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

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for October 2-6 2023

If you get a chance, wander over to Seeking Alpha and read New Deal democrat’s very thorough take on the economy. You can set up a fee, limited account there. AB Weekly Indicators for October 2 – 6 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. While interest […]

Open Thread October 9, 2023 Civilian Lives

A Jewish American Living in Berlin, Matt De Vlieger, “Not all civilians are equal: 3,803 Palestinians, 177 Israelis since 2008.” The concern for civilian lives appears to waver, leaning disproportionately towards one side. Spare me your war stories. This old Marine Sergeant does not care to hear them. The Gaza is six miles wide. It […]

Medicare Advantage Overbilling Taxpayers by $140 Billion a Year

Medicare Advantage Overbilling Taxpayers by $140 Billion a Year, This is Enough to Wipe Out Medicare Premiums, Informed Comment, Juan Cole and Jake Johnson. AB‘s Joel sent me an Informed Comment article. I read the article and knew there was more to the issue than just overcharging the government by upcoding Medicare Advantage plan members. […]

Starting a War is Criminal

Around the world, up through the mid-20th century, it was pretty much dog-eat-dog. Until the 19th, according to legend, nations attacking one another gave the peasantry something worthwhile to do with their lives and provided entertainment for the Nobility. Until the 19th, legend was a bit weak on the details. Then, history and photography came […]

An excellent headline jobs number may mask unresolved seasonality, while unemployment weakness “stuck” at a higher level

An excellent headline jobs number may mask unresolved seasonality, while unemployment weakness “stuck” at a higher level  – by New Deal democrat As per my reporting earlier this week, my focus this month was on whether wage and jobs growth continue to decelerate, and whether the unemployment rate would remain “sticky” at its higher, 3.8%, […]

Buprenorphine IV: What about Cocaine and Methamphetamine?

I have been thinking about buprenorphine, naltrexone and the stimulants cocaine and methamphetamine. An issue which came to my mind recently and which I think it worth discussing is that cocaine is often cut and replaced with fentanyl to hide the over-dilution. This is sometimes done sloppily leading to fentanyl overdoses of people who did […]

Buprenorphine Naltrexone III

This is the latest in a series of posts about drug assisted therapy (DAT) of opioid use disorder (OUD). I will repeat things which I wrote here and here. The bottom line, so far, is that there is strong evidence that drug assisted therapy ov OUD is effective and many extremely establishment experts complain that […]

The semaglutide revolution?

I saw an article online yesterday that claimed that over 1% of Americans are using semaglutides for weight loss. Since these drugs suppress appetite, the article was about the possible impact on food retail. Since global warming promises to destroy a lot of arable land on the planet, as well as ocean fisheries, reducing food […]

A Boy’s Love Affair with Tonka Trucks

No that is not the real story here today. It does give a perspective on why so many too big, too fast, and too often vehicles are eating up limited supplies of gasoline and oil. However, what is being missed is we are not buying more oil for the Strategic Oil Reserve. Although, I am […]

Pick the greater of Two Threats

As reported by Crooks and Liars . . . Shirtless man with a holstered handgun, went to the Wisconsin governor’s office on the first floor of the Wisconsin state recently. State Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said, the man was demanding to see the governor who at that time was not in the building. […]