March 11, 2025

Is it just me? I wake up in the morning, lay in bed for a few extra minutes pondering what kind of s**t show we will have today, get up and fix a cup of coffee, open up my iPad, look at the notifications, and have a WTF moment. Yesterday, it was the stock market going freefall throughout the morning. This morning, Trump said the U.S. will impose an additional 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from Canada, raising the tax to 50% overall. This roiled the market and it picked up where it left off yesterday, continuing it’s slide into correction territory. In Trump’s first term this kind of market behavior would have caused him concern, as he based the state of the economy and his performance ratings on the stock market. That has changed during Trump 2.0. Someone in his inner circle has evidently convinced him to not worry about the stock market, just keep up your trade war and pile on those tariffs baby. A falling stock market isn’t the end all, but it certainly has a negative impact on many Americans, directly and indirectly. Current workers 401K accounts are getting decimated, retired folks retirement accounts are getting decimated, retiree pensions are taking a big hit, and individual retail market investors are watching their accounts take a big dump. The only glee I get in this is watching Tesla stock continue to get hammered. The stock has fallen every week since Elon Musk went to Washington, D.C. to take over our government. These seven straight weeks of losses have seen the stock go from $424.07 on January 21^st to a close of $230.58 today. Investors have been selling their Tesla stock as they see falling sales of Tesla vehicles and, as a result, profits. They see the massive protests of Musk’s political activities, boycotts, and DOGE mass firings of government workers as a good time to exit TSLA. Donald, of course, has stepped in to try and save Elon, making this absurd statement on Truth Social this morning: “Elon Musk is ‘putting it on the line’ in order to help our Nation, and he is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! But the Radical Left Lunatics, as they often do, are trying to illegally and collusively boycott Tesla, one of the World’s great automakers, and Elon’s ‘baby,’ in order to attack and do harm to Elon, and everything he stands for.” And to further support his buddy, Trump, who doesn’t drive, is going to buy a Tesla. So there you have it, it is now illegal to buy yourself a Ford instead of a Tesla. Pretty crazy times ain’t it?

The big event to watch for this week, however, will be the congressional voting to see if come Saturday morning we have a partial shutdown of government. As I am writing this, I see that the House did approve the continuing resolution spending bill. We will now see what happens in the Senate, which will be more difficult to pass, as it will need the support of at least 8 Democrats. Normally, this process is a bipartisan exercise to craft a measure that both sides could support. This one, however, is a Trump crafted measure that will let the administration spend pretty much as they want to advance their policies. The sycophantic GOP congressional members and the leaderless Dem’s have abdicated their responsibilities of funding government functions and programs and providing oversight of the executive branch as they roll over and hand the reins to Donald and Elon.

One of the most beautiful speeches I have heard or read recently was from a French politician, Senator Claude Malhuret, making an eight minute speech to his colleagues in the French Senate last week, which perfectly describes Trump and Musk. I am posting a link so you can watch or read his address. https://thebulletin.org/2025/03/for-this-french-senator-trump-is-a-traitor-and-europe-is-now-alone/ To give you a little taste, here are a few of his statements in the speech. Trust me it is a good read. Check it out. “Washington has become the court of Nero: An incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers, and a buffoon on ketamine tasked with purging the civil service.” “Trump’s message is that being his ally serves no purpose, because he will not defend you, he will impose more tariffs on you than on his enemies, and he will threaten to seize your territories, while supporting the dictators who invade you.” “I have confidence in the solidity of American democracy, and the country is already protesting. But in one month, Trump has done more harm to America than in four years of his last presidency. We were at war with a dictator; now we are fighting against a dictator supported by a traitor.“

If $18 million for weekly golf trips isn’t enough, now we get to start watching a $200 million ad campaign from Homeland Security proposed by Trump. I haven’t seen the ad yet, but what I have read is that we will get to see Homeland Security Secretary Barbie ICE, (Kristi Noem) in a blue suit standing with a backdrop of American flags thanking Trump “for securing our border and putting America first.” DHS skipped a competitive bidding process to give two Republican-linked firms the contract. Surprise, Surprise.

That’s enough for today. We’ll just have to get up in the morning and see what chaos the day brings. Now go read the speech from Claude Malhuret and have a great evening! Ziggyman