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BY: joe_burly
IN: Monday Open Thread
BY: joe_burly
IN: Monday Open Thread
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BY: joe_burly
IN: Monday Open Thread
BY: harrydoby
IN: Monday Open Thread
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“A true pessimist knows it is already too late to be one.” Victor Miesel
Batten down the hatches, we're in for a bumpy ride. It's the volatility. It would actually be better if Trump just comitted to a depression.
Very good Paul Krugman interview with Nathan Tankus on the financial system plumbing (treasuries, banking & currency) and the impending crisis.
The article has lots of parts, but one serious problem is that hedge funds have become huge players in treasuries and management of risk-portfolios. When times are good, risks are low and liquidity is high. With Trump's chaos, we're seing capital flight, dollar decline and treasury sales. Hedge funds won't be able to handle the risks, just like banks weren't able handle all the bad loans in 2008.
Read the whole thing if you want to be properly scared, but here is one quote:
Krugman asks if there is a floor to how bad it can get:
Couple more fascinating-scary quotes.
On herd behavior on Wall Street.
On DOGE seizing money from your bank account.
There is some "big picture" sense to all this economic chaos if you consider that Trump is doing Putin's will.
I imagine some of those cute confidential phone calls, during which Putin tellis Trump " Keepi it up – you're doing great!"
https://imgflip.com/i/9rb63q
Overnight, the Supreme Court issued an order: My go to site for explanations is SCOTUSblog. Amy Howe writes this morning: Justices temporarily bar government from removing Venezuelan men under Alien Enemies Act
District court apparently threw up its hands and said it couldn't do anything around 9 PM Eastern. Before 1 AM the 9 of SCOTUS apparently had a conversation and got to a 7-2 decision saying
Every time I see some awful dissent from the fascists, Thomas and Alito, I’m grateful that Scalia is dead, and I snicker that Barrett hasn’t been the complete whack-nut Yammie-pie (okay, Leonard Leo) thought he was getting.
Yes, Amy Coney Barrett has really impressed me, too.
No, I don't agree with her position in Dobbs, and I'm probably going to be unhappy with her position when they get the request to reconsider and overrule Obergefell. But she wasn't selected because she was an advocate of reproductive choice or gay rights. On the contrary.
What impresses me is that she has the guts to stand up for the rule of law which isn't as common as it once was.
Reuters has an article about tariff impacts already hitting the US economy, and uses a couple of Colorado anecdotes.
That seat will cost how much? US businesses already seeing impact of Trump tariffs
Maybe they could call it "iStasi"… because I'm completely sure they won't expand the scope of work to track…well, everyone.
In a document published Thursday, ICE explained the functions that it expects Palantir to include in a prototype of a new program to give the agency “near real-time” data about people self-deporting.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is paying software company Palantir $30 million to provide the agency with “near real-time visibility” on people self-deporting from the United States, according to a contract justification published in a federal register on Thursday. The tool would also help ICE choose who to deport, giving special priority to “visa overstays,” the document shows.
https://www.wired.com/story/ice-palantir-immigrationos/
Also: Peter Thiel and Jared Kushner's company "Ramp", wants to take over all the government payment systems for Social Security, and also the payment system used for government credit card expenses.
They would get a fee for every transaction. Nice work if you can get it. No competition bidding. Add billions in costs to Social Security.
That third item troubles me most, I think. While all of it is gobbledygook, that one seems most likely to become aggressive and get out of control.
“Making “deportation logistics” more efficient” is code. I think it means they can then Shanghai anyone they want…including citizens like you and me.
I have been begging anyone who would listen, to believe this very circumstance was coming. Donald Trump ran for President to spite Barack Obama. It has never been about anything but Trumps’ ego and retribution. His hatred has poisoned America.
He isn’t making America great…he is making us weak and afraid. Welcome to the third world, ya’ll.
"Efficiency" is not always a good thing, and it is generally antithetical to due process, which requires both notice and an opportunity to be heard. That pesky Fifth Amendment really messes with "efficiency" in deportations.
Reply to parkhill:
Yes..it really is all about the grift.
Here's a sampling of signs from Saturday's anti-Trump rallies around the country
They are all strong and to the point. My favorite is this one
Some great stuff there, harry. Thanks for the link.🙂
Who could have guessed a drunk with no experience could make basic mistakes???
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/us/politics/hegseth-yemen-attack-second-signal-chat.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BU8.G_mP.5fJ18eQyeuHv&smid=url-share
Perhaps a more concerning and pertinent question might be, "Who couldn't"?
Let us imagine the spectacle soon to be thrust upon us. I understand the Emperor will have his parade. Oughta be something!