| I’m Beth Kowitt, and this is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a not subtle message of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here. War is hell. It’s a lesson President Harry Truman knew well after witnessing the horrors of World War II — so much so that he changed the name of the then-called Department of War, eventually landing on the Department of Defense. He and other leaders of the time “hated war far too much to play with the word,” explains Andreas Kluth. (Fun fact: Truman first changed the name to the National Military Establishment in 1947, but Congress decided on the Department of Defense in 1949 over concerns that the acronym NME sounded too similar to “enemy.”) Now the Trump administration has reverted back to war, not just in the naming of the department but in its ethos. In announcing the name change, “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth said the department is now about “maximum lethality, not tepid legality, violent effect, not politically correct. We’re going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.” But as Andreas points out, America didn’t lose in Iraq and Afghanistan because it was insufficiently lethal but rather because it “lacked a strategy that was well considered, realistic and attainable.” The same could be said of the current administration in its “random displays of violence intended to shock and awe audiences foreign and domestic and to keep up the ratings on the reality-TV presidency,” he explains. That’s led to an almost certainly unlawful military strike on a boat in the Caribbean, killing 11 on board. And closer to home, the deployment of the National Guard in American cities that President Donald Trump deems as his enemies. Chicago, he recently posted, is “about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.” So go ahead and rename the department, Andreas says. It may be a more descriptive and truthful label anyway. But do it with the goal of preventing war rather than provoking it. Bonus Tough Guy Reading: When Will Trump Get Tough on Putin? Maybe Never. — Marc Champion Madonna Walked So Sabrina Could Run | Pop star Sabrina Carpenter took to the stage last night at the VMAs to give more than a performance. She used her time in the spotlight to broadcast her support for the trans community. Her backup dancers, comprised of drag performers, at one point pulled out signs that read “Protect Trans Rights,” “Dolls Dolls Dolls” and “In Trans We Trust.”  Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV The message was not subtle. But this shouldn’t come as a big surprise to those who have followed Carpenter’s music and career. She says and does what she wants — and doesn’t particularly care if some viewers find her message uncomfortable or overly provocative. Carpenter recently put it this way to Interview Magazine: “I’m glad you like my sexual content.” This is quite an evolution from previous generations of female popstars, writes Jason Bailey. “Carpenter and others are capitalizing on an era where artists can freely use profanity in their songs, often in lyrics delving into the graphic details of sex, without damaging their image or sales the way it would have in the ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s.” Case in point: Madonna’s Erotica album led to a backlash that temporarily dinged her career. Jason argues that this cultural shift is in large part a reflection of the declining power of radio and MTV. Tours and streaming services mean pop stars don’t need to keep it clean to get the radio and television exposure that was once needed to make it big. It’s a reminder that “pop culture doesn’t pause for our comfort,” Jason writes, but “dares us to confront it, ignore it or join the conversation.” Wildfire smoke is terrible for human health. But it’s also terrible for Americans’ wallets. US workers in the retail, wholesale, transportation, construction, mining and agriculture sectors alone lost $1.1 trillion in wages between 2020 and 2024 because of exposure to wildfire smoke, according to a new study by Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’s a reminder that climate change is no longer a problem for our grandchildren but is inflicting profound economic and health damage right now,” writes Mark Gongloff. The solution is to treat wildfire smoke and climate change like the national health emergencies they are, he argues. Too bad the Trump administration instead attacks anything related to climate change in “the name of favoring economic growth over ‘wokeness,’” Mark says.  Speaking of misplaced blame from the Trump administration, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has found the Fed to be the perfect scapegoat for every economic shortcoming of the past two decades. Growing inequality? The Fed’s fault! Too much inflation in 2021 and 2022? Also the Fed. The 2023 bank failures and the housing affordability crisis are also on his list. Not so fast, says Jonathan Levin. “Lost in Bessent’s cherry picking of crises small and large is the basic fact that the economy has done pretty well during the period in question,” he writes. “We should be careful in calling for an institutional revolution, when reality suggests some surgical improvements.” Jonathan has the numbers to back it up, too. Bonus Bessent Reading: Politico reports that the Treasury Secretary threatened to punch an administration rival in the face at a private dinner last week. Starmer needs a real answer on immigration reform. — The Editorial Board It’s too late for the GOP to rebrand its “Big, Beautiful Bill.” — Nia-Malika Henderson Apple’s Plan B for AI is actually pretty great. — Dave Lee Markets are wondering what it all means. — John Authers Reeves is out in the cold after Starmer reshuffle. — Rosa Prince The Klarna IPO doesn’t augur a banking boom. — Paul J. Davies How deep did the the Epstein-JPMorgan connection really run? US Chief Justice lets Trump oust FTC Commissioner for now. French Premier Bayrou to resign after losing confidence vote. Musk’s SpaceX is buying $17 billion of wireless spectrum from EchoStar. Your Zodiac sign is 2,000 years out of date. The Mushroom Murderer sprouted an entire media ecosystem. Gen Z’s “The Great Lock In” has gone viral. Notes: Please send horoscopes and feedback to Beth Kowitt at bkowitt@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and find us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads. | 
