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

Replace Migrant Farm Workers with “High Schoolers?”

Pulled up the rest of the story on young US citizens doing the same work as migrant labor. The thought being they were young enough to do it. Teenage boys heeding the call of a federal government looking for teens to work on farms. That was 1965. I can tell you laboring for a bunch […]

Billionaire’s Effort to Crush Mamdani is Rooted in Fears of Nationwide Progressive Wave

I believe this is kind of interesting. Everyone of the important people are in a tizzy over a Muslim running to be the Mayor of NYC, Zohran Mamdani (a Muslim) wants to be NYC’s mayor. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon panned New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as “more a Marxist than a socialist.” They are […]

The future of American farm labor?

Trump has flip-flopped on deporting workers in the agriculture and hospitality sectors. But his Ag Secretary has it figured out. “There’s been a lot of noise in the last few days and a lot of questions about where the president stands and his vision for farm labor,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters during a […]

Your kids’ and grandkids’ tax dollars at work

Trump’s BBB is a huge windfall for the Department of Homeland Security: “The bill gives ICE $29.8 billion to hire new staff and conduct deportations. That will lead to a hiring spurt of deportation officers; an additional $4.1 billion bump goes to Customs and Border Protection for new personnel. “For immigration detention, also overseen by […]

Kristi Noem is deranged, but will she cannibalize her own words?

Noem is busy protecting Americans against self-eating cannibals: “Speaking at a press conference in Florida with Donald Trump, Noem claimed that the president’s deportation push, which she is overseeing, is about “upholding freedom…the freedom to live safely in this country and to do things legally and to have justice.” The administration, she said, is “going […]

Construction spending continues contraction, amplifying yellow flag caution from manufacturing

 – by New Deal democrat I concluded last month’s post on construction spending by writing “Putting this report together with this morning’s other report on manufacturing from ISM, it appears the goods-producing part of the economy as a whole is very slightly contracting. It will be interesting to see if this is reflected in a decline […]

Some Additional Thoughts and Reading . . . Fellow Rats

– Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions, but fate of Trump birthright citizenship order unclear. The Copper Courier. “the decision left unclear the fate of President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship.” – States can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, the Supreme Court rules. Associated Press. “authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by the […]

Trump’s America: shrinking our way to excellence

Abroad, Trump is sending American hard power in retreat by pulling back on NATO and threatening to invade and take over a NATO country. American soft power under Trump is also in retreat, with the abandonment of USAID and Voice of America. At home, Trump is shrinking American agriculture by the USAID cuts. He’s levied […]

The Brushy Mountain State Prison of the Everglades

I grew up about 20 miles from Brushy Mountain State Prison. You may remember it as the place James Earl Ray was held until, briefly, he wasn’t. He escaped and was re-captured. The appeal of Brushy Mountain included rough terrain and venomous snakes that inhabited the surrounding area. Copperhead Alcatraz. I once visited the prison […]

Successful in a Primary? Don’t expect the Right Wingers Will Let you Pass . . .

Bit of a rewrite . . . Democratic socialist who would become the first Muslim to be NYC mayor if elected. He first has to get past the right-wingers who have come out of hiding since Zohran Mamdani’s success in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Being a Democrat is one thing. Being […]