Trump instinctively thinks that any “sale” is an exercise is “ripping someone off” and that’s his base knowledge for trade issues. It explains a lot about his career in business and politics, tbh.
Here's a another angle on it: Felon Trump can only feel he has "won" when he knows that other side has lost according to his terms. There is no such thing as win-win for him.
The tariffs are a good example: "Canada, giving up your sovereignty to us is a big win for you; you won't have to worry about tariffs anymore."
The other thing is that it's more clear he views global politics in terms of real estate deals. He's out to acquire more real estate for the USA. Treaties, allies, agreements be damned. (I'm laughing here because Canada and Mexico will not be as easy to bully as what's left of the old Republican party.)
@Simon, I want to see us be brave, clear and be direct. Why say will raise prices and not "has raised prices" and label it the Trump Inflation. Also we need to figure out the language to use label the "other" that creates the image of the out of touch faceless people. The other side uses the word "elite" and "bureaucrats" quite effectively. Using the words "Millionaires and Billionaires" do not work in America as all of us have the secret dream of being one. So why not use the word "Oligarchs, "Plutocrats" or "Kleptocrats" - stealing money from us to line their pockets. Also referring to the other side as "MAGA" also overlooks the fact that all of us would like our country to be great. Talking about the crazies as "MAGA" makes us look unpatriotic which we are not. To me the word "Cult" or "Zombies" is more appropriate as none of us like to look at ourselves as part of a cult or a zombie.
Just my 2 cents on getting aggressive about our pushback.
I wholeheartedly agree with the millionaires and billionaires troupe, people in this country want to be rich. The USA is 100% All About Money. I'd just say self righteous rich, elite and wannabe slave owners (seriously that is why they want it this way look at rural America the people are basically slaves to the locally wealthy/big corps). Also, agree on labeling them as raising prices from day one... eggs is the thing to hammer them on, no one cares why they only care about what is in front of their face. My two cents.
It’s not a contest, I realize, but Musk has the keys to the Treasury Department. I worry everything else is a distraction. It’s all happening, but: the Treasury Department.
Dems are going a little crazy with this "distraction" concept. They are doing it all. They are attacking all of the things I describe in my piece today all at once as a way of ending the America of the Four Freedoms.
Then democrats need to get out there and explain this. The response so far is not effective! The war will be over before they even get off their rears. Dems have had months to prepare for this, where are they! This is a five alarm fire not a simple policy dispute!!!!
I’m not leading the Democratic Party. I can’t get news cameras in my face! Our leaders need to lead!
I donated thousands of dollars last year to help democrats, I made calls, I attended protests. All this while spending thousands on therapy for the anxiety and stress I’ve felt for my children (one of whom is trans), my wife, and myself. Despite my therapists advising me to step back.
Thank you. You are right about this and I applaud all that you have done. I’d like it if Simon would not go after people who are doing everything they can. I’d like to see our LEADERS who get paid to represent us and Democracy do something.
I for one have been calling ALL WEEKEND. And Gov. Murphy does not slide on this one, he was hanging w Orange last year. I have been lighting up his new text line - he will be sorry he started it.
The people I know are doing everything they can spending time and money they don’t have, meanwhile working, taking care of family, trying to keep it together. Our leaders have only one job, and that is to stand up and do everything possible to represent us and our democracy. They get paid well (for the rest of their lives) and they have very good health insurance. I think it’s more than fair to demand they work hard and loud while we try to just get by.
agree, it's about the Treasury Department, well that's musk's focus. i believe the goal is to have treasury back their garbage bitcoin and crypto currency. what could possibly go wrong?
I have reminded my congressman that during his first term, Trump completely re-negotiated the NAFTA agreement with Canada and Mexico and declared it one of his major achievements. And now -- on his own whim after a week in office -- he unilaterally scraps it for a trade war??!! Who can trust a US leader like this?
The other thing I mentioned -- pretty obvious -- is that he's imposed a 25% tariff on everything from Canada EXCEPT oil and gas. (10% tariff on that). Canada's largest export to the US: oil and gas. So, if tariffs are so good, why roll the rate back on their largest export?
(Can the congressman agree that your president is talking out of both sides of his mouth?")
Do you realize that our next president is going to have to go on the mother of all apology tours?
Moreover, Trump is imposing a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico – but only 10% on China. In other words, he is giving China (our biggest economic competitor) *preferential treatment* over our two geographically-closest allies!
Paul Krugman wrote in his Substack that musk manufactures teslas in China and the wealthy Chinese buy them. When the magas elected trump did they think they were electing musk as co-President? This analysis can be found in Paul’s Substack of February 1.
First, let’s call it what it is. It’s the Trump Tax on America. Second, we have to call Senate D’s and ask them to shut down the Senate. No on all cloture motions, no on all unanimous consent motions. And no on every single Trump nominee. Third, call your House D’s and ask them to get all D’s to announce they will vote no on everything. There’s a 2 seat majority right now and the R’s need D’s to pass most things. Don’t give it to them.
Don’t let these elected leaders off the hook. Keep up all the calls. Teach them that this is a crisis and that talking about bipartisanship is not going to work. The only way through this is forward.
Final point. I have called all three of my elected federal reps today and left messages for them. And I will be calling tomorrow as well. It takes less than 10 minutes to make these calls. We all can do it.
Calling and writing our own senators is good, and calling and writing John Thune, Mike Johnson, Hakeem Jefferies, and Chuck Schumer, is also good. When it comes to the Dems I continually ask "where are you? We need you and all elected Dem leaders to be out there speaking out about the lawlessness of this president and his sidekicks, and the tariffs and economic hardship they are bringing down on us, while telling Americans what they/Dems will do to combat the lawlessness and make life better for all Americans." This needs to happen everyday. They need to come up with their own gimmicks to be all over the news and social media. This needs to happen now!
Not related to tariffs, but Rebecca Lobach, one of the soldiers on the Blackhawk that crashed last week, was one of 60,000 North Carolinians whose votes are being challenged (stolen!) by the GOP.
What’s with maga trotting out their female elected officials in Halloween costumes to promote their leaders draconian policies? They’re ALL so thirsty for attention, it’s embarrassing.
Also, does anyone know a political figure who recently had his taxes exposed by the NY Times for a Pulitzer Prize? This action by “Leon” would be an interesting form of - “retribution”. Hypothetically, if one was a malignant narcissist (whose father was diagnosed at around the same age with Alzheimer’s), the dire ramifications to the rest of society would be irrelevant to you. Another example would be impulsively imposing taxes on your closest trading partners and thus increasing the everyday prices for your citizenry. A hypothetical malignant narcissist “WOULD NOT CARE” about others!
Lastly, the information from the Treasury could also make for great BLACKMAIL material. So, in the back of my mind, I see that painting by Ms. Free of a group of black women (some wearing “92%” t-shirts) sitting with cups in their hands on a rooftop as the rest of the country burns below them. We were warned.
For some reason, I’ve never been impressed by our TECH OVERLORDS (i.e. not just the poor fashion sense or lack of rhythm): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxcJMoCbX2E . I would be curious what others think. Let me know.
Thanks.
P.S.: Do the following now! First, teach civics. Second, register voters. Third, teach civics. Rinse. Repeat.
The tariffs are not a distraction. They are all part of the same strategy to end the America of the Four Freedoms. The burning of our alliances makes us a rogue nation, despised by the world. THIS IS NOT A FUCKING DISTRACTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree that this Treasury takeover is by far my biggest concern. We KNOW Musk is up to something that could cause financial ruin for so many families and anyone needing government assistance of every different kind.
Lots of great ideas here--Simon I think Soumitra's point if absolutely huge. Love Kleptocrats or Oligarchs. The MAGA thing hasn't worked. Need to flood every elected with calls. I will tomorrow. We also need a funded campaign to hold legacy media accountable. Their coverage is a disaster. Typical both sides political coverage and Trump sane washing. That they are shrugging their shoulders at a South African nazi billionaire having access to the Treasury payment system and attacking our federal workforce making us less safe, as well as Trump's insane lies about California & everything else and starting attacking our allies economically, amounts to a large step to dictatorship. They treated Biden's health like WW III & have entirely lost their sense of mission. I hope DNC under Ken starts a rapid response operation asap.
Brilliant analysis out there by historians. Musk is an oligarch with endless arrogance. Nations are toys for him to play with to feed his sense of power and accumulate greater wealth. He'd love to be the guy mines the minerals on Mars.
We are not a nation to him, we are a means to an end. His ends, his wealth, his ego. Think Russian oligarchy ten years ago or so
Sincere question: Does a bursting crypto bubble really need to impact anybody other than idiots who invest heavily in crypto (and memecoin)? Hopefully Trump/Musk won’t be allowed to invest taxpayer/government money in cryptocurrencies!
The largest of the multiple very large issues is Trump’s expressed interest in creating a federal crypto reserve which means the entire country would effectively be invested in crypto and vulnerable to a burst.
I wonder if bursting the bubble before the bubble continues to grow might be a good thing. A bigger bubble generates more damage. The crypto even does environmental damage.
Do we, or do we not, have a trade agreement (treaty) with Canada and Mexico to keep tariffs to promote easier cooperation among and between manufacturers? If we are in such a treaty, has Trump violated it? And if this treaty was something signed by the Congress, shouldn't Congress be making lots of noise about our violating it? Because we are also violating something passed by Congress and signed by a past President. Why should anyone negotiate with us ever again if treaties have nothing binding them? Have we begun to treat allied neighbors like we treated Native Americans for years and years? Who also often existed in sovereign nations? Negotiate something, then violate it, change the goal posts? Those moves did not end well. And messing with sovereign nations to our north and south will not end well, either.
I know the US has not always abided by the treaties it has signed, but Trump's action against allies makes no sense. Along with making so many good more expensive, it will also make us less safe. At the same time he is gutting the FBI, the FAA, and many other agencies doing the hard work of making sure we have clean water, safe planes and airports, and a rule of law that at least attempts to be fair.
Criticizing DEI is a joke. What DEI basically boils down to is decency, fairness, and educated excellence. Cruelty and conformity and loyalty to the "king" create weakness, not strength; danger, not safety; ignorance, not expertise. Hang on, everyone, and fight back whenever and however you can.
every single time he says DEI just think racism and misogyny. what he is saying is that only white, straight, christian males can run anything. but the MSM doesnt question him on this. this is what maga wants: white, straight, christian males running everything. with everyone else being subjugated to second class citizens, or deported, even better! we are back to the good old days of strom thurmond! was the woman pilot who died in the helicopter crash really the pilot or just a pilot on board?
Democratic leaders need to speak out more forcefully. Stage protests, visit farms with no workers, the treasury, grocery stores with rising prices. Full court press!!!! They aren’t doing a very good job while America is being destroyed.
Each day that goes by I'm starting to realize that the endgame of all of this is to force an economic collapse which also assists with a collapse of the democratic system on multiple fronts. Musk is attempting to "soften" his seizure of the federal payment database by claiming that he's going after "fraud" and that anyone who opposes what he is doing must be robbing the treasury. MAGA are frankly dumb enough to believe that, which buys him time, at least until their checks stop coming. What I wonder is how Republican politicians are reacting to this- is it a dream come true for them or are they just putting their heads down for the time being? At what point will they speak up- only when they face electoral threat? I would have to think that polling about these recent actions is not positive.
Jamelle Bouie had an excellent post yesterday on Bluesky: "It cannot be said enough that for a decade a critical number of Americans have simply refused to accept that he means what he says." Essentially, we are seeing the result of a wide segment of voters (and non-voters) who essentially said, "He won't do what he keeps promising to do. And that's why I am voting for him." We have to be strategic in how we counteract that mindset with examples of what trump is actually doing.
I know how Bernie is a controversial figure with many, but his recent video message I posted yesterday about what is going on is on-point. We need more members of Congress putting out this type of message. First, outline what is happening in direct language with no sugarcoating. Then, what short-term actions can be taken, and finally, a long-term plan. People have to see that democratic leaders are aware of the situation and are not brushing it off.
Get out there democratic leaders!!! Why are you still debating responses! There should be a plan in place. None of this is a surprise!!! Stop sitting around and go Save America!!!!!!!!
Thank you, Simon. One thing Tim Snyder recommended [ a few years back] is get involved in community where you live. If you're in a red state, so much the better imo - library committee, whatever. strengthening and being active in local community is important.
Trump instinctively thinks that any “sale” is an exercise is “ripping someone off” and that’s his base knowledge for trade issues. It explains a lot about his career in business and politics, tbh.
The 6 time bankrupt "businessman", bringing his talents to our country. Probably why he let Musk take our personal account numbers!
Here's a another angle on it: Felon Trump can only feel he has "won" when he knows that other side has lost according to his terms. There is no such thing as win-win for him.
The tariffs are a good example: "Canada, giving up your sovereignty to us is a big win for you; you won't have to worry about tariffs anymore."
The other thing is that it's more clear he views global politics in terms of real estate deals. He's out to acquire more real estate for the USA. Treaties, allies, agreements be damned. (I'm laughing here because Canada and Mexico will not be as easy to bully as what's left of the old Republican party.)
@Simon, I want to see us be brave, clear and be direct. Why say will raise prices and not "has raised prices" and label it the Trump Inflation. Also we need to figure out the language to use label the "other" that creates the image of the out of touch faceless people. The other side uses the word "elite" and "bureaucrats" quite effectively. Using the words "Millionaires and Billionaires" do not work in America as all of us have the secret dream of being one. So why not use the word "Oligarchs, "Plutocrats" or "Kleptocrats" - stealing money from us to line their pockets. Also referring to the other side as "MAGA" also overlooks the fact that all of us would like our country to be great. Talking about the crazies as "MAGA" makes us look unpatriotic which we are not. To me the word "Cult" or "Zombies" is more appropriate as none of us like to look at ourselves as part of a cult or a zombie.
Just my 2 cents on getting aggressive about our pushback.
I wholeheartedly agree with the millionaires and billionaires troupe, people in this country want to be rich. The USA is 100% All About Money. I'd just say self righteous rich, elite and wannabe slave owners (seriously that is why they want it this way look at rural America the people are basically slaves to the locally wealthy/big corps). Also, agree on labeling them as raising prices from day one... eggs is the thing to hammer them on, no one cares why they only care about what is in front of their face. My two cents.
Robberbaron Republicans
I like kleptocrats. And is raising prices.
It’s not a contest, I realize, but Musk has the keys to the Treasury Department. I worry everything else is a distraction. It’s all happening, but: the Treasury Department.
Dems are going a little crazy with this "distraction" concept. They are doing it all. They are attacking all of the things I describe in my piece today all at once as a way of ending the America of the Four Freedoms.
Then democrats need to get out there and explain this. The response so far is not effective! The war will be over before they even get off their rears. Dems have had months to prepare for this, where are they! This is a five alarm fire not a simple policy dispute!!!!
James, what are you going to do tomorrow morning?
I’m not leading the Democratic Party. I can’t get news cameras in my face! Our leaders need to lead!
I donated thousands of dollars last year to help democrats, I made calls, I attended protests. All this while spending thousands on therapy for the anxiety and stress I’ve felt for my children (one of whom is trans), my wife, and myself. Despite my therapists advising me to step back.
Thank you for your service and your efforts!
Thank you. You are right about this and I applaud all that you have done. I’d like it if Simon would not go after people who are doing everything they can. I’d like to see our LEADERS who get paid to represent us and Democracy do something.
I for one have been calling ALL WEEKEND. And Gov. Murphy does not slide on this one, he was hanging w Orange last year. I have been lighting up his new text line - he will be sorry he started it.
That’s really low.
"We" – not just "they". Every single one of us has agency and makes choices.
The people I know are doing everything they can spending time and money they don’t have, meanwhile working, taking care of family, trying to keep it together. Our leaders have only one job, and that is to stand up and do everything possible to represent us and our democracy. They get paid well (for the rest of their lives) and they have very good health insurance. I think it’s more than fair to demand they work hard and loud while we try to just get by.
Absolutely!
Tell Dems to go in X and Fox “News.”
agree, it's about the Treasury Department, well that's musk's focus. i believe the goal is to have treasury back their garbage bitcoin and crypto currency. what could possibly go wrong?
I have reminded my congressman that during his first term, Trump completely re-negotiated the NAFTA agreement with Canada and Mexico and declared it one of his major achievements. And now -- on his own whim after a week in office -- he unilaterally scraps it for a trade war??!! Who can trust a US leader like this?
The other thing I mentioned -- pretty obvious -- is that he's imposed a 25% tariff on everything from Canada EXCEPT oil and gas. (10% tariff on that). Canada's largest export to the US: oil and gas. So, if tariffs are so good, why roll the rate back on their largest export?
(Can the congressman agree that your president is talking out of both sides of his mouth?")
Do you realize that our next president is going to have to go on the mother of all apology tours?
Moreover, Trump is imposing a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico – but only 10% on China. In other words, he is giving China (our biggest economic competitor) *preferential treatment* over our two geographically-closest allies!
It's like a perfect storm of insanity. I grew up along the border with Canada (on the Detroit River) -- Canadians jeering our national anthem??
Felon Trump is no match for the Chinese.
Paul Krugman wrote in his Substack that musk manufactures teslas in China and the wealthy Chinese buy them. When the magas elected trump did they think they were electing musk as co-President? This analysis can be found in Paul’s Substack of February 1.
First, let’s call it what it is. It’s the Trump Tax on America. Second, we have to call Senate D’s and ask them to shut down the Senate. No on all cloture motions, no on all unanimous consent motions. And no on every single Trump nominee. Third, call your House D’s and ask them to get all D’s to announce they will vote no on everything. There’s a 2 seat majority right now and the R’s need D’s to pass most things. Don’t give it to them.
Don’t let these elected leaders off the hook. Keep up all the calls. Teach them that this is a crisis and that talking about bipartisanship is not going to work. The only way through this is forward.
Further to my thoughts on the Senate, here is what Senate Ro’s were told in 2009. There are several pages of strategies to slow down the Senate.
https://bsky.app/profile/ezralevin.bsky.social/post/3lh7kpovdm22c
100%!
Final point. I have called all three of my elected federal reps today and left messages for them. And I will be calling tomorrow as well. It takes less than 10 minutes to make these calls. We all can do it.
Making a list of local and state officials to call tomorrow regarding Tariffs along with my senators and congressman.
Thank you Cathy. I will be calling my city councilman and the mayor. I have no Federal representation as a DC resident.
Simon, I want to thank you for everything you're doing. Keeping us in the game and reminding us that we do have agency is especially needed right now.
So bloody unfair!
Calling and writing our own senators is good, and calling and writing John Thune, Mike Johnson, Hakeem Jefferies, and Chuck Schumer, is also good. When it comes to the Dems I continually ask "where are you? We need you and all elected Dem leaders to be out there speaking out about the lawlessness of this president and his sidekicks, and the tariffs and economic hardship they are bringing down on us, while telling Americans what they/Dems will do to combat the lawlessness and make life better for all Americans." This needs to happen everyday. They need to come up with their own gimmicks to be all over the news and social media. This needs to happen now!
Not related to tariffs, but Rebecca Lobach, one of the soldiers on the Blackhawk that crashed last week, was one of 60,000 North Carolinians whose votes are being challenged (stolen!) by the GOP.
OMG. Thank you for making this known. (Durham)
She died serving her country and Jefferson Griffin and the NCGOP want to take away her last vote. They are depraved.
What’s with maga trotting out their female elected officials in Halloween costumes to promote their leaders draconian policies? They’re ALL so thirsty for attention, it’s embarrassing.
Simon et al.:
THIS IS A SERIOUS BREACH AT THE TREASURY BY "LEON”. Here is an EMERGENCY weekend podcast from Bloomberg: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/emergency-episode-nothing-stands-between-elon-and/id1714619846?i=1000688028627 . This behavior is not good for the country. Who does this benefit? Both China and Russia are currently having extreme reversals. They could certainly use a helping (?) hand at this moment - from SOMEONE.
Also, does anyone know a political figure who recently had his taxes exposed by the NY Times for a Pulitzer Prize? This action by “Leon” would be an interesting form of - “retribution”. Hypothetically, if one was a malignant narcissist (whose father was diagnosed at around the same age with Alzheimer’s), the dire ramifications to the rest of society would be irrelevant to you. Another example would be impulsively imposing taxes on your closest trading partners and thus increasing the everyday prices for your citizenry. A hypothetical malignant narcissist “WOULD NOT CARE” about others!
Lastly, the information from the Treasury could also make for great BLACKMAIL material. So, in the back of my mind, I see that painting by Ms. Free of a group of black women (some wearing “92%” t-shirts) sitting with cups in their hands on a rooftop as the rest of the country burns below them. We were warned.
For some reason, I’ve never been impressed by our TECH OVERLORDS (i.e. not just the poor fashion sense or lack of rhythm): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxcJMoCbX2E . I would be curious what others think. Let me know.
Thanks.
P.S.: Do the following now! First, teach civics. Second, register voters. Third, teach civics. Rinse. Repeat.
The tariffs are not a distraction. They are all part of the same strategy to end the America of the Four Freedoms. The burning of our alliances makes us a rogue nation, despised by the world. THIS IS NOT A FUCKING DISTRACTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Got it.
I agree that this Treasury takeover is by far my biggest concern. We KNOW Musk is up to something that could cause financial ruin for so many families and anyone needing government assistance of every different kind.
Lots of great ideas here--Simon I think Soumitra's point if absolutely huge. Love Kleptocrats or Oligarchs. The MAGA thing hasn't worked. Need to flood every elected with calls. I will tomorrow. We also need a funded campaign to hold legacy media accountable. Their coverage is a disaster. Typical both sides political coverage and Trump sane washing. That they are shrugging their shoulders at a South African nazi billionaire having access to the Treasury payment system and attacking our federal workforce making us less safe, as well as Trump's insane lies about California & everything else and starting attacking our allies economically, amounts to a large step to dictatorship. They treated Biden's health like WW III & have entirely lost their sense of mission. I hope DNC under Ken starts a rapid response operation asap.
Kleptocrats provides the most bang, to my mind. Literally "a government of thieves."
Even better… just use the phrase “ a government of thieves”! It’s short and catchy. Simple words that people can understand.
Focus our fire on Musk as President and Trump as owned little man baby.
Do not agree with this at all.
You know more than me.
Musk just gave US the nazi salute. Does that make any sense to you?
Makes great sense – but NOT the kind we like. In other words, Musk showed Americans and the world who he is, and who Trump is.
Brilliant analysis out there by historians. Musk is an oligarch with endless arrogance. Nations are toys for him to play with to feed his sense of power and accumulate greater wealth. He'd love to be the guy mines the minerals on Mars.
We are not a nation to him, we are a means to an end. His ends, his wealth, his ego. Think Russian oligarchy ten years ago or so
Hedge Fund Elliott Management is warning of a massive Trump-fueled crypto bubble that could burst catastrophically
https://gizmodo.com/crypto-is-ground-zero-hedge-fund-warns-investors-trump-is-inflating-a-catastrophic-bubble-2000557525
Sincere question: Does a bursting crypto bubble really need to impact anybody other than idiots who invest heavily in crypto (and memecoin)? Hopefully Trump/Musk won’t be allowed to invest taxpayer/government money in cryptocurrencies!
Bursting bubbles can threaten the rest of the economy too
Thx.
The largest of the multiple very large issues is Trump’s expressed interest in creating a federal crypto reserve which means the entire country would effectively be invested in crypto and vulnerable to a burst.
I wonder if bursting the bubble before the bubble continues to grow might be a good thing. A bigger bubble generates more damage. The crypto even does environmental damage.
Do we, or do we not, have a trade agreement (treaty) with Canada and Mexico to keep tariffs to promote easier cooperation among and between manufacturers? If we are in such a treaty, has Trump violated it? And if this treaty was something signed by the Congress, shouldn't Congress be making lots of noise about our violating it? Because we are also violating something passed by Congress and signed by a past President. Why should anyone negotiate with us ever again if treaties have nothing binding them? Have we begun to treat allied neighbors like we treated Native Americans for years and years? Who also often existed in sovereign nations? Negotiate something, then violate it, change the goal posts? Those moves did not end well. And messing with sovereign nations to our north and south will not end well, either.
I know the US has not always abided by the treaties it has signed, but Trump's action against allies makes no sense. Along with making so many good more expensive, it will also make us less safe. At the same time he is gutting the FBI, the FAA, and many other agencies doing the hard work of making sure we have clean water, safe planes and airports, and a rule of law that at least attempts to be fair.
Criticizing DEI is a joke. What DEI basically boils down to is decency, fairness, and educated excellence. Cruelty and conformity and loyalty to the "king" create weakness, not strength; danger, not safety; ignorance, not expertise. Hang on, everyone, and fight back whenever and however you can.
The current trade agreement we have with Canada and Mexico was negotiated by Trump himself.
Irony.
every single time he says DEI just think racism and misogyny. what he is saying is that only white, straight, christian males can run anything. but the MSM doesnt question him on this. this is what maga wants: white, straight, christian males running everything. with everyone else being subjugated to second class citizens, or deported, even better! we are back to the good old days of strom thurmond! was the woman pilot who died in the helicopter crash really the pilot or just a pilot on board?
Democratic leaders need to speak out more forcefully. Stage protests, visit farms with no workers, the treasury, grocery stores with rising prices. Full court press!!!! They aren’t doing a very good job while America is being destroyed.
Kind of like what Republican leaders did when they would visit the border and make a big show of it!
Each day that goes by I'm starting to realize that the endgame of all of this is to force an economic collapse which also assists with a collapse of the democratic system on multiple fronts. Musk is attempting to "soften" his seizure of the federal payment database by claiming that he's going after "fraud" and that anyone who opposes what he is doing must be robbing the treasury. MAGA are frankly dumb enough to believe that, which buys him time, at least until their checks stop coming. What I wonder is how Republican politicians are reacting to this- is it a dream come true for them or are they just putting their heads down for the time being? At what point will they speak up- only when they face electoral threat? I would have to think that polling about these recent actions is not positive.
Jamelle Bouie had an excellent post yesterday on Bluesky: "It cannot be said enough that for a decade a critical number of Americans have simply refused to accept that he means what he says." Essentially, we are seeing the result of a wide segment of voters (and non-voters) who essentially said, "He won't do what he keeps promising to do. And that's why I am voting for him." We have to be strategic in how we counteract that mindset with examples of what trump is actually doing.
I know how Bernie is a controversial figure with many, but his recent video message I posted yesterday about what is going on is on-point. We need more members of Congress putting out this type of message. First, outline what is happening in direct language with no sugarcoating. Then, what short-term actions can be taken, and finally, a long-term plan. People have to see that democratic leaders are aware of the situation and are not brushing it off.
Get out there democratic leaders!!! Why are you still debating responses! There should be a plan in place. None of this is a surprise!!! Stop sitting around and go Save America!!!!!!!!
OK James, what are you going to do tomorrow other than post here? What specific actions are you going to take?
Thank you, Simon. One thing Tim Snyder recommended [ a few years back] is get involved in community where you live. If you're in a red state, so much the better imo - library committee, whatever. strengthening and being active in local community is important.