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.

 

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.”

Day of the Tower, 19th of Spring, 525 M.E. (Betelgeuse): I'm slowly returning back to so-called "normal" (whatever that is) life after a long, abnormal weekend at Big Ears. 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Third Day of Big Ears, 16th of Spring, 525 M.E. (Electra): Running on four to five hours of sleep a night, eating catch as catch can, and taking in six to eight sets of innovative new music a day. In other words, still living the dream. 

I return on Monday.

Second Day of Big Ears, 15th of Spring, 525 M.E. (Deneb): Still at Big Ears. Regular posting to resume shortly.

 

First Day of Big Ears, 14th of Spring, 525 M.E. (Castor): I'm heading to Knoxville, Tennessee today for the annual Big Ears music festival. I won't have much time to post over here and coverage of the musical events of the next several days will primarily be posted over at Music Dissolves Water.  

BTW, the hotel here was able to check me in to a non-ADA room, no problem (and no additional cost).

 

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.

 

The Ant Garden, 12th Day of Spring, 525 M.E. (Atlas): Although I've covered the Jimmy Carter 39-Mile Challenge and completed my miles by the 10th of the month, my total walking/hiking distance is only 265 miles so far this year. That's the linear distance from my house to Panama City Beach in Florida, and a circle with r = 265 miles centered on my house takes in parts of nine states, including all of Georgia except for the southernmost tip of Trail Ridge (that dick-like appendage dangling down from the state's southern border) and the southern two thirds of Cumberland Island. The circle crosses the Atlantic coast at the northern end of Cumberland and again just south of Charleston, South Carolina. At two points along the Redneck Riviera, it reaches the Gulf (Gulf of Mexico? Gulf of Chicxulub? Gulf of Jimmy Buffet? Gulf of Margaritaville? Gulf of the Depends Adult Undergarment?). 

If you've been anywhere near the news, a talk show, the radio, social or antisocial media, or virtually anywhere, you've probably heard that Trump's cabinet discussed highly sensitive war plans over an unsecured private app, and accidentally invited a journalist to listen in. Idiots. But here's the thing: forgetting the "guest list" for a moment, the use of third-party apps that do not retain data is obviously to avoid leaving a discovery trail. Project 2025 training videos allegedly recommend this very strategy to stymie subpoenas. Russians and the Chinese may be listening in, but at least the Dems won't get the chance to hear what they're up to. 

This is a coup, folks. The evidence is mounting every day, every hour.       

  

 

Godsong of the Pale Blue Women, 11th Day of Spring, 525 M.E. (Helios): So, cool, I never thought I'd have a ringside seat to The End of a small-d democratic United Snakes. 

I grew up in the 60s and am of the generation that had to do duck-and-cover drills under our desks in case of nuclear war (as if). For the first 35 years of my life, I was fairly convinced that if something else didn't get me first, I would burn to death, along with most of the rest of humanity, in a global thermonuclear war. It wasn't a question of if, but of when. There were too many nukes pointed at too many people with too many generals and politicians stoking fear and hatred and barking warnings for it not to happen, and all we needed was for one madman to launch one missile to get everyone else's arsenal flying all over the globe. It seemed inevitable. Why stay in college, why go to night school?, the Talking Heads asked, and I couldn't answer, even if I was in college when the song was recorded.

But then in 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. I watched it live on CNN - young Berliners with sledge hammers tearing down big slabs of concrete while the crowd around them cheered and the police looked away. For the first time in my life, I felt hope. Maybe our species will survive after all. Maybe, for all our faults, we really are the good guys and maybe sometimes the good guys win. Democracy spread across Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world, the Soviet Union collapsed a few years after,  and I felt a newfound optimism for the future of our planet. Sure, we still had problems, lots of them, but things were moving in the right direction and it seemed like everyone saw the worldwide benefits of peace and freedom over war and authoritarianism.

I never would have guessed back then that a mere 25 years later we would see Nazi-style fascism take hold in the Snakes. I never imagined that the amerikan people would clamor for an authoritarian leader to take away rights and basic freedoms from immigrants, foreigners, racial and gender minorities, and those who disagreed with them politically. Extraordinary rendition of Latin Americans to be shipped off to brutal El Salvador prisons, with the president threatening to do the same to anyone who protests their treatment. Or protests genocide of Palestinians. Or steps out of line at all. 

Even though the rest of the world woke up from history, the United Snakes couldn't overcome the karma of its own history. Nothing good can grow from soil planted with African slavery and the genocide of indigenous people and fertilized with capitalist imperialism and runaway materialism. Nothing good can grow out of that soil and even though I understood that, I didn't think I'd actually live to see the karmic consequences actually come to pass. 

My only solace is that I won't live long enough to suffer the effects of climate change finally washing this continent clean again through floods, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfire. A hard rain falling and washing the scum off the Earth once and for all as the karmic cycle finally completes its full 360° revolution. Good luck with that one, kids. Sorry it had to happen to you.

 

The Remnants of Bela, 10th Day of Spring, 525 M.E. (Electra): Hands off Greenland! Hands off Panama! Hands off Mexico! And Canada! And Gaza! 

The short-fingered orange vulgarian in the White House likes to run his paws over whatever attracts his eye, be it pussy, real estate, or whatever, in an infantile, oral-manual sort of way. It's up to amerika, or what's left of her, to make him keep his hands to himself.  

I bow to no king. A luta continua.