514,000 New Jobless Claims; Inflation Remains Muted

Until we got wind of the federal and congressional investigation into Gaetz’s – uh, intimate friends, we thought he was only a spoiled a-hole, taking up a taxpayer-funded Congressional seat for the sake of getting Fox News hits. Thanks to the House Ethics Committee, we now know Gaetz is so much more. From The New York Times: The committee concluded that Mr.

Congress (and by that, we mean Republicans) quietly slashed $20 billion from the Internal Revenue Service in the last-minute chaos to avoid a government shutdown. Via the New Republic: Republicans have long targeted the tax agency, and their cuts will hurt its efforts to go after rich tax evaders and improve the IRS’s functionality.

While normal Colorado politicians paid tribute to former president Jimmy Carter, at least one MAGA politician, state Rep Matt Soper (R-Delta) decided to beclown himself instead. Soper's late night tweet did not go over well and he deleted it, saying later, "While I am not a fan of former President Carter, expressing the sentiments I did, I am very sorry for and apologise to the people of Colorado." Source: KUNC “Opened a bottle of Champaigne [sic] tonight!” State Rep.

Crooked Timber: Plutocrats and authoritarian leaders – like flies to flypaper. Lawyers, Guns and Money: Exit poll data from the presidential election. Dispatches From a Collapsing State: An introduction to class politics and a way forward. The Propaganda Professor: The 9 badges of right-wing radicals. The Borowitz Report: The year in review. This installment by Batocchio.

Right-wing influencer Steve Bannon doubled down on his battle against billionaire Elon Musk over the use of immigrant visas that Bannon claims take jobs away from Americans. After Musk defended H-1B visas last week, Bannon returned to his War Room podcast on Monday to attack the billionaire on behalf of his MAGA followers. "Elon Musk has already surrendered," he insisted.

If you want to boost your well-being in 2025, skip the New Year’s resolutions and set some boundaries instead. That means being clear about your wants, needs, and deal-breakers—and in the process, improving every aspect of your life. There are a few types of boundaries, says Juliane Taylor Shore, a therapist in Austin and author of Setting Boundaries That Stick.