During the Vietnam war, we were told Americans were fighting and dying because of the domino theory—that if the dictatorship in South Vietnam fell, the communists would take over all of Southeast Asia and India. It was a lie. During the US invasion and military occupation of Iraq, we were told that Americans were fighting […]
The overclocked 8th grader in the White House has decided that the path to the Nobel Peace Prize lies through war. “The strikes opened a stunning new chapter in U.S. intervention in Iran and marked the second time in eight months that the Trump administration has used military force against the Islamic Republic. They came […]
“Police arrested a man for a burglary in a city he had never visited after face scanning software deployed across the UK confused him with another person of south Asian heritage. “Alvi Choudhury, 26, a software engineer, was working at the home he shares with his parents in Southampton in January when police knocked on […]
My parents were both college grads. My dad was an MIT-trained chemical engineer. My mom had a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After she finished college, she got married and became a homemaker, eventually raising five children. Needless to say, during that time she wasn’t earning the average salary of a high school grad—she wasn’t earning […]
This is why nations shouldn’t pay ransom. “The president reacted to the Supreme Court’s judgment by initially announcing a new universal 10% levy, using a different legal framework for the latest tariffs, but then increased the global tariff rate to 15% — the legal maximum which can be in place for 150 days before congressional […]
SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts subscribes to the unitary executive theory of American government and Constitutional interpretation. The unitary executive theory posits that the President possesses total, unrestrained authority over the entire executive branch, including the power to direct, supervise, and remove all officers within it. If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because it’s been […]
Like most boomers, I’m retired. My retirement is funded by (a) a 403b defined contribution plan, (b) Social Security and (c) personal savings. I waited until age 70 for SS benefits, to max those out. Not everyone is so fortunate. “How’s this for a somber retirement forecast: The typical American worker has less than $1,000 […]
I grew up in the land of the TVA in East Tennessee. While the TVA is famous for hydroelectric power, it also built several coal-fired generators and nuclear power plants. A couple miles from our house was the Bull Run steam plant, a coal-fired plant. Its iconic smokestack was visible for miles. Recently the plant […]
“The justices, divided 6-3 held that Trump’s aggressive approach to tariffs on products entering the United States from across the world was not permitted under a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).” *snip* “The decision does not affect all of Trump’s tariffs, leaving in place ones he imposed on steel and […]
Josh Marshall has an interesting piece in TPM on George Washington. It’s the second of two commentaries on Presidents Day. Presidents Day was originally celebrated as George Washington’s Birthday. When the effort to declare Abraham Lincoln’s birthday a national holiday failed, due to opposition from white Southern politicians, Presidents Day replaced Washington’s birthday. In the […]