Losing My Perspicacity April 3, 2025

Good morning and Happy Thursday. Happy to see you this morning.

Despite Cory Booker’s historic stand on the Senate floor yesterday, the news yesterday was all about Trump’s tariff announcement.

I’m not a financial expert (my husband would laugh at how much of an understatement that is), and I barely eked out a “B” in macroeconomics in college. So I’m out of my depth here when it comes to the numbers. However, what I can discuss is the fact that the Constitution gives the power to impose tariffs to Congress, not the President, and Congress has delegated some of its power to the POTUS by statute. That means the power can be taken back by statute.

This piece, written for the last tariff announcement, explains:

The IEEPA requires the POTUS to declare a “national emergency” to invoke the Act, and “foreign and economic trade practices” are certainly not what Congress had in mind. The Trump administration has gotten away with a lot of unconstitutional behavior by ignoring that words mean things. In Trump World, anything that angers him is a “national emergency.” The IEEPA was intended for POTUS to be able to move quickly in times of war or other life-altering events, like 9/11. Not petty financial grudges with our closest allies.

As Don Moynihan rightly points out on Bluesky, Congress could end this at any time. Seeing Adam Schiff on MSNBC tonight gave me hope that something along those lines is in the offing — that’s the right thing to do. The Democrats may be outnumbered in Congress, but there is a lot of value in introducing bills, making the GOP vote on them, and forcing them to put their names on these policies. No more talking about how harmful Trump is for America in the halls and supporting him in front of the cameras. You broke it? You bought it. Now own it.

By the time you read this, we’ll know the results of the after-hours Senate vote on a Democratic resolution to block Trump’s tariffs as they apply to Canada, with several key Republicans, like Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitch McConnell, supposedly poised to support it. However, the resolution will undoubtedly die in the House, which is populated by a bunch of buffoons like Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor-Green, and Lauren Boebert. Still, it’s important to get the GOP to go on the record as supporting Trump’s policies — that’s what the Dems are going to point do ahead of the midterms.

By the way, this is the guy they all live in fear of.

You can practically hear his brain decomposing inside his head. What other word does he think we use for the former “groceries?” Sundries? Essentials? Foodstuffs?

It’s also probably worth mentioning that we’re slapping a tariff on the Heard and McDonald Islands, which are inhabited only by penguins. So, Trump is definitely losing the flightless bird vote.

If you’re looking for the silver lining here, I guess there are a few. One is that Cory Booker’s stand seems to have fired up the Democrats somewhat. At least, they’re talking about introducing bills and stopping Trump, rather than just throwing up their hands, though admittedly the bar is very low.

The other is that the media seems less susceptible to Trump’s framing of the issues. Both CNN and the Wall Street Journal have correctly characterized the tariffs as a huge tax increase on the American people. Check out the headlines.
 

It’s not much, but it’s more than we’ve seen so far.

In today’s news: US Soccer is about to be front-and-center in the culture war; Jim Banks and Nancy Mace have very bad days; A Boston judge takes ICE to the woodshed; and The High Note.

Let’s do it.

Are you ready for the war over the World Cup?

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Trump would almost certainly start yelling about the World Cup and FIFA being unfair to Russia as we inch closer to the 2026 WC, jointly hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico. I’m sure you already see the problem here.

Vladimir Putin loves international competitions. He was reportedly incensed when Russia was banned from Eurovision following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and anyone who has followed the doping wars knows that he’s willing to go to just about any length to see Russia atop the Olympic podium. (This is where I try to talk you into watching Icarus again.) Russia was similarly banned from international football by FIFA and UEFA in 2022.

But as the World Cup draws nearer, expect to hear Trump start grousing about how “unfair” FIFA is to Russia. He certainly wants to preen and peacock around in front of his Russian pals, and now he won’t get to.

Soccer was in the headlines today for a different reason: Zambia will not take four players who currently play in the NWSL with them to China for upcoming matches, citing “additional travel measures introduced by the new administration” in the United States. 

Teams are understandably worried about their players leaving the US and not being able to get back in upon reentry. One of those players is Babra Banda of the Orlando Pride, Zambia’s captain and arguably the best player in the NWSL. Leaving Banda and the other players off the roster for the China matches will be a huge blow to her team, particularly as they prepare for the Women’s Africa Cup of National tourney in July.

Let’s see how many teams are even willing to come to the US by the time 2026 rolls around.

And while we’re on the subject of soccer, I loved this piece from The Guardian about how the unlikeablity of the USMNT, especially as compared to the beloved USWNT. Though I disagree with giving Alexi Lalas credit for anything, ever.

Heh. Don’t forget Christian Pulisic’s “Trump Dance” goal celebration. Ugh.

Bad news for Jim Banks and Nancy Mace

I hate giving either of these two asses any attention whatsoever, so I’m throwing them both under a single heading today.

Senator Jim Banks (R-IN) should probably be a bit more careful about what he says to his constituents, especially when there’s a camera hovering nearby, because this clip of Banks telling a laid-off federal HHS worker, “you probably deserved it” has gone viral.

Banks, of course, refuses to apologize. What were you thinking, Indiana? What a douche.

Okay, on to Nancy Mace, who tried to convince us all that she was attacked by a man defending the trans community outside the Capitol. That version of events was immediately called into question by several witnesses to the interaction. Remember this whole dog-and-pony show?

Turns out, federal prosecutors don’t believe her, either (just my opinion). They’ve taken steps to dismiss the charges against the man Mace accused. She is, predictably, unhappy.

I’ll just say that when a “victim” is as motivated and powerful as Mace, it’s very unusual for prosecutors to drop the charges. Just sayin’.

Boston judge is not amused by ICE

While the national news is always depressing, there are many local stories of resistance that don’t make it above the fold in national publications. Take, for example, this Boston judge who did not take kindly to ICE grabbing a defendant in the middle of a trial.

Judge Mark Summerville held ICE agent Brian Sullivan in contempt of court and dressed him down in front of the whole courtroom.

Summerville dismissed all charges against the defendant and referred the contempt charge to the local DA to determine if charges should be filed.

Also, only in Boston could you have two guys on opposite sides of a legal battle both named “Sullivan.”

The High Note

Each Day, I do my best to leave you with a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and the will to fight another day.

IKEA understands the moment:

Before I say goodbye today, I just want to take a moment to remember Val Kilmer, one of my favorite actors of all time, and remember that his very first movie role was as iconic as it gets.

Some of us knew he could sing long before The Doors.

Survive and advance today, kids. Don’t let the bastards get you down.