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[guido]

Who exactly does he think the leadership is in the executive branch?

You make the rather broad assumption that we have leadership in the executive branch...

[htwoopup]

And more on data (now imagine that it will be used inappropriately to maybe get you to do something you might not do if you actually still possessed freewill instead of just thinking you have free will. I only phrase it that way as that is the logical fear of what comes next particularly with AI runnning it)...

Please ignore the seeming one sided nature of this piece...it can be any party...and it is absolutely being done by the Russians, Chinese, Iranians now in the US and other countries.

But this piece is about doing what should be right but it has unintended consequences that can be very wrong (think bigger than just one candidate)...

How Trump allies are using your phone’s location to try and win your vote - Vox

[vertical_doug]

The Sinister & Nihilistic forces at work are requiring a picture ID to vote? Again, IMHO that doesn't signal an evil forces attacking our freedoms.

Yelling at the Fed for lower interest rates? Yes, this is new & different. This is not adhering to the established protocols. Good.

Actually yelling at the FED is not new and different. Nixon repeatedly influenced Arthur Burns who was Fed Chair from 1970-78 which got us stagflation. This is why when Volker became FED Chair in 79, he aggressively moved to raise interest rates to rein in inflation even though it p!ssed off Reagan. He was eventually replaced because he was not viewed as enough of a de-regulator by Reagan.

De-regulation can be good, but it can also lead to crisis- think Savings & Loan deregulation debacle in the late 80's early 90's and the housing crisis in 2007-08. Financial firms have shown again and again the inability to regulate themselves.

If you think the ultimate wealth of the United States is created by people making wise investment decisions, a stable environment helps facilitate that. The tax cut by Trump may have been great short term for business and people, but his unpredictable policies have slowed the re-allocation of these savings into increase capital investment. I liken his policies as what the left hand gives, the right hand taketh. That is why the rate of change in both unemployment and GDP growth has remain largely trend with little to no uptick in capex by corporations.

As for lower rates, it is a boon for borrowers, but detrimental to savers. If you are on a fixed income, the lower rates really constrains your cash flow. I look at my parents situation for retirement, and they are forced to take more risk, because the yields available just are not that good.

If you think of Trump as a large borrower, not a saver, then crying for lower interest rates totally makes sense. It is good for his business. I'd prefer the FED to remain independent.

[mzilliox]

I won’t ‘knee jerk’ response your post or the Volcker essay if you don’t knee jerk my response. IMHO it is a bit intellectually lazy to believe that people that don’t agree do so out of fear that their ‘identity is threatened’ , or have put ‘zero thought’ into their opinions or only value what’s best for themselves.

Agreed, that’s a great essay. Paul Volcker is waaaaaay more intelligent, skilled, and knowledgeable than anyone posting here.

Again, my humble opinion, does that mean one can’t disagree with points in this essay or is full obedience a must?

Let me give a few examples of things from the essay where my opinion may be different. These are examples, please understand my intent is to make a point using examples. The examples are not the point, please don’t respond with endless links pointing to ‘irrefutable opinions’ as to why my opinion is wrong.

"Today we see something very different and far more sinister. Nihilistic forces are dismantling policies to protect our air, water, and climate. And they seek to discredit the pillars of our democracy: voting rights and fair elections, the rule of law, the free press, the separation of powers, the belief in science, and the concept of truth itself".

This entire portion IMHO seems a bit dramatic using words like 'Sinister'. But far more importantly it doesn't allow for any variance from what is dictated. Any reduction in EPA regulation is evil, anything less than an increase in regulation is pure evil.

The Sinister & Nihilistic forces at work are requiring a picture ID to vote? Again, IMHO that doesn't signal an evil forces attacking our freedoms.

Yelling at the Fed for lower interest rates? Yes, this is new & different. This is not adhering to the established protocols. Good.



Matt, IMHO your response is an example of what I find as the biggest threat to our society and country. The demand to be obedient to the established status quo. Don't bother asking questions. Don't bother challenging conventional wisdom. Accept, without question, points of view that match yours. Aggressively avoid, insult, mock anyone that dares to challenge or not agree with the orthodoxy.

wow, you read a demand to be obedience? Then you are making things up that you want to read. i am not calling for obedience, nonsense. Trump is calling for obedience, i am calling for people to look past his lies and claims (like hes soooo good for the economy). there is no call for any obedience in my post. i am not a very obedient person.

you obviously see the world way different than i do. your interpretations dont even come close to my intentions. we will never understand one another. you are picking random things form my words to assume, yet all i did is discuss the article, question specific things about claims for support of trump, and remind folks that the economy will be fine after trump dies, it was fine without him before, and it will be fine when hes gone.

Look, it must be tough to be one of the few thinking a certain way while the majority of us see things in a different way. i get that, but Glenn, if you think my response is the biggest threat to this country, its no wonder you can still support Trump. How does the Constitution make you feel? Like you have to be obedient? Like someone put way too many rules and laws forward, like the Fed being independent of the president? Sometimes norms are for a reason.

My response is the biggest threat to our country, whiny underemployed millenials are the most susceptible group in the country, and Trump's doing a good job at governing for you and me...

and you think Volker is being a bit dramatic.

[caleb]

The photos and videos in this article are incredible, as is the amount of legwork involved in the reporting.

A bright red-and-white plane pirouetted above the Texas scrub, banking so sharply it were as if the tiny aircraft was spinning on a wingtip. Mr. Wilczak, a pilot and flight scientist for Scientific Aviation, an aerial leak-detection company, executed tight circles above an oil installation.

Tiny tubes affixed to the wings siphoned air to a sensitive spectrometer, jammed behind the seats, capable of detecting and measuring methane. Mr. Wilczak said it takes about seven seconds for the air to pass through and register a reading on a computer balanced on the lap of the only passenger.

Detecting methane emissions is difficult work that often begins with flights like these. Oil and gas sites are not required to install round-the-clock emissions monitors, and flights are one of the ways to spot trouble.

Exposing a Hidden Climate Threat: Methane ‘Super Emitters’ - The New York Times

[guido]

Trump Named Person of the Year by Popular Sociopath Magazine | The New Yorker

[guido]

Opinion | The Party That Ruined the Planet - The New York Times

[guido]

Is Trumpism a cult? - Vox

[mzilliox]

Opinion | The Party That Ruined the Planet - The New York Times

whle i read the article and agree with some of it, i think we must be careful placing blame on parties. at some point, we the voters, have to take some responsibility. i mean theres folks who really really want to vote for Trump again because jobs, but mostly because team. because we word things as dems and repubs. im sure there are some environmentally minded republicans who are moderate on many issues and love the outdoors. we have to be inclusive of these folks when fighting the good fight vs environmental degradation. also, there are some horrible democrats who would rather live in a climate bubble and burn tires than ever be exposed to anything outdoors.

this is not a partisan fight, this is the largest challenge ever to face humanity. and some folk refuse to face it because we make it all about dems and repubs. who cares, there are people doing good and people doing bad, we should start dividing them this way instead of R or D.

[mzilliox]

Is Trumpism a cult? - Vox

and absolutely, Trumpism is a cult. gods chosen one and all that. and of course if we were to vote him out, nobody else could do the economy or the other things. we will be at war, and civil war, and communist socialists, so reup the trump, and save your souls (and economy).

[ides1056]

The problem in part is the asymmetrical debate: on the one side are those constrained by science, facts, empirical evidence, and on the other are those whose faith in what is unseen and unprovable guides their beliefs.

I think Krugman's point is valid.

[mzilliox]

Opinion | Why Is Trump a Tariff Man? - The New York Times

"A peculiar aspect of the Trump economy is that while overall growth has been solid, the areas of weakness have come precisely in those things Trump tried to stimulate.
Remember, Trump’s only major legislative accomplishment was a huge tax cut for corporations that was supposed to lead to a surge in investment. Instead, corporations pocketed the money, and business investment has been falling.
At the same time, his trade war was supposed to shrink the trade deficit and revive U.S. manufacturing. But the trade deficit has widened, and manufacturing output is shrinking."

[mzilliox]

Thomas Friedman is a pretty fair guy
Opinion | Impeach Trump. Save America. - The New York Times

If Congress were to do what Republicans demand — forgo impeaching this president for enlisting a foreign power to get him elected, after he refused to hand over any of the documents that Congress had requested and blocked all of his key aides who knew what happened from testifying — we would be saying that a president is henceforth above the law.

We would be saying that we no longer have three coequal branches of government. We would be saying that we no longer have a separation of powers.

We would be saying that our president is now a king.

[guido]

The Environmental Threat of Trump's Wall | Outside Online

[guido]

Nature’s Best Poetry of 219: Clouds - The New York Times

[mzilliox]

Opinion | I Headed the F.B.I. and C.I.A. There’s a Dire Threat to the Country I Love. - The New York Times

[guido]

Opinion | How Trump Lost His Trade War - The New York Times

[HorsCat]

(a series of essays)

The 1619 Project - The New York Times

[mzilliox]

Opinion | How Trump Lost His Trade War - The New York Times

wait, so one of his only acts of governance was a failure because his guts were wrong again? shocking. maybe he should read a book, or get the cliffs notes, on thought, like "thinking fast and slow"
He could have saved us all of his "gut garbage" and instead looked at data, facts, experts.

but you know, hes doing it all for us, what a nice crook

[mzilliox]

(a series of essays)

The 1619 Project - The New York Times

wow, gonna take a while, but this is fantastic. Its about time we are forced to read why the best economy in the world is the best economy in the world. slaves and genocide brothers and sisters.