No one knows. I doubt Trump even knows at this point.

Trump holds the levers of power and he is going to pull them just to prove he can.

"with Justices Thomas and Alito in dissent" - could have called that before the case even got to SCOTUS

The USA is running out of patience with Ukraine for being bombed by Russia.

Putin declares brief ‘Easter truce’ in war with Ukraine | CNN Russian President Vladimir Putin has on Saturday declared an “Easter truce” in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Putin must need more time to bring up ammunition.

www.cnn.com/2025/04/19/e...

Reuters: "The former reality-TV host spent a week claiming other governments were clamoring to make a deal, and yet he folded without extracting any visible concessions from even penguin-populated trading partners."

The penguins have met and decided. They will not pay a single silverfish.

Trump's tariff rules are like Fizzbin...

Each nation has 6 sectors tariffed, except for the nation on the right, who gets 7. Tariffs are applied, except on Tuesdays, when Trump deals out two more tariffs which are a "half-fizzbin". With a half-fizzbin, one can get pause, except at night, ...

Businesses are forward-looking/planning, yet I don't know how they can do so in this erratic environment.

Trump last week: “MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE.” Today its maybe he'll put them off for a while.

I'm glad he backed off at some, but I've no confidence what we have today will last. Zero.

"President Donald Trump told CNN’s Jeff Zeleny that he decided to institute a 90-day pause on new reciprocal tariffs because he thought “people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy,” following last week’s tariffs announcement."

Yeah, people don't like losing everything.

Trump announces 90-day tariff pause for at least some countries Trump in a social media post also said that he "substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately. "

The first blink. The anger of donors/supporters, and those who will face the voters in 2026, must have finally gotten through.

He will claim some sort of victory, of course, but he's responsible for all of the pain and damage.

China is going to remain a big problem.

www.cnbc.com/2025/04/09/t...

Tariffs on China set to rise to at least 104% on Wednesday, White House says | CNN Business President Donald Trump is set to impose an additional 84% in levies across all Chinese imports on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on Tuesday. That will mean all goods...

Here we go.

Trump had an off-ramp over the weekend; all he had to do was pause things and negotiate.

Now the positions of the big players have hardened and the real damage starts. My guess is the recession starts now, if it hasn't already.

I hope I'm terribly wrong.

www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/b...

More of this clean coal BS.

U.S. needs to keep coal plants open to meet growing electricity demand, energy secretary says The Trump administration wants to expand electricity output by 25%, said Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

FFS. Chris Wright has to be kidding.

Maybe we could take a 21st Century approach, rather than the 19th Century approach, and work on bringing more large-scale sustainable clean energy online.

Don't any of these people have kids/grandkids they don't want poisoned?

www.cnbc.com/2025/04/08/u...

I suspect there will be quite a brain drain from the US over the next few years. Scientists want to science.

Politico: “While uncertainty remains elevated, it is now becoming clear that the tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected,” Fed Chair Powell said. “The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.”

Yes, but then some 1-star or colonel will eventually be found who will do it. There is always someone who will just salute and do whatever is asked, no matter how foul.

This Economic Paradox Nearly Took Down Three Presidents. Is Donald Trump Next? The economic crisis of the 1970s was a disaster for multiple presidents. It could be worse for Trump.

Stagflation recipe: US import tariffs raise prices while foreign reciprocal tariffs cut US exports, economic activity & jobs.

I bought a car during all of this, refusing to close the deal unless the dealer agreed to deliver it with a full gas tank. Times were bad.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Why is Trump rewriting US economic history? Anyone? | CNN Politics President Donald Trump wants Americans to see history his way, historians be damned.

Again, History is there for you to learn from. It is not yours to erase. It belongs to all of us.

www.cnn.com/2025/04/03/p...

I'm sorry Jan. Australia and our other good friends and allies do not deserve this treatment. We will do what we can to stop this, although it will take some time.

There's no question that today's tariff announcement will give the United States the highest tariff rates of any industrialized country. And it's not even close.

Well, at least Booker shows some fight.

I hear the Internet loves waterfalls on Wednesday, so here’s a Wednesday waterfall for you!

#waterfallwednesday #landscapephotography #photography #on1pics #photographersunited

US officials object to European push to buy weapons locally U.S. officials have told European allies they want them to keep buying American-made arms, amid recent moves by the European Union to limit U.S. manufacturers' participation in weapons tenders, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump told Europe to be militarily self-sufficient, saying that the US might not be there if something happens.

This is what securing a tariff-proof supply chain looks like, one that can't be cut off if a single erratic supplier suddenly decides to stop shipments.

www.reuters.com/world/us-off...

I don't blame them, nor Europe for taking steps to guarantee its own security. The US has become a unreliable and erratic ally.

The world is moving on.

It took just two months to drive two of our closest and most important allies into China's arms.

Pete Hegseth Calls For Steep Cuts To Number Of Steps In AA Recovery WASHINGTON—Lambasting the current program as wasteful, bloated, and entirely unnecessary, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for steep cuts Monday to the number of steps in the Alcoholics Anonymous...

Pete Hegseth Calls For Steep Cuts To Number Of Steps In AA Recovery

Income from tariffs could be used to offset other federal tax reductions, but this would lock us into tariff-dependency for future funding.

My guess this is where Trump is going. Gain tariff revenue, then use the funds generated to offset tax cuts for the rich.

Trump side says tariffs will raise $6 trillion, which would be largest tax hike in US history | CNN Business White House aide Peter Navarro said Sunday that he expects President Donald Trump’s tariffs to bring in $6 trillion in revenue in the next decade, which could amount to the largest tax hike in US hist...

Import tariffs function like a federal sales tax and are paid by US consumers and importers, not by the exporters.

They are most certainly not a tax cut.

www.cnn.com/2025/03/31/e...

But Trump has done this sort of thing before.

He negotiated the USMCA free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico in 2020, then hit them with unilateral tariffs this term.

Let's see...

Direct threats against Canada, Mexico, Greenland/Denmark, and Panama.

Now Iran. Remember that Trump in 2018 pulled out of the JCPOA that was containing Iran, who then restarted their nuke program.

For someone who claimed he didn't like stupid wars, Trump seems eager to start one.