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Friday Cat Blogging – 17 June 2022

3 years 9 months ago
This is Hilbert rolling around on the backyard patio, only to be momentarily distracted by a dog walking by. Hilbert is oddly fascinated by dogs. Not afraid, precisely, and not sociable either, but always intrigued. What are these furry things that are almost like us? A strange breed of cat? Something else? What what what?
Kevin Drum

The lessons of Watergate

3 years 9 months ago
What did Republicans learn from Watergate? I'm here to explain: Bipartisan investigations are very bad things. Following Iran-Contra, it became obvious that they were very, very bad things. Partisan investigations are great! They are highly effective at damaging the opposition and should become a routine tool of Republican administrations. On the 50th anniversary of Watergate ...continue reading "The lessons of Watergate"
Kevin Drum

Elik Calls For Public Hearings, Audit Reveals Illinois Paid $1.8 Billion In Fraudulent Claims

3 years 9 months ago
ALTON - A new audit reveals Illinois paid out nearly $2 billion in fraudulent pandemic unemployment claims by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES), State Representative Amy Elik (R-Fosterburg) is joining her colleagues in calling for immediate hearings into the operations at the troubled agency. According to State Representative Amy Elik, “$2 billion dollars is a lot of money for the state to lose, the public needs to know how this happened and figure out a way fast to make sure this does not happen again. This is why I am calling for immediate legislative hearings so we can hold IDES accountable and get our questions answered.” The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program was created to help people not usually covered by unemployment insurance, like gig workers and those who are self-employed, but according to a new audit, more than half of the money IDES paid out from a special pandemic unemployment fund went to the pockets of fraudsters instead

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Daily Deal: FlashBooks Business Book Summaries

3 years 9 months ago
FlashBooks publishes top self-help and business book summaries you can read or listen to in about 20 minutes or less. Formatted for every device: Kindle, iPhone, Android, iPad, iPods, and more. The audiobooks are formatted as downloadable MP3 files so that you can listen to them’ on the go via your favorite mobile device. Get more […]
Gretchen Heckmann

Sababa Festival Returns To Washington University On September 18

3 years 9 months ago
ST. LOUIS - Jewish Federation of St. Louis and the J announced today that the area’s largest Jewish arts and culture festival will take place Sept. 18, 2022 at the same location as the first Sababa, in front of Simon Hall, Washington University campus. “We are thrilled to announce that we have the opportunity to celebrate the vibrancy of contemporary Jewish culture again,” said Brian Herstig, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Sababa (which means “cool” in Hebrew) features local, regional, and national visual art exhibitors, culinary experiences and musical performances, as well as activities from local Jewish organizations. New this year, the festival will feature a dedicated pavilion area for families and children’s activities and entertainment. Among the musical headliners expected to take part this year are the Jewish a cappella group Six13, Sheldon Lowe, and the 15 piece Klezmer band, Klezundheit. The festival, last

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McLOLin: Things Sure Ain’t Like They Used to Be

3 years 9 months ago
Back in 2006, before the Wokes took control, I was sitting at the bar at Buffalo Wild Wings, wrist deep in mango habanero sauce. I briefly ceased my feast to wave farewell to another regular, who walked back through the doors a minute or two later with a child’s corpse in his arms and a sheepish grin on his face. “I thought I had plenty of room to back out!” he said to proprietor Zane E. Wild, who was sitting in his customary spot against the wall.
Bill McLOLin

Recession is coming

3 years 9 months ago
I'm not an economist with a sophisticated macro model or anything like that, but even before this week I thought that a recession was almost inevitable. Here are the basic reasons why: The economy has been propped up by COVID-19 spending for a while, which is a good thing. But the last stimulus bill passed ...continue reading "Recession is coming"
Kevin Drum