HOA policy from your gated community, does that include illegal immigrants too?
Does that mean that dining at Cracker Barrel is an option for you?
President Donald Trump said he was firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa cook, according to a letter he sent to her that was shared over social media. The move represents a significant escalation of the president’s battle against the Fed, which he has blamed for taking too long to lower interest rates.
Cook has recently come under fire by Trump and members of his administration for allegedly committing mortgage fraud.
Vrede too wrote: ↑Mon Aug 25, 2025 3:09 pmneoplacebo wrote: ↑Mon Aug 25, 2025 9:17 amVrede too wrote: ↑Sun Aug 24, 2025 11:31 pm
European Postal Services Suspend Shipment Of Packages To U.S. Over Tariffs
Multiple postal services around Europe say they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid a lack of clarity over new import duties.
MAGA = bad for business, bad for Americans
I was thinking just yesterday that perhaps this Pretty Litter is finally manifesting. With any luck, we'll soon have yet another iteration of the oft reviled Stretch. May he stagger in perpetual stupor.
neoplacebo wrote: ↑Tue Aug 26, 2025 9:51 am
I admire the tenacity that mental illness creates.Trump tariffs live updates: US appeals court rules wide swath of Trump's tariffs illegal
A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that most of President Trump's global tariffs were illegal. The ruling explains the president exceeded his authority in using emergency powers to impose them.
The judges allowed the tariffs to stay in place as the case continues to be adjudicated in a lower court.
Friday's decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reaffirms an earlier ruling by the Court of International Trade.
What part of "illegal" does MAGA not understand?
Trump responded to the decision on Truth Social, saying "ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT!" He also called the court "Highly Partisan"
and said "with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use [tariffs] to benefit our nation."
He's usually FOS, but with our current "Highly Partisan" TRE45QN-stacked court he may be correct. 
I don't mind the indirect sanction on Russia, but otherwise it's not very smart to write off 1.5B Indians.... Meanwhile, Trump's 50% tariffs on India have now kicked in, a move that experts say could upend a decades-long push by Washington to forge closer ties with New Delhi. Trump added an extra 25% tariff on Indian imports because of the country's purchase of Russian oil.
Higher prices and pissed off trading partners, smart.... Earlier in August, Trump unveiled "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of US trade partners ...
MAGA = MasochismThe ‘self-inflicted injury’ to US tourism that’s making some Americans angry and disappointed
Joe Koenen has not seen a single Toronto Blue Jays baseball hat all summer.
Typically, Canadians will flood the streets of Seattle during the summer, but Koenen, who runs Seattle Free Walking Tours (where people pay what they can), said Canadian tourists are almost gone. Streets look emptier to him.
Canadians calling to cancel their tours “explicitly told me that it was because of the policies and the behavior of our current president,” he said.
As a result of seeing 30% fewer customers this year overall, Koenen has been paying his employees but not himself. This is also the first year since he took over the tour company in 2021 that he has had to put his own savings into the business to keep it afloat.
“I am super-duper angry. I’m also disappointed, but I’m more sad … it’s such a self-inflicted injury,” Koenen said.
American exceptionalism.Another Seattle tour operator, John Brink, said “usually you kill it that weekend,” referring to the annual May series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. But the foot traffic wasn’t there this year. The Blue Jays are Canada’s only Major League Baseball team, so while the team is based in Toronto, many fans from Western Canada passionately sport their Blue Jays gear when they come to Seattle each summer.
Brink’s company, Tasty Tours, which guides visitors through food stalls in the historic Pike Place Market, has seen a 50% drop in Canadian customers.
... The absence of Canadians has been felt acutely in the United States, especially in cities like Seattle close to the northern border. And Canadians aren’t the only international travelers skipping the US. Some other international travelers have also named recent policies around tariffs and immigration as reasons they’re staying away.
After a promising estimate in December by analytics company Tourism Economics that the US would see about 9% growth in overall international visitation in 2025, the company’s updated outlook now estimates an 8.2% decline, led by about one quarter fewer Canadians visiting the US from January to July, compared to the same period in 2024.
The World Travel and Tourism Council, a global tourism advocacy organization, projected in May that the United States will lose $12.5 billion in international visitor spending in 2025, the only country out of 184 economies the council analyzed that will see a decline this year.
I've never seen the Pike Place Market area look so empty.
John Brink gives a tour in Seattle. His company, Tasty Tours, has seen a big drop in Canadian customers.
... “It’s unheard of,” said Didier Arino, general director of travel consulting firm Protourisme in France, about an unprecedented drop in interest for travel to the US.
“It’s happened before in a country at war, in a country where there was a security risk, or risk of health crisis, but in a normal situation, we’ve never seen this kind of turnaround,” Arino told CNN in the spring.
... Beyond citing fears of being questioned at the border, or general opposition to the Trump administration’s policies, visitors from some countries are now facing an added upfront cost of $250 for a new “visa integrity fee.”
“This is a wake-up call for the U.S. government. The world’s biggest Travel & Tourism economy is heading in the wrong direction, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a failure to act,” said Julia Simpson, World Travel and Tourism Council president & CEO, in a statement.
“While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign … This is about growth in the U.S. economy — it is doable, but it needs leadership from DC,” Simpson said.
Good luck with that.
... Tourism Economics, which tracks data on domestic and international tourism, now projects that a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels won’t happen until 2029 — three years later than it originally projected.
... Airlines have adjusted by changing routes that were bound for the US. There were about 90,200 fewer airline seats available to book from Canada to the US from April 1 to June 30, compared to the same quarter last year, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
It’s no wonder that Koenen and Brink are seeing so few Canadians in Seattle: Tourism Economics estimates Seattle will lose more than a quarter of its international visitors this year, mostly due to Canadians staying away....
5 soldiers visible at the Lincoln Memorial, 6 at the Washington Monument. I've been both places multiple times. Safety can be maintained by a young unarmed NPS worker in a Smokey Bear hat or a retiree with a "Docent" t-shirt on. What a waste! DOGE, where are you?
That's for the state as a whole, but Naples and others rely heavily on their snowbird populations to make it financially feasible to have adequate fire/police/healthcare/retail/entertainment for a large population 6 month of the year.These seasonal visitors make a huge economic impact on our state. They contributed over $95 billion to our economy in 2019 and helped support more than 1.6 million jobs. Each snowbird spends between $10,000 and $21,000 during their Florida stay.
Maybe they should send a delegation to talk to the asshole in Southeast Florida.O Really wrote: ↑Mon Sep 01, 2025 10:59 amSnowbirds in Florida:That's for the state as a whole, but Naples and others rely heavily on their snowbird populations to make it financially feasible to have adequate fire/police/healthcare/retail/entertainment for a large population 6 month of the year.These seasonal visitors make a huge economic impact on our state. They contributed over $95 billion to our economy in 2019 and helped support more than 1.6 million jobs. Each snowbird spends between $10,000 and $21,000 during their Florida stay.
And a lot - a lot - of those snowbirds in Southwest Florida are Canadian. Opps.
I think it's going to be interesting to see what happens with this. Two courts have ruled against trump and his tariffs. I think there's a chance the Supreme Court will refuse to hear the case, letting the lower court ruling stand. If that happens trump will go haywire (like that's possible). But if they do hear the case, I sort of think they will uphold the lower decision. Of course Thomas and Alito would certainly vote with trump. I guess we'll see how it shakes out.Vrede too wrote: ↑Sun Aug 31, 2025 9:34 pmneoplacebo wrote: ↑Tue Aug 26, 2025 9:51 am
Trump tariffs live updates: US appeals court rules wide swath of Trump's tariffs illegal
A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that most of President Trump's global tariffs were illegal. The ruling explains the president exceeded his authority in using emergency powers to impose them.The judges allowed the tariffs to stay in place as the case continues to be adjudicated in a lower court.Friday's decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reaffirms an earlier ruling by the Court of International Trade.Trump responded to the decision on Truth Social, saying "ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT!" He also called the court "Highly Partisan"and said "with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use [tariffs] to benefit our nation."I don't mind the indirect sanction on Russia, but otherwise it's not very smart to write off 1.5B Indians.... Meanwhile, Trump's 50% tariffs on India have now kicked in, a move that experts say could upend a decades-long push by Washington to forge closer ties with New Delhi. Trump added an extra 25% tariff on Indian imports because of the country's purchase of Russian oil.Higher prices and pissed off trading partners, smart.... Earlier in August, Trump unveiled "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of US trade partners ...
Or not.Whack9 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 25, 2025 8:22 pmTrump says he's firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/25/business ... d-governorPresident Donald Trump said he was firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa cook, according to a letter he sent to her that was shared over social media. The move represents a significant escalation of the president’s battle against the Fed, which he has blamed for taking too long to lower interest rates.
Cook has recently come under fire by Trump and members of his administration for allegedly committing mortgage fraud.
Judge blocks Trump’s bid to fire Lisa Cook from Federal Reserve board
President Donald Trump’s bid to fire Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve board, is likely illegal and she must be immediately reinstated, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb concluded that Trump’s effort to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud that predated her time on the Fed board violated a federal law meant to insulate the interest-rate-setting body from political pressure. Only Cook’s conduct on the job could be grounds for removal, Cobb ruled.
The decision triggers a high-stakes appeals court battle that is likely to quickly land at the Supreme Court.
The justices have repeatedly endorsed Trump’s efforts to fire powerful federal regulators and policymakers, but the justices have also signaled they view the Fed as a unique, “quasi-private” institution that may be entitled to more independence than other agencies housed within the executive branch.
Federal law gives Trump the power to fire members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors “for cause,” which typically means serious misconduct or malfeasance on the job. Trump said he had good cause to fire Cook due to allegations that she claimed in separate mortgage applications that two different homes were her primary residence, which can entitle a homeowner to lower rates.
But Cobb, a Biden appointee, called the mortgage allegation a weak, unproven claim that cannot justify Cook’s summary termination.
Cook has denied that she committed mortgage fraud.
“Allowing the President to unlawfully remove Governor Cook on unsubstantiated and vague allegations would endanger the stability of our financial system and undermine the rule of law,” Cook’s lawyer Abbe Lowell said in a statement. “Governor Cook will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor.”
Hero, and a retiring lame duck.... Some Republican lawmakers, including key senators like Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have said Cook’s case should be adjudicated before any replacement is confirmed.
Dementia Don is bad for the economy and the world.... Cobb also said the Trump administration’s use of social media to air the allegations about Cook, rather than a more formal notice to her, likely violated the Constitution’s requirements that government employees be accorded due process before being ousted from their posts.
“The Court is highly doubtful that Cook should have been required to piece together the evidentiary basis for a ‘for cause’ removal from a scattered assortment of social media posts and news articles,” Cobb wrote. “Even if the notice provided had been sufficient, Cook’s due process rights were nevertheless likely violated because she was not given a ‘meaningful opportunity’ to be heard.”
Cobb also warned that efforts to politically interfere with the Fed could damage the nation’s economy, quoting constitutional experts who warned that such interference could have “harmful, perhaps even disastrous, consequences.”
... The Supreme Court has generally sided with him, concluding that the president is owed enormous deference to determine the leadership and policy direction of agencies housed within the executive branch, even if Congress had intended them to remain independent....
Most corrupt Supreme Court ever. What's the "emergency"? The allegations are unproven and she's only one of 12 votes. Let the judiciary operate as it's intended.Trump administration requests emergency ruling to remove Cook from Fed board
The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates.
The request represents an extraordinary effort by the White House to shape the board before the Fed's interest rate-setting committee meets next Tuesday and Wednesday. At the same time, Senate Republicans are pushing to confirm Stephen Miran, President Donald Trump's nominee to an open spot on the Fed's board, which could happen as soon as Monday....
Will they ever deny the wannabe dictator anything?
I'm expecting an apology and offer of reinstatement shortly.Vrede too wrote: ↑Fri Sep 12, 2025 5:15 pmHere we go:What's the "emergency"? The allegations are unproven and she's only one of 12 votes. Let the judiciary operate as it's intended.Trump administration requests emergency ruling to remove Cook from Fed board
The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates.The request represents an extraordinary effort by the White House to shape the board before the Fed's interest rate-setting committee meets next Tuesday and Wednesday. At the same time, Senate Republicans are pushing to confirm Stephen Miran, President Donald Trump's nominee to an open spot on the Fed's board, which could happen as soon as Monday....
Next if the appeals court denies DonOLD, requesting an emergency ruling from SCOTUS, the final bridge for the most corrupt Supreme Court ever.
