Today is Wednesday, May 28, 2025. This is going to be a brief blog since Elliot and I did go out this evening to have dinner with “Mary” and “Joseph” from Woodmere at Lucky Boy, on Rockaway Turnpike. As always, it was great having food at this local Greek taverna. The piece de resistance is always the place’s fabulous coconut cream pie. We ended our delicious meal – I had the chicken parmigiana with capellini, along with a Greek salad, while Elliot ordered the fish and chips. Joseph also had the fish and chips, while his wife had some similarly delicious dish I can’t recall here. After dinner, we drove to a nearby Target to do some shopping for various sundry items. We came home close to 9:30.

Breaking news: the illegal and unconstitutional tariffs that the newly named president who has been called TACO (which stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out” for his topsy-turvy stand on imposing tariffs or not) has been dealt a death blow by a U.S. federal court that ruled the clueless president overstepped his authority to impose sweeping tariffs that have raised the cost of imports for everyone from giant businesses to everyday Americans. TACO Dump has now been dealt a humiliating blow by the only agency that is this country’s sole guardrail against a lawless insulter in chief, the judicial branch. As sadly expected of TACO Dump, he and his administration has already appealed this unanimous decision by the three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade that meets in Manhattan. This binding decision is reported in an online CNN article by Ramishah Maruf and David Goldman entitled “US Court blocks Trump from imposing bulk of his tariffs.”

But just as the cock crows, this ridiculous administration appealed the decision tonight, leaving the situation uncertain for consumers and companies and potentially prolonging the battle over whether Dump’s import duties will stand – and possibly reshape the global economy. Too bad TACO Dump will not ever admit defeat – it’s the same fucking story with his never accepting his damn loss in the 2020 presidential election! So now the country – and world – will have to wait until TACO Chump’s case is reviewed by the “Extreme” Court. If it even is, that is!

This low-profile court in Manhattan stopped TACO Dump’s global tariffs that he imposed, citing emergency economic powers, including the “Liberation Day” tariffs he announced on April 2. It also prevents Dump from enforcing his tariffs placed earlier this year against China, Mexico, and Canada, designed to combat the infinitesimal amount of fentanyl – but the Dump administration would have you believe that the drug is being brought into this country by the tons – coming into the United States.

“The court ruled in favor of a permanent injunction, potentially grinding Trump’s global tariffs to a halt before ‘deals’ with most other trading partners have even been reached.”

The order halts TACO Dump’s 30 percent tariffs on China, his 25 percent tariffs on some goods imported from Mexico and Canada, and the 10 percent universal tariffs on most goods coming into the country.

In the wake of this anti-Dump ruling, stock futures surged. Dow futures rose nearly 500 points, or 1.1 percent. The broader S&P 500 futures were up 1.4 percent, and Nasdaq futures were 1.6 percent higher in after-hours trading.

The lawsuit was filed by the libertarian legal advocacy group Liberty Justice Center in
April and represented wine-seller VOS Selections and four other small businesses that claimed they had been severely harmed by the tariffs. The panel came to a unanimous decision, publishing an opinion on the VOS suit and also one by twelve Democratic states brought against the Dump tariffs.

Dump implemented these tariffs without the consent of Congress – who is now groveling before him anyway – by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which gives the president the authority to act in response to unusual and extraordinary threats. But the law plainly does not include any mention of tariffs as a potential action the president can take once IEEPA is invoked.

The lawsuit alleges IEEPA doesn’t give the president the power to enact tariffs in the first place, and even if it was interpreted to, it “would be an unconstitutional delegation of Congress’s power to impose tariffs,” according to a statement.

Here is the humiliating blow to Dump’s self-confidence: the court concurred that he lacked the authority to impose those tariffs even after declaring a national emergency. It stated, “IEEPA does not authorize any of the worldwide, retaliatory, or trafficking tariff orders” in their order released today. It added, “The worldwide and retaliatory tariff orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs. The trafficking tariffs fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders.”

Of course, the TACO Dump White House didn’t concur with the decision. A spokesperson, Kush Desai, said in a statement that: “it is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency. President Trump pledged to put America First, and the Administration is committed to using every lever of executive power to address this crisis and restore American Greatness.” Pure fascist poppycock coming from this administration – nothing more! And Dump’s fascistic deputy chief of staff who has been estranged from his own family because of his far-right extremism, Stephen Miller, was even blunter, posting on X that “The judicial coup is out of control,” not realizing that he and those in the White House are more out of control than this lawful three-panel court.

All I can say is kudos to this less-well-known court for its stunning decision against the purported second king of the United States. Anytime this incompetent buffoon is rendered a decision against him is a good day in America, I say. And today was such a good day!

Have a good Thursday. The weather is not supposed to be nice once more, unfortunately.

And so it went!

Today is Thursday, April 3, 2025. It’s late here because Elliot and I decided to watch a fictionalized account of the death of Hollywood star Thelma Todd in 1935 on Amazon. The name of the movie was White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd, based on a book by Andy Edmonds who theorized that the young comedian died possibly at the hands of an underling of mob boss Lucky Luciano with whom she was having an affair shortly before she was found dead in her car. She was all of 29 at the time of her tragic death which was determined to have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. LAPD detectives concluded that her death was accidental, but the film suggested that the Los Angeles detective division was quite corrupt at the time. so who knows if anyone was paid off at the time to remain silent since a prominent mob boss was potentially implicated in the young star’s death. The film was released in 1991 and starred Loni Anderson in the role of the tragic Hollywood star. The only other cast member who we both recognized was Lois Smith who portrayed Todd’s overbearing mother, Alice Todd. Here she was very much younger, obviously. By the way, Todd was known by a few nicknames, principally “Hot Toddy.”

As a result of Dump’s launching of “Recession Day” the other day, an online CNN article lays out in clear terms what will cost the American consumer more in the coming months because of these ruinous tariffs. The article is called “Here’s what could soon cost you a lot more because of Trump’s tariffs,” and it’s by Elisabeth Buchwald.

This barrage of tariffs are set to go into effect almost immediately. “American consumers and businesses stand to pay a hefty price for that battle.”

The only countries that might avoid these punitive tariffs – and only on certain goods – would be Mexico and Canada. Otherwise, all countries’ goods will be subject to a minimum 10 percent tariff, with rates going much higher for 60 countries the” “dys-administration” deems the “worst offenders” in terms of trade barriers.

At the very top of that list is China. Come April 9, this country will impose a 54 percent tariff on nearly everything that comes from China. And if that’s not bad enough, rates could go even higher, maybe to 79 percent, with Dump’s promise to slap an additional 25 percent tariff on any nation that buys oil from Venezuela, which China has done.

In total, the average American household will pay $2,100 more per year for goods because of these terrible tariffs, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimated.

Here’s a partial list of which items could be more expensive under Dump’s inflationary tariffs: laptops and tablets, almost all consumer electronics, including smartphones and computer monitors, cars, household appliances, medical devices, Wi-Fi routers, and LED lightbulbs. Another area which could see a price increase is footwear since China and Vietnam shipped a combined $18.5 billion worth of shoes to the United States last year. One other category would be children’s toys because China and Vietnam were once again the two sources of foreign toys shipped to the United States, shipping a total of $15 billion worth.

As for when American consumers might likely see these higher prices, it’s been estimated that it might not be until late summer, when new products are typically rolled out ahead of the back-to-school period and shipped along with “staple” toys.

One other major category that will affect many consumers is apparel. Again, China and Vietnam account for about $14 billion worth of clothing shipped to the United States last year. These two countries account for the top two sources of foreign-made clothes.

“The Trump tariffs will have a substantial impact on the fashion industry,” Stephanie Gauzens, a spokesperson for the U.S. Fashion Industry Association, told CNN.

In the meantime, the U.S. stock market reeled in the wake of these tax increases, which is what they are, losing $2 trillion in the worst one-day wipeout in value since 2020! People’s 401(k) portfolios are definitely in the toilet as a result of this stupid action taken by the worst president this country ever had – twice. The mad king assured Americans, though, as this policy got implemented, that things were “going well” and compared the pain to the inconvenience of medical surgery. What the fuck! Americans don’t need this kind of elective surgery, you fuck!

Tomorrow marks my appointment at a Manhattan DMV office on West 31st Street to apply for my Real ID. Thank God I met my breakfast ladies earlier this week who informed me what I need to bring with me to the appointment. I now feel that I’m prepared to go into battle at 1:15. Elliot doesn’t care to apply for such an identity document; he’ll just carry his U.S. passport along with him when he flies to other states in the country. Actually, I’ll have to carry it for him. Afterward, I’m not sure what I might do: possibly see another play or see a film. I thought Elliot would accompany me to the DMV office, but he says he won’t, so I’ll be on my own.

If I’m not here tomorrow, I’ll see you, hopefully, on Saturday, which is the day of protest.

And so it went!

Here’s the frosting on the cake!

Today is Thursday, April 2, 2025. Ignorant of what his tariffs would do to the American and world economy, the shit stain known as president Donald Dump unveiled expansive new tariffs in a major escalation of his trade war that benefits no one today, ironically calling it a “declaration of economic independence.” This stupid move by a stupid president is covered in an online CNN article by Bryan Mena entitled “Key takeaways from Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs.”

Oh, the shit stain called this “liberation day”which is quite ironic since he doesn’t realize that Americans will be liberated from their pocketbooks as they have to pay more under these inflationary tariffs. Have you had enough of this president that you voted for? You only have until 2028 to get rid of him; oh, he threatened to run a third time even though he can’t under the Constitution. But that hasn’t stopped this criminal from shredding the document.

Here is a direct quote from the article: “Trump’s risky bet to address unfair trade practices could send prices higher for American consumers and weaken economic growth, according to most economists.” Did anyone try to tell this to the ignorant mob boss who decided to put them into effect anyway?

Using national emergency powers, Dump announced 10 percent tariffs on all imports into the United States, and even higher tariffs on goods from about 60 countries or trading blocs that have a high trade deficit with the United States. That includes China and the European Union, which will be levied new duties of 34 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

Foreign countries say Little Donnie’s tariffs won’t go unanswered, setting the stage for a global tit-for-tat trade war that could quickly spiral out of control. Such a dire development would only fuel inflation further and weigh on U.S. consumers, many of whom are already in the economic dumps.

China, Japan, and South Korea said on Sunday that they will respond to the new duties in lockstep.

As expected, Democrats were furious over this dumb move by an unaware president who doesn’t fucking care how average Americans get through the day economically. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said this in a news conference, “Republicans are crashing the American economy in real time and driving us to a recession.” He countered Dump’s stupid label of liberation day by calling it “Recession Day” instead.

Tariff hikes inflict higher costs on U.S.-based importers, which are typically passed on to American businesses. Many of them said yesterday that they’re bracing for the fallout of Dump’s latest actions.

Do you now have “buyer’s remorse” here after you voted for this madman?

And so it went!