Here's the whole Pew report: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/08/14/trumps-tariffs-and-one-big-beautiful-bill-face-more-opposition-than-support-as-his-job-rating-slips/

Add Mexico to the list. Mexico said Wednesday its postal service was suspending package shipments to the United States ahead of an end to the exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages by the Trump administration. The announcement follows similar moves by postal services from the European Union and several other countries to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the U.S. measure. It also comes during monthslong negotiations between the Mexican government and the Trump administration to avoid wider tariffs. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/28/mexico-suspends-postal-shipments-to-united-states-over-tariff-confusion-00533242

Maybe people should not be so picky about things that really don't matter much.

Also today's Krugman blog post: https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/why-arent-markets-freaking-out?publication_id=277517&post_id=172134133&isFreemail=true&r=53zo0e&triedRedirect=true

It's allowed in the ornithological sense. Fanny pack is a bum bag here. Like Daniels sling bag. We still use underpants(boxers/y-fronts/nickers) but have lost (the quite obvious use of) pants as you commonly use the word. Rubber is still used in art contexts. I say condom. But then, I'm getting a bit long in the tooth.

AI is getting quite good at music composition. There was a music history teacher who asked me, decades ago, why I chose another major field study other than music. I wonder what she would say today.

jon, I contacted company, told them their package was a week late, that I didn't want this package, and that I want the same product in black. Their customer service skills were great.

@jon-nyc said in Universal Cancer Vaccine: We solve cardiovascular disease and cancer that means everyone who doesn’t get hit by a bus dies of dementia. Until we solve that ... Unless the GOP keeps us stupid.

Waiting for a quote on putting basement back together, house was painted early this month, huge window will be replaced 9/18 and we made big progress in the garage yesterday. We will get both cars in this winter!

Lovely!

This is wild! I had no idea the technology had progressed this far. Huge potential here.

@Amanda Well, it's a joint Federal/ States program. The states actually run it by subcontracting it to private insurance companies (classic neoliberalism). It has been my understanding that Medicare and Medicaid, are under the same bureaucratic Federal umbrella (there's a name for that agency). Any negotiation on price is truly piecemeal and kind of a joke compared to what real negotiation across the board would be. Florida's Medicaid program pays 100% retail for drugs, but only offers generic, and denies authorization for some (many?) drugs. The elephant (sic) in the room is that drug companies were exempted from Federal anti-trust law in the '40's and nothing has been done about it. There are huge disadvantages to Medicaid in Florida. PCPs have a heavy disincentive to make specialist recommendations. You'd practically have to fall down in front of a PCP and break an arm or a leg to get one. Florida pays for Medicaid prescriptions on the assumption that almost all Medicaid receipts have literally no money. Of course, we'll have to see, if we live long enough, what effects Trump cutting almost $1 trillion from Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA will have in the immediate and long term. I think it's a two party set up (I'm cynical that way) but I confess Trump II has been a wrecking ball the likes of which I did not predict.

Yeah, that’s pretty sad. I mean, that’s not a genre of music I normally listen to but it does nail the angsty self-involved thing.