When is enough, enough??? Clarence Thomas self-indulgence in gift giving is ignored claiming ignorance of such practices. A while back, a long while . . . I was given an invitation to the Chicago Bears holiday get together (called a dinner and a party) by Gale Sayers. The only problem with this being, I was […]

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According to recent reports, as of January 2025, US crude oil inventory is considered to be in a “good shape” with levels slightly below the five-year average. This indicates a comfortable supply situation going into the new year 2025. Recent inventory drops have been less than expected. Analysts are still cautious about potential future market […]

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 – by New Deal democrat Unusually this month, the ISM manufacturing index was delayed one day after the first business day of the month. In other words, it was released this morning instead of yesterday. In any event, a refresher that because manufacturing is of diminishing importance to the economy, and was in deep contraction both […]

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What the Science of Predators and Prey Tells Us About the Morbidly Rich and Working People, Tom Hartmann, The Hartman Report Nature and economics share some fascinating patterns, one of which explains why Donald Trump is about to become president and how the morbidly rich have appropriated over $50 trillion from working class people since the 1980s. […]

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Why Net Neutrality? “Former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel had called net neutrality “a necessity for daily life.” She said Thursday that Americans still want “fast, open, and fair” internet service and called on Congress to take action. The decision does not affect state laws in California, Colorado and Washington. Neutrality refers to the idea that internet […]

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Juan Cole has a recap of the 2024 global warming picture. It ain’t pretty: “The World Meteorological Organization projected total global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2024 to be 41.6 billion tons. Some 37.4 billion of that was from humans burning petroleum, fossil gas, and coal. The rest was from deforestation. 2024 was the hottest […]

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 – by New Deal democrat Last month I started by report on construction spending by writing “ Construction spending for October also came in generally positive. On a nominal basis, total construction spending rose 0.4% to a new record, and residential spending rose 1.5%.” Well, you can forget that, because this month was one of those […]

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Earned Labor Income Is a Small and Weak Lever. Unearned Property Income, and Wealth, Rule. – by Steve Roth Originally posted at Wealth Economics (Clicking (once or twice) on any of the pictures should enlarge them.) Economists and pundits have been cheered of late by the labor-share increase during the first couple of years of […]

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The Justice Department December 31 announced the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) will begin the 10th and final distribution. Over $131.4 million to victims of the Bernard L. Madoff fraud scheme will be distributed in this segment. The funds were forfeit by the U.S. government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) fraud […]

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America’s Forgotten Generation (of Prosperity) – by Paul Krugman Krugman Wonks Out How and why the postwar boom got memory-holed. So the don’t-know-much-about-history gang are at it again, asserting that the Gilded Age was an era of unique prosperity. I wasn’t planning on another post today, but this really needs addressing in a short note. […]

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The problem with renewable energy like solar and wind is intermittency. When sun goes down or when the wind isn’t blowing, no generation happens. Lithium batteries are one solution. Pumped hydroelectric is another. Lithium-ion batteries store power in their electrodes. Flow batteries store power in their liquid electrolytes. “Electrolyte solutions are stored in external tanks […]

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The two editors-in-chief, the emeritus editors, and all associate editors but one for the Elsevier scientific periodical Journal of Human Evolution have resigned. In a press release, the editors note, among other complaints, that Elsevier has eliminated the position of copy editor on the grounds that “the editors should not be paying attention to language, […]

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It was January 1, 2000. Driving into work (I was the boss) on ice coated roads from the drizzle we had the night before. I get to work (30 minutes later) and I received a message, the systems were tested and worked. Drove back home and crashed for more sleep as we were up late […]

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 – by New Deal democrat Welcome to 2025! The data this year starts out with jobless claims for the last week of 2024, which of course is heavily influenced by seasonality. The news was mainly good this week, with claims declining -9,000 to 211,000, the lowest number in over half a year. The four week […]

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Greed Is Immoral. Health Care Greed Is Abominable. – by Jim Hightower Creators.com America has endured a long panorama of corporate greed — from the East India Trading Company to the Robber Barons, Gordon Gecko Wall Streeters to Elon Musk. But down at the bottom of raw greediness today, you’ll find the insatiable profiteers of […]

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Homeownership has been an issue in the US. This is mostly because of the rising prices, interest rates, and increasing property taxes, etc. Interest rates can stop you dead in your tracks even with a good income. If you do not put 20% down, they make force you to take out mgt. insurance and you […]

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As far as Planning ahead and what to do? Multiple organizations have this story up. I have linked to all of them I have seen as they may differ in version. It also adds detail which may have been missed by other sites. As far as Tom Homan Planning? Looks and commentary leave me the […]

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Yale Professor Timothy Snyder is an expert on the history of Eastern Europe, especially the histories of Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia and World War II. He has become a public intellectual with the publication of his books “On Tyranny” and “On Freedom.” Snyder has been sounding warnings about the second Trump Administration, not only for […]

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Fury at Private Power Giants as Puerto Rico Suffers New Year’s Eve Blackout, Common Dreams The latest failure of the Puerto Rico privatized power grid on Tuesday plunged much of the island into a blackout on New Year’s Eve, sparking fresh anger toward the system’s for-profit operators and political leaders who sold off the U.S. territory’s public […]

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Upcoding Linked to Up to Two-Thirds of Growth in Highest-Intensity Hospital Discharges in 5 States, 2011–19, Health Affairs This is an abstract as I did not have access to the research article by Health Affairs. Besides the numerics also consider this is only for 5 states. Just something to be aware of and the magnitude […]

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