SUPREME COURT

The next Supreme Court justice nominee will be selected on the basis of skin color and gender.

Others need not apply.

Years ago, that sort of advertisement would be considered racist. And illegal.

Merit is not a consideration.

UNEXPLAINED DEATHS OF YOUNG PEOPLE

Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 are dying at a rate 40% higher than pre-pandemic. An increase of 10% would qualify as a 1-in-200-year event.

Nobody seems to know why. More amazing, nobody seems to care! These are working-age people, not the old and frail. Why haven't we seen the NYT take up the story? The Guardian did, concluded that it was underreporting of COVID, but the actuaries who first alerted us say no. I worked with actuaries, they are really, REALLY smart folks and I would believe them.

Finding the reason is essential. Again, it doesn't seem to register with the folks in D.C. that more people died in San Francisco or fentanyl overdose than COVID. Murder rates are up across the country, as are suicide and traffic deaths. That last one is amazing as driving was curtailed in 2020.

Somebody smart needs to look into this, IMHO.

INFLATION II

Back in August, 2021, the first post about inflation showed up on this blog. Well, it is worse than expected and it will get even worse--refer to the blog post "Clueless" that describes how current leadership is the most incompetent since Carter so we can't expect any help from that quarter.

Three things surprised me today: a Director of the CDC stated that 75% of the deaths from COVID were people who had 4 or more comorbidities. That is not the Party line, folks, she could end up getting Clintonized for such heresy. COVID politics has frightened the public (children, too, which is just infuriating) to believe "if I get it, I am going to die!" To be clear, this refers to a study of 1.2 million vaccinated people where 36 died, 28 of whom had 4 or more comorbidities. The Left has gone nuts making sure we don't think that evidence applies widely. BUT IT DOES. Another controversial statement by another medical official says that the latest Omicron variant will dwindle because "everybody who can get it will have been infected by then."

Number two: the health of your gut is critical to prevention of Alzheimer's. Evidently, if you don't eat well, the gut sends bad stuff to your brain. Makes sense. Read the articles, but in the mean time, eat a diet that avoids polyunsaturated fatty acids (found in vegetable oils, edible oils, seed oils), trans fats and plant oils. Eat high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb ketogenic diet. Don't eat highly-processed foods (sniff, goodbye hotdogs! sniff). Also, practice moderate fasting. Oh, and apparently gluten is on the hit list, too.

Number three: The big Wall Street firms are in a bit of a contest to see who can predict the largest number of Fed rate increases. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan bank, says eight quarter-point increases over the next two years. Goldman Sachs says ten. Meanwhile, the Fed has abandoned the use of the term "transitory" in connection with this spike in inflation. If you simply sit back and think a bit, apply some history, the period of 1% interest rates is OVER! Probably not to return in the lifetimes of your kids and grandkids. 

This extremely low interest period was an anomaly; get over it and adjust to high inflation and high interest rates until we can return some reasonable leadership to the issues. Have you noticed the backlash to the "Woke" phenomenon? We need to get back to something closer to traditional values, not nominating people for high-level jobs who are proponents of Communism or who accomplished the removal of the term "mother" in favor of "birthing people" in this Administration's US Federal Budget. Good grief.

Summarizing, there is some good and some bad, but in my opinion, the latest trends seem to be very positive. Higher interest rates mesh with historical periods of healthy economic growth. Maybe we can get back to immigration that helps the country rather than burdens it. The ability of the political system to frighten everybody into submission appears to be lessening. Medical research may be on to something about the connection between diet/gut health and dementia.  Let's hope these create a more positive future.

ELIZABETH WARREN

 Elizabeth Warren made news this week. That was her goal, apparently, because what she said made no sense:

1.    She said Elon Musk did not pay his fair share of taxes. Musk paid about half a billion and seriously disputes her claim. Facts don't matter.

2.    Grocery stores are responsible for the increase in prices on food. That is akin to blaming the thermometer for the temperature.

She has a net worth of about $9 million. Did that come from her Senatorial salary?

I don't know why the press pays attention to her.

BEWILDERED

When Jimmy Carter was President of the United States, you could buy a very nice new car for $5,500. That was up from $3,500 in 1972, four years before he won the election.

Going into 2022, the price of an average new car is about $45,000. Let’s make this simple for those of us who are thinking in terms of multiples--$4,500 to $45,000…10 times.

Meanwhile back in 1977-1981, the highest taxes for my clients who were high income, like physicians, was 70%. Interest rates hit 21% or more, inflation was even more than it is today, Americans were held hostage in Iraq, farmers were going broke (Willie Nelson started Farm Aid in 1985) and Jimmy Carter was bewildered. No idea what to do to make things better. 

That has, until now, earned him the title of worst American president.

An opinion on this stuff is like belly buttons, everyone has one, but think of the world to come—an average car will cost 10 times as much, say $450,000? Interest rates are low, so the inflation damage hurts retirees, those on fixed income and people with cash investments disproportionately. Instead of $10,000 an acre, Nebraska farm land will sell for $100,000 per acre. Our good friend Butch Shadbolt said that he never bought a piece of land that would “pencil out,” you had to believe in inflation.

Make your own conclusions about residential real estate and the stock market, not going there.

The real kicker is that with all the similarities to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the current president and his administration are bewildered. No clue what to do about 2 million illegal immigrants into South Texas. Maybe call them “undocumented” and that will help? No idea what to do about lawlessness in San Francisco (the DA will not prosecute for looting and shop lifting, so people grab a TV and run), Portland, Chicago, Baltimore…and so on.

My guess is that Jimmy Carter’s title of worst president is in jeopardy.

BARTLETT, NEBRASKA

My dad, Wally, would scoot his chair back and light up either a cigarette or a cigar, depending, to officially call an end to supper. It was after milking, so maybe 7:30 or 8:00. Time for a story.

He enjoyed telling stories that amused him which would, in turn, amuse me as the youngest member of the family. One of my favorites, first heard perhaps 70 years ago, was about a trip that ended safely at home on the farm, but had a stop in Bartlett, Nebraska, a small village of about 100+ residents on the edge of the Sandhills. Cattle country.

Wally and a couple of friends had been to the cattle sale barn in Burwell. They were on the hunt for steers to fill out their lots, had done well and were on their way home in the evening when they decided to stop at the bar in Bartlett to grab a few beers and maybe a cigar or two.

Bartlett was off the highway and as I remember did not have a paved main street. They headed west, the bar proved to be on the south side of the street, and without really considering alternatives, Wally turned across the street in the middle of the block and diagonally parked in front of the bar. Upon getting out of the car, they were greeted by an old pickup with a flashing red light and out of it got a Santa Claus-shaped lawman wearing a cowboy hat, bib overalls with a star pinned to the bib. He seemed upset.

“What you boys doin’?”

“We just stopped to get some beer and cigars.”

“You know you made an illegal turn to park?”

“Well, I didn’t think there was any harm and it was the quickest way.”

“Sure, the quickest way, but illegal. Where the hell you think you are, OUT IN THE COUNTRY?”

Every time he told that story, he would repeat the punch line, “…Out in the country?” in grand amusement.

Somehow, he escaped a ticket, but gained a favorite story. If you have a chance, visit Bartlett and see if they have paved main street and whether it really isn’t “Out in the country”.

BATTERIES FOR ELECTRIC CARS

 A new meme claims that there is as much CO2 released making one battery for an electric car as a gas-powered car emits in 8 years of driving.

The libs scream "False." Apparently, it is only equal to 2 years of emissions. That is like saying he is "mostly dead."

Do they realize the damage to the environment from the mining of lithium? 

When you are self-righteous, it doesn't matter, I guess.