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

Convincing Pregnant Women to Avoid Using Acetaminophen

The agency’s head cited the well-known but rarely deployed concept to convince pregnant women to avoid using acetaminophen. Why not do the same for global warming and PFAS chemicals? Merrill Goozner’s (GoozNews) discussion points opposing Kennedy and Trump’s opposition to using Tylenol when pregnant. It is becoming stranger in the US with Trump’s failing awareness […]

Snake oil and the Trump White House

Trump brought the RFK Jr snake oil road show to the White House. “Yesterday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s traveling medicine show made a stop at the White House, where President Trump was the featured barker at an off-the-rails press conference. Taking unscientific aim at vaccines and unsubstantiated links between Tylenol and autism, the […]

Sellout by the Democrats in Congress

When I was living in Michigan, I found Jack Lessenberry to be an excellent pundit with regards to Republicans, Democrats, and state policies. For the most part the state was run by Republicans for two or three decades until Michigan governor Gretchen Esther Whitmer. And then it was a battle of the legislatures. The state […]

On obeying in advance

It is an article of faith among those opposed to Trump’s efforts to build an American autocracy that we should not obey in advance.  The charge of obeying in advance has been leveled forcefully against universities, law firms, and media companies that choose to placate the administration rather than resist its abusive demands.  Yet the […]

Federal Government is the Least Trusted to Act in Society’s Interest

GALLUP Americans also say the federal government has the most power to positively impact people. However, it is the least effective at doing so. AB: I wonder if it is the politics involved with the Federal Government which paints a negative picture. On the other hand, we see individuals such as Elon Musk who have […]

S.S. Retirement Age Increase Not Considered

It is hard to imagine the cutting of the Social Security benefit is the only solution on the table. If anything, the difference in what is spent and what is needed can be mitigated by increases starting next year. This may not solve the issues 100%. It will lengthen the time before no Trust Fund […]

New Deal democrat’s Weekly Indicators for September 15 – 19

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. Along with the continuing resilience of consumer spending, which I wrote about yesterday, the other surprise in the data has been the strong rebound in manufacturing indexes in the past 45 days, as evidenced by several of the regional Fed situation reports […]