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

A Confederate Officer Recounts the Virginia Slavery Debate of 1831–1832

by Ron Coddington Life on the Civil War Research Trail A presentation requested by Dale Coberly about what could have happened if Virginia had followed suit in freeing the slaves pre-Civil War. A Slavery debate in the 1830s. ~~~~~~~~ In his 1910 memoirs, Randolph Harrison McKim, a Confederate officer who served on the staffs of […]

The right-wing scammers who paved the way for Trump

by Zach Beauchamp Vox via RSN.Org. As presented by Dale Coberly . . . A conversation between Vox’s Zach Beauchamp and Joe Conason a veteran New York journalist. The topic? Trump’s grifting. A new book shows how conservative grift started long before branded bibles and $400 sneakers. During his time atop the Republican Party, Trump’s lifetime […]

The semaglutide camel’s nose under the Medicare tent

Obesity is a risk factor for cancer, heart disease stroke and diabetes. Thus, drugs like semaglutides (Wegovy, Ozempic) don’t just reduce weight in the obese, they also reduce risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes, which are huge health care burdens. It’s good to see that Medicare is finally coming to grips with this […]

Travelin’ man: Weekly Indicators for April 1 – 5 2024 at Seeking Alpha

– by New Deal democrat I neglected to post this over the weekend, so I will post it now…. Weekly Indicators: The Coincident Indicators Say ‘Soft Landing Is Here.’ – Long Leading Indicators Show Improvement – Short Leading Indicators are showing mixed results. – Coincident Indicators suggest a Soft-Landing scenario for 2024. “My “Weekly Indicators” update […]

Other Taxes on the Rich for Social Security? The Wrong Approach

I touched on a commentary at another site where the commentary was about healthcare. The sites author was advocating for the increase of the Social Security cap only on high income earners. There is a ground swell for taxing the rich more, which is acceptable to most. When we look at this closely, there is […]

Small scale carbon capture

EVs are certainly proliferating, not only here in East Providence but all over the planet. However, Hertz’ retreat from the rental market demonstrates the challenges facing companies with large fleets of vehicles. Hertz cuts EV fleet by a third Trucking companies have a lot invested in their diesel engine-powered truck fleets, and of course, many […]