The Frankish Reich

Meanwhile, the very reliable Tony Seruga. Tony, are we still waiting?

How dare you link to the mainstream Media. Especially the NYT. This must be total garbage!

Could someone explain to me what concessions Trump is trying to extort from Canada? Consider: - I want the Keystone Pipeline built to bring Canadian shale oil to U.S. refineries/ports - I want to slap a 25% tariff on Canadian imports which would render the Keystone Pipeline completely unviable.

Very cool. But you're sending me down a rabbit hole looking for info on that proposed new baseball league c. 1959

No self control.

Yes, they do receive absurdly generous lifetime benefits. And by the way, The Economist is an English publication ("American media should not be trusted ...")

Knox. Finally. We saw him more involved with Kincaid out.

Purdy played at Iowa State so cold is no stranger to him

Seth Moulton, Wes Moore, Jared Polis - it'll be interesting to see which one gets the early buzz.

Makes sense to me. Play was ugly, and the refs assumed somebody must've jumped. One of them blew the false start whistle. What should've happened was no flag, no whistle, simple Chiefs recovery and Chiefs win. But how could the refs restore the proper conclusion? Make up a fake penalty that didn't blow the play dead.

Exactly. I don't see any motion/shift. Does O'Connell moving when the ball is snapped constitute an illegal shift? That's the only thing I can think of.

He tried; the kid lived.

So where was the illegal motion? For that matter, what would've been a false start? (since the "start" was when the center snapped the ball) Probably should've been a no call, with, unfortunately, the Chiefs getting possession.

Raiders center was error prone against the Broncs last week too. He saved his best for the end today.

This weekend: Why the Raiders are the Raiders and the Bears are the Bears.

Somehow I thought this was a night game. Looks like I didn't miss a whole lot by tuning in at halftime.

The hits keep coming. Secretary of the Navy: zero military experience. Huge campaign donor.

What on earth would make people think that Canada wants any part of the mess that is NYS?

For example, Bondi. Let's say DOJ really does try to prosecute Jack Smith for something or other. It is really, really difficult to prevail on some kind of selective prosecution/prosecutor should have recused type of claim. But pledging to prosecute Trump's political enemies before being selected opens the door to that.

A quick scorecard: Solid picks/no complaints: State: Rubio. Normal mainstream pick/failed Presidential candidate. Experience on the appropriate Senate committee. Speaks Spanish is a plus. Treasury: Bessent. Normal mainstream pick/uber-wealthy investment banker. George Soros guy, has made a lot of money on seeing things coming. Interior: Burgum. Same as Rubio. Always goes to a western state pol. Nothing to see here. HUD: Turner. This seems to be the Trump "put a Black guy in there" department. Unlike Dr. Ben, has shown interest in the field, working on opportunity zones, etc. And yes he is the only Black nominee. Surgeon General: Fox TV doc. a largely symbolic office that is all about public communication. So here a TV personality works. Chief of Staff: Wiles. Could've been a Matt Gaetz type. Pat Summerall's daughter, which is probably preferable to John Madden's daughter. Elections have consequences, I'll take my medicine like a good boy: VA: Collins. Who? That's the point. Apparently worked on the Trump Georgia election challenges, but I'll forgive him for that indiscretion. Labor: Chavez de Remer. A typical Democratic nominee. Checks two boxes (Dem + Hispanic). Trump's attempt to curry favor with unions. OK, fine. Energy: Chris Wright. Oilman. A little concerned about lack of experience with other major Energy things (nuclear), but again ... elections. Economic advisor: Hackett. Nice guy. Even though economists struggle to hit .500 with their up/down, bull/bear projections, an abysmal track record ... EPA: Zeldin. Did I really think an environmentalist would get this job? I could have stomached RFK Jr. here, but not there. OMB: Vought. Back again. Trump is responsible for lying about Project 2025, not Vought. It's what people should've realized they were voting for. UN Ambassador: Stefanik. Pulling a Nikki. Watch out JD for 2028, But she is smart and apparently a hard worker who has now gone full suck-up mode. Really bad picks: Ag: Brooke Rollins. Not the place for a pure political consultant. Farmers should feel insulted by this dump job. DOT: Sean Duffy. A dumber Buttigieg. No business running a major Department. DHS: Noem. Interior was right for her. DHS is too much for her. Someone other than a pure sycophant needed for this job. Another "watch your back, JD" Trade: Some guy named Jamieson Greer. Seems a little too Trump tariff-happy. At least he's not Peter Navarro. CIA: Ratcliffe. Whatever. He was gonna resurface somewhere. This is some kind of a sick joke, right? RUFKM?? Justice: Bondi, Gaetz the Lesser. She is nominally qualified, but getting this job after committing to prosecute her predecessors at DOJ is a disqualifier. Period. DOD: Hegseth. A huge Department that requires personnel management policy guidance experience, of which he has neither, even if he is just a horndog and not a rapist. Commerce: Lutnick. The consolation prize. Way, way too conflicted, particularly with his Tether crypto cheerleading now. No reason to have this guy in government. You gotta ask "what's in it for him?" Fought tooth and nail to get Treasury, so he really, really wants in. Education: Linda McMahon. Enabler of sexual abuse (you did have to blow Vince if you wanted to be a WWE girl), steroid abuse, you name it. No apparent qualifications for this job, just like she had none for SBA. Campaign contributor dump job. Wasn't the Ambassador to Bahamas available? Medicare/Medicaid: Dr. Oz. Why? I mean, why would he want this? A drudgery for even the wonkiest, and that sure ain't him. HHS: the ultimate choice. RFK Jr. Drug abuser (but he says doing heroin did make him a better student). Addict. Phone sex participant DURING HIS CAMPAIGN. Nanny harasser. Dead bear cub depositor. Spreader of conspiratorial mis (dis?)information. Utterly unqualified for the job other than the negative qualification of being an anti-vaxxer. Buffoon who makes Biden's voice sound powerful.

Which one was in Biden's cabinet? Must've missed that.

Exactly. The price of oil on the world market is right at a tipping point now; if it goes much lower, U.S. shale oil fields will start to go dormant again. Reminder: there is an international market in petroleum. Now let me pose a question: if you wanted to juice U.S. production, wouldn't you slap a new/larger tariff on OPEC oil? Now let me pose another question: would Trump's friends the Saudis appreciate that? UPDATE: Trump team says no exemption for oil from the 25% Mexico/Canada tariff. So let's make Saudi oil cheaper than oil from our own regional allies. Again, say what you want about leverage vs. Mexico. Why punish Canada?

Kevin Hassett back as head of Trump's National Economic Council. I like him. A rare happy economist with a constant smile. But has any economist been so consistently, amazingly wrong? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Hassett

Interesting take from someone named (((Levi)))

Ahh, yes, the Age of Mercantilism. Now we know what Golden Age Trump is trying to restore.