Ta, Erik. This is the high price of cheap clothes. Rana Plaza was Triangle Shirtwaist all over. Most of my wardrobe is vintage. The pieces that aren't are produced ethically and sustainably. The fast fashion industry has turned once-clear rivers in China into waterways that are darker than soy sauce. People watch the effluent from the textile factories to figure out next year's fashion colors. It's tragic; to use your word, catastrophic. Many of the clothes hanging in my closet have "the Union label," the union being ILGWU. Just like what we put in our bodies, what we put on them is a conscious choice. That choice can also be conscientious.
When those foundling fathers first instituted our system, it was designed to have three co-equal areas of government, mostly to keep it in a state of gridlock, so that no one branch could usurp the powers of the other, thus keeping kings or wealthy landlords from overcoming the rest of the citizens. Wha' happen?....
Unfortunately, the GOP is determined to open our own sweatshops filled with children, turning little screws. The reality is that the oligarchs are the ones turning the children into little screws.
"The actor John Lithgow has described Donald Trump’s second presidency as “a pure disaster” for the arts in the US. Lithgow, speaking after his best actor victory at the Olivier awards in London on Sunday, singled out Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, Washington DC’s national institution for the performing arts. “Our administration has done some shocking, destructive things,” he said, “but the one that grieves me most is taking over the Kennedy Center.”
You know, it isn't like the rest of the world can't take over Hollywood, either. Especially now that all the streaming services have closed captioning...
I knew SCOTUS had no backbone. I paid attention the first time they let a 34 count convicted felon back into the White House with more immunity for “official acts” than no other president had before.
I remember too well experiencing an humbling epiphany regarding the disconcerting realities of vendors offering really, REALLY good deals on everything virtually ALL of of the gawd damned time. To wit, I reference a couple of online budget fashion vendors that offer designer knock-offs at outrageously affordable prices. While I had to hand wash or dry clean all such purchases I was proud of taking advantage of such bargains while looking damned good doing it.
And THEN I learned more about the factories manufacturing my affordable fashions and what the workers therein employed were forced to endure. Suddenly my SheIn frocks, hats, and assorted fashion accessories weren't quite so appealing anymore.
I'm still not the perfect and noble consumer but I've become a helluva lot more careful about what I buy and from whom. I've also unequivocally ascertained that I can get by on a helluva lot less than all of these vendors would lead me to believe.
I taught a case on Tony's Chocolonely today in one of my grad classes. It is about the efforts of the company to reduce (eliminate) the use of child laborers on the cocoa farms in its supply chain. Doing this takes money to lift the compensation of the farmers and their families. There is also a child trafficking problem. Here is some info:
Child labour remains a persistent problem in the world today. The latest global estimates indicate that 160 million children – 63 million girls and 97 million boys were in child labour globally at the beginning of 2020, accounting for almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide.
Nearly half of all those in child labour were in hazardous work that directly endangers their health, safety and moral development.
The New Republic provides good coverage on how print newspapers buried news about the 'Hands Off' rally. The Boston Globe is running Letters to the Editor from readers complaining about how the Globe covered it: https://archive.ph/AXW4g – but of course there is no explanation from the editors as to *why* they buried the story. I sent in a letter about that (for all the fucking good it will do).
The stock markets are all about emotion, and gambling on bailouts.
I think Warren Buffet was right, about a month ago, when he suggested the major indices (and therefore all stock prices in general) were about double what financial fundamentals would warrant.
The real damage from all this isn't the temper tantrum on Wall Street. The real damage is in chasing away all our longtime allies and trade partners, who now know in terms so clear they can't be denied that the US is simply not reliable right now.
Whether or not they can bribe and cajole Trump into exempting them or their favored industry sectors from tariffs right now; they have to form other arrangements around the world that the US can't mess with on a whim.
That means holding a lot fewer US Dollars in their reserves, too.
It'll take a long time for the effects of that to show up. But no matter how gradually the rest of the world backs away; all those Dollars are going to come back to the US. That will damage the US economy in ways nobody wants to think about, much less talk about.
That's the difference between stock markets and the real economy.
I think every major economy is talking to every other major economy, they know they can't trust Trump even if there is a 90 day reprieve. Or he says there will be then restarts everything after a week. No one will ever trust Trump, or really trust the US, again.
The only way to restore any of the US credibility will be to start by putting Trump in prison for the rest of his life and then crush the Republican party.
And even then, we'll still have to be humble and sorry and show not only that we're eager to please and play nice, but also that we've made it impossible for this shit to ever happen again... and rightly so.
They might. Or they might go up. Or they'll just flail around intra-day; and something weird might happen Wednesday when supposedly there's a new set of Tariff Adventures set to take place.
I have no idea. Depends on too many things that aren't rational. Depends on too many things nobody has any interest in being honest about.
And there's so much money to be made spooking the markets.
I hope you're wrong too, but I can't say I'll be too surprised by anything that happens. Even if the least likely-seeming thing happens; which would be nothing at all.
I let my investment guy handle all that. I ran a bogus account on Yahoo Finance for a while; comparing what I would do to what he actually did. He multiplied my money. I lost almost all of the pretend money. So I gave up worrying about what I would do.
Still and all, I had a feeling Trump would find a way to fuck it all up. I have to admit I didn't expect such a crude approach.
Yeah, I don't claim to be any good at investment, but even a blind person should have seen this one coming.
Not that anyone was predicting anything this bad. That's only making it worse though.
The whole world has been in denial about how stupid and bitter Trump is. They have now woken up to the knowledge that the most powerful man in the world shouldn't have graduated 3rd grade and wants to smash the global economy.
And they don't really want to, have never really wanted to; just wanted Israel not to have nuclear weapons (which, by law and by all the agreements, they should not have)...
My Dad was accepted to Duke in the early 1950s. He didn't go because their Political Science department had a Reactionary right-wing reputation. In, like, 1951.
In 1967, at the beginning of Southwest State, they told the State Legislature they would do all the juicy words of the time (Alternative! Accessible!) without having any idea how that would bring every disaffected intellectual faculty member from across the country. At the same time, they hired an administration wholecloth from a small Baptist college in Missouri. It took two years for the faculty to wrest power away from that admin. And they kept it for the first twenty years. Your dad was part of that...
Ta, Erik. This is the high price of cheap clothes. Rana Plaza was Triangle Shirtwaist all over. Most of my wardrobe is vintage. The pieces that aren't are produced ethically and sustainably. The fast fashion industry has turned once-clear rivers in China into waterways that are darker than soy sauce. People watch the effluent from the textile factories to figure out next year's fashion colors. It's tragic; to use your word, catastrophic. Many of the clothes hanging in my closet have "the Union label," the union being ILGWU. Just like what we put in our bodies, what we put on them is a conscious choice. That choice can also be conscientious.
When those foundling fathers first instituted our system, it was designed to have three co-equal areas of government, mostly to keep it in a state of gridlock, so that no one branch could usurp the powers of the other, thus keeping kings or wealthy landlords from overcoming the rest of the citizens. Wha' happen?....
Unfortunately, the GOP is determined to open our own sweatshops filled with children, turning little screws. The reality is that the oligarchs are the ones turning the children into little screws.
I have a little screw list...
I don't blame them. Canadian coffee place relabels "Americanos" as "Canadianos".
Soon anything associated with the US will be taboo as though we are Apartheid South Africa.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-restaurants-bars-cafes-trump-tariffs-u-s-canada-1.7475590?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
Fuck. And I can see Canada across the Straits...
Saving money > human rights EVERY. GODSDAMNED. TIME.
I feel like throwing up. Humans don't need to make life so hellish for each other, but we certainly have a talent for it.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/apr/07/olivier-winner-john-lithgow-attacks-trump-second-presidency-a-disaster-for-us-arts
"The actor John Lithgow has described Donald Trump’s second presidency as “a pure disaster” for the arts in the US. Lithgow, speaking after his best actor victory at the Olivier awards in London on Sunday, singled out Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, Washington DC’s national institution for the performing arts. “Our administration has done some shocking, destructive things,” he said, “but the one that grieves me most is taking over the Kennedy Center.”
You know, it isn't like the rest of the world can't take over Hollywood, either. Especially now that all the streaming services have closed captioning...
I share Lithgow's contempt for the vandalous orange Philistine.
wellllllll,
thank fuck yr smoking lamp is lit nao, eh wot?
And the Roberts court is now the Roland Freisler court and is fully complicit with crimes against humanity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/us/politics/supreme-court-wrongly-deported.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
Deprevation of civil rights under color of law can be punished by the death penalty.
I knew SCOTUS had no backbone. I paid attention the first time they let a 34 count convicted felon back into the White House with more immunity for “official acts” than no other president had before.
you beat me to it my friend :(
I remember too well experiencing an humbling epiphany regarding the disconcerting realities of vendors offering really, REALLY good deals on everything virtually ALL of of the gawd damned time. To wit, I reference a couple of online budget fashion vendors that offer designer knock-offs at outrageously affordable prices. While I had to hand wash or dry clean all such purchases I was proud of taking advantage of such bargains while looking damned good doing it.
And THEN I learned more about the factories manufacturing my affordable fashions and what the workers therein employed were forced to endure. Suddenly my SheIn frocks, hats, and assorted fashion accessories weren't quite so appealing anymore.
I'm still not the perfect and noble consumer but I've become a helluva lot more careful about what I buy and from whom. I've also unequivocally ascertained that I can get by on a helluva lot less than all of these vendors would lead me to believe.
I taught a case on Tony's Chocolonely today in one of my grad classes. It is about the efforts of the company to reduce (eliminate) the use of child laborers on the cocoa farms in its supply chain. Doing this takes money to lift the compensation of the farmers and their families. There is also a child trafficking problem. Here is some info:
Child labour remains a persistent problem in the world today. The latest global estimates indicate that 160 million children – 63 million girls and 97 million boys were in child labour globally at the beginning of 2020, accounting for almost 1 in 10 of all children worldwide.
Nearly half of all those in child labour were in hazardous work that directly endangers their health, safety and moral development.
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---ipec/documents/publication/wcms_800278.pdf
A student asked why there wasn't any consumer backlash. Especially after the heartbreaking CBS expose a couple years ago.
I have no answer to that question except that people just don't care.
Thanks, Erik. This has been on my mind.
[ ot ]
The New Republic provides good coverage on how print newspapers buried news about the 'Hands Off' rally. The Boston Globe is running Letters to the Editor from readers complaining about how the Globe covered it: https://archive.ph/AXW4g – but of course there is no explanation from the editors as to *why* they buried the story. I sent in a letter about that (for all the fucking good it will do).
•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•
Print Media to Mass Protests: “Please Turn to Page 18”
https://newrepublic.com/article/193683/print-media-downplay-mass-protests
"Here’s how newspapers across America minimized one of the largest demonstrations since Trump’s return to power."
•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•---•
All of those newspapers still have way too many subscriptions. I wish I could recancel mine...
Family Detained in Immigration Raid in Tom Homan’s Hometown Is Released
https://theintercept.com/2025/04/07/tom-homan-ice-sackets-harbor-deport/
http://archive.today/wBDPw
(somehow nasdaq closed up??)
The stock markets are all about emotion, and gambling on bailouts.
I think Warren Buffet was right, about a month ago, when he suggested the major indices (and therefore all stock prices in general) were about double what financial fundamentals would warrant.
The real damage from all this isn't the temper tantrum on Wall Street. The real damage is in chasing away all our longtime allies and trade partners, who now know in terms so clear they can't be denied that the US is simply not reliable right now.
Whether or not they can bribe and cajole Trump into exempting them or their favored industry sectors from tariffs right now; they have to form other arrangements around the world that the US can't mess with on a whim.
That means holding a lot fewer US Dollars in their reserves, too.
It'll take a long time for the effects of that to show up. But no matter how gradually the rest of the world backs away; all those Dollars are going to come back to the US. That will damage the US economy in ways nobody wants to think about, much less talk about.
That's the difference between stock markets and the real economy.
I think they are clinging to the hope they get that 90 day reprieve.
Plus the real tariff's don't actually kick in till thursday.
I think every major economy is talking to every other major economy, they know they can't trust Trump even if there is a 90 day reprieve. Or he says there will be then restarts everything after a week. No one will ever trust Trump, or really trust the US, again.
Yep.
The only way to restore any of the US credibility will be to start by putting Trump in prison for the rest of his life and then crush the Republican party.
And even that will just be a starter.
And even then, we'll still have to be humble and sorry and show not only that we're eager to please and play nice, but also that we've made it impossible for this shit to ever happen again... and rightly so.
I.....don't know what the fuck is going on
Am dunno either
That makes it unanimous.
Neither do they.
I think they will probably drop some more tomorrow.
They might. Or they might go up. Or they'll just flail around intra-day; and something weird might happen Wednesday when supposedly there's a new set of Tariff Adventures set to take place.
Down 1-2% tomorrow. And depending on exactly when the 'reciprocal' tariffs actually kick in, another 8-15% by close on Friday.
I hope I'm wrong.
Well, aren't WE the little ray of sunshine.
I can't say I think you're nuts.
I have no idea. Depends on too many things that aren't rational. Depends on too many things nobody has any interest in being honest about.
And there's so much money to be made spooking the markets.
I hope you're wrong too, but I can't say I'll be too surprised by anything that happens. Even if the least likely-seeming thing happens; which would be nothing at all.
I pulled what little I had in the stock market back in November.
I can't claim I saw this coming, but I knew it would be bad.
I'm going to write a book on investment soon. Only one page:
"Never invest in anything when Republicans are in control."
I let my investment guy handle all that. I ran a bogus account on Yahoo Finance for a while; comparing what I would do to what he actually did. He multiplied my money. I lost almost all of the pretend money. So I gave up worrying about what I would do.
Still and all, I had a feeling Trump would find a way to fuck it all up. I have to admit I didn't expect such a crude approach.
Yeah, I don't claim to be any good at investment, but even a blind person should have seen this one coming.
Not that anyone was predicting anything this bad. That's only making it worse though.
The whole world has been in denial about how stupid and bitter Trump is. They have now woken up to the knowledge that the most powerful man in the world shouldn't have graduated 3rd grade and wants to smash the global economy.
OT and a war with Iran would be a great distraction!
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar.com
Trump: "I think if the talks aren't successful with Iran, I think Iran is gonna be in great danger."
let everywonk remember it was [current occupant of the White House] who withdrew from the standing agreement with Iran in his first term
and now Iran is closer than they were [or would have been] to developing their own nuclear weapons
And they don't really want to, have never really wanted to; just wanted Israel not to have nuclear weapons (which, by law and by all the agreements, they should not have)...
"...so Israel's getting tense, wants one in self-defense.
'The Lord's our Shepherd' says the song, ' but just in case, we're gonna get a bomb.' Who's next?"
A lost nuclear war with heavy damage to the US would certainly create a labor pool akin to post-Pol Pot Cambodia, so the Rich might be for it.
I literally have a bet on "a nuclear event before the end of the calendar year," myself
That's a loser's bet. Either way...
C'mon you know he's going to blame it on OHJB and his base and MSM will support that lie.
Just give him a beautiful portrait of him done in pistachios, Iran. He'll love you forever.
I thought Iran already told him to pound sand (no pun intended).
Okay, so Duke did the right thing once.
But Duke is also responsible for the legal education of Richard Nixon, so I'd say there's still some ground to be made up.
My Dad was accepted to Duke in the early 1950s. He didn't go because their Political Science department had a Reactionary right-wing reputation. In, like, 1951.
In 1967, at the beginning of Southwest State, they told the State Legislature they would do all the juicy words of the time (Alternative! Accessible!) without having any idea how that would bring every disaffected intellectual faculty member from across the country. At the same time, they hired an administration wholecloth from a small Baptist college in Missouri. It took two years for the faculty to wrest power away from that admin. And they kept it for the first twenty years. Your dad was part of that...
Dang!
I think there are a lot of Republican lawyers that Duke helped educate.