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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
February 10, 2025
(Guardian UK) When organizers announced a Nobody Elected Elon protest at the treasury departments headquarters in Washington in response to the revelation that Elon Musks department of government efficiency (Doge) had accessed sensitive taxpayer data not a single Democratic lawmaker had agreed to attend.
But as public outrage mounted over Donald Trumps brazen assault on the federal government, the speaking list grew. In the end, more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress including Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, spoke at the event, which drew hundreds of protesters outside on a frigid Tuesday last week. In speech after speech, they pledged to do everything in their power to block Trump from carrying out his right-wing agenda.
We might have a few less seats in Congress, Maxwell Frost, a Representative from Florida, thundered into the microphone. But were not going to be the minority. Were going to be the opposition.
In the weeks since Trump took office, Democrats in Washington have been under increasing pressure from the left to get tougher as the president, with Musk at his side, defies Congress and possibly the constitution. Their phone lines have been inundated with angry callers imploring the opposition party to do something. And on Wednesday, progressive activists staged protests outside of their Congressional offices, demanding Democrats in Washington treat this as the constitutional crisis it is. ...............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/09/democrats-aggressive-stand-against-trump
US Democrats call for more aggressive tactics against Trump and Musk: 'We're going to be the opposition'
(Guardian UK) When organizers announced a Nobody Elected Elon protest at the treasury departments headquarters in Washington in response to the revelation that Elon Musks department of government efficiency (Doge) had accessed sensitive taxpayer data not a single Democratic lawmaker had agreed to attend.
But as public outrage mounted over Donald Trumps brazen assault on the federal government, the speaking list grew. In the end, more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress including Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, spoke at the event, which drew hundreds of protesters outside on a frigid Tuesday last week. In speech after speech, they pledged to do everything in their power to block Trump from carrying out his right-wing agenda.
We might have a few less seats in Congress, Maxwell Frost, a Representative from Florida, thundered into the microphone. But were not going to be the minority. Were going to be the opposition.
In the weeks since Trump took office, Democrats in Washington have been under increasing pressure from the left to get tougher as the president, with Musk at his side, defies Congress and possibly the constitution. Their phone lines have been inundated with angry callers imploring the opposition party to do something. And on Wednesday, progressive activists staged protests outside of their Congressional offices, demanding Democrats in Washington treat this as the constitutional crisis it is. ...............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/09/democrats-aggressive-stand-against-trump
February 9, 2025
Red states are echoing President Donald Trumps quest to slash the size and cost of the federal government with their own initiatives aimed at making government smaller and more efficient.
In the first hours of his second term, Trump signed an executive order creating a temporary commission he dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency. He first announced DOGE, named after a viral meme and a cryptocurrency, in November as an effort led by billionaire Elon Musk to find billions in federal cuts.
In recent weeks, GOP governors and lawmakers have set up their own government efficiency task forces and committees to find ways to cut state spending.
The Texas House of Representatives recently announced plans for a 13-member Delivery of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, committee that will examine state agencies for inefficiencies, and Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said a DOGE bill would be one of his top legislative priorities. GOP leaders in Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wisconsin have recently announced similar ventures. .............(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/02/09/red-states-create-their-own-doge-efforts-to-cut-state-government/
Red states create their own DOGE efforts to cut state government
Red states are echoing President Donald Trumps quest to slash the size and cost of the federal government with their own initiatives aimed at making government smaller and more efficient.
In the first hours of his second term, Trump signed an executive order creating a temporary commission he dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency. He first announced DOGE, named after a viral meme and a cryptocurrency, in November as an effort led by billionaire Elon Musk to find billions in federal cuts.
In recent weeks, GOP governors and lawmakers have set up their own government efficiency task forces and committees to find ways to cut state spending.
The Texas House of Representatives recently announced plans for a 13-member Delivery of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, committee that will examine state agencies for inefficiencies, and Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said a DOGE bill would be one of his top legislative priorities. GOP leaders in Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wisconsin have recently announced similar ventures. .............(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/02/09/red-states-create-their-own-doge-efforts-to-cut-state-government/
February 9, 2025
Donald Trump's chaos strategy: Why Americans continue to fall for his game of distraction
At the root of Trumpism's rapid ascendance, and the pitiful resistance to it, is a profound failure of imagination
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published February 9, 2025 6:43AM (EST)
(Salon) President Trump and his MAGA Republicans and their forces are smashing American democracy, the Constitution, the rule of law, the institutions and norms. Trump has enacted over 50 executive orders since Jan. 20, the most in a president's first 100 days in more than 40 years. Some of the most egregious ones are blatantly unconstitutional and violate current law. It has only been three weeks since Trump returned to power; these are the good times compared to what will come next.
....(snip)....
Americas center is rapidly collapsing, and it has not been very difficult for Trump and the MAGA movement and the other fascists and authoritarians to break it. During these last three weeks, I have been repeating aloud, on the bus, during my walks, and at random times throughout the day, William Butler Yeats poem The Second Coming, particularly his warning that the centre cannot hold":
At the root of Trumpism and American fascisms quick ascendance, and the pitiful resistance to it, is a profound failure of imagination. The phrase failure of imagination can trace its popular use in the United States to the Apollo 1 disaster and testimony by astronaut Col. Frank Borman. As depicted in the 1998 TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Borman told Congress that:
....(snip)....
Throughout the Trumpocene, these reasonable and mainstream voices were confident that the walls were closing in and heroes would rise, like in an old Hollywood movie, to vanquish the bad guy and save the day. First, it was Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Then the hero was Attorney General Merrick Garland. Then it was Special Counsel Jack Smith. The state prosecutors and attorney generals would supposedly be a heroic firewall and last line of defense against Donald Trump and his perfidy. The walls never did close in. Trump would become more popular following his prosecutions and trial(s) than before. Trump now wears felon as a badge of honor and courage, one that his MAGA followers and other Americans who are disgusted with the system flock to. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/09/donald-chaos-strategy-why-americans-continue-to-fall-for-his-game-of-distraction/
Donald Trump's chaos strategy: Why Americans continue to fall for his game of distraction
Donald Trump's chaos strategy: Why Americans continue to fall for his game of distraction
At the root of Trumpism's rapid ascendance, and the pitiful resistance to it, is a profound failure of imagination
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published February 9, 2025 6:43AM (EST)
(Salon) President Trump and his MAGA Republicans and their forces are smashing American democracy, the Constitution, the rule of law, the institutions and norms. Trump has enacted over 50 executive orders since Jan. 20, the most in a president's first 100 days in more than 40 years. Some of the most egregious ones are blatantly unconstitutional and violate current law. It has only been three weeks since Trump returned to power; these are the good times compared to what will come next.
....(snip)....
Americas center is rapidly collapsing, and it has not been very difficult for Trump and the MAGA movement and the other fascists and authoritarians to break it. During these last three weeks, I have been repeating aloud, on the bus, during my walks, and at random times throughout the day, William Butler Yeats poem The Second Coming, particularly his warning that the centre cannot hold":
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand .
At the root of Trumpism and American fascisms quick ascendance, and the pitiful resistance to it, is a profound failure of imagination. The phrase failure of imagination can trace its popular use in the United States to the Apollo 1 disaster and testimony by astronaut Col. Frank Borman. As depicted in the 1998 TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Borman told Congress that:
A failure of imagination. Weve always known there was the possibility of fire in a spacecraft. But the fear was that it would happen in space, when youre 180 miles from terra firma and the nearest fire station. That was the worry. No one ever imagined it could happen on the ground. If anyone had thought of it, the test wouldve been classified as hazardous. But it wasnt. We just didnt think of it. Now whose fault is that? Well, its North Americans [the capsule manufacturer] fault. Its NASAs fault. Its the fault of every person who ever worked on Apollo. Its my fault. I didnt think the test was hazardous. No one did. I wish to God we had.
....(snip)....
Throughout the Trumpocene, these reasonable and mainstream voices were confident that the walls were closing in and heroes would rise, like in an old Hollywood movie, to vanquish the bad guy and save the day. First, it was Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Then the hero was Attorney General Merrick Garland. Then it was Special Counsel Jack Smith. The state prosecutors and attorney generals would supposedly be a heroic firewall and last line of defense against Donald Trump and his perfidy. The walls never did close in. Trump would become more popular following his prosecutions and trial(s) than before. Trump now wears felon as a badge of honor and courage, one that his MAGA followers and other Americans who are disgusted with the system flock to. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/09/donald-chaos-strategy-why-americans-continue-to-fall-for-his-game-of-distraction/
February 8, 2025
(Michigan Advance) Its not about the fentanyl.
President Donald Trump backed off threats to slap 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday, saying the two countries had agreed to measures designed to address the flow of the deadly drugs and unauthorized immigrants into the United States.
....(snip)....
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods would have put more than a million jobs at risk and hit working-class, blue-collar families especially hard. Those are the folks whose votes Trump relentlessly sought during numerous visits to Michigan in his two election campaigns.
The tariff delay was classic Trump: wring out a few seemingly important new concessions from trading partners and declare a victory.
....(snip)....
His actions also threaten the future of nearshoring, an effort to move supply chains away from hostile countries like China closer to home to Mexico and other friendly trading partners. The concept took hold during the COVID pandemic when the U.S. found itself dependent on masks and other low-cost medical products from China. ..............(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/02/08/michigan-could-pay-bigly-for-trumps-trade-war/
Michigan could pay bigly for Trump's trade war
(Michigan Advance) Its not about the fentanyl.
President Donald Trump backed off threats to slap 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday, saying the two countries had agreed to measures designed to address the flow of the deadly drugs and unauthorized immigrants into the United States.
....(snip)....
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods would have put more than a million jobs at risk and hit working-class, blue-collar families especially hard. Those are the folks whose votes Trump relentlessly sought during numerous visits to Michigan in his two election campaigns.
The tariff delay was classic Trump: wring out a few seemingly important new concessions from trading partners and declare a victory.
....(snip)....
His actions also threaten the future of nearshoring, an effort to move supply chains away from hostile countries like China closer to home to Mexico and other friendly trading partners. The concept took hold during the COVID pandemic when the U.S. found itself dependent on masks and other low-cost medical products from China. ..............(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/02/08/michigan-could-pay-bigly-for-trumps-trade-war/
February 8, 2025
State and local emergency managers are facing a serious question in the wake of President Donald Trumps first few weeks in office: When disaster strikes, will they be able to count on the federal government?
Trump has called the Federal Emergency Management Agency a disaster and suggested it might go away. He said states would best take care of hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires on their own, with the federal government reimbursing some of the costs. He convened a council to review FEMA and recommend improvements or structural changes.
But leaders in states that have been hit by disasters say they need more than the promise of an eventual federal check to manage catastrophic events. They say theyre not equipped to handle the roles FEMA currently plays such as marshaling emergency resources from multiple federal agencies, providing flood insurance, conducting damage assessments and distributing billions of dollars in recovery funds.
FEMA has been an absolute lifesaver for people, said Vermont state Sen. Anne Watson, a Democrat who has been involved in the states recovery from devastating 2023 floods. I dont see [states and municipalities] as being able to replicate what FEMA does. The possibility of it going away leaves millions and millions of Americans in a very vulnerable position. ...............(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/02/08/trump-wants-states-to-handle-disasters-without-fema-they-say-they-cant/
Trump wants states to handle disasters without FEMA. They say they can't.
State and local emergency managers are facing a serious question in the wake of President Donald Trumps first few weeks in office: When disaster strikes, will they be able to count on the federal government?
Trump has called the Federal Emergency Management Agency a disaster and suggested it might go away. He said states would best take care of hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires on their own, with the federal government reimbursing some of the costs. He convened a council to review FEMA and recommend improvements or structural changes.
But leaders in states that have been hit by disasters say they need more than the promise of an eventual federal check to manage catastrophic events. They say theyre not equipped to handle the roles FEMA currently plays such as marshaling emergency resources from multiple federal agencies, providing flood insurance, conducting damage assessments and distributing billions of dollars in recovery funds.
FEMA has been an absolute lifesaver for people, said Vermont state Sen. Anne Watson, a Democrat who has been involved in the states recovery from devastating 2023 floods. I dont see [states and municipalities] as being able to replicate what FEMA does. The possibility of it going away leaves millions and millions of Americans in a very vulnerable position. ...............(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/02/08/trump-wants-states-to-handle-disasters-without-fema-they-say-they-cant/
February 8, 2025
What can US foreign aid accomplish? Let Fred Burkle explain how much
Pioneer of disaster medicine tells an inspiring American story and a powerful counter to fearful MAGA nonsense
By Paul Rosenberg
Contributing Writer
Published February 8, 2025 9:00AM (EST)
(Salon) One of Donald Trump's first vengeful acts in his second term as president was to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization. As weve all heard over the last week or so, the first government agency he and Elon Musk have sought to destroy is the U.S. Agency for International Development, better known as USAID. Both organizations are crucial for sustaining global public health. They save millions of lives every year, and doing significant work to prevent further collapse into global chaos.
....(snip)....
Somewhat like the late Jimmy Carter, Fred Burkle offers an inspiring contrast to so-called leaders like Trump or Musk, and an example of America can and should represent in the world. This country tells itself a lot of fibs about how good and great it is but there are people who dont just believe them, but devote their lives to making them come true. Burkles memoir, "Water on the Moon," which as its subtitle observes chronicles his career of service from the Vietnam War to the present, shows what that looks like in action. It offers us hope for building a future beyond Donald Trumps presidency, along with a gritty factual account of what organizations like WHO, USAID and their partners actually do, as opposed to Trump and Musks right-wing fantasies.
When I interviewed Burkle back in 2019, he told me that bullies never really grow up, which is why authoritarian leaders around the world have more in common with one another than the people they lead. But the rest of us can and do change often dramatically so, and Water on the Moon tells a story of personal transformation and global public service.
....(snip)....
On Burkles second day in Vietnam, he was called to see a woman who was having difficulty giving birth. When he got there, everything was fine, except that her baby, he discovered, was one of two wriggling black mounds covered by swarms of black flies, which were "devouring the remnants of the placental membranes." Most Westerners would be instinctively revolted, and Burkle was initially shocked before coming to appreciate "the centuries-old symbiotic relationship between these villagers and the black flies, a tradition upheld in their birth customs. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/08/what-can-us-foreign-aid-accomplish-let-fred-burkle-explain-how-much/
What can US foreign aid accomplish? Let Fred Burkle explain how much
What can US foreign aid accomplish? Let Fred Burkle explain how much
Pioneer of disaster medicine tells an inspiring American story and a powerful counter to fearful MAGA nonsense
By Paul Rosenberg
Contributing Writer
Published February 8, 2025 9:00AM (EST)
(Salon) One of Donald Trump's first vengeful acts in his second term as president was to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization. As weve all heard over the last week or so, the first government agency he and Elon Musk have sought to destroy is the U.S. Agency for International Development, better known as USAID. Both organizations are crucial for sustaining global public health. They save millions of lives every year, and doing significant work to prevent further collapse into global chaos.
....(snip)....
Somewhat like the late Jimmy Carter, Fred Burkle offers an inspiring contrast to so-called leaders like Trump or Musk, and an example of America can and should represent in the world. This country tells itself a lot of fibs about how good and great it is but there are people who dont just believe them, but devote their lives to making them come true. Burkles memoir, "Water on the Moon," which as its subtitle observes chronicles his career of service from the Vietnam War to the present, shows what that looks like in action. It offers us hope for building a future beyond Donald Trumps presidency, along with a gritty factual account of what organizations like WHO, USAID and their partners actually do, as opposed to Trump and Musks right-wing fantasies.
When I interviewed Burkle back in 2019, he told me that bullies never really grow up, which is why authoritarian leaders around the world have more in common with one another than the people they lead. But the rest of us can and do change often dramatically so, and Water on the Moon tells a story of personal transformation and global public service.
....(snip)....
On Burkles second day in Vietnam, he was called to see a woman who was having difficulty giving birth. When he got there, everything was fine, except that her baby, he discovered, was one of two wriggling black mounds covered by swarms of black flies, which were "devouring the remnants of the placental membranes." Most Westerners would be instinctively revolted, and Burkle was initially shocked before coming to appreciate "the centuries-old symbiotic relationship between these villagers and the black flies, a tradition upheld in their birth customs. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/08/what-can-us-foreign-aid-accomplish-let-fred-burkle-explain-how-much/
February 8, 2025
(Detroit Free Press) President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting gender and diversity policies within the federal government are forcing workers at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System to rat out one another amid rising fear and uncertainty, according to internal emails and interviews obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
A message sent Jan. 22 to all employees from Todd Hunter, who was then acting director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said the department is "taking steps to close all agency diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) offices and all DEIA-related contracts" and that the programs: "divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination."
The action mirrors similar efforts across federal departments.
The message threatened "adverse consequences" for any worker who knows about "efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language" and fails to report it within 10 days. .................(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/health/2025/02/07/trump-executive-orders-dei-transgender-gender-va-ann-arbor/78254386007/
Trump's executive orders force VA workers to 'rat out' others, sparking fear, uncertainty
(Detroit Free Press) President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting gender and diversity policies within the federal government are forcing workers at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System to rat out one another amid rising fear and uncertainty, according to internal emails and interviews obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
A message sent Jan. 22 to all employees from Todd Hunter, who was then acting director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said the department is "taking steps to close all agency diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) offices and all DEIA-related contracts" and that the programs: "divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination."
The action mirrors similar efforts across federal departments.
The message threatened "adverse consequences" for any worker who knows about "efforts to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language" and fails to report it within 10 days. .................(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/health/2025/02/07/trump-executive-orders-dei-transgender-gender-va-ann-arbor/78254386007/
February 8, 2025
Pam Bondi's Department of Justice seeks Trump's revenge
More than just Elon Musk: Donald Trump's Cabinet hits the ground running
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published February 7, 2025 9:43AM (EST)
(Salon) While President Trump flamboyantly signs executive orders banning young trans girls from playing softball and celebrates his inane order to have the Army Corps of Engineers dump millions of gallons of water into a California flood plain, man Friday Elon Musk and his cyberpunk gang have taken a sledgehammer to the federal government. Systematically infiltrating one agency after another (the latest being the Social Security Administration!), Musk and his crew are fulfilling the Project 2025 blueprint to smash everything they come in contact with.
....(snip)....
The Senate this week also confirmed Pam Bondi, Donald Trump's former defense attorney at his first impeachment trial, as the attorney general of the United States. At the swearing-in ceremony, led by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (of course), Trump said: "I'm supposed to say she's going to be totally impartial when it comes to Democrats but I'm just going to say that she'll be as impartial as a person can be," so that was reassuring.
Adopting the patented Trump-Musk shock and awe technique, Bondi hit the ground running. Working with her two top deputies, former Trump personal criminal defense lawyers Emil Bove and Todd Blanch, she has issued a flurry of orders demonstrating that she is on a mission from Dear Leader. The Washington Post reported that on her first day:
....(snip)....
After Bondi's deputy, Emil Bove, fired the Jack Smith prosecutors, on Trump's personal order, and put a number of others on notice that they were to be demoted if they refuse to resign, it's very clear that Bondi and her henchmen are turning the Justice Department into Trump's personal law firm. Since all three of the top officials have actually been Trump's defense attorneys, that makes a lot of sense. He's finally got his Roy Cohn. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/07/pam-bondis-department-of-justice-seeks-revenge/
Pam Bondi's Department of Justice seeks Trump's revenge
Pam Bondi's Department of Justice seeks Trump's revenge
More than just Elon Musk: Donald Trump's Cabinet hits the ground running
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published February 7, 2025 9:43AM (EST)
(Salon) While President Trump flamboyantly signs executive orders banning young trans girls from playing softball and celebrates his inane order to have the Army Corps of Engineers dump millions of gallons of water into a California flood plain, man Friday Elon Musk and his cyberpunk gang have taken a sledgehammer to the federal government. Systematically infiltrating one agency after another (the latest being the Social Security Administration!), Musk and his crew are fulfilling the Project 2025 blueprint to smash everything they come in contact with.
....(snip)....
The Senate this week also confirmed Pam Bondi, Donald Trump's former defense attorney at his first impeachment trial, as the attorney general of the United States. At the swearing-in ceremony, led by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (of course), Trump said: "I'm supposed to say she's going to be totally impartial when it comes to Democrats but I'm just going to say that she'll be as impartial as a person can be," so that was reassuring.
Adopting the patented Trump-Musk shock and awe technique, Bondi hit the ground running. Working with her two top deputies, former Trump personal criminal defense lawyers Emil Bove and Todd Blanch, she has issued a flurry of orders demonstrating that she is on a mission from Dear Leader. The Washington Post reported that on her first day:
Despite pledging during her confirmation hearing that politics will not play a part in her decision-making, Bondi, within hours of taking office,created a Weaponization Working Group to review instances of what she described as politicized justice starting with the federal criminal cases brought against Trump by special counsel Jack Smith.
She also ordered an examination of what she alleged was federal cooperation in the criminal and civil investigations of Trump in New York even though they were carried out by state authorities, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James
....(snip)....
After Bondi's deputy, Emil Bove, fired the Jack Smith prosecutors, on Trump's personal order, and put a number of others on notice that they were to be demoted if they refuse to resign, it's very clear that Bondi and her henchmen are turning the Justice Department into Trump's personal law firm. Since all three of the top officials have actually been Trump's defense attorneys, that makes a lot of sense. He's finally got his Roy Cohn. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/07/pam-bondis-department-of-justice-seeks-revenge/
February 7, 2025
A new report shows womens economic gains at a time of male meltdown over traditional roles
By Cara Michelle Smith
Senior Writer
Published February 7, 2025 5:15AM (EST)
(Salon) Its a surreal time for American women. On the one hand, the United States just installed a president found liable for sexual abuse; who previously appointed three Supreme Court justices to end federal abortion protections, sending mortality rates for pregnant people skyrocketing; and who halted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions collection of equal pay data during his first term.
On the other hand, a new report says womens economic gains have outpaced mens over the past few years. The report from Bank of America, titled "Whats the Power of a Womans Wallet?" analyzed internal customer accounts and federal wage data to glean some macroeconomic insights on mens and womens workforce participation, wages and spending habits.
Many seem like wins for women. The report says that in five of the last six years, women are spending a greater share of their earnings on nonessential goods like clothes, dining out or entertainment. This "discretionary spending" accounted for 69% of consumers' overall spending last year.
....(snip)....
Why are men not OK?
As women continue to narrow the gap, overcoming systemic discrimination and disadvantages, American men are experiencing a notable social and economic decline, recorded across virtually every meaningful measure of social success. In recent years, scores of men have dropped out of the workforce entirely, and fewer are entering four-year universities, with even less graduating. Female students make up around two-thirds of college enrollees today; in the 1980s, the ratio was evenly split.
....(snip)....
In his 2022 book, "Of Boys and Men," British-American inequality researcher Richard V. Reeves argues that the decline of the American man is linked directly to womens financial liberation, and our global shift to economies geared "toward brains and away from brawn." He writes that many men fear "cultural redundancy," with their status as the dominant provider threatened by womens economic gains. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/07/womens-financial-power-is-rising-but-its-still-a-mans-world-right/
A new report shows women's economic gains at a time of male meltdown over traditional roles
Womens financial power is rising. But it's still a man's world, right?A new report shows womens economic gains at a time of male meltdown over traditional roles
By Cara Michelle Smith
Senior Writer
Published February 7, 2025 5:15AM (EST)
(Salon) Its a surreal time for American women. On the one hand, the United States just installed a president found liable for sexual abuse; who previously appointed three Supreme Court justices to end federal abortion protections, sending mortality rates for pregnant people skyrocketing; and who halted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions collection of equal pay data during his first term.
On the other hand, a new report says womens economic gains have outpaced mens over the past few years. The report from Bank of America, titled "Whats the Power of a Womans Wallet?" analyzed internal customer accounts and federal wage data to glean some macroeconomic insights on mens and womens workforce participation, wages and spending habits.
Many seem like wins for women. The report says that in five of the last six years, women are spending a greater share of their earnings on nonessential goods like clothes, dining out or entertainment. This "discretionary spending" accounted for 69% of consumers' overall spending last year.
....(snip)....
Why are men not OK?
As women continue to narrow the gap, overcoming systemic discrimination and disadvantages, American men are experiencing a notable social and economic decline, recorded across virtually every meaningful measure of social success. In recent years, scores of men have dropped out of the workforce entirely, and fewer are entering four-year universities, with even less graduating. Female students make up around two-thirds of college enrollees today; in the 1980s, the ratio was evenly split.
....(snip)....
In his 2022 book, "Of Boys and Men," British-American inequality researcher Richard V. Reeves argues that the decline of the American man is linked directly to womens financial liberation, and our global shift to economies geared "toward brains and away from brawn." He writes that many men fear "cultural redundancy," with their status as the dominant provider threatened by womens economic gains. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/07/womens-financial-power-is-rising-but-its-still-a-mans-world-right/
February 7, 2025
For the first time, scientists were able to visualize how microplastics amass inside us
By Matthew Rozsa
Staff Writer
Published February 7, 2025 5:30AM (EST)
(Salon) Dr. Matthew Campen, a professor at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, has been searching the brains of dead people to find something virtually all of us have polluting inside our skulls: Tiny particles of plastic known as micro and nanoplastics. But despite the ubiquity of microplastics in the human body, theyre not always easy to find.
Microplastics have been found everywhere in the human body, including blood, breast milk, testicles, heart tissue, lung tissue and various other organs. So its not entirely a surprise that these shard-like fragments have made their way into our brains as well. But the authors of a recent study in the journal Nature Medicine are the first to actually visualize these particles, as well as help document their cumulative effect on human health. A big issue is that the amount of plastics in our brains seems to be growing.
To demonstrate this, Campens colleague Dr. Eliane El Hayek figured out how their research team could visualize these cerebral nanoplastics. Through analysis of more than 20 years of brain, kidney and liver tissue, they found that these tiny plastic particles systematically accumulate. Their discovery has significant implications for human health, since most of these plastics contain unregulated chemicals which have been linked to dangerous health outcomes.
Indeed, the authors of the study found that an even greater accumulation of [micro and nanoplastics] was observed among the dead brains of dementia patients, particularly within the cerebrovascular walls and immune cells. This presents a potential health issue for everyone, since plastic concentrations in these decedent tissues were not influenced by age, sex, race/ethnicity or cause of death although patients who died in 2024 tended to have higher concentrations compared to those who died in 2016. If there is a frustrating aspect to this news, it is that experts are only just beginning to grapple with the full scope of this pollution. Yet plastic pollution has been linked to (though not causally proven related to) plummeting sperm counts, childhood cancer, organ lesions and heart disease, among other ailments. .....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/07/study-finds-microplastics-in-our-brains-are-accumulating-with-unknown-outcomes-on-our-health/
Study finds microplastics in our brains are accumulating, with unknown outcomes on our health
Study finds microplastics in our brains are accumulating, with unknown outcomes on our healthFor the first time, scientists were able to visualize how microplastics amass inside us
By Matthew Rozsa
Staff Writer
Published February 7, 2025 5:30AM (EST)
(Salon) Dr. Matthew Campen, a professor at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, has been searching the brains of dead people to find something virtually all of us have polluting inside our skulls: Tiny particles of plastic known as micro and nanoplastics. But despite the ubiquity of microplastics in the human body, theyre not always easy to find.
Microplastics have been found everywhere in the human body, including blood, breast milk, testicles, heart tissue, lung tissue and various other organs. So its not entirely a surprise that these shard-like fragments have made their way into our brains as well. But the authors of a recent study in the journal Nature Medicine are the first to actually visualize these particles, as well as help document their cumulative effect on human health. A big issue is that the amount of plastics in our brains seems to be growing.
To demonstrate this, Campens colleague Dr. Eliane El Hayek figured out how their research team could visualize these cerebral nanoplastics. Through analysis of more than 20 years of brain, kidney and liver tissue, they found that these tiny plastic particles systematically accumulate. Their discovery has significant implications for human health, since most of these plastics contain unregulated chemicals which have been linked to dangerous health outcomes.
Indeed, the authors of the study found that an even greater accumulation of [micro and nanoplastics] was observed among the dead brains of dementia patients, particularly within the cerebrovascular walls and immune cells. This presents a potential health issue for everyone, since plastic concentrations in these decedent tissues were not influenced by age, sex, race/ethnicity or cause of death although patients who died in 2024 tended to have higher concentrations compared to those who died in 2016. If there is a frustrating aspect to this news, it is that experts are only just beginning to grapple with the full scope of this pollution. Yet plastic pollution has been linked to (though not causally proven related to) plummeting sperm counts, childhood cancer, organ lesions and heart disease, among other ailments. .....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/02/07/study-finds-microplastics-in-our-brains-are-accumulating-with-unknown-outcomes-on-our-health/
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