Bits n pieces, from east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

Moody’s Analytics says America’s richest 10% (who make more than $250,000 annually, i.e. $20,833 per month or more), are driving a record 49.7% of total consumer spending.

NPR reported that the U.S. supply of precision missiles is almost depleted due to months of war with Iran, according to an official source not authorized to speak.

One ship a day goes through the Strait of Hormuz; the pre-war number was about 130: Reuters.

Last week marked one year since Trump declared a “crime emergency” in Washington D.C., despite a 30-year low there in violent crime. NPR said the number of uniformed troops in D.C. went from 800 to almost 5,000; the deployment has been extended to Jan. 20, 2029.

From a ProPublica investigation: federal judges, from both parties, see President Donald Trump’s Dept. of Justice legal representatives engaging in “unlawful,” “unethical” and “unseemly conduct.” Judges are frustrated that cases represented by the government fail to be fair and honest.

Headlines, for brevity: ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks [costing up to $20 million]; White House Seeks to Lift Development Ban In National Forests [ending a quarter century of protections and opening nearly 45 million acres to road construction and other development]; Alarm after Trump admin hires 2,000 [video] gamers as air traffic controllers [a former FAA official said gaming provides an edge, “but it doesn’t replace aptitude, or discipline , or decision making under pressure”]; U.S. communities [in Tennessee, Texas and Ohio] sue DHS over scheme to force states to restrict voting by withholding anti-terrorism funds; The federal government is still on a borrowing binge [the deficit topped $2 trillion this year, being $200 billion more than projected six months ago]; Lawsuit seeks to stop Trump from making money off early access to his [Truth Social] posts on US policy [TS charges as much as $100,000 a month for early access to the president’s posts].

Blast from the past: Whether a farmer or vacationer, summers aren’t what they used to be. They’re now overshadowed by threats from wildfires, smoke, extreme heat, drought, flooding and heftier hurricanes -- all once predicted by Big Oil. Climate change warnings started in the late 1890s (not a typo). Congress was alerted in the 1960s. A 1982 American Petroleum Institute report warned of serious consequences due to upcoming aridity and rainfall changes. Big Oil was fully aware of damages they were inflicting, even reporting in 1996 to fossil fuel companies (who were actively spreading climate denial spiels) that the “elderly, sick and very young” would be vulnerable to expected temps “beyond which mortality rises significantly.” In 1998 an internal Shell report said unrestrained fossil fuel use would disrupt eco-systems, alter agricultural patterns and lead to conflict. Shell had earlier warned of more violent storms and “more deluges.” Over the last 60 years the average U.S. heat wave season went from 23 days to 70. This year’s first three months in the U.S. were the driest on record. Lakes Powell and Mead, both significant western water reservoirs, have hit record low levels. The oil industry’s predictions for upside-down summers were shoved aside in preference for continued profits -- a calculated massive fraud targeting those who fear change.