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

Yet another good reason to get vaccinated

Shingles can be extremely painful. So much so that some people with shingles contemplate suicide. Shingles is caused by a virus. In fact it’s the same virus that causes chicken pox. The virus can hide out in ganglia, typically in the trunk area, and then escape later in life to cause a painful rash. Fortunately, […]

RFK Jr is America’s Lysenko

In the early years of the USSR, Soviet genetics was internationally recognized. Then along came Trofim Lysenko, an agronomist who convinced Stalin that he could bypass the laborious genetics of plant breeding to develop strains of wheat through the transmission of acquired traits. This fit well with the Soviet philosophy that humanity could be transformed […]

Rolling up the welcome mat

About 475 workers, mostly South Korean nationals, were arrested at a Hyundai Motor car battery facility under construction in Georgia. The workers were shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles. The return of ca. 300 to South Korea has been negotiated. At a time when Trump is demanded the foreign companies invest more in the […]

“Book” Ted Nugent

You’d think a guy who led four casinos into bankruptcy would understand the business of entertainment, right? “Ticket sales at the Kennedy Center have continued to plummet following Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington DC’s premier performing arts venue, with the prestigious Stuttgart Ballet expected to dance next month to houses less than 20% full.” There’s […]

Firing our way to full employment

Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after a jobs report signaled a slowing jobs market, and larger-than-normal revisions for the previous two months suggested a more significant economic downturn could be anticipated. Trump’s reasoning appears to be that the BLS commissioner’s reports can create jobs, just like the rooster crows to create the dawn. Realty […]

RFK Jr bafflegab

RFK Jr is testifying today at a Senate panel on HHS policies. Sen. Wyden said the secretary “stacked the deck” of a vaccines committee, replacing scientists with “vaccine skeptics and conspiracy theorists.” Kennedy said his actions “got rid of the conflicts of interests” he said had pervaded such panels. So according to RFK Jr, scientific […]

Florida bids to be the next Wuhan

Florida is set to drop all state vaccine mandates. Look for Florida EDs to fill up with children suffering from preventable diseases. Of course, the civilized states can maintain theirs, but there’s no way to prevent Florida children and their families from traveling to other states. Other civilized countries are another matter. Look for some […]

Betting against the Trump tariffs

The right of Trump to impose tariffs at will and without Congressional approval is headed to the SCOTUS. What’s the odds that the tariffs will be overturned? Turns out there’s a market in tariff refunds if the SCOTUS rules against Trump: “In July the US government brought in $29.6 billion in tariff revenue compared to […]