Tag Archives: Hot Topics

“Coronavirus dashboard for September 7: the slow ebbing on the way to endemicity continues” I promised a COVID update, so I suppose I ought to follow through. Let’s start today with a graph of South Africa’s cases and deaths for the past year: South Africa is where BA.1 and BA.4&5 originated. You can see the huge spike in cases last December from original Omicron, and the smaller spike this June from BA.4&5. And yet deaths never...

As usual, what I found in My In-Box. Things I would like to write, have barely enough time to read, and pass them on to AB readers. Nothing here on the present battle between the DoJ and a neophyte Federal judge who lacks broad based experience as a federal prosecutor and in civil trials. I had an article, read it, and did not realize what I had read and who it applied to at the time. Then the storm hit. The text as written by an attorney who...

If I was going to guess, and I do not have to do so, it appears the US is retooling to update capabilities. Maybe they will put forth a plan to minimize inventory too. The source of all this retooling? Probably using up the money made during the pandemic and also government funds invested in infrastructure. And maybe, they are creating minimal setups to handle a variety of product like we did for one supplier of hoods to Chrysler. Automotive still...

How we got to this point? Maybe now seems like a good time to review the five core truths about the Russia scandal. “Lest We Forget …” | Homeless on the High Desert, August 29, 2022, g’da said “It was a few days after the FBI executed a court-approved search warrant at Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump started complaining anew about the investigation into the Russia scandal, reiterating his familiar belief that the controversy ‘was a hoax.’” The former...

“What the Inflation Reduction Act means for PBMs” Times of News This is a strange little article trying to fill a gap in knowledge. The italicized sentences are mine. It does make some sound points on PBMs so I kept it. If you can get into Seeking Alpha or Modern Healthcare, you may find a better version. The sweeping law President Joe Biden enacted Tuesday offers relief to some prescription drug users. However, the pharmacy benefit managers...

August jobs report: despite a good headline number, the decelerating trend resumes  I have written a number of times since February that the short leading indicators have signaled that we should expect weaker monthly employment reports, with both fewer new jobs and a higher unemployment rate. That was completely *not* the case in July, In August, would the decelerating trend kick in again? That it did. Since February the 3 month average in new...

Save The Post Office Steve Hutkins and Mark Jamison (retired NC postmaster) have been writing about the USPS for a long time now (years). This post is about Louis DeJoy’s efforts to centralize the Post Office into hubs with carriers leaving from the hubs and having local post offices becoming little more than retail outlets. Thereby making it more complex. His time of being removed for his office is fast approaching. Biden will be able to replace...

Ninety year-old electronics company executive Barre Seid donates his funds to a new right-wing organization. Marble Freedom Trust, is controlled by Leonard A. Leo, the co-chair of the Federalist Society, who has been instrumental in the right-wing takeover of the Supreme Court. Leo has also been prominent in challenges to abortion rights, voting rights, climate change action, etc. “August 22, 2022″ – Heather Cox Richardson (substack.com)...

Bill McBride at Calculated Risk (8/23/2022 02:21:00 PM) had this report on mileage driven for June 2022. I am sure as Bill suggests gasoline prices may have played a role in the decrease. I wonder too if Covid kept people from travelling too? One of the links to the DOT page also shows travel by segments of the country. The West showing a far greater (5X) decrease than the Northeast. Calculated Risk: DOT: “Vehicle Miles Driven Decreased...

First warnings — as usual I am writing on a topic discussed by many experts and I am not an expert. It is very often debated whether social welfare programs should be means tested (available only to people with low income or to people with low income and low wealth). An alternative is universal programs which are provided also to high income people (Medicare, Social Security old age and survivor pensions, K-12 public school, police protection, fire...