America

After nearly a full month has passed since his original confirmation hearing back in mid-January, the Senate has finally voted to confirm former Goldman Sachs banker, Steven Mnuchin, as Trump's Treasury Secretary, adding one more official former vampire squid to the team of Trump's "Goldman Guys."  One Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, broke party lines and voted in favor on Mnuchin resulting in a final vote tally of 53-47.  Mnuchin's confirmation once again puts a Goldman Sachs veteran in charge of the Treasury for the first time since Hank Paulson departed the office in 2009. 

In his recent TV appearance, last week David Stockman suggested that President Trump would be better suited to spend some time actually addressing economic issues instead of the administration's travel ban for immigrants from Middle Eastern countries, which Stockman called "a giant misfire." Employing the 1992 Clinton Campaign motto of "it's the economy, stupid," Stockman noted "Trump was elected because flyover America is hurting economically.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to the US capital where he will be meet Donald Trump in the White House on Wednesday. “I am going to Washington to have a very important meeting with President Trump… The alliance between Israel and America has always been extremely strong and it is about to get even stronger,” Netanyahu told the media at the airport as he set off on Monday. “President Trump and I see eye-to-eye on the dangers emanating from the region, but also on the opportunities.

Submitted by Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

Don’t be fooled by the idiotic exertions of the Red team and the Blue team. They’re just playing a game of “Capture the Flag” on the deck of the Titanic. The ship is the techno-industrial economy. It’s going down because it has taken on too much water (debt), and the bilge pump (the oil industry) is losing its mojo.

Excerpted from today's Blain's Morning Porridge by Bill Blain of Mint Partners

Over weekend drinks, dinners, very good lunches and rugby banter I was repeatedly told by my chums with real jobs in Industry, Services and Government how terrible this Trump fellow is turning out. It's terribly liberal of us all to be illiberal about him.