Generational Dynamics Forum - New Site

Since Lockdowns, a 12% GDP Loss; Half of US Dollar Purchasing Power Stolen

Many of us have had the intuition that the economic damage from 2020 was greater than official statistics indicate. What follows will shore up this intuition.

GOP senators rally around new DHS proposal targeting sanctuary cities: 'Should pay a price'

Lindsey Graham says cities that 'undercut federal law' should face 'consequences' as Democrats call the idea 'insane'
By Hannah Brennan Fox News
Published June 9, 2026 5:00am EDT

Karmelo Anthony supporter sounds off on verdict

Republican senators signaled support for imposing consequences on sanctuary cities after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin floated a proposal to pull Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from airports in jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

"I think there should be consequences to cities and states that undercut federal law," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. "I think they should pay a price for what they do. I agree with what he’s doing."

Mullin has framed the proposal as a response to sanctuary cities that are limiting or refusing cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and disputes over immigration enforcement funding.

MULLIN WEIGHS USING AIRPORT CUSTOMS AS LEVERAGE AGAINST SANCTUARY CITIES
Markwayne Mullin speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Markwayne Mullin, secretary of Homeland Security, speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2026. (Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The plan has received mounting backlash from Democrats as pulling these agents from blue city airports would halt all international travel into major airports. Without customs agents, passengers and cargo are unable to travel internationally, and would also impact Americans coming back to the United States after travelling overseas.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also expressed opposition to the idea, emphasizing the need for open travel.

But, Mullin still says the idea is on the table and actively being considered.

"I think it’s a choice that those cities make and they’d have to weigh the consequences of it," Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said. "If they want to be a sanctuary city, they’ve made that choice and they’re getting a response now from Homeland Security."

Other GOP senators said they had not yet reviewed the proposal and wanted additional details before weighing in.

"I don't know about this," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO., said. "Somebody else asked me about that, and I hadn’t seen that from him yet. So I don't know. I don’t know what to make of that."

DHS SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN SIGNALS CLOSER SCRUTINY OF CUSTOMS AT MAJOR SANCTUARY CITY AIRPORTS

Sen. Josh Hawley arriving at a closed-door briefing at the U.S. Capitol
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., arrives at a closed-door briefing with senators on the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2026. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

"I need to learn more about it," Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., said.

"I’m gonna find out what’s going on," Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said.

Mullin was grilled last week during a Senate hearing about these threats to pull officers from major city airports, where Democrats referred to the idea as "outrageous" and "insane," citing the likelihood of chaos and devastating impacts to the economy as a result of the projected high travel rates that would be effectively killed throughout the upcoming summer months.

Fischer was also asked whether the proposal, if implemented, would change how sanctuary cities communicate and cooperate with ICE.

"I have no idea what the cities would do," Fischer replied. "I would hope that their law enforcement would cooperate with ICE. ICE is federal law enforcement. They're doing their job. They’re following the law."

The proposal comes as the U.S. prepares to host millions of international visitors for the World Cup, which is expected to generate some of the highest inbound travel volumes in years.

Paris Is Burning

The rest of Europe will soon follow, unless it confronts the failure of multiculturalism head-on

by Itxu Díaz
June 09, 2026

However, a thorough examination of the countless videos circulating on social media, contemporary news reports, and even heat maps showing the locations of the incidents suggests something far more uncomfortable for French politicians: A significant proportion of those involved appear to have been French citizens of African origin, perhaps second- or third-generation immigrants, coming from the marginalized housing estates where they have been concentrated for decades without integrating into the values of the nation that welcomed them.

Even if we accept the idea that the violence of 2019 was driven by the collective frustration of PSG supporters, what explanation can be offered for the fact that the riots were even worse after the club finally won, first in 2025 and now again in 2026?

INGERSOLL: Here It Comes, As Predicted
OPINION
Protesters React To 'Brutal' Knife Attack In Belfast

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 9: Youths gather in front of a burning barricade on Duncairn Gardens on June 9, 2026 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Demonstrations have been called in reaction to what police described as a "brutal" knife attack in north Belfast on Monday night, which has left a male victim in his 40's with serious injuries. The Home Office has confirmed the suspected knifeman is a Sudanese national who was in the UK on leave to remain, after being granted refugee status in 2023. Officials have called for calm as misinformation circulated online following the attack. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

We’re seeing just the very beginnings of some of western culture’s darkest times, if things don’t begin to change quite rapidly.

Belfast is on fire. Nationalist militants clad in black have been patrolling “street-by-street” and molotoving buildings known to house migrants (on the public dime). The tipping point was a Muslim immigrant attempting to behead a man in the middle of the street in broad daylight.

I can’t say I’m shocked even slightly. I and many others have predicted this outcome. What’s more shocking to me is that it took this long.

Belfast protesters set vehicles on fire, block roads over brutal street stabbing

Protesters on Tuesday set vehicles on fire and blocked several central roads in the Northern Ireland city of Belfast after police charged a Sudanese national suspected of violently stabbing another man in the street the night before. The attack was caught on video and prompted far-right figures to call for anti-migrant protests across the United Kingdom.

FRANCE 24

People watch as firemen arrive to put out vehicle that was set alight during a protest in East Belfast following a stabbing incident in Belfast, Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Cover image: People watch as firemen arrive to put out vehicle that was set alight during a protest in East Belfast following a stabbing incident in Belfast on June 9, 2026. © Peter Morrison, AP

Anti-immigration protesters torched buildings and vehicles in Belfast on Tuesday evening and blocked roads, a day after a stabbing allegedly by a Sudanese refugee, captured in a graphic video that shocked the country.

Hundreds of protesters, many masked, gathered at several locations across Belfast, AFP journalists saw. A bus and several cars were set alight, while a building fringing the city centre caught fire and its residents had to be evacuated.

"By 7:30pm (18:30 GMT) they started (a) fire in the bins...we heard police cars and sirens," said one resident, Eemran, an engineer of Indian origin who has been living in Belfast for slightly over a year.

"More and more people started coming, they started throwing petrol bombs. Suddenly the fire started going ... we had smoke inside the building ... fire people came in and they said 'go down'," he said in broken English.

The Modern Depression Economists Can’t See
Maple Herriot

We’ve been waiting for the next depression to arrive. The record suggests we
should stop waiting and start looking around.

Most critically, the 1930s depression arrived like a car crash. It was sudden, violent, and impossible to miss. It generated a response: the New Deal, Social Security, deposit insurance, sweeping financial regulation. The distress was visible enough to force political action.

The modern depression didn’t announce itself. At no single point did the alarm go off. Each year is slightly worse than the last but never catastrophically worse. The frog does not jump because the water never reaches a boil in any single moment.

Higgenbotham wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2026 2:23 pm The Archdruid (John Michael Greer) is independent and does good work. I feel he is very intelligent and has unique insights.

Archdruid wrote:One final point probably needs making. I don’t have a solution to suggest for the tangled mess of dysfunctional behaviors and stifled desires I’ve sketched out in this little essay. I don’t think there is one. Over the last century and a half, the Western world has passed through a dramatic transformation in sex relationships, in which the subordination of women that’s been standard in more or less every other society all through recorded history has largely if not entirely broken down. So vast a change will necessarily have impacts that unfold over a timescale of many generations, and some of those impacts aren’t going to be any fun to resolve.

Higgenbotham wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2026 3:28 pm My take on what will fundamentally set this collapse into motion is the fact that the center of power resides within a small group of US corporations that also, as we know, have a revolving door connected to government where personnel including key individuals and lobbyists go back and forth as it now operates as one entity and the ideal where there is a private sphere of influence within the capitalist system and a public sphere that can look out for the longer term has been erased.

Due to the revolving door, is there no longer a private sphere of influence within the capitalist system and a public sphere that can look out for the longer term?

AI Overview

The "revolving door"—where individuals cycle between government and corporate roles—blurs the boundaries between the private sphere of capital accumulation and the public sphere of long-term state planning. While it has not entirely eliminated them, it has fundamentally altered how they function.

The Blurring of Boundaries

Instead of serving as two distinct realms with opposing incentives, the public and private sectors have become deeply intertwined through several mechanisms:

Regulatory Capture: When former industry executives lead regulatory agencies, the long-term public interest (e.g., environmental sustainability, consumer protection) can become subordinate to the short-term profitability of the private firms being regulated.

Socialization of Elites: Scholars argue that the movement of personnel between sectors fosters a cultural consensus and shared professional experiences among corporate and political elites, often resulting in a unified, short-term perspective focused on economic growth rather than long-term systemic stability.

Incentives for Politicians: The prospect of lucrative post-government careers in private equity, lobbying, or corporate boards incentivizes lawmakers to cater to corporate interests while still in public office.

Where does this leave the long term?

Critics of neoliberal capitalism note that this systemic merging makes it difficult for institutions to look out for the longer term. Because capitalist systems and electoral cycles both heavily prioritize short-term outcomes (quarterly profits and frequent elections, respectively), the capacity for sustained, intergenerational planning is often undermined by immediate financial and political pressures.

The Push for Separation

Despite these dynamics, civil society, independent watchdogs, and democratic institutions continually push to preserve the public sphere's integrity. Measures to slow the revolving door and reinforce boundaries include:

Cooling-Off Periods: Mandatory waiting periods before former government officials can engage in lobbying or representational activities before their former agencies.

Transparency Laws: Stricter public disclosure requirements regarding who former officials are working for upon leaving public service.