Trump just pardoned an international drug broker who managed sites that traded in fentanyl, meth, and contract killings. For good measure he called the DEA agents and prosecutors who captured Ulbrecht, "Scum".
So the answer to your question seems to be: "making it worse."
More hypocritically, he says that drug dealers should be executed, I believe without any due process, yet he pardons a guy who facilitated selling drugs
Yes, and I suspect this is because in his mind "drug dealer" connotates a specific look. If you ever look at his truth social account (enter at your own risk) his posts about drugs and invasions have a typical ... shade to the images.
There was no “contract killings” on Silk Road. It was pretty much just an online drug marketplace. Tbh I believe that people should have the right to alter their own mind with substances. I generally despise Trump but freeing Ross Ulbricht isn’t something I’m very upset about. In general, online drug markets give drug users access to purer and safer substances than they could get from street dealers. This is due to the fact that people can review the products and vendors have a reputation to uphold (basically like Amazon). It’s virtually impossible to eliminate drug use from society without extremely draconian laws a la Singapore, so I’d rather drug users have access to generally safer products than not.
Ulbrecht's work led to multiple drug deaths. The drugs he was dealing were plainly illegal. In point of fact he was knowingly violating the same laws and engaging in the same practices for which Trump has just declared drug gangs to be "trans-national terrorists".
As to "no killing" you are right that they have not traced actual contract killings, only attempts to solicit murder. Hardly a "personal rights" thing. The bottom line is, Ulbrecht was a criminal and tried to engage in more serious crimes. He deserved what he got. The fact that Trump freed him shows that he does not actually believe in the law, just in favors.
Yeah, some drug users will always mix drugs that shouldn’t be mixed or simply take too much and overdose. I don’t think that’s completely avoidable but I still believe it’s better if drug users have access to purer substances from reputable online vendors than the sketchy substances sold by the street dealer around the corner. People will use drugs no matter what so I think it’s better they have access to safer substances where the risk of adulterants and unintended harms is lower. If all the buyers on the Silk Road had gotten their drugs from sketchy street dealers then I’m sure there would have been even more overdoses and other harms for the users.
Besides, Ulbricht only ran the website. I don’t think you can make him responsible for unintended harms caused by people misusing products sold on there. I’m sure there have been many harms and deaths related to items bought off Amazon but you wouldn’t make Jeff Bezos personally responsible for that, would you?
Yes, you’re right that what Ulbricht did was illegal under the law but from a consequentialist moral perspective I think that online drug market places like the Silk Road prevent more harm to drug users than they cause. I think the best policy for harm reduction would be to legalize and regulate the sale of drugs but unfortunately that’s not the world we live in.
Ulbricht ran the site knowing what it sold and profiting from each transaction. You cannot put him as somehow disconnected or unaware. Calling it a "Consequentialist moral perspective" does not gussy up the fact that you are making excuses for drug dealing on the presumption that it "may" have reduced harm over "street dealers".
Ulbricht did not check the drugs for quality. He did not do anything to ensure that the deliveries were reliable. Indeed he did nothing to help reduce harm. All he did do was make harm easier to obtain. In that sense there is no rational argument that he made things any better. In fact by reducing the effort of accessing the drugs he made harm through addiction or "mixing" as you say far more likely.
Your excuses about "sketchy street dealers" are just hand waiving and make no sense when you consider that Ulbricht did nothing to improve the nature of the drug trade, all he did was put those sketchy street dealers online.
He is no innocent, he is no hero. He should never have been pardoned, and the idea that he was makes all of Trump's claims to fight illegal drugs a complete lie.
No, of course he couldn’t have personally checked the quality of the substances sold on his website since all he did was provide the infrastructure for people to sell and buy drugs online. He didn’t actually sell any drugs himself, he just ran the website.
However, by providing a marketplace where people can review vendors and products he did make it a whole lot easier for drug users to find and buy from dealers who sell better quality products. It’s basically like Amazon. Amazon doesn’t check the quality of all the items different vendors sell on their platform but by allowing people to leave reviews and feedback Amazon does make it a whole lot easier for buyers to identify vendors and products which are of higher quality. People aren’t gonna buy the items with one star reviews, they’re gonna buy the items with thousands of five star reviews from sellers with great reputations. That’s what Ulbricht brought to the drug trade and what I believe makes buying drugs a whole lot safer for drug users who are looking to indulge no matter what. I think it’s better they have access to drugs sold by reputable online vendors with many great reviews than if their only access was the couple of street dealers around the corner for whom no such review system exists. Drugs are already easy to obtain if you look for them and there isn’t really much the government can do to stop that, so it’s better if drug users can buy their drugs from the most reputable dealers with the best reviews from hundreds if not thousands of other drug users.
I wouldn’t say Ulbricht is a hero but by inventing this form of online drug marketplace I do believe he has made the lives of thousands of drug users much safer than they otherwise would have been. I do believe that it would be even better if these marketplaces were legalized and the production and sale of drugs highly regulated as they have been in many places regarding cannabis for example, but it seems we are still very far from that becoming a reality.
I simply mean in which direction things were moving over the border. When I first read your comment with my sleepy eyes, I thought you were contradicting Krugman and that you were saying what Trump was saying . I have noticed MAGA starting to find us here.
However, I see I may have been the only one to read it backwards - my bad
My feeling is that we should let Trump be Trump. Impose the tariffs. Watch Canada and Mexico retaliate. No one will get hurt as much as Midwestern red state MAGAs when the supply of gas plummets if Canada cuts off oil exports, or gas prices soar because of a 25% tariff on Canadian oil. And how will Trump explain an explosion in food prices brought on by his tariffs on Mexico? This stupid move on his part could kill his dreams of a glorious reign before it gets started.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, is too petty for him. He's still fuming about "indignities" from 8 years ago. I swear it's key to his longevity, replace all of your blood with pure spite and you live forever.
About as small as the character in these scenes from the "Twilight Zone" episode called "4 O'Clock": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-2l8oLLDHk. The ending is most fitting!
TY. Long time TZ fan, and I remember that episode clearly. It is true, they don’t make TV like they used to. Now, if we could be rid of the second-rate reality TV dude (who never won an award, and he is still bitter) who is playing the retribution game to the hilt. People are going to get hurt.
I do think that Donald has "mental" issues. He is wrong about so many things and keeps repeating the same thing over and over. He is obsessed with grievance and score settling. He does act like an old man.
He is not just wrong about small details -- he is wrong about big things and the whole premise for a proposed policy.
The mainstream media was busy pointing out the mental and physical decline of Biden, but they had no time to point out the decline of Donald.
I suppose Donald will have to "burn the place down" before anyone recognizes that something is amiss upstairs.
As a 73YO, and if I can speak for many others I know, easy with that “old man” nonsense. Donald’s problems are a combination of narcissism and possibly dementia and not simply age.
Oh please. I am 58, and I already recognize some measure of decline. I'm sure I'll be less able to perceive it insightfully as it advances, but it is real. Yet, I do pride myself on being objective, so maybe I'll still correctly perceive things when I am 73.
I saw Trump on Tuesday, trying to answer some questions thrown at him by the press He looked far older than Biden; and his confusion was embarrasingly evident.
They love Trump because he doesn't care about anyone but himself and is willing to do their bidding for a price. When he kicks the bucket, which I hope is sooner than later, there will be hell to pay and they know it.
I’m leaning more toward a medical event ... which could cover a variety of inconveniences that could prevent him from doing anything beyond dribbling his tapioca down his chin.
Yes, people voted for this. Some because they want it all. And many because they have chosen to shut their eyes and pretend he isn't who he is, or to act as if their support of him leaves them blameless for all he does. We should not expect them to be shocked into awareness or to change in any way unless we ourselves force them to do so.
BLUE midwestern state, and NO argument from me. Your statement is spot on. If I were brave enough I would be looking forward to pointing out they are getting exactly what they voted for. Sadly, we all will pay for the RAPIST President
That could be effective, if Trump voters could be relied upon to blame Trump. But GOP voters never blame Republicans for anything Republicans do or say because that equates to the voters admitting that they were wrong (i.e. that they are gullible fools whom the online betting companies can't wait to meet) and taking responsibility for their own bad acts and bad decisions. GOP voters will never ever take responsibility for themselves.
I think our only way out of this whole mess is to try to find a way to undermine the crazy policies Trump and the Republicans plan to implement while trying to find a way for their supporters to save face. When they are angry or insulted they don’t listen to reason. They double down on their support. The blame game is getting us nowhere.
Have you seen his supporters? They are always angry and insulted but they cannot articulate why. They just spew stupid slogans and dress up in weird costumes. Sad.
How about when Feb 1 rolls in, tRump sez he's "suspending tariffs for now" coz he's seen "significant progress by Canada and Mexico" in reducing migrant traffic. TRump has done this before, as it's all a part of - wait for it - "The Art of The Deal".
Parenthetically, one can also add in the 75-day "negotiating" period tRump just imposed upon the PROHIBITION OF FOREIGN ADVERSARY CONTROLLED APPLICATIONS ACT as a typical tRumpian "deal" ploy.
It won’t matter. His attack on our democracy didn’t matter. Higher prices, unemployment and wary death won’t matter either. Trump makes MAGA feel power by being cruel, misogynistic and deplorable. That is all they want.
Here's your daily reminder that this guy is a useless troll who contributes nothing at all. Best to ignore. Eventually he'll find another shiny toy to distract his feeble mind.
It does have a mute button. Also a block button. Not sure of the difference, but both appear in the display triggered by tapping on the icon next to the commenter’s name.
We should, by now, not be taking Trump at his word about tariffs or anything else.
As the (faux) quote of Marcus Aurelius notes: "Ask of all things, what is its nature."
What is Trump's nature?
He is a salesman, a vindictive greedy salesman yes, but still just a salesman--a cross between theater characters aged salesman Willie Loman and uber-corrupt Volpone.
Trump sells whatever will advance his personal interest. He is corruption personified. Everything he does is a sale for personal gain, and his life's measuring stick of success is money. That is his nature.
Focused with that view of Trump in mind, might it be that, Trump threatening--but not imposing--25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico is because he wants a personal payoff of some sort from Mexico and Canada?
Focused with that view of Trump in mind, might it be that Trump stopped the Tik Tok ban for 45 days because he wants a personal payoff from China?
Or more broadly, focused with that view of Trump in mind, might it be that Trump's recently stated desire to visit China and "work things out" with Xi, is because he wants a Chinese personal payoff of some kind?
When one looks at tariffs not as "the thing itself" but as yet just another way to extort payoffs for personal gain, as an extortion racket rather than a serious national economic policy, then Trumps assertions, flip-flops, changes of subject, and bluster, all seem to fit.
And with the new Trump crypto company (world crypto usage is, by many official estimates, about 50% money laundering), this also fits. Trump's crypto company sells a "coin" (generously deemed "an asset") produced out of thin air.
If you are Scheinbaum Pardo of Mexico or Xi of China, what easier way to pay off a US President and stop his threatened tariff retaliation than to buy a few $Trump coins?
Tariffs are just today's version of a Trump's latest extortion. But at an international level.
And the public policy problem with this level of int'l corruption is that if some countries don't pay and the retaliatory tariffs are actually imposed, we citizens will pay the price for a foreign country refusing to pay blackmail to an American president.
And when February 1 comes around he will announce the level of decrease, completely fictional, of drugs and migrants to prove how just the threat of his tariffs were. And his supporters will believe every word.
That’s EXACTLY what I think is behind the tariff plan. I read somewhere that in his last term US companies that donated to trump got exemptions from tariffs. I think he wants to scale up that grift to the max. A worldwide con has just begun.
But let’s not forget that he is not just an aging salesman; he’s a sales/conman with escalating dementia. That throws another wrench into the equation.
I have seen this argument elsewhere and I think this is spot on. There's always behind the scenes dealing to benefit Trump and family. The bit coin strategy makes me think of the Mafia.
Ok - but he has said for quite awhile that he would not release the violent offenders - so that was what I meant by "doubling down."
I think he is delaying tariffs to give more bigwigs time come on bended knee to ask for exemptions if they do his bidding and also in order for the GOP in congress to not get so mad they deny his cabinet picks and suddenly realize their independence as a branch of government will be sorely needed.
Trump's picks are designed to help him consolidate power in the executive branch and once that is done, anyone in congress who gets out of line may get a notice from DOJ or FBI or something like that - I think anyway to keep them in line. Just my view.
"We should, by now, not be taking Trump at his word about tariffs or anything else."
That was a valid stance to hold last term - when the general halls of government were still run by career workers who just wanted their spheres of influence to work to the best of their ability. Much of Trump's pinballing around any given stance was kept in check by these sorts of people.
Those people are being quickly disappeared from their positions. What's left will be people whose goal is simply to ingratiate themselves to Trump, and do so by acting on whatever impulse popped across his Truth Social feed at 3AM that has become the policy du jour.
The people that he's putting over these departments have already shown that, in many cases, they're even MORE extreme in these views than Trump himself is. There are going to be no guardrails to keep the car on the road this time.
From the Canadian side of the border, this feels like you're understating the impact.
If I was an auto industry top executive I would be completely flipping out: how are they supposed to reorganize their business around the parts going from SW Ontario into Michigan getting 25% more expensive (and that is only traversing the border once)? What about the parts that are currently crossing the border three or four times? The whole production plan is going to have to be revised. There are lots of models that are only made on one side of the border. Does Trump think that if all the assembly plants are relocated to the US that Canada will go on opening its borders to US assembled vehicles? Are the manufacturers supposed to have dedicated assembly plants on each side of the border to supply the two countries?
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And don't even get me started on the effect of a 25% price increase on oil exports to US refineries, or the electricity flows into the US NE.
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The Ontario premier is about to go into an election running to seek a mandate to cut off the power entirely if the tariffs are imposed (and lots of other draconian and self destructive measures as well).
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This isn't going to be a little border dispute, this is going to be a trade WAR, unless we get lucky and Trump is only posturing for negotiating position.
That is what the entire Canadian political class (all parties) are trying to figure out. If it is about negotiation, what is it he actually wants?
As Paul Krugman pointed out in the piece, it certainly isn't stopping the fentanyl flows from Canada into the US, or illegal migration from Canada (both are nearly non-existent).
If mid-West refineries are forced to convert to lighter oil because of the higher cost -- or heaven forbid, the end of oil imports from Canada -- then the damage to Canada's oil industry could last longer than the trade war itself. What a lose-lose proposition.
Perhaps, as pundits suggest this is a leveraging ploy. Clever but weak.
How about this. Tariffs raise domestic prices & taxes on same.
With a price rise, there will be a complementary price rise by US suppliers … because they can and still remain competitive. I guess more taxes. Hold that thought.
Parallel these initiatives are broad plans to dump Federal assistance to States & citizens, kill off entire agencies, sharply reduce personnel, and on and on. Yet there will be no corollary substantive reduction in personal income tax. Big, big win for Federal government …
Why does Trump need all this cash? Gee! Is your guess as good as mine?
Whatever he grants to corporations is money in his crypto back pocket.
If we simply shoegaze through this, hopefully we will not also nod off through the greatest heist in US history.
What I condemn about this whole discussion about trade surpluses is that nobody has forced US companies to outsource entire branches of industry. It all happened voluntarily. To blame China or other countries for this is far from logical. There was absolutely no economic necessity to destroy millions of jobs in the USA! It was pure greed, nothing else!
Thank you for saying this! The US government always gets a bad wrap for letting China into the WTO and formalizing favorable duty rates for their exports. But the companies that shut down their domestic manufacturing operations and laid off their American workers to start buying from abroad instead, did so freely and profited handsomely as a result. I had a front row seat to this in the 90’s in the footwear industry as it left the USA and went first to Taiwan and Korea and then to China, all of which happened with sizable Smoot-Hawley era tariffs on footwear imports still in effect (and which remain in effect today). It seems to me that the outrage that is aimed at the government would be better directed toward the companies that gutted American industry willingly in service of cheaper labor overseas and higher profit margins.
It is difficult not to read this as a morality tale where the markets are a stand-in for MAGA supporters. The impulse to say, “Collapse, markets, so that Trump will desist” is strong, but I think the factors influencing the markets are too complex to tell this tale. And assuming Trump would respond to a market crash by refraining from tariffs is imputing the chaos king with a level of normal logic that I would argue he does not have. It could just as well be that a market collapse would inspire him to go for 50% tariffs, because derp.
Let's not forget that when China took their soybean business to South America in retaliation, thousands of Midwest soybean farmers were driven to bankruptcy and guess who had to bail them out? We should have listened to Rex Tillerson! Trump is a f______ moron!
Well, Rex Tillerson ran Exxon Mobil, one of the largest corporations in the world, and worked as Trump's Secretary of State, so I guess he's a moron in your book . . .
Had fallen a few days behind with your newsletters (along with the always excellent Heather Cox Richardson's). So I just spent the last hour getting up to speed. What occurred to me, arriving at your new offering today is that Trump could care less if he implements anything or not. What matters most for him is aligning his message with is his street-smart understanding of the human psychology. He's an entertainer, seeking ratings. When ratings take a dive, 'the writers' will revamp the storyline. He's the manifestation of a (slim) majority of the biases extant in our society today. Those initial bold statements are that are required to build a base. His base doesn't follow up and ask for a demonstration of results (there are exceptions when he does follow through -- but again, that's tied to 'ratings'). He just needs to ensure that that first impression --that triggers confirmation bias for his base-- remains intact. I'm drawing a direct correlation between the success of his type of rhetoric and the low literacy rates in the US. Perhaps a bit off-topic, but file this under speculation of the roller coaster this administration has us all on. :)
After enduring just 48 hours of this kakistocracy madness, thanks for the joyful reminder of Peter Gabriel (and Paula Cole! Tony Levin!) and the “Secret World” tour. It was a needed reminder that we still live in a world capable of producing magic.
But Trump? I used to think when he spouted ignorant nonsense about the economy that someone, surely would tell him. Apparently not - not even the markets.
Of course, when prices go up due to inflation, wages, a price also, but a price of labor, also tend to go up. But, when prices rise due to tariffs, wages do not. You have dead weight loss due to the decreased competition, and the money this government gets, of course, will all go in the pockets of the rich.
Recently, Donald has been obsessed with William McKinley. Yesterday, he signed an order changing the name of Denali back to Mount McKInley. He loves McKInley because when McKinley was President the federal government was so small that it could operate on the income from tariffs and excise taxes. I suppose that Donald wants to shrink government to a size where it could be supported by income from tariffs. Changing Denali gives Donald a "twofer." He gets to honor his hero, McKinley. He also gets a dig at President Obama who is the one who signed the executive order changing Mount McKinley to Denali some years ago.
It is amazing that Donald is wrong about so many things. Professor Krugman mentioned that Donald believes "huge amounts of drugs and immigrants are coming across the border from Canada'" and that is not true. He also claims that migrants are mostly rapists and murders. Migrants' crime rates are actually slightly lower that crime rates for American citizens in general or so I read. Many MAGA folks hate migrants (among a long list of hates) so when Donald says that they are all murders that is music to their ears.
It is a strange world. They say that in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is King. Does that mean that people who believe in facts and reality and treating everyone honestly and with respect have an advantage?
Ha! It would instead lead to an extended monologue on how "THEY" tried to kill him and he survived because god wants him to destroy - oops, I mean save - the country. Self reflection is not a skill this man has.
I find that most of the time Donald just talks nonsense about things which are just not true. When does get into facts, they are usually 30 or 40 years out of date. Of course, he says things which his faithful like and want to hear, whether true or not.
Here in Vancouver more of us are deciding to stop our cross border shopping trips to Lynden and Bellingham WA. Keep an eye on those towns and see how well they fare when your President kicks the tariffs into gear. Our dollars matter. 😂
I know some live in trailers and can't stay here when it gets cold, but I don't think that's most people. Even so, it's probably best not to expect a mass revolt.
It's as if the lowest IQ kid (who is also the mean, resentful bully, after all--he'll never be good enough!) got to take over your school and RULE you! "In Your Eyes" is a great motto for how it turns out.
Canada has a huge issue with guns and drugs coming over its southern border. What is the US doing about that?
Also, what hardly ever gets mentioned in the news that over 70% (!) of the domestically produced firearms are illegally smuggled to Mexico, and that's killing lots of Mexican people (Mexico has much stricter gun laws than the US has.) https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/infographics-arms-trafficking-across-us-mexico-border
There is also legal export to Mexico. And nobody wants to stop that
Why would you want to harm a US gun industry??
Huh, maybe to start lowering the 40-plus thousand gun deaths we have every year?
On the other hand, how do we monetize the damage the gun industry does?
I am assuming that is sarcasm. Because the gun industry wants free rein.
Trump just pardoned an international drug broker who managed sites that traded in fentanyl, meth, and contract killings. For good measure he called the DEA agents and prosecutors who captured Ulbrecht, "Scum".
So the answer to your question seems to be: "making it worse."
https://www.rawstory.com/silk-road/
More hypocritically, he says that drug dealers should be executed, I believe without any due process, yet he pardons a guy who facilitated selling drugs
Yes, and I suspect this is because in his mind "drug dealer" connotates a specific look. If you ever look at his truth social account (enter at your own risk) his posts about drugs and invasions have a typical ... shade to the images.
There was no “contract killings” on Silk Road. It was pretty much just an online drug marketplace. Tbh I believe that people should have the right to alter their own mind with substances. I generally despise Trump but freeing Ross Ulbricht isn’t something I’m very upset about. In general, online drug markets give drug users access to purer and safer substances than they could get from street dealers. This is due to the fact that people can review the products and vendors have a reputation to uphold (basically like Amazon). It’s virtually impossible to eliminate drug use from society without extremely draconian laws a la Singapore, so I’d rather drug users have access to generally safer products than not.
Ulbrecht's work led to multiple drug deaths. The drugs he was dealing were plainly illegal. In point of fact he was knowingly violating the same laws and engaging in the same practices for which Trump has just declared drug gangs to be "trans-national terrorists".
As to "no killing" you are right that they have not traced actual contract killings, only attempts to solicit murder. Hardly a "personal rights" thing. The bottom line is, Ulbrecht was a criminal and tried to engage in more serious crimes. He deserved what he got. The fact that Trump freed him shows that he does not actually believe in the law, just in favors.
https://www.wired.com/2015/04/silk-road-1/
Yeah, some drug users will always mix drugs that shouldn’t be mixed or simply take too much and overdose. I don’t think that’s completely avoidable but I still believe it’s better if drug users have access to purer substances from reputable online vendors than the sketchy substances sold by the street dealer around the corner. People will use drugs no matter what so I think it’s better they have access to safer substances where the risk of adulterants and unintended harms is lower. If all the buyers on the Silk Road had gotten their drugs from sketchy street dealers then I’m sure there would have been even more overdoses and other harms for the users.
Besides, Ulbricht only ran the website. I don’t think you can make him responsible for unintended harms caused by people misusing products sold on there. I’m sure there have been many harms and deaths related to items bought off Amazon but you wouldn’t make Jeff Bezos personally responsible for that, would you?
Yes, you’re right that what Ulbricht did was illegal under the law but from a consequentialist moral perspective I think that online drug market places like the Silk Road prevent more harm to drug users than they cause. I think the best policy for harm reduction would be to legalize and regulate the sale of drugs but unfortunately that’s not the world we live in.
Ulbricht ran the site knowing what it sold and profiting from each transaction. You cannot put him as somehow disconnected or unaware. Calling it a "Consequentialist moral perspective" does not gussy up the fact that you are making excuses for drug dealing on the presumption that it "may" have reduced harm over "street dealers".
Ulbricht did not check the drugs for quality. He did not do anything to ensure that the deliveries were reliable. Indeed he did nothing to help reduce harm. All he did do was make harm easier to obtain. In that sense there is no rational argument that he made things any better. In fact by reducing the effort of accessing the drugs he made harm through addiction or "mixing" as you say far more likely.
Your excuses about "sketchy street dealers" are just hand waiving and make no sense when you consider that Ulbricht did nothing to improve the nature of the drug trade, all he did was put those sketchy street dealers online.
He is no innocent, he is no hero. He should never have been pardoned, and the idea that he was makes all of Trump's claims to fight illegal drugs a complete lie.
No, of course he couldn’t have personally checked the quality of the substances sold on his website since all he did was provide the infrastructure for people to sell and buy drugs online. He didn’t actually sell any drugs himself, he just ran the website.
However, by providing a marketplace where people can review vendors and products he did make it a whole lot easier for drug users to find and buy from dealers who sell better quality products. It’s basically like Amazon. Amazon doesn’t check the quality of all the items different vendors sell on their platform but by allowing people to leave reviews and feedback Amazon does make it a whole lot easier for buyers to identify vendors and products which are of higher quality. People aren’t gonna buy the items with one star reviews, they’re gonna buy the items with thousands of five star reviews from sellers with great reputations. That’s what Ulbricht brought to the drug trade and what I believe makes buying drugs a whole lot safer for drug users who are looking to indulge no matter what. I think it’s better they have access to drugs sold by reputable online vendors with many great reviews than if their only access was the couple of street dealers around the corner for whom no such review system exists. Drugs are already easy to obtain if you look for them and there isn’t really much the government can do to stop that, so it’s better if drug users can buy their drugs from the most reputable dealers with the best reviews from hundreds if not thousands of other drug users.
I wouldn’t say Ulbricht is a hero but by inventing this form of online drug marketplace I do believe he has made the lives of thousands of drug users much safer than they otherwise would have been. I do believe that it would be even better if these marketplaces were legalized and the production and sale of drugs highly regulated as they have been in many places regarding cannabis for example, but it seems we are still very far from that becoming a reality.
You might want to clarify that you mean coming over their southern border "from the USA"
What other southern border does Canada have?
I simply mean in which direction things were moving over the border. When I first read your comment with my sleepy eyes, I thought you were contradicting Krugman and that you were saying what Trump was saying . I have noticed MAGA starting to find us here.
However, I see I may have been the only one to read it backwards - my bad
Sleepy eyes will do that every time! Thanks for the clarification.
Canada also has a northern border with the U.S.
More western. But most issues are south
Technically correct. (the best kind of correct!)
Maine
What is the US doing about it? Blaming Mexico probably.
I assume our attitude would be "not our problem" and "whatcha gonna do about it?"
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/harper-trump-border-drugs-guns-1.7432991
Yup. We also arm all the drug gangs in Mexico
There is a documentary called "The Iron pipeline". Hell's Angels have been gun running into Montreal since the 70's.
My feeling is that we should let Trump be Trump. Impose the tariffs. Watch Canada and Mexico retaliate. No one will get hurt as much as Midwestern red state MAGAs when the supply of gas plummets if Canada cuts off oil exports, or gas prices soar because of a 25% tariff on Canadian oil. And how will Trump explain an explosion in food prices brought on by his tariffs on Mexico? This stupid move on his part could kill his dreams of a glorious reign before it gets started.
Trump's glorious reign ended yesterday when pardoned the January 6th mob. He is mentally deranged, angry and bitter. Honestly people voted for this?
Seriously! Taking down Milley's portrait in the Pentagon?! How small can he get?
Ask Stormy.
lewis, the adults are speaking so just go sit somewhere...
It's not like she did not snark about the "button mushroom" herself, it's not like it is a state secret.
Firing the female Coast Guard Commandant was damn close.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, is too petty for him. He's still fuming about "indignities" from 8 years ago. I swear it's key to his longevity, replace all of your blood with pure spite and you live forever.
About as small as the character in these scenes from the "Twilight Zone" episode called "4 O'Clock": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-2l8oLLDHk. The ending is most fitting!
TY. Long time TZ fan, and I remember that episode clearly. It is true, they don’t make TV like they used to. Now, if we could be rid of the second-rate reality TV dude (who never won an award, and he is still bitter) who is playing the retribution game to the hilt. People are going to get hurt.
I do think that Donald has "mental" issues. He is wrong about so many things and keeps repeating the same thing over and over. He is obsessed with grievance and score settling. He does act like an old man.
He is not just wrong about small details -- he is wrong about big things and the whole premise for a proposed policy.
The mainstream media was busy pointing out the mental and physical decline of Biden, but they had no time to point out the decline of Donald.
I suppose Donald will have to "burn the place down" before anyone recognizes that something is amiss upstairs.
As a 73YO, and if I can speak for many others I know, easy with that “old man” nonsense. Donald’s problems are a combination of narcissism and possibly dementia and not simply age.
Oh please. I am 58, and I already recognize some measure of decline. I'm sure I'll be less able to perceive it insightfully as it advances, but it is real. Yet, I do pride myself on being objective, so maybe I'll still correctly perceive things when I am 73.
I saw Trump on Tuesday, trying to answer some questions thrown at him by the press He looked far older than Biden; and his confusion was embarrasingly evident.
Even then the owners will have them kiss his posterior, lest they become a target.
They love Trump because he doesn't care about anyone but himself and is willing to do their bidding for a price. When he kicks the bucket, which I hope is sooner than later, there will be hell to pay and they know it.
I agree, and hope that “date with destiny” arrives soon.
I’m leaning more toward a medical event ... which could cover a variety of inconveniences that could prevent him from doing anything beyond dribbling his tapioca down his chin.
Yes, people voted for this.
Yes, people voted for this. Some because they want it all. And many because they have chosen to shut their eyes and pretend he isn't who he is, or to act as if their support of him leaves them blameless for all he does. We should not expect them to be shocked into awareness or to change in any way unless we ourselves force them to do so.
Hmm, as someone in the BLUE midwestern state that borders Canada, I have no interest in going down with the maga ship.
BLUE midwestern state, and NO argument from me. Your statement is spot on. If I were brave enough I would be looking forward to pointing out they are getting exactly what they voted for. Sadly, we all will pay for the RAPIST President
That could be effective, if Trump voters could be relied upon to blame Trump. But GOP voters never blame Republicans for anything Republicans do or say because that equates to the voters admitting that they were wrong (i.e. that they are gullible fools whom the online betting companies can't wait to meet) and taking responsibility for their own bad acts and bad decisions. GOP voters will never ever take responsibility for themselves.
I think our only way out of this whole mess is to try to find a way to undermine the crazy policies Trump and the Republicans plan to implement while trying to find a way for their supporters to save face. When they are angry or insulted they don’t listen to reason. They double down on their support. The blame game is getting us nowhere.
Have you seen his supporters? They are always angry and insulted but they cannot articulate why. They just spew stupid slogans and dress up in weird costumes. Sad.
This is basically the long version of FAFO (-F Around, Find Out).
I don’t disagree with you but I’m not sure the cultists will blame Trump no matter what.
How about when Feb 1 rolls in, tRump sez he's "suspending tariffs for now" coz he's seen "significant progress by Canada and Mexico" in reducing migrant traffic. TRump has done this before, as it's all a part of - wait for it - "The Art of The Deal".
Parenthetically, one can also add in the 75-day "negotiating" period tRump just imposed upon the PROHIBITION OF FOREIGN ADVERSARY CONTROLLED APPLICATIONS ACT as a typical tRumpian "deal" ploy.
It won’t matter. His attack on our democracy didn’t matter. Higher prices, unemployment and wary death won’t matter either. Trump makes MAGA feel power by being cruel, misogynistic and deplorable. That is all they want.
Here's your daily reminder that this guy is a useless troll who contributes nothing at all. Best to ignore. Eventually he'll find another shiny toy to distract his feeble mind.
Pity substack doesn't have 'mute' button.
It does have a mute button. Also a block button. Not sure of the difference, but both appear in the display triggered by tapping on the icon next to the commenter’s name.
Done.
Thanks!
Sadly, he can contribute, and has made some pithy comments. But he seems to prefer to be the internet version of heckler Muppets Waldorf and Statler.
Only to subhuman meth addicts like you.
I don't own any unlike you. You need to stop chimpin out, subhuman straggot.
We should, by now, not be taking Trump at his word about tariffs or anything else.
As the (faux) quote of Marcus Aurelius notes: "Ask of all things, what is its nature."
What is Trump's nature?
He is a salesman, a vindictive greedy salesman yes, but still just a salesman--a cross between theater characters aged salesman Willie Loman and uber-corrupt Volpone.
Trump sells whatever will advance his personal interest. He is corruption personified. Everything he does is a sale for personal gain, and his life's measuring stick of success is money. That is his nature.
Focused with that view of Trump in mind, might it be that, Trump threatening--but not imposing--25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico is because he wants a personal payoff of some sort from Mexico and Canada?
Focused with that view of Trump in mind, might it be that Trump stopped the Tik Tok ban for 45 days because he wants a personal payoff from China?
Or more broadly, focused with that view of Trump in mind, might it be that Trump's recently stated desire to visit China and "work things out" with Xi, is because he wants a Chinese personal payoff of some kind?
When one looks at tariffs not as "the thing itself" but as yet just another way to extort payoffs for personal gain, as an extortion racket rather than a serious national economic policy, then Trumps assertions, flip-flops, changes of subject, and bluster, all seem to fit.
And with the new Trump crypto company (world crypto usage is, by many official estimates, about 50% money laundering), this also fits. Trump's crypto company sells a "coin" (generously deemed "an asset") produced out of thin air.
If you are Scheinbaum Pardo of Mexico or Xi of China, what easier way to pay off a US President and stop his threatened tariff retaliation than to buy a few $Trump coins?
Tariffs are just today's version of a Trump's latest extortion. But at an international level.
And the public policy problem with this level of int'l corruption is that if some countries don't pay and the retaliatory tariffs are actually imposed, we citizens will pay the price for a foreign country refusing to pay blackmail to an American president.
And when February 1 comes around he will announce the level of decrease, completely fictional, of drugs and migrants to prove how just the threat of his tariffs were. And his supporters will believe every word.
Ah yes. I posted same thing just now. Didn’t see ur post! I’m betting that’s exactly what he’ll do & MAGATS will cheer wildly.
That’s EXACTLY what I think is behind the tariff plan. I read somewhere that in his last term US companies that donated to trump got exemptions from tariffs. I think he wants to scale up that grift to the max. A worldwide con has just begun.
But let’s not forget that he is not just an aging salesman; he’s a sales/conman with escalating dementia. That throws another wrench into the equation.
They set up a payment portal with his ¢hump coin.
I have seen this argument elsewhere and I think this is spot on. There's always behind the scenes dealing to benefit Trump and family. The bit coin strategy makes me think of the Mafia.
Excellent summation.
I think the extortion racket thesis partially explains things, but the biggest reason for trump’s behavior is that he’s dumb
I disagree.
One reason we saw some flip-flopping last time was because he was surrounded by cooler heads who could talk him out of ridiculous stuff.
No more.
I would not be surprised if he ups the tariffs and does not abandon them.
What ever bad and concerning thing he says this time, will likely be even worse.
Many promises that were made simply to get elected like brining down grocery prices will be ignored however, because he does not care about that.
When he says he loves tariffs, I believe he will not only do it but double down, just like he did with the J 6 releases.
I was referring to Trump's very recent flip flopping on tariffs, namely, he promised to impose tariffs on Day One. He did not.
Also Trump did not double down on the J6 releases. He has said he would do this for a long time. It was a campaign promise.
To wit, a news headline from March 12, 2024: "Trump Promises to Free Jan 6 Rioters On First Day Back In White House If Re-Elected.
Ok - but he has said for quite awhile that he would not release the violent offenders - so that was what I meant by "doubling down."
I think he is delaying tariffs to give more bigwigs time come on bended knee to ask for exemptions if they do his bidding and also in order for the GOP in congress to not get so mad they deny his cabinet picks and suddenly realize their independence as a branch of government will be sorely needed.
Trump's picks are designed to help him consolidate power in the executive branch and once that is done, anyone in congress who gets out of line may get a notice from DOJ or FBI or something like that - I think anyway to keep them in line. Just my view.
"We should, by now, not be taking Trump at his word about tariffs or anything else."
That was a valid stance to hold last term - when the general halls of government were still run by career workers who just wanted their spheres of influence to work to the best of their ability. Much of Trump's pinballing around any given stance was kept in check by these sorts of people.
Those people are being quickly disappeared from their positions. What's left will be people whose goal is simply to ingratiate themselves to Trump, and do so by acting on whatever impulse popped across his Truth Social feed at 3AM that has become the policy du jour.
The people that he's putting over these departments have already shown that, in many cases, they're even MORE extreme in these views than Trump himself is. There are going to be no guardrails to keep the car on the road this time.
OMG so dark and so spot on. The grift is a feature, not a bug, and partly dependent on The Felon's whims on any given day.
All about the Benjamins
same as it ever was.
From the Canadian side of the border, this feels like you're understating the impact.
If I was an auto industry top executive I would be completely flipping out: how are they supposed to reorganize their business around the parts going from SW Ontario into Michigan getting 25% more expensive (and that is only traversing the border once)? What about the parts that are currently crossing the border three or four times? The whole production plan is going to have to be revised. There are lots of models that are only made on one side of the border. Does Trump think that if all the assembly plants are relocated to the US that Canada will go on opening its borders to US assembled vehicles? Are the manufacturers supposed to have dedicated assembly plants on each side of the border to supply the two countries?
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And don't even get me started on the effect of a 25% price increase on oil exports to US refineries, or the electricity flows into the US NE.
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The Ontario premier is about to go into an election running to seek a mandate to cut off the power entirely if the tariffs are imposed (and lots of other draconian and self destructive measures as well).
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This isn't going to be a little border dispute, this is going to be a trade WAR, unless we get lucky and Trump is only posturing for negotiating position.
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https://economics.td.com/ca-canada-us-trade-balance#:~:text=Canada%20is%20the%20largest%20export,balanced%20between%20the%202%20nations.
Which brings up the question, negotiating for what? Ritual obeisance?
That is what the entire Canadian political class (all parties) are trying to figure out. If it is about negotiation, what is it he actually wants?
As Paul Krugman pointed out in the piece, it certainly isn't stopping the fentanyl flows from Canada into the US, or illegal migration from Canada (both are nearly non-existent).
If mid-West refineries are forced to convert to lighter oil because of the higher cost -- or heaven forbid, the end of oil imports from Canada -- then the damage to Canada's oil industry could last longer than the trade war itself. What a lose-lose proposition.
Perhaps, as pundits suggest this is a leveraging ploy. Clever but weak.
How about this. Tariffs raise domestic prices & taxes on same.
With a price rise, there will be a complementary price rise by US suppliers … because they can and still remain competitive. I guess more taxes. Hold that thought.
Parallel these initiatives are broad plans to dump Federal assistance to States & citizens, kill off entire agencies, sharply reduce personnel, and on and on. Yet there will be no corollary substantive reduction in personal income tax. Big, big win for Federal government …
Why does Trump need all this cash? Gee! Is your guess as good as mine?
Whatever he grants to corporations is money in his crypto back pocket.
If we simply shoegaze through this, hopefully we will not also nod off through the greatest heist in US history.
Wait, didn't Trump's last go-around with tariffs result in a huge taxpayer funded bailout of the US agriculture sector?
I believe that's called socialism which the dullards who voted for him despise. Go figure.
Yes, and the soybean markets are gone forever because they got them elsewhere.
What I condemn about this whole discussion about trade surpluses is that nobody has forced US companies to outsource entire branches of industry. It all happened voluntarily. To blame China or other countries for this is far from logical. There was absolutely no economic necessity to destroy millions of jobs in the USA! It was pure greed, nothing else!
Thank you for saying this! The US government always gets a bad wrap for letting China into the WTO and formalizing favorable duty rates for their exports. But the companies that shut down their domestic manufacturing operations and laid off their American workers to start buying from abroad instead, did so freely and profited handsomely as a result. I had a front row seat to this in the 90’s in the footwear industry as it left the USA and went first to Taiwan and Korea and then to China, all of which happened with sizable Smoot-Hawley era tariffs on footwear imports still in effect (and which remain in effect today). It seems to me that the outrage that is aimed at the government would be better directed toward the companies that gutted American industry willingly in service of cheaper labor overseas and higher profit margins.
It is difficult not to read this as a morality tale where the markets are a stand-in for MAGA supporters. The impulse to say, “Collapse, markets, so that Trump will desist” is strong, but I think the factors influencing the markets are too complex to tell this tale. And assuming Trump would respond to a market crash by refraining from tariffs is imputing the chaos king with a level of normal logic that I would argue he does not have. It could just as well be that a market collapse would inspire him to go for 50% tariffs, because derp.
Suspect not. Trump depends psychologically on a few validators, the market being one. He wants the billioaires (and the autocrats) to like him.
Come on, assertions without proof are what comment sections are for.
Let's not forget that when China took their soybean business to South America in retaliation, thousands of Midwest soybean farmers were driven to bankruptcy and guess who had to bail them out? We should have listened to Rex Tillerson! Trump is a f______ moron!
Yet they still voted for him. Sheesh.
Well, Rex Tillerson ran Exxon Mobil, one of the largest corporations in the world, and worked as Trump's Secretary of State, so I guess he's a moron in your book . . .
Are you okay?
He is quoting Rex Tillerson. I guess you missed "Rex's understandable tirade where he called trump that moniker.
Had fallen a few days behind with your newsletters (along with the always excellent Heather Cox Richardson's). So I just spent the last hour getting up to speed. What occurred to me, arriving at your new offering today is that Trump could care less if he implements anything or not. What matters most for him is aligning his message with is his street-smart understanding of the human psychology. He's an entertainer, seeking ratings. When ratings take a dive, 'the writers' will revamp the storyline. He's the manifestation of a (slim) majority of the biases extant in our society today. Those initial bold statements are that are required to build a base. His base doesn't follow up and ask for a demonstration of results (there are exceptions when he does follow through -- but again, that's tied to 'ratings'). He just needs to ensure that that first impression --that triggers confirmation bias for his base-- remains intact. I'm drawing a direct correlation between the success of his type of rhetoric and the low literacy rates in the US. Perhaps a bit off-topic, but file this under speculation of the roller coaster this administration has us all on. :)
Tech Bros who now have outsized input have a mantra, “Move fast and break things.” What will be broken is US economy and US citizens.
After enduring just 48 hours of this kakistocracy madness, thanks for the joyful reminder of Peter Gabriel (and Paula Cole! Tony Levin!) and the “Secret World” tour. It was a needed reminder that we still live in a world capable of producing magic.
But Trump? I used to think when he spouted ignorant nonsense about the economy that someone, surely would tell him. Apparently not - not even the markets.
One of the most fact filled and useful newsletters out there! Thank you!
Of course, when prices go up due to inflation, wages, a price also, but a price of labor, also tend to go up. But, when prices rise due to tariffs, wages do not. You have dead weight loss due to the decreased competition, and the money this government gets, of course, will all go in the pockets of the rich.
Recently, Donald has been obsessed with William McKinley. Yesterday, he signed an order changing the name of Denali back to Mount McKInley. He loves McKInley because when McKinley was President the federal government was so small that it could operate on the income from tariffs and excise taxes. I suppose that Donald wants to shrink government to a size where it could be supported by income from tariffs. Changing Denali gives Donald a "twofer." He gets to honor his hero, McKinley. He also gets a dig at President Obama who is the one who signed the executive order changing Mount McKinley to Denali some years ago.
It is amazing that Donald is wrong about so many things. Professor Krugman mentioned that Donald believes "huge amounts of drugs and immigrants are coming across the border from Canada'" and that is not true. He also claims that migrants are mostly rapists and murders. Migrants' crime rates are actually slightly lower that crime rates for American citizens in general or so I read. Many MAGA folks hate migrants (among a long list of hates) so when Donald says that they are all murders that is music to their ears.
It is a strange world. They say that in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is King. Does that mean that people who believe in facts and reality and treating everyone honestly and with respect have an advantage?
I sometimes wonder if telling him McKinley was assassinated might cause him to choose another president to emulate.
Ha! It would instead lead to an extended monologue on how "THEY" tried to kill him and he survived because god wants him to destroy - oops, I mean save - the country. Self reflection is not a skill this man has.
Donald does not understand that what might have been a good policy in 1900, is not a good policy today.
He's perpetually stuck in the past although I'm honestly amazed he even knows who McKinley is.
I find that most of the time Donald just talks nonsense about things which are just not true. When does get into facts, they are usually 30 or 40 years out of date. Of course, he says things which his faithful like and want to hear, whether true or not.
Yes, our government was pretty non-existent as far as a safety net went. And we have grown a tad population wise!
Here in Vancouver more of us are deciding to stop our cross border shopping trips to Lynden and Bellingham WA. Keep an eye on those towns and see how well they fare when your President kicks the tariffs into gear. Our dollars matter. 😂
I wonder what effect there will be on Snow Bird behaviour. Will there be fewer Canadians who make the trip to Florida?
It's one of the pieces of advice that are now being formulated. Of course, to the extent they own property in Florida, the inertia may be huge.
I know some live in trailers and can't stay here when it gets cold, but I don't think that's most people. Even so, it's probably best not to expect a mass revolt.
And those towns in northern Washington have plenty of Trump voters, so good on you!
It's as if the lowest IQ kid (who is also the mean, resentful bully, after all--he'll never be good enough!) got to take over your school and RULE you! "In Your Eyes" is a great motto for how it turns out.