Mood Riffs

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  Don’t Tread on Me

  Negative mood fuels growing authoritarianism. It also fuels expressions of anti-authoritarianism. For example…
   
• 

  Today’s Forecast: What’s Happening Now Will Continue

  A recent headline said the stock market probably won’t get back to even this year. Another said markets are in the grip of a “grim economic outlook.”
   
• 

  Human Rights Take Back Seat to Government Power

  Rhode Island has moved to quarantine New Yorkers who cross its borders. Police in New Orleans are jailing people for minor offenses…
   
• 

  Can Negative Interest Rates Save the Economy?

  Recently, yields on 1-month and 3-month Treasury bills dipped below zero on their own, without formal action by the Fed.
   
• 

  It’s Your Virus! No. It’s Yours!

  President Trump is calling the coronavirus the “Chinese Virus.” And a Chinese official tweeted that the U.S. military might be responsible for the disease.
   
• 

  Why Such Fear?

  An article in the Los Angeles Times said that worries about a possible recession are mounting…
   
• 

  Enchanted by Exclusion

  The Belgian city of Aalst held a parade featuring caricatures of Orthodox Jews and people dressed in Nazi SS uniforms.
   
• 

  Pass the Barbecue Sauce

  A recent report notes that sales of meat and poultry grew 1% last year to more than $50 billion.
   
• 

  We Want a Divorce!

  Residents of some Oregon counties want to secede from their state and become part of Idaho.
   
• 

  The Cannabis Conundrum

  Fifty years ago, the fabulous Furry Freak Brothers told us, “Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope.”