Sunday, August 31, 2025

Across The Universe. Cont. -- Asymmetric Galaxy

 

(click on image to enlarge)

From NASA/ ESA, August 25, 2025: Today’s NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Picture of the Week features a galaxy whose asymmetric appearance may be the result of a galactic tug of war. Located 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo, the spiral galaxy Messier 96 is the brightest of the galaxies in its group. The gravitational pull of its galactic neighbours may be responsible for Messier 96’s uneven distribution of gas and dust, asymmetric spiral arms, and off-centre galactic core. 

This asymmetric appearance is on full display in a new Hubble image, which incorporates observations made in ultraviolet and optical light. Hubble images of Messier 96 have been released previously in 2015 and 2018. Each successive image has added new data, building up a beautiful and scientifically valuable view of the galaxy.

This third version gives an entirely new perspective on Messier 96’s star formation. The bubbles of pink gas in this image surround hot, young, massive stars, illuminating a ring of star formation in the outskirts of the galaxy. These young stars are still embedded within the clouds of gas from which they were born. The new data included for the first time in this image will be used to study how stars are born within giant dusty gas clouds, how dust filters starlight, and how stars affect their environments.

[Image Description: A spiral galaxy, tilted nearly face-on to us, with a slightly unusual shape. Its spiral arms form an oval-shaped ring around the galaxy’s disc, filled with blue light from stars, as well as pink glowing gas bubbles where new stars are forming. Threads of dark red dust swirl around the brightly glowing core, blocking some of its light. The dust lanes extend into and follow the spiral arms.]

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, D. Calzetti

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)


(Martyn Turner, @turnercartoons, Ireland)

(Randy Bish, @bishtoons)

(Patrick Byrnes, caglecartoons.com)


(John Branch, Houston Chronicle)

(Mike Stanfil, ragingpencils.com)

(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Marian Kamensky, caglecartoons.com, Austria)


(John Buss, @repeat1968)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Paul Noth, @PaulNoth)


Helping Ukraine -- Verified Charities

 

With war criminal Putin's daily bombardment of Ukrainian cities and Putin's asset refusing to apply real pressure on him to stop the aggression, we need to continue to focus our efforts on helping the suffering people of Ukraine as much as we can, to help them and democracy survive and thrive.  Via The Philadelphia Inquirer, this is a (partial) list of verified charities that have been helping the people of Ukraine, although some information may be outdated and some organizations may be inactive at this time.  Please consider giving:

World Central Kitchen

What they do:  They have served millions of meals and have teams active in hundreds of cities and towns in Ukraine. They have also built a logistics network of delivery vans, trucks, trains, and warehouses throughout the country, delivering millions of pounds of food to families—sometimes in areas completely cut off due to fighting and near the Russian border.

How you can help:  There are many ways to donate to WCK;  see their website.  This is a registered nonprofit, so donations are tax deductible.

🌐 wck.org


Project HOPE

What they do: Founded in 1958, Project HOPE responds to humanitarian emergencies and disasters. Currently, according to the group’s website, the group is aiding those in Ukraine by mobilizing its emergency teams and “sending medical supplies and standing by to provide health screening and care for refugees.”

How you can help: Donate on the group’s website. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 projecthope.org

 

GlobalGiving

What they do: GlobalGiving uses its funding to support local nonprofits working in affected areas. Currently, “GlobalGiving’s local partners in Ukraine are bringing relief to displaced families and people in high-risk areas.” According to the group, your donation will support refugees with food, shelter, and clean water, as well as providing health and psychological support.

How you can help: Donate to the group’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund online. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 globalgiving.org

 

UNICEF USA

What they do: Hundreds of thousands of children have been affected by the conflict so far, and the UNICEF emergency response is working to address their needs by preparing health, hygiene, and emergency education supplies, as well as distributing safe water to affected areas, providing children with psychosocial care, and helping kids separated from their families. 

How you can help: Donate on the UNICEF website. UNICEF USA is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 unicefusa.org

 

International Medical Corps

What they do: International Medical Corps helped Ukrainians during conflict in 1999-2000 by delivering medicine and training more than 500 local doctors and medical staff. In 2014, they partnered with the Ukraine Ministry of Health to support mobile health services and train medical professionals on preventing and controlling infections. As the crisis develops, the International Medical Corps has added mental health counseling to the services available for the community.

How you can help: Donate on the group’s website. Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

🌐 give.internationalmedicalcorps.org

 

United Help Ukraine

What they do: United Help Ukraine receives and distributes food donations and medical supplies to people in Ukraine. The group’s current priorities: Aiding Ukrainian soldiers and their families, helping displaced people from Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, and raising awareness of the current situation.

How you can help: Donate via PayPal, or by check payable to United Help Ukraine, Box 83426, Gaithersburg, Md., 20883. This is a registered nonprofit so all donations are tax deductible.

🌐 facebook.com/UnitedHelpUkraine.org

 

Revived Soldiers Ukraine

What they do: This nonprofit provides medical aid for people affected by military conflict. The group buys medication and medical supplies, helps support army hospitals, and works to improve the living standards for soldiers and their families.

How you can help: Donate directly through the group’s website, through PayPal or Patreon, or make it your preferred Amazon nonprofit, which donates 0.5% of the amount of your Amazon purchases to the group. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 rsukraine.org


Sunflower of Peace

What they do: Sunflower for Peace offers medical assistance to Ukrainian orphans, people displaced by war, and people heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. In February 2022, the group started asking for donations to prepare first aid medical tactical backpacks for paramedics and doctors on the front lines. These kinds of backpacks — usually handled by Marines, special military forces, and military groups — are used to save lives in areas without access to hospitals or emergency care.

How you can help: Donate on Facebook. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 facebook.com/sunflowerofpeace

 

The KYIV Independent

What they do: The KYIV Independent is an independent media outlet reporting in English. The organization has been covering the Russia-Ukraine conflict, doing fact checking, and reporting on human rights. Since the group is not affiliated with any government and reports in English, it is becoming an important window into what’s happening in Ukraine right now.

How you can help: Since its creation in 2021, The KYIV Independent runs mainly on donations. Donate through GoFundMe or Patreon.

🌐 kyivindependent.com


The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

What they do
: This group runs an emergency program with $1 million in funding that helps the approximately 300,000 Jewish people in Ukraine. The fellowship has staff and volunteers on the ground in Ukraine, and also funds the country’s Jewish organizations to give Ukrainian Jews the chance to move to Israel. Funds are also used to provide the Ukrainian Jewish community with food, medicine, and heat. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

How you can help: Donate online.

🌐 help.ifcj.org

 

Voices of Children

What they do: Voices of Children provides psychological and psychosocial support to children affected by war. Their main focus is on the front lines in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Donations help finance art therapy and mobile psychologists, and help families in need.

How you can help: Donate directly on their website.

🌐 voices.org.ua

 

Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe (CARE)

What they do: Created in 1945 to help people overcome the devastation of WWII, CARE’s works to end poverty, and achieve equity and social justice worldwide. In Ukraine, the group is working on providing girls, women, and elderly people with water, food, and hygiene kits. They currently have a Ukraine Crisis Fund specially focused on continuing their work in the country, and providing psychological support, recovery, and cash assistance.

How you can help: Donate using a credit card or through PayPal on their website.

🌐 care.org

 

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

What they do: The Red Cross’s International Committee provides shelter, food, first-aid training, and humanitarian aid around the world. The group has been supporting people in Ukraine for almost a decade and as the crisis continues, they are adding to their help comfort kits for individuals and families in need.

How you can help: Donate to the ICRC on its website.

🌐 icrc.org

 
American Red Cross

What they do: In Ukraine, the American Red Cross is currently helping U.S. military people and families deployed in the region. So far, they have sent 30 staff members to Europe to help U.S. military members in Ukraine connect with their families back home, and are delivering hygiene items and resources to service members and U.S. State Department staff abroad. They can not help Ukraine with blood directly, because it can’t be sent without special request from the U.S Department of State, the United Nation, or other affected Red Cross networks.

How you can help: Donate on their website. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 redcross.org


United Ukrainian American Relief Committee (UUARC)


What they do: Created in 1944, the UUARC was created to help Ukrainians in refugee camps during WWII relocate to the U.S.. They are currently working in coordination with the Ukrainian Embassy to coordinate medical supplies, food, offering shelter, and taking care of injured people and refugee.

How you can help: Donate on their website or send a check to the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, Inc. 1206 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111. For medical donations call 215-728-1630. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 uuarc.org


American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)

What they do: The JDC has been helping the Jewish community around the world since 1914; for the last 30 years they have focused on helping Ukraine’s Jewish population. They aid elderly Jewish people, children, and families by providing food, medicine, and utilities. At the moment, JDC is preparing to send psychosocial support to Ukraine as mass displacements increase, as well as delivering food packages, and providing online support.

How you can help: Donate on their website. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 jdc.org

 

 ____________________

If you are at all concerned about giving to these or any other charities, you can verify their authenticity by going to Charity Navigator, which evaluates charitable organizations.  Thank you!


"Explosive" News Conference With Epstein Victims Coming September 3

 

As much as convicted sexual abuser Malignant Fascist and his collaborators in the MAGAt Republican Party might wish, the Epstein files scandal isn't going away:

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) revealed that at least 10 victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will appear at an "explosive" bipartisan press conference on Sept. 3.

During a Sunday interview on NBC, host Kristen Welker asked Khanna if he and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) had the votes to pass a bill to force the Department of Justice to release files on the Epstein case.

"I'm very confident it will," Khanna replied. "We will have the petition live on Sept. 2. We have all 212 Democrats committed to signing it. He has 12 Republicans. Only six of them have to sign it."

"What will be explosive is the September 3rd press conference that both of us are having with ten Epstein victims, many who have never spoken out before," he added. "They're going to be on the steps of the Capitol. They will be telling their story, and they will be saying clearly to the American public that they want the release of the Epstein files for full closure on this matter."  (our emphasis)

Smarmy hypocrite Speaker "MAGA Mike" Johnson has already signaled he's going to do everything he can to keep the Khanna-Massie bill off the floor to continue to protect his cult leader.  Even if the bill were to pass, Pam Bondi's Justice Department won't release the Epstein files (if they were exculpatory of the Malignant Fascist, they would've been out last Spring).  Then it could all depend on a courageous FBI whistleblower to get the files into the public eye.

Stay tuned.


Trump, Hard At Work, Finds A Crime In The Rose Garden

 

What's the Very Stable Genius (the "Builder") focused on this Labor Day weekend, you didn't ask?  Inflation? Jobs? Sticking it to immigrants?  Occupying American cities?  Destroying our health and disaster preparedness agencies? His golf game?  Covering up the Epstein files?  No!  He discovered a crime right there in what used to be the White House Rose Garden!

(click on image to enlarge)

He's quite sane, which you'd know if you follow the "mainstream media."  

The spare use of random CAPITALIZATION and the lack of spelling errors almost makes us think a staffer or perhaps an AI program did this.  But the bitching about the "stupid" worker, contesting the work done, and bragging about his nonexistent expertise as a "builder" (more like someone who slapped his name on buildings) sounds like "realDonaldTrump," a.k.a, Demented Don.  Regardless, thank you for your attention to this matter!


Saturday, August 30, 2025

QOTD -- Standing Up

 

"... Force and intimidation are not strategies we associate with American presidents. Those are not constitutional prerogatives the Founding Fathers assigned to the president. That is how dictators operate. That is how Trump operates. Let’s call it what it is. There is no reason to pretend that this isn’t happening.

"This is the moment to stay dialed in to what’s happening around us. The effort to overwhelm us with so much—a week’s worth of news and trouble on a Monday—is a deliberate attempt to get us to give up because it’s too much. Instead of doing that, look for the common thread, the theme that runs through it all. On every front, Trump is trying to take hold of power that belongs to others—to Congress, to the courts, to independent agencies like the Fed, most importantly, the power that belongs to us, the American people, the power to vote. It’s time for all of us to stand up." -- law professor and former Federal prosecutor Joyce White Vance, in her "Civil Discourse" Substack, writing last Monday.  Well, since Monday we've had even more of the Malignant Fascist's "news and trouble," 6 weeks of it packed into 6 days. Enduring that barrage of "news and trouble" is taxing all of us, but as Vance notes,  we have to stay dialed into the theme running through all of the noise:  the Malignant Fascist's power grab.  The more of us that stand up and fight back in the face of it, the more we see we're not alone.  In fact, we're the majority, the Americans who want to save our democracy from the Malignant Fascist's tyranny.  The ones who will save our democracy and make it better and more permanent in the bargain.  (Remember pendulums?)

"It's time for all of us to stand up."

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Andy Singer, politicalcartoons.com)

(Patrick Chappatte, The Boston Globe)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)

(Phil Hands, Wisconsin State Journal)

(Drew Sheneman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Michael de Adder, The Hill, Ottawa, Canada)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Andy Marlette, Creators.com)

(Walt Handelsman, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans)

(Dan Misdea, The New Yorker)


Skeets Of The Day

 

The Epstein files coverup / Epstein's birthday book, and more coming --

 

We are getting the Epstein birthday book that Donald Trump says doesn’t exist.

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— Robert Garcia (@robertgarcia.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 7:49 PM

 

Chicago invasion --


Officially prepared for the orange moron's national guard occupation (thanks @raygunsite.com )

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— Paul Gowder (@gowder.io) August 29, 2025 at 6:14 PM

 



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— CBS News | Breaking news, top stories & today’s latest headlines (@cbsnews.com.web.brid.gy) August 29, 2025 at 8:45 PM

 

Trump's Tariffs based on his fragile fee - fees --


Question: Why did US put big tariffs on India despite major national interest in cultivating a strategic counterweight to China and trying to isolate Russia? Answer: Because the US president lied that he fixed India-Pakistan and India wouldn’t go along with the lie. (Seriously, that’s the answer)

— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social) August 30, 2025 at 9:23 AM

 

What MAGA supermajorities get you -- 

 

Welch: As someone who lives in a red state, let me just tell you what MAGA supermajorities get you. We're 50th in education. The worst in the whole country for women to live. We're poorer, worst health care. And if you look at the bottom ten states, they are all MAGA supermajorities.

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 10:47 PM


MAGAt Iowa Sen. Joni "We're All Going to Die" Ernst not running --

 

Joni Ernst will not seek reelection I assume to get a head start over other republicans before all the planes to non-extradition South American countries fill up.

— Stonekettle (@stonekettle.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 3:35 PM

 

Joni Ernst Retires: ‘It’s Time to Pass the Torch to a New Generation of Morons’

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— The Borowitz Report (@borowitzreport.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 5:42 PM

 

As a former Iowa resident, I want to just take this time to wish Joni Ernst a fond and heartfelt fuck you

— Kevin Gannon (now a Moo Deng fan account) (@thetattooedprof.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 4:09 PM

 

The Resistance reaches Alabama --


Republican Rep. Barry Moore was heckled so badly at his Alabama town hall that he literally left out the back door in the middle of the event. Moore didn't offer concluding remarks or even bid good night to the rowdy crowd as they chanted "Shame!" during his exit. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

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— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) August 30, 2025 at 8:06 AM

 

Paging Jake Tapper... paging Jake Tapper... --

 

"The mainstream press is still in self-flagellation mode over how they purportedly 'ignored' Biden’s decline. (In reality, they never stopped talking about.) But this soul-searching is apparently only backward looking and exclusive to Democratic presidents." — @playtyperguy.com

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 29, 2025 at 12:41 PM

 

Trump has no public events schedule today and throughout the weekend. I guess he's very tired.

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— digby (@digby56.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 6:39 PM

 

Goodness, if the President has a serious health problem I certainly hope he follows the expert medical advice of his Secretary of Health and Human Services

— Ray Radlein (@radlein.bsky.social) August 30, 2025 at 5:10 AM

 

Introspection and self-awareness aren't MAGA's things --

 

In some ways Ham-Face is the perfect Trump voter: all his decisions blow up in his face but the explanation is always, you don't understand, the radical leftist Joe Biden made us mad.

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— Roy Edroso (@edroso.bsky.social) August 30, 2025 at 7:17 AM

 

Honoring RFK Jr., Ashli Babbitt, and Hurricane Katrina --

 

Donald Trump praises RFK Jr, Ashlii Babbitt & Hurricane Katrina in disturbing speech youtu.be/wXFLOzqWa4A

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— J-L Cauvin (@jlcauvin.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 11:44 AM

 

 

"Inflicting Maximum Punishment" On Immigrants

 



The cruelty is the point, part infinity:

Liset Fernandez spent most of the summer worried about her dad, Luis, but a few weeks ago she got some good news. After being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody for weeks, an immigration judge in Texas granted him release on a $5,000 bond.

Luis, came to the US from Ecuador in 1994, had been held in detention at a facility in Livingston, Texas, thousands of miles away from his home in Queens. Liset, 17, had taken on extra shifts working a retail job to support her mom and nine-year-old brother. Luis’s co-workers at the Square diner, a railcar-style greasy spoon in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood for over 100 years, had raised more than $20,000 to support him and his family.

But when Liset logged on to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website to pay the bond, she got a message telling her that her dad was ineligible for release. It fell to her to tell her dad that instead of coming home that day, he would remain detained. “It was upsetting for everyone,” Liset said. “His voice sounded completely disappointed.”

Luis was being detained because of a new DHS policy arguing that all people who enter the US illegally are ineligible for bond, regardless of how long they have been here and whether or not they pose a flight risk. In Fernandez’s case, DHS went even further, deploying a rarely used maneuver to pause the immigration judge’s bond ruling while it appealed his ruling. Federal regulations allow the agency to automatically stay an immigration judge’s bond decision while they appeal the case to the board of immigration appeals.

The maneuver means Fernandez will remain detained while his case is pending before the board of immigration appeals. Since the board is being bogged down with appeals, it’s unclear how long it could take to resolve the case, said Craig Relles, an immigration attorney representing Fernandez.

Fernandez’s case shows how the Trump administration is “ratcheting up every aspect of the immigration system” for people who have been in the US no matter how long they’ve been in the US, said Suchita Mathur, a lawyer at the American Immigration Council.

“At every step of the way, they’re inflicting the maximum punishment on people,” she said. “It’s all part and parcel of the administration’s effort to make this process so punitive and unbearable that people give up.”...  (our emphasis)

What makes all of this so eternally galling to us, beyond the abject cruelty and injustice, is that any one of these hard- working, family- oriented immigrants like Mr. Fernandez is worth infinitely more to his community and this country than the sociopathic convicted felon/ sexual abuser and his hypocritical gang of cross- wearing fascists ever could.  These afflicted people have more of what's left of the soul of America in them than all of those fascist fuckers rounding them up and the malevolent regime behind it.

(Image:  screenshot via MSNBC)


Trump Claims Power Of Purse Over Congress

 



The Malignant Fascist's remaking of the government in his image continues apace, as he proposes to blow through Constitutional separation of powers:

President Donald Trump threw a grenade Friday into September government funding negotiations on Capitol Hill, declaring the unilateral power to cancel billions of dollars in foreign aid by using a so-called pocket rescission.

Escalating the administration’s assault on Congress’ funding prerogatives, the White House budget office announced Friday morning that Trump has canceled $4.9 billion through the gambit that Congress’ top watchdog and many lawmakers argue is an illegal end-run around their “power of the purse.”

The move to unilaterally nix money previously approved by Congress raises tensions on Capitol Hill as lawmakers face an Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown, pitting Republicans at the White House against GOP lawmakers and increasing pressure on Democrats to force a funding lapse unless Trump stands down.

Democrats and Republicans alike have warned that a pocket rescissions request would hamper cross-party talks to avert a shutdown at the end of September, while fulfilling White House budget director Russ Vought’s wish that the process of funding the government be “less bipartisan” to accommodate a raft of conservative priorities.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hinted Friday that Democrats could refuse to offer the votes to get a government funding bill through the chamber before funding lapses late next month if congressional Republicans don’t push back against Trump’s latest funding move.

“Republicans don’t have to be a rubber stamp for this carnage,” Schumer said, adding that “if Republicans are insistent on going it alone, Democrats won’t be party to their destruction.”  [snip]

The administration filed the rescissions memo in court on Friday, adding another twist to a prominent case moving through the federal courts challenging Trump’s withholding of USAID funding.

That case has already been complicated this month by other questions beyond the expiration of the funds, including whether the head of the GAO — the comptroller general — is the only one who can sue over federal funding being withheld in violation of decades-old impoundment law.

Trump’s latest action is likely to supercharge this legal fight, which is back in the hands of U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Biden-era appointee who previously found the administration’s withholding of USAID funds to be illegal on multiple grounds.

Ali is expected to rule quickly on whether there are other bases to order the administration to restore the funding — including whether the cuts were “arbitrary and capricious” under the law.

His decision is likely to send the case surging back to the appellate courts, and possibly even the Supreme Court, to determine whether Trump’s pocket rescissions withstands legal scrutiny. It’s unclear whether the comptroller general, Gene Dodaro, intends to take any additional legal action to force the restoration of funds.

How far the supine MAGAt Congress will bend over in service to the Malignant Fascist in his latest dictatorial power grab?  As far as they're told.  The Republican Supreme Court?  Don't make us laugh.

As for our fearless leadership in the House and Senate, if this doesn't wake them up to the slow civil war that's enveloping them, we don't know what will.

 

The Tour De Mont Blanc Trail

 

Hiker Yens Bastiaens (with dog) takes us along on a silent hike on the Tour de Mont Blanc trail in the French Alps.  It's Saturday morning;  clear your mind and enjoy the glorious scenery!

Friday, August 29, 2025

Chaos: Appeals Court Rules Trump Tariffs Illegal

 

The Chaos Presidency takes another turn:

A federal appeals court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers granted by Congress to impose tariffs, opening the door for the administration to potentially have to repay billions worth of duties.

The 7-4 ruling raises doubt about deals Trump has struck with the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other major trading partners to reduce the “reciprocal” tariff rates on their imports, from the levels the administration originally set in April.

“We conclude Congress … did not give the president wide-ranging authority to impose tariffs” of the kind Trump imposed in his sweeping executive orders, the majority wrote.

The ruling also invalidates the tariffs that Trump has imposed on China, Canada and Mexico to pressure those countries to do more to stop shipments of fentanyl and precursor chemicals from entering the United States.

The decision, however, will not take effect until Oct. 14, giving the Trump administration time to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Trump shared a post on social media Friday evening calling the ruling “highly partisan,” and warning that if the tariffs were ruled illegal “it would be a total disaster for the Country” and “make us financially weak.”

“Now, with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use them to the benefit of our Nation, and Make America Rich, Strong, and Powerful Again!” Trump wrote, signaling that the White House will appeal, as expected...

"With the help of the United States Supreme Court," indeed.  His partners in crime/ co-conspirators in robes who want to further empower their Unitary Executive may well roll over for him as they have in the past.  In the meantime, the regime has a month and a half to continue its ruinous, inflationary tariffs.

And, 

 

BOOM. The federal appeals court rules Trump's tariffs illegal, because they are. There's no national emergency, and so the power to tariff a country rests with Congress. Trump admin has lost at every stage of the process, but stay tuned for the Supremes to chime in.

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— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 5:46 PM


This won't end all tariffs. This ruling applies to tariffs applied to entire countries (which is most of the tariff agenda). The industry-specific tariffs use a different legal authority, and will remain. The White House has other (more limited) tariff powers it'll dust off.

— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 5:49 PM

 

The markets here and abroad will certainly respond well to the lack of certainty!   In the meantime, enjoy the higher prices!


Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)


(Dave Brown, The Independent, UK)

(Ben Jennings, The Guardian, UK)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Arend van Dam, politicalcartoons.com, Netherlands)

(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)


(Morten Morland, The Times, UK)

(Ellis Rosen, @ellisjrosen)


A Foundry Found Out

 

Trump's Tariffs and a FAFO story out of Wisconsin, via Raw Story:

... Sachin Shivaram, chief executive of Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, published an op-ed in the Washington Post explaining how the trade war has already hurt his workers, many of whom support the president, and warning that shareholders will eventually get soaked.

"A disclosure: I didn’t vote for the man. But I’m not just writing this for myself," Shivaram wrote. "I’m writing on behalf of the roughly 1,000 workers who power our company — and who overwhelmingly did vote for him. One reason I know that is because in 2020, we hosted then-candidate Joe Biden at our factory in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and a substantial number of our workers turned up in red MAGA hats, spoiling many a photo op. They made sure management and ownership knew how they felt."

The CEO said his business had been growing at the start of the year and demand for the company's aluminum casings was strong, but he said the tariffs have already backfired on their intended purpose.

"The Trump administration’s tariffs are meant to encourage domestic aluminum smelting," the executive wrote. "But they will cause real economic pain."

The fee that largely determines the cost of buying aluminum in North America has tripled in the past six months, and the company's nonaluminum inputs have increased by 7 percent in the last month, and the foundry has had no choice but to raise their prices and lay off some workers.

"What is not debatable is that our order rate is down 35 percent to 40 percent since the start of the year," he wrote. "At other companies, too, demand is crumbling. In such a situation, companies have a fiduciary duty to bring costs down, and the one surefire way to do that is layoffs. At our company, we’ve had little choice but to lay workers off at all of our plants. Shareholders aren’t suffering — not yet — because the impact is being absorbed first by the very people Trump’s policies are meant to help."

Shivaram said his low opinion of the tariffs is shared across the business community, but he said other CEOs are fearful that speaking out against the president would put their jobs or companies at risk."

"Is that fear powerful enough to keep corporate America quiet even as consumers start to see prices increase and inflation begins to creep up for reasons that are entirely avoidable and independent of economic conditions?" Shivaram wrote.

"Time will tell," he added. "For now, I feel as though I’m watching a tsunami video that begins with a shot of a beachside paradise on a sunny day. I encourage everyone to batten down the hatches, because a big, bad wave is coming."  (our emphasis)

Those MAGAts who didn't appreciate the sunny days they had under a Democratic administration, and who haven't already been drowned by the tsunami, will soon go under if Shivaram's forecast comes true (it will).  The Malignant Fascist campaigned on raising tariffs, ffs.  The genius drove our country into a ditch during the Covid epidemic.  We wonder:  does whatever Republican- manufactured grievance motivated these workers to vote for the sociopathic moron Malignant Fascist anyway seem like it was worth it to them now?


Skeets Of The Day

 

The Epstein files coverup / smarmy Speaker works for Pedo- in- Chief --

 

Mike Johnson makes clear that when Congress returns next week he's going to work tirelessly to cover up the Epstein files

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM

 

Trump's Tariffs and inflation --


"Justin, fact check this for us, because earlier today the President said there's no inflation." Lemme serve up a heaping pile of truth on a bed of context, and do so with a smile.

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— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 12:46 PM

 

WSJ Page One: @wsj.com www.wsj.com/business/ret...

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 7:01 AM

 

Trump's ICE goons kidnap a mother in front of child --


“I don’t have any choice” says the kidnapper.

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— Francis Wilkinson (@franciswilkinson.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 8:19 AM

 

Rehabilitating traitors --

 

Looking forward to portraits of other military leaders who fought against the United States — Hideki Tojo, Ernst Rommel, all of Lee’s peers

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— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 8:37 AM

 

Ashli Babbitt carried a knife in her pants pocket when she attempted to climb through a window into the Speaker’s Lobby on January 6. Domestic terrorists should never receive military honors.

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— Patty Eguino (@patriciaeguino.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 10:47 PM

 

I’ve seen a lot of fucked up shit in my day, but this might just take the cake.

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— Max Berger (@maxberger.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 7:43 AM

 

Brainworm loon sees dead people "mitochondrial challenges" / CDC staff walks out --


“Mitochondrial challenges”, folks. Thank you for you attention to this matter.

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 12:14 PM

 

BREAKING: Big moment as CDC staff stage a mass walkout. They have lined the street outside its HQ to greet and salute the four top officials who have resigned in protest at RFK Jr’s attack on the agency’s science base. (🎥 AP)

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— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 3:42 PM

 

Fed Chair Powell failed Lisa Cook, Constitution --


Powell Will Hang Separately: The Federal Reserve Has Already Failed its Duty to Lisa Cook and the Constitution www.crisesnotes.com/powell-will-...

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— Far McKon (@farmckon.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 7:16 AM

 

The pettiness and cruelty of that small man in the White House, cont. --


* TRUMP REVOKES KAMALA HARRIS' SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION -- CNN @reuters.com

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) August 29, 2025 at 7:47 AM

 

Evergreen (Happy Friday!) --

 

🎯🎯🎯

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— AnnieForTruth (@anniefortruth1.bsky.social) August 28, 2025 at 9:11 AM