Monday, April 7, 2025

Maryland, My Maryland

 From ET, Maryland Legislature Approves Bill Creating Commission to Study Slavery Reparations

The Maryland General Assembly gave final approval on April 2 to legislation authorizing the state to form a commission to study the possibility of providing reparations for slavery. Except as punishment for a crime, slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865 with the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Slavery was abolished in Maryland a year before that when the state amended its constitution to outlaw the practice. In 2007, the Maryland General Assembly and the Annapolis City Council issued official statements expressing “regret for the role Maryland played in instituting and maintaining slavery.”

The state House approved Senate Bill 587 in a 101–36 vote on April 2 after the Senate passed it by 32–13 on March 14.

The measure creates a Maryland Reparations Commission that will “study and make recommendations relating to appropriate benefits to be offered to individuals whose ancestors were enslaved in the State or were impacted by certain inequitable government policies.”

An analysis by state legislative staff does not estimate how much such benefits might cost taxpayers.

The commission is required to file a preliminary report by Jan. 1, 2027, and a final report including its findings and recommendations with the governor and the Maryland General Assembly by Nov. 1, 2027.

Among the various benefits that the commission will explore are an official apology, monetary compensation, property tax rebates, down payment assistance for purchasing residential real estate, child care, debt forgiveness, and higher education tuition payment waivers.

"or were impacted by certain inequitable government policies ” is a loophole big enough to drive the Dali under. I would like to assume that this will go the way of proposed reparations in California, where they looked at the cost and blanched, but I'm not hopeful.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Tariffs Still in the News

Well, I hope you all had a nice weekend. Ours was so-so. Saturday was nice, but we did chores on Sunday morning, and spent most of the afternoon in telephone hell with Amazon (we think) trying to get a new TV connected to Prime. We did, but, but it cost us our afternoon walk. 

Tariffs are still dominating the news, of course. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.06.25, EBL, Stock Markets React To Trump Tariffs. At ET, Trump Tells Americans to ‘Hang Tough’ Amid Tariff Turbulence, Promises ‘Historic’ Outcome. AMAC says Elites Hate Trump’s Tariffs Because They Work. They like them just fine when wielded by other countries. At Common Place, Liberation Day Puts Main Street Ahead of Wall Street, "Trump’s tariffs make his commitment to America’s forgotten men and women clear." Francis Turner from L'Ombre de l'Olivier, Ackshuallllly Tariffs May Work, "For the US, that is. Maybe not for the rest of the world." Josh Hammer at Hat Hair discusses The Dismal Science and the Trumpian Tariff Hullabaloo, "the "dismal science" that is the economics profession is not always known for its close relationship to, well, real life." CBD at Aces, Tariffs: Good, Bad, Or Indifferent? "The hell if I know!" That's about where I am. Sundance at CTH has a veritable plethora, Sunday Talks: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent -vs- NBC Kirsten Welker, Sunday Talks – Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick vs Insufferable Margaret Brennan, Sunday Talks: White House Senior Advisor for Trade and Manufacturing Peter Navarro, French Business Leaders Reject President Macron’s Demand to Divest from USA, and NEC Director Kevin Hassett, “more than 50 countries have reached out to the president to begin a negotiation.” At Althouse, "Vietnam Offers to Drop U.S. Tariffs to Zero. Will That Be Enough for Trump?" "A New York Times headline reports the good news for Trump but the good is not enough for the New York Times. The good news must be balanced with bad news, even if it's just a nudging toward amorphous doubt. You know that Trump. There's always more disruption and chaos coming." Reuters, Taiwan eyes zero tariffs with US, pledges more investment. Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47 ""More than 50 countries have reached out to the president to begin a negotiation," says National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. "They're doing that because they understand that they bear a lot of the tariff."" Beege Welborn at Hat Hair comments Looks like we might have to postpone the meltdown for a bit... From Fox, Musk says he hopes for 'zero tariffs,' freedom of trade zone between US and Europe, "Musk says he is advising Trump to make a free trade zone." 

From the Peacock, U.S. Senate Republicans pass measure to move forward on Trump’s tax cuts. Ian Jaeger @IanJaeger29 "BREAKING: Inflation has fallen to 1.22%, per Truflation. I voted for this!" Note though, that "Truflation" is not the government estimate.

Matt Margolis at PJM, How Jeffrey Goldberg Got In the Signal Group Chat. At the Guardian, how the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg got added to the White House Signal group chat "Internal investigation cleared the national security adviser Mike Waltz, but the mistake was months in the making."
According to three people briefed on the internal investigation, Goldberg had emailed the campaign about a story that criticized Trump for his attitude towards wounded service members. To push back against the story, the campaign enlisted the help of Waltz, their national security surrogate.

Goldberg’s email was forwarded to then Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes, who then copied and pasted the content of the email – including the signature block with Goldberg’s phone number – into a text message that he sent to Waltz, so that he could be briefed on the forthcoming story.

Waltz did not ultimately call Goldberg, the people said, but in an extraordinary twist, inadvertently ended up saving Goldberg’s number in his iPhone – under the contact card for Hughes, now the spokesperson for the national security council.

From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.06.25, Louder With Crowder: Police catch liberal woman vandalizing a Tesla, and the Police Chief claims SHE’S the real victim in all this. Leslie Eastman at LI, Portland Man Arrested, Charged for Allegedly Shining Laser at Tesla Employees. At WokeSpy, Elon Musk to Wrap Up DOGE Role on Schedule, Leavitt Fires Back at Media Spin. Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal, "ELITE PANIC: WHY BILLIONAIRE HEIRESS FEARS ELON'S ZERO-COST GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY There's delicious irony in Rep. Sara Jacobs—granddaughter of Qualcomm billionaire Irwin Jacobs—filing legislation to "defund" a government efficiency initiative that costs taxpayers absolutely nothing. In the most revealing self-own of 2025, Jacobs' "Delete DOGE Act" exposes the true anxiety of Washington's connected elite: not that government will spend too much, but that someone might actually examine where all those billions are going and who benefits. . . "

Atop Da Hill, Federal judge in scathing decision calls Trump’s deportation of Salvadoran man ‘wholly lawless.’ From UPI, Judge blocks White House funding cuts to NIH. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.06.25, EBL, Judge Paula Xinis Finds Out She Has No Authority. Matt Margolis at PJM, Activist Judge Caught Red-Handed in Setup Against Trump in Bombshell Revelations. Julie Kelly @julie_kelly2 "My plan to take Saturday off lasted about 13 minutes. I have just received the (purchased) transcript from Thursday's hearing before Jeb Boasberg. Lots of good stuff especially as I develop a fuller timeline of what went down behind the scenes on March 15. This really caught my eye. Remember the whole "THESE CASES ARE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED" bit by Boasberg and others? No one really believes this...right? Also--during the start of the 5pm Zoom hearing on March 15, Boasberg apologized for his casual dress saying he had gone "away" for the weekend and did not bring a tie or his robe. He knew this case was coming. He wanted this case. He wanted to stop the deportations and most importantly--he wanted to set a contempt trap for the Trump administration." Read the whole thread.

Twitchy, It Is SOOO On! Cue Corrupt Biden Administration WETTING Themselves After Reading THIS Tulsi Gabbard Post. DNI Tulsi Gabbard@DNIGabbard, "Thank you for your work. We are already on this, and look forward to declassifying this and other instances of the government being weaponized against Americans. Under President Trump’s leadership, @ODNIgov will bring transparency and accountability to end the weaponization of our intelligence community." Quote America First Legal @America1stLegal, "NEW: AFL is urging Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to declassify and release the Biden Admin’s classified domestic surveillance and censorship strategy. The Biden Admin’s weaponization of the intelligence apparatus against Americans must be fully exposed. Show more" USA Today, Justice Department suspends lawyer who criticized Trump administration in deportation case. Streiff at RedState, Bondi Suspends Attorney Who Threw the Trump Administration Under the Bus at Deportation Hearing. Glenn Thrush @GlennThrush "NEWS: The DOJ prosecutor who questioned the Trump administration’s decision to deport a Maryland man to El Salvador has been placed on indefinite paid leave for a “failure to zealously advocate” for the department — less than 24 hours after defending the gov’t in federal court."

From the Free Bacon, Destined for Defeat: Behind the Democratic Disaster of 2024. Matt Vespa at TownHall sees Oh, So That's How Barack Obama Destroyed the Democratic Party. Althouse hosts Chris Cuomo — bulging out of his T-shirt — says Democrats should find "a message" and "then you find the messenger." "And Bill Maher — possibly still digesting that dinner he had with Trump — tells him how wrong he is. "The Democrats always say message. Who hears a message?" Matt Taibbi at Racket explains in great detail how Biden Lied About Everything, Including Nuclear Risk, During Ukraine Operation, "Sourced to tone-deaf "U.S. officials," a massive New York Times exposé reveals an unprecedented betrayal of American voters, but also Ukraine." From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.06.25, Louder With Crowder, Kamala Harris tosses the word salad about “FEAR,” but she’s no FDR, and 2028 Dem frontrunner AOC lacks courage to answer reporter when asked if her rhetoric is to blame for anti-Elon violence.

Tony Seruga at Hat Hair Yawns: 'Hands Off' Protests Same Old Bused In Crowds, Astro Turfed Minions. DC_Draino @DC_Draino, "I saw a Tesla protest in Sarasota, FL yesterday All old people All white All similar signs Seemed strange to not see any young people and barely any diversity This entire operation feels paid." Quote Cynical Publius @CynicalPublius, "I've spent the day studying pictures of these "protests" across the nation. The OP is correct: the median age appears to be about 70, and that's across the entire nation." Oilfield Rando @Oilfield_Rando, "Everybody is asking why it’s all white boomers at these protests. People. There hasn’t been a Jimmy Buffett concert in two years. TWO YEARS they’ve gone without a Cheeseburger in Paradise. It was only a matter of time before they started rioting. It’s gonna get worse." 

Althouse notices There were lots of handmade/"handmade" signs at Madison's anti-Trump rally yesterday. "What would you do if it was your job to create the look of a truly grassroots uprising? Wonky lettering. Off-beat slogans. One thing I noticed was that the signs — most of them — were on uniformly sized white poster board. I'd go with more unfolded boxes — corrugated cardboard — and spray-painted old sheets. And the sign-holders were densely packed in front of the speaker's podium. That's photogenic, but lacking in chaotic energy." Scott Pinsker at PJM, ‘Go Back to Africa!’ How the Democratic Party Became the Party of Xenophobes and Racists. At Twitchy, Woman Who Sucker Punched Pro-Life Reporter Plays the Victim Card and HOO BOY It Backfires BIG TIME



At Da Wire, After Poor Showing On Boys Team, Male Switches To Girls Varsity And Takes First. "The thing that "never happens" happened again." Driscoll at Insty, YOU GO, GIRL! Joan of Arc was non-binary, schoolchildren taught. "Joan of Arc was non-binary, secondary school pupils are being taught. Lesson plans produced for English language students aged between 11 and 14 include the claim about the medieval figure, who is the patron saint of France and fought against the English during the Hundred Years’ War. . . " Sarah Anderson at PJM, This State Is Putting 'Trans' Rights Over Parents' Rights, Colorado. From the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.06.25, Twitchy: J.K. Rowling Roasts International Asexual Awareness Day, We Aren’t Doing This Again, and Oklahoma Softball Coach Scoffs At Reporter’s Question About Riley Gaines This Ain’t Hell, Air Force bucks Trump admin order regarding preferred pronouns in email signatures.

The Monday Morning Stimulus

United States President Donald Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs yesterday, including new fees between 10% and 46% on imports from 15 of the world’s top 20 coffee-producing countries.

Outside of Hawaii, which produces less than one-tenth of one percent of the world’s coffee, the United States relies on green coffee imports to support its multibillion-dollar coffee industry.

KITV News, Kona coffee industry could see boost in business due to tariffs on foreign imports


Sunday, April 6, 2025

Flotsam and Jetsam - World in a Tizzy Over Tariffs

Jeez, are we still talking about tariffs, instead of something significant, like say, Signalgate? At OTP, a Shock Poll: Trump’s Popularity Rises Amid Tariffs Hysteria. Da Mail, Americans deliver shock verdict on Trump's controversial new tariffs "When it comes to Trump's universal 10 percent tariff on all goods coming in from other countries, more Americans support the policy than oppose it." Twitchy says Here's a HARSH Reality Check for the 'Trump Supporters Are Regretting Their Vote' Crowd. Election Wizard @ElectionWiz, "DAILY MAIL: President Donald Trump is more popular now than before he enacted his sweeping new tariffs. —> A Daily Mail/Partners poll found that Trump's approval rating rose to 53 percent, a 4-point increase over last week when it was 49 percent." YaHoo! Hang tough, it won't be easy': Trump defiant on tariffs. At Breitbart a Defiant Trump dismisses stock market’s tariff plunge. Jeremy Frankel at TownHall hears JD Vance Says He’s ‘Feeling Good’ About Tariffs. Sundance at CTH hosts Stephen Miller, Rebalancing Global Trade is a “Matter of National Survival.” and Rick Santelli Blasts CNBC Panel for Gaslighting Audience About Trump Tariffs. BillAckman@BillAckman, "@VDHanson makes a compelling case for the @realDonaldTrump tariff strategy, but gets one issue incorrect. He describes the Trump tariffs as reciprocal and proportional to those other nations have assessed on us. In actuality, the Trump tariffs were set at levels substantially above, and in many cases, at a multiple of the counterparty country’s tariff levels. Initially, the market responded favorably, up more than one percent when Trump referred to ‘reciprocal tariffs’ in his Rose Garden speech. It was only when he put up a chart showing the actual tariffs that the markets plunged. We can divine from this response that market participants are supportive of the administration using tariffs as a tool to lower the asymmetrical tariffs of our trading partners, but are highly concerned with tariff levels set well in excess of a corresponding country’s levels. So why did Trump take this approach? The answer goes back to ‘The Art of the Deal.’ Trump’s negotiating style is to ask for the moon and then settle somewhere in between. It has worked well for him in the past so he is using the same approach here. . . " 

Breitbart Business Digest, The Market Finally Realized Trump Meant It. At OTP, Musk Claps Back At Trump Advisor Peter Navarro Over Tariffs. At Althouse "Many business people and investors are still hoping Mr. Trump will recognize the havoc he is creating and ease off his tariffs. But so far, he doesn’t seem concerned...." "I'm reading a column by Steven Rattner, who was counselor to the Treasury secretary in the Obama administration, in "'Few of Us Ever Imagined He Would Go This Far.'"" At Liberty UnYielding, Trump imposes wildly varying ‘reciprocal’ tariffs that aren’t reciprocal at all and punish friendly nations with few trade barriers. From RCW, Green Policies, Not Trump Tariffs, Killing British Steel. True, considering the tariffs just began. Matt Margolis at PJM thinks he knows When Canada Will Cave on Trump's Tariffs, after their elections in April. GB News reports Jaguar Land Rover HALTS US car exports just hours after Donald Trump's trade war kicks in. OI guess we won't be getting a new Jag. At ET, Ford Announces ‘Employee Pricing’ for All Shoppers. Hmm, now there's a possibility. After Trump’s Tariffs Rich Cromwell at Da Fed says If You’re Hysterical About Trump’s Tariffs, Go Touch Grass. I prefer beach sand; I don't have to cut it. WUWT explains The Left’s Localvore Betrayal: Tariffs Expose Climate Hypocrisy. "You’d think the climate crowd would cheer: fewer globe-trotting supply chains, less fuel burned, a win for their green utopia. After all, studies have long shown that local production can slash transport emissions—think of the diesel-chugging freighters idling off Long Beach. But instead of popping champagne, leftists are picketing Tesla dealerships and wailing about trade wars. What gives? The answer’s simple: politics trumps principle." Steve Richards at JTN reports From the Panama Canal to TikTok, China wants to keep its bargaining chips, "China appears poised to use Panama Canal ports and TikTok as bargaining chips in Trump’s tariff war."

Fox, Senate GOP pushes Trump budget framework through after marathon vote series, "Susan Collins and Rand Paul were the only Republicans to oppose the measure." From the Free Bacon, Trump Admin Announces First Offshore Oil Lease Sale in Gulf of America, "Oil production has increased to 13.6 million barrels per day under Trump, just shy of an all-time record." ET reports Trump Extends TikTok Deadline for Another 75 Days. UPI, RFK Jr. to conduct celebratory 'Make America Healthy Again' tour next week. From Breitbart, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski Voted Against Nomination of Harmeet Dhillon, because she's racist. 

From Insty, I GUESS IT’S TIME FOR RAINBOW STEW. "Reader Bill Rudersdorf writes: Somebody ought to remember the stanza from Merle Haggard: “When a President goes through the White House door, An’ does what he says he’ll do, We’ll all be drinkin’ that free bubble up, Eatin’ that rainbow stew.” — Merle Haggard, 1981."

From the European Conservative, Lies, The Spirit of Munich, and JD Vance.  War on the Rocks examines Greenland’s Military Possibilities for the United States. From Fox, Politics
Trump touts airstrike on Houthis, showing video: Will 'never sink our ships again', "The Trump administration has been conducting daily airstrikes on the Iranian-backed rebels for the last 20 days." RCD, Iranian Personnel Leave Yemen As U.S. Strikes Intensify.

At Hat Hair, Steve Moore explains Why Democrats Hate DOGE and Love Waste, (because most of it goes to them, their allies and their constituents) and Dave Strom reveals What Bureaucrats REALLY Say and Do Behind Closed Doors. Hint, they don't like you very much. The Free Bacon, sees Private Jets, Ferraris, and False Claims Inside An Obscure Federal Program Rife With Fraud, "Meet the Universal Service Fund, which doles out billions on behalf of the FCC." WaPoo worries DHS officials ask IRS to use tax data to locate up to 7 million immigrants, "The agencies have still not reached an agreement on sharing information. But immigration officials now say they’re seeking records on millions of people suspected of being in the United States without authorization." At Althouse, "Musk’s onetime biographer Seth Abramson wrote on X that he would 'peg his IQ as between 100 and 110'..." ""... and claimed that there was 'zero evidence in his biography for anything higher.' The economics commentator Noah Smith estimated Musk’s IQ at more than 130, a number gleaned from his reported SAT score." There's a general rule that nobody can appreciate an intelligence greater than their own. 

Misty Severi at JTN reports Federal judge orders Trump admin to bring Maryland man back to US after he was wrongly deported. "The Trump administration has admitted that Abrego Garcia's deportation was an "administrative error."" Streiff at RedState follows up with Trump Administration Sends Brutally Honest Response Saying Judge Can't Undo a Perfectly Good Deportation. "Because the United States has no control over Abrego Garcia, however, Defendants have no independent authority to “effectuate” his return to the United States—any more than they would have the power to follow a court order commanding them to “effectuate” the end of the war in Ukraine, or a return of the hostages from Gaza." WokeSpy, Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan on Record Pace Despite District Judge Interference . At LifeZette, Blue States Sue Trump—Apparently Voter ID Is Just Too Much to Ask.



John Sexton, Now It Can Be Told: Letter Reveals What Hunter Biden was Doing for Burisma, Unregistered lobbyist for Ukraine. Of course, he's been pardoned so they can admit it now. I don't agree with FARA, but if it's going to be enforced, it should at least be enforce equally.

There were massive anti-Trump, Elon and DOGE protests yesterday. Insurrection Barbie @DefiyantlyFree, "These protests today are not organic. All 1300 of them have been preplanned by the same six Democrat led and funded NGOs. The resistance is made up of a professional agitator class, whose only purpose is to engage in destabilizing and Marxist revolutions. That is what they learn how to do and that is what they implement. None of these people have any idea what they’re even protesting or what the pre-printed signs they are required to carry mean. Their purpose is to psych you out and make it seem like the whole country is not behind this president and his agenda, but that is a lie." Matt Vespa, Here's the Tweet That Obliterates All the Anti-Elon/Trump Protests Today. Election Wizard @ElectionWiz, "Notice where today’s protests happened—and where they didn’t. They were in deep-blue cities like Chicago, NYC, D.C., and Boston. But in working-class swing-state communities, turnout was weak. This isn’t a national movement—it’s libs working through the 5 stages of grief." At Twitchy, A Giddy Rachel Maddow Helps Explain Why the Anti-Trump/DOGE Protests Are NOT Grassroots. @amuse @amuse, "TERROR: Soros-funded Indivisible is openly admitting they are behind the 1300 paid protests happening today in all 50 states. Democrat billionaires are funding these uprisings and they should held legally accountable for the violence and vandalism." Atop Da Hill Jonathon Turley looks at The liberals’ license: How the left finds release in an age of rage. Althouse asks Grok, Why were the anti-Trump protests yesterday called "Hands Off"?



Palm Sunday

With, you guessed it, Ka Ty:
 
What the island nation of Cape Verde cherishes as its own distinctive kind of date palm is getting an ancestry reveal.

The Cape Verde date palm (Phoenix atlantica), native to the island nation it’s nicknamed for, is one of three trees there that don’t grow in the wild anywhere else. The islands, scattered off western Africa’s big bulge, have six known species of native trees all together.

Now a new DNA and seed-shape analysis adds weight to the idea that the remote palms aren’t desert-island wildlings at all. Researchers analyzed DNA from various Cape Verde date palms including a precious bit of the original 1934 specimen that a roving French botanist used to define the species.

The isolated island palms arose from the most famous, economically important and definitely domesticated date species on the planet, the analysis finds. This commercial date palm species, Phoenix dactylifera, at some point gave rise to feral offshoots that sustain themselves on sandy, dry Cape Verde, researchers report February 11 in Plants, People, Planet.

The origin wouldn’t have to be dramatic. “One or a few date seeds escaped from their grove,” speculates evolutionary biologist Jerónimo Cid Vian, who works at both the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in England and Bangor University in Wales.

Knowing that there’s a close gone-wild cousin on Cape Verde could cheer breeders of the commercial species. With diseases spreading and the climate changing, researchers can explore the wild island cousin for some genetic aids for coping with many dangers to dates in the rest of the world.