Category Archives: Banana republic

Pentagon Papers Case Fifty Years On: Some Personal Reflections

Fifty years ago today, the United States Supreme Court allowed the publication of the Pentagon Papers to proceed.

Myths, Lobbies Foster Competitive International Corporate Tax Cutting

Bad ideology, kept alive by lobbying and PR, has fueled an unproductive corporte tax race to the bottom. Is the tide finally turning?

Biden Classifies Opposition to ‘Capitalism and Corporate Globalization’ As Extremism

The definition of what extremism amounts to becomes more, erm, inclusive as our elites feel more threatened. What are the possible end games?

Andrew Bacevich: America on the Downhill Slope

Musing on how America wound up where it is.

Blackout Risk And Electricity Prices Are Spiking In California

California energy tsuris are set to get worse.

Can The Fate Of Dolphins and Louisiana’s Fishing Industry Stop A $50 Billion Mississippi River Diversion Plan?

Questions about Louisiana’s plans to reroute the mighty Mississppi to save its eroding coast rattle the agency spearheading them

The Pandemic Is Us (But Now Mostly Them)

The pandemic is largely to be over in the Global North, at least among the vaccinated…or so it seems.

Why the Neoliberal Drive to Privatize Everything Is Running Out of Gas

A look at the current acceptance of neoliberal policies.

The Framers Would Call the United States of Today Corrupt. And They’d Be Right

The Framers sought to bad a culture of gift giving. How’s that working out?

What President Biden and His Media Chorus Revealed about Their War-Fighting Capabilities

Putin and Biden, side by side.

Supreme Court Dismisses Obamacare Challenge, Leaving Existing Health Care Insurance System in Place

United States Supreme Court upholds Obamacare in the third challenge it has heard on the legislation.

Biden Taps Lina Khan to Chair the FTC

Hours after the Senate confirmed her nomination to the FTC, Biden tapped noted Big Tech critic Lina Khan to chair the agency.

How the U.S. Lost National Healthcare

An excerpt from Kai Bird’s just released book about U.S. health care, The Outlier.

Private Inequity: NYT Examines How the Private Equity Industry Avoids Taxes

Comprehensive NYT story examines how the private equity industry games the tax system, while the hapless IRS stands on the sidelines.

Shale Oil Fraud Case Reveals Executives Ignore Their Own Engineers and Mislead Investors

Emerging shale oil fraud cases: employees warn management that they’re misleading investors but rather than changing course the employees were ignored or fired.