So let’s talk about stupid. The AP just reported this:
The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S., according to a document signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The new data-sharing arrangement was signed on Monday in the form of a “memorandum of understanding” — found in federal court filings — and will allow ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.
In total, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion, or roughly $9,000 per person, in taxes in 2022, the report shows. While their incomes are usually lower, they’re less likely to claim refunds or earn tax-preferred income.
About one third of the total dollars collected from undocumented immigrants funded programs they’re mostly barred from using, including $26 billion to Social Security and $6 billion to Medicare, the report said.
The taxes paid into Social Security and Medicare are all income for the government, since people without a valid Social Security number can’t get any of that money back. But also let me speculate that people who are working jobs (even with fake SS numbers) and apparently sometimes filing tax returns ARE PROBABLY NOT CRIME LORDS. Yeah, I can see some drug dealer taking a deduction for product confiscated during a police raid. But now a whole lot of basically honest folks are going to have to think twice about working at honest jobs.
Here’s some more stupid. Trump and Hegseth announced they have approved a $1 trillion budget for the Pentagon. The military budget for the current fiscal year is $892 billion. Why the big increase? It’s not clear if that’s what the Pentagon asked for, and if so why, or if Trump just thinks it sounds cool. Trump also wants an “iron dome” missile defense system like Israel’s, although a lot of smart people believe the project would be a massive boondoggle that wouldn’t work to protect the U.S. from, for example, nuclear-armed ICBMs. See the Union of Concerned Scientists on that point.
But at the same time they’re throwing money at the Pentagon, DOGE is looking to close the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office at Homeland Security. Jeez, remember when no Republican politician could get through a sentence without the phrase “weapons of mass destruction”? They keep telling us all these terrorists and crazy people and what not are crossing the borders. Are WMDs not a problem any more?
“This is the office charged with preventing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons inside the United States,” Josh Marshall writes. “This is through a mix of intelligence, technology, preparedness, liaising with state and local policy, etc. (There’s more details on it here.) It’s an office with just over 250 federal employees and about twice that number of contractors.” It’s not as macho as an iron dome, granted, but it sounds more practical.
What’s missing in all this is what we might call comprehensiveness. We need someone who sees the big picture and also how all the parts work together. That would not be Donald Trump or anyone else in his administration.
I am too tired to deal with Supreme Court news. See Supreme Court Clears Way for Venezuelan Deportations to Resume, for Now at the New York Times. See also SCOTUS Launches Itself Into The Worst Of The Trump Cases by David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo. I’m wondering if Chief Justice Roberts is afraid to cross Trump directly for fear that Trump will ignore the ruling and make SCOTUS irrelevant.
Whatever else you do today, do not look at the White House dot gov home page. Do not go there. I went over there this morning because I wanted a transcript of something Trump is alleged to have said in the Oval Office yesterday. It used to be that whenever the President issued some remarks about anything, by no later than the next day you could find a transcript of those remarks on the White House site. But no transcripts have been posted for about a month, it appears, just photos and videos. But it’s what’s been done with the home page that’s most disturbing. Don’t go there sober. Keep a barf bag handy.
Trump's wild, random, slashing is what Republicans have said they needed to do for years, but were prevented from doing by Democrats and the Deep State.
There's a reason why one should not support people to irrational degrees, like inventing a "deep state" and a Democrat Party that are your sworn enemies, because, once you pretend that, you can't drop the pretense when people really start attacking.
For example, I'm sure there are many Republicans breathing a sigh of relief that Trump hasn't had HRC or Biden arrested, because Republicans would have to pretend both were guilty of crimes, having done so for so long. (I'm sure some are horrified that no arrests have been made, but Bondi probably wants to remain a practicing member of the Bar – allowing trumped up charges would get her disbarred.
Regarding the SCOTUS, frankly, I'm horrified that they granted an administrative stay, because the Trump maladministration's reasoning was in bad faith. We have a contract with El Salvador; either that contract specifies how we get back people sent there accidentally, or not. If so, Trump can be ordered to use the "return clause" in the contract – no negotiation required.
If the contract doesn't allow citizens to be returned, only then could Trump refuse because he would have to negotiate with El Salvador. This would clearly make him guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, but, unless the Rs demand it, impeachment is useless. Still: at that point, every story of every person who was sent to a hellhole in El Salvador, and had to beg Trump for any chance at freedom, would be a campaign commercial in the making.
Anyway: my point is, this is a bad faith request. Trump is asking the courts to allow him to refuse to obey a court order, when he hasn't explained why he needs to "negotiate" rather than invoke the "return clause".
Everyone says "oh, it's an administrative stay!" and, normally, that would be the case, the court is just taking the time to get its footing, to make a sound ruling. But normally, you don't have a plaintiff saying "don't make me explain why I need to negotiate rather than just ask that our contract be followed!"
And, if the Paper Chase is anything like real law school, contract law is a big deal. It's not like you need to be a JD to recognize this flaw, that we pay them, we have a contract, utilizing a contract (like downloading a subscription software upgrade) is not negotiation, ergo, there's a question being begged: why is there negotiation, not "an underling making a phone call, or clicking the right buttons on a web page?
We're basically ended trade with China and nobody knows for how long. The Dow was up 1500 points on false rumors of a settlement. Wall Street tanked when Trump doubled down on China tariffs.
Musk has spoken against tariffs directing his ire at Navarro who is Trump's new best buddy. Musk did not make it to Mir A Lago last weekend. I'm praying for an ugly breakup.
Some folks have been stung by the start of the tariffs wars. I think it will get much worse. Prices will soar and some stuff will be out of stock indefinitely. Consumption will drop almost as much as prices rise because people are surviving month to month. There's no savings and no credit. For those who gloated that they had nothing in stocks, the next stage will be a gut punch.
Trump may revell with the cruelty inflicted on the poor, blind to the fact a lot of his base is dirt poor. It may not dawn on Trump that he screwed up until the lead story on Fox is groups burning their MAGA hats in Kentucky and Mississippi.
Keep an eye on the House. The budget bill is there. Johnson has made promises on the bill – promises he can't keep.
On Bergenline Avenue which runs up the New Jersey Palisades all Latin American and Caribbean immigrants it seems like there is an H&R Block every other block.
Trump proposed to tariffs pharma. This means you pay more attention CVS for a medicine you need. Need, as in, so you don't die.
And this "penalty" that pharma doesn't pay, and in some cases won't cause any decline in sales, will do what???
When I hear the wingnuts say that they love having a "businessman" play president my heart skips a beat. The C-suite folks do not give a damn about their employees, except for platitudes, and will sack a gaggle just to show dominance. Yes, and their stock portfolios will go up for the move and the rest of the rubes can suffer with no paycheck, their problem, not the CEOs. This carnage is what they voted for, Jack Welch would be proud. But at least we will have white guys running the automated register at the Quickie Mart.
Let's compare apples to Apples. One you eat the other is made in China. One has seeds, the other has many tiny screws. One grows on trees the other is a product of a global economy. One can be grown and picked in many different countries, but without China Apple is toast.
Stupid is not thinking that the intended victim might not just be able to bring the bully to its knees. Screwed by a lot of tiny screws the bully did not think about as the bully tends not to thinks many moves ahead. Screwed because he surrounds himself with yes people. Screwed because he prefers to hire people who are screwy. Screwed because his fellow party members have always backed down to him and given in to him. Screwed because they treated his fantasies as reality. Screwed because they let him cheat and give him phony trophies.
Unfortunately, we all get screwed with him and because of him.
No one seems to want to buy US Treasury Bonds. Only really stupid people need ask why?