Random Notes from a Crank

The other day I watched a commercial that touted "pre-tariff pricing." I suspect we might see more of that kind of advertising in the future. 

Here are some statistics from the July and August Harper's Indexes:

• Percentage of Americans who fear that they or a loved one will be deported: 19
• Portion of Americans who say they have recently delayed a major purchase because of tariffs: 1/3
• Who say they have cancelled such a purchase entirely: 1/4
• Percentage of Americans who said last year that foreign trade represented an opportunity to grow the U.S. economy: 60
• Who say so now: 81
• Average number of instruction hours that it takes to become a lawyer in the United States: 1,250
• To become a licensed hairdresser: 1,500
• Number of excess deaths projected to occur by 2040 if cuts to foreign aid remain in place: 25,300,000
• Portion of people worldwide who say they would contribute 1 percent of their income toward combating climate change: 7/10
• Of Americans who say they would do so: 1/2
• Percentage of Americans who said that the Bible was "true" in 2016: 36
• Who say so now: 48
• Portion of Americans who regard religious leaders as trustworthy sources of medical information: 1/3

I'm surprised the fear of someone being deported is that low. I thought it would be higher. However, maybe the stat reflects the percentage of the Latino population in the U.S. 

Fucking tariffs. 

81% saying that foreign trade is a good thing is reinforced by President Adolf's stupid policies. 

The number of projected deaths because of lack of foreign aid is mind boggling. 

Too few Americans care about climate change. It's embarrassing. 

Regarding the Bible being "true" and trusting religious leaders, way too many people believe in magical thinking. Imbeciles.

Two of the biggest scams in the U.S. is how much ministers get paid and that churches don't get taxed. 

The nonsense Moscow Don is doing with Washington D.C. only strengthens my feelings that both D.C. and Puerto Rico need to become states. 

Puerto Rico has a larger population than these states: Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nebraska, Idaho, West Virginia, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming. That's 18 states. 

D.C. has a larger population than two states: Vermont and Wyoming.  

Random Notes from a Crank

I haven't chimed in yet about the eventual cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but the fact he's getting his show taken away is ridiculous. 

He has the highest-rated late-night show on TV. 

Two days before he found out he was losing his show he criticized Paramount for caving to bribing Trump so they can get its media merger. 

Here's a comic that was in Saturday's Washington Post from Tom the Dancing Bug. 

I'm surprised Bezos is letting this cartoonist do his thing since he attended President Adolf's inauguration and is trying to limit the coverage of opinions in what was an esteemed paper. 

Meanwhile, Congress passed a budget that adds to the deficit/national debt and simply helps rich people and corporations. 

And Adolf's tariff's are unlikely, as the authors of "Trumps Global Tariffs 'Victory' May Well Come at a High Price," to do what he purports them to do: "But history tells us that his overarching aim - to return production and jobs to America - may meet with very limited success. And America's long-time trading partners, like Canada and the EU, could start looking to form economic and political connections that bypass what they no longer view as a reliable economic ally." 

Jobs aren't going to return to the U.S. because of these stupid tariffs. Our trading partners are going to find more stable countries to trade with. And prices for Americans are going to go up because of tariffs. 

I'm glad I bought a half of cow over a year ago because apparently beef prices are high as hell. 

And eggs haven't gone down.  

Musing of the Moment: Bark Box Adjusting to Tariffs

 

We got my dog's bark box the other day, and this was the message we got because the toys and treats were not in a box. They came in a bag. 

My hope is that more companies make similar moves in regard to Moscow Don's tariffs to expose the stupidity of his economic policies. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Lots of things are going to get more expensive. 

A bunch of idiots are counting on Moscow Don to make some deals that help the U.S. and bring business and industry back to the United States. The New York Times has a good article on this nonsense: "A Flashing Economic Warning and a Sharp Political Jolt." 

The Canadian Prime Minister, who has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oxford, has a more realistic view of what's happening: "Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over. The system of open global trade anchored but the United States, a system that Canada has relied on since the Second World War, a system that, while not perfect, has helped deliver prosperity for a country for decades, is over."

What's more menacing is how President Adolf tariff nonsense has strengthened China's position in the world economy. China is now importing soybeans from South American and getting its beef and pork from other countries. 

I woke up in a pissed-off mood this morning because I was thinking about how the head coach of high school basketball team basically wasted my son's junior year. And to a certain extent, the head coach of the high school baseball team is doing something similar. 

As I was driving to a baseball game yesterday, I caught the broadcast of the Barcelona-Inter Milan Champions League match, the first tie of two matches. It sounded like it was bananas. 

Based on the highlights, it was. 

I don't have a team I'm rooting for in that competition, but I certainly want PSG to beat Arsenal. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In the wake of all kinds of deregulation from the Adolf administration, the U.S. is set be a hell of a lot less safe and more polluted: "Inside Trump's Plan to Halt Hundreds of Regulations." 

I saw a clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart talking to Rahm Emanuel about who will become the next leader of the Democratic Party, who will become the next presidential candidate. 

Emanuel seemed to think that the next leader will be a governor, which got me contemplating which governors would be good choices: 

• Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan)
• Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania)
• J.B. Pritzker (Illinois)
• Andy Beshear (Kentucky)
• Tim Walz (Minnesota)

I'd be fine with any of those people. Beshear is the only person from a traditionally red state.

The notion that other countries "stole" American jobs is asinine. The ultra wealthy and greedy corporations moved those jobs to other countries because they didn't want to pay U.S. workers what they deserved and didn't want to follow sensible environmental regulations. Instead, they wanted to employ sweatshop cheap workers in foreign countries. 

Moscow Don and his cronies are defying court orders. We are in a constitutional crisis. 

President Adolf has bankrupt this country morally and ethically. And don't forget money. The guy who somehow got a casino to go bankrupt is fleecing Americans because of his stupid tariffs and his dumb economic policies like tax cuts for the wealthy. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I found an image on a social media site. 

It says, "A straw man walking a red herring up a slippery slope on his way to the comment section." 

It's true. Reading the comments on a newspaper's site will make you understand how stupid the average person is, which reminds me about what George Carlin said.  

In areas that are likely to be hit hard by tariffs, the Canadian government has an ad campaign that is trying to educate dumb Americans. The New York Times has an interesting article about this move: "Canada Drops the Gloves in the Tariff Spat, Makes Its Case on U.S. Billboards." 

I hope the Democratic Party does something similar. 

Regardless, the last paragraph of that article is hilarious: "'Normally, Canadian fans come down on buses,' she said. 'I hope they know we like to have them. They sure are nicer than Philadelphia fans.'" 

Oh lady, travel and tourism to the U.S. is definitely taking a hit.

I saw that Soundgarden has been nominated three times for the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame and has not gotten in. That's a travesty. 

Vote for Soundgarden.

When we visited the Hall of Fame years ago, I think that was the year after Pearl Jam got in. And I remember this video playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in which Prince just totally shreds. It's a great solo. 

Prince was a genius and an underrated guitar player. 

And then there's this. He brings the funk even better than the original. 

When we lived in St. Louis, Mrs. Nasty went to one of his concerts. I should have gone too. 

I need to reacquire Sign O' The Times. That's a great album. 

Happy National Beer Day. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In not-so-surprising news, the travel and tourism industry is getting hit hard as hell because President Adolf has pissed off Canadians. The Washington Post's article, "Canadian Travel to U.S. Is Plummeting: 'There's a Lot of Anger,'" relates that fact with lots of details. 

The consequences are going to affect two red states in particular: Florida and Arizona. There are estimates that there are going to be 4 million fewer travelers to the U.S. because of this anger and Canadian patriotism.

If I were Canadian, I'd just vacation in Mexico, Costa Rica, or Belize. 

Also, I would think European travelers will be avoiding the U.S.  

As the saying goes, FAFO, America.

Based on Moscow Don's tariff policies, if one were to buy say a Nissan Sentra, which would normally be about $22,000, it now would cost, at minimum, $27,280.

I wonder what percentage of automotive parts are made in China and Japan? A cursory search panned out that it's not as large of a percentage as I assumed: 9.5% from China and 9.4% from Japan. 

However, 38% of automative parts come from Mexico, and 10% come from Canada. I'm assuming those are still subject to a 25% tariff. 

As I drove over to get my car an oil change this morning, I saw that gas prices went up. In my little corner of the planet, gas is $3.39 a gallon. 

61% of the oil we import comes from Canada, which is a country hit by 25% tariffs. 

The one country not hit by tariffs?

Russia. 

Moscow Don at work. Not really. He's golfing on my tax dollars. 

Random Notes from a Crank

This example is just a small segment of the economy, but the small companies are likely to hurt most by President Adolf's tariffs as noted by this article in The Washington Post: "Craft Distillers' Hit Hard as Tariffs Mix with 1930s Rules for Alcohol." 

The Nation had an interesting article about renewable energy. I had no idea that the country of Uruguay was so forward thinking with green energy. 97% of their energy comes from renewable source. Check out "Going for Green: Uruguay's Renewable Energy Revolution." 

This week a Democratic candidate was elected in a special election in a red district in Pennsylvania, which I hope is a harbinger for Democrats winning some midterm elections in the House. James Malone won the seat in a district described by the local media as "Republican-leaning suburbs and farming communities." 

Now people are looking ahead to the special elections to replace the House seats of Gaetz and Waltz, two goons of Moscow Don. There's hope I guess: "'Tide's Turning' for Dems in Florida as Special Election Reveals 'Buyer's Remorse' among Trump Voters." 

I don't think the Democratic candidates will win in those special elections. Florida is the crazy limp dick of America (see its shape). The fabled Florida Man meme is out there for a reason. 

And it's safe to assume that Florida Man votes MAGA. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I've heard of French bread, and I've heard of Italian bread. But this is the first time I've had French Italian bread. 

What manner of culinary mash-up of this? They didn't even have the grammatical acumen to use an hyphen. 

I'm sure I've said this before on this blog, or maybe I just have thought it many times. I don't go to Walmart often, but when I do, I feel much better about myself. 

If you want to feel better about your body image or your sense of style, go to Walmart. You'll feel like a healthy and well dressed person. 

The New York Times did an interesting analysis. Apparently the retaliatory tariffs from other countries are going to hurt areas that widely voted for President Adolf: "Trade War Retaliation Will Hit Trump Voters Hardest." 

I think it's pretty clear we are headed to a showdown about the Constitution and about what the Executive Branch can and cannot do. I don't feel good about with the makeup of the Supreme Court. 

Perhaps this trend has always been the case, but based on my history of watching Reels, my trinity of jokesters is Norm Macdonald, Bill Burr, and Seinfeld (the TV series). 

I started watching Krapopolis on Netflix. Episode 11 that uses the Hydra to signify social media was a brilliant move. 

Random Notes from a Crank

You know it's bad when an article from The Onion is strikingly accurate. 

Check out "Trump Says Recession Unfortunate But Necessary Step to Get to Depression." 

In unsurprising news, the latest polls done by CNN show the majority of Americans disapprove of how President Adolf is handing the economy: "New Poll Crystallizes Trump's Self-Inflicted Wounds on Musk and Tariffs." 

Unfortunately, his approval rating is still 45%, which is preposterous. What a bunch of morons and clowns.

Yet the Wall Street Journal opinion page has described what's happening as "the dumbest trade war in history." 

I suspect those 45% aren't reading the Wall Street Journal. 

I've been watching The X-Files lately because there isn't much on in the evening. The series has reminded me that the GM products of the 90s were pretty damn ugly. 

I wonder if there are any people who got out ahead of all this nonsense and are hoarding alcoholic beverages from abroad since Moscow Don is threatening to put a 200% tariff on alcoholic beverages from the European Union. 

Although I'm not a regular buyer of Ouzo, I do like it from time to time. No "Opa!" for me.

Random Notes from a Crank

I got these stats from some dude on social media. I'm pretty sure it's from the Jon Cooper who is a Democratic strategist. Since Moscow Don has openly talked about how his policies might create a recession, it seems appropriate to share.

The dipshit is affecting markets worldwide apparently. 

In related news, Canada got a new Prime Minister who has harsh words for President Adolf as reported by the BBC: "Canada's Next PM Mike Carney Vows to Win Trade War with Trump." 

 

On most weekdays I've been sharing a word-of-the-day post from The Dictionary of American Slang on social media. I've been discovering all kinds of words I never knew about, and some of them are quite old timey. 

Today I shared a V-word, the "visiting fireman." But the one I thought about sharing was "voos," which is a plural noun signifying "Human female breasts, esp. of a sexually attractive young woman." 

I've heard of all kinds of words used for tits, such as "cans," "headlights," and "ta tas," but voos is a new term for me. I would guess it came about because it rhymes with "boobs"? 

Happy National Napping Day.  

Random Notes from a Crank

I have a Word-of-the-Day calendar at work, and the word today is compunctious, which is an adjective meaning "1. arising from remorse or regret 2. feeling remorse or regret." 

With President Adolf's tariffs against Canada and Mexico starting this week, a lot of Americans can be described as that. American voters fucked around again and will be finding out. 

Members of the GOP have no spine. 

I'm not all that concerned about out the markets usually, but they didn't respond favorably to the tariffs with both Canada and China set to retaliate with their own tariffs right away and Mexico set to announce how they're going to respond by Sunday. 

I rejoined Facebook mainly because I want to keep in touch with my family members who are on there along with friends and fraternity brothers. I'm no longer using my real first name because I'm paranoid. 

Also, I'm going to be more judicious in who I accept friend requests from. If you're a supporter of Moscow Don, you're no virtual "friend" of mine. 

My plan is that I'm going to share my viewpoints on this blog and Bluesky and share  personal stuff on FB. 

Here's the cover photo I'm using on FB. 

Zappa is an artist I've always been interested in, but I have never bought any of his work. I did watch a great documentary about him simply titled Zappa. It's worth a watch. 

Now I'm pondering getting Freak Out! by Mothers of Invention. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I take YouGov surveys on a regular basis. The most recent survey asked about the U.S. and Canada. At the time of me taking the survey, here are the responses to this question, "If you and your family lived in Canada rather than the United States, do you think your life would generally be better or worse?"

• Much better - 21%
• Somewhat better - 26%
• About the same - 21%
• Somewhat worse - 12%
• Much worse - 10%
• Not sure - 9%

In response to the second question, which asks about which country "has a better reputation around the world," here are the responses:

• The United States - 27%
• Canada - 56%
• Both equally - 10%
• Not sure - 7%

Those percentages are rather damning of the U.S. 47% of those polled think their lives would be either much better or somewhat better if they lived in Canada. 

With Moscow Don's dumbass tariffs about to hit, it's going to hurt the economy and raise prices as supported by various smart people in "U.S. Economy Shows Signs of Strain from Trump's Tariffs and Spending Cuts." 

As a supporter of President Adolf says, "At least for now, the economic signals are flashing slower growth and inflation. Not good." 

Measles, of all things, is making a comeback in certain area of Texas. Read the NBC News article "First Measles Death Reported in Texas as Kennedy Downplays the Outbreak." The anti-vaccine crowd did this. As the article relates, measles was considered gone 25 years ago, but now the number of vaccine exempt kids entering kindergarten is 3%. In that area of Texas it is 18%. 

Of course, Kennedy is going to downplay it. He's a moron. 

Random Notes from a Crank

Thomas Friedman has a great opinion piece in the New York Times: "Why Trump's Bullying Is Going to Backfire." 

The basic premise is that all this talk about using tariffs is a bunch of hokum and/or patented nonsense because most products rely on several countries. Friedman uses the examples of the car industry and the iPhone, which apparently uses 50 different countries to be produced. 

If one needs any more proof that Moscow Don is a traitor, consider that he wants to give away territory in Ukraine to Putin and has stated that Ukraine started the war. 

I'm glad Zelensky has called out President Adolf's lies. 

It's clear to our allies in Europe that the U.S. cannot be trusted as detailed in "Musk and Trump Are Causing the Dumbest Imperial Collapse in History" from The American Prospect. 

Random Notes from a Crank

The American Prospect has an excellent article that pretty much describes how President Adolf has united Canadians because of his threat of a stupid trade war based on tariffs. 

As a result, as "Canada's Conservatives Crash with Onset of Tariff War," the upcoming elections for our ally to the North are set to be tightening. Trudeau is stepping down, but the new leader of the Liberal Party might do well. 

Meanwhile, the Senate has confirmed too many people to important posts, recently Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who will endanger the American people. 

While I find RFK Jr.'s anti-vax sentiments and concern about fluoride in drinking water asinine, I do like his focus on food additives and ultra-processed foods. 

The BBC has an interesting perspective on it all in "Can RFK Jr. Make America's Diet Healthy Again?" The article focuses on food, but the troubling part of his background is his anti-vaccination tendencies and propensity to support assertions with junk science. 

However, with all the hurdles in front of him and under an administration that touts junk food, I don't think he'll change squat. 

I need to find some more outlets--print, video, TV, or streaming service--that will make laugh more often. It's going to be a long four years. 

I rediscovered one, Regular Show, a series my oldest kid got me into. 

Good old Mordecai and Rigby...

That show hits the spot. Yeah!

Another one I've watched off and on recently that is not a comedy but is a sci-fi drama is Battlestar Galactica, a show I didn't watch when it was running on TV.

Of course, I could always watch one of my favorite TV series of all time, Northern Exposure. As I told my daughter, after each episode one leaves with a good feeling. Watching that show can be therapeutic. 

And I've been watching eposes of Seinfeld and The Office, but especially with the former, I've watched it so many times that I might need a break from the "show about nothing."  

Perhaps I need to revisit Parks & Recreation? 

Regardless, I am enjoying the new series St. Denis Medical. 

Random Notes from a Crank

In a surprising development that surely is angering the White House, Moscow Don's tariffs on solar panels hasn't had the impact that many advocates of alternative energy had feared. It's hurting the sale of natural gas though because instead of buying from America, China is purchasing natural gas from Russia and Qatar. Read all about it from Juan Cole on Informed Comment: "Trump's China Tariffs on Solar Backfire: American Natural Gas Hurt, as US PV Sales Soar." 

I would imagine this Kavanaugh character getting accused of sexual harassment now from more than one woman makes the GOP fearful for how their defense of him is going play out in the midterm elections. At least from the early polling I've seen, the Republican Party has a problem with wooing a substantial portion of the woman vote. 

I don't know how this Supreme Court nominee confirmation is going to play out, but I'd keep my eyes on Collins (Maine), Murkowski (Alaska), Flake (Arizona), and Corker (Tennessee) if they are going to be any defections and no votes. 

I still believe Anita Hill, 

Random Notes from a Crank

In the latest of installment of Moscow Don acting like the moron he is, it's pretty clear the US is going to lose this trade war. As the article "Trump's Nasty Fight with China's Middle Class Could Extend Trade War" notes, "As the trade war between the world's largest economies unfolds on the international stage, analysts say Trump's brash approach to try to win concessions from Beijing has provoked a public fury that could ultimately thwart his efforts." 

Also, as a scholar at the Brookings Institution informs us, "The middle class has been critical of the Chinese government, but now that anger is shifting to the United States. Chinese media has portrayed Trump as greedy and crazy." Emphasis should be placed on the latter adjective because economists think what he's doing is downright stupid.

The other day I was walking down the hall of the building in which I work. I had picked up a free book and was curiously reading through the table of contents of a book, interestingly enough, that is about reading instruction. As one of my colleagues was about to pass me by as I was reading and walking at the same time, he said, "Hey, that's the old school version of someone walking and staring at his phone." 

I like the old fashioned technology better. 

I haven't been in a fantasy football league for over a decade now, but I joined one with some folks this season. I'm enjoying it, but Sunday night's game brought out my rotowhoreness. 

I was up on my opponent by 30some points going into the Giants-Cowboys game, but the guy I was playing had Ezekiel Elliott on his starting roster. Late into the fourth quarter Elliott scored a touchdown to accrue six points. I lost the fantasy matchup 177.9 to 180. 

Damn it.