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

Why Is Any of This a Surprise?

As CNN reports . . . “Sen. Susan Collins: Referencing the Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade (Politico) is ‘completely inconsistent’ with what Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh ‘said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.’” Wow, whata surprise! Political appointees to SCOTUS might fib a little, ok more than […]

Roasting McConnell and his attacks on SCOTUS Independence

Jacob Seitz, “Twitter Users Roast Mitch McConnell After Statement on Roe v. Wade (dailydot.com)“ Comments from Twitter , , , As one commenter put it bluntly, “Get Bent McConnell.” In the statement, Republican Senate Leader McConnell refers to the leaked majority opinion drafted by Justice Samuel Alito as a “stunning breach” and an “attack on […]

March New Home Sales Reported 8.6% Lower on Record Prices

RJS, MarketWatch 666 Summary: New Home Sales Reported 8.6% Lower on Record Prices in March, after Prior Months Sales Revised Much Higher The Census report on New Residential Sales for March (pdf) estimated that new single family homes were selling at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 homes during the month, which was 8.6 percent (±12.9 […]

Stealth

First the usual warning – I am both ignorant and intellectually arrogant.  It should be assumed that I don’t know what I am talking about. Stealth technology hides airplanes, drones, and cruise missiles from radar which uses high frequency radio waves.  It does not hide them from radar which uses radio waves of wavelength a […]

GDP Shrunk, Record Trade Deficit, and Slower Growth of Inventories

RJS, MarketWatch 666 1st Quarter GDP Shrunk at a 1.4% Rate on a Record Trade Deficit and Slower Growth of Inventories Our economy shrunk at a 1.4% rate in the 1st quarter, the first GDP reversal since the first quarter of 2020, as increased personal consumption of services and greater fixed investment were more than […]

SPR, Oil, and Distillate Supplies Low

RJS, Focus on Fracking Summary: Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a 20 year low, US oil supplies at a 14 year low; distillates supplies at a 14 year low, total oil + product inventories at an 13½ year low The Latest US Oil Supply and Disposition Data from the EIA US oil data from the US […]

Medicare vs Commercial Insurance Pricing 2012 – 2019

Copy and Paste for now until I can get into the Health Affairs article. Hospitalization averages a third of all healthcare costs. The pricing (Pricing equals costs in this instance) varies by region which kind of tells me there “may” be variation due to the strength of ACOs in regions. Trends in Hospital Prices Varied […]

Using Section 2 of the 14th Amendment

Follow up to; “Section 2 of the 14th Amendment” – Angry Bear (angrybearblog.com) No Republican fears Democrats or the use of Section 2 of the 14th Amendment either. Gaetz is still prancing around, McCarthy lies to the public, Eastman writes a memo to VP Pence to nullify state electoral votes, Cawthorn again caught with a […]

Dry, Dusty, Rain. Humid, Windy, Dry. Chaos and The Grip of La Niña

Just how dry have the ground conditions been? Dire. Fire sweeping towns from Austin to Los Angeles, dire. Rain? Forecast yes, but closer to the Powell Line. The Powell Line, as stated previously is where the dry plains and the wet prairie meet. An abundance and a desert. Too much and not enough. Floods and […]