Flotsam and Jetsam - Begun the Trade War Has

At Am Great, the Great Victor Davis Hanson predicts China Would Lose a ‘Trade War’ With the US—’Gradually, then Suddenly’, "China's trade war bluff may backfire as the U.S. pushes allies to choose between a rogue economic actor and a flawed but fairer partner with unmatched global power." VodkaPundit at PJM This Is China's Real Problem and Trump's Real Strength. Helen Raleigh at Da Fed has 3 Lessons Trump Can Learn From His Last Trade War With China To Win This One. Liz Stauffer at LI thinks Trump’s Tariff War Exposes China’s Hidden Fragilities, “Xi Jinping may soon face a third of his export factory workforce unemployed—in a society that has no mechanism for them to vent tensions and objections peacefully.” Reuters reports China blocks US Boeing jet deliveries amid tariff dispute. wretchardthecat@wretchardthecat, "This was going to happen sooner or later. Maybe sooner is better."

Sundance at CTH hosts Envoy Steve Witkoff Gives Topline Review Following 5 Hour Meeting with Vladimir Putin. From Responsible Statecraft, With Iran talks, Trump could achieve a triple win, "Steve Witkoff met with Tehran's foreign minister directly. Already, this White House has achieved more than what Biden's did in four years." At RCP, praise for Trump's Team of Realists. Streiff at RedState reports a Second Hegseth Aide Escorted From the Pentagon As Leak Probe Widens. "Darin Selnick, the Defense Department's deputy chief of staff, was suspended from duty and escorted out of the building. This came on the heels of another Hegseth aide, Dan Caldwell, being escorted out of the Pentagon; see Hegseth Advisor Who Was Included in Leaked Signal Text Chain Escorted From Pentagon, Placed on Leave – RedState." Driscoll at Insty, FIRED INSUBORDINATE OFFICERS REVEAL MASSIVE U.S. MILITARY RESENTMENT AGAINST ELECTED CIVILIAN COMMAND: "I have heard from some anti-Trump officers that it is acceptable for them to challenge Trump and be “disloyal” to him on political matters because while the enlisted oath of office includes the phrase “that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States,” no such words regarding the president appear in the officer oath of office. This idea is highly disturbing."

Steve Milloy @JunkScience, "No due process for illegal... regulations: I'm often harsh with NYTimes
@CoralMDavenport but today I congratulate her for reporting on a major Trump Executive order from last week. Hardly anyone else has. The President directed agency heads to delete, without notice and comment, federal rules that are inconsistent with recent SCOTUS decisions -- e.g., 2022's West Virginia v. EPA (major regulatory programs need express Congressional authorization) and 2024's Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (federal courts can no longer automatically defer to agency judgment in the absence of congressional direction). https://x.com/JunkScience/status/1910497659489485308…"

From Chronicles, Shrinks Psychoanalyze Trump From Afar, in an Attempt to get MAGA Committed. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair adds "I'm pretty sure we all know who's in need of help here. No doubt there will soon be an anti-Trump shrink Expert™ letter signed by 51 psychiatrists that we MUST pay attention to and which will be referenced from now to Eternity..." Driscoll again, LEFTISTS ALWAYS WANT TO AIRBRUSH THE PAST: Home Alone 2 Director Wants Trump’s Cameo Removed: ‘I Just Wish It Was Gone… if I Cut It, I’ll Probably Be Sent Out of the Country.’

Democrats have gone all in on keeping MS-13 safe in the United States. From the Balmer Sun, Van Hollen to travel to El Salvador Wednesday to check on Abrego Garcia’s ‘well-being’ Beege Welborn, Wait - CNN Says What About That Guy in Bukele's Prison? "Where the weepy Washington Post has this for a headline over the sad saga of Abrego Garcia: The deportation standoff sending the U.S. toward a constitutional crisis." CNN's legal beagle, Paula Reid, was on Jake Tapper's show and went totally against the narrative when she basically said, 'Nope. 'S'all good.'"

🚨 WOW, EVEN CNN? Chief legal correspondent Paula Reid goes on the news and says Trump is *NOT* violating the Supreme Court ruling by not flying Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.

Will Democrats listen now?

"They did NOT order the administration to return him to the United… pic.twitter.com/pHeO1P4XV4

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 15, 2025

At the Victory Girls, President Of El Salvador Nayib Bukele Helps Trump Troll Media. Great, but no help is really needed, it's so easy. Diogenes Middle Finger says They Howl in Faux Anguish. Diogenes Sarcastica @KonanBarBarron "Where were all the democrats when American citizens were falsely detained and jailed in various countries around the world. Yeah, the same ones who have wet their pants over a jailed El Salvadorian gang member who disrespected our country and laws." Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, I am SO GLAD the Trump administration decided to completely UNLEASH Stephen Miller on the media. He regularly displays a masterclass in debunking their lies. "Guys - do you know the difference between a deportation order and a withholding order? Do you know the difference? Any of you, please? Do you?" REPORTER: "Well, we're not in the government!" MILLER: "So you couldn't even spend 72 hours over the weekend learning the distinction you've been writing and talking about this entire time?" He goes off for over 10 minutes. I LOVE it. @StephenM." Da Fetched, Stephen Miller Schools Media on Basic Immigration Law: “You Don’t Know the Difference?” Matt Vespa at TownHall predicts The Latest ICE Arrest Is Going to Trigger a Meltdown...If It Hasn't Already. "Federal immigration officers arrested a pro-Palestinian student organizer on Monday. It carries a bit of irony as this person, Mohsen Mahdawi, was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a meeting about obtaining American citizenship." Driscoll at Insty, DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: "Detained Columbia protester Mohsen Mahdawi threatened and intimidated Jewish students, State Department says." VodkaPundit at Insty, NOT JUST NO BUT HELL NO: Libs of TikTok@libsoftiktok "NEW: Gavin Newsom is asking for a $2.8 billion BAILOUT for CA’s Medicaid program after he opened it up to illegals. This is on top of a $3.4 billion loan issued last week. This marks nearly $6.2 billion in just a few weeks. Why should taxpayers fund Medicaid for illegals?"

Stacy McCain has Crazy People Are Dangerous: Pennsylvania Arsonist Edition "He’s not MAGA. He’s not Antifa. He’s not a Nazi or a “free Palestine” type, he’s just crazy, and Crazy People Are Dangerous." On the other hand, Jeff Charles reports Feds Arrest Man for Threatening to Assassinate Tulsi Gabbard and Her Husband. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday charges against Aliakbar Mohammad Amin, 24, of Lilburn Georgia. He allegedly sent threatening text messages about Gabbard and her husband, Abraham Williams between March 29 and April 1, NBC News reported. . . . "Prepare to die, you, Tulsi, and everyone you hold dear," one of the texts read, according to the release. "America will burn."" Da Caller, Lee Zeldin Says ‘Democrats Out Of Power’ Must Preach ‘Zero Tolerance’ To Disturbing Trend.

PJM's Paula Bolyard says BOOM: Feds Refer Letitia James to DOJ for Criminal Prosecution. John Sexton at Hat Hair, New York AG Letitia James Gets Criminal Referral for Possible Mortgage Fraud. Glass houses, stones.

Joey Mannarino@JoeyMannarinoUS, "Ever since Kash Patel and Dan Bongino took over at the FBI, Patriot Front completely disappeared off the face of the earth. Not one more peep out of them. So, yes, they were 100% feds." IIRC, they officially disbanded after the election. Yep, here it is, Shocker: "Patriot Front" Disbands One Day After FBI Director Chris Wray Resigns - UPDATED. Sundance hosts Tucker Carlson Interviewing Curt Weldon About 9-11 and how the CIA Runs a Dark Parallel System of Government.

Ben Mullin @BenMullin "NEW: PBS chief executive Paula Kerger responds to plans to rescind public media funding: "There's nothing more American than PBS."" Leah Barkoukis at TownHall reports DOT Ends Grant Funding for High-Speed Rail 'Boondoggle,' Saving Taxpayers Millions.

Brad Essex at RedState hears The Husk of Joe Biden Will Attempt to Speak About DOGE Reform of Social Security. Twitchy, Biden’s Post-Presidency Bombshell: Admits He ‘Never Grew Up Around Black People’ in Shocking Speech. Matt Vespa, Some Half-Brain-Dead Man Who Thought He Was President Spoke Tonight. Jordan Chamberlain @jordylancaster, "This man only rises from the grave like once a year to speak and still manages to say the most unhinged things you’ve ever heard." Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson "Biden should have never came out of hiding…. “I remember watching a bus go by… it was full of colored kids… I had never seen those.”"

Reagan Reese at Da Caller reports an Election Integrity Watchdog Skewers Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate For Allowing Illegals To Vote. Matt Vespa thinks What ActBlue Did in 2024 Warrants an Investigation.

Sarah Anderson at PJM texts LOL: CNN Forced to Explain That It Doesn't Hate the Country. At Twitchy, ROLL TAPE! Supercut of CNN Hosts and Guests Hating America Proves Dana Bash Is a LIAR. 

CNN: "We do NOT hate America 😡"

Also CNN: pic.twitter.com/UkgtyWS42g

— Bill D'Agostino (@Banned_Bill) April 14, 2025

VodkaPundit at Insty, HARVARD: "Govt Has No Right To Tell Private Universities What To Do. And Harvard has no right to (or even expectation of) taxpayer money. I hope that clears things up. Regardless, the Harvard Jewish Alumni Alliance adds, “Harvard’s fighting the Trump administration harder than it’s ever fought antisemitism.”" At Althouse, "Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting 'Sickness?'" ""Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!" Said Donald Trump (on Truth Social). That message follows the news: "The Trump administration says it will freeze $2 billion in funding after Harvard refuses its demands" (NYT)." Driscoll at Insty, reads AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: Harvard Warns Loss Of Federal Funding Will Cripple Their Ability To Find A Final Solution To The Jewish Problem (The Babylon Bee). RCP warns MIT Must Meet the Moment: Accountability on Campus Antisemitism. Chris Queen at PJM, Leftists Got Nasty With the UGA College Republicans, but the Group Vows to Fight Back.

Across da pond at Da Mail, Shocking Katy Perry video resurfaces undermining all her claims about her Blue Origin trip 

Eco warrior Katy Perry is being slammed as a 'hypocrite' after it was revealed Monday's Blue Origin space launch released tons of greenhouse gases. Climate experts said the 11-minute trip was enough to 'alter the atmosphere.'

Online, a resurfaced video of Perry lecturing people on climate change in 2015 has gained new attention. 'Hi, I'm Katy Perry. Let's take a journey to see how man-made climate change is hurting children around the world,' she said in the clip filmed for UNICEF.

Perry said carbon emissions were causing devastating tropical weather in the Philippines, destructive flooding in Bangladesh and deadly malaria in Africa, which hit around the time the video was released.

The clip was posted on X after Perry returned from her trip to space, sparking outcry because she said the mission was for the benefit of Earth. 'Protecting the planet begins by refusing to produce hundreds of tons of CO2 for a ridiculous flight organized by one of the biggest polluters on this same planet,' one user shared on X.

I don't expect consistency from many people, let alone pop stars.  

The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Bunny Season! and FMJRA 2.0: No Grandeur, Lots of Misery, Just One Victory awaiting your attention at The Other McCain.