MY WRITING JOURNAL

Saturday, August 30

Brookings Brief

What We Learned from Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later

Trump moves to cut $4.9b in foreign aid funds without Congress. Congress previously approved the funds for foreign aid programs, but the administration is using an untested legal maneuver known as a “pocket rescission” to try to cancel them without Congressional approval. The Impoundment Control Act gives the president authority to halt the release of congressionally earmarked funds for 45 days, but they must be released if Congress doesn’t vote to rescind them during that period. Now, the administration is invoking it with less than 45 days left before the end of the government’s fiscal year in hopes of not having to release the cash. Democrats, and even some Republicans, criticized the move as an unlawful end-run around Congress’s power of the purse. The move is likely to complicate budget negotiations next month to avoid a government shutdown.

Alibaba wants to fill China’s Nvidia-sized hole with new chip. In the latest salvo in the race between the US and China for AI supremacy, China’s Alibaba has developed a new chip that’s more sophisticated than anything it has released before, as American chips from Nvidia are hard to come by in China due to export restrictions and geopolitical tensions, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. It still probably doesn’t rival Nvidia’s AI capabilities, however, as CNBC later reported that the chip is designed for running AI applications, not for training them, which requires huge amounts of data. Still, Alibaba’s stock soared on the news.

Judge isn’t ready to decide whether Lisa Cook can keep her job for now. A federal judge heard more than two hours of arguments yesterday about whether the Federal Reserve governor President Trump has tried to fire over allegations of mortgage fraud should be able to continue in her role while her suit challenging the dismissal plays out—but didn’t rule on the pressing question for the central bank. The judge, who asked probing questions of both Cook’s attorney and the government’s, has asked for more written arguments to be submitted to her by Tuesday. The outcome of the case, which is likely to ultimately end up before the Supreme Court, could shift the balance of power between the president and the historically independent Fed.—AR

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Quick Clips

In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Ariana Grande announces dates for her first tour in seven years (More) | Ryan Gosling, Amy Adams, and Aaron Pierre tapped to star in "Star Wars: Starfighter," set to premiere in May 2027 (More)

> The 2025 US Open tennis championships continue; see latest women's bracket (More) | ... and men's bracket (More)

> UEFA Champions League draw announced with the league phase for the 36-team tournament set to begin Sept. 16 (More) | Inter Miami to take on Seattle Sounders on Sunday (8 pm ET, Apple TV+, Univision) for the Leagues Cup championship (More)

Science & Technology
> CDC Director Susan Monarez removed from post by President Donald Trump after refusing order from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; four top agency officials have departed in recent days, RFK Jr.'s deputy appointed acting director (More)

> Engineers develop self-assembling electrolyte that easily breaks apart at the end of its life; marks a key advance toward cost-efficient recycling of electric vehicle batteries (More)

> Researchers combine two decades of satellite data to create most detailed map of global seasonal cycles to date, identifying regional hot spots where seasons are out of sync (More)

Business & Markets
> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.5%) following fresh economic data; S&P 500, Dow hit new records (More)

> US economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.3% in Q2, up from initial estimate of 3%; growth comes after US gross domestic product shrank 0.5% in Q1 (More)

> Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook sues President Donald Trump to block his move to dismiss her over mortgage fraud allegations; judge sets hearing for today (More)

Politics & World Affairs
> Minneapolis communities hold memorial services for victims of Wednesday's attack on Annunciation Catholic School (More) | See previous write-up (More)

> Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth bars Microsoft from continuing to hire Chinese citizens to manage the Pentagon's cloud services (More)

> Newark Liberty International Airport temporarily grounds flights amid air traffic control communication issues (More)

SOURCE: 1440 NEWS

My Political Wants

I am registered to vote in Tennessee, but neither as a Democrat nor as a Republican nor as an Independent - I am just registered.

My politics are very simple:

Low Individual Taxes
Balanced Budgets Only
No Support of Foreign Wars
Limit National Debt to 25% of GDP
Protection From Robots Taking Jobs
Weak Federal Government
Strong State Government
Strong Military
Increase in Social Security
Guaranteed Healthcare
Strong Law Enforcement
No Tax Shelters for Anyone
Non-profits Pay Taxes
Robust College Classes
Tariffs on Foreign Made Goods
No DEI
No Illegal Immigrants
Term Limits for Congress & Supreme Court
No Second Amendment
No Biological Males in Female Sports

OBVIOUSLY, many of these twenty points will never take place, even though they support both the liberal and conservative points of view.

One thing is for certain which is something I OPPOSE WHOLEHEARTEDLY and that is the USA is moving towards SOCIALISM... Not the kind of socialism where the government owns the means of production but the kind of socialism that includes:

Guaranteed Income
Free Healthcare
Free Education
Free Transportation
Rent & Price Controls

This type of socialism is guaranteed to take place in the USA and probably through the world is because of AI/Robots taking jobs. When robots take our jobs, government will have no choice but to provide those five items and more.

Somewhat Political

Coal Power Plant Demolished For Nuclear Fusion Prototype

In reading about sustainable energy and writing about it, there have been some happy news stories where former landfills are outfitted with solar power arrays and where abandoned coal mines also are found to have solar power potential.

Rivian is involved with one such project as reported on this site. I also conducted an interview about a derelict petrol station transforming into an EV charging hub.

Now comes another reversal of technologies situation: this one is about getting rid of a coal power plant for a cleaner source of electricity. Chris Mowry, CEO at Type One Energy, answered some questions about the project.

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Van Morrison ,St James Infirmary, Montreux 2003

Friday, August 29

Night Sailing

Lara Trump

The Shannon Joy Show

Sunburst

The Amber May Show

Russell Brand

Dream Home

The Big MIG

TimcastIRL

Daisey's

The Big THINK

A prehistoric plot twist

Headlines

Saul Loeb/Getty Images

Fed Governor Lisa Cook sued President Trump over her firing. Cook filed the lawsuit yesterday in Washington, DC, federal court, calling Trump’s efforts to remove her illegal and kicking off a fight over the Fed’s independence. The suit focused on the Federal Reserve Act, which dictates that she could only be removed for “cause”—the parameters of which will likely ultimately be determined by the Supreme Court. The suit also claims Cook’s due process was violated, as she was not given an opportunity to respond to the mortgage fraud accusations that Trump said her termination was based on before he announced it. Cook’s filing suggested the mortgage application in question contained a “clerical error.”

US GDP growth got revised upward. The second of three estimates for Q2 GDP data was released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis yesterday, showing that the US gross domestic product increased by 3.3% on an annual basis during that time. That’s higher than the 3% estimate released last month, and the data will be revised one more time before it’s finalized. Growth is good, but it complicates the Federal Reserve’s job of making an interest rate decision in a couple of weeks. If the economy is trending up and to the right, it has less reason to cut interest rates.

Fallout from Monarez’s firing besieges CDC. Following President Trump’s firing of the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez, on Wednesday night, three senior CDC leaders resigned in protest yesterday morning. Monarez was a longtime scientist for the federal government whom Trump nominated for the role. Her attorneys said she was fired for refusing to follow “unscientific, reckless directives.” One of the leaders who resigned said she did so because Monarez’s firing makes it easier for a CDC committee to change vaccine recommendations. That panel is scheduled to meet on Sept. 18, the Department of Health and Human Services announced yesterday.—HVL

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Robert Reich

Why I can’t retire

Friends,

Yesterday I heard from an old friend who urged me to slow down. “You’re overdoing it, Bob,” he said. “A new book. Movie. Substack. Videos. You’re pushing 80, for crying out loud. What are you trying to prove?”

I told him I’m not trying to prove anything.

He warned me I was going to harm my health.

Rubbish.

I’m not going to play golf or lie in a hammock and sip mint juleps. That’s not me.

Besides, there’s no way I’ll retire as long as a raving sociopath sits in the Oval Office and destroys everything I believe in.

Trump is 10 days older than I am. If he can cause as much mayhem as he does every day, the least I can do is make a bit of good trouble every day.

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At A Glance

(8/25/25) TSA announces new luggage rules related to curling irons.

(8/20/25) The controversial rise of grandma showers.

(8/11/25) Petunia is crowned world's ugliest dog.

(8/18/25) Things people in happiest relationships discuss daily.

(8/25/25) Time-lapse of a girl over 20 years.

(8/22/25) The latest dating trend is Shrekking.

(8/5/25) The wild origins of the word "dude."

(8/14/25) The hardest-to-pronounce town name in every state.

(8/14/25) Farmer’s Almanac warns of long, cold winter for most of US.

(8/15/25) Map shows levels of forever chemicals near your home.

(8/13/25) The best-paying job for every Myers-Briggs personality type.

Clickbait: These features could be coming to your iPhone soon.

Historybook: "Casablanca" actress Ingrid Bergman born, dies (1915, 1982); Sen. John McCain born (1936); Michael Jackson born (1958); Netflix is founded (1997); Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in Louisiana, kills nearly 1,400 (2005).