Tag Archives: politics

Upon hearing the Latin term caveat emptor, we likely think of the Uniform Commercial Code – of legal matters regarding commerce. These days – it turns out – ‘let the buyer beware’ is also very applicable to politics and the media. Fox News isn’t only hiding behind the First Amendment; it is also saying that one should know better than to believe the lies it is peddling. Facebook sells its consumers little-fettered access to a hotline to spread...

This commentary by Steve Early is about politics and war. The wars the US politically gets involved in, sends its young off to fight, and then leaves them pretty much stranded. It ain’t all John Wayne and scenes from the Alamo. Steve Early and I have been exchanging emails back and forth on VA healthcare. From what he tells me, he has picked up on our posting on healthcare. Just when you think no one is reading your work, a comment like this pops...

Prof. Heather giving a news report on the economy and what people are believing based on their politics. The economy has weathered a pandemic, inflation, supply chain events, a war in eastern Europe, dysfunctional Republicans, politics, trump, and it keeps on ticking. I expected more of a 2008 scenario with Congress and the Fed ravishing Labor as the troublemakers. October 27, 2023, Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson An...

Vaccination is one of the great triumphs of humanity over infectious disease. Smallpox was such a plague that George Washington mandated inoculation for all Continental soldiers in 1777. Prior to the polio vaccine, most Americans knew a friend or relative who contracted polio; today, it’s virtually unheard of, just like mumps and whooping cough. The COVID vaccines, particularly the mRNA vaccines of Moderna and Pfizer, are a triumph of genetic...

Just some history . . . An October 15, 2008, article in The Washington Post analyzing the origins of the economic crisis claims Greenspan vehemently opposed any regulation of derivatives, and actively sought to undermine the office of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. If you recall, Brooksley Born was the head of the CFTC. A litany od experts and political figures mounted an attack on her in Congress. “The messenger wore a skirt,”...

Spending soars, income stagnates, savings sink like the Titanic  – by New Deal democrat Real life intruded yesterday, so I didn’t put up any information about the Q3 GDP report. I’ll write in detail next week, but in the meantime there were 4 basic highlights: 1. Obviously it was an excellent report overall. 2. The long leading metric of real residential fixed spending also rose slightly, although as a share of real GDP it fell, so...

Not to put too fine a point on it, the recent chaos in the GOP-controlled House isn’t a bug, it’s a feature for the modern GOP. There isn’t any daylight between Gym Jordan and Mike Johnson, politically, but policy no longer matters to the GOP. It’s just optics, and Jordan has (so far) mastered the avuncular optics necessary to win the speakership. But since the point is chaos, Johnson will preside over chaos, with the hope that voters will decide to...

The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, Texas v. Pennsylvania. December 20, 2020. Two days ago, during a press conference Rachel Scott drew the ire of Republicans as she asked a question of newly appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson. Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) was instrumental in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.  ABC News congressional reporter Rachel Scott began to ask Johnson whether he stands by his role in...

Late on the draw here . . . Missed this over the last week. Been too busy doing other things with Angry Bear and looking for a Word Press expert who can help Angry Bear solve some issues. You have to wonder what Fed Chief Jerome Powell is going to do next. If you have been reading New Deal democrat (Richard), it appears we are on the edge of a recession of some type. I am hoping he waits. The returns or values on my funds are decreasing so what...

Just got done exchanging a couple of emails with Steve about Suzanne’s and his latest commentary about the growing privatization of the VA. Looks like the VA is farming out more of the veteran’s care to contractors which will come at a much higher cost. Outsourcing to for-profit entities is not a good practice. We can see how Medicare Advantage plans are costing far more than Medicare and depleting Medicare funding. Similar is happening with the VA...