Insider Trading by Traitorous Insiders?
In the wild week of Wall Street's stock-market mayhem, the question haunts me: Did Donald Trump tip off his kids and colleagues that he was about to suspend his imposition of global tariffs? He would have had advance knowledge of the likelihood this action would trigger a potentially historic reversal of Wall Street stocks. This insider knowledge could generate massive fortunes when the bottom-heading stocks were liberated. 

So when — to the minute — did stocks begin to "recover" and, more importantly, did this reinvestment fury commence — minutes? hours? — before Trump's public announcement set off a reinvesting frenzy? It's hard to imagine that Trump could resist this opportunity to rig the Dow and Not share the info with Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka and his coterie of loyal co-conspirators. 

Turns out I'm not the only one with suspicions. On April 11, Sen. Elizabeth Warren stated: "Donald Trump in a nutshell: doing everything he can to make the ultra-rich even richer. We need to find out if Trump's tariff chaos was used as cover for insider trading." 

The market surge added over $300 billion to the collective wealth of the world's top billionaires in a matter of hours, according to Bloomberg. Shortly before announcing the tariff pause, Trump posted to his social media platform that it is a "great time to buy" stocks, prompting accusations of market manipulation. 

Insider Trading? 

Tariiffs of the Penguin
 

Fashion Plates
Personalized license plates spotted about town:
SOOBS
2 MOXIES
CAPSLKN
MXDZX
THINQUE
ITISDOG
CATSOAP
BESEEN
XEQVW
KNOT8RY
9 PUNJAB
LUV2SK8 (Love to Skate)
LND ART (Loaned Art? 

Bumper Snickers
Mutant Freedom Now!
I'd Rather Be Biking
My Driving Scares Me Too!
Make America Green Again
When Does the Climate NOT Change?
I Believe in Climate Change Because I'm Not an Idiot
Don't Believe Anything Until It's Been Officially Denied
A Good Bumper Sticker Makes You Think 

Passman Passes
Arnie Passman, a friend, fellow word-slinger, and poet- provocateur, has departed to the Great Beyonder at the age of 88 and Bay Area freelance chronicler Bill Berkowttz has posted a fine memorial on Berkeleyside, which begins as follows: 

Remembering Arnie Passman, poet and punster whose classic book examined radio DJs’ influence on pop culture

Arnie was heavily engaged in the Bay Area comedic community, serving as a publicist for The Committee, a California-based improvisational group. 

A lifelong devotee of world peace, Arnie organized annual pilgrimages to the Gandhi Memorial, an 8-foot-tall sculpture — located in the plaza southeast of the San Francisco Ferry Building — to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the Peace Symbol. 

On June 15, 2021, days after Arnie turned 85, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín declared Arnie Passman Day in the city, honoring him for “speaking puns to power and advancing peace and justice through writing” and for being “a vital and unwavering voice of Berkeley culture, values, and wit” for over 60 years. 

The full remembrance can be read at the following link and here's a video of one of Armie's appearances on Stoney Burke's podcast. As Arnie (who was also a playwright) was prone to say in parting; 'Break a legacy." 

Late-night Episode Odes 

Two late-night comic commentators are in the habit of titling each night's episode with a topical pun or two (usually at D. Trump's expense). Here's a harvest of a recent run-down of monolog titles. 

Jimmy Kimmel:
Tanny Mae 

Quentin Tarifftino
Merrill Flinch
Dick & Tater
Down in the Trumps 

Fools Speed Ahead 

Stephen Colbert:
Social Insecurity
Bye-Bye Buy
Grant Theft Autocrats
Pause and Effect
Land of the Fee 

New Tariff in Town 

Super Callous Fascist Racist Sexist Nazi Potus 

Criticize the Empire; Go to Jail
It's a good thing that Sen. Bernie Sanders enjoys congressional protection when he feels compelled to speak out against injustice. Under the expanding Trumpist Regime, it is becoming increasingly risky to exercise one's First Amendment right to criticize US military support for the horrific civilian genocide of Palestinians (and humanitarian aid volunteers) in Gaza and the West Bank. 

Under the new rules, criticizing Netayahu's policy of ethnic cleansing can result in arrest by ICE, televised "perp-walks" by masked deputies, and deportation to a notorious foreign prison. 

Nonetheless, Sanders introduced a bill to halt US arms sales to Israel and condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions. During remarks on the Senate floor, Sanders called on the US to block the supply of bombs and dollars to be used to arm Netanyahu's bloody new offensive in Gaza. In Trump's universe such actions may place outspoken peace activists—in and out of public office—on a short-list for a one-way trip to Gitmo. 

"Hands Off," Walking Shoes On
The social-change organization MoveOn recently noted that studies of social movements worldwide revealed that "no government has maintained legitimacy and power after 3.5% of their population came together to vocalize their dissent against it at a peak event." This has come to be known as the "3.5% rule" for social revolution. 

MoveOn proceeds to note that the 2017 Women's March on Washington was the largest single-day demonstration in US history, calling forth 1% and 1.6% of the US population across hundreds of locations. Double or triple that scale would approach the 3.5% threshold." 

MoveOn's new mission: "engaging 3.5% of the US population in a massive protest to stop authoritarianism in America." Remember, MoveOn writes: "tyranny cannot prevail over people who refuse to succumb to it." 

Future Reading:
1. Bluesky post by L.A. Kauffman, April 5, 2025
2. "Booker makes a stand against Trump – and doesn’t stop for 25 hours," The Guardian, April 2, 2025
3. "We Are Living Through Moral Collapse. How Democrats Can Strike Back," Lucid, March 16, 2025
4. "Questions, Answers, and Some Cautionary Updates Regarding the 3.5% Rule," Harvard Kennedy School Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, April 2020
5. "Senator Cory Booker Literally Talked For An Entire Day, And These 15 Highlights From His Epic Speech Are Everything," BuzzFeed, April 3, 2025
Wizard of Aaahs: Randy Rainbow's "Defy Democracy"