What did Trump actually do when he was president? This grotesque hagiography of Trump’s allegedly historically successful presidency is beyond parody. Even beyond the horror of his pandemic response was the endless chaos, the terrorist attacks, the massive foreign policy embarrassments, the rampant corruption. It was a shitshow from start to finish. But apparently people have forgotten what it was like and see him as some sort of benign caretaker at worst which is stunning. He did things. And they weren’t good. In the wake of his startling announcement that he planned to cut SS and medicare Jonathan Cohn took a look at his actual record: Instead of imagining how he might govern, you can look at what he actually did — especially on three issues that matter a lot to most Americans. Trump’s History On Abortion And Obamacare One of those issues is reproductive rights, which my colleague Alanna Vagianos has covered in depth. The issue has proved politically toxic for Republicans ever since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ending the federal guarantee of abortion rights.
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Doctor Who Showrunner Russell T. Davies is so excited about the show's global return - that he's liking comments hating on the return times?
Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 17, 2024
by Tony Wikrent
Strategic Political Economy
“‘If something requires us to cease production, we will do that:’ FAA
[Leeham News & Analysis, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-13-2024]
The general theme of delusion and the particular theme of ‘dead in the water’ as they apply to the entire AUKUS arrangements are provocations worthy of taking further. These are, of course, extracted from the essays in the most recent issue of Australian Foreign Affairs (paywalled). The most prominent of these, authored by Professor Hugh Continue reading »
In Australia, the ‘Anzac Cloak’ is appropriated, proselytised, prostituted and promoted far too often for perfidious reasons: to lend some dubious activity gravitas and shield it from criticism. Internationally, another ‘Cloak’ has arisen from the horrific circumstances of the Holocaust. Instead of being the touchstone for solemn commemoration of the manifold injustices visited upon the Continue reading »
Obviously no Australian, much less an MP, should ever sell out his country to any foreign power. However, in recent times, some actions taken by certain MPs arguably amount to doing just that. Mike Burgess, chief of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) appointed by the previous Scott Morrison government, gave an example of this Continue reading »
A recent Essential Poll published in The Guardian proves yet again that silly questions often get silly answers. One of its question was “Which of the following is closest to your view on what Australia’s role should be in global affairs: Primarily an ally of the US An independent middle power with influence in the Continue reading »
Australia’s superannuation system is based upon defined contributions, largely because that avoids the main weakness of many overseas systems based on defined benefits of rising costs for future generations. The tendency, however, is to focus on the wealth creation from the defined contributions, not on the delivery of secure retirement incomes that is the focus Continue reading »
A friend of mine resigned from her university job in February 2024 just weeks before term started. She couldn’t face another year. She was old enough to retire but I had thought she might have a couple more years of teaching in her. The bureaucracy, the rules, lowering standards were too much. Another friend, an Continue reading »
We have all no doubt have seen the bad news that China’s exports to the EU have reduced, China’s exports to the US are declining rapidly and, as a result of it, we’re being told by Western media that China is on the verge of collapse. Well, here’s a statement that was released just a Continue reading »
Since the Hamas atrocities of October 7, through the following months of disproportionate and incomprehensible Israeli vengeance wreaked upon the Palestinian people, the seismic waves from Gaza have been felt near the surface of Australian democracy itself. Reputedly we live in a robust democracy but the current situation in the Middle East has exposed fissures Continue reading »
Without a hint of embarrassment, Australian Treasurer Chalmers declared that ASEAN was ripe for the plucking by Australian business turbocharged by a AUD$2 billion fund. “This is where the action is – in ASEAN – and we want to get a bigger slice of that action” he said. Addressing 100 chief executives from Australia and Continue reading »
The danger Hong Kong faces is not that it might become ‘just another mainland city’, but that it is already subpar to many of its urban cousins across the border. People always fret about Hong Kong’s eroding competitiveness compared to other leading Asian cities. But the clear and present danger may be its lack of Continue reading »
. Herr Krah ist offensichtlich ein Mann, der Pech hat, wenn er versucht zu denken …
This is serious. From last month in the NY Times: Former President Donald J. Trump has told advisers and allies that he likes the idea of a 16-week national abortion ban with three exceptions, in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother, according to two people with direct knowledge of Mr. Trump’s deliberations. Mr. Trump has studiously avoided taking a clear position on restrictions to abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned in the middle of 2022, galvanizing Democrats ahead of the midterm elections that year. He has said in private that he wants to wait until the Republican presidential primary contest is over to publicly discuss his views, because he doesn’t want to risk alienating social conservatives before he has secured the nomination, the two people said. Mr. Trump has approached abortion transactionally since becoming a candidate in 2015, and his current private discussions reflect that same approach. One thing Mr. Trump likes about a 16-week federal ban on abortions is that it’s a round number. “Know what I like about 16?” Mr. Trump told one of these people, who was given anonymity to describe a private conversation.
Even if they aren’t wearing a red hat or waving a giant Trump flag A good rule of thumb from Never Trumper Mike Madrid: Let me offer some advice when you’re talking to Republican friends, family & neighbors about not voting for Trump. This is how you can tell who is and isn’t voting for Trump. If someone says “I really don’t like the way he handles himself and his offensive tweets but I like his policies” that person is a Trump voter. This person knows what they’re doing is wrong but they’re rationalizing the behavior they know is wrong. If someone says “I don’t like Trump or his policies but no way I’d ever vote for Biden” this person is a Trump voter. This person doesn’t care, even enjoys doing the wrong thing and won’t be bothered by being forced to answer for it or think about it. If someone says “January 6th was the breaking point for me” or “Trump is mentally unfit” or “He’s dangerous” This voter has broken the fever swamp. Expect 1 in 10 Republicans to respond this way. They’re there but don’t be fooled by the first two.
“I really feel like 2016 was the year that the mask came off” One can only hope. North Carolina’s MAGAfied GOP is turning off once-faithful Republicans and turning them into once-Republicans (USAToday): Ex-Republican Phebe Roberson, 75, said she “can’t stand” former President Donald Trump and voted against him in North Carolina’s GOP primary earlier this month. She also cast a ballot against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the incendiary Republican gubernatorial candidate who received Trump’s endorsement ahead of the primary. The right fringe, she says, has “stolen my Republican party.” She cast her primary ballot for Nikki Haley. Justin Bradford, 47, of Pinehurst, once voted a straight Republican ticket, but began moving away from the GOP a dozen years ago when he switched his registration to unaffiliated and voted for Barack Obama.
. This is a fair presentation and critique of Austrian methodology. But beware! In theoretical and methodological questions it is not always either-or. We have to be open-minded and pluralistic enough not to throw out the baby with the bath water — and fail to secure insights like this: What is the problem we wish […]
Another Sunday rolls around, and I haven’t written anything substantial here in ages. But here’s a starling:
Big Pharma is using secret middlemen and corporate Democrats to poison the health care system, and other news from The Lever this week.
No vaccine yet for MAGA fever That’s the thing about democracy. When it’s working smoothly no one notices. Public officials derided as the Deep State do their jobs, underpaid compared to the private sector, and deliver your mail, take away your trash, deposit your Social Security checks, run your police department. A small army of them administer elections in your state, unseen save for the handful of retirees you see every two years at your polling station. “Nobody knew who we were, what we did,” [Arizona Secretary of State Adrian] Fontes said ruefully. “It’s a little bit different now.” Fontes now has a bodyguard, reports The Guardian: “It’s very sad,” Fontes said. “It’s a sad state of affairs that in a civil society, in one of the most advanced civilizations that anybody could have imagined, we have to worry about physical violence.” These are troubled times in Arizona. Until 2020, election officials were the largely anonymous folk who did the important yet unseen work of making democracy run smoothly.
In Doctor Who, Donna Noble was the most adult friendship The Doctor ever had, and his retirement with her and her family was his best ending.
In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: Aaron Rodgers, Yellowjackets, Umbrella Academy, Agatha, X-Men '97, Wonder Man/Ironheart, Doctor Who & more!
Scammers have infiltrated a Social Security Administration building in New York, imperiling your personal information.
The post A Real Social Security Office Gave Me a Flyer With a Scam Phone Number On It appeared first on The Intercept.