Monday, March 10, 2025
Andrew Sullivan: The point is the abuse, whether it's Canada's Trudeau, Mexico's Sheinbaum, Germany's Scholz, Ukraine's Zelensky, or the S&P 500
Trump doesn't really believe in the tariffs, that they'll do anything one way or another. They are simply the readiest instruments which demonstrate his power, and the daily reminder to all and sundry that he is the king, Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria reincarnate.
Trump says he’s not even looking at stock market, tariffs will make U.S. ‘very strong’
So long, Trump bump: Tech stocks wipe out last of post-election gains
... Bartiromo interjected: “That’s not clarity.” ...
... Canada and Mexico are best understood as the baby in the
playpen [whom Trump pelted with stones when he was five or six]. Trump himself re-negotiated a trade agreement with both in his
first term. Have they violated that deal? No. Have they refused to
cooperate on fentanyl and illegal migrants? No. Has Mexico reduced the
pressure on the Southern border to almost nothing. Dramatically. Is
there anything they can or could do to please Trump? No. The point
is the abuse. And like all abusers, Trump constantly shifts what he is
demanding, gaslights, threatens, charms, attacks … so that you begin to
realize there is nothing you can do except wait for his mood to change.
Welcome to monarchy. ...
Sunday, March 9, 2025
Andrew Sullivan throws the title of a recent book by Hillarycon Rod Dreher in his face, who is now at the heart of this new authoritarian Trump presidency through his friendship with J. D. Vance
Dreher has succumbed to the abuse of Trump. He lives by lies. He thinks Zelenskyy was the bad guy in the Oval Office.
Sullivan has not succumbed to our "sociopathic president":
... What the world saw last Friday was the same, central Trump dynamic: the leader of a smaller democracy that has withstood three years of brutal attack by a far larger dictatorship ... was still publicly humiliated, because he dared air his concern of no security guarantees against Russia. “Just say thank you,” Vance harangued him. “Have you said thank you once?” I cannot recall any visiting head of state who has ever, ever been thrown out of the White House the way Zelensky was. Why? Because he did not submit.
... The challenge for liberals of all stripes is a familiar one in dystopian democracies and rigid dictatorships: Live not by lies. Keep your grip on reality. Avoid the propaganda now washing down on you like torrential rain. Find a refuge, as I did on Wednesday — a place where eternal truths remain, or where free thinking can endure (Spinoza is a role model, which is why the Dishcast discusses him this week).
Avoid hysteria, which Trump wants and exploits. But avoid also being co-opted by a single one of his lies, to see clearly, and to speak simply. Read those you disagree with; get off most social media; choose doubt over certainty; restraint over impulse; resist this authoritarian and irrational moment by refocusing above all on the simple truth, as best as you can, and fighting all those on both extremes trying to annihilate it. ...
Here.
It's a magnificent essay which everyone should read.
Rod Dreher was a Hillarycon in 2016 because of, wait for it, The Madness of King Donald. And so was J. D. Vance.
Tesla has become real unpopular all of a sudden, what could the reason be?
... Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, more than a dozen violent or destructive acts have been directed at Tesla facilities, according to court documents, surveillance photographs, police records and local media reports reviewed by The Washington Post. ...
More.
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Friday, March 7, 2025
A few GOP senators are not happy with Trump on Ukraine
Republicans press Trump to resume military, intelligence aid to Ukraine
... Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) ...
... Susan Collins (R-Maine) ...
... One Republican senator who requested anonymity called the threat to deport thousands of Ukrainian refugees excessively “punitive.” ...
... Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he doesn’t support the decision to stop sharing intelligence with Ukraine. “I disagree with it,” he said. ...
Republican Bill Huizenga (MI-4) is pissed off by all the people calling his office to complain lol, doubts all the in-coming is legitimate
Michigan Republican congressman would prefer it if people stopped calling his office
... he wants constituents to stop calling his office, claiming that inquires shared directly on his website would “legitimize” who is from his district. ...
Meanwhile in the real world full time employment as a percentage of population fell for a seventh consecutive month in Feb 2025 to 48.88% from 50.26% in July 2024
That's the worst February reading since 47.51% in Feb 2021.
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