Thanks Alex. Unfortunately I think this tariff stuff is a smokescreen for dismantling the government so the oligarchs can rob the treasury for their own further enrichment. Trump is totally deranged, offering to take over Gaza to make it a Riviera while deporting its residents to other Arab countries. Offering buyouts to the whole CIA and suspending foreign aid and U SAID. Among the other things that are happening. And the military is controlled by a white supremacist drunken rapist. Musk is running things with his little computer nerds, and we are doomed
In ANY large company, someone accessing systems they had no authority or need would have been fired and probably arrested. This is insane that such a breach occurred and as yet no real details or repercussions have been announced.
Whenever you go to a government Web site there's always a scarily-worded warning not to mess with them. And that's for sites dedicated to public use. I would think the internal stuff would be much stronger.
Thank you for this article, Alexander. It is so sad that because of what I believe are totally unnecessary tariffs, we are losing trust, respect, friendship, and mutually beneficial businesses as well as facing the struggle to find other good sources for quality products affordably. I expect some people who are building homes or other buildings are being left in one or more types of lurches if they had arranged to buy Canadian lumber for their projects. I’m sure there are many more situations, but that one comes to mind. I wonder if we can ever recover.
Just think of the houses that were destroyed in the Southern California fires a couple of weeks ago. I will bet you that no one's insurance policy will cover these higher costs. And then what happens?
I totally agree with you, Paula. The fires alone composed a travesty. The proposed tariffs multiply it. Insurance coverages have been problematic anyway in widespread disasters. We had support promised by Lredidfnt Biden who was on the scene as soon as possible and genuinely sympathetic. The current person only made a show of an appearance, and talked against the people of the area of the state, misunderstood and lied about the water situation and the causes as well as other aspects of the disaster, and is only causing more problems. I wish I had an unending supply of fabulous magic wands. I would like to fix everything for good people.
Paula, thank you for your concern. I do not live in that part of the country. Before I was born, part of my family in an earlier generation suffered a total loss of home and even more importantly, one relative was left an invalid for the remaining years of life from that horrific fire. Even if I had not heard the stories, I would be extremely concerned for anyone suffering from devastation. I hope you are safe, too!
I am so sorry to hear that! Was this in Los Angeles? One of the most devastating fires here many years ago was the Bel Air Fire. I think that was in 1961. A friend from school lost his house. It was terrible.Recently, of course, the fires have become much worse. And now it's raining and people have to worry about flooding and landslides. I'm okay, however, thank you. We were worried that we might have to evacuate. It was very scary because there were so many fires around us that we weren't sure where we could go.
Paula, thank you for your kind words snd sharing. I’m sorry for that horrible fear but am glad you are safe. Our family’s fire was in the Midwest. My great grandmother is the one who was left an invalid for over a decade. One of their children married and raised her family in the Los Angeles area. I think I have one cousin and family left there, and I have wondered how she cousin. She was not available the last time our family visited them many years ag. Her sister was my contact and I have not been able to reach her recently. I have not seen the one in California since I was two years old, but I am hoping to find the relocated sister who is older and lives in a different state. It was a pleasure when we last visited by phone.
I can tell you that Canadians are not at all amused by all these threats and, from what I have seen and heard, the damage that Trump has managed to inflict on that relationship will take years to repair - unless, of course, someone like Musk manages to meddle in our elections as well and installs the Conservative Leader as Prime Minister --- who is our "Maple MAGA". But the "Buy Canadian" movement is growing stronger every day and shows no sign of dissipating.
I think it's safe to say that America's reputation in the world is already irreparably damaged - the fact that you now have a convicted felon and a crazed billionaire dismantling all the institutions, a drunk in charge of the military and liars and incompetent loyalists in charge of all other vital departments sends a pretty clear message to the world - and the lack of any obvious pushback by the Democrats is a bit surprising (maybe it is not being reported?) I would certainly think twice about entering into any contract with someone who arbitrarily just tears up a agreements and goes rogue whenever he feels like throwing a tantrum over some fictitious grievance.
I see it as a smoke screen too; a smoke screen with benefits. Trump desires revenge, he wants to appear strong and to be giving his voters what they asked for since he isn't going to produce other asks. The tragic and sleazy treatment of Gaza as a mobster style real estate deal is more about Trump enriching himself and Trump being Trump. We'll see more of that as he feels empowered to be himself and as the self he's being continues into what I truly believe is an age related degeneration.
So, what is going on isn't this kind of business as usual "tariffs are bad/useless/harming relations" thing. It's a coup. Elon Musk is shutting down our departments one by one and the news continues to report "Welp, Musk and his six muskateers moved to a new building today and started shutting down" whichever target is next (at a pace of a couple a day) and no one even interrupts his stroll door to door. Do we not have any Capitol police? Can no one request they be pulled in for questioning at least? Solid sources who ought to know keep saying their activity is illegal even if requested by the president so what is the hold up? Court cases take days and they already know they are breaking the law. Congress wants to pass more laws to say they are breaking more laws? Does anyone believe they care if they are breaking twelve or fourteen instead of four?
Please look into the Sovereign Wealth Fund Trump says he wants to start. Will this be a way to pay himself and Musk out of the US treasury for cryptocurrency then not only have enriched themselves but hold the US government hostage to a rug pull if they don't comply with all orders? I feel like there is something there that may be part of the planned coup. It smells. Please remember that their J6 plan had several channels in case one didn't work - they tend to plan in parallels.
Trump cannot comprehend what a Sovereign Fund does, as it is like savings accounts in the olden days - places to put unspent individual profits mad from labor.
We are indeed on a path to economic and security destruction. This is pro Putin, not US policy. I’ve thought about the moves Trump is making, reading tea leaves between the lies and after the Musk press conference, am convinced he is steering the ship while Trump enables the plan. First, I see a Canada/Ukraine connection. Should Canada hold the line, the idea is to get precious metals, etc. at the expense of Ukraine. They hand it to Russia and Putin gets the profit of providing needed minerals to the US. Second, the Trump Gaza Resort is likely a distraction from the actual plan. As with trade, this is another advantage Russia ploy. If the US could find a way to obtain Gaza, it would only be temporary. The land would be cleared and perhaps partially developed but with little to no investment from the Arab world. What development there would be is left to the new US oligarchy. Then there would be an eventual handoff to Russia and bingo, they again have a presence in the Middle East replacing the loss of Syria. As all of this transpires, Russia rebuilds their economy and military with minimum investment on their part, allowing for a faster recovery from the massive losses over the last three years. There’s an old saying about fattening frogs for snakes. This potential setup certainly resembles it to me. I’d love to hear your take on this.
I think you're focusing on the wrong man, Col. Vindman. The majority of Americans (nearly 2/3 of us) and the rest of the world see trump for what he is a doddering demented, grossly overweight old man of little intelligence, all bluff, bravado, and nonsense. That's why he was chosen by Project 2025. He is as you said, a 'reality' TV conman.
Elon Musk also sees him for what he is, a really stupid, vain, demented old man. Easily manipulated. Musk could not run for the Presidency, himself, being foreign born. Musk does not want o govern the United States, he wants to control the United States. In the first 18 days of this reign of terror he has managed to do exactly that. He who controls the purse strings,holds the power.
Our leadership is unstable. The person now in office is in way over his head without comprehension of economics or diplomacy, and he has the attitude & maturity of a fourth grade bully. His sidekick is a whole other piece of work. We’re in for a wild ride. We need the best legal advice we can get, as soon as we can get it. Like right now.
The Department of Commerce, Working Capital Fund Handbook describes exactly where monies collected from Tariffs goes (WCF) and how the Executive Branch accesses that money. In short it is a slush fund managed by the President’s office with no congressional input and no oversight. The way I read it is that it literally becomes a source of revenue for the President and his appointees. I ask others on this post to download it and give me feedback on this. I’m having a hard time believing this is possible.
Thanks Alex. Unfortunately I think this tariff stuff is a smokescreen for dismantling the government so the oligarchs can rob the treasury for their own further enrichment. Trump is totally deranged, offering to take over Gaza to make it a Riviera while deporting its residents to other Arab countries. Offering buyouts to the whole CIA and suspending foreign aid and U SAID. Among the other things that are happening. And the military is controlled by a white supremacist drunken rapist. Musk is running things with his little computer nerds, and we are doomed
And Musk and his IT friends project an illusion of competence. They understand just enough to break things and make the system go haywire.
Like markets, financial matters run on predictability and trust. When that is injured, good people shy away and crooks flood in.
In ANY large company, someone accessing systems they had no authority or need would have been fired and probably arrested. This is insane that such a breach occurred and as yet no real details or repercussions have been announced.
You should see the consent language the lawyers put on Federal access to internal websites.
Whenever you go to a government Web site there's always a scarily-worded warning not to mess with them. And that's for sites dedicated to public use. I would think the internal stuff would be much stronger.
Thank you for this article, Alexander. It is so sad that because of what I believe are totally unnecessary tariffs, we are losing trust, respect, friendship, and mutually beneficial businesses as well as facing the struggle to find other good sources for quality products affordably. I expect some people who are building homes or other buildings are being left in one or more types of lurches if they had arranged to buy Canadian lumber for their projects. I’m sure there are many more situations, but that one comes to mind. I wonder if we can ever recover.
Just think of the houses that were destroyed in the Southern California fires a couple of weeks ago. I will bet you that no one's insurance policy will cover these higher costs. And then what happens?
I totally agree with you, Paula. The fires alone composed a travesty. The proposed tariffs multiply it. Insurance coverages have been problematic anyway in widespread disasters. We had support promised by Lredidfnt Biden who was on the scene as soon as possible and genuinely sympathetic. The current person only made a show of an appearance, and talked against the people of the area of the state, misunderstood and lied about the water situation and the causes as well as other aspects of the disaster, and is only causing more problems. I wish I had an unending supply of fabulous magic wands. I would like to fix everything for good people.
I hope you didn't lose your house!!
The water--that know-nothing released all that water and now the farmers won't have it for the summer. They should sue him.
I’m very concerned for the farmers, their crops and all of the people who will be affected by that total use of the reserved water for crops.
Thank you! I am very worried about them as well. I don't know what they're going to do.
Paula, thank you for your concern. I do not live in that part of the country. Before I was born, part of my family in an earlier generation suffered a total loss of home and even more importantly, one relative was left an invalid for the remaining years of life from that horrific fire. Even if I had not heard the stories, I would be extremely concerned for anyone suffering from devastation. I hope you are safe, too!
I am so sorry to hear that! Was this in Los Angeles? One of the most devastating fires here many years ago was the Bel Air Fire. I think that was in 1961. A friend from school lost his house. It was terrible.Recently, of course, the fires have become much worse. And now it's raining and people have to worry about flooding and landslides. I'm okay, however, thank you. We were worried that we might have to evacuate. It was very scary because there were so many fires around us that we weren't sure where we could go.
Paula, thank you for your kind words snd sharing. I’m sorry for that horrible fear but am glad you are safe. Our family’s fire was in the Midwest. My great grandmother is the one who was left an invalid for over a decade. One of their children married and raised her family in the Los Angeles area. I think I have one cousin and family left there, and I have wondered how she cousin. She was not available the last time our family visited them many years ag. Her sister was my contact and I have not been able to reach her recently. I have not seen the one in California since I was two years old, but I am hoping to find the relocated sister who is older and lives in a different state. It was a pleasure when we last visited by phone.
I can tell you that Canadians are not at all amused by all these threats and, from what I have seen and heard, the damage that Trump has managed to inflict on that relationship will take years to repair - unless, of course, someone like Musk manages to meddle in our elections as well and installs the Conservative Leader as Prime Minister --- who is our "Maple MAGA". But the "Buy Canadian" movement is growing stronger every day and shows no sign of dissipating.
I think it's safe to say that America's reputation in the world is already irreparably damaged - the fact that you now have a convicted felon and a crazed billionaire dismantling all the institutions, a drunk in charge of the military and liars and incompetent loyalists in charge of all other vital departments sends a pretty clear message to the world - and the lack of any obvious pushback by the Democrats is a bit surprising (maybe it is not being reported?) I would certainly think twice about entering into any contract with someone who arbitrarily just tears up a agreements and goes rogue whenever he feels like throwing a tantrum over some fictitious grievance.
Absolutely! I love Canadians. I'm even related to some. And I am going to be buying a lot more Canadian and Mexican products now.
Thanks - we have a lot of good stuff! I hear the beer is really good .....
I doubt he would succeed. You are all on alert now to his tricks and smarter than magats.
I so hope that's true!
I see it as a smoke screen too; a smoke screen with benefits. Trump desires revenge, he wants to appear strong and to be giving his voters what they asked for since he isn't going to produce other asks. The tragic and sleazy treatment of Gaza as a mobster style real estate deal is more about Trump enriching himself and Trump being Trump. We'll see more of that as he feels empowered to be himself and as the self he's being continues into what I truly believe is an age related degeneration.
So, what is going on isn't this kind of business as usual "tariffs are bad/useless/harming relations" thing. It's a coup. Elon Musk is shutting down our departments one by one and the news continues to report "Welp, Musk and his six muskateers moved to a new building today and started shutting down" whichever target is next (at a pace of a couple a day) and no one even interrupts his stroll door to door. Do we not have any Capitol police? Can no one request they be pulled in for questioning at least? Solid sources who ought to know keep saying their activity is illegal even if requested by the president so what is the hold up? Court cases take days and they already know they are breaking the law. Congress wants to pass more laws to say they are breaking more laws? Does anyone believe they care if they are breaking twelve or fourteen instead of four?
Please look into the Sovereign Wealth Fund Trump says he wants to start. Will this be a way to pay himself and Musk out of the US treasury for cryptocurrency then not only have enriched themselves but hold the US government hostage to a rug pull if they don't comply with all orders? I feel like there is something there that may be part of the planned coup. It smells. Please remember that their J6 plan had several channels in case one didn't work - they tend to plan in parallels.
Trump cannot comprehend what a Sovereign Fund does, as it is like savings accounts in the olden days - places to put unspent individual profits mad from labor.
I’m thinking decades to repair the damage caused just in his first several weeks. Imagine if he isn’t stopped soon?
Alex,
We are indeed on a path to economic and security destruction. This is pro Putin, not US policy. I’ve thought about the moves Trump is making, reading tea leaves between the lies and after the Musk press conference, am convinced he is steering the ship while Trump enables the plan. First, I see a Canada/Ukraine connection. Should Canada hold the line, the idea is to get precious metals, etc. at the expense of Ukraine. They hand it to Russia and Putin gets the profit of providing needed minerals to the US. Second, the Trump Gaza Resort is likely a distraction from the actual plan. As with trade, this is another advantage Russia ploy. If the US could find a way to obtain Gaza, it would only be temporary. The land would be cleared and perhaps partially developed but with little to no investment from the Arab world. What development there would be is left to the new US oligarchy. Then there would be an eventual handoff to Russia and bingo, they again have a presence in the Middle East replacing the loss of Syria. As all of this transpires, Russia rebuilds their economy and military with minimum investment on their part, allowing for a faster recovery from the massive losses over the last three years. There’s an old saying about fattening frogs for snakes. This potential setup certainly resembles it to me. I’d love to hear your take on this.
I think you're focusing on the wrong man, Col. Vindman. The majority of Americans (nearly 2/3 of us) and the rest of the world see trump for what he is a doddering demented, grossly overweight old man of little intelligence, all bluff, bravado, and nonsense. That's why he was chosen by Project 2025. He is as you said, a 'reality' TV conman.
Elon Musk also sees him for what he is, a really stupid, vain, demented old man. Easily manipulated. Musk could not run for the Presidency, himself, being foreign born. Musk does not want o govern the United States, he wants to control the United States. In the first 18 days of this reign of terror he has managed to do exactly that. He who controls the purse strings,holds the power.
Ah, the details! https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/06/ice-us-immigration-deportations-google
Our leadership is unstable. The person now in office is in way over his head without comprehension of economics or diplomacy, and he has the attitude & maturity of a fourth grade bully. His sidekick is a whole other piece of work. We’re in for a wild ride. We need the best legal advice we can get, as soon as we can get it. Like right now.
100%
The Department of Commerce, Working Capital Fund Handbook describes exactly where monies collected from Tariffs goes (WCF) and how the Executive Branch accesses that money. In short it is a slush fund managed by the President’s office with no congressional input and no oversight. The way I read it is that it literally becomes a source of revenue for the President and his appointees. I ask others on this post to download it and give me feedback on this. I’m having a hard time believing this is possible.