The Frankish Reich

Fake news? Kevin Hassett said it to ... FOX. Q. Will the President consider a 90-day pause? Hassett: Yeah, well ... [the president's gonna do what he's gonna do] Market manipulation? A broken WH comms team? You tell me. But not fake news.

Dave Chappelle this weekend. Check it out. Nails it. Oh, it's Trump. Never mind. Let the carnage continue until the next rumor of restored sanity.

Called it! 90-day "pause" is coming. Kevin Hassett says so. Just as the S&P hit bear territory. By the way, if these jackasses around Trump (including his family) aren't trading on the insider info I'd be shocked. Hundreds of millions to be made by being just a few minutes ahead of these Trump ponderings.

Wait for: 1. Markets on Monday morning. 2. Polling (internal or public) This is so stupid he'll be pushed into killing it. Yes, even Trump.

Bill Ackman, yesterday's MAGA hero for calling out Harvard and Columbia, quoted today: "this is not what we voted for." No, Bill, I'm sorry. This is exactly what you voted for. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5235232-ackman-warning-trump-tariffs/

Ridiculous take then since say what you will about Pete, he's obviously very intelligent and very locked-in politically. You see, to work a joke needs to pick on some foible recognizable in a public figure. If it's that Pete is just a little too committed to family life while doing an important job, well, that's fine. But the use of "maternity" is a sure giveaway. That's what makes it clearly a hahah, he's gay joke. Fine explanation. You should be ashamed that you shared that one.

I was curious enough to do some googling. All I can say is that reports are contradictory and anything but clear cut. Maybe the MSM is waiting to do some, you know, actual digging - what we used to call investigative reporting - instead of posting the hot takes that dominate on Twitter and here?

No, Tiktok got another 75 day reprieve. Because the law is only the law when you like it.

Yes, of course. Do you ever wish a Trumpist with a brain (DeSantis?) had won?

Whoever said "welfare" needs to be needs-based? We talk about the Scandinavian "welfare state" all the time, and the vast majority of those programs - old age state pensions, medical care, childcare, etc. - aren't need-based. If you want to say SS isn't need-based, well, then just say that. One man's welfare is another man's "transfer payment."

It is, but it isn't actuarially sound. You can generally expect to get back way more than what you paid in, even accounting for inflation/time value of money. So is it welfare? Well, it's called Old Age Insurance, but it's more like an Old Age Transfer Payment.

Market futures imply all major indexes will open down 4-7%. Even Bitcoin is down. Oil is tanking. Margin calls are coming. Trump will stupidly/unconvincingly declare victory over something or other and back down. His billionaire false friends can't take it anymore. I say it happens by tomorrow (Monday 4/7) afternoon. Anyone disagree?

Oh, and all market futures down on the order of 4% tonight. Look, we all know that even the stupid and mulish Trump will find some lame excuse to put his tariffs "on hold" or some such thing, probably declaring victory because Indonesia didn't retaliate or some such thing. But for now, he's letting it ride all the way to Hooverville. And of course small caps are getting hit the hardest - they are least able to adjust supply chains or eat short-term tariff losses.

Good news! WTI crude futures now under $60 Bad news! Traders are factoring in a recession with associated drop in demand Worse news! How you gonna make 'em drill drill drill baby when the market price drops below production costs? It's almost as if it's not so simple as raise tariffs, make America great.

No. The point is Jake Tapper disavowed being a liberal, just as Fox New tries to convince us that they are fair and balanced.

Clearly true. They used retail instead of wholesale.

Western Lensman doesn't question that Fox News is "fair and balanced."

First: yes, this is a ridiculous prosecution. She did not personally threaten anyone. In America it would be protected, albeit ugly, speech. Second: now do the Columbia protesters who said "from the river to the sea." You know, the ones you demanded the authorities shut up. You know, the ones that caused Trump to try to cut off all federal monies to Columbia because they didn't arrest/expel/deport/whatever the protesters or social media pro-Palestine commenters. Free speech exists to protect unpopular speech. Popular speech needs no special protections.

Dr. Effing Google BS mournebrates: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/06/health/measles-death-texas.html

Unstable idiot.

If there is some type of "joke" there beyond calling a gay dad's leave "maternity" instead of "paternity," it escapes me. But laugh on, children!

So fascinating. Looks like flying over Greenland on the way to Stockholm. Could've fooled me. Well worth the $55 million ticket!

If those small businesses believed that the "reciprocal tariffs" are here to stay, they'd really have no choice but to go out of business right now. The imported wine shop is well and truly effed. There's no way they can survive with 20% tariffs on every case they buy. But almost nobody believes Trump is that crazy, that power mad. Or that the Congress is that subservient. So they will try to stay in business, eating much of the cost of the tariffs, maybe laying off some staff, until sanity returns. They'll dip into their own savings to keep the business afloat. They are totally at the mercy of one guy: Donald J. Trump. And boy does he love that feeling.

True. Trump wouldn't have won with only true MAGAs. He needed to pull in a sizable number of prior Biden/Obama voters. I'm enjoying the "Rich Guy Slips Up and Tells Us What He Really Thinks" moments. First, Commerce Secretary Lutnick: if you complain about a missed social security check, you're probably a fraudster. Anyone else can just wait. Now, Treasury Sec Bessent says people approaching retirement don't really care about or watch the markets https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/bessent-americans-retire-arent-worried-stock-market-recession-rcna199892 Yeah, right. Let's say you've been successful and financially prudent. You have a 401k worth a million bucks. Or it was worth a million buck a week ago. Now it's worth less than $900,000. Remember, you're a conservative investor. You're a 60 year old male. You had planned to buy a life annuity to eliminate risk of loss. Last week that annuity would've paid you about $5700 a month. Add social security and any other pension and you're sitting pretty. Now that annuity would pay only about $5100 a month. Big deal, says Bessent. That's only $600 a month. Only $7200 a year. Who cares? Chump change. Hell, hubby John and I paid the surrogate 5X more than that. That's our oligarchy. Government by the billionaire class. Miss a check, be late on rent? So what. Work another two year to replenish that 401k? No biggie.