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." 

“Donald Trump is trying to repeal parts of The Constitution. Like rights.”
“Which rights?”
“I don’t have all the information.” pic.twitter.com/hJh0gvZnkg

— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) April 6, 2025

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. 

Breitbart reports 133 Illegal Aliens Busted in New York Deportation Operation. LA Times, 2 U.S. border inspectors in San Diego charged with taking bribes to wave in people without documents. From LifeZette, State Dept. Shuts Down Country’s Entire Visa Program After They Refuse Deportees.

From the College Fix, Professor flees Yale, U.S. for Canada due to ‘rise in fascism.’ Hat Hair cites from the San Fran Chronic, Then It's All 'Pay Off My Loan': S.F. College Rolling Out Nation’s 1st Degree in Psychedelics. 

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 Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: An Almost Perfect Week up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain on time and under budget.