Saturday, February 22, 2025
Cuts to U.S. Weather and Climate Research Could Put Public Safety at Risk
Weather and climate research are yet more examples of how the DOGE slash and burn can and probably will do real harm.
“How Can Europe Respond to the Ukraine Standoff?”
An example of European paralysis as a result of the US looking likely to abandon not just Ukraine but also NATO.
2:00PM Water Cooler 2/21/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics;
New Suit Seeks Clawback of >$4 Billion of Fines and Insider Trading Profits from TD Bank Executives Earned While Running Decade+ Massive Money Laundering Schemes
TD Bank engaged in over a decade of criminal misconduct. A new suit seeks to make its board and executives pay.
Claudia Sheinbaum Launches Initiative to Bolster Mexican Sovereignty As Trump Officially Declares Cartels as Terrorists
Few countries are more acutely aware of the dangers posed by a resurgence in US military adventurism than Mexico.
A Fiscal Crisis Is Looming for Many US Cities
US cities, which enjoyed a renaissance after the flight of the 60s and 70s reversed, now face a world of budget hurt.
Blackouts Are Becoming the Norm—Can the U.S. Power Grid Be Saved?
The US future of more erratic power supplies comes nearer as officials dither over what to do about a creaky grid.
2:00PM Water Cooler 2/20/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; The goddamned Democrats; Mask ban in MD; Why is grayscale taking over? ~
Guantánamo, Donald Trump’s “Immigrant Problem,” and the Rest of Us
Trump’s methods for dealing with immigrants with less than solid visa status are often cruel. That is almost certainly a feature, not a bug.
Musk Is Lying About Waste and Fraud in Social Security to Have an Excuse to Kill It
Musk wants to cut your Social Security benefits and then have Congress use the savings to give himself a gigantic tax cut.
EU Consumers Don’t Trust US Goods: A Look into Trump’s Trade Deficit Claims
Why trade deficits can’t always be solved by price, as in tariffs or currency manipulation.
Charles Kindleberger, the Dollar System, and Financial Crises
On Perry Mehrling’s Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System, including how some of his key ideas have been borne out.
