jobsanger

The Epstein Cover-Up Should Disqualify Blanche To Be Attorney General

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:07:00 +0000

Recent Survey Shows Large Majorities In 36 Countries Have Negative View Of Israel

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:06:00 +0000

The chart above is from the Pew Research Center's Spring Global Survey. It shows that Netanyahu's actions are causing many people in a large number of nations to turn against Israel.

Biden Did It

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:05:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by Drew Sheneman at the Tribune Content Agency.

The Recent Jobs Report Is NOT Good News For American Workers

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:04:00 +0000

Robert Reich explains:

Friday’s jobs report — showing that America added 172,000 jobs in May — stimulated a lot of celebratory bullsh*t.

Trump said, “It’s raining jobs!” White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett claimed the job market is "hitting on all cylinders.” The mainstream media called it a “blowout jobs report,” “stronger-than-expected jobs data,” the labor market’s “best three-month stretch in more than two years.”

What all this acclaim left out was that wages are falling relative to prices.

Average hourly earnings for private-sector production and non-supervisory workers — that is, for most employees — rose by only 8 cents (or 0.2 percent) in May. That’s the weakest pace of wage growth since 2021.

Meanwhile, prices are rising quickly — by around 3.8 percent annually. Hence, real wages — that is, their actual purchasing power — are dropping. The paychecks of most American workers aren’t covering rising costs. They’re getting poorer.

It’s no cause for celebration that the American economy is adding a lot of jobs that are paying less. Hell, if paychecks keep shrinking relative to prices, there’s no telling how many jobs can be added. June’s job report could top May’s 172,000 new jobs.

There’s no limit to the number of terrible jobs an economy can create. If inflation-adjusted pay keeps dropping, we could see many hundreds of thousands of crappy new jobs per month. But most Americans would be getting poorer and poorer.

Bottom line: Don’t fall for any breezy, celebratory focus on the number of new jobs. Always ask: What about real (inflation-adjusted) wages?

When real, inflation-adjusted wages are dropping, we’ve got a real problem — regardless of how many jobs are being created.

Following Him Off The Cliff

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:03:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by Dave Granlund at davegranlund.com.

Trump Defends His Slush Funds And Then Walks Out Of Interview When Fact-Checked

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:02:00 +0000

Donald Trump gave an interview to Kristen Welker of Meet the Press - and it didn't go well. When asked for evidence of his lies about election rigging, he became angry, insulted Welker and the media, and then walked out on the interview. From NBC News, here is the transcript of the last part of the interview - from his defense of his proposed slush fund to his claims of election rigging.

KRISTEN WELKER:

This $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund that’s going to compensate people who say the federal government weaponized the legal system against them. It’s been blocked by the courts, met with opposition from Republicans –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And Democrats.

KRISTEN WELKER:

– in Congress, and Democrats.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Most, excuse me, mostly Democrats.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Mostly Democrats and some Republicans.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Some. Very few Republicans.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Just to be very clear, are you backing off the fund completely as your acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said, or are you looking for another avenue to revive the fund?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

So let — let me explain what the fund is. People have been hurt so badly by radical left lunatics that worked for the Biden administration and Sleepy Joe. They’re vicious. They’re violent, what they did to people. And of course they went after me more than anybody else. They raided Mar-a-Lago and all the other things. But people have been badly hurt. They’ve committed suicide. They’ve lost their jobs. They’re lost their families. They’ve lost their wives. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost everything over a fake weaponization of government. Now, let me just tell you –

KRISTEN WELKER:

So are you looking for a way to revive it?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Well, look. If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed. Many suicides, think of it. People have committed suicide because a bunch of thugs went after them.

KRISTEN WELKER:

You don’t –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

So me, personally, I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans. You have to get it approved. If they get it approved, that’s great. If they don’t get it approved, I’d be disappointed.

KRISTEN WELKER:

All right. We’re going to motor through this.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

But you have to understand, people have — have been destroyed by crooked politicians, and they should be reimbursed for that.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Do you think anyone who attacked police officers on January 6th should get taxpayer money?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it. I can tell you this: 97% of those people, you look at them, the FBI or whoever it was, cause you had a lot of crooked cops, you had dirty cops. Comey was a dirty cop.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Well, there is no evidence to –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

A guy like Bolton was a dirty cop –

KRISTEN WELKER:

But there is no evidence that-- but there’s no evidence that people who –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Oh, you think Comey was a straight cop?

KRISTEN WELKER:

We had 170 people who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Comey was a dirty cop.

KRISTEN WELKER:

No, no, but the people who assaulted police officers.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

They had FBI — listen to me. They had FBI agents ushering them into the building. They had FBI “Go into the building.” Those people are walking around, they’re looking, “Oh, isn’t this nice?” They weren’t in-- they were being ushered into the building.

KRISTEN WELKER:

There’s no evidence of that, sir. There’s no evidence of that.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You had a bunch of dirty cops, and frankly, what they did was weaponization of our government.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But sir, there-- there’s no evidence of that. More than a thousand people pleaded guilty to crimes –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

No, well, yeah, no, there’s none. You know what they do?

KRISTEN WELKER:

Would you –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Try looking at the tapes one time.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Would you take it off the table?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Look at the tapes one time.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Okay, but 172 people did plead guilty to assaulting police officers.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You know why they pled guilty?

KRISTEN WELKER:

Should they be exempt –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Because they told they were going to jail for 15 years –

KRISTEN WELKER:

– from receiving funds?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

– if they didn’t.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Should they –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

They pled guilty because they were frightened. They went down. They were ushered into a building. Many of them were arrested without even going into the building.

KRISTEN WELKER:

You’d be okay with them receiving taxpayer dollars?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

The people were destroyed by dirty cops and by weaponization. Many of those people should be compensated. Now, with that being said, the, as I understand it, the weaponization fund was going to set up a group of people, people that could be picked by anybody, fair people, smart people, and they will go on an individual case basis.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Okay.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Now, I don’t know what’s going to happen with the weaponization fund. I love the idea, because people like you, the fake dirty press, the crooked press, people like stupid Biden, he’s not smart enough to know what’s going on, but people that surrounded him, surrounded his beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, what they did to the lives of people, they destroyed people. They sent people to jail who did nothing wrong.

KRISTEN WELKER:

All right, this is, just to be very clear, there’s no evidence of what you’re saying, but let me ask about Todd Blanche.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

There’s a lot of evidence.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let me ask about Todd Blanche.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Listen — listen to me — listen to me.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let’s talk about Todd Blanche.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

There’s tremendous evidence. There’s nothing but evidence.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Well, it’s not been presented in a court of a law.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

The election was rigged. It was a dirty election.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Mr. President –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And it’s happening again right now in California.

KRISTEN WELKER:

— you’ve never presented evidence –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

It’s happening right now in California

KRISTEN WELKER:

– that the 2020 election was rigged.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Right now, it’s look at what’s happening in California.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Where’s the evidence to that?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

It’s four days –

KRISTEN WELKER:

The Republicans are doing well in California.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

In California, it’s, no they’re not. They’re dropping fast because it’s a rigged election. Let me tell you, it’s four days and they aren’t even close to coming up with the –

KRISTEN WELKER:

That’s how they count the votes in California.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Do you know why they’re doing that? Because they’re cheating on the election.

KRISTEN WELKER:

There’s — What? Do you have evidence to support that?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

It’s-- all I have to do is look. All I have to do is look.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But that’s not evidence.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And I listen. And I listen to people. And let’s see what happens.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But sir, that’s not evidence, and that’s how they count the votes in California--

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Do you think it’s appropriate that they have an election and five days later, they’re nowhere close to picking a winner?

KRISTEN WELKER:

State and local officials acknowledge they are slow. They’re urging--

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

No, they’re crooked.

KRISTEN WELKER:

– they’re urging the votes to be counted quickly. That’s how they vote in California.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

They’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And Meet the Press is crooked.

KRISTEN WELKER:

To be fair, I’m not crooked. But let’s continue.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Really? Well, you play right into their hands then.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let’s continue.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You’re either crooked or you’re stupid.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let’s continue.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You play right into their hands with this stuff. You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged. Do you know that I won an election in a landslide and I got 94% bad press.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But Mr. President –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You know why I got that?

KRISTEN WELKER:

– you’ve never presented –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Because you have no credibility.

KRISTEN WELKER:

-evidence. But you’ve never presented evidence it was rigged. Let’s keep talking about, I want to talk about Todd Blanche.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You have more evidence, there’s more evidence than ever presented.

KRISTEN WELKER:

Let’s talk about--

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Your elections in this country –

KRISTEN WELKER:

– you went to court.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

We’re like a third world country.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But sir –

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

Your elections are crooked and you’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But Mr. President–

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

And so is ABC and CBS and CNN.

KRISTEN WELKER:

But Mr. President--

PRES. DONALD TRUMP:

You’re a one-sided crooked network. Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.

The Outlook For This Year's Graduates

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by Rick McKee at Cagle.com.

Trump Is Trying To Restore The White Supremacy Of The Confederacy

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Republicans Fund ICE (Without Reforms) Through The Rest Of Trump's Term

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:07:00 +0000

Half Of Americans Say The Best Days Are In The Future For The U.S.

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:06:00 +0000

The chart above reflects the results of the Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between May 14th and 18th of a nationwide sample of 1,316 adults, with a 3.4 point margin of error.

Still A Work In Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:05:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by Bob Englehart at Cagle.com.

Did The U.S. Need Trump (To Show How Bad Things Could Get)?

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:04:00 +0000

Robert Reich asks (and answers) an interesting question - did the U.S. need someone like Trump? He writes:

I detest him and everything he does or says. Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.

But it’s possible that someday we’ll look back on this horrendous era and say we needed Trump. We needed to see how horrible it could get before America was able to revive its ideals.

Please hear me out.

Even before Trump, we were barreling down the wrong road. Inequalities of income, wealth, and opportunity were worsening. Legalized bribery was soaring in the form of mounting campaign contributions from big corporations and the wealthy. Workers were getting shafted. On Wall Street and in C-suites, fealty to the rule of law was giving way to “greed is good” selfishness. Giant corporations were monopolizing ever more of the economy. America was losing its moral authority in the world (think Abu Ghraib and the torture memo).

We couldn’t have remained on that road. Even if we didn’t know it then, most of us understand that now. Trump has opened our eyes to the consequences of extreme greed, corruption, cruelty, and utter disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law. His brazenness and shamelessness have awakened us to much that we took for granted.

He and his regime are still dangerous as hell, of course. But the American public is catching on. His polls are in the cellar; they continue to fall.

It’s as if the nation has been through basic training in democracy, a stress test in civics, a crash course in the importance of having a decent and good government.

Before Trump, how many Americans understood the importance of “checks and balances” among the three branches of government, as envisioned by the Founders?

Now nearly everyone knows, because we’ve seen what happens when the head of the executive branch usurps the power of Congress and defies the federal courts.

How many of us really knew what “due process” meant when it came to giving people accused by the government an opportunity to defend themselves?

By now most of us have seen videos of people dragged out of their homes in the dead of night by masked agents of the U.S. government and thrown into detention camps without so much as a hearing. And we’ve seen government agents murder American citizens in cold blood on the streets of our cities.

Did we understand the meaning of corruption, bribes, self-dealing, and pay-to-play before Trump extorted corporations and billionaires to contribute millions to his campaign, his PAC, his inauguration, his ballroom, and his 250th birthday party? Now, we surely do.

Did we really know the importance of professional civil servants before Trump fired tens of thousands of them and substituted brainless loyalists? Before he got rid of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because it published truthful jobs data he didn’t like?

Did we understand the importance of expertise before Trump turned his back on career diplomats at the State Department, doctors and epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control, and experienced lawyers at the Justice Department and replaced them with loyalist hacks?

Or the meaning of “equal justice under the law” before Trump turned the Justice Department into his own private law firm to prosecute political enemies and pardon supporters?

Did we comprehend the true meaning of freedom of speech and expression before Trump attacked our universities for allowing demonstrations he disliked? Before he got CBS to fire Stephen Colbert for satirizing him and muzzle “60 Minutes” for criticizing him?

Did we know the dangers of oligarchy before Trump authorized Elon Musk to destroy entire federal agencies? Before Trump suck-up Jeff Bezos prohibited the editorial board of The Washington Post from endorsing Kamala Harris? Before Trump turned over to Larry and David Ellison much of how Americans learn what’s going on — CBS’s broadcast network, its news division, and over 28 local television stations, as well as CNN, TikTok, Comedy Central, Discovery, HBO and HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Studios?

Did we understand the importance of the federal government keeping us safe and healthy before Trump eviscerated health and safety regulations? Before he decimated the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control, and much of the Department of Health and Human Services? Before he authorized a crackpot with no medical background who opposes vaccines to run the world’s largest and most powerful health agency?

Did we understand why the Federal Reserve needs to be independent of politics? Did we know why the Federal Trade Commission needs to crack down against monopolies? Did we appreciate why the National Labor Relations Board must protect workers’ rights to form unions?

I venture to say, in answer to all of these questions: No, we did not know.

Now, most of us do.

It’s a terrible time. I share your sadness, anger, and fear. But prior to this daymare, too many of us had fallen asleep at the wheel. We had let America barrel down a road that was compromising too many of the ideals we hold in common.

Maybe we needed this horrific wakeup call in order to get back on the road we should have been on. We needed to see how fragile the institutions of self-government are in order to know why we must strengthen them. We needed to be reminded of what America is all about — what it should be about — in order to revive it — and reclaim it, for and by the people.

We will use what we’ve learned. We will fight for a stronger democracy. We’ll demand equal justice and the rule of law. We’ll commit ourselves to the common good. And we will assign Trump and his regime to the dustbin of history.

NOT What The Founding Fathers Had Planned

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:03:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by John Darkow in the Columbia Missourian.

Trump Uses The World Cup To Embarrass The United States

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:02:00 +0000

The United States is hosting the World Cup. Most nations use that opportunity to show off their country to the world. They treat every team (and their fans) with dignity, fairness, common decency, and a welcoming attitude. Unfortunately, those are not attributes that can be found in the Trump administration. Trump has decided to put restrictions on the team from Iran that no other team must endure.

Here is how Axios.com describes it:

The U.S.-Iran war is forcing FIFA to navigate a diplomatic and logistical mess before the World Cup even kicks off Thursday.

Why it matters: Iranians are largely banned from traveling to the U.S. right now, while Iran's national team will face an exhausting itinerary each time it plays on U.S. soil.

Zoom in: Iran has three guaranteed matches on U.S. soil in the group stage after FIFA declined the nation's request to move its games to stadiums in Canada or Mexico after the war started.

Without overnight stays, the Iranian team will have to fly in from Mexico, clear customs, play a match and then fly back to Mexico the same day for each U.S.-based match.
"Everything has to go by schedule. There's a lot of preparations. The last thing you want to deal with is a TSA issue, and that's going to reflect very badly on the U.S. if anything like that happens," said Trita Parsi, co-founder of the Quincy Institute, a foreign policy think tank.
State of play: Iran's training camp was moved from Arizona to Mexico just weeks before the starting whistle.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that the request to move camps came through FIFA but originated with the U.S. government, which didn't want the Iranians staying overnight in the country.
"While on the surface they may be complaining and pointing out that this is not the way the U.S. should be acting as a host, it doesn't mean that they're not happy that they don't have to be in the U.S.," said Trita Parsi, co-founder of the Quincy Institute, a foreign policy think tank.

Zoom out: Iran is on the travel ban list. While Iranian players, coaches, staff and immediate family are supposed to be exempt, members of the support staff and the head of the country's football federation were denied visas, according the New York Times.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said in April that anyone affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terrorist organization, will be denied a visa.
There is required national military service in Iran, which could include the IRGC. The head of the federation, Mehdi Taj, was a former commander in the IRGC.

Iran's fans won't be allowed to travel to the U.S. at all. Iranian nationals living in Iran or any other country won't be allowed to travel to the U.S. matches.

The State Department declined to answer questions about the visa and consular processing.
An administration official said in a statement, "We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses."

Between the lines: Likely demonstrations are another security risk to the tournament during Iran's matches. As in France's 1998 and Qatar's 2022 tournament, Iran's football team has been the target of anti-government protests during games.

Los Angeles has a significant Iranian-American population, with a share who support the overthrown Shah, raising the risk of rule-breaking activity in the stands.

A Sad Footnote To History

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by Steve Sack at stevesack.substack.com.

They Fought Fascism 8 Decades Ago - Now Many Americans Accept It

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

GOP Makes Children Go Hungry To Give Tax Breaks To Billionaires

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:04:00 +0000

The Star Of Freedom 250

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:03:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by Jimmy Margulies at jimmymargulies.com.

Most Americans Think Donald Trump's Personal Character Is BAD!

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:02:00 +0000

The chart above reflects the result of the YouGov Poll -- done on June 1st of a nationwide sample of 3,308 adults (no moe given).

Paraphrasing Reagan

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by Mike Stanfill at Ragingpencils.com.

Democrats Are Rejecting Rich Candidates - Republicans Are Nominating Them

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 05:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Has An Unequal Economy - And It's Growing Worse

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:07:00 +0000

Most Say The U.S. Is Not Living Up To The Ideals Of The Declaration of Independence

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:06:00 +0000

The chart above is from the Quinnipiac University Poll -- done between May 14th and 18th of a nationwide sample of 1,316 adults, with a 3.4 point margin of error.

He's Providing The Circus - But No Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:05:00 +0000

Political Cartoon is by Phil Hands in the Wisconsin State Journal.

The Unemployment Rate Remained Steady At 4.3% For May

noreply@blogger.com (Ted McLaughlin) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 05:04:00 +0000

The Labor Department released its unemployment report for May on Friday. It showed the economy produced about 172,000 new jobs in May. While not great, that was better than the last several months. And it was good enough to keep the unemployment rate steady at 4.3 (for the third month in a row).

Here are the relevant statistics for May.

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

170,078,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,307,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.3%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............4.0%

Adult women...............3.8%

Teens (16-19)...............14.7%

Whites...............3.8%

Blacks...............6.6%

Asians...............3.8%

Hispanics...............5.0%

No HS diploma...............6.0%

HS graduate...............4.4%

Some college...............3.6%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.7%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but no loner counted):

1,723,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official + marginally-attached):

9,030,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.3%