Thursday, May 23, 2024
What this country most needs
From The Last of Menckenians here:
What interests me most is the historical example of Mencken: once, in the United States, a writer shunned dogmatic responses, pushing readers to think more shrewdly and to challenge even themselves, and readers turned to him. So I’m glad for the continued publication of Menckeniana and for the Mencken Society no matter how small its membership. The society’s work reminds me that this country and its democracy require that, in every era, a writer step up and think skeptically in the best sense, to seek favor with no one, to accept being wrong in pursuit of truth, and to do so with wit and whatever in that moment constitutes eloquence.
The best thing about James Piereson's review of Jacob Heilbrunn's book attacking Trump is that Heilbrunn was instrumental in elevating Trump in the first place
Here:
It is strange, then, in light of this background, for Heilbrunn to waste reams of paper attacking conservatives for supporting Donald Trump and his ideas about Russia, when he was as instrumental as anyone in promoting them. There were few conservatives in Trump’s corner at that time; indeed, most supported Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, or Jeb Bush while keeping a safe distance from a candidate whom they judged to be incapable of winning a national election and whose views on foreign policy they generally rejected. Yet there was Heilbrunn, providing a platform for Trump’s speech while sitting attentively nearby as he delivered it.
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Nigel Farage: the most farcical general election launch in history
Rishi Sunak calls July 4 UK general election
Prime minister gambles by triggering vote when polls suggest heavy defeat
But you said stocks were making all-time highs!
S&P 500
Average Real Return, dividends reinvested April 2000-April 2024: 4.65% per annum April 1976-April 2000: 10.45%
Dershowitz: Judge Juan Merchan in Trump trial is totally biased against Trump and is out to get him, but there are no TV cameras to show it
He seemed automatically to be ruling against the defendant at every turn. Many experienced lawyers raised their eyebrows when the judge excluded obviously relevant evidence when offered by the defense, while including irrelevant evidence offered by the prosecution. ...
I observed one of the most remarkable wrong-headed biases I have ever seen. The judge actually threatened to strike all of Costello’s testimony if he raised his eyebrows again. That of course would have been unconstitutional because it would have denied the defendant his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses and to raise a defense. It would have punished the defendant for something a witness was accused of doing. Even if what Costello did was wrong, and it was not, it would be utterly improper and unlawful to strike his testimony — testimony that undercut and contradicted the government’s star witness. The judge’s threat was absolutely outrageous, unethical, unlawful and petty. ...
I am one of the few witnesses to his improper conduct who remained behind to observe his deep failings.
More.
Joe Biden buys 160k more votes with public money
Biden administration to forgive $7.7 billion in student debt for more than 160,000 borrowers
The Biden administration has so far excused the debt of 4.75 million borrowers, totaling $167 billion in aid.
He's a shoo-in!
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Michael Cohen admits under oath to stealing from Trump, feds never prosecuted Cohen for it and Cohen kept the dough
These people are shit.
Here:
In 2017, the Trump Organization owed technology company Red Finch $50,000 for a using algorithms to boost Trump’s performance in a poll, according to Cohen. Cohen, who helped facilitate the transaction, asked for a $100,000 reimbursement, "grossed up" to account for taxes, from the Trump Organization.
However, on the stand Monday, Cohen admitted that he stole from Trump, only paying $20,000 to Red Finch and pocketing the remaining $60,000 for himself.
"So the $50,000 that you got back from Red Finch ... you only paid the Red Finch owner $20,000, right?" Blanche asked Cohen.
"Yes sir," Cohen replied.
The lawyer clarified that Cohen pocketed the $60,000 difference and confirmed this was stealing.
"You did steal from the Trump Organization based upon the expected reimbursement from Red Finch?" Blanche asked.
"Yes sir," Cohen replied, according to CNN.
CNN Legal Analyst Elie Honig called these new revelations a “bomb dropped in the middle of the prosecution's case.” CNN’s analyst Laura Coates agreed and was surprised that the prosecutors did not address this sooner in the trial to “take the sting out” of the revelation.
LOL: Keep the overseer of sexual harassment at FDIC until they can find a replacement who isn't a Republican, because a Republican would be worse
These people are so damn perverse it makes your head spin.
FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg to Resign Following Report Detailing Sexual Harassment at Agency
Gruenberg plans to stay until successor is confirmed, avoiding scenario that would leave a Republican as acting chairman
Monday, May 20, 2024
Alito sold Bud Light stock and bought Coors
Stupidest story yet:
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/20/supreme-court-alito-sold-bud-light-stock-bought-coors-boycott.html
Democrats are defending this Biden whopper by saying he's referring to the 2009-2010 H1N1 "swine flu" epidemic, which officially killed 3,433 people
I don't remember it being called a "pandemic" much at the time, but I do remember the hype to take the vaccine, which the authorities bungled so bad it wasn't widely available until the flu had already burned itself out.
Anyway, here's grandpa talking about a really bad pandemic when he was VP, which was way back when I was in 'Nam:
Here.
Update:
I'm so glad we could clear this up.
When he nukes Muncie instead of Moscow I'm sure Indiana will understand.
Sunday, May 19, 2024
The obscenity of US national debt at $34.5 trillion notwithstanding, the value of grand total foreign ownership of it is up almost $529 billion year over year in March 2024 to a record high of . . .
. . . $8.091 trillion.
An almost 7% increase.
Here.
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio told the Financial Times a few days ago that he is concerned the soaring U.S. debt levels will make Treasurys less attractive “particularly from international buyers worried about the US debt picture and possible sanctions.”
So far, that hasn’t been the case: Foreign holdings of U.S. federal debt stood at $8.1 trillion in March, up 7% from a year ago, according to Treasury Department data released Wednesday. Risk-free Treasurys are still seen as an attractive place to park cash, but that could change if the U.S. doesn’t rein in its finances.
On an average monthly basis, yields on all UST peaked for this cycle last October, save for 1Y which peaked last September.
What, me worry?
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