Giant prick sprouts in Texas

 

 It's Pritzker's party: Hell yes, he's messing with Texas...

 ... Newsom is offering voters a professor at the very moment they want to elevate a brawler. Pritzker’s primetime slugfest with Abbott and Paxton is designed to leave no doubt in voters’ minds that he’s a brawler.

There’s also the practical fact that the billionaire governor’s stacks of cash are a more immediate help to Texas Democrats than they are to Newsom’s longer-term play. State Democrats had ruled out a “quorum bust” due to cost and logistical challenges, until Pritzker offered to finance and organize the operation. Now they give official press conferences in front of Pritzker’s campaign logo. If Pritzker wants to be seen as the party’s “can-do” Democrat, this is a great way to start. ...

But doesn't jump

 Trump takes unusual stroll on White House roof

Mike Collins also running for US Senate from Georiga lol

 

Sláinte Seante

 

Dooley Running for GA Seante

The cost of groceries is a major source of stress for 53% of US adults according to AP-NORC poll, followed by the cost of housing

... Esther Bland, 78, who lives in Buckley, Washington, said groceries are a “minor” source of stress — but only because her local food banks fill the gap. Bland relies on her Social Security and disability payments each month to cover her rent and other expenses — such as veterinary care for her dogs — in retirement, after decades working in an office processing product orders.

 

“I have no savings,” she said. “I’m not sure what’s going on politically when it comes to the food banks, but if I lost that, groceries would absolutely be a major source of stress.”

Bland’s monthly income mainly goes toward her electric, water and cable bills, she said, as well as care of her dogs and other household needs.

 

 “Soap, paper towels, toilet paper. I buy gas at Costco, but we haven’t seen $3 a gallon here in a long time,” she said. “I stay home a lot. I only put about 50 miles on my car a week.” ...

 

Bland, the Washington state retiree, said she’s paid for pet surgery with a pay-later plan. ...

 

More. 

 

 

Illinois seems to be the go-to haven for state Democrats whether fleeing Wisconsin in 2011 or Texas in 2025 to thwart state Republican legislatures

 

Texas Democrats decamp to Illinois to deny Republicans a quorum on redistricting

 

Texas Dems Flee State In Effort to Block GOP Redistricting

Patrick Marley, WaPo

 

 

 

Trump says the jobs numbers were rigged to make him look bad, J. D. Vance says they make Trump look good

 

Mike Shedlock, veteran critic of the BLS since the Great Recession: This is a clear case of shoot the messenger

 Did Trump Fire the BLS Head for Cause, Being the Messenger, or Something Else?

 

... “The process of obtaining the numbers is decentralized by design to avoid opportunities for interference.”

Trump wants you to believe hundreds if not thousands of people are in on the scheme and they are all silent.

The Cult sucks it up as if that makes sense.

I do not defend the antiquated procedures of the BLS. I have been writing about the flaws for years.

Yet, I can say that in all my conversations with BLS technicians (dozens over the years), I have found BLS [personnel] to be knowledgeable, courteous, and helpful. ...

 

Sorry Cultists and conspiracy theorists, the data is not rigged. And don’t pee your panties because it won’t be under Trump either (or someone will point it out).

Regardless, Trump’s tariffs ensure it will get worse. I expect many small businesses will go under. Trump has only himself to blame.

 

Why did Larry Kudlow cling to his job as Director of Trump's National Economic Council after he had a heart attack in June 2018?

 

 

Why Is Powell Clinging to His Job?

Larry Kudlow, New York Sun

 

Get off it, Larry. 

US Treasury yields retreated 3% from their July average in the aggregate on Friday in a flight to safety

 The July average yield of the aggregate of eleven US Treasury issues was 4.2927. Friday's 3% retreat left the aggregate at 4.1636.

Yields on Bills pulled back to 4.2175 from 4.2925 in July, or 1.7%.

Yields on Notes pulled back to 3.866 from 4.042 in July, or 4.3%.

Yields on Bonds pulled back to 4.80 from 4.92 in July, or 2.4%. 

 

VFSTX is now ahead 4.45% year to date.

VFICX is now ahead 6.37% year to date.

VWESX is now ahead 4.47% year to date. 

VBTLX is now ahead 4.67% year to date. 

VTSAX is now ahead 6.26% year to date. 

Mad King Ludwig fires BLS commissioner in a fit of rage over his bad jobs numbers, blaming the messenger

I don't recall Obama firing anybody at BLS in 2011 when there were ZERO jobs created in August.

 

 

Banana republic stuff from the Banana Republican.

Trump is unfit to be president.

 

Trump fires commissioner of labor statistics after weaker-than-expected jobs figures slam markets

 

... “I can’t believe what I just saw,” said Peter Mallouk, president and chief investment officer of Creative Planning. Trump’s social media post seemed like a parody or satire at first, Mallouk said.

 

“This is not healthy,” he added. “We can’t have a set of numbers come out and fire somebody that served under numerous administrations in various roles because you don’t like the numbers.”

William Beach, a 2017 Trump appointee and McEntarfer’s immediate predecessor at BLS, also sharply criticized her firing.

“The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach posted on X.

“This escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system,” Beach added in a statement. “The President seeks to blame someone for unwelcome economic news.” ...

This is the same administration which complains the Fed is building a palace for itself

 

Limbaugh-Trump dumb ass unemployment rate 37.3% in July 2025, near record 103.4 million eating but not working

 

Look at that flight to US Treasury safety

 

Trump unleashes sweeping new tariffs in a blow to global trade

 

U.S. added just 73,000 jobs in July and numbers for prior months were revised much lower

 

 

 

Mr. Big Stuff has cut just 84,000 federal jobs since January through July, barely 2.8%

 

There have been just five Julys since 2008 when full-time employment exceeded 50% of population, and yep, you guessed it, July 2025 ain't one of 'em

Full time as a percentage of population was 52.32% in July 2008,

50.66% in July 2018 (ten years later!),

50.98% in July 2019,

50.69% in July 2022,

50.74% in July 2023,

50.26% in July 2024, and . . .

. . . 49.72% in July 2025. 

 

Ahead of the jobs report tomorrow, the 4-week moving average of continued claims for unemployment is up about 86,000 in the monthly average in July from April

 The June and July levels above 1.9 million haven't been seen since November 2021.

 

I literally laughed out loud

 

Harris Skips CA Governor Run. She Can Skip President, Too

Ed Kilgore, NY Magazine

 

... a two-time loser ...             

 

Ouch. 

As bad as inflation has been since the pandemic, imagine living with core pce inflation above 3% year over year for twenty-six consecutive years 1967-1992

 If they lived through that, we can live through this, and we will.

 

 

Here's the latest chart for grand total foreign holdings of US Treasury securities 2000-2025

 I don't remember why I started doing this chart in May of whenever it was, but I stuck with it over the years.

It was probably some nutball during the Great Financial Crisis screaming that foreigners were dumping U. S. Treasury securities and we were all doomed!

The nutballs have been saying that for a loooooooooooooong time.

 

These are the raw, as-reported numbers at the time, and do not incorporate any subsequent revisions.

In May 2025, 43% of the over $9 trillion in outstanding value for foreign held UST was "Official", that is, by governments. And 89.8% of that 43% is invested in longer term Notes and Bonds.

Year over year in May the value of what is owned by foreigners is up a whopping 11.25%. 

Many people in addition to governments around the world are banking on the full faith and credit of the United States because they can't really bank on their own governments.

And that's a fact, Jack. 

Update:

And, of course, there's a government chart of this, updated quarterly.