Individual Economists

A Nation Forgetting Itself: The Cost Of Civic Illiteracy

Zero Hedge -

A Nation Forgetting Itself: The Cost Of Civic Illiteracy

Authored by Jack Miller & Michael Weiser via RealClearPolitics,

Actions have consequences A lack of consequences is an action that also has consequences.

America is in the throes of an epidemic of civic illiteracy that can be traced to a half-century of not teaching the principles, history, and documents of her founding. In our most prestigious universities down to primary school classrooms, the teaching of our pre-partisan founding principles and history has been downgraded and corrupted, leading to at least two generations of Americans without the knowledge to be participants in self-government or the resolve to defend our republic.

It isn’t as though we weren’t warned: by George Washington, who identified education in civics as an essential pillar of freedom in the earliest days of our republic, and much more recently by the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra O’Connor who reminded us that civic knowledge was not passed from generation to generation in the gene pool but, rather, must be taught and re-taught to each new class of rising Americans. Great Americans have always understood that maintaining our freedom depends on passing down our founding principles and history through education.

In the 20th century, Ronald Reagan also reminded us of freedom’s fragility. “It’s never more than one generation away from extinction,” he once said. “It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.” He was channeling the insights of other great Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who understood that our heritage of liberty is grounded in enduring moral truths about the equal dignity of all human beings.

It seems as though those truths are no longer self-evident to our republic. Political violence is on the rise, and intolerance colors too many of our public debates and even private discussions. It is no exaggeration to say these are the sorry consequences of a civic illiteracy epidemic that has raged in our body politic, untreated, for years. Yet it would be wrong to blame this crisis merely on the emergence of competing narratives like the New York Times’ “1619 Project,” which traces U.S. history to the arrival of slaves on our shores and labels Americans as irredeemably racist. This and other such narratives filled a void that was created by a shameful inaction for civic education.

The civic education crisis our country faces seems to us to be part of a larger cultural malaise – one that fails to foresee the consequences of our inactions in other realms of our society and, then once demonstrated, fails to do anything about them. Consider, for instance, inactions to prosecute “petty” thefts under $1,000 that have led to an exodus of retailers no longer able to run their businesses in areas prone to these crimes. Similarly, cash-free bail has led to the release of repeat offenders into society, where they again commit crimes, some of them violent. Indeed, if our actions as a nation sometimes have had tragic consequences – in wars, segregation and financial mismanagement – so have we as Americans demonstrated the sometimes devastating  results of our inactions.

It is not an overstatement to trace at least some of the problems of our society to an insufficient understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in this free society and the values they must share. A requisite understanding of these starts in the home but must be further molded and honed in civic education classrooms throughout our educational system. Too often and in too many places, civic education inaction has won the day and, with it, a withering of our civic culture.

Perhaps the most troubling example of civic inaction’s dangers can be found in the rise of 20th-century totalitarianism. From Lenin and Stalin’s communist revolution in Russia to Hitler’s fascist takeover of Germany, tyrants took advantage of a lack of actions, pushbacks, in their early stages. Even when these regimes began to threaten the West, our own civic ignorance led to shortsighted policies of appeasement and even cooperation. The consequence was a shattered continent and the tragedy of war and genocide –over 6 million in the Holocaust alone, and 70 million over the course of World War II.

Peoples inspired with a greater confidence in their civic tradition, however, have the power to stop the march of tyranny.

While we, thankfully, do not currently face the kind of revolutionary extremism that led to catastrophe in the last century, our civic health is trending in the wrong direction. More and more young people are turning to socialism, communism, or other forms of radicalism because they have not been educated in how our American form of government provides the greatest individual freedom and opportunity. But the good news is that parents, educators, and philanthropists have had enough of this civics inaction. At our organization, the Jack Miller Center, we are taking a number of specific steps to reinvigorate civic education.

For more than two decades, we have supported the careers of university scholars devoted to teaching the principles and history of our country – in intensive, multi-week institutes that bring together new post-doctoral academics with the senior scholars in political science and history, and, once on campus, by supporting campus centers focused on this scholarship. In all, there are 1,300 of these academics – whom we call Miller Fellows – on more than 300 higher-ed campuses.

In recent years, we have been engaging a growing number of these scholars in teaching graduate-level seminars for K-12 teachers, enriching their understanding of our founding documents and strengthening their ability to lead discussions and debates in their own classrooms – the hallmark of our democracy.

And today, the Jack Miller Center is helping to bolster and support a civics renaissance in higher education. Across the country, state legislatures are establishing Schools of Civic Thought at their flagship universities. These separate and independent academic units are sanctioned to teach our founding principles, American history, and Western civilization. Not only are Schools of Civic Thought restoring the traditional liberal arts for a new generation of college students, they are also providing training and content K-12 teachers can use in their classrooms. Schools of Civic Thought are rapidly expanding, and will be a major game changer.

Taken together, these efforts are helping to lead what can truly be called a civics renaissance in our classrooms and on our campuses. We join with others who have recognized the consequence of our inactions and the extraordinary influence that civic learning can have for America.

Reform must begin with acknowledging the crisis at hand: Due to generations of inaction, Americans are forgetting who we are supposed to be. “Something’s eating away at the national memory,” the popular historian David McCullough once said, “and a nation or a community or a society can suffer as much from the adverse effects of amnesia as can an individual.”

Especially as the 250th anniversary of our country’s birth approaches, it has never been more important to remember who we are – and to act so that those memories come alive for the next generation of citizens.

Jack Miller is founder and chairman emeritus of the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles & History.

Michael Weiser is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jack Miller Center.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:55

A Nation Forgetting Itself: The Cost Of Civic Illiteracy

Zero Hedge -

A Nation Forgetting Itself: The Cost Of Civic Illiteracy

Authored by Jack Miller & Michael Weiser via RealClearPolitics,

Actions have consequences A lack of consequences is an action that also has consequences.

America is in the throes of an epidemic of civic illiteracy that can be traced to a half-century of not teaching the principles, history, and documents of her founding. In our most prestigious universities down to primary school classrooms, the teaching of our pre-partisan founding principles and history has been downgraded and corrupted, leading to at least two generations of Americans without the knowledge to be participants in self-government or the resolve to defend our republic.

It isn’t as though we weren’t warned: by George Washington, who identified education in civics as an essential pillar of freedom in the earliest days of our republic, and much more recently by the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra O’Connor who reminded us that civic knowledge was not passed from generation to generation in the gene pool but, rather, must be taught and re-taught to each new class of rising Americans. Great Americans have always understood that maintaining our freedom depends on passing down our founding principles and history through education.

In the 20th century, Ronald Reagan also reminded us of freedom’s fragility. “It’s never more than one generation away from extinction,” he once said. “It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.” He was channeling the insights of other great Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who understood that our heritage of liberty is grounded in enduring moral truths about the equal dignity of all human beings.

It seems as though those truths are no longer self-evident to our republic. Political violence is on the rise, and intolerance colors too many of our public debates and even private discussions. It is no exaggeration to say these are the sorry consequences of a civic illiteracy epidemic that has raged in our body politic, untreated, for years. Yet it would be wrong to blame this crisis merely on the emergence of competing narratives like the New York Times’ “1619 Project,” which traces U.S. history to the arrival of slaves on our shores and labels Americans as irredeemably racist. This and other such narratives filled a void that was created by a shameful inaction for civic education.

The civic education crisis our country faces seems to us to be part of a larger cultural malaise – one that fails to foresee the consequences of our inactions in other realms of our society and, then once demonstrated, fails to do anything about them. Consider, for instance, inactions to prosecute “petty” thefts under $1,000 that have led to an exodus of retailers no longer able to run their businesses in areas prone to these crimes. Similarly, cash-free bail has led to the release of repeat offenders into society, where they again commit crimes, some of them violent. Indeed, if our actions as a nation sometimes have had tragic consequences – in wars, segregation and financial mismanagement – so have we as Americans demonstrated the sometimes devastating  results of our inactions.

It is not an overstatement to trace at least some of the problems of our society to an insufficient understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in this free society and the values they must share. A requisite understanding of these starts in the home but must be further molded and honed in civic education classrooms throughout our educational system. Too often and in too many places, civic education inaction has won the day and, with it, a withering of our civic culture.

Perhaps the most troubling example of civic inaction’s dangers can be found in the rise of 20th-century totalitarianism. From Lenin and Stalin’s communist revolution in Russia to Hitler’s fascist takeover of Germany, tyrants took advantage of a lack of actions, pushbacks, in their early stages. Even when these regimes began to threaten the West, our own civic ignorance led to shortsighted policies of appeasement and even cooperation. The consequence was a shattered continent and the tragedy of war and genocide –over 6 million in the Holocaust alone, and 70 million over the course of World War II.

Peoples inspired with a greater confidence in their civic tradition, however, have the power to stop the march of tyranny.

While we, thankfully, do not currently face the kind of revolutionary extremism that led to catastrophe in the last century, our civic health is trending in the wrong direction. More and more young people are turning to socialism, communism, or other forms of radicalism because they have not been educated in how our American form of government provides the greatest individual freedom and opportunity. But the good news is that parents, educators, and philanthropists have had enough of this civics inaction. At our organization, the Jack Miller Center, we are taking a number of specific steps to reinvigorate civic education.

For more than two decades, we have supported the careers of university scholars devoted to teaching the principles and history of our country – in intensive, multi-week institutes that bring together new post-doctoral academics with the senior scholars in political science and history, and, once on campus, by supporting campus centers focused on this scholarship. In all, there are 1,300 of these academics – whom we call Miller Fellows – on more than 300 higher-ed campuses.

In recent years, we have been engaging a growing number of these scholars in teaching graduate-level seminars for K-12 teachers, enriching their understanding of our founding documents and strengthening their ability to lead discussions and debates in their own classrooms – the hallmark of our democracy.

And today, the Jack Miller Center is helping to bolster and support a civics renaissance in higher education. Across the country, state legislatures are establishing Schools of Civic Thought at their flagship universities. These separate and independent academic units are sanctioned to teach our founding principles, American history, and Western civilization. Not only are Schools of Civic Thought restoring the traditional liberal arts for a new generation of college students, they are also providing training and content K-12 teachers can use in their classrooms. Schools of Civic Thought are rapidly expanding, and will be a major game changer.

Taken together, these efforts are helping to lead what can truly be called a civics renaissance in our classrooms and on our campuses. We join with others who have recognized the consequence of our inactions and the extraordinary influence that civic learning can have for America.

Reform must begin with acknowledging the crisis at hand: Due to generations of inaction, Americans are forgetting who we are supposed to be. “Something’s eating away at the national memory,” the popular historian David McCullough once said, “and a nation or a community or a society can suffer as much from the adverse effects of amnesia as can an individual.”

Especially as the 250th anniversary of our country’s birth approaches, it has never been more important to remember who we are – and to act so that those memories come alive for the next generation of citizens.

Jack Miller is founder and chairman emeritus of the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles & History.

Michael Weiser is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jack Miller Center.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:55

Having Solved All Other Problems, Philly Passes Bill To Charge 10 Cent Fee On Paper Bags

Zero Hedge -

Having Solved All Other Problems, Philly Passes Bill To Charge 10 Cent Fee On Paper Bags

Straws, soda, now paper bags. Is there anything batshit insane Democratic government officials don't want to tax or micromanage? 

In Philadelphia, that answer is apparently 'no', according to 6ABC.

While drug ravaged Kensington remains an issue, homeless people litter the streets and violent crime remains a problem, Philadelphia’s City Council just voted 10–5 for a truly groundbreaking idea (eye roll): charging 10 cents per paper bag.

The bill is now on Mayor Cherelle Parker’s desk, and she hasn’t said if she’ll sign it.

The fee would hit grocery stores and retailers alike, though bags without handles—like the ones from food trucks—get a free pass. Officials say it’s all about reducing waste and nudging people toward reusable bags.

This follows the city’s plastic bag ban from 2021, because apparently lugging your own bags wasn’t inconvenient enough already.

No word on whether or not DA Larry Krasner will supports the idea, or if he still supports just cashless bail, instead of 'cashless bale'. 

Meanwhile, in Northeast Philadelphia...

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:30

Having Solved All Other Problems, Philly Passes Bill To Charge 10 Cent Fee On Paper Bags

Zero Hedge -

Having Solved All Other Problems, Philly Passes Bill To Charge 10 Cent Fee On Paper Bags

Straws, soda, now paper bags. Is there anything batshit insane Democratic government officials don't want to tax or micromanage? 

In Philadelphia, that answer is apparently 'no', according to 6ABC.

While drug ravaged Kensington remains an issue, homeless people litter the streets and violent crime remains a problem, Philadelphia’s City Council just voted 10–5 for a truly groundbreaking idea (eye roll): charging 10 cents per paper bag.

The bill is now on Mayor Cherelle Parker’s desk, and she hasn’t said if she’ll sign it.

The fee would hit grocery stores and retailers alike, though bags without handles—like the ones from food trucks—get a free pass. Officials say it’s all about reducing waste and nudging people toward reusable bags.

This follows the city’s plastic bag ban from 2021, because apparently lugging your own bags wasn’t inconvenient enough already.

No word on whether or not DA Larry Krasner will supports the idea, or if he still supports just cashless bail, instead of 'cashless bale'. 

Meanwhile, in Northeast Philadelphia...

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:30

FDA Recalls Supplements Sold At Sam's Club Linked To Salmonella Outbreak

Zero Hedge -

FDA Recalls Supplements Sold At Sam's Club Linked To Salmonella Outbreak

Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 31 issued a nationwide recall of powder supplements sold at Sam’s Club after 11 salmonella infections were reported.

The price of gas on a sign at Sam's Club in Annapolis, Md., on March 30, 2020. Susan Walsh/AP Photo

Health officials recalled Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder Supplements, sold at the members-only division of Walmart, after people fell ill between May and September.

Three were hospitalized and eight others reported falling ill.

Infections were mostly reported on the East Coast, such as in Florida, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia. There have also been reports of illness in Kansas and Michigan.

The supplements, sold nationwide at Sam’s Club and online, contained moringa leaf powder that health officials suspect may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

But FDA investigators fear that the Sam’s Club supplements may not be the only product contaminated with the problematic batch of moringa leaf powder from a farm in Johdpur, India.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed 10 of the 11 people who fell ill and even though nine of them admitted to eating powdered dietary supplements, only six reported eating Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder specifically. Three others reported consuming products containing moringa leaf powder from a different brand.

“The implicated lot of moringa powder was supplied to multiple U.S. distributors,” the FDA said.

The FDA’s recall includes all Member’s Mark Super Greens dietary supplement powder, “regardless of lot codes and best by/use before dates.”

“FDA is working to determine the point of contamination and what additional products were made with the implicated lot of moringa leaf powder,” the FDA added.

The Virginia Department of Health and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have collected samples from two of those affected. Both tested positive for salmonella.

The product has been removed from store shelves and health officials urge Americans not to eat, sell, or serve the product. They suggest people who bought it either throw it away or return it to the store for a refund.

The Epoch Times reached out to Walmart for comment.

Symptoms of salmonella infection can occur within a few hours to several days after eating food contaminated with the harmful bacteria.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. It can last four to seven days.

Seniors, children under the age of five and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe infections.

Salmonella is one of the most common forms of food poisoning, according to the Cleveland Clinic. More than a million people get salmonella every year, and about 420 cases are fatal.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:05

FDA Recalls Supplements Sold At Sam's Club Linked To Salmonella Outbreak

Zero Hedge -

FDA Recalls Supplements Sold At Sam's Club Linked To Salmonella Outbreak

Authored by Jacki Thrapp via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 31 issued a nationwide recall of powder supplements sold at Sam’s Club after 11 salmonella infections were reported.

The price of gas on a sign at Sam's Club in Annapolis, Md., on March 30, 2020. Susan Walsh/AP Photo

Health officials recalled Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder Supplements, sold at the members-only division of Walmart, after people fell ill between May and September.

Three were hospitalized and eight others reported falling ill.

Infections were mostly reported on the East Coast, such as in Florida, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia. There have also been reports of illness in Kansas and Michigan.

The supplements, sold nationwide at Sam’s Club and online, contained moringa leaf powder that health officials suspect may be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

But FDA investigators fear that the Sam’s Club supplements may not be the only product contaminated with the problematic batch of moringa leaf powder from a farm in Johdpur, India.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed 10 of the 11 people who fell ill and even though nine of them admitted to eating powdered dietary supplements, only six reported eating Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder specifically. Three others reported consuming products containing moringa leaf powder from a different brand.

“The implicated lot of moringa powder was supplied to multiple U.S. distributors,” the FDA said.

The FDA’s recall includes all Member’s Mark Super Greens dietary supplement powder, “regardless of lot codes and best by/use before dates.”

“FDA is working to determine the point of contamination and what additional products were made with the implicated lot of moringa leaf powder,” the FDA added.

The Virginia Department of Health and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have collected samples from two of those affected. Both tested positive for salmonella.

The product has been removed from store shelves and health officials urge Americans not to eat, sell, or serve the product. They suggest people who bought it either throw it away or return it to the store for a refund.

The Epoch Times reached out to Walmart for comment.

Symptoms of salmonella infection can occur within a few hours to several days after eating food contaminated with the harmful bacteria.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. It can last four to seven days.

Seniors, children under the age of five and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe infections.

Salmonella is one of the most common forms of food poisoning, according to the Cleveland Clinic. More than a million people get salmonella every year, and about 420 cases are fatal.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 20:05

FICO Versus VantageScore And The Heavyweight Battle for America’s Credit Scores

Zero Hedge -

FICO Versus VantageScore And The Heavyweight Battle for America’s Credit Scores

Your credit score has long determined whether you can get a mortgage, car loan, or credit card. For decades, the FICO score dominated that decision. Created in 1956 by William Fair and Earl Isaac, it became the standard measure of a borrower’s risk and is used in about 90% of lending decisions in the U.S, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But WSJ writes that a recent $10 fee increase has sparked an open battle over control of this critical number. Fair Isaac Corp. depends on credit data from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Those three firms have spent years trying to weaken FICO’s power by promoting their own scoring model, VantageScore.

When Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte accused FICO of anticompetitive behavior and declared that VantageScore could be used in many mortgage approvals, tensions exploded. Pulte wrote, “FICO, and any other monopoly who has ripped off Americans for decades, should not be using improper efforts to threaten regulators.”

The relationship among the four companies has turned hostile. One longtime industry figure said what previously looked like a mutually beneficial partnership now appears closer to war. At FICO, CEO Will Lansing raised prices to reflect what he called the true value of their score. FICO’s mortgage-score fee climbed from just cents years ago to $4.95 in 2025 and is set to double to $10. Mortgage lenders complain the increases cut into already thin margins, especially when borrowers back out and lenders must absorb the fee.

Lansing argues that competition will motivate lenders to favor lenient scoring, warning that “choice encourages mortgage participants to shop for the most lax score” and creates a “race to the bottom.” He said, “The FICO score is the backbone of safety and soundness in the mortgage industry.” Meanwhile, the bureaus say VantageScore can evaluate millions of people who lack traditional credit histories and expand access to homeownership.

You know, the kind of people that probably shouldn't own homes...

As pressure rose in Washington, lawmakers took interest. Sen. Josh Hawley said, “FICO has abused its government-granted market power.” FICO lobbied aggressively, while Pulte and his agency pushed for more competition.

To limit the bureaus’ influence, FICO changed strategy and enabled “tri-merge resellers” to generate scores using the company’s algorithm. That move cut out the bureaus and shifted profits toward FICO, driving its stock higher and theirs lower. In response, the bureaus began offering VantageScore for free on many loans.

The outcome will determine who controls access to credit in America and how much borrowers pay. What began as a small fee hike has escalated into a fight over the financial future of millions. Stay tuned...

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 19:40

FICO Versus VantageScore And The Heavyweight Battle for America’s Credit Scores

Zero Hedge -

FICO Versus VantageScore And The Heavyweight Battle for America’s Credit Scores

Your credit score has long determined whether you can get a mortgage, car loan, or credit card. For decades, the FICO score dominated that decision. Created in 1956 by William Fair and Earl Isaac, it became the standard measure of a borrower’s risk and is used in about 90% of lending decisions in the U.S, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But WSJ writes that a recent $10 fee increase has sparked an open battle over control of this critical number. Fair Isaac Corp. depends on credit data from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Those three firms have spent years trying to weaken FICO’s power by promoting their own scoring model, VantageScore.

When Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Bill Pulte accused FICO of anticompetitive behavior and declared that VantageScore could be used in many mortgage approvals, tensions exploded. Pulte wrote, “FICO, and any other monopoly who has ripped off Americans for decades, should not be using improper efforts to threaten regulators.”

The relationship among the four companies has turned hostile. One longtime industry figure said what previously looked like a mutually beneficial partnership now appears closer to war. At FICO, CEO Will Lansing raised prices to reflect what he called the true value of their score. FICO’s mortgage-score fee climbed from just cents years ago to $4.95 in 2025 and is set to double to $10. Mortgage lenders complain the increases cut into already thin margins, especially when borrowers back out and lenders must absorb the fee.

Lansing argues that competition will motivate lenders to favor lenient scoring, warning that “choice encourages mortgage participants to shop for the most lax score” and creates a “race to the bottom.” He said, “The FICO score is the backbone of safety and soundness in the mortgage industry.” Meanwhile, the bureaus say VantageScore can evaluate millions of people who lack traditional credit histories and expand access to homeownership.

You know, the kind of people that probably shouldn't own homes...

As pressure rose in Washington, lawmakers took interest. Sen. Josh Hawley said, “FICO has abused its government-granted market power.” FICO lobbied aggressively, while Pulte and his agency pushed for more competition.

To limit the bureaus’ influence, FICO changed strategy and enabled “tri-merge resellers” to generate scores using the company’s algorithm. That move cut out the bureaus and shifted profits toward FICO, driving its stock higher and theirs lower. In response, the bureaus began offering VantageScore for free on many loans.

The outcome will determine who controls access to credit in America and how much borrowers pay. What began as a small fee hike has escalated into a fight over the financial future of millions. Stay tuned...

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 19:40

Tuesday: Trade Deficit and Job Openings Will Not be Released

Calculated Risk -

Mortgage Rates From Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily: Highest Rates in Just Over 3 Weeks
In terms of MND's 30yr fixed index, we're currently at 6.34% versus last week's low of 6.13%. Contrast that to rates just under 7% in June and 7.25% earlier this year. [30 year fixed 6.34%]
emphasis added
Tuesday (RED will not be released due to government shutdown):
• At 8:30 AM ET, Trade Balance report for September from the Census Bureau.

• At 10:00 AM, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for September from the BLS.

More Americans Are Asking If College Is Really Worth It

Zero Hedge -

More Americans Are Asking If College Is Really Worth It

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times,

Jessica Iannacchino landed on Madison Avenue in New York City, but a career in her chosen field just wasn’t in the cards.

The 21-year-old from Poughkeepsie, New York, attended public colleges in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, to complete a bachelor’s in advertising, paying out-of-state tuition and committing to monthly student loan repayments for years to come.

She moved to Manhattan to get her foot in the door somewhere, but none opened.

Iannacchino delivered food to pay the rent and found enjoyable work in acting, appearing in a few small roles. She has several friends who also haven’t secured jobs in their fields, and are saddled with sky-high debt from attending Columbia and New York University.

“We moved here for career opportunities and then found everything was so competitive and the job market wasn’t what we thought it would be,” Iannacchino told The Epoch Times.

“It’s a lot of financial stress, and you don’t know if you’ll get a break.”

A recent Pew Research Center survey underscores Iannacchino’s situation: Seven in 10 adults say America’s higher education system is headed in the wrong direction, up from 56 percent providing that response five years ago. Policy experts, federal lawmakers, and President Donald Trump, all aware of national doubt about whether college is worth the cost, are pushing for more transparency over its return on investment.

“A college degree isn’t what it used to be,” Andrew Gillen, a research fellow at Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, said.

“It’s no longer an automatic ticket to the American Dream and the middle class. It’s been that way for a while now, but public perception is still catching up.”

Why Americans Have Doubts

The Pew survey said 79 percent of the 3,445 respondents indicated that colleges and universities are doing an unsatisfactory job of keeping costs affordable, and more than half rated higher education institutions as fair or poor in preparing students for well-paying jobs in today’s economy.

The College Board’s most recent “Education Pays” report indicates that 39 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 had a bachelor’s degree in 2021, up from 22 percent 40 years prior. It also listed the median income for a four-year degree at $73,300 compared to $44,300 for a high school diploma and $52,100 for an associate’s degree.

However, those figures, commonly cited by high school guidance counselors, are very general and don’t pertain to all programs of study. Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, published research earlier this year that noted that 23 percent of bachelor’s degrees and 43 percent of master’s degrees had a negative return on investment.

“All universities should strive to uphold the educational Hippocratic oath,” Cooper wrote in his April report. “Students should not be worse off financially for having attended college.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s online College Scorecard tool provides median earnings information by degree type, academic major, and institution.

A search of bachelor’s degree programs in sociology, for example, yielded 1,003 colleges and universities that offer the program, but most did not list the median earnings and debt of graduates. One of those that did, Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut reported median earnings at $42,513 after four years in the sociology program and median student loan debt for that program at $34,360, based on responses from 17 graduates.

In 2020, Gillen reported that more than 3,700 U.S. college degree programs failed a “debt-to-income test,” and at least 7,000 programs were at risk of failing.

Given that more than 100 higher education institutions have closed since then, and millions more students are struggling with student debt, a return-on-investment calculator should, ideally, be available for every major and school in the country based on federal income tax data, not just voluntary responses from graduates, he said.

“It opens the door for a better way to think about college,” he told The Epoch Times.

Federal Attention

Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, offered to several schools across the country, would provide preferred consideration for federal funding if the institution agrees to several conditions related to admissions and hiring practices, institutional neutrality, and affordability and transparency. One of the stipulations is publicly listing the average graduate income by program and major.

A panel of university professors, during an Oct. 28 Heterodox Academy webinar, indicated support for cost controls, transparency, and accountability as proposed in the compact.

“There is an erosion of academic excellence,” said Anna Krylov, a chemistry professor at the University of Southern California. “That’s a big problem we need to address.”

In Congress, the bipartisan College Transparency Act, was reintroduced in the House and the Senate in late July. If enacted, it would task the National Center for Education Statistics with analyzing higher education costs and financial aid, as well as evaluating student enrollment patterns, completion rates, and “post-collegiate outcomes.”

Republican House members, during a recent subcommittee meeting, said that they’re aware of many young constituents in their districts who are burdened with student loan debt and struggle to find decent-paying jobs.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said 21-year-old truck drivers for Walmart in his district make about $135,000 annually, while a cashier with a master’s degree he recently spoke with at a local grocery store is paid close to minimum wage.

“It happens all the time,” he said. “It’s the norm.”

Walmart has stated that a driver for its company can make as much as $110,000 per year.

What’s Ahead for Higher Education?

The population of traditional college-age students in the United States is decreasing. Many schools are struggling financially as their customer base shrinks, and an increasing number are expected to close in the years ahead.

A look at websites for K–12 districts, state university programs, and workforce development partnerships reveals that high school students across the nation have access to college degree credits before they complete their diplomas, which further affects income and enrollment at higher learning institutions. Additionally, vocational education and apprenticeship programs are enjoying a resurgence.

Gillen said that even if colleges and universities resist Trump’s push to disclose average graduate incomes by program of study, market forces will eventually exert themselves. Schools can’t afford to maintain “ghost majors” with low enrollments and little return on investment.

“The way colleges are set up, you basically need a crisis to start changing something,” he said. “I think we are going to see that happen.”

Regardless, opportunities exist for those willing to abandon teenage career dreams as adults.

Nathan Sharpe, of Rome, New York, enrolled in Mohawk Valley Community College’s computer science program after seeing an advertisement there touting career prospects for $60,000 a year.

A decade later, Sharpe hadn’t received a single job offer in that field. Instead, he worked his way up from a payment processor to a business analyst at a local bank before taking a job in a copper product manufacturing plant, where he now works as a trained chemist.

“It [the degree] was essentially useless outside of the fact that I can brag about being the first in my family to finish any sort of college,” Sharpe told The Epoch Times.

“I will raise my son to lean more toward a skilled trade—plumber, electrician, type of thing. I don’t want him falling into the same mistakes that I did. It set me back years.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 19:15

More Americans Are Asking If College Is Really Worth It

Zero Hedge -

More Americans Are Asking If College Is Really Worth It

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times,

Jessica Iannacchino landed on Madison Avenue in New York City, but a career in her chosen field just wasn’t in the cards.

The 21-year-old from Poughkeepsie, New York, attended public colleges in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, to complete a bachelor’s in advertising, paying out-of-state tuition and committing to monthly student loan repayments for years to come.

She moved to Manhattan to get her foot in the door somewhere, but none opened.

Iannacchino delivered food to pay the rent and found enjoyable work in acting, appearing in a few small roles. She has several friends who also haven’t secured jobs in their fields, and are saddled with sky-high debt from attending Columbia and New York University.

“We moved here for career opportunities and then found everything was so competitive and the job market wasn’t what we thought it would be,” Iannacchino told The Epoch Times.

“It’s a lot of financial stress, and you don’t know if you’ll get a break.”

A recent Pew Research Center survey underscores Iannacchino’s situation: Seven in 10 adults say America’s higher education system is headed in the wrong direction, up from 56 percent providing that response five years ago. Policy experts, federal lawmakers, and President Donald Trump, all aware of national doubt about whether college is worth the cost, are pushing for more transparency over its return on investment.

“A college degree isn’t what it used to be,” Andrew Gillen, a research fellow at Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, said.

“It’s no longer an automatic ticket to the American Dream and the middle class. It’s been that way for a while now, but public perception is still catching up.”

Why Americans Have Doubts

The Pew survey said 79 percent of the 3,445 respondents indicated that colleges and universities are doing an unsatisfactory job of keeping costs affordable, and more than half rated higher education institutions as fair or poor in preparing students for well-paying jobs in today’s economy.

The College Board’s most recent “Education Pays” report indicates that 39 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 had a bachelor’s degree in 2021, up from 22 percent 40 years prior. It also listed the median income for a four-year degree at $73,300 compared to $44,300 for a high school diploma and $52,100 for an associate’s degree.

However, those figures, commonly cited by high school guidance counselors, are very general and don’t pertain to all programs of study. Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, published research earlier this year that noted that 23 percent of bachelor’s degrees and 43 percent of master’s degrees had a negative return on investment.

“All universities should strive to uphold the educational Hippocratic oath,” Cooper wrote in his April report. “Students should not be worse off financially for having attended college.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s online College Scorecard tool provides median earnings information by degree type, academic major, and institution.

A search of bachelor’s degree programs in sociology, for example, yielded 1,003 colleges and universities that offer the program, but most did not list the median earnings and debt of graduates. One of those that did, Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut reported median earnings at $42,513 after four years in the sociology program and median student loan debt for that program at $34,360, based on responses from 17 graduates.

In 2020, Gillen reported that more than 3,700 U.S. college degree programs failed a “debt-to-income test,” and at least 7,000 programs were at risk of failing.

Given that more than 100 higher education institutions have closed since then, and millions more students are struggling with student debt, a return-on-investment calculator should, ideally, be available for every major and school in the country based on federal income tax data, not just voluntary responses from graduates, he said.

“It opens the door for a better way to think about college,” he told The Epoch Times.

Federal Attention

Trump’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, offered to several schools across the country, would provide preferred consideration for federal funding if the institution agrees to several conditions related to admissions and hiring practices, institutional neutrality, and affordability and transparency. One of the stipulations is publicly listing the average graduate income by program and major.

A panel of university professors, during an Oct. 28 Heterodox Academy webinar, indicated support for cost controls, transparency, and accountability as proposed in the compact.

“There is an erosion of academic excellence,” said Anna Krylov, a chemistry professor at the University of Southern California. “That’s a big problem we need to address.”

In Congress, the bipartisan College Transparency Act, was reintroduced in the House and the Senate in late July. If enacted, it would task the National Center for Education Statistics with analyzing higher education costs and financial aid, as well as evaluating student enrollment patterns, completion rates, and “post-collegiate outcomes.”

Republican House members, during a recent subcommittee meeting, said that they’re aware of many young constituents in their districts who are burdened with student loan debt and struggle to find decent-paying jobs.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) said 21-year-old truck drivers for Walmart in his district make about $135,000 annually, while a cashier with a master’s degree he recently spoke with at a local grocery store is paid close to minimum wage.

“It happens all the time,” he said. “It’s the norm.”

Walmart has stated that a driver for its company can make as much as $110,000 per year.

What’s Ahead for Higher Education?

The population of traditional college-age students in the United States is decreasing. Many schools are struggling financially as their customer base shrinks, and an increasing number are expected to close in the years ahead.

A look at websites for K–12 districts, state university programs, and workforce development partnerships reveals that high school students across the nation have access to college degree credits before they complete their diplomas, which further affects income and enrollment at higher learning institutions. Additionally, vocational education and apprenticeship programs are enjoying a resurgence.

Gillen said that even if colleges and universities resist Trump’s push to disclose average graduate incomes by program of study, market forces will eventually exert themselves. Schools can’t afford to maintain “ghost majors” with low enrollments and little return on investment.

“The way colleges are set up, you basically need a crisis to start changing something,” he said. “I think we are going to see that happen.”

Regardless, opportunities exist for those willing to abandon teenage career dreams as adults.

Nathan Sharpe, of Rome, New York, enrolled in Mohawk Valley Community College’s computer science program after seeing an advertisement there touting career prospects for $60,000 a year.

A decade later, Sharpe hadn’t received a single job offer in that field. Instead, he worked his way up from a payment processor to a business analyst at a local bank before taking a job in a copper product manufacturing plant, where he now works as a trained chemist.

“It [the degree] was essentially useless outside of the fact that I can brag about being the first in my family to finish any sort of college,” Sharpe told The Epoch Times.

“I will raise my son to lean more toward a skilled trade—plumber, electrician, type of thing. I don’t want him falling into the same mistakes that I did. It set me back years.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 19:15

Pinched By Penny Shortage, US Retailers Beg Congress To Step In

Zero Hedge -

Pinched By Penny Shortage, US Retailers Beg Congress To Step In

Two months after the US Mint stopped churning out pennies, American retailers are feeling the pinch as a shortage of the coins is compelling many of them to round prices down on cash transactions -- a practice that could start adding up over time and leave a mark on their bottom lines. Wary of angering customers by rounding up -- and running afoul of state and federal laws that complicate rounding in either direction -- companies are pursuing creative solutions while begging for federal intervention. 

There are about 165 Federal Reserve coin terminal facilities in the country, where banks deposit excess coins or withdraw coins as needed. More than 60 of these coin facilities have now halted penny transactions altogether, according to the American Bankers Association. That's starting to cause major headaches for businesses in various locations across the country.

A sign at a Kwik Trip lets cash customers know their price will be rounded down -- and encourages exact change

In a statement issued this week, McDonald's was one of the latest retailers to publicize their dilemma:

"Following the discontinuation of pennies nationwide, some McDonald’s locations may not be able to provide exact change. We have a team actively working on long-term solutions to keep things simple and fair for customers. This is an issue affecting all retailers across the country, and we will continue to work with the federal government to obtain guidance on this matter going forward.”

McDonald's told USA Today that its restaurants that run out of pennies are rounding either up or down to the nearest nickel. In contrast, KwikTrip is among those only rounding down to the nearest five-cent interval, steering clear of potential controversy. (We await viral video of an irate woman -- after having her price rounded up two cents -- hurling condiments at a McDonald's cashier while clutching an infant.)

There's more than potentially angry customers in the mix: Rounding could put retailers in legal jeopardy. For starters, federal laws prohibit price differences for SNAP (nee "food stamp") customers. Meanwhile, many states have laws requiring exact change and/or prohibiting charging different prices for cash transactions, which could push penny-poor retailers to change their pricing increments so everyone's bill ends up at a nickel interval, with the need to account for sales taxes as they do their calculations. The National Retail Federation is pushing the White House and Congress to issue guidance or pass laws to override state regulations that are compounding their headaches. 

There are about 250 billion pennies out there -- but many of them are idling in sock drawers and jars 

The National Association of Convenience Stores is also asking for federal help:  

“Businesses are desperate for Congress to address this issue by passing a law allowing them to round to the nearest nickel. Without federal legislation, businesses are left in the impossible position of trying to figure out what to do and at risk of being out of compliance with other laws. We urgently need Congress to act,” said NACS strategic advisor Anna Ready Blom. 

In the meantime, businesses are trying to ease the penny crunch in a variety of ways. That starts with posting notices to alert you to their shortage up-front, and urging you to pay with a credit or debit card (or, where applicable and eligible, to swipe your EBT.) At a Pennsylvania location, Reuters observed a Sheetz gas station encouraging customers to round their purchase up and donate the difference to charity.

Working on the supply end, the same Sheetz store was offering a self-serve drink at the price of 100 pennies. The Giant Eagle supermarket chain declared Nov 1 a "Penny Exchange Day," issuing a store gift card valued at twice the value of the pennies submitted. Customers could bring in up to $100 in pennies, for which they'd receive a $200 gift card. It looks like it was a hit: 

There are some 250 billion pennies in circulation, equivalent to about 700 per American. "It’s not a shortage in the traditional sense—there are plenty of pennies out there," notes the American Bankers Association. "But circulation is slowing down. Many people stash pennies in jars or drawers, and without new ones being minted, banks and retailers are relying solely on recycled coins."  

In February, President Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop making pennies. Explaining the move on social media, Trump wrote, "For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies. Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time." The US Mint reported last year that it cost 3.69 cents to produce and distribute a penny. In terms of the difference between the monetary value of the final product and the production cost, the Mint's FY 2024 loss on penny-production was about $85.3 million. 

Trump's move followed similar eliminations of lowest-denomination coins by countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Note that the penny has not been officially eliminated: Trump merely ordered the Mint to stop producing them. Final constitutional authority rests with Congress. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 18:50

A Cautionary Solar Tale: Billions Wasted Thanks To A Rush To Market

Zero Hedge -

A Cautionary Solar Tale: Billions Wasted Thanks To A Rush To Market

Authored by Gary Abernathy via The Empowerment Alliance (emphasis ours),

Back in the late 1970s there was a popular wine commercial with the film director Orson Welles reminding us that “some things can’t be rushed,” and concluding with what became a famous catchphrase: “We will sell no wine before its time.”

One of the biggest yet least discussed problems with the race to establish the solar industry before the subsidies run out is that the product has arguably been rushed to market before it is perfected. The construction is getting ahead of the expertise—meaning that billions of dollars could be invested in solar devices that are soon to become outdated.

The haste to establish solar fields across more than a million acres of U.S. farmland—along with countless more installations around the world—has seemed to come with relatively little long-term planning as to deployment, functionality with existing electric grids and eventual decommissioning and disposal.

Modern solar devices are relatively new creations, in many cases still being studied and upgraded. And yet, giant arrays of solar panels mounted on posts—replacing acres of corn, wheat, and soybean fields—are being established as though the technology is finalized and the form complete.

A stark example of the folly of rushing solar products to market was recently provided. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility in the Mojave Desert, built from 2010–14 at a cost of $2.2 billion—including $1.6 billion in three federal loan guarantees from the Obama Energy Department—is now “set to close in 2026 after failing to efficiently generate solar energy,” according to a recent story in the New York Post.

“The facility’s 5 square miles of desert were covered with some 173,500 heliostats, adjusted via computer to catch maximum rays,” the story noted. “The computer-controlled mirrors can reflect light from the sun at temperatures that can reach 1,000 degrees in part of the installment.”

“The idea was that you could use the sun to produce a heat source,” alternative energy consultant Edward Smeloff told the Post. “The mirrors reflect heat from the sun up to a receiver, which is mounted on top of the tower. That heats a fluid. It creates steam [that spins] a conventional steam turbine. It is complicated.”

But as the technology rapidly evolved, the Ivanpah facility “couldn’t compete with newer and less expensive forms of creating solar power,” the Post reported. The result? The reckless hurry to “go green” once again ended up with a project deep in the red.

Modern solar technology is so emergent that it’s a long way from being perfected. For instance, new research at the Autonomous University of Querétaroin in Mexico is studying “a new thin-film solar cell design capable of converting more than twice the standard percentage of sunlight into usable electricity,” according to Metal Tech News.

The technology is designed to utilize “only Earth-abundant, non-toxic materials in a breakthrough that could help reshape the solar industry” and have applications “both environmentally friendly and suitable for large-scale manufacturing.”

“Higher efficiency means a solar panel will produce more electricity for a given amount of sunlight, which can be crucial in applications with limited available space or where maximizing energy output is essential,” the story noted.

Another innovation involves “bifacial” solar panels, which operate by “capturing sunlight from both the front and back of the module,” allowing them to “utilize reflected sunlight from various surfaces, such as the ground, water, or nearby structures, resulting in increased electricity yield,” according to an industry report.

Left unsaid is that such breakthroughs would mean that many existing solar installations are operating with outdated technology generating less electricity than would have been likely if patience, continued research and a more complete product had been brought to market.

Yes, technology is always evolving and improvements are constantly being made on everything from automobiles to microwave ovens to cell phones to laptop computers. But in few areas—none to the extent to which taxpayers have propped up solar—have billions of dollars in subsidies been allocated to rush such a still-evolving product into production, installation and implementation.

Even more concerning is the fact that there is no need for such urgency. Our traditional, affordable hydrocarbons, especially natural gas, are sufficiently abundant to last at least through the remainder of this century. With more time and continued research, solar energy might someday be deployed more efficiently and cost-effectively, possibly requiring a fraction of the footprint currently required. Such foresight could preserve more farmland for agricultural use and minimize potential brownfield damage when solar fields reach their decommissioning stage.

The solar industry should only launch validated, fully realized products that are economically viable without government subsidies. As Steven Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute, said in regard to the Ivanpah solar debacle, “No green project relying on taxpayer subsidies has ever made any economic or environmental sense.”

The “renewables” sector should learn a lesson from the wine-making industry and promise to install no solar before its time.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 18:25

Trump Boasts He "Pushed" Netanyahu Into Gaza Ceasefire In Candid Reveal

Zero Hedge -

Trump Boasts He "Pushed" Netanyahu Into Gaza Ceasefire In Candid Reveal

US President Donald Trump has said some very revealing things about his sometimes tumultuous relationship with Israel and especially its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a fresh 60 Minutes interview which aired Sunday evening.

Among the most interesting remarks came in the below, wherein he painted a picture of bringing strong pressure to bear against 'Bibi' after which the Israeli leader complied with Trump's policy and wishes. "He's a guy that's never been pushed before actually," Trump stated, in an unusually candid assessment coming from a sitting US president. "I don't think they treat him very well... I pushed him. I didn't like certain things that he did, and you saw what I did about that." Watch:

This is unusual also for a Republican President to say as well, given GOP leaders never openly criticize Israel. Trump had at one point in the remarks emphasized again, "I did, I pushed him." 

But this moment is confirmation straight from Trump himself of what Vice President J.D. Vance described last week while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi.

"The most recent Gaza peace plan that all of us have been working on very hard for the past few weeks — the president of the United States could only get that peace deal done by actually being willing to apply leverage to the State of Israel," the vice president had said. 

"When people say that Israel is somehow manipulating or controlling the President of the United States, they're not controlling this President of the United States," he added bluntly.

As we highlighted earlier, US leaders don't usually talk about Washington's relationship with Israel in terms of applying 'leverage' to get the desired outcome, as typically in US politics it's the other way around (given AIPAC's outsized influence etc.).

As for the ongoing Gaza ceasefire, which Trump has been proud of as a major peace accomplishment, Trump described that the truce is not fragile and that he would intervene to help Netanyahu when it comes to his legal troubles in Israel.

"The ceasefire agreement in Gaza is not fragile, but very solid. I would force Hamas to disarm very quickly if I wanted to, and it would be eliminated," Trump told the CBS 60 Minutes host. "Netanyahu is the person Israel needed in times of war," he said. 

He added, "I don't think they treat him very well. He's under trial for some things, and... I think it should – you know, we'll – we'll be involved to help him out a little bit, because I think it's very unfair."

This isn't the first time the US President openly talked about intervening in the legal case, which involves several graft-related charges, which Netanyahu has decried as politically motivated. However, the Israeli opposition has warned of external interference in the case, for obvious reasons.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 18:00

AI Taking Its Toll On Jobs - What To Know

Zero Hedge -

AI Taking Its Toll On Jobs - What To Know

Authored by Panos Mourdoukoutas via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Some major companies have recently triggered a wave of layoffs, eliminating tens of thousands of jobs. Most cited artificial intelligence (AI) integration and automation as factors behind these moves.

In this photo illustration, a phone screen displays an AI logo on May 16, 2025. AI use in customer service is rising, with 70 percent of interactions expected to involve AI in 2025, according to Wifi Talents. Oleksii Pydsosonnii/The Epoch Times

Experts say that while a significant portion of jobs cannot be replicated by machines, AI will likely usurp white-collar analytical roles and robotics will replace manual labor jobs.

Amazon announced on Oct. 28 that it will eliminate about 14,000 corporate positions to stay “nimble.”

UPS, meanwhile, revealed that it had cut 34,000 operational jobs during the first nine months of this year—a significantly larger reduction than the 20,000 layoffs announced in April—as part of its “efficiency reimagined” initiative.

Nestlé said on Oct. 16 that it will reduce 16,000 jobs worldwide over the next two years in an effort to achieve “operational efficiency” by “leveraging shared services and automating [its] processes.”

In August, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff disclosed on an podcast that the company had replaced about 4,000 customer support workers with AI agents.

In the past, businesses typically downsized during economic downturns, but these recent staff reductions occurred during a period of robust profitability, signaling something different—a transformation in the way work itself is organized, driven by the rapid diffusion of AI.

Unlike past automation waves that mimicked the functions of the human body—replacing manual or routine tasks—AI targets the human brain’s cognitive abilities. It doesn’t just perform repetitive processes; it learns, analyzes, and makes decisions.

Together, these twin shifts—manual automation and cognitive automation—are remaking both unskilled and skilled labor. The result: some jobs are being transformed, others are being cut.

In a statement included in its job cut announcement, the company explained that AI’s transformative force requires new organizational structures: “It’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before ... We’re convinced that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.”

However, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said during the company’s Oct. 30 earnings call that the recent layoff announcement was not “really AI-driven, not right now, at least.”

AI Diffusion Across the Workforce

Economists, central banks, and think tanks have documented AI’s rapid spread across workplaces.

A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that by early 2023, generative AI—the class of AI capable of creating new content—had become widespread across the American workforce. Tools such as ChatGPT were embedded in browsers, office software, and search engines, making large language model usage routine for millions of workers.

The bank found that occupations adopting generative AI most intensively—particularly computer and mathematical fields—experienced the steepest unemployment gains.

“Our results suggest we may be witnessing the early stages of AI-driven job displacement,” the report noted. “Unlike previous technological revolutions that primarily affected manufacturing or routine clerical work, generative AI can target cognitive tasks performed by knowledge workers—traditionally among the most secure employment categories.”

A Brookings Institution report estimates that 30 percent of all U.S. workers could see at least half of their job tasks disrupted by generative AI. Unlike earlier automation, which primarily affected blue-collar work, AI is expected to reshape a broad range of “cognitive” and “nonroutine” occupations—especially those in middle- and high-income professions.

Similarly, the McKinsey Global Institute has projected that automation (a combination of AI and robotics) could displace up to 54 million workers in the United States by 2030.

Meanwhile, a Goldman Sachs analysis projects that widespread AI adoption could displace 6 to 7 percent of the U.S. workforce, equivalent to millions of jobs.

Goldman Sachs economists estimate that temporary unemployment spikes by roughly 0.3 percentage points for each percentage-point gain in productivity from labor-saving technology.

Jobs Most at Risk

A Society for Human Resource Management study, published on April 25, offers a detailed snapshot of U.S. employment exposure to AI.

According to the report, 12.6 percent of jobs—approximately 19.2 million positions—face a high or very high risk of automation-related displacement. Among them, 14 percent of blue-collar jobs, 12.3 percent of white-collar jobs, and 12.1 percent of service-sector jobs are considered at high risk.

Meanwhile, a June 9 report from the freelance work platform Upwork identifies 120 jobs that are hard to be replaced by AI, including clinical, creative, and skilled trades roles.

AI and Changing Nature of Skills

A December 2024 Harvard Business School paper shows that AI has a mixed impact on businesses’ labor demand.

In automation-prone roles, AI reduces the need for specialized expertise by simplifying complex tasks. In augmentation-prone roles, however, it boosts productivity and increases demand for advanced, complementary skill sets.

“As generative AI continues to evolve, understanding its heterogeneous effects on labor demand is critical,” the authors wrote. “Policymakers and business practitioners must recognize the dual forces of automation and augmentation to ensure that workers are equipped to adapt and thrive.”

At the same time, research by Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu and colleagues—published in the Journal of Labor Economics—shows that as establishments adopt AI, they reduce hiring in non-AI positions and shift skill requirements across remaining roles.

Andy Zenkevich, founder and CEO of Epiic, a digital agency specializing in generative engine optimization (GEO), told The Epoch Times that the fear of mass AI-driven job losses is overstated.

“Among the companies we work with in digital marketing—including major tech firms—layoffs haven’t been the story,” he said. “Instead, jobs are morphing. A junior copywriter becomes an ‘AI content editor,’ responsible for prompt engineering, fact-checking, and editing AI-generated copy.”

Zenkevich estimated that roughly 2.5 percent of jobs are genuinely at risk under a full-scale AI rollout, noting that “true end-to-end automation is much harder than headlines suggest.”

“Over a third of jobs now require hybrid skill sets that combine technical literacy with human qualities machines can’t replicate,” he said.

Georgios Koimisis, associate professor of finance at Manhattan University, echoed a similar skepticism.

“There’s a growing fear that artificial intelligence is wiping out jobs, but the reality is more complex,” he told The Epoch Times. “Companies aren’t cutting workers simply because AI made them redundant. In an uncertain economy, firms want to appear modern and future-ready. Announcing an ‘AI transformation’ reassures investors that management has a plan.”

Koimisis argues that some layoffs, framed as part of AI restructuring, are more about signaling discipline to shareholders than about reflecting genuine technological necessity.

“AI is changing not just how work is organized, but how value itself is defined,” he said.

Izhar Haq, director of the School of Professional Accountancy at Long Island University, agrees that the slowing economy and business cycle are also contributing factors to recent job reductions.

Haq told The Epoch Times that while the long-term economic effects of AI remain uncertain, “white-collar analytical jobs are most at risk from AI integration, while manual labor jobs face risk from robotics.”

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 17:40

"We're Seeing Demand Explode": UAE, US Sign AI And Energy Pact As Microsoft To Invest $7.9B On Infrastructure

Zero Hedge -

"We're Seeing Demand Explode": UAE, US Sign AI And Energy Pact As Microsoft To Invest $7.9B On Infrastructure

The UAE and United States have agreed to work together to 'accelerate collaboration' on energy and artificial intelligence. According to The National;

Under the agreement, the UAE and the US will work together on increase advanced industrial capabilities and adopt smart manufacturing technologies. It covers the use of AI in robotics and automation, alongside efforts to promote the sharing of knowledge and capacity building.

UAE President Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, and executive chairman of XRG, and Doug Burgum, US Secretary of the Interior and Chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council were all present at the signing. 

Meanwhile, Microsoft plans to invest more than $7.9 billion in the United Arab Emirates over the next four years as part of the Gulf state’s push to become a global tech hub, according to Bloomberg.

Announcing the commitment in Abu Dhabi, Microsoft President Brad Smith said, “This is not money we’re raising here. It’s money we’re investing and spending here… We are seeing demand here explode.”

The investment includes nearly tripling the number of advanced Nvidia chips the company will run in the UAE — hardware that had previously faced US export restrictions. Smith said Microsoft received US licenses in September after meeting “very strict conditions” to keep the chips “under our control.”

Bloomberg writes that Microsoft expects to spend $5.5 billion on cloud and AI infrastructure from 2026–2029 and around $2.4 billion on hiring and operations. The company already has about 1,000 engineers and an AI lab in the country.

The UAE is central to Microsoft’s global AI expansion as it races other tech giants to add data-center capacity. Microsoft reported $34.9 billion in global capital spending in the latest quarter and recently announced a $9.7 billion Texas data-center deal.

The software giant has invested $5.8 billion in the UAE since 2023, including $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi AI company G42, where Smith now serves on the board. OpenAI — backed by Microsoft — has also picked the UAE for its first Stargate data-center project outside the US.

Washington continues to scrutinize chip access in the Gulf amid concerns the technology could leak to China. Microsoft previously deployed 21,500 Nvidia A100-class chips in the UAE and plans to send 60,400 more — including Nvidia’s new GB300 — arriving “in months, not years.”

Overall, Microsoft says its UAE investments will total $15.2 billion from 2023 to 2029.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 17:20

Illinois Bars ICE Arrests In State Courthouses And Safe Zones

Zero Hedge -

Illinois Bars ICE Arrests In State Courthouses And Safe Zones

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Illinois has now joined California and Connecticut in barring federal immigration agents from conducting “civil arrests” of illegal aliens in or around state courthouses. The sanctuary law appears largely performative since it also appears unconstitutional. It is difficult to see how a state can bar the exercise of federal jurisdiction, at least after the Civil War.

Gov. JB Pritzker has been ratcheting up the rhetoric against ICE and the Trump Administration for months, including analogies to the Nazis and claims that democracy is dying. The new law, however, crosses the constitutional Rubicon by not only limiting the operation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but also establishing a 1,000-foot “buffer zone” outside of buildings.

The law makes courthouses equivalent to churches, where suspects can claim sanctuary not only when they cross the threshold but also within 1000 feet, unless, of course, ICE ignores the law.

Recently, the chief judge in Cook County issued an order with the same prohibition. A few other judges in other states have issued similar orders.

The authority for the orders is highly dubious.

The federal government can cite laws mandating the arrest of certain individuals for immigration violations. See, e.g., 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c) (mandatory detention of certain aliens who are removable due to criminal convictions or terrorist activities); id. § 1231(a) ( detention and removal of aliens with final orders of removal).

The most immediate problem for Illinois is the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution: “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof[] . . .  shall be the supreme Law of the Land[] . . . any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.” U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2.

The second problem is the Supreme Court, which has repeatedly rejected such state authority to dictate federal enforcement or policies. See, e.g., Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342 U.S. 580, 588–89 (1952) (the United States has the “exclusive[]” control over “any policy toward aliens”); see also South Carolina v. Baker, 485 U.S. 505, 523 (1988); Mayo v. United States, 319 U.S. 441, 445 (1943).

Ironically, as I have previously pointed out, these blue states will face an unusual authority cited against them: Barack Obama. It was President Obama who went to the Supreme Court to strike down state laws that interfered with federal immigration enforcement (even in assisting that enforcement). In Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. 387, 394 (2012), he largely prevailed and the Supreme Court affirmed that “[t]he Government of the United States has broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration and the status of aliens.”

This recognized authority goes back to the Nineteenth Century. The Court has ruled that “Congress [has] the right, as it may see fit, to expel aliens of a particular class, or to permit them to remain,” and “has undoubtedly the right . . . to take all proper means to carry out the system which it provides.” Fong Yue Ting v. United States, 149 U.S. 698, 714 (1893).

The law also creates the ability to sue federal authorities for false imprisonment under state law.

Keep in mind that the law creates a 1,000-foot circle around any state court, creating safe zones for illegal immigrants.

The provision in the Senate legislation stated:

Section 15.

Civil arrest prohibited; certain locations.

(a) A person duly and in good faith attending a State court proceeding in which the person is a party, a witness, a potential witness, or a court companion of a party, witness, or potential witness is privileged from civil arrest while going to, remaining at, and returning from the court proceeding, including:

(1) at the place of the court proceedings;

(2) within the courthouse building;

(3) on the premises of the courthouse, including parking facilities serving the courthouse;

(4) on any sidewalk, parkway, and street surrounding the courthouse and its premises; and

(5) on any public way within 1,000 feet of the courthouse including a sidewalk, parkway, or street.

Presumably, if you rent an apartment within one of those zones, you would be able to create effective immunity by simply signing a lease. As long as you stay within the specified public areas, you will be protected from civil arrest. With Illinois and other states pushing apps tracking ICE operations, a suspect could step outside onto a sidewalk or public space to claim protection from any civil arrest. It is unclear whether landlords will raise their rents in light of the new immunity amenity.

Keep in mind, if this were constitutional, the state could add to the list of sensitive places from city services to clinics. The result would be a mosaic of safety zones that would be maddening for federal authorities. Notably, blue states have attempted the same tactic to circumvent Second Amendment rights.

The legal infirmities behind these laws is irrelevant for politicians seeking to virtue signal. However, it will come at a real cost for individuals who mistakenly rely on these assurances and assume that they are protected within safe zones.

Many states during the desegregation period challenged federal authority in the fight against civil rights. They also failed.

Of course, the greatest irony is that the two figures who will be cited against this move are the two favorite sons of Illinois who became presidents: Lincoln and Obama. Both reinforced the supremacy of federal jurisdiction.

Indeed, the bill was passed just a couple days before the anniversary of Lincoln’s election as the 16th President of the United States. He then faced states that claimed that they could take the ultimate step of removing themselves from federal authority and jurisdiction.

Illinois now claims the right to dictate where federal authority can be exercised and makes federal authorities liable for violating specified state safe zones.

Good luck with that.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 17:00

"Most Expensive Stock I've Ever Seen": Palantir Smashes Estimates But Stock Fades After Hours Surge As Valuation Questions Swirl

Zero Hedge -

"Most Expensive Stock I've Ever Seen": Palantir Smashes Estimates But Stock Fades After Hours Surge As Valuation Questions Swirl

Palantir, which after Nvidia is perhaps the current AI bubble's most symbolic stock trading at a forward PE of over 300x, reported Q3 earnings which saw the company beat on the top and bottom line and boosted its revenue guidance for the full year; beating the average analyst estimate, sending the stock to fresh all time highs although the after hours action has been decidedly soggy with the stock first surging 7% before reversing all gains. 

The company, whose market cap is just shy of $500 billion and which has quarterly revenue which is about 1/500th of this amount, posted its best-ever quarterly results reporting $1.18 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of 21 cents per share, above the 17c median estimate. Palantir broke records once again with its third-quarter earnings as the company's artificial-intelligence offerings drove aggressive business growth. 

Here is what the company reported for the just concluded 3rd quarter:

  • Adjusted EPS 21c, beating estimates 17c (EPS 18c vs. also beat 6.0c y/y)
  • Revenue $1.18 billion, +63% y/y, beating estimate $1.09 billion
    • US commercial revenue grew 121% y/y to $397m
    • US government revenue grew 52% y/y to $486m

The 63% revenue growth was largely driven by Palantir's biggest segment, US commercial, which saw sales rise by 121% year-over-year. Ryan Taylor, Palantir's chief revenue and legal officer, said that Palantir is prioritizing the domestic market, which now comprises 75% of the business' total revenue. The latest quarter was the fourth in a row in which Palantir's U.S. commercial business was larger than its U.S. government segment. 

Looking inside the income statement everything was good here too:

  • Operating profit $393.3 million vs. $113.1 million y/y, estimate $255.6 million
  • Adjusted operating profit $600.5 million vs. $275.5 million y/y, beating estimates of $498.7 million
    • Adjusted operating margin 51% vs. 38% y/y, beating estimate 45.8%
  • Adjusted EBITDA $606.5 million, beating estimates of $502.1 million
    • Adjusted free cash flow $539.9 million, +24% y/y
  • Cash and cash equivalents $1.62 billion, estimate $1.31 billion

In keeping with tradition, the company raised its full-year guidance as a result of its momentum. Palantir now anticipates around $4.40 billion in revenues for the 2025 fiscal year, up from the $4.14 billion to $4.15 billion the company had guided for in the second quarter. Here are the details for the coming quarter... 

  • Sees revenue $1.33 billion to $1.33 billion, above the estimate $1.19 billion
  • Sees adjusted operating profit $695 million to $699 million, above the estimate $574.7 million

... and the full year:

  • Sees revenue $4.40 billion to $4.4 billion, saw $4.14 billion to $4.15 billion, beating estimate $4.17 billion 
  • Sees adjusted operating profit $2.15 billion to $2.16 billion, saw $1.91 billion to $1.92 billion, beating estimate $1.93 billion
  • Sees adjusted free cash flow $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion, saw $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion
  • Sees US Commercial revenue above $1.43 billion

The company's earnings beat sends a strong message of continuing demand for Palantir's products. Prior to the earnings report, Citi analyst Tyler Radke questioned if Palantir could surpass the high expectations set by last quarter's results, which saw the company crossing $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time.

Analysts expect Palantir to post a 50% increase in third-quarter revenue, with adjusted earnings per share jumping nearly 70%. Those are impressive numbers. But whether they’re enough to keep the rally going is another issue.

Commenting on the quarter, CEO Alexander Karp said in a letter to investors that the "business generated $1.2 billion in revenue for the third quarter of the year, a new record in our more than twenty-year history, representing an accelerating and otherworldly growth rate of 63% over the same period the year before."

Palantir has been a controversial name on Wall Street due to its rich valuation: the stock trades at 85 times forward sales, and a stunning 240x forward PE ratio according to Bloomberg; and reliance on government contracts which can flip quickly especially if Republicans lose control.

“Valuation is our big stumbling block,” said Morgan Stanley analyst Sanjit Singh, who has the equivalent of a hold rating on the shares. “The most expensive I’ve seen in my career.”

That said, concerns about the data analysis company’s hefty price tag are nothing new. Most analysts continue to shy away from full-throated recommendations, with twice as many assigning the stock sell or hold ratings than buy.

Indeed, only 24% of the analysts covering Palantir polled by FactSet assign the stock a buy or buy-equivalent rating. But what Palantir lacks in institutional support, it makes up for with its fervent retail following, which CEO Alex Karp emphasized as a key part of what distinguishes Palantir from other software businesses.

"People who are most excited about our results in America now are average Americans," Karp told MarketWatch.

In the shareholder letter, he said Palantir "has made it possible for retail investors to achieve rates of return previously limited to the most successful venture capitalists in Palo Alto."

Perhaps, but beyond Wall Street, Palantir has a controversial reputation. According to Bloomberg, its involvement with government programs like immigration control, an AI fraud detection partnership with mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae and relationship with the Israeli goverment have all sparked criticism. And its Chief Executive Officer Alex Karp has himself been outspoken on various political topics.

Palantir has a “great CEO, a legitimate business, and a great product,” said Vikram Rai, portfolio manager and macro trader at First New York. But its stock price is being fueled by broader trends lifting momentum plays rather than fundamentals, he said.

Others agree. “When the music stops, this stock is going to get hit harder than others,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. He applauds Karp and notes that Palantir is one of the few companies out there that’s making money from its AI investments. However, the stock price gives him pause.

“There are other AI plays which are cheaper, like Nvidia, that will be a little safer right now,” Maley said.

Others are more optimistic: Palantir “will grow into its valuation,” tech bull Dan Ives wrote in a research note last week. Wall Street is “still underestimating the company’s commercial efforts,” he added. 

On the commercial side, Gil Luria, managing director and head of technology research at DA Davidson & Co., expects strength because Palantir can “get their customers to an AI solution faster and more effectively than anybody else.” He’s kept his stock rating at neutral due to its high price, but doesn’t “see a reason for the valuation to come down right now either,” he sa

PLTR shares closed Monday above $207, after opening at $10 when the company conducted its 2020 direct listing. And while they spiked as high as $222 after hours, they have since faded to their closing price as the market assesses how much higher the forward multiple can rise.

The stock jumped as much as 3.5% on Monday ahead of results due after the close of trading, putting it on track to close at an all-time high.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 16:46

Son Of LA Crips Leader Murdered On Halloween Night Outside His Smoke Shop

Zero Hedge -

Son Of LA Crips Leader Murdered On Halloween Night Outside His Smoke Shop

Jabari Henley — 34-year-old former rapper and son of Rolling 60’s Neighborhood Crips figure and music manager Eugene “Big U” Henley — was shot and killed on Halloween night in South Los Angeles, Breitbart reported this weekend.

The shooting occurred around 11 p.m. outside his smoke shop near 69th Street and Figueroa Street. According to the LAPD, “The victim, described as a 34-year-old Black male, walked up to the suspect vehicle when an unknown suspect or suspects shot at him.” Police said the attackers fled, declined to identify Henley by name, and would not comment on possible gang ties.

The report says that Henley’s father, “Big U,” is widely known for working with rapper Nipsey Hussle and has long been associated with “checking in” — alleged extortion of celebrities entering Crips territory.

One federal affidavit stated, “While Henley and other supporters attempt to persuade the public that the ‘check in’ provides safety and security for those who do so, as set forth herein, he and the Big U Enterprise also manufacture the very danger they purport to protect against.”

Eugene Henley Jr.

Eugene Henley has previously faced charges including kidnapping and robbery, and was linked — though not charged — to the 2021 murder of rapper Rayshawn Williams. Another of his sons, Daiyan Henley, currently plays for the Los Angeles Chargers.

In March, the elder Henley surrendered to federal authorities over accusations he led a “Mafia-like” criminal operation tied to violence and extortion in Los Angeles, the NY Post wrote this weekend. He was one of 18 alleged Rollin 60s members charged in a sweeping federal racketeering case.

Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally said earlier this year: “As the indictment alleges, Mr. Henley led a criminal enterprise whose conduct ranged from murder to sophisticated fraud that included stealing from taxpayers and a charity."

“Eradicating gangs and organized crime is the Department of Justice’s top priority. Today’s charges against the leadership of this criminal outfit will make our neighborhoods in Los Angeles safer.”

The suspect remains at large. 

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 16:40

Is Nov 5th's 'Trump Must Go Now' Action Set To Kick Off Civil War 2.0?

Zero Hedge -

Is Nov 5th's 'Trump Must Go Now' Action Set To Kick Off Civil War 2.0?

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

Last Ditch?

“The question is, can communist subversion be defeated without using ‘authoritarian’ measures? Is a constitutional republic equipped to deal with this kind of threat? When someone wages war on your society internally, is there a way to fight them while being civic minded? Probably not.”

- Brandon Smith

Doesn’t it kind of look like the Nov. 5 “Trump Must Go Now” action in Washington is designed to be our time’s Fort Sumter moment, to kick off Civil War 2.0? The organizers behind it are the usual suspects: George & Alex Soros’s Open Society Foundation at the hub and spin-offs such as the Tides Foundation, Revolutionary Communist Party, and Refuse Fascism doing the logistical grunt work. . . buses. . . snacks. . . signs. . . brickbats, frog costumes. . . .

The idea is to entice a million Wokesters to surround the White House and literally exorcise the president, get Donald Trump teleported out through the roof into the cosmic ethers, to be seen no more. We’ll have to stand by to see how it works. Something like it was tried in October, 1967, when anti-(Vietnam)-war celebrities — poet Alan Ginsberg, The Fugs’ Ed Sanders, hippie rabblerousers Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin — led incantations to “levitate” the Pentagon. (Failed.)

You might have noticed by now that the most hysterical voices crying about “fascism” are exactly the people who yearn to push everybody else around, tell them what to think, run your life, wreck every institution and relationship in society, and take all your stuff.

The Left never notices how all that resembles their notion of what fascism is. Self-awareness is not the Wokesters’ strong suit.

The Nov. 5 event is predicated on — and coordinated with — the Democratic Party’s government shut-down, especially the suspension of SNAP benefits (free food), in hopes that famished mobs will rise up, loot the supermarkets, and force the president to vigorously put down food riots: Look, Fascist. . . !

But over the weekend Judge John J. McConnell Jr. (Rhode Island) foiled that ploy, commanding the president to use “contingency funds” out of the US Department of Agriculture to keep SNAP running.

The president coyly replied, “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”

Seeing as how the contingency fund contains only $5.25-billion, and the actual cost of running SNAP through November is $8.5-billion, we have a math problem. So, stand by on Judge McConnell spelling-out what appropriate legal direction can get that done. The president might have demonstrated how federal judges are not competent to carry out his Article II executive duties, and why the Constitution was written as it is. Of course, all this will be moot if the Democrats fold, as expected, by mid-month and vote to re-open the government.

The Lefty federal judges have been uniformly humiliated as one temporary restraining order (TRO) after another gets tossed by the SCOTUS. Judge James Boasberg of the DC District, the very model of a judicial “Resistance” activist, is about to get his ass impeached after ten-years of dabbling in malicious abuse of judicial process (28 U.S.C. § 2680-h under the Federal Tort Claims Act), plus 18 U.S.C. § 1001 (false statements or concealment in federal matters, potentially covering abusive filings), and 8 U.S.C. § 1503/1512 (obstruction of justice via tampering or corrupt persuasion, applicable to malicious process abuse), Stand by on that. Might be a caution to the rest of the federal judge gang to back off their Resistance shenanigans.

In case you haven’t followed the story — since The New York Times and network news won’t report on it — we are in the midst of the “Arctic Frost Investigation” scandal when, in 2022, “Joe Biden” induced AG Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray to go mad-dog on Donald Trump and hundreds of political conservatives, including nine US Senators, whose phone records were seized, with gag orders (from Judge Boasberg) to prevent notification of the seize-ees, which has raised accusations of violating their First Amendment rights, and grand jury secrecy. Arctic Frost is still unspooling, with reverberations to come, including insights on the Jack Smith / Norm Eisen lawfare spree in 2023-24 against Donald Trump that followed it.

Altogether, how successful has the Resistance movement to defy, thwart, and overthrow President Trump been going since January 20? Looks a little lame, so far. The summer of “No Kings” was entertaining enough, with the Boomer-geezers wetting their Depends every Saturday morning to stay out past noon, and the mentally-ill Antifas roistering as inflatable dinosaurs and Teletubbies to mask their homicidal tendencies. Don’t be so sure they will get the Second Civil War they yearn for. What it actually looks like is the Left has turned the Democratic Party into a suicide cult. And ask yourself: what is the end point of that, exactly?

*  *  *

Now live: JHK’s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. Amusing excerpt from the book at this link.

Tyler Durden Mon, 11/03/2025 - 16:20

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