Weekly roundup for October 16, 2021 Why is there so much division in America? How did we get here? And what does it all mean for California? An extended discussion of the historical and economic roots of current American dysfunction. NOTES: 1. "Biden signs bill to avert partial government shutdown", Associated Press, September 30, 2021; https://apnews.com/article/congress-moves-to-avert-partial-government-shutdown-8f5b5b0c6c4cb12af8316ffc0b098771 2. "Congress Just Voted To Temporarily Increase The Debt Ceiling. Why It Matters For You", by Lisa Rowan, Forbes Advisor, October 12, 2021; https://www.forbes.com/advisor/personal-finance/what-is-the-debt-ceiling/ 3. "Democrats aim to pass infrastructure, social spending bills by the end of October, Schumer says", CNBC, October 4, 2021; https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/04/schumer-aims-to-pass-biden-infrastructure-build-back-better-plans-in-october.html 4. "U.S. Workers Are Realizing It's the Perfect Time to Go on Strike", by Alana Semuels, Time, October 8, 2021; https://time.com/6105109/workers-strike-unemployment/ 5. "Trump telling Republicans not to vote is the GOP's worst nightmare", by Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC, October 14, 2021; https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/trump-telling-republicans-not-vote-gop-s-worst-nightmare-n1281613 MUSIC CREDIT: "Angry Bass Line", by Adigold; elements.envato.com IMAGE CREDIT: "Donald Trump - Caricature", by DonkeyHotey, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Donald_Trump_-_Caricature_(51210156975).jpg