Thurs-Will Meadows Take the Fall?

--------------
Today's Worst Joke in the World

Eat alphabet soup.  Have a vowel movement.
--------------
A Million Cases a Day

We’re getting sick in droves. As Americans have switched to more rapid at-home tests, official case counts – currently hovering around 110,000 new infections a day – reflect just a fraction of the true disease burden.

“We estimate that for every reported case there are 7 unreported,” Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, wrote in an email.

Other experts think the wave could be as much as 10 times higher than what’s being reported now.

“We’re looking at probably close to a million new cases a day,” Dr. Peter Hotez said Monday on CNN. “This is a full-on BA.5 wave that we’re experiencing this summer. It’s actually looking worse in the Southern states, just like 2020, just like 2021,” said Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

That puts us in the range of cases reported during the first Omicron wave, in January. Remember when it seemed like everyone everywhere got sick at the same time? That’s the situation in the United States again.

It may not seem like a very big deal, because vaccines and better treatments have dramatically cut the risk of death from Covid-19. Still, about 300 to 350 people are dying on average each day from Covid-19, enough to fill a large passenger jet.

“That is unacceptable. It’s too high,” Dr. Ashish Jha, coordinator for the White House Covid-19 Response Team, said at Tuesday’s briefing.

Daily hospitalizations are also climbing in the United States. The fraction of patients needing intensive care is up by about 23% over the past two weeks. And other countries are experiencing BA.5 waves, too.

“I am concerned that cases of Covid-19 continue to rise, putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers. I am also concerned about the increasing trend of deaths,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, at a news briefing Tuesday after the agency’s decision to maintain its emergency declaration for Covid-19.

The pandemic, he said, is “nowhere near over.”

One Person I Know Said Everything Smelled and Tasted Like Gasoline for a Year

While far fewer patients reported loss of the sense of smell during the first omicron wave compared to earlier waves, the peculiar Covid symptom seems to be making a comeback.

Doctors note that what they’re seeing during the current rise in cases — fueled by the hyperinfectious BA.5 omicron subvariant — is still based on anecdotal evidence.

But health care providers like Valentina Parma, a psychologist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, who works with Covid patients, are noticing more patients reporting loss of smell.

“What I am seeing in my corner of the world is a spike,” she said. “There seems to be more requests than earlier this year but still significantly less than with delta.”

Until now, each variant and subvariant of concern has appeared to carry a lesser risk of loss of smell than the last. A study published in May found that the alpha variant — the first variant of concern — was half as likely to impair smell than the original version of the coronavirus. During the delta wave, the odds people would experience an impaired sense of smell fell to 44%. During the winter omicron wave, it fell further, to 17%.

Dr. Lauren Roland, a rhinologist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, said it’s too soon to say for sure if BA.5 is causing more cases of anosmia — complete loss of smell — than the original omicron variant.

Have the Anti-Vaxers Struck Again?


Vaccination against smallpox was demonstrated through several observational studies to be about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox.

This Won't Affect My Family.  We Haven't Stopped Wearing Them.

Los Angeles County, home to 10 million residents, is facing a return to a broad indoor mask mandate later this month if current trends in hospital admissions continue, county health Director Barbara Ferrer said this week.
--------------
Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees

Spreading Hate

Dozens of pamphlets with hate symbols were left at a church and a synagogue as well as other areas of Hornell, New York, over the weekend, and three people have been arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated harassment, police said.

Aubrey Dragonetti, 31, Dylan Henry, 30, and Ryan Mulhollen, 27, each faces 115 counts of the felony charge – one for each pamphlet that was allegedly placed in the community, Hornell Police Chief T.J. Murray told CNN.

The pamphlets and stickers contained the words “Aryan National Army” and included an image of a skull inside a swastika, Murray said. He added that authorities were alerted after a churchgoer attended a morning service and found one posted on the door of a church with a predominantly Black congregation.

“Then we went to a local park and within that park we ended up finding them scattered throughout the park and posted on different areas,” Murray said. “Our patrols ended up intercepting the two males that were arrested as they were dispersing these items throughout the community.”

Let the Trial Begin!

A judge once again on Thursday refused to delay Steve Bannon’s trial for contempt of Congress, which is set to get underway on Monday.

Judge Carl Nichols said that he was “hopeful” they would be able to find a jury that hadn’t been paying close attention to the Jan. 6 committee hearings and didn't know much about Bannon and would be able to fairly decide the case.

Bannon’s lawyers had once again argued that there was too much pre-trial publicity about the case. Their latest motion cited a CNN documentary that is supposed to air on the network on Sunday night.

"We're still going to be at trial on Monday," Nichols said.

Somebody Isn't Being Straight

Wealthy businessman Elijah Norton just sued Rep. David Schweikert, whom he's trying to unseat in the Aug. 2 Republican primary, over what the challenger called "homophobic" messaging that falsely implies Norton is gay. Norton, News12's Brahm Resnik writes, cited mailers and street signs that feature a 2018 photo of the candidate posing outside a club with a male friend named Leslie Hammon and the caption, "Elijah Norton isn't being straight with you."



Hammon also filed a defamation lawsuit against the congressman saying that he and Norton "are not and have never been in any romantic or sexual relationship." Hammon, who said that people recognized his face on the mailer even though it was pixelated out, told the media that as a result of Schweikert's actions, "My mental health has taken a pretty rapid decline. I had to take a leave from work for a couple weeks."

Why Previous Guy Won't Go To Prison

First off, Trump is one of the most lawyered up and legal wrangling weasels to ever sully this flying space rock we call home. Any prosecution of this magnitude will be tied up in court for years if not decades. If Trump is indicted tomorrow we will see years of obfuscation, delay, and pre-trial bullshit before any trial ever actually begins. Afterward, IF he actually is convicted, there will be years more of appeals which will in all likelihood eventually end up before his hand picked toadies on the U.S. Supreme Court… That is, if the next Republican president doesn’t pardon him first.

Secondly, Trump is a septuagenarian who eats junk food daily and has demonstrated questionable judgement in choosing his physicians… I’m just saying the mofo could keel over at any minute. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet to tell you the truth. I’m not holding my breath, though.

Third, I think if he is indicted he’s going to flee the country. Dude will be sipping tea at one of Putin’s dacha’s before the ink is even dry on his arrest warrant. He’s got the money and the connections. He knows all the best people… Don’t doubt for a second that it’s already planned and every possible contingency accounted for.

Fourth… Let’s presume for a second that he doesn’t bolt, and neither the Supreme Court nor a future president lets him off the hook. If he is convicted and sentenced to prison, he STILL won’t go to prison. A “VIP” like a former president would likely end up on some type of home confinement, so his lifestyle will likely change very little. In a worst case scenario for Trump, he MIGHT end up at one of those cushy “Club-Fed” institutions… Highly unlikely for a former president.

Finally, indictment and conviction do not guarantee that Trump cannot be elected president again. But, but, but… What about the 14th Amendment? I’d like to refer you to my first point above... And now we’re back amid a shit ton of lawyers and some asshole activist judges once again.

Really, Florida?


Note that according to Florida Statute 790.10, any person brandishing a weapon "in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner” without an act of self-defence can be charged with a first-degree misdemeanour in the state of Florida. Clearwater Police

There Are Too Many Villains In This Story to Count

As part of the debate over abortion rights, the discussion often leads to hypothetical nightmares. What would Republican opponents of reproductive rights do, for example, about a theoretical tragedy involving a 13-year-old impregnated by a rapist? What would the right say about a 12-year-old who’d been raped by a relative?

Two weeks ago, however, an Indianapolis Star report took the conversation in a different direction, shining a light not on a hypothetical nightmare but on one that was apparently all too real: Three days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Indiana received a call from a colleague in Ohio, where an abortion ban had just kicked in.

According to the Star’s report, written by a credible, veteran journalist, the child abuse physician in Ohio had a 10-year-old patient in the office who was six weeks and three days pregnant, and the doctor hoped the girl could circumvent the abortion ban in the Buckeye State and have the pregnancy terminated in neighboring Indiana, before its Republican policymakers imposed an abortion ban of their own.

By any fair measure, it was a gut-wrenching story, and a week after the Star’s article was published, the Biden White House was using it as an example of why abortion rights needed to be protected.

Soon after, Republicans and conservative media outlets started expressing skepticism about the version of events, and in some circles, that skepticism quickly turned to a wholesale rejection of the story’s accuracy. It was against this backdrop that there was an arrest in the case. NBC News reported:

The revelations first came to light in reporting from The Columbus Dispatch. (In fact, the Dispatch’s Bethany Bruner was the only reporter in the courtroom yesterday morning as the suspect was arraigned.)

What matters most in a situation like this is the people involved, and based on the latest reporting, it appears the girl received the medical treatment she needed and the man who attacked her will be held accountable.

But there’s also an unmistakable political dimension to this.

This week, for example, Dave Yost, Ohio’s Republican attorney general, appeared on Fox News and cast doubt on the story. The claims were a likely “fabrication,” Yost said before condemning the Indianapolis Star for publishing its report.

He had plenty of company.  Conservative media outlets like Fox News, The Washington Times, and the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal followed suit, telling conservatives the story “was not true,” “a huge lie,” and a “fanciful tale.”

And then the suspected rapist was arrested. 

Jim Jordan Piles On

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is being called out after he downplayed a report of a 10-year-old rape victim who had to leave the state to get an abortion.

President Joe Biden mentioned the disturbing case last week as he signed an executive order protecting abortion access, which led to a frenzy as right-wing media claimed the incident never happened.

“Another lie. Anyone surprised?” Jordan wrote with a link to a story casting doubt on the rape report.

The horrific case was confirmed Wednesday.



The Indiana AG Finds The Person Who Isn't a Villain to Go After

Indiana’s Republican attorney general said Wednesday his office would investigate a doctor who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old girl who was raped and became pregnant.

Attorney General Todd Rokita appeared on Fox News to address reports the girl was forced to cross state lines from Ohio — where abortion is now illegal after about after six weeks of pregnancy — to Indiana. The story become national news after the Indianapolis Star Tribune first reported details of the case from Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who said the girl’s parents discovered she was six weeks pregnant and therefore ineligible for an abortion despite being sexually assaulted.

Bernard, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Indianapolis, told media outlets she provided care to the child after her family brought her to Indiana, where abortion is legal in the state until the 22nd week of pregnancy. Doctors there have reported an influx in patients from neighboring states after the Supreme Court’s decision striking down abortion rights.

Republicans, however, have seized on the child’s ordeal as evidence more restrictions are needed to rein in abortion access. Rokita said his office would be looking into Bernard’s conduct, and focused more on what he called an “abortion activist acting as a doctor” than on the accused child rapist.  (At the time of the procedure, it was legal in Indiana.)

A Noodler Who Was Afraid of Bigfoot?  This is Not From The Onion.

An Oklahoma noodler was arrested and reportedly confessed to killing his fishing partner, claiming he did so to stop Bigfoot from coming to eat him.

Larry Doil Sanders, 53, had been noodling ― a way of catching catfish via hand ― with friend Jimmy Knighten, also 53, along the South Canadian River in Pontotoc County on Saturday, according to KTEN.

“Larry claimed that while at the river, he discovered Jimmy intended to feed him to Sasquatch/Bigfoot,” an affidavit cited by NBC News said. “Larry indicated Jimmy attempted to get away from him so that the Sasquatch could eat Larry.”

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations told KFOR that Sanders thought Knighten “basically tricked him into being out there” and that the two fought for an hour.

Sanders allegedly choked Knighten to death near the river, then went home and confessed to his daughter, who is dating Knighten’s son.

“He appeared to be under the influence of something,” Sheriff John Christian told KTEN. “His statement was that Mr. Knighten had summoned ‘Bigfoot’ to come and kill him; that’s why he had to kill Mr. Knighten.”

Beggin'





American Exceptionalism In Action

Yet unvaccinated players barred from competing in Canada is almost an exclusively American phenomenon.

Canadian vaccine mandates have kept 36 players from traveling to Toronto for games against the host Blue Jays, and 34 of them – a whopping 94% – hail from the United States, according to USA TODAY Sports research.

Will Meadows Take The Fall?

Former President Donald Trump's lawyers and advisors are making plans around the former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows' expected downfall in the wake of the January 6, 2021, investigations, Rolling Stone reported on Wednesday.

"Mark is gonna get pulverized," one of Trump's current legal advisers told the outlet. "And it's really sad."

The lawyer, who was not named, believed that Meadows didn't buy into Trump's election-fraud lies but was "trying to perform" for the former president and may have "screwed himself completely" in the process, per Rolling Stone.

The outlet also reported that Trump has recently been trying to distance himself from Meadows in anticipation of the latter facing crippling legal troubles or possible criminal charges related to the Capitol attack.

Rolling Stone's reporting was based on comments from eight anonymous sources working on Trump's political or legal team or in Republican circles that often have contact with the former president.

Two sources told Rolling Stone that Trump has been telling associates that he had no idea what Meadows was doing on his behalf in the months leading up to the riot.

Crypto Deja Vu

Celsius Network initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on Wednesday — making it the latest high-profile firm to collapse in the ongoing crypto crash.

The troubled crypto lender, which managed $11 billion worth of assets and had around 1.7 million users in May, will undergo restructuring as it tries desperately to stabilize its business.

Step 4:  Kiss Your Ass Goodbye

New York City's emergency management office on Wednesday defended its decision to produce a public service announcement advising residents how to survive a nuclear attack after some questioned the advisory's timing.

The goal of the campaign is to inform the public on ways to stay safe (??) if nuclear weapons were pointed in New York's direction, a department spokesperson told Reuters.

"There is no direct threat to the city but we felt it was important that we addressed this topic," said Allison Pennisi, head of public information for NYC Emergency Management.

The 90-second video lays out three steps New Yorkers should follow if "the big one has hit," though officials say the likelihood of an attack is "very low."

It says people should seek shelter inside a building away from windows, stay inside to reduce exposure to radioactive dust, and follow media for official updates.



Of Course There Are No Refunds.  Attending Has Zero Value.  Not Attending Has Zero Value.  They Got What They Paid For.



I Would Expect An Ass to Be An Expert on Butt Dialing, But How Do You Butt Dial a Random Number and Reach a Winess?



--------------
Today's Best Person in the World Nominees

VERY Late, But Still Welcome

The House on Wednesday passed long-awaited legislation that would help millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service.

The bill, which removes the burden on veterans to prove that their toxic exposure resulted in certain harmful conditions, passed the House in a 342-88 vote, correcting a legislative snag that had held up the legislation through the July Fourth recess.

Years in the making, it will now go back to the Senate for final passage and to President Joe Biden’s desk. Once signed into law, it would amount to a major bipartisan victory.

Burn pits were commonly used to burn waste, including everyday trash, munitions, hazardous material and chemical compounds at military sites throughout Iraq and Afghanistan until about 2010.

These massive open-air burn pits, which were often operated at or near military bases, released dangerous toxins into the air that, upon exposure, may have caused short- and long-term health conditions, according to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

If signed into law, the bill would widely expand health care resources and benefits to those exposed to burn pits and could provide coverage for up to 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans. It adds conditions related to burn pit and toxic exposure, including hypertension, to the VA’s list of illnesses that have been incurred or exacerbated during military service.

A 2020 survey from advocacy organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America found that 86% of its members were exposed to burn pits or other toxins. The VA has denied approximately 70% of veterans’ burn pit claims since 9/11, according to previous statements by Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican and ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

VERY Late, But Still Welcome

A bipartisan group of senators has agreed on a series of provisions to reform the Electoral Count Act, a move aimed at clarifying the role of the vice president and Congress in confirming the winner of a presidential election in the wake of Jan. 6. The working group is finalizing legislation and expects to release text as early as next week.

“We’re very close. We’ve got a few technical issues that we need to iron out, and I’m very hopeful that we’ll have a bill early next week — or bills,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters Wednesday. “That’s one of the issues that we’re deciding: whether it’s better to introduce more than one bill or one bill.”

The working group met Wednesday afternoon to hash out the remaining issues and are close to a deal they hope both parties can support. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have both blessed the bipartisan talks aimed at closing loopholes in election law. And Collins anticipates broad support for what they introduce, saying the group has gotten input from the transition councils of both former President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama’s administrations.
-------------
Invasions Have Consequences

Day 141

Fighting

Mykolaiv Mayor Alexander Senkevich reported “powerful explosions” as the southern port city reels from days of shelling.

Russian troops, along with forces from the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), have entered the city limits of Siversk in eastern Ukraine, an LPR official told the state-owned TASS news agency. Ukraine’s military maintains Russia has not conducted any new assaults on the front line that include Siversk.

The death toll from Saturday’s Russian missile attack on the town of Chasiv Yar has climbed to 48, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding it was one of the most brutal Russian attacks of the war.

Russian media have reported that Ukrainian forces again launched a missile attack on the town of Nova Kakhovka, in a strategically important Russian-occupied southern area of Kherson that Kyiv is hoping to retake.



Diplomacy

Paris’s traditional Bastille Day military parade on Thursday is a salute to Ukraine, and to France’s Eastern European allies who are among guests of honour, officials said.

Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in a show of unity and support, visited the Grafenwoehr US Army base on Wednesday, saying Washington and Berlin were united in their effort to support Ukraine.

North Korea recognised two Russian-backed breakaway “people’s republics” in eastern Ukraine as independent states, a separatist leader and the North’s official news agency said.

G20 finance leaders will meet in Bali this week for talks on issues such as global food security and soaring inflation, but there was scepticism from Germany and France over Indonesia’s hopes for common ground as tensions over Ukraine simmer.

Economy

An agreement between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations to form a coordination centre to ensure the safety of Black Sea grain routes was reached on Wednesday and would be signed next week, Turkey’s defence minister Hulusi Akar said.

Germany’s energy regulator estimated consumers in the country were likely to see their monthly heating bills triple next year due to dwindling Russian gas imports.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was a “very difficult decision” to grant an exemption from sanctions imposed on Russia for the return of a repaired turbine needed for Nord Stream 1.

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, warned that further disruption in the natural gas supply to Europe could plunge many economies into recession.

The Rest of the Media Seems to Be Catching Up On What is Happening - Al Jazeera

Ukraine destroyed a series of Russian ordnance depots in the 20th week of the war, demonstrating the efficiency of US-supplied HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) rocket systems and other Western systems, and worrying Russian military observers.

These Ukrainian attacks appear to be part of preparations for a summer counteroffensive in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhia districts, which border Crimea.

Ukraine said it destroyed a key Russian command post in Kherson district along with a weapons arsenal, killing 12 Russian soldiers on July 10. Its armed forces posted drone footage of a depot in flames.

Two days later, Ukraine said it had struck another Russian ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka, also in Kherson oblast, this time killing 52 soldiers.

Russia’s official Tass news agency said only civilian infrastructure was hit the second time and seven people were killed but Russian military bloggers have been reporting with concern Ukraine’s recent success against Russian rear depots and have repeatedly posted videos of detonating munitions.

One, who goes by the name Military Informer on Telegram, speaks of “daily combined attacks on Russian bases and warehouses using GMLRS and Point-U missiles to a depth of 80-120km (50-75 miles).”

“The Russian army has not solved the existing problem with the enemy’s long-range weapons,” the blogger said.

The Rest of the Media Seems to Be Catching Up On What is Happening - CNN

There’s a new and potentially very significant factor in the Ukrainian conflict: the Ukrainians’ ability to use recently supplied Western systems to hit Russian command posts, logistical hubs and ammunition dumps a long way beyond the front lines.

In the past week, there have been enormous explosions in several occupied areas in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The available evidence, from satellite imagery and Western analysts, is that the targeting has been highly effective.

For months the Ukrainian military pleaded for long-range precision artillery and rocket systems from Western partners. Now they have them and are deploying them to considerable effect in both the south and east of the country.

The Ukrainian military is not giving away many specifics but Vadim Denysenko, a senior official at the Interior Ministry, said Wednesday that in the past two weeks, “above all things thanks to the weapons that Ukraine received, we were able to destroy approximately two dozen warehouses with weapons and stocks of fuel and lubricants. This will certainly affect the intensity of fire” the Russians can muster, he said.

Best-in-class is the US-supplied HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, but the Ukrainians have also received M777 howitzers from both the US and Canada, and Caesar long-range howitzers from France.

In addition, the UK has committed to providing M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), which are more powerful than HIMARS, but it’s unclear when Ukraine will complete training on the system and deploy it.

The HIMARS’ versatility is in its name: the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. Its mobility makes it harder to target and it can be crewed by just eight soldiers. The rockets supplied to Ukraine have a range of 70 to 80 kilometers (about 50 miles). And their GPS guidance systems make them extremely accurate.

Yet, They Keep Fighting



Sounds Like My Kind of People

A nerdy group of misfits’: the US company behind Ukraine’s ‘kamikaze’ drones
--------------
He Moved to Ukraine For Crypto.  A Loser on Two Fronts.

The US state department has said it is aware of reports an American national living in Ukraine is being held captive by pro-Russian separatists.

Suedi Murekezi, 35, a Rwandan-born crypto investor, is said to have been arrested last month in the Russian-occupied port city of Kherson.

Friends and family say the US Air Force veteran has been falsely accused of joining pro-Ukraine protests.

He is reportedly in the same jail as two US fighters captured last month.

The state department said on Wednesday it was "aware of these unconfirmed reports".

But it declined to provide further comment "due to privacy considerations".

Mr Murekezi's family has been in daily contact with the agency, according to the Guardian.

The outlet reports that the missing American lived in Minnesota and spent eight years in the US Air Force until 2017, when he began investing in shares and cryptocurrencies.

Drawn to Ukraine by the country's liberal bitcoin regulations, Mr Murekezi made business trips to the country before permanently settling in Kherson two years ago, the Guardian said.

Sele Murekezi told the paper his brother had called on 7 July to say he was being held in the self-proclaimed, pro-Russian Donetsk People's Republic, along with two other Americans.
--------------
Is Stagflation on the Horizon?

Central banks have made clear that after a sluggish start, they’re serious about putting a lid on inflation. Now, as prices soar even faster than expected, they’re weighing increasingly drastic options.

What’s happening: Investors see a growing probability that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates by a full percentage point at its next meeting for the first time in the modern era. In June, the Fed raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, which it hadn’t done since 1994.

US stocks mostly shrugged at the news on Wednesday that consumer prices jumped 9.1% year-over-year in June, a fresh 40-year high and a larger increase than forecast. But policymakers indicated deep concern.

“Everything is in play,” Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic told reporters on Wednesday.

Previously, Fed officials had expressed worries about the consequences of a hike of that magnitude.

“I think the markets would have a heart attack,” Fed Governor Christopher Waller said last month.

Yet traders see such an extraordinary increase as more and more likely. Markets on Thursday assigned it an 81% probability, according to data from CME Group.

Short-term, the inflation picture is undeniably nasty, putting pressure on central bankers to get the situation under control quickly.

Here's the Problem (My Opinion)

The inflation is primarily a supply issue.  Problems with supply chains, COVID, and Ukraine are reducing supplies of food, oil, computer chips, and everything that depends on them.  That is basically everything.

Raising interest rates reduces demand.  It does nothing about supply.  (It may actually reduce supply slightly.)  Dramatically reducing demand slows economic activity, likely leading to a recession.

However, since it does nothing about supply problems, it won't reduce high prices.  We get a recession AND inflation.

Do I have a better idea?  Not really, but I am not a big fan of aggressive raising of interest rates in this environment.

Another Straw on the Camel's Back:  Pension Funds

American public pension funds are facing serious challenges that threaten the retirement plans for millions of US state and local government employees.

Pension plans remained severely underfunded during the 11-year bull market that followed the Great Recession. The plunge toward insolvency and high-return markets led fund managers to take on risky bets in hope of staying afloat. Now, the recent selloff has left funds struggling to keep up with their future obligations.

The 100 largest public pension funds in the United States had been funded at just 78.6% of their total obligations at the close of the second quarter, down from 85.5% at the end of 2021 according to analysis by Milliman, an actuarial and consulting firm. The funds lost a whopping $220 billion between March and April alone as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled markets.

Public pensions are borrowing increasing sums to meet their payout obligations. Nearly $13 billion in pension obligation bonds were sold in 2021, more than in the past five years combined. Now, they’re taking on more risk by investing that leveraged money.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), which manages the largest public pension fund in the United States, with about $440 billion in assets under management, began leveraging some of its debt this month.

“We need every arrow in the quiver we can get, and private debt is one of the critical ones,” said Dan Bienvenue, CalPERS’ deputy chief investment officer. “There isn’t a no-risk choice.”

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the country’s fifth-largest public pension fund, has also used leverage funds since 2019.

Leveraging can help multiply market gains in bull markets, but it can also increase losses during the bear times.

While the majority of pensions still don’t use borrowed funds, there has been a sharp increase over the last four years. Before 2018, none of the largest funds used leverage.
--------------
Ginger or Mary Ann?  Paper or Plastic?  Grogu or Gizmo?  We Are Such a Polarized Society.




Before we all fawned over the impossibly cute Grogu/Baby Yoda in the first episode of “The Mandalorian,” another big-eared, sweet-natured creature had already weaseled his way into our hearts.

Gizmo the Mogwai, the fuzzy, wide-eyed puppet, is undoubtedly the star of 1984’s horror-comedy “Gremlins” and its sequel. And more than 30 years after the original film’s debut, “Gremlins” director Joe Dante told the San Francisco Chronicle that he thinks Grogu, whom audiences met in 2019, was entirely based on the lovable Gizmo.

“Baby Yoda … is completely stolen and just out-and-out copied” from the cutest character in “Gremlins,” Dante told the Chronicle ahead of a screening of both “Gremlins” films. “Shamelessly, I would think.”

The two aliens certainly share more than a few similarities: Physically, they’ve both got protruding ears that are disproportionately large to their diminutive frames; they communicate in coos and gurgles and they fiercely defend the father figures in their lives. (It’s not clear whether Grogu goes bananas if he’s doused with water, though his predecessor Yoda lived on the swampy planet of Dagobah and only went mildly mad, so he may not share this with Gizmo.)
--------------
It's Life or Death!  Every Minute Counts!  So Call a Lawyer.

The woman was 19 weeks pregnant when her water broke. Within less than a day, she'd developed a life-threatening infection.

Dr. Mae-Lan Wang Winchester, an OB-GYN in Cleveland, was called in to end the pregnancy. But Ohio has banned abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected unless the mother's life is threatened.

"The first person I called is my lawyer to be like ... 'Do I need to do anything different or special? I know what to do medically, but what do I do legally to protect her, protect me?'" Winchester said.

In the weeks since the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, such calls have become common, with physicians leaning on legal teams to help them decide when it's legal to terminate a pregnancy in states with new restrictions. But that can sometimes delay care in emergency situations in which a few minutes make a big difference.

"It could mean life and death if I’m stopping care when I think this patient needs to go forward, but I want to run it by the lawyer just to make sure that I’m covered," said Dr. Tani Malhotra, a Cleveland-based OB-GYN who works with Winchester. "When people are bleeding, when people are hemorrhaging, when people are getting really sick, a few minutes makes all the difference."

Most abortion bans make exceptions for life-threatening situations in pregnancy, but it’s not always clear what qualifies, and physicians fear fines and prosecution.

In the case of the woman who was 19 weeks pregnant, Winchester said, the decision ended up being obvious, since she was "clearly dying." But other scenarios are more complicated.
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------
--------------