Angry Bear

The ISM services index, measuring 75% of the economy, sounds an ‘all clear’ – for now, anyway

 – by New Deal democrat Recently I have paid much more attention to the ISM services index. That’s because, since the turn of the Millennium, manufacturing’s share of the economy has contracted to the point where even a significant decline in that index has not translated into an economy-wide recession, as for example in 2015-16.  When we […]

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High fructose corn syrup and your health

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is everywhere—salad dressings, catsup, carbonated beverages. Fructose is sweeter, per unit mass, than cane sugar (sucrose), and apparently keeps better, so is a favored sweetener by the food industry. Unlike glucose, fructose in converted to free fatty acid in the liver and thus can contribute to hyperlipidemia, diabetes and heart […]

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Covid Reporting

R. J. Sigmund September 29, 2024 The major Covid demographic metrics we track continued to trend lower this past week, but we have a new recombinant mutant out there that is multiplying quite rapidly and is forecast to become the dominant strain, probably just in time for the annual winter holidays infection wave. Among the […]

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Why avoided or imaginary emissions are the future of carbon accounting

by Lloyd Alter Carbon Upfront Scope 4 emissions help me justify my flight to New Zealand and compensate for its carbon footprint. I apologize for my posts not showing up at the usual times; I got back from Australia and New Zealand with a crushing jet lag that I still haven’t recovered from, with a […]

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September: A “soft landing” jobs report. But will the Fed use this to fall behind the curve again?

 – by New Deal democrat Especially in view of the relative weakness in the jobs report for the past few months, my focus continues to be on whether jobs gains are most consistent with a “soft landing,” i.e., no further deterioration, or whether there is further decline towards a recession.  For this month at least, the […]

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Stress and the PhD

I was married by the time I started graduate school. I suspect that being in a committed relationship, and in particular with someone who was also a grad student, kept me centered during the stressful times. Perhaps these were different times, but a recent study shows that today’s PhD students are struggling with mental health […]

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Jack Smith’s Brief and What It Means

Interesting read as written by Attorney Joyce Vance. by Joyce Vance Civil Discourse On Wednesday, Judge Tanya Chutkan unsealed a redacted version of Jack Smith’s immunity motion. Now we have a clear view of what Smith believes is still on the table after the Supreme Court’s decision. The short version: just about everything. Smith acknowledges that the […]

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Jobless claims: not so good as the headline, but not so bad either

– by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims will be up against some very challenging comparisons for the next 6 months or so, due to some unresolved post-COVID seasonality. Which means that the headline numbers this week, which look very benign at the surface, are not quite so good as they have been for the […]

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Briefly, Now that All the Toilet Paper has Been Sold and Dockworkers Went Back to Work

Somewhere, there is a correlation between the two . . . The Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico dockworker strikes are over. The strike by tens of thousands of dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts has been called off, after the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, representing ocean carriers and port […]

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Are manufacturing and construction in a synchronous downturn? If so, that’s Trouble

– by New Deal democrat I wanted to follow up on a point I made yesterday: although manufacturing is no longer a big enough slice of the US economy to bring about an economic downturn on its own – unless for some reason the manufacturing downturn were unusually severe – when it is paired with […]

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“Did he lose the 2020 election?” and J.D. Vance Balks

This was the only question and answer that mattered. The Times and various other news outlets are elsewhere on the topic of losing the 2020 Election. I remember William Saletan writing articles for Slate Magazine “The Fray” while I was in the comments section reading them and then doodahman;s comments picking Saletan’s commentary apart. William […]

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Long COVID and chronic fatigue

The recurring bleat of vaccine denialists is that COVID should be addressed through “herd immunity.” Well, OK, a vaccinated population has herd immunity, but that’s not what they mean. They mean herd immunity in the sense of the Black Plague—the people who didn’t die were immune. Apart from all the deaths caused by COVID infections […]

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Evidence Shows Minimum Wage Increases Will Cause Job Losses is Largely Wrong-Headed

Largely speaking direct labor is not the issue of costs have I have presented in another post. It is the overhead such as healthcare insurance which can better handled in another manner. Inflation grows and minimum wage income is stagnant. Studies have found little or no job loss due to Minimum Wage Laws, Economic Policy […]

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Who Voted Against FEMA Relief Before Helene Battered Their Home States

As Category 4 Hurricane Helene approached the Florida Panhandle, a number of Republican senators and representatives voted against supplementing disaster relief in a government funding extension which was passed by both houses of Congress. Many of the Republican lawmakers voted against the provision of additional necessary funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) represent states that were hit particularly hard by Hurricane Helene. […]

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The Achilles Trap

I just finished reading “The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America’s Invasion of Iraq” by Steve Coll. By the onset of the US invasion and military occupation, I was convinced that (a) Iraq had no WMDs or active WMD programs, and (b) there was no collusion between Saddam and al […]

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Walz v Vance Debate

Another take on J.D,’s and Tim’s debate last night. Tim came off the line rather slow last night. This is like the gearing in some automobiles where you are slow off the line and gain greater speed as you go along. It was pretty clear Tim owned J.D. at the end. Will it change votes, […]

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New Georgia Law Spurs Bogus Challenges to Voter Eligibility

In addition to what you will hopefully read below. Repubs and Dems went to court and presented their reasoning for and against new laws allowing for a “reasonable inquiry” to be conducted before election certification and gives election workers the ability to “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.”  You […]

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Vance’s big lie on the ACA

by Merrill Goozner GoozNews Obamacare (ACA) coverage fell every year of the Trump presidency and the uninsured rate rose. The truth in one chart. Trump’s vice presidential pick J.D. Vance asserted during tonight’s debate that the former president “strengthened” the Affordable Care Act. In fact, he weakened it in a variety of ways, which I […]

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