By the time a court blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law, a meme had already taken hold among Wall Streeters and made its way to a presidential press conference. "The TACO trade, short for Trump Always Chickens Out, is a tongue-in-cheek term coined by the Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong. It has been adopted by some analysts and commentators to describe the potentially lucrative pattern in which markets tumble after Mr. Trump makes tariff threats, only to rebound sharply when he relents and allows countries more time to negotiate deals." While the TACO acronym might ring muy verdad, this issue never should have made it to the courts. Liberation Day only turned into Litigation Day because the legislative branch failed to stand up to a rogue president by claiming its unique role when it comes to imposing tariffs. The law on this matter really couldn't be more clear, so why have legislators failed to stand up for themselves or the country? Let's call it what it is: Congress Has Acquiesced Like Unbelievably Pathetic A**holes. Or it you prefer the acronym: CHALUPA. 2Kidnapped"The people languishing in this modern-day gulag – mapped by matching first-hand accounts with satellite imagery, cellphone data and other open-source material – aren’t the Soviet dissidents of the last century that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote about in The Gulag Archipelago. They are Ukrainian children, abducted from their homes and families over the course of Russia’s war to destroy Ukraine." The Globe and Mail: The Children’s Gulag. 3Harvard YardlineFor now, a judge has blocked the Trump administration's effort to bar Harvard from enrolling international students. The ruling offers a nice reprieve on Harvard's Commencement Day, but the battle is likely just beginning. And no matter how it turns out, the administration has done severe damage to America's brand when it comes to attracting the best and brightest from around the world. 4Wipe Out"In 1982, a peculiar commercial aired on televisions across Japan. An actress in a pink floral dress and an updo drops paint on her hand and futilely attempts to wipe it off with toilet paper. She looks into the camera and asks: 'Everyone, if your hands get dirty, you wash them, right?' 'It’s the same for your bottom,' she continues. 'Bottoms deserve to be washed, too.' The commercial was advertising the Washlet, a new type of toilet seat with a then-unheard-of function: a small wand that extended from the back of the rim and sprayed water up. After its release, Toto, the Washlet’s maker, was deluged with calls and letters from viewers shocked by the concept. They were also angry that it was broadcast during evening prime time, when many were sitting down for dinner." Well, they got over the shock and anger and their bottoms are all the better for it. "Washlet-style bidets, sold by Toto and a few smaller rivals, are a common feature in Japan’s offices and public restrooms and account for more than 80 percent of all household toilets." Is the magic water wand finally catching on America. You bet your ass it is. NYT (Gift Article): The Rise of the Japanese Toilet. "Toto is selling more bidets in the United States. Toto’s president says not even tariffs will halt its advance." (The article mentions a few celebrities and influencers, but it's a safe bet that none of them has done as much to spread the Toto gospel as Howard Stern. He's been consistently describing his use of the product in extremely specific terms for years.) 5Extra, ExtraMoving Companies: "China’s mass detention and surveillance of ethnic Uyghurs turned its far western region of Xinjiang into a global symbol of forced labor and human rights abuses, prompting Congress to ban imports from the area in 2021." What did China do then? They moved the Uyghurs. NYT (Gift Article): Far From Home: Uyghur Workers in Factories Supplying Global Brands. (Reminder: It's not that we don't need tougher standards and deals when it comes to trading with China. It's that our current efforts are counter-productive.) 6Bottom of the News"The creator of ‘The White Lotus’ is doing a second season of ‘Survivor.’ He’s also competed on ‘The Amazing Race’ — twice — and even appeared on an episode of ‘The Dog Whisperer.’" Mike White, the Guy Behind the Most Prestigious Prestige TV Series, Can’t Stop Doing Reality Shows.
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