marc-my-words

“Trump tariff tax hikes” is an easy and accurate four word phrase.

“Democrats had the best Covid recovery economy in the world but then these Trump tariff tax hikes came in and everything got more expensive, we lost thousands of jobs, and the economy is a mess.”

A photo of an orange marigold blossom in pieces of straw in a garden. Inside the marigold sits a small green spider, waiting for prey

A close-up photo of an orange marigold blossom in pieces of straw in a garden. Inside the marigold sits a small green spider, waiting for prey. Photo taken with an old Samsung cell phone, not with the proper equipment for such a close-up shot

While deadheading flowers in the garden, I spotted this tiny predator hiding in a marigold blossom, waiting for prey to arrive ("You can observe a lot by just watching." - Yogi Berra) #flowerreport

What you need to know about the jobs report revisions : The Indicator from Planet Money Why do revisions to the jobs report happen? Today on the show, we speak with a former Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics about why revisions occur and how we should interpret the monthly r...

And another good explainer from The Indicator about why there are always revisions to the jobs reports www.npr.org/2025/08/06/1...

What really goes on at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Update) : The Indicator from Planet Money On Friday, we reported on the latest jobs numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed weaker than expected growth. On Friday afternoon, President Trump fired the person in charge of thos...

A good story about the BLS from NPR's The Indicator, with special coverage of the secrecy rules for the market-moving jobs report. With Trump's gang in the BLS, expect to see some unusual insider trading before jobs numbers are released www.npr.org/2025/08/04/1...

Last fall, @propublica.org and @documented.net broke the story that Russell Vought, Trump’s current budget chief, said he planned to put career civil servants “in trauma.”

Now, we're investigating the full extent of Vought's impact on the federal government. We need your help… 🧵 1/

Perfect, right down to the coda:

How about a "James Stewart is ANGRY" film series? Here are three films that I can think where Stewart is angry: Winchester '73, The Naked Spur, Flight of the Phoenix

Total war on higher ed - Lawyers, Guns & Money Ben Austen visits a community college in the outskirts of Saginaw, MI, to observe that Trump’s war on knowledge isn’t just hitting elite universities: Since January, the Trump administration has waged...

"Trump’s war on knowledge isn’t just hitting elite universities" but also community colleges that enroll about 40% of those in higher education
www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2025/08/tota...

Trump’s Tariffs Are Kleptocracy in Action Very little of what you’ve heard about presidential ‘deals’ is true. It’s really a shakedown on behalf of Trump’s desires and corporate whims.

I wrote back in April that the best way to think about Trump's tariffs were as sanctions to shake down other countries. The final result reinforces this: Trump is using trade as a bargaining chip to win other policies, or even just the illusion of wins.
Here's my post-Liberation Day update:

We don’t need to invent hypotheticals. The Biden administration’s efforts to enforce antitrust law and regulate Wall Street engendered a much more intense reaction from the business community, including a barrage of lobbying, WSJ editorials, and tv ads and billboards.

Imagine them writing this about higher marginal tax rates or capital gains taxes

Has Brazil Invented the Future of Money? And will it ever come to America?

Paul Krugman on Brazil's central bank digital currency Pix, a low cost and inclusive way to make payments paulkrugman.substack.com/p/has-brazil...

It’s my understanding this is what happened with Mao’s Great Leap Forward as well. No local leader wants to admit their region didn’t meet their quota for the harvest. So you just lie to placate the leader and millions starve.

A quiet alley (Macondray Lane) on the Russian Hill South stairways walk in Adah Bakalinsky's book

A photo of a view from Ina Coolbrith Park near Russian Hill in San Francisco, looking east. This park is on the Russian Hill South stairway walk route in Adah Bakalinsky's book. In the view are Coit Tower, the two spans of the Bay Bridge, Yerba Buena Island, and the S.F. Bay

Photo of tiled steps in San Francisco at Moraga and 16th Avenue (Golden Gate Heights). This stairway is on the route of the Golden Gate Heights walk in Adah Bakalinsky's book

Stairway walks. Get the book by Adah Bakalinsky, "Stairway Walks in San Francisco ". Some of my favorites were Golden Gate Heights (tiled stairs), Russian Hill South (quiet alleys, Bay & City views), Forest Knolls

Senate Democrats Estimate DOGE Caused Billions of Dollars In Government Waste A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

"As it rampaged through the government, DOGE destroyed valuable assets, wasting money already set aside to be spent, or depriving the government of income-generating programs." talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

VIDEO: NHK World's Japanology Plus goes under some of Japan's elevated train tracks to see creative uses for these spaces www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...

A neighbor upgraded to a (much quieter) electric lawnmower and put the gas one at the curb marked "FREE (works!)". I took some pictures and as I was preparing to list it as on the local Freecycle site, a box truck stopped at the house and picked up the mower, having found a curb gem. /end

Today I went to a sale and realized it was the DVD player house. When I looked in the DVDs for sale bin I found Shawshank, and it was missing the DVD, probably the one that has been sitting next to my player for a year. Tomorrow I will return it to its rightful place. 2/

Two garage sale and free stuff happenings today: 1) last year I bought a DVD player at a sale. When I hooked it up, I found a The Shawshank Redemption DVD inside. But I didn't return the disc because I couldn't remember the location of the sale. 1/

Portishead released "Sour Times" as the second single from their debut album 'Dummy' 31 years ago on August 1, 1994 | Watch the official video, listen to the album + revisit our tribute here: album.ink/prtshddmmy

A regressive $340B tax on imports enacted illegally without an act of Congress. It's kind of funny how directly this parallels the complains that led to the American Revolution

It's an interesting and tasty place. But if it is the same as when visited, you'll need to bring a big appetite or plan on wasting food -- as restaurants required each guest to order a big bowl. I would have preferred mini-bowls so I could taste 3 or 4 varieties during the visit.

I work through exactly how bizarre Trump's "deals" are.

A bunny sits at his desk at a small detective agency. He looks bemusedly at a younger bunny, who is running to the door excitedly with a magnifying glass, eager to begin sleuthing.

Daily bunny no.3032 is on the case!

David Valadao battles backlash in his swing district after voting for Medicaid cuts that hit close to home (NBC News)

Main Link | memeorandum Permalink

Here's a profile of Bridget Brink from Lansing City Pulse lansingcitypulse.com/stories/winn...?

One of the candidates vying to unseat Tom Barrett.

Fossil Fool How Europe took Trump for a ride

Good point from @pkrugman.bsky.social: The promises Europe made to Trump on investment and buying US energy are meaningless and won't happen. Maybe the clever way to deal with him is to mimic him: make crazy promises he can tout but will quickly forget about.

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/fossil-fool

YOU FINALLY, REALLY DID IT

YOU MANIACS

YOU WROTE THE HEADLINE

GOD DAMN YOU

GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL

A bunny has set a simple, cartoonish trap: THe box propped up with a stick. Inside the box as bait is a little matcha strawberry cake. A second bunny, very gullible, eyes the cake with curiousity, while the trap-setting bunny lies in wait.

Daily bunny no.3031 falling for the oldest trick in the book