Trump / Politics
Mark Twain: “That's the wonderful thing about science. One gets such a wholesale return of conjecture from a trivial investment of fact”. Here are some facts (things that are demonstrably true, supported by evidence): The US military has built up its presence in the...
The United States and the European Union have reached a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff ceiling on most EU goods entering the US, while also eliminating tariffs on certain US goods entering the EU. The EU has also committed to purchasing $750 billion in US...
In recent days we have seen Mr. Trump cancel funding for major projects authorized by Congressional act and signed into law by the President. We have seen the cancellation of funding for wind power plants, for a rail tunnel between NJ and NY, for approved and...
According to the current administration, there are over 20 million illegal immigrants in the US. The median age of this population is 38, and only about 0.5% are over 55 years old. Most estimates of this population peg the rate at closer to 12 million, and those same...
On Tue, Aug 5, 2025 at 4:20 PM Claude Gerstle wrote: Despite a lot of research, effort and money leading to improved student outcome in secondary schools over the last 20 years, all the gains have occurred in the top half of students with the bottom half and...
In my previous note I tried to layout the importance of basic research as a fuel for commercial companies and their development of new products. Although the ROI on basic research and discovery is huge, it is unpredictable specifically because discoveries are...
Elon Musk:Feb. 28, 2025: “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy, the empathy exploit; they’re exploiting a bug in Western civilization, which is the empathy response.” Empathy, he said, has been “weaponized.” And yet, Musk/Trump has eliminated...
The worst legacy of Mr. Trump is his statement to the world that the American System does not work. He has shown that our system permits a President to renege on the word of previous Presidents, himself included. Treaties signed can be revoked. Trade deals like the...
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. “Black” does not mean that day is bad; quite the contrary, the “Black” refers to the traditional understanding that on that day retailers begin to make a profit for the year, i.e., that the ledgers for a retailer turn from...
Ripping us off Note: I am not an economist. If I have made errors here, I hope those of you who are economists will correct them. I have previously written about the bogus calculations that the White House Office of the Trade Representative made to determine...
SCOTUS rules that a President cannot be prosecuted for any “official act” while in office. Counsel representing Trump includes ordering the execution of an opponent DOJ insists that once a person being deported leaves the US air space, they cannot be stopped by a US...
Can Mr. Trump serve a third term as President? Mr. Trump has floated the idea that he might actually be able to serve a third term as President. Although on the face of it this seems absurd, we might take a moment to consider how this might be constitutional or...