But first, a few Trumpy matters: The  tariff wars  against Canada, Mexico and China have begun. The result was a  stock market fall .  Not crash yet, but is that coming? President Trump will address a joint session of Congress tonight.   Should be entertaining, with surprises and made-for-TV moments.  Many Democrats will boycott, and those females who show up will  wear pink and white .  Six years ago they wore white. Trump paused military aide to Ukraine after that Oval Office skirmish.  Would have been warranted if THIS happened. Now, on to the topic of the day.  I once lived in Louisiana.  Mardi Gras was the big event for the state.  Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Ash Wednesday beginning Lent, ( the Christian fasting season when certain foods are avoided ) and is the final day to feast on rich foods like red meat.  Thus, this is also called Fat Tuesday, the culmination of Mardi Gras.  I report on this...

The planned signing ceremony in the White House Oval Office of the USA extorting Ukraine to give up its rare earth elements for peace with Russia  exploded into a shouting match among Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance.   Zelenskyy was kicked out of the White House. What happened?  There will be reports citing White House, media and Russian views, but my take is that this meeting was planned as an ambush for Trump to extract his revenge stemming from his  first impeachment  in 2019.   Further orchestration becomes obvious when  Senator Lindsey Graham ( R-South Carolina ) immediately called on Zelenskyy to resign .  The whole misadventure surely looked like that scene in films you've seen of a schoolyard bully beating up a classmate.  It was terrible to witness. From  Fox News : After the Friday meeting, Zelenskyy wrote on X, "Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank...