Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Let’s break down the latest news.
House Republicans Punt Hegseth Impeachment Vote…House Republicans are heading home early—and conveniently avoiding a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, introduced eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth over his handling of the war in Iran, filing them as a privileged resolution that would normally require a House vote within two legislative days. Instead, Speaker Mike Johnson canceled Thursday’s scheduled votes, sending members home for the midterm campaign and pushing the impeachment vote until after the November election. Johnson says the schedule change has nothing to do with Hegseth, while Democrats and other critics argue Republicans are avoiding a politically difficult vote.
Common Sense Takeaway: In what other job in America can you decide you just don't want to work for 2 months and still get paid and free healthcare? While most people are desperately trying to afford healthcare and astronomical prices? Congressional Republicans are a joke. They need to sit their asses down and get back to work on a number of issues, including AI regulation that is desperately needed.
Artists Walk Off Ed Sheeran Tour…Ed Sheeran’s “Loop” tour is losing its opening acts after Macklemore was dropped from the lineup following his onstage support for Palestine. Macklemore said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft pressured Sheeran over his participation; Kraft said the decision was based on Macklemore’s recent performance and what he described as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery. Sheeran says the decision was ultimately made by his concert promoter after venues threatened to cancel shows. Now, Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Beoga and Danish band Lukas Graham have all announced they’re leaving the tour in solidarity with Macklemore and his right to speak about the war in Gaza. Finneas said artists should not be silenced for speaking up for oppressed people, while Lukas Graham said money should not determine who gets to participate in the conversation.
Common Sense Takeaway: The power of money is on full display here. Robert Kraft, a billionaire, is forcing a smaller artist to drop off of a major tour because he doesn’t like that he’s publicly opposing the mass murder of thousands of children. On a granular level, nobody should ever be silenced for speaking out and being a voice for the oppressed because a) it’s wrong and b) it doesn’t work. In this case, the pressure campaign by Kraft has ended up drawing more attention to Palestinians who are suffering more than Macklemore ever could have on his own. All of these opening acts have a new fan in me and if Robert Kraft has no haters, I’m dead.
Trump Turns Up Pressure on the Fed….Trump spent years attacking former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over interest rates. Now, just four months into the tenure of his handpicked successor, Kevin Warsh, Trump is once again pushing aggressively for lower rates. The problem? Inflation is running at 3.4%, well above the Fed’s 2% target, with tariffs, higher energy prices and the massive AI buildout adding to inflationary pressures. Trump has said he wants rates as low as 0.5% to 1%, while his economic advisers have suggested he will have something to say if the Fed makes a “big move.” That puts Warsh in a difficult position: respond to economic data and the Fed’s mandate, or risk angering a president who has made clear that he wants borrowing costs dramatically lower.
Common Sense Takeaway: If only Warsh could have seen this dilemma coming. (Has anyone talked to Jerome Powell recently?) The choice should be simple here. Listen to the data, not the president. And yes, those two things almost always conflict with each other, but that doesn’t change ethics. If Trump really wanted lower rates, he could start with ending his war in Iran and stop imposing retaliatory tariffs on our allies.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading Common Sense with Ally Sammarco.
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Thanks for being here. See you tomorrow!
— Ally
I believe Ed Sheeran’s backing band has also quit the tour. He may be doing acoustic sets.
"All of these opening acts have a new fan in me and if Robert Kraft has no haters, I’m dead." 100%. In the past 24 hours I've bought albums from Macklemore and three of the four who dropped out voluntarily (one is proving more difficult, but I'll figure something out eventually).