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Interesting News Events

Justice Dept. Will Toughen Rules for Seizing Lawmakers’ Data, Garland Says (msn.com) The Justice Department will tighten its rules for when law enforcement officials may seize information about members of Congress and their aides, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said on Monday amid a backlash to the disclosure of a 2018 subpoena that swept in data from […]

A “Summer Rerun – The Victory of Privilege”

Yves Smith is back at Naked Capitalism, having been out for medical reasons. Angry Bear and I wish her well in recouping and rehabbing. An Introduction; At Naked Capitalism, Yves posted a commentary from September 2018 on the topic of “Privilege.” Intertwined with her experience as a child growing up in factory-dominated towns to what […]

Cover All Births And Modernize Maternity Care

Medicare For All? Start At The Beginning: Cover All Births And Modernize Maternity Care | Health Affairs It has been two years since I wrote on women’s healthcare and three important topics impacting women; clinical trials done without women participants, a failing birth control device – Essure, and maternal healthcare. The Health Affairs article is […]

SCOTUS Rules 7-2 in Favor of ACA

Writing for the majority on the ACA ruling, Justice Breyer: “We do not reach these questions of the Act’s validity, Texas and the other plaintiffs in this suit lack the standing necessary to raise them.” The lack of standing comes from: “The states having brought the suit could not show that they will suffer any […]

“An estimate of the impact of revisions to 1st Qtr GDP are here” . . . Commenter RJS

May Retail Sales Fell 1.3% After April Sales Were Revised 1.4% Higher Seasonally adjusted retail sales fell 1.3% in May after retail sales for April were revised 1.4% higher . . . the Advance Retail Sales Report for May (pdf) from the Census Bureau estimated that our seasonally adjusted retail and food services sales totaled $620.2 billion […]

Pro and Con of a Virtual Currency

What are we talking about here? Federal Reserve is taking an initial step towards launching its own virtual currency. The move is disturbing to banks as it gives millions of low-income Americans access to the financial system and fortifies the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. The rise of private cryptocurrencies is motivating the […]