The Angry Bear

Dana Millbank at the Washington Post points us to JD Vance, the MAGA Republican from Ohio running for a Senate seat in Congress and a potential American Julius Caesar. “‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears: They have come to resurrect Caesar. MAGA Republican leaders take umbrage at being accused of ‘semi-fascism,‘ which is understandable: Twentieth-century dictators such as Mussolini and the German guy with the mustache gave fascism...

It is refreshing to see Dean Baker using one of the words I use to describe what the FED does when they are hiking Interest Rates. Those FED actions do not create results over night. Because they can’t, read on. Powell appears to be frustrated by the lack of economic slowing. Maybe there are other issues behind the slow reaction such as supply chains, fiscal stimulus early on, healthcare subsidies, etc. The latter two were vital otherwise we...

Focusing on the short end of the yield curve  – by New Deal democrat  When most analysts talk about yield curve inversions, they typically mean a measure of the 10 year bond vs. a shorter maturity like 3 month or 2 years. These certainly have merit – in fact the 10 year minus 2 year inversion has typically had the longest lead time before recessions. But the NY Fed has written that special attention should be paid to the short end of the...

“Computer experts urge Georgia to replace voting machines,” (msn.com), Kate Brumback Should Georgia replace present voting machines with paper ballots? CNN — A Republican County official in Georgia escorted two operatives working with an attorney for former President Donald Trump into the county’s election offices on the same day a voting system there was breached, newly obtained video shows.The breach is now under investigation by the Georgia...

Summary: More on the Ukraine war, Russia calling up soldiers, Putin’s referendum, and a threat of nuclear consequences if the referendum in interfered. President Biden answers Putin’s threats. New York AG Letitia James filed a $250 million civil lawsuit against Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, and the family. COA rejects Federal Judge Cannon’s ruling calling it “abuse of discretion.” It appears as though Ginni Thomas will be testifying to the...

“Diesel Ram Owner Crushes Truck After New Jersey DEP Orders Deleted Emissions Fix,” (msn.com), Caleb Jacobs One diesel pickup truck owner was hoping to sell his modified diesel engine pickup truck. Unfortunately, the State of New Jersey DEP would not be issuing a new title unless he restored the pickup truck to its former EPA required condition. The DEP issued a violation to back up their demand. This came after attempting to sell the modified...

Jobless claims: the positive trend continues  – by New Deal democrat For yet another week, initial jobless claims continued their reversal from had been in an almost relentless uptrend from spring through early August. This week initial claims rose -5,000 to 213,000 from a revised 3 month low of 208,000, while the 4 week average declined another -6,000 to a new 3 month low of 216,750. Continuing claims, which lag somewhat, declined 22,000 to...

Review of “Demagogue”“Demagogue: The life and long shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy” by Larry Tye is a particularly timely read as the nation continues in the grip of another political bully, Donald Trump. The parallels in their methods are striking and the degree to which McCarthy held the nation in thrall during the 1950s mirrors the fealty of the Trumpenproletariat today. We know how the McCarthy story ended, and it offers hope that the nation will...

Herd consolidation seems to be the main point being plugged right now as the total herd population of beef cattle is dropping and will continue to drop well into next year. This mirrors the 2014 cattle year where we had a steep downturn in total US herd. Next year will be more of the same with a general degradation of total population. Here are the factors: Severe drought has brought about pasture shortages. Lack of rain in the western parts...