Somebody’s Off Their (Shower)Head [UPDATE]

/75 Comments/in , /by

[NB: check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]

** 8:30 PM ET — UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST. **

While the market and Americans’ college funds, 401Ks, and retirement accounts whipsawed today after their multi-day plummet, somebody had other priorities.

I don’t know at what time this was published by the White House, but this has Trump’s tiny grip all over it.

He’s obsessed with water pressure, confusing it with showerhead function; he’s been obsessed for years with this.

December 27, 2019 – Trump Vs. Toilets (And Showers, Dishwashers And Lightbulbs)

July 23, 2020 – With 137,000 U.S. Deaths, Trump Stays Focused on Shower Heads

August 13, 2020 – ‘My hair has to be perfect’: Trump prompts change in showerhead rule – video

August 21, 2020 – Trump talks shower heads, sharks, and more on DNC’s last day

December 17, 2020 – Trump Bemoaned Water Pressure. Now His Administration Has Eased Standards

August 6, 2023 – ‘I Want Water To Pour Down On Me’: Trump Has Cold Words For Showers At GOP Dinner

January 7, 2025 – Making Sense of Trump’s January 2025 Remarks About Showerheads and Rain Falling from Heaven

I’m sure if I dig harder I can find more instances where Trump whined about water pressure in the shower but you get the gist.

And like 2020 when Americans were dying by the thousands each week from COVID and Trump complained about showerheads, Trump once again leaned into his personal bête noire while Americans became increasingly panicked about their financial well being and the state of the nation’s economy under Trump’s tariff-tax.

It’s ridiculous that our country has allowed one exceedingly vain man spend so much of our tax dollars on something which will not result in the blast of water he wants for his “perfect” hair.

Musk and his Muskrats are taking a chainsaw to our entire government, creating enormous risks in the misbegotten effort to increase efficiency and cut government spending — and Trump pisses away any efficiencies with his obsessive, unnecessary change to water and energy saving regulations affecting showerheads.

When the next Articles of Impeachment are drafted, there should be an article for abuse of power for personal use with Trump’s fucking obsession with showerheads as an example. Especially since it’s a form of lawmaking by the executive branch to the detriment of the American public.

~ ~ ~

While Trump was dicking around with his bête noire, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing. Many of you have already read or heard about Rep. Steven Horsford’s (D, NV-02) questions to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer about the dramatic change in the Trump administration’s approach to tariffs — a change which was announced over social media by Trump while Greer was in front of the committee, without apparent advance notice to Greer.

As Horsford noted, the Republicans on the committee weren’t in attendance. It’d be nice to know if those weasels left because they didn’t want to be on the spot on camera during the hearing, or if they were daytrading to capitalize on the announcement.

What isn’t being discussed is that the Senate had a similar hearing the day before during which Greer also testified about the tariffs. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) didn’t sound too happy with the Trump tariff-tax strategy, asking, “Whose throat do I get to choke if this proves to be wrong?”

Greer does a weaselly tap dance in response.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto also grilled Greer more pointedly about the Trump tariff-tax upending the trade agreements including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) the Trump administration spent two years working on during Trump’s first term.

She asked, “Why would any country want to do business with us, much less negotiate a trade deal if we don’t even honor our ongoing our ongoing agreements?”

Greer did his weaselly tap dance again and she called him out on this because she and Greer had had a one-on-one discussion in her office about trade matters and the USMCA including a blanket tariff strategy.

It’s hard not to watch these video segments from two days of hearings and not come away thinking Greer’s job has nothing to do with trade and everything to do with providing a punching bag between the Trump tariff-tax and our elected representatives.

He does little in these excerpts to make one feel any better about the Trump tariff-tax, mostly because Trump himself appears to ignore Greer, doing anything he wants on a whim to screw with trade and the entire global market without accountability.

Not to mention dicking around with showerheads.

One might wonder when the GOP members of Congress will organize and get a collective spine and consider impeaching and convicting a president who thinks government is just his personal chew toy, treating Congress like they’re irrelevant.

How many angry constituents will it take before they catch a clue? Are they really more afraid of a guy obsessed with showerheads than their own voters?

~ ~ ~

Speaking of angry constituents, please recruit others to help combat H.R. 22, the voter suppression bill Republicans call the SAVE Act. Contact every person you know and ask them to contact their representatives and ask them to vote down this bill.

See: https://indivisible.org/campaign/trumps-new-executive-order-eo-silence-americans-what-you-need-know

As our team member Peterr wrote in comments yesterday,

While it is critical to call your GOP representatives to let them know how much you are opposed to this un-American bill, it is at least as important to call your Democratic reps to tell them to stand up to this, and thank them for doing so.

As a pastor, I am quite familiar with getting phone calls from folks who dislike something I believe needs to be done. Getting the “thank you” calls makes it a lot easier to do what I believe needs to be done. This is how you help Dems grow a stronger spine.

Call your representative no matter their party affiliation. This is too important, leave no stone unturned. When you’re done, call your senators and ask them not to support the SAVE Act just as you did your representative.

If you’re a member of a women’s group, recruit them all because women are the largest single bloc likely to be disenfranchised by this bill.

Don’t wait, make this a priority because a vote could happen as early as today.

~ ~ ~

UPDATE – 8:30 PM ET —

H.R. 22 passed the House nearly along party lines, 220-208.

Four Democrats voted along with the GOP to disenfranchise a substantive portion of their own constituents let alone their own voters. Apparently they don’t care if they ever win election again.

Indivisible emailed an update; if you’re on their mailing list you may also have been told how your representative voted. Of course those of you who are represented by these four Democrats have been betrayed:

Ed Case (HI-01)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03)
Jared Golden (ME-02)

Our next step is to contact your senators and ask them to vote down the SAVE Act.

The Senate only is in session tomorrow (H.R. 22 was one of the last pieces of business on which the House GOP scheduled a vote before fleeing Washington DC). Congress will be on holiday break and in a state work session from April 12 through April 27.

Contact your senators’ closest local office and find out if they are having town halls or will be at other events where you can ask them in person to vote against the SAVE Act.

VoteVets has also sent out an email about the damage this bill poses to the rights of military personnel:

Trump and Elon’s agenda is overwhelmingly unpopular. We’ve got the GOP on their heels.

And now — like clockwork — Republicans are desperate to make it harder for people to vote.

Republicans in the House passed the SAVE Act today, under the guise of election security. It’s a blatant effort to make it harder for people to register to vote and cast their ballot. And if it becomes law, it’s going to impact Veterans, Military Families, and Active Duty.

SAVE would require all voters, including Military voters, to present very specific proof of US citizenship — either a passport or a birth certificate — in person at a government office in the United States to register or update their voter registration. Military IDs and service records are not enough proof to register. It would ban automatic, online, and mail in registration.

How might all of that impact Troops deployed overseas, their spouses, or disabled Veterans who can’t get to an office? It could effectively ban them from registering.

This bill is terrible. It’s an effort to suppress Military votes. If it passes the Senate, it’s going to undermine our elections. And today, we need you to speak out against it.

I hope VoteVets has a chat with veteran Jared Golden over his betrayal of veterans, military families, and active duty service members.

There’s one more important reason this bill needs to be defeated, besides the fact it will disenfranchise a massive number of American voters.

We voters can’t save Republicans from themselves and their leader if we can’t vote. Some of the GOP senators *know* everything is going to hell in a handbasket. They own it if there isn’t a brake applied. This is one of those brakes — they can vote to preserve their constituents’ right to vote by voting against the SAVE Act.

If you can’t find your senators’ local office numbers, you can always contact them through the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or use Resist.bot to contact them.

Don’t sit this one out, it’s far too big, far too important. It’s especially important to contact these Democratic senators if you live in their states because their track record isn’t good based on their previous votes related to immigration:

Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)
John Fetterman (PA)
Ruben Gallego (AZ)
Maggie Hassan (NH)
Mark Kelly (AZ)
John Ossoff (GA)
Gary Peters (MI)
Jacky Rosen (NV)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
Elissa Slotkin (MI)
Mark Warner (VA)
Raphael Warnock (GA)

I’m embarrassed to say two of them are my senators. I will be contacting them, though. I can’t afford not to. And I will recruit others to do so, too.

Get them on the record as soon as you can, too. Where do they stand? Let’s keep track.

Share this entry
75 replies
  1. Rayne says:

    Long-time community member harpie posted this tick-tock in comments yesterday:

    9:37 AM TRUMP: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.” [1]
    Approx 1:30 PM TRUMP backs down on tariffs [1]
    Minutes later stocks surge in the U.S., sending the Dow up 1,800 points. [1]
    1:52 PM The White House posts: “DO NOT RETALIATE AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED” [2]
    2:16 PM Owen Willis posts [w/screenshot]: “stock ticker is back on fox news, roflmao”
    3:29 PM Stephen Miller posts: “You have been watching the greatest economic master strategy from an American President in history.”

    [1] https[:]//www[.]huffpost.com/entry/trump-presidency-live-updates_n_67e55ccce4b0d5fb5f3d85c1/liveblog_67f6f391e4b0148714528890
    [2] https[:]//bsky.app/profile/carlquintanilla[.]bsky.social/post/3lmfysqfxds2l
    [3] https[:]//bsky.app/profile/owillis[.]bsky.social/post/3lmflvbvt7k2p
    [4] https[:]//bsky.app/profile/muellershewrote[.]com/post/3lmg4ft53qk2h

    Does anyone have the exact time when Rep. Horsford began to question Greer? It’d be nice to add that to this timeline.

    I sure would like to know if the market hiccup based on what many have called fake news published on the dead bird site mid-morning on Monday April 7 was really a trial balloon, a proof-of-concept ahead of today’s massive about-face.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/errant-headline-tariffs-pause-briefly-sent-stocks-soaring-rcna200004

    Reply
  2. Mike from Delaware says:

    While this market manipulation is profiting trump insiders and speculators, it’s terrible for the economy. For businesses it’s impossible to forecast needs and expenditures. The only way to hope to survive the chaos is to pull back on spending, expansion or hiring. Shit, it’s paralyzing for ordinary Americans who are trying to manage their monthly budget. Those that are eyeballing retirement will also be more cautious with their spending. The economy will contract. I know that doesn’t matter to this administration and much of the donor class. COVID reinforced the reality that the rich will be fine, they usually come out ahead during these times of crisis. It’s the poor, disenfranchised and marginalized that will suffer.
    In the end the EU and China will survive trump’s ill-conceived trade war. They have no choice but to develop new trading relationships. Relationship that will leave the US on the sidelines. China will look inward. They will be forced to address their own economic issues and likely develop a larger population of consumers. Again, we’ll be watching from the sidelines. But at least we’ll have coal to burn.

    Reply
    • P J Evans says:

      At least one small business in the US is reporting that their primary supplier is closing down because of the tariffs, and the end of the de minimis (under $800) exemptions for buyers.
      So much for great things happening!

      Reply
  3. Konny_2022 says:

    The TIME published an online article with the heading “Adam Schiff Calls For Insider Trading Investigation into Trump Over Tariff Pause.” I haven’t read it, but I think the assumption that Trump and his closest allies make huge profits from the current stock exchange waves doesn’t seem farfetched.

    Reply
    • Matt Foley says:

      Trump at WH: “I told my people, never use the word ‘coal’ unless you put ‘clean beautiful’ before it.”

      MAGA Make Air Gray Again

      I can’t say what I think because it would break the rules here.

      Reply
        • Matt Foley says:

          Remember the good ol’ days when we had free speech like “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette!”? Trump should add cigarettes to his Right to Try law. Because MAGAs have commonsense and know what’s best for them and their families.

        • xyxyxyxy says:

          Wasn’t it originally “doctors think smoking is good for you”?
          He fired the person in charge of smoking regs a few weeks ago.
          Cig manufacturer stocks flew around then or maybe when he was inaugurated.
          I thought that by now he’d put out an EO legalizing smoking anywhere, especially at gas stations as you fill up.

  5. harpie says:

    Here’s Sean Duffy on NewsMax at 5:14 PM yesterday, talking about shower heads:

    https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lmfwtfcy5j2o
    April 9, 2025 at 5:31 PM

    Duffy: “The president is talking about shower heads. You don’t have enough water that can come through your shower heads because of Biden’s regulations. So fixing small things like that — hopefully he’s gonna get the dishwashers. Wouldn’t it be great if dishwashers worked again?” [VIDEO]

    Reply
    • P J Evans says:

      The Felon Guy apparently needs to have his body blasted clean every time, unlike the rest of us. (I also suspect he sits on the euphemism like he sits on chairs, like a five-year-old, so of course it’s going to take many flushes.)

      Reply
    • Matt Foley says:

      Hey, it takes more water to wash off all the coal dust from his clean beautiful coal plants.

      At this rate he’ll be reversing drought water restrictions and no-smoking laws.

      Reply
    • harpie says:

      ALSO, Charles SCHWAB [the MAN himself] was at the White House yesterday.

      https://bsky.app/profile/ronfilipkowski.bsky.social/post/3lmgdkkl3b22z
      April 9, 2025 at 9:19 PM

      Sure was a lucky break for those billionaires to be at the White House today when the tariffs were reversed. Good day in the market for them. [screenshot]

      From the screenshot [It seems to be daytime]

      SEE IT: President Trump introduces CEO Charles Schwab at the White House.

      “This is Charles Schwab…it’s not just a company, it’s actually an individual! And he made 2.5 Billion today.”

      Reply
    • harpie says:

      https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lmhlzpxrim27
      April 10, 2025 at 9:23 AM

      BERMAN: Do you have questions about the timing of Trump’s tariffs pause? Was it market manipulation?

      REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ: No. Actually, we had lunch with a major stock broker from New York and we were talking to him about tariffs and one of the things he said was, ‘It’s time to buy’
      [VIDEO 4/10/25 9:19 AM ]

      Lunch time.

      Reply
      • Mike from Delaware says:

        Recently CEOs began speaking out against trump’s tariffs, perhaps the best way to quiet that noise was to let them in on the fleece.

        Reply
      • Rayne says:

        Gimenez: I am shocked, SHOCKED there could be market manipulation.

        Trader: Buy now. Quickly. While you can still get in at the basement.

        What an utter maroon.

        Reply
    • harpie says:

      Some more clues on timing here:

      https://bsky.app/profile/maxkennerly.bsky.social/post/3lmgf7klqts2b
      April 9, 2025 at 9:49 PM

      Per NYTimes, this is what caused Trump to flinch, because the clowns running America apparently didn’t think it was possible that irrationally destroying U.S. trade and triggering an equity meltdown might also cause problems with the Treasury bond market. [screenshots] [THREAD]

      [NYT] On Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump encouraged Americans to buy stocks and urged companies to move to the United States. It was not clear, at that point, that hours later he would abruptly change course and place a 90-day pause on many of the tariffs. The financial markets soared after the reversal, leaving questions about whether Mr. Trump’s earlier recommendation of a buying opportunity amounted to a signal that some investors might have used to cash in on the sharp rise in stock prices.

      But soon after Mr. Trump posted his missive on social media, he met in the Oval Office with Mr. Bessent, Mr. Lutnick and Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council. They discussed with the president the 10-year Treasury yield, emphasizing concern about the health of the broader U.S. financial system. Mr. Trump, in particular, understood what the rise in bond yields would mean for banks and their long-term lending, a topic he understands intimately from his years running a real estate company.

      Also, the caption:

      [NYT] Soon after Mr. Trump announced the reversal, Scott Bessent, right, the Treasury secretary, and Karoline Leavitt, second from right, the White House press secretary, tried to create the impression that Mr. Trump’s retreat was the plan all along.

      Reply
      • RitaRita says:

        Some of the comments to that article suggest market manipulation has been a motivation behind the timing of announcements. Some were anonymous but one used his name and experience as a broker-dealer.

        Trump is eroding confidence in the market.

        Reply
        • P J Evans says:

          I’ve seen screenshots with the “pause” announcement marked, and yeah, big jump beforehand.
          The leak is coming from inside the White House visitors and residents.

  7. Bears7485 says:

    I’m guessing that Donnie dipshit needs excess pressure to get the 2″ of pancake makeup off every night. If he knew anything at all, he’d know that most shower heads have a simple plastic reducer that can be removed to increase pressure, if that’s what you desire.

    I wish that I could trust the cryptobro in charge of the SEC to investigate the ratfuckery that has been happening over the last week. Seems that insiders got advance notice of the tariff ‘pause’ and went on a buying spree at 1pm.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/1jve86e/tinfoil_hat_alert_looks_like_insiders_got_a_20m/

    Reply
    • Suburban Bumpkin says:

      Sometimes when you take out the water restrictor you get more pressure than you bargained for. Also, sometimes it is buried down in the head itself and there is no going back.

      Reply
  10. Amicus12 says:

    Although facially superficial, Trump’s showerhead EO is quite significant. Section 2 makes clear that Trump is purporting to exercise regulatory rulemaking authority.

    “I hereby direct the Secretary of Energy to publish in the Federal Register a notice rescinding Energy Conservation Program: Definition of Showerhead, 86 Fed. Reg. 71797 (December 20, 2021), including the definition of “showerhead” codified at 10 C.F.R. 430.2. Notice and comment is unnecessary because I am ordering the repeal. The rescission shall be effective 30 days from the date of publication of the notice.”

    Congress vested rulemaking authority in the Department of Energy not Trump. As such Trump has no authority to order the repeal of the DOE regulation.

    “The legislative power of the United States is vested in the Congress, and the exercise of quasi-legislative authority by government departments and agencies must be rooted in a grant of such power by the Congress and subject to the limitations which that body imposes.”

    Chrysler Corp. v. Brown, 441 U.S. 281, 302 (1970).

    The stakes are large-Trump claims that he can rip up or rewrite the agency regulations that govern our lives, from appliance standards to nuclear power plant safety and endless other safeguards we take for granted and is not restricted by statutory law to the contrary. This would destroy the entire structure and working of federal administrative law.

    Although Trump could suggest that the Secretary of Energy take steps to rescind the DOE regulation that would take time, trigger due process and notice and comment rulemaking, and judicial review thereafter. That is what he is trying to dispense with. It’s another fundamental attack on the rule of law.

    Reply
    • Rayne says:

      I did write that it was an abuse of power and a form of lawmaking by the executive branch. I suspect, though, that Trump himself didn’t use this; instead, somebody close to him in the White House is attacking regulatory rule and the administrative state by making using Trump’s peccadillo for higher water pressure as the tool by which they will accomplish this end.

      Relatedly: gone by with little remark this week is HHS’ destruction of NIOSH, an entity handles regulation pertaining to standards for workplace safety. Trump’s whining about showerheads has also included moaning about dishwashers’ hoses in commercial kitchens. I guess dishwashers in his resort kitchens won’t be assured safety when they clean his well-done steak and ice cream meals, but his hair will be perfect.

      Reply
    • P J Evans says:

      Regulations exist to PROTECT people and property. The anti-regulation people don’t understand it until it affects them (and their property).

      Re: update – Cuellar and Golden are DINOs.

      Reply
      • thequickbrownfox says:

        Unlike Boyle’s Law, Bertoulli’s Principle only applies only to incompressible fluids. When the volume of the flow, let’s call it the ‘demand’, in a pipe increases, the pressure ‘pushing’ that volume in the pipe will decrease.
        This is the reason that high demand systems require ‘booster’ pumps. As the demand increases, the system pressure will drop and need a ‘boost’ to bring the system pressure back to ‘normal’. Anyone with a well system deals with this. If a system can produce 5 gallons at 50psi, a demand of greater than 5 gallons will lower the system pressure until the required volume can be supplied.

        The named executive order isn’t about maintaining system pressure, at all, it is a demand to increase the volume, which lowers system pressure. It’s so bass ackwards that I found it funny.

        Every apprentice plumber learns about Bertoulli (and every scuba diver about Boyle).

        Reply
        • Lit_eray says:

          Rayne, This will be my last divergent post from the topic. I apologize for belaboring the thread.

          I appreciate THEQUICKBROWNFOX’s interest in making fun of the EO. It is silly. The gentlepersons’ proffered hydraulic analysis suggests some understanding of the principles. Bernoulli’s equation deals with the total energy of a closed system, and can be derived from the “law” of Conservation of Energy. Simplistically the total energy is separated into velocity pressure (flow pressure) and static pressure (pressure on the container), and if you wanted you could throw terms in for friction and turbulence which reduces some of the total energy available for pressures. As far as I know there are no exceptions to the “law” of Conservation of Energy, that is unless you get to cosmic scales of the closed system, consider gravitation’s effects on time and space, or delve into quantum behaviors (https://www.quantamagazine.org/puzzling-quantum-scenario-appears-not-to-conserve-energy-20220516/). The terms used for the hydraulic system introduce confusion rather than explanation, especially the undefined concept of “demand” in a closed system rather than flow.

  11. Savage Librarian says:

    Flip Pro Flop

    He knew how to crack a whip,
    Give the boot through a tip,
    Make sure faucets didn’t drip,
    Refuse to honor any lip.

    He didn’t have to shed one drop
    of blood to kill, or mop
    up after news he’d lop,
    or wade through rivers of his slop.

    He just had to stop a flip,
    Clam up any frisky yip,
    Cancel out a murky blip,
    Make sure yaps were on full zip.

    He didn’t have to put a stop
    to bobble or to agitprop,
    Or seance with his long gone Pop,
    No, Chump was owned to be a flop.

    [7/13/20; last rev. 4/10/25]

    Reply
  12. ExRacerX says:

    To effectively address his crustiness, maybe Trump needs one of those special Russian shower heads like Kramer bought in Seinfeld?

    Potential downside: It might blow what’s left of his hair clean off his scalp.

    Reply
  13. Rayne says:

    Reposting a comment by new commenter Edward Dinger beneath this tariff thread:

    I’m sorry to be off topic, but Digby recently observed that Trump doesn’t know how tariffs work. Are we sure Trump doesn’t believe other countries pay the tariffs? He seems to think he’s levying a tax on a foreign government.
    Consider this quote:
    “Our country was the strongest believe it or not from 1870 to 1913. You know why, it was all based, we had no income tax then in 1913 some genius came up with the idea of let’s charge the people of our country not foreign countries.”
    On Air Force One on Sunday night, he said the following:

    Donald Trump
    00:03:34-00:04:20 (46 sec)
    No StressLens
    It’s exactly because of this that we’re gonna put tariffs and we’ve already put ’em on. It’s not a question of we will, we’re gonna put ’em on. And those tariffs next year will make us $1 trillion. In addition to the $1 trillion, thousands of companies are gonna relocate back into the United States. In North Carolina, already furniture people are starting to move back in. In, uh, Detroit and Michigan, which I won because of what I said, what I’m telling you, uh, car companies are starting to open up in Indiana, a big one is under construction, as an example, Honda, but they’re moving in like nobody’s ever seen this before.

    Donald Trump
    00:05:29-00:05:48 (19 sec)
    Medium (1.514)
    They moved a lot of it to China. And it’s not sustainable. We’re not going to do it. Now, we have hundreds of billions of dollars is pouring into our country on a monthly basis. It’s pouring in. It’s already started because I put tariffs on and eventually it’s going to straighten out and our country will be solid and strong again.

    Donald Trump
    00:06:16-00:06:36 (20 sec)
    Weak (1.493)
    They don’t take our cars. They don’t take our food products. They don’t take anything. And we take their cars, Mercedes, Volkswagen, BMW. You know, we take their millions of cars. They take no cars. They don’t take our farm product. They don’t take anything. Europe’s treated us very badly. We put a big tariff on Europe.
    Donald Trump
    00:06:36-00:06:52 (15 sec)
    No Signal (0.967)
    Uh, they are coming to the table. They want to talk, but there’s no talk unless they pay us a lot of money on a yearly basis, uh, number one for present, but also for past, because they’ve taken a lot of our wealth away and we’re not gonna allow it to happen.

    Donald Trump
    00:09:48-00:10:09 (21 sec)
    Weak (1.095)
    I think there’s not gonna be — I don’t think inflation is gonna be a big deal because, if you look at me, I took in hundreds of billions of dollars. This is not new to me. I took in, during my four year, hundreds of billions of dollars from China. And we also took in a lot of money from other countries, but in particular China because it was just getting started.
    He said similar things at his event last night and in the White House today.
    There are plenty of other examples if anyone cares to add.
    Is it possible this economic nightmare is all the result of Trump’s basic misunderstanding about tariffs and everyone just assumes he knows better? He can’t be that stupid, but unlike occam’s razor, with Trump it’s the stupidest explanation that is likely to be true.

    Reply
    • P J Evans says:

      “they don’t take our food products”
      https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/nation/california/2025/04/10/china-tariffs-trump-top-exports-from-california/83025720007/

      These were the top California exports to China last year, according to data from the International Trade Administration, which uses the North American Industry Classification System to identify the type of industries:

      Computer and electronic products: $3,403,000,000
      Machinery except for electrical: $2,769,000,000
      Chemicals: $1,652,000,000
      Agricultural products: $1,238,000,000
      Processed foods: $1,090,000,000

      They buy almonds. Lots of them.

      Reply
      • Rayne says:

        That’s only the direct exports, doesn’t include products which are exported to another country, processed, and then exported from that country.

        Reply
        • xyxyxyxy says:

          According to the “reliable” NYPost:

          Boeing [which is probably the largest US exporter] will be among the hardest hit US companies, since the aerospace giant already has significant plane deliveries lined up with Chinese airlines.
          Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines — the nation’s top three airlines — have agreements to take delivery of 45, 53 and 81 Boeing planes, respectively, over the next two years.
          Those deals could fall through if China’s import tax makes rivals Airbus and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China more appealing.

          And the other day there was a good inflation report. I don’t know if they adjust size change on products, but over the past few years package of ice cream when on sale has remained at about $2.50 as size of package has gone from 56oz to 52oz last year and now 46oz.

        • Rayne says:

          Reply to xyxyxyxy
          April 11, 2025 at 10:15 am

          I have not forgotten one of the industries on which the three Russian spies Evgeny Buryakov, Igor Sporyshev, and Victor Podobnyy were collecting intelligence was aerospace. I’ve never figured out exactly what company was their target or if this was a net cast on all aerospace in the Americas. US aerospace including Boeing has always been vulnerable to Russian influence over titanium supplies.

          Now it seems China could be the beneficiary of a very long game.

        • Matt Foley says:

          xyxyxyxy says:
          April 11, 2025 at 10:15 am

          Shrinkflation is the word for reducing product amount to hide the price increase. Or as Trump would sell it: “Health-conscious Patriots demanded less calories per package and we delivered!”

  15. xyxyxyxy says:

    10 year treasury interest rates up another 3 /13% so far today.
    Home ownership is going to get killed as are businesses.

    Reply
    • Matt Foley says:

      Higher home prices, higher construction costs. Higher homeowner insurance premiums. (My premium jumped 40% in November.!

      Reply
        • tmooretxk says:

          Somewhat off topic, but is anyone else worried that the home-owners’ insurance market is about to fully collapse, especially in Texas, Florida & California? My rate in Texas on the Arkansas border – above hurricane areas & below tornado alley – went up 75% in the last two years. Imagine coastal areas.

        • posaune says:

          Finally, finally, we’re out of GEICO! Geico was billing $9800/year for auto; switched to Amica and it’s 1/3 the cost of GEICO auto insurance (that includes 21-yo son). Homeowners is $800/year lower too.

          Oops, sorry Rayne: I mis-spelled my handle. First time ever. I guess I know I’m aging now. Should be “posaune”

          [FYI — username fixed. You’re not alone; if only commenters knew how often I fix typos without mentioning them because damn, we’re all aging. /~Rayne]

        • Matt Foley says:

          I’ve switched home and auto insurance several times. Was with GEICO for years until they kept jacking up my premiums. Then with Liberty Mutual, same thing. Then Allstate, same thing. It appears some companies will lure you in with lower rate. I’ve raised my deductible to $5000 but still get hammered by increases. Pisses me off how Allstate shows all my “savings” and “discounts” yet I’m still paying more than ever.

  16. xyxyxyxy says:

    With new possible election requirements, here’s a story and report of Burlington County, NJ Election Day 2024 failures.
    Including “some of the issues were more human, including a strain among election officials “appearing to stem from partisan tension, personality conflicts, or both,” the report says.”
    Story: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/toxic-work-culture-played-into-burlco-election-day-mishaps-report/ar-AA1CHpVa
    The report: https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/21515/2024-General-Election-Interim-Report?bidId=

    Reply
  17. xyxyxyxy says:

    So far post and comments on showerheads, toilets but for those that forgot the biggest flush, shower or whatever you want to call it, of all.
    “President Donald Trump directed the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in California’s Central Valley over 100 miles from the wildfire zones, a decision that has stunned residents.
    It comes after water shortages allegedly hampered firefighting efforts in Los Angeles during the devastating wildfires…”
    And the thread from southpaw on this https://bsky.app/profile/nycsouthpaw.bsky.social/post/3lh2w7v7yt22m

    Click to Edit – 
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.