Tag Archives: Yahoo News

It’s Time To Stop The Insanity

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We need to find the person who put this questionnaire together and make sure they are never again involved in public policy.

On Monday, Yahoo News reported that parents of newborn babies born in New Jersey are legally required to fill out a form that has an option of listing the child as transgender.

Here is a screenshot of the form:

What manner of insanity is this?

The article reports:

Inspira claims that it created the questionnaire to comply with a New Jersey law requiring healthcare providers to “collect race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity in a culturally competent and sensitive manner”.

The questions are intended to “provide a safe and compassionate experience” and “comply with recently-enacted state legislation”, the form states.

Republican State Senator Holly Schepisi told the Post: “The entire thing lacks such common sense, and serves no purpose whatsoever.

“As a mom myself, I know you’re exhausted after giving birth, you’ve got a crying newborn and you’re trying to figure out how to feed it. To be handed that sort of form in the midst of all that has no medical value, it makes no sense.”

She added that she would introduce a bill next week to revise New Jersey law to limit the data collection to patients aged over 16 years.

The article concludes:

Inspira Health told The Telegraph that it was “required by New Jersey law” to “request their patients provide their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity”.

It continued: “Patients are permitted to decline to provide this information.

“Per recent guidance from the New Jersey Department of Health stating that health systems can collect that data in a clinically appropriate and culturally competent manner, Inspira Health will request this information from adults.

“This update in protocol remains compliant with the law, and we respect patients’ right to decline to respond.”

He added that the company had sought a waiver from the state but that it had not been granted.

I don’t have a problem with the government collecting basic birth statistics. However, this is ridiculous. Babies know how to eat, cry, smile, and make messes. Their intellectual capacity in other areas is very limited.

The Games Have Begun

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On Tuesday, Yahoo News posted an article about some of the lawsuits filed against President Trump’s executive orders. President Trump won the popular vote and the Electoral College, but that is not going to stop the deep state from trying to limit his power.

The article reports:

The lawsuits started to roll in on Monday within minutes of Trump being sworn into office for a second term. The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider.

Here are the Trump initiatives that have been targeted so far:

The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency came under swift legal attack shortly after Trump signed an executive order formally creating the group that aims to slash wasteful federal spending.

Advocacy organizations and public interest groups quickly filed a handful of lawsuits in the US District Court for the District of Columbia against DOGE.

Three of four lawsuits filed argue that DOGE violates the transparency requirements of the 1972 Federal Advisory Committee Act. DOGE, the lawsuits say, is not a federal department and should be considered a federal advisory committee subject to the FACA law.

…Another lawsuit, filed by several groups including the American Public Health Association and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, contends that DOGE is a “shadow operation led by unelected billionaires who stand to reap huge financial rewards from this influence and access.”

…A fourth lawsuit, filed by the Center for Biological Diversity against the Office of Management and Budget, seeks to compel the government agency to hand over records related to DOGE under the Freedom of Information Act.

“These records are important for the public to understand the threats to numerous environmental protections embodied in rules and orders and how, when, and under what circumstances the new administration intends to act on these threats,” the lawsuit says.

Another major target of the lawsuit:

One of Trump’s executive orders targets the constitutional right to birthright citizenship. The order bars federal agencies from issuing documents recognizing the citizenship of babies born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally.

…The lawsuit says the order conflicts with the 14th Amendment’s provision that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

“This principle has enabled generations of children to pursue their dreams and build a stronger America,” the lawsuit says.

Please follow the link to the article for further details. The bottom line here is simple–the battle is not over–it has just begun.

The Lie That Keeps Being Told

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To debunk one of the claims repeatedly made by the Harris campaign, I am going back to an article from December of 2021. The facts have been available since then, but the campaign has chosen to ignore them–just as the campaign has continually lied about Project 2025 and President Trump’s stand on abortion.

In December 2021, Yahoo News shared an article from The Hill.

The article reports:

Congressional Democrats have argued that one of the best ways to pay for the legislation is to raise taxes on wealthy households, which, according to many on the left, have benefited disproportionately and unfairly from the 2017 tax reform law passed by Republicans and signed by former President Trump. The latest data, however, proves that this claim is pure mythology.

Income data published by the IRS clearly show that on average all income brackets benefited substantially from the Republicans’ tax reform law, with the biggest beneficiaries being working and middle-income filers, not the top 1 percent, as so many Democrats have argued.

A careful analysis of the IRS tax data, one that includes the effects of tax credits and other reforms to the tax code, shows that filers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $15,000 to $50,000 enjoyed an average tax cut of 16 percent to 26 percent in 2018, the first year Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act went into effect and the most recent year for which data is available.

Filers who earned $50,000 to $100,000 received a tax break of about 15 percent to 17 percent, and those earning $100,000 to $500,000 in adjusted gross income saw their personal income taxes cut by around 11 percent to 13 percent.

By comparison, no income group with an AGI of at least $500,000 received an average tax cut exceeding 9 percent, and the average tax cut for brackets starting at $1 million was less than 6 percent. (For more detailed data, see my table published here.)

That means most middle-income and working-class earners enjoyed a tax cut that was at least double the size of tax cuts received by households earning $1 million or more.

What’s more, IRS data shows earners in higher income brackets contributed a bigger slice of the total income tax revenue pie following the passage of the tax reform law than they had in the previous year.

The article concludes:

Every income bracket with a top level lower than $25,000 experienced a reduction in its number of filers, and every income bracket above $25,000 increased in size, with the biggest gains occurring in the brackets with a floor of at least $100,000.

The fact is, Republicans’ 2017 tax reform law did exactly what was promised: It lowered taxes for all income groups, provided the greatest benefits for middle-income households, and spurred economic growth that helped reduce poverty and improve prosperity.

It would be a grave mistake for Democrats to eliminate key parts of this important legislation.

Numbers don’t lie. Unfortunately, Democrat Presidential candidates do.

Europe Is Waking Up

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Most of Europe has had open borders for a while now. It has not worked well. Even Paris is being pressured to change its world famous culinary habits by Muslim immigrants (story here). There have been drastic increases in crime in Germany and Sweden. Sweden is offering immigrants $34,000 to leave the country (story here). So what can people do? They can vote the people supporting unlimited immigration out of office.

On Sunday, Yahoo News posted an article about recent elections in Austria. The article describes the winning party of the election as ‘far right.’ If you understand the current state of the media, you realize that ‘far right’ means actually representing the common man.

The article reports:

Political parties on the European right celebrated Sunday’s parliamentary election victory by Austria’s Freedom Party (FPO) as a boost for national conservatives amid advances by the hard right fuelled by worries about immigration.

Led by Herbert Kickl, who capitalised on a misfiring economy and concerns that Austria has taken in people faster than it can integrate them, the FPO won around 29% of the vote, a record result that may give it a platform to lead the next government.

Kickl must find a partner to form a stable coalition and he is loathed by other party leaders, who have refused to serve under him and quickly began discussing the possibility of sounding out alternatives to an FPO-led government.

But there were warm words from allies in Europe, where the FPO forms part of a right-wing group inside the European Parliament led by France’s far-right National Rally (RN).

Its leader Marine Le Pen expressed delight at the victory and said it showed those parties were advancing.

“After the Italian, Dutch and French elections, this tidal wave which supports the defence of national interests, the safeguarding of identities and the resurrection of sovereignties, confirms the triumph of the people everywhere,” Le Pen wrote in a post on X.

The recent elections in Europe have not gone the way the European Union and the World Economic Forum want them to go. That is a good thing.

 

The Joys Of Communism

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On Monday, Yahoo News reported that Cuba has cut the size of its daily breat ration because of a shortage of ingredients.

The article reports:

The bread, one of a handful of still subsidized basic food products in Cuba, will be reduced from 80 grams to 60 grams (2.1 oz), or approximately the weight of an average cookie or a small bar of soap. Its price, too, was slightly reduced, to just under 1 peso, or 1/3 of a cent.

Still, many Cubans, who earn around 4648 pesos a month, or around $15, can scarcely afford to shop for more expensive bread on the private market, leaving them with few alternatives.

“We have to accept it, what else can we do?” Havana-resident Dolores Fernandez told Reuters while she stood outside a bakery on Monday. “There’s no choice.”

Cuba last week said it had run short of the wheat flour it needs to produce the bread, a predicament the government blames on the U.S. trade embargo, a complex web of restrictions that complicates Cuba’s global financial transactions.

The Caribbean island nation is suffering from extreme shortages of food, fuel and medicine, shortfalls that have primed a record-breaking exodus of its citizens to the nearby United States.

Cuba’s ration book, or “libreta,” as it is known among island residents, was once considered a hallmark of Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, providing a range of deeply-discounted products to all Cubans, including bread, fish, meat, milk, and cleaning and toiletry supplies.

This is one example of what happens when the government controls the price of food. Price controls create scarcity.

Keeping The SALT Limit Where It Is

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On Wednesday, Yahoo News posted an article about a bill to change the SALT deduction. The bill failed in the House of Representatives. The SALT deduction is the State and Local Tax deduction that President Trump capped at $10,000. High-tax states like New York, New Jersey, California, and Pennsylvania want the limit higher. That way when they charge their residents exorbitant tax rates, the residents can deduct those taxes on their federal income tax. In some high-tax states, just the real estate taxes on an average home are over $10,000. Generally, allowing higher SALT deductions is a gift to wealthy people and to people who live in high-tax states. In a sense, lower-tax states are funding the spending of the higher-tax states.

The article at Yahoo states:

A bill called the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act, which would have raised the tax cap for some married filers and ease some of the burden in high-tax states like New York, was on the table in the House of Representatives. But it was rejected before it could even be formally considered.

“I’m hopeful this can be a moment of unity among my colleagues on both sides of the aisle,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R.-N.Y.), the bill’s lead sponsor, as the debate got underway on Wednesday afternoon.

But — as was widely expected — it was not to be, with both Republicans and Democrats voting against the bill as it failed to garner agreement in a procedural vote.

The final vote on adopting a combined rule was rejected in a tally of 195-225, a defeat that is likely the end of the bill for the time being.

While I agree that all of our taxes should go down, limiting the SALT deduction was a way to hold high-tax states more accountable.

The Action And The Location Are BOTH Important

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On January 2nd, Yahoo News reported that Israel has killed Saleh Arouri, a top official with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and three others.

The article reports:

An explosion in Beirut on Tuesday killed Saleh Arouri, a top official with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and three others, officials with Hamas and the Lebanese group Hezbollah said.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the blast killed four people and was carried out by an Israeli drone. Israeli officials declined to comment.

If Israel is behind the attack it could mark a major escalation in the Middle East conflict. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to retaliate against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in Lebanon.

Hamas official Bassem Naim confirmed to The Associated Press that Arouri was killed in the blast. A Hezbollah official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations also said Arouri was killed.

The explosion took place in Lebanon and killed officials in both Hamas and Hezbollah. This should be a warning to Hezbollah to avoid attacking Israel while Israel is engaged in the Gaza Strip.

The article concludes:

The explosion shook Musharafieh, one of the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs, which are a stronghold of the militant Hezbollah group, which is an ally of Hamas. The explosion caused fire in Hadi Nasrallah street south of Beirut.

The explosion came during more than two months of heavy exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and members of Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border.

Since the fighting began on Oct. 8, the fighting has been concentrated a few miles (kilometers) from the border but on several occasions Israel’s air force hit Hezbollah targets deeper in Lebanon.

Earlier in the day, Hezbollah said its fighters carried out several attacks along the Lebanon-Israel border targeting Israeli military posts.

At some point we are going to have to admit that generally speaking, terrorists cannot be rehabilitated and need to be eliminated.

Is This Appropriate?

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The Democrats cheered John Fetterman’s return to the Senate after his two-month absence. Senator Fetterman checked into the hospital for depression. He is now returning to work. I appreciate his returning to work–he is supposed to represent the people of Pennsylvania, and he can’t do that unless he shows up. However, I truly question his judgement in showing up to the Senate in a hoodie and shorts. I am not the fashion police, but that just seems disrespectful to me.

This is the picture:

I guess I am old-fashioned, but I think this is totally inappropriate dress for the Senate.

On Tuesday, Yahoo News posted an article about Senator Fetterman’s return. Skip the article, and read the comments. I am not the only one offended by the lack of respect for the Senate shown by the way the Senator is dressed.

Protocol Matters

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I guess I am just old-fashioned, but I believe that there are certain protocols found in the history of America that should be maintained. Somehow, it seems to me that ignoring these protocols or changing them is not appropriate. One of these protocols is the Oath of Office taken by a newly-elected official on the Bible (or even on the Quran).

On Wednesday, Yahoo News reported that Representative-elect Robert Garcia of California will be taking his Oath of Office with three items beneath the U.S. Constitution he is swearing on. Those items are a photo of his mom and step-father, who both died of COVID-19; a copy of his United States Citizenship certificate; and a first-edition Superman comic, courtesy of the Library of Congress. While I appreciate the sentiment of the first two, I question the appropriateness of the third. Note that there is not a Bible involved.

The article reports:

The Superman comic, which was published in 1939, is a collector’s item (similar versions of which have sold for upwards of $5 million) — but more than that, it’s personal for Garcia, who was born in Peru.

“I came to America at the age of 5 as a Spanish-speaker,” the lawmaker tells PEOPLE. “As a kid, I would pick up comics at old thrift shops and pharmacies and that’s how I learned to read and write in English.”

That’s very nice, and I am glad that he obviously appreciates being an American citizen. However, I am not sure that this is the place for a superman comic. On the other hand, based on some of the antics of Congress, a comic book may be more appropriate than not.

Lying Or Simply Not Knowing?

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On Thursday, The U.K. Daily Mail posted an article about a recent speech by President Biden.

The article reports:

President Joe Biden touted U.S. manufacturing gains Thursday on a trip to Syracuse – where he claimed gas prices were down compared to when he took office, when in fact they are higher.

‘We’re down $1.25 Since the peak this summer, and they’ve been falling for the last three weeks as well as well, and adding up real savings for families today.,’ Biden said. 

‘The most common price of gas in America is $3.39 down from over $5 When I took office,’ he continued.

The average cost of a gallon of gas on the AAA site was $3.76 Thursday. When he took office, it was averaging $2.39 – or about half what he said it was then – according to the Energy Information Institute.

President Biden has a very shaky relationship with the truth. Remember how the political left was always accusing President Trump of lying? Somehow that hasn’t happened to President Biden, even when he is lying.

Yahoo News recently fact-checked another of President Biden’s statements:

Joe Biden: “wages have gone up higher, faster than inflation”

PolitiFact’s ruling: Mostly false

Here’s why: President Joe Biden defended his record on the U.S. economy while attending the international climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

Biden entered the United Nations’ COP 26 summit facing supply chain challenges and high levels of inflation back home. At a press conference, he said the U.S. is still in a better place than a year ago, when the coronavirus pandemic limited family gatherings and hampered the economy.

“This Thanksgiving, we’re all in a very different circumstance,” Biden said on Nov. 2. “Things are a hell of a lot better, and the wages have gone up higher, faster than inflation.”

On inflation and wages, Biden has a point for the most recent two months — August and September 2021. However, inflation outpaced wages by so much earlier in his presidency that these two months haven’t changed the overall picture much. All told, Americans are worse off on the comparison of inflation and wages than they were roughly a year ago. (The White House did not respond to an inquiry for this article.)

At least someone is noticing the lies.

Is Accountability Coming?

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On September 30, Yahoo News posted the following headline:

The FDA Misled the Public About Ivermectin and Should Be Accountable in Court, Argues the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)

Wow. I have no idea what the motive of the FDA was (although I could make some educated guesses), but people died because of their actions. They do need to be held accountable.

The article reports:

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) filed its motion and amicus brief Thursday evening with the federal district court in Galveston urging it to allow the lawsuit to proceed against the FDA for its misleading statements against ivermectin. In Apter v. HHS, a group of physicians sued to hold the Food and Drug Administration, a federal agency within the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), accountable for its interference with physicians’ ability to treat Covid-19.

“Defendant FDA has improperly exploited misunderstandings about the legality and prevalence of off-label uses of medication, in order to mislead courts, state medical boards, and the public into thinking there is anything improper about off-label prescribing,” AAPS writes in its amicus brief to the court. “Not only is off-label prescribing fully proper, legal, and commonplace, but it is also absolutely necessary in order to give effective care to patients.”

Yet the FDA published multiple statements and sent letters to influential organizations to falsely disparage ivermectin, implying that it was not approved for treating Covid-19. Many, including courts and state medical boards, were misled by the FDA into thinking that its lack of approval for this treatment meant that ivermectin should not be used to treat Covid-19.

“It has never been proper for the FDA to interfere with that essential part of the practice of medicine, and the FDA knows it,” AAPS informed the court. The FDA “insisted and continues to insist on interfering with the prescription of this safe medication by physicians in treating Covid-19,” AAPS added.

The article notes that AAPS General Counsel Andrew Schlafly stated that once the FDA approves a medication as safe, then physicians have full authority to prescribe it to treat any illness.

People died because of the actions of the FDA.

Common Sense Steps In

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Yesterday I reported that the man who attacked Congressman Lee Zeldin (article here) had been released from jail “on his own recognizance.” He was released due to the ridiculous bail reform laws in New York State. However, that is not the end of the story (thankfully).

Late Saturday, Yahoo News reported the following:

A Perinton man was arrested Saturday afternoon on a federal charge of assaulting Congressman Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for New York governor, at a campaign event Thursday.

David G. Jakubonis, 43, made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marion W. Payson at the Keating Federal Building in Rochester. He was charged with assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon and is being held in custody pending a detention hearing on July 27.

Jakubonis had already been arraigned on a state charge of attempted second-degree assault and was released on his own recognizance, according to a news release from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

It is a federal crime under Tile 18, U.S. Code, § 351 to assault a member of Congress. Prosecutors do not have to prove that a defendant knew that the victim was a member of Congress to prove a violation of the law. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

On Sunday, The Huffington Post reported:

A man accused of attacking New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin during a recent campaign rally told investigators he’d been drinking that day and didn’t know who the congressman was, authorities said as the man was arrested on a federal assault charge Saturday.

David Jakubonis, 43, made an initial court appearance Saturday before a federal magistrate judge in Rochester, New York, on a single count of assaulting a member of Congress with a dangerous weapon. The charge carries a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Isn’t it interesting that the attacker is claiming that he did not know who his victim was. Why does he thing the Congressman was standing on a stage talking to a group of people? I suspect it will be a shock to him when he finds out that the fact that he claims he did not know the Congressman is irrelevant.

Looking For An Incident?

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On Wednesday, PJ Media reported that on Wednesday afternoon the FBI arrested Nicholas John Roske near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The article reports:

The list of weapons and gear the suspect had on his person reads like something out of a horror movie. Roske, who told police that he planned to assassinate Kavanaugh, was arrested with a suitcase containing “a black tactical chest rig and tactical knife, a Glock 17 pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crow bar, pistol light, duct tape, hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles, and other items,” according to the FBI.

…The suspect, who said he found the address of Kavanaugh’s home on the internet (that’s on YOU, left-wing whack jobs), told Montgomery County Police he was upset about the leaked draft opinion of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which could potentially overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, and also the recent school shooting in Uvalde. He admitted to targeting Kavanaugh because he believed the justice would “side with Second Amendment decisions that would loosen gun control laws.” He said he planned to kill Kavanaugh and then commit suicide to give his life purpose.

On Wednesday, Breitbart reported:

The Justice Department appears to still be allowing protesters to gather outside of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home even after police arrested a man who allegedly intended to assassinate him.

Video on Wednesday showed protesters marching in front of the justice’s home shouting pro-abortion slogans. The protesters also made their way over to Chief Justice John Roberts’ home as well.

I realize that protesting is legal, but once there is an actual murder attempt, shouldn’t it be curtailed. Aren’t there buffer zones around abortion clinics? Shouldn’t there be ‘protection zones’ around the houses of Justices who have been threatened?

Breitbart also reported on Wednesday:

The Justice Department appears to still be allowing protesters to gather outside of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home even after police arrested a man who allegedly intended to assassinate him.

Video on Wednesday showed protesters marching in front of the justice’s home shouting pro-abortion slogans. The protesters also made their way over to Chief Justice John Roberts’ home as well.

Despite McCarthy’s request, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats failed to comply with McCarthy’s proposal to bring the bill to vote.

UPDATE:

Yahoo news reported on Thursday:

The House will vote next week on legislation to expand security for the families and staff of the Supreme Court justices, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Thursday. The Senate approved the legislation unanimously last month,

Stay tuned.

This Could Easily Crash The American Economy

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In explaining why oil is traded in American dollars, Quora reports the following history:

Allegedly, In a series of meetings, the United States — represented by then U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger — and the Saudi royal family made an agreement. The United States would offer military protection for Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, and in return the Saudi’s would price their oil sales exclusively in United States dollars (in other words, the Saudis were to refuse all other currencies, except the U.S. dollar, as payment for their oil exports). By 1975, all of the oil-producing nations of OPEC had agreed to price their oil in dollars and to invest surplus oil proceeds in U.S. government debt securities in exchange for similar offers by the U.S.

That agreement has propped up the American dollar during Washington’s wild spending binges. It has allowed America to create the massive debt we now have without going bankrupt. Just for the record, high inflation makes it easier to pay off that debt.

Yesterday Yahoo News posted an article that is not good news for the future of the American dollar.

The article reports:

Saudi and Chinese officials are in talks to price some of the Gulf nation’s oil sales in yuan rather than dollars or euros, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The two nations have intermittently discussed the matter for six years, but talks have reportedly stepped up in 2022, with Riyadh disgruntled over the United States’ nuclear negotiations with Iran and its lack of backing for Saudi Arabia’s military operation in neighboring Yemen.

Nearly 80 percent of global oil sales are priced in dollars, and since the mid-1970s the Saudis have exclusively used the dollar for oil trading as part of a security agreement with the U.S. government, according to the Journal.

The talks are the latest in an ongoing effort by Beijing both to make its currency tradeable in international oil markets and strengthen its relationship with the Saudis specifically. China previously aided Riyadh in construction of ballistic missiles and consultation on nuclear power.

Conversely, the Saudi-U.S. relationship has been increasingly frayed in recent years. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman initially put forth a public image as a reformer, liberalizing the country’s policies on women’s rights and criminal justice.

However, the 2018 assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been catastrophic for both the crown prince’s public relations offensive and relations with Washington. The rift intensified after President Biden, who has said the assassination should make the kingdom a “pariah,” took office.

During the same period, China’s economic relationship to Saudi Arabia has grown closer, with the kingdom providing 1.76 million barrels of oil a day to the country in 2021, according to the Journal, citing China’s General Administration of Customs. While the country plans to maintain the dollar for the majority of its oil trading, a shift by the Saudis could create a domino effect for China’s other major oil suppliers, such as Russia, Angola and Iraq.

I am not a financial expert and would not presume to tell anyone what a safe investment would be for the future, but I can say that this is not good news for the American economy.

The Long Reach Of The Government Just Got Longer

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The Patriot Daily wire is reporting the following today:

The federal government is issuing warrants from compliant Google to turn over anyone typing in certain search terms.

But they assure the American public that they can be trusted. Just like the federal government assured Americans they would not abuse the secret FISA courts to spy on innocent Americans!

We now know that crooked feds were spying on Donald Trump, his family, his campaign and his presidency using the secret courts to obtain warrants.

Frankly, I use Duck Duck Go as a search engine. I am not sure if they have been hit by warrants yet.

The article includes the following excerpt from a Yahoo News article:

The U.S. government is reportedly secretly issuing warrants for Google to provide user data on anyone typing in certain search terms, raising fears that innocent online users could get caught up in serious crime investigations at a greater frequency than previously thought.

In an attempt to track down criminals, federal investigators have started using new “keyword warrants” and used them to ask Google to provide them information on anyone who searched a victim’s name or their address during a particular year, an accidentally unsealed court document that Forbes found shows.

Google has to respond to thousands of warrant orders each year, but the keyword warrants are a relatively new strategy used by the government and are controversial.

“Trawling through Google’s search history database enables police to identify people merely based on what they might have been thinking about, for whatever reason, at some point in the past,” Jennifer Granick, surveillance and cybersecurity counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, told Forbes.

“This never-before-possible technique threatens First Amendment interests and will inevitably sweep up innocent people, especially if the keyword terms are not unique and the time frame not precise. To make matters worse, police are currently doing this in secret, which insulates the practice from public debate and regulation,” she added.

The government said that the scope of the warrants is limited to avoid implicating innocent people who happen to search for certain terms, but it’s not publicly disclosed how many users’ data are sent to the government and what the extent of the warrant requests are.

This may be what eventually will change the focus of the American Civil Liberties Union to protecting the First Amendment rights of Americans, which is what they should actually be doing.

What Will Be The Long-Term Impact Of This?

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Scott Johnson at Power Line Blog posted an article today about what is happening with the Haitian refugees that are coming into our country right now.

The article quotes the Associated Press:

Many Haitian migrants camped in a small Texas border town are being released in the United States, two U.S. officials said, undercutting the Biden administration’s public statements that the thousands in the camp faced immediate expulsion.

Haitians have been freed on a “very, very large scale” in recent days, according to one U.S. official who put the figure in the thousands. The official, with direct knowledge of operations who was not authorized to discuss the matter Tuesday and thus spoke on condition of anonymity.

Many have been released with notices to appear at an immigration office within 60 days, an outcome that requires less processing time from Border Patrol agents than ordering an appearance in immigration court and points to the speed at which authorities are moving, the official said.

The Homeland Security Department has been busing Haitians from Del Rio to El Paso, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley along the Texas border, and this week added flights to Tucson, Arizona, the official said. They are processed by the Border Patrol at those locations.

The article notes that a U.S. official has stated that large numbers of Haitians are being released into America rather than being sent home as we have been told.

Meanwhile, Yahoo News reported the following yesterday:

Haitians deported from the U.S. on Tuesday assaulted the pilots on board one of the flights when it arrived in Port-au-Prince and injured three U.S. immigration officers, according to a source familiar with internal reports of the incident.

Unrest broke out shortly after a flight carrying single adult men arrived and released the men to Haitian authorities on the tarmac. Then, the source said, several of the men stormed another recently arrived flight carrying families.

The men assaulted the pilots of that plane, who work for a government contractor licensed to fly deportation flights for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while the families were still on board. Three ICE officers were also attacked on that plane, each suffering non-life-threatening injuries, the source said.

Yesterday The Washington Examiner reported:

Haitian migrants who were being transported on a federally contracted private bus away from the border revolted during the ride and overtook control of the commercial vehicle before escaping, according to two law enforcement officials.

A large white bus bound for San Antonio, Texas, was overtaken Monday afternoon during the two-and-a-half-hour trip from the international bridge in Del Rio. The migrants on board had been picked up from the makeshift migrant camp, where thousands are waiting to be taken into custody, two federal law enforcement agents told the Washington Examiner.

“They did break out of the bus, and they did escape,” a senior federal law enforcement official confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.

There seems to be a pattern here, and it is not a good one.

One Of The Problems With Green Energy

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On Wednesday, Yahoo News reported that one in five owners of electric cars have replaced their electric cars with traditional gasoline-powered cars.

The article reports:

In roughly three minutes, you can fill the gas tank of a Ford Mustang and have enough range to go about 300 miles with its V8 engine.

But on a recent 200-mile trip from Boston to New York in the Mustang’s electric Mach-E variant, Axios’ Dan Primack said he felt “panic” as his battery level dipped below 23% while searching for a compatible charger to complete his trip.

“I was assured that this might be one of the country’s easiest EV routes,” Primack wrote. “Those assurances were misplaced.”

For Bloomberg automotive analyst Kevin Tynan, an hour plugged into his household outlet gave the Mach-E just three miles of range.

“Overnight, we’re looking at 36 miles of range,” he told Insider. “Before I gave it back to Ford, because I wanted to give it back full, I drove it to the office and plugged in at the charger we have there.”

Standard home outlets generally deliver 120 volts, powering what electric vehicle aficionados call “Level 1” charging, while the higher-powered specialty connections at 240 volts are known as “Level 2.” By comparison, Tesla’s “Superchargers,” which can fully charge its cars in a little over an hour, run on 480 volts.

The article notes:

Of those who switched, over 70% lacked access to Level 2 charging at home, and slightly fewer than that lacked Level 2 connections at their workplace.

“If you don’t have a Level 2, it’s almost impossible,” said Tynan, who has tested a wide range of makes and models of PEVs over the years for his research.

Even with the faster charging, a Chevy Bolt he tested still needed nearly six hours to top its range back up to 300 miles from nearly empty – something that takes him just minutes at the pump with his family SUV.

EVs have come a long way in recent years in terms of range, safety, comfort, and tech features, but Hardman and Tal note that very little has changed in terms of how they are recharged.

The researchers warned that this trend could make it harder to achieve electric vehicle sales targets in California and other countries, and the growth of the market overall.

There are also questions as to whether or not the electrical grid could handle everyone driving electric cars. There is also the matter of where the electricity comes from–coal-generated, natural gas, solar, etc. Electric cars may or may not be a good idea, but it is an idea that will not come into fruition until the government gets out of the way.

Was This Really What You Had In Mind?

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Liveaction posted an article today about one member of Joe Biden’s cabinet if Joe Biden officially becomes President.

The article reports:

On Monday, former Vice President Joe Biden’s team announced the members of his presumptive Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, which includes former Obama health care advisor Ezekiel Emanuel. Emanuel, 63, who currently chairs the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, previously served on Biden’s Public Health Advisory committee during the primary and has been outspoken in his support for rationed health care, discrimination against the elderly in health care, and abortion.

“The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations,” Biden said in a statement.

Emanuel’s addition to this board comes with added concerns, as hospitals have already considered rationing health care for patients with COVID-19.

While Emanuel has said that he does not support legalizing assisted suicide or euthanasia, he does support rationing health care for the disabled and the elderly. To ration care in order to save money, he believes, “will require changing how doctors think about their patients.” In other words, doctors should assess the value they place on individual patient’s lives to determine if they are worth living or not — a process often colloquially referred to as “death panels.”

Emanuel advocates the use of “The Complete Life System,” a method which “prioritizes younger people [not including infants or the preborn, as Emanuel supports abortion] who have not yet lived a complete life.” To put it simply, the system prioritizes health care for who have lived just 25 years over people who have lived 65 years. However, Emanuel would not necessarily include a 25-year-old with intellectual disabilities on the list of people who should receive priority over the elderly.

Yesterday Yahoo News posted an article about other possible Biden cabinet picks. The article notes that Susan Rice is a candidate for Secretary of State. You remember Susan Rice–she went on all of the Sunday talk shows and lied about Benghazi. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is a candidate for Secretary of Housing and Development. On June 12, 2020, The New York Times reported that there were 41,290 homeless people in Los Angeles. Senator Bernie Sanders is a candidate for the Department of Labor. Senator Elizabeth Warren is a candidate for Secretary of the Treasury. Jeh Johnson is a candidate for Secretary of Defense. Jeh Johnson is one of the people who propagated the Russian Hoax that wasted so much time and taxpayer’s money.

These are just a few of the leading contenders. Good luck to America if Joe Biden becomes President.

The Economy Is Strong

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No one really knows what impact the coronavirus will have on our economy, but as for now, the February jobs report showed a strong, vibrant, growing economy.

Yahoo News posted details of the report today.

The article reports:

The Labor Department released its February jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday. Here were the main results from the report, compared to consensus expectations compiled by Bloomberg:

  • Change in non-farm payrolls: +273,000 vs. +175,000 expected and 273,000 in January
  • Unemployment rate: 3.5% vs. 3.6% expected and 3.6% in January
  • Avg. hourly earnings, month on month: +0.3% vs. +0.3% expected and +0.2% in January
  • Avg. hourly earnings, year on year: 3.0% vs. +3.0% expected and 3.1% in January

January’s job gains were upwardly revised to 273,000, from the 225,000 previously reported, and December’s non-farm payroll additions were upwardly revised by 37,000 to 184,000. This brought average job gains over the past three months up to 243,000, or above the average from 2019, when job growth averaged 178,000 per month.

The services sector again led the advance in job gains in February. Within this sector, health-care and social assistance added 56,500 payrolls, accelerating gains from January. Professional and business services also posted strong job gains, adding a net 41,000 positions.

Within the services sector, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing and temporary health services shed jobs in February. Retail posted the largest declines, losing a net 7,000 positions and extending a drop of 5,800 from January.

For the goods-producing sector, manufacturing added jobs for the first time in three months, posting a net 15,000 payroll gains. Construction and mining each also added jobs, underscoring a firming of the goods-producing sector in February after months of weakness relative to services. Employment in construction rose by 42,000 positions for the month after a gain of 49,000 in January, representing the best two-month advance for the industry since March 2018, as unseasonably warm weather and a strengthening housing market helped supported hiring.

The Workforce Participation Rate remained steady at 63.4 percent.

It’s always interesting to me that when the jobs report comes out during a Republican administration, the numbers always seem to be higher than the experts predicted. There will be some impact in March from the coronavirus because of the disruption in the global supply chain the virus has caused, but I believe the economy is strong enough to recover from any glitches that may occur (despite the undisguised wishes of the Democrat party for a serious economic downturn).

The Professionally Offended Often Have No Idea What They Are Talking About

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Yesterday The Daily Wire posted an article about a recent dust-up over a shirt worn by Chris Pratt. The shirt depicted the Gadsden Flag, a Revolutionary War flag.

An article at Yahoo News reported:

The Marvel star’s top shows the American flag with a coiled snake over the top and a message underneath which reads “Don’t Tread On Me.”

The writing and snake combo on its own is depicted on the Gadsden flag; a symbol created by Christopher Gadsden, a Charleston-born brigadier general in the Continental Army.

It came to prominence during the Revolutionary War of the US by colonists who wanted independence from Great Britain.

Although it is one of the symbols and flags used by the U.S. Men’s Soccer Team, over the years the flag has been adopted by Far Right political groups like the Tea Party, as well as gun-toting supporters of the Second Amendment.

It has therefore become a symbol of more conservative and far right individuals and, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the US, it also is “sometimes interpreted to convey racially-tinged messages in some contexts.”

Wait a minute. Since when is it far right to support the U.S. Constitution and want smaller government? Note the subtle criticism of those who support the Second Amendment. Also, there is nothing racial about the Gadsden flag. Race was not part of the equation at the time it was designed. The Yahoo News story is injecting opinion into its reporting, giving some basic facts, but misleading the reader.

Aside from the fact that the professionally offended are again trying to put a negative spin on a symbol of our history, Chris Pratt was wearing the shirt to support a pro-veteran nonprofit called the Brain Treatment Foundation.

The article at The Daily Wire reports:

On Facebook, Brain Treatment Foundation posted a photo of Pratt in the T-shirt and said that they were “honored” by the support.

“We are honored to work with the silent warriors who sacrifice greatly so that others may live free, who defend our freedom, who live with honor and by the word of God. These warriors hunt evil to protect our peace, while those who disparage their sacrifices and our nation from behind a computer screen, pretend it doesn’t exist,” the organization said. “We are proud of the American flag and all symbols that represent the freedom brave men and women have shed blood for since the inception of our great country.”

This is another example of the political left criticizing something they know nothing about. Hopefully fewer people are falling for the antics of the professionally offended.

Upholding The Law Even When Challenged

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Yesterday Yahoo News reported that Oberlin College will be required to pay Gibson’s Bakery $44 million in damages after the College accused the Bakery of racism.

The article explains the root of the controversy:

Problems between the Gibsons, their once-beloved bakery and the college began in November 2016 after Allyn Gibson, who is white, confronted a black Oberlin student who had shoplifted wine. Two other black students joined in and assaulted Gibson, police said.

The day after the arrests, hundreds of students protested outside the bakery.  Members of Oberlin College’s student senate published a resolution saying Gibson’s had “a history of racial profiling and discriminatory treatment.”

When news of the protests spread online, bikers and counterprotesters soon converged on the town to jeer students and make purchases from Gibson’s. Conservatives derided the students on social media as coddled “snowflakes” with a mob mentality, while students attacked the store as a symbol of systemic racism.

The Gibsons sued Oberlin and the dean of students in November 2017, accusing faculty members of encouraging the protests. The lawsuit said college tour guides informed prospective students that Gibson’s is racist.

The Gibsons said the protests devastated their business and forced them to lay off workers. They said they haven’t paid themselves or other family members since the protests.

Yesterday The Gateway Pundit reported:

For decades the college would buy baked goods from the small family-owned and operated business, but the bakery says that ended after the students were arrested. The administration reportedly told the bakery that they would restore the business relationship only if they stopped prosecuting first-time shoplifters and notified the school instead. Owner David Gibson declined the offer, citing the difficulty in determining who is a first time offender and the high cost of stolen goods.

Though the three men were clearly in the wrong, the bakery was subject to Black Lives Matter protests and even pressured by the college’s administration not to pursue charges.

According to the lawsuit, faculty members encouraged the demonstrations by suspending classes, helping to distribute flyers accusing the bakery of racism, and providing food and drinks to protesters.

I have a word of advice for all future social justice warriors–make sure the person you are claiming was treated unfairly is innocent of the charges. Otherwise, you may be the one thwarting justice and paying the price.

The Canary In The Coal Mine Is Not Singing

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Jews have been called the “canary in the coal mine.” Miners used to take canaries into the mines with them. When the canary stopped singing (and died), it meant that the gas levels were too high and the gases could explode or kill the miners. Underlying the metaphor is the realization that what happens to the Jews will befall everyone. Historically it seems that when bad things happen to the Jews, bad things happening to other groups of people are not far behind. During the Holocaust roughly eleven million people were killed. It began with antisemitism, moved to killing the Jews, the disabled, the mentally handicapped, homosexuals, and Christians who opposed the policy. The figure usually quoted is that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, but what happened to the Jews also happened to other population groups in Europe.

Yesterday Yahoo News posted an article reporting the following:

Germany’s government commissioner on anti-Semitism has warned Jews about the potential dangers of wearing the traditional kippah cap in the face of rising anti-Jewish attacks.

“I cannot advise Jews to wear the Kippah everywhere all the time in Germany,” Felix Klein said in an interview published Saturday by the Funke regional press group.

In issuing the warning, he said he had “alas, changed my mind (on the subject) compared to previously.”

Klein, whose post was created last year, cited “the lifting of inhibitions and the uncouthness which is on the rise in society” as factors behind a rising incidence of anti-Semitism.

“The internet and social media have largely contributed to this — but so have constant attacks against our culture of remembrance.”

And he suggested police, teachers and lawyers should be better trained to recognise what constitutes “clearly defined” unacceptable behaviour and “what is authorised and what is not”.

His comments came just weeks after Berlin’s top legal expert on anti-semitism said the issue remains entrenched in German society.

I don’t think that the problem is that antisemitism is entrenched in German society or the rise of the political right–I think the problem is that Germany is losing its national identity to Muslim refugees who have brought antisemitism with them as part of their religion. I suspect the ‘far-right’ is rising in response to what they see happening to their country.

In 2015 the following letter was written to the City Council of Munich:

Dear City council of Munich,

I am writing this letter to bring to your attention something that I and many Muslims believe is unfair and requires attention. I would like to inform you that the Oktoberfest is an Intolerant and Anti-Islamic event.

We tried to ignore the event, but there too many Un-Islamic acts done at the Oktoberfest. Such as alcohol consumption, public nudity etc.

We understand that the Oktoberfest is a yearly German tradition, but we, Muslims, can not tolerate this Un-Islamic event, because it offends us and all Muslims on the earth. We are requesting the immediate cancellation of the upcoming Oktoberfest event.

We also believe that the Oktoberfest might also offend all the Muslim refugees coming from Syria, Iraq,

Afghanistan. The cancellation of the Oktoberfest event will help refugees not to forget their Islamic history. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Morad Almuradi

I am not necessarily a fan of Oktoberfest, but if I were a German existing in the German culture, this letter would bother me. Here is an immigrant trying to change my country into the country he just fled. That makes no sense to me.

When Your Weapon Backfires

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BizPacReview posted an article yesterday about a recent Rasmussen poll.

The article reports:

A new Rasmussen poll shows more voters believe it is Crooked Hillary Clinton rather than President Trump who is guilty of colluding with foreign operatives during the 2016 election campaign. Of likely voters polled, 47% believe the Clinton campaign was involved in collusion, as opposed to 45% who still buy the fraudulent Trump collusion story.

The worm is turning in spite of a non-stop, years-long onslaught of lies from the never-Trump media about it all. The tipping point is now … with the majority finally discerning the truth and slowly more and more rejecting the coordinated MSM disinformation campaign.

…The March 25-26 survey found 50% of voters satisfied with the conclusions reached by Mueller. About one-third, or 36%, are not satisfied and 13% are undecided.

The article also includes the following:

On March 25th, Yahoo News reported the following:

After 16 months of investigation, the cost had ballooned to $25 million, CNBC reported. Based on those figures, that works out to approximately $1.5 million spent per month. And that’s just working from September 2018, the 16-month mark. The cost has very likely gone up since then. If the $1.5 million figure remains static, taxpayers have paid another $7.5 million between October 2018 and February 2019.

In Mueller’s latest filing, released in September 2018, he reported “spending nearly $3 million on compensation, $580,000 on travel and transportation, $1 million on rent and related expenses, and $300,000 on contractual services, primarily related to IT,” according to CNBC.

The Democrats might want to keep all of these numbers in mind as they pursue their subpoenas of the Mueller Report. After the government spent some serious money and the mainstream media claimed that President Trump was a Russian agent, many Americans were not fooled.

Sunshine Really Is The Best Remedy

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Last night The Daily Wire reported the following:

House Republicans filed a resolution to impeach United States Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Wednesday, citing the Justice Department’s lack of transparency and obstruction of congressional oversight.

“I just filed a resolution with Jim Jordan and several colleagues to impeach Rod Rosenstein,” Meadows wrote on Twitter. “The DOJ has continued to hide information from Congress and repeatedly obstructed oversight–even defying multiple Congressional subpoenas.”

The lack of transparency is not the only problem–Rod Rosenstein signed one of the FISA warrants. He might be totally conflicted in deciding what documents to turn over to Congress.

The saga continues. Yahoo News reported today:

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday rejected a move by fellow Republicans to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the No. 2 Justice Department official, who oversees the federal probe of Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election.

“Do I support impeachment of Rod Rosenstein? No, I do not,” said Ryan, whose stance could make it easier for other Republican members to oppose the measure.

This is not a surprise. Paul Ryan will be stepping down from his role as Speaker and probably looking for a job in Washington. Although I believe the impeachment of Rosenstein would be appropriate (for conflict of interest as much as anything else), I don’t think Paul Ryan is willing to do anything that might rock the boat right now. He wants to stay friends with everyone. (That is probably why he should resign today!)

On Tuesday, Byron York posted an article at The Washington Examiner which outlined a solution to this whole sordid mess.

The article points out:

While the lawmakers support maximum declassification, they also gave the president another option: declassify two key sections of the application that Republicans believe are particularly revealing. In the letter, the GOP committee members made a very specific request.

“To enable the public to understand the DOJ’s and FBI’s basis for obtaining the FISA warrant and three subsequent renewals,” the lawmakers wrote, “we respectfully request that you declassify and release publicly, and in unredacted form, pages 10-12 and 17-34, along with all associated footnotes, of the third renewal of the FISA application on Mr. Page. The renewal was filed in June 2017 and signed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.”

So what is on pages 10-12 and 17-34? That is certainly a tantalizing clue dropped by the House Intel members, but it’s not clear what it means. Comparing the relevant sections from the initial FISA application, in October 2016, and the third renewal, in June 2017, much appears the same, but in pages 10-12 of the third renewal there is a slightly different headline — “The Russian Government’s Coordinated Efforts to Influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election” — plus a footnote, seven lines long, that was not in the original application.

As for pages 17-34, there appear to be, in the third renewal, new text and footnotes throughout the section headlined “Page’s Coordination with Russian Government Officials on 2016 U.S. Presidential Election Influence Activities.” (That is the same headline as the original application.) The Republican lawmakers ask that it be unredacted in its entirety, suggesting they don’t believe revealing it would compromise any FBI sources or methods.

Clearly, the GOP lawmakers believe pages 10-12 and 17-34 contain critical information, so it seems likely that the release of those pages would affect the current public debate over the FISA application. That would, in turn, lead to charges that the Republicans were cherry-picking the application and did not want the public to see information that undercuts their position.

Which is why the application should be released in its entirety, or as closely to its entirety as is possible. Will that happen? At the moment, it appears the only person who can answer that question is Trump.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

The Positive Economic News Continues

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Yahoo News is reporting today that jobless claims expectantly fell last week. (Why was it unexpected–the trend has been going downward for a while?) Because of this, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates next week to keep the economy from overheating. I have mixed emotions about this. We do have to get back to reasonable interest rates, but it seems as if the federal reserve also has a habit of overreacting and slowing down (or speeding up) the economy a little too quickly.

This is a chart of interest rates starting in approximately 2008 taken from trading economics:

As you can see, the rates were kept very low during the Obama Administration in order to avoid an economic crash. Ideally, the Federal Reserve will raise them very slowly so as to protect the economic growth we are currently seeing.

Yahoo News reports:

The dollar was trading lower against a basket of currencies. Prices for longer-dated U.S. Treasuries rose marginally and stocks on Wall Street were mixed. The labor market is considered to be close to or at full employment. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 223,000 jobs in May and the unemployment rate dropped to an 18-year low of 3.8 percent.

The jobless rate, which has declined by three-tenths of a percentage point this year, is now at a level where the Fed projected it would be by the end of this year.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased 21,000 to 1.74 million in the week ended May 26. The four-week moving average of the so-called continuing claims dropped 13,250 to 1.73 million, the lowest level since December 1973.

…The strong job market conditions were also underscored by the publication on Thursday of the Labor Department’s Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements survey, which showed 1.3 percent of U.S. workers in May 2017 held jobs they considered temporary or did not expect to last beyond a year.

That is a decline from 1.8 percent in February 2005 when the government last conducted a similar survey.

When self-employed individuals and independent contractors were included, the share of workers was 1.6 percent in May 2017, down from 2.3 percent in February 2005. Most contingent workers were under the age of 25.

The Labor Department will publish its Contingent Worker Supplement report in September. It is expected to shed light on the so-called gig economy.

Like him or not, President Trump is a successful businessman who understands how economics works. It might be a good idea in the future to elect businessmen to the presidency instead of politicians.