A quick look at some of the things not Making America Great Again today:
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to remove "improper ideology" from the famed Smithsonian Museums -- and the National Zoo -- expanding his conservative clampdown on cultural institutions.
Trump, who has sought to root out what he called "woke" culture since returning to power in January, accused the Smithsonian of trying to rewrite American history on issues of race and gender.
His order puts hardline Vice President JD Vance in charge of efforts to carry out the order at the Smithsonian's museums, educations and research centers.
Trump said this should include a drive to "remove improper ideology from such properties."
The Smithsonian operates 21 internationally renowned museums and galleries, mainly in and around Washington, dedicated to art, science, space and American history.
They include the National Zoo in the US capital, which recently welcomed two giant pandas from China, debuting them to the public just days after Trump's inauguration for a second term.
The presidential order -- titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" -- targeted a number of examples of what it also called "corrosive ideology."...
In the gaslighting, up- is- down world Americans now live in, "corrosive ideology" is now something other than the fascistic, white nationalist, lawless brutishness of Trump and his un-American "ideology."
Thomas Bard expected a big boost this year, when stores in Saskatchewan and Ontario planned to start selling his distillery’s bourbon. Instead, Canadian provinces yanked U.S. alcohol from their shelves - pitching Bard’s small Kentucky company into the center of a nascent trade war.
“It’s a huge deal when you get a new customer base,” Bard said. “So for this to be, just be taken away from us. … That’s an absolute punch to the gut.”
Alcoholic drinks have become the subject of dueling tariff threats between the United States and its neighbors. But some craft liquor distillers such as Bard say they are particularly hard-hit because they see other countries as better targets for growth than parts of the highly regulated and crowded U.S. market.
“It’s easier to get into Canada than it is to get into some other states here,” said Bard, whose distillery has been selling its whiskey in Alberta and British Columbia for two years.
Canada enacted a 25 percent tariff on U.S. products including spirits and beer in early March in retaliation for levies imposed on Canadian goods by President Donald Trump. The European Union recently threatened to place a 50 percent tax on U.S. whiskey, although it delayed those duties for several weeks. Trump said the United States would in turn tax E.U. alcohol at 200 percent.
Big brands can weather those financial ramifications - and may even benefit if some competitors are pushed out of the U.S. market, experts say. But smaller players often lack the resources or infrastructure to navigate the U.S. regulatory landscape. [snip]
Alastair Brogan’s craft-whiskey distillery in Colorado typically gets 5 percent of its revenue from Canadian sales. Brogan no longer expects that this year, but he considers the bigger hit to be the loss of goodwill toward American whiskey and the brand he built.
“All the energy, resources that American distilleries have put into being in Canada has just been wiped out.” he said.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Here's what Canadian PM Mark Carney says about what the moron madman Malignant Fascist has wrought:
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada's old relationship with the United States, "based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over".
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa after a cabinet meeting, Carney said Canadians must "fundamentally reimagine our economy" in the face of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
He said Canada would respond with retaliatory tariffs that will have "maximum impact" on the US. [snip]
Carney, the Liberal Party leader, called the original Canada-US Automotive Products Agreement signed in 1965 the most important deal in his lifetime.
"That's finished with these tariffs," he said in French...
Somewhere in the Kremlin, Putin is laughing.
Auto tariffs announced by President Donald Trump will likely raise car prices by thousands of dollars days after the policy takes effect, while hiking costs for repairs and insurance, some experts told ABC News.
Within hours of the policy rollout, Ferrari said it will raise prices by as much as 10% for some models to compensate for the tariffs.
The 25% tariffs, set to take effect next week, will apply to imported passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVs, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks, according to a White House statement released after Trump's Oval Office remarks on Wednesday.
The tariffs will also apply to key imported auto parts, including engines, powertrain parts and electrical components.
"I have talked to consumers who say, 'Well, I'm not buying a car, so it doesn't really matter.' Well, think again," Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, told ABC News. "This is really all encompassing." [snip]
Last year, U.S. shoppers bought approximately 16 million cars, SUVs, and light trucks, half of which were imported, the White House said.
The other half of the auto sector – made up of U.S.-made cars – will also undergo significant price hikes since manufacturers will face higher costs for imported parts and face an uptick in demand as buyers seek out domestic alternatives, experts said.
"The question is: What will happen to all the cars made here in the U.S?" Christopher Conlon, a professor of economics at New York University who studies trade, told ABC News...
In his childish misunderstanding of the interconnectedness of the world economy as it exists in the 21st Century, the blundering buffoon Americans elected President is sabotaging the prosperity of people in America and all over the world. If you haven't felt the effects yet, give it a little time. Permit us some schadenfreude if it hits MAGAts a little harder.
Never hit em hard enough. Saw my first "Trump was right about everything" at the diner. Kind of like seeing the first Robin after winter.
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