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Good news, right? This seems like good news. I wonder if people will finally start to “feel” it. So far Americans seem to believe we are in a great depression. Paul Krugman had an interesting insight into this phenomenon today: Surveys of consumer sentiment and political polls continue to show that Americans have a very negative view of the Biden economy. There’s still no consensus about the reasons for this disconnect. But there are some new studies that shed some light on what’s going on, and I have a new way of looking at the numbers that may also clarify things. […] Americans say that things are bad; shouldn’t we take them at their word? One answer is: Look at what they do, not at what they say. As it happens, the plunge in consumer sentiment during the Biden years has been similar in magnitude to the plunge during and after the 2008 financial crisis — which is itself a remarkable observation, given that the post-2008 slump dragged on for years, while after Covid we rapidly returned to full employment. However, consumer spending, which stalled during the last crisis, has just kept powering along this time.

With his wife, Leda Cosmides, John Tooby transformed our understanding of human nature.

The post Psychology Lost a Great Mind appeared first on Nautilus.

The Opposition’s shadow Treasurer (yep, really), Angus Taylor, has proudly told his colleagues that he did a meme about his opponent, Treasurer Jim Chalmers. ”Angus was very proud to successfully post a meme and from the right account as well,”... Read More ›

You know, the ones that have been right instead of wrong Abby Livingston at Puck talks to Tom Bonier about the polling. Bonier happens to have been one of those who’s been consistently right about the elections the last few years in contrast to pundits, pollsters and the media. Abby Livingston: So, what happened last night?  Tom Bonier: In November 2022, we learned that abortion rights and the Dobbs decision was politically salient, but that it had its limitations, that it simply wasn’t a magic wand whereby people would universally vote more Democratic. We thought that the effect was uneven in places where the issue was literally on the ballot.  One of the challenges for Democrats over the intervening year was, how do we draw the connection between voting for Democratic candidates and protecting abortion rights? The most interesting takeaways last night were in Ohio and Virginia. In Ohio, where there was a literal ballot initiative on guaranteeing abortion access, we saw very high turnout and a very wide margin for the “yes” vote to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution.

You’ll note that person is still anonymous. Is he keeping his options open in case Trump wins a second term? A man’s gotta make a living, amirite? What’s a little traitorous behavior between friends? This is all obvious, of course, to any sentient being. And yet millions of people think Trump is the better choice for president again over Biden who has done an excellent job in difficult circumstances, even some who voted for Biden in 2020. (Lead in the water? What?) This is the man they think is so terrific:

After AIPAC targeted a Jewish Democratic congressman, most Dem lawmakers won’t risk pressing Israel to stop its war.

. Absolutely fabulous!

War today is an unmoving shadow. The bravery of David McBride and Julian Assange has allowed many of us, who might despair, to understand the real meaning of a resistance we all share if we want to prevent the conquest of us, our conscience, our self respect, if we prefer freedom and decency to compliance Continue reading »

Weak Western leaders, certain of their own exceptionalism, have endangered world peace by peddling narratives that justify the unjustifiable. Abuse of the charge of antisemitism silences those calling for an end to the bloodshed, fomenting a callous response to the killing of Palestinians. Irrespective of your political beliefs, the reality is that the worst wars Continue reading »

Commercial lobbying is a multibillion dollar industry in Australia. A code of conduct which allows our Defence Minister to discuss defence business with a global contracting firm in cabinet, then take a job with that firm nine days after leaving politics, is a code which is corrosive of public trust in democracy. Edited transcript of Continue reading »

In Australia, whistleblowers are feebly protected. They tend to muddy the narrative of perfect institutions, spoil the fun of having illusions, and give the game away. Despite recent amendments to the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) regarding, for instance, the creation of a National Anti-Corruption Commission, public sector employees remain vulnerable to prosecution. The Continue reading »

On October 7, when Hamas prosecuted its unholy massacre it did more than slaughter human victims. It punctured as well Israel’s image as a sophisticatedly-armed, righteous military power that over the years the world has come to share. Israelis’ idea of themselves goes right back to the origins of Zionism, when European Jews could only Continue reading »

The final count of all votes cast in the New Zealand general election has brought into play a third element in the new government’s coalition negotiations. The outcome is one the National government desperately wanted to avoid. Party leader and Prime Minister elect Christopher Luxon and his team consistently appealed to voters not to support Continue reading »

Maddy Fry was assaulted on the march last weekend demanding a cease fire in Gaza. She is not going to forget how the authorities let her down

The article titled “’Golden visas’ are known to attract dirty money around the world. Why does Australia still offer them?” by Linton Besser was published on ABC News (31/10/2023). Taken at face value, it appears as another piece of usual media reporting. However, read with an awareness of the scourge of recent mainstream media proclivity Continue reading »

After a one week China tour organised by some Chinese entrepreneurs to mark the anniversary of the 1971 pingpong diplomacy which opened China to the outside world, two firm impressions remain. One is the extraordinary pace and dynamism of the economic, and social, progress. The other is the political stagnation, with our guides still clinging Continue reading »

Biden’s support for the terror bombing of Gaza continues his long history as a steadfast supporter of Israel’s greatest crimes.

The post Biden’s Legacy Should Be Forever Haunted by the Names of Gaza’s Dead Children appeared first on The Intercept.

The Art of the Con Don Jr. testified for the defense in the NY fraud trial on Monday and spent his time talking about his father’s brilliance and his company’s success: n a return appearance at a trial that has featured a parade of Trumps on the stand as they fight for the future of their family business, the junior Mr. Trump testified in bursts of hyperbole and platitudes. His rhetoric sounded as though it had been ripped from the pages of an airline magazine or a travel brochure, and he saved the highest praise for the man who he said made it all happen: his father, a “visionary” who is “an artist with real estate” and “creates things that other people would never envision.” Yet some of his high-flying claims clashed with present-day reality. In recent years, the Trump Organization has shrunk, as the family name was scrubbed from some of the properties he extolled, taken off buildings in New York, Washington and, soon, Hawaii. Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street have also, at times, lost a number of tenants. Some of the former president’s properties struggled even to turn a profit.