I ❤️ wiki. The orange idiot now holds the record for the 3rd and 6th worst days on the stock market. I worry about you, Heather, when you post so late, get some sleep!
I’m now in Washington DC. Soon to drive to the Mall area and seek an early morning parking place. After which, who knows. I’m here because I had no choice. When I was 14, I boarded the overnight train from CT to DC to rally against the horrible Vietnam war. Now at 71, I’m here to protest a most horrible temporary resident of the White House.
Thank you for being there. I'm helping an 82yo friend go through cancer treatment, so I won't be out protesting tomorrow. We would both be out there if we could, we met at a Michelle Obama speech back in '08.
I'll be freezing my 78 year old bum at the state capitol in Denver today. I'm really pissed that some fat stupid old man cosplaying John Gotti against his own country and the rest of the world has pushed me out here again.
Likewise, with me; I would also be out there where it not for caretaking needs for a family member. I'm depressed as it is over this administration's total incompetence and possible near lethal results (for those who no longer are employed) due to this moron's "leadership", which is frankly, more closely described as "leader💩 ".
I too would be out there if it were not for health issues. I share your concerns for the average Americans who have lost their jobs, because of this incompetent president and his billionaire buddies.
Thank you for the laugh, my daughter refers to things out of control as a
“💩 show”. I believe our current situation fits that description.
I won't be there either - I'm in the middle of a four-day Life Stories® institute training on turning lived experiences into works of dramatic art. My goal is to work with folks who are leaving MAGA to help them tell their stories to inspire others. The training was scheduled long before the demonstrations were announced. Blessings to you and your friend, Bridget.
I would be out there in Longmont CO, but my portable oxygen concentrator does not work when it is below 41 degrees - I will be making phone calls though
I love that there are so many different ways we can get involved according to our abilities! Have you written any postcards yet? I really enjoy doing that as a member of Markers for Democracy markersfordemocracy.org
Thank you Carol! You are reminding me of a quote I heard from a pastor at Cornell whose name I cannot remember from over 30 years ago. So I went to look it up and I found it - "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are". Theodore Roosevelt, in his autobiography, credits the quote to his friend, William Meek ("Squire Bill") Widener. Thanks again!
Thank you, Joan. Smiling through tears over Lithuanian treatment of our boys. Feels as though Trump is grinding sand and salt into our parents’ work in rebuilding after WWII. …
Cary, MSNBC noted last night that, while Lithuanians lined the streets as the bodies of the 4 were transported, and with Lithuanian soldiers carrying small American flags, #47 was in Florida for his golf and million dollar shindig, instead of honoring the dead when they arrived at Dover AFB.
Also, when asked while seated in the Oval Office if he had been briefed about the 4 missing (at the time) soldiers, he said "No, I haven't." and went on to the next question, showing no emotion. He really doesn't GAF.
As a military Brat I find this deeply disturbing. As well as the lack of concern for those in states affected by flooding. It’s clear this administration cares nothing about the common folk. And I’ll be watching for the return of the “administrative error”. He will not be forgotten! Protesting today in Oakland!
Yes, Doug, I saw that reporting last night. The Lithuanian Defense Ministry’s words at end of Heather today, “The farewell ceremony once again demonstrated our society's solidarity, respect, and gratitude to the Americans,” took me further back in time to their love for the America of the past, and shattered my heart for our collective loss at the hands of this empty pathetic sniveling tyrant. Too sad sometimes for my ol’ heart.
Marlene, I just don't think he cares anymore -- and didn't care much before, but I think he knows how unpopular he is and wants to cash out while he can, the rest of us (excepting the billionaire/billionaire adjacent class, of course.)
Which shows he's smart enough to give a reply that didn't involve him in an embarrassing follow-up. (Yes I did hear but I've got this big thing happening with the Saudis at Doral).
I really don't think he can. That calls for empathy, and he simply seems incapable of it. What a sad way to live. And what a terrible thing for the rest of us when someone like that is also a very wealthy person with lots of very wealthy "friends" who can help them get into power.
Thank you. I never knew the complete saying. Sort like “Now I lay me down to sleep …. And if I should live for other days,I pray thee Lord to guide my ways “ and “Better late than never , but better never late”.
Jennis, we know many friends attending today in Salem, Oregon, and we will be there in spirit as mobility issues are in the way. I hope it goes well here. There is also the meeting of drama students from all over the state which will add to the parking problem and usually Proud Boys and others of the same ilk show up. LE is Portland has met with many groups and plans on helping guide them on the march. In Portland we also have a group of vandals who like to use these situations to do damage. I hope not this time.
A great case can be made for tighter organization and I.D. uniqueness among the legitimate peaceful protesters. Keep that in mind for the near future. I'm surrounded by the sweet music of legitimate protesters chanting, yelling, and honking; Even in my ruby red city where I never would have believed it could happen. The more police show up, the more raucous it becomes ! I feel swept back in time when I was in the masses vs Vietnam, Nixon, ERA, Wall Street, Reagan, etc., etc. I'm moved to tears !
I hope not too! With any luck, they'll think it must be a Trump rally and join you by mistake....they might just find it more satisfying to be with people who are noisy but honest and friendly.
TRULY? If they didn't return with reinforcements, that could be indicative. Remember when they tried to run Kamala Harris off the road when she was campaigning?
I was at that rally when you were 14, I am now 81. Glad you were there back then and I am so happy you will be DC again to protest against Trump's utter stupidity and disregard for American lives. It is just like back then, a president's disregard for American lives. I lived in the DC area for many years, and I was among the first to see the Vietnam War Memorial when it first opened. When I first saw how big it was and how many names were engraved on the wall I burst into tears at the horror of the war. Best of luck today.
Wow. I remember it well. We were sitting next to 3 or 4 sailors heading back to port in Virginia. They were passing a bottle of vodka around and they offered it to us and we imbibed. We were youthful comrades even though we were almost on opposite sides. It didn’t matter.
Much later when I visited the Vietnam memorial, I observed some a group probably family. They were scratching a pencil over paper over the name of probably a diseased member. As I approached, I could hear sniffles. I saw tears. From a distance, I cried as well. No one leaves that memorial dry-eyed perhaps unless they didn’t live through those years. I always remember that moment.
My time in town was a total waste of time. My fault. I should have known better. I found the chief organizer and tried to impress her with giving me one song performance. No deal. She was all of 30 something years old and never understood the music accomplishments of civil rights rallies. Indeed, one of my favorite albums, no, my all time favorite album is of Pete Seeger as musical director of Resurrection City in 1968 when he recorded so many great spiritual and blues singers. I have the album and whenever I play it, sure enough I brings the tears back.
And the rains extended a little too far into the morning and I didn’t want to take my guitar and books out. So it was excuse the expression, a total washout.
Thank you for your effort. Due to current physical challenges, I will not be able to march, but I did make signs and donated for the protest in Portland, ME. In the depth of my soul I believe in every effort..big or small. We have something the people of Nazi Germany did not have…the ability to share information. To use technology in a positive way. It is up to us now!
“We’re gonna have the biggest crash you’ve ever seen. People are gonna see that crash and say ‘wow, that’s the bigliest crash I’ve ever seen.’ It’s going to be great. It’s going to be the biggest in history. People are gonna say: ‘Nobody made a crash so big as Trump did. Trump’s is the biggest of ‘em all.’ Obama couldn’t do it. Biden couldn’t do it. But I did. Everybody is gonna love it.”
"THIS CRASH IS GONNA MAKE US ALL RICH. Even the Federal government workers that I fired so we can privatize the VA, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will all be rich. Just wait and see. And no one is dying or starving because of any of my policies. If they are it's Biden's fault and Kamela's and Obama's and well every damn liberal. We may experience a little pain for 20-30 years, but after that we'll all be rich rich rich. Isn't that what everyone wants?"
Watch Musk complaining bitterly (almost tearfully) about Tim Walz being 'overjoyed' at Tesla's falling stock price in an interview with Fox News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5o5kW678nU&t=39s
Literally everybody should see this. Especially those tech bros still cheering on Musk because "he's such a kewl meme lord." If there is any justice in this world, Mr. Musk deserves worse, MUCH worse than falling Tesla stock prices.
Or like an arsonist that starts a forest fire--the consequences don't matter, only the satisfaction of having the power to destroy. What's next people, the nuke button?
The nuke button - like the N word (Nazi) or the H name (Hitler), words that we (the normal portion of the populace) did not utter in years past, because it seemed like a big case of over-reach and should be reserved for only the most abominable of times, we normally do not bring up nuclear war much. It makes eyes roll. It's over-reach. Well WRT to Nazis and Hitler, we passed that didn't we. As well we should. Now, we are in the control of a rogue mad man, who listens to nobody. He has double dog triple doubled down on his notion of "I alone can fix this" (and get richer in the process). He is in an alternate reality that has no moorings to actual reality, and he is in the cockpit. He is applying the gangland practice of working over those he considers inferior or those he thinks he can manipulate, and then extracting payola to those who capitulate to his threats. A version of that is in everything he does.
So why not nukes. He thinks he can hang America's big strong economy over the heads of the rest of the world, to extract payola in the form of tariffs (oh and to hell with ordinary people who will paying for the tariffs). He can hang nuclear weapons over the heads of other countries too, if he sees a path toward what he wants.
It is more helpful to plan stopping his regime than to ruminate on him. He has inculcated himself into people's thinking over the past 9 years. Folks have gotten in the habit of too much analyzing and doom posting and not enough action. I sincerely hope you are able to join a protest today. It will make you feel so good.
Republican Senator John Kennedy recently explained the administration's policies by saying that one couldn't make an omelette without breaking eggs. Pretty soon, people are going to start wondering where this omelette is.
He is only the symbol of all that is wrong in the country such that they voted for him with total disregard for his history. And could only do what he has done with the collaboration of the traitors in Congress.
I have thought about this. In a world where it gets bad enough that the vast majority of the American people have finally had enough, and the administration fails to alter its path toward a corrupt "illiberal democracy" (read dictatorship), Congress will go blue. I can see that happening in 2026. Then impeachments could start. First Trump, and several cabinet members, and it should stick. That gets us Vance. If he doesn't come around, impeach him too. Then Johnson - impeach him too. If the will is there, in theory it can happen. And keep going until some sanity makes it to our high leadership positions. How esle are we going to do it.
Just a thought exercise, I know. But I really think we should not shy away from impeachment just because Vance is next in line.
Donald doesn't have support; he has fear generated by kompromat. Vance may not have the support, but if he were to succeed the orange menace, he would inherit the library of kompromat that keeps the GOP legislators in line.
Remember that Donald isn't a christofascist. He just uses them to increase his power and makes occasional overtures to pacify them.
[Insert name here] Vance and Russell Vought, guided by Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin, would make a lethal combination bent on turning the U.S. into an oligarchic theocracy, as outlined in Project 2025.
I was an occasional viewer, now I check Tennessee Brando's youtube clips daily. He's speaking at a protest in SoCal today.
His channel has grown in one year from 100,000 subscribers to a hair away from 700,000. He speaks the truth from a small town, and a lot of MAGA listen to him, too. He grew up poor and has struggled. And he DOES NOT LIKE VANCE (nor Kid Rock, lol).
I checked CUBIC CORPORATION for a Press Release or any statement from Cubic which is one of the U.S. Corporation that China put on "export control" regulations. www.cubic.com
I checked "Corporate Info": I found nothing.
I checked Cubic "Disclosures": Zip
But, CUBIC does have a "Worldwide Policy" on human rights:
Note, Section III:
"As a responsible corporate Citizen we [Cubic] take a stand to respect human rights & not contribute to Global Conflict".
*Yup that will put you on the export controls. **Uyghurs are humans just like everybody on the planet.
More than scary more like having Peter Thiel as President. But, we all can go to LFAA for real time history always delivered in historical context.
To get more info on the "11 U.S.companies" barred by China & another "16 more" companies put under Chinese "export controls", I sourced DOMINIC PRESTON at The Verge.
Dominic Preston has been a Journalist for about 10 years & was formerly with Android Police & Tech Advisor. Still, I will not post the names of the barred & the export controlled companies without fact checking directly with the corp spokespersons who have a duty to inform principals & shareholders if not LFAA.
but Vance doesn't have the cult, and without the cult (and the death threats its members like to make against anyone they think might interfere with Dear Leader), it might turn out that some Republican congress members might develop a spine...
John, he may not have the cult, but he would have the expanded power given to the position. I fear that the Republicans actually like what is going on with the gutting of government and would support him while remaining supine.
That's the trouble. In Europe, most countries have a mechanism of doing a away with an administration that's dysfunctional and calling for new elections. As far as I know, there is no such mechanism in America; there is no way to bring in new elections to get a chance of having a Democratic president. If you remove Dump, you get Vance, aka the Peter Thiel puppet. I don't know which is worse.
So will I be, Jon. And sadly, unless our foreign policy (USAID) and domestic programs (CDC, NIH, SNAP, etc.) revert to what they were, millions of children around the world will never grow old.
Gary, it will probably make a few very rich and the rest of us very miserable. I note below a post from Russell who says death star is howling at the moon, an apt description for the loon that he is.
Do you think Avengers: Infinity Wars is his actual playbook? I am beginning to think so. Kill off half the human population and the "world" will be so much better . . .
the plan not only by Trump but by the wealthy jerks now sitting in government positions. They want us to starve to death or be killed by infectious diseases. Subservient creatures is what they desire. This is war, Linda!
The obvious question that I hope is echoed across the land and the world, is "Who is going to get 'rich' " ? That's the telling question. Not me.... *The answer of course is the predatory wealthy folks like himself; Remember... "Buy low, sell high." They will get richer, buying at lows and selling high. Not you and I. In anticipation of all this chaos, Buffet (who I happen to like anyway) has been amassing a war chest of cash to buy low. You'll see.
Like I said, that is what he lives for. "I took the biggest risks!" Watch me , admire me! And then Crash. "Those bastards stopped me, go get them and I'll show you what I can accomplish". So we MAGAts and non-voters have given him that power. But what Drumpf and his loyal idiots don't get is that it is not some unknown "them", it's us, the MARKET that gets him every time. He just doesn't ever get it that if you take risks too far, it is the MARKET that retaliates and crashes him. We, the Market are not weak in any way. He just never gets it, and the MAGAts love the show. Again and again. It's Kayfabe, the show! The damage he creates is criminal though.
Daniel, I posted elsewhere about his telling reporters while on AF1 that he'd consider removing the tariffs from any country making him a "phenomenal" offer. Well, he's the negotiator here, and one who now has a family crypto business. Where do you think that "offer" will end up? "Give me $500 million and your tariff goes away." He is running a mob racket with protection money.
Dang right, Laurie. But I think there is also a difference between MAGAs (like my daughter who maybe invests $100 here and there) and Identitaries (being the Billionaires like Ramaswamy). The diff being size of investment, hence loss. The Ids will soon have enough of him. But if you only follow him in with $100, you can participate in the Show!
This is the biggest grift and he makes it clear it’s a grift with his snake oil sales pitch exclaiming how rich they’re all going to be.
I cried for the first last night. I haven’t lost any money because I dumped all those stocks when the grifter in chief took office. But, I love my home, I planned on living here until I died then leaving it to my grandson. But I finally felt this country was going into the deepest pits of hell and we should find a decent country where those making and following laws aren’t trying to bring on the rapture and destroy so many lives.
I’m hoping today’s protests bring forth some awareness to the MAGA cult and we see serious change soon.
"Big men, with tears in their eyes, came to ma and said 'thank you, Mr. Trump, for tanking my retirement funds,you are the best. I wish you nothing but happiness in your gilded estate.'"
Great point but do keep in mind that the "sizing" of losses on the stock market are kept in two ways: absolute point drops and percentage point drops. Out of the top TEN point losses, 9 have occurred during Trump presidencies. #3 and #6 as noted came the first few days of this month, while 7 others of the top ten all occurred in the early months of 2020 during the first stages of the Covid pandemic. Only one of the top ten loss days is for another President, in this case Biden in September 2022, leading up to the 2022 elections in November.
However to be fair, percentage losses are far more significant than dollar losses. Using percentages, the last two days were 4% and 5% loses on the Dow which don't even put them into the top TWENTY list of losses (that list bottoms at 7.5% loss on a single day).
The REALLY BIG percentage losses occurred during the 1987 crash (22% loss in a single day), the March 16, 2020, loss of 13% (the big initial Covid loss) and the two adjoining days of Black October in 1929 when the stock market dropped 23% over those two days. By comparison, the last couple of days are a mild recessionary drop, and nothing like the various depression-leading drops of previous times.
That doesn't mean we couldn't be on an elevator drop that keeps going for a while and could end up equalling a 20 or 30 percentage point drop but so far, we can't really be sure.
Many of us are prepared Jon. Investors around the world have moved trillions from the US markets to International markets. Many others have moved their money to T-Bills and CDs. During Covid-19 interest rates on T-Bills and CDs were less than half of what they are now. Warren Buffett has been saying for almost a year, that the market is due for a correction. He's sitting on over $300 billion in cash equivalents earning 4-6%.
And you can bet he's not alone. As bizarre as Trump's policies on tariff's are, his energy policies are even more so. He abhors any renewable source of energy and still thinks that coal and oil are better options than hydro, wind or solar power.
Trump has done absolutely nothing to help anyone since the election, not even himself and the oligarchs. I take that back. He's helped Putin and Netenyahu.
Very well said, Gary. "...has done nothing to help anyone since the election..." should be clear by now. For those not paying attention, it will be soon.
Sensible investing involves separate buckets. Long, medium and short term. Long term - don't touch, no matter what. Medium term - you could shift back and forth between growth and value, maybe bonds. Short term - cash to pay bills for X amount of time (wisely, 2 or 3 years if you can).
We are old so we have just one bucket. Short term. Went to cash at the start of March. I'll take 4% no worries, annual returns during the most mismanaged presidency in the history of our once fine nation.
You know, the irony is that the US is better protected from the coming financial disturbance than many of its competitors precisely because trade forms such a small percentage of its 30 trillion dollar economy. Right now, America has never been wealthier. Because so many currencies are pegged to the dollar Americans have become used to importing cheap goods from abroad at the relatively small cost of printing more money. Trump is risking that in the faint hope that he will make America into the world's manufacturing hub, effectively displacing China. In the unlikely event he succeeds, Americans will in consequence be poorer, at least in terms of consumption. From the environmental perspective, that would be no bad thing but that sort of outcome is light years away from what Trump is aiming for.
As I've posted before, my brother-in-law and his brother had a couple of sewing factories that did quite well in the 1980's and early 1990's. But then Walmart and others went to China to buy cheap clothing. Their factories were located in rural North Carolina and upstate New York. They employed about 300 seamstresses and laborers. When they closed their factories, these communities NEVER recovered. My brother-in-law went to work for Citi-Bank and did quite well after that. Of course, he had a major bankruptcy on his record, but they lived quite simply for several years.
Who hasn't read or heard about these horror stories? Can you imagine someone under 45 thinking that they will get rich quick if the borrow a couple of million to set up a modest manufacturing operation. And is there any billionaire in the Trump administration that will lend someone several million dollars to set up a manufacturing operation? Of course not. These bastards won't even donate to help anyone. DonOLD and Musk are trustifarians that understand nothing about what's it's like to start a business when you have no capital.
After a slow start, the 21 million new business applications filed during Biden's four years was the most new business applications in any presidential administration. He left Trump with the fastest-growing economy in the G7. His problem was the perennial one for American presidents - relatively little of the new wealth found its way into the pockets of ordinary Americans. The lingering effects of the high inflation during and immediately after the pandemic all but sealed his fate. The Democrats also failed to recognise the struggles of ordinary Americans whereas Trump promised them the moon.
Russell, your comment provoked the following thoughts in my mind:
Donald is a money-grubber who comes from a long line of money-grubbers. Even though his father became a millionaire, he never lost that money-grubber mentality.
All of MAGA and the overwhelming majority of low-to-middle wage earners are also money-grubbers. That is, they think that if they just had more money, all of their problems would be solved.
Donald shares the money-grubber mentality with his base.
By contrast, individuals who lean liberal recognize that a full life includes more than just plenty of money. We value other factors like the arts, constant learning, cultural diversity, work/life balance, etc.
If that is the case, how in the world can you inoculate the Democratic party with the money-grubber mentality?
Exactly right Russel. Totally out of touch. And we're all paying for that. *Over and over I tried desperately to warn people in power, and it fell on deaf ears, decades ago. I was 'too' common to even be heard. At some point in time, I'll open a basket of evidence to that end, perhaps. After all, I'm still too 'common.'
Over the course of modern manufacturing history, companies have moved their plants for basically one reason. Cheaper labor. Payroll is often the largest component of a P&L statement. Garments were sewn in NYC, then in the south (as Gary mentions), then in Hong Kong, then in mainland China or Vietnam or Central and South America.
Carpets were made in the Northeast, then the companies moved to the south devastating local economies and invigorating others. Name your industry.
All for the cost of labor. We can't wave a magic wand of tariffs to overcome that single powerful factor. The US could become a "manufacturing hub" again if we were willing to pay people shit wages. And who will take those jobs? So to achieve the goal of making things here, we would have two choices. Pay a lot more for the products or...heart be still...import cheap labor!
Ya can't fight the math. And I would make the case that people around the world deserve relatively good jobs - if they are on a path to improved prosperity they are less likely to make wars. And then there is the currently unfashionable concept of empathy for other humans. Guess I will flout fashion and say that they deserve to live decent lives, too.
For national security it is common sense to drag back to the US key items like computer chips and life saving drugs - anyone remember running out of masks and PPE???!!! Ummm. Bringing manufacturing back home? That was what the BIden Administration was doing...but why would $Trump credit the guy before him when he is so insecure?
In the meantime we could also focus on the goods and services of the future by funding research into all things medical and scientific. Instead we are doing exactly the opposite. The world is moving towards alternate less destructive forms of energy - and we will be laggards and losers. We WERE leaders. Now we are about to redefine the idea of "Luddites" (I know the term has been misappropriated but it has stuck and I don't have a better one right now) on a scale unknown in history. It is just stupid.
All of this tariff nonsense is very much cover for the real game - privatization.
One of the country's largest home builders (Pulte) is now running Fannie Mae? WTF? $Trump has announced that he will privatize Fannie and Freddie Mac.
Dr. Oz will run Medicare and Medicaid. Watch out for the announcements of "new advantage" plans. A TV huckster running our health care safety nets?
Social Security jobs slashed to cripple the agency's functionality? Watch for a Republicon plan to "rescue" it. Hear echoes of Reagan and "government is the problem". Private Equity to the Rescue!
This coup has no limits. This is the playbook used by Putin when the Soviet Union collapsed and Yeltsin handed Russia over to a sociopathic KGB agent. You can hear the American Oligarchs licking their chops...
Or as conservative satirist P. J. O'Rourke once wrote: “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.”
You pretty well summed it up, Bill. Trump's diagnosis may be correct, but to try and bring prices down by implementing two insanely inflationatory policies - mass deportation and tariffs - is crazy. To be honest, if any Republican member of Congress were today to repeat Reagan's words about government being the problem they would struggle to find a Democrat willing to take issue with them.
Don't worry, the engineered recession will mitigate the inflationary policies by bringing interest rates down so we can then borrow more easily to pay for our groceries (that beautiful, old-fashioned word they used to use for a "bag with different things in it").
One can only make so many conclusions for the reasons; I weigh in on intentional financial profiteering, all the while making it all seem populous. Snake oil in service to self and cohort.
I stared substituting "Piratizing" for overly privatizing many years ago.
"Incompetent Oligarchizing" seems likely to become more appropriate as they try selling of so many government assets, as Russia did when the Soviet Union collapsed.
For a society to function to the benefit of all, it must consist of "layers." That is, in order for me to buy a shirt I can afford, there must be someone who will cut and sew it for less-per-hour than I earn. (I know that's oversimplification and other factors can affect the math.)
This societal structure is upset when greed is introduced into the equation. It doesn't matter where greed is inserted. If the shirt factory owners think they should make a higher profit or the shirt sewers think they should be paid more per hour, the balance is upset and the economy no longer works.
In my opinion the United States' achilles heel is our society built around capitalism without conscience, or greed. Commerce is a part of every society around the world, but unlike the U.S., commerce isn't the core of those cultures. Since its founding, the U.S. has existed for the sake of business. We are now eating the fruit of the poisoned tree.
Empires require 'slaves.' An immutable, historic fact. And, the word the average human 'hates, despises' to hear is that economics are 'complicated' - especially for those without adequate learning, it's too abstract and imperfect especially on a macro level. When the pat answer by the educated or somewhat educated is that something is 'too complicated' they think something is being withheld and their being called too stupid to understand.
Thank you, Heather. Your morning chronicles are our true history that must be remembered. Not the falsehoods and slurs coming from this current administration.
And thank you for mentioning the “man behind the throne, deputy miller”. He appears to be running the WH from his perch inside. Such a scary man.
I picture one day all of Heather's daily columns will be gathered and published in a book -- a diary, of sorts, documenting the downfall of the Unites States of America, and perhaps students in China will be studying it centuries hence much like we studied ancient Rome.
Completely with you, Gary. Cash, Euro vs. $, Income vs. CAP, and a couple of other "tricks of the trade". One just has to be able to read...prepare...adjust...and let the MARKET take over.
Speaking of tricks. I wonder who and how many are shorting the market right now. And who will be buying the big dip? Could "tariffs and chaos" be the greatest ever con by $Trump and Co.?
Interesting Question that I don't have an answer to, Bill. Other than "the market" will take care of Trump. I know that's fairly trite. So here is an example...In Copenhagen a market has just segregated American goods from the rest...I guess they put a black star on American products. If everyone in the world did that, the real market would maybe quickly decide Trump's fate. Of course, Americans (and remember WE voted him into office again) will suffer, and Danes addicted to Heinz Ketchup also (and maybe we deserve it).
Another thought on the drops. I suspected that these drops were not as bad as others had been. Thank you for showing me the math. I don’t pretend to understand why the past drops occurred but the reason this drop is occurring is the result of one man who has demonstrated over and over again his inadequacies in handling money and his ignorance of how governments work. He’s in way over his head and he’s drowning the rest of us as he flounders.
I should have seen that. Thanks for pointing it out, about the orange idiot owning all of the top 10. I've never had a dime on Wall Street, keep my money in the bank so the rest is over my head.
I appreciate your point and I would totally agree with the sentiment.
But I would also point out that MOST people have NOT "lost their life savings". I say most because, obviously, I don't know for sure, and it is quite possible that there are some who have. However, if you were invested in a stock fund or mutual fund, as MOST people with 401ks and other retirement funds are, then you would have lost about 10% in the past week (as I personally have). That can definitely be a lot of money, but it is hardly my "life savings".
Of course, that is YET. The market could crater much more in the future. I just wanted to point out that while there are a lot of people who were financially injured in some way, I expect very few of them were made completely broke this past week, at least not simply through their investments in the market.
Trump's endgame is a mix of enriching himself, consolidating control, and sabotaging any system that might hold him accountable. If the economy crashes, if institutions bend or break, so be it—as long as he’s still standing and raking in the cash.
Don't forget Trump's cozying up to Russia and Belarus. They are being spared any duties, whereas the penguins on Herd Islands are not. And Lesotho, arguably the poorest country on the globe has been hit with a tariff of 50%. There are also more than 70 countries with which the USA has a trade surplus. In Trump's warped logic, the United States owes THEM money. Yet, they have been assessed a 10% duty anyway, but Russia and Belarus have not. Not that we needed any further proof that Trump is in Putin's pocket, but this just reinforces that notion.
“TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”
MONEY! Rich and RICHER!!!
No American President has ever said a thing like that. RICH is his only effen value.
RICH has NEVER been an American value in my life. Or, in the lives of my friends. I have been very low income , then after starting a business, I have been financially secure. My prime values and goals are independence and freedom.
The USA is now in a state of cancer and insanity. Americans are living with the knowledge that their tax dollars are supporting a genocide of a helpless population, whether they consciously admit it or not. Americans are also looking at a very insecure financial future.
The entire world is in a chaos inflicted on them by this crazy SOB.
American lemmings love the jump into the abyss, the void, the black hole set by the fat, orange, syphilitic mad criminal.
His idol, Putin, loves, delights to see all America turned to self-destruction.
Putin can finally relax, look forward to the world turned away from pluralism, democracy.
The world can be Putin’s and fellow dictators’ for the mass murder of women, children, old people, libraries, hospitals, schools, shopping centers, homes. Destroy, destroy – as U.S. billionaires like destroying, offshoring jobs, killing industrial communities, crippling schools, growing testing’s tentacles.
Now, while the syphilitic madman golfs for his fellow monster Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi golf tournament, we can take in how all the dictators dance to the systemic happy cliff jumping.
There is an Old Cliche, 'Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned'... The New Cliche, 'Trump Golfed While America Collapsed'.... I read that the Citizens of Lithuania lined the streets of Lithuania as the Coffins were transported to the US Plane for transport home... Meanwhile, DJT, he played Golf at one of his Clubs in Florida...
They died so they must be "suckers and losers"? It is beyond my comprehension that any member of the military or veteran could support someone who disrespects them so much and so often. At what point does somebody in uniform stop taking the insults? "I know more than the generals."
The most qualified who have achieved their status through service and merit and are completely nonpartisan - are fired. It is astounding.
I hope I see some uniforms in the crowds today. I'll let you know.
If I remember correctly, active duty members of the military can’t take part in a protest in uniform. However, I suspect there will be a number of veterans there in fatigues, flight suits, VFW hats or some other indication of their status as people who served our country.
Agreed 111%, as always, Bill. Trump's trumper tantrums over the military are as transparent as they are nauseating: sour grapes and an unresolved shame for dodging the draft. I was lucky; the ghastly war in Viêt Nam had wound down by the time I had come of age. 😳
So I did not have to face the telling dilemma that others had to bear, I may well have dodged the draft, too. And, yes, I would likely have felt shame for doing so. The difference? Hopefully, I would never blame the military for my own shame. 🙏
Come Sunday, he'll obviously be the winner of the tournament. The trophy already has his name on it. Fuck the emoluments clause of the Constitution. It obviously doesn't apply to Trump.
Gary, you bring up a good point. Recently I leafed through 'The Federalist Papers' and reviewed the Constitutions. Emoluments were a big deal.
😳
Had the divided founding generation of Washington, Adams, Jefferson et al. -- or a later generation of Republicans like Senators Goldwater and Scott as well as Representatives Hogan and Butler been around, Trump would be impeached and removed in a nano-second.
⚖️
The only difference between the two sets of leaders? The earlier one may have had Trump swinging from a tree p.d.q. after a criminal convixion. 😵
He didn’t because he is incoherent 99% of the time. They give him a little role to play like he’s a big movie star and he comes out and says his lines and wanders back into La la land.
WOW. 😵 Great point there, Peaceful Protestor. 💡 Instead of thanking Lithuania as President Biden would have done, Trump would have said that this should never have happened; that, had he been in the 0val 0ffice instead of 'sleepy Joe', the invasion of Russia would never have taken place. 🤢
It is a very moving video to watch. President Biden would have made the effort. If unable due to frailty, Dr Biden would have been there as well as Vice President Harris and SecDef Austin. I suspect that President Biden would have graciously and publicly thanked the President, government, and people of Lithuania for their honouring our fallen brothers in uniform.
What's impressive, is tRump's absolute confidence in his own maniacal actions and non-actions. So drunk is he on his own sense of power and immunity, he thinks he's untouchable - the next Hitler or Putin. But his performance to date is more akin to a mad king, the likes of Caligula, who's mental illness (history tells us) led to shocking extremes of paranoia, cruelty megalomania, ending in his assassination. tRump's antics are unsustainable. No-one is going to get RICH RICH RICH in a collapsing world. The poisoned chalice awaits.
Kazz, the scumbag president is getting richer by ignoring the four servicemen brought from Lithuania after they died there during training exercises with other NATO countries. He is too busy running a golf tournament in his Doral, Fl property. Please do not disturb.
Thank You Ricardo... The Glimmer of Hope is that a Renewal of the Best of the American Spirit will arise anew led by New Leaders... Well Led, We Will Be Unbeatable....
What I find depressing is that is exactly how I felt about Vice President Harris. Still hurts that people whom I know, including relatives, regarded her as kackling Kamala.
Thank you for sharing regarding the care and respect the citizens of Lithuania gave to our servicemen. I am sure their loved ones appreciated the act of respect and thoughtfulness.
I am well aware of the lack of humanity within the totality of our current administration.
I don't think so... As USMC General John Kelley said, who BTW: lost a Son in Iraq, DJT believes that those that serve are 'Suckers & Losers'... With DJT, those that Pay, Play... DJT prefers to immerse himself with his Billionaire Sycophants...
"...the Citizens of Lithuania lined the streets of Lithuania as the Coffins were transported to the US Plane..." Indeed, they did. The images on AP are quite moving and so respectful. FOTUS has the empathy of a bone spur.
Thank You Ned... I learned Conciseness in the American Military... Among the Apache, Speech S/B Spoken Poetry... How the Lithuanians honored Our Fallen, I am reminded how the British Honored their Fallen that were brought home from Iraq... They would line the Route that their Caskets were taken for their Ceremonies... I do not recollect GWB ever receiving the Caskets of Our Fallen at Dover AFB... GWB also was a Spoiled Rich Kid, that was installed by the Supreme Court, and lost the Popular Vote...
I am not idolizing the military, here. Like any group of human beings, there are flawed men and women within it. As groups, like any other groups, the military services reflect the faults and short-comings of human beings. 🤔
The structure, the oaths, and the sense of honor shared among many of my younger brothers and sisters in uniform, however, have beneficial effects on their characters. I do wish, I had enjoyed that benefit. 💔
Trump galls us all every day. Today, what angered me the most was Lithuania saluting four Americans as honoured dead while fat traitor blew off greeting the soldiers in the U.S. in favor of golfing. Trump could learn a lot from 'little Lithuania' with a BIG HEART. 💔
Dr Heather Cox Richardson nailed it, quoting Lithuania head-of-state: "'We consider US soldiers in Lithuania as our own,' the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said after thousands of people joined Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda and other dignitaries in a dignified departure ceremony of the soldiers from Lithuania. 'The farewell ceremony once again demonstrated our society's solidarity, respect, and gratitude to the Americans.'" 🙏
Sadly, the commander in chief of these honoured dead does not share that gratitude. One might say that Trump dislikes the military because he dodged the draft. Okay . . . ¿so where was Vance? After all, as he bellowed in the campaign, he answered the country's call. 🤬
I believe, frail as he was, President Biden would not only have made an effort to show up -- if unable, at least Dr Biden -- but also would have made a public statement of gratitude to the government and people of Lithuania for honouring the four servicemen.
I’ll bet Vance is sitting back counting the days until the repugnantkins in the house and senate say “enough is enough” and remove him before he can do any more damage, and there by hand the office to Vance. He couldn’t have been elected dog catcher and now because of the insipid orange turd he’s next in line. 🤬
Vance is just as bad, maybe worse. He only cares about riches. I’m waiting to hear who wrote that book that made him famous because when he opens his mouth it’s obvious he doesn’t have the intelligence to write a book. And I’m sure the story is pure bullshit.
I disagree in particulars, not in spirit. Vance is worse in his blind ambition (as John Dean labelled his own defect of character). At least Trump has the virtue of being obnoxious.
--- strikethrough --- Yeah, did Hegseth show his face and salute?
[ Well, I stand corrected. '47 sent Hegseth to stand in for him for the return of the soldiers. Story I saw says family requested media not be present. ]
I appreciate the Lithuanians for honoring our soldiers. It is utterly shameful the President and Vice President didn’t see fit to do this themselves. Trump was more concerned about golf than military sacrifice. You know the wingnuts bellyached about Biden supposedly checking his watch when dead soldiers arrived at an American Air Force base, but there are crickets when Trump and Vance can be bothered to receive the bodies of our dead soldiers with respect.
One of the Differences is that the Lithuanians know that if Ukraine Falls, then they are next... They are a Small Country that has experienced Russian Rule... DJT, JD, and Hegseth, are here in CONUS surrounded by the Secret Service, and Sycophants....
Big difference? President Biden and Vice President Harris are decent human beings with some compassion, notwithstanding the rough-and-tumble of politics. Good points, Kathy. Thank you.
People say that President Biden let the country down by running again. Yes, I was disappointed because, like many of us, I felt he was frail. Inasmuch as I am still a conservative by temperament, I was calm with the preference of President Biden on formaldehyde rather than Trump on adderall.
There is a drumbeat of what the goal (in part) of the tariffs' goal is to damage what's left of smaller ag folks, sending them in to such financial difficulty that they are forced to sell farmland which is being strategically picked up by vulture capitalists. Like rental properties have been.
"Contrary to the myth, it is not a deliberate mass suicide, in which animals voluntarily choose to die, but rather a result of their migratory behavior. Driven by strong biological urges, some species of lemmings may migrate in large groups when population density becomes too great. Thus, the unexplained fluctuations in the population of Norwegian lemmings helped give rise to the popular stereotype of the suicidal lemmings, particularly after this behaviour was staged in the Walt Disney documentary White Wilderness in 1958."
Probably no earthy creature is more rational the human beings, and certainly none is as irrational; as human behavior has illustrated for centuries.
PBS and NPR are in danger for sure. But here's my guess. The Fascist Oligarchs will shut off Federal funding. Local stations will fundraise with some significant success and the networks will regroup accordingly. We'll lose some shows. But the stations will live on with renewed vigor - without the worry of someone turning off the spigot.
Speaking for our little home budget, we are ready to double or triple what we give to PBS/NPR. We'll eat out less (which we are already doing!), cancel a couple streaming services, etc.
The only news that lights up our usually dark screen comes from BBC America and the News Hour. The only stations that are "saved" in my car are the two Boston NPR outlets. Perhaps they will merge...
We had the pleasure of seeing "A Peace of Forest" a the Hannaford Hall Abromson Community Education Center on March 29th, and a Q and A session with the film makers after.
The (still) nature photographers Lee Ann Szelog and Thomas Mark Szlog spent something like 10 years filming and editing this, their first motion picture with absolute minimum human intrusion (so much so that only one at a time would be in the blinds used, and be as silent and still as possible for the entire time). Thomas even explained that a rare shot of a deer apparently looking directly at him for an extended time was actually looking at a turkey (I believe if I remember correctly), below the view of the camera.
They mentioned the sounds were not synced with the film but were all recorded in the same 35 acres of woods from actual birds, etc there (too difficult for one person to both record video and sound). That was deliberately (and admittedly), different from especially films like Disney's where the sounds were deceptively allowed to be assumed to be from the animals being filmed. The discussion seemed to indicate the original intent was to not include any additional sound other than the wildlife and nature but, but in the end, decided a minimal amount of just carefully crafted music was added, and no commentary, letting the sounds of nature to predominate.
A question was asked about one case where the bird sound didn't match the bird shown, which allowed the film makers to remind us they were committed to only using sounds recorded in those 35 acres, not synced, but as appropriately placed as possible.
Having tech coworkers that had worked in the film industry, and meeting some of the camera operators, editors, etc, that even worked for Disney, it was refreshing to see a more pure version than the more "entertainingly enhanced" versions.
Interesting point. I remember when I was doing some very unglamorous support work for Ukrainian refugees (very, very briefly), several Americans were saying that we should have taken out the forty mile supply-line bogged down in Northern Ukraine. I found that alarming.
😱
Only later did I realize that, by being so fearful of Putin resorting to nuclear weapons, we had given the power of initiative over to Putin. That is to say: it had not occurred to us that Putin would (more likely than not) think, reinforced by choice words from President Biden, that: "Whoa! The U.S. knows this would be ample cause for me to push the red-button and yet they did it. They are ready to retaliate with superior nukes and delivery systems."
🤔
Of course, one could counter-argue that Putin by then saw a binary outcome: either victory or a body bag. So that might well change his calculations, radically, toward using at least tactical nuclear weapons.
The lemmings story is apparently a staged filming in which the people filming literally drove the poor things off the cliff. But the voluntary self-immolation of the followers of the Felon in Chief and his drug- and alcohol-addled minions and handlers is a whole different thing.
This isn’t real to them. Trumo loves TV and movies, Misk video games. And they aren’t alone, just most prominent. The fake wrestling, the real brutality of MMA. It’s what they WATCH, not what they know.
And they duped real people into believing they care about them. And the idea MAGA will do an about face and admit they were duped is not going to happen. I truly believe unless he dies, they will continue to do whatever he says no matter how bad their lives get.
They have never struggled to make ends meet. Many of these billionaires came up whole college was still affordable. Or you could pay your way through. That’s gone. Many have benefited from government in enormous ways but don’t want others to.
This is all a game. They don’t see real people, heaven forbid try to help them. They don’t see a problem with someone who is working 40 hours a week and barely scraping by needing a helping hand when the owner of their company, a billionaire, is getting subsidies from the government.
Trump says he cannot bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back from the Salvadoran prison where his administration mistakenly sent him. But the U.S. pays El Salvador, that is to say, pays "Oopsie! Too late" president Nayib Bukele, $6 million a year to take the planeloads of prisoners Trump sends there. As the contractor of this service, U.S. can say, "Oopsie! Please send Garcia back or we will sue for inadequate service." I think Trump would know how to do that.
Trump is afraid of the visuals, as always. The prison is harsh. Garcia has probably lost a lot of weight, has had his head shaved, and has probably been beaten. He likely will have mental issues for the rest of his life. His family will not be getting back the same person who was shipped off. It’s horrific.
Excellent insight. All the more reason, of course, to force Trump to get Garcia back. As for horrific visuals, the more that surface showing the U.S. public what Trump is really doing, the sooner his support will diminish, which may nudge the timorous Congress into finally impeaching him.
You would think a judge would order them all returned for judicial review and to receive the due process the law affords them. Not just the one guy whose family made a ruckus.
Thank you Heather as always for your hard work. I think often of what you must go through to flush all of the toxins from your mindbody after bringing this into yourself to share with us.
It is my 60th birthday today, and my kid sister is visiting with her chihuahua and we are having dinner at Alna General Store and I am hosting an afternoon dance party here in Bath tomorrow to celebrate. Our friend Hannah will be here with George.
Because the only thing I can think of to do right now is to seek joy in community with others. It is my only antidote for this.
(I've saved you from my singing, but please feel free to think that I sing like Adele or Lady Gaga or perhaps an operatic singer!) Your choice it's your birthday!
No all involved in the debacle of using confidential material on an insecure line should have been jailed and/or court marshaled as would any service personnel would have been. They can not be allowed to get off scott free. AND, interesting that the commander in chief knew nothing about it.
Did you hear Rachel Maddow's report last night about trade "expert" Peter Navarro learning from an "expert" named Ron Vara, an anagram of Navarro, who doesn't exist? https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
I'm sorry for that loss of hard earned wealth, but according to the "experts" you'll be so much better after a 'little pain'. A little pain as explained by the billionaires that inhabit the cabinet. Hmmm, the cabinet, I'm thinking it's like that cabinet or drawer that most of us have, you know the 'JUNK' drawer!
Remember way back in 2024 when most of us were warning that Trump posed "an existential threat to the nation and the world" if he were to be elected in November? Remember? Well, it has taken fewer than 11 weeks to prove us right.
They still swallow Trump's bs whole. I know this because I talk to his supporters every day because I live among them. They follow Newsmax or Breitbart News, which wither lie outright or twist the truth. The common theme among all of these individuals is that they've been, for years, disgusted with perceived erosion of the American way of life. That disgust has been nurtured by right wing media to become outrage.
Patty, don't expect any dramatic changes of mind. For MAGA, Trump loyalty is no different from fandom of your favorite professional sports team. The win/loss record doesn't count; one must maintain "team spirit" no matter what.
When your team loses, it's not because they played a bad game, or the coach had a bad strategy. It's because the referees were biased, or the other team cheated, or the weather was bad, or the turf wasn't right – anything except your team sucks.
*raising campaign funds despite term limits in the U.S. Constitution,
*golfing with the Saudis,
* destroying the global economy with bad math,
*"disappering" individuals he both targets and sweeps up irresponsibly to torture, prison and possibly death;
*intentionally disrespecting the sacrifices of our military;
*selling influence and favors for his own personal benefit;
*destroying our national security and making the USA an enemy of all nations; and
*enabling hacking of everyone's personal data by a South African immigrant with multiple conflicts of interest outside of the United States, and a plummeting brand problem.
And Trump went to his golf tournament instead of meeting the remains of the four soldiers when they arrived home. He is not worthy of even walking on US soil never mind being the Commander in Chief of those soldiers who gave their lives. I bet he doesn't even know their names. Staff Sgt. Troy Knutson- Collins, 28. Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25. Sgt. Edvin Franco, 25. Pfc. Dante Tatiana, 21. Hundreds of Lithuanian, American, Polish and Estonian forces searched for the bodies. The only person in the link not showing respect for those who sacrificed their lives was Donald J. Trump. He had a golf game to go to.
Legal Gunfight coming at the OK Corral! "Today, U.S. District Court judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to bring back to the United States no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 7 a legal resident it mistakenly sent to a notorious prison for terrorists in El Salvador."
I know people think I love being a naysayer here and its NOT true, I would love to see this turn into something good for a change.
BUT... be careful because in this case we are on VERY weak grounds legally. IF Garcia had been Venezuelan, we MIGHT have a fairly strong case as he would clearly be held in El Salvador on our behalf.
However, Garcia is El Salvadoran. That means once he was back in El Salvador regardless of how he got there, he IS like any other El Salvadoran citizen subject to the laws of his own country and they probably have a superior right to hold him in their country on charges if they so choose.
A good comparison would be if Ed Snowdon, a US Citizen who left the US to live in Russia after leaking government emails and other secure documents. Russia welcomed him (as we theoretically welcomed Garcia) and the US wants him back to put him on trial for treason and espionaga. But if somehow Snowden ended up back in the US, there is absolutely NO WAY we would ever let him go back to Russia, even if they pleaded saying it was a mistake how he ended up back here. He is a citizen of our country and we would have the right under international law to refuse to send him back to another country if we had reason to keep him, regardless of what he wanted himself. It is very close to the concept that "possession is 9/10s of the law".
And that is roughly the same situation with Garcia, or VERY VERY close. The only real difference is that here it is the "great US" that wants to save Garcia from a fate in El Salvadoran prison, and in the other case it would be the "bad Russia" wanting to get Snowden back to let him live out his life a hero for Russia. The situations are very parallel, it just depends on whose viewpoint you are taking.
As I recall, Snowden was flying to a European country that had offered him asylum but President Obama canceled his passport. The plane landed in Moscow and Snowden was stuck. Putin “generously” gave him asylum. Without Snowden and Assange we wouldn’t have known all the behind the scenes corruption that had been carefully hidden.
First, Snowden and Assange were 'wanted', had warrants out for their arrest. Garcia has no such warrant from El Salvador and given he has been living in USA there are not any crimes he is likely to have committed in El Salvador within Statute of Limitations. Second, the cause of action against USA for wrongful deportation by Garcia has nothing to do with him being in El Salvador. Finally, Trump, Rubio and President "Oopsie" who is receiving graft....errrr, I mean payments for housing prisoners are 'thick as thieves', they are all thieves and the reality is that the return of Garcia to USA is easily accomplished unless the thieves are looking for an excuse not to do so.
If the White House wanted to get Garcia back from El Salvador, all it would take is a simple phone call. I don't think that El Salvador would take the risk of incurring the wrath and anger of a US President, particularly a president who has retribution on top of his mind and isn't very concerned about the legality of his actions.
The government had no problem bringing Noem back from El Salvador after her miserable little photo op.
There is only one reason the same government refuses to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back home. They don’t want a living eye witness to re-enter the US. If he is returned, he will be asked to testify in court. He will be asked to testify before Congress. In full view of the entire nation, he will speak.
Stocks just lost a year’s worth of gains that occurred when Biden was president. Usually, the stock market is independent of presidential influence. Clearly, that was not the case this past week. Trump likes attention and could be called the most successful president ever in getting attention. However, he is another Herbert Hoover with the economy, another James Buchanan with being fair to society, and another James Knox Polk with territorial aggrandizement. No American should believe anything he says.
Ricardo, as you have wisely observed and in the words of Abraham Lincoln (1858 speech in Albany, NY) "...you can fool some of the people all the time…”; probably the best description of MAGAts!
Trump was and is unqualified to be President and the problem is now he has thrown off all of the guardrails and is bringing the US government into chaos. The Federal bureaucracy is being dismantled with particular attention to those parts that monitor behavior and wrong doing. Those services upon which much of the population rely are being dismantled and crippled. What we are seeing is the a failure of government through a failure of politics.
We are now being destroyed by a man who should have been impeached, disqualified and imprisoned. The only hope is that there is some intelligent life remaining in Congress. The saddest part is that there are so many now that are filling such important positions in this Administration that are not qualified and who are just awful people. We have always had our outliers but this Administration is main streaming them and making the only qualification to serve is loyalty. Once, you give loyalty they open the doors of corruption for insiders.
Partisanship without morality, shame, courage and a sense of national purpose is destructive. If you doubt it just look.
Incredibly moving scenes in Lithuania, with thousands and thousands of Lithuanians lining the streets of Vilnius to honour the US soldiers who died. The Last Post was played at an empty intersection with crowds gathered along the intersected streets.
In one video I saw Lithuanians being interviewed and they said they felt as though the dead were their own soldiers. The US president was busy with his golfing empire and unavailable for when the soldiers touched down on US soil.
He couldn’t care less about our soldiers or any of us. After all he wouldn’t be able to point to them fawning over him in an audience so they mean nothing. He and his supporters make me want to hurl.
Pete Hegseth per chance??? No, we'd have seen that plastered all over FOX. Hegseth & his wife, oh but wait, those soldiers might be secret DEI hires??? Maybe that's why they were snubbed!
Our military are "losers and suckers". Makes fun of disabled people. This is who he is. Today Friday 4/2025 as the stock market crashes. He is at Doral golf club Saudi arabia sponsored and a Million dollar per person dinner. He has made a fortune by selling favors to our adversaries.What do you think he is doing with All those top secret documents ?
Trump and Muskrat are weak men who imagine themselves as strong and “genetically superior.” The whole idea of “genetic superiority” or “racial superiority” is a total crock these weaklings accept, and it shows their fundamental insecurity.
I ❤️ wiki. The orange idiot now holds the record for the 3rd and 6th worst days on the stock market. I worry about you, Heather, when you post so late, get some sleep!
I’m now in Washington DC. Soon to drive to the Mall area and seek an early morning parking place. After which, who knows. I’m here because I had no choice. When I was 14, I boarded the overnight train from CT to DC to rally against the horrible Vietnam war. Now at 71, I’m here to protest a most horrible temporary resident of the White House.
Thank you for being there. I'm helping an 82yo friend go through cancer treatment, so I won't be out protesting tomorrow. We would both be out there if we could, we met at a Michelle Obama speech back in '08.
I'll be freezing my 78 year old bum at the state capitol in Denver today. I'm really pissed that some fat stupid old man cosplaying John Gotti against his own country and the rest of the world has pushed me out here again.
I'm 74, my friend is 78. We froze our buns at the Colorado State Capital today too!
Your spirit is here.
Ok I’ll try to get more snooze time. Later.
Here and . . . Hands OFF!!
And…. “Elbows UP!”
Best wishes for your friend. ❤️🙏
Likewise, with me; I would also be out there where it not for caretaking needs for a family member. I'm depressed as it is over this administration's total incompetence and possible near lethal results (for those who no longer are employed) due to this moron's "leadership", which is frankly, more closely described as "leader💩 ".
I too would be out there if it were not for health issues. I share your concerns for the average Americans who have lost their jobs, because of this incompetent president and his billionaire buddies.
Thank you for the laugh, my daughter refers to things out of control as a
“💩 show”. I believe our current situation fits that description.
I would be there, in chilly Longmont CO, but I am on oxygen and my portable oxygen concentrator does not work when the temperature is below 41 degrees
You'll be there, even if people can't see you. Take care!
I won't be there either - I'm in the middle of a four-day Life Stories® institute training on turning lived experiences into works of dramatic art. My goal is to work with folks who are leaving MAGA to help them tell their stories to inspire others. The training was scheduled long before the demonstrations were announced. Blessings to you and your friend, Bridget.
Terry- what an amazing thing you are doing! It’s important for people to hear their stories and be inspired!
I would be out there in Longmont CO, but my portable oxygen concentrator does not work when it is below 41 degrees - I will be making phone calls though
I love that there are so many different ways we can get involved according to our abilities! Have you written any postcards yet? I really enjoy doing that as a member of Markers for Democracy markersfordemocracy.org
🙏
We do what we can, with what we have, whenever we can. You are doing something grand too!
Thank you Carol! You are reminding me of a quote I heard from a pastor at Cornell whose name I cannot remember from over 30 years ago. So I went to look it up and I found it - "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are". Theodore Roosevelt, in his autobiography, credits the quote to his friend, William Meek ("Squire Bill") Widener. Thanks again!
Bill, Sing like no one is listening.
.........attributed to a variety of people including Mark Twain, Satchel Paige, and William Purkey:
Sing like no one is listening.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
Dance like nobody’s watching,
and live like it’s heaven on earth.
Thank you, Joan. Smiling through tears over Lithuanian treatment of our boys. Feels as though Trump is grinding sand and salt into our parents’ work in rebuilding after WWII. …
Cary, MSNBC noted last night that, while Lithuanians lined the streets as the bodies of the 4 were transported, and with Lithuanian soldiers carrying small American flags, #47 was in Florida for his golf and million dollar shindig, instead of honoring the dead when they arrived at Dover AFB.
Also, when asked while seated in the Oval Office if he had been briefed about the 4 missing (at the time) soldiers, he said "No, I haven't." and went on to the next question, showing no emotion. He really doesn't GAF.
As a military Brat I find this deeply disturbing. As well as the lack of concern for those in states affected by flooding. It’s clear this administration cares nothing about the common folk. And I’ll be watching for the return of the “administrative error”. He will not be forgotten! Protesting today in Oakland!
Protesting in Berkeley today
Beth, protesting in Alameda today!
And I'll be streetside today in New Hampshire with my sign and hopefully a couple hundred others.
Yes, Doug, I saw that reporting last night. The Lithuanian Defense Ministry’s words at end of Heather today, “The farewell ceremony once again demonstrated our society's solidarity, respect, and gratitude to the Americans,” took me further back in time to their love for the America of the past, and shattered my heart for our collective loss at the hands of this empty pathetic sniveling tyrant. Too sad sometimes for my ol’ heart.
That sonofabitch always “knows nothing”! Either he’s lying or his staff doesn’t tell him things.
Marlene, I just don't think he cares anymore -- and didn't care much before, but I think he knows how unpopular he is and wants to cash out while he can, the rest of us (excepting the billionaire/billionaire adjacent class, of course.)
Which shows he's smart enough to give a reply that didn't involve him in an embarrassing follow-up. (Yes I did hear but I've got this big thing happening with the Saudis at Doral).
I really don't think he can. That calls for empathy, and he simply seems incapable of it. What a sad way to live. And what a terrible thing for the rest of us when someone like that is also a very wealthy person with lots of very wealthy "friends" who can help them get into power.
Thank you. I never knew the complete saying. Sort like “Now I lay me down to sleep …. And if I should live for other days,I pray thee Lord to guide my ways “ and “Better late than never , but better never late”.
I remember learning the prayer dates back to the Crusades.
"Dance Like No One is Watching" is straight out of Peanuts.
I have seen that before, and I LOVE IT!!!!
Amen!!!!
Thanks Bill!! I couldn't go to DC due to work obligations, but I'll be at the state house in Hartford protesting today.
Jennis, we know many friends attending today in Salem, Oregon, and we will be there in spirit as mobility issues are in the way. I hope it goes well here. There is also the meeting of drama students from all over the state which will add to the parking problem and usually Proud Boys and others of the same ilk show up. LE is Portland has met with many groups and plans on helping guide them on the march. In Portland we also have a group of vandals who like to use these situations to do damage. I hope not this time.
A great case can be made for tighter organization and I.D. uniqueness among the legitimate peaceful protesters. Keep that in mind for the near future. I'm surrounded by the sweet music of legitimate protesters chanting, yelling, and honking; Even in my ruby red city where I never would have believed it could happen. The more police show up, the more raucous it becomes ! I feel swept back in time when I was in the masses vs Vietnam, Nixon, ERA, Wall Street, Reagan, etc., etc. I'm moved to tears !
Same country, same people after all! Yes, it IS moving.
I composed a hopeful narrative the other day. I should share it with you if HCR will not. Are you on FB Anne ? Can I find it via your name ?
I hope not too! With any luck, they'll think it must be a Trump rally and join you by mistake....they might just find it more satisfying to be with people who are noisy but honest and friendly.
No Anne; There is no mistake. A handful of 'rumpers circled in pick up trucks, then decided they were outnumbered.
TRULY? If they didn't return with reinforcements, that could be indicative. Remember when they tried to run Kamala Harris off the road when she was campaigning?
We protested at the Guilford green today (Connecticut).
Without reservations Bill : Admirable!
I was at that rally when you were 14, I am now 81. Glad you were there back then and I am so happy you will be DC again to protest against Trump's utter stupidity and disregard for American lives. It is just like back then, a president's disregard for American lives. I lived in the DC area for many years, and I was among the first to see the Vietnam War Memorial when it first opened. When I first saw how big it was and how many names were engraved on the wall I burst into tears at the horror of the war. Best of luck today.
I was there as well back then. I’m 79 and will be at a local rally in NJ, Cory Booker’s State.
The struggle continues!
I was at that rally and I'm 84 now.
Wow. I remember it well. We were sitting next to 3 or 4 sailors heading back to port in Virginia. They were passing a bottle of vodka around and they offered it to us and we imbibed. We were youthful comrades even though we were almost on opposite sides. It didn’t matter.
Much later when I visited the Vietnam memorial, I observed some a group probably family. They were scratching a pencil over paper over the name of probably a diseased member. As I approached, I could hear sniffles. I saw tears. From a distance, I cried as well. No one leaves that memorial dry-eyed perhaps unless they didn’t live through those years. I always remember that moment.
My time in town was a total waste of time. My fault. I should have known better. I found the chief organizer and tried to impress her with giving me one song performance. No deal. She was all of 30 something years old and never understood the music accomplishments of civil rights rallies. Indeed, one of my favorite albums, no, my all time favorite album is of Pete Seeger as musical director of Resurrection City in 1968 when he recorded so many great spiritual and blues singers. I have the album and whenever I play it, sure enough I brings the tears back.
And the rains extended a little too far into the morning and I didn’t want to take my guitar and books out. So it was excuse the expression, a total washout.
Thanks @Bill Katz and all people who want better for the world 🌎 ❤️
I applaud you! Thank you for being there. I will protest here in Las Cruces, NM. Stay safe!
Good for you Bill, we will be protesting in Westport, CT. Showing up in numbers is the point.
Yes! So we will be protesting in our little town in Northern California!
We'll be protesting in Roseburg Oregon.
Yes, me too! Woodland, CA.
Taking it to the streets in Carson City, NV, along with many friends and colleagues. Hands off our country!
Dave and I will be there.....because I no longer want to feel powerless and hopeless ....
Sounds about right, Bill. I'm 76 and ditto, except we're in Pittsburgh. Keep on keeping on!
Thanks, Bill. We’ll be at the closest protest to us—hour and a half drive in Woodstock GA.
Best wishes to all today. Have fun and stay safe.
We are connected spiritually - Vietnam and now, only I will be protesting and resisting in Boston
Be safe today. I will be rallying here in Maine
Thank you for your effort. Due to current physical challenges, I will not be able to march, but I did make signs and donated for the protest in Portland, ME. In the depth of my soul I believe in every effort..big or small. We have something the people of Nazi Germany did not have…the ability to share information. To use technology in a positive way. It is up to us now!
Bill...I will look for you.
Power to We The People!
Take care, Bill. Thank you for being there.
“We’re gonna have the biggest crash you’ve ever seen. People are gonna see that crash and say ‘wow, that’s the bigliest crash I’ve ever seen.’ It’s going to be great. It’s going to be the biggest in history. People are gonna say: ‘Nobody made a crash so big as Trump did. Trump’s is the biggest of ‘em all.’ Obama couldn’t do it. Biden couldn’t do it. But I did. Everybody is gonna love it.”
"THIS CRASH IS GONNA MAKE US ALL RICH. Even the Federal government workers that I fired so we can privatize the VA, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will all be rich. Just wait and see. And no one is dying or starving because of any of my policies. If they are it's Biden's fault and Kamela's and Obama's and well every damn liberal. We may experience a little pain for 20-30 years, but after that we'll all be rich rich rich. Isn't that what everyone wants?"
When Trump starts posting in caps on Truth Social like a dog howling at the moon you know that he's unnerved.
Well... Musk needs to be put in jail and Trump needs to be put in a mental ward.
Miller needs to be handcuffed too.
Miller is running the country. I will bet you that he and Nunes also post garbage on Truth Social!
No one has yet explained how that guy doesn't burst into flames when he's out in daylight hours.
Watch Musk complaining bitterly (almost tearfully) about Tim Walz being 'overjoyed' at Tesla's falling stock price in an interview with Fox News - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5o5kW678nU&t=39s
He just doesn't get it.
Literally everybody should see this. Especially those tech bros still cheering on Musk because "he's such a kewl meme lord." If there is any justice in this world, Mr. Musk deserves worse, MUCH worse than falling Tesla stock prices.
If by "mental ward" you mean a grave, I'm all for it.
Or like an arsonist that starts a forest fire--the consequences don't matter, only the satisfaction of having the power to destroy. What's next people, the nuke button?
The nuke button - like the N word (Nazi) or the H name (Hitler), words that we (the normal portion of the populace) did not utter in years past, because it seemed like a big case of over-reach and should be reserved for only the most abominable of times, we normally do not bring up nuclear war much. It makes eyes roll. It's over-reach. Well WRT to Nazis and Hitler, we passed that didn't we. As well we should. Now, we are in the control of a rogue mad man, who listens to nobody. He has double dog triple doubled down on his notion of "I alone can fix this" (and get richer in the process). He is in an alternate reality that has no moorings to actual reality, and he is in the cockpit. He is applying the gangland practice of working over those he considers inferior or those he thinks he can manipulate, and then extracting payola to those who capitulate to his threats. A version of that is in everything he does.
So why not nukes. He thinks he can hang America's big strong economy over the heads of the rest of the world, to extract payola in the form of tariffs (oh and to hell with ordinary people who will paying for the tariffs). He can hang nuclear weapons over the heads of other countries too, if he sees a path toward what he wants.
It is more helpful to plan stopping his regime than to ruminate on him. He has inculcated himself into people's thinking over the past 9 years. Folks have gotten in the habit of too much analyzing and doom posting and not enough action. I sincerely hope you are able to join a protest today. It will make you feel so good.
Republican Senator John Kennedy recently explained the administration's policies by saying that one couldn't make an omelette without breaking eggs. Pretty soon, people are going to start wondering where this omelette is.
He is doing what he always does, DOUBLING DOWN. He like all GODs can do no wrong. Admitting a mistake is what mature adults do.
He couldn't do it alone.
He is only the symbol of all that is wrong in the country such that they voted for him with total disregard for his history. And could only do what he has done with the collaboration of the traitors in Congress.
The joke about being rich...
The cost of things will be high,higher and highest ever!
Trump needs to be removed for being incompetent. Vance also needs to never become president.
Sadly there's some tension between your wishes. He should be in jail, and Vance in the White House would be almost as scary.
Yes, vance would also be a nightmare.
I have thought about this. In a world where it gets bad enough that the vast majority of the American people have finally had enough, and the administration fails to alter its path toward a corrupt "illiberal democracy" (read dictatorship), Congress will go blue. I can see that happening in 2026. Then impeachments could start. First Trump, and several cabinet members, and it should stick. That gets us Vance. If he doesn't come around, impeach him too. Then Johnson - impeach him too. If the will is there, in theory it can happen. And keep going until some sanity makes it to our high leadership positions. How esle are we going to do it.
Just a thought exercise, I know. But I really think we should not shy away from impeachment just because Vance is next in line.
If the House goes Blue, Hakeem will be the Speaker. Impeach Trump and Vance, please.
I do not see a non-violent manner out of this nightmare.
Do you believe that there will be fair and free elections in 2026?
There are several ways that trump and the fascist GOP are already sabotaging elections.
It is probably going to take a revolution like Ukraine's Orange Revolution for the people to regain their democracy.
I don't think Vance has the support. Such a dimwit. Bought and paid for.
Bonnie, I tend to agree. He does not have whatever it is that attracts the cult to death star.
Donald doesn't have support; he has fear generated by kompromat. Vance may not have the support, but if he were to succeed the orange menace, he would inherit the library of kompromat that keeps the GOP legislators in line.
Remember that Donald isn't a christofascist. He just uses them to increase his power and makes occasional overtures to pacify them.
[Insert name here] Vance and Russell Vought, guided by Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin, would make a lethal combination bent on turning the U.S. into an oligarchic theocracy, as outlined in Project 2025.
I was an occasional viewer, now I check Tennessee Brando's youtube clips daily. He's speaking at a protest in SoCal today.
His channel has grown in one year from 100,000 subscribers to a hair away from 700,000. He speaks the truth from a small town, and a lot of MAGA listen to him, too. He grew up poor and has struggled. And he DOES NOT LIKE VANCE (nor Kid Rock, lol).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27NwHGbMu0E
Toxic ambitions only; That's Vance.
Saturday 4/5 Follow Up:
I checked CUBIC CORPORATION for a Press Release or any statement from Cubic which is one of the U.S. Corporation that China put on "export control" regulations. www.cubic.com
I checked "Corporate Info": I found nothing.
I checked Cubic "Disclosures": Zip
But, CUBIC does have a "Worldwide Policy" on human rights:
Note, Section III:
"As a responsible corporate Citizen we [Cubic] take a stand to respect human rights & not contribute to Global Conflict".
*Yup that will put you on the export controls. **Uyghurs are humans just like everybody on the planet.
**********************************************************************
More than scary more like having Peter Thiel as President. But, we all can go to LFAA for real time history always delivered in historical context.
To get more info on the "11 U.S.companies" barred by China & another "16 more" companies put under Chinese "export controls", I sourced DOMINIC PRESTON at The Verge.
Dominic Preston has been a Journalist for about 10 years & was formerly with Android Police & Tech Advisor. Still, I will not post the names of the barred & the export controlled companies without fact checking directly with the corp spokespersons who have a duty to inform principals & shareholders if not LFAA.
Kudos to progwoman for calling out "tensions".
but Vance doesn't have the cult, and without the cult (and the death threats its members like to make against anyone they think might interfere with Dear Leader), it might turn out that some Republican congress members might develop a spine...
John, he may not have the cult, but he would have the expanded power given to the position. I fear that the Republicans actually like what is going on with the gutting of government and would support him while remaining supine.
Agree!
After those we get Little Mikey Johnson!
If incompetence were a crime along with all of his other crime. His level of incompetence is criminal.
That is a very important statement:”VANCE ALSO NEEDS TO NEVER BECOME PRESIDENT!” Tough one for Dems to deal with. Well planned.
That's the trouble. In Europe, most countries have a mechanism of doing a away with an administration that's dysfunctional and calling for new elections. As far as I know, there is no such mechanism in America; there is no way to bring in new elections to get a chance of having a Democratic president. If you remove Dump, you get Vance, aka the Peter Thiel puppet. I don't know which is worse.
Congressional repubs most afraid of all.
After 20-30 years, he will be dead, dead, dead.
Sadly, so probably will I :-)
With his family history, he should be dead already. Yeah, I won't be around either.
If you don’t believe in spirits yet, you will.
So will I be, Jon. And sadly, unless our foreign policy (USAID) and domestic programs (CDC, NIH, SNAP, etc.) revert to what they were, millions of children around the world will never grow old.
Something trump/musk have in common with the Nazis.
Hoping it won't take that long.
Gary, it will probably make a few very rich and the rest of us very miserable. I note below a post from Russell who says death star is howling at the moon, an apt description for the loon that he is.
Do you think Avengers: Infinity Wars is his actual playbook? I am beginning to think so. Kill off half the human population and the "world" will be so much better . . .
I have definitely thought that this was
the plan not only by Trump but by the wealthy jerks now sitting in government positions. They want us to starve to death or be killed by infectious diseases. Subservient creatures is what they desire. This is war, Linda!
Think of all the mindless right-wingers that don't know that they voted for their own economic demise.
He and his buddies will be rich rich rich... the rest of us, not so much.
The obvious question that I hope is echoed across the land and the world, is "Who is going to get 'rich' " ? That's the telling question. Not me.... *The answer of course is the predatory wealthy folks like himself; Remember... "Buy low, sell high." They will get richer, buying at lows and selling high. Not you and I. In anticipation of all this chaos, Buffet (who I happen to like anyway) has been amassing a war chest of cash to buy low. You'll see.
I just could not give you a love emoji because well this is how I feel 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬😡😡😡😡😡
I 'feel' you.....
Like I said, that is what he lives for. "I took the biggest risks!" Watch me , admire me! And then Crash. "Those bastards stopped me, go get them and I'll show you what I can accomplish". So we MAGAts and non-voters have given him that power. But what Drumpf and his loyal idiots don't get is that it is not some unknown "them", it's us, the MARKET that gets him every time. He just doesn't ever get it that if you take risks too far, it is the MARKET that retaliates and crashes him. We, the Market are not weak in any way. He just never gets it, and the MAGAts love the show. Again and again. It's Kayfabe, the show! The damage he creates is criminal though.
And I wonder if much of Magaworld doesn't have investments in the market so that they do watch this as a big show?
@Laurie -- the Trump family, the cabinet and all of his business relations should be scrutinized for shorts.....
The other day I reported how he eliminated in investigative office in the SEC...just before "Liberation Day".
Daniel, I posted elsewhere about his telling reporters while on AF1 that he'd consider removing the tariffs from any country making him a "phenomenal" offer. Well, he's the negotiator here, and one who now has a family crypto business. Where do you think that "offer" will end up? "Give me $500 million and your tariff goes away." He is running a mob racket with protection money.
He’s always run a mob operation because hangs around with the “best people”. His daddy raised him that way.
Excellent point and observation.
Absolutely Daniel; That would reveal the most. Include the maga congress and senate critters in that examination !
OGE rules require monyhly financial reports.
Dang right, Laurie. But I think there is also a difference between MAGAs (like my daughter who maybe invests $100 here and there) and Identitaries (being the Billionaires like Ramaswamy). The diff being size of investment, hence loss. The Ids will soon have enough of him. But if you only follow him in with $100, you can participate in the Show!
excellent point!
Hey Bruce, that 'Ramaswarmy' wants to be Ohio's governor. Yikes !
If they have any investments, it’s their 401ks that are now in the mud. Perhaps they will become “woke” and retaliate against him.
Yes, but their kids do....
And the buying opportunities for his few...
Dutch, you forgot that not only will it be the bigliest but it will be perfect, beautiful and bigger than Hunters laptop and Hillarys emails.
Definitely. And bigger than Obama's inauguration!
Excellent impression, he could have said it better and bigger though
Of course he could ;)
This is the biggest grift and he makes it clear it’s a grift with his snake oil sales pitch exclaiming how rich they’re all going to be.
I cried for the first last night. I haven’t lost any money because I dumped all those stocks when the grifter in chief took office. But, I love my home, I planned on living here until I died then leaving it to my grandson. But I finally felt this country was going into the deepest pits of hell and we should find a decent country where those making and following laws aren’t trying to bring on the rapture and destroy so many lives.
I’m hoping today’s protests bring forth some awareness to the MAGA cult and we see serious change soon.
Thanks for the chuckle this morning, I really needed it
"Big men, with tears in their eyes, came to ma and said 'thank you, Mr. Trump, for tanking my retirement funds,you are the best. I wish you nothing but happiness in your gilded estate.'"
You forgot to say, "sir!"
\Vince S
And Trump said: "It's good that you thank me" while the big MAGA man bent over and oiled up his butt.
"like nobody's ever seen"
It's gonna be a beautiful crash.
On the order of, 'this sucker's goin' down'!
Brilliant parody, I love it. Brings back memories of Trump's speech after the N.H. Primaries on Feb. 10, 2016 (https://www.c-span.org/program/campaign-2016/presidential-candidate-ted-cruz-primary-night-speech/431063 - about 12 minutes in) where he said that he will be "the greatest president God ever created". Now, see what we have got.
"the greatest president God ever created"?? He's much more like the Antichrist.
So right. Some will still be impressed, Kool Aid is champagne to cult nuts.
Ha ha
Sounds like Donnie boy
Great point but do keep in mind that the "sizing" of losses on the stock market are kept in two ways: absolute point drops and percentage point drops. Out of the top TEN point losses, 9 have occurred during Trump presidencies. #3 and #6 as noted came the first few days of this month, while 7 others of the top ten all occurred in the early months of 2020 during the first stages of the Covid pandemic. Only one of the top ten loss days is for another President, in this case Biden in September 2022, leading up to the 2022 elections in November.
However to be fair, percentage losses are far more significant than dollar losses. Using percentages, the last two days were 4% and 5% loses on the Dow which don't even put them into the top TWENTY list of losses (that list bottoms at 7.5% loss on a single day).
The REALLY BIG percentage losses occurred during the 1987 crash (22% loss in a single day), the March 16, 2020, loss of 13% (the big initial Covid loss) and the two adjoining days of Black October in 1929 when the stock market dropped 23% over those two days. By comparison, the last couple of days are a mild recessionary drop, and nothing like the various depression-leading drops of previous times.
That doesn't mean we couldn't be on an elevator drop that keeps going for a while and could end up equalling a 20 or 30 percentage point drop but so far, we can't really be sure.
But it wouldn't hurt to be prepared!
Many of us are prepared Jon. Investors around the world have moved trillions from the US markets to International markets. Many others have moved their money to T-Bills and CDs. During Covid-19 interest rates on T-Bills and CDs were less than half of what they are now. Warren Buffett has been saying for almost a year, that the market is due for a correction. He's sitting on over $300 billion in cash equivalents earning 4-6%.
And you can bet he's not alone. As bizarre as Trump's policies on tariff's are, his energy policies are even more so. He abhors any renewable source of energy and still thinks that coal and oil are better options than hydro, wind or solar power.
Trump has done absolutely nothing to help anyone since the election, not even himself and the oligarchs. I take that back. He's helped Putin and Netenyahu.
Very well said, Gary. "...has done nothing to help anyone since the election..." should be clear by now. For those not paying attention, it will be soon.
Sensible investing involves separate buckets. Long, medium and short term. Long term - don't touch, no matter what. Medium term - you could shift back and forth between growth and value, maybe bonds. Short term - cash to pay bills for X amount of time (wisely, 2 or 3 years if you can).
We are old so we have just one bucket. Short term. Went to cash at the start of March. I'll take 4% no worries, annual returns during the most mismanaged presidency in the history of our once fine nation.
US companies have also increased imports ahead of the expected tariff announcement - https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/04/01/record-high-imports-trump-tariffs/82671307007/
You know, the irony is that the US is better protected from the coming financial disturbance than many of its competitors precisely because trade forms such a small percentage of its 30 trillion dollar economy. Right now, America has never been wealthier. Because so many currencies are pegged to the dollar Americans have become used to importing cheap goods from abroad at the relatively small cost of printing more money. Trump is risking that in the faint hope that he will make America into the world's manufacturing hub, effectively displacing China. In the unlikely event he succeeds, Americans will in consequence be poorer, at least in terms of consumption. From the environmental perspective, that would be no bad thing but that sort of outcome is light years away from what Trump is aiming for.
As I've posted before, my brother-in-law and his brother had a couple of sewing factories that did quite well in the 1980's and early 1990's. But then Walmart and others went to China to buy cheap clothing. Their factories were located in rural North Carolina and upstate New York. They employed about 300 seamstresses and laborers. When they closed their factories, these communities NEVER recovered. My brother-in-law went to work for Citi-Bank and did quite well after that. Of course, he had a major bankruptcy on his record, but they lived quite simply for several years.
Who hasn't read or heard about these horror stories? Can you imagine someone under 45 thinking that they will get rich quick if the borrow a couple of million to set up a modest manufacturing operation. And is there any billionaire in the Trump administration that will lend someone several million dollars to set up a manufacturing operation? Of course not. These bastards won't even donate to help anyone. DonOLD and Musk are trustifarians that understand nothing about what's it's like to start a business when you have no capital.
After a slow start, the 21 million new business applications filed during Biden's four years was the most new business applications in any presidential administration. He left Trump with the fastest-growing economy in the G7. His problem was the perennial one for American presidents - relatively little of the new wealth found its way into the pockets of ordinary Americans. The lingering effects of the high inflation during and immediately after the pandemic all but sealed his fate. The Democrats also failed to recognise the struggles of ordinary Americans whereas Trump promised them the moon.
Russell, your comment provoked the following thoughts in my mind:
Donald is a money-grubber who comes from a long line of money-grubbers. Even though his father became a millionaire, he never lost that money-grubber mentality.
All of MAGA and the overwhelming majority of low-to-middle wage earners are also money-grubbers. That is, they think that if they just had more money, all of their problems would be solved.
Donald shares the money-grubber mentality with his base.
By contrast, individuals who lean liberal recognize that a full life includes more than just plenty of money. We value other factors like the arts, constant learning, cultural diversity, work/life balance, etc.
If that is the case, how in the world can you inoculate the Democratic party with the money-grubber mentality?
Exactly right Russel. Totally out of touch. And we're all paying for that. *Over and over I tried desperately to warn people in power, and it fell on deaf ears, decades ago. I was 'too' common to even be heard. At some point in time, I'll open a basket of evidence to that end, perhaps. After all, I'm still too 'common.'
If they went to B school, they'd borrow to short.
Note that our "allies" Japan and South Korea are now partnering with China, which is the "c" in BRIC. They hold a huge share of our debt.
In Japan, can borrow at less than 1% to invest in our debt. To short our markets.
That's Trump's fault, nobody else's. If you shaft your friends you will end up with no friends.
Right Daniel !
Over the course of modern manufacturing history, companies have moved their plants for basically one reason. Cheaper labor. Payroll is often the largest component of a P&L statement. Garments were sewn in NYC, then in the south (as Gary mentions), then in Hong Kong, then in mainland China or Vietnam or Central and South America.
Carpets were made in the Northeast, then the companies moved to the south devastating local economies and invigorating others. Name your industry.
All for the cost of labor. We can't wave a magic wand of tariffs to overcome that single powerful factor. The US could become a "manufacturing hub" again if we were willing to pay people shit wages. And who will take those jobs? So to achieve the goal of making things here, we would have two choices. Pay a lot more for the products or...heart be still...import cheap labor!
Ya can't fight the math. And I would make the case that people around the world deserve relatively good jobs - if they are on a path to improved prosperity they are less likely to make wars. And then there is the currently unfashionable concept of empathy for other humans. Guess I will flout fashion and say that they deserve to live decent lives, too.
For national security it is common sense to drag back to the US key items like computer chips and life saving drugs - anyone remember running out of masks and PPE???!!! Ummm. Bringing manufacturing back home? That was what the BIden Administration was doing...but why would $Trump credit the guy before him when he is so insecure?
In the meantime we could also focus on the goods and services of the future by funding research into all things medical and scientific. Instead we are doing exactly the opposite. The world is moving towards alternate less destructive forms of energy - and we will be laggards and losers. We WERE leaders. Now we are about to redefine the idea of "Luddites" (I know the term has been misappropriated but it has stuck and I don't have a better one right now) on a scale unknown in history. It is just stupid.
All of this tariff nonsense is very much cover for the real game - privatization.
One of the country's largest home builders (Pulte) is now running Fannie Mae? WTF? $Trump has announced that he will privatize Fannie and Freddie Mac.
Dr. Oz will run Medicare and Medicaid. Watch out for the announcements of "new advantage" plans. A TV huckster running our health care safety nets?
Social Security jobs slashed to cripple the agency's functionality? Watch for a Republicon plan to "rescue" it. Hear echoes of Reagan and "government is the problem". Private Equity to the Rescue!
This coup has no limits. This is the playbook used by Putin when the Soviet Union collapsed and Yeltsin handed Russia over to a sociopathic KGB agent. You can hear the American Oligarchs licking their chops...
Or as conservative satirist P. J. O'Rourke once wrote: “The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it.”
I love that. I never heard it before. thanks
You pretty well summed it up, Bill. Trump's diagnosis may be correct, but to try and bring prices down by implementing two insanely inflationatory policies - mass deportation and tariffs - is crazy. To be honest, if any Republican member of Congress were today to repeat Reagan's words about government being the problem they would struggle to find a Democrat willing to take issue with them.
Don't worry, the engineered recession will mitigate the inflationary policies by bringing interest rates down so we can then borrow more easily to pay for our groceries (that beautiful, old-fashioned word they used to use for a "bag with different things in it").
One can only make so many conclusions for the reasons; I weigh in on intentional financial profiteering, all the while making it all seem populous. Snake oil in service to self and cohort.
I stared substituting "Piratizing" for overly privatizing many years ago.
"Incompetent Oligarchizing" seems likely to become more appropriate as they try selling of so many government assets, as Russia did when the Soviet Union collapsed.
Bill, yours is an astute analysis. My takeaway:
For a society to function to the benefit of all, it must consist of "layers." That is, in order for me to buy a shirt I can afford, there must be someone who will cut and sew it for less-per-hour than I earn. (I know that's oversimplification and other factors can affect the math.)
This societal structure is upset when greed is introduced into the equation. It doesn't matter where greed is inserted. If the shirt factory owners think they should make a higher profit or the shirt sewers think they should be paid more per hour, the balance is upset and the economy no longer works.
In my opinion the United States' achilles heel is our society built around capitalism without conscience, or greed. Commerce is a part of every society around the world, but unlike the U.S., commerce isn't the core of those cultures. Since its founding, the U.S. has existed for the sake of business. We are now eating the fruit of the poisoned tree.
I remember W saying he wanted us to be "compassionate conservatives" and then attempted to privatize Social Security.
Capitalism with a Conscience sounds good. I think that was de riguer until Gordon Gecko said "Greed is Good"!
And that's the problem: capitalism without conscience.
Empires require 'slaves.' An immutable, historic fact. And, the word the average human 'hates, despises' to hear is that economics are 'complicated' - especially for those without adequate learning, it's too abstract and imperfect especially on a macro level. When the pat answer by the educated or somewhat educated is that something is 'too complicated' they think something is being withheld and their being called too stupid to understand.
Thank you, Heather. Your morning chronicles are our true history that must be remembered. Not the falsehoods and slurs coming from this current administration.
And thank you for mentioning the “man behind the throne, deputy miller”. He appears to be running the WH from his perch inside. Such a scary man.
I picture one day all of Heather's daily columns will be gathered and published in a book -- a diary, of sorts, documenting the downfall of the Unites States of America, and perhaps students in China will be studying it centuries hence much like we studied ancient Rome.
Completely with you, Gary. Cash, Euro vs. $, Income vs. CAP, and a couple of other "tricks of the trade". One just has to be able to read...prepare...adjust...and let the MARKET take over.
Speaking of tricks. I wonder who and how many are shorting the market right now. And who will be buying the big dip? Could "tariffs and chaos" be the greatest ever con by $Trump and Co.?
Interesting Question that I don't have an answer to, Bill. Other than "the market" will take care of Trump. I know that's fairly trite. So here is an example...In Copenhagen a market has just segregated American goods from the rest...I guess they put a black star on American products. If everyone in the world did that, the real market would maybe quickly decide Trump's fate. Of course, Americans (and remember WE voted him into office again) will suffer, and Danes addicted to Heinz Ketchup also (and maybe we deserve it).
Don’t include me in that WE. I worked to do the opposite. That is why this is infuriating.
The trick of the trade is the butterfly straddle. Heads I win. Tails you lose.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/butterflyspread.asp
And when the dust settles, he and his insiders are going to be far richer. Daniel Solomon sees it.
It still hurts to see that over $100K of my life savings has disappeared in the past six weeks because of the incompetent buffoon.
My husbands retirement savings account lost 100K in 2008. It seems to happen when there's a lot of people nearing retirement age!
Another thought on the drops. I suspected that these drops were not as bad as others had been. Thank you for showing me the math. I don’t pretend to understand why the past drops occurred but the reason this drop is occurring is the result of one man who has demonstrated over and over again his inadequacies in handling money and his ignorance of how governments work. He’s in way over his head and he’s drowning the rest of us as he flounders.
I should have seen that. Thanks for pointing it out, about the orange idiot owning all of the top 10. I've never had a dime on Wall Street, keep my money in the bank so the rest is over my head.
It doesn't matter much what the percentage was to people who lost their life savings.
I appreciate your point and I would totally agree with the sentiment.
But I would also point out that MOST people have NOT "lost their life savings". I say most because, obviously, I don't know for sure, and it is quite possible that there are some who have. However, if you were invested in a stock fund or mutual fund, as MOST people with 401ks and other retirement funds are, then you would have lost about 10% in the past week (as I personally have). That can definitely be a lot of money, but it is hardly my "life savings".
Of course, that is YET. The market could crater much more in the future. I just wanted to point out that while there are a lot of people who were financially injured in some way, I expect very few of them were made completely broke this past week, at least not simply through their investments in the market.
Trump's endgame is a mix of enriching himself, consolidating control, and sabotaging any system that might hold him accountable. If the economy crashes, if institutions bend or break, so be it—as long as he’s still standing and raking in the cash.
Don't forget Trump's cozying up to Russia and Belarus. They are being spared any duties, whereas the penguins on Herd Islands are not. And Lesotho, arguably the poorest country on the globe has been hit with a tariff of 50%. There are also more than 70 countries with which the USA has a trade surplus. In Trump's warped logic, the United States owes THEM money. Yet, they have been assessed a 10% duty anyway, but Russia and Belarus have not. Not that we needed any further proof that Trump is in Putin's pocket, but this just reinforces that notion.
This time, Michael, Drumpf has gone one step beyond. When this is over there will be no more cash for him, nor, probably will he care.
Our deeds and words are of enormous, life changing, world shaping importance - I HOPE.
“TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”
MONEY! Rich and RICHER!!!
No American President has ever said a thing like that. RICH is his only effen value.
RICH has NEVER been an American value in my life. Or, in the lives of my friends. I have been very low income , then after starting a business, I have been financially secure. My prime values and goals are independence and freedom.
The USA is now in a state of cancer and insanity. Americans are living with the knowledge that their tax dollars are supporting a genocide of a helpless population, whether they consciously admit it or not. Americans are also looking at a very insecure financial future.
The entire world is in a chaos inflicted on them by this crazy SOB.
I just love the idea of working, right up ‘till my fuckin funeral.. thank gawd I’m strong..Fuck You MAGA.. I’ll piss on your graves..
Ditto Bridget; I've been ever worried about her for more reasons than one.
Isn't she the best!
Lemmings love cliffs.
American lemmings love the jump into the abyss, the void, the black hole set by the fat, orange, syphilitic mad criminal.
His idol, Putin, loves, delights to see all America turned to self-destruction.
Putin can finally relax, look forward to the world turned away from pluralism, democracy.
The world can be Putin’s and fellow dictators’ for the mass murder of women, children, old people, libraries, hospitals, schools, shopping centers, homes. Destroy, destroy – as U.S. billionaires like destroying, offshoring jobs, killing industrial communities, crippling schools, growing testing’s tentacles.
Now, while the syphilitic madman golfs for his fellow monster Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi golf tournament, we can take in how all the dictators dance to the systemic happy cliff jumping.
There is an Old Cliche, 'Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned'... The New Cliche, 'Trump Golfed While America Collapsed'.... I read that the Citizens of Lithuania lined the streets of Lithuania as the Coffins were transported to the US Plane for transport home... Meanwhile, DJT, he played Golf at one of his Clubs in Florida...
Not just the ordinary citizens. The President of Lithuania was there, too. The US president, however, went to Florida to play golf.
They died so they must be "suckers and losers"? It is beyond my comprehension that any member of the military or veteran could support someone who disrespects them so much and so often. At what point does somebody in uniform stop taking the insults? "I know more than the generals."
The most qualified who have achieved their status through service and merit and are completely nonpartisan - are fired. It is astounding.
I hope I see some uniforms in the crowds today. I'll let you know.
You can’t protest in uniform.
If I remember correctly, active duty members of the military can’t take part in a protest in uniform. However, I suspect there will be a number of veterans there in fatigues, flight suits, VFW hats or some other indication of their status as people who served our country.
Agreed 111%, as always, Bill. Trump's trumper tantrums over the military are as transparent as they are nauseating: sour grapes and an unresolved shame for dodging the draft. I was lucky; the ghastly war in Viêt Nam had wound down by the time I had come of age. 😳
So I did not have to face the telling dilemma that others had to bear, I may well have dodged the draft, too. And, yes, I would likely have felt shame for doing so. The difference? Hopefully, I would never blame the military for my own shame. 🙏
Come Sunday, he'll obviously be the winner of the tournament. The trophy already has his name on it. Fuck the emoluments clause of the Constitution. It obviously doesn't apply to Trump.
Is there anything that applies to Trump?
Great point. John Roberts doesn't think so.
Time... Medical Karma... DJT will is not SuperHuman, and won't be around forever...
Gary, you bring up a good point. Recently I leafed through 'The Federalist Papers' and reviewed the Constitutions. Emoluments were a big deal.
😳
Had the divided founding generation of Washington, Adams, Jefferson et al. -- or a later generation of Republicans like Senators Goldwater and Scott as well as Representatives Hogan and Butler been around, Trump would be impeached and removed in a nano-second.
⚖️
The only difference between the two sets of leaders? The earlier one may have had Trump swinging from a tree p.d.q. after a criminal convixion. 😵
You know Biden would have been there…!
Absolutely.
Claiming he knew “nothing about” the four soldiers…
He didn’t because he is incoherent 99% of the time. They give him a little role to play like he’s a big movie star and he comes out and says his lines and wanders back into La la land.
Such crap. Trump knows that playing dumb is an effective dodge.
Thank god he wasn’t there. He would have made it all about him.
WOW. 😵 Great point there, Peaceful Protestor. 💡 Instead of thanking Lithuania as President Biden would have done, Trump would have said that this should never have happened; that, had he been in the 0val 0ffice instead of 'sleepy Joe', the invasion of Russia would never have taken place. 🤢
https://abcnews.go.com/International/video/lithuanians-bid-farewell-us-soldiers-died-training-exercise-120444569 (2min.vid. of American soldiers honoured by Lithuania.😢)
It is a very moving video to watch. President Biden would have made the effort. If unable due to frailty, Dr Biden would have been there as well as Vice President Harris and SecDef Austin. I suspect that President Biden would have graciously and publicly thanked the President, government, and people of Lithuania for their honouring our fallen brothers in uniform.
😢🙏🤝
https://abcnews.go.com/International/video/lithuanians-bid-farewell-us-soldiers-died-training-exercise-120444569 (2min.vid. of American soldiers honoured by Lithuania.😢)
What's impressive, is tRump's absolute confidence in his own maniacal actions and non-actions. So drunk is he on his own sense of power and immunity, he thinks he's untouchable - the next Hitler or Putin. But his performance to date is more akin to a mad king, the likes of Caligula, who's mental illness (history tells us) led to shocking extremes of paranoia, cruelty megalomania, ending in his assassination. tRump's antics are unsustainable. No-one is going to get RICH RICH RICH in a collapsing world. The poisoned chalice awaits.
He is pretty much untouchable thanks to john roberts and the boys.
Trump has dementia so nothing is surprising
McKinley’s reign ended in assassination too
Trump should beware the precedent
Kazz, the scumbag president is getting richer by ignoring the four servicemen brought from Lithuania after they died there during training exercises with other NATO countries. He is too busy running a golf tournament in his Doral, Fl property. Please do not disturb.
Frightening assessment; reasonable assessment. Thank you, Kazz.
Glad he’s not in DC this day.
True. It's like a temporary cease fire.
Glad YOU ARE!
Excellent synopsis of today's news Apache. Nothing good coming out of this regime.
Hear, here!
Thank You Ricardo... The Glimmer of Hope is that a Renewal of the Best of the American Spirit will arise anew led by New Leaders... Well Led, We Will Be Unbeatable....
What I find depressing is that is exactly how I felt about Vice President Harris. Still hurts that people whom I know, including relatives, regarded her as kackling Kamala.
Apache,
Thank you for sharing regarding the care and respect the citizens of Lithuania gave to our servicemen. I am sure their loved ones appreciated the act of respect and thoughtfulness.
I am well aware of the lack of humanity within the totality of our current administration.
It is a very moving video to watch.🙏 https://abcnews.go.com/International/video/lithuanians-bid-farewell-us-soldiers-died-training-exercise-120444569 (2min.vid. of American soldiers honoured by Lithuania.😢)
Did he ever acknowledge the 4 Americans that died.
I don't think so... As USMC General John Kelley said, who BTW: lost a Son in Iraq, DJT believes that those that serve are 'Suckers & Losers'... With DJT, those that Pay, Play... DJT prefers to immerse himself with his Billionaire Sycophants...
"...the Citizens of Lithuania lined the streets of Lithuania as the Coffins were transported to the US Plane..." Indeed, they did. The images on AP are quite moving and so respectful. FOTUS has the empathy of a bone spur.
It is a very moving video to watch.🙏 https://abcnews.go.com/International/video/lithuanians-bid-farewell-us-soldiers-died-training-exercise-120444569 (2min.vid. of American soldiers honoured by Lithuania.😢)
Wow.
This makes me furious!!!!
Yes, I am spitting nail and they are not even in my diet.
Right on!
As always, you nail it, concisely, Apache. ✍️ Thank you. 🤝https://abcnews.go.com/International/video/lithuanians-bid-farewell-us-soldiers-died-training-exercise-120444569 (2min.vid. of American soldiers honoured by Lithuania.😢)
Thank You Ned... I learned Conciseness in the American Military... Among the Apache, Speech S/B Spoken Poetry... How the Lithuanians honored Our Fallen, I am reminded how the British Honored their Fallen that were brought home from Iraq... They would line the Route that their Caskets were taken for their Ceremonies... I do not recollect GWB ever receiving the Caskets of Our Fallen at Dover AFB... GWB also was a Spoiled Rich Kid, that was installed by the Supreme Court, and lost the Popular Vote...
I never served and, yes, I feel some shame for not doing so. 😰
So, good for you, good man. 🤝
That shame I feel remains mine alone; the military has nothing to do with that. 🙏
Most of my younger brothers and sisters in uniform have made me a better man. ✌🏽
Unfortunately, like the ape, I had a late puberty. 😉
I am not idolizing the military, here. Like any group of human beings, there are flawed men and women within it. As groups, like any other groups, the military services reflect the faults and short-comings of human beings. 🤔
The structure, the oaths, and the sense of honor shared among many of my younger brothers and sisters in uniform, however, have beneficial effects on their characters. I do wish, I had enjoyed that benefit. 💔
Ned... No Need For Shame... You Are Serving Now...
Thank you. From one of your calibre, Apache, I am grateful to be so honoured.
Trump galls us all every day. Today, what angered me the most was Lithuania saluting four Americans as honoured dead while fat traitor blew off greeting the soldiers in the U.S. in favor of golfing. Trump could learn a lot from 'little Lithuania' with a BIG HEART. 💔
https://abcnews.go.com/International/video/lithuanians-bid-farewell-us-soldiers-died-training-exercise-120444569 (2min.vid. of American soldiers honoured by Lithuania.😢)
Dr Heather Cox Richardson nailed it, quoting Lithuania head-of-state: "'We consider US soldiers in Lithuania as our own,' the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said after thousands of people joined Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda and other dignitaries in a dignified departure ceremony of the soldiers from Lithuania. 'The farewell ceremony once again demonstrated our society's solidarity, respect, and gratitude to the Americans.'" 🙏
Sadly, the commander in chief of these honoured dead does not share that gratitude. One might say that Trump dislikes the military because he dodged the draft. Okay . . . ¿so where was Vance? After all, as he bellowed in the campaign, he answered the country's call. 🤬
Huh. Yeah, where IS Vance?!
Tim Walz would have been there.
Kamala Harris would have too.
I believe, frail as he was, President Biden would not only have made an effort to show up -- if unable, at least Dr Biden -- but also would have made a public statement of gratitude to the government and people of Lithuania for honouring the four servicemen.
I’ll bet Vance is sitting back counting the days until the repugnantkins in the house and senate say “enough is enough” and remove him before he can do any more damage, and there by hand the office to Vance. He couldn’t have been elected dog catcher and now because of the insipid orange turd he’s next in line. 🤬
Vance is just as bad, maybe worse. He only cares about riches. I’m waiting to hear who wrote that book that made him famous because when he opens his mouth it’s obvious he doesn’t have the intelligence to write a book. And I’m sure the story is pure bullshit.
Vance seems to me to be a spawn of the Devil.
I disagree in particulars, not in spirit. Vance is worse in his blind ambition (as John Dean labelled his own defect of character). At least Trump has the virtue of being obnoxious.
--- strikethrough --- Yeah, did Hegseth show his face and salute?
[ Well, I stand corrected. '47 sent Hegseth to stand in for him for the return of the soldiers. Story I saw says family requested media not be present. ]
I appreciate the Lithuanians for honoring our soldiers. It is utterly shameful the President and Vice President didn’t see fit to do this themselves. Trump was more concerned about golf than military sacrifice. You know the wingnuts bellyached about Biden supposedly checking his watch when dead soldiers arrived at an American Air Force base, but there are crickets when Trump and Vance can be bothered to receive the bodies of our dead soldiers with respect.
One of the Differences is that the Lithuanians know that if Ukraine Falls, then they are next... They are a Small Country that has experienced Russian Rule... DJT, JD, and Hegseth, are here in CONUS surrounded by the Secret Service, and Sycophants....
BINGO, Apache!
Big difference? President Biden and Vice President Harris are decent human beings with some compassion, notwithstanding the rough-and-tumble of politics. Good points, Kathy. Thank you.
People say that President Biden let the country down by running again. Yes, I was disappointed because, like many of us, I felt he was frail. Inasmuch as I am still a conservative by temperament, I was calm with the preference of President Biden on formaldehyde rather than Trump on adderall.
Biden and Harris are normal people. Trump and Muskrat are malignant narcissists and sociopaths.
Hello Ned... EXCELLENT !!!....
Thank you, Sir, for honouring me. 🤝Hopefully, some day, I will become as concise as you. 🤞
Thanks Ned... You Honor Us By Trying To Make This A Better World Out-In-The-Field...
Where was Vance? There's a loveseat at Number One Observatory Circle with a story to tell.
Stealing farmland for Peter Thiel
Interesting comment, What are you saying, Jen?
There is a drumbeat of what the goal (in part) of the tariffs' goal is to damage what's left of smaller ag folks, sending them in to such financial difficulty that they are forced to sell farmland which is being strategically picked up by vulture capitalists. Like rental properties have been.
It happened last time dumpty was in office.
And what's next is public lands.
And JD works for theil.
Thank you, Jen. So creepy.
One note on lemmings from Wikipedia:
"Contrary to the myth, it is not a deliberate mass suicide, in which animals voluntarily choose to die, but rather a result of their migratory behavior. Driven by strong biological urges, some species of lemmings may migrate in large groups when population density becomes too great. Thus, the unexplained fluctuations in the population of Norwegian lemmings helped give rise to the popular stereotype of the suicidal lemmings, particularly after this behaviour was staged in the Walt Disney documentary White Wilderness in 1958."
Probably no earthy creature is more rational the human beings, and certainly none is as irrational; as human behavior has illustrated for centuries.
Wow: "staged"?! In "the Walt Disney documentary"? I am crushed.
What, you thought those Disney wildlife documentaries were all real? :-).
Stick to Nature on PBS. They do a much better job of showing real life.
Ooops... that might be problematic after Trump gets rid of funding for PBS.
PBS and NPR are in danger for sure. But here's my guess. The Fascist Oligarchs will shut off Federal funding. Local stations will fundraise with some significant success and the networks will regroup accordingly. We'll lose some shows. But the stations will live on with renewed vigor - without the worry of someone turning off the spigot.
Speaking for our little home budget, we are ready to double or triple what we give to PBS/NPR. We'll eat out less (which we are already doing!), cancel a couple streaming services, etc.
The only news that lights up our usually dark screen comes from BBC America and the News Hour. The only stations that are "saved" in my car are the two Boston NPR outlets. Perhaps they will merge...
Really appreciate all, but especially WBUR
If he does, I might get rid of television.
I know, huh!!!
My 2 all time favorites are The Original Duckumentary and Leave It to Beavers!!
It's just one dam project after another!
IKR--where's the fainting couch?!
The lemming episode was an example of animal cruelty that filmmakers would not be able to enact today.
Now that Trump's in office I would presume those reservations are now, once again, extinct.
As am I.
We had the pleasure of seeing "A Peace of Forest" a the Hannaford Hall Abromson Community Education Center on March 29th, and a Q and A session with the film makers after.
The (still) nature photographers Lee Ann Szelog and Thomas Mark Szlog spent something like 10 years filming and editing this, their first motion picture with absolute minimum human intrusion (so much so that only one at a time would be in the blinds used, and be as silent and still as possible for the entire time). Thomas even explained that a rare shot of a deer apparently looking directly at him for an extended time was actually looking at a turkey (I believe if I remember correctly), below the view of the camera.
They mentioned the sounds were not synced with the film but were all recorded in the same 35 acres of woods from actual birds, etc there (too difficult for one person to both record video and sound). That was deliberately (and admittedly), different from especially films like Disney's where the sounds were deceptively allowed to be assumed to be from the animals being filmed. The discussion seemed to indicate the original intent was to not include any additional sound other than the wildlife and nature but, but in the end, decided a minimal amount of just carefully crafted music was added, and no commentary, letting the sounds of nature to predominate.
A question was asked about one case where the bird sound didn't match the bird shown, which allowed the film makers to remind us they were committed to only using sounds recorded in those 35 acres, not synced, but as appropriately placed as possible.
Having tech coworkers that had worked in the film industry, and meeting some of the camera operators, editors, etc, that even worked for Disney, it was refreshing to see a more pure version than the more "entertainingly enhanced" versions.
See https://apeaceofforest.com/
Then Phil, don't let Putin relax !
We are fighting back.
Interesting point. I remember when I was doing some very unglamorous support work for Ukrainian refugees (very, very briefly), several Americans were saying that we should have taken out the forty mile supply-line bogged down in Northern Ukraine. I found that alarming.
😱
Only later did I realize that, by being so fearful of Putin resorting to nuclear weapons, we had given the power of initiative over to Putin. That is to say: it had not occurred to us that Putin would (more likely than not) think, reinforced by choice words from President Biden, that: "Whoa! The U.S. knows this would be ample cause for me to push the red-button and yet they did it. They are ready to retaliate with superior nukes and delivery systems."
🤔
Of course, one could counter-argue that Putin by then saw a binary outcome: either victory or a body bag. So that might well change his calculations, radically, toward using at least tactical nuclear weapons.
The lemmings story is apparently a staged filming in which the people filming literally drove the poor things off the cliff. But the voluntary self-immolation of the followers of the Felon in Chief and his drug- and alcohol-addled minions and handlers is a whole different thing.
This isn’t real to them. Trumo loves TV and movies, Misk video games. And they aren’t alone, just most prominent. The fake wrestling, the real brutality of MMA. It’s what they WATCH, not what they know.
And they duped real people into believing they care about them. And the idea MAGA will do an about face and admit they were duped is not going to happen. I truly believe unless he dies, they will continue to do whatever he says no matter how bad their lives get.
They have never struggled to make ends meet. Many of these billionaires came up whole college was still affordable. Or you could pay your way through. That’s gone. Many have benefited from government in enormous ways but don’t want others to.
This is all a game. They don’t see real people, heaven forbid try to help them. They don’t see a problem with someone who is working 40 hours a week and barely scraping by needing a helping hand when the owner of their company, a billionaire, is getting subsidies from the government.
Yes for me, no for thee.
Since 1972 I have watched him say: "Watch me jump...and follow. It's beautiful until you hit the market response".
And the Lemmings keep jumping after him.
Mr.Balla, hard to tap “like “ for your comment. There should be other options like “ admire” or “courageous “
Just get rid of the FAH!!!!!!!
Plus non-whites, non-Christians, and LBGT.
Trump says he cannot bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back from the Salvadoran prison where his administration mistakenly sent him. But the U.S. pays El Salvador, that is to say, pays "Oopsie! Too late" president Nayib Bukele, $6 million a year to take the planeloads of prisoners Trump sends there. As the contractor of this service, U.S. can say, "Oopsie! Please send Garcia back or we will sue for inadequate service." I think Trump would know how to do that.
In a heartbeat. We can send Musk to buy El Salvador. Republicans really, really don't want an eyewitness showing up to testify.
Agreed... No eyewitnesses; that is the most likely reason.
Maybe we could offer to exchange Muskkk for Garcia.
And they are actively looking for a Constitutional crisis JL.
Trump is afraid of the visuals, as always. The prison is harsh. Garcia has probably lost a lot of weight, has had his head shaved, and has probably been beaten. He likely will have mental issues for the rest of his life. His family will not be getting back the same person who was shipped off. It’s horrific.
Excellent insight. All the more reason, of course, to force Trump to get Garcia back. As for horrific visuals, the more that surface showing the U.S. public what Trump is really doing, the sooner his support will diminish, which may nudge the timorous Congress into finally impeaching him.
And all the more reason to bring back all the others who were rendered to El Salvador without due process.
You would think a judge would order them all returned for judicial review and to receive the due process the law affords them. Not just the one guy whose family made a ruckus.
Right on Constance McCutcheon. People who feel our government won’t help us get back into the country are moving their home and family out of America.
Check out Sarah Kendzior's latest book "The Last American Roadtrip". She is an expert on authoritarian states who writes like a poet.
Buy it, read it ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2l4sGevZ-g
Thank you Heather as always for your hard work. I think often of what you must go through to flush all of the toxins from your mindbody after bringing this into yourself to share with us.
It is my 60th birthday today, and my kid sister is visiting with her chihuahua and we are having dinner at Alna General Store and I am hosting an afternoon dance party here in Bath tomorrow to celebrate. Our friend Hannah will be here with George.
Because the only thing I can think of to do right now is to seek joy in community with others. It is my only antidote for this.
Happy birthday. Be with your people. Find joy in the present moment.
Happy Birthday! What you are doing is what really counts....
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday! 🎂 🥳 🎉
🎶Happy Birthday to you 🎶
🎶Happy birthday to you 🎶
🎶Happy birthday dear Michael🎶
🎶 Happy birthday to you!🎶
(I've saved you from my singing, but please feel free to think that I sing like Adele or Lady Gaga or perhaps an operatic singer!) Your choice it's your birthday!
🎈🎂🎈🎂🎈🎂🎈
Schmuppy Puppy!!
It doesn't surprise me even a tiny bit that the plan was decided three hours before it was announced.
And Heather didn't mention the firings on the National Security team. Putin wins again.
And Waltz should be fired or impeached but apparently, DonOLD likes him.
No all involved in the debacle of using confidential material on an insecure line should have been jailed and/or court marshaled as would any service personnel would have been. They can not be allowed to get off scott free. AND, interesting that the commander in chief knew nothing about it.
Or has something on him… maybe how much his brain is like demented mush.
Did you hear Rachel Maddow's report last night about trade "expert" Peter Navarro learning from an "expert" named Ron Vara, an anagram of Navarro, who doesn't exist? https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show
-$7,000 from my retirement fund yesterday. Sure, maybe it will return, eventually. But as a disabled older person, it's a shock to the system.
I'm sorry for that loss of hard earned wealth, but according to the "experts" you'll be so much better after a 'little pain'. A little pain as explained by the billionaires that inhabit the cabinet. Hmmm, the cabinet, I'm thinking it's like that cabinet or drawer that most of us have, you know the 'JUNK' drawer!
So sorry....
Same for me!😩😢
Remember way back in 2024 when most of us were warning that Trump posed "an existential threat to the nation and the world" if he were to be elected in November? Remember? Well, it has taken fewer than 11 weeks to prove us right.
I lost friends when I told them who/what Trump is. I wonder what they think today.
They still swallow Trump's bs whole. I know this because I talk to his supporters every day because I live among them. They follow Newsmax or Breitbart News, which wither lie outright or twist the truth. The common theme among all of these individuals is that they've been, for years, disgusted with perceived erosion of the American way of life. That disgust has been nurtured by right wing media to become outrage.
Patty, don't expect any dramatic changes of mind. For MAGA, Trump loyalty is no different from fandom of your favorite professional sports team. The win/loss record doesn't count; one must maintain "team spirit" no matter what.
When your team loses, it's not because they played a bad game, or the coach had a bad strategy. It's because the referees were biased, or the other team cheated, or the weather was bad, or the turf wasn't right – anything except your team sucks.
I did, too. Most days I feel “good riddance!”
My response to Patty Dubin.
Now we can say with all the proof in full view, NOW we can say:
"WE TOLD YOU SO!"
Sadly true
What a DISGRACE - 47 is still
*raising campaign funds despite term limits in the U.S. Constitution,
*golfing with the Saudis,
* destroying the global economy with bad math,
*"disappering" individuals he both targets and sweeps up irresponsibly to torture, prison and possibly death;
*intentionally disrespecting the sacrifices of our military;
*selling influence and favors for his own personal benefit;
*destroying our national security and making the USA an enemy of all nations; and
*enabling hacking of everyone's personal data by a South African immigrant with multiple conflicts of interest outside of the United States, and a plummeting brand problem.
If you're not enraged,
you're not paying attention!
Perfect summary
Or complicit. The list goes on.
Thank you Beverly Falls. And that’s all in the last couple weeks
And Trump went to his golf tournament instead of meeting the remains of the four soldiers when they arrived home. He is not worthy of even walking on US soil never mind being the Commander in Chief of those soldiers who gave their lives. I bet he doesn't even know their names. Staff Sgt. Troy Knutson- Collins, 28. Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., 25. Sgt. Edvin Franco, 25. Pfc. Dante Tatiana, 21. Hundreds of Lithuanian, American, Polish and Estonian forces searched for the bodies. The only person in the link not showing respect for those who sacrificed their lives was Donald J. Trump. He had a golf game to go to.
And many millions to make out of this tournament Cindy. That gives us what his priorities as president are. So shameful 😞
Thank you Cindy Wiggins. I will pray for them.
Legal Gunfight coming at the OK Corral! "Today, U.S. District Court judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to bring back to the United States no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 7 a legal resident it mistakenly sent to a notorious prison for terrorists in El Salvador."
The family should sue the government. Is there a law firm that would take the case, or have they all turned Nazi?
It's human trafficking...they kidnapped people, no due process and took them to another country.
It’s a good case and he will have no trouble finding a lawyer.
I know people think I love being a naysayer here and its NOT true, I would love to see this turn into something good for a change.
BUT... be careful because in this case we are on VERY weak grounds legally. IF Garcia had been Venezuelan, we MIGHT have a fairly strong case as he would clearly be held in El Salvador on our behalf.
However, Garcia is El Salvadoran. That means once he was back in El Salvador regardless of how he got there, he IS like any other El Salvadoran citizen subject to the laws of his own country and they probably have a superior right to hold him in their country on charges if they so choose.
A good comparison would be if Ed Snowdon, a US Citizen who left the US to live in Russia after leaking government emails and other secure documents. Russia welcomed him (as we theoretically welcomed Garcia) and the US wants him back to put him on trial for treason and espionaga. But if somehow Snowden ended up back in the US, there is absolutely NO WAY we would ever let him go back to Russia, even if they pleaded saying it was a mistake how he ended up back here. He is a citizen of our country and we would have the right under international law to refuse to send him back to another country if we had reason to keep him, regardless of what he wanted himself. It is very close to the concept that "possession is 9/10s of the law".
And that is roughly the same situation with Garcia, or VERY VERY close. The only real difference is that here it is the "great US" that wants to save Garcia from a fate in El Salvadoran prison, and in the other case it would be the "bad Russia" wanting to get Snowden back to let him live out his life a hero for Russia. The situations are very parallel, it just depends on whose viewpoint you are taking.
As I recall, Snowden was flying to a European country that had offered him asylum but President Obama canceled his passport. The plane landed in Moscow and Snowden was stuck. Putin “generously” gave him asylum. Without Snowden and Assange we wouldn’t have known all the behind the scenes corruption that had been carefully hidden.
Well and thoughtfully analyzed Jon. SO MANY things we describe and then judge depend SO MUCH on what perspective one takes. : >(
First, Snowden and Assange were 'wanted', had warrants out for their arrest. Garcia has no such warrant from El Salvador and given he has been living in USA there are not any crimes he is likely to have committed in El Salvador within Statute of Limitations. Second, the cause of action against USA for wrongful deportation by Garcia has nothing to do with him being in El Salvador. Finally, Trump, Rubio and President "Oopsie" who is receiving graft....errrr, I mean payments for housing prisoners are 'thick as thieves', they are all thieves and the reality is that the return of Garcia to USA is easily accomplished unless the thieves are looking for an excuse not to do so.
Yep
If the White House wanted to get Garcia back from El Salvador, all it would take is a simple phone call. I don't think that El Salvador would take the risk of incurring the wrath and anger of a US President, particularly a president who has retribution on top of his mind and isn't very concerned about the legality of his actions.
As if trump can't pick up the phone and demand his return or else El Salvador gets slapped with a 100% tariff....
Or else what? A vigorous finger wagging? No one in the WH will dare to cross Trump and he doesn't care.
The government had no problem bringing Noem back from El Salvador after her miserable little photo op.
There is only one reason the same government refuses to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back home. They don’t want a living eye witness to re-enter the US. If he is returned, he will be asked to testify in court. He will be asked to testify before Congress. In full view of the entire nation, he will speak.
Drumpf and his cronies cannot have that happen.
Excellent point Bill
Stocks just lost a year’s worth of gains that occurred when Biden was president. Usually, the stock market is independent of presidential influence. Clearly, that was not the case this past week. Trump likes attention and could be called the most successful president ever in getting attention. However, he is another Herbert Hoover with the economy, another James Buchanan with being fair to society, and another James Knox Polk with territorial aggrandizement. No American should believe anything he says.
Phil, if there're Americans still believing him after soo much evidence, they always will. As I said often, there's no cure for stupidity.
Ricardo, as you have wisely observed and in the words of Abraham Lincoln (1858 speech in Albany, NY) "...you can fool some of the people all the time…”; probably the best description of MAGAts!
"And some of the people all of the time." And, undoubtedly those are the MAGAts.
Good observation 👍
Trump bankrupt 7 companies. Now he'll bankrupt America
He had a lot of time to practice Patty, that's what why we are doing so well now.
Trump was and is unqualified to be President and the problem is now he has thrown off all of the guardrails and is bringing the US government into chaos. The Federal bureaucracy is being dismantled with particular attention to those parts that monitor behavior and wrong doing. Those services upon which much of the population rely are being dismantled and crippled. What we are seeing is the a failure of government through a failure of politics.
We are now being destroyed by a man who should have been impeached, disqualified and imprisoned. The only hope is that there is some intelligent life remaining in Congress. The saddest part is that there are so many now that are filling such important positions in this Administration that are not qualified and who are just awful people. We have always had our outliers but this Administration is main streaming them and making the only qualification to serve is loyalty. Once, you give loyalty they open the doors of corruption for insiders.
Partisanship without morality, shame, courage and a sense of national purpose is destructive. If you doubt it just look.
Incredibly moving scenes in Lithuania, with thousands and thousands of Lithuanians lining the streets of Vilnius to honour the US soldiers who died. The Last Post was played at an empty intersection with crowds gathered along the intersected streets.
In one video I saw Lithuanians being interviewed and they said they felt as though the dead were their own soldiers. The US president was busy with his golfing empire and unavailable for when the soldiers touched down on US soil.
He couldn’t care less about our soldiers or any of us. After all he wouldn’t be able to point to them fawning over him in an audience so they mean nothing. He and his supporters make me want to hurl.
Was anyone here to welcome the fallen soldiers home or were they all in Mar-a-logo for the million dollar candle light party?
I was wondering the same thing???
Pete Hegseth per chance??? No, we'd have seen that plastered all over FOX. Hegseth & his wife, oh but wait, those soldiers might be secret DEI hires??? Maybe that's why they were snubbed!
According to The Hill, it's hogsbreath. Like he'll really know what to do.....
Twenty-five minutes before the market closed, Trump posted: “ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!”
Classic Trump.
“ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL!” …says the fool who’s list of failures and bankruptcies are a mile long.
Yes, like Trump should talk. His list of scams and failures is much longer than the list of his dubious successes.
That mile long it's old data Kary, after the Dow debacle it's a mile and a half long according to some observes. 😄
As president, he is the only one failing.
Our military are "losers and suckers". Makes fun of disabled people. This is who he is. Today Friday 4/2025 as the stock market crashes. He is at Doral golf club Saudi arabia sponsored and a Million dollar per person dinner. He has made a fortune by selling favors to our adversaries.What do you think he is doing with All those top secret documents ?
So who went to the million dollar dinner? I'd love to see the guest list. We need to know who all these people are.
Trump and Muskrat are weak men who imagine themselves as strong and “genetically superior.” The whole idea of “genetic superiority” or “racial superiority” is a total crock these weaklings accept, and it shows their fundamental insecurity.
And another week, we will fail…..
He is failing already JL. What he is going to say about it?
Damn that Biden.