Friday, March 28, 2025
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Real GDP update for Mar 27, 2025
The third report for real GDP for 4Q2024 and full year 2024 was released today here.
The annual rate of economic growth in 4Q was 2.4%, and 2.8% for 2024.
But here's the big picture.
Real GDP for the 79 years 1929-2008 grew at a compound annual rate of 3.405%.
Real GDP for the 16 years 2008-2024 grew at a compound annual rate of 2.074%, a rate 39% lower.
We have not had, and do not now have, the greatest economy ever at any point since the Great Recession.
Russia repeatedly violates ceasefire on Ukrainian energy infrastructure
Zelenskiy says Russia hit Ukraine’s power infrastructure, US should react
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday Russian artillery had
damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the front-line city of
Kherson, two days after the U.S. announced that each side had agreed to a
truce on energy strikes. ...
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and now holds about 20% of the country, contends that it has observed an energy strike truce since March 18. Ukraine says Russia has attacked eight Ukrainian energy facilities since that date. ...
It's important to remember that screw-up Pete Hegseth is SECDEF because of J. D. Vance
... Vice President Vance had to break a tie vote to get Hegseth confirmed after three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.) — voted no. ...
More.
LOL Stefanik stays in the House even though Democrats are down two seats due to recent sudden deaths
Whipping the vote for Trump in the GOP-led House must be getting harder and harder given all the mayhem he's causing for Republican voters in Republican districts, who are losing their government jobs and are becoming afraid for their Social Security among other things.
Assuming Republicans keep FL-1 and FL-6, they'll be back to 220 since Stefanik isn't leaving for the UN, but apparently a temporary seven-vote majority is needed because for some legislation the GOP still doesn't have the votes.
White House withdrawing Stefanik nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to UN
... House Republicans had expressed concern that if Stefanik was confirmed, it would have made it tougher to get Trump’s agenda through the lower chamber because Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would have lost a vote in his conference and didn’t have a clear idea how long it would take New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to schedule a special election to fill the seat.
Gold made another new record high price today at $3,059.30, the 17th new high of the year
According to CNBC here.
An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated a futures price as the new high spot price.
None other than Bernard-Henri Levy, the French Jewish author of the book The Will to See, puts then Representative Mike Waltz (FL-6) and Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic together in October 2021, thanking them for coming to his book launch
Trump National Security Adviser Mike Waltz denies ever meeting the guy he was standing near.
As with the Biden administration after the Kabul debacle, there won't be any accountability for people at the top in Signalgate while tens of thousands lose their gubmint jobs
"One law for me, another for thee."
Signed, The UniParty.
But look on the brightside. You just lost your job working for Uncle Sam, you didn't get killed or left behind in a hellhole to rot.
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Meanwhile the main story goes unaddressed, as usual: The Trump administration is a materialist horror show without a soul, whose god is money, which treats our allies as freeloaders
Everything is reduced to a mere transaction.
It is libertarianism writ large.
The incompetence of Signalgate comes on the heels last month of a Tass News Agency journalist gaining access to the Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy
It's all part of a pattern of incompetence which includes Elon Musk firing people indiscriminately and then having to scurry and rehire people in critical positions who never should have been fired in the first place.
Amateur Hour 2.0
The Atlantic calls Trump's bluff and publishes full Signal thread sent to its editor by mistake by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
The Atlantic publishes full Signal thread with Hegseth, Waltz after Trump says texts not classified
... Goldberg in Wednesday’s report wrote: “If this text had been received by someone hostile to American interests—or someone merely indiscreet, and with access to social media—the Houthis would have had time to prepare for what was meant to be a surprise attack on their strongholds.”
“The consequences for American pilots could have been catastrophic,” he wrote. ...
Liberals are upset with Trump's EO on elections because it threatens to withhold federal money from jurisdictions which don't crack down on voting by non-citizens
Whether liberals will address this head on, however, remains to be seen. They may simply challenge the meddling of the executive in a matter the constitution reserves to the states.
The Supreme Court has consistently deferred on this to the states, even during all the election controversy of 2020, rebuffing Trump over and over again, and is likely to do so again, which would be yet another defeat for Trump.
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
-- Article I, Section 4, clause 1
Trump promises more EOs on elections in the future.
He's already issued 100 of them. And the next guy can issue 100 overturning them.
This is all theatre. Republicans' narrow majorities in the House and Senate make any of these becoming permanent law extremely unlikely.
Trump signs order seeking to overhaul US elections, including requiring proof of citizenship
US Postal Service will not count Saturday as a transit day for packages starting April 1, adding an extra day, and some first class mail will experience delays
More here.
... Despite generating $79 billion in revenue in 2023, the USPS lost $6.5 billion. ...
In conjunction with DOGE, the USPS announced it would be cutting around 10,000 jobs by using an early retirement program. Select employees would be offered $15,000 for taking their retirement early - a move that’s expected to save the agency billions. ...
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