Forget one and out! I thought we lived in a country with free speech?
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The electronics thing at the border has been going on for a few months. The usual tech sites such as Wired have had articles on options.
Here's a good resource for that:
https://www.eff.org/issues/border-searches
I regularly delete my messages anyway. Saves space on your device. I do that with texts, WhatsApp, FB Messenger, and Signal.
Bae, I love EFF and even donate occasionally. That was a really good read. EFF also has a guide to your devices when protesting and for women seeking abortions.
Denver had a couple of dozen arrests of the usual rabble rousers with no serious incidents. The other smaller cities seemed to have peaceful protests the news pretty much just described "in the thousands". Of all the publicity I saw the talk mostly was centered around immigration, which I suppose is OK, but overshadowed other important No King things.
I suspect the ROI on the parade was rather low. I think my dad who served in the Army in WWII would have liked it, but I don't think he would have liked Trump. It was hard to get away from the Trump label on the parade.
Apparently the prez will be sending out tariff letters to 12 countries beginning on Monday. These will tell countries what duties the US will assess on their imports to the US.
These duties seem they may be different than the ones announced April 2.
Oh Tradd, I don't see how you and others in your job stay on top of all this mess! I have whiplash just from READING about it. And I wonder if my online purchases are "safe" from surprise tariffs - so if I am unsure, I just don't order. How does one know???
Where are you ordering from? If ordering from Amazon, make sure it says "fulfilled by Amazon." That means it's shipping from a US Amazon warehouse, not directly from overseas.
I never ordered from Shein or Temu or the cheapos on eBay. You don't want to order something that ships directly from China.
There's subreddit for customs brokers and we are continually updating each other, providing tips on getting clearances through with all the added complications of the increases.
Thanks, Tradd! Sometimes we have orders for stuff for a museum, and we don't always know where it's shipping from (when there's a third party involved, often branding the merchandise). I've taken to verify a base price (hats, shirts, water-bottles, etc) from the person or company doing the branding and getting a verified guaranteed price for the base item, just in case. Much of what we can afford DOES come from China. So far, we've been ok, but as warehouses empty of "pre-tariff" merch, I expect this to change. I'm pretty careful about Amazon for items, it's easy to see where that stuff is coming from. Other places, not so much.
Welcome! You'll just have to contact customer service wherever you're ordering from and ask both where it's shipping from AND country of origin (manufacture) if it's not shipping from a US warehouse. I bet most places are getting those questions these days.
The tariff situation is one of the reasons I have a NYT subscription ($4/month) as they have very good coverage on the trade stuff.
The tariff whiplash has started up again. Interestingly, no panic from customers yet. I guess they're waiting to see what happens. So many changes this week. The stuff with Brazil about their former president is just bats. The letters that were sent out this week are just confusing everyone, I think!
A big issue is that no one can trust anything coming out of mouths. President says one thing and the Secretary of the department says the opposite the next day. Words are meaningless in this comedy.
I've lost track of the details of who said what in the Epstein controversy, but someone in a position of power is apparently not telling the truth. I'm undecided of whether the Tucker Carlson style consoracy theorists are caught in their own trail of deception, or if they might actually be on to something for once. Tulsi Gabbards "discoveries" of Obama's role in the previous elections is such an obvious distraction that I'm surprised it's getting any attention.
What a mess.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/0...ction-00479152
We apparently have a trade deal with the EU now, but even on the previous ones with Vietnam and Indonesia, NOTHING official has been published online. The reciprocal tariff reduction to 10% expires on Thursday. Whatever increases, deals, etc., go into effect on Friday. I'll be surprised if anything is published before Wednesday.
Donald has fired the Commissioner of Labor Statistics after the poor report on jobs today. Blames Obama or Biden somehow. I'd expect better job reports in the future, now.
New duties go into effect Aug 7, but there’s an in transit exemption for ocean freight already on the way before Aug 7.
Three accountants are interviewing for the Director Of The Bureau of Labor Statistics . The President asks the first candidate, “What’s one plus one?” The candidate responds, “Two.” The President shows them the door and says, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” Candidate number two is asked the identical question which results in the same response and outcome. Finally, candidate three is asked, “What’s one plus one?” Leaning forward in her chair, responding in a low voice she says, “What do you want it to be?”
Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
The latest in the morning news circus of the Trump administration was the elimination of many millions for mRNA research. One of the liberal medias said there may not be a Cocid booster availible in the fall and they may discontinue it's updates for new mutations. Aside from bird flu dangers, there have been a number of trials using an mRNA to treat various kinds of cancer. One of those I could potentially benefit from in the future. RFK Jr. is a bozo.
Authoritarian regime is starting the takeover! Read the last line…
https://apnews.com/article/trump-was...e59ee67f678482
I wonder sometimes if these daily antics are a diversion from the Epstein files and the economy and the general abandonment of the sciences. The look back at Obama and Biden for colluding with the Russians to interfere with the 2020 elections seems to be up that aisle of delusion.
China reciprocal duty reduction (10% instead of 125%) extended for 90 days.
Anyone else worried for Washington, New York, and Chicago? And all the rest of us?
No.
In most states if a city requires intervention due to corruption or public safety concerns the state has the ability and perhaps duty to intervene. In the case of DC, there is no state to intervene, only the federal government. Implying that federal intervention might migrate to other cities is not a concern in any real sense.
It was actually Trump who threatened it. Thus the concern.
New York and Chicago, by name.
Trump Floats Deploying National Guard to New York, Chicago, and LA After DC Crack Down
The use of troops in LA turned out to be mostly a political move. I think for the time being it's just bluster and attention getting. I'm sure Trump can do, or try to do, just about anything he wants to regardless of the law, but maybe DC is under a different set of rules. The way Donald has handled the pardon of the Jan. 6 criminals doesn't show much respect for DC police.
I don't subscribe to the Washington Post, but noticed one of their headlines about a Pentagon proposal to create a military reaction force to send to areas of civil unrest.
If Orange Man tries to take over Chicago, I think there would be a violent reaction.
I think the optics of declaring an “emergency” in Washington DC, occupying it with troops and federal law enforcement officers, and displacing the local civil authorities are quite poor.
In Roman times, it was considered poor form to bring troops into the capitol, and for good reasons.
Do any of you keep part of your portfolio in TIPS?
https://tipswatch.com/2025/08/10/tip...alling-moment/
My few I-=Bonds should be easy to divest from when their rates no long compete with CDs. I see where the new head of DLS is from the Heritage Foundation and hints that labor stats may no longer be reported monthly, but maybe quarterly. No news is good news?
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/0...eport-00505025
Actually, I think I might pay too much attention, at least enough to make me wonder if the DC crime figures are correct. The DC Police Union alleged several months ago that the department routinely reclassified violent crimes to make it appear that crime was going down.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...stics/3959566/