The All Things Political Topic - In politics stupidity is not a handicap

[BruceVC]

2 hours ago, Malcador said:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/

Can't go a week without some funny EOs

"Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.  This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.  "

"It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing"

I think we all know which ones he's talking about.

 

 

This EO could have some beneficial outcomes, I read this link and there are  several points that make sense 

" It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing.  Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history. "

Outside of the rhetoric of this statement I think its a good idea to end this selective and revisionist view that the US is  a country founded on injustice, slavery and oppression. And there are people who  believe this and ignore the history of the US in its entirety and yet this history is well documented and easily accessible.  For example most of the first immigrants to the US were fleeing European oppression, poverty or they were indentured slaves 

They came to the US to create a new life and in the beginning that new life was very hard

But this EO also has elements of culture wars garbage, so its a mixed bag EO 

 

 

[Gorgon]

Everything is a battle with these guys. Art, the nature of reality, history.  I suppose it's time for MAGA to invent a romantic origin story full of settler wagons driven by hairy alphas and tradwives.  It's a crucial litmus test whether national identity is allowed to be continually criticized and challenged. When it's no longer allowed, authoritarian nationalist are usually in charge.

hail Comstock

[rjshae]

10 hours ago, Malcador said:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/

Can't go a week without some funny EOs

"Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.  This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.  "

"It is the policy of my Administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing"

I think we all know which ones he's talking about.

I tend to view it as part of the cultural iconoclasm we've been going through. During DJT's first term, the USA went through a period of destroying statues and creating new symbols; now the pendulum is swinging the other way. We may see several more such swings before an equilibrium is reached. Meh, whatever. It's sad to see nice art ruined, but it happens.

[rjshae]

A recent poll in Nature showed that many scientists are looking to leave the USA due to this administration's policies, providing a windfall for other countries looking to recruit talent.

Countries boost recruitment of American scientists amid cuts to scientific funding

In the long term, this will matter more than any trade wars.

[uuuhhii]

self inflicted brexit followed by self inflicted paperclip

great depression 2 will cause more out flow of labor and talent

[Gorth]

Not sure if shared previously (a couple days old), but the Canadian version of Honest Government Ads

 

[Malcador]

That was pretty good,  some day we'll get a better electoral system.

[Malcador]

Just a look inside of who's advising Trump

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

35 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Just a look inside of who's advising Trump

I heard someone call him Lox Luthor once and now it's stuck in my head.

[majestic]

 

So, is he, like, trying to get stuffed in a box by his tech-bro handlers? 32% tariff on Taiwan. Woof.

[HoonDing]

"Reciprocal" tariffs on Jan Mayen, Tuvalu and Norfolk Island.

[Zoraptor]

50 minutes ago, majestic said:

So, is he, like, trying to get stuffed in a box by his tech-bro handlers? 32% tariff on Taiwan. Woof.

And one of the really obvious responses is to start properly taxing Facebook/ Google/ Apple etc instead of letting them get away with massive tax evasion, charge them for use of IP in AI training, force them to actually comply with regulations and the like.

Might be a bit of bad news for Ireland if the taxes get fixed, but limited sympathy given their economy is built on filching tax revenue off everyone else.

Less demand for video cards for the US due to increased prices there --> more for the rest of us --> more demand satisfied --> drop in prices elsewhere. Only 48 hours too late.

[Zoraptor]

I was wondering how NZ had the 20% tariffs on US goods claimed and, of course, it turns out we don't. The highest Import Duty charged is a princely 5 (five) %*, and that only on selected goods. Turns out that they count 15% GST (VAT/ sales tax) as a tariff to get to the 20%. Of course everyone here pays GST, including on stuff made here so apparently we've been accidentally tariffing ourselves for 40 years.

*would have been zero on everything under the TPPA too. I will never be sad the US pulled out since all the crappy provisions that were going to be foisted on us undemocratically went with them; but still.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

 

So, is he, like, trying to get stuffed in a box by his tech-bro handlers? 32% tariff on Taiwan. Woof.

It turns out the tech-bros have their own monkey's paw: after years of the Moldbug disciplines plotting to install a king, they got a their guy and he has a 16th century monarch's understanding of trade.

[rjshae]

Every country with an average tariff rate of 10% or higher is a third world nation. Guess which club the USA just joined?

[Malcador]

Their inability to understand sales tax is funny.  

[BruceVC]

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-set-report-drop-q1-deliveries-weak-demand-musk-backlash-2025-04-02/ 

Tesla is seeing some real sales  and share price pressure  and it seems largely influenced by his new political position in DOGE

" Tesla shares were down early on Wednesday but reversed course after a Politico report that Musk was planning to step down from his role as an adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump soon, as administration insiders increasingly view the billionaire as a political liability."

The WH is denying he will leave DOGE so it will be interesting to see what happens

[BruceVC]

7 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

I was wondering how NZ had the 20% tariffs on US goods claimed and, of course, it turns out we don't. The highest Import Duty charged is a princely 5 (five) %*, and that only on selected goods. Turns out that they count 15% GST (VAT/ sales tax) as a tariff to get to the 20%. Of course everyone here pays GST, including on stuff made here so apparently we've been accidentally tariffing ourselves for 40 years.

*would have been zero on everything under the TPPA too. I will never be sad the US pulled out since all the crappy provisions that were going to be foisted on us undemocratically went with them; but still.

Its a completely inaccurate understanding of " tariffs " that Trump is suggesting

Its actually about the trade deficit and the percentages are all about the overall differences between exports and imports to the US from each country, that has nothing to do with the word tariffs. So its just Trump doublespeak 

 

 

[BruceVC]

https://reason.com/2025/04/02/the-senate-just-passed-rand-pauls-bill-to-block-trumps-tariffs-on-canada/

The Senate has passed a bill to block tariffs on Canada, it probably wont get through the House but Rand Paul has summarized accurately why tariffs on Canada make no sense 

"In remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon, Paul outlined the many reasons for America to avoid a trade war with Canada. Perhaps the most important is also the most straightforward. We're not at war with Canada," Paul said. "They're an ally that buys more of our stuff than almost any other country in the world. Indeed, it is quite insane to believe that the $400 billion in goods that crossed into America last year from its northern neighbor are some sort of threat. It is simply untrue that those imports constitute an emergency of some sort that demands dramatic executive action. And it's just silly to think that higher taxes on those imports will improve life on either side of the border. "

 

[Lexx]

What exactly is in the tariffs? Is it really everything? Does it cover software / digital sales too?

This is all so stupid, why can't anyone stop this idiot.

Edited April 3 by Lexx

[bugarup]

9 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

Less demand for video cards for the US due to increased prices there --> more for the rest of us --> more demand satisfied --> drop in prices elsewhere. Only 48 hours too late.

So is it a good time or bad time to assemble me a new rig? I cannot tell, too stupid for basic advanced economics. 

[Bartimaeus]

Local stupid bastard who should be chemically castrated to stop any possibility of offspring continues to insist, "Nothing will change."

Of course, such people are not always stupid bastards - they're often just disingenuous pieces of **** instead.

[uuuhhii]

47 minutes ago, bugarup said:

So is it a good time or bad time to assemble me a new rig? I cannot tell, too stupid for basic advanced economics. 

 

didn't hardware price crash after ai bubble partially burst

 

[Zoraptor]

24 minutes ago, bugarup said:

So is it a good time or bad time to assemble me a new rig? I cannot tell, too stupid for basic advanced economics. 

It would take a while for the effects to be felt, if they are felt.

But in theory at least elsewhere prices should drop as US prices rise and demand drops there. Though of course there are many outside the US who would like to keep the high prices even with greater supply, not least AMD/ nVidia/ Intel. Retailers would also love massive margins on greater sales numbers, hence the April 1st reference.

(It's a bit of an open question how much computer stuff is going to be subject to these tariffs, though they most likely will. "Semiconductors" are specifically excluded. But, previous policy suggest that that is for the base chips only, not packaged GPUs- and presumably CPUs too. Finished GPUs were subjected to tariffs in 2024 under Biden, bringing back those imposed under Trump1, to try and force them to be assembled in the US)

[Elerond]

1 hour ago, Lexx said:

What exactly is in the tariffs? Is it really everything? Does it cover software / digital sales too?

This is all so stupid, why can't anyone stop this idiot.

It is just physical goods. There is now tariffs for services, which software and digital sales are counted.

USA more than balances its trade 'deficit' with other countries with it service sales, but some reason they don't tell that in their announcement.