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

Trump has destroyed US science

My chairman predicts that the proposed NIH cuts will be a “nothingburger.’ Even if the budget cuts don’t come to pass (and I’m pretty sure the indirect costs cuts will stick), the damage will already have been done. Creative, energetic American scientists who seek academic positions will move to other countries. Back in 1986, I […]

What waste, fraud and abuse?

These days, it’s fashionable for right-wing Republicans to accuse those who disagree with their extremism as being Marxists, socialists or communists. Of course, they are using these words as epithets, not based on their actual definition. Also, it’s fashionable for right-wing Republicans to claim they’re not cutting the federal budget, they’re only cutting waste, fraud […]

Projecting

Apparently, the GOP Congress wants to investigate Biden’s fitness for the presidency four months after he left office. Other than squandering more tax money and distracting the media, what purpose would that serve? “Journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson sketched a picture of a well-meaning but weakened president in a book they released last month. […]

About that manufactured “crisis” in California

I haven’t seen any significant “violence” or “riots” reported in LA, although that’s the Trump Administration claim. Predictably, Trump seized the moment to send in troops, with the hope of escalating things. I’ve seen claims that Newsom should have blocked the State National Guard, but that’s incorrect–Trump federalized the State National Guard, so they’re under […]

Getting to know the Federal Workforce, part 2 

Brief commentary taking a look at the makeup of the Federal Workforce. As you can see the Department of Defense has the greatest number of employees. The next largest is the Department of Veterans Affairs. I posted this piece so as to allow Angry Bear readers understand the size of government. This is not a […]

Punishing people for their circumstances, not just their actions . . . “Chicago’s Million Dollar Blocks”

I changed the order of this article so as to attribute the authors and others in the beginning rather than near the end of this piece. I am reposting this article to Angry Bear Blog and attributing the authors, others, and any organizations which may have played a part in writing this piece. The why […]

Structural Racism and Disparities in Youth Exposed to Firearm Violence

The takeaway in this short report about firearm violence is “Black and Hispanic children were more likely to witness or be shot. Black children were 100 times, and Hispanic children 25 times, more likely than White children to be shot in Chicago and other major US cities. They are at greater risk of being shot […]

DOGE “savings” are disappearing

Wonder if these expenses will show up on the DOGE ledger: “Early this spring, the Food and Drug Administration fired nearly 50 workers in the Office of Regulatory Policy – only to turn around and order them back to the office with one day’s notice. “After dismissing thousands of probationary employees for fabricated “performance” issues, […]

Home inspections and the real estate market

When we visited the Providence Rhode Island area in April 2022 to look for a house, we bid on three houses. The first bid had an inspection contingency and was rejected out of hand. For the other two, we left out the inspection continency and were still outbid. It was a seller’s market. In the […]

May jobs report: about as poor as an expansionary report could be

 – by New Deal democrat Even before the new Administration took office in Washington, my focus had been on whether the economy would have a “soft” or “hard” landing, i.e., recession. That has only intensified by the utter chaos of tariff-palooza! So my focus now is looking for “hard” vs.”soft” data indicating its impact. This month’s […]