The Angry Bear

Toward the end of a very interesting and worthwhile conversation about how right-wing “populism” co-opts righteous anger at established institutions, Vincent Bevins asked Naomi Klein how she would counter that co-optation. Her answer was to advocate a “real left that has a political program that is actually redistributive,” which sounds good until you realize that the capitalist economy is already massively redistributive so “redistributing the...

November jobs report: signs of considerable strength, but warning signs of considerable weakness as well  – by New Deal democrat Yesterday I wrote that “In tomorrow’s jobs report, my focus will be on whether the data is most consistent with a “soft landing,” i.e., no further deterioration, or whether deceleration has been continuing;” and more specifically:  .My expectation, based on real consumer spending, is that there is likely to be...

I do not believe this (below) to be long. Then I am not the one who may choose to read it. Lawsuit by Pierce County against various drug distributors and manufacturers, In this instance, I am going to guess they are talking about Opioid pills such as Purdue’s Oxycontin. Do not confuse this with the Jick and Porter letter (which I will follow-up on) and the 2017 article A 1980 Letter on the Risk of Opioid Addiction | NEJM. I am interested in the...

Reading way too many comments about not voting or not voting for Biden. We backed away from Clinton in 2016 and we got a morally defunct almost a fascist or maybe a want-a-be as the president. In 2020, Biden was not my first choice either. I had seen too many times the impact of his programs coming out of the Senate. However, he did carry us through a pandemic with various positive economic programs. He was the right man for the job and the issues....

Initial claims continue to forecast expansion; further slight deceleration in employment, unemployment, and wages most likely tomorrow  – by New Deal democrat This morning we had our last look at initial jobless claims before tomorrow’s November jobs report. On a weekly basis, claims rose 1,000 to 221,000. The four week average rose 500 to 220,750. With a one week delay, continuing cliams declined 64,000 from last week’s 2 year high to 1.861...

Mark Tushnet is a leading critic of the Supreme Court and of the way judicial review is practiced today in the United States.  Following the Court’s recent decision on affirmative action, Tushnet and Aaron Belkin wrote an open letter urging President Biden to defy the Supreme Court (my bold): We urge President Biden to restrain MAGA justices immediately by announcing that if and when they issue rulings that are based on gravely mistaken...

Manufacturing’s shift out of China is shaking up shipping, qz.com), Mary Hui AB: This is kind of along the lines of what I was involved in with manufacturing overseas and moving components to various countries from the US. We would plan the necessary materials to a planned ship date. We would ship to Thailand, Philippines, China, Malaysia, etc. What is going on here, shippers are using Vietnam as a base to ship to. From there, the parts are moved...

What is interesting about NDd’s latest is his identifying manufacturing playing “a much smaller role in the total US economy now than it used to in the decades after WW2.” He identifies another factor occurring before the start of a recession. It has become increasingly necessary for spending on services to falter as well. Real consumer spending forecasts continuing jobs deceleration  – by New Deal democrat As I’ve written many times over...

“casts record-setting vote in Senate.” Vice President Harris on Tuesday cast her 32nd tiebreaking vote to confirm Loren L. AliKhan to be a U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia — making history with the most deciding votes in the chamber by a vice president. Open Thread November 28 2023 Housing Buy or Rent? Angry Bear Tags: Open Thread December 6 2023...

On our trip to Colorado for Thanksgiving, the boarding announcements for each flight began with an invitation to active service people and veterans to board first, always followed with “thank you for your service.”People join the military for many reasons. Some out of a sense of patriotism, others because that was the best-paying job they could find at the time. My dad went to OCS and served two years as an officer in the Naval Reserve to avoid the...