August 26, 2023, Letters from an American, Professor Heather Cox-Richardson On this date in 1920, the U.S. Secretary of State received the official notification from the governor of Tennessee that his state had ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the amendment, and the last one necessary to make the amendment the law of the land once the secretary of state certified it. He did that as soon...

This is brief commentary is pulled from several sources. It is meant to be an observation. In “Union Booms and Busts,” a new book by the authors Judith Stepan-Norris, Jasmine Kerrissey, a review is taken of the shifting fortunes of U.S. labor, their unions, and of employers and their organizations. This is not meant to be a review of the book; but, I am giving credit to where I am taking the information besides other sites mentioned. It is...

Weekly Indicators for August 21 – 25 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat While I was away on vacation, the high frequency data continued to pour in. And so my Weekly Indicators post for the week is up at Seeking Alpha. There continue to be some very negative signs associated with interest rates, including important things like both purchase and refinancing mortgage applications, both of which are at or near 30 year lows. Not a good sign...

Our Doomed Fate as Ecological Crisis Looms

https://www.elconfidencial.com/mundo/2023-08-24/retorno-pigs-ascenso-sur-union-europea_3722074/ Los PIGS frente al norte de Europa ¿El retorno de los ‘cerdos’? Qué hay tras el supuesto ascenso del sur frente al norte de la UE Grecia, Portugal y España registran datos de crecimiento económico por encima de la media europea, pero la posible vuelta de las políticas de austeridad acecha en el horizonte Quema de una foto de Angela Merkel con indumentaria nazi frente al Parlamento...

Economy at Risk Climate change projections

I Have A Dream .[embedded content] These days mark the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King delivering his famous speech I Have A Dream at the March on Washington, which stands as one of the most iconic moments of the American civil rights movement. The speech is still relevant today because it visualizes a dream the society has not achieved yet. Martin Luther King’s influence on civil rights and social justice is indelible. His dedication to nonviolent...

These days, microplastics seem to have displaced methane and carbon dioxide as the environmental bogy man. And not that we shouldn’t worry about all pollution sources, but it turns out that, once again, driving is a big problem–not just for global warming but for microplastics as well:“Driving is not just an air pollution and climate change problem — turns out, it just might be the largest contributor of microplastics in California coastal...

Passing along information on Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, one year out, and the impact on the US. Update on CMS implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act on its 1st anniversary, ACA Signups, Charles Gaba via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (note: this press release actually came out on August 16th): The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was signed into law on August 16, 2022. The new law provides meaningful...

This is interesting stuff. Big, loud, and gas guzzlers. Licensing them according to such could go a long when in shutting down the purchase of them. Many of these trucks are platforms to conduct business out of them. No licenses for such. Neither do hey have the business name, phone number, and name. Technology for the pick-me-up trucks they have added an 1800-2000 pound battery. The pickup trucks are up around 10,000 pounds. Spent much time...