The Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, ostensibly to consolidate and coordinate anti-terrorist activities previously housed in several different federal agencies. We can debate whether DHS has been an unalloyed good, but it at least paid lip service to the notion that the federal government has an […]

There was a lot going on with Covid last week. I had intended to write about NB.1.8.1, the new “variant under monitoring” by the WHO (World Health Organization), which has already become dominant in China, and the new US vaccine policy, but i just didn’t have time.   r.j. sigmund RFK Jr says no COVID vaccines […]

There’s no evidence that DOGE has saved any money so far: “Picking apart the “estimated savings” of $175 billion on the DOGE website, Tolan told me that less than half that figure is backed up with even the most basic documentation. That means it’s possible only even to start investigating about $32 billion of savings […]

Asia is a world apart from Europe or North America. I am curious as to what people are thinking about in Asia when they view the news from either country. I have traveled extensively in Thailand and China as well as Europe. Much of the time, I was there for weeks. There are always questions […]

A bit of an explanation for this Health Affairs article. Today when you are eligible for Medicare Coverage, you are placed in Traditional Medicare. What would or could happen if every new enrollee were to be placed in Medicare Advantage instead of Traditional Medicare Coverage? The discussion centers on a two-year period in the beginning […]

I am not so positive as Robert. I believe we have a long way to go and endure with this president. In the short term, we can work for a change in the House. Perhaps with a turnout of voters we can once again drive policy for people. Robert Reich makes some good points, read […]

Part I of II Was wealth that brought us this far.  The wealthy say that it was them, but it wasn’t.  It was wealth.  Those first surpluses after the climate stabilized were the genesis of civilization, of the modern world.  Gave mankind more time to think, to make better tools.  Gave us democracy and the […]

Pretty much in the past, potential students from foreign countries were allowed admission to US universities as long as they qualified and could get a student visa, such as the F-1 visa. Potential students must first be admitted to an accredited US educational institution and obtain an I-20 form (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student […]

This is one of those issues where one side supports an ideal even if there is harm to the other side. My choice would be to warn those who may confess to something they did. The other side of this? If unknown and happening, who is to blame if nothing s done? ~~~~~~~ Priests to […]

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. As I wrote about here this week, the supply chain effects of the tariffs have finally bled through to rail shipments, and probably trucking as well. Meanwhile, despite all the uncretainty, as we saw yesterday with the personal income and spending report, consumers […]