Apparently, every thing that happens in America can be simplified by talking about it through the shallow lens of pop political theory. No wonder so many people take a dim view of people with advanced degrees.
Not everyone. I have held a doctorate since 2003. By the 2020s I ceased using the title when it became apparent that so many colleges had become diploma mills. The level of intellectual stamina amongst my peers had dwindled to where I was embarrassed. So much intellectual nonsense spews out of the mouths of "educated" people that the result is that it has elevated the nonsense that comes from people without "degrees". That is NOT to imply that people without degrees spew out nonsense as a whole. Rather, nonsense now seems to spew disproportionately out of the mouths of people with advanced degrees. I could happily provide examples, but this is not the forum for it. Nor, do I care to disparage people who have chosen not to get a degree. Intelligence does not favor any group based on the sheep skin framed on their wall. Advanced degrees historically allowed one time to hone their intellectual skills, develop the necessary historical reading to better understand the subject at hand, and provide a foundation for thinking deeper about a subject in the context of that subject's genre of knowledge. To the extent that it allowed one to think more sharply about subjects non related to the degree, that has always been up for debate - although if one's education was well rounded one tended to be a better global thinker.
They largely seem loath to enforce it.The other eight, including even Alito (at times) went through law school like I did, and were lawyers before they were made judges.
They all know Article I, Section 8, Clause 1.
I agree. But you can still call me Master HeavyNot everyone. I have held a doctorate since 2003. By the 2020s I ceased using the title when it became apparent that so many colleges had become diploma mills. The level of intellectual stamina amongst my peers had dwindled to where I was embarrassed. So much intellectual nonsense spews out of the mouths of "educated" people that the result is that it has elevated the nonsense that comes from people without "degrees". That is NOT to imply that people without degrees spew out nonsense as a whole. Rather, nonsense now seems to spew disproportionately out of the mouths of people with advanced degrees. I could happily provide examples, but this is not the forum for it. Nor, do I care to disparage people who have chosen not to get a degree. Intelligence does not favor any group based on the sheep skin framed on their wall. Advanced degrees historically allowed one time to hone their intellectual skills, develop the necessary historical reading to better understand the subject at hand, and provide a foundation for thinking deeper about a subject in the context of that subject's genre of knowledge. To the extent that it allowed one to think more sharply about subjects non related to the degree, that has always been up for debate - although if one's education was well rounded one tended to be a better global thinker.
Sadly, this is less the case today. Colleges fail to provide a well rounded education, focus too narrowly on understanding subjects by failing to provide a rich and thick historical understanding of what has come before, and the bar - lets be honest - has been so so lowered. As a professor, this has been my experience. The non college educated person has been vilified - unfairly. Now, it's sauce for the goose - and educated elites are being judged in return. If it is unfair, well, as I said, sauce for the goose.

They largely seem loath to enforce it.
Counselor, perhaps you could point me to the section in the Constitution that enumerates Presidential Immunity.
One accurate rationale for removing the de minimis exemption (and little or no paperwork by the sender) was its abuse by the cartels and some Chinese shippers to smuggle small batches of fentanyl undetected into America that killed tens of thousands of young people here. I say this from firsthand observation in my line of work. We will all just have to wait and see what SCOTUS says, I guess. But canceling that $800 tariff exemption is a separate issue from the other trade tariffs.Its intersting, I know that almost no one supports this nonsense. Its amazing from a distance how passive Americans are...depsite all the cowboy retoric.
In the EU people would be throwing tires in the street, lighting fires and blockading almost all commerce.
In the US people just compalin and go hope someone will do something about it. In the end US politicians know they can do whatever they feel like and no one will do anything about it.
They dont need to answer to anyone.
You know what? They’ll find other ways to smuggle it in, if they don’t have them already. All this does is hurt regular consumers.One accurate rationale for removing the de minimis exemption (and little or no paperwork by the sender) was its abuse by the cartels and some Chinese shippers to smuggle small batches of fentanyl undetected into America that killed tens of thousands of young people here. I say this from firsthand observation in my line of work. We will all just have to wait and see what SCOTUS says, I guess. But canceling that $800 tariff exemption is a separate issue from the other trade tariffs.
One accurate rationale for removing the de minimis exemption (and little or no paperwork by the sender) was its abuse by the cartels and some Chinese shippers to smuggle small batches of fentanyl undetected into America that killed tens of thousands of young people here. I say this from firsthand observation in my line of work. We will all just have to wait and see what SCOTUS says, I guess. But canceling that $800 tariff exemption is a separate issue from the other trade tariffs.
Instead of doing something smart to stop the problem its like..."Lets just do something". It doesnt matter if its stupid.
While I agree with almost everything you say, and I’m pissed about the de minimus elimination, I’m intrigued that you know something about stopping the flow of illegal drugs. Short of legalizing the posession and distribution of all drugs (thus eliminating the “illegal” part of it), what smart ideas are we overlooking? I, too have first-hand knowledge of Fentanyl being mailed from China. That problem is real.

Couriers will always charge duties, because they make money on them. So, they wouldn't be affected by this exemption removal, methinks.Geopolitical trade debate aside
I ordered three pipes from Italy on 8/25 they landed in the USA yesterday. DHL immediately put a hold on the delivery and texted me a bill for the duties. They were listed on the duty/vat invoice as hand made briar pipes and the listed value was 172,26 each. My total duties owed were $48. $17 of that was DHL fee for processing. Process was easy and the duties reasonable. Shipment was immediately released and delivery date scheduled. Since the service fee was 30%+/- I will be curious as to what other carriers service charges are.
I was under the impression here that you'd have to at least sacrifice some organs to make such a purchase now.Geopolitical trade debate aside
I ordered three pipes from Italy on 8/25 they landed in the USA yesterday. DHL immediately put a hold on the delivery and texted me a bill for the duties. They were listed on the duty/vat invoice as hand made briar pipes and the listed value was 172,26 each. My total duties owed were $48. $17 of that was DHL fee for processing. Process was easy and the duties reasonable. Shipment was immediately released and delivery date scheduled. Since the service fee was 30%+/- I will be curious as to what other carriers service charges are.
Effective August 29, 2025:
Effective September 8, 2025:
- Entry Preparation Charges for Importing into the United States: The Entry Preparation Charge for UPS®Standard from Canada shipments will be $10.00 for shipments with a Value for Duty between $0.00 to $200.00, and to $20.00 for shipments with a Value for Duty between $200.01 to $800.00.
- International Processing Fee: An International Processing Fee of $2.50 per shipment will apply to the following U.S. import shipments for customs processing services:
- UPS Worldwide Express®
- UPS Worldwide Express Plus®
- UPS Worldwide Express NA1®
That looks reasonable. It also confirms my thinking that not only is the US trying to close a loophole, but to make money whilst they're at it. Same thing the CB$A does here, where they charge you import tax, plus processing fee, plus tax on the processing fee! NiceI was under the impression here that you'd have to at least sacrifice some organs to make such a purchase now.
To your question, here is the updated schedule for UPS:

