Today’s Water Cooler: GMO and trade, IA-01, VA-05, the Democrat Party, social democracy/democratic socialism, paper ballots, personal income, manufacturing, bees, Strafford Beer, getting to sleep
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Misperceptions About Immigration and Support for Redistribution
A large scale survey in six countries found that respondents typically had inaccurate ideas about the level of immigration, but thinking about migrants made them less supportive of redistribution policies.
New York Evicts Internet Provider For High-Speed Failure
A rare case of a US regulator getting tough with an Internet miscreant, in this case, Spectrum.
CalPERS Former CFO Charles Asubonten’s Appeal of Termination Confirms Due Diligence Failure by CalPERS; Will Board Hold CEO Marcie Frost and General Counsel Matt Jacobs Accountable?
The final chapter in CalPERS’ sorry Asubonten affair.
Missed Visits, Uncontrolled Pain And Fraud: Report Says Hospices Lacks Oversight
Hospices, which were intended to offer a dignified and humane alternative to costly and often painful and distressing end of life “interventions,” sadly often offer substandard care.
2:00PM Water Cooler 7/30/2018
Today’s Water Cooler: NAFTA, TTiP, Eric Holder 2020, 2016 post mortem, brutalism, “Trump Anxiety Disorder”, housing, manufacturing, Tesla teardowns, pipelines, Harvard admissions, processed cheese
Emoluments Decision: No Way Back Machine
Recent district court decision allowing an emoluments clause case to proceed is not the way-back machine Resiters seek. The most serious legal consequences Trump faces are limited to his ownership interest in his DC signature hotel. The political consequences could be more serious– but hinge on whether Democrats capture the House in November.
Surprise, Surprise: Energy Department LNG Export Study Draft Ignores Climate Change
The Department of Energy (DOE) missed the mark in its newly published draft Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) study, ignoring economic costs associated with climate change and the growth of the renewable energy industry.
Debunking the Putin Panic with Stephen F. Cohen
Professor Stephen F. Cohen stresses that while there is much to criticize Putin for, many US political and media claims about him are false and reckless,
More Brexit Grim Tidings: WTO Warns Ireland to Prepare for Crash-Out; Deutsche Moves Half of Euro Clearing Ops to Germany; Food Freakout
More on how the Brexit situation is developing not necessarily to the UK’s advantage.
Ocean Wilderness Vanishing
First major study devoted to mapping marine wilderness issued last week documents that most of the world’s oceans have been damaged by human activity, including pollution and fishing.
Taxcast: A Firewall to Protect EU Citizens from the Big Four Accountancy Firms and the Tax Avoidance Lobby
In the Tax Justice Network’s July 2018 Taxcast, Vickie Cann and John Christensen examine a proposal for a firewall to protect EU citizens from the Big Four accountancy firms and the tax avoidance lobby, as well as look at a new report from the Corporate Europe Observatory.
