The greatest danger to liberty today comes from ... expert administrators exclusively concerned with what they regard as the public good.
— Friedrich von Hayek
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Today is Friday, January 12th, 2024. It is Curried Chicken Day, Kiss a Ginger Day, Work Harder Day, National Hot Tea Day, National Marzipan Day, and National Pharmacist Day.
On This Day
In 1792, Thomas Pinckney was appointed the first U.S. minister to Britain.
In 1866, the Royal Aeronautical Society was formed in London.
In 1915, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote.
In 1932, Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
In 1951, Rush Hudson Limbaugh III was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
In 1967, Dr. James Bedford became the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
In 1969, the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts to win Super Bowl III, in what is considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
In 1991, an act of the U.S. Congress authorized the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
In 2010, an earthquake stuck Haiti, killing hundreds of thousands of people and destroying much of Port-au-Prince.
In 2020, the Taal Volcano erupted, killing 39 people in the Philippines.
Today’s Birthdays
Actor Anthony Andrews is 76. Blithering idiot Sheila Jackson Lee is 74. “Journalist” Christiane Amanpour is 66. Actor Oliver Platt is 64. Jeff Bezos is 60.
The Links
The WHO’s Managerial Gambit (Brownstone Institute)
“The WHO proposals are a shell game. The scheme will provide cover to domestic public health authorities. Power will be ubiquitous but no one will be accountable. Citizens will lack control over the governance of their countries, as they already do. The danger that confronts us is still our own sprawling discretionary administrative state, soon to be boosted and camouflaged by an unaccountable international bureaucracy.”
A Fail of Two Cities (American Greatness)
“Perhaps no city did more damage during the time of COVID than Los Angeles. With a massive push from the United Teachers of Los Angeles, the school district shuttered its schools for more than a year, neglecting its students the entire time.”
Unemployment rates higher in 214 metro areas in year ended November 2023 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
“Unemployment rates were higher in November than a year earlier in 214 of the 389 metropolitan areas, lower in 158 areas, and unchanged in 17 areas. A total of 15 areas had jobless rates of less than 2.0 percent and 6 areas had rates of at least 8.0 percent.”
HUD Publishes Proposed Rule to Promote Economic Development in Underserved Communities (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
“The Biden-Harris Administration has committed to making federal programs easier to use, and this rule will reduce burden on grantees and ensure this critical funding reaches communities quickly.”
Government Policy Should Enable Mothers to Care for Their Young Children at Home (Institute for Family Studies)
“Continuing to allocate funds to institutional child care centers, which research suggests elevates children’s cortisol levels and leads to anxiety, aggression, and behavioral issues, is an ineffective approach.”
About 1 in 10 restaurants in the U.S. serve Mexican food (Pew Research Center)
“These two states, which are home to a majority of the Mexican American population, have around 40% of all Mexican restaurants in the country: 22% are in California, while 17% are in Texas.”
Why Established Brands Often Struggle with Marketing (Foundation for Economic Education)
“Exposure, interest, and experience will always direct consumer choice more than promotional ploys, and even the greatest marketing experts still serve at the will of their customer base. People can’t be easily coaxed away from their favorite brands or drink of choice, and this takeaway is one that public officials should take to heart. If companies with industry expertise and vested interests and investments can’t always get it right when catering to their own customers, then a fortiori politicians are highly unlikely to be able to influence consumer behavior effectively, as much as they may try.”
Natrona County Officials Question $1.3 Million Price Tag For One Flight Per Day (Cowboy State Daily)
“If Natrona County does not pay ... they have a lot of communities that want our route.”
Another Rail Cost Overrun (Randal O’Toole)
“Considering that downtown Minneapolis is ranked as having the third-slowest recovery of the nation’s 56 largest urban areas, and Twin Cities light rail carried only 52 percent of pre-pandemic riders in November, this would be a good time for the region to scrap the project.”
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Awards to Increase Access to Clean, Affordable Domestic Biofuels as Part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
“The full list of states to receive funding is: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.”
We expect Henry Hub natural gas spot price to average under $3.00/MMBtu in 2024 and 2025 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
“In our forecast, U.S. consumption of natural gas in the electric power sector also increases modestly in 2024 by 1%. These increases in consumption are partially offset by less consumption in the industrial sector.”
Lack of commitment threatens EU climate targets (NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT)
“Forget about the pie-in-the-sky 2040 target, because I cannot see any way at all that the EU will even achieve its 2030 target of a cut of 55% from 1990 levels. Currently GHG emissions stand at 32% below 1990, meaning that the EU must cut emissions by a third in the next seven years.”
Investing in Space: Where to look for progress in the sector this year (CNBC)
“Is this the year Jeff Bezos’ sleeping giant awakens? We’re off to a strong start thanks to the flight debut of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines on the successful first launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket.”
ADL’s new report on antisemitism can’t be taken seriously (Mondoweiss)
“We must confront antisemitism from all corners and those who use it to further political goals. But just as it’s wrong to hold all Jews responsible for the actions of Israel’s government, so too is it wrong to count all criticism of Israel/pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemitic.”
Israel genocide hearing day 1: Key takeaways (The Hill)
“The level of Israel’s killing is so extensive that nowhere is safe in Gaza. Hundreds of multigenerational families have been wiped out with no remaining survivors. Mothers, fathers, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts, cousins, often all killed together.”
Your Turn
1. Why were unemployment rates “higher in November than a year earlier” in a majority of the nation’s metro regions?
2. Do you miss Rush Limbaugh?
3. Tea or coffee?
4. Any interest in having your corpse cryogenically frozen?
5. Ever kissed a ginger?
1. Why were unemployment rates “higher in November than a year earlier” in a majority of the nation’s metro regions?
Because the economy is not nearly as good as the Biden Administration would have you believe. All the talk about 14 million jobs created when we lost 22 million during Covid is one of their lies. The other is that inflation is on the decline. Once inflation goes up by 20% slowing it really doesn’t do any good! A great deal of the jobs created during Biden’s term have been Government subsidized jobs and not from the private sector. Who pays for the government jobs, YOU DO, THROUGH TAXES!!
2. Do you miss Rush Limbaugh?
He would be one more conservative voice of truth with a huge listening audience. Any help conservatives can get are missed when they aren’t there.
3. Tea or coffee?
Usually more coffee in the Winter when it’s cold and iced tea in the Summer when it’s hot.
4. Any interest in having your corpse cryogenically frozen?
Nope!! I Don’t believe it will ever work!
5. Ever kissed a ginger?
You mean the one from Gilligan’s Island? Nope, never had that pleasure!! I was more of a Maryanne guy anyway!!
1. Could it be because most of the metro regions are run by Democrats who seem to be anti-capitalism (through all their policies) and pro-criminal (criminal justice system is a joke) which drives businesses out of cities, resulting in an increase in unemployment?
2. Yes, I do miss Rush Limbaugh. He was straight forward and loved this country.
3. Coffee in the morning and tea at lunch time--hot in winter and iced in summer.
4. I have no interest in having my corpse cryogenically frozen.
5. Yes, I kissed a ginger or two in college. I also had natural copper highlights in my hair before I turned gray!