Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Briefly, All the Toilet Paper has Been Sold and Dockworkers Went Back to Work

Somewhere, there is a correlation between the two . . . The Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico dockworker strikes are over. The strike by tens of thousands of dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts has been called off, after the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, representing ocean carriers and port […]

Are manufacturing and construction in a synchronous downturn? If so, that’s Trouble

– by New Deal democrat I wanted to follow up on a point I made yesterday: although manufacturing is no longer a big enough slice of the US economy to bring about an economic downturn on its own – unless for some reason the manufacturing downturn were unusually severe – when it is paired with […]

“Did he lose the 2020 election?” and J.D. Vance Balks

This was the only question and answer that mattered. The Times and various other news outlets are elsewhere on the topic of losing the 2020 Election. I remember William Saletan writing articles for Slate Magazine “The Fray” while I was in the comments section reading them and then doodahman;s comments picking Saletan’s commentary apart. William […]

Long COVID and chronic fatigue

The recurring bleat of vaccine denialists is that COVID should be addressed through “herd immunity.” Well, OK, a vaccinated population has herd immunity, but that’s not what they mean. They mean herd immunity in the sense of the Black Plague—the people who didn’t die were immune. Apart from all the deaths caused by COVID infections […]

Evidence Shows Minimum Wage Increases Will Cause Job Losses is Largely Wrong-Headed

Largely speaking direct labor is not the issue of costs have I have presented in another post. It is the overhead such as healthcare insurance which can better handled in another manner. Inflation grows and minimum wage income is stagnant. Studies have found little or no job loss due to Minimum Wage Laws, Economic Policy […]

Who Voted Against FEMA Relief Before Helene Battered Their Home States

As Category 4 Hurricane Helene approached the Florida Panhandle, a number of Republican senators and representatives voted against supplementing disaster relief in a government funding extension which was passed by both houses of Congress. Many of the Republican lawmakers voted against the provision of additional necessary funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) represent states that were hit particularly hard by Hurricane Helene. […]

The Achilles Trap

I just finished reading “The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America’s Invasion of Iraq” by Steve Coll. By the onset of the US invasion and military occupation, I was convinced that (a) Iraq had no WMDs or active WMD programs, and (b) there was no collusion between Saddam and al […]

Walz v Vance Debate

Another take on J.D,’s and Tim’s debate last night. Tim came off the line rather slow last night. This is like the gearing in some automobiles where you are slow off the line and gain greater speed as you go along. It was pretty clear Tim owned J.D. at the end. Will it change votes, […]

New Georgia Law Spurs Bogus Challenges to Voter Eligibility

In addition to what you will hopefully read below. Repubs and Dems went to court and presented their reasoning for and against new laws allowing for a “reasonable inquiry” to be conducted before election certification and gives election workers the ability to “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.”  You […]