For once I find myself in total agreement with Brett Stevens. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
Opinion | I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I.
It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.
nytimes.com
Charles Hill
@charleswlhill.bsky.social
Emeritus Professor, University of Washington, Foster School. Economist. Text Book Author. Venting into the void.
According to the CBO, Trump’s “Trump Class” battleship fleet will cost $275 billion. Some analysts believe that in an era of low cost drone warfare, these ships are already obsolete. Do we really want to spend this much money to appease the vanity of a mentally ill old man?
Today’s job report was a surprise. Job losses rather than predicted gains and significant downward revisions for the last two months. The stock market has been red hot, but it seems increasingly disconnected from the real economy, which is struggling. 1/2.. www.wsj.com/economy/jobs...
U.S. Lost 23,000 Jobs in July, While Unemployment Ticked Lower
Jobs and unemployment sent conflicting signals, but fewer people were actively looking for work. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%.
wsj.com
Oh boy, the Treasury Department is expanding the money supply in an effort to help Japan pump up the Yen, which has been at historic lows against the dollar. Small so far, but adds to inflation risk in the US if this continues. www.wsj.com/economy/cent...
Scott Bessent’s Yen Trade Has Unintended Consequences for the Markets
The way it’s being done should make us worry that the Federal Reserve is being roped into easing monetary conditions.
wsj.com
SpaceX shares were down sharply this morning despite reporting strong revenues yesterday. Reasons include continued losses, significantly higher cap ex spending, and the potential sale of billions of dollars in shares as the post IPO lockup period expires. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
SpaceX’s $101 Billion Unlock Heaps Pressure on Battered Shares
Investors hanging onto SpaceX shares after a plunge below their IPO price are bracing for the next potential hit, when $101 billion worth of stock becomes available for trading on Thursday.
bloomberg.com
Your tax dollars at work: Since Trump took office, the federal government has announced 30 equity or quasi-equity investments in private enterprises. The total value of those investments is about $26.7 billion. This looks like Chinese style state capitalism.
And you wonder why the GOP is almost extinct in WA State. www.rawstory.com/anti-trans-s...
Kindergarten girls targeted for invasive exams by new GOP-led ballot measure
Washington State voters will decide the fate of a ballot initiative that would require girls from kindergarten through high school to undergo sex-verification testing before playing school sports — a ...
rawstory.com
Heartbreaking………well, for some members of the oligarch class, I’m sure.
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 5d ago“Time is not Paramount’s ally. Beginning Sept 30, the company owes Warner shareholders a $650 million ticking fee every quarter .. out of a firm with .. free cash flow of $96 million last quarter and $123 million the quarter before ..” @jeffsonnenfeld.bsky.social fortune.com/2026/08/03/p...
Local news is reporting 600+ “structures” burnt down in Spokane and an expectation that lives have been lost. The entire Eastern half of the State is a tinder box. www.cnn.com/2026/08/02/u...
Live updates: Officials brace for significant damage as wildfires scorch Washington | CNN
Authorities have declared a state of emergency as three major wildfires in Spokane County, Washington, force thousands of families to evacuate their homes. Follow live updates.
cnn.com
Sold as a device for crime reduction, Flock’s camera network turns out to be the perfect stalking tool. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking
Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.
washingtonpost.com
Our President has managed to replace Pax America with Discordia America. Chaos should be his middle name. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/w...
In Iran, the U.S. Appears Headed for a Strategic Defeat, Allies Fear
With none of President Trump’s aims accomplished and the Strait of Hormuz closed, U.S. allies see dysfunction and vulnerability from the war.
nytimes.com
Things are looking grim in Spokane. www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
'When the sun rises, we are going to be in shock': Thousands evacuated in north Spokane as wildfire crosses river into city
A wildfire driven by high winds jumped the Spokane River Saturday afternoon and burned into city neighborhoods on the bluffs above the river.
spokesman.com
Yep, Im hearing a lot of stories like this from my tech contacts. People have been too quick to trust AI agents, and are now discovering that the error rate of agentic AI is unacceptably high. www.tomshardware.com/tech-industr...
Amazon accidentally spent $1.8 million using Claude for menial coding task, went 860% over budget — 'catastrophically expensive' coding blunders discovered in internal Amazon AI usage metrics
A million dollar "whoopsie"
tomshardware.com
It’s that time of year in Seattle when the military industrial complex decides to disturb the peace (at who knows what cost) by sending a phalanx of jet aircraft to do u turns over my house. I know that lots of people love this display, but I’m chronically allergic to loud noise.
Still waiting for the golden age of the greatest economy ever…. www.wsj.com/economy/u-s-...
U.S. Economic Growth Slowed to 1.5% in Second Quarter
U.S. gross domestic product rose at a 1.5% annual rate in the second quarter, falling short of economists’ expectations.
wsj.com
This. His appetite for power cannot be quenched, there is no appeasing him, he will always want more.
Robert Reich@rbreich.bsky.social · last wk.Yale is on the verge of cutting a deal with Trump to change its admission procedures. Reminder for any school dealing with Trump's extortion: You can't appease a tyrant. Surrendering to authoritarianism only invites more of it.
The current administration is continuing the long Republican tradition of blowing up the deficit.
Steve Rattner@steverattner.bsky.social · last wk.Adjusted for inflation, 30-year yields are near 3% — their highest since the series launched in 2010. That reflects the bond market's growing concern about the long-term fiscal health of the government, as the deficit and debt keep climbing under Trump. My @morningjoe-msnow.bsky.social Chart
The numbers here are staggering. While AI is now generating $150 billion in revenues and growing fast, capital spending is over $500 billion this year, and may hit $900 billion next year. I smell a land grab bubble. What’s really worrying……….1/2. economist.com/finance-and-... from The Economist
AI revenues are growing fast, but not fast enough
The returns on trillions of dollars of spending are deeply uncertain
economist.com
Operation random murder of brown people in boats hasn’t stopped Americans from getting high, but at least Hegseth is getting high off the killing.
Matthew Hay Brown@matthewhaybrown.bsky.social · 2w ago67 boat strikes 221 people killed EXCLUSIVE: Operation Southern Spear has not reduced the volume, availability, purity or price of cocaine arriving in the U.S., according to an internal DEA assessment and a closed-door Pentagon briefing for senators, and has made enforcement more difficult
As of this morning, Space X has lost 50% of its value from the market top it reached shortly after the IPO. I guess Musk is no longer a trillionaire.
It would be funny if it wasn't a crime to hide his death/disability
The first wave of the AI jobs apocalypse is in tech firms. Almost 800,000 high paid tech workers have been laid off at big tech firms since 2022, few have found new jobs. www.seattletimes.com/business/the...
The biggest winners of the American economy fear they’re sinking fast
The sense of precariousness among America’s tech workers could be a preview of what’s ahead for the rest of the country as AI spreads.
seattletimes.com
A depressing post from my homeland, where when I was a child the summers were damp and cool, and no one could imagine the treeless, windswept, heather clothed hills burning…..but they are now.
Dave Vetter@davidrvetter.bsky.social · 2w agoI join you from the Blaenavon wildfire in Southeast Wales, brought to you by BP, Shell and Equinor. Though it does not look dramatic, the fire has been out of control for days - for a very particular reason. 🧵
The world is burning while our “leaders” actively work against the adoption of renewable technology that could help us to limit future warming. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/07...
Wildfires Live Updates: Hundreds of Thousands Evacuate in Spain and France as Fires Rage
Firefighters were racing to contain blazes that were moving closer to Madrid and Bordeaux.
nytimes.com
Quick take on the Section 301 tariffs imposed today on countries that allegedly allow for the import of products produced by forced labor. (1) There are 60 countries on this list accounting for 99% of US trade. 1/5 www.wsj.com/economy/trad...
Trump Unveils New Tariffs Designed to Withstand Legal Scrutiny
The new duties, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, will replace a temporary tariff put in place after the Supreme Court derailed Trump’s trade agenda in February.
wsj.com
