Musk Losing Bigly

 

Duffer in Chief

Whacko in the White House

Convicted felon Donald Trump's expansive new tariffs reverse a decades-long global trend of lower trade barriers and are likely, economists say, to raise prices for Americans by thousands of dollars each year while sharply slowing the U.S. economy.  The Yale Budget Lab estimates the Trump administration’s tariffs would cost the average household $3,800 in higher prices this year.

Like the proverbial senile old man sitting on the couch, Trump social media posts were strangely ignorant of reality.  The seemed upbeat when asked about the stock market drop. “I think it’s going very well,” he said. “We have an operation, like when a patient gets operated on and it’s a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is.”

Meanwhile, back in reality, the economy is turning into a dumpster fire.  Investors turned thumbs-down on the new duties Thursday, with the S&P 500 index dropping 4.8% at the close of trading, its worst day since the pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 1,600 points. 

The average U.S. tariff could rise to nearly 25% when the tariffs are fully implemented April 9, economists estimate, higher than in more than a century, and higher than the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariffs that are widely blamed for worsening the Great Depression.

72% of Americans (and 64% of Republicans) believe tariffs will raise prices in the short term, according to the CBS News/YouGov poll.

Trump claimed that sky-high new taxes on imported goods would be “reciprocal,” meaning they were payback for tariffs other countries have slapped on U.S. exports. But the reciprocal tariffs turned out not to be based on actual levies imposed by other countries. Instead, they’re based on a formula made up by the White House ― and widely mocked by experts. 

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a conservative economist American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, called it “malpractice” in response to another conservative economist who called it “embarrassing.” 

Journalist James Surowiecki was one of the first to notice that the administration was lying about the so-called calculations touted by Trump.  “They didn’t actually calculate tariff rates + non-tariff barriers, as they say they did,” Surowiecki wrote. “Instead, for every country, they just took our trade deficit with that country and divided it by the country’s exports to us.”

The Nobel-Prize-winning liberal economist Paul Krugman called the crudity of the “reciprocal” tariffs formula shocking. “When the fate of the world economy is on the line, the malignant stupidity of the policy process is arguably as important as the policies themselves,” Krugman wrote. “How can anyone, whether they’re businesspeople or foreign governments, trust anything coming out of an administration that behaves like this?”

 

Niall Horan - Nothing

Tariffs are Taxes, Stupid

The Wall Street Journal went on the record yesterday: "Tariffs are taxes . . . Car prices will rise by thousands of dollars, including those made in America."

Mike Pence said on social media: “The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history. These tariffs are nearly 10 times the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence administration and will cost American families over $3,500 per year.”

CNBC “Closing Bell” co-anchor Jon Fortt: “The market reaction after hours ― I’ve never seen anything like it.  This ― I think, fair to say ― is worse than the worst-case scenario of the tariffs that many in the market expected the president to impose.”

JPMorgan offered a grim outlook in its daily economic briefing following Trump's tariff announcement:  "These policies, if sustained, would likely push the U.S. and global economy into recession this year . . .  We view the full implementation of these policies as a substantial macro economic shock not currently incorporated in our forecasts."

In his rambling remarks lasting nearly an hour, Trump hailed his new tariffs as “Liberation Day” for the country and once again repeated his false claim that foreign countries, rather than Americans, would be paying the new tariffs. “We took in hundreds of billions of dollars from China in tariffs,” Trump said. “I took in hundreds of billions of dollars in my term, hundreds of billions. They never paid ten cents to any other president, and yet they paid hundreds of billions.”  That is an outright LIE.

Trump was told repeatedly by his own economic experts during his first four years in office that U.S. tariffs are paid by American importers, meaning the tariffs on Chinese goods he boasted about were coming out of the pockets of American consumers. Whether he is intentionally lying or truly believes that he is correct and all his economic experts were wrong is unknown, but he has continued with that falsehood to this day.

But that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, since the worst kept secret is that Trump is a fucking idiot.  Trump wrote social media posts in which he suggested that tariffs imposed on Canada would somehow raise the price of fentanyl being brought into the United States — even though drug smugglers are not known to declare their illegal contraband at customs in order to pay the duty.

Trump Administration Admits It Sent Man to Foreign Prison by Mistake

The Trump administration has admitted it mistakenly deported a Maryland man with protected legal status to a notorious El Salvador prison last month, but is arguing against returning him to the United States because they claim he has "gang ties" and the administration's claims that it lacks power over the Central American nation.

Lawyers for 29-year-old Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia maintain he is not affiliated with MS-13 or any other street gang and argue the U.S. government “has never produced an iota of evidence” that he does.

Abrego Garcia was arrested in Baltimore on March 12 after working a shift as a sheet metal apprentice in Baltimore and picking up his 5-year-old son, who has autism and other disabilities, from his grandmother’s house, his lawyers’ complaint stated.

Abrego Garcia was then sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, which activists say is rife with abuses and where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside. Abrego Garcia’s wife later saw him in photos and video from the prison, identifying her husband through his distinctive tattoos and two scars on his head.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials admitted in a court filing to an “administrative error” in deporting him. The government’s acknowledgment sparked immediate uproar from immigration advocates while prompting Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials to repeat their false claims that he’s a gang member.

Sad State of Affairs

Tragedy in Myanmar

It has been nearly 24 hours since a powerful earthquake struck central Myanmar, with its effects felt as far as neighboring Thailand. The death toll has risen to 1,644, the country's military leadership said, while the number of injured has gone up to 3,408, with 139 missing.  Much of the fatalities are centered in its second-largest city of Mandalay, which is close to the quake's epicenter.  All of the images of Mandalay's destruction below were emailed out of the country, as Myanmar's largest telecom companies remain down.   Rescue operations are ongoing, with one rescue team in Mandalay saying they were "digging people out with our bare hands"  In Thailand, all eyes are on an unfinished skyscraper which was destroyed by the earthquake (some 100 workers remain unaccounted for, and six people are known to have died).  Power remains out in Mandalay, complicating rescue efforts and making reporting on the situation difficult. Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has not been affected by the earthquakes and remains in jail in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, according to a source close to prison authorities. Myanmar's military regime says it has opened a temporary hospital and relief camp at Mandalay Airport. The airport is not currently functional, with the runways damaged during the earthquake, but the military says it is working to resume flights. Myanmar's military leaders have issued a rare appeal for international aid, with its neighbors China and India among the first to send help.

Mumford & Sons - Rushmere

Amid the Trump Chaos

Amateur Hour in the Trump Administration

The use of emojis in a leaked Trump administration group chat discussing strikes on Houthi targets has sparked outrage, with accusations that officials made light of the sensitive topics being discussed. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, has revealed that Trump's national security advisor Michael Waltz had added him to a group chat called 'Houthi PC small group'.

The chat appears to have served as a virtual war room for some of the President's top team, including Waltz, Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Hegseth, Secretary of State Rubio, National Intelligence director Gabbard and Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles.   Goldberg said that Hegseth shared the war plan with the group at 11.44am eastern time on Saturday March 15, two hours before the bombs began dropping on Yemen.

As news broke of the strikes, the journalist checked the group chat where he found a flurry of emojis and congratulations flooding the text chain. Waltz updated the group at 1.48pm, saying the operation had been an 'amazing job' before sending three emojis a few minutes later - a fist, an American flag, and fire.

Parts of the exchange have since been published, and have been met with furious reaction from politicians on both sides and the public, with many expressing disbelief that such a significant security breach could have been allowed to happen.   'Classified details leaked while officials celebrated with fist emojis,' one X user said. 'The emojis are sickening,' wrote another, adding that it shows a 'lack of respect' following the attack on Yemen. German political commentator Nikolaus Blome wrote on the platform: 'Emojis, puberty outbursts, and amateurish war plans: The banality of stupidity.'Mike Waltz using emojis in a National Security/War strategy group chat like he's a 14 year-old,' another person commented.

Don Bacon, a Republican congressman from Nebraska, told news outlet Axios that the administration's action was 'unconscionable'.  "None of this should have been sent on non-secure systems," he said of Waltz's messaging. "Russia and China are surely monitoring his unclassified phone."  Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn told reporters that it "sounds like a huge screw-up. I mean, is there any other way to describe it?"  He added: "I don't think you should use Signal for classified information."   Republican Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski told reporters: "Think about what we would do if Biden were president and this came out... we would raise the roof.  It's going to be interesting to see if anybody loses their job over this,' she added, while Montana Senator Tim Sheehy simply said: "Somebody fucked up."

Politico reported that officials believe that Waltz must now be pushed out or resign to save President Trump from being put in a bad position.  "Everyone in the White House can agree on one thing: Mike Waltz is a fucking idiot," one source, identified as a person close to the White House, bluntly told Politico. 

 The use of Signal rather than more secure government channels to hold these conversations has also raised questions over whether there has been a violation of the Espionage Act, which sets rules for the handling of classified information.

 

Taking a Page From the Fascist Handbook, Trump Attacks Higher Education

When President Donald Trump started his attack on Columbia University, educators across the U.S. saw the writing on the wall: If an Ivy League school with massive funding could falter, then other schools will likely fall in line with Trump’s ridiculous demands, too.

Cracks in the foundation of higher education have already started to appear. One professor, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of losing her job, teaches gender studies at a university system being targeted by Trump.  It started with the name change of offices that might be considered to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Then, programs intended to hire and retain faculty of color were shuttered.

Graduate students, namely people of color and students on visas, were advised by professors to start using code words in the titles of their research papers out of fear that the Trump administration would flag their studies. Reminiscent of colleagues who teach in Iran, the professor told Daily Kos about her concerns as she notices her own actions mirroring her friends who live under an authoritarian regime.  "Seeing some of the same considerations that my friends enact in places like Iran is just deeply upsetting,” she said. “And I don't like to make those sort of comparisons, because I think the words that we use should be really intentional so they don't lose power.”

Continuing, she said, "But you know, advising students not to travel, advising students to erase their social media accounts, advising students to title their research projects in coded ways. I mean, that's all stuff that my friends at Iranian universities would always do for self-protection."

In addition to Trump’s investigation of Columbia, eyes have been on Mahmoud Khalil—a legal permanent resident who was arrested and detained for his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests—and Trump’s travel ban that’s reminiscent of his 2017 Muslim ban.  Khalil has now been labeled a “terrorist” by the Trump administration. “We’re professional nerds. We argue over the difference between rhetoric and discourse. To be described as ‘terrorists’ is crazy to me,” the professor said.

Trump has targeted universities in a couple of different ways.   On one hand, he is claiming that universities are participating in “race-exclusionary” practices that leave out white students through programs that specifically seek to include diverse students. On the other hand, he also purports that universities are creating antisemitic environments through their teachings on Palestine and Israel and ongoing protests on college campuses. 

But the professor said that these claims are simply an attempt to—at the very least—censor higher education. At most, they could lead to shuttering the higher education system entirely. “We’re sort of bracing for greater censorship. I think we're bracing for greater levels of surveillance. I think we're bracing for widespread cuts, which have already started,” she said.

In her own studies, she says she has been the target of right-wing attacks. Through closed-door meetings with an ethics review board, she discovered that she was being targeted because her research included keywords such as “women,” “muslim,” and “LGBTQ.”   Meanwhile, her university—like many others—has been silent as Columbia has given in to Trump’s demands. 

Last week, Columbia agreed to implement policy changes to its Middle East program and to change rules regarding on-campus protests.  “I haven't seen many comforting statements from universities that would convince me that we're protected, just as I haven't seen many comforting statements from elected officials,” the professor said.

Another professor of queer and trans studies, who also requested to remain anonymous, told Daily Kos that they’re scared of what’s happening at Columbia, and their own university’s silence hasn’t offered them any peace.  “I'm not a U.S. citizen, and I’m a nonbinary person, they said. “I feel like a lot of the concerns my students and I have are the same. I'm looking for someone else to tell me that I'll be supported, and I haven't gotten that yet.”

Musk is Now Putting Military Lives in Danger

Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has cut off or limited credit card access for thousands of government workers. These changes have led to disruptions that are now negatively affecting the development of key safety equipment used by members of the military. DOGE put in place a $1 limit on government purchase cards issued by the General Services Administration through that agency’s GSA SmartPay Credit Card system. DOGE also recently canceled 200,000 cards across 16 agencies.

But those cards are used by researchers developing safety materials used by the armed services. The charge cards are used to purchase raw materials used in testing ballistics on body armor and for helmet-impact experiments. The Washington Post also reported that the freeze has also affected the government’s ability to pay contractors who assist the Army in identifying soldiers killed years ago in combat.

“Even after canceling 200k, there are still twice as many government credit cards as there are government employees!” Musk wrote, praising the cuts.   But that is an outright lie.  Shauna Weatherly, head of Federal Subcontract Solutions, told the Federal News Network that there are around 700,000 active cards. Last month, there were more than 3 million people employed by the federal government, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

DOGE and Musk serially lie about the agencies they attack. And through its website, DOGE has claimed billions in taxpayer savings that independent fact-checkers have debunked.

The charge-card disruption is just one way the actions of DOGE and Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, have hurt the military.  Veterans are in the crosshairs of DOGE-initiated cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs. By cutting VA staff, the already-squeezed agency is likely to reduce veteran access to health care.

“They’re going to put guys like me and my fellow Marines that rely on the VA in the ground,” Gregg Bafundo, a Marine veteran of the first Gulf War, told the Associated Press.  Republicans have long claimed to support the troops, but thanks to Trump, Musk, and DOGE, the party is leaving active military members unprotected and without the care they need when they become veterans.

 

Kennedy's Vision for America

Elton John & Brandi Carlile - Who Believes In Angels?

Things Are Literally Falling Apart for Musk

 Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk, is recalling most of its Cybertrucks due to an exterior panel that can fall off while driving ― posing a serious setback for a company whose shares already have been taking a major nosedive. Tesla announced the recall of more than 46,000 Cybertrucks built from November 2023 through Feb. 27 of this year ― accounting for nearly every Cybertruck in existence.

This is the eighth time Tesla has had to recall Cybertrucks, which have been on roads for less than a year and a half. Tesla already has seen its stock lose about half of its value this year, in part due to rising competition and in part due to outrage over Musk’s work for convicted felon Donald Trump-- overseeing massive cuts to federal funding, including money spent on school meals for kids, national parks and forests, programs combatting infectious disease and research to help sick and wounded veterans.  Demand for used Teslas also has been plummeting, according to a survey from Cars.com that found searches for used Teslas dropped 16% over the past month.

A bizarre plea (and likely ethics violation) from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for people to buy stock in Musk’s company massively backfired. After Lutnick’s TV appearance, in which he promised viewers that the stock will “never be this cheap again,” the company’s shares dropped another 1.7% this morning. Lutnick’s sales pitch comes just over a week after Trump ― in an unprecedented and ethically dubious move ― shilled for Tesla by parading the company’s vehicles outside the White House in support of “great patriot” Musk.

This week, several families of victims who died or were injured in crashes involving Tesla’s self-driving technology wrote to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expressing their concern that Musk’s influence in the Trump administration may weaken government oversight on automated vehicles, according to reporting in Politico.

 

Just Keeping it Real

 

Trump Begs for Eggs

Convicted felon Donald Trump was barely minted as the new president when for some unfathomable reason decided to threaten Denmark over Greenland, demanding the Nordic country sell the semi-desolate island for … reasons. (Likely because it inaccurately looks really big on a map.)

Now Trump suddenly finds himself in a bind, having promised lower prices on Day 1, yet seeing grocery prices rise even before many of his tariffs have kicked in. And center stage in the grocery drama are eggs, which have skyrocketed in price … if you can even find them.    And it turns out, telling people to “shut up about egg prices” isn’t the best politics. 

So he has asked Denmark and other countries for help.  You can hear them laughing from across the Atlantic. 

Yle, Finland’s national public broadcasting company, reported that Finland (diplomatically) refused a similar request. Other European countries are off the table because they don’t wash their eggs (which is why in places like Germany and France, eggs aren’t refrigerated in grocery stores). But even if they could export to the U.S., maybe they’d give the middle finger as well. 

The Netherlands, one of the few that can, had their license revoked in January. The Trump administration is trying to reverse the licensing issue, but even then, eggs are fragile. Flying them across the Atlantic is not a logistically simple matter. 

You know who might have eggs to help out? Canada. Oops.

 

A Healthy Dose of Bigotry for St. Paddy's Day

Well-known bigot and UFC fighter Conor McGregor, visited the White House on St. Patrick’s Day to plead on behalf of Ireland.  “Our government has long since abandoned the voices of the people of Ireland, and it’s high time that America is made aware of what is going on,” McGregor said alongside press secretary Karoline Leavitt. McGregor went on to claim that rural towns in his home country are “overrun” by “illegal immigration racket” and locals have become “a minority” in “one swoop.”

McGregor has become a figurehead for the far-right movement in Ireland, and his statements seem to echo a similar sentiment that Trump’s voter base has in the U.S. McGregor is also well known for his racist and homophobic remarks.

However, Ireland’s government was quick to say that the Irish do not share McGregor’s nationalist values. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin took to X to call McGregor’s remarks wrong, adding that they “do not reflect the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.”

The country’s minister for foreign affairs also addressed the fighter's visit to the White House. Speaking to reporters in New York City, Simon Harris said that McGregor "is not here in the United States representing Ireland or the people of Ireland. … He doesn't speak for Ireland. He doesn't speak for the people of Ireland. He has no mandate to do such.”

McGregor and Trump share a few things in common, like their history of alleged sexual assault. In 2024, McGregor paid $250,000 to a woman who accused him of raping her in a Dublin hotel room in 2018.  McGregor also has a hefty string of driving violations, on top of a couple of other arrests. In 2019, according to police, the fighter stole a fan's cellphone and stomped on it repeatedly after they tried to take a photo of him. He also made headlines and nearly served prison time when he threw a dolly at a tour bus in New York City.

 

A Truly Broken Twerp

Trump and His War on Free Speech

In a rambling tirade in front of a subdued audience, convicted felon Donal Trump once again lashed out at the media, calling CNN and MSNBC “corrupt” and “illegal” for reporting negatively about him. Trump’s attacks on the media are nothing new, but his choice of venue was-- the Justice Department, where, in his campaign-like speech before prosecutors, he also attacked political opponents.

“I believe that CNN and MSDNC, who literally write 97.6 percent bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat party, and in my opinion, they are really corrupt and they are illegal,” Trump said, again using his nickname for MSNBC. 

He also bashed other outlets, including CBS, NBC, ABC, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, for their reporting. He claimed that the mainstream outlets were influencing judges and “I don’t believe it’s legal.”    (Here's a hint-- it is!)  Media outlets are protected by the First Amendment.

Trump has made attacks on news outlets a primary part of his political persona. But in his second term, his administration has taken steps to try to chill or even intimidate the media. His FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, has launched inquiries into CBS over the way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris.  The FCC has also launched an investigation of  Comcast for its diversity, equity and inclusion policy.

Trump’s White House has banned the Associated Press from Oval Office and other events because the news organization has not changed its Stylebook guidance to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. The White House also has taken control of who will be members of the press pool (the dozen or so reporters who have access to smaller events with limited capacity).  The White House Correspondents’ Association, a non-profit run by journalists, had previously (for decades) coordinated the press pool..

The Trump administration has also issued instructions to Executive agencies to cancel government subscriptions to news outlets, costing major organizations significant amounts of revenue.

 

Say Now - Don't Text Don't Call

Overeducated Kennedy Moron Making Measles Outbreak Even Worse

In a sweeping interview, HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined a strategy for containing the measles outbreak in West Texas that strayed far from mainstream science, relying heavily on fringe theories about prevention and treatments.  Kennedy offered conflicting public health messages as he tried to reconcile the government’s longstanding endorsement of vaccines with his own decades-long skepticism.

He issued a muffled call for vaccinations in the affected community, but said the choice was a personal one. He suggested that measles vaccine injuries were more common than known, contrary to extensive research. He also asserted that natural immunity to measles, gained through infection, somehow also protected against cancer and heart disease, a claim not supported by research.

The rapidly worsening measles outbreak, which has largely spread through a Mennonite community in Gaines County, Texas, has so far infected 223 people in Texas and 33 in New Mexico, and killed a child-- the first such death in the United States in 10 years.  Another suspected measles death has been reported in New Mexico, where cases have recently increased in a county that borders Gaines County.

Kennedy said he’d been told that a dozen Mennonite children had been injured by vaccines in Gaines County—a claim that has never been documented.  The MMR vaccine itself has been thoroughly studied and is safe. There is no link to autism, as the secretary has claimed in the past.  Kennedy added to his lies by saying (my comments added), “We don’t know what the risk profile is for these products (actually we do). We need to restore government trust (which has been eroded by anti-vaxx morons like RFK). And we’re going to do that by telling the truth, and by doing rigorous science to understand both safety and efficacy issues (which has already been done).”  The suggestion that vaccines cause autism hasbeen discredited by dozens of scientific studies.

Maga Measles

Israel's Cruelty to Palestinians Continues

Israel has now cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, negatively affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the arid territory. Hamas called it part of Israel’s “starvation policy.” This latest development comes after Israel last week suspended supplies of goods to the territory of more than 2 million Palestinians, an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of the war.

Israel is attempting to force Hamas to deviate from a previously-agreed-upon ceasefire plan.  The first phase ended last week, and negotiations for the second phase were to proceed next. Hamas wants to start negotiations on the second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace. Hamas is believed to have 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.

The Gaza territory and its infrastructure have been largely devastated, and most facilities, including hospitals, now use generators. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassam said that Israel has ”practically” cut off electricity since the war began and called the latest decision part of Israel’s “starvation policy, in clear disregard for all international laws and norms.”

The desalination plant was providing 18,000 cubic meters of water per day for central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah area, according to Gisha, an Israeli organization dedicated to protecting Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement. Executive director Tania Hary said that it’s expected to run on generators and produce around 2,500 cubic meters per day, about the amount in an Olympic swimming pool. Israel’s restrictions on fuel entering Gaza have a larger impact, Hary said, and water shortages are a looming issue, because fuel is needed for distribution trucks.

Israel has faced sharp criticism over suspending supplies. “Any denial of the entry of the necessities of life for civilians may amount to collective punishment,” the U.N. human rights office said. The International Criminal Court said there was reason to believe Israel had used “starvation as a method of warfare” when it issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year. The allegation is central to South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.

Trump is Truly the Ottoman Emperor

Moronic Maga Misgivings

Well, well, well-- it seems that even die-hard MAGA supporters have begun wondering if maybe (just maybe!) they voted for the wrong guy. This week,  Attorney General Pam Bondi’s release of heavily redacted Jeffrey Epstein files (which included several mentions of Trump himself) has freaked out many MAGA-nauts like right-wing bro Dave Portnoy, owner of the conservative site Barstool Sports:

If I’m gonna be fair these questions needs to be asked today.   Why is the release of the Epstein list always a shit show?  What’s the point of booting out illegals and criminals while somehow becoming a safe haven for the Tate brothers?  Why is Crypto in the toilet if Trump is crypto king?  How far does Tesla stock have to crash before Elon goes back to work?

Maybe those questions could’ve been asked before the election.  Or perhaps Portnoy could’ve paid attention the last time Trump was president, and realized that everything having to do with Trump is a shit show.  Or maybe that Trump isn’t just liable for sexual abuse but also surrounds himself with accused predators.  Or that Trump has used crypto to scam his supporters.  Speak of which, the crypto bros are having a tough go of things lately:

Trump needs to cut this shit out.  Like I voted for him and right now I’m getting screwed.  Crypto is crashing due to all his tariffs and he didn’t even have the decency to warn us Americans what would happen to our investments from all his tariffs.  Thanks a lot.  Not that I haven’t been kicked in the teeth enough now I’m getting screwed by the guy I voted for.  I wonder if he knows what the results are from citizens who just snap because they simply cannot take a beating anymore?  Costs of livng are more than I can financially handle right now and my entire investments have crashed more than 70% from his tariffs.  He should have warned us citizens what was going to happen so we could have pulled out.  Now I’m holding bags of nothing that are worth less than nothing.  I hate life right now and I am so miserable.  I can’t take much more.  This mother fucker is gonna force me to rob a bank just to pay my bills (figure of speech to the moron that actually thinks I’m serious).  I’m just making a point.  Sick of this shit!

Thoughts and prayers, dude.  Over in Oklahoma, former Republican state Rep. Sheila Dills (a virulent transphobe and Trump supporter) is outraged by Trump’s cuts to the National Institute of Health and their impact on Oklahoma universities. On a now-deleted comment on local station KOTV’s Facebook page, she wrote: 

The stories I am hearing first hand are devastating. I am all about efficient government and overall support the current administration, but efficient government doesn't matter if we don't fund LEGITIMATE research that protects us from deadly toxins. I know a young lady who has done everything right, poured her heart and soul into her education, has won every award possible, is the top of her PHD class at OU and whose research as a STUDENT will lead to therapeutics for deadly diseases. BUT, now she has watched fellow Doctoral students be stripped of their funding (much more than "back office" costs, we are talking entire fellowships)and fears everyday she will be next and the bright future she has earned at Vanderbilt for her Post Doctoral studies through total sacrifice will be taken away. A strong economy and military do not matter if we are all dead from infectious diseases! That special research student is my daughter!

It’s always “spending is bad unless it helps me” with these people, isn't it? All that other research? Illegitimate. The stuff she cares about because it affects her daughter? That shit is legitimate. Just like all those MAGA federal employees getting fired-- everyone else’s jobs are inessential. Their own jobs? Essential. 

In addition to their utter ignorance, what makes these MAGA-nauts so dangerous is their utter lack of empathy.  Let's go to Blue Mound, Texas and meet Don Shotwell.   He’s an America-loving patriot. Loves Donald Trump. And fears “America is under attack by Marxists!!!” according to his cover photo on X. His bio there says, “2A Advocate, Anti-Marxist, Anti-Woke, Anti-Identity Politics, Anti-Establishment, Anti-Left.”    Boy, he sure must hate anything remotely smelling of socialism, right?  He posted this on Facebook (now deleted):

I am a conservative, and a Republican.  I voted for Trump in all three of the presidential elections that he's won (wrong dude-- Biden won in 2020, but let's move on).

I even backed his cabinet picks, including RFK. That being said, I DISAGREE 100% with the proposed overhaul of the SNAP program. Why? Well, it's simple.  On average, studies show that healthier food costs MORE than other options some may consider "unhealthy." People who are on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, colloquially referred to as, "food stamps") are on this program because they need help affording groceries due to the fact that they are, shall we say, "financially challenged." I happen to be one of those people, and I'm on SNAP. So, I speak from experience. We are counting EVERY penny. Long story short: if the government wants the people on SNAP to buy healthier food, then it needs to INCREASE the amount we receive so that we can ACTUALLY AFFORD said "healthy food."   It is a HUGE problem when you continue to receive the same amount of assistance, and yet it doesn't buy as much food anymore. At that point, people start missing meals, and that REALLY isn't healthy.  Rant over. Everything else...DOGE, no men in women's sports, America regaining respect from other nations, Gaza, Russia, etc...keep up the GREAT work.

Basically: “I hate socialism, but I’m white, unlike those other people, so give me my free government money so I don’t starve, but fuck everyone else.” Has there ever been anything more “Republican” than this post?  Luckily, he’s in Texas. I’m sure he’s got some bootstraps lying around. He can pull himself up by them. 

Here’s another one of those ”I voted to screw everyone else because Trump promised to help me” stories. This story, published by The Washington Post, is about a young woman in an economically depressed part of Michigan is trying to get pregnant and is suckered in by Trump’s promise of free IVF. Now her government job has been eliminated:

Four days after Trump fired her, Cooper was in bed with her husband. She picked up her phone and saw the news.  There was a new executive order to expand access to IVF. She read the White House fact sheet, which talked about Trump’s request for policy recommendations to reduce costs of the service.   But it still wasn’t free, and she was out of a job and out of a plan.  “Delivering on promises for American families,” read the White House’s announcement.  “That’s bullshit”, she recalled thinking, and put down her phone.

Buckle up, buttercups-- thanks to your uninformed voting, it's going to be a long four years.