Mexico and imports, an explainer

The president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, has canceled a visit to Washington after heated rhetoric from the American president over a border wall he wants to build, which he intends to pay for by placing a 20 percent tax on all Mexican imports. So here’s where things get weird — according to CNN Money, 40 percent …

160 million Americans can’t afford a broken arm

Elevate’s Center for the New Middle Class released a study that says that so-called “Non-Prime Americans,” who are, according to the study, “Americans with a credit score below 700, meaning that their access to credit is limited or curtailed:” Nonprime Americans can only weather an unexpected expense of 31 percent of their monthly income. Prime, 53 …

So Linda Bean steps in it and all hell breaks loose

Linda Bean, of the L.L. Bean family, ran afoul of the Federal Elections Commission by donating too much money to a pro-Trump PAC. Here’s where things get tricky: Bean, the granddaughter of L.L. Bean founder Leon Leonwood Bean, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. She is a member of the retailer’s board and …

We must control our toddlers better

According to the Press Union (building on research by the Washington Post), for the last two years, a toddler has shot someone every week. Two years. Every week.

How we see history

The Pew Research Center has a fascinating study of how we see historical events, by age, race, ethnicity, gender, politicaly party. Here are some of the charts: By age: By race/ethnicity: You can read more at the link above.

CT has horrible income inequality

From a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities study, as interpreted by Connecticut Voices for Children: Connecticut ranks third in the country, with its richest residents— the top five percent of households— having average incomes 17 times as large as the bottom 20 percent of households and five times as large as the middle 20 percent …

Today’s a big damn deal

And so we wait, to see what the electors (among them Bill Clinton, of New York) will do today. Here’s more on what’s happening.

So what is “fake news?”

PolitiFact might have the best definition: Fake news is made-up stuff, masterfully manipulated to look like credible journalistic reports that are easily spread online to large audiences willing to believe the fictions and spread the word. For more on the topic, go here. And thanks, Patricia, for the link. And, from Elissa, a new debunking …

Pope: It’s a sin to spread fake news

In an interview with a Belgian newspaper, Pope Francis said: “I think the media have to be very clear, very transparent, and not fall into — no offense intended — the sickness of coprophilia, that is, always wanting to cover scandals, covering nasty things, even if they are true.” Here’s more on coprophilia. Gotta say …

Want to root out fake news?

Here’s a start. To read more, go here. Or, in more detail, here.