INTERNATIONAL GAME MASTER DAY UPDATES
Never Let It Be Said That This Substack Did Not Show Respect to our Gaming Community!
-(Deep breath …)
-As of the start of the writing of this Update, the Dow Jones had fallen over 1,500 points thanks to Vice President Trump executing his threat to inflict 25% tariffs on all goods and services from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on Chinese goods and services – which were followed almost immediately by parallel tariffs assessed by Canada and China (with Mexico to follow). Apparently upset that he is being overshadowed domestically by the rampage of Pretty-Much Real President Elon Musk and believing (because he knows words, he has the BEST words, and is the expert on everything – just ask him if you can get upwind of him) that tariffs are some kind of entrance fee to the American economy that he intends to use to give every part of the American economy to the richest douches in the country try to become the largest thief in world history find out how far he can drive Americans before the pitchforks come out for him and the aforementioned richest douches pay for tax reform (you can laugh or barf, both apply), he is now quite likely to learn – along with some of the deepest red states there are – that the only people that pay for tariffs are consumers, and that the resulting inflation winds up taking away from federal revenues (because it’s not 1888 – and it didn’t work in 1888, either!).
-Need further proof? The newest post-tariff projections are indicating that, combined with the irrational slashes and burns being inflicted on the Federal regulatory system, gross domestic product could drop by a whopping 5% - that’s the deepest non-pandemic-drop since 2008’s Great Recession – and would mean Trump squandered President Biden’s masterful management of the economy in a matter of weeks. And all thanks to abject stupidity and incompetence.
-Now, we may not see those exact numbers, because what with various firings of federal organizations that normally measure such statistics without interference from self-professed Big Brainz, lies projections about what is really going on in the economy are likely to begin at the end of the week as well. Treasury Nimrod Secretary Bessent has already discussed the possibility of not counting any figures about the impacts of the Trump Musk firings in various statistical models in order to try to bamboozle deep MAGA followers that things aren’t as bad as they are noticing they are (what are eggs anyway, right?), and Trump consistently attacked bad news as “fake” going all the way back to when he was contradicting gossip in the New York press by calling tabloids as “John Barron” to give them his own spin, so there is yet another reason to abandon Legacy Media, Inc.
-OH, BUT WE’RE STILL NOT DONE WITH THE ECONOMIC INSANITY!
-Because you see, while all the tariff stuff is occurring at the top of the fold, below the fold and inside the news there is yet another scam brewing, this involving cryptocurrency. You may recall that both Musk and Trump are super-heavy into crypto, and in fact both took a bath as those markets were also falling when over the weekend Trump announced the creation of a “Crypto Strategic Reserve.” The administration claims this fund would allow the US to get into the crypto market – a great idea for such a weird form of “money” (and, incidentally, reportedly one of the motivations behind Trump’s weird obsession with bizarro and utterly BS claims that the gold in Ft. Knox had been removed and needing to visit it to check to see if it is still there).
-While the need for some kind of government overseeing of the crypto market is important, that is not what this is (NO DUH, right?!). THIS, by most observers’ observations, could be little more than Trump and Musk using other federal assets to cover any losses from a notoriously volatile form of trading (because nobody has still explained to me what crypto is, therefore to me it is like trying to say Chuck E. Cheese game tokens are actual currency) prone to wild fluctuations that would just so happen to benefit people deep into it like … WHATTA COINKYDINIK! … Trump and Musk!!!!
-After a first wave of positive notices, the news of the proposed Crypto Strategic Reserve is now getting hard pushback and criticisms from multiple sources, including anyone in the crypto community not named Trump or Musk – because they can see the massive potential for double-dealing, favorable information, and backing by real money that stands to allow Musk and Trump to personally benefit from crypto trading. In fact, there are reports that “Trumpcoin” already has benefitted from what amounts to insider trading late last year when their crypto was released to high valuation then pulled just before (as in “literally seconds before”) a plunge in value which allowed whoever was holding Trump crypto (any guesses?) to get out with bags of cash while most other investors took a bath.
-In fact, Argentinian President Milei was part of that suspected “pump-and-dump” that netted him $250 M, and as a result his actions in the trades are now being investigated by an Argentinian Federal judge – in case you thought his appearance at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference and “gift” of a metallic chain saw to a clearly looped up Elon Musk was just to give someone who also benefitted from the crypto action a tip of the hat and pull of the engine cord, not to mention how much Trump’s people knew and when they knew it.
-So to summarize: egg prices are still huge, America’s closest trading partners are tit-for-tatting thanks to a tariff war based on a would-be Mad King’s utter disunderstanding of basic economics, growing layoffs occurring for reasons more about zealotry are adding to the fire, and the American economic system is possibly beings scooched over to one of the weirdest monetary scams this side of tulips fusing to create what may be the single worst self-inflicted economic wound ever committed by any country anywhere in recorded history.
-Phew.
-Then, alas, there is Ukraine, where last night Spoiled Brat Trump, acting on the wishes of The Man Who Is His Real Boss-Father, Vladimir Putin (ALLEGEDLY) (EYEROLL), halted all aid to Ukraine in the wake of the tantrum he and Intern JD Vance threw the White House meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. All but demanding Zelenskyy talk admirably about Trump as if he were a MAGAt, Trump continued to send shock waves worldwide amid further reports that he was readying a relaxation of sanctions against poor widdle Wussia against that Big Mean Nasty Guy Who Doesn’t Even Have a Suit and Tie and Won’t Be Nice To ME!, continuing a march to the baddies that TrumpMerica is heading towards.
-But, that – and infantilizing Zelenskyy – does not accurately describe the conditions. Meetings with European countries over the weekend are proving beneficial as country after country continue to step up to give assurances that they will help Ukraine with their ongoing war. Zelenskyy for his part is not a naif when it comes to diplomacy, as THIS JUST IN: Zelenskyy called the Friday meeting “regrettable” (an I-apologize-to-anyone-who-may-have-been-offended-but-Hell-NO-I-did-nothing-wrong construction if ever I saw one) while also proposing cease-fire conditions for the first time, and again asked for reopening negotiations (and, more to the moment, working to get aid renewed as soon as possible while the newer European resources come on line) to keep dialogue going (which did not stop even while Trump was tossing ketchup bottles against walls) (ALLEGEDLY) (EYEROLL).
-Now, in the real worlds, all of the above is getting Trump excoriated, what with Trump upturning generations of GOP anger and opposition towards anything Russia/Soviet even getting Brian Kilmeade (of all people) openly aggravated at Dear Leader, CEOs and the Wall Street Journal lamenting the Trump Tariffs as utter idiocy and stupidity, and constituents from farming states who will be among the first to get hammered in the ploughshares economically to recently-face-eaten victims of the civil service who voted for Trump anyway still showing up at town halls venting anger that is building towards rage. CNN polling shows Trump is at the lowest point of any President entering a new term in American history, with only Gallup’s outlier polling keeping Trump’s approval rating close to even if not free-falling.
-But that’s not disturbing the MAGAt bubble one bit, no sirree bob! In that alternate universe, the bullying of Zelenskyy was so necessary and (in their crossed eyes) so well done that MAGA genuinely believes Trump has clinched an achingly-desired Nobel Peace Prize! The economics will bring so much bread and honey to all white male cisgendered families that a new $250 bill festooned with Dear Leader’s anus-mouthed bronzed bloated face on it will (or soon should be) printed! The suffering to be imposed on the red states who most deeply voted for Trump and will be most negatively affected by the proposed mowing down of Federal departments will be noble suffering for further looting of the Treasury by the aforementioned richest douches on the planet Dear Leader who imposes suffering on their enemies and people they don’t understand in ways only MAGA can ‘enjoy’ (or whatever constitutes ‘joy’ in their world).
-And they will be expressing their joy tonight when Trump shufflewaddles into Congress for a joint address to Congress (FUN FACT – it is NOT a State of the Union – those don’t happen during Presidential transfer years!) that, inexplicably, will still have some Democrats attending. Frustration continues to build towards the DC Democrats for continuing to not rise up to the moment of fighting Fascists who just might want to imprison the lot of them rather than actually trying to legislate anything – frustration likely to amp up with reports out of the centrist rag Politico of once-vanquished, now possibly resurgent Blue Dog Democrats looking to quash progressive voices in favor of the namby-pamby pablum that helped set the stage for Trump in the first place.
-No worse and terrifying a figure than former Obama pubic option killer corporatist parrot somehow still less odious than brother Ari Chief of Staff and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has returned to public life, parlaying a weekly column from the newly-gelded Washington Post to a wave of appearances over the weekend (including sexist relic who somehow still has a platform Bill Maher) to once again try to snuff the likes of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett in favor of a potential return to political life that, frankly, nobody asked for and fewer people really want – but we may get anyway to open yet another front to grab the country from all these tired old out-of-touch mostly men.
-GAH!
-Some updates are harder than others, so let’s end on a clear positive note from Congress last night, in which Democrats stuck together and sustained a filibuster against another one of Trump’s icky side projects: the vilification of the trans community (and with it, promotion of sexual violence against women). A bill that, if passed, would have placed a ban on allowing transgender athletes to compete in sports (and include genital inspections if demanded) – which the NCAA estimates would affect, at most, TEN athletes in colleges and universities across the countries, not to mention the ritual humiliation of female athletes for no other reason than Trump’s visceral hatred of the trans community (and as an aside, knowing Trump acts primarily out of vengeance, who and how was Trump set up with a transsexual date or sex worker or someone to feed his pedophile predilections that may very well be the motive for this crap???) – was blocked thanks to Democrats universally holding their votes to ensure it could not and would not come to the floor.
-Will MAGAts try to bring this back? More than likely, but that was a win and, as this Substack has said before, wins must be celebrated and built on in order to get to that 3.5% nonviolent public opposition that is required to not just fight Trump and this clown show off, but to overturn them and replace them with actual democracy (and not whatever Rahm is cooking up).
-Enjoy Fat Tuesday – and YES, feel some joy! Joy is the enemy of autocrats, so don’t let them take it! Avoid Trump’s spew before Congress, do something fun (I will be making duck mushroom gumbo while watching my Cleveland Cavaliers play!), and FK these guys.
-On to the day’s trivia …
-NEWS OF THE DAY: In 1681, the province of Pennsylvania was secured by William Penn, appropriately. In 1789, the U.S. Constitution and the government its rules were created for began. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated. In 1960, Lucille Ball filed for divorce from Desi Arnaz. In 1966, John Lennon declared that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” In 2007, Estonia conducted a national election wholly online.
-DEBUTS ON THIS DAY: A Presidential inauguration in Washington, DC (1801), the American Automobile Association (AAA, 1902), The “Spanish” Flu (actually started in Kansas, 1918), NOSFERATU (1922), the Grammy Awards (1959 – first Record of the Year, “Volare”), PEOPLE Magazine (1974), THE CLASH (1977).
-HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Antonio Vivaldi, Knute Rockne, Eleanor “Sis” Daley, Paul Mauriat, Gil Brandt, Miriam Makeba, Paula Prentiss, Bobby Womack, Chris Squire, James Ellroy, Emilio Estefan, Catherine O’Hara, Mykelti Williamson, Patricia Heaton, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Steven Weber, Jason Newsted, Kevin Johnson, Evan Dando, Patsy Kensit, Chaz Bono, Jason Marsalis, Jon Fratelli, Mike Krieger, and Bobbi Kristina Brown.
-REST IN PEACE/REST IN POWER: Commodore Matthew C. Perry, Antonin Artaud, William Carlos Williams, Richard Manuel, John Candy. Minnie Pearl, Harry Blackmun, Thomas Eagleton, Horton Foote, Pat Conroy, Keith Flint, King Kong Bundy, Luke Perry, and Javier Perez de Cuellar.
-FEED THE WORMS: Amway creator and GOP funder Richard DeVos and former Trump dimwit Cabinet member Rick “I forgot – Oops!” Perry entered Earth on this date. Former Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes - the man who ordered the National Guard to fire on students at Kent State - bought it on this date.
-Draymond Green was born on this date. Del Close died on this date. You decide if they get a Happy Birthday / Rest in Peace or Power or if they Feed the Worms.
-TODAY’S MUSICAL INTERLUDE: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY ADULT HOME TOWN! (… and yeah, remember THIS President? Sigh …)