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

Me v. William Cannon, Part II: The Jonathan Gruber Canard

Okay, well, as all you AB regular readers know, yesterday I posted a post deconstructing—and, yes, that’s what I did—a blog post on the Forbes website by William F. Cannon.  He blogs there on “health, freedom, and other uncertainties,” but his day job is Director of Health Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. The studies apparently entail […]

US Postal Management’s Dysfunctional and Failing Culture

by: Mark Jamison; A retired Postmaster having served the town and community of Webster, N.C. Mark can also be read on Save The Post Office, a blog discussing the state of the USPS. “In the following weeks, Mr. Green would go on to scream at me, ALL YOU ARE IS A LIABILITY, YOU EXIST ONLY […]

"In theory GDP growth could continue indefinitely – if it weren’t linked to something real."

Dan here…Via Sandwichman at Econospeak comes William Rees’s response to Paul Krugman’s post on “the prophets of climate despair”: “In theory GDP growth could continue indefinitely – if it weren’t linked to something real.” William Rees, who along with Mathis Wackernagel developed Ecological Footprint analysis, commented on Paul Krugman’s flippant slur on “degrowth” as an […]

There’s a Palpable Fear Amongst Kansans, All Across That State, That the Farm Subsidy Levels They Love, and Cherish, and Honor, Will Be Reduced or that the Program Will Be Eliminated. (Or, in light of their senior senator’s comments earlier this week, there should be.)

Post has been cut-and-paste-typo-corrected. 9/28 at 11:43 a.m. —- There’s a palpable fear amongst Kansans, all across this state, that the America that we love, and cherish, and honor, will not be the same America for our kids and grand kids. And that’s wrong. That’s very wrong. As a result, unfortunately, people are losing faith […]

Government Rightwing Propagandizing to a Captive Audience, and Calling It … ‘History Class’

The school board proposal that triggered the [student and teacher] walkouts in Jefferson County calls for instructional materials that present positive aspects of the nation and its heritage. It would establish a committee to regularly review texts and course plans, starting with Advanced Placement history, to make sure materials “promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits […]

Medicare does “NOT PAY FOR ITSELF”

In the comments section of an earlier post 1/3 of Medicare Spending is Wasted, I had stated to everyone, “Medicare does NOT PAY FOR ITSELF.” This is what I meant by that comment: “For more than a decade the the federal government has borrowed to pay for the rising cost of Medicare. Debt-financing of Medicare […]

Hillary Clinton (Obviously) Reads Angry Bear! Or at least she did yesterday.

Hillary Clinton will headline a fundraising dinner for Florida Democratic gubernatorial Charlie Crist next month, putting her in a key presidential state in the midterms battle, according to an invitation. Crist, a Republican turned Democrat running for his old job, is in one of the toughest gubernatorial races in the country. He is facing incumbent […]

What are people — and the Post Office — for?

Guest Post by Mark Jamison retired Postmaster Webster, N.C. It’s likely that I will be the last postmaster to serve the town of Webster, North Carolina. The first postmaster, Allen Fisher, began his term in 1857, shortly after Jackson County was founded and Webster became the county seat. The names of the postmasters that follow […]

Guest post: “It’ll be okay: Trust me”, redux

Dan here….The Largest climate march in history is happening today.  Jan Galkowski responds to a Wall Street Journal editorial.   He requested that comments be written at his website in order to consolidate questions and answers. by Jan Galkowski “It’ll be okay: Trust me”, redux Professor Steven Koonin offers up another dollop of vague, specious criticism of […]

Wisconsin’s Utilities War on Energy Efficient Customers

Having raised a family in Mad City, Wisconsin (a place former governor Dreyfuss called “77 square miles surrounded by reality” and others calling it the Left Coast of Wisconsin, I found the state to be open to new ideas and more so than what is found in other states. Of course things have changed with […]