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achillingmoon.bsky.social
I enjoy writing about business, labor, politics, and life from my tiny apartment in Portland, OR. Read more: www.effuse.blog
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We all expect the worst from wannabe king and VP Stick-in-ass, but today was particularly bad. The US supports Ukraine whether Trump likes it or not. If he refuses aid, the burden will fall on NATO but the people of Ukraine have the right to pursue their destiny. God protect you, Zelenskyy.

A Little Secret About the Bank Secrecy Act By Rex Dominguez The legacy of money is also a history of the push and pull of banks, states, corporations, crime syndicates, and kleptocrats to get an additional dollar. The tide of the law has equally crashed and receded as myriad agencies work to…

As Noam Chomsky consistently points out, it’s no secret that national interests have always been business interests, and the common person has never had a chance to play a serious hand at power, but what vastly more dangerous is the concentration of those interests over the past century.

In mere days after the turbulence with CFPB, customers are losing. “Let the buyer beware,” should be your mantra over the next four as banking and every basic thing we’ve taken for granted goes down the toilet - things we’re dangerous beforehand, but this will get ugly.

A person's most genuine connection to god is through music, but there's a truth and a lie here. Music doesn't connect us to a specific external god of the ancient world, but to the universe we're a part of. So music connects the dots of our existence throughout all time.

I keep hearing about the Feb 28th Econ blackout and I’m particularly interested in the dent the average person can make with depleted savings and maxed credit cards, given the top 10% of earners now account for 1/3 of US GDP.

We all loved Satellite, but Guster's new album is a step up.

They should have been at the front of my mind while the Horsemen settled in like dust. But my blind faith in poor interpretations was bested by the seams of my socks - which I knew putting on, I should have worn inside-out. I really just wanted one more chance to say I love you.

Stock trends that bring me joy.

After getting such an intimate look at how Elon runs things, it’s insane that a person can tolerate working for one of his companies, with endless email chains amounting to “me, me, me and/or get fucked.”

Since everyone loves conspiracy theories: Trump Tower, NY: $30m T. Intl., $135m World Tower: $110m Park Avenue: $80m Palace: $43m Soho: $110m Parc: $51m Hollywood, FL: $136m ... All "anonymous" unit sales, now Putin is cashing in on what's due. Source: American Kleptocracy @cjcmichel.bsky.social

The relationship between Trump and Putin is odd because it contradicts Trump's "my way or the highway" approach, suggesting that Putin is "wearing the pants." Perhaps we should consider all the anonymous money from shell accounts poured into his many monuments of criminality - Trump Tower.

Calling Zelenskyy a dictator, and openly talking about buying Gaza could send a signal to Beijing about Taiwan, although it’s worth noting that Trump arm sales to Taiwan during his first term are substantial. Taking the island could destroy the Chinese economy, but that didn’t stop Russia.

Getting a lot of these this month!

How do you say you’re anti-union without saying you’re anti-union…

No government services must mean no taxes, which saves me a lot of hassle this month.

Just thinking about the $18 billion Tesla has received from the government over the last decade.

Yes, let’s finally get rid of those worthless “reusable” bags, with the bonus of microplastic filters in washing machines! All the drinking water sites tested in Oregon, including the one that feeds into Salem had plastic contamination. I recommend Aquasana.

Instead of calling MAGA voters idiots, it might be a better use of time to criticize the real majority - those who didn’t bother to cast a ballot.

Because the plane that is America is crashing into the goddamn mountain. While this read makes valid points it we’re not “eating Tupperware” so much as we are inhaling plastic from tires and fibers from cheap plastic clothes.

Too good not to share, those chess puzzles really do come in handy!

Just a reminder to all those who think the government is a business. It isn’t. The fundamental difference is that the government’s purpose is to fund services, not to make a profit. There is zero argument for justifying the Elon-ification of gov. agencies as “new management fixing the books.”

Has anyone else noticed the stopfraud.gov site is down?

Great to join Pod Save the World again, and talk about all the different ways America's anti-corruption credentials have taken an absolute beating in the past week. crooked.com/podcast-seri...

Not to sound republicany, but why is some guy born in South Africa the president?

Two things: Those who’ve filled the atmosphere with carbon have also filled our bodies with plastic. And is anyone working on getting the plastic out of us? Maybe with the help of the AI that everyone loves so much.

There's no way to sugarcoat this: Yesterday was the single-worst day in American history in the fight against both kleptocracy and foreign influence campaigns. This is for many reasons—and for one large reason. bsky.app/profile/cjcm...

Now that Elon (who should be behind bars) has torn apart the CFPB, you might consider hoarding your cash, as in, don't even keep it in a bank, but in a jar, next to your gun. Would this deflate the economy? Sure, but at this point why not pour on the gasoline?

Call me James Sunderland because I’m navigating the fog of American uncertainty, surrounded by monsters, and searching my heart to understand what I could have done to deserve all this bullshit.

Fairness and Dignity “'Women have fought for — and earned — respect and support for themselves in sports and have made incredible gains in doing so. We must defend that progress and stand up for fairness.' Drazan said in a statement released on National Girls and Women’s in Sports Day. She added…

"...Driven by the same factors that have created U.S. prosperity...most rural areas have been left behind...The U.S. system has thus impoverished rural areas and empowered them politically, threatening the stability of American democracy." Michael Beckley, Foreign Affairs (Jan/Feb 2025)

RFK Jr. is like a Ren & Stimpy closeup, complete w/ foghorn.

We’re going about this all wrong. The people who put Trump in office don’t care about rising prices, eggs, Jesus, or even their own well-being, only revenge for decades of perceived and actual exclusion.

What’s your rule or method for balancing or prioritizing what you’re passionate about vs what you feel obligated to write/post about in response to Trump’s 24/7 crisis machine?

On Reagan’s victory: “between..damn-the-consequences Keynesian growth..jingoist flag-waving on the one hand and the Democratic alternative of ‘we approve of your goals but fear that the costs will be to high’ on the other..those who vote[ed] preferred the former. #NoamChomsky #StillRelevant

Inability of Utility Jeremy Bentham’s theory of Utility, like asbestos, persists in the structure of economics and business. The idea of quantifying pleasure and pain and that people will do that which amounts to the most exceptional pleasure seems intuitive but presumes too much. One might suffer…

For nearly a decade I’ve searched the wilting rose of American politics for signs of disease and pests, but I keep coming back to the infertile soil of physical connection hijacked by social media moguls that’s left us friendless, angry, and with a budding insanity reflected in the White House.

#chess

What the "#daddy" rhetoric reveals about the MAGA-lization of the Right: An 1. authoritarian 2. violent 3. male punishes for the perceived injustices, not from a child, but a mommy who's been too liberal, kind, and feminine. #sexism #maga #politics