Treating non-white non-males and non-cis gendered people like human beings is the worst thing that ever happened to this country.Donald Trump on the Kennedy Center where he named himself the Chairman of the board:
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 10, 2025
"It's not going to be woke. There is no more woke in this country. This woke has cost us a fortune and cost us our reputation."
π pic.twitter.com/TO3bO9ZssI
"I would like to say 'This book is written to the glory of God', but nowadays this would be the trick of a cheat, i.e., it would not be correctly understood."--Ludwig Wittgenstein
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."--Soren Kierkegaard
Monday, February 10, 2025
Making The Culture Safe For Straight White Men
“Fuck The Constitution”
And when the chief executive tries to usurp the authority of Congress? What, just let him because his name is “Trump”?Jennings: If a district court judge tries to usurp the authority of the chief executive of this country, he should absolutely defy it. pic.twitter.com/sIzvurURXl
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
They aren’t compelled to do it. They are required to; by law. Remember the old adage, dipshit: “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”Sununu: You just can’t compel the executive branch to spend the dollars
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
Phillip: Have you heard of The Impoundment Control Act of 1974?
Sununu: No. None of your viewers have either pic.twitter.com/DXpKJwu7IY
Yes. The federal isn’t a business, the POTUS is not a CFO. Article I: the Congress levies taxes and spends money. The POTUS doesn’t decide whether or not the Congress got it right. There is no line-item veto: of laws or of government spending.Sununu: If Congress appropriates $20 million for a program, as the chief executive, do I have to spend $20 million on that program? pic.twitter.com/XQ8ZVOs4Fh
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
I really want that clause in Art. II pointed out to me; the one Sununu insists is in there.Philip: What about when the trump administration says to congress, you created this agency, we're going to just decide it doesn't exist anymore.
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
Sununu: He runs the executive branch. He can decide who works for the executive branch.
Phillip: Where does this end? Congress… pic.twitter.com/xSw0Er4MnO
When the POTUS acts as if he’s above the law, the judges have a say in what the law is he took an oath to preserve, protect and defend.Jennings: Should the president have to share the presidency with 300 district court judges? No pic.twitter.com/Wy7q9rtZal
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
"Suckers!"Phillip: But on prices, people are wondering when are the groceries going to go down, when are the housing costs going to go down?
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
Sununu: They're not though, right? That would be deflation pic.twitter.com/P8MM5ma1dY
"You’ll thank me later for inflation now. And prices won’t go down, ‘cause that would be deflation. So: suckers! And tariffs will just make things worse; they always do. Worse for you, not for white guys like me! Suckers!”Sununu: So you're going to see tariffs come in hard and fast. They're painful a little bit. That's why he's doing them quick and early to hopefully get through it. pic.twitter.com/O9CdX2jbai
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
"Live free or die," right? Besides, we don’ need no steenkin’ healthcare! That’s just elites who tell us we do! Fuck ‘em and their ee-leetist med-ee-sin!Phillip: I suspect that some of the people in the state of New Hampshire would be affected by things like this.
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 11, 2025
Sununu: A bunch of overpaid academics that have been abusing the system.
Phillip: What I'm talking about is medical research, which is what these things fund. And I think Katie Britt is talking about this too
Sununu: No, Katie Britt is worried about a bunch of professors getting fired pic.twitter.com/GHZLfqAKef
We’ll see what happens when the shit hits the fan. Should be interesting.V surprised to hear a longtime Mitch McConnell ally say this. (McConnell who made defending the courts his life's work...)
— Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) February 11, 2025
This is notably different than what I'm hearing from Hill Rs, which is not to defy but to appeal. https://t.co/DaREf3azgo
L’etat, C’est Moi
I don’t really think this is all just because Trump is obsessed with Gaza.US President Donald Trump stated that Palestinians would not have the right of return under his proposed plan for Gaza.
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 10, 2025
When asked by Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier whether Palestinians would be granted this right, Trump responded, “No, they wouldn’t, because they’re going to to have much better housing.” He added, “In other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them." pic.twitter.com/D6w8iEXzVh
More than 40,000 Palestinian refugees have been forcibly displaced by the Israeli military's ongoing assault on the northern West Bank, according to UNRWA.
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 10, 2025
"Since January 21, the Israeli forces' 'Iron Wall' operation has nearly emptied several refugee camps, making it the… pic.twitter.com/uxykMSBu1T
And a slight detour to remind everyone Trump terrified Hamas into the hostage releases (not months of delicate negotiations between Biden, Israel, and Hamas):Israel Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 10, 2025
"Look at Hamas' celebrations of the army's withdrawal from the Netzarim axis, which they describe as 'liberating the land again.' All they care about is the land, and it must be taken from them to harm them, show the price of defeat, and deter every enemy anywhere in the world.
And of course, a decisive step must be taken to open the door to encouraging the emigration of the Gaza population, in cooperation with President Trump, who understands very well the roots of the conflict and the only realistic solution. Only in this way can we do everything, everything, in order to free all the prisoners and eliminate the threat of Hamas from a position of strength.
Mr. Prime Minister, this plan must be presented for approval to the cabinet as soon as possible, in order to prepare for an immediate operation once the first stage of the deal is completed. This is the only realistic way to force Hamas to surrender and raise the white flag." pic.twitter.com/hQC46u5wYe
‘Expel Hamas leaders, dismantle resistance’: Netanyahu sets terms for phase two of Gaza dealhttps://t.co/79jQLR1QtF
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 10, 2025
BREAKING | Hamas’s Qassam Brigades spokesman, Abu Obeida, announces that the release of the next 3 Israeli captives, originally scheduled for Saturday, February 15, 2025, will be postponed until further notice due to Israel's ceasefire violations: delaying the return of displaced civilians to northern Gaza, ongoing shelling and gunfire, and failure to deliver promised relief supplies. pic.twitter.com/8edzcWBB17
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 10, 2025
Israeli War Minister Israel Katz:
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 10, 2025
○ "Hamas's announcement to stop releasing Israeli hostages is a complete violation of the ceasefire agreement and the deal to release the hostages."
○ "I instructed the Israeli military to prepare at the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza and to protect the [border] communities. We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7th." pic.twitter.com/QHxuJx0MBc
Hamas doesn’t appear to be worried.Donald Trump says that "all hell is going to break out" if Hamas doesn't release the hostages by 12:00 on Saturday.
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 10, 2025
We already know him and Netanyahu are planning on entirely leveling Gaza. Vile man. pic.twitter.com/7giDhQvx33
Hamas:
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 10, 2025
"The Hamas movement confirms its commitment to the terms of the agreement as long as the Zionist occupation is committed to them.
Hamas has implemented all its obligations accurately and on time.
The occupation did not abide by the terms of the agreement, and carried out many violations, which included:
1. Delaying the return of displaced persons to the northern Gaza Strip.
2. Targeting our people with shelling and shooting, killing many of them in various areas of the Gaza Strip.
3. Obstructing the entry of shelter requirements such as tents, mobile homes, fuel, and equipment for removing rubble and retrieving bodies.
4. Delaying the entry of the medicines and supplies needed by hospitals to renovate hospitals and the health sector.
Hamas counted the occupation's violations and provided them to the mediators as they happened, but the occupation continued its violations.
Hamas calls for strict adherence to the agreement, and not subjecting it to selectivity, by presenting the less important and delaying and obstructing the more urgent and important.
Postponing the release of prisoners is a warning message to the occupation, and to pressure for strict adherence to the terms of the agreement.
Hamas deliberately made this announcement five full days before the date of handing over the prisoners, in order to give the mediators sufficient opportunity to pressure the occupation to implement its obligations, and to keep the door open to implement the exchange on time if the occupation adheres to its obligations.
"We'll build beautiful communities for the 1.9 million people," Trump said. "We'll build beautiful communities, safe communities. Could be five, six, could be two, but we'll build safe communities a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is. In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land, no big money spent."Communities for 1.9 million people? Sure, how hard can it be, how long can it take? Those 2 million will just get out of the way, right? Or Jordan or Egypt have a guest room, right? Because the Palestinians are not going back to Gaza, are they?
"No, they wouldn’t," Trump said. "Because they’re going to have much better housing, much better – in other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them because if they have to return now it would be years before you could ever – it's not habitable. It'll be years before it can happen. I'm talking about starting to build, and I think I could make a deal with Jordan. I think I could make a deal with Egypt. We give them billions and billions of dollars a year."Yup, they ain’t comin’ back, in Trump’s version. But please don’t call it “ethnic cleansing.” It’s just forcibly removing them to another place which will be better for them…someday. Probably. Definitely not something that’s ever happened in the history of America. Definitely not. Don’t say it is.
Just A Reminder

Elmo bought Twitter because a court told him to. He spent a lot of money NOT to put his money where his mouth is. And a court told him he had to, anyway.
"The point being, a strategy by Musk of just ignoring the law and ignoring the courts would engender MASSIVE pushback from the federal courts. They don't have to worry about standing for any elections, and don't have to lie to the rubes in the base. They have life tenure," said Esper.
He also pointed out that Republicans don't have the power or influence to impeach a judge.
"We have a weird dynamic where many people have convinced themselves that a stupid belief (that it is possible for Musk to exercise dictatorial power on behalf of Trump with no possible accountability) is actually the Smart Take that the Experts Don't Know."
"What do you think happens to Tesla or Twitter or SpaceX in all their civil cases in federal courts if Musk becomes The Guy Who Disobeys Federal Court Orders? This guy has massive business interests he wants to protect as well," the litigator continued.Time is a flat circle, especially for frequent litigants. People are already refusing to buy Teslas because they don’t want to be associated with a a Nazi. Judges are people, too; and you ignore one judge, heaven help you in the courts of the rest.
The Guy Who Thinks He’s Knows More About Government Than Anyone
Elon Musk, DOGE, and MAGA are back to lying about FEMA disaster funds going to immigrants.
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 10, 2025
The SSP program gives grants to shelters to house migrants and immigrants.
That funding was passed by Congress.
It's separate from FEMA's disaster funds for hurricanes, also funded by… pic.twitter.com/FX3sAIna73
Thoughts And Prayers
Some evangelicals on Sunday slammed President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) , with one leader calling the move "damaging and wasteful. https://t.co/wcGibOy5St
— Raw Story (@RawStory) February 10, 2025
Vice President of government relations at the National Association of Evangelicals, Galen Carey, warned the president’s “indiscriminate stop-work orders issued with little or no advanced notice have created chaos and confusion on the ground.”
“This is damaging and wasteful," Carey said. "Some of our members and partners are experiencing crippling cashflow crises, necessitating mass layoffs and abrupt termination of services with no time for responsible transitions."
The faith leader noted while “there are aspects of our foreign aid programs that should be ended and others that could be reformed for greater effectiveness ... this review and reform can be achieved without the wholesale disruption of the many programs that are working well and saving lives."
"We affirm the goal of eliminating wasteful spending throughout government but caution against hastily pursued measures that will prove costly,” Carey said, as Business Insider reports. “The abrupt closure of many effective aid programs will mean that some of the money already spent will have been wasted. Commodities will be lost and food will rot, medicines expire. Other supplies may be stolen or misappropriated because the staff and the partners are not allowed to receive them.”
Carey, urged Trump “to rethink the assumption that effective international assistance does not benefit our national security, peace and prosperity.”It’s all fun and games until somebody gets punched in the mouth.
Well, what's interesting is it's almost nonexistent," said Rausenbush. "I mean, there have been Christians in federal government, there have been great programs that have been run with Christian assistance in USAID. This is not a problem, but the president is actually — what he's trying to do is create a problem, which is part of a play for power. And so this is, what we've actually seen is an anti-Christian bias coming out of the White House. So we actually need protection from the White House at this point."
"No one knows that better than people like [Bishop] Mariann Budde, who have been attacked, bullied by the president, receiving death threats, just for preaching from her pulpit that he might give mercy," he added. "We've seen the Catholic bishops being attacked by J.D. Vance for doing their work, being accused of going for the bottom line. This is gross, grotesque."
One of the biggest attacks, he continued, is tech billionaire Elon Musk's attacks on Lutheran organizations that work on refugee resettlement.
"They help the elderly, they help people across this country, doing great work. And Elon Musk comes out and says, oh, these people are money laundering," said Rausenbush. "These are all attacks directly on Christian communities. The Quakers have experienced it, with ICE being now allowed to invade congregations one after another. Christian communities under attack from this Trump-Vance-Musk administration. And it's very ironic that they're worried about anti-Christian bias, given that we need to be protected from this White House."
Tbf, being anti-Quaker is an American tradition, from hanging us in Boston Common to Feds infiltrating our peace and justice orgs. ;-pYeah, it is. “Weird” practices are inherently suspect and non-Xian. Which is why all right-thinking Protestants don’t trust Catholics. π
Sunday, February 09, 2025
Replies Only (Worth 1000 Words)
— π³ππππ ✨π✨ π³ππππ (@holly__heart) February 10, 2025
— Zav Derycke (@ZavDerycke) February 10, 2025
— Patti π I Dissent π❄️π€☃️π πΊπΈ✌️ (@mrspcarroll) February 10, 2025
Here’s the light he’s referring to. pic.twitter.com/RrIS2xjvLG
— The Resistor Sister®️♥️πΊπΈ (@the_resistor) February 10, 2025
I just can't with this manchild. pic.twitter.com/MnmsfeOLG4
— πΊπΈπ» David π²π½π¬π§ (@DaveSixFour) February 10, 2025
TFW you solved all of the problems by renaming a Gulf that no other country will recognize pic.twitter.com/ZRwv4bjqUt
— Alex Jewell π§’ (@bestfoodalex) February 10, 2025
He’s clearly obsessed with Canada for some personal reason. I think it’s because Melania has a crush on Trudeau. pic.twitter.com/LvvOR2zzFX
— Iran News Now (@IranNewsNow) February 10, 2025
Penny For Your Thoughts
It’s a cult. pic.twitter.com/ujZc8Qdpc8
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 10, 2025
(a) The Secretary of the Treasury may mint and issue only the following coins:
(1) a dollar coin that is 1.043 inches in diameter.
(2) a half dollar coin that is 1.205 inches in diameter and weighs 11.34 grams.
(3) a quarter dollar coin that is 0.955 inch in diameter and weighs 5.67 grams.
(4) a dime coin that is 0.705 inch in diameter and weighs 2.268 grams.
(5) a 5-cent coin that is 0.835 inch in diameter and weighs 5 grams.
(6) except as provided under subsection (c) of this section, a one-cent coin that is 0.75 inch in diameter and weighs 3.11 grams.
...
(c) The Secretary may prescribe the weight and the composition of copper and zinc in the alloy of the one-cent coin that the Secretary decides are appropriate when the Secretary decides that a different weight and alloy of copper and zinc are necessary to ensure an adequate supply of one-cent coins to meet the needs of the United States.31 USC 5112 directs the Secretary of the Treasury to coin denominations set out in the statute (i.e., at the direction of Congress). The only determination the Secretary can make is the zinc/copper composition of the penny to “ensure an adequate supply” to meet the country’s needs.
The Congress shall have Power . . . ] To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; . . .Article I, Section 8, Clause 5. By the way:
Because Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the Constitution prohibits the states from coining money, the Supreme Court has recognized Congress’s coinage power to be exclusive.I don’t see where Congress has delegated that exclusive power to the Secretary of the Treasury. Not in this statute, anyway.
Yeah, I'd also gone to the statute when I saw his latest. My thought is that there are a bunch of "shall issue" clauses in the language, so does that suggest "may issue" means Congress delegated and TreasSec has discretion to issue (so long as the coinage conforms to specified composition, weight, etc) or not?The bulk of the statute concerns specific coinage, like the state quarters I collected a few years back. But section a) directs treasury to mint certain denominations, and only (in section c) gives discretion on the metals composition of the penny. But the Treasurer has no discretion in whether or not to issue any of the specified coins in section a. Arguably he can slow or increase production; but there’s no authority granted to cease production altogether.
The Color Of The Sky On His Planet
"For duty and humanity!” (VERY early Three Stooges short. Don’t know what made me think of that.)Reporter: You are going to meet with first responders today, but you pardoned hundreds of people who assaulted first responders.
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 10, 2025
Trump: No, I pardoned people who were assaulted themselves… by our government. I didn’t assault. They didn’t assault. They were assaulted. What I did was a great thing for humanity. pic.twitter.com/LbzrbFM6rb
Yeah, but you blinked.Trump: We’re making our country larger, we’re making our country stronger. And in the case of Canada—if this should happen—I don’t know how they can do it without us. Because without the U.S., Canada really doesn’t have a country.
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 10, 2025
They do almost all of their business with us, and if we say we want our cars to be made in Detroit, with a stroke of a pen, I can make that happen. And other things, in addition to that, would not allow Canada to be a viable country. pic.twitter.com/0RN4lyJ5RV
Never heard of it. I have heard of the Super Bowl, though. Haven’t been glued to the set, but I saw Taylor Swift in the stadium. Haven’t seen Trump. Not that I missed that.Trump declared today, “Gulf of America Day,” and called the announcement “even bigger than the Super Bowl” and part of “making America great again.”
— PatriotTakes πΊπΈ (@patriottakes) February 9, 2025
Trump can’t stand that the Super Bowl is getting more attention than him. pic.twitter.com/a9CA4K71Ym
I am sorry I missed that. Especially since Elmo was supposed to have bought all the Super Bowl ad time to promote DOGE. Or fire everybody in government. Or something.I love how Ontario, Canada schooled MAGA and trolled Donald Trump in a Super Bowl commercial.
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 10, 2025
π€£ pic.twitter.com/bDAWyRYrkK
The Presidential curse continues…Trump picks the Chiefs to win tonight. pic.twitter.com/1kBthXJwzb
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 10, 2025
Still hungry for that attention.When you picked the Chiefs to win and walked out at halftime. pic.twitter.com/sxwrB2kOr6
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 10, 2025
“Don’t Tax You, Don’t Tax Me, Tax That Feller Behind The Tree”
“While the administration works to achieve this goal at NIH, a smart, targeted approach is needed in order to not hinder life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions like those in Alabama,” she told AL.com
A few facts. The University of Alabama at Birmingham is the largest employer in the state. It gets more than a billion dollars a year from NIH funding. The head of the Birmingham Business Alliance is quoted saying the whole thing is super bad. Birmingham’s Mayor Randall Woodfin (D) also seems to be freaking out. Britt wouldn’t stop talking: “We can eliminate administrative bloat and waste while not losing our competitive edge to adversaries like Communist China. I look forward to working with incoming HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to accomplish this vital mission and ensure our nation remains at the forefront of medical innovation, research, and patient care.”
The University of Alabama at Huntsville is comparably reliant on NIH funding grants. And we’re certain to see similar outcries from Republican representatives in other states as they find out often from Republican stakeholders in their states about what the NIH cuts mean for them. Then the question is likely to move on to whether Trump can shift the question from one of across-the-board cuts to cuts that only target institutions in blue states or simply any institutions that don’t support Donald Trump.Given Trump’s track record of the last few weeks, he’ll fold for every one of them. Besides, the more he targets blue states, the more Democrats are likely to retaliate.
There’s A Reason No POTUS Has Ever Attended The Super Bowl
It’s the same reason Trump is going: it costs the taxpayers a lot of money.Terrie here seems to think that Donald Trump isn't using taxpayer money for his trip to the Super Bowl.
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 9, 2025
Terrie seems to think that Donald Trump not taking a $400,000 salary and being a billionaire means he's paying for every expense during his presidency himself (let's not even get into the ways he's funneling taxpayer money into those golf courses).
These people are so far gone.pic.twitter.com/WdlVJDum2Q
Yeah, About That…
Baier: 19 state AGs filed a lawsuit and a judge agreed with them to restrict Elon Musk and Doge from accessing Treasury Department data and payment systems. What do you make of that?
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 9, 2025
Trump: I disagree 100%. I think it's crazy. pic.twitter.com/ZEj1aNj4rl
(And Trump isn’t saying anything he didn’t say about any of his civil suits ir criminal cases in the past four years. Calm down.)A reminder that while Elon Musk, DOGE, and Donald Trump screech about "corruption and fraud" in USAID, Judge Carl Nichols (appointed by Trump) said that the government didn't provide any evidence for their claim. pic.twitter.com/ZFBV25pzME
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 9, 2025
πΌ π¨π¨π¨
Velshi went on to explain that Canada has 41 million people, "so if Canada were to become America, some changes would be in order. First of all, Congress would have to grow."
"But here's problem," He continued. "Number one, this little thing called the Reapportionment Act of 1929 mandates that the U.S. House is no bigger than 435 members. So, if you did the math combining Canada's population with America's and dividing it by 435, Canada would net 47 seats, and those seats would be taken away from states all over the country. Who's going to tell all of those voters that Trump gave their congressional representation to a guy in Saskatchewan?"
Regarding the Senate, "Trump is only offering that Canada become one state with two senators," but since each Canadian province would insist on being its own state, Canada wouldn't be the 51st state. it would be states 51 through 60 at the very least" meaning a possible 20 new members of the Senate. And that, said Velshi, would make for "the largest reorientation of political power in America since women were given the right to vote in 1920."
Velshi concluded, "Expansion from Canada to the 'Gulf of America' might be a fun idea for Trump, until our nice neighbors up north kick his party out of office and install a liberal supermajority. We haven't even talked about what that's going to do to the supreme court. Now, of course, in typical Canadian politeness, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there's, quote, 'Not a snowball's chance in hell that Canada joins America,' but Canada, if I were you, maybe the chance to take over your noisy neighbor from inside isn't the worst idea in the world."I know this is supposed to be another “brilliant” Trumpian distraction from things like this:
But he has absolutely no idea what he’s doing, or what he’s talking about.Fox News' Bret Baier asks Donald Trump when he's going to reduce the prices for groceries for the American people.
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 9, 2025
Donald Trump starts babbling about Mexico.
25th this guy already.pic.twitter.com/LaO5Qs7O7i
That wasn’t a bill, it was an EO.Asked what he's doing to try to bring the country together, Trump goes on a rant that culminates in him saying that "I just signed a bill allowing for women not to have to be punished by men in sports." pic.twitter.com/nMSK1g1u9a
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2025
He has no clue what a “trade deficit” is.Trump during his Super Bowl interview: "I think Canada would be much better off being a 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada, and I'm not gonna let that happen." pic.twitter.com/UIZlwyZaLG
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2025
The most obvious benefit of a trade deficit is that it allows a country to consume more than it produces. In the short run, trade deficits can help nations to avoid shortages of goods and other economic problems.
In some countries, trade deficits correct themselves over time. A trade deficit creates downward pressure on a country's currency under a floating exchange rate regime. With a cheaper domestic currency, imports become more expensive in the country with the trade deficit. Consumers react by reducing their consumption of imports and shifting toward domestically produced alternatives. Domestic currency depreciation also makes the country's exports less expensive and more competitive in foreign markets.
Trade deficits can also occur because a country is a highly desirable destination for foreign investment. For example, the U.S. dollar's status as the world's reserve currency creates a strong demand for U.S. dollars. Foreigners must sell goods to Americans to obtain dollars. The stability of developed countries generally attracts capital, while less developed countries must worry about capital flight.
Disadvantages of Trade Deficits
Trade deficits can create substantial problems in the long run. The worst and most obvious problem is that trade deficits can facilitate a sort of economic colonization. If a country continually runs trade deficits, citizens of other countries acquire funds to buy up capital in that nation. .
...
While trade deficits are often viewed negatively, they can also have potential benefits for an economy. For example, a trade deficit may reflect strong domestic demand and economic growth, as well as access to a wider range of goods and services for consumers. Additionally, a trade deficit can be financed by foreign investment inflows, which can stimulate domestic investment and economic activity.Trying to explain that to Trump would be like trying to pour a gallon of water into a thimble.
In A Former Life, Kristi Noem Was A Beauty Pageant Winner
If only she didn’t fit that stereotype so well.Kristi Noem dismisses concerns about the legal rights of Gitmo detainees: "That's just bull. And I just wish they would grow up and really recognize what we're doing here. Of course we're giving due process to migrants... get your priorities straight... I watched a planeload of of people unload at Gimo that were pedophiles." pic.twitter.com/OkvqjQm91F
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2025
Her dead dog trusted her, too. (Also, what does a bunch of non-government employees with access to private information have to do with people not trusting government? Except to affirm we shouldn’t trust the people allowing that to happen?)BASH: I remember a time when Republicans were very careful about the government having access to personal data
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2025
NOEM: Well, we can't trust the government anymore
BASH: You are the government pic.twitter.com/xRh4Q3VINk
Things That Didn’t Happen For $1000
I have a lot of experience about it on the ground, but in these first two weeks, we've had major foreign leaders. We have the Mexicans putting thousands of their troops on the border. The Canadians putting their assets on the border. Panama moving away from Belt and Road. Colombia first refusing to take deportation and then now taking it — and we can go on and on, with the successes of the hostages that the previous administration couldn't get out. President Trump says, 'There's all hell to pay,' and now we have, not only hostages from Hamas reuniting from their family, from Venezuela and from the Taliban, too. So, we've had an amazing two weeks. We can get into the details of foreign assistance, but it badly needs reformed."Mexico and Canada agreed to do what they were already doing.
“Are There No Workhouses?”
"Let them eat cake.” πCarolla: Thousands were homeless overnight after the fire swept through.. How come nobody slept on the street? How come I didn't sleep on the street yet we have a huge problem with homelessness?
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 9, 2025
Because they are drug addicts and have mental problems. Everyone else who became homeless fell back on their network and went to a friend’s house or checked into a hotelpic.twitter.com/29kzo396WK
Mere Anarchy Is Not Quite Loosed Upon The World
Trump is not the government. Elmo is not even a government employee. What Trump orders is carried out by government employees. Who can refuse to defy a court order. Trump may try to fire them, but that’s not an authority they have to recognize.Will the institutions hold as the cabal of right-wing oligarchs seek to dismantle them by ignoring Congress while attacking the courts, rule of law, free press, scientists, doctors, diplomats, and every agency which has endeavored to protect the public from powerful predators?
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 9, 2025
Not Good At Their Jobs
Thank you, Marco Rubio, for doing what was going to be done until Elmo and Trump stopped it? And started it again for the same reason Trump stopped all the tariffs he didn’t impose (and the one he apparently did)?Senator from Kansas thinks that some foreign aid is important. Wonder why? pic.twitter.com/CEPzbmY4Fb
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 9, 2025
And the government has our tax returns; the information for our passports; our DL numbers; our bank account numbers. And they don’t abuse it. But PayPal fired Elmo, and he’s not a government employee.What's actually scary is that the former illegal immigrant from South Africa, Elon Musk, doesn't seem to know that the government is the one that issues our social security numbers in the first place.
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 9, 2025
π€¦♀️ pic.twitter.com/WI5YzJDuIn
Actually a judge can tell a prosecutor how to use their discretion, by dismissing a case the judge decides should not have been prosecuted (i .e., “abuse of discretion”). And a military court can tell a general how to prosecute a war, by finding them in violation of the UCMJ.We’ve had checks & balances & separation of powers embedded into the founding of our national govt specifically because the Framers anticipated that some day an executive might come along like Trump. For over 2 centuries we have also had judicial review. It’s all under siege now. pic.twitter.com/G4fMSw2ClH
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 9, 2025
Saturday, February 08, 2025
No Wonder Elmo Wants To Be In Government
A new analysis by independent automotive blog FuelArc suggests that fire fatalities are 17 times more likely in a Cybertruck than in the infamous Ford Pinto — the posterchild of deadly cars if ever there was one.
The site arrives at that conclusion by comparing the total units sold so far — 34,438 for the Cybertruck, compared to 3,173,491 for the ill-fated Pinto, discontinued in 1980 — and comparing reported fire fatalities for both.
At the current rate of horrible fiery deaths, FuelArc projects the Cybertruck will have 14.52 fatalities per 100,000 units — far eclipsing the Pinto's 0.85. (In absolute terms, FuelArc found, 27 Pinto drivers died in fires, while five Cybertruck drivers have suffered the same fate, at least so far.)
Asked for comment, a FuelArc analyst had some advice for Cybertruck owners: "you should know where your emergency door releases are and how to operate them, and instruct your backseat passengers on the same."
FuelArc caveats that the numbers are an estimate at best, because Tesla doesn't release its Cybertruck sales data to the public, lest it hurt its stock price. But that's not the only thing that hasn't been released.
The Cybertruck — an almost 3 ton vehicle which is apparently allowed to drive itself — has never passed independent crash testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Authority, and has refused to release its in-house safety testing data, which means other drivers and pedestrians are in the dark as to its safety.The UK won’t let the things in, and the EU wants to ban them.
The Dog That Didn’t Bark
He wasn’t fired. He quit.1. It’s WSJ reporter.
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 8, 2025
2. Even when the Trump Admin fires one of their own, it is The Media’s fault. We made them do it.
3. Americans have a right to know the names of people running the country.
4. This is a time for journos to be fearless because this is part of the deal now. pic.twitter.com/XVMfE689e7
It gives the Administration a pass to keep repeating the false story. Elmo didn’t fire Elez. Elez’s racism didn’t bother Musk. Or Trump. Or Vance."The 25-year-old employee, Marko Elez, resigned Thursday after The Wall Street Journal asked the White House about his connection to the account." https://t.co/TqEVDS6GGM
— Best of Dying Twiter (@bestofdyingtwit) February 6, 2025
He Will Do Nothing, And Declare Victory
While falsely crediting DOGE.124,000 of the dumbest Americans and Russian bots believe that undocumented immigrants receive Social Security benefits. pic.twitter.com/NQOI5MbRZ6
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 8, 2025
Like A Cineplex π½️
The single person on the planet with full access to that information doesn’t even have an informed opinion, and that’s all he wants. Nothing he does is criminal, but anything anyone does, or he thinks they do, is criminal.Trump: USAID. The horrible things that they are spending money on. It’s gotta be kickbacks. They send the money to the guy, he takes the money, and he sends them back most of the money and he keeps some for himself— in my opinion. pic.twitter.com/MMjxmroISg
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 8, 2025
There’s going to be some pain.Trump’s economy… pic.twitter.com/CISnKx8BWt
— PatriotTakes πΊπΈ (@patriottakes) February 8, 2025
Listening to that will certainly make your head hurt.Trump: We had gasoline at $1.84. They took my policy and they really messed it up then they went back to my policy. They always said we were drilling just as much. If I were there, we would’ve been double or triple that number. They took my policy because it was going through the roof. They went back to my policy.. The energy is what causes the problem. They went up at beginning then they went back to try and bring it down. They went back and it went up and it went up really dramatically. And that caused everything else to go up. Energy goes up and energy and when it comes down, we’re going to bring a lot of thingspic.twitter.com/hNBMAzNogr
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 8, 2025
This guy is an expert who knows more about every subject than any person on earth, but ask him about the price of eggs and he’s got nothing. https://t.co/SqqiyZPWNi
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 8, 2025
Energy did it. And actually gas was $2.14 in 2016, and rose to $2.72 in 2018. It dropped to $2.17 during Covid. The last time gas was close to $1.84 was 2004.Trump: Groceries, sort of an old fashioned word. The price of groceries went through the roof… You take a look at eggs today— I mean, the eggs are double, triple, quadruple, they’re going through the roof. No, there’s some outside problem with eggs maybe. pic.twitter.com/x7McFIuPpG
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 8, 2025
Friday, February 07, 2025
Jokers To The Right
So Trump called a handful of GOP Representatives and the Speaker of the House to the White House, put them in a room, said "Work it out," and locked the door. For five hours.
Forget what they talked about: think about the guest list. The Speaker of the House, one of four Constitutional offices in the federal government, third in line to the presidency, came at the beckoning of the POTUS. Not to meet with the POTUS, but to be locked in a room like a rowdy child needing discipline.
The Speaker should have told the President, "Unlock this door, and let me out. Or you'll never get any bill you want anywhere near the floor of the House. I have work to do. If you want to talk to me, you have my number. In the meantime, I am the person in charge of one half of the legislative body down the street, now open the door or suffer the consequences."
That, of course, didn't happen, because Mike Johnson is more spineless and worthless than Kevin McCarthy.
Reports are there was a lot of yelling and tension in the room. Chip Roy says he was there, and everything was just fine. Which only means everyone finally agreed (with their fingers crossed) to whatever Roy wanted, just so the doors would open and they could go to the bathroom.
What a fucking disgrace. And they still have no idea how to avoid a government shutdown if they can't keep Roy and the Freedom Caucus on side. Because the Democrats aren't going to help them anymore. Which is wise counsel, indeed.
TIME Magazine Should Be Fired Immediately!
(Oldest playground taunt of all time. Trump is a superannuated adolescent.)Reporter: Mr. President, do you have a reaction to the new time magazine cover that has Elon Musk sitting behind your resolute desk at time magazine?
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 7, 2025
Trump: No… Is Time magazine still in business? I didn't even know that. pic.twitter.com/ity2kJ4dKj
President @realDonaldTrump says he didn’t know @TIME magazine was still in business. Did he forget that he was on the cover back in December 2024 and said it was an honor. https://t.co/qtqY3DHBik pic.twitter.com/RrtY5g6JU6
— Jim LaPorta (@JimLaPorta) February 7, 2025
The guy who wrecked Twitter? Whose rockets π keep blowing up? (NASA solved that problem over 60 years ago). Whose cars explode into inextinguishable flame on impact? Whose self-driving mechanisms drive cars into objects? Who sat down with a Twitter engineer and nodded and said “I see” as the engineer showed Elmo code and fed him bullshit about it? Because he knew Elmo didn’t know a damned thing about coding? The guy who’s in this position because the only other prominent person on the planet who is stupider and more narcissistic is Trump?Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy: Our air traffic control system— we’re using World War 2 technology.. it should’ve been updated 10-30 years ago.. Elon Musk says we can do this in one year. pic.twitter.com/gF1psXSu0j
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 7, 2025
πYou mean the guy whose rocket blew up right after that? pic.twitter.com/BSooMflXGZ
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 7, 2025
Tariffs were supposed to lower our taxes. We were also told “there would be pain,” but we’d be alright with that.Donald Trump signed an executive order that temporarily freezes tariffs on low-cost packages from China.
— Art Candee πΏπ₯€ (@ArtCandee) February 7, 2025
Bro caved.
Again.
π
According to a report from Reese Gorman of NOTUS, members of the GOP caucus are being forced to deal with an onslaught of complaints from constituents about the president's moves or, as one congressional aide colorfully put it, hometown voters are "s------- Twinkies."
As the report notes, Trump's "chaotic governing style" is causing members of his own party no small amount of grief, because they are not being provided with talking points or detailed explanations to quell constituent fears and complaints.
"More than half a dozen GOP members and staffers told NOTUS that Trump’s sudden moves have yielded thousands of questions from distressed constituents, with congressional offices receiving an unusual influx of calls and emails in response to the president’s executive orders," Gorman reported before adding one GOP aide said of the Trump White House, "They need to get their s--- together.”
The report notes that the president has shown little concern or compassion for his caucus when making controversial decisions such as setting even the most violent of the Jan. 6 free from jail to shuttering government departments with no notice.
"A number of Republicans have expressed concern to the White House about the lack of communication, two sources told NOTUS," Gorman explained.
According to one Republican who didn't want to identified in the piece, the Trump White House seems incapable of understanding “the breadth of what they are trying to do," before warning they are, "Burning up political goodwill at an alarming rate."Trump’s never had a Board of Directors. The only oversight he’s ever had was his father trying to bailout his Atlantic City casino.
The More Pertinent Issue
Why is a “kid” rifling through government computers and reportedly rewriting the code he finds there?JD Vance wants the fired racist back. pic.twitter.com/Grdb8vFigL
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 7, 2025
“Release The Glasgow Block Now!”*
Tommy Tuberville: "There is no dictatorship here other than Donald Trump saying, 'this is not gonna happen.'" pic.twitter.com/f9oOIaAVb1
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 6, 2025
Write another EO!Trump calls for a Washington Post columnist to be fired pic.twitter.com/c5CzK8P4Pj
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 7, 2025
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...."Generally speaking, slashing government funding for Christian organizations like Catholic Relief Services, attacking Lutheran charities, and maligning the US Conference of Catholic Bishops isn't especially pro-Christian. https://t.co/ABhPXQkh9Q
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) February 6, 2025
And who does he think God is? Him? Does he think he released the water in Northern California and it came down as rain over L.A.? I mean, of all the things that never happened, this never happened the most.Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast: "The water comes down from the northwest parts of Canada, I guess, but the Pacific Northwest. And it comes down by millions and millions of barrels a day and uh, I opened it up. It wasn't that easy to do. But I opened it up and it's pouring down." pic.twitter.com/UcHiv8uZRe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 6, 2025
"Christianity” is saying “Merry Christmas” and denying equality to non-white men.—The Trump DictionaryTrump at the National Prayer Breakfast: "Remember in 2016, that was a whole big part of my campaign -- 'you're gonna say Merry Christmas.' Well, now they do it again. I don't know if you've been watching, but we got rid of woke over the last 2 weeks. Woke is gonezo." pic.twitter.com/VdSJN31jna
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 6, 2025
Sweeping The Nation
As reports of arrests poured in last month, the immigration lawyer watched in shock. Social media and listservs filled with rumors of raids and local news programs showed Ice apprehensions in towns as small as Cartersville, Georgia, population 25,000. “There was a lot of noise online,” she said. “And it was creating terror in the community.” She said it was hard to separate fact from fiction, so she decided to create a nationwide map that aggregated all actual Ice arrests.
At the end of her workdays, she would sit down and start Googling – typing in searches like “ice arrests Nebraska” and “recent ice arrests Arizona”. Then she would plug in other states.
The lawyer noticed a strange pattern. In almost every state, at least one press release from Ice’s website appeared in Google’s top results. Nebraska, for example, surfaced links for two press releases. One said “ICE executes federal search warrants in Nebraska”, the other said “ICE fugitive operations team arrests 44 absconders”. Both displayed their dates of publication as 24 January 2025 on Google search. But when the lawyer clicked through to the report, the actual dates of publication were August 2018 and June 2008, respectively.
“I’ve now done it in all 50 states … and I’ve done it in multiple cities. And it’s the same thing,” the lawyer said. “They all had the last update of 1/24/2025 and they were all popping up at the front of the algorithm.”
Maria Andrade, a longtime immigration lawyer in Idaho, says Ice arrests have been scant in the state so far. “We had one that didn’t result in detention,” she said. “I haven’t heard of mass arrests in any area at all.”
Yet the first result for a Google search of “ice arrests Idaho” is a press release from Ice saying 22 people were arrested in an “enforcement surge”. The date of publication displayed in the search results is 24 January 2025, but the operation actually happened in July 2010. Andrade said that arresting 22 people would have been a large number for Idaho and that such incidents are extremely rare, given the minimal number of Ice agents, rural terrain and extreme weather. If so many people were arrested in one sweep in Idaho last month, she said, she would know about it.
“If the objective is to scare people who look up raids in Idaho, that would be a good way to accomplish it,” Andrade said. “That would be a good way to mislead people.”So, about those "dirt bags" Noem “rounded up.” Or school busses being boarded in Texas. Or detainees being sent to Gitmo. Any reason to believe any of that happened? We saw Noem in costume; we didn’t see any arrests. A school district sent out a letter saying it could happen, no doubt because ICE had contacted them. Trump’s lying press secretary said flights had started to Gitmo. Any reason to believe any of that happened? The lies aren’t just to scare people, after all.
What was interesting, she said, was that Ice had marked all of these press releases as old. The agency displayed a message at the top of every page the Guardian reviewed noting it contained “archived content” that was “from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated”.
But when the tech expert looked at the code of these online press releases, she saw a new element had been added – a time stamp. “Every article was updated on the 24th, which was causing the Google SEO to interpret that as a recently updated article, and therefore rank it higher,” she said.
To exhaust all possibilities, the tech expert did the same test with several other government agencies. She crosschecked with the websites of the Department of Labor, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior and Department of Veterans Affairs and found no evidence of new time stamps.
“[With Ice,] these are old articles that are now appearing at the top of the Google and Bing search results as recent headlines, where no other government agency is doing this,” she said. “As someone in tech, I would interpret that as an intentional play to get more clicks, essentially on these misleading headlines.”Adding, for no real reason at all:
Wait. Have @doge and Elon just been pulling numbers from https://usaspending.gov ?
Then releasing it as if they discovered it ?
Brilliant if true.
Absolutely brilliant. Fooled me.
Very Trump like too.
Any https://usaspending.gov experts out there that can tell us ?
Thursday, February 06, 2025
ππ»♂️
Why does anybody even listen to Trump? If he’d said his plane runs on a special fuel that comes from a foreign country that you can’t get here but it makes his plane more powerful than a locomotive and faster than a speeding bullet, it would be as nonsensical.I like the bit at the end where he claims that his own plane uses a completely different air traffic control system from another country because it is better. https://t.co/8xPb5Kd8IV
— Oliver Alexander (@OAlexanderDK) February 6, 2025
But when you have 39 different companies working on hooking up different cities at different people. You need one company. With one set of equipment.Which company does he want to give that contract to? And what kickback is he expecting?
And there are some countries that have unbelievable air controller systems. And they would've, bells would've gone off when that helicopter literally even hit the same height. Because it traveled a long distance before it hit. It was just like, just wouldn't stop. Follow the line. But bells and whistles would ve gone off. They have 'em where it actually could virtually turn the thing around. It would've just never happened if we had the right equipment.Or maybe enough controllers in the tower to properly monitor all the equipment. Because Elmo can’t even design a self-parking car. He sure as shit ain’t coming up with an AI to replace air traffic controllers.
And one of things that's gonna be, l'm gonna speaking to John and to Mike and to Chuck and everybody, we have to get together and just as a single bill just pass where we get the best control system. When I land in my plane, privately, l use a system from another country because my captain tells me, I'm landing in New York and I'm using a sys— I won't tell you what country, but l use a system from another country because the captain says 'This thing is so bad, it's so obsolete! And we can't have that.
What’s obsolete is the capacity of the system, thanks to Reagan and the massive increase in air travel since he fired all the controllers. Or maybe it’s the fact that we went 16 years without an airplane crash, and within days after you fire head people and tell everybody “DEI” means “your job is gonna DIE!”, we have a major collision and a jet falls out of the sky?
At the very least, the buck stops on your desk, buddy. But you senselessly blame “DEI” and say the solution is “Infrastructure Week.” Which is something you talked about for 48 months last time, and never delivered. So excuse me if I don’t hold my breath waiting for “Infrastructure Week II: Electric Boogaloo.”
I mean, when you can’t tell the difference between The Onion and the news, you know times is bad.Trump Announces U.S. Will Relocate Panama Canal To American Soilhttps://t.co/PkIEWAlK7t pic.twitter.com/v0Ld4qua6R
— The Onion (@TheOnion) February 6, 2025
It’s The Corps of Engineers
It’s what they do. C’mere, lemme tell you a story.Precisely. Didn't coordinate with local officials at all. It is beyond frustrating that the Army Corps of Engineers simply said "yes, sir" and dumped the water. https://t.co/l3M2yd5Xbm
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) February 6, 2025
π³️ In The Ground
I once had the displeasure of listening to a displaced Bostonian (a “Hah-vahd” man) on the radio talking to 2 similarly situated friends he’d invited on his local show, spending an hour disdaining Texas and the South, over the paucity of “true” culture and intellectual rigor (actually, of any intellect at all). They so perfectly fit the stereotype of Americans aping English class snobbery I’d have sworn it was a Beyond The Fringe sketch. Especially as I knew real Texans (i.e., not our politicians) are incredibly hospitable people, it burned to listen to these snobs mocking their hosts in Texas (not the transplant on the show, who clearly longed to return to “civilization) and presuming they were superior.
I think I quit listening to Pacifica Radio after that.
There are two points in Randy Newman’s song “Rednecks.” And the second is that rednecks, the ignorant, clannish, inbred bigot, show up in all cultures and attitudes. Like snobs from Harvard, for example.
BTW, one of the nicest people I ever met was a Brooklyn Jew from Harvard Law. I sat with him as an usher at the Catholic wedding of a mutual friend, and did my Protestant best to explain to him, sotto voce, what was going on. The groom, also a Harvard Law graduate, was the mutual friend. Those three voices on the radio were the closest I’ve ever come to actual Harvard snobs. (I met a few intellectual snobs on the faculty at UT in grad school. It’s why I took my Master’s and left.)
In the South we “know” people “up North” look down on us as inbred peckerwoods with no culture and less couth, who don’t even know a dinner table can have more than one fork at the plate. But I’ve honestly never met such people. I spent two weeks in NYC, in two trips, and had a lovely time each trip. I even drove into and out of Brooklyn the second trip, in the days before GPS. (Yes, I consider that an accomplishment.) I don’t look it (well, maybe the cowboy boots), but I can certainly sound Texan. Or certainly not from north of the Mason-Dixon. Yet I’ve never personally been faced with regional snobbery.
And yes, in general, the nicest people I’ve met have been the poorest. Or at least in the working class. I met a lot of well-off people when my daughter was in private school (long story). When they found out I wasn’t in oil or a big law firm, they pretty much had no use for me. Not all of them, but many. (They also freaked because I was a pastor. I still had hopes of securing another church at the time. Something about clerics really freaks people out.) Of course, that may have been because we had little in common. Except I was the only college degreed worker on a construction site the summer I graduated, and I got along well with everybody there. Go figure.
So when Newman sings about “some smart-ass New York Jew,” it’s the persona of the narrator presuming (i.e., bigotry) that all New Yorkers on TV are…Jews. I grew up in a small East Texas town with a synagogue (and a Catholic Church, now a cathedral. These are still as rare as hen’s teeth in East Texas), even went to school with two Jewish girls. Their father was a prominent businessman whom my father knew; and their Judaism meant nothing to us. But still, when we thought of NYC, we thought of Jews. Stereotypes. Everybody’s got ‘em. When I was young and met people who found out I was a Texan, they inevitably thought I: a) rode a horse (I did, but not in town) and, b) probably lived near an oil derrick, if it wasn’t in my backyard (only they didn’t know what to call it). Oh, and c), I wore a cowboy hat. π€
Ironically, the kids in high school who wore boots and cowboy hats we called “rednecks.” They didn’t ride horses to school, either. They drove pickup trucks; with gun racks. Anyway…
When I got to seminary, a friend asked me if we had humidity in Texas, as St Louis (where we were) did. I only realized later he thought the “Texas” he’d seen in westerns was the real thing. Mostly that was the deserts of California. Again, anyway…
What makes me think of all this, and Randy Newman?
We got no-necked oilmen from TexasWednesday, February 05, 2025
Trump Isn’t Playing
More than five hundred years ago, Machiavelli, the philosopher of political practice and modern republicanism, suggested, in “Discourses on Livy,” that “at times it is a very wise thing to simulate madness.” Richard Nixon, according to his chief of staff H. R. Haldeman, apparently arrived at a similar conclusion, saying, “I call it the Madman Theory, Bob. I want the North Vietnamese to believe I’ve reached the point where I might do anything to stop the war. We’ll just slip the word to them that, ‘for God’s sake, you know Nixon is obsessed about communism. We can’t restrain him when he’s angry—and he has his hand on the nuclear button’—and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace.”Just an aside: I’m too lazy to check the date on that quote, but it hardly matters. Haldeman was out by April, 1973. The Vietnam War (I’m still inclined to call it “the war”) ended in April, 1975. Kissinger was right: Nixon had a “meatball mind.”
Miller, of course, is aware that Trump’s intention, always, is to shock, to play the madman, and thus frighten his rivals and alter the terms of the debate. Maybe, just maybe, it will all dissipate, Miller suggested. Trump habitually says outrageous things, watches how they land, and, often enough, distances himself from his own provocations. (Will he seize Greenland? The Panama Canal? Make Canada the fifty-first state?) Perhaps Trump thinks he’ll be able to prop up Netanyahu at home and so deeply alarm other Middle Eastern leaders that he will be able to both muscle Iran into a deal that ends its nuclear ambitions and complete a broader regional settlement with Saudi coΓΆperation. Or perhaps Trump’s latest performance is of a piece with the strategy of “flooding the zone” with so much chaos and deceptive rhetoric, and with so many mind-altering proposals and appointments, that, while the establishment’s collective head explodes on an hourly basis, he achieves at least some of his fondest ambitions.
"Donald Trump just openly committed American arms, honor, and credibility to forcibly expel Gaza’s Palestinian population and redevelop the territory into a glittering tourist hub," wrote Wilson. "Yes, it sounds entirely unhinged, and it may torpedo any remaining hope of an enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. It also hands every Islamist militant group an airtight propaganda victory: proof, in their eyes, that the United States is indeed the 'Great Satan.' It’s sounds insane because it is. It sounds manic because it is. It sounds deranged because it is."
Yet the press is approaching this idea the wrong way, Wilson continued — their reaction "stems from the persistent, and persistently wrong, assumption that Trump acts with coherent intent, good counsel, sound judgment, and the nation’s interests at heart. In reality, he is a figure of chaos, a 'last-person-heard' president who leaps from one manic idea to the next." After all, he ran for office on the premise of non-intervention and resolving global military conflicts peacefully, not more American adventurism.Do tell.
One of the most telling reactions to Trump's Gaza proposal, said Wilson, came from his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, a longtime GOP strategist with a reputation for whipping those around her into ruthless discipline; she looked on at Trump, her eyes bulging and her expression astonished.
"The widely photographed look on Susie Wiles’s face spoke volumes: even insiders realize nothing and no one controls Trump. He is a man who is, by all appearances, is both mentally unstable and cognitively unable to process reality beyond his own mental architecture," wrote Wilson. "The damage is mounting, and even red-state leaders are slowly waking up to the danger of entrusting government after government function to the most extreme and least capable loyalists."She speaks for all sentient beings there.