@#4 ... Repubs proving yet again that they're absolute s*&^ at running an economy. ...

Well, yeah.

Your comment is a good observation.

If I may be allowed to rephrase your comment in my view ...

Repubs proving yet again that they're absolutely focused upon transferring the wealth of our Country upwards to the wealthy, to the detriment of the working class.

Was that an appropriate restatement?

@#3 ...

Good thing this is not a music thread.

Otherwise, I'd likely post something like ...

Note that the numbers are for June, when the supposed cease-fire was in effect and oil prices were lower.

Now that it looks like the supposed cease-fire may no longer be in effect, what might the July report(s) look like?

@#3 ... I don't think the Houthis have been all that effective trying to close it. ...

That seems to be the operative question at this point.

Has Spkr Johnson even shown the "communism" on our own shores?

@#6 ... "The consumer is really, really firing on all cylinders, just like the corporate sector," he told Fox Business News host Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria." (1)

"Credit card spending is through the roof, [they're] spending more on gasoline ... but they're spending more on everything else, too." ...

Of course, then there is the monthly credit card bill that consumers have to face after that "through the roof" spending spree that Dir Hassett so eagerly seems to justify and encourage.

And, what might the interest rate be on that monthly credit card debt?

And who benefits from a 20% interest rate on consumers?

And, how does the Trump admin view this?

Well, here's a start ...

Trump's top economic advisor brags that credit card spending is 'through the roof' -- as serious delinquencies climb and farm bankruptcies jump 46% (May 2026)

... Depending on how you look at it, Americans' record-high spending could be considered good or bad. For White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, it's cause to celebrate.

"The consumer is really, really firing on all cylinders, just like the corporate sector," he told Fox Business News host Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria." (1)

"Credit card spending is through the roof, [they're] spending more on gasoline ... but they're spending more on everything else, too."

The blowback from Hassett's interview came quickly, from political commentators to social media users.

One X user wrote (3), "Americans are spending more on gas because gas costs $4.54 a gallon. They're putting the rest on credit cards because their savings are gone. Kevin Hassett just accidentally described a debt crisis as a boom."

Jon Favreau from Pod Save America noted that this messaging was so bad, Hassett may as well be a Democratic plant (2).

So is credit card spending really a sign of American prosperity and an improving jobs outlook, as Hassett claims, or is he off the mark? Here's a closer look at the numbers. ...

Has Spkr Johnson even shown the "communism" on our own shores?

OK, I am the first to admit that I am still learning the details of the geography of the Middle East.

But I have to ask ...

... Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden through which Saudi oil exports and a substantial share of global shipping pass. ...

Is that a subtle way of saying the Suez Canal?

If so, ...

This disagreement may be moving to a new level.

More from the article ...

... As U.S. strikes deepen inside Iran and Houthi attacks escalate in tandem, analysts say Tehran is widening the conflict and seeking to increase pressure on Washington by extending the threat to global trade and energy supplies beyond the Gulf.

Iran has already demonstrated the power of its most valuable strategic asset by disrupting traffic through Hormuz.

Now it appears ready to open a second pressure point at Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden through which Saudi oil exports and a substantial share of global shipping pass.

A senior Yemeni official warned on Monday that the country's armed forces were prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait - a move he said could send oil prices soaring to $200 a barrel -- if Saudi Arabia continued to attack Yemen, according to a report on Iran's Press TV website. ...

@#1 ... Make America Hated Again! ...

Take a look at it this way...

If you are a Country trying to work with the US, how can you put into place any manner of long-term planning when the leader of the US can, and will, and does, change his mind on trade policies almost on a daily basis.

That's why countries seem to be turning to China.

China has been quite long-term-oriented in its polices. Unlike the whimsical Pres trump.

... Trumpf's Fixation on Handsome Young Men Alarms Staff ...

Why might the "staff" be alarmed?

That the President expresses his true desires?

Is that not what one would want from their President? Honesty?

Why does Pres Trump's staff seem to have a big problem with Pres Trump's apparent fixations?

imo, they should go with it and try to show it as a feature.

#@1 ... As the judges themselves acknowledge, it's a highly unusual review of a process in which prosecutors are typically at the zenith of their authority. They can pursue grand jury investigations on mere suspicions, untethered from the factual requirements they would need to prove a case at trial. ...

Getting an indictment by a Grand Jury is easy.

The defense has no presence in the proceedings, just the prosecutor.

So the prosecutor can basically say anything, and it won't be challenged.

Until, apparently, now.

Kudos to the Judges.

@#5

Makes one wonder who is feeding our President data?

@#3

yup.

And today we had the apparent facilitator of that "tool" testifying before Congress for his nomination to be the leader of our Justice.

... Johnson Wants $350 Billion for 'fighting communism on our own shores' ...

Has Spkr Johnson even shown the "communism" on our own shores?

... China is now viewed more positively than the US in many countries around the world ...

Not really a surprise.

During the global chaos of the Trump administration, China has emerged to be building allies based upon strategy and planning. Apparently taking full advantage of the chaos Pres Trump seems to enjoy pushing upon our Allies.

As opposed to Pres Trump's minute-by-minute approach along the lines of ~do what I tell you to do, or I'll issue an Executive Order that punishes you.~

I generalize, but not too much ...

It will be interesting to see the views of astronomers on this image.

From the sub-summary...

... war crimes ...

Would Pres Trump even care if he were committing war crimes?

I mean, he seems to have shown a tendency towards cruelty against humans.

Interesting comments on this thread.

imo, one of the best, so far, is #2 ...

No, sadly, it is not an Onion article. It is the leader of our Military saying this phlegm.

This seems to be the level of qualification needed to get a strategic position in the Trump Cabinet.

... Johnson Wants $350 Billion for 'fighting communism on our own shores' ...

We have now entered the 2026 election season.

And Spkr Johnson is doing his part in kissing Pres Trump's most ample derriere by trying to bring the imagined "communism" threat to the forefront.

Will he succeed? Wish I knew.

More from the article ...

... The report from the Labor Department on Wednesday also showed a sharp downward revision to the Producer Price Index data for May, and followed news on Tuesday of a larger-than-expected drop in the monthly Consumer Price Index last month.

The data, together with a slowdown in job growth in June, effectively ruled out an interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve this month. The reports have, however, been overtaken by the renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran following last week's collapse of a fragile ceasefire.

Oil prices have climbed to a one-month high after Washington reimposed a naval blockade of Iran.

The PPI report also showed further price gains related to the artificial intelligence build-out, a concern for officials at the U.S. central bank. These factors keep a rate hike this year on the table, economists said.

"There's no near-term pressure on the Fed, but oil is in the driver's seat over the longer term," said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation. "Energy saved the day in June, but that might become ancient history if the Strait of Hormuz doesn't open soon."

The Producer Price Index for final demand dropped 0.3% last month, the biggest decline since April 2025, after a downwardly revised 0.6% increase in May, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI unchanged after a previously reported 1.1% gain in May.

The BLS said PPI data from February through May had been revised to reflect the "availability of late reports and corrections by respondents." In the 12 months through June, the PPI increased 5.5% after rising 6.0% in May. A narrower measure of the PPI, which excludes food, energy and trade, edged up 0.1% over the month and advanced 5.1% on a year-on-year basis. ...

@#2 ... The judge referred Acting AG Todd Blanch and associate AG of DC Stanley Woodward along with private attorney Alejandro Brito to their respective bar associations for discipline. ...

imo, this is a very significant action, one not taken lightly by the Judge.