Consumer spending makes up approximately 70% of the U.S. economy. There is a challenge for all US consumers, that is to not spend anything at a major corporation on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. This protest is against the anti-DEI measures that Donald Trump has been taking and corporations have been following. But it could apply to anything pertaining to his actions against our economy. While this one day will not have much of on impact on current economic conditions, it will perhaps send a message to those who have the power to halt or modify Donald Trump’s actions in allowing DOGE to remake the US economy into that of a third world nation’s.
Make no mistake the policies of indiscriminate cuts, massive firings, whole scale sweeps removing immigrants, marginalizing people for whatever reason, cutting mandatory government programs, like Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid, reneging on contracts to farmers etc., will eventually have a detrimental impact on our economy. All of this will affect everyone. So even if you are indifferent to the inequality, injustice and down right simple meanness that permeate Donald Trump's actions this will affect you.
So on this one day, perhaps reminding people of what a depression can look like may wake some people up.
Or not.
96 comments:
James Carville, the Cajun "Snake" who rose to political fame directing Bill Clinton's presidential election efforts, is predicting that the the Trump administration will "collapse" within 30 days. And he's recommending the Democrats just get out of the way and let it happen naturally. TheHill
I suspect he's being overly optimistic.
I think Carville is slipping in his predictions. He was totally wrong on the 2024 election. But hope springs eternal.
An anti-anti-DEI protest? I predict it will go down like a lead balloon. The American left just keeps on eating itself. The videos on your previous post were just further examples of Americans scolding each other. I mean, the first was supposed to be about farmers getting their comeuppance for voting for Trump. But instead the farmer in question was denigrated as a "cis-het white male". Only an extreme leftist could trot out that term unironically. I'm afraid Democrats have a long, long way to go in understanding the pivotal role they played in getting Trump elected.
The rest of us have had to move on fairly rapidly. We are out of time for indulging such nonsense. We've got a major war on our hands in Europe and the US has sided with the enemy. It is cosying up to war criminals and running an extortion racket on the victim.
I doubt if he cares, but Trump won't find a welcome in many European capitals as a result. I'm sorry that his VP was greeted with icy silence at the Munich security conference. A punch in the face would have been a more apt response.
I predict that illiberal elements Petes would favor will be paying much more attention to the "No-Buy" day than anybody else. No doubt there will be a few radicals who stir themselves up, but they'll be massively outnumbered by the online reactionaries who'll wind themselves up into a semi-frenzy over the very idea that a few 'liberal' nutjobs might decide to forego shopping on the the 28th (Most of the people Petes and his ilk decry as 'liberals' will neither have heard of the called for 'protest' nor will they give a shit.)
Trump has said that Putin is amenable to the idea of European peacekeepers being placed in Ukraine to secure a "peace" agreement. Politico.EU
The Kremlin almost immediately reiterated that they were still dead set against the idea of any European peacekeepers being placed in Ukraine. Reuters (They've also suggested that they may demand cutbacks in European NATO troop levels elsewhere in Europe.)
And…. Putin has suggested that the U.S. should be trying to make a deal with Russia to get access to Ukraine's 'rare earth elements', while pointing out that Russia has it's own supplies they could add to that offer. NYT
We've got a major war on our hands in Europe and the US has sided with the enemy. It is cosying up to war criminals and running an extortion racket on the victim.
I agree with all of that except for one thing, the US has not sided with our enemy, Donald Trump and his sycophants have.
Right now Europe will have to be that "Last Hope Island" again.
As for the no buy Friday thing, it is an extension of the no buy 2025 movement which was motivated by climate change and environmental concerns.
When Donald Trump's policies tank the economy the no buy thing will become a necessity rather than a choice.
Minnesota's 3 largest export markets are Canada, Mexico and China with Canada making up 28%. Most of these exports are agriculture products. I am sure you see the problem with that.
But I can't say what will really break the cultists grip on my country.
I'm out of time, and will have to respond to you, Lee, this evening.
Yes, I know, I was in a hurry. I shouldn't have put that "again". It was England that was the first "Last Hope Island".
So apparently there is some kind of deal to rebuild Ukraine at the price of Ukraine's mineral resources between the US and Ukraine, with Zelenskyy coming to DC. I am suspicious.
"So apparently there is some kind of deal to rebuild Ukraine at the price of
Ukraine's mineral resources…"
No deal yet that I know of. Zelenskyy refused Trump's offer on account of Trump wanted payment for services already rendered--no further support on promise. Pissed Trump off, but Zelenskyy said "No" to that.
Putin's just trying to muddy the waters.
New headlines: I stand corrected. There is supposedly a deal agreed upon. (Trump will never see any money paid, but he'll get to proclaim a negotiating victory on account of Zelenskyy agreed to a payment structure that'll never actually pay off, and they'll both not mention that last part.)
It looks like the House Republicans managed to advance their slash and burn budget last night.
It appears so. They had to call in Trump to personally telephone the holdouts. But that was enough.
It doesn't mean they can get a matching bill through the Senate, and it certainly doesn't mean they can get to an agreement when they try to fill out the meaning of their $2 trillion in cuts.
But it is a milestone nonetheless.
There is real anger in the country and perhaps the Republicans should remember that they had a slim 3 million vote margin.
BTW, I wouldn't count out Zelensyy, he is used to working with corrupt strongmen.
I think Zelenskyy already got the better of Trump in this agreement. Trump gets to say he 'won'; he gets to strut before his dedicated Trumpkins, secure in the knowledge that FoxNews will cover for him and they won't listen to media which won't cover for him.
But he doesn't get any money.
Headline on CNN "Apple fixing bug that caused dictation to type the word 'Trump' when users said 'racist'".
Bug? Yeah, okay.
CNN has put just about all of its articles on its website under a subscription requirement. It kind of makes its site irrelevant if one can't read it.
Ahh deleting browsing history resets their count.
Looking through the morning headlines, I was struck by what's missing. There's nothing hitting on top of the fold about what Putin might be doing to prevent an agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. regarding access by the U.S. to Ukrainian minerals.
I'd think they'd be working that issue rather furiously. (Probably are, but behind the scenes.)
I still suspect Putin's got something on Trump. Russia's silence on this reminds me of my suspicion in that regard. This situation might be where Putin quietly pulls at that thread.
Looking at what Trump is doing to our country with the approval of 77 million people it strikes me that if Putin does have something on Trump it won't really matter. People are okay with destroying people's lives if they think it will get them cheaper eggs (which isn't going to happen).
The first death from the measles outbreak in Texas has occurred. Unvaccinated.
There will be more deaths of the unvaccinated for whatever virus occurs. Welcome to Trumplandia..
RFK says this is not unusual.
1. Cheaper eggs are less important to their majority faction than is driving the queers back into the closet (and driving the colored folks back into their ghettos). Destroying other peoples' lives is the whole point behind destroying other peoples' lives. They think they should get to tell folks how to live their lives and to destroy them if they don't comply.
2. It's unlikely that the measles death has been reported 'above the fold' on FoxNews.
I am constantly hearing ads on the radio for Newsmax. Very annoying. Their propaganda arm is ramping up.
A judge in San Francisco has just enjoined the Trump administration's shotgun firings across the federal workforce. WaPo The Trump administration has clearly been wanting this fight--they want it to go before his Trump-friendly, Federalist Society dominated Supreme Trumpkans. And now they're gonna get their wish. (If the trial court is overruled by 9th Circuit then they'll keep pushing until they get it before the high court somehow; I'm guessing they petition the Supreme Trumpkins to take this case directly without waiting on (and wading through) the customary gates to certiorari.)
Yes, well, a judge put a pause on the cut of federal funding and yet that is still happening. Trump & Co. just ignore the law because as far as they are concerned they are above it.
Musk is saying that the contract given to Verizon to overhaul the FAA systems should be given to SpaceX because Verizon isn't getting the job done.
No conflict of interest much?
Lynnette: "I agree with all of that except for one thing, the US has not sided with our enemy, Donald Trump and his sycophants have."
As Louis XIV said: "L'État, c'est moi". Or, in the case of Trump and the US, "L'État, c'est lui". There's no distinction when it comes to Ukrainians who will die for want of shells or Javelins.
I've already eaten humble pie previously over entertaining the stupid notion that Trump might be the wake-up call the establishment needed back in 2016. Even after that realisation I never imagined he was the amoral miserable sack of shit that he has turned out to be. In retrospect I'm sorry that bullet in Pennsylvania missed his head. I have no words to describe my contempt for the man. He and Putin can rot in hell together.
"Trump & Co. just ignore the law…"
Not quite accurate to say they "just" ignore the law. They go a little bit beyond just that. They've been loudly proclaiming that they're fully complying with the court's orders down to the last detail. Then they ignore the court orders.
First announce loudly that they're fully complying, and then don't comply.
It appears that the meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump did not go particularly well, and broke up early without any deal being signed for American access to Ukraine's mineral wealth. (Not particularly clear whether Zelenskyy left on his own accord or was shown the door by his hosts.)
It's now being reported that Zelenskyy was told to leave, the order being carried by Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. CBSNews
Petes, it has always amazed me that anyone would think Trump was normal, even back in 2016.
He never ever should have been elected president. He is a symptom of serious problems within American society.
I watched the exchange between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vance and found it disgusting. It shows that Trump is a sellout to Russia.
Trump did his usual Trump performance. He kept getting louder and louder and more and more insistent, hands up on Zelenskyy's shoulders, shoving him back into his seat. The signs were all there. Trump wanted Zelenskyy to shut the Hell up and let Trump tell whatever lies he wanted to weave into the public performance he wanted to make into a presentation of his power over Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy didn't shut up. That was a mistake.
But I think it was JD Vance who incited the meltdown. Trump says "One more question". And then Vance broke in and started to talk about Joe Biden--a sore spot with Trump since Biden beat him in 2020. And he went right at Ukraine's manpower shortage, sure to be a sore spot with Zelenskyy.
Things went downhill rapidly from there. And Vance had a very self-satisfied look on his face at the end of all the shouting, when Trump is having the reporters hustled out of the room. It may or may not have been an accidental hit on his part, but he was quite pleased with how it worked out.
I don't think Zelenskyy made a mistake. There's only so much mileage in flattering an arsehole like Trump. That was Plan A. Plan B is to shock the civilised countries of the world into action. Trump's and Vance's petty outburst in the full glare of the world's media has done that. Any illusion that the US might act in good faith is shattered. Any pretence that Trump and co. care about justice, freedom and democracy is over. They should walk a mile in Zelenskyy's shoes before they act like playground bullies. Shame on them. What a pair of fucking pigs!
"There's only so much mileage in flattering an arsehole like
Trump."
That's wrong. Trump's craving for attention and flattery is functionally limitless. If he breathes in he craves flattery.
"Plan B is to shock the civilised countries of the world into
action."
If Zelenskyy had a 'Plan B' it's unlikely to have been made known to Irish Catholics.
"…they act like playground bullies. Shame on them. What a
pair of fucking pigs!"
You seem to have followed an imaginary trail to the correct conclusion. Well, even a blind hog finds an acorn ever now and again.
I am somewhat perplexed about the number of media outlets which call today's dust up in the Oval Office "a shouting match". As I viewed it, I saw a one-sided display of shouting--from Trump and occasionally Vance, but they're both on the same side. Only occasionally did Zelenskyy raise his voice even a little bit (mostly while trying vainly to get a word in edgewise while Trump shouted him down)
As much as I support Ukraine I think all of the talking heads on television are missing something far more critical to the world and that is the deconstruction of a major democracy, the United States.
The people who said that Donald Trump is an existential threat to my country are right.
This exhibition by Trump was deliberate. So now the media is talking about the clothing. All of this is a diversion.
What they should be talking about is Trump's betrayal of America.
"So now the media is talking about the clothing."
Trump started that. He greeted Zelenskyy on the driveway, with a sarcastic observation of: "You're all dressed up today."
Yes, this was deliberate. We have no proof that Vance's shots at subjects guaranteed to wire up both Trump and Zelenskyy were scripted with Trump, but it seems highly likely they were. Vance almost always is totally silent during these joint press appearances in the Oval Office. Seems likely this was pre-planned, but, of course, we have no evidence beyond the clearly suspicious nature of the breakdown. And that's not enough to support a proof.
Lee: "That's wrong..."
Nice try but I got better things to do than observe that not all the ignorant arseholes live in the White House.
Bon voyage. Have a nice long stay.
In another curious case of non-response. The Trump administration has so-far made zero attempt to push back on the developing media speculation that Friday's Trump/Vance attacks on Zelenskyy were, in fact, a planned public mugging.
Trump is still looking for somebody to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize. NBCNews The Norwegian politician who nominated him twice during his first term seems unlikely to repeat that action.
I am apparently not the only one who remembered that we tarred and feathered traitors once upon a time. I ran across that reference elsewhere.
Still amazes me that people can talk about Trump as if this is all business as usual.
In the Star Tribune letters against what the administration is doing with regard to our federal workforce and the spending cuts have been appearing for some time now. Not surprising in a major city newspaper. They will start to appear about Trump's ambush of Zelenskyy shortly I assume.
But what was nice to see is that my local paper, which is in Trump country, posted two opinion pieces, and also a letter by a state Republican elected official, speaking out against some of the administration's policies.
I know, not much to sway the little Trumpkins out there, but a start. When the Medicaid cuts roll through the system it will get worse for the Trumpkins.
BTW, we have a saying, "United we stand, divided we fall."
I suspect that despite Petes' flirtation with Trump early on, and Lee's seeming dislike, Lee and Petes are really on the same side in this fight.
Maybe a truce would be in order for now?
"When the Medicaid cuts roll through the system it will get worse for the
Trumpkins."
Liable to get worse sooner than that. Government spending authority runs out on the 14th. Government shutdown follows at midnight same day. Services the Trumpkins rely on will begin to disappear. It's make Elon Musk's piecemeal shutdowns look like small in comparison.
Ignoring typo.
Meanwhile: "There’s little sign of buyer’s remorse among
Donald Trump’s political converts in Texas’s heavily Latino Starr County." according to Politico.com
Okay, so what happens in Trump's White House if the Europeans really are spooked enough by Trump's treatment of Zelenskyy that they decide to go it alone, Europe (Ukraine providing the troops and the battleground) against Russia?
Figure Canada, Japan, and maybe even South Korea in for material and economic support.
What does the once designated 'leader of the free world' do then?
Become no longer the leader of the free world.
There are people here too who are quite happy with the cuts.
Maybe they always will be, but the cuts for the most part have only been on the news, they haven't rolled through the system yet. Trump's economic policies haven't come home to roost yet either. Despite what people think Biden had left a fairly strong economy when he left office. It will slowly erode once they do.
Btw, I see Tesla stock seems to be having a bad week. Go figure..
I see the Comments are shown on the main page as entirely in Bold and Italics.
Maybe that's only on mine.
Not seeing the bold and italics.
You using a computer or a phone?
I've tried both and both look fine.
"Zelenskyy is a hero, Vance is a zero", read a sign at a protest in Vermont today. Vance is there with his family for a vacation. There were a lot of people with Ukrainian flags or signs of support. Nice to see. I suspect these protests will grow.
"I suspect these protests will grow."
I suspect they will make minimal difference to the Trump administration. He's managed to bring the Trumpkan/Republican 'base' along to the point where they now want Russia to win, and soon, so Trump can gloat about it in public.
The Trumpkan/Republican 'base' has gone full on Trump cult.
________________________________
The bold and italics are a curiosity to me, but I deem them not worthy of further study.
Zelenskyy has been scheduled for a meeting with King Charles of England before he leaves England. Last minute addition to the King's schedule.
This may mean that the invitation earlier extended to Trump is now in question.
No, it will probably not make much difference to Trump or his cult followers. Sadly. Perhaps their incompetence in running a country may.
The thing Trump and his Trumpkins have not figured in to this equation is that Trump now cannot negotiate a peace deal.
Putin's gonna want concessions from the E.U. and NATO that they're not gonna want to give. They're gonna be wary of any further concessions on account of they can't trust the United States anymore. Which makes their position a bit more precarious. They're not gonna wanna give up any advantages they may hold now. (That's above and beyond the fact that he obviously can't negotiate for Ukraine now--Ukraine's gonna look to the E.U. and NATO for its limits--not to Trump's America.)
When Trump can't deliver things for Putin, then Putin won't give him the "peace deal" that he was craving.
He's blown his chance at seeing himself leading those negotiations for the Europeans, including Ukraine. He can't deliver. So, Putin won't give him a "win" to brandish to his base. He'd have to threaten to go back to supporting Ukraine to get Putin's attention, and that'd be too hard on him I'd reckon.
In effect, he's now negotiated himself right out of the lead negotiator's seat.
It sounds like Europe is set to take the lead in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
This will be the beginning of US abdication of leadership of the free world.
"It sounds like Europe is set to take the lead…"
So far it's just talk. Just "sounds like…" Remains to be seen whether they can pull off a united stance against a hostile Russia. I'm hopin' it works out that the talk comes 'round to bein' real. But so far that's just a hope.
"President Donald Trump made clear in public comments
Monday, which came after weekend discussions with six
European leaders, that he remained interested in resurrecting
the compact, just three days after berating and humiliating
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy."
Politico
Short version, Trump is willing to offer Zelenskyy another chance to grovel before him. (But without any promise of more arms and military support for Ukraine--which is Zelenskyy's goal.)
Gotta figure Trump is really, really interested in getting strokes from Putin.
Post Script: Trump quickly followed his bid to "resurrect the compact" with an order halting all aid to Ukraine. The quote I opened with above ↑↑ has disappeared and a new opening paragraph has been substituted in the time it took me to type this.
So now we know what that trap was all about. It was to give Trump an excuse to stop the military aide to Ukraine. No doubt per Putin's orders.
I'm still not convinced that Vance didn't instigate that blowup of his own volition. (I'm wondering if perhaps Trump hasn't overplayed his hand here. The Ukrainians may decide to keep fighting and make their own "European" peace deal with Putin--leaving Trump out in the cold entirely. No point in being forced to offer concessions to both Putin and Trump to achieve whatever peace benefits their own Ukrainian efforts might bring them.)
The White House is drawing up plans to lift economic sanctions against Russia and Russian oligarchs. Reuters And the Kremlin has said that further peace talks between Russia and the U.S. are not on the schedule--they're demanding reinstatement of "normal" diplomatic relations with the United States before that happens. Reuters
(Biden had ejected a host of Russian diplomats as spies and the Russians want to send them back. And, of course, there are all those Russian assets to unfreeze. Why bother talking when Trump is already surrendering as much as he can as fast as he can?)
The new tariffs on Chinese goods took effect this morning.
The new tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods take effect tonight at midnight.
Retaliatory tariffs are already decided upon and pledged. It's likely gonna be a bumpy ride.
Buckle up.
The market's falling and Trump is looking to lift sanctions on Russia. And so it goes in Trumplandia.
"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is
willing to move forward on a minerals and security deal on
Tuesday, days after a bitter clash in the Oval Office with
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance
escalated diplomatic tensions and sent shockwaves through
the global order.
"'Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday,
did not go the way it was supposed to be,' wrote Zelenskyy on
social media platform X. 'It is time to make things right. We
would like future cooperation and communication to be
constructive.'"
Politico
I see that JD Vance is trying to impose additional requirements on Ukraine for the restoration of already approved and allocated military assistance.
We've seen before that Vance sometimes 'speaks for Trump' at his own peril, sometimes being publicly corrected and having to "eat" his earlier pronouncements.
We'll have to wait and see whether he can bring Trump along with him this time, or whether he's out too far on that limb.
News from the Trump administration, apparently officially sourced (not JD Vance trying to get himself into the mix). The Trump administration and the Zelenskyy government have agreed to a minerals agreement signing next Tuesday, definite enough that Trump will be announcing it tonight.
Are you going to tune in to the speech tonight?
I'll probably tune in at the start. I'll decide as it goes how long I bother to lend him my attention. (Likely I'll record it if I decide to tune out after he gets going. Just in case I decide later that I musta missed something.)
Renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America as if that is some kind of accomplishment. Geez what a dweeb.
So far the whole speech is a whole lot of praise for absolutely nothing.
I'm out.
It was a televised (for free) campaign speech for Trump's upcoming seizure of the office of American Dictator. (Under whatever name he chooses to give it when the time comes.)
Elissa Slotkin of Michigan gave the Democratic rebuttal. She did an excellent job. Presidential material.
Huh! Good old fashioned March snowstorm here.
Trump did mention Zelenskyy's outreach and offer to sign off on the rare minerals agreement. It was a brief mention, and was favorable so far as it went--which was mostly to acknowledge that Zelenskyy had made the offer. It's notable that Trump did NOT indicate he'd accept it; he did not say the deal was back on. Nor did he promise to reinstate the embargoed military aid. He may have more demands to try to make.
So the Trump administration is talking about importing eggs to lower their price. However a lot of our imported eggs come from Canada, which is now subject to 25% tariffs. ROFL!
Stupidity in motion.
Rumor has it that Trump may back off some of the tariffs. Maybe someone informed him about the egg thing.
He has stopped sharing intelligence with Ukraine. So his capitulation to Putin continues.
Treason in motion.
Hmmm...sounds like he may back off on some tariffs pertaining to autos. Go figure...
Trump has some of his people in secret talks with potential challengers to Zelenskyy for the Presidency of Ukraine. Politico.EU
Ukraine's chief "opposition" political parties, having been contacted by Trump's representatives, have publicly come out, across the board, against Trump's call for holding wartime elections. They're all in favor of peace, and all in favor of elections, and they admit to having been in contact with Trump's representatives. But they ain't playin' ball with him. First peace; then elections. Reuters I'd reckon the Ukrainian population saw the film of the blow-up at the White House. And I'd have to conclude that being seen to side with Trump against Zelenskyy is not a winning political position for a Ukrainian politician these days.
Trump will not be happy.
But it probably won't keep him from continuing to call for elections in Ukraine.
Kind of like what makes Putin happy, what makes Trump happy is not a good thing.
Kudos to real patriots that reside in Ukraine.
Last month's job report came in a little lower than expected. 151,000 new jobs added--they were figuring on 170,000 at a minimum, maybe more.
The Trump administration has cut off Ukraine's access to commercial satellite photography created by Maxar Technologies, an American company, and accessed through a government sponsored internet portal. Reuters
This goes beyond cutting off military aid. This is blinding the Ukrainians on purpose. (Meanwhile Trump 'threatens' to take action against Russia, but doesn't.)
U.S. Constitution
Article III, Section 3, Clause 1: Treason against the United
States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in
adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. ***
I'd like to see Trump prosecuted for treason one of these days, but it's not going to be an option.
I agree entirely. He should be the one led away in shackles.
This week's opening politics: Opening on a new note for Elon Musk and his DOGE folks…. Trump has declared that his various Senate confirmed department heads are supposed to step up and take the heat for the massive cuts that Elon Musk and DOGE group are ordering across the federal government. The billionaires gotta cover for one another it seems. Musk's group makes the cuts; the politicians gotta take the blame, provide the cover.
And Mike Johnson has plans to "jam" the Senate by passing a "reconciliation" framework through the House on Tuesday and then immediately recessing the House--sending the folks home for the rest of the week, so's to put the onus on the Senate to pass the identical framework bill (and the accompanying 'continuing resolution') to avoid a government shutdown come Friday midnight.
Apparently Johnson is pretty confident of his ability to hustle his version through the House. Trump has already endorsed it in capital letters and demanded that there be "NO DISSENT" also in capital letters.
Of course, it could get modified in the Senate--which would force an embarrassing regroup in the House as they have to hustle back into session to deal with any modifications.
The Trumpkan/Republicans seem pretty confident they can pull this one off, so they don't seem to have bothered with a backup plan. Could get interesting if they've guessed that one wrong.
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