Re Aftyn Behn. Much ado until Tues. eve. on her race, then little on Bluesky Wed. Articles said it was "close", but she lost by 9 %age points. Things she said irked MAGA; they turned out. Would a "centrist" have won? I'm a big tent guy; apologies from left? Make room, not enemies? Humble analyses?

Just an irreverent thought. If Hegseth wants to insist on DoD becoming the Dept of War, we can start calling HIM "piggy'. Why? His title, as Secretary of War, has the acronym SOW. Let's make him SOW - er.

The current economic system is at its breaking point. This was forewarned, including by the authors of the 1970s book The Limits to Growth. Breakdown doesn't mean the end of humanity. So we'll need a new and better system afterwards. My proposal: a #wellbeingeconomy youtu.be/JfeRLwlnuHo?...

New Nature article: all carbon intensity reductions (good!) have been offset by economic growth. www.nature.com/articles/s43... It's almost like perpetual growth is the root cause of, instead of the answer to, our global predicament.

Here's an idea: The next time Volodymyr Zelenskyy is invited to the White House, he should bring Zohran Mamdani with him.

Haven't seen this noted yet: The funniest thing that MTG said in her announcement about leaving Congress: "Loyalty is a two-way street." (Do you think someone ought to tell her about Trump and loyalty?)

Just saw an Alternet interview of Paul Krugman. He sees Trump pulling the economy apart, but also notes that Trump is not pulling any punches, with things like the "piggy" remark and praise for MBS w no concern for his murder rap. I hadn't really pondered before, but this is Trump, unfiltered. Sad.

I'm still mad Sup Ct reversed the '24 CO Court's holding Trump ineligible per Amend XIV, sec. 3 for being part of insurrection, violating his oath. It was a sure thing that he'd violate a 2nd-term oath; has he ever! "People get the govt they deserve"? No! Const & laws can prevent this. Blame Sup Ct

I see lots on L. Halligan in the Comey case. But nothing about T. Lemons admitting that, at T. Blanche's (#2 at DoJ) direction, he did not inform the court of a memo he'd reviewed from career prosecutors saying don't indict. (Thx, M. Popok!) How long will it take till Blanche is on the hot seat?

Re Joe Rogan. This applies also to other bro "influencers". I don't think they took their influence seriously. They should have felt bound to examine Trump, but seem to have taken him as w/o any past. Why the ado now over Epstein, but no digging into 1/6/21? You owe the US penance; figure out how.

Still pondering Senate Dems who caved on shutdown. Painful, but what was an endgame? Trump won't relent; GOP senators are sheep. I think of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; its end is a comforting lie. The hero would be no martyr; crocodile tears at his funeral. Forgive, unite vs. real enemies.

Defending Democrats post shutdown cave. I'm upset, too, but see that there were no good choices in the situation. Trump will never back down. When ACA prices go up, people should now know why. There's other silver linings. Above all, we must forgive each other and stay united; it's our only hope.

Saw an MPR post today about how the problems with SNAP funding leave small-town grocery stores really struggling. (They weren't doing well after the pandemic as it was.) Any MAGA folks here? You OK with food for the hungry? Trump, in stopping this, hurts rural farmers and grocers also. Dump Trump?

Re Thanksgiving. Food prices will be higher than last year, maybe a lot higher. Now I see articles warning of a chaotic situation for anyone trying to catch a flight somewhere. The shutdown is blamed. Trump is an impediment to solutions. Let's start calling Trump the man who ruined Thanksgiving.

I am watching MSNBC's O'Donnell, on how talk of a 3rd Trump term is a distraction from the shameful cutoff of funds to feed hungry U.S. folks. It included Squeaker Johnson enjoying that Trump is trolling Dems. This is back-row 8th graders taking over teaching the class, while the principal shrugs.

A rant re the GOP senate. Recent news articles saw 4 of 'em join Dems in toothless denial of T's "emergency" Brazil tariff, and a similar number "rebuking" withdrawal of U.S. troops from frontline NATO positions. They're losing on the shutdown, too. C'mon, folks, have a "come to Jesus" moment.

I post since I have not seen mention of the interview of Jack Smith by Andrew Weissmann on MSNBC. Maybe see the whole thing, but what I saw on Ari Melber's show revealed a matter-of-fact, by-the-book prosecutor. It'd be an obscenity if he is subject to a hearing presided over by Rep. Jim Jordan.

I'm normally glad to learn new things. But not this thing: What info is subject to discovery on a defense claim of vindictive prosecution? We should NOT KNOW this stuff. Why not? 'Cause it won't come up when the system is working as it should. So it's a sign of corruption, corroding the system.

Today, 9/24, HRC on Morning Joe. Great. One thing they didn't connect, but we should. She met oft w Putin, lobbied for a more dynamic economy. He resisted; why? That dynamism would prompt calls for democracy. So, also in US, no accident that authoritarian Trump is dragging down our economy.

What if the US is heading into something of a power vacuum, under an increasingly feeble, addled Trump? It's King Lear, The Death of Stalin, & The Madness of King George meeting. Democrats might consider anointing someone to speak out amid the chaos. Buttigieg? Newsom? Harris? Bernie?

Has anyone tallied the total of yesterday's Trump awfulness? His autism announcement: he couldn't pronounce the name of the "problem" drug; an excruciating speech at the UN: petty, ignorant, insulting, vainglorious; a Tom Homan scandal blowing up w Epstein still hot; & Jimmy Kimmel's return.

Ah, careless media! I just saw another headline, this one WSJ, "The U.S. has made billions from tariffs, ...". NO! Tariffs DON"T "make" money; they take it, from importers (ultimately, consumers, sadly) to the U.S. treasury. And the tariffs might be illegal, if an appeals court holding is upheld

I grew up in small-town 60's MN; solid place, many farmers as friends. In fact, in MN, it's DFL: Democrat-FARMER-Labor party. Dems: advertise in media that salt-of-the-earth farmers consume; point out cognitive dissonance re Trump/GOP (e.g. with tariffs); it's all a trick. He is unworthy of them.

I know there's much to be upset over w Trump & Co, but I'd like more ink spilled on how increasingly unfair the economy is to poor and working-class Americans. One of the dirtiest secrets is how often more wealthy people like me prosper at the cost of making economic life more perilous for the poor.

Sorry, a rant about the latest NPR installment of Left, Right, and Center. All agreed that Democrats are "losing" on crime due to Defund the Police. No one said that false claims made over and over to people susceptible to images have convinced people that crime is out of control, when it's falling.

I just saw a clip about Trump's sagging polls. It seems that many young people voted Trump out of frustration with a poor economy and feeling stuck. They're turning against him. And tariff-caused inflation is just starting. Also, a court case might hold them illegal. T broke the law to screw us all.

I just saw a clip of Joe Rogan, who's not bold enough to tell the (whole) truth. He's mad about Epstein, sees the Trump cover-up for what it is, says, Hey, we (bros) can change this with our vote. But then, he says, Trouble is, both parties do it. Well, they're not, sir. Interview a Democrat.

I don't see this point covered: A Bloomberg clip on the Fed and competing mandates. Economist Michael McKey gave a decent but incomplete answer on when we'll know tariffs' inflationary effects. What's missing? Manufacturers will pay inflated prices, we don't know how much yet; they'll pass these on.

I must spout. I haven't seen anything on this. When Trump announced plans to end voting by mail and voting machines (already beyond the pale), he also said that states are agents of the fed govt. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of federalism. Any attorney involved should face ethics sanction.

An odd plea: I want to see here any news from the world of influencers (a term I hate) who have had a tardy "come to Jesus" moment and now regret not opposing Trump more (or worse, supporting him). I thinking of people like Joe Rogan and Peter Zeihan. Shout-out to Larry Summers, who did oppose.

@bsky.app Just saw a CNN article asking if the Fed blew it by holding rates steady, in light of anemic July jobs report. Et tu, CNN? Inflation is too high, and expected to rise. Brave firms have announced price hikes; more will follow. It's not the Fed's job to fix stagflation from moronic tariffs.

Ever since Colbert announced The Late Show's coming demise, he has been on fire v. Trump. I bet people are noticing and tuning in. Prof. Cox-Richardson suggested today that CBS might have other plans for him. Hey, what if this whole thing is part of a CBS/Deep State anti-Trump plot? (Please, yes!)

A puzzle to me. How is it that it has taken the Epstein files for MAGA to begin turning on T? Was E. Jean Carroll too old for his sexual assault on her to matter? And this is even without considering T's 1/6 indictments and felony fraud convictions. What sort of political alarm clock works thus?

This space might be safe enough to try a post. I have at times quoted Chesterton, Anything worth doing is worth doing badly. But perhaps the following is an improvement: Do good. If you can, do it well. At least do it as well as you can; quite possibly that will be good enough.