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

Conversational Points about Coronavirus and Administration Answers

Newcastle ban handshakes at training ground: “There’s a ritual here that everybody shakes hands with everybody as soon as we see each other every morning,” said Bruce as he prepared for Saturday’s game against Burnley at St James’ Park. “But we’ve stopped that on the advice of our club doctor. Thankfully, we’ve got a superb […]

Housing: prices follow sales, February 2020 edition

Housing: prices follow sales, February 2020 edition One of the consistent things I have written about the housing market for going on 10 years is that interest rates lead sales, and sales in turn lead prices. Last week with the continued increase in housing starts and permits we got further proof of the former, and […]

A threatened groundwater source

(Dan here…one of David Zetland’s students Lenaide writes on groundwater…a reminder of what also matters during this heated political climate, and from a younger generation) A threatened groundwater source Lenaide writes* Imagine living in a city located on top of the largest groundwater source and longest river in France, but to also have both of […]

Conversational Points about Coronavirus and the White House’s Panic

The Incompetency of this man comes to light in a potentially catastrophic period. He instills fear rather than confidence. “White House Moves To Screen Scientists’ Statements On Coronavirus As fears grow of a politicized White House response to the coronavirus outbreak, the White House has placed Vice President Mike Pence in charge of messaging about […]

The impact of coronavirus on my slowdown vs. recession forecast

by New Deal democrat The impact of coronavirus on my slowdown vs. recession forecast  For roughly the last half year, my forecast has been that a slowdown without a recession was the most likely scenario, *IF* the economy were left to its own devices. Well, given the horror scenarios possible with the coronavirus outbreak, the […]

Live-blogging the Fifteenth Amendment: February 22, 1869

Live-blogging the Fifteenth Amendment: February 22, 1869 On February 22, the Senate took up the revisions that the House of Representatives had made to their proposals from one week prior. The House had struck from the Senate’s version, as sent to the House, the section extending the protections of the Amendment to qualifications for office, as […]

Who Wins Prairie du Chien Wins the White House

Who Wins Prairie du Chien Wins the White House That would be Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, whose French name means “prairie dog,” and which is located where the Wisconsin River empties into the Mississippi River, third oldest town in the state founded by Europeans (the French) after Green Baay (originallly Fort Nicolet) and Portage, also […]

Medicare Could Use the VA’s Negotiation Results on Insulins and Other Drugs

VA-Like Negotiations on Insulin Prices Could Save Medicare Billions, MedPage Today, Zeena Nackerdien, February 21, 2020 I am going to dispense with the reasoning dissing the increased pricing of Insulin and go straight to a pricing strategy. Suffice it to say, the various versions developed of Insulin do not justify the pricing increases seen today. […]