Lies, Damn Lies, and the History of Capitalism

Johnson Caves To Thune On DHS Funding: Accepts Senate's Partial Bill That Ditches Voter ID, Leaves ICE Out In The Cold In a clear concession announced April 1, 2026, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) yielded to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and agreed to advance the Senate-passed bill funding most of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - explicitly excluding ICE and key CBP enforcement operations - while moving long-term immigration enforcement and border security funding to the partisan reconciliation process. This is the same bill that Johnson and House R's rejected...

Millions Of Student Borrowers Are Defaulting: They Are 40 Years Old On Average The NY Federal published its latest report on Household Debt and Credit for the first quarter: the report showed total household debt increased by $18 billion, just a 0.1% increase, in Q1 2026, to $18.8 trillion.  Some details: Mortgage balances shown on consumer credit reports grew slightly by $21 billion during the first quarter of 2026 and totaled $13.19 trillion at the end of March. Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) rose by $12 billion, marking the 16th...

Total Internet Blackout In Iran Hits 8 Weeks As Citizens Left In Dark About War's Future The near-total internet blackout in Iran has "now entered its 57th day after 1344 hours," internet watchdog NetBlocks has said. The restrictions followed renewed anti-government protests in early January and intensified after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran at the end of February, and during which time leaders in Washington and Israel have signaled they seek total societal collapse and government overthrow in the Islamic Republic. This has left many of Iran's some...