Scientists Are Desperately Trying to Figure Out How Long We Have Until “Doomsday Glaciers” Melt
The Getz Ice Shelf in West AntarcticaNASA/Jeremy Harbeck This story was originally published by Grist appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In a remote region of Antarctica known as Pine Island Bay, 2,500 miles from the tip of South America, two glaciers hold human civilization hostage. Stretching across a frozen plain more than 150 miles long,…
Please Cut the Crap About Red States Subsidizing Blue States
The New York Times reports that many state governments are concerned that the Republican tax plan will hurt them: Of primary concern is the Senate’s plan to repeal the state and local tax deduction….The tax break is claimed by people across the nation, but is more heavily utilized in higher-tax states like Oregon, California, New…
Inflation is Weak, Weak, Weak
The Wall Street Journal reports today on the most recent meeting of the Federal Reserve. They’re still planning to raise interest rates in December, but “many participants” are worried about weakness in inflation: Minutes of the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting, released Wednesday with the usual three-week lag, indicated that officials thought persistently weak inflation could…
Revisiting the Sins of Mark Halperin
Patrick Fallon via ZUMA Eve Fairbanks says that Mark Halperin did a lot more harm than just abusing women. Via his authorship of The Note, he spent years abusing the entire city of Washington DC: I want to talk about the deeper, subtler, more insidious effect Mark Halperin had on our politics — one which…
Ron Johnson Is Making an Epic Run For “Greediest Senator” Award
Bill Clark/Congressional Quarterly/Newscom via ZUMA Over at National Review, Jibran Khan reports that several Republican senators are still skeptical about the tax bill: Most of the skeptics are concerned about debt. Susan Collins (Maine) questions the inclusion of individual-mandate repeal and the removal of SALT deductions. And Ron Johnson (Wis.) opposes the different treatment of…
Obamacare Enrollments Continue to Thrive
CMS reports today that Obamacare enrollments through the federal exchange are now up to 2.3 million this year. That’s about a 50 percent increase over the same period last year. If we assume that state exchange enrollments are up the same amount, total enrollments so far amount to just over 5 million: This is all…