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The Department of Education, Jamaal Bowman and Elizabeth Warren

How do you stop the despicable treatment of Jews on some college campuses? How about the Department of Education cutting off all federal funds? That threat would get their attention. Just tell the schools to imagine that instead of Jewish students being targeted and harassed that LBGTQ students are the victims. I would bet that the protests will come to a screeching halt.

Although Trump has pledged to abolish the Department of Education, I don’t think he can do that without congressional approval. The department basically does two things. It funnels money from the federal coffers to the education establishment – something that can be done through block grants to the states. It also uses its civil rights division to cater to the woke leftists in its dictates on LGBTQ like changing the language in Title IX. Look for that to change. Trump’s education department could also take a crack at DEI. The accreditation agencies for the colleges and universities have included DEI in the accreditation process. Although the Department of Education has no sway of the accreditation agencies, they could determine that colleges’ DEI practices could violate the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action with its racial preferences and force the accreditation agencies to alter their criteria.

Again, show me where DEI lessens discrimination and bigotry. It doesn’t. Rather it fosters resentment, animosity and increased racial divisions. DEI has been nothing more than a honey pot for racial grifters. Universities and corporations are mostly run by white people who obviously must hate themselves or else they would not impose this nonsense on their students and/or employees.

Did you see the Jamaal Bowman quote after the Penny verdict?  Here it is:

“Dear White People, I don’t know why I feel the need to keep talking to you. I don’t know why part of me still has hope for you and for us. Some of you are too far gone. But maybe enough of you aren’t and will join us in fighting to end white supremacy.” So Bowman is asking white people to help him end white supremacy?

Penny, as you know, was acquitted for subduing a mentally challenged homeless subway rider that was terrorizing passengers. Bowman and his BLM cohorts are protesting this as a racial crime since Penny is white and Neely was black. I wonder if they would have the same outrage if the races were reversed. I doubt if Penny would have even been arrested in jurisdictions that do not have woke progressive DAs.

I am glad that Bowman lost his re-election bid and soon will be out of the Congress. He was an embarrassment.

Speaking of embarrassments, did you see what Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders said about the murder of the United Healthcare CEO? Warren: “The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system.” Her comrade in arms Bernie Sanders echoed that sentiment by saying “I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit.”

To me this sounds like the two senators are excusing murder instead of criticizing the system they helped to create with Obamacare. I presume that they are talking about claims being rejected by private insurers. What about doctors dropping Medicare patients due to low reimbursement rates? Will they condemn the doctors or Medicare? Sanders and Warren know that under a single payer system – which they both so badly want to impose on us – care gets denied and there are long waiting lines for services. Who then would patients that are denied care shoot in that type of system? My mother had seven bypass surgery at 85. I remarked that if she were in Canada that they would have denied her the operation and she would have died rather than living to 101.

Contrast Warren’s and Sanders’ reaction to that of John Fetterman whom I am slowly warming up to. “The public execution of an innocent man and father of two is indefensible, not ‘inevitable.’ Condoning and cheering this on says more about YOU than the situation of health insurance.” Fetterman also said regarding the killer “He’s the a–hole that’s going to die in prison. Congratulations if you want to celebrate that. A sewer is going to sewer.” Some of the libs are now attacking Fetterman saying that he is going to flip to the republicans. Nonsense. Fetterman is still a progressive but perhaps a more moderate one. 

My civil rights are not your civil rights?

Trump nominated Hameet Dhillon to head the civil rights division of the Justice Department. She is the fourth Indian-American nominated by Trump. Do you think JD Vance has anything to do with this? Biden’s Department of “Justice” has gone after right to lifers, pushed an LBGTQ agenda and DEI. Remember when DOJ sent a SWAT team to raid the home of a Catholic father who had protested at an abortion clinic? Biden’s “Justice” Department has targeted other pro-lifers while ignoring attacks on Catholic churches and pro-life pregnancy centers. The department has aggressively embraced LGBTQ  and is suing states that have enacted laws passed by states on underage puberty blockers and trans surgeries. Consider that the case before the Supreme Court is US vs Skrmetti where the lawyers for the “Justice” Department are challenging Tennessee’s law regarding puberty blockers for children with the solicitor general arguing the case for the government. Mind you, the majority of Americans are opposed to minors being transitioned. Why doesn’t the left say that the actions of the “Justice” department is a threat to democracy?

A Trump Justice Department would be supporting, not opposing, Tennessee’s (and 26 other states’ laws). Hameet Dhillon is a civil rights lawyer who has argued for the civil rights of those targeted by Biden’s administration. She has been a steadfast voice in opposing the abuse of citizens by Biden’s Department of “Justice” and is a brilliant pick. To illustrate what a good choice she is, just look at the left losing its mind. MSNBC calls her a “far right, conspiratorial lawyer” who “would make a mockery of the concept of civil rights.” MSNBC then says this “leaves little doubt about (Trump’s) intent to use the department to undermine democracy during his second term.” Again, who has been undermining democracy over the past four years? 

Dhillon has sued the government for shutting down churches during Covid while leaving open large retail stores. She said “One of the most egregious violations of our First Amendment freedoms was the treatment of religious Americans as second-class citizens, as vectors of disease. From the very beginning of the pandemic, governors across the country discriminately labeled houses of worship, and by extension the First Amendment, as ‘non-essential,’ while at the same time leaving their secular counterparts open for business. In my state, California, marijuana, liquor, and big-box retailers were deemed essential, but God was banned.” She has also sued on behalf of “detransitioners” – trans people who want to regain their original gender identity. Does all this indicate a person who is a threat to our civil rights? Not in my book. Bravo Trump.

Some other thoughts

I can’t wait for the current bunch of clowns in the White House to be evicted. They tried to deny the existence of the Chinese spy balloon and then let it float over the country before finally shooting it down. Now we have the drones over New Jersey. The White House says it knows nothing and is doing nothing. They say that no laws are being broken so they are going to let them continue to fly. Want to bet that Trump will have a different reaction? I wonder why New Jersey just doesn’t take matters into its own hands and have its air national guard shoot one of them down?

Biden pardoned his son – after saying over and over again that he would not. Did you ever believe him? I thought he would wait until the last minute. Now he is pardoning 1,500 persons on home confinement. I guess their families needed a break. The question is whether Biden will issue preemptive pardons for some who he had target Trump and Trump’s supporters. As I have previously said, if Trump went after his enemies, he would not have time to do anything else. Some have mentioned that Trump would go after Anthony Fauci. Why? Putting Fauci’s nemesis, Jay Bhattacharya as head of NIH is the ultimate revenge. BTW, since Bhattacharya will now be controlling the $48 billion in grants, I bet that the research funded reaches different conclusions than they did under Fauci. So goes academic integrity. 

Random Thoughts #46

Did you see where HHS posted “Happy Pansexual and Panromantic Pride Day!”? Not being up on wokespeak I looked up the terms. Wikipedia says “pansexuality is a sexual, romantic or emotional attraction towards people of all genders.” All genders? You mean all two of them? Then “panromantic is a type of romantic orientation that describes people as being romantically or emotionally attracted to all genders”. I’m certain there must be a difference but I really don’t care. I do know that this is likely to be the last of such postings by a Federal agency for the next four years. Thank goodness.

BTW, I googled “how many genders are there?” I got a list of 72. Apparently someone had too much time on their hands. 

Trump wants to get rid of birthright citizenship and hints at using an executive order to do so. Trump is well aware that birthright citizenship stems from the 14^th Amendment which states “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The issue lies in the interpretation of “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof”. Some republicans say that the language implies that the Congress can define the meaning and disallow citizenship to children born in the United States of illegals. However, I think Trump wants to include children of legal noncitizens, in fact he did once say that if one parent were a citizen, then citizenship for the newborn would be granted. Look for Trump to argue that due to the language of the amendment he can void birthright citizenship with an executive order. Whatever he does, expect a spate of lawsuits.

Do you cruise? We don’t. For us a cruise ship looks like one giant petri dish.

I usually like AEI but one of their op-eds from a staff member made no sense to me. It is “Most of the Money in the “Foreign Aid” Bill Would Stay in the U.S.”

https://www.aei.org/op-eds/most-of-the-money-in-the-foreign-aid-bill-would-stay-in-the-u-s/. It contends that, for example, that the $95 billion aid package to the Ukraine mostly stays in the US and benefits the country. It contends that what we do is send them our old stuff and then use the money to replenish our stocks with new stuff. The money is being spent in US defense companies. Needless to say, this is weird. It seems that the author would then say we would also benefit from simply dumping the materiel in the ocean and paying the defense companies to make new armaments. Huh? Franklin Roosevelt would be proud. Didn’t we have to borrow the money (or print it) to get the $95 billion? Didn’t that add to the debt? Didn’t that crowd out private investment? How is this productive? Surely, AEI knows better.

Did you see where Josh Hawley and Bernie Sanders both agree with Trump’s notion about capping consumer credit card rates? You know that if Hawley and Sanders agree then they both are wrong. Trump who despite his economics degree from Penn keeps making truly dumb economic statements. Capping interest rates will result in the poorest credits being shut out from borrowing from lower cost lenders. Yes what they are paying seems high but it reflects their credit riskiness. Capping the rate lower means that they will lose their credit cards and will have to depend on higher cost lenders such as pawn shops and payday lenders. So first we have Trump’s tariffs and now interest rate caps. What’s next rent controls?

Electricity is up 30 percent on Biden’s watch. Gasoline prices are up 63 percent. Housing is up 20 percent. Home furnishings are up 16 percent, food 21 percent and new cars 19 percent. Joe Biden says that Bidenomics was a success. I guess it matters how you define “success”. Just like my friend said about Beyonce’s endorsement of Kamala Harris “Beyonce’ don’t have to worry about paying her bills.” Neither does Joe Biden.

Alexander Hamilton imagined future presidents who might be “vain and ambitious, as well as avaricious,” who, upon reaching the end of their allotted time in the “seat of supreme magistracy,” would be forced to assuage their considerable ego by “wandering among the people like discontented ghosts, and sighing for a place which they were destined never more to possess.”  Did Hamilton know Barack Obama?

Baseball, the College Playoffs and my Dawgs and Bucks

Juan Soto is joining the Mets for $755 million over 15 years. The contract is being cited as the largest in major league history. But isn’t Otani’s contract $700 million for 10 years? Otani’s is rare because he may be one of the few to sign a big deal and then win a World Series. Isn’t that right Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Manny Machado, Francisco Lindor, Fernando Tatis and Giancarlo Stanton? History is not on the Mets’ side. 

However, the allure of a power hitter is that home runs have become more important in the game (chicks love the long ball). Yet Aaron Judge was a bust in this year’s World Series. The Yankees with all that power – Judge, Stanton and Solo – still lost. Consider that the Yankees had more hits, more runs, more home runs, more walks (Solo), a higher batting average and a lower ERA than the Dodgers and still lost! However, the Dodgers were more athletic and more aggressive baserunners. During the season the Dodgers led the majors in taking the extra base. The Yankees were last. I’m no expert but it seemed that the Dodgers were a better team while the Yankees were a bunch of individuals. But I didn’t like either team (except Freddie Freeman) and hoped that they both would lose. Now that the Dodgers have added Blake Snell, they have cemented their status as the evil empire of the west – the Yankees being the evil empire of the east.

I remain a Braves fan although I will never forgive them for not re-signing Freddie. Hank Aaron went to my home church. He was kind, humble and warm. If you didn’t know he was the great immortal Hank Aaron you would have just thought of him as being a wonderful devoted member of the congregation. 

We go camping in St Petersburg every year for a week, mainly to see the Rays. Mind you, we are not Rays fans. I just love baseball and pick the opponent. This year we will see the Orioles – we also saw them last year. The Rays will be playing in the Yankee’s minor league park in Tampa due to the damage to Tropicana Field caused by Hurricane Milton. BTW, the Trop is the worse baseball park in the league by far. Yes even worse than Oakland.

Now for football. Alabama got left out of the new 12 team playoff. Naturally they are whining. Their AD says that they are going to reconsider their out of conference schedule and play a softer schedule. Softer? This year they played Western Kentucky, South Florida, Wisconsin and Mercer out of conference. Mercer? They lost to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Vanderbilt? How can you get a softer out of conference schedule? Maybe substitute Fort Valley State for Wisconsin (which was 5-7)? What Alabama should do is get out of the SEC and go to the ACC, Big 12 or better yet the Mountain West. Then it can get one of those guaranteed slots in the playoffs. Word to the Alabama AD: shut up.

I think the SEC should have 9 conference games rather than 8. I hate getting rid of the divisions and losing traditional rivalries. Why can’t Texas play Texas A&M and Oklahoma every year? Why can’t Tennessee play Alabama and Vanderbilt or Georgia play Auburn and Florida?

I also don’t like the 12 team playoff. I know it was put in because of money. ESPN is paying $7.8 billion for the playoffs. Each of the 12 teams gets $4 million. The quarterfinalists get an additional $4 million. The semifinalists get $6 million and the finalists also get $6 million. Each team gets $3 million to cover expenses. Hmm. Maybe I will get invited to the Georgia games like in the past. Hopefully, there is a money pool set aside for the players to divide. 

There is a lot of whining that Oregon seeded number one has gotten a tough draw. It gets the winner of the Tennessee Ohio State game. Penn St seeded 6 gets to play SMU at home and then Boise State if it beats SMU. Is this fair? Probably not but that’s the way the proverbial cookie crumbles. What would be better is for there not to be any guaranteed byes by conference. Rather rank the teams and give the byes to the top four regardless of conference.

If we still had the four team playoff, it would be Oregon versus Texas and Georgia versus Penn State. I think that Notre Dame is better than Penn State but that loss to Northern Illinois is inexplicable.

With Georgia’s starting quarterback out, the Dawg haters are saying that the Dawgs should be out of the playoffs. They call it the “Florida State rule.” Last year, Florida State lost its starting quarterback and was not included in the playoffs. They then lost to Georgia in a bowl game 63-3. Clearly they were not a playoff team and if Georgia had not lost to Alabama, it would have likely won its third national championship. However, Georgia has a capable backup. Remember when in 2015, Ohio State lost its starting quarterback and its backup too? The third stringer Cardele Jones led the Buckeyes over Wisconsin in the Big 10 title game 59-0 with Ezekiel Elliott running for 220 yards. Then my other half and I were in New Orleans to see the Bucks beat Alabama and at Jerry’s World where they beat Oregon and Marcus Mariota for the national championship. Look for Georgia to do the same.

Georgia and Ohio State are in opposite brackets so I am hoping for another Georgia Ohio State final. I’ll be there. Maybe this time instead of wearing my Herschel Walker jersey and Woody Hayes t-shirt I will wear my Jack Tatum jersey and a Georgia bulldog cap. Go Dawgs/Bucks!

More on Trump’s nominees

Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be FBI director. There is only one minor problem, the FBI already has a director, Christopher Wray, whose 10 year term doesn’t end for another three years. Thus, Wray has to resign or Trump will try to fire him. Since the FBI director is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate to a fixed term, there is a legal question as to whether the director can be removed by the president or must be impeached by the Senate. The answer is maybe. Trump during his first term did fire James Comey who left without resistance. Wray, who ironically was nominated by Trump to replace Comey, has not indicated whether he will step down. If he doesn’t Trump will try to fire him. If Wray resists, expect a lawsuit. But having an FBI director who is in open conflict with a president would be unprecedented.

An 1876 law stated that certain postmasters appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate could only be removed with the advice and consent of the Senate. In 1925, Woodrow Wilson fired a postmaster (Frank Myers) without Senate approval. The Supreme Court ruled that the president did have the authority to remove the official. It will be interesting to see if Wray leaves quietly or contests the Court’s 1926 decision. What happens obviously has implications for Jay Powell at the Fed who ironically was also initially appointed by Trump. BTW, don’t be surprised if Trump once more nominates Judy Shelton to the Fed, maybe even as chairman. Shelton is the type of expert that Trump likes to appoint. One that knows the agency and is critical of how it conducts its function. She is unlikely to toe the company line and would be great at the Fed. Maybe this time her nomination will get out of committee.

Surprise! Surprise! The greenies do not like Doug Burgum for secretary of the interior. Climate Power, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Wilderness Society (whose new CEO will be Biden’s Bureau of Land Management director) are all against the nomination. Not coincidentally, all three groups are funded by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss. Trump and presumably Burgum will reverse Biden’s policies of closing federal lands to energy and mineral development, shutting down pipelines, blocking drilling and the exporting of natural gas. Wyss has put hundreds of millions of dollars into the liberal dark money network to meddle in issues in the United States. A statement from Wyss’ foundation says in part that it is “proud to fund numerous conservation organizations and their efforts to protect access to public land, preserve wildlife, and conserve 30 percent of the planet in a natural state by the year 2030.” Hum. I guess the sanctimonious democrats do not bemoan this dark money network funded by a foreign billionaire meddling in US affairs.

Why is the left against Burgum? He is a climate skeptic! Gasp!

Linda McMahan is criticized as not being qualified to be secretary of education But she is. She has been active in education issues in Connecticut having served on the state’s board of education. Her foundation has contributed significantly to education causes. I would have preferred Betsy DeVos. McMahan was given high marks in her management of the Small Business Administration (which hopefully will be on the chopping block of the DOGE). I think the opposition to McMahan is because the left are snobs and look down their noses at the WWE.

Let’s see. The left seems to be opposed to all the Trump nominees. I would have thought there would have been some praise on the diversity of the nominees. Treasury secretary nominee Bessent is gay. Patel is Indian-American. Tulsi Gabbard is Samoan. Scott Turner is black. Marco Rubio is Cuban-American. Mehmet Oz is Turkish. Janette Nisheiwat parents are Jordanian immigrants. Jay Bhattacharya is Indian. Then there are the eight women nominated to cabinet level positions including Kristi Noem, Susie Wiles and Pam Bondi. But no. The left will be critical no matter what. It whines that Trump has few blacks in his cabinet. The only nominee that seems to not draw criticism is Lori Chavez-DeRemer Trump’s pick for Labor Secretary. She is a friend of big labor. Her only opposition will be from the right and it will be half hearted. So the bottom line is that you can be a gay, female black Indian-American with Jordanian, Samoan and Turkish ancestry and the left still won’t like you if you are a Republican.

Turmoil in the Middle East, so what else is new?

The Middle East is constantly in turmoil. Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iran. The rebels in Syria have all of a sudden decided to renew their shooting war with Syria’s allies Iran and Russia being weakened.  The rebels are advancing and are threatening Damascus. Turkey is siding with the rebels seeking to widen its sphere of influence. Assad’s ruling faction is a small minority called Alawites which are considered as disbelievers by both Sunni and Shia and were installed in power by the French in the 1920s. The rebels fighting Assad are terrorist groups and are no friends of either the US or Israel. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee as director of national intelligence is on record as saying that Assad is not an enemy of the United States. Assad may not be an enemy but he is no friend either. He is a brutal dictator and has suppressed Christians and other minorities in Syria. During one upheaval his forces used chemical weapons killing almost 100 people. Gabbard said that reports of the attack were “100 percent fabrication” despite evidence to the contrary. It will be interesting to see how she handles questions regarding her views on Assad, of anti-intervention and her previous anti-Trump comments before her MAGA conversion.

Much of the discord in the Middle East is directly linked to the lines drawn in 1916 by Mark Sykes of England and François Picot of France dividing up the old Ottoman Empire between their countries. Their map created Palestine (Israel), Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia. In so doing, the new borders threw together religious factions into the same new country. So Christians, Jews, Sunnis, Shias, Kurds, along with other sects were put together, practically insuring discord. While it may have been logical to draw borders that minimize conflict, Sykes-Picot did no such thing. Perhaps the divisions made sense in a dividing of spoils amongst the Brits and the French after World War I so that the locals would fight among themselves rather than fighting their European rulers. But it portended eternal conflict for the residents of the Middle East. By the way, much the same is true in the creation of countries in Africa. Only time will tell as to whether the warring factions can unite, or decide to redraw country borders, or continue fighting forever.

I wonder why don’t countries that have such divisions which lead to terrorist activities and/or protests just don’t cut those areas loose? I guess that the rulers want as much land as possible and as many people to lord over than ever willingly ceding territory. A case in point is Turkey and the Kurds who the Turks label a terrorist group. Why doesn’t Turkey simply grant the Kurds their ancestral land of Kurdistan? Since Kurdistan encompasses southeast Turkey, northern Iraq, northwest Iran and northern Syria, the Turks could rid themselves of the Kurds and let Iran, Iraq and Syria deal with the problem.

In Iraq, the Shias live mostly in the south, the Sunnis in the middle and the Kurds in the north. The Iraqi Shias are aligned with Iran which is 95% Shia. Wouldn’t it make sense for Iraq to divide itself into thirds with Shia in the south, Sunni in the middle and Kurds in the north? Each area could have self rule and the country operate as a confederation, much like Switzerland. I think that one day the Sunnis who are the majority in 32 countries will unite against the Shia who are a majority only in Iran and Azerbaijan. The Sunnis and the Shia are forever at each others’ throats. Ultimately with energy independence, America could just let the two sides settle their differences without our interference. So perhaps Gabbard might be correct after all.

Fleeing Celebs and “Gender-Affirming” Care 

Remember when Ellen Degeneres “fled” the country for England? Well Whoopi Goldberg and Megan Rapinoe are threatening to “flee” to Italy. Italy? Huh? Don’t they know that the Italian prime minister is Giorgia Meloni who the leftists hate? Her party is the right wing Brothers of Italy (Meloni is a brother?) and she has been labeled a fascist. Meloni opposes same sex marriage – isn’t Rapinoe a lesbian and married to a woman? Meloni wants a naval blockade to stop illegal immigration – I thought Whoopi called such actions racist. So Italy does not make any sense at all for leftists such as Rapinoe and Goldberg. Maybe pasta and wine outweigh nationalism. However, I really don’t care where they go just as long as they go.

Tom Hanks is also leaving even though he hasn’t yet announced where. Is Jane Fonda going too? She has been whining about leaving for years. Here is a list of celebrities that have said they can’t live in Donald Trump’s America. Barbra Streisand (she likes England too), Cher (she tweeted she was moving to Jupiter – oh boy), Sharon Stone (Italy too) and Samuel L. Jackson (somewhere in Africa, that continent of openness, tolerance, and freedom). Snoop Dogg says he’s going to Canada. BTW, why is all of a sudden Snoop Dogg is on all those commercials? If he is selling, I’m not buying.

There are other “celebrities” who have announced they are fleeing as well but I have never heard of them (Amy Schumer (any kin to Chuck?, George Lopez, Omari Hardwick, Bryan Cranston, Chelsea Handler, Lena Dunham and Ne- Yo. Ne-Yo? I am sure all these and their ilk will find peace, love and happiness in their adopted new lands. Do you think anyone will miss them?

I have written before about the left’s attempt to change the meaning of words. Front and center is the Supreme Court case on Tennessee’s law that minor children cannot be maimed by gender-altering surgery and the use of puberty blockers. The left calls this “gender-affirming care”. Who thinks of these names? How can you affirm a gender that is not yours? Did you see where Sotomayor, who is not the brightest justice, said “Every medical treatment has a risk, even taking aspirin.” This was after hearing arguments that countries like Sweden and Finland have restricted such treatments due to irreversible consequences. This probably means that the fleeing celebs have probably crossed Sweden and Finland off their lists.

There has also been a firestorm over Ketanji Brown Jackson’s – whose husband is white – linking the banning of gender maiming treatments to the laws that once banned interracial marriage. Her argument involved the equal protection clause in the Constitution. Jackson said that the argument for banning treatments was similar to the state of Virginia’s arguments for banning interracial marriage. Although some have blasted Jackson as being as dumb as Sotomayor, others have agreed that there is a parallel. I am not learned enough to make a judgment. Nevertheless, I think the core question being overlooked is about whether such medical procedures should be inflicted on children, regardless of the parents’ wishes. I have no objections to adults making such decisions for themselves. But many children go through phases that they grow out of. A child insisting that he/she is of a different gender will likely grow out of it despite what the advocates say. Those children are also not likely to commit suicide if denied treatments despite what the advocates say. Surely, if a child insisted that he was a giraffe would not have an elongated neck grafted on to his torso along with tattooing spots all over his body.

Again, I was ashamed that Vanderbilt hospital was cited as a leading institution maiming children. One of its officials cited the procedures as money makers. I guess that hospital has decided to “do harm” and I hope there is a special place in hell for the gender-maiming doctors and advocates.

A climate change denier? Who me?

I have said many times that I am not a climate denier because it is obviously that the climate always changes. However, I am not in the camp that believes that climate change constitutes an existential threat. Such a claim is at best difficult to prove. First, the planet is not fragile and has the remarkable ability to heal itself. It has been said that the climate change zealots have adopted climate change as a religion. It is curious that they seemingly have rejected the planet’s innate healing ability. Second, I am not in the camp that contends that whatever change is occurring is man made. Third, I am not convinced that even if it is man made that the change will destroy the environment.

Part of my skepticism stems from the current state of climate modeling. There is a large literature authored by eminent scientists which concludes that climate change is not the existential threat that so many believe. That literature is among those labeled as “misinformation” and has been systematically suppressed. Yet it exists. Given that scientific research is as much an art as it is a science, it is healthy for it to be examined in minute detail for these findings carry much import. 

I have constructed econometric models my entire professional life. I used to give my doctoral students a set of papers confirming one hypothesis. Then I would give them a set of papers disconfirming the hypothesis. I would then ask them to critique both sets and defend which if any they believed was correct. One example was a paper I published that confirmed two competing hypotheses using the same data set. Rarely will papers use the same model, the same statistical technique, the same time frame and the same data set. That calls into question whether it is the appropriate model, the appropriate technique, the appropriate data and the appropriate time frame. Another example was as an expert witness I would critique the other side’s results. In one highly publicized case, I found that the model used by the other side employed a statistical technique that always yielded false positives. In another case, I found that I could increase the statistical probability by including variables that had no relevance to the case like the sale of firecrackers in the Hunan province of China. A third example was that the model constructed made no logical sense forcing the other side to contend that it didn’t matter if it made sense so long as it generated a high statistical probability.

Much the same can be said about climate models. Questions arise as to whether they predict backward better than forward. Researchers have found different conclusions given what time period they study. Much has been said that forecasters have a high likelihood of inaccurate forecasts two weeks out much less fifty years or more out. Consider that in a survey of 36 climate change models it was found that the models over estimated the change in the earth’s climate by 43 percent. https://www.heritage.org/environment/report/global-warming-observations-vs-climate-models.  Another paper concludes “Our work shows that the increase in climate sensitivity from the last generation of

climate models should be taken with a huge grain of salt.” Yet another paper states “And now we have way too much confidence in some very dubious climate models and inadequate data sets. And we’re not really framing the problem broadly enough to … make credible projections about the range of things that we could possibly see in the 21st century.”

I am certainly no expert on atmospheric physics but I do know that climate models tend to be overly complicated with multiple equations on the physical and chemical processes attempting to mimic the climate system. Yet the models are still crude and rudimentary. One scientist has said “We do not know much about modeling climate. It is as though we are modeling a human being. Models are in position at last to tell us the creature has two arms and two legs, but we are being asked to cure cancer. There is a good reason for a lack of consensus on the science. It is simply too early. The problem is difficult, and there are pitifully few ways to test climate models.”

Note that even though some climate grifters like Al Gore claim that there is a consensus, any empiricist knows that there is no consensus in science. For example, I have always wondered about the relationship between carbon dioxide and global temperatures. It would seem simple enough to see if carbon changed by a certain amount then how much did temperature change. We model relationships like this all the time in economics. What about in climate models? It turns out that the climate models do not reach anything close to a consensus. All models are plagued by measurement error. Models predict with a confidence interval whose ranges may predict temperature changes that go from benign to terrifying. Empirically there have been periods of rising carbon dioxide and rising temperatures and periods of rising carbon dioxide and falling global temperatures. If we happen to be in the former and not the latter then the climate alarmists can warn us of impending doom. However, one research measuring the earth’s temperature by drilling into its core, shows that the current period is actually a historically cool one rather than one with high global temperatures. There are studies that point to the sun, its axial tilt and cloud cover as being more determinant than carbon dioxide.

Yet politicians have gleefully embraced the climate is the existential threat theme. It increases their power. Not surprisingly most of the zealots are on the left, endorsing more government control over our behavior. Banning internal combustion engines, washing machines, dryers, weed eaters, lawn mowers, natural gas, fossil fuels and all the rest allow them to play God. There are two questions. First, do this policies actually reduce emissions? Second, even if they did reduce emissions how does the reduction affect the climate. A study of over 1,500 climate policies in 41 countries showed that only 63 actually reduced greenhouse gas emissions. An interesting fact is that despite countries participating in the Paris Accord, that fossil fuel use is increasing and that those countries climate emissions will exceed the Paris target by over 23 billion metric tons by 2030. Didn’t the erudite AOC say in 2019 that if we did not address climate change that the world would end in 12 years? Methinks, she could be a wee bit off (in more ways than one). 

Isn’t the earth repairing itself and will ward off any adverse effects of climate change? Who knows? Is the climate change itself is a natural occurrence? Who knows? Is the climate change manmade and can be reversed though draconian government edicts? Anyone who claims to know the truth is doing so on faith rather than on fact. That is why the climate change zealots are said to have adopted climate change as a religion. That is a religion based on faith, a particular belief in what set of results and observations are factual, and a belief in a causal positive relationship between emissions and global temperatures.

Do misunderstand me. I am glad that smokers are no longer allowed to smoke in airplanes and most indoor spaces. I am glad that we no longer see smoke belching from diesel engines. I am glad the air and water are cleaner. I am glad that we are no longer dumping our waste in minority areas. But why ban coal fired plants if today’s technology means“clean coal?” The environment is the cleanest it has been in industrial history and it is getting cleaner. I want that to continue. However, most measures undertaken today do not make a measurable difference and should be rescinded. Solar and wind energy needs to be reevaluated. Nuclear needs to be expanded. All this should be done in the name of a cleaner environment and not one due to trying to frighten little children that the earth will die if we don’t ban pizza ovens.

EVs, Tariffs and the Latino Vote

The EV industry is in trouble. There are at least 15 US companies that are in danger of failing although you would not know it driving around west Knoxville where you see a Lucid, at least three Rivians, a Hummer EV, three Tesla super trucks, two Mercedes EVs, a bunch of BMWs, a whole host of Teslas and who knows what else running around. Nationwide, not so much as Rivian was thrown a $9 billion lifeline by the Biden Administration to build a plant in Georgia. However, there is no guarantee that Rivian will even build the plant. Currently, its sales are down and it cannot sell the vehicles that it is already making. It was losing $100,000 on each truck it sells – now down to “only” $32,000 per vehicle. Rational decision makers would not build the new plant unless Rivian becomes profitable because you cannot make up losses by increased volume. If Trump takes away all the EV subsidies and the $7,500 credit, expect most of the industry to collapse leaving only Tesla. Maybe that is why Elon Musk favors eliminating the subsidy. When Denmark removed its subsidy, the sales of EVs fell 60 percent.

A stark illustration of the plight of the EV industry is that Cadillac is advertising a $339 per month lease on its Lyriq EV. Mind you, Honda wants $399 a month for its gas powered Pilot SUV. I repeat: a Cadillac Lyriq will cost you less than a Honda Pilot.

Trump first put tariffs on Chinese EVs. Then Biden upped the tariff to 100%. BYD is exploring building a plant in Mexico with an eye on the American market. Trump says that he will increase the tariff to 200% if they try to bring their cars into the US. Would it surprise you to know that the largest manufacturer of electric trucks and buses in the US is none other than BYD? Its factory is in Lancaster, California. I wonder what would happen if they started making cars at that facility?

I am not quite clear why Biden kept and then increased the tariffs on Chinese EVs. Musk has stated that it is virtually impossible for him and other manufacturers to profitably build a $20,000 EV. This is in the province of the Chinese car companies. Since Biden and his administration were so fixated on the climate as the existential threat, then why didn’t they exempt all vehicles under say $30,000 from the tariffs and give that market to the Chinese? Otherwise, with the price of EVs averaging around $60,000 only the well heeled can buy them. But again, they could lease a Lyriq.

Maybe we should call this electric dysfunction?

All the estimates of the impact of the tariffs on US households assume that demand for products will not change when the prices of the goods increase. Of course this is unrealistic because the demand for these goods is elastic not inelastic. The empirical question is to what extent will Trump’s deregulations offset the tariff price increase.

Biden pardoned Hunter. If he had any sense, he would have also pardoned the J-6 folks too.

Will Trump continue to build on his Hispanic base? The Hispanics on the border voted for Trump because of illegal immigration. Rather than embracing the newcomers with “Bienvenidos as los Estados Unidos de mi hermanos”, the Latinos voted for Trump as the illegals flooded their towns and strained their social fabric. Even in towns not on the border, Latinos voted for Trump. In Dalton, GA (the carpet capital of the world) where Latinos make up 35% of the population, Trump got 72% of the vote. Here Trump got the Latino vote because of the democrats incessant harping on abortion. Most Latinos oppose abortion. They also hate the progressive term “Latinx.”

How does one vet the migrants at the border? I presume that most of the migrants turn themselves in requesting asylum. How do you know if that request is valid? Also how do you know if that person is a criminal – presuming that they don’t have facial tattoos and tats all over their bodies? What are you going to do about all the unaccompanied children showing up at the border? Obviously, the Biden Administration has just let them loose since there are over 350,000 children now missing. 

I am an unusual college professor (now emeritus). I only know a few academics who are football fans. Most look down their noses at athletics. I was once in a poker game with other professors. One English professor was grousing about the football coach’s salary. I told him that if he could fill the football stadium giving his lectures on Chaucer and sell the TV rights, then he too could be paid $7 million.

I am a fan as long as Georgia, Ohio State or Tennessee are playing. Otherwise, not so much. Did you hear me yelling at my TV when Georgia’s Kirby Smart suddenly became Kirby No So Smart and went for a fourth and two bypassing a field goal at Georgia Tech’s ten yard line? The score would have been 7-3 Tech. Then he made the really dumb decision to go for two points when the score was 17-0 Tech. I yelled “WTF!” I hate two point conversions unless absolutely necessary. The score remained 17-6. If Georgia had kicked the extra point, it would have won 28-27 and would not have had to play 8 overtimes to finally subdue Tech. But hey, I am not being paid $13 million to coach the Dawgs. BTW, how do you spend $13 million in Athens, GA?

Then there was the Ohio State fiasco. With their all-American center (an Alabama transfer) sidelined and a rebuilt offensive line, Ryan Day and his mentor, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly decided to run the ball (with their Ole Miss transfer), mostly up the middle into Michigan’s only strength. Eschewing letting their Kansas State transfer quarterback pass to the nation’s best receiving corps even though Michigan’s all-American cornerback was out for the game, the Buckeyes kept beating their heads against the wall. They only scored a measly 10 points as their usually reliable placekicker got the yips and missed two field goals. The Buckeye nation is up in arms. Many want the coach, Ryan Day fired ignoring his 47-1 record against the Big Ten other than Michigan where he is 1-4. But if he were 4-1 against Michigan and 1-47 against everyone else, he would still be fired. The new college playoff system will save him. Despite losing to Michigan, Ohio State will be in the playoffs and Michigan will be some minor bowl of no importance. Ironically, not going to the conference championship is now likely a benefit for the team. Ohio State has an extra week to rest, to heal and to correct its mistakes. Who would have thought that the championship games would be a curse rather than a blessing? Incidentally, who would be better than Day? Nick Saban?

Tennessee defeated the pesky Vanderbilt Commodores and secured themselves a place in the playoffs. I hope they do well unless they play either Georgia or Ohio State. Some experts predict that they will play Ohio State in the first round. Will I be conflicted? No. I wasn’t even conflicted when Ohio State played Georgia in that thrilling 2022 Peach Bowl. We were invited to the Bulldog pregame reception. I was wearing my Herschel Walker jersey and someone who knew that my PhD is from Ohio State came up to me and said “Aren’t you conflicted?” I said “Who me” as I raised my jersey to reveal my Woody Hayes t-shirt.

If they are in opposite brackets, don’t be surprised to see an Ohio State Georgia final. It will be back in Atlanta and I hope to be there, wearing my Herschel Walker jersey, my bulldog cap and of course, my Woody Hayes t-shirt.