Tea at Trianon: Stay the Course

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, May 30, 2025

Stay the Course

From Tierney's Real News:

An obscure federal court, that virtually nobody has ever heard of, ruled that President Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs. In fact, the judges said an injunction wasn't enough — the United States Court of International Trade (USCIT) issued a summary judgment invalidating and blocking almost all of Trump's tariffs to date. Tariffs were already generating significant revenue for the US — almost $23 BILLION so far this month.
Senator John Kennedy responded: “I know that President Trump has the authority to tariff because Congress gave it to him.”
President Trump invoked several laws to justify his authority over trade policies, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Section 232, Section 301, and Section 122 Balance of Payments Authority.
The IEEPA of 1977, which had never been used to impose tariffs before, was invoked to declare a national emergency and impose tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, citing national security concerns.
Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the president to impose tariffs if imports threaten national security.
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 grants the president authority to take action against foreign countries that violate U.S. trade laws.
Section 122 Balance of Payments Authority provides the president with the power to impose tariffs to address balance of payments issues. Section 122 allows the president to impose up to 15 percent tariffs for 150 days.
However, the obscure federal court ruled on May 28, 2025 that President Trump does not have the authority within the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to initiate emergency trade tariffs. They gave him 10 days to end those tariffs and return the over $23 BILLION we’ve collected so far! He appealed. Tariffs imposed under a different legal authority called Section 232 — including on imports of autos, steel and aluminum — are unaffected by the ruling. (Read more.)