If you have not noticed it, SCOTUS has been pushing back on states filing frivolous suits to which no harm has been done to them. They file these for whatever reasons they dream up, shop for district judges for approval, and then file to SCOTUS. Much of which is political. It could be to block another state, groups of people, or a person seeking redress. SCOTUS takes a limited number of cases per year (eighty-something and down from...
Read More »There are lies, and there is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program
Arizona Opinion: There are lies, and there is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, tucson.com, Lisa Ansell and Christina Winton. USC Associate Director Lisa Ansell discusses the predicament Christina Winton is in with Loan forgiveness applied for after 10-years in public service and the foot dragging by the PSLF program to cancel her student loans. And then there is loan repayment scheduled to start again September 1 of this year....
Read More »Risk, Ambiguity and Daniel Ellsberg
The death of Daniel Ellsberg on Friday reminded me of his contribution to economics and his influence on my own thinking. In 1987, I was at Cornell, beginning an abortive PhD candidacy. In one of my courses there was an assigned reading on decision theory by Leonard Savage. One of the footnotes referred to an article by “Daniel Ellsberg” and I naturally wondered if it was the same Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame. “Risk, Ambiguity and the...
Read More »Silent Spring’s Legacy Continues 60+ Years Later
Image of tractor and workers spraying is used courtesy of Getty Images. Originally published June 30, 1962, the book Silent Spring was banned initially. It was met with great resistance by many. Carson was advocating a more careful use of the pesticide. Instead, DDT was banned from any use. Globally, other countries followed suit. And the deaths from malaria increased again. Fortunately, more disciplined minds prevailed in the use of DDT....
Read More »A Slightly confusing headline . . .
Pluralities of Americans support second Trump indictment, say charges are politically motivated: POLL, ABC News, Brittany Shepherd. According to Commenter Fred Dobbs; A Slightly confusing headline . . . ABC News – June 11 There are sharp partisan differences, according to the survey. A plurality of Americans think that former President Donald Trump should have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to his handling of...
Read More »Narrowing the scope of the 1972 Clean Water Act
One would have to be totally unknowing or have a ignorant disregard for wetlands near streams, rivers, and lakes. Wetlands purify our water by removing sediments and other pollutants including chemicals. Wetlands also filter and process excess nutrients that may runoff from agricultural and development sites. Wetlands hold on to the water long enough to allow the sediments and other pollutants to settle out and the purified water then enters...
Read More »The Thought running Through my Mind was “Who will be the Judge in Florida?”
The second question; Why do Repubs get to pick the judges they wish to appear before? And the third question? Why do Dems get whatever is available? I was thinking about this happenstance on Friday when I read trump would appear in Federal Court in Florida. And yes, trump appointee Judge Aileen Cannon came to mind. Here we are once again . . . How does Judge Cannon get to be the assigned to oversee the classified documents case against former...
Read More »Environment and the Policy Changes Impacting It, Mother Earth, and Us
A grouping of eclectic topics spread across various subtitles supposedly giving them some organization. These show up in my In-Box and I leave them their till I clean up the collection Energy and Business A Beginner’s Guide to Plastic-Free Living, treehugger.com, Katherine Martinko. “You need to write a step-by-step guide to giving up plastic.” Electric Vehicles Have a Public-Charging Problem, The Atlantic, Patrick George. Driving from...
Read More »Who bears the responsibility for the East Palestine train disaster?
No one has accepted real responsibility for the East Palestine disaster, The Guardian, Zsuzsa Gyenes A noticeable chemical odor three months later – yet the town and surrounding residents still has to fight for accountability from Norfolk Southern as told by Zsuzsa. The Ohio Republican governor Mike DeWine is sitting back waiting for the East Palestine residents to tire of their efforts for more help. The accident has not been declared a disaster...
Read More »The bank crisis is the latest argument to expand Postal Service banking
An April 20th commentary pulled off of Steve Hutkins’ “Save the Post Office Blog.” Prof. Hutkins tracks what is going on with the USPS, what PG Louis DeJoy is up to, and the transition of the USPS to what DeJoy believes is a profit center and supposedly better than the present. Except the plan is not better. PG Louis Dejoy should be replaced which can only be done by the Board of Commissioners. The last time I checked, Biden could replace two...
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