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The U.S. Supreme Court  narrows the scope of the ban to people who have no bonafide relationship with a person or entity in the U.S., and allows partial implementation of the ban on 6 countries sought by the Trump administration. The court will hear the full case with oral arguments in October to decide. Earlier lower courts had reversed the travel ban, and president Trump filed an emergency appeal at the high court. The narrowing of the implementation is also applied to refugees. Chief Justice Roberts worked to negotiate a compromise on a middle approach, getting Justices Kennedy and the four liberal justices on board for the unsigned opinion. Conservative Justices Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch offered a partial dissent saying that the compromise was not workable in practice.

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Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, is coming under increasing criticism for supporting the Conservative-Liberal coalition government's austerity plan, and for lack of efforts to fight inflationary pressures. On a major issue on which King has taken a clear stand- that the largest British banks should increase capital levels exceeding the international standards- not much has happened. Consumer prices in Britain were up at a 3.7% annual rate in December, and the government's austerity policies will also cause pain. In a recent speech King said that the Bank of England had limited ability to fight the higher unemployment and increased inflation. It was an admission of the limits of central bankers in the current situation. King said "a squeeze in living standards is the inevitable price to pay for the financial crisis and the subsequent rebalancing of the UK and world economies.

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Trofimov of the WSJ says the action by Saudi Arabia for execution of 47 persons most of them involved with Al Qaeda from tribes, including a Shiite cleric Nemer al-Nemer who led Arab Spring type protests in eastern Saudi Arabia, was meant as much to appeal to domestic conservative Sunni opinion as it was as a counter to Iran. The government of Saudi Arabia increased spending on social benefits after the Arab Spring in 2011, yet was forced to increase prices of some grades of gasoline by 50% at gas stations to conserve financial resources from its $640 billion sovereign wealth fund. The Saudis and the Russians are on opposite sides of the Syria-Iraq war, with the Saudis holding down oil prices as part of the geopolitics of the region, which led to the budget cuts in Saudi Arabia in 2015-2016. Conservative Sunni opinion in the country favors stronger action by the Saudi government against Russian and Iranian intervention in Syria and Iraq, according to Trofimov.

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Dana Milbank of the WP says the views of some Democrats on Trump as a good Republican nominee based on the notion that he has high negative perception with voters is fraught with dangers for U.S. democracy. Milbank points out that this ignores what is good for the country. Having Trump as the nominee of one of the two main parties would create a divisive atmosphere and is not good for the country, says Milbank. In comparing Trump with Cruz, he says Trump is likely to follow his instincts to operate outside the U.S. constitutional system. Cruz as a person believes in the U.S. constitution and would never endorse violence or action against minorities. Cruz has not done enough to come across as a likable person with his persistent focus on conservative or Reagan values to the exclusion of everything else. This is changing in mid-April 2016 following a CNN interview with the Cruz family, a MSNBC town hall answering questions from undecided voters, and NYT coverage of Cruz at a Brooklyn bakery, that shows a different human face that people have never seen about Cruz. Cruz's self-deprecating humor in a NYT article where he talks about voters not liking "a hectoring scold," is part of this needed change that could have happened earlier in the campaign. About Trump Milbank cites Conservative party prime minister Cameron who says Trump would unite all Britons against him if he ever came to Britain....

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US president Biden's $2 trillion Families and Workers plan, for early childhood education, paid leave, healthcare and climate change investment, is coming up for a vote in Congress. Paid leave that also includes maternity leave and leave that would help women return to the workforce, has been added back to the bill. Community college aid was earlier removed from the package with resistance from private colleges that expect to lose tuition paying students, even though male students are falling dangerously behind in attending college without government support. The Biden administration is facing resistance from just a couple of Democratic Congressmen- about five led by a Congressman from New Jersey, and 2 Senators from Arizona and West Virginia- on community college government aid that helps young American men and women from the working class and on paid leave that helps women. Many Republicans have supported taking this action for renewal of America on serious issues that face the country, making it likely that these issues will only become more pressing in the next three years. Sometimes as is happening today some isolated or eccentric situations can block major legislation for the good of the country such as the makeup of a Congressional seat in New Jersey with large pockets of conservative Republicans who oppose spending, and conservative instincts of two Democratic senators from Arizona and West Virginia. This WSJ report looks at Biden's position that deterrence when filing tax returns will generate close to $400 billion and not $150 billion that the Congressional Budget Office says is its estimate. To accomplish this Biden plans to spend $80 billon in large investments to increase the resources of America's tax collecting agency. Much of this was never done and policies geared to where large corporations never paid their fair share of taxes. The first step was to prevent outshoring of headquarters to reduce taxes- and this was achieved in the first year of the Biden Administration with over 100 countries agreeing on a corporate minimium tax. In the same way president Biden now seeks to correct other flaws in the tax system so that much needed investments can be made by generating new revenue not just in infrastructure, but for renewal of America through renewal of support for women, children, and America's working classes. Much of that was badly neglected by different  administrations over the last three decades.     ...

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Republican Jeb Bush's address to the 2013 CPAC conference focusses on the decline of social and educational mobility in the U.S. to its lowest point since 1945. In this address he points out that " the central mission of conservatives is to reignite social mobility in this country- restoring the right to rise." His focus on restoring the right to rise is on doing everything to increase opportunities for "quality education," an issue on which he focussed as governor of Florida. He sees technolgy and relative youthful population compared to China and other countries in Europe, as giving America a unique advantage. On this and individual efforts he pins the broad hopes of the middle class revival he sees. He puts the problems of America's middle class and working class as wages declined and the economy suffered from misallocation of resources in stark terms- "Today, the sad reality is that if you're born poor, if your parents did'nt go to college, if you don't know your father, if English isn't spoken at home- then the odds are stacked against you. You are more likely to stay poor today than at any other time since World War II." And he sees Conservatives having a response to this situation, and restoring the idea of America as a land of opportunity for all....

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Greg Jaffe and Patrick Marley tell the story of how the mask mandate in Michigan had the unintended effect of splitting the administration of a historically conservative Republican county in Western Michigan. Ottawa county in western Michigan is close to Grand Rapids and includes the cities of Grand Haven and Holland, with Dutch Calvinist roots. The mask mandate led to Mr. Moss getting into politics after it led to the closure of a Christian school that did not adhere to the mandate where his daughters studied. He founded a political organization Ottawa Impact with private donated funds that won the local election with eight of 11 seats in the County Board of  Commissioners. And decided the only way forward was to replace the entire civil administration in Ottawa County. Courts have prevented the firing of Ms. Hamble running the environmental division of the Health Department.  Ms. Hamble has many years of experience in her field and says she is acting professionally to protect health sanitation for the local community. The result is an impasse and much acrimony in a traditionally Republican county with unique Dutch Christian roots. This NYT report sees this as something that is taking place in many such places all across America- ideological differences turning into divisive discussions. ...

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The Chief Correspondent of BBC News points out the dangers facing May and the British economy as the deadline of March approaches for invoking Article 50 to leave the EU and start negotiations. The possibilities of a "disorderly break" cannot be discounted, he says. There are many hurdles. The negotiations could get bogged down on the issue of settling outstanding obligations for which Britain owes 50-60 billion euros. Consumers will feel the effects of higher prices on their budgets as prices creep up. Already tech goods prices are reflecting the drop in value of the British pound. There is little solace to be found in the 6 months of steady economy following the Brexit vote as inflation has not hit consumers hard so far. Chancellor Merkel of Germany has said that there will be "no cherry picking" allowed in the negotiations. And the French right and former Gaullists have never concealed their views about Britain being on again and off again on the idea of Europe. The City of London, British business, and large parts of the Conservative Party do not favor Brexit, even the civil servants expected to implement it are skeptical, creating an additional layer of complexity and uncertainty and difficulty.Under a "disorderly break" Britain would revert back to the tariffs set under World Trade Organization arrangements. ...

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Institute of Fiscal Studies, IFS, shows where the money is going in Labour's first Budget. See graphs of the household income over the 75 years under Conservative and Labour governments, which shows slower growth in household income over the next 5 years. Healthcsare and Education are growing at 4%. The growth of 6-10% is for local government spending, housing, communities and local government, work and pensions, Justice, HM Revenue. The slow rise in household incomes to 2030 is the result of trickle down economics which is sold vigorously by some groups as economic orthodoxy including the largest corporations paying little in taxes. This is true also of the US. FDR called it Tory policies and policies that say trickle down economics works when it doesn't. FDR said at DNC in 1932- "And we thought the Tories left in 1776." Today this is why UK household incomes show slight growth to 2030, and even this Labour Government is hesitant to boldly question this economic orthodoxy.  For Britain the debacle of Brexit turning some legitimate questions of immigration into isolation from economies of mainland Europe adds to the problem.     ...

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Murphy and Sanders on the 12 million Missing Votes in 2024. Where did they go? Two US Senators Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders answer questions about the 12 million Missing Votes - the difference between Biden's 81.2 million votes in 2020 and Harris's 71.5 million in 2024 plus about 2 million from the population growth over 4 years of that group. Does any one position on guns, climate,  culture or gender, immigration, make it right? What about common sense, the facts on the ground, people's unease about some things going too far in one direction. Murphy- “We don’t listen enough; we tell people what’s good for them. “When progressives like Bernie aggressively go after the elites that hold people down, they are shunned as dangerous populists. Why? Maybe because true economic populism is bad for our high-income base.” Working class voters are conservative when it comes to cultural issues. Should any party belong to one position on cultural issues- as some people have unease about going too far on cultural issues such as transgender, that things are changing too fast.   ...

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The Liberal Democrats Ed Davey attracted attention with some jet ski stunts just before the election. It showed the lighter side of him. Lib Democrats want to be a friend of Labour and Keir Starmer. Together  the 34 percent Labour voting and 12% Libs, 7% Greens adds to 53% of the vote, Versus the Tory 24% and Reform UK wing of Tory at 14% adding up to 38%. This was apparent in the Q&A session in parliament. Not so well known is that this kind of fits Davey well- he is caring for a teenage disabled son and has cared for his terminally ill mother. The Libs won safe Tory seats is how it all started with someone coming up with the stunts idea to get media to focus on the Libs.  In parliament it is strange as if Libs are the friendly Opposition in Q&A and Sunak unconvincing as Leader of the Opposition. With Tory conservative vote split into Farage and Sunak factions, the Libs won 71 seats. In parliament now Labour has 404 seats, Tories 121, and Davey's Lib Dems 72 seats, Farage Reform just 5 seats after so much work pulling down Tories, and Scottish Nationalists just 9 seats. ...

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The Asian-American voters are significant in some states such as New Jersey 7% of voters, Nevada 9%, Minnesota 3.1%, and California 15%. Compared to the 2012 election this is the fastest growing demographic up 16%. With lower immigration from Mexico this is likely to continue for several decades. Nationally it is 4% but growing rapidly. The Asian-Americans come from countries such as India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines. Seib says Trump has lost as many Asian-Americans as he has gained whites who chant "build that wall," by using such rhetoric. The Asian Americans are about 48% moderate and about 23% liberal, 19% conservative. Many are in the tech and white collar fields, in the suburbs of major cities including the South. Its this location that can make them an important influence. The Democratic Party has reached out to these generally better educated voters, who have heard about building that wall with unfavorable views- 40% saying they would vote against a person with "anti-immgrant views" regardless of what the other issues are. The early 2016 poll done by the Asian and Pacific Islander Vote project shows 61% having unfavorable views of Trump and 61% having favorable views of Clinton in 2016.   ...

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Britain's Treasury chief Osborne faces a difficult period as the economy shows flat growth for 2012 and 2013. The targets he set for eliminating the structural deficit or budget gap by April 2017 may need to be shifted to 2018. The target for net debt to decline as a percentage of GDP by 2015 may also be unachievable if growth is flat in the coming year. An accounting change in how profit from the Bank of England's bond buying program are shown is designed to reduce Treasury's borrowing and bring Britain closer to this target. Osborne says Britain's actions for austerity measures, spending cuts and increasing taxes have helped keep interest rates low to pay off debt.

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Political activism and grassroots efforts- other than street protests - are increasing in eurozone countries facing high unemployment and austerity cuts. The focus is on cleaning up the political system rife with cronyism, corruption and wasteful spending. Brat and Bjork describe one such effort in the town of Torrelodones, Spain, 18 miles from Madrid. Criminal investigations in many Spanish cities have increased public awareness and participation in local government. European Social Survey based in London, reports political activity of this kind in Spain jumped from 27% in 2008 to 39% in 2010. There is an increasing sense that the political elites of the two main parties, the Partido Popular and the Socialists have failed to bring clean government and transparency to Spain. As a result progressives are joining conservatives in an effort to clean up years of wasteful spending, cronyism and corruption in government. The Union for Progress and Democracy, representing an alliance of such groups would win 13% of the vote in a national election, and the ruling conservative Partido Popular would lose half of its support and get only 22.5%, according to independent Spanish polling firm Metroscopia. The new push for transparency is one of the welcome changes at a time of austerity cuts and 27% unemployment in Spain. Many of the perks of public officials such as chaeuffer driven cars and police escorts, contracts for favored few at higher prices, are out in many cities, and accounts made public for scrutiny and change. Transparency International's transparency index shows 33 out of 110 of Spain's biggest cities scoring top grades on the 2012 index, jumping from only one. Following the example of the regional government in Navarra, the central government is drafting the first open-records law. Castilla-La Mancha, the area around Toledo, run by a clean government advocate Maria Dolores de Cospedal from the Partido Popular has taken aggressive steps to clean up the local government and wasteful spending- see the link to Castilla La Mancha. Her long term approach is to clean up government spending and accounts with the idea of preserving spending where it is most needed, in education, healthcare and vital services hit by cuts, an approach being taken in other Spanish cities. ...

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Pennsylvania is one of the critical states in the 2020 U.S. election. It is also one of the states hit hard by the coronavirus. Pennsylvania has also seen the impact of layoffs in the vital steel industry during two decades of neglect by previous administrations till the tariffs on steel from China by president Trump began a reversal of this trend. Unemployment is high in Pennsylvania as a result of the pandemic. 51 of 67 counties in the state recorded unemployment rate increases for 2020 that are in the top 20% for the U.S. Pennsylvania and Michigan are two critical states for the 2020 election. Pennsylvania has done much worse than other states including Michigan when it comes to the impact of the pandemic on unemployment rates in all counties. Voters could decide to blame the Democratic governor for lockdown restrictions  that worsened unemployment or president Trump for his approach to the coronavirus. There is also concern among conservative voters about the kind of change they seek between steady improvement in unemployment and a shift to radical changes in the economy. ...

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A new book by Levitsky and Ziblatt, two Harvard political science professors, has the alarming title "How Democracies Die." This book points out that the first line of defense against autocratic tactics by a president is for his own party to obstruct it. This has happened recently when the president of Sri Lanka's autocratic tendencies were checked by a leader of his own party Mr. Sirisena, who worked with the opposition leaders to defeat president Rajapaksa. The Republican party is the first line of defense, and the leaders have to put the country's interests first for this to happen. The authors make the point in the book that much more needs to happen in the U.S. than the reenergizing of Democrats- there has to be working together across party lines and bringing people together, enlightened liberals joining enlightened people in business, on the conservative side, and Christians.  Leonhardt says this period may just be a phase, but don't take that for granted. Be responsible, and safeguard our liberties.  ...

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Side work earns book royalties of $2 million for Barrett on "Listening to the Law" and Ketanji Jackson $3 million Sotomayor and Gorsuch also have books and royalty advances. This provides the public with a closer view of the Justices on the highest Court in the Nation. It also means Justices live a sheltered life away from the concerns of ordinary Americans about cost of living, cost of health care and pharmaceuticals, cost of childcare, cost of education, cost of fentanyl and other drug trafficking to American families and mothers. During the Depression only three Justices the most prominent of whom were Harlan Stone of New Hampshire and Wendell Holmes of Massachusetts supported New Deal legislation to provide government help with other Justices rejecting New Deal legislation right in the middle of the Great Depression when people were literally without food and shelter, without jobs and in despair. Today there is a permanent exhibition of Harlan Stone in the US Supreme Court for the longest service on the Court. It took till 1940 for FDR to appoint new Justices to get the Court to support the New Deal. Today Justice Barrett is a lone voice among Conservatives willing to listen to all opinions on both sides along with but more than Justice Roberts. This is heartening to both sides. Barrett like Justice Sandra O'Connor before her puts great importance on the Constitution's intent and wording, its pages are in her book. O'Connor from a rural ranch in Arizona carried the Constitution with her at all times and had her own books- the Lazy B about growing up on a ranch on the Arizona- New Mexico border in the middle of big country, big sky, so wide an expanse that she writes about it in her preface to her next book The Majesty of the Law citing Wallace Stegner. ...

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The European Union would accept extension of the deadline on Brexit of March 29, and a second referendum could take place. Theresa May could go over the heads of her squabbling MP's and call a second referendum or a general election, says this report in The Guardian. 

A British request for extension of the deadline is seen as inevitable because it is impossible to pass the necessary pre-Brexit legislation before March 29. Conditions could include a second referendum and allowing the UK government to appoint national parliamentarians for the EU parliament as EU elections are in late May 2019. Because there is no majority for a second referendum just yet, and because the only way to get support in parliament is to have in place the customs union rejected by far right Conservative MP's, extending the date is the only viable option.

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The more pro-European faction within prime minister Theresa May's Conservative Party is reluctant to push for a vote at this time to avoid what it sees as "political suicide"- a massively disruptive departure of Britain from the European Union without an agreement. This gives May another 2 weeks to come up with a solution. 

Most observers believe Theresa May is simply using a strategy of running down the clock to the March 29 deadline. By not extending the deadline she is seen as planning to hand out to the British Parliament two starkly different options- a massively disruptive no-deal Brexit causing Britain's departure from the European without any agreement and the option of accepting the agreement the prime minister has negotiated with the EU which protects Ireland and Northern Ireland peace and open border trade flows called the Irish backstop.

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The SNP Scottish party and the Liberal Democrats favor early elections and will push for this in parliament. The thinking is that both parties can do better in an election before Brexit is passed. A You.Gov poll for The Times shows only one person in five or 19% see the EU withdrawal deal negotiated by Boris Johnson as "a good deal." SNP, and Lib Democrats say this means voters will vote for parties with clear for or against positions on Brexit including the Independence Party of Nigel Farage. Both SNP and Lib Democrats are for Remain. Labour Party under Corbyn is divided on how quickly to go into another election. The Tories under Boris Johnson are relying on polls showing they are leading by 10 points yet this can change as Theresa May faced a similar situation and called for an early election which led to losing its majority.  Experts on BBC say a December election is highly unusual and most unpredictable, posing big risks for Boris Johnson and the Conservatives particularly now with Johnson advisor Cummings tactics dividing the party. ...

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Britain's Labor Party leader makes a speech favoring strong Britain- EU relations in an effort to attract support from pro-EU Conservatives in parliament and bring about early elections. Corbyn says he favors Britain's membership in the EU customs union putting pressure on prime minister Theresa May who favors Britain leaving the EU customs union so it can strike free trade deals on its own. A thin majority in parliament for Theresa May means this issue could lead to a parliamentary defeat and early elections.  The other facet of this is that the delicate peace process in Northern Ireland could be upset by having a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland which is part of the European Union. Irish peace process and the views of the Republic of Ireland and of Scotland would be respected with the Corbyn approach. Other benefits are keeping good trade relations with the EU intact because 44% of Britain's exports go to the EU and 50% of Britain's imports are from the EU. ...

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Ekrem Imamoglu, three time elected Mayor of Istanbul follows a career similar to that of Erdogan who became Mayor of Istanbul and was then elected prime minister in 2003, as the administration of the CHP party failed to manage the economy. A period of economic growth followed with increasing foreign investment and Erdogan was reelected till 2013 when he decided to run for president following the term limits for prime minister. At that time his rule had become increasingly authoritarian. He was elected with smaller majorities with no effective opposition leader ,and the Middle East in turmoil with ISIS and Syria's civil war. Erdogan fought a tough election against a civil servant candidate from CHP turning out the nationalist  and conservative vote.in 2020. By this time the economy was having high inflation and his popularity was down, and he won barely with 52% of the vote. By 2019 Ekrem Imamoglu, 47 years, emerged as a more effective opposition leader, winning election for Mayor of Istanbul. He won again in 2024 and is now emerging as an alternative to run the country. Erdogan is 71 years and the world around Turkey has changed with DJT in the US, and Russia- Ukraine peace talks, trade tariffs worldwide, and the investment climate completely different, inflation increasing to 39 percent, and no easy solutions to economic problems. Some of the conservative and small business vote is no longer assured for Erdogan as the economy and Turkey's situation in Europe has changed. ...

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Experts compare the performance of two states with thriving economies California and Texas, but run by governors who are different, one passionately liberal Democrat and the other passionately conservative Republican. The Texas economy is slowing following the drop in oil prices. The Dallas Fed has lowered the forecast for growth in Texas to 0.5%-1% from the 1.5% rate projection. This compares with a growth rate of 3.4% in 2014. During the economic downturn following the financial crisis of 2008, Texas was lucky to have laws that prevented the kind of housing bubble that happened in California. It also benefitted from high oil prices. California has recovered from the worst effects of the crisis with unemployment dropping from 12% in 2011 to 6.3% in 2015, and half million jobs added in the last 12 months. Many of the jobs are in the higher paying tech sector. Critics point to the weakness in education and lower paying jobs in Texas. Texas has diversified ite economy since the 1980's, with about 13% of the state's GDP from the oil and gas industry in 2015 compared to 19% in the earler period. ...

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The Stimson Center looks at the closing of an era of Conservative politics in Japan which ended in 2025 after the death of Shinzo Abe and the 2 year premiership of Kishida. Interview is conducted by the Stimson Center of a senior Japanese political figure with 30 years of experience in the Foreign Service, and the author of the only English language book on Shinzo Abe, reflecting the paucity of research on Japan. Shinzo Abe was premier for a short time in 2005-2006 and for a full term in 2012. He made changes to Japan's SDF, its partnership with India, Australia in the Quad, and his economic policy which increased women's participation in the economy. For the first time in post war Japan there was a new sensde of confidence under Abe and he is missed sorely in Japan today. Yet as this senior Japanese politician says, Japan has changed the way the US and Europe have changed, and nationalist politics are replacing old Conservative politics of the LDP. In a way also how the deindustrialization of US, Europe and Japan has also taken place discrediting that era. Takaichi Sanae is itself a representative of the new era, as she did not hesitate to say Japan would get involved if China attacked Taiwan. Her popularity is at 62% and she has called a snap election, as she came in to replace Shigeru Ishiba in October 2025 and was not directly elected PM. Yet in the long view this is also a misconception because neither the Stimson Center or the interview participants had a keen sense of who Abe really was and Abe's grasp of the history of the Kamakura period of Buddhist Japan and China, India, of the 12th century before the foreign invasions from the north. One of Shinzo Abe's biggest legacies is the relationship that was close to his heart, the relationship with India and prime minister Modi. This week chancellor Merz of the Federal Republic of Germany was at the kite festival with PM Modi in Ahmedabad and at the Sabarmati Ashram of Gandhiji. The same degree of warmth shown by the German leader and Modi reflecting Vivekananda's time in Germany, was seen long time back between Modi and Abe. The bullet train project Mumbai to Ahmedabad and the ones that follow across India are a testimony to the warmth shown by Abe for India, and his knowledge of history from the Buddhist period in India when by the 12th century in Japan in Dogen's time Tenjiku (India) was the sacred homeland of Buddhism. Today India has revived the Buddhist traditions and centers of Buddhism, the universities and research centers for Buddhism from that period in Indian history. Buddhism started in India near Nepal in what is now Bihar state at Sarnath and Kushinagar, and spread through China to Japan and Korea. The whole continent of Asia would reflect Buddhist ideals and ideas without the intervening period of Vedic culture in India and China's Mongolian and Manchurian northern invasions, and the periods of European colonialism. Today Buddhism and The Bhagavad Gita are itself strung like pearls on a string as the Gita itself says, part of the long spiritual traditions of three nations- India, China and Japan, and of the many others Vietnam and Korea. ("All these worlds have their rest in me as many pearls on a string." -Mascaro tr. of Bhagavad Gita, Penguin). As Asian nations and peoples come to their own inner selves, find their inmost self, this is the culture that really pervades all of Asia. ...

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UK about a third of children living in poverty in 2025. This means Labour's Starmer government has to advance from a weak base and the benefit cuts are a step backwards. The reason given is worsening finances. It is also true that Reform UK is not giving the issue priority and it is increasing in popularity in the Conservative voter base, giving Labour second thoughts about its programs. After the migrant issue is tackled and Britain like the US faces up to its long term future and its responsibilities, investments in childcare and education become a major priority as it is in Asia.