As per the BLS, real (inflation-adjusted) weekly wages for the lower 82% or so of workers increased 1.2% in the last 12 months.That and a dismal year in jobs growth paint an economy that may be working for some, but not for most.
I agree, the economy is not as good as many claim it is. I believe that most of the job growth has also been in the low-wage sector so the jobs being created are not good jobs. If I might add a political spin to this issue, I think the perception of a strong economy will help Trump win in 2020. I could be wrong but I suspect that many marginal Trump voters will stick with him as long as the economy doesn’t slide into a recession.
The poor people who are doing so badly right now often do not vote so the issue is how middle-class and more affluent Americans perceive the economy. As things stand this is a plus for Trump because it might help him keep his marginal voters, the people in the Midwest who voted for him but aren’t partisan Republicans and who might have been Obama voters. These independent types will probably decide the election again.
I have been reading and thinking about current tension between China and the US – particularly about the detainment of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada, and the current situation in Hong Kong. I think I might have connected the dots and figured out that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party are behind both incidents/situations. My conjecture is Hillary is still angry and bitter about losing the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump. So, the petty bitch has been using Meng and Hong Kong to sabotage Trump’s trade negotiation with China. Hillary basically wants to sink the US economy and create a severe recession to undermine Trump’s reelection chance.
First, Hillary’s political allies in New York arranged Meng Wanzhou’s detainment in Canada, which completely blindsided Trump during his initial round of trade negotiation with China. Obviously China thought it was Trump who ordered Meng’s detainment. At the same time, Trump had too much of an ego to show any weakness, so he could not admit Hillary had played him and undermined his trade negotiation with China.
Then, Hillary and Nancy Pelosi used the National Endowment for Democracy to stir up troubles in Hong Kong, so that China would blame America – and therefore Trump – for the troubles in Hong Kong. That would make China even more unwilling to negotiate with Trump.
That petty woman is just devious and evil.
However, based on what I’ve been reading, China has been slowly put together all the pieces and figured out that Hillary, Pelosi and the Democratic Party have beeen behind all the ploys. This could backfire on the entire Democratic Party. China will likely make a deal with Trump at the right timing to ease/shorten the coming recession, just to punish the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, and to help Trump get re-elected. So, the irony is: Hillary will probably get Trump elected TWICE, all because she is such a petty woman. Hillary’s brilliant plan is gonna backfire again.
Just to be clear: I am not a Trump supporter. I actually lean Democrats, but this is gonna be bad.
Seems the dog-talkers have their panties in a twist over cursing. Everything else is OK: the holocaust in Palestine, thew genocide at the border, the grift, the graft, the utter lawlessness.
God-damn … is not “taking the Lord’s name in vain”. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is professing belief in the teachings without actually living the teachings; is swearing to god on a bible to tell the truth and nothing but the truth… and do not; is selling your daughters into prostitution Saturday night and standing up to sing praises on Sunday morning. That, is taking the Lord’s name in vain.
Liars for Jesus are not just liars, they’re god-damned liars.
Drones claimed by the Houthi forces in Yemen did major damage to two major Saudi oil facilities. The foreign reality check I look at is Bernard over at Moon of Alabama. A couple of weeks ago when Yemeni drones first hit the Saudi oil fields, he predicted the end of hostilities, since the Saudis can’t protect their fields and they need the revenue.
But the never-ending war party in Washington jumped up to call for us to bomb Iran. How many places in the world can we be on the verge of active hostilities? The U.S. has never followed the kindly, reluctant foreign policy of our propaganda, but the current Washington crew seems to be totally disconnected from reality, unable to imagine that anyone will ever be able to hurt them back.
Maybe I’m wrong. I find myself singing the old Sheldon Harnick song, recorded by the Kingston Trio. Same scenario, 60 years ago:
They’re rioting in Africa, they’re starving in Spain.
There’s hurricanes in Florida, and Texas needs rain.
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls.
The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles.
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch.
And I don’t like anybody very much!
But we can be tranquil, and thankful, and proud,
For mans’ been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud.
And we know for certain that some lovely day
Someone will set the spark off, and we will all be blown away.
They’re rioting in Africa, there’s strife in Iran.
What nature doesn’t do to us, will be done by our fellow man.
Came by to note the drone attacks on Saudi which seemed very significant, only to see that nihil obstet had already brought it up, quite the commentariat you have here.
But since you haven’t tooted your own horn, let me say that it is worthwhile for people to revisit your prescient previous posts on drones as weapons of the weak (just google ‘ian welsh drones’ to find these).
What better example could we find of your argument (that drones by their nature – a cheap tool that can take down or immobilize expensive targets – are weapons of the weak) than the recent use of drones by the Houthis (rag tag bunch) to inflict serious pain on Saudi Arabia (#3 in the world by military spending this year).
An ethical, curious ophthalmologist, Dr. Chris Knobbe, did a deep, deep dive into the history of macular degeneration. Here, he’s interviewed by Dr. Mercola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpxBDtDLz9c&t=9s
Short version: an approximately 50 year window of time, between the invention and adoption of instruments allowing for the diagnosis of macular degeneration (about 1850), and the appearance of more than a handful of cases in the entire world, followed by the unrelenting acceleration of cases since, forces the conclusion that, while there are 40+ genetic factors involved in the expression of this disease (actually, diseases*), the effective cause must be epigenetic. Knobbe follows Weston A Price in blaming processed foods (which didn’t exist in 1850, other than refined sugar) for macular degeneration. He’s managed to effect reversals in macular degeneration using primarily the unprocessed, Weston Price dietary recommendation. (Apparently not nearly as often as just freezing it in its tracks, but I don’t recall any hard numbers comparing the two during his interview.)
This is fantastic news. Going blind must be horrible.
Unfortunately, getting the word out to his peers has proven problematic. Basically, they don’t want to hear about it. He’s only managed to present his finding to one sizable ophthalmologist professional society. To my mind, this is the same sort of disgusting mindset afflicting many areas of “science”, as well as various medical professions. Better that people go blind than upset the poo-bahs! /s
However, you, gentle reader of this blog, can learn about Knobbe’s findings by spending all of 50 cents to purchase the electronic version of his book, “Ancestral Dietary Strategy to Prevent and Treat Macular Degeneration” @ https://www.cureamd.org/cureamd-shop/
If you can afford it, please consider donating to Knobbe’s Cure AMD Foundation.
* Knobbe was primarily concerned with “age related” macular degneration.
Do we actually know what happened to the Saudi oil facilities? I think not. Of course there may have been Houthi drones visiting the area from time to time, but whether they were the cause of the fires or not is — at this point — conjectural. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were ordered by MBS for his own nefarious purposes, one being, of course, precipitating an attack by the US/Israel on Iran. Because why not? Since Yemen is not being conquered by the Saudis, why not attack Iran? Bolton’s revenge?
But then, maybe it was Hillary. You just never know.
Drones from that distance? With that amount of ordnance?
Drones that accurate?
Intelligence that good?
A perfect strike, better results than US cruise missiles get?
Anything is possible, but…to me, it makes far more sense as an internal subterfuge…perhaps, with western “security agencies” playing pied piper and offering technical assistance?
Before I give the Houthis laurels for marksmanship. I’d consider Pompeo’s motivations…just off-hand, to undermine Trump’s ability to make a deal with Iran, to boost the price of oil products [Koch Bros main business]? Dunno but, he certainly seems to rope-a-dope Trump at every turn. And BTW, that’s what the tag team from Koch Bros [Pence/Pompeo] are there for…so far they have done a bang-up job.
Hugh
As per the BLS, real (inflation-adjusted) weekly wages for the lower 82% or so of workers increased 1.2% in the last 12 months.That and a dismal year in jobs growth paint an economy that may be working for some, but not for most.
Herman
@Hugh,
I agree, the economy is not as good as many claim it is. I believe that most of the job growth has also been in the low-wage sector so the jobs being created are not good jobs. If I might add a political spin to this issue, I think the perception of a strong economy will help Trump win in 2020. I could be wrong but I suspect that many marginal Trump voters will stick with him as long as the economy doesn’t slide into a recession.
The poor people who are doing so badly right now often do not vote so the issue is how middle-class and more affluent Americans perceive the economy. As things stand this is a plus for Trump because it might help him keep his marginal voters, the people in the Midwest who voted for him but aren’t partisan Republicans and who might have been Obama voters. These independent types will probably decide the election again.
KT Chong
I have been reading and thinking about current tension between China and the US – particularly about the detainment of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada, and the current situation in Hong Kong. I think I might have connected the dots and figured out that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party are behind both incidents/situations. My conjecture is Hillary is still angry and bitter about losing the 2016 presidential election to Donald Trump. So, the petty bitch has been using Meng and Hong Kong to sabotage Trump’s trade negotiation with China. Hillary basically wants to sink the US economy and create a severe recession to undermine Trump’s reelection chance.
First, Hillary’s political allies in New York arranged Meng Wanzhou’s detainment in Canada, which completely blindsided Trump during his initial round of trade negotiation with China. Obviously China thought it was Trump who ordered Meng’s detainment. At the same time, Trump had too much of an ego to show any weakness, so he could not admit Hillary had played him and undermined his trade negotiation with China.
Then, Hillary and Nancy Pelosi used the National Endowment for Democracy to stir up troubles in Hong Kong, so that China would blame America – and therefore Trump – for the troubles in Hong Kong. That would make China even more unwilling to negotiate with Trump.
That petty woman is just devious and evil.
However, based on what I’ve been reading, China has been slowly put together all the pieces and figured out that Hillary, Pelosi and the Democratic Party have beeen behind all the ploys. This could backfire on the entire Democratic Party. China will likely make a deal with Trump at the right timing to ease/shorten the coming recession, just to punish the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, and to help Trump get re-elected. So, the irony is: Hillary will probably get Trump elected TWICE, all because she is such a petty woman. Hillary’s brilliant plan is gonna backfire again.
Just to be clear: I am not a Trump supporter. I actually lean Democrats, but this is gonna be bad.
Ten Bears
Seems the dog-talkers have their panties in a twist over cursing. Everything else is OK: the holocaust in Palestine, thew genocide at the border, the grift, the graft, the utter lawlessness.
God-damn … is not “taking the Lord’s name in vain”. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is professing belief in the teachings without actually living the teachings; is swearing to god on a bible to tell the truth and nothing but the truth… and do not; is selling your daughters into prostitution Saturday night and standing up to sing praises on Sunday morning. That, is taking the Lord’s name in vain.
Liars for Jesus are not just liars, they’re god-damned liars.
I think they know it.
nihil obstet
Drones claimed by the Houthi forces in Yemen did major damage to two major Saudi oil facilities. The foreign reality check I look at is Bernard over at Moon of Alabama. A couple of weeks ago when Yemeni drones first hit the Saudi oil fields, he predicted the end of hostilities, since the Saudis can’t protect their fields and they need the revenue.
But the never-ending war party in Washington jumped up to call for us to bomb Iran. How many places in the world can we be on the verge of active hostilities? The U.S. has never followed the kindly, reluctant foreign policy of our propaganda, but the current Washington crew seems to be totally disconnected from reality, unable to imagine that anyone will ever be able to hurt them back.
Maybe I’m wrong. I find myself singing the old Sheldon Harnick song, recorded by the Kingston Trio. Same scenario, 60 years ago:
Mike Barry
Nukes did not worry us so much back in 1957, as this song by The Five Stars illustrates:
Some Guy
Came by to note the drone attacks on Saudi which seemed very significant, only to see that nihil obstet had already brought it up, quite the commentariat you have here.
But since you haven’t tooted your own horn, let me say that it is worthwhile for people to revisit your prescient previous posts on drones as weapons of the weak (just google ‘ian welsh drones’ to find these).
What better example could we find of your argument (that drones by their nature – a cheap tool that can take down or immobilize expensive targets – are weapons of the weak) than the recent use of drones by the Houthis (rag tag bunch) to inflict serious pain on Saudi Arabia (#3 in the world by military spending this year).
metamars
An ethical, curious ophthalmologist, Dr. Chris Knobbe, did a deep, deep dive into the history of macular degeneration. Here, he’s interviewed by Dr. Mercola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpxBDtDLz9c&t=9s
Short version: an approximately 50 year window of time, between the invention and adoption of instruments allowing for the diagnosis of macular degeneration (about 1850), and the appearance of more than a handful of cases in the entire world, followed by the unrelenting acceleration of cases since, forces the conclusion that, while there are 40+ genetic factors involved in the expression of this disease (actually, diseases*), the effective cause must be epigenetic. Knobbe follows Weston A Price in blaming processed foods (which didn’t exist in 1850, other than refined sugar) for macular degeneration. He’s managed to effect reversals in macular degeneration using primarily the unprocessed, Weston Price dietary recommendation. (Apparently not nearly as often as just freezing it in its tracks, but I don’t recall any hard numbers comparing the two during his interview.)
This is fantastic news. Going blind must be horrible.
Unfortunately, getting the word out to his peers has proven problematic. Basically, they don’t want to hear about it. He’s only managed to present his finding to one sizable ophthalmologist professional society. To my mind, this is the same sort of disgusting mindset afflicting many areas of “science”, as well as various medical professions. Better that people go blind than upset the poo-bahs! /s
However, you, gentle reader of this blog, can learn about Knobbe’s findings by spending all of 50 cents to purchase the electronic version of his book, “Ancestral Dietary Strategy to Prevent and Treat Macular Degeneration” @ https://www.cureamd.org/cureamd-shop/
If you can afford it, please consider donating to Knobbe’s Cure AMD Foundation.
* Knobbe was primarily concerned with “age related” macular degneration.
Ché Pasa
Do we actually know what happened to the Saudi oil facilities? I think not. Of course there may have been Houthi drones visiting the area from time to time, but whether they were the cause of the fires or not is — at this point — conjectural. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were ordered by MBS for his own nefarious purposes, one being, of course, precipitating an attack by the US/Israel on Iran. Because why not? Since Yemen is not being conquered by the Saudis, why not attack Iran? Bolton’s revenge?
But then, maybe it was Hillary. You just never know.
Ten Bears
I’m with Che` on this, my initial reaction was [and is] “how convenient. ”
Some Guy ’bout has his fingers wrapped around it: cheap, readily available …
Could be anyone: US, Israel, the Sauds. Who doth protest the loudest?
S Brennan
It’s rare but, I agree with Ché:
Drones from that distance? With that amount of ordnance?
Drones that accurate?
Intelligence that good?
A perfect strike, better results than US cruise missiles get?
Anything is possible, but…to me, it makes far more sense as an internal subterfuge…perhaps, with western “security agencies” playing pied piper and offering technical assistance?
Before I give the Houthis laurels for marksmanship. I’d consider Pompeo’s motivations…just off-hand, to undermine Trump’s ability to make a deal with Iran, to boost the price of oil products [Koch Bros main business]? Dunno but, he certainly seems to rope-a-dope Trump at every turn. And BTW, that’s what the tag team from Koch Bros [Pence/Pompeo] are there for…so far they have done a bang-up job.
Tom
The drones used had a short range and were likely set up within 5km of the facility by infiltrators.