Tracking toy tariffs

I finally bought a new car not quite six months ago, in large part because of the possibility that Trump would win and this sort of thing was going to happen. I'd been driving the same car for like 17 years and was fine with it, but I figured the issue was going to be forced soon enough and the timing was only going to get worse. Pretty glad I did now.
Ha. Same here. Had the same one for 13 years but it was spending a lot of time at the mechanic and in September I got a new one that hopefully will give me another 13+ years. Would have probably lasted longer but I drive a LOT for work and it had around 250,000 miles on it.
 
I think ultimately people who vote for him are selfish. If it really does start to affect them then I think their opinion of Trump will start to change.
I really hope so, and this certainly logical, but I still see stories of "my wife was violently deported but I'd still vote for him again".
Absolutely. But I think both political parties have completely failed their citizens and by constantly blaming the other side for the problems instead of doing something. Instead of focusing on solutions and the hard work of communication, it's just pointing at the other people.
I always wonder how things functioned a hundred or two years ago because I know they were still against each other. But definitely feels like doing something is a tall order at least lately.

For example:

I'm not pro any politician or party these days - or really ever - but the demonization of people who think differently is apparent in this thread. Y'all are being real nice about it and talking about having empathy - but the undercurrent is hostile towards the non-majority opinion. Which is fine - just own it.
I get what you're saying here, and it makes a lot sense. It's the "right way" and sensible, decent etc. But it also doesn't seem to make any difference and it's incredibly frustrating. I absolutely will own that aspect. I don't wish them any ill, but I'd love if they can stop trying to take liberties and rights from others. Definitely gets me hostile. So that gets in the way of me seeing both sides as equal. Ineffectual, sure, but only one side seems to really be taking a wrecking ball to everything.
I think this crap is insane but we have got to stop pointing at one another and start pointing the finger - you know which one - at our elected leaders. Both sides have so successfully diverted attention from their actions and accountability for their actions by teaching us to yell at one another. This tariffs thing - what if it's just a giant bluff to make us look right so we miss what's happening on the left?
Well to quote Carlin, where did these elected officials come from? They didn't pass through a membrane from another reality. Sure, they're to blame, but they WERE elected. Sure, contact them. Be a massively squeaky wheel.

And Trump has been lousy with distractions, that's a big part of his strategy, sure. He says five outrageous things every day and everyone rushes to react, while he's doing the other thing no one notices, I get that.
And to be relevant, I'm having a really hard time enjoying the new season of Daredevil - Kingpin makes my skin crawl because he is all of these narcissistic, power-hungry, little man things and I don't find him entertaining at all. Not a big deal in the grand scheme but yuck all the same thing (not to knock D'Onofrio).
I completely get this, and sympathize to a degree. But I also appreciate what they're trying to do and say, and comment on. I wouldn't blame you for stepping back though. I had a hard time watching Veep for a few years there.
 
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Ha! I tried Veep when it was all over, but I couldn't take her wig. Which I knew would bother me from all the posters and promo materials over the years - it always looked so bad.

And now I just don't want to. Valentina all the way! ;)
 
This tariffs thing - what if it's just a giant bluff to make us look right so we miss what's happening on the left?
This in particular is a popular take on almost everything Trump does, but that's not what's happening. Nothing is a feint or a distraction, it's a top-to-bottom strategy. Bannon laid it all out on camera. Flood the zone. Just simple brute force. This is why all the various legal challenges and executive orders are so poorly thought out and why legal experts are like "well this will never pass the courts" all the time. That's assuming the strategy is targeted, highly refined attacks. It's not. It's a constitutional Zerg-rush. Spray-and-pray. Yes, the courts will swat down most of the stuff he tries to do. Or his own party will. Or the people or markets will force him back.

That will happen to *most* of it. But most isn't all. And every week he does another dozen erratic chaotic, norm-breaking (sometimes law-breaking) things. And over time you can see what the strategy is doing. It's lobbing so much at the system that through sheer volume the system grinds to a halt. There's simply not enough time to respond to it all. This is the other reason why so much of it is so poorly thought out, You can't affect a "throw everything and the kitchen sink" strategy and make all the shots count. You're going for quantity, so none of the people on his team, even if they wanted to do the work, don't have time to.

And again, this bit isn't conjecture. Bannon talked about it at length on camera.
 
Huh. I'm actually awful about wigs so it's not surprising, but I had absolutely no idea a wig was ever used on that show.
 
The stock market dropped over 2000 points today and I read it was down nearly 4000 since the tariffs were announced Wednesday.

What more is it going to take for Republicans in Congress to pull their heads out of their asses and do something. They are losing money too and while it is very obvious they don't care about us, you know they care about their stock portfolios.
 


So tomorrow I'm heading to downtown San Diego to take part in the nationwide "Hands Off" protest against Donald Trump and Elon Musk. We have three main demands: an end to the “billionaire takeover and rampant corruption” of the Trump administration; an end to cuts in federal funding for Social Security, Medicare and other programs that working people rely on; and an end to attacks on immigrants, trans people and other communities.

These protests are taking place all over the country tomorrow. Find out if there's one in your area and get involved. Be loud, make your voice heard, but keep it peaceful. Remember what you're fighting for. For God's sake, please remember what you're fighting for. Don't kid yourselves. Our democracy is at stake.

I remember when John F. Kennedy got assassinated. I remember when Martin Luther King got assassinated. I remember the Kent State Massacre. I remember the Attica Prison Riot. I remember the 1968 Democratic Convention riots in Chicago. It all seems like it was a million years ago, but in someways it seems like it was yesterday. And what we're experiencing now ... seems even scarier.

So tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm taking my old gray haired carcass downtown in a show of solidarity with other like minded folks. Our democracy is a precious gift. We must never take it for granted.

I may even take a few pictures and share them here. Godspeed, everyone.
 
The stock market dropped over 2000 points today and I read it was down nearly 4000 since the tariffs were announced Wednesday.

What more is it going to take for Republicans in Congress to pull their heads out of their asses and do something. They are losing money too and while it is very obvious they don't care about us, you know they care about their stock portfolios.
The latest talking point I saw making the social media rounds was that only rich people invest in the stock market and poor people can't afford anything other than food and shelter anyways so the tariffs are only a concern to the elites and are Good Actually for everyone else.
 
The latest talking point I saw making the social media rounds was that only rich people invest in the stock market and poor people can't afford anything other than food and shelter anyways so the tariffs are only a concern to the elites and are Good Actually for everyone else.
They are hitting their copium rather hard aren't they.
 
The latest talking point I saw making the social media rounds was that only rich people invest in the stock market and poor people can't afford anything other than food and shelter anyways so the tariffs are only a concern to the elites and are Good Actually for everyone else.
Oh cool, so the last nine pages were unnecessary.
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If Chinese widgets are selling for $20 because of tariffs and Vietnamese widgets are selling for $22, are the American made tariff-free widgets really going to just stay at $10 or will they see that the other stuff is still selling somewhat and decide they could raise their price to $15 and still undercut them?
We can get those American widgets down to $10 if we get the kids back in the factory. If only the education system would collapse and send 70% of school age children into the workforce ...
 
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