Only because Donald sees everything as an opportunity to grift, I think Iran was right on their earlier assertions that he was using the "conflict" to manipulate the markets via his "now Hormuz is open, now it's closed" pronouncements. He's doing the same thing, IMHO, with the "negotiations" with Canada currently being discussed. A convenient deadline on a Tuesday that I'm sure he knew wouldn't happen so he could issue a 3 day delay (why THREE days, why not a week? Or a month?)....which brings the matter to a Friday. Fridays have been known for Donald to claim gloom and doom before market close, and then miraculously shout "success!" on the Sunday so that the markets on Monday know what to do. But then, maybe I'm just getting too cynical in my old age and, maybe it's just a coincidence. I mean, just because all the dots connect, it doesn’t mean anything, right??
Usually when the dots connect it means something. You have explained trump's MO well so I don't think you are cynical, but realistic. Love the name, by the way.
Quite simply, Trump has lost the war he started. He can't admit it to himself--in his untethered-to-reality mind he is never wrong. He has nobody to tell him otherwise.
It’s the same playbook that the conman, grifter uses with “Iran” or “Canada” or basically just stick a thing or a country or a person in the “blank”.. he will say he’s making a deal, TACO on the deal then the deal will be worse and he will go into the three ring circus, microphone shoved in his face so he can proclaim once again — “It’s the best deal ever. Nobody has ever seen a
deal like this before,
and it’s all because of Me!”..
Now others are using the same page out of the Playbook..
Yep accounting someday should catch up.. that’s gonna be some ugly figures to unravel…
I note that NAFTA was a horrible deal, a disaster for the US, so Trump, the greatest dealmaker the world has ever seen, negotiated CUSMA to replace it. CUSMA is no a horrible deal, a disaster for the US, so Trump, the greatest dealmaker the world has ever seen, is now negotiating a new deal. I hope Carney holds firm and tests Trump's patience (because he has none).
Jack it is just so exhausting. He tears the JCPOA deal with Iran just cause Obama negotiated and we are now we were are here in the U.S. so worse off. Was NAFTA a great deal no, but a modest one. Did labor get sucked into countries paying less, yep but the lack of tariffs or low tariffs made much more table kitchen item so much more reasonable. This BS of a new tariff like what every 3 months and when the SCOTUS says nope can’t do these and money needs to get paid back. Who got the money? Well Apple: Received a $2.2 billion refund, Target: Received a $1 billion refund, Targeted Retailers: Major brands like Amazon ($600 million), Walmart, and Costco are receiving or waiting on their multi-million dollar payouts. Not the consumer that seems to have forked over close to $2,000 extra in payments for goods. So he’s got another work around for tariffs and ultimately we all get continually screwed.. Exhausting..
Honestly there are days just want to stick a fork in it and say it’s done Ethel it’s way past cooked it’s now saw dust…
It’s going to be really ugly.. like being b*tch slapped with that bugly stick and what’s totally absurd is that so many have no idea of what the Great Depression was like.. not a clue it’s just in a history book they may pick up and read.. if they even have enough comprehension skills to do so and even believe that it existed in the first place.. *sigh
You are so right in your very first paragraph. Everybody outside this regime could see what was going to happen once the war (sorry, 'excursion') started, but the regime's collective brain cells were obviously on loan elsewhere and were not repossessed in time - though I do still doubt that they have made it back at all.
The great hope is the mid-terms, after which the slow and inevitably painful rebuilding can begin.
A point of clarification about the crack spread. It's the difference between the price of a barrel of crude and the retail price of all the products cracked out of that barrel, not just diesel. Here's Paul Krugman to explain (with charts, because he always does).
Only because Donald sees everything as an opportunity to grift, I think Iran was right on their earlier assertions that he was using the "conflict" to manipulate the markets via his "now Hormuz is open, now it's closed" pronouncements. He's doing the same thing, IMHO, with the "negotiations" with Canada currently being discussed. A convenient deadline on a Tuesday that I'm sure he knew wouldn't happen so he could issue a 3 day delay (why THREE days, why not a week? Or a month?)....which brings the matter to a Friday. Fridays have been known for Donald to claim gloom and doom before market close, and then miraculously shout "success!" on the Sunday so that the markets on Monday know what to do. But then, maybe I'm just getting too cynical in my old age and, maybe it's just a coincidence. I mean, just because all the dots connect, it doesn’t mean anything, right??
Usually when the dots connect it means something. You have explained trump's MO well so I don't think you are cynical, but realistic. Love the name, by the way.
I agree. I think it has happened often enough that this is realism.
Man. My moonbeam vigils look like one continuous wolfscream. I am so, so very over this.
Quite simply, Trump has lost the war he started. He can't admit it to himself--in his untethered-to-reality mind he is never wrong. He has nobody to tell him otherwise.
Unfortunately, the rest of us pay the price.
Love your essays! You are a gifted analyst and writer. You see things as they are, and explain them eloquently. Thank you.
It’s the same playbook that the conman, grifter uses with “Iran” or “Canada” or basically just stick a thing or a country or a person in the “blank”.. he will say he’s making a deal, TACO on the deal then the deal will be worse and he will go into the three ring circus, microphone shoved in his face so he can proclaim once again — “It’s the best deal ever. Nobody has ever seen a
deal like this before,
and it’s all because of Me!”..
Now others are using the same page out of the Playbook..
Yep accounting someday should catch up.. that’s gonna be some ugly figures to unravel…
I note that NAFTA was a horrible deal, a disaster for the US, so Trump, the greatest dealmaker the world has ever seen, negotiated CUSMA to replace it. CUSMA is no a horrible deal, a disaster for the US, so Trump, the greatest dealmaker the world has ever seen, is now negotiating a new deal. I hope Carney holds firm and tests Trump's patience (because he has none).
Jack it is just so exhausting. He tears the JCPOA deal with Iran just cause Obama negotiated and we are now we were are here in the U.S. so worse off. Was NAFTA a great deal no, but a modest one. Did labor get sucked into countries paying less, yep but the lack of tariffs or low tariffs made much more table kitchen item so much more reasonable. This BS of a new tariff like what every 3 months and when the SCOTUS says nope can’t do these and money needs to get paid back. Who got the money? Well Apple: Received a $2.2 billion refund, Target: Received a $1 billion refund, Targeted Retailers: Major brands like Amazon ($600 million), Walmart, and Costco are receiving or waiting on their multi-million dollar payouts. Not the consumer that seems to have forked over close to $2,000 extra in payments for goods. So he’s got another work around for tariffs and ultimately we all get continually screwed.. Exhausting..
Honestly there are days just want to stick a fork in it and say it’s done Ethel it’s way past cooked it’s now saw dust…
Good luck, pal. We're now at the Smoot Hawley tariffs, and that didn't work out so well in 1930.
It’s going to be really ugly.. like being b*tch slapped with that bugly stick and what’s totally absurd is that so many have no idea of what the Great Depression was like.. not a clue it’s just in a history book they may pick up and read.. if they even have enough comprehension skills to do so and even believe that it existed in the first place.. *sigh
Mary,
You are so right in your very first paragraph. Everybody outside this regime could see what was going to happen once the war (sorry, 'excursion') started, but the regime's collective brain cells were obviously on loan elsewhere and were not repossessed in time - though I do still doubt that they have made it back at all.
The great hope is the mid-terms, after which the slow and inevitably painful rebuilding can begin.
A point of clarification about the crack spread. It's the difference between the price of a barrel of crude and the retail price of all the products cracked out of that barrel, not just diesel. Here's Paul Krugman to explain (with charts, because he always does).
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/why-isnt-the-price-of-oil-even-higher