Beware of unintended consequences.
Vegas Muse
Jeffrey Rose
Life in the time of blind following of the man who bankrupted casinos six times with amazing ignorance…
Bethesda & Las Vegas
April 6, 2025
Globalization: RIP Social Security and Medicare: RIP
Don't stop to smell the cherry blossoms:
Sunday we did nothing except take the women to the Raman Eid at the Indonesian ambassador's residence. We then meandered through Rock Creek Park and ended up looking for lunch at the Capital Grille in Chevy Chase. It wasn't open yet, so we walked around the corner to Clyde's for a burger. I ordered medium rare and it arrived...medium rare, a minor miracle. Back at home, we rested. Later we drove over to the Irish Pub at Echo Park, sitting outside by the parking lot with a pint and an order of (terrible) fried calamari. Don't order fried calamari at an Irish-ish pub. We had a Hispanic waiter who spoke English and two bus persons who didn't. A group, 24 in all, of young people dressed like latter-day hippies drifted in from the adjoining amusement park. We decided that they must have been a folk-dancing club. Back home, we took over-the-counter drugs, and I,having a major allergy attack, went to bed, waking up about every hour. The big storm was scheduled to hit Charlotte (and the entire Eastern seaboard) about when my flight was due to arrive there. At 7am I received a text saying that my flight out of IAD would be an hour late, making catching my connection improbable. So I changed to a flight home leaving three hours later via DFW, losing good seats and 4 hours. Bad luck, but one makes the best of it. When I got to the airport, I found that American only had 7 flights a day out of Dulles, considerably cutting my exit choices. Worse luck...the front hit just before we were pushing off the gate. We sat, me in my middle seat, another three hours waiting for it (and its lightning) to pass. We finally made it to DFW with one flight left to LAS left. After much maneuvering (including the search for a live person at a computer), I was on that last flight (it was two hours late) of Monday night, and was home by 2 AM, eight hours later than my original schedule. The entire 17-hour trip I was coughing, sneezing, blowing my nose, and occasionally shivering. I was useless on Tuesday, in bed all day, sleeping ten hours, trying to sleep through the allergy attack. I didn't even have the energy to brush my teeth. The rest of the week turned out to be more of the same with bouts of coughing (my hernia was not happy) and copious nose-blowing. You get the most blows from a paper towel.
What I learned: Never go to any place that is advertising flowers blooming. Airport paper towels don't hold up to seriously leaking noses as well as kitchen paper towels. Allergies do not mellow with age. Don't fly American Airlines to Dulles if there are any potential weather fronts. I arrived as peak cherry blossom bloom started and left the day it ended. I tried to ignore the stock markets crashing at the end of the week. At least Wall Street was noticing what the administration was doing to the US economy. I installed a new (cheap) Brother printer/scanner to replace my HP printer that was giving up. I think I got the new one to work. Installation was not a bit intuitive. YouTube tried to help. It's said to be a toner hog. We'll see. I'm pretty sure that the era of cheap stuff is done. Rather than freak out, I'll visit Costco for a $4.99 rotisserie chicken and $1.50 hot dog. When those prices rise, I'll freak out. There is not much to be done about produce prices. It's hard to stockpile produce, but, at least, tariffs won't increase on Mexican avocados (so far). I forget, do the Democrats have any leaders in congress?
Liberation day? We're going to be liberated from the burden of being the world's leading and richest nation. He said that tariffs will make the US rich. The US is already rich. He's already rich. “Somebody said that about me the other day. He said, who doesn’t know me very well, they said, ‘you’re such a kind person.’ And I said, ‘Say that again.’ They said, ‘You’re a kind person.’ I said, ‘I’ve never heard that before.’ It was a weird statement. I was kind.” Yep. Weird. Not kind at all.” The babbling of a supposed college graduate. Trade barriers always seem to cost the US public more than the jobs that they save. If they don't perform, Trump will be gone (most probably) and other Republicans will have to justify the chaos. Farmers will get their subsides as they always have. Will businesses invest in manufacturing capability on the president's say-so? I would promise, then wait...and wait. Do you trust this administration to retrain displaced workers? One would expect that made-in-the-US prices will rise because there is no foreign price competition. Speaker Johnson says to trust him. Johnson trusts in god and Trump. The president's assault on universities using antisemitism as an excuse will not protect Jews. The US tariffs and mini-cultural revolution could be an early present to China. One man, one vote? Maybe. The president isn't a lame duck, he's a lame goose. Musk found out that pouring cash into a campaign doesn't guarantee a victory...or did he learn anything? The president announced tariffs on the Heard and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, and Svalbard and Jan Mayen. A few of these are uninhabited, with all exporting a grand total of $200,000 a year to the US. He gave TikTok another 75 days to cut a deal with one of his billionaire contributors. Congress passed a 2024 law that required a sale by January 19. The US may suffer a depression, but we'll be rich. If the president's excesses drag down the entire Republican party, they certainly will deserve it.
The future is not in America:
The president announced his tariffs at 4:00 PM Wednesday, the minute the stock markets closed. He'll lay 10% tariffs on everything imported plus added tariffs on items from 60 countries (but not Russia), showing an obvious lack of understanding of world trade. The EU, at 20% across the board, is pissed. Cheap clothes are done. Israel capitulated even before the tariffs were announced. Prepare for unintended consequences. Prices will rise. Inflation will rise. But, hell, we'll be rich. The president's “Liberation Day” tariffs will be such a windfall for Beltway lobbyists that he might as well have called his announcement “Buy Another Yacht Day” for the Washington, D.C., swamp, the Wall Street Journal's editorial board wrote in a scathing op-ed. Stock indices were immediately hammered Thursday, down 3-4%. The day ended with the largest Dow wipeout since 2020 (-1,679.39). The Economist has posted a scathing take-down of “The Madness of King Donald” in its latest cover feature, lambasting the president’s “Liberation Day” tariffs as “flat-out nonsense” and “utterly deluded.” A second shoe dropped Friday as China matched the US tariffs. A recession this year is now almost certain. The Dow closed Friday down 2,200 points ending the worst week since 2020. The $800 customs exemption is gone for buy-by-mail. A Koch-backed conservative group is questioning whether using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify the tariffs is even legal. (A national emergency??) The president says he's angry at Putin. Oh my... He has decided that we don't need Canada after all. He's looking at ways to be able to serve a third term, the president, not Putin, who's been there and done that. The president said “I couldn't care less” if auto makers raise prices. The US government buys his limos for him. The government layoffs, contract cancellations, and grant cancellations continue. Laura Loomer, a right-wing conspiracy theorist met the president and got at least 3 senior national security officials fired by saying that they were insufficiently loyal to the president's agenda. The chief of the National Security Agency and his deputy were also fired because he was chosen by Gen. Mark Milley. Republicans remain mum with even valuable people being fired from critical security jobs. That's scary. Who is actually running the asylum? Laura Loomer? The lawsuits continue. The White House press secretary wrote in an email, “As a matter of policy, we do not respond to reporters with pronouns in their bios.” That's scary. Cory Booker made a record symbolic 25-hour, 4-minute speech on the senate floor. Afterward, still standing, he spoke with reporters. Senate Republicans, at 3 AM Saturday, narrowly approved a framework for the president's “big beautiful” tax bill, declaring that two plus two made five because they say it does. It's way different from the house bill and must be reconciled. And the president? He flew to Florida on Friday to attend a LIV golf tournament at one of his clubs rather than meeting the bodies of four US servicemen returning from Europe. Let them eat cake. Thousands of people protested the administration's handling of the economy and government efficiency on the streets of all 50 states while the president golfed in his cocoon, not seemingly caring about what's happening in the financial markets. Congressional Republicans ceded their constitutional power and blindly spin.
Dr. Oz was confirmed to head Medicare and Medicaid. Marco Rubio revoked the visas of all South Sudanese passport holders...probably because he was told to. Does South Sudan, on the brink of another civil war, have a government? Laid-off government employees were told to complain to a director who died last year. Green card holders are being advised to stay in the US until things settle down. A legal US resident was deported to a Salvadoran prison due to “administrative error”. The administration says they can't bring him back since he is no longer in US custody and US courts lack the jurisdiction to have him released. The federal immigration attorney, just promoted, who admitted that the deportation was a mistake was suspended. Federal employees who were ordered to return to offices found no offices and no office supplies. Union contracts are being ignored. Health and human services laid off thousands of workers responsible for regulating food and drugs, protecting Americans from disease, and researching new treatments and cures. HHS fired those at the World Trade Center health Program who treat 9/11 first responders and survivors. FEMA is cutting grants to states for preparation against future disasters while shifting disaster recovery efforts to those states. DOGE is eliminating 25% of the IRS workforce, the people who collect the US income. The NIH is attacking autism but not the next pandemic. The state department canceled, without a reason given, the US visa of 84-year-old former Costa Rican president and 1987 Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias. So far, the administration has spent $40 million to house 400 migrants in Guantanamo Bay. The operation is staffed by about 1,000 government employees. There were 90 detainees left on Monday.
Make Greenland Great Again:
A Pahrump, Nevada man had seven unpermitted tigers seized from his rented property. He claimed they were his support animals. California will have water this summer as the snowpack in the Sierra is 96% of average and the reservoirs ate 117% of average level. The death toll from the Los Angeles fire rose to 30. The measles outbreak continues to rage in Texas. The bluebonnet, the Texas state flower, is an invasive weed. A judge said to be liberal beat out Elon Musk's $25 million for Wisconsin supreme court. The center of the US, from Arkansas to Michigan was pounded by tornadoes and rain, with at least eight dead. The owners of what used to be Pennsylvania's largest coal-fired power plant 50 miles east of Pittsburgh have announced turning it into a $10 billion natural gas powered data center campus with seven gas-fired turbines. A federal judge permanently dismissed charges of conspiracy, fraud, soliciting illegal campaign contributions, and bribery against NYC mayor Eric Adams. The mayor will run for reelection as an independent. Two Republicans won special elections for house seats, but with only half the plurality that Trump won in those districts.
A popular Mexican band was denied a US visa for “glorifying a drug kingpin” during a concert in Mexico. Canadians are rushing to sell their US winter homes. They will be required to registered at US immigration for stays over 30 days. A French court convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement. If it sticks, she can't run for president for five years. Romania has charged Jean-Claude Van Damme with having sexual relations with trafficked women. Hours after (indicted by the ICC) prime minister Netanyahu arrived for a state visit to Hungry, the Orban government pulled out of the International Criminal Court. Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection named Iceland as the safest place to travel in 2025 unless you get too close to Russia or an erupting volcano. Russia is drafting a further 160,000 men this year, its highest number of conscripts since 2011.
The Myanmar military was conducting war as usual during the rescue efforts after the country's magnitude 7.7 earthquake, shooting at a Chinese relief convoy. What was left of USAID sent three people to the region to see what was needed as the US drifts out of the world humanitarian scene. While in-country, the three were fired...the only three US humanitarian workers at a disaster were fired. Former Philippine president Duterte is attempting a political comeback from his cell in the Hague. He's running for mayor in his home town. He could win. South Korea's constitutional court unanimously upheld the legislature's impeachment of president Yoon Suk Yeol. In the 16 years since Nepal overthrew its king, the country has had 13 governments, and the people want their king back.
Buckle your seat belts:
We're heading for a recession with inflation. “It will play into China’s narrative that the U.S. is an unreliable, distant partner that can come and go.” “This is not the act of a friend.” What are we protecting with tariffs on tropical fruit and coffee that can't be grown in the US? While the US is trying to get manufacturing jobs home, offshore business centers in India earned about $65 billion last year. These are mostly professional tech jobs. EV and battery factories planned for the US are being canceled, killing those jobs. The congressional budget office reports that the top 10% of US families have 69% of the country's wealth while the bottom 50% has just 3%. While the $20 million-a-year senior partners of the major law firms that capitulated to the president are happy, their associates, who do most of the work, may not be. Recruiting could suffer, but the rich old guys don't seem to want to listen. OpenAI completed a $40 billion funding round at a $300 billion valuation. Even with incentives, Tesla sales are down 13% last quarter. It may be because of Musk. It may be because of competition or low quality. The Cybertruck has become the Edsel of the 2020's. There is zero chance that the US will produce ships, being much too expensive. Hooters declared chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying all 350 of its restaurants would be either closed or sold. Chipolte buys about 5% of all avocados eaten in the US. Scientists and medical personnel are worrying about a shortage of helium. We can't make it. It's difficult to store and transport. The US tourism industry and jobs (including Las Vegas) are sure to take a hit because international tourists are afraid to risk more rigorous US immigration and customs enforcement.
Bruce Springsteen is releasing a 7-album new studio album (Tracks II: the lost albums) recorded and re-recorded between 1983 and 2019. The four top basketball seeds are the final four. Boring... South Carolina plays UConn for the women's championship, a rematch of 2022. The men's semis were both close. Houston (with an amazing comeback against Duke) vs, Florida to the finals. Major league baseball salaries broke $5 million for the first time. As contracts expire next year, if the owners push for a salary cap, the players will push for a strike. Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky's NHL record for most goals (894), the record that couldn't be broken.
Fear and greed:
Eggs are expensive. Dye potatoes for Easter. A blockbuster David Hockney retrospective is scheduled to open in Paris on July 9. 87-year-old Hockney, under 24-hour medical care, is determined to be there. Mike Pence will receive this year's JKF Profile in Courage Award for putting his life and career on the line to certify the 2020 presidential election. Pulitzer prize winning columnist Eugene Robinson is leaving the Washington Post after 45 years, due to owner Jeff Bezos' editorial changes. Why do people continue to dump on Meghan Markle? British authorities have changed actor/comedian Russell Brand with multiple counts of sexual assault, including two counts of rape. In a segregated army unit that fought forest fires, Joe Harris, thought to be the oldest WWII paratrooper, is dead at age 108.
How much will your surgery cost? Still the only way to know is to total up the bills months afterward. A new Gallop survey found that eleven percent of US residents can't afford to pay for medication or medical care. The shingles shot might lower the risk of dementia. Also...you don't want to get shingles. Better hope that beef tallow doesn't catch on for frying. The US only produces about a billion pounds vs. 15 billion pounds of soybean oil. Tattoos are no longer a permanent solution to a temporary problem, but are still a lot easier to get than to get rid of. Scientists at CERN have a feasibility study for a collider that would be three times the size of the Large Hadron Collider with a cost estimate of $17.4 billion. Now they have to convince the world that one is needed. Corpse flower seeds are so inbred that they aren't viable, so what we have now is all we'll ever have. Mommy, a Western Santa Cruz tortoise became a first-time mother at age 100.