Flotsam and Jetsam - Tariffs, Stock Market Continue to Resonate

Well, I never got back to it yesterday, but it's a rainy day, so I should have time to get through this.

The markets reverberated again yesterday, taking back about one third of the big gains from the Wednesday reaction to the temporary suspension of the reciprocal tariffs (except on China). And so far today, it's up. I know that long-term, there has been no better investment than the markets, but it annoys me that in the short term (and even to a great extent the long term) the prices are determined by "feelz." 

Stephen Kruiser says I'm Always Going to Be a Big Fan of Sticking It to China. Don Surber, World cheers Trump's 10% tariff, "On Wednesday, he created Wall Street's biggest day in 24 years." At Althouse it's Camera time for Geraldo: "This is why Trump is triumphant!... That charisma is unbelievable! I could sing his praises forever. I wonder, if the markets were down, if I would be singing the same tune. I hope so...." At Hat Hair, Beege Welborn thinks 'If I Lived in China..' The NYPo ed board sees Trump’s tariff pause rightly resets the global trade conversation to: What to do about China? Sundance at CTH contributes President Trump Wallops China with Massive de minimis Tariff Increases – Mail Order Product Costs from China Will Skyrocket, Europe’s Big Pharma Companies Threaten Commission President von der Leyen, Change Trade Situation Quickly or We Go To America, Komrade von der Leyen Orders Pause on EU Retaliation Tariffs Pending Engagement with Trump Administration and Background Details of Trump Global Trade Reset Highlight Secretary Bessent as Key, For Now and President Trump Invites Media to Cabinet Meeting – Holds Press Availability. From Spiked, Trump is right to take on the free-trade fundamentalists, "The old order of globalisation and industrial decline has failed working-class Americans." Rich Cromwell at Da Fed observes The Laptop Class Disparages Manufacturing Because It Creates More Value Than They Do. The Great Victor Davis Hanson at Am Great has Ten Tariff Questions Never Asked. "The real trade war wasn’t Trump’s—it was decades of lopsided deals, deficits, and double standards America tolerated while others profited." Mike Miller at RedState hears Sunny Hostin Accuses Trump of 'Insider Trading' for Advising 'Buy Low'—and This Former CFP Has Thoughts.

JD Vance@JDVance, "Incredible news. Inflation even lower than expected!" Quote Trump War Room @TrumpWarRoom, "NEW: Inflation drops to 2.4%, LOWER than expectations of 2.5%! Core CPI inflation falls below 3.0% for the first time since March 2021. Month over Month CPI inflation turns negative. Sundance analyzes how Inflation Drops to Lowest Level in Four Years 2.4% "The rate of inflation dropped significantly due to lower gasoline (-6.3%) and fuel prices, which directly impacts every middle-class worker.  The ripple effects (transportation, warehousing, etc.) from lowered gasoline prices is not yet embedded in the cost of goods, that should start to surface next month."  From NewsMax, House Approves 'Big, Beautiful Bill' 216-214.

From Military. com Space Force Commander in Greenland Sent Out Email Breaking with Vance After His Visit Kurt Schlichter@KurtSchlichter "Colonel Female Fredo must be relieved immediately. It is intolerable for her to take a political position at all, much less one in opposition to that of her commander in chief. cc @PeteHegseth @SeanParnellUSA @CynicalPublius @RobManess @JimHansonDC" Quote Visegrád 24 @visegrad24 "Col. Susan Meyers, commander of the 821st Space Base Group which oversees the military base in Pituffik, Greenland sent out an email to people working on the base after JD Vance’s visit. She wrote that she "spent the weekend thinking about Friday's visit -- the actions taken, Show more" She gone. Da Mail, Pentagon fires Greenland military chief over her criticism of JD Vance's visit to the territory which Trump has vowed to take over. Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed reports Trump Admin Ousts Official Who Shepherded Biden’s Military Covid Jab Mandate. Beege Welborn, sees Panama Pete - Sailing Right Along. Raylan Givens @JewishWarrior13, "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visiting the Panama Canal: “I want to be very clear: China did not build this canal, China does not operate this canal, and China will not weaponize this canal”" BowTiedMara @BowTiedMara, "URGENT Panama breaks with China and aligns itself with the US: Mulino abandons the Silk Road, resumes military exercises with Washington, and joins forces with Hegseth to secure the Canal, curb migration, and contain the communist advance in the region."

Politico whines Trump moves to hobble major US climate change study, "The cuts are a potentially fatal blow to the National Climate Assessment that Congress mandated to ensure the government understands the threats posed by rising temperatures." Matt Van Swol@matt_vanswol, "#BREAKING: Environmentalists are now SUING the Trump Administration for allowing timber companies to clear forest floors of fallen trees in Western North Carolina. The lumber from the trees could be used to rebuild homes cheaper... ...AND greatly decrease wildfire risk"

NewsMax reports Trump says DOGE Will Remain Active After Musk Leaves. At PJM Matt Margolis hears DOGE Uncovers Massive Unemployment Fraud Under Biden Administration. Fox hears Elon Musk scrap with Chuck Schumer, suggesting the senator profits from government fraud. "Sen Schumer has claimed DOGE is 'sabotaging' Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid."  At LifeZette, DOGE Official Blows the Whistle on Staggering Number of Illegal Aliens on Medicare. Jeff Carlson @themarketswork "Democrats are absolutely terrified of Elon looking into Social Security." Quote Rep. Pramila Jayapal @RepJayapal, "Social Security is not a tech company. 73 MILLION Americans depend on those checks. The power of the people forced DOGE--the Department of Greed and Ego--to retreat from one of its many royal screw-ups. But Musk's end goal is the same as ever in his words: "eliminate" it. Our Show more " Andy Biggs asks Does Social Security have a dead beneficiary problem after all?

"Leaked SSA figures, intended to debunk DOGE, show 18% of age 100+ beneficiaries are, well, dead." Leah Barkoukis at TownHall, looks at how DOGE Exposes How Red Tape Is Strangling Federal Workers, with a weird, but trivial example. OCR, IRS acting commissioner is resigning after deal to share immigrants’ tax information with ICE Tom Knighton at TAW considers What we should be wondering about IRS head's resignation, "it’s hilarious to me that the acting head of the IRS quit because of an agreement to share data with immigration officials." Jeff Charles at TownHall, Trump's Latest Immigration Move Just Drove Out Another Key Leader.

At CJ, Chris Rufo and Dave Reaboi explain How “Tesla Takedown” Activists Fool the Public. TownHall's Tom Knight has a Note to the Left: Don't Start Anything You Can't Finish.

Da Hill complains House passes bill restricting district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. Jeff Charles at TownHall reports an Immigration Judge Issues Ultimatum to Trump Administration Over Mahmoud Khalil Case “I’d like to see the evidence,” Comans said. If the government cannot produce justification for removing Khalil, she added, “then I am going to terminate the case on Friday.” At NewsMax, Judge Lets Trump Require Everyone in US Illegally to Register. Jeff Charles again, sees Top DOJ Lawyers Are Jumping Ship – Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing for Trump.

Capt. Ed at Hat Hair, Your Feel-Good Weepy FAFO Story Of the Week, Courtesy of the FBI. Bill Melugin@BillMelugin_ "NEW: The Texas man who allegedly threatened to shoot & kill ICE agents & urged his followers to do the same left a federal courtroom crying today after he was ordered held in detention, with the magistrate determining he is a threat and a flight risk, according to our @FoxNews team in the room. Additionally, federal prosecutors said they learned about Robert King’s alleged threats via the national FBI tip line. He had been living with his sister and brother in law, who is a Mesquite police officer and former CBP agent. Upon learning of the social media posts, the brother in law threw him out of the house." Ace, Left-Wing Pro-Illegal-Alien Tough Guy Led "Crying" from Courtroom As He's Ordered Held Without Bail For Making Terroristic Threats to Shoot and Kill ICE Agents and FBI Director Kash Patel. At NYPo, the Divine Ms. Devine claim Kash Patel’s FBI promotion of MAGA villain Steven Jensen sends the wrong message. But John Nantz at TownHall casts doubt on the Narrative Trap: The Manufactured Outrage Over Patel’s Leadership Appointment. At Am Mil News, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino could have unprecedented security detail. 

RealRobert @Real_RobN, And here it is, King Solomon Reports: Whistleblower emails CONFIRM: a criminal conspiracy between the Biden White House, the FBI Washington Field Office, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office – Washington D.C., and Jack Smith to plan, approve, and execute Arctic Frost, with the intent to frame, arrest, prosecute, and imprison Donald J. Trump. Operation Arctic Frost formed the basis of Special Prostitute Jack Smith's false elector case under which President Donald Trump was later charged with a conspiracy to defraud the United States for his campaign’s attempts to assemble alternate slates of electors which that the United States government was overthrown during the 2020 election." Cutie Pavlich at TownHall claims New Details Reveal Biden Stonewalled the Investigation Into Trump's Attempted Assassin. 

 Mollie @MZHemingway, "Of all the many media hoaxes, the one I laugh about the most was when the New York Times assured us "anonymous" was a HUGE, Cabinet Secretary-level figure and it turned out that they were 1000% lying and it was Miles Taylor, IV. Someone wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down the DHS food chain." Quote, "Philip Melanchthon Wegmann @PhilipWegmann, "Trump signs a presidential memorandum stripping Miles Taylor--aka the New York Times' "Anonymous"-- which strips him of any remaining security clearance and orders DOJ to investigate his activities." Sundance at CTH, DNI Tulsi Gabbard Joins the Tick Tock Club – Repeating the “Just Wait, Trust Us” Nonsense.

From the Free Bacon, Outstanding Work, Doctor: How Jill Biden's Lust for Power Saved America "New revelations expose first lady's crucial efforts to ensure Trump's return to the White House." Da Caller, Chuck Todd Says Legacy Media Downplayed Biden’s Issues Due To ‘Fear’ Of Perception Of ‘Helping Trump’. VodkaPundit at PJM, Chuck Todd Finally Confesses but There's a Catch.   At Ace's, Media: We're Totally Fearless Truth-Seekers But Also We Hid the Truth of Biden's Dementia from the Public Because We Were Afraid of Social Ostracism by the White House or Fellow "Reporters", "There's so much Now It Can Be Told reporting on Biden's dementia, now that it's irrelevant and can't hurt the Democrat Party or help Trump," and Of Course: The US Knew That Seven American Troops Contracted Covid-19 at the Wuhan Games in 2019, But Covered It Up to Protect Hunter Biden's Business Partners in China, "I'm assuming that last part. Joe Biden is a traitor and forgot to pardon himself." Mike Miller at RedState reveals, The Chinese Spy Balloon? Team Biden Held Secret Talks With Beijing About Fear of Notifying the Public. Matt Margolis, Bombshell Report Exposes Biden's Massive Chinese Spy Cover-Up. NYPo, China acknowledges its role in years of cyberattacks against US over support of Taiwan: report. Bob Spencer at PJM, Kamala Harris Falls on Hard Times: ‘If She Ran for Dogcatcher, She’d Lose’. Dustin Grage@GrageDustin, "Tim Walz was heckled and booed by military veterans in Minnesota today over his stolen valor."

Matt Margolis thinks you should WATCH as Sen. Kennedy Goes Absolutely Savage on AOC. Twitchy wants you to Watch Blame-Shifting Chuck Schumer Squirm When a CNN Host Reminds Him How Long HE'S Been In DC. 

From the Free Bacon, Princeton Radicals Disrupt Event With Naftali Bennet, Yelling 'Genocide' and Pulling Fire Alarm. "‘This is our land, you came from Europe running away from the Holocaust!’ one activist yells" Jesse Kelly @JesseKellyDC  "Democrats routinely call for street violence and refuse to condemn it when it happens because they know it’s effective. Weak losers like Mitt Romney and Amy Barrett get eaten alive by these tactics. The failed assassination of Kavanaugh wasn’t a failure. It was a huge success." Quote Robert the Red@TxDrengr, " Replying to @JesseKellyDC When the commies sent one of their deranged lunatics to kill Kavanaugh that was a wake up call to SCOTUS. They can't afford Tier 1 operators from Triple Canopy to babysit them indefinitely." From Da Caller, The Left Is Out For Blood — Literally. John Hinderacker at Power Line hears Let’s Kill the Republicans. Be careful, we shoot back. 

Rasmussen Reports@Rasmussen_Poll "Fact Check: True" Quote Emerald Robinson @EmeraldRobinson, "You're about find out that all the brave people who were called "election deniers" and "conspiracy theorists" after the 2020 election were right." Rasmussen Reports @Rasmussen_Poll, "Surprise! - "They've been using their NGO's to dump fake voter registration forms utilizing the fake SS#'s on key county registrar's offices for the last 5-6 election cycles. Then using those fraudulent voter registrations to request ballots in the mail. Then they pay the NGO's to have their staff fill out the ballots and mail them in." @drawandstrike" From WokeSpy, Jocelyn Benson Contradicts Testimony to Congress, Admits at Least 15 Noncitizens Voted in 2024. "At least." Cutie Pavlich sees Democrats Desperately Fight Against Citizenship Requirement to Vote. Mary Chastain at LI reports the House Passes SAVE Act, Which Requires Proof of Citizenship to Register to Vote. "It also requires “states to remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls, while giving them necessary tools to do so.”" A video at the Fourth Rail, What They Don't Want You to Know About Voter ID Law (SAVE ACT). Mitch Berg at TownHall, Democrat AGs Sue To Stop (Checks Notes) Voter ID. Matt Vespa, View Co-Host Pretty Much Says Black People Are Too Dumb to Get an ID to Vote.

At PJM, Stephen Kruiser says 'Self-Deport' Gets My Early Vote for Phrase of the Year, Rick Moran on Ending Biden's Most Outrageous Violations of Immigration Law and Trump Plans to Withhold All Federal Funds From Sanctuary Cities. At TownHall, Jeff Charles notes DHS Has a Message for Migrants Using the CBP One App (self deport). Da Caller reports the Trump Admin Strips Benefits From Thousands Of Aliens On Terror Watchlist. Ya think? 

HSI San Antonio@HSI_SanAntonio, "SAN ANTONIO - 8 victims of sex-trafficking have been rescued during a multi-day operation coinciding w/ the 2025 NCAA Final Four playoffs. ICE, HSI, ERO, USBP @USCIS @SATXPolice & @TxDPS conducted this joint operation." At NYPo, Adam Coleman notices Modern Democrats reveal their true intentions align with those of the Confederacy: "Modern Democrats have latched onto an argument in favor of illegal immigration — and it’s the same one pro-slavery Democrats used in the 1800s. “So, I had to go around the country and educate people about what immigrants do for this country, or the fact we are a country of immigrants. The fact is ain’t none of y’all trying to go and farm right now,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said at a speech commemorating Grace Baptist Church’s 125th anniversary in Waterbury, Conn. “You’re not, you’re not. We done picking cotton. We are. You can’t pay us enough to find a plantation.”"

Campus Reform sees Free speech surges on college campuses. John Sexton sees Blue States Are Gearing Up to Defy Trump's DEI Order for Schools. Fine, no federal $ for you! And Is Princeton Underestimating Anti-Semitism on Its Campus and Others? No doubt. And Trump's Endgame for Columbia University: A Consent Decree that Lasts for Years, or until the next Democrat administration. The Free Bacon warns US Will Deny Visas, Green Cards Over Anti-Semitic Social Media Activity, Trump Admin Says. Althouse cites Chris Rufo, "Progressives within the federal bureaucracy, regardless of Democrat or Republican being in the White House, have been advancing left-wing racialist ideologies and DEI programs for decades." ""And so I don't have any doubt in my mind that what we're doing is, is, is the right course of action. It's defensible intellectually. And certainly I think it is actually a minimal and very restrained response to a long standing problem.... You know, I would certainly like to see much more dramatic action. I would like to see, you know, if, if, if they, if they are anticipating this as a, as a shock, I could easily imagine, you know, 10 times, 20 times, you know, 50 times more dramatic action that is, you know, within the realm of possibility...." From the College Fix, Top conservative civil rights advocates seek repeal of Minority-Serving Institutions programs. Peachy Keenan @KeenanPeachy, "Reminder: you know those elite colleges your kids couldn't get into (too white) and that you'd never be able to afford anyway? Surprise: you were sending them your money anyway - up to a billion to each of the schools that rejected your 4.0 senior. Joke's on you. Like always." Quote New York Post @nypost, "Trump admin freezes $1B in federal funding to Cornell, $790M to Northwestern amid investigations into both schools https://trib.al/n94Zhbz"

From Da Caller, Kennedy Center Breaks All-Time Attendance Record Amid Liberal Bellyaching Over ‘Trump Takeover.’ Brandon Morse at RedState reports that Gina Carano Delivers Another Blow to Disney As Her Lawsuit Ramps Up and the Mouse Starts to Sweat. Gina Carano @ginacarano, "This is a small breath of fresh air in this long arduous process. I am grateful to the court for moving so quickly. I look forward to the details of my case becoming public and clearing my name, which will allow me to continue doing what I love without such brutal discrimination. I remain incredibly grateful for this opportunity to defend myself against this Goliath. Thank you" @elonmusk @x. "Quote Gene Schaerr @GSchaerr, "Discovery motion granted in @ginacarano's case against Disney! The court is forcing Disney to turn over information about how stars like Pedro Pascal, Rosario Dawson, & others from The Mandalorian, other Disney+ Star Wars shows, and the forthcoming movie The Mandalorian & Grogu."At Twitchy, Lawyer for CA School District That Suspended Girl Falls HARD for Judge's BLM Lesson Trap (WATCH).

“Maybe then you don’t give a Black Lives Matter course to a 1st Grader. Maybe you teach tying shoes.”

An attorney for @CapoUnified created a trap and then walked into it while defending their decision to punish a 1st grader for writing “all lives” matter during a BLM lesson.… pic.twitter.com/McxD5BQogG

— Scott Davison (@scottyd121) April 9, 2025

Riley Gaines Center @RileyGCenter, "Two years ago, @Riley_Gaines_ was ambushed at San Francisco State University for speaking the truth. Tonight, she returned to the same campus—unshaken, unafraid, unapologetic. A pro-trans protestor attempted to disrupt her speech but was quickly removed. The difference between then and now? Truth is gaining ground—and the other side knows it." At Campus Reform, ‘F*** YOU’: Flustered protester caught 'running away' from Riley Gaines at University of Arizona. "The protester heckled Gaines and insulted several audience members, calling one of them a ‘retard.’" Fox reports Trans fencer no longer on college team amid latest controversy. Jonathan Turley is concerned about “Coercive Control”: Parents Could Lose Custody Under Proposed Colorado Law for “Misgendering” "As someone who grew up in an Italian family, I must confess that I thought “coercive control” of a parent was called . . . well . . . parenting. I can still remember my Sicilian mother brandishing a broom in front of our door to prevent one of my sisters from going out with a boy that she did not like. She simply declared “I gave you life, I can take it away” and my sister went back upstairs." Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman "Anderson Cooper just misgendered a Civil Rights attorney. They are not serious. Keep on putting the pronoun police on camera, we will win every election."

There are still plenty of unused links at The Wombat's In The Mailbox: 04.09.25 (Afternoon Edition) and In The Mailbox: 04.09.25 (Evening Edition). The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: An Almost Perfect Week up and garnering clicks at The Other McCain on time and under budget.