Trump Border Czar Filmed Taking Cash in FBI Sting & Junk Science Targets Tylenol and Autism
September 30, 2025
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: The Marvel character Thanos gives us unflinching insight into the difference between heroes and villains.
Trump Border Czar Was Caught on Camera Taking Cash in FBI Sting: He claims taking the money wasn’t illegal—but was it ethical? We’ll never know, because Trump forced the FBI to bury the case.
Trump’s unfounded claims heap new stress on household brand name Tylenol: The “science” is so laughable that no reputable physician or scientist agrees with Trump’s conclusions.
Dr. Oz Splits from Trump on Tylenol After Autism Tirade: Even Trump’s medical sock puppet can’t endorse Trump’s outrageous claims.
Trump’s touting of an unproven autism drug surprised many, including the doctor who proposed it: With little research to support his medical advice, Trump touts a drug while also killing funding into legitimate research of autism.
‘Scourged Back’ exposed the horror of slavery. Now it’s embroiled in America’s censorship debate: Many of us realize that the mistakes we make in life help us to choose a better path. Same goes for countries. Unless you pretend they never happened.
Trump moves Obama, Bush portraits to hidden stairwell: The one characteristic that defines Trump’s personality the most: pettiness.
Video Break: I’m bringing this video back because watching Christopher Walken dance lightens my whole day.
Kareem the Science Guy: In 2022, the name 'monkeypox' was nixed. Now the U.S. is reviving it: No one in the medical community wanted this, nor does it solve any problem. Which means the only reason to bring it back is to promote its racist messaging.
Magical Moments in Sports: These are the moments in sports that make me proud to have been part of the athletic community.
Laufey Sings “Lover Girl”: Her fusion of jazz, pop, and Latin music produces a unique sound that will leave you wanting to hear more from her.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
It's a simple calculus. This universe is finite, its resources finite. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correcting.
Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War
What makes Thanos such a great villain isn’t just that he has the power to destroy his enemies, including the Avengers, but that his reasoning for his villainy is the classic perversion of the savior complex. He has convinced himself that he, and only he, can save the universe from itself. His solution: to randomly kill half the population of the universe (which he does), thereby freeing up resources for the other half.
His rationalization for this extreme action is what happened on his own planet, Titan: “Titan was like most planets. Too many mouths, not enough to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution. Genocide. But random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike. They called me a madman. And what I predicted came to pass.” Overcrowding led to famine, pestilence, and violence, which he then claims proves he’s right. In logic, this is a fallacy called a false dilemma. This occurs when someone presents a problem, then says there is only one solution. For example, “You either support my policies or you hate this country.” That’s a variation of “America, love it or leave it.” In fact, you can love America and still find fault with it so that those faults can be fixed.
Last week, Trump addressed the UN, admonishing them for being ineffective while also bragging, “I can tell you I'm really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell.” During his 2016 nomination acceptance speech, he promised “I alone can fix it.” Throughout his campaign he stated over and over, “Only I can fix it.”
Here we are, nearly ten years later, and not only has he not fixed anything, he’s consistently made things worse. The economy is weaker, our constitutional rights are weaker, our educational system is weaker, and our health care is weaker. He’s failed at everything.
During his UN speech, Trump boasted, “I was very proud to see this morning I have the highest poll numbers I’ve ever had.” However, back in the real world, polls are showing the general mood of the country is turning away from him: “Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Falls Again in Poll.” Worse, Trump and the GOP have always prided themselves on having the confidence of Americans in economic issues. No more: “More than 75% of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy, new poll finds.”
What’s the difference between a hero and a villain? After all, Thanos’ motivation was saving the universe. However, his villainy comes from his false dilemma that only his solution would work. He completely rejected other, more humane solutions. To him—and Trump—brute force is the only solution to every problem. The power of the Infinity Stones would have allowed him to provide more resources. But perhaps the most important aspect is that a people who would support killing off half the population don’t deserve to survive. We admire martyrs not only because they are willing to give up their own lives for a greater good, but because that greater good is a worthwhile moral value that elevates humanity, not shames it.
What makes Trump even more villainous than Thanos is that Thanos chose to eliminate population randomly, not based on wealth or race or heritage. Trump’s policies are targeted at the poor, people of color, and other marginalized groups who, if he had the Infinity Stones, he’d make disappear with a snap of his tiny fingers.