Tag Archives: politics

 – by New Deal democrat Officially reported initial jobless claims declined -17,000 to 233,000 last week. The four-week moving average rose 750 to 240,750. With the typical one-week delay, continuing claims rose 6,000 to 1.875 million, the highest number since November 17, 2021: On the more important YoY basis, initial claims were down -9.7%, while the 4-week average was nigher by 0.3%. Continuing claims were higher by 5.8%, up by more than...

ABA Asks Cops to Pretty Please Stop Lying to Juveniles to Extract Bogus Confessions by Joe Patrice Above the Law The ABA House of Delegates just passed a resolution urging state and local governments to adopt laws and policies to prohibit police from lying to juveniles — about either facts or pledges of leniency — to extract confessions. The Resolution, sponsored by the Criminal Justice Section and basic common sense, draws upon research...

– by New Deal democrat Continuing my catching up this week, let’s take a look in some further detail about why I didn’t think Friday’s jobs report portended recession – at least, not yet. As I always point out, the jobs report does contain some leading numbers. These are generally employment in more cyclical industries that, when they turn down, start the cascade into the broader economy. Generally speaking, these are all goods-producing...

There’s a lot of attention being paid these days to EVs and solar power, but there are plenty of other ways to decarbonize human activity. Public transportation is one. I’m certainly no stranger to public transportation. I didn’t have a car in college, so when I visited my grandmother in Johnstown or my sister in Philadelphia, I took the Greyhound. When I visited my folks in Manhattan, I got around by subway. My wife and I didn’t have a car in grad...

Commentary by Robert Reich popped up today in my mailbox. It is interesting to read. Apparently, Joe Biden’s appointment to the FTC is taking on corporate entities who have great influence in their portion of the economy. Or what Angry Bear and myself would call big business monopolies. The courts agreed with FTC’s Lina Khan, that Google is a monopoly. This occurrence you can read for yourself below. It was suggested big money donners to...

Here’s Where VP Pick Tim Walz Stands on Healthcare Issues, MedPage Today Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate. Here’s a look at Walz’s track record on healthcare. I am not going to call Kamala a Democrat although we all know she is of that political lean. I believe Kamala will represent all people including Republicans. Sixty-year-old Tim Walz was first elected Governor of Minnesota in...

Finally, some or most of Congress may do something to Rein in SCOTUS and the rogue Justices. The question here being can they nullify Congress’s act in some fashion. No Kings Act WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced legislation Thursday reaffirming that presidents do not have immunity for criminal actions, an attempt to reverse the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month. Schumer’s No Kings Act would...

by Joyce Vance Civil Discourse Tonight, the reporting is that Vice President Harris’ choice of running mate is down to Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania or Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. Although Shapiro has a somewhat higher public profile because of his work taking on Trump and election deniers in court when he was the state’s attorney general, Walz has closed that gap in recent days. The more liberal of the two, he recently offered...

Everybody knows that California is a “high-tax” state, right? Well, yes and no. Depends on where you are on the food chain. If your household is the top 1%, then California tax rates are 2nd highest, while Texas and Florida are 43rd and 50th, respectively.OTOH, if your household income is in the second quintile as a % of family income, things change: “California is about average, with a tax rate lower than either Texas or Florida. Texas has the ninth...

On 1 July, I retired from my 37-year faculty gig. Among other things, this meant shifting from private insurance to Medicare. I haven’t yet used my Medicare coverage, but my wife, who retired two years ago as a faculty at a different university, has had no difficulties with her transition to Medicare. So far.The Medicare Conversion Factor (the multiplier used to calculate payment rates for each service or procedure) for 2025 will be the lowest since...