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Otto_Harper

Otto_Harper's Journal
Otto_Harper's Journal
April 2, 2025

'Mad king': Trump baffles observers by suggesting he'll tariff illegal drugs

President Donald Trump left observers baffled this week when he suggested in a late-night Truth Social rant that his tariffs on Canadian goods would include taxes on illegal drugs.

In the Truth Social post, Trump said that one of his goals with the tariffs was to "penalize Canada for the sale, into our Country, of large amounts of Fentanyl, but Tariffing the value of this horrible and deadly drug in order to make it more costly to distribute and buy."

Given that fentanyl is an illegal drug, the government collects no taxes from its purchase or sale.

Trump seemingly not understanding this fact led to many puzzled reactions....


From Raw Story: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-tariffs-fentanyl-2671660139/
March 25, 2025

GOP senator enrages snubbed town hall attendees with donut offer

From Rawstory: https://www.rawstory.com/jim-banks-2671396823/

Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) sparked a round of criticism in his home district after he skipped a town hall and instead sent a staffer to deliver donuts – a stunt which further generated backlash when the MAGA lawmaker posted a video seeming to mock the snubbed attendees.

And Banks doubled down on social media.

“Who doesn’t like free donuts?? Apparently Democrats don’t,” he wrote Monday on his official X account.

Banks said Saturday that the group who invited him to the town hall, which he called “the ‘indivisible’ Democrat anti-Trump/Banks group,” seemed “REALLY angry so I sent my favorite donuts hoping to lighten the mood. You won’t want to miss what happened next!”

What unfolded as the donuts entered the town hall without the senator was reminiscent of chaotic scenes occurring at town halls across the country as tensions over Israel and Palestine – as well as DOGE-led cuts – continue to stoke anger across the country.

“Why isn’t he here?” one attendee demanded to know in the video, which featured carnival-themed music in the background.

“He’s sorry he can’t make it, so he wanted to send these in his place,” the staffer responded as he laid out multiple boxes of donuts “courtesy of Sen. Jim Banks.”

“Oh Jesus, well tell him to go to hell,” a man told him as he grabbed a plate and pastry.

The donut drop triggered a woman in the audience to ask, “Are you really from Jim Banks’ office? I would like him to listen to me. I have called him, I have written him. He never listens to a thing.”

The staffer replied, “Do you want a chocolate one?”

“No!” she responded.

The attendees appeared to grow angrier as the donut stunt played out, with Banks' staffer besieged by constituents while he walked around with donuts. “We’ve got a lot of extra donuts, please,” he said.

“Guess what? We’re done voting for you too!” one attendee is heard yelling in the video. “He should be here!” another one decried. “He is using our money to buy stupid donuts!” yet another one yelled out.....

March 22, 2025

A Reminder to All: Git It While You Still Can

I urge my fellow DUers to consider going online and downloading any Govt. based records that you may ever need to substantiate your history, standing or participation in Govt based services.

Examples: Student Loans, SS, Medicare and on and on.

Yes, it may be tedious now, but it will be impossible if a time comes when a DogeBro smirkingly demands you document those payments you made to (Agnecy X). The window to do this is very rapidly closing.

March 11, 2025

It is my opinion that Dumpy is goading the Canadians to cut off electricity

to the 3 Northern tier states just so he can declare his promised National Emergency. Therein lies Martial Law, and troops appearing in a town near you.

March 10, 2025

Has anyone else considered that Elmo's attacks on Sen.Kelly

violate the Hatch act?
Perhaps there should be a National Day of Snitching on Elmo.

March 7, 2025

Hispanic man rethinking Trump vote after ICE encounter: 'They assume we're all illegals'

From Rawstory.
Link: https://www.rawstory.com/regretful-trump-voters-2671288555/

A naturalized Hispanic man is questioning his vote for President Donald Trump after federal agents detained him at gunpoint.

Jensy Machado was driving to work Wednesday with two other men when they were stopped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Manhassas, not far from his home, and they quickly surrounded his truck with guns drawn, reported WRC-TV.

"They just got out of the car with the guns in their hands and say, 'Turn off the car, give me the keys, open the window,' you know,” Machado said. “Everything was really fast.”

Machado, who showed WRC reporters documentation showing his legal status, said the agents were seeking a man for a deportation order who had given his home address, and Machado said he didn't know anyone by that man's name and offered to show his REAL ID-compliant Virginia driver’s license.

“They didn’t ask me for any ID,” Machado said. “I was telling the officer, if I can give him ID, but he said just keep my hands up, not moving. After that, he told me to get out of the car and put the handcuffs on me, and then he went to me and [asked] how did I get into this country and if I was waiting for a court date or if I have any case, and I told him I was an American citizen, and he looked at his other partner like, you know, smiling, like saying, can you believe this guy? Because he asked the other guy, ‘Do you believe him?’”

Machado said agents took him out of handcuffs and immediately released him after showing his driver's license, but the other two men were taken into custody – and now he's doubting Trump's immigration enforcement efforts.

“I voted for Trump last election but, because I thought it was going to be the things, you know, like … just go against criminals, not every Hispanic-looking, like – that they will assume that we are all illegals," he said. “That’s what they’re doing now, they’re just following Hispanic people.”


Ya know, I can still remember when we still had a Constitution that expressly forbade this kid of behavior. You know the behavior. I mean, the one our Founders fought a revolution against.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
March 5, 2025

CDC begs some laid off workers to come back

From RawStory

Link: https://www.rawstory.com/cdc-fired-workers/

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are frantically trying to bring in hundreds of workers fired in a mass Trump administration purge back into work, reported The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"A message seen by the AP was sent with the subject line, 'Read this e-mail immediately,'" reported Mike Stobbe. "It said that 'after further review and consideration,' a Feb. 15 termination notice has been rescinded and the employee was cleared to return to work on Wednesday. 'You should return to duty under your previous work schedule,' it said. 'We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused.'"

Altogether, around 180 people who were terminated from the CDC under the original order were told to report back to work.

"It’s not clear how many of the reinstated employees returned to work Wednesday. And it’s also unclear whether the employees would be spared from widespread job cuts that are expected soon across government agencies," said the report.

However, this marks only the latest in a series of similar missteps made as Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk try to downsize the federal government, only to realize some of the dismissed workers were critical. The federal government was also forced to frantically rehire terminated workers from the National Nuclear Safety Administration, as well as bird flu experts laid off from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the middle of an outbreak that, in addition to posing the risk of a deadly human pandemic, is causing a critical egg shortage.
March 5, 2025

'Worse than a tariff': Jack Daniel's maker complains about backlash from Trump's policies

From RawStory

Link: https://www.rawstory.com/jack-daniels-tariffs/

Brown Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel's liquor, warned investors after some Canadian officials reacted to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs by pulling American booze from the shelves.

CEO Lawson Whiting gave the warning in a post-earnings call Wednesday, according to The Globe And Mail.

"I mean, that's worse than a tariff, because it's literally taking your sales away, (and) completely removing our products from the shelves," Whiting said.

The liquor CEO called the decision not to sell Jack Daniel's and other U.S. products a "disproportionate response.".........


Sounds like FAFO to me.

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