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

On the Malleability of Cultural Traits – a Look at Irish-British and German-Americans

Authored by Mike Kimel The way the immigration process was structured from 1921 to 1965, 70% of immigrants to the US came from Britain, Germany and Ireland.  In a recent post I noted that the proportion of great writers to scientists in Ireland tended to be a lot higher than for Britain and Germany.  I […]

John McCain Says He’s Glad a 5-4 Supreme Court Majority Fabricated a Constitutional Ground to Strike Down Most of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law as Unconstitutional

Awesome. And to think that earlier today I was still worried that the Dems won’t retake control of the Senate.

Okay, so how many of the 53 percent of voters who say they want a Republican Congress to thwart Clinton’s policy agenda have any idea what that policy agenda IS? Just wonderin’.

But those same polls [suggesting a Clinton lead] don’t suggest doom and gloom for down-ballot Republicans just yet. And in fact, there’s real reason for GOP optimism that Trump won’t ruin their year completely. … For one, the so-called generic ballot — i.e., whether people prefer a generic Democrat for Congress or a generic Republican […]

Trump Says the Establishment and the News Media Deemed Bernie Sanders a Sexist, a Racist, a Xenophobe and Morally Deformed

“The establishment and their media neighbors wield control over this nation through means that are very well known,” Mr. Trump told a crowd in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Thursday. “Anyone who challenges their control is deemed a sexist, a racist, a xenophobe and morally deformed. They will attack you. They will slander you. They […]

New study casts more doubt on data center subsidies

A new report by Good Jobs First confirms what has been long-suspected: Data center megadeals of over $50 million in subsidies create very few jobs at a cost per job that easily exceeds $1 million. Indeed, the average for 11 megadeals going to tech giants like Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft came to $1.8 million […]

On Liberty. (And Ohio.)

“We are Liberty students who are disappointed with President Falwell’s endorsement and are tired of being associated with one of the worst presidential candidates in American history,” the statement said. “Donald Trump does not represent our values and we want nothing to do with him. … He has made his name by maligning others and […]

The person whom Clinton should invite as her guest at next week’s debate: Warren Buffett

A major theme of mine in my posts at AB for a while now has been to try to highlight disclosures about Trump that have been overshadowed by others but that are important for more reasons than the most obvious one. During Sunday’s debate Trump shocked me (and I’m sure, Clinton) when he claimed that […]

Trump’s Peeping Tom admission on Howard Stern should get much more attention than it’s received

BuzzFeed News reported on Sunday that Trump also walked through the dressing rooms at the 2000 Miss USA pageant, where he watched the naked contestants prepare backstage. “I’ll tell you the funniest is that I’ll go backstage before a show and everyone’s getting dressed,” Trump tells Howard Stern. The recordings were released by CNN on Saturday. Trump continues, […]