Are you smarter than a seventh grader?
To starkly illustrate how far our education standards have fallen here is an entrance exam to Jersey City High School in 1885. It appeared in the Wall Street Journal in 1992. And keep in mind, the standards in 1992 were well above those in our schools today and this was what the seventh grader in those days was expected to know.
You Go Iowa!
I have often said that I am not a fan of charter schools if they have to adhere to the same curriculum as other schools. I firmly believe that it is the curriculum that prevents most kids from learning – see the Chicago public schools. Well in Iowa, the public charter schools are free to innovate. The state has received a $43 million grant from the federal government to support its public charter schools. Iowa’s public charter schools are authorized by the State Board of Education, tuition-free, operate under a governing school board, and are not required to adhere to state laws that govern public schools’ curriculum and instructional methods. Hallelujah!
Iowa’s governor Kim Reynolds said “Public charter schools provide yet another school choice for parents and guardians looking for the education option that’s best suited for their children’s abilities and needs. This $43 million grant recognizes Iowa as a leader in educational freedom and supports our innovative work to expand high-quality, tuition-free, public charter schools as an option for Iowa students and families.” The state’s education head said “With the support of this grant, Iowa’s dedicated educators will continue to improve, innovate and grow new learning environments that see every child, meet them where they are and provide what they need to realize their incredible potential.” I wonder what the Iowa teachers’ unions had to say about all this?
In announcing the grant Education. Secretary Linda McMahon said “A one-size fits all education system is not working for our students. Charter schools allow for innovative educational models that expand learning opportunities for students. The Trump administration will continue to use every available tool to advocate for meaningful learning, advance school choice, and ensure every student is well-positioned to succeed.” Since charter schools have been shown to dramatically increase the reading and math skills of minority children, the Trump administration is continuing republican efforts to push forward on this issue in the face of opposition from the left, the teachers’ unions and those who profess to have minority kids interests at heart.
Also Iowa is a leader in STEM education in k-12. My esteemed niece who is a renowned professor of engineering and now president of California’s Harvey Mudd College – the country’s leading science focused undergraduate institution – probably loves that Iowa has a Govern’s STEM advisory council “to ensure that every Iowa student in every geographic location and from every background has access to cutting- edge educational opportunities.”
With all these accomplishments it should come as no surprise that Iowa is the first state granted an education funds waiver meaning that the state’s funds are unrestricted. Iowa can now use the funds as it sees fit and doesn’t have to incur all the federal compliance costs. This is a step in returning education decisions to the states. McMahon said “Iowa now has the flexibility to cut paperwork and simplify a hundred percent of state activities funding streams. It can invest in proven strategies to build a world-class teacher pipeline, close achievement gaps, and open post secondary opportunities to prepare for a great career.”
I couldn’t agree more. Iowa is only the first of many more to get this waiver as part of the Trump administration’s effort to wind down the Department of Education. Of course the democrats are hopping mad. Bobby Scott of Virginia said “Congress must not sit idly by as the Trump administration makes every effort to drag students, educators, and parents back into an era where students were denied the opportunities and resources they needed to succeed.” Well what I want to know from Rep. Scott is what are the reading scores in your district? If they are at or above grade level then keep talking. If they are not then shut up.
Lastly, I would hope that the administration will grant the waivers only to those states that are actively trying to increase their students’ reading and math proficiencies like Mississippi, Arkansas and maybe Tennessee. States like Illinois, California and New Jersey should never get the waiver.
Is the president’s hold on congressional republicans slipping?
The democrats actually were able to pass some things in both the Senate and the House. Of course, they will be vetoed by the president if they ever make it to his desk. In the Senate, a resolution was passed saying that the president would have to get congressional approval for any additional military action against Venezuela. Fat chance. The vote was 52-47. Naturally every democrat voted for the resolution and they were joined by five republicans, Rand Paul (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), Todd Young (Indiana) and surprisingly Josh Hawley (Missouri). I actually thought that John Curtis of Utah would vote for the resolution too. But he didn’t.
As is his wont, the president went ballistic lashing out at the five and in particular Collins who is the most moderate of the bunch. The president posted “Republicans should be ashamed of the senators that just voted with Democrats.” He said that the lawmakers “should never be elected to office again” and the vote “greatly hampers” U.S. self-defense adding that the law the vote invoked wasn’t constitutional. Rand Paul who actually cosponsored the resolution of course disagreed saying “Meaningful checks and balances require the president’s party to stand up to and resist unconstitutional usurpations of power,” and that Republicans had given too much ground to the president, abandoning “all pretense of responsibility and any semblance of duty.”
Collins is the only one of the group up for reelection this year. Like in previous years, she is an underdog to whoever wins the democrat primary – likely Maine’s governor Janet Mills. Trump called Collins after the vote in what was described as a “profanity filled rant.” As to Trump saying that she should not be reelected Collins replied “The president obviously is unhappy with the vote. I guess this means that he would prefer to have Gov. Mills or somebody else with whom he’s not had a great relationship. I don’t know, I’m just not going to comment.” But the president knows that he needs for Collins to be reelected. No other republican stands a chance of being elected instead and despite their differences Collins has generally voted with the president. That Trump called only Collins is a bit suspicious. I think this is a ploy to actually help Collins. She can now boast of her independence from the president which should help her at the polls. Surely he should have lashed out at Rand Paul who said “Whenever I had misgivings, I’d always say ‘he’s the best we’ve ever had,’ much better than the Bushes who were war mad. I thought Trump was different so it disappoints me that he’s under the thrall of Lindsey Graham.” Yikes!
Over on the House side a three-year extension of the “temporary” COVID-19-era premium tax credits was passed. Again all the democrats voted for the measure and were joined by 17 republicans. Recall that this is the hill that both parties have decided to die on during the last session in the battle over a continuing resolution. Not surprisingly the republicans (called “moderates”) are all in tightly contested districts. Derrick van Orden of Wisconsin said “I have long opposed the damage the Unaffordable Care Act has done to our country, but I will not watch Wisconsinites lose health care because Democrats let their own law collapse.” Huh? On this one the president has been unusually quiet with the White House simply saying that he still opposes any extension of the “temporary” credits and did not consider this a personal defeat. I guess this is because he was basically in the background leaving the heavy lifting to Mike Johnson. So if anything, this is a rebuke of Johnson and not the president. Of course, the extensions will not pass the Senate and even if they did would be vetoed by Trump.
The affordability president
After calling affordability a “hoax” the president has obviously changed his tune and now probably wants to be called “the affordability president.” He has continued to insert the federal government into private markets (socialism alert!). He is trying to force price controls on the pharmaceuticals, he has asked the Justice Department to investigate meat packers for price fixing, he endorsed Bernie Sander’s bill to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent, he has joined with Elizabeth Warren in banning investors from buying single family houses and has instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion in mortgage backed securities. What’s next? Wage and price controls? And although it has little to do with affordability the president has joined with the democrats in dictating an end to stock buybacks, this time in the defense industry. Has Bernie Sanders become Trump’s economic advisor?
Note that the president ignores market solutions to all these issues and relies instead on big government interventions (more Americans socialism). As my sainted father used to say “That sounds good – if you are interested in sounds.” The question is whether any of these will really make a difference or are they just “sounds”? First, what about price controls on drugs. Won’t that make drugs cheaper? Didn’t he say that the deals with 14 drugmakers is “the greatest victory for patient affordability in the history of American health care, by far”? Hardly, the deals do not apply to the two thirds of Americans with private health insurance. Also Medicaid already receives heavily discounted prices which would not be affected. Any price decreases rest on getting the drug companies to charge other countries more for their drugs and using the money to lower the prices to the American consumer. Do you really think that is going to happen? The industry has cautioned against price controls as having an adverse impact on research and development. One industry spokesman said “This is not speculative. This is exactly what we saw happen in Europe, where they adopted price controls and drove investment and jobs and innovation out of that region.” The verdict? To quote a well known saying “I’m from Missouri.”
Second, what about the cap on interest on credit cards? This is a form of a usury law which is one of the most common laws in recorded history. It has always failed. It helps only those people with excellent credit – usually higher income people. Those people with less than perfect credit will find themselves dropped from the credit card issuer. This has happened countless times in the past and is decidedly anti-poor. It will force those with impaired credit to lenders who have to charge much higher rates due to the higher risk clientele. Usury ceilings are just another way that democrats under the guise of helping the poor actually make them worse off. Trump’s critics could say that he is endorsing such a plan because he is a racist but the bill in the Senate is sponsored by Bernie Sanders – naturally. Is anyone calling Bernie a racist? I have written on rate caps and testified on them as well. Here is one testimony before the South Carolina Senate https://www.scstatehouse.gov/video/archives.php?key=13059&part=1
I begin at minute 52:07.
Third, what about banning investors from buying single family homes? Members of both parties have been clamoring for this for years assuming that buying homes for rental somehow pricing individual households out of the market for purchase or at least making single family housing more expensive. This has been a contention by Elizabeth Warren and now Donald Trump. Here is what the president posted: “For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream. It was the reward for working hard, and doing the right thing, but now, because of the Record High Inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans. It is for that reason, and much more, that I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations.” If there is bill to this effect, it will pass. Politicians as different as Texas governor Abbott and New York governor Hochul and even JD Vance and Tim Walz are on board. Of the total number of housing units, the Urban Institute finds that institutional investors defined as owning 100 or more homes own about 3 percent of single family rentals. But smaller investors who own one to five houses did account for purchasing 25 percent of single family homes in 2024.
Not surprisingly, most of the homes are in areas of high demand. The question is whether the demand by the smaller investor drives the price significantly above the price willing to be paid by the individual homeowner. There are several studies on the impact on prices in buy-to-rent markets. All do show that in areas with high investor ownership that home ownership rates are lower, increases in neighborhood diversity (doesn’t Warren want this?) but also higher prices. Recently, some large investors are selling more than they are buying. In some markets, like Atlanta, institutional ownership is falling and homeownership is increasing. The relevant question then, are home prices lower now than before?
A ban on investors would also mean a reduction in the number of renters who cannot qualify for or afford a mortgage. Moreover, home construction is higher in these rental markets and would likely fall in the absence of investor purchases. But it is easy to blame institutional investors for the rise in home prices rather than the real culprits, inflation, zoning restrictions, building codes, environmental regulations, tariffs on building supplies, property tax increases, insurance and construction costs. The National Association of Home Builders say that these can add up to an additional $94,000 in the cost of a home. Does all this mean that the president favors homeownership over renting? Does he not think that some households prefer to rent over owning?
A decrease in the buy-to-rent market will reduce the number of rentals and drive up the cost of housing for renters who wish to rent a single family home rather than an apartment. Speaking of apartments, the Daily News says that there are 247,000 empty units in New York City! Do you think if those came on the market that the cost of housing in New York would decrease? Also, the president’s immigration policies have basically stopped the influx of illegals at the southern border and over 1.3 million illegals have left the country, voluntarily or otherwise. This has implications for the job market but don’t you think that there will also be an impact on the number of vacant rentals leading to a reduction in rents? We will see.
Lastly, what about that buying of mortgage bonds? Yes, an increase in demand for these bonds would raise the bond prices and lower their return but how would this lower the mortgage rates offered in the market? These bonds are composed of pools of existing mortgages whose rates are not going to be affected by the purchase. So the impact must be not on existing mortgage pools but on ones that are being packaged contemporaneously. The problem here is that the amount is only $200 billion in a market of $1.8 trillion. It is doubtful that would make a difference. However, rates did fall by 25 basis points after Trump made the announcement. Some think it is temporary while others think that the Fed should step in and start buying the bonds like it did during Covid. But if the president were really serious he would push Treasury Bessent to lower the 10 year Treasury off of which mortgage rates are linked.
Just a few American sayings
No wonder they say English is the hardest language to learn!
I noted that “fat chance” meant the same as “slim change”. I don’t know if that is a uniquely American idiom but it got me thinking. Here are some others.
10.Sweating like a pig
11.Lipstick on a pig
12.Healthy as a horse
13.Slept like a baby
14.The proof is in the pudding
15.S— for brains
16.Have your cake and eat it too
17.Pull yourself up by your bootstraps
18.Pushing the envelope
19.Head over hills
20.Break a leg
21. It’s not my first rodeo
22. Got a burr under your saddle
23. Don’t have a dog in this fight
24. Sign your John Hancock
25. That dog won’t hunt
26. I don’t have a horse in this race
27. Bottom of the ninth
28. On first base
29. A bump on a log
30. Between a rock and a hard place
31. The whole nine yards
32. More than one way to skin a cat
33. Early bird gets the worm
34. Hurry up and wait
35. Don’t judge a book by its cover
36. Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
37. The squeaky wheel gets the grease
38. Can’t teach an old dog new tricks
39. Fly on the wall
40. Guinea pig
41. Tailgating (two very different meanings)
42. Drinking the kool aid
43. Just sayin’
44. Get off your high horse
45. “Holy cow”
46. Pull back the curtain
47. Working the graveyard shift
48. Got your goat
49. Elephant in the room
50. Walking on eggshells
51. Take a rain check
52. Table it
53. Can’t put my finger on it
54. Piece of cake
55. A fish out of water
56. Ballpark figure
57. Shoot the breeze
58. Water under the bridge
59. Put up your dukes
60. Every dog has its day
61. Spill the beans
62. Knock on wood
63. It’s not rocket science
64. Hit the books
65. I’m from Missouri
66. We’re not in Kansas anymore
67. Madder than a wet hen
68. If you don’t care
69. Worn slap out
70. Tore up
71. Might have could
72. Happy as a pig in mud
73. Fixin to
74. Til the cows come home
75. Let me let you go
76. A month of Sundays
77. Knee high to a grasshopper
78. Hill of beans
79. More than Carter’s got little pills
80. Can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear
81. Plumb
82. Hotter than blazes
83. Pretty as a peach
84. Gimme some sugar
85. Gussied up
86. Hold your horses
87. Well I do declare
88. Funny as all get out
89. Heavens to Betsey
90. Hush your mouth
91. Sho nuff
92. Well I swannie
93. Tell you what
94. I reckon
95. It’ll make you want to slap your momma
96. Oh my stars
97. Too big for his britches
98. Livin in high cotton
99. Porch lights on but nobody’s home
100. Blowing up a storm
101. Hissy fit
102. Three sheets to the wind
103. Can never could
104. Preaching to the choir
105. It’ll all come out in the wash
106. For the birds
107. Til the cows come home
108. Don’t be such a wet blanket
109. Long in the tooth
110. Green thumb
111. Plead the fifth
112. It’s a keeper
113. Go Dutch
114. Crying over spilled milk
115. Bought the farm
116. Behind the eight ball
117. Jump on the bandwagon
118. Take a raincheck
119. Cold turkey
120. Riding shotgun
121. Under the weather
122. That’s the way the cookie crumbles
123. The cat’s out of the bag
124. More bang for the buck
125. Shoot the breeze
126. A bat out of hell
127. Nosebleed seats
128. Monday morning quarterback
129. Sounds like a broken record
130. Know what I’m saying
131. Get your ducks in a row
132. Elbow grease
133. Knock it out of the park
134. My two cents
135. Hit the hay
136. A no brainer
137. The whole kit and kaboodle
138. The whole enchilada
139. Smack dab
140. Slow as molasses
141. Snowball’s chance in hell
142. Two fries short of a happy meal
143. Two bricks shy of a load
144. Bite me
145. Its in the bag
146. On second base
147. Beat me to the punch
148. Going bananas
149. Crazy as a loon
150. Mark my words
151. Hit the nail on the head
152. Cut corners
153. Cost an arm and a leg
154. Bit off more than you can chew
155. Mouth write a check that your butt can’t cash
156. A fly in the ointment
157. Kill two birds with one stone
158. Let the cat out of the bag
159. Pull one’s leg
160. Burn the midnight oil
161. Call it a day
162. Steal one’s thunder
163. Speak of the devil
164. Caught red handed
165. Once in a blue moon
166. Hold your horses
167. Go the extra mile
168. Straight from the horse’s mouth
169. Take with a pinch of salt
170. In for a penny, in for a pound
171. A penny for your thoughts
172. Cost a pretty penny
173. Like a bad penny
174. Penny wise pound foolish
176. Plug nickel
177. Play hardball
178. Home run
179. Touch base
180. Out of left field
181. Step up to the plate
182. Bush league
183. Go to bat
184. Slam dunk
185. Lay up
186. Strike out
187. Bat a thousand
188. Right off the bat
189. In the big leagues
190. Keep the ball rolling
191. Play ball
192. Brand new ball game
193. Swing for the fences
194. Throw a curve
195. Throw for a loop
196. Cover your bases
197. On deck
198. Couch potato
199. Keep the ball rolling
200. Raining cats and dogs
201. Cool as a cucumber
202. Selling like hotcakes
203. Paint the town red
204. In a pickle
205. Turn a blind eye
206. When it rains it pours
207. Barking up the wrong tree
208. Bitter pill to swallow
209. Sour grapes
210. Tough cookie
211. Throw in the towel
212. Hit the road
213. Off the beaten path
214. Take a hike
215. Break the bank
216. Bringing home the bacon
217. Time is money
218. Grinning like a Cheshire cat
219. Born with a silver spoon in your mouth
220. Feels like a million bucks
221. I’ll be a monkey’s uncle
222. Gravy train
223. Cash cow
224. Money talks
225. Hair of the dog
226. Money doesn’t grow on trees
227. Flat broke
228. Nest egg
229. Pay through the nose
230. In the black
231. Go whole hog
232. Bet your bottom dollar
233. Burning a hole in your pocket
234. Filthy rich
235. Don’t amount to a hill of beans
236. Busy as a bee
237. Albatross around one’s neck
238. As cute as a bug’s ear
239. As snug as a bug in a rug
240. As the crow flies
241. Barking up the wrong tree
242. Bee in your bonnet
243. Monkey see monkey do
244. Cat got your tongue
245. Cat’s pajamas
246. Counting sheep
247. Chickens come home to roost
248. Curiosity killed the cat
249. Dropping like flies
250. Kangaroo court
251. In a pig’s ear
252. Fine kettle of fish
253. Paper tiger
254. Pony up
255. Red herring
256. Bad apple
257. Sour grapes
258. Stool pigeon
259. Swan song
260. Top dog
261. White elephant
262. Will goose chase
263. If pigs could fly
264. More than one way to skin a cat
265. People in glass houses should throw no stones
266. Even a blind pigs can find an acorn once in a while
267. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
268. Hold your horses
269. Up s—-t’s creek without a paddle
270. Let the horse out the barn after closing the door
271. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out
272. Bulls—-
273. Go jump in the lake
274. Bread and butter
And my grandmother’s favorite
275. He ain’t got the sense that God gave a goose
Trump sics the DoJ on Powell
When I first saw that Trump’s Department of “Justice” had opened a criminal investigation of the Fed’s Jerome Powell and the renovations of the Fed’s headquarters buildings I thought it was an April Fool’s joke. Only it was January 12th. My reaction was “This has got to be a joke.” Only it isn’t. It is just the latest in a long line of actions by a president who seemingly alternates muscular initiatives with childishness. The renovations were initially projected to cost $2.5 billion but the new estimate is $3.1 billion. In the parlance of the Federal government, that is underbudget. I am fairly certain that Powell, himself, did not make the estimate of the cost. Trump knows this but is going after him anyway. Trump should know better and be ashamed – if possible. His new ballroom was supposed to cost $200 million but now is estimated to cost $400 million. So Trump should have his “Justice” Department open a criminal investigation of himself. Hardly.
Pam (Blondie) Bondi’s spokesperson’s statement regarding Powell was as hilarious as it was ignorant. It was “The Attorney General has instructed her U.S. Attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuse of taxpayer dollars.” Well the Fed is not abusing taxpayer dollars since it is self funding through assessments and earnings on its own portfolio, Much like Trump said that his new Taj Mahal will be paid for with private monies and not that of the taxpayers, the same can be said for the Fed. But Powell insists this is no Taj Mahal.
All of this renovation nonsense came about because of a New York Post article describing the changes as akin to the “Palace of Versailles.” Powell responded at a congressional hearing that “There’s no VIP dining room. There’s no new marble. There are no special elevators. There are no new water features. There’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens.” Powell even gave the president a tour of the facilities to show the state of repairs.
We all know the reason behind all of this. The president despises Jerome Powell for not bending to his will. He has vilified Powell, called him every name imaginable, continuously personally insulted him, cajoled and berated him for not immediately lowering interest rates to one percent. It is no coincidence that the notice of inquiry from the “Justice” Department comes right before the next Fed Open Market Committee meeting on January 27 and 28. Intimidation anyone? We know that Trump’s governor Miran will vote for a decrease in the Fed funds rate of 50 basis points before leaving on January 31st. If I were Powell I would recommend increasing the Fed funds rate by 100 basis points. But Powell is to much a gentleman to strike back at the president.
However, Thom Tillis (R-NC) who is on the Senate Banking Committee did say “If there were any remaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump Administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the Federal Reserve, there should now be none. It is now the independence and credibility of the Department of Justice that are in question.” Wow!
Tillis then said that he will “oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed—including the upcoming Fed Chair vacancy—until this legal matter isfully resolved.” That means no hearing when Miran’s term ends on January 31st and no hearing on a new chairman. Speaking of which, Bessent is supposed to interview BlackRock’s chief investment officer’s Rick Reider for the Fed chair. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want any employee of Larry Fink’s near the Fed.
Powell who has shown remarkable restraint toward the president issued a statement in part saying “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation. I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve is above the law, but this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration’s threats and ongoing pressure.”
“This new threat is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.”
His full statement is here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20260111a.htm
Not only is this so-called investigation an act of vengeance it is also incredibly stupid. Powell is a short-timer with his term as chairman ending in May. Although he could continue as a governor until 2028, he most likely will resign from the Board leaving Trump with another nominee. Trump of course was pushing for low interest rates first to stave off a possible economic downturn and now to lower the cost of borrowing on the Federal debt (so he can borrow more). This action of his against Powell may backfire leaving the Treasury with higher borrowing costs if the markets think that Fed independence has been compromised. Indeed, the markets fell, the dollar sank and gold rose as overnight markets reacted to the news of the Fed subpoenas, a sign of investor concern about central bank independence.
Farm to your table at Hardin Valley
My other half loves to drag me to farmers’ markets. She is really going to love the one hosted by a former student Dale Akins at his Hardin Valley Event Center. here in Knoxville. What I have always wondered when I go into Whole Foods, Publix and the other grocery stores is “Where is the ugly produce?” Often at the farmers’ markets, the produce sometimes isn’t as pretty as it is at the Fresh Market. It is often bruised, wrinkled and actually looks like it was home grown rather than industrially produced. I also remember my grandfather’s crops. They weren’t necessarily pretty but they sure tasted good. So I might have gotten an answer to my question when I ran across the website Misfits Markets.
https://www.misfitsmarket.com/hp55
They say that ugly food should not be thrown away and wasted. Rather they work with farmers to send you fresh produce, meat, seafood and dairy at prices lower than you pay at the grocery stores. Sort of an online farmers’ market. The headline on their website is “Groceries sourced for flavor, not appearances.” It says that 40 percent of food grown is wasted. That is astounding if true. It also says “Industrial agriculture is detrimental to the environment” (see my post on Roundup), “Animals are raised for efficiency instead of welfare” (see the post on eggs), “Small makers are shut out if they can’t pay for shelf space” (so much for buying local), “You overpay for food that’s stripped of quality and taste” (my mother’s lament), and “Familiar labels dominate, leaving no room for fun, unexpected finds” (that may be true but have you ever tried looked at the local beer selection at Total Wine?).
But hey. I am all in favor of ugly food especially if it tastes better than the pretty stuff and is cheaper. So go check out the website and more importantly go check out your local farmers’ markets, especially Dale’s at Hardin Valley. I salute him for bringing us our own farm to table.
Join the invite list to receive a monthly email about upcoming events:
Follow social media to find vendor information:
https://www.facebook.com/pavilionfarmersmarket
Thanks Dale!
Requiem for this deer season (2025)
I love to hunt but I only hunt deer and turkeys unlike my grandfather who mostly hunted rabbits and squirrels. That was because in those days there were no turkeys and precious few deer in Georgia. I used to tag along behind him with my little 22. And although he has been gone since 1971, I feel he is still with me when I venture into his woods. Maybe it is in his memory that I don’t eat store bought red meat.
It is time for my annual report on deer hunting. The deer that live on my farm are lucky. I passed on over 50 shots this season because of my unwavering standards. I do not shoot immature deer. I do not shoot fawns with their mothers even if the fawns are weaned. I shoot no buck under six points. As a result only took one nice doe during bow season with my Wicked Ridge RDX 400 and none during gun season. During the last week of gun season I was tempted to break my rules since that one doe is almost gone being consumed on occasion by me and daily by Lili, my remaining German Shorthaired pointer. I was seeing about 8 deer per day moving near my ground blind. But none to shoot. There was a momma doe with three smaller does, a spike, a button buck and a buck with one two point antler only on one side. I passed on them all. Now that the season is over I will have to coax Lili to eat lean chuck and I will make do with fish and fowl.
Five years ago I had to have around 70 acres timbered because of pine beetles. The loggers had to widen the two trails to the backside of the farm to get in their equipment. The result is that the trails have now become impassable due to severe erosion because the loggers removed the topsoil and vegetation. I cannot even get my ATV down them. I will get a bulldozer and try to repair the damage this winter. But my hunting has significantly deteriorated since the land was timbered. I have had four poor seasons in a row. Some decent does but no big bucks.
I cannot get to my stands on the backside of the farm where I hunt late in the season. I can only hunt three spots instead on the frontside. One is a great place during bow season with plenty of does but I have only seen one shootable buck there in 30+ years (except at 2:30AM on my trail cameras). Where I have consistently shot big bucks during the rut has been a disaster since the timbering. Now all the big deer stay on the adjacent property where the guy who leases it says he killed a nice 8 pointer this season. I envy him.
I generally will see deer on the ridgeline when the acorns fall. It has no pines but only hardwoods. This year we had one of the best mast crops ever and I saw almost zero deer and no big ones. Too much food is a good thing for the deer but a bad thing for hunters since the deer move less. They are staying on the adjacent property. Georgia now allows you to bait and I have pictures of both (small) deer and hordes of turkeys walking past the corn to eat the (white) acorns. Naturally since it is deer season I have been overrun with turkeys and during turkey season I will be overrun with deer. But if anything, the photo of the turkeys shows that at least they are on the property in abundance.
I guess it would have been a frustrating season if I did not enjoy being on my ancestors’ land so much. For the past few years I have said that maybe I will take the momma doe after the little ones have been weaned. But I never can bring myself to do that. The one time that I did was some years ago during bow season. The two fawns never left the momma doe’s side after I shot her. I could not even chase them away. Since then I cannot bring myself to break up a family unit. So I still look for that single barren doe and that six point or greater buck. That I come home empty handed brings back memories of my sainted mother who loved to ridicule me saying “You might have well stayed at home working your jig saw puzzle!” My mother was never wrong and she was delighted that I loved her home place where she had so many cherished memories. But I ready do love being in the words if only being entertained by squirrels, chipmunks and woodpeckers.
I once told the wildlife ranger that I had too many little deer on my property. He said “Shoot the little ones. They taste better anyway.” He then said “You have too many deer and the only way you are going to get bigger ones is to thin out the herd. That is why we let you take 10 does during the season.” I know he is right. I know that other hunters do this. You should see what they bring into my processor. Maybe I will have to modify my standards due to my advancing years. I replaced all my hang on stands with ladder stands since I had one sabotaged by some yahoos that resulting in my falling twenty feet and having total shoulder replacement. Now my arthritic knees balk at going up and down the ladder stands. I have instead put ground blinds in two locations and plan to put in three more if I can again access the backside of the farm after I get the trails repaired.
I have in my basement a metal table, a meat saw, all the knives, a refrigerator with hooks for hanging meat in it and a vacuum sealer. I could shoot those little deer and process them myself without feeling shame of taking them to the processor. But I haven’t so far. Again, I tell myself “maybe next year.”
Home ownership = white supremacy? Real cocaine smugglers. HHS
White folk against “white supremacy”
I am not going to spend a significant amount of time on Mamdani and New York City. But true to his word he is going to govern like a socialist. That shows up in his appointments some of whom appear to be on the lunatic fringe of the far far left. Particularly noteworthy is his choice of activist Cea Weaver for the “Office to Protect Tenants” – yes there is such a thing. Weaver, who is white, is on record as saying that home ownership is “a weapon of white supremacy” – whatever that means. She, like Mamdani, wants to seize private property. For her, now being the rent control czar, this means denying rent increases to drive down the value of rental housing to the point where the landlords will be forced to sell to the city. When Weaver was confronted by the fact that her mother, a professor at Vanderbilt, is living in a home in Nashville valued at $1.4 million, Weaver reacted by crying and running away from the reporter. Now we all know that a $1.4 million house in Nashville is no mansion – neither are the ones in Knoxville for that matter. I wonder if Weaver thinks her mother being a homeowner is also a “white supremacist?” Why is Weaver, like Mamdani, and all these socialists children of privilege? This woman is clearly another poster child for the left’s lunatic fringe.
Real cocaine smugglers versus alleged ones
Have you noticed that all the reports of the navy blowing up those speedboats in the eastern Caribbean say that they were “alleged” cocaine boats? Isn’t there any evidence? Well it seems that it is better to be a real one than an alleged one. For decades the Coast Guard has the task of apprehending those running cocaine in the Caribbean. They still do. Between September 1 and November 30, the Coast Guard reported stopping 38 boats carrying drugs. During the same period the navy blew up 22 boats killing 83 people. What happened to the people captured by the Coast Guard? They were set free! The “Justice” Department’s Pam (Blondie) Bondi chose not to prosecute them. WTF? For example, on November 19, a Coast Guard cutter returned to Port Everglades after seizing 49,010 pounds of cocaine in 15 boat interdictions. Guess the navy didn’t have a chance to blow them up. “The cutter took custody of 36 smuggling suspects during the mission, repatriated 29 to Ecuador for prosecution and referred the others to the Justice Department.” I wonder if the “Justice” Department will seek the death penalty? Oh wait, they can’t. Under U.S. law, the death penalty generally is not available in drug cases. The only death penalty that is enacted is if the navy sees them first.
Now the latest from HHS
Robert Kennedy’s HHS has just unveiled a new vaccine recommendation and a new food pyramid. No longer are 17 shots recommended to be taken by our children. The new number is 10. Kennedy said this was emulating peer nations. In this case the “peer” nation is Denmark which has a smaller and more homogeneous population. I am not saying that Denmark’s schedule is inappropriate for the US but let’s not call it a “peer.” Kennedy has long been in the anti-vax camp but as HHS points out “No vaccine is being banned or removed. Every vaccine currently recommended by the CDC remains available, fully covered by insurance, without cost sharing. No family will lose access to vaccines.”
The vaccines removed are for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, meningococcal ACWY, and meningococcal B. Those can be included through consultation between parents and their doctors. I would be shocked if the majority of the doctors did not recommend that their patients continue with the old full vaccine schedule. In large part the medical establishment has criticized HHS for removing these vaccines. Also the states, not the federal government, have the authority requiring the vaccinations of school children. It will be interesting to see which, if any, adopt HHS’s recommendations. The doctors’ groups without exception have said that the changes were made without evidence that the current schedule was harming children. It was pointed out that one, rotavirus, could return if vaccination ended, he added. That diarrheal disease once hospitalized thousands of children each winter, something that no longer happens. BTW, the decision was made without input from an advisory committee that typically consults on the vaccine schedule.
Then there is the food pyramid. The new one actually inverts the old one, deemphasizing grains and low-fat foods and placing more importance on dairy and meat proteins. Gone are ultra-processed foods and added sugars. Some of the multitude of folk who dislike RFK, Jr have pointed out that half of the panel making the recommendations have ties to the dairy and meat industries. But seriously, does anyone pay any attention to the government’s food pyramid? But hey, maybe if you adopted this new food pyramid you too could look like Robert Kennedy, Jr.!
Venezuelan takeover with this bunch? ICE in Minneapolis
Venezuela takeover with this bunch?
One of the consequences of our takeover of Venezuela is for other countries to claim a Trump-like Doctrine in their own back yards. Obviously what comes to mind is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or China’s threatening to seize Taiwan. We and NATO have aided the Ukrainians to defend themselves against the Russians. Russia may rattle its sword but the Ukraine folly has proven the Russian army to be a joke. But what if that Russian submarine sent to escort the tanker from Venezuela had interceded to prevent the boarding of the boat by the US military. What then? Will the exerting of supremacy in the western hemisphere make the world safer or will it make it riskier? Time will tell. China keeps acting like its going to attack Taiwan. If so it would pay a high price even if we did not intervene. Presumably we would move to deter the Chinese hoping that the result would not ignite a war. But the Chinese have disputes with India along their shared border and with Viet Nam and the Philippines in the South China Sea. What if they tried their version of the Trump Doctrine there? Would Australia do anything or Japan or US?
The president said that the U.S. is going to “run” Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” But then why did we leave intact the bad actors behind Maduro rather than replacing the government and forcing out their military leaders? I know that this was the recommendation of the CIA but I am not certain why. Trump said that Machado and Gonzalez who defeated Maduro in two elections were too weak to govern even though the polls show them with high approvals. Elevating Delcy Rodriguez to interim president and keeping Jorge Rodríguez Gómez, Vladimir Padrino López and Diosdado Cabello in power may prove to be a mistake. Rodriquez’ socialism may be worse than Maduro’s. Her brother Gomez is head of the National Assembly and was Maduro’s voice in the legislature. Lopez is defense minister and Cabello is head of the police, military and intelligence forces. Cabello has been called the most ideological and violent member of the regime and the most likely to stage a counter offensive against the US forces. Seems to me that keeping these three in place is just asking for trouble.
The president has said that we are going to sell 30 – 50 million barrels of Venezuelan and he will determine how the receipts are spent. He tweeted “This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Somehow it is not a surprise that the president will decide who gets what from the sale. Any for Don Jr and the rest of the family? Just asking.
One interesting development has been the reaction of Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum to the takeover. She has sought good relations with Trump despite his imposition of tariffs and occasional threats to invade Mexico. Yet after the seizure of Maduro she said “The Government of Mexico energetically condemns and rejects the military actions unilaterally executed by the Armed Forces of the United States of America.” Historically, Sheinbaum’s Moreno party has not be a friend of America and Sheinbaum in particular has supported Maduro in Venezuela. Now will Trump seek to remove Sheinbaum and her party? Stay tuned.
The Minneapolis shooting
A few Somalis in Minnesota scammed the country out of $9 billion and the president and the republicans went bonkers. Medicaid fraud is over $100 billion per year and where are the outrage and legions of investigators and investigations to send those fraudsters to jail? In Minneapolis there have been over 80 arrests and the investigation is on-going. It seemed like the FBI and the Department of Justice were proceeding nicely despite the best efforts of Minnesota officials not to assist in the effort. Evidence is coming out that many state and local officials were complicit in the fraud. But what was the justification for the president ordering 2,000 ICE personnel to descend on Minneapolis? Isn’t this a bit much?
Yes there may be some illegals among the Somali population but most are citizens. Was this just intended to be harassment? Regardless, it was a situation ready to explode and explode it did. Minneapolis prides itself as a sanctuary city. The state and local politicians are mainly left wingers who hate Trump and detest ICE. It was no surprise that when ICE arrived an instant mob of protestors appeared to deter them. One of the protestors was shot and killed. ICE claims that she was weaponizing her car and tried to run over one of them. The others say otherwise.
Naturally all the democrats say the shooting was akin to murder while all the republicans say it was justified. There have been shouting matches in the halls of congress and democrats calling for the impeachment of Kristi Noem, the head of Homeland Security. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries called Noem a liar and said “There’s no evidence that has been presented to justify the shooting of an unarmed woman in Minneapolis. The so-called Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has zero credibility.”
Minneapolis’ mayor has said of ICE “Get the f—- out of Minneapolis” (BTW, “comedian” Jimmy Kimmel said as much on his show – see the Youtube video https://www.newsbreak.com/mediaite-520570/4431258467359-get-the-f-ck-out-jimmy-kimmel-puts-minneapolis-mayor-s-furious-ice-killing-rebuke-on-a-t-shirt).
Minnesota’s governor Walz actually said that he may call out the national guard to “protect” his citizens from ICE. Walz said that the state “was at war” with the federal government (shades of Jefferson Davis!). Now isn’t that an act of rebellion? How would that be handled by Trump? Will he try to arrest Walz and have him tried for treason? BTW, the woman shot was white. Can you imagine what would have happened if she has been a person of color. It would have been George Floyd all over again.
Meanwhile the president said he wanted to deport the fraudsters and strip any citizen of their citizenship. Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn is accommodating him by introducing legislation to do just that. She says “The fraud schemes we have seen in Minnesota and across the country are a betrayal of hardworking American taxpayers, and individuals like the Somali scammers in Minnesota should be subject to both deportation and denaturalization for these crimes.” But why pick only on the fraud of a few Somalis? Why not make the law read for automatic deportation and denaturalization of anyone convicted of committing a felony? Medicaid anyone?
haroldblackphd.com 