Random Thoughts #83

Random Thoughts #83

The new Senator Graham. The Pentagon’s neo-socialism. Chase Burns. The World Drug Report

Darline Graham Nordone, Republican DEI?

South Carolina governor Henry McMaster named Darline Graham Nordone, Lindsey Graham’s sister to finish his term. The democrats who should know better whining that she was not qualified to be in the Senate. There was an exchange on the View where Sunny Hostin accused the republicans of DEI. Hostin said” You know, she’ll be the first woman to be a U.S. senator in South Carolina in the history of the state. And I think that that’s just — it’s just fundamentally wrong that South Carolina just couldn’t elect a woman and this is the only way that it was done.” I guess Hostin forgets that South Carolina elected a minority woman governor – Nikki Haley – and a black senator – Tim Scott. She is also too young to know that Muriel Humphrey was appointed to fill the unexpired term of her husband Senator Hubert Humphrey in 1978 and became the first woman senator in Minnesota. 

The charge of DEI is interesting in that the naysayers ignore that Graham Nordone’s appointment was not unusual. All told, forty-eight women have been appointed to the Congress fill the unexpired terms of their deceased husbands. My personal view is that it is about time we had a senator named Darline.

Pentagon Neo-socialism

The Pentagon can’t balance its books but it sure can spend money. It continues the neo-socialism of the Trump Administration by spending $1 billion in defense contractor L3Harris Technologies that converts to equity when the company goes public. The Pentagon also owns $400 million in preferred stock of the critical-mineral company MP Materials and a 10 percent stake in another critical-mineral company, Trilogy Metals—alongside stakes in several other companies. The republicans in the Senate have not resisted the administration’s socialist policies saying that equity stakes can’t exceed 40 percent of a company’s valuation.

And now some baseball

The Cincinnati Reds just signed their young star pitcher 23 year old Chase Burns to a 7 year $105 contract. If Burns continues on his current pace the Reds would have – in today’s world – have gotten themselves a bargain. I have a bit of pride here. Burns is from Gallatin, Tennessee and pitched for the Tennessee Vols where he had an 8-2 record with a 2.91 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 81+¹⁄₃ innings. He was named the Freshman Pitcher of the Year. He had a less than stellar sophomore season and was moved into the bullpen after going 2-3 with a 6.10 ERA. After the season he entered the transfer portal and transferred to Wake Forest where he recovered his freshman form going setting a school record with 191 strikeouts and named ACC pitcher of the year. The Reds drafted him in the 2024 draft and now he is a star. Congratulations Chase!

More Drugs

The UN issue its World Drug Report and says that there are greater quantities and more varieties of recreational chemicals available than ever before. So much for that drug interdiction in the eastern Caribbean. The report says there is so much cocaine in circulation now that wholesale prices are dropping. However, there is a heroin shortage stemming from the Taliban’s banning of poppy cultivation. The country produced 93 percent of the world’s supply. Poppy cultivation has increased in India and Pakistan but also chemical substitutes have also increased notably nitazenes produced in China. An article in Reason notes “Unlike the “classic” drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and shrooms, synthetics don’t need vast acres of land for farming and can be quietly cooked in a basement lab, bypassing border controls or local mafias, which lowers the barriers to entry in a business where clandestine connections are everything.

There are now 755 known new psychoactive substances in circulation, and 118 of them were first identified in 2024. Today, there are more designer drugs than formally designated illicit drugs.”

All of this leads to more discussion as to the effectiveness of prohibition. The market response of cracking down on “natural” illegal drugs has led to the growth in synthetic drugs. Marijuana has been decriminalized in many countries and in many states. I haven’t researched the effects and affects internationally and nationally but the proliferation of drugs and the income flowing to cartels and criminals must be taken into consideration along with the impact on users and society.