Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

The business model for higher ed is evolving

In my lifetime, I’ve seen plenty of changes. The business model for recorded music (LPs, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, streaming), the business model for movies (theaters, Blockbuster, online), the business model for cameras (film SLRs, digital SLRs, mirrorless), the model for lecture presentations (live with chalkboard, live with overhead projector, live with Powerpoint, online recorded) all […]

The Cost of Delivering Rural Emergency Department Services

This is the boring stuff on healthcare. How to consider the costs of a rural emergency department care in a small rural hospital when it is not in constant use? And what happens when the population is small and the costs equal or exceed the funds taken in by its operation. The article provides a […]

50 Years Ago, Aug. 9, 1974

“50 Years Ago Today“ by Digsby Digby’s Hullabaloo #OnThisDay Aug. 9, 1974 President Nixon delivers farewell address to staffers: “Always give your best. Never get discouraged. Never be petty. Always remember others may hate you but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.”  pic.twitter.com/p6pQz1AQ6w— CSPAN (@cspan) August 9, 2024 […]

The horizon for the 2024 presidential election suddenly shortened from years to about three months

August 9, 2024 by Heather Cox Richardson AB: Is trump a liar ??? Letters from an American When President Joe Biden announced that he would not accept the Democratic nomination for president and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on July 21 less than three weeks ago, the horizon for the 2024 presidential election suddenly shortened […]

Careful what you eat

I grew up in East Tennessee in the 1960s. Fish was something that came in breaded rectangles out of the freezer. Growing up Roman Catholic, it’s what was for dinner on Friday. I never cared for fish back then. We honeymooned in Charleston SC (“where the Ashley and Cooper rivers meet to form the Atlantic […]

Climate adaptation options

by The one-handed economist Humans are not doing enough mitigation to slow — let alone reverse — climate change chaos. Average global temperature is now +1.2C, far above which is on track to exceed the 2015 Paris Agreement’s target of “holding the increase in the global average temperature… increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels”  by 2034.* In this 2011 post (“We’re […]

Still no power? Here’s when lights could turn on in Northeast Ohio

“Still no power? Here’s when lights could turn on,” StormTeam2 The lights have gone out in many parts of Ohio. Commenter and sometime writer r.j.s. citing conditions near his home after bad weather passed through. CLEVELAND (WJW) — FirstEnergy is calling storms that hit Northeast Ohio on Tuesday the most impactful to hit The Illuminating […]

Residential building construction sound a warning for goods-producing employment

– by New Deal democrat The final data point from last week that I wanted to catch up on was construction spending, and especially residential construction and spending. As reported last week, in June total nominal spending declined -0.3% in June, but is higher 6.2% YoY. The more leading residential sector also showed a -0.4% […]