Has anyone pointed out that Biden is capable of admitting error? That by itself puts him on a higher moral plane than you know who
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Paul Krugman
@paulkrugman
Nobel laureate. Op-Ed columnist, . Author, “The Return of Depression Economics,” “The Great Unraveling,” "Arguing With Zombies," + more.
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So did Trump just betray the Kurds because
(a) He has business interests in Turkey
(b) Erdogan, being a brutal autocrat, is his kind of guy
(c) His boss Vladimir Putin told him to
Remarkable that all three stories are perfectly plausible.
Susan Collins says she's concerned about deficits, and that's why she's voting for the tax bill. I'm watching my weight, and that's why I'm having a huge piece of pie with ice cream.
America's response to the coronavirus is the worst in the world, which is shocking and has a lot to do with a leader who is completely unfit, temperamentally and intellectually, for the job 1/
Well, Bernie Sanders is now the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination. Lots of things to say about that, but the most important is that he is NOT a left-leaning version of Trump. Even if you disagree with his ideas, he's not a wannabe authoritarian ruler 1/
Think about what it means that Jimmy Kimmel has evidently done more homework on health than any Republican senator over the past 8 years
I could be wrong, but somehow the Lysol moment feels like it could be a psychological turning point — the moment when even a lot of Trump diehards face up to his essential unfitness 1/
By the way, if you're wondering why coverage of the huge marches yesterday seems kind of muted, it's because those hundreds of thousands weren't sitting in diners in small-town America, and therefore don't count. Also many of them were women.
Undoing Roe is awful. Kneecapping environmental regulation is existential. This Supreme Court has just come down on the side of civilizational collapse.
Remember: the two main means-tested programs in America are Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps). In each case most beneficiaries are children, elderly, or disabled. The idea that we're handing out billions to lazy bums is false and slanderous.
I'm old enough to remember when Presidential Medals of Freedom were given for showing courage and making sacrifices on behalf of the nation and the world. Tiger Woods ... hits golf balls for money reut.rs/2H5sTYw
Not really tracking this whole Pelosi-as-speaker thing. But really: the most effective speaker in modern history, who just oversaw a highly effective campaign, and is still vigorous. Yes, Republicans demonize her. So? Why on earth not use her demonstrated skills for now?
So two members of the world's greatest deliberative body claim that the president of the world's greatest nation isn't a racist because he said "shithouse", not "shithole". The descent of the GOP is now beyond parody.
I don't know if anyone else has said this, but payroll tax cuts are the hydroxychloroquine of economic policy. They won't do anything to solve the employment crisis, but will have dangerous side effects. Yet Trump remains obsessed with them as a cure 1/
Did I miss Trump saying something about the killing of Judge Esther Salas's son? Or did he exhaust his reserves of compassion feeling sorry for Ghislaine Maxwell?
So I'm reading that Elon Musk, who founded Tesla in 2003 and first had a profitable year in 2020, is concerned that Build Back Better might, for a while, add modestly to the budget deficit while it invests in children and the environment
I read the news today, oh boy. Shocked at how little there is about the anti-democratic coup in Wisconsin. A once-progressive US state has just been turned into Hungary on the Great Lakes. Where's the wave of outrage?
Ok, I’ve had my second cup of coffee, so it’s time to change my outfit twice and sign some blank sheets of paper
Let's be clear: a candidate for president promised to put his opponent in jail if he wins. Everything else is secondary.
The 2020 campaign so far:
Trump: I'm racist. Vote for me!
Voters: No thanks. Also, Biden might keep us from dying.
Trump: But I'm really, really racist! You have to vote for me!
By now we were supposed to have a fading pandemic and a roaring recovery. Instead we have a fading recovery and a roaring pandemic. And its all about bad leadership.
Their insecurity in the face of a bright, charismatic woman of color is spectacular. I particularly like the constant claims that she's stupid when, let's face it, the average GOP House member knows as much about policy as the average house pet.
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It's just astonishing how much time and effort the entire Republican establishment has put into deconstructing every sentence @Ocasio2018 says, even as they nod their heads silently at every nonsensical utterance coming out of the White House.
Remember how Trump became presidential three days ago, because he managed to read right through a speech without grabbing any body parts?
Says the guy whose company was bailed out by the Obama stimulus and currently has a multi-billion dollar government contract
Can Ron DeSantis effectively challenge Trump? I have no idea. But one thing I hope doesn't get forgotten in the horse-race coverage is DeSantis's major achievement as governor: the unnecessary death of around 20,000 Floridians 1/
This seems like a moment to remember that Hillary Clinton lost largely because the media treated her -- legal -- use of a private email server as a huge scandal, giving it more coverage than all Trump scandals combined
A prediction about masking: Soon we'll be seeing many incidents in which those who choose to protect themselves with KN95s etc face harassment, even violence. Because this was never about freedom.
Not the only one saying this: Puerto Rico and USVI contain millions of US citizens. Why aren't Congress and WH focused on disaster relief?
Cholera. In a US territory. Among US citizens. In the 21st century. Heckuva job, Trumpie.
Naive question. McConnell would probably have his bill if he hadn't gotten greedy and included that slush fund, and could now be boasting about how he and Trump rescued the economy. Why didn't he do that? Why doesn't he split off the slush fund now? Is cronyism that important?
What I really don't understand here is Susan Collins. She came out of health care a hero. Now she is, rightly, seen as a fool, a tool, or both. And she can never get it back. What could possibly justify that choice?
We are, as pointed out many times, lowest-taxed major advanced nation. Repetition of this lie shows contempt for intelligence of public
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Will be going to North Dakota today to discuss tax reform and tax cuts. We are the highest taxed nation in the world - that will change.
The GOP's success in demonizing Nancy Pelosi is remarkable and depressing. By any standard I can think of she's been the most effective legislative leader in decades, instrumental in defending Social Security and expanding health care 1/
Lots of things to say about Elizabeth Warren, but top of my list is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau -- a truly original policy idea that was incredibly successful until Trump sabotaged it. She's someone who both has deep ideas and gets stuff done. Kind of important?
Surreal times. If we had two patriotic parties in this country, impeachment proceedings would begin tomorrow.
A chicken and egg question: does working for Trump destroy your integrity? Or do only people without integrity work for Trump?
I've seen jokes about Liz Cheney as speaker, but seriously: why can't this end with 7 sane Republicans joining Democrats to elect someone who isn't totally despicable?
Bernie's big problem isn't that he's a progressive; it's that he's a progressive with an attitude: calling himself a socialist when he isn't, denouncing anyone who raises questions as a corporate tool. This thrills his followers, but scares off key constituencies 1/
My lesson from years of political punditry is to never give up -- despite how terrible things may look, redemption remains possible. Still, let's reflect for a moment on what we've now learned: the GOP is entirely, 100% corrupt 1/
Future historians — if there are any future historians, that is, if civilization doesn't collapse — will be astonished that we let the planet burn for the sake of an industry that employs less than 3 percent of workers even in West Virginia
If Trump can call Robart a "so-called" judge, can we call him -- with infinitely better justification -- a "so-called" president?
So Rs want Biden to drastically scale back economic relief in the name of bipartisanship. Their offer is insultingly inadequate, and their claims that using reconciliation would "poison the well" are rich given how they rammed through the 2017 tax cut. But there's more 1/
This sort of confirms Warren's whole worldview, doesn't? Big Finance, given the choice between treason and a wealth tax, chooses treason
It's easy to get acclimatized to our situation, but step back and look at what's happening both on taxes and on the Trump coverup: one of our two major political parties, currently running the government, is suffering an intellectual and moral implosion. It's terrifying
This is a good discussion of AOC's call for a top tax rate of 70-80%. Tl; dr: she's actually saying what top public finance economists have been saying for some time. Not at all outlandish. 1/
Remember, when stocks go up, it's proof of Trump's genius, but when they go down, it's someone else's fault. Probably a conspiracy by the deep state's allies, the deep private sector.
I keep imagining what it must be like being an American who puts his or her life on the line in the nation's service -- military, CIA, etc. -- knowing that the Commander-in-chief is a criminal and almost surely a foreign collaborator
Admission: I chickened out on watching the hearing, went for a run instead. Multiple women in the park walking their dogs and watching hearing on their phones. I think this is a bigger deal than the GOP ever imagined.
Another thought on Arizona's numbers: AZ, with 7 million people, is reporting as many new cases per day as the European Union, with 446 million.
To prepare for the next 7 news cycles, remember three principles:
1. There are no limits
2. There is no bottom
3. These people lie about everything
I guess everything really is upside down in Australia: a conservative lost an election — and conceded
Why do we have a shortage of truck drivers and warehouse workers? It's a deep mystery
As far as I can tell the Mexican standoff has ended, for now, pretty much along the lines of NAFTA/USMCA: Trump huffed and puffed, US business managed to convey the message that a trade war would be a disaster, and he basically caved while pretending that he won
Don't bothsides this pandemic. America's epic, lethal fail was driven by the fecklessness of an anti-science party that didn't want to face reality
Multiple reasons Dems are having a hard time right now. But they'd surely be doing better if Joe Manchin hadn't spent months futzing around and denying them the ability to claim that things were getting done.
Took me a second to get this 1/
