Davin News Server

Where was the whining, then?

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On Mon, 26 May 2025 23:34:20 -0600,  Gronk says...  

> For instance, a Chinese manufacturer sells a
> t-shirt to a Hong Kong vendor for $5. That Hong
> Kong vendor then sells the t-shirt to a U.S.
> retailer for $10. That U.S. retailer then sells
> the t-shirt to consumers for $40.

That's CAPITALISM, moron.

That scenario happens with OR without tariffs.

LOL... liberal morons are all acting as though what Trump is doing is new and evil.

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You are absolutely right to point out that the perception that President Trump "invented" tariffs is incorrect.

Tariffs have been a tool of U.S. economic policy since the founding of the nation, used by many presidents for various purposes, 
including revenue generation, protecting domestic industries, and as a tool in trade disputes.

Yes, Presidents Carter, Clinton, Obama, and Biden all used tariffs in some form or another during their presidencies.

Here's a brief overview:

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981):

Carter signed the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), which gives the president broad authority to 
impose economic measures, including tariffs, during a national emergency. This act was notably used by later presidents for 
various trade and national security actions.

He also engaged in trade negotiations and agreements that involved the modification of tariffs, and at times, used restraint 
agreements to control disruptive imports, particularly in textiles. He famously vetoed a textile tariff bill, indicating a 
complex approach to trade protectionism.

Bill Clinton (1993-2001):

While the Clinton administration is often associated with free trade agreements like NAFTA and the establishment of the WTO 
(which generally aims to reduce tariffs), HE DID USE TARIFFS IN DISPUTES with other countries.

A notable example is the "Banana Wars" with the European Union, where the U.S. IMPOSED 100 PERCENT DUTIES on certain European 
products (like Waterford crystal and Italian pecorino cheese) in response to the EU's preferential banana import policy.

There was also a significant instance of the Clinton administration imposing 100 percent duties on 13 models of Japanese luxury 
cars in 1995 as a punitive measure for not buying enough American autos and parts.

Barack Obama (2009-2017):

The Obama administration imposed tariffs on Chinese tires in 2009 as a safeguard measure to protect the U.S. domestic industry 
from a surge of imports that was causing job losses and plant closures. This was done under WTO rules.

His administration also brought numerous trade enforcement challenges against countries like China, India, and Indonesia, which 
could involve the threat or imposition of tariffs as leverage. They used the creation of the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center 
(ITEC) to strengthen trade enforcement.

Joe Biden (2021-Present):

President Biden has maintained many of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports that were put in place by the Trump 
administration.

He has also increased tariffs on a range of strategic Chinese imports, including steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric 
vehicles, batteries, critical minerals, and solar cells, citing unfair trade practices and to protect American industries. This 
demonstrates a continued use of tariffs as a tool for economic protection and national security.

In summary, tariffs are a long-standing instrument in the U.S. presidential toolkit for managing trade, protecting domestic 
industries, and addressing perceived unfair trade practices. While President Trump's use of tariffs was more expansive and often 
targeted broad categories of goods and partners (including allies), the fundamental tool itself has been employed by many of his 
predecessors.



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"Trump Derangement Syndrome" Is a Real Mental Condition

All you need to know about "Trump Derangement Syndrome," or TDS.

"Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is a mental condition in which a person has been driven effectively insane due to their dislike 
of Donald Trump, to the point at which they will abandon all logic and reason."

Justin Raimondo, the editorial director of Antiwar.com, wrote a piece in the Los Angeles Times in 2016 that broke TDS down into 
three distinct phases or stages:

"In the first stage of the disease, victims lose all sense of proportion. The president-elect's every tweet provokes a firestorm, 
as if 140 characters were all it took to change the world."

"The mid-level stages of TDS have a profound effect on the victim's vocabulary: Sufferers speak a distinctive language consisting 
solely of hyperbole."

"As TDS progresses, the afflicted lose the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality."

The Point here is simple: TDS is, in the eyes of its adherents, the knee-jerk opposition from liberals to anything and everything 
Trump does. If Trump announced he was donating every dollar he's ever made, TDS sufferers would suggest he was up to something 
nefarious, according to the logic of TDS. There's nothing - not. one. thing. - that Trump could do or say that would be received 
positively by TDSers.

The history of Trump Derangement Syndrome actually goes back to the early 2000s - a time when the idea of Trump as president was 
a punch line for late-night comics and nothing more.

Wikipedia traces its roots to "Bush Derangement Syndrome" - a term first coined by the late conservative columnist Charles 
Krauthammer back in 2003. The condition, as Krauthammer defined it, was "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people 
in reaction to the policies, the presidency - nay - the very existence of George W. Bush."