Farm bankruptcies surge 24% on strain from Trump trade war - "Almost 40% of projected farm profit this year will come from trade aid, disaster assistance, federal subsidies and insurance payments, according to the report, based on Department of Agriculture forecasts. That's $33 billion of a projected $88 billion in income."
Doubts about chocolate: U.S. officials investigate whether to block critical cocoa imports
Economy slows, Fed hits brakes, and uncertainty clouds Washington’s next steps: Business investment contracts for second straight quarter, as companies pull back amid concerns - "'The consumer is still the main engine of economic growth, plus federal government spending. The nation just capped off a year of nearly a trillion-dollar deficit. Not surprisingly, all this federal spending is showing up in the GDP numbers,' said Stuart Hoffman, senior economic adviser at PNC Financial Services Group."
Downturns in these four counties have foreshadowed past recessions. What are they doing now?: Bellwether parts of the United States can reveal much about what the country will look like in 2020
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-30
“This Should Be a Wake-up Call to the Whole World”: Inside the Hong Kong: Protests Tensions between the NBA and China have touched off an international firestorm. They’ve also shined a light on the fight for human rights in Hong Kong—and the frontliners at the center of the movement. - "I hear calls for Western support in many conversations I have in Hong Kong. 'I think it’s really important for Americans to think about how China is affecting democratic countries in their own territories,' Leung, the attorney, says. 'Think about it. Even the U.S., which is the most powerful democracy—the Chinese are having a huge impact on what Americans can say in America.' He points specifically to Morey. 'I mean, he didn’t even say anything! He didn’t say anything about China. He didn’t say anything about the government. He just shared a poster.'
"He cites other recent controversies, too. Marriott fired an employee who 'wrongfully liked' a tweet supporting independence for Tibet. Apple removed an app, HKmap.live, that protesters had used to track police activity. The esports company Blizzard Entertainment punished a Hearthstone player and Hong Konger who showed support for the movement during a livestream. 'You guys fought so hard to get the First Amendment so that you could say what you want in your own country,' he says. 'And now a foreign country is dictating what you can and can’t say on your own soil.'"
Kanye has a new album, but he isn’t worth our time anymore: In the past, we’ve overlooked his antics because of his transcendent music. That Mr. West is gone.
An ad smeared a Kansas Democrat for sexual harassment. The main charge actually described a Republican.
National security official tells Congress he tried to add edits to White House memo about Trump Ukraine call: The proposed edits of the call were to include Trump mentioning possible recordings of Joe Biden discussing corruption in Ukraine and Ukraine’s president mentioning the Burisma gas company specifically.
The ‘race whisperer’: A black activist convinced a neo-Nazi he’d save him from legal ruin. Then the real plan began.
"He cites other recent controversies, too. Marriott fired an employee who 'wrongfully liked' a tweet supporting independence for Tibet. Apple removed an app, HKmap.live, that protesters had used to track police activity. The esports company Blizzard Entertainment punished a Hearthstone player and Hong Konger who showed support for the movement during a livestream. 'You guys fought so hard to get the First Amendment so that you could say what you want in your own country,' he says. 'And now a foreign country is dictating what you can and can’t say on your own soil.'"
Kanye has a new album, but he isn’t worth our time anymore: In the past, we’ve overlooked his antics because of his transcendent music. That Mr. West is gone.
An ad smeared a Kansas Democrat for sexual harassment. The main charge actually described a Republican.
National security official tells Congress he tried to add edits to White House memo about Trump Ukraine call: The proposed edits of the call were to include Trump mentioning possible recordings of Joe Biden discussing corruption in Ukraine and Ukraine’s president mentioning the Burisma gas company specifically.
The ‘race whisperer’: A black activist convinced a neo-Nazi he’d save him from legal ruin. Then the real plan began.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-29
Boomers crush millennials. Read all about it!
The Democratic establishment is right to panic - "The truth is that establishment angst is being driven, above all, by power — and moneyed Democrats who can feel their grasp on power in the party slipping. Big donors may be willing to pay more in taxes under a Democratic president, but they seem unwilling to abide the loss of access or influence over the party’s direction that a Sanders or Warren presidency would bring. Indeed, as Nation correspondent Jeet Heer writes, 'The real source of anxiety among the donor class is surely not about the viability of Warren or Sanders but rather the precarious position of wealthy contributors in the Democratic coalition.'"
Sen. Johnson, ally of Trump and Ukraine, surfaces in crucial episodes in the saga
Evangelicals have been reshaped into the image of Trump himself
‘It feels like a horror movie’: Republicans feel anxious and adrift defending Trump
As a Kentucky mill shutters, steelworkers see the limits of Trump’s intervention: Although tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum imports provided a temporary boost, the industry is seeing another decline
The Democratic establishment is right to panic - "The truth is that establishment angst is being driven, above all, by power — and moneyed Democrats who can feel their grasp on power in the party slipping. Big donors may be willing to pay more in taxes under a Democratic president, but they seem unwilling to abide the loss of access or influence over the party’s direction that a Sanders or Warren presidency would bring. Indeed, as Nation correspondent Jeet Heer writes, 'The real source of anxiety among the donor class is surely not about the viability of Warren or Sanders but rather the precarious position of wealthy contributors in the Democratic coalition.'"
Sen. Johnson, ally of Trump and Ukraine, surfaces in crucial episodes in the saga
Evangelicals have been reshaped into the image of Trump himself
‘It feels like a horror movie’: Republicans feel anxious and adrift defending Trump
As a Kentucky mill shutters, steelworkers see the limits of Trump’s intervention: Although tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum imports provided a temporary boost, the industry is seeing another decline
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-23
Trump administration sought billions of dollars in cuts to programs aimed at fighting corruption in Ukraine and elsewhere: Democrats have slammed White House insistence that Trump was focused on corruption — not Bidens — when he blocked Ukraine aid funds.
An overlooked Bill Taylor revelation hints at worse to come from Trump
An overlooked Bill Taylor revelation hints at worse to come from Trump
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-22
Trump likely saw Pelosi’s overseas trip as a slap in the face. But someone had to do it.
It’s probably worth remembering that Trump’s Ukraine-2016 allegations are nonsensical
Running Covert Propaganda Against Americans Is Illegal. Trump Tried It Anyway.: The whistleblower stopped a covert psychological operation against the American public dead in its tracks
Buttigieg focus groups found being gay “a barrier” for black South Carolina voters
Mayor Pete Faces a Familiar and “Vicious” Enemy in South Carolina: Homophobia: Black pastors say Buttigieg will struggle in churches that define marriage as between a man and a woman.
William Taylor testifies about deep-seated push for Ukraine quid pro quo: Trump's top Ukraine envoy faced questions about his concerns that Trump was withholding military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
U.S. envoy says he was told release of Ukraine aid was contingent on public declaration to investigate Bidens, 2016 election
How 'It's a gay bar, Pamela' became the Twin Cities' favorite meme
Mayor Pete’s Relationship With Facebook: It’s Complicated: The relationship between the world’s most influential corporation and Buttigieg has come under scrutiny after Mark Zuckerberg passed along two résumés to the campaign.
Mayor Pete Is Starting to Annoy Almost Everyone Else in the 2020 Race: The South Bend mayor has gone after many of his primary rivals in recent weeks, save one.
Shaq Defends Free Speech on NBA Opening Night: ‘Daryl Morey Was Right’: The former NBA star delivered a strong defense of the Houston Rockets GM’s pro-Democracy comments on TNT, which tweeted and then deleted the clip.
Tulsi Gabbard Unites Putin Apologists, Bloodstained Modi, Genocidal Assad and the U.S. Far Right: Gabbard suffers from severely selective moral outrage. Her love for India's massacre-complicit Modi is just as disqualifying as her apologetics for Bashar Assad
Tulsi Gabbard Hires Russian Agent to Keep Hawaii Media in Check
Jeffrey Toobin expresses regret over 'mistakes' in Clinton email coverage
Local lawmaker in Tennessee says he’s not prejudiced, but ‘a white male in this country has very few rights’
It’s probably worth remembering that Trump’s Ukraine-2016 allegations are nonsensical
Running Covert Propaganda Against Americans Is Illegal. Trump Tried It Anyway.: The whistleblower stopped a covert psychological operation against the American public dead in its tracks
Buttigieg focus groups found being gay “a barrier” for black South Carolina voters
Mayor Pete Faces a Familiar and “Vicious” Enemy in South Carolina: Homophobia: Black pastors say Buttigieg will struggle in churches that define marriage as between a man and a woman.
William Taylor testifies about deep-seated push for Ukraine quid pro quo: Trump's top Ukraine envoy faced questions about his concerns that Trump was withholding military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
U.S. envoy says he was told release of Ukraine aid was contingent on public declaration to investigate Bidens, 2016 election
How 'It's a gay bar, Pamela' became the Twin Cities' favorite meme
Mayor Pete’s Relationship With Facebook: It’s Complicated: The relationship between the world’s most influential corporation and Buttigieg has come under scrutiny after Mark Zuckerberg passed along two résumés to the campaign.
Mayor Pete Is Starting to Annoy Almost Everyone Else in the 2020 Race: The South Bend mayor has gone after many of his primary rivals in recent weeks, save one.
Shaq Defends Free Speech on NBA Opening Night: ‘Daryl Morey Was Right’: The former NBA star delivered a strong defense of the Houston Rockets GM’s pro-Democracy comments on TNT, which tweeted and then deleted the clip.
Tulsi Gabbard Unites Putin Apologists, Bloodstained Modi, Genocidal Assad and the U.S. Far Right: Gabbard suffers from severely selective moral outrage. Her love for India's massacre-complicit Modi is just as disqualifying as her apologetics for Bashar Assad
Tulsi Gabbard Hires Russian Agent to Keep Hawaii Media in Check
Jeffrey Toobin expresses regret over 'mistakes' in Clinton email coverage
Local lawmaker in Tennessee says he’s not prejudiced, but ‘a white male in this country has very few rights’
Monday, October 21, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-21
‘They are livid’: Trump’s withdrawal from Syria prompts rare public criticism from current, former military officials
Judge rules Florida can’t block felons from voting, even if they have unpaid fines
Watch Fox’s Wallace Grill Mulvaney as He Tries to Walk Back Quid Pro Quo Remarks
How ‘Baby Shark’ became the anthem of the Nationals’ 2019 season and World Series run
State Dept. Inquiry Into Clinton Emails Finds No Deliberate Mishandling of Classified Information: The report appears to bookend a controversy that dogged Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. - "A yearslong State Department investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server found that while the use of the system for official business increased the risk of compromising classified information, there was no systemic or deliberate mishandling of classified information.
...
The report was released this week by Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who began investigating Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server in 2017, when he served as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee."
Judge rules Florida can’t block felons from voting, even if they have unpaid fines
Watch Fox’s Wallace Grill Mulvaney as He Tries to Walk Back Quid Pro Quo Remarks
How ‘Baby Shark’ became the anthem of the Nationals’ 2019 season and World Series run
State Dept. Inquiry Into Clinton Emails Finds No Deliberate Mishandling of Classified Information: The report appears to bookend a controversy that dogged Mrs. Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. - "A yearslong State Department investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server found that while the use of the system for official business increased the risk of compromising classified information, there was no systemic or deliberate mishandling of classified information.
...
The report was released this week by Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who began investigating Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server in 2017, when he served as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee."
Friday, October 18, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-18
‘Get over it’: Mulvaney’s twin admissions put Trump at the center of emoluments and Ukraine controversies
Hamilton pushed for impeachment powers. Trump is what he had in mind. He wanted a strong president — and a way to get rid of the demagogic ones.
“THERE IS DEFINITE HANKY-PANKY GOING ON”: THE FANTASTICALLY PROFITABLE MYSTERY OF THE TRUMP CHAOS TRADES
Hamilton pushed for impeachment powers. Trump is what he had in mind. He wanted a strong president — and a way to get rid of the demagogic ones.
“THERE IS DEFINITE HANKY-PANKY GOING ON”: THE FANTASTICALLY PROFITABLE MYSTERY OF THE TRUMP CHAOS TRADES
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Friday, October 11, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-11
New revelations about Trump test Pelosi’s narrow impeachment strategy
Ousted ambassador Marie Yovanovitch tells Congress Trump pressured State Dept. to remove her
The growing debate over spaying and neutering dogs
Shepard Smith, Fox News veteran anchor and frequent Trump target, abruptly resigns from the network
Ellen DeGeneres tells America she’s better than us
Dear Ellen: The Problem With George W. Bush Is Not His Beliefs — It’s His War Crimes - "Bush should be treated as a pariah not because he is a Republican or a conservative, but because he caused the deaths of thousands of innocent people and tortured hundreds of others."
Ousted ambassador Marie Yovanovitch tells Congress Trump pressured State Dept. to remove her
The growing debate over spaying and neutering dogs
Shepard Smith, Fox News veteran anchor and frequent Trump target, abruptly resigns from the network
Ellen DeGeneres tells America she’s better than us
Dear Ellen: The Problem With George W. Bush Is Not His Beliefs — It’s His War Crimes - "Bush should be treated as a pariah not because he is a Republican or a conservative, but because he caused the deaths of thousands of innocent people and tortured hundreds of others."
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-10
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-09
Will Gorsuch abandon his judicial philosophy to get what he wants?
It took an uncomfortably long time, but Adam Silver got it right on NBA and China
A photographer told a group of teens to stop using the n-word. Then shots rang out.
Inside Fox News: How the impeachment fight is opening fresh divisions in the newsroom
The Elizabeth Warren pregnancy smear shows how poisoned the media world is
Clinton-email critics pull a role reversal as Trump administration draws fire for private phone use
It took an uncomfortably long time, but Adam Silver got it right on NBA and China
A photographer told a group of teens to stop using the n-word. Then shots rang out.
Inside Fox News: How the impeachment fight is opening fresh divisions in the newsroom
The Elizabeth Warren pregnancy smear shows how poisoned the media world is
Clinton-email critics pull a role reversal as Trump administration draws fire for private phone use
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Monday, October 7, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-07
The media figured it out, just in the nick of time - "'From the moment that Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy began his smear campaign in February 1950 up until his censure by the U.S. Senate in 1954. The story of McCarthy was not just the story of indecency, and lies, and law breaking. It was also the story about just how much Republican lawmakers were willing to take. After all, many of them knew that what McCarthy was doing wasn’t just wrong, it was corrupting the nation, but they were afraid of him turning his sights on them. They feared the wrath of his political power. You know, when you go back and read about that period, what really stands out is how much McCarthy’s contemporaries are judged today by how they handled him. Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Republican of Maine, a hero of the current Senator Susan Collins of Maine, had a long trailblazing career but her obituary in “The Washington Post” referred to her moment standing up to McCarthy, her Declaration of Conscience in 1950 as her finest moments in politics.Conversely stands the example of Ohio Senator Bob Taft, the Senate majority leader who knew better. He ones called McCarthy reckless and McCarthy’s charges bunked, but Taft essential ended up casting his lot in with the smear artist from Wisconsin. . .
'There are empirical wrongs in the world. Smearing innocent people is one of them. Using your political office to force foreign nations to dig up dirt on your political opponents is another one. That is not what foreign policy is for. You know this. I know this. And I would bet that most Republicans on Capitol Hill know this. They would do well to remember the lessons of Senators Smith and Taft, because history will one day come looking for them, too. She will want to know what they said and did during this time. She will likely not be in a forgiving mood.'"
An Open Letter to the American People [ed note: Intelligence officials backing up whistleblower]
Colin Powell: ‘The Republican Party has got to get a grip on itself’
'There are empirical wrongs in the world. Smearing innocent people is one of them. Using your political office to force foreign nations to dig up dirt on your political opponents is another one. That is not what foreign policy is for. You know this. I know this. And I would bet that most Republicans on Capitol Hill know this. They would do well to remember the lessons of Senators Smith and Taft, because history will one day come looking for them, too. She will want to know what they said and did during this time. She will likely not be in a forgiving mood.'"
An Open Letter to the American People [ed note: Intelligence officials backing up whistleblower]
Colin Powell: ‘The Republican Party has got to get a grip on itself’
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Reading archive 2019-10-02
The Federalist’s Sean Davis demonstrates the pathetic lows of right-wing media during the Trump impeachment inquiry: Davis published a wildly inaccurate article that was promoted by President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders. He is now refusing to back down even though he is embarrassingly wrong.
Correcting a media error: Biden’s Ukraine showdown was in December 2015
Dolphins are swimming, mating and even giving birth in the Potomac
Correcting a media error: Biden’s Ukraine showdown was in December 2015
Dolphins are swimming, mating and even giving birth in the Potomac
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