Trump is allegedly meeting with aides right now to decide whether to agree to the latest cease fire deal with Iran. The catch is that it’s not clear to me if Iran has agreed to it. Al Jazeera reported earlier today that Iran hadn’t agreed to anything. Want to take bets that Trump will decide the “deal” isn’t good enough yet?
Also as I was typing, a judge temporarily halted the closing of the Kennedy Center and ordered that Trump’s name must be removed from the building. The judge said “the board’s decision to add President Donald Trump’s name to the center was unlawful and ordered that it be removed from the building and its website.”
This morning a judge temporarily blocked the creation of the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that Trump plans to use to reward his minions.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia paused any action on the fund while the case proceeds on an expedited briefing schedule that she issued simultaneously. She set a June 12 hearing for arguments on issuing an injunction in the case brought by a group that includes a former Jan. 6 prosecutor, Common Cause, and the National Abortion Federation.
In pressing pause, Brinkema delineated in her order exactly what she doesn’t want happening between now and next month’s hearing. She barred the administration “from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the disbursing of any funds from the Fund.”
I think it’s likely the court will kill this beast. But then it will go to the Supreme Court.
I haven’t written nearly enough about all the grift and self-dealing going on in the Maladministration. But Jen Psaki gave a good update on what’s going on last night, so here’s a video.
Technically, we're not under a "cease fire" right now, because a naval blockade is an active part of warfare. Since Iranian ships can't make port, the US is still in a "hot" war with Iran.
Apropos of nothing, this means his BS excuse that he doesn't need congressional approval is, in fact, BS. But since no one has standing to sue, only the (Republican) Congress can say "do it, you'll be impeached, and removed." That's the only way to rein him in, is to say "we really will do it!"
But Republicans – the pro-life party! – don't care about mass death on the Iranian side. They're "the enemy" because Congress declared war… uih, I mean, TRUMP declared war, so, they're the enemy, so they're no longer human. Republicans really do think this way, it's pretty disgusting, and they'll never admit it.
I heard it said, over at Balloon-juice, that Trump doesn't like the deal enough. But right now, Europe and Asia, they're finding their petroleum tanks nearing empty, and by July 1st, US petroleum tanks should be empty. He's going to face increasing pressure, to the effect of "this is causing even the wealthy to see losses!"
Alas, the wealthy, and the markets, tend to say optimistic until the bottom drops out. But if there's no deal by Independence Day, things might really start to go crazy. Oil isn't like, say, beans, where if they're more expensive, you buy something different; it's inelastic, people tend to need a certain amount, no matter how expensive. So it takes a huge price increase to reduce demand, and we need to reduce demand by about 10%, and that hasn't happened, even though gasoline has gone up over 50% so far. Once those prices hit, it's going to soak away a lot of money, making everyone poorer. That's when a massive recession could hit.
You've got in backward. What exists is a technical cease fire, because that's what they're all calling it, but obviously it's not a real cease fire.
I saw the news this evening. The legal decisions are a double whammy. The Trump-Kennedy Center is a vanity project. Trump is remodeling because nobody will perform there while his name and stench cling to the walls. I'm not sure how the USSC will come down on it.
The decision to freeze everything on the Insurrection reward fund is legally sound and may delay Trump's plans to use violence to disrupt the midterms. (Entirely guesswork on my part.) The USSC may not take up the appeal in a hurry, and three of the six may balk at giving Trump the power to dip into the Treasury without Congress.
IMO. the regime is trying to figure out how to raise the funds to 'buy' a mercenary army that's bound only to the President (not the Constitution or the UCMJ.)
DJT does not seem to appreciate the erosion of support the incumbent party suffers in a bad economy. Where I work, sales are way down. I know it's also true of Walmart. This story is happening nationwide – it's not being reported yet. Gas prices are going down dramatically on the anticipation of a deal. I think Trump can't make a deal that Iran will accept. Prices will climb, I think, next week when big oil realizes they were suckered again by the boy who cried 'peace'.
I read something about how dependent DJT is on the illusion of being a tough guy. The cult is still there, but nobody else seems to be buying in the US or abroad. When Trump surrenders to Iran, the US and much of the world will be sliding into a recession that Trump will get the blame for. The Gulf States can't be too pleased that they are in the crosshairs of Iran's missiles and drones while not a drop of oil is moving out while prices are high.
It's the GOP in Congress that stands to lose the most. They can't resist the inertia of the MAGA agenda. If things go badly for republicans in the midterms, the instinct for self-preservation will kick in. So will Trump's instinct for survival. He will announce he's running again to try to stay out of jail.
Good news: Peter Thiel bought a mansion in Buenos Aires, and moved his family there, I've read in part as a response to overwhelming support in California for a tax on billionaires. The blue wave continues to build…
The NYT is reporting quite a **it-fit over The Kennedy Center Judgement quoting 'No interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey' as Trump's response. Did he think he was on a hopeful journey as a cultural leader of the performing arts for the country? Oh my. He does overestimate his level of competence in that area by quite a wide margin…even if he ever came close to entertaining a thought like that.
It is like a tone-deaf person thinking he has perfect pitch. It just sends chills down one's spine.
Interesting. He caved on a vanity project. It was a loser for him because he had to close it because he renamed it, and artists were using any invitation as a platform to denounce what Trump is doing. When it opens again, I predict it will become a successful venue for celebrities to comment on restoring democracy.
Even Dick Cheney had enough sense to know of the existence of unknown unknowns. Those things we don't even know we don't know. Trump seems to even be unaware of things he personally doesn't know but others know quite well.
He draws a blank on things like affordability, groceries, proprieties, legalities, and the like. He seems to be amazed some other people find them important or even are even aware of them at all. Good artists understand when their skills are being exploited and refuse those offers. Exploitation is another word he seems to have trouble with…so also the word extortion. Corruption, somehow, he considers a virtue, at least the way he does it.
I must confess I am blind to the way he does corruption differently than other criminals, excepting most of them don't pretend they do it to be virtuous. He sure does.
The most intractable technical* problem with negotiations between USA & Iran now is that Iran won't open the Straits of Hormuz until Israel reverses its invasion of Lebanon. (Yesterday, they started their attack on Tyre, Lebanon's 5th largest city, on their way to annexing everything south of the Litani River). USA theoretically has leverage over Israel (by ending our huge military and financial subsidies), but AIPAC's control over Congress and Trump mean that the "leverage" goes the other way.
Another problem is that the countries most endangered by continued closure of the Straits aren't represented at the negotiations. Oil/Gas shortages are the obvious problem, but fertilizer shortages could mean serious famine across South/Southeast Asia and Africa. I'm not sure, but this could be the first war (ever!?) where people living far from the battle take more damage than any of the belligerent parties.
* Of course, the "technical problems" are almost trivial compared to the psychological problems Trump brings to the table. His bloated, fragile ego means he won't accept anything which doesn't keep his image inflated. That complicates any negotiations, and may doom the current ones.