Ben Keys

Opinion | ‘ICE Goes Masked for a Single Reason’

ICE has been pulling guns on civilians, spraying tear gas in the face of protestors who film them, shooting priests with pepper spray and pellets—and, increasingly it seems, targeting journalists and others trying to document their activities. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Claim: 10 cars rammed ICE
Truth: No cars rammed ICE

Claim: She boxed ICE in
Truth: ICE boxed her in

Claim: She shot a rifle at ICE
Truth: She did not have a rifle

Claim: ICE returned fire
Truth: Only ICE fired

Claim: She drove herself to the hospital
Truth: Paramedics found her

this is a very very big story because of the apparently totally fake story ICE/DHS put out about what happened.

Six more houses in the Outer Banks have collapsed as Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda rumbled in the Atlantic.

All were unoccupied. https://wapo.st/42iGmFE

No one outside the U.S. is confused and no one here would be confused if they saw this happening in another country.

Troops. In an American city. Using full force.

Your now-regular reminder that Republican members of Congress are letting this happen.

Talk Of Fascism Dangerous, Warns Ministry Of Compliance

Talk Of Fascism Dangerous, Warns Ministry Of Compliance

Kimmel: "The President of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he cannot take a joke."

In a UN speech today, President Trump said that "all of these [climate] predictions were wrong".

Back in 2019 I led a research effort to digitize old climate model projections and assess how well they did. Turns out they got future warming pretty spot on!

Signs Referencing Climate Change Along with Web Pages Removed from Acadia National Park The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund.

The federal government has censored the work of dozens of scientists, including work by my lab, on the impacts of climate change on Acadia National Park. Signs have been removed from Cadillac and Great Meadow. They’re also removing signs about the Wabanaki’s sacred connections to Cadillac.

Stephen Miran has outlined his case for massive rate cuts. The logic is utterly tortured—and bizarre.

One explanation: He’s the president’s messenger. Another: He thinks his career benefits from flattering power. A third: He’s inhaled too many White House talking points. None inspire confidence.

You Love America A covenant with death, and an agreement with hell; Yale, Du Bois, Bagehot, Pynchon, Fitzgerald

Alright here we go: You Love America.

I started writing this last year; it had this same title last year; depressingly little had to be changed for it to fit in to this moment.

open.substack.com/pub/rottenan...

The original logo for the Spontaneanation podcast consisting of a gold “s” in the middle of a green circle surrounded by a purple outer circle. Elegant in its simplicity. Designed by me and created by Liezl Estipona.

Hello Friends. I am ecstatic to announce that I have reacquired the entire Spontaneanation catalogue and effective immediately you can find every episode wherever you get your podcasts.

Don’t get drunk and fight each other.

Consumer Expenditures 2024 Data Release to be Rescheduled Consumer Expenditures 2024 Data Release to be Rescheduled (9/19/2025)

#BLS has delayed the 2024 Consumer Expenditures Survey annual release. This is likely due to the severe understaffing in the agency.
Staff losses and hiring freeze are taking their toll.

www.bls.gov/cex/notices/...

#econsky

The Fed’s outlook for GDP growth isn’t very optimistic — below 2% for the next 3 years.

My @morningjoe-msnbc.bsky.social Chart

Key chart www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

“The top 10% of U.S. households now account for nearly half of all consumer spending, a record high since data collection on this metric began in 1989.”

@weisenthal.bsky.social @mikezaccardi.bsky.social

Submission: 8th Annual NBER Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy Conference, Page 1 of 2 - MyNBER

Hey, #EconSky! Got a policy-relevant paper that you want folks in DC to see? Present & publish it with NBER's Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy.

Submission deadline is Oct 20.

Conference is in DC on May 21, 2026.

More details below.

conference.nber.org/confsubmit/b...

Trump Is Accusing Foes With Multiple Mortgages of Fraud. Records Show 3 of His Cabinet Members Have Them. The White House has targeted opponents, including a Fed governor, for having more than one primary residence on their loan papers. ProPublica found that, in one case, a Trump cabinet secretary got two...

ProPublica finds three Trump cabinet secretaries have more than one "primary residence" mortgages. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

A Modest Proposal What if we just flooded the planet with cheap or even free solar panels?

A thought experiment. What if the world's climate policy for the next few years was: flood the planet with cheap or free solar panels?
billmckibben.substack.com/p/a-modest-p...

Just received this statement from Lisa Cook:
"President Trump purported to fire me 'for cause' when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so. I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022."

2 things to scream into the abyss re Governor Cook

1) to those who have been stressing legal constraints on Trump re Powell: Trump can create chaos without clear legal authority & without any process.
2) please don’t say - oh this will get really bad if he nominates x or y. It is really bad now.

“This is about the President of the United States and his complicit lackey, Stephen Miller, searching for ways to lay the groundwork to circumvent our democracy, militarize our cities, and end elections.” – Gov. J.B. Pritzker

We Are All Lisa Cook Nobody is safe from weaponized government

If you think the attack on the Fed's Lisa Cook has nothing to do with you, you're wrong — any one of us may be next paulkrugman.substack.com/p/we-are-all...

Walz says Harris "would have been a fantastic president... we wouldn't wake up every day to a bunch of shit on TV. We would wake up to an adult w/ compassion & dignity doing the work, not a manchild crying about whatever is wrong with him. May his fat ankles find something today. Petty as hell."

I'm hoping the transparently disgusting deal made between Epstein's old best friend and his most notorious accomplice is obvious to everyone here.

BREAKING: A new experiment in Philly shows cash rental assistance slashed homelessness rates by 57–67%.

Trump’s Attacks on Institutions Threaten a Bulwark of Economic Strength

The U.S. has enjoyed a decades-long economic advantage thanks to its reputation as the safest place in the world for investors to put their money and for entrepreneurs to build their businesses.

President Trump may be chipping away at that advantage.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/b... #EconSky

New job ad: Assistant Professor of Quantitative Social Science, Dartmouth College apply.interfolio.com/172357

Please share with your networks. I am the search chair and happy to answer questions!