THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2025
...when the fellow keeps saying this: We've log recommended pity for the person—for the tragic loss of human potential.
That said, it's too late to take away his power. Meanwhile, the person in question simply can't seem to stop saying things like this:
President Trump in the Garden / April 2, 2025
What a good-looking group of people! Well, we have some very, very good news today and a lot of good things are happening for our country. Please sit down.
My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day, been waiting for a long time. April 2nd, 2025 will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again. Going to make it wealthy, good and wealthy.
For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike...Our country and its taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years, but it is not going to happen anymore. It's not going to happen. In a few moments, I will sign a historic executive order instituting reciprocal tariffs on countries throughout the world.
[...]
From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation, and the United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been. So wealthy in fact that in the 1880s, they established a commission to decide what they were going to do with the vast sums of money they were collecting. We were collecting so much money so fast, we didn't know what to do with it. Isn't that a nice problem to have?...
Then in 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens, rather than foreign countries, would start paying the money necessary to run our government. Then in 1929, it all came to a very abrupt end with the Great Depression. And it would've never happened if they had stayed with the tariff policy, it would've been a much different story. They tried to bring back tariffs to save our country, but it was gone. It was gone. It was too late.
For full transcript and tape, click here.
As you can see, he started with his standard paranoia-adjacent claims about the way he himself, and now the nation he rules, have been mistreated and abused by all comers down through the annals of time.
He attributes the international economic abuse to the way the federal government abandoned the miraculous use of tariffs in 1913.
(For reasons unknown to mankind!)
Before long, he offered the endlessly-corrected presentation—the presentation he can't seem to quit. We all should tremble for our nation when we see that he's still saying this:
Then in 1913...they established the income tax so that citizens, rather than foreign countries, would start paying the money necessary to run our government.
He simply can't stop saying it! We should tremble for our country when we ponder the likelihood that he actually believes this fixed idea—that he actually isn't lying, the explanation we Blues have long preferred.
Sorry, Charlie! When the federal government collects money through tariffs, that money isn't being submitted by citizens or governments of foreign countries. By now, everybody understands that fact—everyone but the potentate of this flailing land.
Is something "wrong" with President Trump? With tremendous resolve matching Trump's own, major Red and Blue elites have agreed on one basic point—that rather obvious possibility must never be discussed.
Madness is crawling across the land; by this point, it's coming in waves, on a virtual hourly basis, As Camus said of the fictional denizens of the fictional Oran, we simply weren't up to the challenge of seeing what lay right there before us.
One final note:
These tariffs may turn public opinion against this president in a major way. We tremble in the face of an obvious possibility:
Depending on how disordered he may have become, at that point he could become more angry and more dangerous.
After all this time, Trump still insists that foreign countries pay tariffs on our imports.
ReplyDeleteAnother version of the Mexicans paying for the wall. The only payment that can be said with conviction is that the American taxpayer has spent 26 million dollars on Trump's golfing since his inauguration.
Delete"Declaring a “national emergency that threatens our security and our very way of life,” President Donald Trump, after markets closed on Wednesday afternoon, announced sweeping tariffs on nearly every nation across the globe—tanking stock market futures in the U.S. and abroad, unleashing global “chaos,” and pushing the so-called “fear index” to “extreme.”
ReplyDeleteHours after what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” the president, on Thursday afternoon, will land at Miami International Airport and head straight to his Trump National Doral Golf Club for the LIV dinner, ahead of this weekend’s golf tournament which he is expected to attend.
As global leaders prepare to make contact with President Trump to stave off what may become a “global trade war,” he will not be in the Oval Office, but in Florida—likely hitting the greens for the remainder of the week, something he himself accused federal workers of doing back in February. (At the same time, the House of Representatives has shut down, stalled by internal Republican divisions.)
Some critics are blasting Trump’s decision to head to his golf club during this “national emergency,” which he has a long history of doing."
First, it isn't too late to take away Trump's power. The Congress can impeach and remove him any time they decide to take action.
ReplyDeleteSecond, his actions are not involuntary, as Somerby implies when he says Trump "can't stop saying" and doing certain things. All of this is voluntary, done by choice, no matter how delusional or self-serving. He is not being compelled to do any of the things he says and does.
Calling this a "waste of human potential" is ludicrous given that Trump is now 78 and arguably at the end of his lifespan. Were he to dramatically change tomorrow, he wouldn't have any potential left to realize. This is his last lap.
Somerby makes himself sound ridiculous when he writes stuff like this.
DeleteThe congress can also revoke Trump’s “emergency” declaration and end the tariffs, but they refuse to.
DeleteThe Dow shed more than 1,600 points in a single day. There is no way to argue that this is good for our economy.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe the goal is Dow 36,000.
DeleteIs that funny to you, DG?
DeleteIn a gallows way, a little. But not to you, I gather. Is that because you don’t get it, or because you actually support Trump’s attempt to destroy the economic foundations of western civilization?
DeleteIt’s because real people are losing money today, not rich people but people with pension plans.
Delete"These tariffs may turn public opinion against this president in a major way. We tremble in the face of an obvious possibility:
ReplyDeleteDepending on how disordered he may have become, at that point he could become more angry and more dangerous."
So, we should do nothing to stop Trump when he does dangerous things because he might become "angry and more dangerous" and do even weirder stuff? No, that is not how this works. When someone does something dangerous, you remove him from power so that he won't do something more dangerous. This should be the discussion everywhere -- how do we stop this guy who is demonstrably hurting our nation?
For some reason, Somerby never discusses that. It is almost as if there is a rule at Somerby's blog that such things must never be discussed.
My picture of what is happening is that the blue denizens are seeing very clearly what is wrong and how dangerous it is, and they are saying so repeatedly, discussing all the stuff that Somerby says must never be discussed, but it is the red denizens who are incapable of seeing and doing something to stop their own Dear Leader from destroying our economy. They are the ones who won't discuss it and insist that everything is fine and will turn out wonderful, because Trump can do not wrong and is always right (it says so on their hats).
ReplyDeleteHere’s a comprehensive list of “all the stuff Somerby says must not be discussed”:
Delete1.
2.
3.
If you are saying there is nothing that Somerby says must not be discussed, that’s not the point. Somerby is saying that blue America has such rules and that’s plainly wrong. I was clear and I don’t like your distortion of what I said.
DeleteActually, I quoted what you said, and what I quoted is wrong. Be a mensch and own it.
DeleteYou and I both read what Somerby said, but you are being a dick.
DeleteDG,
DeleteAre you sure that's not the list of Republican voters who aren't bigots?
It sure looks like it.
Then in 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens, rather than foreign countries, would start paying the money
ReplyDeleteMaybe the reasons are unknown to King Orange Chickenshit, but only because he is one lazy motherfucking corrupt lying sack of shit./
This man is dangerously stupid and nobody can stop him. I am halfway thinking he is really trying to start WW3.
All indications are he (his idiot team) is gearing up for war with Iran. This ain't Gaza, Iraq, or Afghanistan; Iran has a real fucking military and attacking it would lead to a real fucking disaster.
DeleteYes, this is what I am beginning to fear. That is the logic behind everything else he is doing.
DeleteAs I recall, Israel took out most of Iran's air force a little while ago. They have little defense against an air attack.
DeleteOnce again, your recall is faulty. Israel hit some of Iran's air defense sites back in October, but did not by any distortion of words "take out most of Iran's air force."
DeleteWith DiC's ability to destroy an air force in his mind surprised Trump didn't pick him for Secretary Defense. I guess just not rapey enough for the felon.
DeleteHis trade advisor and ex-felon Peter Navarro is looking the American people in the eye and claiming these tariffs are a "tax cut" to the American people. We already know he thinks it is his duty to lie for his king, so what the fuck do we bother asking him anything for?
ReplyDeleteWhen a felon, always a felon.
DeleteSomerby quotes Trump's mistaken history but Somerby doesn't fact-check it or rebut it by explaining that the absence of tariffs didn't cause the depression because there were tariffs in place leading up to the depression. Hoover raised tariffs (Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1929), starting a trade war that exacerbated the depression. When Somerby quotes but doesn't refute mistaken info, he is helping to spread misinformation himself. Somerby is busy throwing a dishcloth over his head and running out into the street, but he won't take a minute to tell his readers how wrong Trump has gotten the history and causes of the Great Depression! How does that help anything?
ReplyDeleteCorrection: Act of 1930 not 1929
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot%E2%80%93Hawley_Tariff_Act#:~:text=Hoover%20won%2C%20and%20Republicans%20maintained,agricultural%20and%20industrial%20goods%20alike.
"President Donald Trump has been ordered to pay £626,000 in legal fees after a lawsuit he brought in England was thrown out of court, said The Guardian.
ReplyDeleteTrump sued Orbis Business Intelligence, a consulting firm founded by Christopher Steele, who penned an extensive memo that claimed Trump was conspiring with Russia to win the 2016 election. The dossier also alleged that as a result of those relationships in Russia, Trump was "compromised." [Rawstory]
I agree with Bob that Trump made a number of dumb, false, ridiculous statements in that speech. For that reason I found it hard to watch.
ReplyDeleteBut, there doesn't have to be anything wrong with a politician who makes dumb, false, ridiculous statements. Otherwise the entire Congress would belong in the Happy House.
A member of Congress saying something stupid does not cause the stock market to collapse the next day. You cannot conflate the two, but that is the kinda slimy BS you peddle in day in day out DiC.
DeleteDavid, Trump made his "dumb, false, ridiculous statements" as justification for his sweeping action on tariffs, He's not just saying words--he's doing stuff that is plainly harmful and using delusional statements as his rationale.
DeleteWhen Biden misspoke, you called it evidence he was unfit. When Trump talks like a deranged person, you shrug.
As I said before, Biden wasn't doing anything to counteract the behavior that made him appear unfit. OTOH Trump is clearly working hard and leading the government, although you may disapprove of many of his actions. Trump gives pressers almost every day. That's very special.. Trump gives plausible answers to a wide variety of questions. He shows that he's very much on top of things. Biden didn't do that and Harris didn't do that.
DeleteBTW I think you're too kind to Trump when you call his speech yesterday merely "misspoke." I think it was a lot worse. His justifications were often weak and some were preposterous. Maybe the stupidest one was saying that a lack of tariffs caused the 1929 depression.
To give him a little credit, he did successfully promote the narrative that the US is a sucker in its international dealings. But, he could have accomplished that without saying preposterous things
Trump is destroying the economy. Any moron can see that.
DeleteThat’s not really such a bad thing though.
DeleteWe get that you're fag about the economy though and really scared about it being destroyed.
Delete"Trump gives plausible answers to a wide variety of questions."
DeleteHe doesn't though, as you point out. Tariffs did not help during the depression. That's not a "plausible" answer. Tariffs are not paid by foreing countries. Not plausible. We are not in an economic emergency. We are not being invaded. Marco Rubio did not sign the AEA declaration.
His answers are complete fantasies.
I still don’t understand what “unfair trade practices” other countries are supposedly doing to us to warrant these tariffs.
DeleteThere's nothing to understand. The man is fucking insane. He thinks he can fund the federal government on highly regressive tariffs and get rid of the income tax. I hope his maggot fans are happy. Dumb bastards elect a proven business fraud, tax cheat with multiple bankruptcies and cheer for the brilliant businessman. A fucking actor on a reality tv show.
Delete@9:02 According to Trump, the unfair trade practices are high tariffs plus other rules and regulations that restrict the ability of American companies to sell their products in that country. Somebody mentioned the value added tax as a burden to exporters.
DeleteThat sounds like a good reason to tank the US economy — not.
DeleteMore bullshit from Dickhead in Cal. Trump himself negotiated and signed the trade agreements with Canada and Mexico, didn't he? And VAT gives no competitive disadvantage to American companies.
DeleteFuck off, Dickhead.
DeleteVAT does give competitive disadvantage to American companies, idiot-moonbat. VAT is suppressing domestic consumption, and therefore promotes exports.
Thst's right, maggot breath. Now go pick your nose and try thinking about that a little more.
DeleteIt's political genius on the part of Trump, because there isn't one Republican voter who cares enough about the economy, to learn how it works.
DeleteBigotry, on the other hand, they want to marry.
DiC's format:
ReplyDeleteI agree so and so made great points; BUT - I just want to repeat a bunch of BS. Rinse repeat.
Arty - you just made a great point, but… 😆
DeleteArty,
DeleteNot nearly enough bigotry to be DiC's format, obviously.
David, what's with the smiley face? Nobody wants to be your friend here. You remind me of the Nazi war hero in the movie Inglorious Basterds who thought he was so cute and couldn't understand why the Jewish French girl whose entire family had been executed by the Gestapo didn't feel honored to receive his attentions. You come here every day and lie and post some of the most heinous disgusting bullshit and then you want to be friends with all the liberals you've just taken a shit on. We don't want to be your friend, Dickhead. We want to lock you in a movie theater with all the other fascist nazis and burn the fucking place down.
DeleteAmericans hate freedom.
ReplyDeleteI miss Cecelia.
ReplyDeleteYou're an idiot.
ReplyDeleteThe Republican Party is the party of jealousy.
ReplyDeleteTrump is jealous of the EU's trade surplus with the U.S.
The Republican Congress is jealous of Hunter Biden's penis.
Republican voters are jealous of drag queens protecting children from religious camp counselors.
Hopefully, the Republican Party has an oven with David in Cal's name on it.
ReplyDeleteIt took him 3 months and over $260,000,000 of taxpayer funded golf, but he's now gotten us a recession. Us and the rest of the world. Recession and inflation. LIV golf tournament this weekend. Must be fun.
ReplyDeleteHe gave a thumbs up to the cameras as he lumbered over to the Presidential helicopter on his way for a 3-day weekend advertising his golf club and sucking up some more of that Saudi money. It only took him a little over 2 months to crash the world's greatest economy. maggots rejoiced
DeleteEducation Dept. warns schools: Eliminate DEI programs or lose funding
ReplyDeleteFederalism for thee, but not for me.
I think this tribe wakes up every day thinking what new dickish thing can they do to the people who pay us our salary. fuck them all straight to hell
Soon they will be interrogating us for thought crimes.
DeleteAccording to the National Review, this how Trump set his tariffs:
ReplyDelete“After two months of complete confusion, it settled on one of the worst possible methods to set tariff rates: It divided the country’s goods-trade deficit with the U.S. by its amount of exports to the U.S. and then divided that in half. For the more than 100 countries with which the U.S. has a trade surplus, it set the tax rate at 10 percent. It’s all based not on tariffs or unfair trade practices but simply on the existence of a trade deficit, and on the dogged belief that trade deficits are bad.”
I already posted that yesterday, maggot asshole fascist freak. He looked the American people straight in the eye and suggested the EU was hitting us with 39% tariffs. So fuck you straight to fucking hell, you fascist freak.
Delete
Delete"It’s all based not on tariffs or unfair trade practices but simply on the existence of a trade deficit, and on the dogged belief that trade deficits are bad."
In other words, it's protectionist tariffs. Perfect. This is how American prosperity was built in the first place.
Of course it's anathema for idiot-Democrats, whose the party of slaveholders.
Of course. Trump has to make America un-prosperous in order to make it prosperous.
Delete... it's protectionist tariffs...
DeleteNo, wrong, idiot maggot-breath.
The pack of greedy squalid demons in the administration claimed "retaliatory" tariffs based on totally fictional deliberate lies about the tariffs from the rest of the world. maggot-nation in their mother's basements rejoiced
Delete