Politics

When the Treasury reported its monthly receipts and outlays data for the month of May at 2pm today, it was more of the same: far more spending than receipts, resulting in a 68.4% surge in the US budget deficit compared to a year ago. Specifically, outlays of $329 billion soared 19% compared to a year ago, offset by a modest 7% increase in receipts, resulting in a $88.4 billion deficit in May, more than the $87 consensus estimate, and well above the $52.5 billion a year earlier. The reason: government spending in areas such as Medicaid and defense rose at a far faster pace than revenue.

Both the New York Times and Washington Post confirm that the U.S. used white phosphorous in densely populated Iraq and Syria.

Why does this matter?

The use of white phosphorus is a war crime under international treaties and domestic U.S. laws. For example, the Battle Book, published by the U.S. Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, contains the following sentence:

It is against the law of land warfare to employ WP [i.e. white phosphorous] against personnel targets.

In perhaps the least-surprising news of the day, a second federal appeals court on Monday ruled against President Trump’s revised travel ban. The decision, from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, followed a string of recent rulings rejecting the administration’s efforts to limit travel from several predominantly Muslim countries.

The meaning of the term Covfefe has finally been revealed, at least as interpreted by Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley who moments ago introduced the "COVFEFE" Act, also known as the Communications Over Various Feeds Electronically for Engagement.

In his characteristically unique style, this morning Mint's Bill Blain has set his sights, and commentary, on the recent elections in the UK and France, the former of which he summarizes as a "FUBAR moment of monumental proportions" while the latter is - well, who knows, but "at least Macron has a plan."

His latest "Blain's Morning Porridge" note below:

France or the UK - A Tale of Two Cities... but mainly who is going to clear up?