Comment on Baghdad Bureau: Following Iraqi Customs

There’s a difference between making government more effective and making it disappear, and according to financial reporter Catherine Rampell, El Cheato seems to be aiming for the latter. Via the Washington Post: How do we know? Financial deregulation was one of his major priorities during his first term. He rolled back parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, a law created in response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Paul Krugman kicks off his new Substack with a look at crypto, the favored tool of tech bro billionaires. Take a look: The tech bros who helped put Trump back in power expect many favors in return; one of the more interesting is their demand that the government intervene to guarantee crypto players the right to a checking account, stopping the “debanking” they claim has hit many of their friends. The hypocrisy here is thick enough to cut with a knife.

In 2020, the Orange Felon led the choir in an endless cycle of The Big Lie, even though they couldn't prove a stitch of it. In fact, as we've recently been reminded, the only irregularities in the 2020 election came from the Republicans themselves and their fake electors scheme. Fast forward to 2024, and we're reminded again that the problem is the Republicans, not the electoral system.

Bark Bark Woof Woof - DCI M. T. Greene is all over this drone thing; Juanita Jean's - touching a hot stove; Mike the Mad Biologist - the Great Crankiness; Tell Me a Story - paying attention; You Might Notice a Trend - more unhappy thoughts. send tips to MBRU@crooksandliars.com read more

FAFO is a word Trump voters should really learn the meaning of. It stands for F*k Around & Find Out. In this video I talk about my--and many other's--complete lack of sympathy for white union voters, Muslim voters & Latino/a voters who didn't act like adults & vote against human iron lung Donald Trump.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] From public hangings in the town square to lethal injections witnessed by journalists, executions historically have mostly been carried out with at least some public scrutiny. That was not the case in Indiana early Wednesday, when state prison officials announced they had executed Joseph Corcoran without any independent witnesses present. The unusual secrecy is the result of state laws shielding information about the death penalty, and some First Amendment advocates and death penalty experts say the lack of transparency during the gravest of government punishments is alarming. Media witnesses play a crucial role in executions by providing the public with independent, firsthand and factual accounts of an execution, said Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). “Media ensures government accountability and transparency in an otherwise closed and secretive process,” Maher said.