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

Sherman Act, Part 2: The Small Farmer Pitchfork Army

Agricultual Economist and Farmer Michael Smith, Sherman Act, Part 2: The Small Farmer Pitchfork Army Most are now aware of the Biden Administrations recent announcement and press briefing for a plan to combat prices in the meat industry. If not, you can find a bit of information here:  Readout of President Joe Biden’s Event with […]

Insurrection

To say that the Republican Party since Nixon had pandered to the lowest common denominator isn’t quite accurate, is it? Probably because the term is derived from the arithmetical least common denominator which makes one think of a unique number. Perhaps lowest common denominator was a more polite way of saying that the Republican Party […]

How to spot libertarian Covid-19 propaganda: one week of bad faith at the Brownstone Institute

Almost everything wrong with the libertarian approach to covid policy has been on display at the Brownstone Institute recently:  misrepresentation of facts, misdirection, revisionist history.  The bad faith is almost beyond belief, except, well, it’s exactly what we have come to expect from the fine libertarians at Brownstone.  The 6 essays I discuss here were […]

A Domestic cancer “threatening Democracy”

Opinion Piece this morning comes from retired U.S. Army General Steven Anderson, CBS News I do not necessarily put-up military commentary. This brigadier general appears to have his “stuff” together on the topic. It is a good read. Forty-three years ago, I swore an oath to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. […]

Book review: “The St. Louis Commune of 1877”

Prof. Joel Eissenberg, Upfront Blog For Christmas 2021, Linda gave me a copy of “The St. Louis Commune of 1877: Communism in the Heartland” by Mark Kruger. The title certainly grabbed my attention. Having read it, there’s somewhat less than meets the eye here. The reason I never heard of this before is that the […]

Covid Contraction in Michigan is Increasing

Georgia beat up Michigan Football and Coach Jim Harbaugh badly this last weekend. It was not even close. Michiganders take their football seriously, more seriously than contracting Covid. Hospitalization for Covid increased dramatically in Michigan. According to the CDC, it is the delta strain impacting the unvaccinated Michiganders. The Republican dominated Senate and House shut […]

Sherman Act v. Modern Conglomerate Agriculture

Agricultural Economist and Farmer Michael Smith Sherman Act v. Modern Conglomerate Agriculture Multiple times the Biden Administration, along with Secretary Vilsack, and other administrations have made multiple public comments and now threats of investigation of beef producers and their horizontal and vertical integration over the past few decades. The targeting of the beef industry is […]

Dare I Disagree With David Ignatius?

Dare I Disagree With David Ignatius?  In today’s Washington Post (Dec. 31 ), intel columnist David Ignatius had a ten question multiple choice quiz about what will happen in 2022. He provided his own answers at the end, effectively forecasting.  Many I agree with and some, speculative about tech developments and such like, I have […]

Hopeful New Year

Hopeful New Year, New Deal democrat In view of the continued conflagration of the COVID pandemic, I am eschewing the traditional “Happy New Year!” salutation as we end 2021 and begin 2022 in favor of the above “Hopeful New Year.” I always try to stick with the data – one of the favorite things anyone […]

Single Payer Health Care Financing Presentation – Three Part Series

PNHP, Single Payer Healthcare Financing Series, Kip Sullivan JD Kip Sullivan’s Three Part Presentation on Healthcare Finance Managed Care and Single Payer in Minnesota and the US. Answering the question of why Healthcare is so expensive in the United States as compared to other countries. Part 1: Single Payer Health Care Financing – Angry Bear […]