Do you feel like the winds of change are blowing today too?
POSTED BY: 6ixStringJack
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 16:05
VIEWED: 185382
PAGE 110 of 479
Quote:6ix, you don't read Krugman and never heard of Adam Tooze, but Krugman and Tooze carefully showed that Trump is an ignoramus about the economy.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Yeah. Everybody. That includes you.
You think you hide your racism through the racism of low-expectations, but it's still there. Democratic party racism is all about maintaining the ability to cheat by telling everybody that we can't have voter ids because black people are too stupid and lazy to go out and get one. Meanwhile, every black person I've ever known has a driver's license.
Democratic Party racism is putting up signs all over Gary, IN that just say "Vote Democrat" with voting day on it. I've never seen "Vote Republican" signs in white neighborhoods.
Democratic Party racism is bussing black and other minority kids into white schools and then dumbing down the cirriculm and test scoring so far that the valedictorian of the school doesn't even know she couldn't read until she got to college.
The Democratic Party is cancer.Quote:
Everybody poops, but if you do it on the floor in front of others, you are fired. Trump takes an enormous dump on the White House floor in front of cameras several times per day.
Trump has done far more in 7 weeks than Biden* would have done in 8 years. 70% of that so far has just been undoing the damage that your party did over the last 8 years.
The Emperor’s New Philosophy
Of drunkards, lampposts and economic doctrines
By Paul Krugman | Mar 20, 2025
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-emperors-new-philosophy
Today’s post will be short, because I’m on the road — actually at a conference in Belgium — with very little free time. But I thought I might weigh in to support and enlarge upon an exceptionally clear post by the always very good Adam Tooze about the commentariat’s sanewashing of Trumpian economic policy. I especially enjoyed seeing the normally calm Tooze come across as a bit angry. https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-363-stockholm-syndrome
What got Tooze going were multiple news analyses that tried to portray the vague concept of a “Mar-a-Lago Accord,” an attempt by the U.S. government to restructure the world financial system supposedly to its advantage, as reflecting a serious rethinking of international economic policy. If the plan, or maybe concept of a plan, or whatever doesn’t seem to make sense, that must be because Trump officials are playing some kind of deep game.
But why would you think that? Everything we know about the Trumpists’ approach to economic policy, or policy in general, suggests both that Trump himself has no understanding of economics — that he has prejudices rather than ideas — and that he surrounds himself with people who cater to his prejudices, that as Tooze puts it, the policy visions we’re getting from Trumpland have more in common with “a facelift pandering to the ignorant vanity of an old man than with economic policy as we have hitherto known it.”
Look, I understand that it’s more fun to write an article about the supposed emergence of a new economic philosophy than to write yet another article about how ignorant men are, once again, saying stupid things. And I guess some journalists are uncomfortable at the thought that people with great power to shape policy have no idea (or rather nothing but false ideas) what they’re doing.
But trying to put an intellectual gloss on Trumpist international economic policy is sanewashing that misinforms readers rather than helping their understanding.
We actually know what Trump and the people around him — people selected because they agreed, or pretended to agree, with his prejudices — believe about international economic policy. Before Trump first took office, Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro — who is still, as far as we can tell, the single most influential figure setting trade policy — put out a “white paper” centered on one simple fallacy. This was the claim that you can take this:
G
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:6ix, you don't read Krugman and never heard of Adam Tooze, but Krugman and Tooze carefully showed that Trump is an ignoramus about the economy.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Yeah. Everybody. That includes you.
You think you hide your racism through the racism of low-expectations, but it's still there. Democratic party racism is all about maintaining the ability to cheat by telling everybody that we can't have voter ids because black people are too stupid and lazy to go out and get one. Meanwhile, every black person I've ever known has a driver's license.
Democratic Party racism is putting up signs all over Gary, IN that just say "Vote Democrat" with voting day on it. I've never seen "Vote Republican" signs in white neighborhoods.
Democratic Party racism is bussing black and other minority kids into white schools and then dumbing down the cirriculm and test scoring so far that the valedictorian of the school doesn't even know she couldn't read until she got to college.
The Democratic Party is cancer.Quote:
Everybody poops, but if you do it on the floor in front of others, you are fired. Trump takes an enormous dump on the White House floor in front of cameras several times per day.
Trump has done far more in 7 weeks than Biden* would have done in 8 years. 70% of that so far has just been undoing the damage that your party did over the last 8 years.
Krugman is an idiot who's predictions never come true.
I never said I didn't read him though.
I read a lot of your lefty bullshit. In fact, I read far more lefty shit than anything else.
I'm sure Tooze is another grifter loser if you're a fan.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying watching Globalism die and watching your overpaid shills lose their shit about it.
--------------------------------------------------
"I don't find this stuff amusing anymore." ~Paul Simon
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Quote:Trump has a specific plan to kill Globalism. The Mar-a-Lago Accord is, on its face, a far-fetched policy proposal and it is easy to pick holes in it.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
I read a lot of your lefty bullshit. In fact, I read far more lefty shit than anything else.
I'm sure Tooze is another grifter loser if you're a fan.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying watching Globalism die and watching your overpaid shills lose their shit about it.
By Adam Tooze | Mar 19, 2025
https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-363-stockholm-syndrome
What is the Mar-a-Lago Accord?
The US gives the rest of the world:
1. Security
2. Access to US markets/US consumers
The US gets from the rest of the world:
1. A weaker dollar
2. A bigger manufacturing sector
3. Existing US Treasury debt swapped to new Treasury century bonds (100 year maturity. The longest maturity for U.S. Treasury bonds currently available to investors is 30 years.)
Two tools to achieve such an outcome:
1. Tariffs to exert pressure on countries to sign the Mar-a-Lago Accord and to grow the US manufacturing sector
2. A US sovereign wealth fund that can be used to buy foreign currencies to depreciate the dollar
Q1: Why is a Mar-a-Lago Accord in the news?
President Trump aims to restructure global trade by addressing the overvalued dollar, seen as the root cause of U.S. trade deficits. Inspired by an essay by Stephen Miran (Trump’s economic advisor), the Accord proposes weakening the dollar, similar to the 1985 Plaza Accord.
Q2: Key observations of the essay?
The U.S. trade deficit stems from dollar overvaluation driven by inelastic demand for U.S. Treasuries and Foreign Exchange interventions by trading partners. No viable alternative reserve currencies (e.g., eurozone fragmentation, China’s capital controls) exacerbate the issue.
Q3: Key recommendations?
Two paths: 1) Multilateral “Mar-a-Lago Accord” with allies to weaken the dollar via coordinated policies.
2) Unilateral measures (tariffs, security threats) if partners resist
Q4: How would the Accord work?
Key nations (eurozone, China, Japan) would sell dollars/Treasuries from reserves. Incentives include lower tariffs; challenges include reluctance from China/eurozone and market instability from reserve managers selling Treasuries.
Q5: Unilateral approach?
1) Impose a “user fee” on foreign Treasury holdings to drive out reserve managers. 2) Expand the U.S. Exchange Stabilization Fund or sell gold reserves. Risks include inflation and market dislocation.
Q6: Impact on Treasuries?
Forced swaps to century bonds could trigger defaults and rating downgrades. Voluntary swaps avoid default but face market skepticism. Treasury yields could rise, losing benchmark status to corporate debt
Q7: Sequencing of the blueprint?
Tariffs and security threats first to create leverage. Reciprocal tariffs in April 2025 signal intent Fed cooperation (post-2026 leadership change) may mitigate bond market fallout
Q8: Implications for the dollar?
Short-term dollar strength (to offset tariff-driven inflation), followed by long-term decline post-Accord. JPY (Japanese yen) could surge 20-25% due to undervaluation and safe-haven demand.
Q9: Opportunities for Europe?
Euro could gain reserve status if the dollar weakens. Requires eurozone joint debt issuance and Capital Markets Union to address fragmentation.
Q10: Other takeaways?
Higher financial volatility, reassessment of sovereign risk premia, and shifts to non-U.S. assets. Risks include destabilizing Treasury markets and counterproductive dollar strength.
More at https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-363-stockholm-syndrome
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:Lie. And stupid. Ukraine can't "hand over" what it doesn't control.
Originally posted by second:
WHAT HAPPENED TODAY THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW - #48
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 https://govbrief.today/
Full links at https://imgur.com/gallery/what-happened-today-48-SdVkkKd
1.Trump pushes Ukraine to hand over nuclear plant in ceasefire talks.
Quote:Please justify its existence, based on the current srate of education.
2.White House fact sheet confirms Trump’s plan to eliminate Department of Education.
Quote:Good. Navajo Code Talkers were important and unique contributors to the WWII effort.
3.Pentagon calls removal of Navajo Code Talker content a mistake, vows to restore it.
Quote:Looking for prices increases and not seeing any yet. Wish he had been more specific.
4. Fed Chair Powell says Trump's tariffs driving price increases as rates hold steady.
Quote:I hate to tell people this, but men's prisons are abusive, period.
5.Judge orders transfer of two transgender women back to women’s prisons after Trump's order moved them to men’s facilities where they faced abuse.
Just OOC what happens to gays, and prisoners convicated of child abuse?
Quote:Good.
6.Trump administration drops lawsuit against Texas law letting police arrest migrants, following similar moves in Iowa and Oklahoma.
Quote:I assume this means he won't expand USAID programs to "regime change" operations? If so, good.
7 Musk ally who helped slash programs at USAID & CFPB appointed to lead USAID role.
Quote:Unconstitutional.
8. Texas Senate advances bills mandating Ten Commandments in classrooms and allowing school prayer.
It's Texas. What can I say?
Quote:one office, every other state? Doesn't seem like much.
9.AP publishes list of 26 Social Security offices to close this year, with closure dates.
Quote:Why are we paying ICE detainees anything?
10.For-profit prison company GEO Group fights to keep paying ICE detainees only $1 a day as profits soar under Trump.
Quote:It hasn't done much good, has it?
11.Judge denies emergency request to stop Musk’s DOGE Service from dismantling U.S. Institute of Peace after law enforcement-assisted raid.
Quote:Are those people alive? If they were 33 in 1963, that would make them 93 y/o now.
12.Trump's JFK files dump exposes Social Security numbers of over 200 people, including his former attorney and a CIA agent’s file.
Quote:I know there is a law forbidding active duty in the USA to enforce state law and keep the peace, but that seems to conflict with the military's essential role, which is to DEFEND THE BORDERS OF THE USA, The writers of the law never seemed to have considered the idea that the USA might actually be invaded.
13. Trump administration considers using active-duty military to detain migrants in buffer zone at southern border.
Quote:Is he a citizen or legal permanent resident? What is his status?
14.DHS arrests Indian-born Georgetown fellow Monday night, moves him to ICE facility in Louisiana over alleged views on U.S.-lsrael policy.
Quote:If you get Federal funding, you have to follow Federal rules. It's been that way for ages, and was used to enforce DEI policies. I've seen the contracts. You weren't complaining then.
15. Trump administration freezes $175M in federal funding to UPenn over transgender athlete policy, despite school following NCAA rules.
Deal with it.
Quote:Judge is out of bounds.
16.Judge warns of "consequences" as Trump administration resists disclosing deportation flight details, while AG Bondi attacks court's authority.
Quote:Trump's mideast policies are dysfunctional and don't represent American interests.
17.Trump vows to 'annihilate' Iran-backed Houthis as U.S. escalates airstrikes in Yemen.
Quote:
18.Musk donates legal max to GOP lawmakers backingNOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Tuesday.
Originally posted by SIGNYM:Quote:Judge is out of bounds.
16.Judge warns of "consequences" as Trump administration resists disclosing deportation flight details, while AG Bondi attacks court's authority.
Chief Justice John Roberts pushed back against President Donald Trump and his allies’ calls to impeach judges who’ve ruled against the administration.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” Roberts said Tuesday in a rare and brief statement issued just hours after Trump publicly joined demands by his supporters to remove judges he called “crooked.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/18/john-roberts-donald-trump-imp
each-federal-judges-00235742
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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I Worked Myself to the Bone My Whole Life. Under Trump, Everything I’ve Saved Is Slowly Slipping Away.
Work Till You Die
Unlike many in my family, I have a small retirement fund. Now I might never be able to stop working.
By Bobbi Dempsey | March 20, 2025 5:45 AM
https://slate.com/life/2025/03/stock-market-401k-news-today-donald-tru
mp-elon-musk-social-security.html
I come from a line of poverty that goes back several generations. Many of my relatives—including my mother—lived in poverty for their entire lives. They could only focus on day-to-day survival and worrying about how they would get their next meal. For us, this meant that retirement planning was never something we discussed. In fact, I don’t ever recall hearing the word retirement mentioned at all. The idea of having a nest egg or a financial safety net felt like a totally foreign concept.
Now, because of recent economic developments in the United States, coupled with the potential threat to Social Security, I’m starting to worry that I might never be able to retire at all.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
I Worked Myself to the Bone My Whole Life. Under Trump, Everything I’ve Saved Is Slowly Slipping Away.
Biden* already did that to all of us.
This guy must have had just enough money to only run out right now.
I lived off of $7k last year. I don't want to hear anybody bitching about money right now. Especially not those who denied that Biden* destroyed us.
--------------------------------------------------
"I don't find this stuff amusing anymore." ~Paul Simon
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:Trump has a specific plan to kill Globalism.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
I read a lot of your lefty bullshit. In fact, I read far more lefty shit than anything else.
I'm sure Tooze is another grifter loser if you're a fan.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying watching Globalism die and watching your overpaid shills lose their shit about it.
Excellent.
--------------------------------------------------
"I don't find this stuff amusing anymore." ~Paul Simon
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Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:Quote:Trump has a specific plan to kill Globalism.
Originally posted by second:Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
I read a lot of your lefty bullshit. In fact, I read far more lefty shit than anything else.
I'm sure Tooze is another grifter loser if you're a fan.
In the meantime, I'm enjoying watching Globalism die and watching your overpaid shills lose their shit about it.
Excellent.
The plan will work great if Trump conquers Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China. He can do one at a time or all of them simultaneously. If Trump doesn't invade, the plan fails but Trump does not yet realize he has to use force to make the plan work. Except, the US couldn't pacify Vietnam. Or any other place, so Trump's plan is gonna fail hard, just like Vietnam did. The White House will spend many years declaring success after success until the whole stupid Trumptard plan collapses once a new President (such as Gerald Ford replacing Richard Nixon) arrives.
Pulling this altogether, here is my point:
None of us really knows where this clown car is headed and what drives it on its crazy course. It seems like a mystery even to many on board. Quite reasonably we look for elements of rationality. We ask: who inside MAGA 2.0 is thinking and what are their thoughts? We then relate that to our own efforts to diagnose America’s history and the history of the world economy. At the very least we need to explain how Trump 2.0 happened. Sometimes we will find a match between a strand of policy from inside MAGA and our own analysis and it is tempting to label that as “MAGA for thinking people” and to look for continuities with the Biden team etc. That mode of analysis is reasonable. To historically minded people it is appealing for obvious reasons. But it puts us at risk of is underestimating the radicalism of the break marked by the Trump administration. In search of historical context we miss what is most historically significant. We avoid facing the conclusion that the vision of a Mar-a-Lago Accord may have more in common with grift, a protection racket or a facelift pandering to the ignorant vanity of an old man than with economic policy as we have hitherto known it. Faced with Trump, the risk is that conventional realism is a form of escapism.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Why It’s So Outrageous That Trump Is Invoking This Obscure 200-Year-Old Wartime Law
By Shirin Ali | March 20, 2025 11:49 AM
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/03/immigration-trump-news-ali
en-enemies-act-mass-deportations.html
The Alien Enemies Act was for a true all-out war. This meant that if Congress declared war, or France sent a ground invasion, that the native citizens, denizens, and subjects of France—people who were from France, who were born in France, who notionally owed allegiance to France in wartime—could be regulated, be put into internment camps, or be expelled or deported. One of the reasons that Congress felt this was appropriate is that there was basically no criminal or immigration law that existed at the federal level. There was very little national security law that existed at the federal level.
Obviously, that is very, very different today, where we have a proliferation of criminal and immigration and national security authorities. The other thing that’s worth noting about the context of 1798 is that the law of war, under the law of nations, allowed these noncitizens from the foreign belligerent to be treated as though they were prisoners of war. That is a legal artifact that is no longer true after the adoption of the Geneva Conventions. Today, under the law of war, civilians are supposed to have protections, including against citizenship- or identity-based detentions or internment, as well as against forced repatriation.
How many times has the Alien Enemies Act been invoked since its passage?
It’s been used in only three major conflicts.
1. In the War of 1812, which was fought with the British, the Alien Enemies Act was used to regulate British subjects who were not allowed to live within 40 miles of the coast. A U.S. marshal told them that they had to relocate to an inland residence.
2. Then, in World War I, this law was used to heavily regulate noncitizens from the foreign belligerent, which was Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. People from those backgrounds were subject to very intense regulation, ranging from limiting travel to preventing them from living in certain places. For example, if you were a German noncitizen, you could not live in Washington—so if you had lived in D.C. for decades but were simply not a U.S. citizen and were born in Germany, you had to get out, subject to internment.
3. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, we see another invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. That same day, President Roosevelt invoked the Alien Enemies Act and imposed draconian regulations on noncitizens of Japanese descent and, the following day, noncitizens of German and Italian descent. Those regulations controlled whether noncitizens could own flashlights, maps, certain books, and firearms. On top of that, they allowed the president or the attorney general to intern anyone who was deemed “dangerous.”
People are more familiar with the incarceration of Japanese Americans, including U.S. citizens, but we still do remember the Alien Enemies Act internments as a shameful part of our history. In fact, some of the internees from the act, those of Japanese descent, received monetary reparations, and Congress even passed an apology bill.
The only reason to use the wartime authority is to bypass due process and try to target Venezuelans more broadly when you know you can’t prove that they’re actually gang members. I think that that is a major threat to civil liberties and to our Constitution.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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