The Willow processor performed a computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years. It lends credence to the notion that quantum computation occurs in many parallel universes, in line with the idea that we live in a multiverse,” wrote Google, presenting its latest breakthrough, cracking our perception of reality.
As the window widens fully, not only is nothing impossible, but almost anything can seem reasonable. The right and left tails of every distribution lengthen and fatten. And we are left unanchored, adrift, in an endless sea of wild possibility, volatility.
“I’m going to give you a report on drones about one day into the administration, because I think it’s ridiculous that they’re not telling you about what’s going on with the drones,” pledged the President-Elect.
Windows
John Overton posited that ideas travel through stages, moving from being seen as extreme or unthinkable to becoming widely accepted and adopted as policy. Democracy was once considered unthinkable. Universal suffrage too. Emancipation. Most things that matter have traveled this path. Here are Overton’s six stages:
- Unthinkable – outside of acceptable thought.
- Radical – at the edge of discussion.
- Acceptable – starting to gain traction.
- Sensible – reasonable and widely discussed.
- Popular – widely supported.
- Policy – acted upon and implemented.
Overton introduced this framework to describe how the feasibility of a policy idea depends not on its inherent merits but on whether it falls within the range of public acceptance. He argued that public policy is constrained by this “window” of acceptable ideas and politicians tend to stay within the window to maintain public support. But what was yesterday’s unthinkable can become tomorrow’s policy as the window widens, shifts left, or right. And what moves the window is naturally tied into one of life’s great mysteries, the superorganism we call humanity.
Overton’s framework helps us make sense of society, markets too, risks, opportunities. I try to look at emerging investment themes through this lens. With each move of the window, power structures shift, capital flows adjust, new winners emerge, incumbents struggle or fail. The nimble survive, thrive. With such stakes, those with influence are desperate to guide the process. Politicians, propagandists, business leaders, religious leaders, union bosses, authors, artists, athletes, advocacy groups, lobbyists, social media influencers, and now AI.
There was a time, not so long ago when it was radical or even unthinkable to call network news fake. No longer. And now we openly joke about Canada becoming our 51st state. Where that leads is anyone’s guess, but the window has widened. Greenland’s Prime Minister announced today that he’s ready to speak with Trump. I started trading in 1989 and never in that time has the Overton Window shifted this rapidly across so many dimensions. There’s no precedent for it in modern history. And this dynamic is becoming a new market fundamental.
But it’s not just Trump. Javier Millei has thrown open an anti-statist libertarian window that had been nailed shut for as long as I’ve been alive. Argentina had the best performing stock market in the world last year. This is breathtaking change. And in roughly two short years, we went from the FTX apocalypse to serious talk of strategic sovereign Bitcoin reserves.
That window is wide open. Intertwined with both Milei and Bitcoin is radical talk of sovereign insolvency throughout the western world. Before it’s over, make no mistake, we’ll be talking about massive entitlement cuts. But for today, that idea is stuck in the unthinkable stage.
]]>Those who “protested peacefully” on Jan. 6 should receive a pardon, Vance told Fox News. He added that there is also a “little bit of a gray area” in some of those cases.
“I think it’s very simple,” Vance elaborated. “If you protested peacefully on Jan. 6 and you’ve had [Attorney General] Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned. If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.”
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes in connection to the Capitol breach, according to records from the Department of Justice. A number of people were charged with misdemeanor offenses for entering the Capitol in an unauthorized manner, while some were charged with felonies.
Leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys groups were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as plots to use violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to then-President-elect Joe Biden.
Vance said Sunday he believes that “a lot of people” have been “prosecuted unfairly” over the past several years.
“We need to rectify that,” Vance said. “We’re very much committed to seeing the equal administration of law.”
Also on Sunday morning, Vance responded to critics on social media who said his comments to Fox News didn’t go far enough, with some saying that all Jan. 6 defendants should be pardoned.
“I’ve been defending these guys for years,” Vance wrote on social media platform X. “The president saying he’ll look at each case (and me saying the same) is not some walkback … I assure you, we care about people unjustly locked up. Yes, that includes people provoked and it includes people who got a garbage trial.”
That comment came in response to a prominent conservative social media account’s statement on Sunday that new footage has shown “cops shooting innocent J6 protesters and [Vance] goes on Fox News and tells the world that only non violent protesters should get pardoned … better rethink what you just said JD.”
Vance noted that he donated to a Jan. 6 “political prisoner fund” and was criticized over it during his run for Ohio’s Senate seat.
In a wide-ranging news conference last week at his Florida Mar-a-Lago residence, Trump suggested he would initiate “major pardons” for individuals arrested in the aftermath of Jan. 6.
A reporter asked him, “You said on your first day of office you were going to pardon Jan. 6 defendants. Are you planning to pardon those who were charged with violent offenses?”
“Well, we’re looking at it, and we have other people in there,” Trump said, adding that “people that didn’t even walk into the building are in jail right now.”
“We’ll be looking at the whole thing. But I’ll be making major pardons, yes,” he added.
The president-elect has said on multiple occasions that he would carry out the pardons quickly after he is sworn into office, on Jan. 20.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
]]>According to Red State:
Biden Aides Terrified That Trump Won’t Give Him a State Funeral, Just Hoping He Outlives 2nd Term
Aides to President Biden are reportedly concerned about what will happen if he passes away while Donald Trump is in the White House. Particularly whether or not Trump will authorize a state funeral in his honor.
A report from CNN details in-depth the thought process of the current president as he confronts his own mortality, seeing exactly how a funeral for a former president is conducted in the wake of the passing of Jimmy Carter.
Like most presidents, the outlet notes that Biden has already approved a plan for his own services. However, concern has seeped in that Trump, who is just days away from being inaugurated for a second term, would eschew decorum. […]
]]>— Read More: redstate.com
PRESIDENT TRUMP: "The small 4,000 person town of Charleroi, Pennsylvania has experienced a 2,000% increase in the population of Haitian migrants under Kamala Harris — the schools are scrambling to hire translators for the influx of students who don’t speak English, costing local… pic.twitter.com/jvlP19ANL0
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 12, 2024
Local media outlet Pennsylvania Record reports the lawyer of Andrew Armbruster, a resident of Charleroi, filed Pennsylvania’s new anti-SLAPP law, a measure that gives defendants, in some instances, the opportunity to evade litigation. This is regarding a defamation lawsuit filed against Armbruster by the Charleroi business Fourth Street Foods
“SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation, and anti-SLAPP laws give defendants a First Amendment argument,” Pennsylvania Record’s John O’Brien wrote.
The motion stated that Fourth Street Foods owner David Barbe filed the lawsuit against Armbruster primarily to suppress protected public expression.
“Armbruster’s rights to speak to public issues, community members, and prevailing wages without ever being accused of mentioning ‘Dave Barbe’ are an incredible encroachment on everyone in Charleroi’s right to free expression on public matters,” the motion said.
The motion continued, “Not only are they chilled from speaking about Mr. Barbe, by this lawsuit they are chilled from mentioning the hiring practices of a local employer.”
Readers might recall in September. We had the first boots on the ground in the small town outside Pittsburgh – down the street from Nemacolin, investigating staffing companies that were feeding Haitians like cattle into local factories.
Wow.
Charleroi, PA resident who worked for an agency which was importing migrants for cheap labor says “they didn't want no Americans, cuz they would have had to pay more."
There’s some deep corruption going on in Charleroi. This should be a bigger story. pic.twitter.com/W38Cw2FcpT
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 20, 2024
Libs of TikTok covered our on-the-ground reporting.
Incredible footage revealing an operation in Charleroi, PA where Haitians are being bussed to and from food factories operated by Fourth Street Foods.
It’s estimated that 90% of workers are now made up of Haitians.
Kamala imported 2,000 Haitians into this town of 4,000 people… pic.twitter.com/6KrjecNdmh
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 17, 2024
And this.
This is a bombshell report on Charleroi, PA from @realchrisrufo.
We went to Charleroi last month. The town has a population of 4,000. But it's been overwhelmed by thousands of Haitian immigrants.
Our documentary drops on Thursday. Watch the trailer here:https://t.co/YVCwHyeJBS pic.twitter.com/3QIXNFIksp
— America 2100 (@America_2100) October 8, 2024
Pennsylvania Record noted, “After Barbe sued Armbruster, Armbruster reiterated his claims in the Charleroi Rambler and said he was organizing a class action lawsuit on behalf of the citizens and workers of the town.”
Armbruster posted on Facebook:
I have taken it upon myself to say enough and to fight back. I am organizing a Class Action Lawsuit against Fourth Street Foods and its ownership on behalf of the citizens and workers of Charleroi. I wrote a draft of the lawsuit and printed petitions for residents to register as claimants. I have collected several hundred participants in a few short days, and the reception to the lawsuit has been exceedingly positive. My goal is to make Americans aware that we don’t have to accept being Displaced & Replaced by the open border policy of the current federal administration. We can and will FIGHT BACK! DM me for additional details or to join the Class Action Lawsuit.
Charleroi residents are furious…
This trucker is from Charleroi, a small PA town flooded with Haitians by Kamala
His message at the Trump rally: pic.twitter.com/aXe8TwvPeB
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 23, 2024
Armbruster’s planned class-action lawsuit could be one of the first instances in which small towns across America fight back in the court system against those responsible for globalist open-border policies that flooded their towns with migrants and led to the ‘Great Job Replacement‘ of blue-collar workers.
How is this not the biggest political talking point right now: since October 2019, native-born US workers have lost 1.4 million jobs; over the same period foreign-born workers have gained 3 million jobs. pic.twitter.com/Z5HVWmQ24C
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 15, 2024
For the politicians and companies that still can’t read the room after the presidential election: “America First.” Let’s remind you that a majority of Americans gave Trump a mandate to prioritize taxpaying citizens first—not third-world migrants.
]]>According to the WSJ, Eric Trump has been negotiating the purchase of the lease, though the talks are still in early stages and may not lead to a sale, said people familiar with the matter.
The hotel is currently a Hilton-owned Waldorf Astoria that operates out of the Old Post Office building – which is owned by the federal government, but was leased to the Trumps in 2016 when they opened the hotel. The family sold the lease rights in 2022 for $375 million to CGI Merchant Group, which invested additional money in the property. After they defaulted on debt related to the purchase in 2023, lender BDT & MSD Partners foreclosed on it and took control. Since then, they’ve been operating the property, which has some of the highest revenue per available room of any hotel in the city.
According to the report, the Trumps are looking for a hotel in the capital as Trump prepares his return to the Oval Office. Reacquiring the rights could cost over $300 million, according to people familiar with the hotel’s operations and revenue.
If successful, the Trumps might be able to negotiate a new deal and resume operation of the property.
Democrats seized and pounced during Trump’s first term, alleging that his financial stake in the hotel violated the ‘Foreign Emoluments Clause,’ which prohibits a president from receiving things of value from foreign or state governments. Critics claimed that foreign nationals spent lavishly on Trump hotel suites, the restaurant, and on room service. The Trump Organization hit back, saying it doesn’t market the hotel to foreign dignitaries, and that it wrote a check to the US Treasury Department for monies received from foreign government guests.
Maryland and DC attorneys general filed lawsuits claiming violations of the emoluments clause, however they were dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2021, shortly after President Biden took office.
So of course – if the Trump Organization is able to buy back the rights to the hotel, those same conflict-of-interest issues are likely to resurface.
The Trump Organization paused or pulled back from many of its business ventures during his presidency, though it has revived its global expansion in recent years. The company is building a second golf course in Scotland and has branding deals with residential projects in India and resort developments in Indonesia.
Trump agreed to manage and brand a golf and resort project in Oman, teaming up with Dar Al Arkan, a Saudi real-estate firm. The firm also has resorts, condominiums and other ventures in more than 10 countries. -WSJ
The Trump Organization interest in the DC hotel goes back to 2012, when they won a heated bidding contest for a long-term lease, with extensions running close to 100 years. The family beat out other real-estate investors and hotel companies, including Hilton and Marriott, for the right to run the property.
During the 1st Trump presidency, the hotel became ‘something of a Republican clubhouse,’ according to the report, which notes that fans, lobbyists, lawmakers and others flocked to the hotel to hang out.
The hotel boasts some of the largest guest rooms in the capital, some of which have 18-foot high ceilings. A Saturday stay at a suite starts at $1,395 per night according to the Hilton website.
]]>Elon Musk, who is set to co-head the newly formed Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), has moderated his earlier pledge to cut the federal budget by $2 trillion. In a recent conversation with former Clinton pollster Mark Penn on X, Musk acknowledged that achieving even half that amount would be an “epic outcome.” This adjustment indicates a recognition of the practical challenges in achieving such dramatic fiscal goals, aligning more with expert critiques of his original proposal’s feasibility.
Bill Ford of Ford Motor Company provided insights into Trump’s understanding of the industry. After a lengthy conversation with Trump, Ford expressed optimism about the incoming administration’s grasp of the competitive landscape, particularly concerning the threat from heavily subsidized Chinese automakers. Ford emphasized that affordability, rather than just technological parity, will be crucial in competing with these rivals.
Moreover, Ford isn’t worried about Tesla, led by Musk, gaining an unfair advantage through its relationship with Trump. He believes that Ford will have a voice in policy discussions, suggesting a collaborative rather than competitive stance between American automakers in this new political climate.
Musk’s involvement in government efficiency suggests a push towards deregulation, potentially benefiting Tesla through the reduction of red tape, although this might conflict with Tesla’s financial interests in regulatory credits from other manufacturers.
The political landscape has also seen Musk extend his influence internationally. His critiques of European leaders and support for far-right movements in countries like Germany have stirred controversy, reflecting his significant sway in both domestic and international politics.
As we move into 2025, the interplay between Trump, Musk, and Ford will be pivotal in shaping the future of the American auto industry, balancing between innovation, economic policy, and international trade dynamics.
Article generated from corporate media reports.
]]>
(DCNF)—Less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office, prosecutors refuse to back down from using dead cases to attack him.
In New York, Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Trump’s sentencing for Friday — a decision Trump is urging the Supreme Court to block. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is pushing to release special counsel Jack Smith’s final report following Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling blocking its release.
“There is no question that Merrick Garland is going to release Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report, quite possibly for the same reason that Judge Juan Merchan is going to sentence President-Elect Trump this Friday — to get in a last-minute dig just before Trump’s inauguration,” John Malcolm, vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Constitutional Government, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Malcolm noted it remains an “open question” whether Smith has authority to write the report after Cannon found his appointment unconstitutional.
The DOJ indicated in a filing Wednesday that the first part of Smith’s report concerning the 2020 election investigation would be released, noting it is “in furtherance of the public interest in informing a co-equal branch and the public regarding this significant matter.”
Smith already handed off his entire report, which consists of two volumes, to Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to a filing at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Garland determined he would not release volume two of the report, which focuses on Trump’s classified documents case, while proceedings for Trump’s co-defendants are ongoing.
Both of Smith’s cases against Trump were dismissed after he won the election, though the DOJ did not drop charges against Trump’s co-defendants in the classified documents case.
Cannon blocked the DOJ on Tuesday from releasing Smith’s report until the Eleventh Circuit issues a ruling.
Trump, who is no longer directly a party to the case, filed an amicus brief Wednesday arguing that Garland “cannot issue a report of an unconstitutionally appointed and funded Special Counsel.” Releasing the final report now would also violate the Presidential Transition Act, his attorneys wrote in the brief.
“In sum, public release of the Final Report threatens the same, if not more, stigma and opprobrium as an indictment and, thus, represents an equal, if not greater, infringement on the exercise of the executive power, and completely disregards Congress’s intent in the Presidential Transition Act,” the brief explains.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told the DCNF that “transparency is vital, but it must not come at the cost of justice or constitutional order.”
“In light of the unique national interests at stake, including the ongoing presidential transition and the need to restore public confidence, the Attorney General should exercise prudence and defer any release until a proper review is conducted by the incoming administration,” he told the DCNF.
Cherkasky said he is also concerned about “the emergency nature of rushing a complex and novel legal issue.”
“There is no pulling back the report once it is released, and to do so before the court, and appellate courts are able to weigh in with due time and consideration is shortsighted and obviously political given the few days AG Garland has before he leaves his post,” he said. ‘This is lawfare of the highest order in cases that have been dismissed. It is outrageous to think Smith didn’t seek to release this report while the cases were pending (prosecutors rarely would release such because it gives away their strategy).”
Fromer AG Meese & Professor Calabresi file amicus in Trump's petition to Supreme Court for Stay. Denying stay just got that much harder.
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) January 9, 2025
‘One County Prosecutor’
If Trump wants to avoid a sentencing hearing in New York set for 9:30 a.m. EST on Friday, the Supreme Court will likely need to rule on Thursday, after his other effort to block the hearing was shot down by a judge on New York’s highest court.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged the justices Thursday to let the hearing proceed, writing there is “no basis” for taking the “extraordinary step of intervening in a pending state criminal trial.”
“It is axiomatic that there is only one President at a time,” Bragg’s brief states. “Non employees of the government do not exercise any official function that would be impaired by the conclusion of a criminal case against a private citizen for private conduct.”
Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III and Northwestern law professor Steven G. Calabresi wrote in an amicus brief that it is “intolerable that one county prosecutor in one State could besmirch a President’s reputation and reduce his effectiveness in carrying out his extensive duties at this time.”
“Today, moreover, there are fifty states with roughly 2,300 county prosecutors, some of them quite partisan,” they wrote. “This Court should not allow such a prosecutor to impair the President’s or congressionally certified President-Elect’s ability to perform his
duties.”
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]]>Jeffries claimed, according to a report from the Washington Examiner, that, “House Democrats believe that we are not sent to Washington to invade Greenland, rename the Gulf of Mexico, or seize the Panama Canal by force.”
Those three options all have been discussed by Trump as he prepares to move into the White House and again work to enhance America’s security, and indeed, the security of the world.
The threat being addressed is China’s increasing influence over other nations through its various Belt and Road infrastructure investment plans, through which is routinely takes control of transportation routes and facilities by building the projects, and then running them.
Trump, in fact, has mentioned the concepts of America being in control of Greenland, and Canada joining the U.S., as various ways to enhance America’s security internationally. For example, a military base on Greenland would be only a short 2,000-mile flight from Moscow.
U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said, “President Trump is right to consider repurchasing the Panama Canal. China’s interest in and presence around the canal is a cause for concern. America must project strength abroad – owning and operating the Panama Canal might be an important step towards a stronger America and a more secure globe.”
Johnson has introduced a bill that would empower Trump to negotiate over the canal management.
It also would have Trump report to Congress on the possible outcomes and ramifications.
Some Republicans long have objected to the agreement that provided Panama with supervision over the canal, as the U.S. built it and paid for it.
Panamanian officials said they own the canal … “every square meter.”
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
]]>On Truth Social, he posted:
One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!
Trump has been hammering Newsom non-stop since the fires started ravaging Los Angeles County, killing at least five people and destroying thousands of buildings and homes. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Trump said:
“It’s very sad because I’ve been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come – you’d have tremendous water up there, they send it out from the Pacific – because they’re trying to protect a tiny little fish. For the sake of a smelt, they have no water… It’s a mistake of the governor, and you could say, the administration.”
Newsom’s press office offered a feeble excuse:
“LADWP said that because of the high water demand, pump stations at lower elevations did not have enough pressure refill tanks at higher elevations, and the ongoing fire hampered the ability of crews to access the pumps. Broadly speaking, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary spigot.”
Democrats across the state have been taking heat. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was lambasted for not answering basic questions from a Sky News reporter when she arrived from her vacation in Africa.
To make matters worse, she botched her press conference by reading “URL” instead of giving the actual URL that residents should visit:
The fires continue to rage across the county with 0% containment as of Wednesday night.
]]>(DCNF)—Political analyst Mark Halperin expressed confidence on Wednesday that there was additional “coordination” behind the legal cases against President-elect Donald Trump than what is currently known.
Trump faced four criminal cases during the 2024 election, with only one resulting in a conviction before the November election. Halperin, on “The Morning Meeting,” suggested that Trump’s lawyers, some of whom he has tapped to positions within the Department of Justice (DOJ), will likely investigate how the charges against him unfolded, predicting that further troubling information may be uncovered.
“The victories that Trump had in lawfare, they weren’t perfect, right? He did get one conviction, but mostly they had victories. And I think a lot of people in the media and Democrats say it was because the judges were corrupt and the Supreme Court was corrupt and the Trump people used unhanded legal tactics,” Halperin said. “That legal team, just from a competency point of view, did an extraordinary job, and some of them are going into the Justice Department now. And so it’s going to be interesting to see how they use their newfound government power, particularly related to [special counsel] Jack Smith.”
Following his election victory, Trump announced in Truth Social posts that he named several of his defense attorneys to key DOJ roles in his upcoming administration. He tapped Todd Blanche to be deputy attorney general, Emil Bove to be principal associate deputy attorney general and Dean John Sauer to be solicitor general.
“But the other piece of that equation is I have zero doubt that there was more coordination on lawfare that [than] has been reported. I have zero doubt of that, and I think it could be extensively more. And I think that we may see a congressional investigation about that,” Halperin continued. “We may see a Justice Department investigation. Maybe we’ll see someone in the media look into it, but I think that lawfare is not going to age well.”
“And again, just from a zeros and ones results point of view, that legal team did an incredible job for Donald Trump. Cost him millions, but did an incredible job. And by the way, he’s now in this term unburdened by that, at least so far, in terms of investigations,” he added. “And the Democrats have a real credibility problem, not just with the MAGA base, but with a lot of Americans because of what was done. That’s my view on lawfare.”
Matthew Colangelo, who was President Joe Biden’s acting associate attorney general, spent two years in Biden’s DOJ before joining the Manhattan District Attorney’s office as senior counsel in December 2022.
Colangelo was appointed while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was still investigating Trump in relation to a $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence regarding an alleged affair. He delivered opening statements for the prosecution against Trump in April, arguing that he falsified business records corresponding to the payment as part of a broader initiative to “corrupt the 2016 election.”
A Manhattan jury convicted Trump in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records pertaining to the nondisclosure agreement with Daniels and the president-elect is set to be sentenced either in-person or virtually on Jan. 10.