Water Dissolves Water
"Why Can't I Be Different and Original . . . Like Everybody Else?" - Viv Stanshall
Sunday, April 06, 2025
Saturday, April 05, 2025
This is Boston (not L.A.), but similar protests are happening here in Atlanta, in D.C., in Austin, Texas, and all across the country.
Friday, April 04, 2025
Second Day of the Zenith, 22nd of Spring, 525 M.E. (Electra): OMG, just look at today's headlines:
- Trump’s tariffs are rattling Meta
- Airline stocks get hammered as investors worry about travel demand" (The New York Times)
"Stock-market rout continues as investors rattled by Trump tariffs; Slumps on S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq cap dismal day for global indices but US president doubles down on tariff plan" (The Guardian)
- Powell: Trump’s tariffs were far larger than expected
- Nintendo postpones Switch 2 preorders in US because of tariffs" (CNN)
"Global stocks sink in second day of market turmoil over Trump tariffs" (BBC)
"Wall Street nosedives at close, Nasdaq ends in bear market, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said uncertainty is high, U.S. stocks extended already deep losses on his remarks
- Stocks slump again after China fires back in trade war with tariffs on US goods
- Nowhere to hide: Trump tariffs leave trading partners cornered
- After tariff shock, Trump may weaponise finance against allies" (Reuters)
- Federal judge directs Trump admin to return Maryland man deported to El Salvador prison
- Kamala Harris’ reaction to Trump’s landslide victory revealed in bombshell book"
Thursday, April 03, 2025
Day of the Zenith, 21st of Spring, 525 M.E. (Deneb): And just like that, we're a fundamentally diminished nation.
On October 19, 2024, The Economist magazine claimed the American economy was “the envy of the world.” Today, a mere five months later, all three major Wall Street index funds are plummeting. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fund was down 4.5%, while the Dow dropped 2.7% at opening. Bloomberg calculated that around $2 trillion has been knocked off the value of the S&P 500 today, with Apple among the biggest losers. Meanwhile, the dollar hit a six-month low, going down at least 2.2% this morning compared to other major currencies.
What happened? Last night, the Orange One announced that he will impose a 10% tariff on all imports to the United States, with higher rates on specific countries and the European Union. The U.S. will subject Chinese goods to a new tariff of 34 percent, on top of other tariffs imposed since January. The E.U.’s tariff was set at 20 percent, Japan’s at 24 percent, Britain’s at 10 percent. and India’s at 26 percent. New tariffs on all automobiles made outside the United States also took effect, adding to the previous tariffs on steel, aluminum and other imports that Trump has already imposed since returning to office. He even imposed tariffs on uninhabited regions, like Australia’s Heard and McDonald Islands, which are occupied only by penguins and seals.
Tellingly, though, he did not impose any tariffs on Russia.
Agent Orange is calling yesterday "Liberation Day" but it's not clear who is being liberated or from what. “Never before has an hour of Presidential rhetoric cost so many people so much,” according to former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, who estimates the loss from the new tariff policies to be close to $30 trillion, "or $300,000 per family of four."
The White House says it is merely imposing “reciprocal tariffs,” which they claim are about half of what other countries charge on U.S. goods, although the numbers they are using are fundamentally flawed. For example, Paul Krugman points out that while Trump claims the E.U. places 39% tariffs on U.S. goods, the actual rate is less than 3% on average.
Apparently, for each country, the White House looked up its 2024 trade deficit and then divided that deficit by the country’s exports to us. Then, to be “kind,” they offered a discount, cutting that figure in half. However, trade deficits aren't tariffs, and financial journalist James Surowiecki called the approach “extraordinary nonsense.” Japanese consumers don't buy as many American products as American consumers buy Japanese products for a wide variety of reasons, including price, quality, and need, and not just because of government sanctioned tariffs.
The tariffs are likely to drive up prices for American consumers and manufacturers. Business groups, trade experts, economists, Democratic lawmakers, and even a few Republicans have denounced the tariffs, and even former vice president Mike Pence called them the "Trump Tariff Tax," claiming they represent "the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history.”
Trump had waited until the stock market closed yesterday before he announced the new tariffs. But by noon today, the S&P 500 had tumbled more than 4 percent, echoing sharp declines in Asia and Europe as investors balked at the tariffs.
The so-called "president" is undermining a system of global trade that has fostered international cooperation since World War II. “This is Trump saying. . . 'I am going to overturn globalization as we’ve known it,'” said CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar.
“I’m hoping it doesn’t push the U.S. and the world into recession,” Foroohar added. However, JP Morgan forecasts that these policies, if sustained, will likely push the US and global economy into a recession this year. “In the short run, the effect is probably a recession," agreed economist Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations, adding, "It’s going to raise the price of so many goods that can’t be made in the United States." In the long run, he said, "it’s a vision of the U.S. that is very isolated from the world.”
The Turnip finally built his fucking wall, but this time we're all trapped inside. The tariffs are likely a way to make private industry dependent on the president in the same way he has tried to make law firms and universities dependent on him. Senator Chris Murphy suggested companies “will need to pledge loyalty to Trump in order to get sanctions relief.” He warned that the "tariffs are DESIGNED to create economic hardship." Trump will then have a straight-face rationale for releasing them, business by business or industry by industry. "As he adjusts or grants relief," Murphy points out, "it’s a win-win: the economy improves and dissent disappears.”
The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to impose tariffs. However, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act allows the president to impose tariffs if he declares a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act, which Trump has done, citing a need "to increase our competitive edge, protect our sovereignty, and strengthen our national and economic security.”
The same law, however, also allows Congress to end such a declaration of emergency. But so far, Republicans have declined to do so. Yesterday, the Senate passed a resolution to block the tariffs on Canadian products, with four Republicans (Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, and Rand Paul) joining Democrats to pass the resolution. But Speaker Mike Johnson is unlikely to take the measure up in the House any time soon.
As I said at the top of the post, we're now a fundamentally diminished country. Our economy is in shambles, we're heading for a major recession, an autocratic despot is illegally and unconstitutionally seizing control of every aspect of government, and the agencies and government organizations intended as a financial safety net and to protect our health, food, air, and water have been gutted and decimated.
I'm not happy with these times or these conditions.
Wednesday, April 02, 2025
The Quiet Turf, 20th Day of Spring, 525 M.E. (Castor): "Trump announces sweeping new tariffs, upending decades of US trade policy," the headline in today's The Guardian reads. Having failed in his first term to build a physical wall along the Mexican border he's now essentially building a financial wall made of tariffs isolating the United Snakes from the rest of the world.
This won't end well. An international trade system that's developed over the past five or six decades has been suddenly upended by a senile narcissist with no guardrails or capable advisors telling him not to wreck things. I can agree that some trade inequalities exist and that there's a level of manipulation in certain markets, and that these issues need to be identified and fixed, but Trump's tariffs will essentially be a "tax on everything," will mostly hurt amerikan consumers, and will trigger a recession both here and abroad. The moron just broke the economy, and Congress, the rest of D.C., and the press are too chickenshit to say that out loud.
Leaving NATO will destroy an international military alliance that's maintained the peace for over 60 years. This won't end well, either, and it's hard to impossible to predict much less identify all of the threats that will emerge to fill the power vacuum that the collapse of NATO will create. An unintelligent move by an unintelligent man.
As Lloyd Bridges said in the film Airplane! (1980), “Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.”
Tuesday, April 01, 2025
I was only gone for four days but I came back to more little chores and "to do" items than I was able to accomplish in one day. Good thing there's a "tomorrow."
All those miles walked over the past year sure came in handy as I walked from venue to venue in Knoxville. What once seemed strenuous was now a breeze. But I'm still not sure when I'll climb the hierarchy of needs high enough to resume my alternating-day walking and sitting schedule again.
Monday, March 31, 2025
Day of Mourning, 18th of Big Ears, 525 M.E. (Atlas): Today, I played rope-a-dope with that front system and severe weather between my hotel in Knoxville and my home in Atlanta.
I didn't want to drive in a severe thunderstorm, and they were warning about the possibility of 60 mph winds, golf ball-sized hail, and possible tornado watches. The front was moving towards the east, but the weather behind it looked calm. As the highway (I-75) from K-ville to A-town initially runs toward the southwest between Knoxville to Chattanooga, I realized that since I would be driving in basically the opposite direction of the storm, I could pass through it pretty quickly.
I checked out of my hotel as required by 11:00 am, but waited around until 12:30 pm to leave. I hung around the hotel's business center with a big cup of Starbuck's coffee and watched on my phone as the front passed overhead. I hit the road just as the center of the storm was directly over me and visibility was pretty limited for about the first 15 minutes of driving. But as I got a little further west, the rain let up and after a half hour I was able to turn off the wipers for the whole rest of the way home.
The center of the storm was over Atlanta when I was about halfway home, but by the time I got here it had moved well to the east. So basically I made it home safe and sound and not too late in the day (4:00 pm) despite my concerns about the weather.
Big Ears was a blast, as always, and now I have to get back to my regular routine of walking and sitting and watching what I eat.
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Fourth Day of Big Ears, 17th of Spring, 525 M.E. (Helios): Even though all of the Big Ears events are indoors, there are some longish walks (about ½ mile) between venues so the weather matters. It's been pleasantly warm all weekend with highs in the mid 70s, but some occasional rain is forecast for today. There's also some severe weather alerts for tomorrow's drive home to Atlanta, so there's that to worry about.
Meanwhile, one more and final day of music.
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Friday, March 28, 2025
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Sixth Ocean, 13th Day of Spring, 525 M.E. (Betelgeuse): My car is back in the shop again. I had it repaired last week, and then yesterday the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree again, just like it had last week before I took it in. I drove it back to the dealer (they have the codes for the computer components) but don't know for sure when I'm getting my car back.
If I don't have it back by tomorrow, I'm driving their loaner car to Knoxville for this year's Big Ears festival. Come hell or high water, I'm going to Big Ears in whatever vehicle I have in my possession by mid-morning tomorrow.
I got an email confirmation from the hotel there for my reservation, but it turns out that for some reason I booked an ADA-compliant room. I felt bad about that - I don't need (or want) an ADA room, and I have empathy for someone who does need it but can't stay at my Hyatt because I've got the room. I sort of feel like I'm parking in the Handicap Only space.
I called the hotel to see if I can change the reservation, but the rooms they claim were available were $150 to $200 more per night. For four nights, that's $600 to $800 more for an already expensive stay. I have empathy, but maybe not $600-$800 worth. I'm sticking with the ADA room, and am hoping that it still has a shower and not just a bathtub.
I honestly thought that the hotel would thank me for stepping up and offering to take a different room and not try to upsell me on some bigger suite, but go figure. If some else who needs the room can't book it, it's on them, not me.
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