Odds and Ends — 27 April 2025

American retailers are growing worried that President Trump’s trade war and increased volatility will lead to empty shelves, higher prices and store closures as Chinese imports screech to a halt.
Many retailers stocked up on inventory in the first months of 2025, realizing that a storm was coming — but their inventories are poised to dwindle quickly.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1916485385061896440
- RonFilipkowski

https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/1916489263211765797
- mattyglesias

Trump ready to bail out farmers amid trade war squeeze, Rollins says

https://twitter.com/TNOQuoProQuid/status/1916256653323686132
- TNOQuoProQuid

———— Putin&Krasnov vs. Ukraine ————

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1916112571431629040
- JayinKyiv

———— Hegseth on the Rocks ————

https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux/status/1915834071445365175
- BretDevereaux

———— Mors Imperii ————

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1915909032017113110
- atrupar

Republican Defends Law Classifying Slaves as Three-Fifths of a Person

https://twitter.com/Hizzys_Here/status/1916005225556807726
- Hizzys_Here

Trump’s approval at 100 days lower than any president in at least seven decades

https://twitter.com/nee_haynes/status/1916175882483372144
- nee_haynes

Republican Budget Bill Doesn’t Add Up

They have been avoiding it all year, but when congressional Republicans return to Washington this week, they will need to focus on their main job: deciding exactly how to spend the people’s money. So far, depending on how you look at it, they have either done a terrible job of forging consensus on this question, or an excellent job of keeping their plans so vague they are difficult to attack.
At this point, however, if they want to advance their budget reconciliation bill, they are going to have to start showing their cards.