Newsletter 3: Well THAT was a Week...
Hello | Trump 2.0 Takes a Turn | Good Movie | SNL 50 Continues | Sunday Playlist: Grammy Edition
Hello all 125 of you who may be opening this email!
Thank you for doing so. I’m very appreciative.
After the bad, but not surprising, first week of Trump 2.0 it’s clear that we’re back to the full-on, crazy-ass Trump calendar: A day is a week, a week a month, a month a year.
So, congrats on getting through about four months in Trump years. Yay!
Unless I see some underlying thread that needs to be pulled, I’m going to try to try to avoid the obvious distractions, or lesser issues. Case in point is the plane crash. The DEI shit is a MAGA-verse distraction to give them content. Moves at the FAA and with air traffic controllers are scary going forward, but in all honesty, likely had nothing to do with the crash.
That the President of the United States blamed it on the boogeyman of DEI with bodies still in the water, and then said he didn’t want to go swimming to visit the site is sickening. But, it’s just proof point 125,876 that Donald Trump is a man devoid of empathy or morality. Nothing new there.
The most concerning developments of the week came near the end.
The purge of the Justice Department (and more specifically the FBI) is deeply concerning. Even beyond anything normal for a transition, this took many Trump watchers (me included) by surprise. We all accepted that Trump was going to fire anyone who was directly involved in investigating him. That was a given.
But, just like when most people didn’t think he was going to pardon even the most violent J6 terrorists, it looks like he’s going full on.
Not only did he decapitate the DOJ & FBI leadership Friday night, but he put EVERY FBI agent across the country on notice — anyone who worked on any J6 case might be canned on Monday. And maybe prosecuted.
Needles to say, agents are assigned cases.
Given the fact that the collective J6 cases were the biggest in DOJ history, this could decimate the FBI — beyond the upper reaches and field heads of the FBI.
I think this is more a severed horse head in the bed warning to the agents on the street and in supportive roles.
That’s not much comfort. What is happening is unprecedented. It points to some very scary things.
Tariff, Tariff, Tariffs!
Trump signed his tariff Executive Order Saturday even if there are real legal questions about the legality of that.
They supposedly kick in on Tuesday.
We’ll see, but I’m not so convinced all (or any) of this is going to come to fruition.
Donald Trump’s broken brain aside, almost the entirety of the Wall Street Republican establishment knows how bad this is. We get 40% of our produce from Canada and Mexico. We get the majority of our limber from Canada.
Hello new housing prices!
And speaking of Canada, how in the Hell did THEY get into this?
That’s what tells me that this is a Straw Man — a problem that isn’t real that Trump has made up and wants to find anything to claim his prowess in solving.
As someone with deep Canadian roots, I’m sad that in their own best interests they may have to capitulate to some sort of global bending the knee to this monster.
I mean, if we remember, Trump renegotiated NAFTA in his first term. I was actually for some of those changes, but that means nothing now. I think Mexico, and especially Canada are both on the block to take away from the lesser China tariffs.
For all the sound and fury about China, Trump has never gotten out of bed with them, for his own economic interests, and his personal love of dictators.
If I’m wrong, markets will fall and prices will rise and start tanking the economy pretty damn quickly.
I think Trump wants a little broad pain — just a taste — and wants to sweep in and solve the problem he created.
Trump has two masters that keep him in power — White Evangelical Nationalist and Wall Street capitalists.
He cares nothing about the former, and is funded by the latter.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t see this tariff thing really coming to full fruition. Or maybe his Wharton degree didn’t include Econ 101 and he ignorantly (or purposefully) wants to tank the entire economy.
As with everything, I guess we’ll see.
There Will Be Deportations
I finally wrote what was in my head about immigration.
You can find the rough copy here.
I did it fast, and will revise. It’s not so much of a fun read. I don’t want to be in the business of all dread, but it’s very important and instructive of what we may be in for.
Culture Club: Review | Quest Love + SNL 50 #2 | Sunday Grammy Playlist
Onto less gloomy stuff!
I liked A Real Pain starring the not Home Alone Culkin and and the dude that played Mark Zuckerberg in the movie by Aaron Sorkin that I probably need to watch again to understand the gravity of Zuchs deparavity.
I’m kidding. It’s a good little movie that is worth your time. My review is here.
For someone who has been an SNL fan since I had an 8-track of the first season, and the beginnings of listening to music, I was blown away my this remix by QuestLove.
My friend first turned me on to this. Musically and visually, it is really fucking cool:
Note that I think this original video is blocked out. Really Peacock?
Alt here:
Such a fan, I am. And yet I hadn’t watched an episode since 11/5. Until last week.
Listen, I have put down any number of SNL seasons — the last few especially.
But, the Timmy Chalamet episode was really good. That kid is naturally multi-talented, and I give SNL at 50 credit for having the guts to then give him a musical platform, and for him, to do three really edgy takes on lesser-known Dylan songs.
SNL is never going to have the punk edge it had at the outset. It’s been completely institutionalized. But, I give credit to SNL for still trying. They still has some bite.
Added are five more random SNL sketches here.
Sunday Grammy Sunday
I’m old enough to remember when Jethro Tull won for best metal album. And I’m now mildly impressed that I know 3/4 of the artists at hand.
I like this mix. I think I do a pretty good job weaving through genres. I’ll let you be the judge.
See you next week!