“Henry VIII dissolved monasteries and executed wives because the machinery of monarchy allowed it, and challenging him risked the entire structure. The Romanovs died because saving them threatened coalitions that mattered more than five lives in a basement. Kennedy’s death formalized distance because proximity had become a procedural risk. And Sarajevo exploded not because of […]
– by New Deal democrat Real retail sales, one of my favorite broad-economy indicators, was updated through December this morning — still stale by one month, as under normal circumstances January’s numbers would have been released this week. Still, with consumer spending being about 70% of the entire economy, this is one of the most […]
It’s good to be the president. Or at least this time around. Trump has managed to increase his worth via the presidency. Not saying this is illegal. The amount of enrichment for the Trump family is rather large. More than many presidents combined. ~~~~~~~ Press Release: “New Report Exposes the Trump Family’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Crypto Empire, […]
I do believe most people do not recognize the magnitude of what the Trump administration is doing. I think of Bradbury writing about the book burnings in Nazi Germany. And then there is the ideological repression of the McCarthy era in the United States. The nation is at it again in a far more reaching […]
More on the Trump administration’s effort to block immigrants from residing in the United States. In this instance, the Trump administration’s Homeland Security Secretary attempts to terminate the temporary protected status of immigrants living legally in the United States. The effort to do so is not gradual. It is an immediate termination of their legal […]
– by New Deal democrat Let’s take our normal weekly look at jobless claims. As a general reminder, these are a good high frequency short leading indicator for the economy as a whole, and also somewhat noisily for the monthly unemployment rate. In the past several months, I have highlighted what appears to be a “regime […]
Been to Minnesota camping and canoeing in the boundary waters. Other than swatting mosquitos, it was invigorating the two weeks I was up there. The only other place I have camped (with family this time) was northern Wisconsin on Madeline Island. What has happened in Minnesota is not reminiscent of the state I know of […]
How things have changed since then. You do not get to shoot civilians, and you will not have live rounds. You will have your rifle, and your bayonet. That was what was our order in the early seventies were after we were trained for riot control. That is when or if we were called out […]
Since the shooting of Renée Good, there has been tension in the air as provoked by Trump and his half – trained agents. That is being done so as to get civilians to react to their presence and their actions which are meant to provoke. This group of agents appears to lack the training necessary […]
“The Minneapolis Crucible” – Paul Krugman January 15, 2026 Will we forge democracy anew? When Trump won the 2024 election, I feared rightly) our democracy would soon be in great peril. Between gerrymandering, a corrupt Supreme Court, a compliant Republican Party, and a tsunami of political donations from the tech broligarchy, I thought American democracy […]