Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.It’s quite possible that Donald Trump would never have become president were it not for CNN. The network nurtured the reality star’s campaign in its infancy, , uninterrupted by correction or commentary. And it is likely that the president would be little more than a cultural artifact — a walking reminder of 1980s nihilism — were it not for the network’s president Jeffrey Zucker, who reintroduced Trump to the American public as a no-nonsense businessman in NBC’s The Apprentice.But CNN is a journalistic enterprise. Or, at least,...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.It’s quite possible that Donald Trump would never have become president were it not for CNN. The network nurtured the reality star’s campaign in its infancy, , uninterrupted by correction or commentary. And it is likely that the president would be little more than a cultural artifact — a walking reminder of 1980s nihilism — were it not for the network’s president Jeffrey Zucker, who reintroduced Trump to the American public as a no-nonsense businessman in NBC’s The Apprentice.But CNN is a journalistic enterprise. Or, at least,...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.America has finally kicked its climate-denial habit.I know, you’ve heard that one before. Twenty-eight years ago today, a Democratic president that the U.S. would “take the lead in addressing the challenge of global warming,” and reduce “emissions of greenhouse gases to their 1990 levels by the year 2000.” Then Republicans took Congress, the tech boom exploded, we went into relapse, elected an , ditched the Kyoto Protocol, and got stupid high on atmospheric CO2.And eight years later, we came crawling back to the world stage,...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.America has finally kicked its climate-denial habit.I know, you’ve heard that one before. Twenty-eight years ago today, a Democratic president that the U.S. would “take the lead in addressing the challenge of global warming,” and reduce “emissions of greenhouse gases to their 1990 levels by the year 2000.” Then Republicans took Congress, the tech boom exploded, we went into relapse, elected an , ditched the Kyoto Protocol, and got stupid high on atmospheric CO2.And eight years later, we came crawling back to the world stage,...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Joe Manchin is an odd Democrat.This is true in a banal sense, in that the West Virginia senator is far more conservative than the median member of his party on a whole host of issues. At present, Manchin is directly blocking the passage of progressive , , and bills, and indirectly obstructing just about every other item on President Biden’s agenda, byBut on infrastructure, Manchin is a different kind of strange. Whenever the subject comes up, the man’s mood grows lighter, his eyes grow wider, and a wee bit of socialism creeps...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Joe Manchin is an odd Democrat.This is true in a banal sense, in that the West Virginia senator is far more conservative than the median member of his party on a whole host of issues. At present, Manchin is directly blocking the passage of progressive , , and bills, and indirectly obstructing just about every other item on President Biden’s agenda, byBut on infrastructure, Manchin is a different kind of strange. Whenever the subject comes up, the man’s mood grows lighter, his eyes grow wider, and a wee bit of socialism creeps...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.The Democrats are “,” while Republicans are the party of “” The former fight for out-of-touch “” and , while the latter stand with the .If you’ve watched a Republican campaign ad or read a conservative pundit at any point in the last four years (and/or four decades), you’ve heard some iteration of this message. Anti-metropolitan populism is as ubiquitous in GOP rhetoric as salt is on French fries. In fact, Republicans are so unabashed in their rural chauvinism that they routinely argue that America’s political institutions to...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.The Democrats are “,” while Republicans are the party of “” The former fight for out-of-touch “” and , while the latter stand with the .If you’ve watched a Republican campaign ad or read a conservative pundit at any point in the last four years (and/or four decades), you’ve heard some iteration of this message. Anti-metropolitan populism is as ubiquitous in GOP rhetoric as salt is on French fries. In fact, Republicans are so unabashed in their rural chauvinism that they routinely argue that America’s political institutions to...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Moderate Republicans are accusing Joe Biden of secretly plotting to enact the policies he campaigned on.In interviews with Wednesday, staffers for the “G-10” — a group of ten Senate Republicans with an ostensible appetite for compromise — claimed that the president’s avowed interest in bipartisanship is insincere. In their account, Biden’s negotiations with the G-10 over infrastructure are a mere formality; his true intention is to make Republicans an offer they can’t accept, then use their refusal as a pretense for passing his...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Moderate Republicans are accusing Joe Biden of secretly plotting to enact the policies he campaigned on.In interviews with Wednesday, staffers for the “G-10” — a group of ten Senate Republicans with an ostensible appetite for compromise — claimed that the president’s avowed interest in bipartisanship is insincere. In their account, Biden’s negotiations with the G-10 over infrastructure are a mere formality; his true intention is to make Republicans an offer they can’t accept, then use their refusal as a pretense for passing his...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Donald Trump believes that tailoring U.S. tax policy to the preferences of the American people — rather than to those of multinational corporations and their lobbyists — constitutes a “globalist betrayal” of the United States and an act of “economic surrender” to “special interests” and their lobbyists.Or so the former president’s of Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan would suggest.On Wednesday, the White House unveiled its plan to rebuild the U.S. economy on corporate America’s dime. Specifically, the administration of...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Donald Trump believes that tailoring U.S. tax policy to the preferences of the American people — rather than to those of multinational corporations and their lobbyists — constitutes a “globalist betrayal” of the United States and an act of “economic surrender” to “special interests” and their lobbyists.Or so the former president’s of Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan would suggest.On Wednesday, the White House unveiled its plan to rebuild the U.S. economy on corporate America’s dime. Specifically, the administration of...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Last week, fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits than . Last month, retail sales in the U.S. rose , the largest increase in nearly a year. Factory activity in the state of New York ; in Philadelphia, manufacturers are now more confident about business conditions than they have been since 1973. As of this writing, U.S. stock values have hit an all-time high. All of this news is better than expected. And yet the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds — a sign that global investors believe America can have its post-COVID...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Last week, fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits than . Last month, retail sales in the U.S. rose , the largest increase in nearly a year. Factory activity in the state of New York ; in Philadelphia, manufacturers are now more confident about business conditions than they have been since 1973. As of this writing, U.S. stock values have hit an all-time high. All of this news is better than expected. And yet the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds — a sign that global investors believe America can have its post-COVID...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Mitch McConnell isn’t trying to tell moderate Democrats what to do. He just doesn’t want them to make the same mistakesThe Senate Minority Leader can see that Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are falling in with the wrong crowd. He knows that some are into doing something they know is wrong. And McConnell wants Joe and Kyrsten to understand that whatever “high” they get from abolishing the filibuster will be followed by an unbearable low. Which is why he is asking them, for their own sake, to just say no.This was the gist of the...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Mitch McConnell isn’t trying to tell moderate Democrats what to do. He just doesn’t want them to make the same mistakesThe Senate Minority Leader can see that Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are falling in with the wrong crowd. He knows that some are into doing something they know is wrong. And McConnell wants Joe and Kyrsten to understand that whatever “high” they get from abolishing the filibuster will be followed by an unbearable low. Which is why he is asking them, for their own sake, to just say no.This was the gist of the...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Last September, the “populist” conservative think tank American Compass against the Church of Reagan and Latter-Day Supply-Siders: In a written statement, the policy shop implored Republicans to promote “collective bargaining” in the private sector because “strong worker representation can make America stronger.” This is a sentiment that the American right was born to reject. So, it wasn’t surprising that only one congressional Republican was willing to sign on to the statement at the time of its release. What was surprising...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.Last September, the “populist” conservative think tank American Compass against the Church of Reagan and Latter-Day Supply-Siders: In a written statement, the policy shop implored Republicans to promote “collective bargaining” in the private sector because “strong worker representation can make America stronger.” This is a sentiment that the American right was born to reject. So, it wasn’t surprising that only one congressional Republican was willing to sign on to the statement at the time of its release. What was surprising...WW…

Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.With spring blooming, COVID cases falling, and the economy rebounding, many Americans are feeling . Yet the “” is not benefiting all equally. And as life returns to normal for the middle class, it’s important not to lose sight of those whose lives are still shadowed by economic trepidation — such as superrich capitalists who do not want to pay higher taxes on their unearned income.Last week, the White House of its plan to nearly double the capital-gains tax rate for investors who earn more than $1 million a year. At present,...…Things you buy through our links may earn New York a commission.With spring blooming, COVID cases falling, and the economy rebounding, many Americans are feeling . Yet the “” is not benefiting all equally. And as life returns to normal for the middle class, it’s important not to lose sight of those whose lives are still shadowed by economic trepidation — such as superrich capitalists who do not want to pay higher taxes on their unearned income.Last week, the White House of its plan to nearly double the capital-gains tax rate for investors who earn more than $1 million a year. At present,...WW…