Post #6805 M: Stossel on Chase Oliver; tragedy at the GAY crosswalk; Tackling Robert Reich's First Two "Economic Myths"

 Quote of the Day

Failure is only the opportunity 

to begin again more intelligently

Henry Ford  

Stossel on Chase Oliver

tragedy at the GAY crosswalk

Tackling Robert Reich's First Two "Economic Myths"

Choose Life

Musical Interlude: Duos

Steely Dan, "Deacon Blues"

Post #6804 M: McClanahan on The Supreme Court Gets it Wrong Again; Eating Doritos while drowning in debt; Freight Train of Regulations

 Quote of the Day

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on 

after others have let go.

William Feather

McClanahan on The Supreme Court Gets it Wrong Again

Eating Doritos while drowning in debt

Freight Train of Regulations

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Tom Stiglich via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duos

Steely Dan, "Peg"

Post #6803 M: Virginia First--The 1607 Project; China’s slowing economy; Norberg’s New and Improved: The Fork

 Quote of the Day

Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, 

but in finding out the right and upholding it, 

wherever found, 

against the wrong.

Theodore Roosevelt  

Virginia First--The 1607 Project

China’s slowing economy

Norberg’s New and Improved: The Fork

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtest of Tom Stiglich via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duos

"RIKKI DON'T LOSE THAT NUMBER ", Steely Dan, A personal favorite.

Post #6802 M: Is Gen Z Really the Poorest Generation? ; Farage, Le Pen, and the Rise of the European Right; McClanahan on Know Your Enemy

 Quote of the Day

I know of only one bird - 

the parrot - that talks; 

and it can't fly very high.\

Wilbur Wright  

Is Gen Z Really the Poorest Generation?

Farage, Le Pen, and the Rise of the European Right

McClanahan on Know Your Enemy

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of  Al Goodwyn via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duos

Steely Dan, "Reelin' in the Years"

Post #6801 M: Replace Income Tax with Tariffs? ; Stossel on 6 Myths About Globalization, Trade, Jobs, and "Buy American"; Does the TSA Actually Keep Us Safe?

 Quote of the Day

I am never afraid of what I know.

Anna Sewell  

Replace Income Tax with Tariffs?

Stossel on 6 Myths About Globalization, Trade, Jobs, and "Buy American"

Does the TSA Actually Keep Us Safe?

Choose Life

Musical Interlude: Duos

Steely Dan, "Do It Again"

Post #6800 Commentary: "Election 2024 and the Shameful Scapegoating of Immigration"

 I do realize given the status quo, my strongly pro-immigration views are highly unpopular. And I don't view this essay as a vehicle of being a strident blast against the wind. Even a significant number of libertarians belong to the Rothbard/Kinsella/Hoppe wing of libertarians justifying immigration restrictions. In fact, Rothbard had a more orthodox pro-liberty perspective during his earlier years, consistent with the principles of free trade, against the corrupt protectionist special interests abusing general government authority. [Some libertarians also oppose open borders as exacerbating the unsustainable welfare state or trespassing/private property concerns.]  For example, in my short 5-year career as a university professor, I worked in 3 different states (WI, TX, IL) and I went on campus visits (sponsored on-campus visits/interviews)  in a mumber of others (AL, OH, UT, CA, LA, NY, and RI). I didn't need a visa or passport to migrate between states. The same thing hols true of my post-academic career in IT: I've also lived and,or worked in FL, MD, CA, SC, MO, VA, DC and AZ and seriously pursued jobs in NC, PA, DE, NH. and KS, not to mention busibess travel to OK, UT, MI, MN, NY, and GA. Going from interstate freedom of movement to international is a natural progression in principle.

I've been particularly critical of the Milton Friedman welfare system lure argument. We had strong free immigration throughout the largely uncapped nineteenth century, a key factor that made us the world's largest economy. There was no general government welfare system. The federal government had a small budget largely funded by tariffs. My Franco-American ancestors were part of the Quebec diaspora, largely motivated by a growing population outstripping province resources (e.g., available farm land). They were religious with a strong blue-collar work ethic, not unlike the recent-generation Latinos I befriended in high school and college. My maternal grandmother was proud of her weaving skills working the tough life in Fall River's textile mills. My maternal grandfather ran a mom 'n pop grocery store, somehow surviving the Depression with scores of customers never fully paying off their accounts; he talked to me about opening up his store at night for customers needing say a quart of milk or loaf of bread. My dad spent his teen summers working on a relative's farm. My relatives had a lot of pride and would never go on the government dole--and I think that's the same for millions of new immigrants and their descendants.. (Both sets of grandparents were American by birth.)

But arguing that migrants are risking their lives and savings for a bleak life afforded on government subsistence programs, which many of us consider a permanent underclass og general government dependency? Actually, blog source Peter St Onge, not exactly pro-immigrant, has pointed to employment gains which he largely attributes to migrants, presumably provided with a work permit. Why would they choose to work? 

Under PRWORA, unauthorized noncitizens are not qualified aliens (see the Appendix) and thus are not eligible for most federal benefits. PRWORA defines federal public benefits as (A) any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by anagency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United States; and (B) any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of the United States or by appropriated funds of the United States.12

The federal public benefits that meet this definition includes programs such as non-emergency Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),13 Supplemental Security Income (SSI),14 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),15 and most housing assistance programs, 16 among many others. Unauthorized noncitizens are also ineligible for Federal Pell Grants for student financial aid as well as Affordable Care Act (ACA) health care subsidies, and they may not purchase unsubsidized health care on ACA exchanges. Additionally, PRWORA prevents unauthorized noncitizens from receiving the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by requiring that the Social Security numbers of recipients (and spouses) be valid for employment in the United States.17

Even for "legal immigrants", there is a waiting period of roughly 5 years until eligibility for federal individual/family benefit programs. There are a variety of nuances/exceptions, including asylum status, minor vs. adult, certain emigrate nations (e.g., Cuba), and some states do allow unauthorized aliens to be eligible for certain programs, like SNAP/"food stamps"  But generally speaking, immigrants of any kind are ineligible for government assistance in the short term, which generally busts the anti-immigrant Friedman myth of a morally corrupt government-benefits lure to migrants.

So what kind of work do unauthorized aliens do? Not surprisingly, the vast majority work at lower-earning blue collar vs. professional/managerial/higher-earning jobs, e;g., childcare, maid, landscaping, cook, construction, etc.

I have been pro-immigration my whole life. I think it is based on my Franco-American heritage. I was born to bilingual parents and grandparents on both sides. French, in fact, was my preferred language when I started kindergarten.I would say I embraced our ethnic heritage probably more than my own folks. My mom, for instance, recalls primary schoolmates mocking her then accented English, and when my school warned about my French, the folks stopped speaking French around me and my younger siblings. I still celebrated our Catholic roots and some cultural cuisine, particularly cretons, a seasoned ground pork spread, still my favorite sandwich, and meat pies (also pork-based). To a certain extent, I was very empathetic with my Latino classmates in high school and college. In fact, I have lived in or near border town communities in Laredo, El Paso, and Yuma. OLL, my undergraduate alma mater, was located in a southwest barrio community. My closest friend at OLL was Latino, and I have dated Latinas. I have worked or studied with immigrants or foreign students, including China, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, including one of my best friends who in 1999 was still working on his green card. I had seen him exploited by his sponsor, even at one point forced to take a pay cut (in the high cost Bay Area), and he spent an ungodly amount of money on lawyers and paperwork. I knew he had spent years waiting for his opportunity to work in America, with tiny quotas of available work visas, often exhausted within hours or days. To anyone like me quotas of products or workers are gross violations of open markets..I don't attribute my pro-immigration views to any academic or researcher, but my views have been influenced by Nowrasteh and other Cato Institute scholars, particularly on statistics showing unauthorized aliens are more lawabiding than native Americans, and Don Boudreaux of Cafe Hayek has underscored that immigration restrictions, eg., "merit-based immigration", are unjustifiable on grounds of principle and economics.

 I'm not going to get into a debate over the Friedman welfare net lure hypothesis but not one immigrant I've ever met ever mentioned a government benefit; I think it's presumptuous to believe that today's immigrants are motivated by any lesser motivations than the first century-plus of open immigration than a variation of an opportunity of a better life and freedom for themselves and their children. Many sacrificed their home, culture and way of life, their savings to a new country, culture, language with uncertainty, sometimes having to start over in a new job/career, possibly dealing with unwelcoming natives. For example, my Franco ancesters were targeted by the KKK as immigrants and Catholic; the Gray Lady regarded French Canadian emigrants as culturally isolated, unwilling to assimilate into (then Protestant-dominated) public schools, and uncontrollably breeding. Relocating is intrinsically difficult. I remember falling in love with a Brazilian lady, but she was not interested in leaving her home country: it meant leaving her support sustem, her extended family and beloved country behind. She wasn't the only one; my project manager claimed he could negotiate me a 6-figure salary to join our Brazilian client. That was double what I was making at the time and that kind of money would go a long way in Brazil. But I wasn't interested, even for love and money. Similarly, my Indian colleague had waited for years "in line" to get his American opportunity. Not only that, but on the side he was marketing  his jointly developed web expenses application, plus he owned a house in San Jose at a time houses were going for $450K+ over 20 years ago.

I don't want to repeat Trump's unconscionable attacks on immigration But let's reprise GOP history on the issue. I don't mean to suggest US policy was unblemished prior to the quota bills passed under Coolidge nearly a century ago. There were formal or negotiated restrictions from Chiba or Japan for racial or labor protectionist reasons. Lincoln was committed to more open immigration but the GOP transitioned to a labor protectionist restrictions through Hoover:

When Lincoln won the presidency in 1860, this new civil rights party stated that the GOP was “in favor of giving a full and efficient protection to the rights of all classes of citizens, whether native or naturalized, both at home and abroad.” During the darkest days of the Civil War, the Republican Party was ardently in favor of a free‐​market immigration policy. The party platform of 1864 read, “[F]oreign immigration, which in the past has added so much to the wealth, development of resources and increase of power to the nation, the asylum of the oppressed of all nations, should be fostered and encouraged by a liberal and just policy.”...After World War II the GOP returned to its pro‐​legal immigration, anti‐​illegal immigration stance–a position it has generally held throughout the past 50 years. The Eisenhower administration, with opposition from congressional Democrats, supported the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 that allowed the admission of those fleeing the aftermath of WWII. The 1950s saw more immigrants arrive in the United States than had the 1930s and 1940s combined. “The Republican party,” stated the 1956 platform, “supports an immigration policy which is in keeping with the traditions of America as a haven for oppressed peoples.”

As I have repeatedly mentioned elsewhere, Trump after Romney's 2012 loss to Obama attributed it to Romney's "cruel" self-deportation policy.:

Nov. 27, 2012-- Billionaire Donald Trump is the latest in a string of Republicans to criticize the party for failing to recognize the increasing diversity of the country.

"Republicans didn't have anything going for them with respect to Latinos and with respect to Asians," Trump told Newsmax.

He told the site that Republicans appeared hostile toward minorities this election cycle.

"The Democrats didn't have a policy for dealing with illegal immigrants, but what they did have going for them is they weren't mean-spirited about it," he said. "They didn't know what the policy was, but what they were is they were kind."

Trump also told the site that Romney's suggestion that people "self-deport" gave Hispanics the impression that Republicans do not care about them.

"He had a crazy policy of self-deportation, which was maniacal," Trump said. "It sounded as bad as it was, and he lost all of the Latino vote. He lost the Asian vote. He lost everybody who is inspired to come into this country."

If you fast-forward to Trump's campaign announcemeny, you read 

 Mexico is not our friend. They are beating us at the border and hurting us badly at economic development. They are sending people that they don’t want—the United States is becoming a dumping ground for the world.

Related comments: "[Mexico] are sending people that have lots of problems, and they are bringing those problems to us. They are bringing drugs, and bringing crime, and their rapists,” the business mogul said.

Trump's lies and slanderous rhetoric, including insane, unsupported claims that Mexico was emptying its prisons across the border is infinitely more toxic than what Trump accused Romney of doing in 2012. The GOP had sought solutions in the form of temporary work permits, not unlike the Bracero program which Dems and their union constituency killed off in the 60's. In fact, Obama and other Dems killed off Bush's initiative by killing key cocessions on temp workers. But be clear: the 2007 bill also got lukewarm support from legislative Republicans who weren't thrilled with "amnesty" provisions:

[T]he 2007 bill died amid a confluence of hard-right opposition to legalization, union opposition to new guest worker programs, and the decision of the new Congressional Democratic majority not to prioritize the issue, despite support from a Republican president and many of his allies in Congress.

Now flash forward to 2015-6 and the enigma of Trump's unlikely candidacy which still largely escapes me. I do understand Trump's celebrity status and universal name recognition were a huge competitive advantage. I can understand how his outsider status could appeal in a change election year, and his lack of a public policy record left him without a mixed record to defend. But I never thought that middle-class Republicans would buy rhat an unprincipled narcissistic corrupt self-serving plutocrat identified with their political best interests, he bragged about his ectramarital affairs in one of his books and is 3 times married in a family values party where arguably where Nelson Rockefeller's divorce and next marriage may have cost him the 1964 nomination,   that someone who had spent most of the prior decade as a registered Dem and changed parties a handful of times at best a New England moderate/liberal Republican, normally referred to as RINO by conservatives (historian Brion McClanahan calls him a NY New Deal Dem). I think Trump used his quixotic embrace of birtherism (i.e..evidebce of Obama's US birth) and on unauthorized immigration to appeal to the right wing of the party.

I still have a cynical view of Trump's hypocritical (re: Romney loss analysis) pursuit against unauthorized immigration because in fact  there is strong evidence there was a net DROP in the number of unauthorized alien residents since 2007 during the Great Recession and Obama's reputation of Deporter-in-Chief. It would be one thing if Obama's Presidency had led to huge growth in the aggregate number of unauthorized migration, but even his policies were inconsistent: he was arguimg labor protectionism and wanting to renegotiate NAFTA which he felt favored Mexican businesses and workers, especially in the auto industry. Never mind if work opportunities lured unauthorized aliens, a thriving Mexican economy meant less incentive to cross the border.

The rhetoric was grotesque, false, racist and immoral. The promise that Mexico would pay for Trump's overhyped wall was laughably absurd. He would then assert that tariffs would be paid by Mexican companies, ignoring the fact that tariffs are really paid by US consumers. Not to mention his unconscionable family separation policy which he falsely insisted was also a policy of the Obama Administration. But even as Trump unconstitutionally tried to shift funding from DoD for his border wall. Not to mention for all the hype  Trump only built about 52 miles of new wall, most of the other 450 or so wall built or replaced existing barriers.

More on Trump's real record on immigration: Trump was far more successful at reducing LEGAL vs unauthorized immigration:

By the end of 2020, the Trump administration had reduced by more than 80 percent the number of green cards issued and drastically cut refugee arrivals by 92 percent. Some of that can be attributed to the pandemic, but the numbers of green cards and refugees started to decrease the moment Trump came into office. Additionally, he reduced the whole of the legal immigration system by half by July 2020... Starting in January 2017, our already failing immigration system faced an assault unlike any in American history … For the first time since the Refugee Act of 1980, an administration unilaterally nullified asylum law to send people back to persecution and torture.” :  

{Reread the above record on asylum the GOP supported after WWII, The lawless Trump regime essentially scapegoated refugees from persecution.]

Did Trump's Draconian cuts in "good faith"  immigration have consequences? Yup; bad ones:

Reducing legal immigration most harms refugees, employers and Americans who want to live with their spouses, parents or children, but it also affects the country’s future labor force and economic growth. “Average annual labor force growth, a key component of the nation’s economic growth, will be approximately 59% lower as a result of the administration’s immigration policies, if the policies continue,” according to an analysis from the National Foundation for American Policy. “Economic growth is crucial to improving the standard of living, which means lower levels of legal immigration carry significant consequences for Americans.”

On illegal immigration:

In 2020, the removal of illegal immigrants from the interior of the United States was the lowest as an absolute number and as a share of the illegal immigration population since ICE was created in 2003 (Figure 3). Trump failed to increase removals because local jurisdictions refused to cooperate with his administration, continuing a trend begun during the Obama administration in response to their deportation efforts. As a result, the population of illegal immigrants remained about the same as when he took office

And, while we're at it, about Trumpist propaganda on Biden "catch and release"

During the Trump administration, DHS made 1.4 million arrests—what it calls “encounters”—in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 (24 months). Of those people arrested, only 47 percent were removed as of December 31, 2021, which includes people arrested by Trump and removed by Biden, and 52 percent were released into the United States.

Under Biden, DHS made over 5 million arrests in its first 26.3 months, and it removed nearly 2.6 million—51 percent—while releasing only 49 percent. In other words, the Trump DHS removed a minority of those arrested while the Biden DHS removed a majority. Biden managed to increase the removal share while also increasing the total removals by a factor of 3.5.

This is not to say Biden has handled the transition well, particularly after long-expected COVID-19 migration restrictions Title 42 expired.in May 2023. In part, Biden was caught flat-footed with the asylum surge. I think Biden did a poor job setting expectations. Waiting mere months before a general election to announce a legally/constitutionally dubious executive action on asylum reeks of political desperation. Granted, Trump's sabotage of the most GOP-friendly immigration compromise in years is morally indefensible, worried that Biden was co-opting his signature political issue and high-ranking campaign issue. There are times you have to put the country first over your personal ambition. Trump clearly failed this test of leadership. The fact remains Trump, short of an unlikely landslide victory, will likely do no better with the Dems stonewalling his policy preferences or make any progress with hostile sanctuary cities..

Post #6799 M: Interest on National Debt Tops a Trillion; They/There Goes the Neighborhood! ; What has Javier Milei accomplished in Argentina?

 Quote of the Day

My home is not a place, 

it is people.

Lois McMaster Bujold

Interest on National Debt Tops a Trillion

They/There Goes the Neighborhood!

What has Javier Milei accomplished in Argentina? 

Choose Life

Musical Interlude: Duos

Karen Carpenter, "If I Had You"

Post #6798 Social Media Digest

 Twitter

Musk seems sympathetic to the Trumpkin talking point that Navarro and Bannon were unfairly prosecuted for defying Congressional subpoenas unlike AG Garland. The fact was Trump, unlike Biden, was trying to cover up criminal behavior and used privilege to block accountability, https://t.co/OYMKGLp9ay

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 16, 2024

Leftists are so confused this is happening without "common sense gun control". https://t.co/P5oM8Zzwpd

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 16, 2024

Granted, the Biden Administration is abysmal, but there are other reasons for the bad housing market including zoning laws and Fed Reserve policy. Trusting a dude who tried to get an old woman's house condemned for limo parking at his casino is not the answer. https://t.co/jxcgAIQZ1I

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 16, 2024

I'm not saying Trump will do these things, but Biden doesn't have a clue. For one thing, we need to end the GSE corrupt domination in the mortgage market and/or other federal programs. We need more privatization of public assets, including forestry. We need reform of the Fed.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 17, 2024

That's all we need: 78-year-old Trump arguing 81-year-old Biden is an old man.

Just a reminder: LP nominee Chase Oliver is 38. Don't vote for a uniparty geezer. We need a real change, new policies in the general government.

"Biden FREEZES"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 17, 2024

Even a teenager priced out of a part-time job by Schumer's minimum wage knows to grill a burger before melting a slice of cheese over it

"Chuck Schumer"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 17, 2024

Well, if Statist-enabler Mark Cuban is so enthusiastic over general government theft, why did he stop at $288M? He can give it all if he wants.

The fact is that investment in the private sector is far more productive than in leftists buying votes through bread and circuses. https://t.co/Z3RpyFr88L

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 17, 2024

Just my periodic reminder to patriotically correct conservatives in name only that the pledge was authored by a socialist. https://t.co/fvyIoegLfD

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 17, 2024

Well, Bannon is right in one semse that Election Day is Judgment Day: when Trump loses reelection again, no one is going to pardon his ass out of prison. Not only that, but he may soon have company in his prison cell.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 17, 2024

Trump has Bush Derangement Syndrome. All Trump needed to know is GHW shunned Duke out of the GOP. No doubt Trump counted Duke among the "very fine people" on the far right side.

"David Duke"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

Trump has Bush Derangement Syndrome. All Trump needed to know is GHW shunned Duke out of the GOP. No doubt Trump counted Duke among the "very fine people" on the far right side.

"David Duke"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

I'm not saying WWE is predictable but did anyone doubt for a second Pearce was going to choose Strowman as Gable's match opponent?

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

Wow, is the Drew McIntyre quit moment a work, like a parody on CM Punk's walk out of the company with the title all those years back?

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

Congratulations to the NBA Champ Boston Celtics! I thought the Mavericks' blowout win in game 4 might spark a series comeback, but the Celtics dominated their 4 wins and were clearly the better team.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

I don't necessarily oppose to protect the residency rights of unauthorized alien spouses of Americam citizens but when did Congress or the Constitution empower Biden to do this? It seems to be Biden's variation on DACA

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

I'm sure a tax-evading rich man like Trump would prefer being taxed on his avoidable foreign goods purchases. Fellow billionaire Mark Cuban proudly paid a $276 M tax bill recently. Do you think he buys enough crap to pay that much in consumer surtaxes?

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

I'm sure a tax-evading rich man like Trump would prefer being taxed on his avoidable foreign goods purchases. Fellow billionaire Mark Cuban proudly paid a $276 M tax bill recently. Do you think he buys enough crap to pay that much in consumer surtaxes?

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

Onviously not a "real" conservative. The general government not doing harm is a blessing. https://t.co/4NRgOo7Xla

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

The issue I have with Juneteenth is its timing, not its merit. The Emancipation Proclamation was not constitutional. The 13th Amendment was ratified in Dec. 1865, several months after the "Civil War" ended and Lincoln was murdered.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

Biden/EU theft of interest earnings on Russian frozen assets and redirecting them to Ukraine loans is not only immoral and exacerbates tensions between Russia and the West, but it erodes confidence in the dollar as the world's reserve currency. https://t.co/VFb4NOZmKp

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

No, the issue is not with the fact of withdrawal. But this partisan troll implies it was Biden's initiative, when in fact Trump agreed with the Taliban to a phased withdrawal by May 2021. The issue is Biden's incompetently executed withdrawal. https://t.co/gb46qYYMFv. https://t.co/lpxTEgFR7Z

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

I'm not sure why, but I'm reminded I need to buy a new mop.

"Karine Jean-Pierre https://t.co/T5yCIrUnK8

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 18, 2024

This is Soft Rock America. Sadly, baseball great Willie Mays has passed. I remenber watching him late in his career. I remember he was mentioned in my favorite anti-war song, "Broomstick Cowboy".https://t.co/JQbNe7i252

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 19, 2024

RIP to the GOAT Willie Mays. As a lefty, when I played youth baseball, the options were usually pitcher, first base or the outfield. One of my proudest moments was making a basket catch on the dead run playing center, one of Mays' signature plays. I thought Mays would be proud.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 19, 2024

As I write, Congressman Good is leading by nearly 1% over Trump's endorsed challenger. Trump, always a petty asshole, is pissed because Good initially endorsed DeSantis. I love it when Trump's endorsements fail, like when he tried to cancel Massie.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 19, 2024

Anyone thinking the 1860's Northern states were a race-blind egalitarian utopia is in a state of denial. Many of the people looking at the western territories didn't want to compete against black labor, slave or free.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 19, 2024

This leftist political whore is historically illiterate and and at best confused. He is trying to justify an unprovoked illegal war against fellow Americans, over 1 million dead, in contradiction of a VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATION among free states, a right they never lost or surrendered https://t.co/eH16qFuZ6R

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 19, 2024

Trump has his own version of the Ten Commandments, including:

- Thou shalt not vote for fake politicians over me
- Thou shalt no disseminate fake news against me
- Thou shalt not covet people, goods or services beyond our borders.
- Others can't kill people on Fifth Avenue https://t.co/9gxPxxjhI2

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 19, 2024

Actually, Trumo added nearly $8T to the national debt. Trump was not the COVID-19 virus which has killed many Americans. And the states, not Trump, shut down the economy. Trump's record on the pandemic is mixed; he expedited release of life-saving vaccines but testing botched.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

O'Reilly was always an economic illiterate populist. No, neither Trump nor Biden has maintained GDP growth of at least 3% growth. I personally lost a third of my retirement savings when the stock market crashed during the early pandemic https://t.co/h6khtKe9bR

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

I don't think so. Melania is 5'11" and she appears to be wearing heels in this photo; she looks about the same height as Trump in this pic, which I would expect from your typical high heels.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

Oh, seriously, dude? Trumpkins are seriously contrasting a wasted Hunter Biden to teenager Barron Trump. If Barron is a decent kid, it reflects the efforts of his mother, not some womanizing asshole who cheated on his mother with a porn actress.

"Barron Trump"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

Gingrich would have you think that the NY gag order restricted Trump's rights to comment on the convictions & the trial. This is an intentional lie. Keep in mind Trump has always been a petty, vindictive bastard, possibly targeting witnesses, jurors, etchttps://t.co/68h7ROi0iP https://t.co/GVGfxqgfEn

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

The Beatles' red and blue albums

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

No, it was NOT the Democratic Party that founded the KKK.https://t.co/VnGrWKwK0T

reparations https://t.co/RWOoaXKgmQ

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

This meme is factually false. Lincoln not only admitted he had no constitutional authority to end slavery but supported the Corwin Amendment to perpetuate it in the South. Lincoln's unconstitutional war was against secession, not slavery. There were slave states in the Union https://t.co/PqmIBVVyvk

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

Donald Trump can't even spell Ayn Rand; he's still waiting for the comic book versions of her novels.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

Trump is beyond economic illiterate. Yes, before the income tax, LOW tariffs served as principal funding of the general government. Protectionist tariffs were highly controversial. And the dumbass doesn't realize Smoot-Hawley started a global trade war, made the Depression worse. https://t.co/xlViRPuPaG

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

Very cool to see Fox carrying the SF/St. Louis game at Rickwood Field. (The old Alabama field was once home to a young Willie Mays and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.)

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 20, 2024

I don't know where Maria shops , but you can buy a 20 oz. loaf of white bread for 79 cents, regular price at Lidl. For dietary reasons I get whole wheat bread for $1.97/loaf. Now I can recall buying it for $1.49 https://t.co/EmlqWL9Fym

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 21, 2024

This is beyond stupid. Trump has never had self-discipline. He got fined by the judge during the business fraud trial when all he had to do is keep his mouth shut. Trump is vain. Trump is repetitive. A skilled debater can exploit these weaknesses.

Newt Sean Hannity https://t.co/1WIhxQ7oBu

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 21, 2024

I can just hear the world's most incompetent debater, Trump, the first time they cut his mike for rule violations: he'll call them all little Judge Merchans, trying to strip away his freedom of speech.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 21, 2024

Trump has Paul Ryan Derangement Sybdrome and wants FNC to dismiss him from its board; Ryan has announced he won't support Trump. Trump is trying to set expectations for the upcoming debate, claiming Biden "destroyed" Ryan.https://t.co/lXpKEPpcyk

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 21, 2024

Trump mocking Biden when we had Trump's mind-boggling stupidity during those COVID-19 pressers? Do you remember his suggestions to leading scientists whether we might find some application of virus-killing cleaning products inside the human body?

Truth Social https://t.co/6vKfXkN4kV

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 21, 2024

Wales reportedly is set to criminalize politicians who lie. You know what that means: Trump can't afford to visit there either.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 22, 2024

REAL leadership from a REAL POTUS:

Fauci: "Luckily, the president of the United States, in the form of George W. Bush, felt that way. And we put together the PEPFAR program. ... We spent $100 billion in 50 countries and it has saved 25 million lives"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 22, 2024

Seriously, stop. I happen to like Madonna, but comparing her to McCartney? McCartney has written and performed more timeless hits than any songwriter in history. Madonna has never sung anything on the level of "Yesterday". https://t.co/zBUI4cYdig

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 22, 2024

I'm not in favor of special-interest mandates, especially one that does zero to reform failing public education. But gimmick mandates go beyond the Louisiana law. I recall having to recite the (socialist) Pledge of Allegiance.

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 23, 2024

Trump also sucked at being an entertainer. No one seriously believes "Six Bankruptcies" Trump is a competent businessman. Seriously, who wouldn't have fired Omarosa in a heartbeat?

Paul Ryan https://t.co/ysoe5VZPDx

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 23, 2024

No, Paul Ryan and his aide Jonathan Burks did not directly receive the Steele dossier. This idiot Trumpkin doesn't know the meaning of "treason". Unconfirmed political dirt on a Presidential candidate. Political mudslinging has been a part of US politics for over 200 years https://t.co/kMgYLFly7Q

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 23, 2024

You literally have to have a death wish to want to be Trump's VP. Trump sicced his mob on Mike Pence when Pence refused to violate the 12th Amendment on Jan. 6. You know he's going to scapegoat you when he loses again.

"Trump's VP"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 23, 2024

Trump has always been an inept communicator. Remember Trump's extortion phone call to Zelensky?
He called Ukraine's corrupt Solicitor General Shokin "very good". I think he got very confused when Michael Jackson sang "Bad".

"very fine people"

— raguillemette (@raguillemette) June 23, 2024

Post #6797 M: Stossel Interview: Bjorn Lomborg; Whole Foods’ John Mackey: We must change how we think about capitalism; McClanahan on The Supreme Court Has Always Been Political

 Quote of the Day

Originality is nothing by judicious imitation. 

The most original writers borrowed one from another.

Voltaire  

Stossel Interview: Bjorn Lomborg 

Whole Foods’ John Mackey: We must change how we think about capitalism

McClanahan on The Supreme Court Has Always Been Political

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Michael Ramirez via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duos

Dusty Springfield and Richard Carpenter, "Something In Your Eyes"

Post #6796 J

 Pandemic Report

The latest CDC weekly stats:

Well as we are now officially in summer, the surge, perhsps exacerbated by the recent holiday/summer vacation travel season, is definitely on the ascent across the board. For the first time in months infections are rising in all regions, especially the west (COVID test positivity was 12.8%). New JN.1 descendant subvariant LB.1 (see above) is rapidly spreading, even faster than KP.3 did.

Anecdotally we still hear of celebrity infections, like Orioles' Hall of Fame pitcher/broadcaster Jim Palmer. Even in my extended family:one of my nephews and his then pregnant wife, who has since given birth to a second grandnephew, caught COVID late in the pregnancy; all report themselves to be in good health now 

The latest news items of interest include:

• Why are some people resistant to COVID infection without acquired immunity? [A new study's researchers] "found that people who resist infection have a much faster immune response in their nasal tissues compared to those who get sick. This response includes the activation of mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and a drop in inflammatory white blood cells, which clear the virus before it sets in..The study also found that people who resist infection have elevated expression of a gene called HLA-DQA2 in nasal cells."
• While the median time to recover from a COVID infection is 3 weeks, over a fifth of infected take more than 90 days.
• Reason.com and others point out that the USG itself has been a source of misinformation over and beyond the recent revelation that the military ran an anti-vaxxer campaign agaonst the Chinese Sinovac vaccine in the Philippines but it included stuff about the efficacy of cloth masks, unrealistic expectations from social distancing, the ability of vaccines to prevent subsequent infections, etc. More importantly, the Biden Administration unduly restricted legitimate scientific query through a corrupt relationship with social media companies. 
• Only one African country (South Africa) had any significant vaccine production capacity, and the continent only produces about 2% of its needs. While WHO is still working towards a global pandemic treaty, French President Macron and African leaders have launched a $1B initiative towards establishing vaccine production infrastructure intended  to lessen dependency on foreign supplies, which were largely unavailable through the early pandemic. 
• One analysis  concludes even with lack of preparation for the pandemic, early containment measures and vaccines probably saved over 800,000 lives. 
• "In retrospect, most Americans view four pandemic-related policies positively, with varying percentages believing each was a favorable idea: mask-wearing requirements in businesses and stores (70%), healthcare personnel vaccinations (65%), closing down of indoor dining restaurants (63%), and schools (56%)."

Other News

Blog leadership continues to show bloated statistics. I think the individual posts are generally more reliable although it still puzzles me why the occasional 10 yr+post shows up. As for Twirrer/X, I'm not sure because X no longer provides analytics for "free" Twitter, but I'm probably averaging 100-200 impressions a day. I've got just  under 40 followers, about half of what I accumulated on my earlier account over 7 years.

I looks like HMM is foreshadowing Hallmarj's "Christmas in July" (which I think they're starting next weekend given next Saturday's new cable movie) with a Christmas movie week. I didn't even know until I checked mt cable listings this afternoon. I had cleared my Amazon Prime queue and was continuing to binge on "Young Sheldon" I was pretty geeky as a kid but never as bad as Sheldon (the infamous nerd from The Big Bang Theory). The show is just glorious. The episode where he proofreads his physics professor's paper and demands co-author credit for catching a mistake (the prof is also his grandma's former boyfriend) is just inspired. 

It reminds me of when I offered to put my dissertation chair's name on some subsequent papers and he refused, saying it was all my work. I remember I had befriended a young black (like Africa) ISU professor. We had talked some joint research projects, but I was on a one-year contract and had to deal with an unethical department chair. The bottom line was I futilely looked for a faculty appointment elewhere in a recession. I only mention this for context; my friend promised to put my name on any related paper he published. I immediately objected; I was grateful for his thinking of me, but I had very high standards to what I publish under my name, not to mention I don't think it's moral to take credit for other people's work. To this day, I still search publication credits under my name. I'm not aware of any.

Well, one of my cloud providers provided a complimentary VPN service. [I also subscribe to another VPN service but I run into login blocks for a password manager and/or certain websites.] One benefit of the newer service is I could use it with my search provider without playing those infuriating captcha games. There were a lot of stability issues with the VPN, and it also seems to have been terminated over the weekend.

Post #6795 M: The Consumer is already in Recession; McClamahan on Did Conservatives Change the "Meaning of Political Parites"? ; Guns, abortion, and Hunter Biden

 Quote of the Day

A moment's insight is sometimes worth 

a lifetime's experience.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.  

The Consumer is already in Recession

McClamahan on Did Conservatives Change the "Meaning of Political Parites"?

Guns, abortion, and Hunter Biden 

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Al Goodwyn via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duos

The Carpenters, "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore". Karen died in early 1983, and these last 2 embedded hits in the adult contemporary chart were released posthumously. I'll finish the series with later solo efforts, but this hit was theit last charting hit together. 

Post #6794 M: California’s Minimum Wage Boomerang; Stossel on $1 Trillion in Interest Every Year; Comparative Advantage

 Quote of the Day

A man may fall many times 

but he won't be a failure until 

he says someone pushed him.

Elmer G. Letterman  

California’s Minimum Wage Boomerang

Stossel on $1 Trillion in Interest Every Year

Comparative Advantage

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Margolis & Cox via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duo

Carpenters, "Make Believe It's Your First Time" 

Post #6793 M: A False Flag Attack on SCOTUS; McClanahan on William H. Taft and the Vanilla Republican; Price Ceilings

 Quote of the Day

What is morality she asked. 

Judgement to distinguish right and wrong, 

vision to see the truth, courage to act upon it, 

dedication to that which is good, 

integrity to stand by the good at any price.

Ayn Rand  

A False Flag Attack on SCOTUS

McClanahan on William H. Taft and the Vanilla Republican

Price Ceilings

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Al Goodwyn via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duos

The Carpenters, "Beechwood 45789"

Post #6792 M: Stossel: The Ron Paul Interview; Gold Becomes #2 Currency; Theories of Regulation

 Quote of the Day

A real friend is one who walks in 

when the rest of the world walks out. 

Walter Winchell  

Stossel: The Ron Paul Interview

Gold Becomes #2 Currency

Theories of Regulation

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Al Goodwyn via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duos

Carpenters, "Those Good Old Dreams"

Post #6791 M: The National Debt; Sassy with Massie; McClanahan on Fake News

 Quote of the Day

The greatest pleasure I know is 

to do a good action by stealth, 

and to have it found out by accident.

Charles Lamb  

The National Debt

Sassy with Massie

McClanahan on Fake News

Choose Life

Political Cartoon

Courtesy of Gary Varvel via Townhall

Musical Interlude: Duos

The Carpenters, "[Want You] Back In My Life Again"