The Pew report broadly supports previous analyses of the electorate, showing that the biggest shifts to Donald Trump came among nonwhite voters and that men moved more toward Trump than women. read more
China is tightening its grip on global energy power, and it's not doing it with oil. It's clean tech. And that lead? JPMorgan Chase says it's becoming a political weapon.
The Trump administration must try to bring back to the U.S. another man who was deported to El Salvador in violation of a court order, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. It's the fourth time since March that federal courts have ordered the administration to return immigrants who were deemed illegally or improperly deported. read more
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has conceded New York City's Democratic mayoral primary to Self-described Democratic Socialist state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday night. read more
Rachel Maddow on Trump's appointment of Thomas Fugate, a 22-year-old college graduate with no previous experience, to a major terrorism-prevention post in the DHS: "One year out of college with no evident national security experience whatsoever," she said. "Before volunteering for the Trump campaign, his LinkedIn page reportedly explains that his work experience includes 'lawn care work around my neighborhood.' Also, working part time as a clerk at an H-E-B supermarket. ... " read more
@#1 ... The party's progressive wing, meanwhile, has coalesced behind Mamdani, 33, a self-described democratic socialist. A relatively unknown state legislator when the contest began, Mamdani gained momentum by running a sharp campaign laser-focused on the city's high cost of living and secured endorsements from two of the country's foremost progressives, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders. ...
Zohran Mamdani's upset in NYC mayoral primary resonates in CT
ctmirror.org
... Inevitably, Gov. Ned Lamont was asked Wednesday about the stunning victory in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary by a 33-year-old socialist, Zohran Mamdani, over the 67-year-old former governor, Andrew Cuomo, whom Lamont had recently, if awkwardly, identified as his favorite.
"Mamdani ran a ---- of a race, didn't he?" Lamont said, as a Democratic Party in the throes of an identity crisis rushed to find larger meaning in the upset. "He surprised the ---- out of the establishment world down there. And I salute him for the job he was able to get done."
Elected Democrats in Connecticut, Lamont included, called Mamdani's victory significant for his youth and message, while most also cautioned against instantly proclaiming him as the answer to what went wrong in the 2024 presidential race.
The premise of generational change embodied by a candidate promising things largely anathema to Lamont " higher taxes on the rich, free buses, universal child care, a freeze on rents of rent-controlled apartments " comes during a particularly difficult week for a 71-year-old Connecticut governor whose brand is fiscal discipline and stability. ...
On Wednesday, Lamont praised Mamdani while noting that Democrats have hardly renounced centrists. He pointed to Virginia and New Jersey, where Democrats recently nominated moderate suburban women for governor.
But the governor readily conceded Mamdani's win demonstrated an appetite for change " and he claimed some common ground.
"There's a lot of frustration out there," Lamont said. "And some of what Mamdani was saying, we've already done. He's making a big down payment on universal pre-K. You know, we're doing that as well."
Lamont says the highlight of the recently concluded legislative session was the creation of an off-budget early childhood trust fund that will raise salaries for child care workers, increase access and provide free care for families earning no more than $100,000 and discounted care for others. ...
@#5
US labor market softening as more people remain on unemployment rolls
www.reuters.com
... Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 236,000 for the week ended June 21, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 245,000 claims for the latest week.
The data included last week's Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday, which likely injected a downward bias.
Cutting through the technical distortions, layoffs have picked up amid headwinds from the import duties.
The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, jumped 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.974 million during the week ending June 14, the highest level since November 2021, the claims report showed. ...
Recent college grads seem to be having a particularly rough time finding a job, apparently facing headwinds from both the economy and AI.
Tangentially related ...
Salesforce CEO Says 30% of Internal Work Is Being Handled by AI
finance.yahoo.com
In the light of #1, will AI in business demand union representation?
OpEd: Why you can't make a Trump phone in the US (yet)
www.computerworld.com
... You can't make an iPhone in the US either.
A frisson of Trump-related news fizzled out in the last week. No, not a temporary outbreak of peace in the Middle East, but news of a smartphone originally announced as being made in America. Except, since making that claim, the Trump organization has changed to somewhat more ambiguous claims.
Which raises the question, why can't you make a mass market phone in the US?
To get into this, it's important to think about what is required when making a phone.
First, you need a design; secondly, you need components; third, you need an operating system; fourth, you require highly skilled labor to build the devices; and finally, you need a factory and distribution network big enough to handle manufacturing, logistics, and supply. Assembling the logistics of smartphone supply takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Pulling all these pieces together is a lot more complex than making a pencil -- and that's complicated enough, as the classic text by Leonard E. Read explains.
To be honest, it's complicated
That's not to say it's completely impossible. There is one device " Purism's Liberty smartphone " that claims to be made in the US. The hangup is that the device costs $2,000, has limited specifications, and can only be produced in small quantities. It's not completely made in the USA, either, since many of its components are made outside the US.
That's unlikely to change without major investment in component manufacturing plants, the cost of which could be prohibitive when you look at the fast pace with which those components might need to be upgraded or replaced as technology advances.
This is even before you consider the risk of ...
All childhood vaccines in question after first meeting of RFK Jr.'s vaccine panel
arstechnica.com
... A federal vaccine panel entirely hand-selected by health secretary and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gathered for its first meeting Wednesday -- and immediately announced that it would re-evaluate the entire childhood vaccination schedule, as well as the one for adults. ...
An hour before the meeting began, the American Academy of Pediatrics came out swinging against the new panel, saying that the panel's work is "no longer a credible process." The organization shunned the meeting, refusing to send a liaison to the panel's meeting, which it has done for decades.
"We won't lend our name or our expertise to a system that is being politicized at the expense of children's health," AAP President Susan Kressly said in a video posted on social media.
The panel in question, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), has for more than 60 years provided rigorous public scientific review, discussion, and trusted recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how vaccines should be used in the US after they've earned approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The CDC typically adopts ACIP's recommendations, and once that happens, insurance providers are required to cover the cost of the recommended shots.
The system is highly regarded globally. But, on June 9, Kennedy unilaterally and summarily fired all 17 esteemed ACIP members and, two days later, replaced them with eight new people. Some have clear anti-vaccine views, others have controversial and contrarian public health views, and several have little to no expertise in the fields relevant to vaccines. ...
@#3 ... (to our alien overlords) ...
Fun tune along those lines ...
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band - I'm The Urban Spaceman (1968)
www.youtube.com
Wow, lyrics are available for this one (kudos to genius.com) ...
...
I'm the Urban Spaceman, baby
I've got speed
I've got everything I need
I'm the Urban Spaceman, baby
I can fly
I'm a supersonic guy
I don't need pleasure
I don't feel pain
If you were to knock me down
I'd just get up again
I'm the Urban Spaceman, baby
I'm making out
I'm all about
I wake up every morning with a smile upon my face
My natural exuberance spills out all over the place
...
@#14 ... The liberla run Nobel committee would never give a Republican, let alone Trump, the Nobel Peace Prize ...
Henry Kissinger - 1973
Teddy Roosevelt - 1906
etc.
But maybe, instead of asking that specific question, the question to be asked is ...
Why haven't Republicans won more Nobel Peace Prizes?
Maybe because Republicans seem to start wars, and Democrats seem to end wars?
Asked from a different angle, and one that I have protested against back in the day ...
Was it a Democrat or a Republican that dragged the US into the failed Vietnam War?
Dwight D. Eisenhower
en.wikipedia.org
... His administration provided aid to help the French try to fight Vietnamese Communists in the First Indochina War. After the French left, he gave strong financial support to the new state of South Vietnam. ...
@#2 ... Just for an anecdotal laugh ...
Yeah, but is a single occurrence a trend?
I've been seeing a trend here.
And, speaking of snow ...
Back in the day I bought a 10-horse power snow blower to clear my driveway and sidewalks.
(and, if I may add, an Ariens snow blower, made by this great and proud American company ... www.ariens.com )
I used to use it multiple times per winter.
The past two winters, it just sat in the garage, unused.
I ask again ...
What changed?
More from the article ...
Detailed table is in the article ...