The Angry Bear

The university where I was on faculty for 37 years has one of ten NIH-funded vaccine testing and evaluation units in the US. I vividly recall attending a presentation by the clinical director of our vaccine center in January of 2020 on the then-new SARS-CoV-2 virus. By the summer, our vaccine center became a clinical trial site for the Moderna mRNA vaccine. I immediately enrolled, even though I knew I had a 50% chance of being in the placebo arm (in...

We have shopped at both stores and also Frys which is also a part of Kroger. Of the three, Ftys is less costly. Our Frys always seems to be out of product. We end up at Bashas to fill out the rest of or grocery shopping, or Sprouts which has excellent veggies, or make the trip to WalMart which is on the other side of town. In any case, you will not save much. They all know what the other is charging. The real issue is, when there is a shortage, do...

 I guess if it is said enough times it has to be true or does it have to be? The Biden rescue since he took office is far better than what we experienced in 2008 onward. Yet Another in the Economy Is Bad Under Biden by Dean Baker CEPR Like other major news outlets, the Washington Post is perfectly happy to ignore the data to tell you the economy is bad under Biden. Past entries in this series included the many pieces telling us young...

Biden-Harris Admin awards $100 Million to navigators to help Americans sign up for healthcare coverage by Charles Gaba ACA Signups ~~~~~~~ The Biden-Harris Administration today continued its historic investment in health care coverage and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by awarding a new round of $100 million to organizations vital to helping underserved communities, consumers, and small businesses find and enroll in quality, affordable...

A fitting topic for Labor Day, 2024.Over at TPM, they have an extended discussion of the records of the Biden/Harris Administration vs the Trump/Pence administration regarding unions and workplace safety. Click the link to read the whole thing. I’ll keep the quotes here within fair use.“. . . three aspects of the candidates’ records are the most likely to sway union members one way or the other.“Federal workers“Trump signed three executive orders in...

by Prof. Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American Almost one hundred and forty-two years ago, on September 5, 1882, workers in New York City celebrated the first Labor Day holiday with a parade. The parade almost didn’t happen: there was no band, and no one wanted to start marching without music. Once the Jewelers Union of Newark Two showed up with musicians, the rest of the marchers, eventually numbering between 10,000 and 20,000 men...

This appears to be similar to what I wrote about recently, An A1 Price Fixing Dream. You Know It’s There. But You Can’t Prove It. – Angry Bear. You have an entity collecting information, categorizing it, and then supplying the information to other entities so they can set pricing. In this case with meat and poultry, it may not be as sophisticated. Agri Stats, the data and consulting company collects competitive information and passes the information...

Colin Allred Is Running a Novel Campaign. Looks Like It’s Working. Texas Monthly Colin may be winning . . . Colin Allred was running late, but it didn’t matter—nobody was waiting for him. Only staff and a single journalist occupied the cavernous International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Hall in Houston at 2:30 on a recent Tuesday afternoon, the time Allred’s campaign had provided for what it was touting as a “roundtable on Texas...

Arizona has plenty of roadside attractions, but these eight are undoubtedly the weirdest. Arizona is known for its impressive natural wonders. It is also home to a treasure trove of quirky and offbeat roadside attractions that offer a different kind of adventure for those willing to take the road less traveled. These eight unusual stops range from the downright bizarre and whimsically charming to historical symbols and pop culture references,...

What is the American Car Culture today? You do not need to look closely or even need glasses to examine or see what it is today. It is no longer a car, it is SUVs and pickups, larger pickups two rows of seating, and even larger pickups with dually wheels. Many are vehicles which never haul anything except one driver and maybe a small family once and a while. Now manufacturers are trying to electrify them for longer distances to get similar mileage...