Comedian Tom Delgado tells the true story of the 2016 "Bangladesh Bank Heist" that left the Federal Reserve Bank in New York City a net $81 million lighter. Today, it would be so much simpler: just have a team of Muskrats from DOGE led by "Big Balls" barge into the building and let them do their magic (if they haven't already). Funny, but sobering.
Another white shoe law firm shows its colors (yellow) in bending the knee to the Malignant Fascist's extortion:
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP preemptively cut a deal with the administration to ward off the potential threat of an executive order targeting the firm.
The deal requires the firm to provide $100 million in pro bono services to the Trump administration, Trump said during a White House appearance. A spokesperson for Skadden did not immediately respond to a request for comment or confirmation on the deal.
Skadden joins the New York powerhouse firm Paul Weiss in choosing to surrender to the Trump administration amid threats to their ability to access government contracts and maintain clients with such contracts. Unlike the situation with Paul Weiss, Trump did not even need to issue an executive order to get the firm to bend the knee.
Three other firms targeted by Trump — Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block — have filed lawsuits challenging the orders targeting them. A federal district court judge already placed a temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s actions against Perkins Coie, saying that it “sent little chills down my spine.”
It isn’t clear why Skadden chose to seek out a deal with Trump, which The New York Times reported about on Thursday. There was no public indication that the firm would be targeted by an executive order. Billionaire White House adviser Elon Musk had singled out the firm on social media on Sunday for previously working on a case against conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza. But that’s it.
The firm’s decision to voluntarily submit to Trump comes amid rising attacks from his administration on the legal profession. He has targeted five law firms with executive orders seeking to cripple their businesses, retracted security clearances from other lawyers, and issued an executive order that purports to allow the Department of Justice to disqualify individual lawyers or firms from cases challenging the administration.
This new deal also seems to up the stakes for other firms facing Trump’s threats. Paul Weiss agreed to provide $40 million in pro bono services when it surrendered. Now, Skadden has promised $100 million in services. The tribute price has gone up 150%... (our emphasis)
Maybe we should start referring to these as "yellow shoe" law firms.
When we posted about the Paul Weiss extortion and capitulation, a commenter made a good point about what "pro bono" legal work could entail:
Free representation and fighting for the idiot's cause sounds good. Then again the old joke about the USSR comes to mind: 'We pretend to work and they pretend of pay us'.
Coerced work is not necessarily approached with the same zeal, enthusiasm, efficiency and attention to detail as work voluntarily undertaken.
And nobody can waste time, money, and effort as efficiently as a lawyer if they put their mind to it.
Play their cards right and that $40M might represent a very few days creatively and gratuitously wasted by a team of law clerks. Nothing says that an inter-office memo has to go directly down the hall. It might by routed through Albuquerque.
Point here is that a lack of enthusiasm and inefficiency, like stupidity, has no bottom. You get what you pay for. This is a freebie. It seems unlikely that this will be their best work.
That could, or could not apply here as well. We can only hope it does, because it would be the only saving grace.
In the end, we think the most important point for the Malignant Fascist is that the intimidation worked, and that the value of the services promised is almost secondary (although he would certainly gain great satisfaction from turning his compromised counselors against attorneys in their firms who somehow "wronged him" by pursuing his lawlessness). He loves his "power moves" and will take any opportunity to display them against his antagonists, past or present. It's the mark of a sociopathic authoritarian who seeks domination and unquestioning obedience.
Skadden just obeyed whereas others are fighting. As someone recently remarked, "If they won't fight for themselves, why expect them to fight for you?"
UPDATE:
Federal judges have partially blocked Trump's executive orders targeting two major law firms — Jenner & Block and WilmerHale — saying the firms are likely to succeed on their claims that the orders violate the First Amendment. www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) March 29, 2025 at 8:40 AM
[image or embed]
Guess Skadden isn't conversant with the First Amendment.
(click on images to enlarge)
(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)
(Taylor Jones, caglecartoons.com)
(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)
(Lalo Alcaraz, LA Weekly)
(Chris Britt, Creators.com)
(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)
(Marian Kamensky, caglecartoons.com, Austria)
(Nick Anderson, Counterpoint)
(Matt Davies, Newsday)
(Matt Wuerker, Politico; context here)
(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)
(Jon Adams, @citycyclops)
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in today's New York effing Times op ed page:
"It’s not the hypocrisy that bothers me; it’s the stupidity. We’re all shocked — shocked! — that President Trump and his team don’t actually care about protecting classified information or federal record retention laws. But we knew that already. What’s much worse is that top Trump administration officials put our troops in jeopardy by sharing military plans on a commercial messaging app and unwittingly invited a journalist into the chat. That’s dangerous. And it’s just dumb.
This is the latest in a string of self-inflicted wounds by the new administration that are squandering America’s strength and threatening our national security. Firing hundreds of federal workers charged with protecting our nation’s nuclear weapons is also dumb. So is shutting down efforts to fight pandemics just as a deadly Ebola outbreak is spreading in Africa. It makes no sense to purge talented generals, diplomats and spies at a time when rivals like China and Russia are trying to expand their global reach. [snip]
In a dangerous and complex world, it’s not enough to be strong. You must also be smart. As secretary of state during the Obama administration, I argued for smart power, integrating the hard power of our military with the soft power of our diplomacy, development assistance, economic might and cultural influence. None of those tools can do the job alone. Together, they make America a superpower. The Trump approach is dumb power. Instead of a strong America using all our strengths to lead the world and confront our adversaries, Mr. Trump’s America will be increasingly blind and blundering, feeble and friendless. (our emphasis)
How much stronger and better our nation would be if she were President these last 8 years.
(photo: Andrew Burton / Getty)
The "Signalgate" scandal --
It's an administration full of incompetent sex pest drunks with big debts communicating via unencrypted starlink terminals duct-taped to the white house roof, I strongly suspect this signal chat scandal is the least of our intelligence worries
— Karl Bode (@karlbode.com) March 27, 2025 at 8:01 PM
[image or embed]
Yup.
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 12:35 PM
[image or embed]
Our lawless, weaponized Department of "Justice" --
It’s worth pointing out that if any of the law enforcement agents behind Pam Bondi in this press conference had texted a buddy on Signal, “US F-18s are hitting the Houthis at 1:45 pm” they would be fired and prosecuted. Zero doubt. Zero second chances.
— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 9:42 PM
[image or embed]
One of the first things Trump did was pardon an asylum seeker from Brazil who was part of the January 6 riot.
— emptywheel (@emptywheel.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 2:34 PM
[image or embed]
Trump's doing Putin's work --
U.S. authorities have detained a medical researcher—here legally, working for Harvard medical school—who fled Russia because of her anti-war views. She's now in danger of being deported back to Russia, where she could face imprisonment. theins.press/en/news/280037
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 4:36 PM
[image or embed]
There's no reason to beat around the bush on this: Trump's Ukraine plan is literally just to make Ukraine an American colony. He's trying to divide up the country with Russia like Germany did with Poland.
— Will Stancil (@whstancil.bsky.social) March 28, 2025 at 12:54 AM
[image or embed]
Ukraine would become half Russian and the remainder would become a colonial rump, with resources extracted for the benefit of Americans, who would effectively own all the country's infrastructure and could insert itself in Ukraine's governance.
— Will Stancil (@whstancil.bsky.social) March 28, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Hi All, Just put together this post on the new mineral "deal" proposed for Ukraine. Its an entirely predictable attempt by Trump to help Putin. Ukraine, in response, needs to react like Canada or Greenland, and (sadly) not like American institutions. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
— Phillips OBrien (@phillipspobrien.bsky.social) March 28, 2025 at 6:05 AM
[image or embed]
Trump's "Make The Confederacy Great Again" EO --
This is 100% a Make the Confederacy Great Again EO. It's all abt resurrecting the statues of the generals who committed treason to join the Confederacy. I almost admire the word play audacity in the service of evil in their use of the phrase "false reconstruction" to describe their goal.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 10:46 PM
[image or embed]
Amazing that the EO includes the word "reconstruction" in this upside-down context.
— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley.bsky.social) March 28, 2025 at 9:04 AM
[image or embed]
Trump going after more law firms, some pushback --
This is how it's done. A strong and principled response by WilmerHale to the illegal Executive Order attack - a form of attempted government intimidation declared unconstitutional by a federal judge. This is how to guard the rule of law.
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 8:59 PM
[image or embed]
Trump's war on science --
🧪 Trump’s new science agenda closely mirrors Project 2025: slashing climate research, ending diversity programs, gutting university funding, and firing scientists, while claiming it’s all for innovation.
— Scott McGrath (@smcgrath.phd) March 28, 2025 at 8:20 AM
[image or embed]
What's that Musk-y smell? Going after Tesla critics --
You don't really need to lie to criticize Tesla. "The Cybertruck is a glued together, crappy vehicle that might lock you inside while it's on fire." See. Didn't need to lie
— Thor Benson (@thorbenson.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 9:19 PM
[image or embed]
Going... going... (Happy? Friday) --
Targeting law firms for who they represent. Removing things from museums. Deporting legal residents without due process. Threatening companies that raise prices. Playing loose with classified intel. Impeaching judges for their decisions. We’re losing our country—fast.
— Heath Mayo (@heathmayo.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 11:37 PM
One of the first classical music recordings we owned in our youth was Franz Schubert's Symphony #8 in B Minor (the "Unfinished Symphony"), as performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Fritz Reiner at Chicago's Orchestra Hall on March 26, 1960. The lyrical tone and pastoral melodies (not to mention the album cover) have evoked the beginning of Spring to us ever since, which is why it's become a Hackwhackers tradition to offer it at this time of year when the daffodils, forsythia and cherry blossoms are at peak. Take 24 minutes off and enjoy some of the most beautiful music ever created.
Observations today from Washington, DC's bulletized conventional wisdom tip sheet Axios:
"If you're a foreign leader or a CEO about to meet with President Trump — or if you want to avoid his vengeance — come bearing gifts.
Why it matters: Government officials and business leaders around the world have gotten the message and are strategizing about how to give Trump real or perceived wins to try to smooth out any relationship bumps with the new administration, and avoid economic or legal penalties.
Some privately have compared him to a mob boss: Tributes are required, and the shakedowns come with the full weight of the U.S. government." (our emphasis)
Many would call it simple bribery, but it's also a case of stroking his fragile ego and narcissism, making him feel like the omnipotent ruler that he aspires to be. It's an extension and expansion of his Trump International Hotel bribery scam from his first four years, where anyone wanting to do business successfully with the Malignant Fascist had to spend lots of money at his DC hotel.
One instance noted in this list -- among all the other petty shakedowns -- was the tacky invitation by King Charles to the MF for a state visit presented by Prime Minister Starmer. The British royal family has had some major scandals in the past 50 years, so perhaps they empathize with the felonious, sexual predator MF as a fellow "victim" needing some consolation. Nevertheless, another stain on the UK.
BONUS:
Not to be all woke, but I don't think this is the way our justice system should work
— Robert Maguire (@robertmaguire.bsky.social) March 28, 2025 at 9:03 AM
[image or embed]
— Tampa Bay resister 🇺🇸🇨🇿🇨🇴🏴☠️⚡️🐶🎧 (@depechemodefan101.bsky.social) March 28, 2025 at 9:25 AM
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.
(click on images to enlarge)
(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)
(Bas van der Schot, De Volkskrant, Amsterdam)
(John Buss, @repeat1968)
(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia)
(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)
(Rob Rogers, Tinyview.com)
(Asher Perlman, @asherperlman)
Once again we turn to the great Nobel Prize laureate Paul Krugman, writing in Substack, for getting to the heart of the matter:
"The amount of damage the second Trump administration has already done on many fronts, from foreign policy to public health to America’s economic prospects, both for the months ahead and in the long run, is astonishing. And they’re just getting started.
But whenever I talk with other people about one of these disasters, I find them arguing about how to think about what’s happening. Are we looking at mind-boggling incompetence on the part of what Dan Drezner, using the technical language of international relations theory, calls 'the dumbest motherfuckers alive'? Or are we looking at a sinister plot to destroy America as we know it?
The answer is 'yes.' These people are both incompetent and evil."
Krugman recounts in detail the damage being done by these "dumbest motherfuckers alive," so please read his entire piece.
Trump's "National Security" clowns --
Der Spiegel reports that in some cases it found password details for Mike Waltz, Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard via hacked data dumps and commercial providers www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
— Andy Scollick (@andyscollick.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 10:26 AM
[image or embed]
Mike Waltz claimed on Fox News last night that Jeffrey Goldberg may have been "sucked into" or "deliberately" added himself to the Signal group chat. Full records of the chat published by the Atlantic today confirm that it was Mike Waltz himself who added Goldberg to the group.
— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@shayan86.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 10:23 PM
[image or embed]
So Mike Waltz claims he never met Jeffrey Goldberg and doesn't know how he got into his contacts. Then they find Waltz's public Venmo history showing transactions with journalists across the political spectrum. This guy gets dope slapped after every lie but he's digging in, folks. Stay tuned...
— Fat Rambo (@chiefjim.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Pete Hegseth, not Mike Waltz, made the biggest mistake in the Signal scandal. While the national security adviser has rightfully come under fire, the defense secretary deserves the most scrutiny.
— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 8:34 AM
[image or embed]
It’s worth stating this simply: For literally anyone in the US Govt from 1945 to 2025, Signalgate would require an instant resignation—and a criminal investigation. It would be a matter of personal *honor* to resign. The fact Mike Waltz & Pete Hegseth are choosing to fight it out is a terrible omen.
— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Our knee- bending, normalizing media (Politico Playbook edition) -
Good news, breaking the law is now just a gaffe. Something to remember for all you guys!
— Bobby Big Wheel (@kleinman.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 9:14 AM
[image or embed]
Before the poorly educated voters threw it all away --
Real GDP for Q4 revised up slightly to +2.4%. Importantly, real GDI (an alternative and often more accurate measure of output) grew at an extraordinarily robust +4.5% in Q4. By all accounts, the economy was motoring along at the end of 2024, and we entered 2025 with momentum.
— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Trump's thugs strike again --
Most clarifying era in politics in America as anything I can recall because it’s so simple: You’re either for this or against. Pick a side.
— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 8:45 AM
[image or embed]
Make America Sick Again --
I am told about 1,200 of the ~10,000 HHS employees to be fired will come from NIH
— Dave Levitan (@davelevitan.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 10:24 AM
[image or embed]
What's that Musk-y smell? Buying a Wisconsin Supreme Court election --
If you don't want to see this horrible garbage happen in every future high-stakes election, make sure it demonstrably fails in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race by helping elect Susan Crawford
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 11:24 PM
[image or embed]
Greenlanders remove the welcome mat for Mrs. Vance --
Report from Greenland: "American representatives have been knocking on doors in recent days to see if they would like to be visited by the vice president's wife. Everywhere they have received the same answer: 'No, thank you.'" (via Google Translate) nyheder.tv2.dk/live/2025-01...
— Bill Grueskin (@bgrueskin.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 7:48 AM
[image or embed]
Hahaha, folks in Greenland are making these hats go viral ahead of Usha Vance's visit there. I LOVE THIS!!!! 💙💙💙💙
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 10:20 AM
[image or embed]
Republican sex crime blotter, the reckoning --
North Dakota republican senator, Ray Holmberg, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for traveling to Prague to rape children. northdakotamonitor.com/2025/03/26/f...
— Beks (@antifaoperative.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 5:46 PM
[image or embed]
Opening Day (R.I.P. Bob Uecker) --
Happy Opening Day baseball fans
— WuTangIsForTheChildren (@wutangforchildren.bsky.social) March 27, 2025 at 7:52 AM
[image or embed]
Yesterday, dog-shooting, Trump ass-kissing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi "Border Barbie" Noem donned her Mar-a-Lago makeup, law enforcement cap, a tight fitting white top and tight gray pants to tour the El Salvadoran CECOT maximum security prison where Venezuelan deportees and likely some innocent men were sent. In her latest cosplay, she delivered a video message after parading in front of cages full of tattooed men wearing only shorts. The Associated Press has the story of Noem's visit to the concentration camp-style prison:
"Noem’s trip to the prison — where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside — comes as the Trump administration seeks to show it is deporting people it describes as the 'worst of the worst.'
The Trump administration is arguing in federal court that it was justified in sending the Venezuelans to El Salvador, while activists say officials have sent them to a prison rife with human rights abuses while presenting little evidence that they were part of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
Noem notably dodged questions by the press about if the Venezuelan deportees were going to be in the prison indefinitely and if the Venezuelans could ever be brought back to the U.S. if a court orders the administration to do so.
'We’re going to let the courts play out,' she told reporters following the visit.
Noem toured an area holding some of the Venezuelans accused of being gang members. In the sweltering building, the men in white T-shirts and shorts stared silently from their cell, then were heard shouting an indiscernible chant when she left." (our emphasis)
We can imagine they were reacting to Border Barbie's provocative looks and attire, with the chant probably suggesting that she would be welcome to join them.
Sadly for Noem and the Malignant Fascist, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's order to temporarily block deportations under the ancient Alien Enemies Act while arguments are heard. Families of some deportees deny their loved ones were gang members, being arrested for just having tattoos, including a Venezuelan soccer player with a tattoo of the Real Madrid soccer team's emblem. There's this horror story, too, about a paperwork error that sent a married father to CECOT. That's of no concern to camera hogging Border Barbie and the Malignant Fascist's crew, whose immigration dragnet has scooped up the guilty and innocent in a way that disregarded due process. For Noem, it's on to the next staged photo op.
BONUS: Balloon Juice's Betty Cracker rates the performance --
Noem’s $60K Rolex and sporty, moisture-wicking LL Bean hiking togs are calculated to form a fetching contrast to the stacks of half-naked prisoners with shaved heads in the background. At the sight of this set piece, angry, recliner-bound, Fox News-viewing shut-ins nationwide likely experienced a frisson that reminded them of the last natural boner they experienced decades ago.
Is this peak degeneracy? Friends, I doubt that very much. We’re just over two months into a four-year nightmare...
(photo: Alex Brandon / AP)
Yesterday, the economically illiterate Malignant Fascist imposed a 25% tariff on auto imports, a move that will not just damage our main trading partner, Canada, but will damage American consumers and car dealers with higher costs and, along with the moron's other tariffs, lead to higher inflation. The moron madman is calling it "Liberation Day." Here's how our friend and ally Canada is properly reacting:
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs are a “direct attack” on his country and that the trade war is hurting Americans, noting that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low.
Trump said earlier Wednesday that he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports and, to underscore his intention, he stated, “This is permanent.” [snip]
Autos are Canada’s second-largest export. Carney noted the sector employs 125,000 Canadians directly and almost another 500,000 in related industries.
“Canada will be there for auto workers,” he said. [snip]
The president has plunged the U.S. into a global trade war — all while on-again, off-again new levies continue to escalate uncertainty.
The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its U.S consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January of 2021.
“His trade war is hurting American consumers and workers and it will hurt more. I see that American consumer confidence is at a multi-year low,” Carney said earlier while campaigning in Windsor, Ontario ahead of Canada’s April 28 election.
The tax hike on auto imports starting in April means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales. [snip]
Trump previously placed 25% tariffs on Canada’s steel and aluminum and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products — as well as on all of America’s trading partners — on April 2.
“He wants to break us so America can own us,” Carney said. “And it will never ever happen because we just don’t look out for ourselves, we look out for each other.”... (our emphasis)
Please note that vehicles made in Canada (and Mexico and China) include American brands, too, which will be subject to the tariff.
The trend on the consumer confidence index Carney pointed to looks like this:
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dropped in March to its lowest level since January 2021 — Trump's presidency has made Americans as pessimistic as they were during a pandemic-induced economic crisis.
— Steve Rattner (@steverattner.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 10:44 AM
[image or embed]
Meanwhile, expectations for inflation, based on the Malignant Fascist's aberrant actions and policies have shot up:
The Conference Board's consumer inflation expectations rose further t 6.2% in March.
— Steve Rattner (@steverattner.bsky.social) March 25, 2025 at 10:38 AM
[image or embed]
Carney continues with the facts about the cross- border impact:
Carney, a former two-time central banker in Canada and the U.K., made the earlier comments while campaigning against the backdrop of the Ambassador Bridge, which is considered the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.
Carney said the bridge carries $140 billion Canadian dollars ($98 billion) in goods every year and CA$400 million ($281 million) per day.
“Now those numbers and the jobs and the paychecks that depend on that are in question,” Carney said. “The relationship between Canada and the United States has changed. We did not change it.”
In the auto sector, parts can go back and forth across the Canada-U.S. border several times before being fully assembled in Ontario or Michigan.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province has the bulk of Canada’s auto industry, said auto plants on both sides the border will shut simultaneously if the tariffs go ahead.
“President is calling it Liberation Day. I call it Termination Day for American workers. I know President Trump likes tell people ’Your fired!” I didn’t think he meant U.S. auto workers when he said it,” Ford said.... (our emphasis)
Of course, our auto- exporting friends and allies in Europe and Asia will also suffer similar impacts on their auto industries and will almost certainly take retaliatory measures.
You couldn't plan a better way of sabotaging our economy and that of your friends and allies if Putin was drawing it up in the Kremlin... Oh, right ...
(Photo: Chrysler vehicles made in Canada crossing the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario/ via CNN)
