Lead and Dropout Rates: An Itsy Bitsy Mystery
In a meandering post yesterday that ended up on the subject of lead and crime, I posted some charts showing the correlation of childhood lead levels with crime, teen pregnancy, and high school dropout rates. Here’s the dropout chart: This correlation should come as no surprise. The connection between lead and crime may still be…
Judge Sides With Trump Administration in the Case of the Dueling Agency Heads
People protest Trump’s appointment of Mick Mulvaney as the acting director of the CFPB outside the agency on Monday.Jacquelyn Martin/AP The first round in the battle of the dueling heads of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been awarded to President Donald Trump and his pick to head the federal watchdog agency. Federal judge Timothy…
After Insulting Native Americans, Trump Goes After Their Sacred Land
Trump’s disparagement of Native Americans doesn’t end with his rhetoric. A day after Trump called Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) “Pocahontas” at an event honoring Navajo code talkers during World War II, the Salt Lake Tribune reports that the president will visit Salt Lake City, Utah, next Monday to announce that he’s shrinking national monuments of huge…
Republicans Working Hard to Make Tax Bill Even Stupider
Alex Edelman/CNP via ZUMA From CNBC: Sen. Bob Corker said Tuesday a “backstop” to curb future budget deficits could help to win his crucial vote for the GOP tax bill. The Tennessee Republican and others are seeking the protection in case the nearly $1.5 trillion in proposed tax cuts do not meet the GOP’s expectations…
Yet Another Person Bails on the State Department “Redesign”
Mai/Rex Shutterstock via ZUMA Like Spinal Tap drummers, the folks tapped to lead Rex Tillerson’s overhaul of the State Department just keep imploding. The latest is Maliz Beams, former CEO of Voya, who lasted only 90 days: An early leader of the overhaul was William Inglee, a former Lockheed Martin executive, who quickly moved on.…
Republican Critics of Tax Bill Vote to Send Bill to Senate Floor
President Donald Trump arrives on Capitol Hill on Tuesday with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to discuss the Senate tax bill. Tom Williams/AP On Tuesday, a Senate committee voted along party lines to send a $1.4 trillion tax cut to the Senate floor. Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), two of the tax bill’s…