I’m in Michigan, thanks to 4-wheel drive and six shots of espresso. And I’m about a block from a Kroger, so let the Graeter’s hunt begin!

Boom! You changed your life just like that.

White-fonting for those who wish to avoid:

I don't really spend too much time thinking about politics and, you know, the entire country, because I feel like denial and forced inattention is my best strategy for most issues at the moment, but there's a part of me that is laughing and laughing at Trump's plan to impose insane tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. What THE FUCK does he think is going to happen? And I know the answer is that he's an idiot who doesn't care, but jesus christ. And I'm saying this as someone who is moving to a new house in January-ish and will likely need to buy a bunch of new stuff, because it's going to be infuriating then, but it's honestly hilarious.

Dana, I heard that on the radio this morning and was like, "ah, I see we're diving straight into tanking the economy and pissing off everyone who buys things. Well, maybe that'll jumpstart resistance to his whole administration. But I should make sure I stock up on...things? All the things?"

So, what I've been wondering about the whole tariffs on absolutely everything plan is this (because I don't know shit about politics and don't know if what I'm about to posit is plausible): what are the odds that Trump backpedals on every single claim he made about tariffs once someone in his administration convinces him they're a stupid fucking idea? Because I feel like he could totally go "I have a new and better plan, the best plan anyone has ever made, that's going to revitalize the economy for decades to come: there will be no tariffs imposed on China, Mexico, and Canada. You won't believe how much money this is going to save every single person in America. I did all that. I saved you all that money by getting rid* of those tariffs. You're welcome. You love me."

*Never mind the fact that the stupid tariffs were his idea in the first place because he has fewer brain cells than my cat (who has one [1] brain cell).

Anyway, is that a thing that could happen, or do I just not understand how politics work, and now the tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada have to happen no matter what?

I figure that Trump will tank the economy and blame it on the liberals. And his cult members will believe him because when don’t they.

In other news, my local Krogers does have Graeters! No cinnamon, though.

lol maybe the plan is for us to buy All the Things and then say “look the economy is doing great people are buying stuff!”

My local Kroger equivalent has had Graeters but only like, chocolate chip or whatever. No fun or exciting flavors.

Steph:

Re: tariffs. My understanding is that when he imposed tariffs "on China" last time around, almost all the money gained (which actually came from U.S. importers) went to bail out farmers caught up in the resulting trade war/retaliation. Which is why I thought when the Iowa poll came out that they had wised up to his failed economics and he was actually going to lose much of the Midwest. I guess "other things" were more important.

ETA: Cash! My birthday twin! Happy to see you here and find you on Bluesky (both places I'm trying to be more often now rather than Twitter). Sorry life has been full of suckitude lately.

Also, he will turn on a dime so who the hell knows? I have no money right now so I'm not planning any major purchases, but I am making sure I have decent stores of food stuffs, toiletries (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, anything with ingredients sourced globally), and basic clothing items. Corps are already planning price increases so they'll take advantage no matter what, as they did during the height of the pandemic.

It's all about the grift. The President has the right to exempt specific items from tariffs and he already has a history of exempting based on donations to him and his party.
Link

I expect the same for deportations.

(Let's see if that works better)

Boom! You changed your life just like that.

I really did. In about one month, from remote state approval to walking Leifur on my new back porch.

Amazing, Calli! I hope it goes incredibly well for you now that you're there!