If international trade is a game of chess, China has the U.S. in check -- with few good options for the next move. Why it matters: The trade war has exposed just how deeply the U.S. economy is at the mercy of an accident of geology -- China's supply of the rare earth minerals that power our modern high-tech society.
Facing a potential veto from Gov. Ned Lamont, the General Assembly agreed Wednesday to delete a portion of a bipartisan bill that would have ended a half century of independence by Connecticut's elections watchdog.
Tip screens are everywhere now, and many consumers are fed up.
"This is the most distant object known to humanity."
Senate Democrats are pleading with the Trump administration to stop delaying distribution of $42 billion in grants for construction of broadband networks in areas with poor Internet access.
@#22 ... Now known as the "We are all gonna die!" bill. ...
Yeah, that may be the more polite version.
Another view ...
OpEd: One big shameful bill
www.ncronline.org
... There is nothing beautiful about President Donald Trump's and the Republican House's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The House of Representatives has passed one of the most immoral pieces of legislation in recent memory. Giving this sweeping legislation a sophomoric title does not disguise its ugly nature. The vote took place after midnight on May 22, as most Americans slept, with a tally of 215 to 214, along party lines.
In reverse Robin Hood style, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act proposes nearly $4 trillion in tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest among us while cutting $1 trillion in vital support for the most vulnerable, including poor families with children and the elderly. ...
That brings us to the oxymoronic One Big Beautiful Bill Act. It is another fast-rolling disaster, only worse. Trump and House Republicans have passed a legislative package that seeks to permanently embed the most regressive features of the inequitable 2017 tax cut bill into the tax code while introducing a lucrative new payday for the wealthiest Americans.
To partially offset the cost of the tax cuts, the bill requires significant reductions that will inflict pain and suffering on the most vulnerable people in the country. Cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would shift hundreds of billions in health care expenses to states and families, impose strict new work requirements on able-bodied adults (including some parents) , and create bureaucratic hurdles that will push the most vulnerable individuals off the rolls. ...
It is all disgraceful and shameful. ...
The promise of American democracy is not merely the freedom to accumulate wealth. It is the promise of mutual obligation, of building a society in which our fortunes rise or fall together.
If we allow this One Big Shameful Bill to become law, we condemn ourselves to a future where opportunity is bartered away and our social contract is ripped to shreds.
Jesus weeps over this cruelty. So do we. We must reject this heartless bargain and instead pursue policies that honor the dignity of every citizen and the collective well-being of our nation. ...
[emphasis mine]
Nativism Against the Irish in America: A Historical Perspective (January 2024)
www.theirishpotatofamine.com
... Introduction
Nativism, the belief that native-born citizens are superior to immigrants, has manifested itself in various forms throughout American history. One significant episode of nativism unfolded in the 19th century, particularly against Irish immigrants. This essay delves into the roots, causes, and consequences of nativism against the Irish in America during this period. ...
Irish and German immigration
www.khanacademy.org
... Overview
- - - From the 1820s to the 1840s, Germans and Irish were the two largest groups of immigrants to the United States.
- - - The Germans and Irish were frequently subjected to anti-foreign prejudice and discrimination. ...
@#2
Frederick Trump
en.wikipedia.org
... Frederick Trump (born Friedrich Trump; German: [fi:d tmp]; March 14, 1869 " May 30, 1918) was a German-American businessman. He was the patriarch of the Trump family and the paternal grandfather of the 45th and 47th U.S. president, Donald Trump.
Born and raised in Kallstadt, Germany, in what was then the Kingdom of Bavaria, Trump emigrated to the United States in 1885. In 1891, he began speculating in real estate in Seattle. During the Klondike Gold Rush, he moved to the Yukon and made his fortune by operating a restaurant and a brothel for miners in Whitehorse.[2][3]
In 1901, Trump returned to Kallstadt and married Elisabeth Christ. As he had purportedly emigrated to the United States in order to evade conscription, the Bavarian Government stripped him of his citizenship in 1905. Consequently, he returned to the United States with his family.
Trump worked as a barber and manager of a restaurant-hotel and was beginning to acquire real estate in Queens when he died in the 1918 flu pandemic. ...
Irish and German Immigration
www.ushistory.org
... In the middle half of the nineteenth century, more than one-half of the population of Ireland emigrated to the United States. So did an equal number of Germans. Most of them came because of civil unrest, severe unemployment or almost inconceivable hardships at home. This wave of immigration affected almost every city and almost every person in America.
From 1820 to 1870, over seven and a half million immigrants came to the United States " more than the entire population of the country in 1810. Nearly all of them came from northern and western Europe " about a third from Ireland and almost a third from Germany.
Burgeoning companies were able to absorb all that wanted to work. Immigrants built canals and constructed railroads.
They became involved in almost every labor-intensive endeavor in the country. Much of the country was built on their backs. ...
Trump promised the 'largest deportation' in U.S. history. Here's how he might start (November 2024)
www.npr.org
...What Trump said about deporting immigrants
While campaigning, President-elect Donald Trump promised "On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America." He referenced 1954's "Operation -------," an effort ordered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Government estimates showed more than a million Mexican immigrants and some U.S. citizens were rounded up. The program got its official name from a racist term for Mexicans who swam or waded across the Rio Grande. ...
For the record ...
Shark evolution: a 450 million year timeline
www.nhm.ac.uk
... Sharks have been around for hundreds of millions of years, appearing in the fossil record before trees even existed. But what did they evolve from, are they living fossils', and how did they survive five mass extinctions? ...
@#1
Yup, good news.
Another (not pay-walled) view ...
Army meets recruiting target months ahead of schedule
abcnews.go.com
... The U.S. Army met its annual recruiting target of 61,000 in the first week of June, four months ahead of the scheduled Sept. 30 deadline, after putting in place new initiatives to boost recruitment.
It marks a stunning turnaround for a service that failed to meet its recruiting goals in 2022 and 2023 and struggled in the years since to meet its annual targets.
"The U.S. Army has successfully met its fiscal year 2025 recruiting goals for active duty, signing contracts with more than 61,000 future Soldiers -- a full four months before the end of the fiscal year," the U.S. Army said in a statement. "This achievement represents a significant turning point for the Army and indicates a renewed sense of patriotism and purpose among America's youth."
Dan Driscoll, the secretary of the Army, said in a statement that he is "incredibly proud" of the service's recruiters and drill sergeants.
"Their colossal efforts and dedication to duty helped the U.S. Army accomplish our FY25 annual recruiting goal a full four months ahead of schedule," Driscoll added. "The U.S. Army is focused on lethality, taking care of our Soldiers, and transforming for a dangerous future -- young people across the country want to be part of the U.S. Army, and these results clearly demonstrate that." ...
... Supporters of President Donald Trump expressed anger and disbelief online ...
This song just popped up on a playlist here.
It reminded me of the MAGA adulation of Pres Trump, and his pushing aside of his MAGA supporters in his preference for billionaires ...
Lenny Welch - Since I Fell for You (1963)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
genius.com
...
When you just give love
And never get love
You'd better let love depart
I know it so
And yet I know
I can't get you out of my heart
...
Love
Brings such misery and pain
I guess I'll never be the same
Since I fell for you
[Bridge]
Well it's too bad
And it's too sad
But I'm in love with you
You love me
Then you snub me
But what can I do
I'm still in love with you
...
Well I
Guess I'll never see the light
I get the blues most every night
Since I fell for you
...
*nbsp
More from the article ...