The Reign of Trump

[bilateralrope]

As a programmer and database designer, it almost sounds to me like someone just filtered for certain keywords without looking at historical context.

That is the lazy way of doing things.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Suicidal Man with Gun tries to take Trump with him as he goes for Suicide by Cop?
Either way, looks like he didn't get the job done. Hope he gets some mental care.

And that Trump doesn't issue an Executive Order that he be put to death, because that seems like the sort of thing he would do right now.

Could he even do that though?

[bilateralrope]

Suicidal Man with Gun tries to take Trump with him as he goes for Suicide by Cop?
Either way, looks like he didn't get the job done. Hope he gets some mental care.

And that Trump doesn't issue an Executive Order that he be put to death, because that seems like the sort of thing he would do right now.

Could he even do that though?

I see no evidence that Trump cares about the legality of any executive order he issues.

If this causes a MAGA mob to kill the guy while the order is challenged in court, I expect the murders will be pardoned.

[Solauren]

Nah, Trump would play it the other way.

"That poor, misguided Democract..." or "that poor, misguided (whatever)".
Make it seem like disagreeing with Trump is a mental health problem/only those with mental health problems disagree with Trump.

[Rogue 9]

I'm not sure what transferring troops from Germany to Hungary is going to accomplish?

Rewarding Orban with the economic activity an American base brings, and also in the unlikely event that things go loud with Russia, Hungary would almost certainly sit it out because Orban loves Putin, treaty allies be damned, so the tripwire force that would basically force the United States to jump in if attacked wouldn't be in the crossfire.

[bilateralrope]

Tesla Execs Want Trade War Relief, Just Don’t Tell Elon Which Execs

from the petards-are-for-hoisting dept
Mon, Mar 17th 2025 10:52am - Mike Masnick

There’s a certain poetry to Tesla executives discovering that trade wars are, in fact, not good and easy to win. Last week, someone at Tesla sent a detailed letter to the US Trade Representative essentially begging for relief from the very policies their CEO has been championing as he destroys the traditional institutions of government. The internet has many ways to describe this kind of karmic moment — from the “Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party” to “Me Sowing/Me Reaping” to the elegantly concise “FAFO.” But perhaps the most interesting part isn’t that Tesla’s executives are learning about consequences — it’s that they’re apparently too afraid of their own boss to put their names on that learning experience.

The letter reads like a crash course in “Economics 101 for Tech Bros.” After the obligatory corporate chest-thumping about Tesla’s US manufacturing prowess, it gets to the awkward reality that seems to have escaped their CEO’s notice: Tesla very much relies on global open access to markets, both for parts that are made in other countries, and to be able to sell Teslas outside of the United States:

As a U.S. manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices.

Translation: “Hey, remember how global supply chains and open markets work? You know, the thing every first-year economics student learns about comparative advantage?” It’s the kind of explanation you might expect from executives desperately trying to point out that their company — which relies on international suppliers for parts and foreign markets for sales — probably shouldn’t be cheerleading for policies explicitly designed to disrupt global trade.

The crazy part isn’t just that they’re right — it’s that they had to write this letter at all. But given Musk’s documented history of firing anyone who delivers unwelcome news (just ask Tesla’s former Supercharger team), perhaps it’s not surprising they waited until the leopards were literally at the factory door before speaking up.

The letter goes on to explain, in painfully careful detail, how trade wars actually work:

While Tesla recognizes and supports the importance of fair trade, the assessment undertaken by USTR of potential actions to rectify unfair trade should also take into account exports from the United States. U.S. exporters are inherently exposed to disproportionate impacts when other countries respond to U.S. trade actions. For example, past trade actions by the United States have resulted in immediate reactions by the targeted countries, including increased tariffs on EVs imported into those countries. Past U.S. special tariff actions have thus (1) increased costs to Tesla for vehicles manufactured in the United States, and (2) increased costs for those same vehicles when exported from the United States, resulting in less competitive international marketplace for U.S. manufacturers. USTR should investigate ways to avoid these pitfalls in future actions.

I mean, it’s kinda shocking that this lesson needs to be taught, and that Tesla is delivering the lesson: You put tariffs on their stuff, they put tariffs on your stuff, everybody’s costs go up, nobody wins. It’s the kind of obvious cause-and-effect that you’d think wouldn’t need explaining to the people running the government.

Unfortunately, the most likely outcome here is that Musk will leverage his relationship with the administration to get Tesla some sort of carve-out. But other countries aren’t playing that game. Canada, for instance, is already targeting Tesla in response to US threats. And Musk, showing his characteristic inability to think more than one move ahead, responded by threatening to cut off Canadian access to Starlink. Because nothing fixes a trade dispute like escalating it into a tech infrastructure fight.

This pattern of short-term thinking followed by predictable blowback has become a hallmark of Musk’s leadership basically everywhere he’s been in charge. Whether it’s antagonizing the very regulators SpaceX needs to work with, alienating core customer bases at both Twitter and Tesla through erratic political posturing, or now running point for a president escalating trade disputes that directly threaten Tesla’s business model, there’s a consistent inability to think more than one move ahead. And his response to the Canada situation — threatening to cut off Starlink access in retaliation for policies affecting Tesla — perfectly exemplifies this consistently self-defeating approach to international relations.

Which brings us back to that unsigned letter. The Financial Times got the scoop on why nobody wanted to put their name on it, and the explanation is exactly what you’d expect from executives who’ve learned the hard way about delivering unwelcome news to Elon:

One person familiar with the process of sending the letter said: “It’s a polite way to say that the bipolar tariff regime is screwing over Tesla.”

The person added: “It is unsigned because nobody at the company wants to be fired for sending it.”

I mean, good luck with that. Musk has a history of erratically firing entire teams of people because of randomly getting upset at them. He did that just last year with Tesla’s Supercharger team. So I’m not sure not signing the letter will protect whoever did this at Tesla.

It turns out that when you spend years cheering on the “Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party,” you shouldn’t be surprised when the leopards show up at your factory door. Tesla executives are now discovering what “FAFO” means in practice — though they’re apparently too afraid of their own CEO to put their name on it.

Just in case anyone here still thinks that Musk is competent, here's a situation where he has made his execs afraid of speaking the truth about how Trump's trade war is hurting the company.

[Solauren]

CBC shed some light that puts things into perspective.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump- ... -1.7484790

What's Trump's endgame with global tariffs? Canadian officials say they have a clearer idea
U.S. plans tariffs for April 2, and will then adjust for nations that play nice: Ontario representative

After a lengthy meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump's top trade officials on Thursday, Canadian representatives say they have a clearer understanding of the rationale behind Trump's insistence on tariffs — not just on Canada but on the whole world.

"Tariffs are now a global policy of the United States," said David Paterson, Ontario's representative in Washington. "And this is a historic change to global trading patterns, and [the Americans are] very aware of that."

Paterson, along with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, and federal cabinet ministers, met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer — the point people on Trump's trade agenda.

In an interview on Power & Politics, Paterson told host David Cochrane that the Canadians and Americans had a 90-minute meeting and the first half-hour was "a master class" from Lutnick in breaking down the U.S. position on tariffs.

The focus of the U.S. government is dealing with its yearly deficit in federal spending, Paterson said. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the federal government ran a $1.83 trillion US deficit in the 2024 fiscal year.

There are three things the U.S. government is doing that affect the deficit, Paterson added.

The first is a major budget resolution that calls for trillions of dollars in spending and tax cuts, which is "something that must not increase that deficit further while keeping tax levels and competitiveness low," Paterson said.

The other two are measures to help make the spending and tax cuts happen without growing the deficit, including slashing government spending through Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and tariffs, which are meant to be a new revenue source and attract investment into the United States.

Paterson said the American plan is to impose tariffs by sector across countries all around the world on April 2. From there, the countries that get along with the U.S. the best will be "first in line" to adjust or mitigate the tariffs.

"This is the policy. This is the way they're going forward," Paterson said. "And I think [Thursday] gave us a lot of clarity."

In an interview on Rosemary Barton Live airing Sunday, Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., said the Americans walked the Canadians through Trump's trade agenda and gave them a chance to ask questions and explain how Trump's trade disruptions are hurting the Canadian economy.

Hillman described the meeting as "concrete" and appreciated the conversations, but she noted that nothing changed in terms of the ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S.

Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., described the meeting in Washington as 'concrete' and says the Americans are focused on the April 2 tariff deadline. (Jennifer Chevalier/CBC)

The ambassador told host Rosemary Barton that the Americans know Canada will respond to Trump's tariffs on April 2 and that Trump's team is "deeply focused" on that deadline.

"It's the rest of the world that is going to now be brought into their plan. And that is [the Americans'] singular focus," Hillman said. "After that happens, then we'll see what they think the next step might be."

Following the Thursday meeting, Ford told reporters he feels like "the temperature is being lowered, the temperature's coming down" after the bilateral talks.

"This, I can honestly say, was the best meeting I've ever had coming down here. We want the best outcome for both countries. We're like a family — sometimes there's tension between families, but that was an extremely productive meeting. I'm feeling positive," the premier said.
Canada-U.S. tariffs

The federal government announced a plan on Wednesday to slap tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of American goods to hit back against Trump after he imposed punishing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

Dominic LeBlanc, who was serving as finance minister at the time of the announcement, said Canada "will not stand idly by while our iconic steel and aluminum industries are being unfairly targeted."

LeBlanc said the American products being hit with these tariffs include U.S.-made steel and aluminum, computers, sports equipment and certain cast iron products, among others.


Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc outlines the federal government’s plan to slap tariffs on $29.8 billion worth of American goods to hit back against U.S. President Donald Trump after he imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

Trump's tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, which took effect just after midnight Wednesday, are separate from the other tariffs Trump levied on Canada last week — and later partially dialled back — to supposedly pressure the country to do more at the border on drugs and migrants.

Canada immediately levied tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods in response to those initial tariffs — and didn't take them off even after Trump rejigged his tariff regime.

All told, Canada is applying a 25 per cent tariff to some $60 billion worth of American goods as payback for both Trump's border- and metals-related tariffs.

The government is also holding back tariffs on another roughly $100 billion worth of American goods that will be imposed if Trump goes ahead with a third round of what he's calling "reciprocal" tariffs on goods from around the world on April 2.

To me, this reads like two things
'The US is in financial trouble, so they're squeezing the taxpayers for all they can while laying people off. Kinda of like a company going down the drain'
and
'New ownership wants to cut the red out to make money'.

WOW

[bilateralrope]

So the plan is to throw around tariffs to hurt everyone, then relax them for countries that do what Trump wants. A poem comes to mind.

[Raw Shark]

Yeah, anybody who pays the Dane-Geld to Donny Jingles shall find themselves squeezed forevermore.

[Solauren]

A thought experiment for you -
There are Republicans in the Senate and Congress who have said to the effect of 'What the fuck are you doing' over Trumps Tariffs, and DOGE
(Not so much about the deportations).

How long until they say 'this guy is going to cost us the mid-terms, and the Republicans decide to impeach his ass?

[bilateralrope]

There is a Supreme Court of Wisconsin election on April 1, with Musk throwing money at it.

If the dems win there, that should scare the republicans

[bilateralrope]

Remember how Trump talked about bringing down the price of eggs.

Bird flu continues spread as Trump’s pandemic experts are MIA

Vacancies in a key office of pandemic preparedness raise concern.

Beth Mole – Mar 20, 2025 11:28 AM

As bird flu continues to rampage in dairy farms and poultry facilities around the country, the office tasked with coordinating the federal government's response to pandemic threats, including bird flu, has been sidelined by President Trump and sits nearly empty, according to CNN.

The White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR)—established by a Congressional statute in 2022 in response to failures during the COVID-19 pandemic—used to include a staff of about around 20 people. Now, only one staffer remains, and it's unclear who they report to. The OPPR director has been moved to the National Security Council (NSC).

The report on the vacancies comes amid other moves that call into question the country's ability to respond to a pandemic threat under the Trump administration. The USDA has shifted its response to the ongoing bird flu outbreak away from the health threat. For instance, in late February, agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins touted a $1 billion effort to combat bird flu as a "strategy to deliver affordable eggs."

Meanwhile, health secretary and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suggested that poultry farmers should let the virus run rampant through flocks rather than safely cull them, which is currently required. Farmers "should consider maybe the possibility of letting it run through the flock so that we can identify the birds, and preserve the birds, that are immune to it," Kennedy, who has no health or science background, said during an interview on Fox News.

Rollins seemed to be open to the concerning idea, telling the outlet last month: "There are some farmers that are out there that are willing to really try this on a pilot as we build the safe perimeter around them to see if there is a way forward with immunity."

The idea was quickly bashed by experts, who noted it would be inhumane, a massive risk for farm workers, and worsen the economic hit to farmers, who would have to keep facilities closed down longer for the infection to spread naturally than if they quickly carried out controlled culls. Moreover, letting the virus spread uncontrollably in thousands or even millions of birds gives the virus countless opportunities to evolve and become more virulent.

Such a scenario is suspected to have happened recently at a poultry farm in Mississippi. This week, the USDA announced finding a new type of bird flu in a broiler chicken breeder flock: a highly pathogenic avian influenza H7N9. So far, the H7 strains seen circulating in wild birds this year have been low pathogenicity, the USDA reported. But in the 46,000-bird flock in Mississippi, the virus was lethal. Experts told the LA Times that it's likely that the previously mild virus spread from wild birds into the breeder flock—which live much longer than birds grown for meat—and, over some time, the virus developed deadly features while preying on the captive poultry.

“Alarming to everyone”

Since 2022, over 166 million US poultry have been affected by the bird flu. The highly pathogenic virus has also spread to 989 dairy herds in 17 states since March of last year. So far, at least 70 people have contracted the virus, and one has died.

The coordination of the response to the ongoing threat is now in question. Under the Biden administration, the Health and Human Services Department used to hold regular press briefings on the state of the outbreak and the response. However, since Trump took office, there have been no briefings.

Under the Biden administration, OPPR also worked behind the scenes. At the time, it was directed by Paul Friedrichs, a physician and retired Air Force major general. Friedrichs told CNN that the OPPR regularly hosted interagency calls between the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the USDA, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. When the H5N1 bird flu outbreak erupted in dairy farms last March, OPPR was hosting daily meetings, which transitioned to weekly meetings toward the end of the administration.

"At the end of the day, bringing everybody together and having those meetings was incredibly important, so that we had a shared set of facts," Friedrichs said. "When decisions were made, everyone understood why the decision was made, what facts were used to inform the decision."

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who co-wrote the bill that created OPPR with former Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), is concerned by Trump's sidelining of the office.

"Under the last administration, OPPR served, as intended, as the central hub coordinating a whole-of-government response to pandemic threats,” she said in a written statement to CNN. "While President Trump cannot legally disband OPPR, as he has threatened to do, it is deeply concerning that he has moved the statutorily created OPPR into the NSC."

"As intended by law, OPPR is a separate, distinct office for a reason, which is especially relevant now as we are seeing outbreaks of measles, bird flu, and other serious and growing threats to public health," Murray wrote. "This should be alarming to everyone."

Which disease is going to rip through the US first ?

Bird flu after it crosses into humans.
Measles, which RFK Jr also wants people infected with.
Or maybe something else.

[Solauren]

Probably multiple at once. The question is, which starts it?
I'm going with Measles, followed by a resurgences in Covid, followed by Bird Flu making the jump.

[Grand Moff Yenchin]

Scientist Banned From Entering US Over Opinions About Trump—Minister
https://www.newsweek.com/french-scienti ... mp-2047549

A French scientist was reportedly detained as he tried to enter the United States after criticizing President Donald Trump's cuts to science funding.
The man was on his way to a conference when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) took him into custody over the comments found in messages on his phone, according to Agence France-Presse.

Newsweek reached out to CBP and the French government for comment via email on Wednesday evening.

Why It Matters

The arrest continues a reported trend of temporary visa holders and visitors being detained by U.S. border officials on their way into the country amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration and concerns that free speech is no longer a defense when it comes to legal immigration status.

What To Know

The space researcher was randomly selected for a search when arriving in Houston, Texas, on March 9, AFP and Le Monde reported. Officers found messages criticizing Trump's policies on his phone and computer following sweeping cuts to scientific research.

U.S. authorities saw these messages as "hate and conspiracy messages," which prompted an FBI investigation that was later dropped. However, the researcher was sent back to France.

CBP's move to deny entry to a foreign national seemingly solely based on their opinion of the president, rather than necessarily expressing ill will or intentions to harm him, comes amid increased scrutiny of those entering the country.

Legal permanent residents, along with those on work-based visas, have been questioned, detained and even removed from the country in recent weeks, including two German tourists and a Canadian woman trying to renew her visa at the southwest border.

Immigration attorneys have begun advising clients to ensure their social media profiles are free of criticism of the administration and images that could be seen as inappropriate or in support of ideas that do not fit with current U.S. foreign policy.

The Trump administration is seeking to crack down on illegal immigration, including those who have outstayed visas or violated their terms. It has maintained that the focus, however, is on arresting and removing known immigrant criminals.

What People Are Saying

French Minister of Higher Education and Research Philippe Baptiste, in a statement to AFP Wednesday: "I was told with concern that a French researcher, on a mission for the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), who was going to a conference near Houston, was banned from entering the U.S. before being expelled. This would have been taken by the U.S. authorities because the researcher's phone contained exchanges with colleagues and friendly relations in which he expressed a personal opinion on the Trump administration's research policy."

What Happens Next

The French government told Le Monde that the U.S. has sovereignty over who it can allow into the country but said French consulates had been informed of the situation. Following the news of the arrest of German citizens at the U.S. border, the German government said it was monitoring a potential shift in U.S. foreign policy.

This is crazy. People have been warning about shit like this at Chinese borders. Never thought I'd had to consider about similar measures when planning visits to the US.

[bilateralrope]

Probably multiple at once. The question is, which starts it?
I'm going with Measles, followed by a resurgences in Covid, followed by Bird Flu making the jump.

Yes. Measles is known for wiping out whatever immunity to other diseases a survivor had.

[Solauren]

Probably multiple at once. The question is, which starts it?
I'm going with Measles, followed by a resurgences in Covid, followed by Bird Flu making the jump.

Yes. Measles is known for wiping out whatever immunity to other diseases a survivor had.

Yup.
Combine that with Covid-19s lovely side effects that are still being discovered (it's likely why my seasonal allergies got worse to Anaplaxia with Nightshade group plants. Which includes such rare things like Tomatos, Peppers, Potatoes...), followed by the Bird Flu.

Maybe the US will get lucky and it will wipe out just the Republicans.

[LadyTevar]

Maybe the US will get lucky and it will wipe out just the Republicans.

It would be very nice if it would be that picky. Unfortunately it'd hit all senior citizens equally, and probably hit toddlers who also have weak immune systems.

[Solauren]

Oh, I never expected there would be Non-Republicans. I'm just hoping for a much higher fatality rate for them.

[Raw Shark]

A thought experiment for you -
There are Republicans in the Senate and Congress who have said to the effect of 'What the fuck are you doing' over Trumps Tariffs, and DOGE
(Not so much about the deportations).

How long until they say 'this guy is going to cost us the mid-terms, and the Republicans decide to impeach his ass?

This is pure speculation, but my money's on, "Not very long." Elon's already referring to Vance as, "48," on Twitter. The fatcats behind Project 2025 probably do not like the tariffs. Defense contractors do not like that we stopped sending munitions to Ukraine. Shuffling Orange Julius Caesar to the side and installing the equally odious but more lucid and cooperative Couchfucker the 1st (who as a bonus, does not appear to be directly compromised by Russia so much as playing along with that) is the next step. All they have to do is let DJ Jazzy Pedo screw up something big like, say, another pandemic and all international trade, and they won't even have to impeach him, they'll probably be able to pay a doctor or two to (truthfully) say he's incompetent to serve his term and Amendment 25 him.

[Solauren]

So, if the rumored planned 'Global Tariffs' happen at the start of April (start of most fiscal years), and that causes enough backslash, probably fairly quickly then?

We can only hope.

[Raw Shark]

So, if the rumored planned 'Global Tariffs' happen at the start of April (start of most fiscal years), and that causes enough backslash, probably fairly quickly then?

We can only hope.

Please let me be clear: I am not saying that this chain of events would be an improvement in my mind. A more predictable and tractable Vance administration obeying his 2025 overlords with some degree of competence is arguably worse than a loose cannon just shitting up the place randomly. But that's my prediction based on the situation I see here on the ground right now.

[Solauren]

It depends on what you mean by improvement, and what you view as an improvement.
Loose Cannons eventually explode, after all.

[bilateralrope]

they'll probably be able to pay a doctor or two to (truthfully) say he's incompetent to serve his term and Amendment 25 him.

That would require some of the people Trump appointed to say he's unfit to serve to get things rolling. Then a majority in Congress and the Senate to remove him.

Republicans are scared of threats to their safety if they go against Trump. Democrats have to consider that Vance will replace him.

If the attempt to remove Trump fails, he will want revenge against all the Republicans and his appointees who went on record trying to get rid of him. Is that a better outcome ?

[Ralin]

Been saying for awhile now. President Vance means all of Trump's worst policies coupled with the ability to shut up, listen and follow simple instructions. And that is not something any of us should want.

Plus I tend to think that only way he's ever getting elected president on his own is if he's already president.

[Raw Shark]

If the attempt to remove Trump fails, he will want revenge against all the Republicans and his appointees who went on record trying to get rid of him. Is that a better outcome ?

Maybe? I wouldn't exactly object to watching them eat themselves.

Been saying for awhile now. President Vance means all of Trump's worst policies coupled with the ability to shut up, listen and follow simple instructions. And that is not something any of us should want.

Plus I tend to think that only way he's ever getting elected president on his own is if he's already president.

Listen up, kids, because you won't hear this often: I agree with Ralin.