11 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

1. Why isn’t Trump handling the Carolina fires? Why isn’t he there to give them water? Sad, it really is that, he’s doing that to those people..

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2. It is March 3, 2025.  Without action, the Federal government shuts down March 15 at 12:01 am.

   Good news … President Trump will address Congress tomorrow night.  I'm sure he has a concept of a plan that will solve everything.   /s

   I've written my Congressional delegation (all Democrats):  no cooperation with anything less than continued funding at current levels AND an enforcement mechanism to insure money is spent as Congress appropriated it.

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3. There was One Statesman in the Oval Office Meeting

   In comparison Trump looked like a small weak baby

    

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4. I see that some old, incontinent, morbidly obese adderall junkie/serial rapist has decreed that English is the "official language" of the United States. The old dude is a Johnny-come-lately on this issue, as 32 states already had such provisions, including us (state constitutional amendment in 1988).

   It's almost fun – for large enough values of that term – watching idiots fall all over themselves claiming there's nothing remotely racist about such provisions. We had a clown here years ago who claimed that Colorado's "official language" amendment was absolutely necessary to shield the state from tort liability for publishing official documents in English. Ripping good stuff!

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5. "Trump Orders Permanet Government Shutdown – No, Really…" Josh Marshall at TPM

   It hasn’t gotten a lot of attention but Donald Trump’s February 11th “workforce optimization” executive order provides a very clear framework for the end stage goal of all the cutting. After a bunch of specific imperatives listed under Section 3-C of that executive order, it includes the following language: government department and agencies must plan to cut “all components and employees performing functions not mandated by statute or other law who are not typically designated as essential during a lapse in appropriations as provided in the Agency Contingency Plans on the Office of Management and Budget website.”

   …

   This gives both a clear view of what the plan is and a map to let everyone know about it. What will it be like after they’re done? It will be like a permanent shutdown. That’s not hyperbole or a metaphor. It’s literally what they say in the executive order. I would think Democrats should be familiarizing themselves with all the particulars of the OMB “essential” plan and basically campaigning on it. I mean, people will probably get a live subject run through on March 14th. But it’s still important to have that map. Those cuts are beyond draconian. And there’s no uncertainty. It’s spelled out exactly what is included.

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6. International FAFO. Germany's Friedrich Merz:

   "The events in the White House were a deliberate escalation and provocation."

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7. Economic forecast news below from Barron's. So. Much. Winning.

   The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimate now calls for a first-quarter GDP decline of 2.8%, down from a decline of 1.5% on Friday. As recently as Feb. 19, GDPNow predicted growth of 2.3%.

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   1. Let's see what kind of bloodbath we get when the market opens Tuesday morning… 

      Dow tumbles more than 600 points, S&P 500 posts biggest loss since December as Trump says tariffs will proceed

      “Whether the stock market can survive this change remains to be seen,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS, said in a note. “One way or another, tariffs will be a shock for the economy.”

      Monday’s sell-off to start March comes after the three major indexes notched losses for February, largely over fear of the effect of tariffs and early signs of a weakening economy. The Dow and S&P 500 each slipped more than 1% in February, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded its worst month since April 2024 with a pullback of about 4%.

      https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/02/stock-futures-rise-slightly-in-overnight-trading-as-investors-await-tariff-news-live-updates.html

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      1. Reuters this morning:

         Atlanta Fed shock sounds 'Trumpcession' warning

         By Jamie McGeever

         March 4, 202512:30 AM MST

         The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model estimate for annualized growth in the current quarter was a stunning -2.8% on Monday, down from +2.3% last week. A month ago the model showed that growth in the January-March period was tracking close to +4.0%.

         These estimates are published regularly as new economic data is released, and can be quite volatile. There were 11 in February alone. Friday's shock reading of -1.5% was led by a record-high $153 billion trade deficit in January, most likely as firms front-loaded imports ahead of tariffs, and Monday's decline was driven by soft manufacturing activity.

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      2. Dow's down 756 so far today (9:07 mountain time).

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8. Here's a new record for MAGA hypocrisy (and criminalization of free speech)

   Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Today in Politics, Bulletin 83. 3/3/25. Ron Filipkowski Mar 4   ∙   Preview   READ IN APP   … Sen. Rick Scott said AOC “should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” for posting videos on social media advising people what their rights are if ICE agents come to their door: “We took an oath – we’re supposed to uphold the constitution, not tell people how to evade the constitution. It sure seems like she’s violating the law.” … Scott pled the 5th 75 different times when his hospitals were investigated for Medicaid fraud in 1997. The company was fined $1.7 billion. … Border Czar Tom Homan has referred AOC to DOJ and AG Pam Bondi to be criminally investigated for obstruction of justice. Bondi has not commented on the progress of the investigation.

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