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

The end of the golden age for academia

Looking back, I realize that I came of age near the end of a golden age for universities. As an undergrad at UT-Knoxville, tuition* was ca. $160/quarter for a full load. As a grad student, I got 36 months of stipend from an NIH training grant, and my mentor’s grant paid my stipend for the […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for July 21 – 25

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. With the continued pause in actual tariff increases, the data has rebounded basically across the board from April and May. Even the long leading indicators have improved somewhat, led by some un-inversions of the yield curve and the improvement in corporate profits as […]

Fun at the Department of Justice

Just an abbreviated version of an article about an appointment and how Bondi gets it wrong. In one of the more stupid episodes in an already stupid run of them, Pam Bondi gushed to social media the Trump administration would stand up to “politically minded” judges . . . and then fire Desiree Leigh Grace. […]

The Worst of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Will Be Felt in Rural America

As one commenter elsewhere stated: “Rural America hospitals in red states have been closing at an epidemic rate because the states refused to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Rural hospitals in blue states generally survive. The red states do not seem to care. Congress has not passed bills to save those red state rural hospitals” […]

Medicaid spending in rural areas is estimated to decrease by $137 billion over a 10-year period

Cuts in healthcare . . . Medicaid is necessary to fund tax breaks for Trump, his inner circle of beneficiaries and all not needing a tax break. This particular piece by Kaiser Family Foundation focuses on the impact to those who use Medicaid. Low in income, people are the main users of Medicaid. An ~10 […]

Postal Service Changes Have a Disproportionate Impact on Rural Areas

The results of US Postmaster General Louis Dejoy’s efforts to improve US Postal Service in the United States. Steve Hutkins and Mark Jamison have been following USPS issues for years and they have been featured on Angry Bear going back to 2016. This particular piece has been taken from Steve Hutkins site: “Save the Post […]

“We’re going to end up shooting some of them.”

My last year in the Marne Corps, I was given the task of chasing prisoners. And taking them to the Brig, to the Commissary, to Disbursing, etc. There was not much of a threat from these guys as revenge would have been extracted in the Brig. Attacking an NCO was not a smart idea either. […]