SAVE Act

The republicans behind the SAVE act would have you believe that this is about securing our election system.  Which is protecting a system that has, despite a myriad of investigations, shown minimal fraud. Like single digits, not percentages, votes.   
When it passes, it means we all have to absolutely prove we are citizens.  And what is wrong with that?  We have done similar things before.  See the Poll Tax or Jim Crow laws on elections https://www.history.com/articles/jim-crow-laws-black-vote.  These laws were designed to suppress the vote of undesirables.  IE Blacks.  And this is what the SAVE act is designed to do.  Except that while Jim Crow were state and local laws, SAVE will be national.
Why is SAVE being put forth?  Because the Republicans know that with all the mismanagement, treason and thievery that this administration is doing, with their full and willing consent, that they are going to be routed from the field next election cycle.  Now they could mitigate that loss by acting responsibly from here on out, but that is ridiculous.  So plan B is to reduce the electorate opposition to the point where their dedicated 39% of the voters can squeak them by in 2026.
Who does SAVE affect?
Everyone will need at least a Passport or birth certificate to vote.
Married Women.  Even the birth certificate is not enough.  You have to provide the marriage certificate to show the name change.  Divorced and remarried?  You have to show a chain of certificates to prove a chain between your current name and birth certificate.  
NOTE HERE, REAL ID's, which was considered the penultimate ID of the land, is NOT GOOD ENOUGH for the SAVE Act.
Native American Tribal ID's are NOT GOOD ENOUGH for the SAVE Act.
Military ID's are NOT GOOD ENOUGH for the SAVE Act.
If you move, and 1 in 7 Americans move every year, and do not present the applicable documentation to reregister, you will not be allowed to vote.
Many Americans will not be able to access the additional documents needed here.  This is what the bill is designed to do.  Not to protect the election process, but to create the attitude of "fuck it, I'm just one vote, what does it matter?"  It will generate millions of "fuck its."
Oh, voting by mail, what will be out the window.  Because even though it was the Republicans that pushed for vote by mail, in order to raise their number of rural voters, it is the Democrats that dominate the mail voting, by about 2-1.  
Enough to where election day results were considered the "red mirage."  FYI, this phrase was coined in 2013.  Long before the serial-liar-in-chief complained about it.

So what are the results?  If enacted today, at least 146 million Americans could not vote under the SAVE act.  It would cause a radical suppression of the vote by women, minorities, and the poor.
It will also suppress the vote in southern states.  But there the R's have enough of a voter advantage that they do not care.  It will shift the votes to the D column in the northern states.  
 
But the real effect is that it will give even more reason for our elected officials to ignore our voice.  Because that voice will not count as much anymore.

Too many comparisons between Hitler and Trump

Too many comparisons between Hitler and Trump

 

Hitler incited an insurrection, check.
Hitler was tried, convicted, but given a light sentence, check.

Hitler claimed he was being persecuted, check.
Hitler ran on a platform against the elites, degenerates, and the education system was indoctrinating children, check.
Hitler was duly elected, check.
Hitler put rich men in in charge as his economic advisors, check.
Hitler blamed the Jews for all of Germany's problems. Trump blames immigrants and DEI. Check.
Hitler had concentration camps set up. Trump wants to expand Guantanamo Bay from 850 to 30,000 for deportees. Check.
Hitler pardoned 8,000 Nazi's on day one. Trump waited a full day before pardoning his insurrectionists. Close enough, Check.
Hitler removed the birthright citizenship rights of Jews.  Trump is working on that.
Hitler began a campaign to intimidate the media to keep them silent.  Trump is suing CBS for 20 billion dollars, check.
Hitler began annexing territory needed for Germanys security. Sudetenland, Austria, western Poland. That took him several years to get there. But Trump has already threatened to annex Panama, and Greenland for security purposes, and Palestine for reasons... No there is not reason here.
Dismissed Generals and Admirals that were not loyal enough. Check.
Hitler ignored any science that questioned his views on eugenics. Trump just ignores any science.  Check.
Hitler promised to make Germany great again. Check.
Hitler demonized Jews, Slavs, homosexuals, gypsies, Jehovah Witnesses, dwarves. Trump is demonizing gays, trans, immigrants, the FBI, and any social service, check.
Nazi's passed out cheap, one frequency only, radios to their followers, so they could get the Nazi party's spin on what was happening. And of course all the other newspapers and radio broadcasts were just fake news.  Check.
Hitler had the backing of all the major German industries. And so seems Trump.
And that is the problem. Our checks and balances are broken. Does the congressional Republicans hate Trump. A lot of them, possibly most of them, yes.
But they are either fearful of retribution from their base, or from him.
One difference. Hitler wasn't personally greedy. His minions took the opportunity to loot and plunder, but he lived a frugal life. While Trump has done everything to enrich himself and family.
Another difference. Hitler outlined what he would do, and then did it. Trump is following someone else's plan. While just throwing out topic-du-jour as his mind deteriorates.


Another bill submitted to congress by Earl Carter, Georgia(R), the “Red, White, and Blueland Act of 2025”.
It reads,  "Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to Greenland shall be deemed to be a reference to “Red, White, and Blueland”."

Already naming Greenland before they have annexed it from Denmark, an ally of some 80+ years.
As one red hat commented to me on an earlier post, Wow can’t even make this 💩 up yep I’m Nazi through and through."

This is universally regarded as a bad thing.

47 and McCarthyism

 47 and McCarthyism

In the last 3 weeks we have experienced many parallels to the rise of Hitler's Nazi Germany. But the MAGA Hats will just say that is "Trump Derangement Syndrome." Which is not a real thing, and is used to dismiss any counter points as ignore-able. Because heaven help them if any of it was real!

So lets go with a much more recent time when federal government employees were persecuted and dismissed without valid reasons.

McCarthyism is regarded as the darkest moment of American politics of the last century. People were hounded and persecuted sometimes to death based on a lie.

It was only after much damage was done and a free press was McCarthy finally deposed from his pinnacle of power.

In 1950, the Senator stood before congress and declared with piece of paper in his hand that he had declared was a list of 205 card carrying communist in the Department of State.

The piece of paper was later revealed to be blank. He had no names. There was zero evidence. And people were ruined and died.

It took over 4 years for this to play out before the Senate had the guts to censure him.

Now we are experiencing the same thing. The Serial-Liar-in-Chiefs sycophants are parading item after item of the abusive, as defined by them, spending of USAID. But is any of it true?

WE DON"T KNOW.

Because the Everyone-Is-Lying-But-Me-in-Chief has ordered all the government websites that could shed accurate information shut down. So easily disproved items, can't. But some of the free press can dig into their records and find inconsistencies. Which are beginning to show up.

But those whose minds are have been captured by the radical right entertainment network have been getting a steady stream of USAID expenditures that are either cherry picked, or deliberately described to trigger their righteous indignation. And frankly, seeing some of the items, I'd be triggered too.

But is any of it true? Possibly. Is it all true, certainly not.

Looking at some of the "reveals" last week, and comparing them to this week. There are inconsistencies. Some of the numbers have grown dramatically. I remember last week that a grant by USAID funded an Irish LGBTQ concert at $20,000. Now it's being presented as costing $70,000. And, in truth, it was NEVER funded by USAID. But another government agency.

And of course, Ivanka's grant by the USAID doesn't ever show up on the list.

Today I got a video of a presentation of a Senate committee being presented with accusations of government transgender animal experiments totaling at least 241 million dollars. Google that and you see last week an article where it was 2 million, then later in the week it was 10 million. Two days ago it was now 241 million. Because why present a small number when a bigger number will get people so good and mad, they won't see straight. Refer to "The Big Lie" in Mein Kampf. But that would be TDS.

Is it true? WE DON"T KNOW. All the information by the federal government relevant to this is no longer allowed to be communicated, by web site or by personnel, by the Executive order titled, "Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship”

So until Trump annexes Palestine, think McCarthyism, not Hitler. After that, all bets are off.

Is The Tariff Damage Permanent?

We all witness an amazing act of malfeasance by the Tariff-in-Chief.  Like a monkey playing with the most complex machine on the planet, the US Economy, we have witnessed Felon-47 flip switches and turn dials seemingly at random.  The administration did publish the formula, devised by Ron Varo, the imaginary friend of Peter Navarro.  But the numbers on the chart displayed by the our deranged leader bear little resemblance to what the formula published by the Office of the United States Trade Representative should have generated.  See my previous blog post on that.

As of 4/11/2025, what is the current status of the tariffs?  The original 10% across the board tariffs are still in effect.  There are exceptions.  Books, pharmaceuticals, items currently in transit, Canada and Mexico.  And of course Chinese tariffs are now at 125%.  

Then suddenly, they were gone.  On a ninety day "pause."  Except pharmaceuticals, which he threatened increased tariffs on the day after.  To hear him boast, 50 countries came to him begging to negotiate.  Then because that number wasn't good enough, it was 75 countries.  None of which he would name.  Because, they would call him on the lie.  

But they are not gone.  The baseline is still there.  And as much as he has promised a pause, his word has zero worth.  The maga-hats may say that is just Trump-Derangement-Syndrome.  But you don't have to believe me.  The whole world now has TDS.  Why is that?  

But the topic here is the question, is the damage to the US economy caused by the orange ape flipping switches, with the full consent of the Congress, permanent?  Effectively yes.  Long term damage has been done.  Damage that will be with us for at least the decade past this presidency's demise.  

A major indicator is the stock market.  Since the economic buffoon's inauguration, the stock market has lost over $9 trillion.  Those that do not understand this can think, well, it is just a correction, and it will go back up.  Thinking this is just game being played by stock portfolio managers and rich people.  How does it affect you and me?  Ask your self this, "where did the money go?"  Using round numbers.  Say the stock market was worth $1,000.  And you sold your share at $50, and the over all market dropped to say, $950. You now have $50.  What do you do with it.  If you are just playing a game, you could wait till the market dropped lower and buy back in.  Sell high, buy low.

And to some extent, that is happening.  That part we don't need to worry about, except for the insider traders that the entire administration and republican members of congress seemed to be engaged in.  The real problem is the world is looking at the idiots in charge of the US and start looking elsewhere to place their dollars.  Trillions of dollars just flowed out of the US and will be flowing into the European stocks and bonds.  That is money that would be furthering investment in the US, and will now be investing into our chief competitors.   

Want proof?  Look at the dollar.  Before tariffs, the Euro bough 1.08 dollars  On April 11, it was 1.126 dollars.  About a 4% decline in the dollar, in 10 days.  Why is that.  Supply and demand.  Dollars are bought and sold in a world wide auction system.  We have more dollars chasing fewer euros.  So the value of the dollar goes down.

Effectively, this is an additional 4% tariff on all foreign goods.  Without the exceptions for books and pharmaceuticals.  

Then there is interest on the bonds.  Every so often, the US Treasury holds a bond auction.  Since our credit is the best in the world, the world buys our bonds paying low interest rates.  But not any more.  We haven't defaulted on the bonds, but every investor in the world is not going to trust to hold our debt.  Right now, we are paying $1 trillion in debt interest.  About 2.8%.  Lets raise that to 3.8%.  Now the debt service goes up to $1.36 trillion.  

Elon Musk is making claims that DOGE will save us $150 billion a year.  Assuming that is correct, and based on DOGE's gross errors so far, it is not.  We will still be needing another 200 billion for next year.  

Also, these interest rates will bubble through the economy, making homes and cars harder to buy.  

The Treasury secretary declared that the tariff policies would improve the business climate, and they were also pursuing a policy of a strong dollar.  

A lack of stability is anathema to businesses.  They will be running away as fast as they can.  And the mishandling of the dollar will lead to its weakness.

So is this damage permanent.  Maybe not.  But it is going to be with us for a very long time.

Tariffs Applyed on April 2

We have now had a chance to look at the tariffs that Felon-47 presented a couple days ago.  The question whose ass did these numbers come from?  From the office of US Trade Representative.  See the attached image for the formula.

Reference from the Office of the United States Trade Representative

'i' is effectively which country are we talking about.  Delta T is the tariff to be imposed.

Above the fraction bar is x for exports from a country, minus 'm' for imports, in billions.  This would be the trade deficit or surplus.

Below the fraction bar is Epsilon times Phi times 'm'.

Epsilon is defined as "elasticity" of "import demand", which is effectively a random number between 2 and who knows?  So the administration set it to arbitrarily 4.  Phi is elasticity of import prices, and is also effectively a random number between .01 and 1.  And was set to .25.  Then we have 'm' again, for imports from the country in question.

So while this is designed to look really complex and well thought out, all it is saying is Trade Deficit divided by imports from the country in question.  Because Epsilon * Phi = 1.

Even though the math-genius-in-chief's office says this is THE formula, that is a bald ass lie.  There is no mention of the final +10% added to the tariff. 

And if this formula was generally used, you wouldn't have islands whose economy is penguin droppings, Diego Garcia, with a population consisting of 4,000 American military personnel, with a 10% tariff rate.  0-0 divided by 4*.25*0.  

There is no mention that IF the result of the formula is 0 or less, then the tariff is +10%.

And the numbers on the top have been inflated.  For example, Canada's trade deficit is declared at $200 billion.  When the official number, by the US's own documentation, the number is $63.3 billion.
see here...

Why the inflated number?  The real reason is the administration wants to make a strong statement.  This is a bargaining technique, So they are not including US export SERVICES.  Which in truth, is a fairly significant number.

So for all the claim that the Serial-Liar-In-Chief said went into these tariff calculations, it can be best summed up as this:

Numbers they made up
----------------------------
Fudge factor * Fudge factor * A number they made up
plus
additional Fudge factor (or minus a fudge factor if country = Russia or Belarus)