stevendamron.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

There's an assumption that US brands will be able to sell goods outside the US. Trump's tariffs are hurting brand equity as Europeans and others see the US as a predator rather than a partner. This brand equity problem is compounded by Trump's sexual assault and criminal history. #fascism

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Trump golfed while America burned. #fascism

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These make me happy. #fascism

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Barcelona public health provides shelter for both hot and cold weather. Recently I spoke with a New Yorker in distress to let him know the health system here is primarily to help you, not to rob you of your wealth. I don't know if he went to a hospital, but he was relieved to know he could. #BCN

submitted 3 hours ago • 0 comments

JD Vance told Europe to embrace far-right parties. Musk supported Germany's AfD party. Their problem? Well, Trump is so unpopular in Europe that parties on the left are forcing center-right parties to choose the left's agenda over the far-right's, politically isolating far-right parties. #fascism

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A feature of fascism is poor decision making because the leader controls all decisions. Clearly no one vetted Trump's one-size-fits-all tariff formula for country-specific issues. Hard to recover from stupid mistakes when you don't have great cards. #fascism

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This sets the stage for Trump to sell public land to fund his sovereign wealth fund and tax cuts for the wealthy. He'll use the sovereign wealth fund to line his own pockets. #fascism

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Tariff madness. Does Trump expect the US to cultivate vanilla beans? Will that make America great? No? Then why did Trump impose tariffs on Madagascar, a country the provides 80% of the vanilla the US imports? Poor decision making is a feature of fascism. #fascism

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

A feature of fascism is obscuring decision making so the populace stays beholden to Dear Leader for direction. Even the most generous rationalization of tariffs requires the world to treat Trump the way MAGA supporters do to work. Not happening. Don't wait for his explanation to judge. #fascism

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Police officers entered a woman's restroom to arrest a transgender woman who was washing her hands. She was taken to a men's jail and charged with trespassing. She faces up to 60 days if convicted. This isn't about safety, it's about cruelty. www.erininthemorning.com/p/trans-woma...

submitted 1 day ago • 260 comments

Rural Catalonia has about 500 "micropueblos," or villages with fewer than 1,000 residents. I visited friends in Paüls a couple years ago and learned the beauty and challenges of these communities. They are a reservoir of Catalan culture. #BCN

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Mark Kelly: "This is not surprising. Here's a guy who told Americans to inject bleach into their bodies, who sent a mob to Capitol Hill. And now I think it's fair to say he stands out as singlehandedly destroying more wealth with his bad decisions than anybody else who has ever lived on this planet"

submitted 1 day ago • 1116 comments

Even the economists that the Dept of Commerce cited to justify Trump's tariff formula say it's wrong. Meanwhile on X, MAGA swallowing short term pain for long term gain argument hook, line, and sinker. #fascism

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If your plans for this weekend involve being outdoors voicing your displeasure with gestures the entire situation, just sayin', my colleagues have a guide that you should read. www.theverge.com/21276979/pho...

submitted 2 days ago • 35 comments

This makes me sad. #fascism

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Even Herbert Hoover wasn't this bad. #fascism

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Along with Trump's tariffs (which are creating more US foes), this unfortunately makes me feel more confident about my prediction of a significant attack on the US this year. #fascism

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If you didn't think Trump was serious about tariffs, do you still think he's not serious about a third term? #fascism

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A Catalán friend mentioned last night over dinner that he doesn't plan on buying more Apple products when he has non-American options. Trump's policies are killing American brand equity, something that will take years to recover. #fascism

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Trump's one-size-fits-all tariff formula doesn't work. He doesn't have a viable trade plan. Trump doesn't even have a concept of a plan. His strategic goal is to make everything Americans wear in the US. He's willing to screw US companies to achieve it. Make any of this make sense. #fascism

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MAGA drinking Koolaid. The Dept of Commerce methodology for calculating tariffs is so wrong that it's clear Trump has no more than a concept of a plan. Yet Secy Rollins praises Dear Leader who is saving the US from ... from, well, from what until 2 months ago was a great economy. #fascism

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After crashing the stock market, Trump is now in FL for the rest of the week hosting the Saudi-owned LIV golf league at his course.

submitted 2 days ago • 978 comments

The math behind Trump's tariffs is puzzling, and that's being kind. Besides using poor assumptions, broad generalizations, and strange relationships, the explanation makes no ... oh, never mind. It's just AI. #fascism

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Spot the difference!

submitted 2 days ago • 40 comments

Barcelona is transforming unused industrial zones in Poble Nou and Badalona into commercial and educational spaces for high tech and media. I sometimes bike by these chimneys and I look forward to seeing their next incarnation on a future ride. #BCN

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Five Venezuelans in the US seeking asylum who were disappeared last month to El Salvador. Stephen Miller and Tom Homan should be held in contempt until at least these five are returned to the US to be given a fair hearing. #fascism

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The question of if a country could fuck itself harder than the UK did with Brexit has today been answered.

submitted 3 days ago • 820 comments

When I post about Barcelona, I try to take a break from politics. This morning that's not possible. All the news in Catalonia (and Spain and Europe) is about Trump's trade war. No one understands Trump's justification for tariffs that further alienate former US allies. #BCN

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Here's the formula Dept of Commerce used to calculate tariffs. Hand waving aside, the goal is zero trade deficits. Trump began advocating for tariffs in the 1980s as a response to Japan's increasing exports to the US. Zero trade deficits is a nationalist economic goal, not a useful one. #fascism

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Here's a great breakdown on impacts of Trump tariffs. Another important point: it's taxation without representation. Congress should have made this policy, not Trump. No one will challenge the so-called "emergencies" that Trump has invoked. Anyone care about the US Constitution anymore? #fascism

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Trump tariff disaster. Trade deficits aren't bad per se. US manufacturing jobs are a small portion of the US economy. Productivity has erased more jobs than trade. Unlikely: stronger US economy, safer country. More likely: wars to capture supply chains. Inevitable: recession. #fascism

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Of all the horrible things Trump has done so far, this is by far the worst. Why? Because once the state starts disappearing people, it can strike fear in any group. That fear stops opposition dead in its tracks. It'll work for Trump the same as it works for the Mexican cartels. #fascism

submitted 3 days ago • 3 comments

Trump doesn't seem to understand that he lost the US allies when he started extorting them and capitulated to Putin. Alliances work when allies keep agreements. Europe has no reason to trust him. They will go it alone. The US is going to be a lonely place. #fascism

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In my in-box this morning, a special offer from Level. I'm guessing that "special" US - Europe air fares won't change much until Trump leaves office. #fascism

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The White House probably is not analyzing the cost-benefit of one possible approach: take advantage of NATO to create stronger agreements with Denmark and Greenland. 10-to-1 that is the most cost-effective option. #fascism

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Trump went all in. Musk went all in. Said western civilization would end. Bought votes. Presler set up shop there. Kirk and all the podcasters went all in. The whole MAGA machine got behind Schimel. $53 million in spending including PACs. But Susan Crawford won easily.

submitted 4 days ago • 408 comments

Propaganda 101. Lesson 1. Why oligarchs like to buy media companies. #fascism

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Musk explains how US democracy works, complaining that Ds could gerrymander in Wisconsin just as Rs have done for decades. Except when Ds gerrymander, it's bad for the country because it seems that what voters vote for now is against what they voted for before. #fascism

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It's fashion week in Barcelona! TBH, I've never really thought of Barcelona as a fashion hub, but 080 Barcelona Fashion looks like a big deal. #BCN

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Hey, Canada and Greenland, please join the US. Enjoy living in the bastion of free speech. Restrictions apply. #fascism

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If you are under the impression that the US is a liberal democracy, think again. It is a brutal dictatorship. #fascism

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Spring has sprung in Barcelona. Long lines for ice cream from delaCrem are as predictable in the transition from winter to spring as flowers blooming and high pollen counts. #BCN

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#fascism

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Good

submitted 6 days ago • 77 comments

They think it’s because Pam Bondi is weak. I guess it never occurred to them that Musk might be full of shit.

submitted 6 days ago • 366 comments

But we don't need DEI.

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A narcissist doesn't value great minds because he alone can fix it. The US has combined great minds with capitalism to create more value than any other country in history. Too bad about the great minds part. #fascism

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Barcelona history is often written on its walls. This plaque on Carrer de n'Amargós in Gótico commemorates the introduction of street lighting in 1842. It explains that gas was used in Barceloneta. Because of limited gas distribution, oil was used elsewhere. The first oil lights were here. #BCN

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Trump and Musk are making the US irrelevant to the world. On Friday, Musk finished slashing USAID staff, the same day Trump said the US would aid Myanmar after a huge earthquake. The problem? No more USAID experts who coordinate emergency relief. Maybe Musk can send Cybertrucks instead. #fascism

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

Barcelona is encouraging residents to put down their mobile devices. Roughly translated, Barcelona is more than screens, and One hour of doomscrolling or solving a 200-piece puzzle. There are many similar signs throughout the city now. #BCN

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments