No, this blog post is not about how to make the perfect Shish Kabob during your quarantine. Though that is not a bad idea.
It is about the Congressional hearings at which the Tech Illuminati appeared to answer questions from our elected representatives.
Dr. Anthony Fauci will throw out the first pitch tonight when the reigning World Series champs, the Washington Nationals, take on the New York Yankees in the first game of an abbreviated 60-game season.
Baseball is back, baby! Of course, there will be NO FANS. No heat in the seats.
Dr. Fauci is the Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases and has had a prominent position in the ongoing COVID19 saga.
Some say he has not been pitching straight whilst others say he is throwing straight and hard.
“It’s hard out here for a cop,
It’s hard out here for a cop.”
Imagine Terrence Howard and Taraji P Henson rapping the above (with liberties taken from their Hustle & Flow soundtrack). This rap won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
So, Minneapolis is now in the throes of the aftermath of the George Floyd murder in which a Minneapolis cop, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and killed him.
This murder triggered violence, arson, looting, vandalism, riots, and subsumed what started out as peaceful Constitutional protests resulting in more than $500MM in property damage and calls to #DefundPolice.
Apartment project under construction for low income housing ablaze during Minneapolis riots.
Who gets hurt by this? Low income residents who now have no place to live.
Now that a substantial portion of the world is using grocery delivery to delve into the food chain, I had a convo with a pal of mine who swears by Instacart.
I asked him, “Aren’t they more expensive?”
“Baloney,” he says. He also calls me a moron, but he often does that so no offense taken. We make a small bet.
So, we pick a mundane product, Hebrew National Beef Franks in the 12 oz size and compare prices.
I have been lying low for a few weeks, reading, drinking in the mood in the country, thinking, visiting a new granddaughter Eadie in Savannah, and reflecting on the state of things. I have enjoyed the time away, but it is time to return.
One of the disconnects I see in the world and in the United States, in particular, is the inability to understand the difference between racial differences and racism.
The May Jobs Report contained some staggering, incredible, unexpected data.
1. Jobs in the USA in May surged by 2,500,000 after having declined by 20,700,000 in April.
Economists had been expecting a loss of 8,000,000 jobs. Instead, net new jobs were 2,500,000 meaning the economists were off by more than 10,000,000 jobs.
2. Unemployment dropped from 14.7% to 13.3% whilst the economists were looking for a 19% unemployment rate.
This is the beginning of a substantial recovery and the economy is only starting to re-open. It is a Hell of a start.
I place extra emphasis on the unemployment number falling below 10% as it kills all comparisons to the Great Depression and small improvements will have huge impact. We would also be within 6% of the pre-COVID19 numbers. Keep you eye on this baby.
America is the most forgiving country in the world. It is the best place on the planet to go bankrupt. Other countries doom you for life plus a year, whilst the USA lets you wipe out your debts and move on.
We Americans are a forgiving people in general. We believe in the second chance.
Right now, we are conducting a test.
Jeffrey Skilling was the CEO of Enron who went to jail for twelve years of a fourteen year sentence [originally sentenced to 24 years, it was reduced to 14, and he served 12 plus a $40MM fine] for a myriad of charges including securities fraud, insider trading, lying to auditors, and conspiracy while he lorded over Enron.
Jeffrey Skilling on his way to prison.
Hong Kong is in its last days as an “autonomous” region and part of the “One China, Two Systems” promise. Dust off your funeral suit and dress.
China has cracked the whip and made obvious its intentions to slap the snot out of Hong Kong, to terminate its faux autonomous region nonsense, and to quell any nascent thoughts of freedom.
Let’s examine the time line.
1. In 1997, the British lease for Hong Kong terminated. The Brits returned Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty based on the promise that Hong Kong would be an autonomous region, though part of China.
2. As part of that transfer, the Chinese solemnly promised to govern Hong Kong by allowing its own legislature and leadership to continue part of a plan they called “One China, Two Systems.”
3. This system was to prevail until 2047 — fifty years.
4. Based on this arrangement, this promise, countries agreed to treat Hong Kong in a manner similar to how they had when the Brits ran the place.
5. In current terms that means that when the US imposed tariffs on China, these same tariffs did not fall on Hong Kong.
6. The relationship with Hong Kong was so tight, that almost 100,000 American citizens reside full time in Hong Kong.
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