WHY AM I ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO BUY A HOME RIGHT NOW? When we moved her nine years ago we were able to get a really good deal on our house because the market was good, but not sizzling. We've seen what has happened since, largely driven by our booming population and insanely low interest rates. Now our growth has slowed dramatically an interest rates have risen and many, many people are working under the illusion that mortgage rates are going to drop to 2% again. I don't think they will ever, but if they do, it will be a long haul. So those two things have flipped our sellers market into a buyers market for the first time in a LONG TIME but it won't last, and by the time you see news stories about the market recovery it will be too late. NOW is the time, and buying a home is a great way to build wealth for yourself and your heirs. This is a good article from Forbes about why buying builds wealth. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you can buy a property for yourself or your landlord, either way someone is building equity in a tangible appreciating asset. Brian Murphy from Front Range Mortgage joins me today to talk about mortgage prices and why it's a good time to jump back into the market. Reach Brian by clicking here. Today I see this article that says in some neighborhoods the market has already shifted!
IT'S HEART MONTH! The American Heart Association's Heart Month is designed to raise awareness about the risk factors associated with heart disease. Within that month, Women of Impact was born. Women often don't know the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke for themselves, even as they could list them symptoms for men! It's because we don't realize how many women are affected by heart attack and strokes in relation to men, though heart disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women each year---higher than all cancers combined. I've got our fitness guru Michelle Zellner on today with her friend and Woman of Impact Sandy Bowman on to talk about how you can get involved in this very important cause. Join Sandy's Team by clicking here. As part of Sandy's team, Michelle is leading a webinar on heart health as well as a new seven week program to help you stay on track with your fitness goals for the new year. You can find links to both of those here! If you want to learn hands only CPR, you can do so at an upcoming event called EVRE on March 11th and you can find those tickets here.
FREE HEALTHCARE MEANS NO HEALTHCARE IN THE UK And since this is Heart Month I thought I'd share the story of one man who had a massive heart attack in Britain that requires he have a triple bypass... and now he's been waiting TWO YEARS FOR THE SURGERY. He still hasn't had it. It's just another failure of an overburdened system that has a waiting list of 7.2 million waiting for care. Read more here and be grateful for our "broken" system.
POLIS SAYS NATURAL GAS IS "UNRELIABLE" BUT HE'S LYING OR FOOLISH Because you can clearly see how the energy mix over our cold weekend worked in the Tweet thread below:
You can clearly see that when we were the coldest, it wasn't wind or solar that saved us, it was coal and gas. Polis may have been talking about the price fluctuations of natural gas, but I'd rather have expensive energy than NO energy, which right now seems to be his plan on freezing cold weekends like the one we just had. Is that okay with you? It's not okay with me. You can clearly see above what is unreliable and it isn't natural gas, which performed like a champ to keep us warm.
THERE IS A BILL TO PROTECT GIRL'S SPORTS From unfair competition from trans girls who have a physical advantage being born male. It is sponsored solely by Republicans so my guess is it will sent to the Kill Committee and never even see a discussion but at least they are trying. Read more here.
WHERE WOULD THE CUTS COME FROM IN THE DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATION? This article says no one knows for sure, but they loft a whole bunch of possibilities, many of which I can get behind. I'm all for the idea of holding spending at 2022 levels for the next year at least, maybe two. Currently our government's debt is 125% of our national output. That is unsustainable and has led to the downfall of pretty much every other empire that has hit those levels. Read more here about where the money might come from, but Medicare and Social Security are off the table so there's that.
PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL IS A JERK As he predicted six more weeks of winter. BOOOOOOOOO. At least he's wrong a lot.
WE AREN'T SUPER HAPPY ABOUT THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING IN AMERICA And the deepest dissatisfaction comes when asked about the morals and ethics of the country, which I think is a good thing. Not that we are in a moral and ethical crisis, but that Americans KNOW we're in a moral and ethical crisis. Read about the polling data here, we shall discuss today.
HE GOT FRIEND ZONED AND NOW HE'S SUING This is INSANE. A Singapore woman had a friendship with a drone racing executive for several years when he decided he wanted to be more than friends. She declined and now he's suing her for $2.3 million because he says:
that the woman’s rejection caused him “sustained trauma” and “reductions in his earning capacity.”
this is the SECOND time he's sued, with the first one being dismissed and he being ordered to pay her legal fees. Read this garbage:
The woman saw Kawshigan as a friend, while Kawshigan “considered her to be his ‘closest friend,’” according to court records, which said that she asked to see Kawshigan less frequently, upsetting him. He said such action would be “taking a step back” in their “relationship.” She in turn said they needed to set boundaries, urging Kawshigan to be “self-reliant.”
Kawshigan, according to the ruling, “did not react well to this.”
He sent the woman a letter in October 2020 threatening legal action for damages stemming from “emotional distress and possible defamation.” She told Kawshigan that she was genuinely uncomfortable. He threatened that if she did not comply with his demands, she would face “damages to her personal and professional endeavours.”
He needs to understand no woman owes him anything, regardless of how he feels. What a class A Jerk.
COULD AI STOP CHEATING? This is an interesting set of experiments testing out whether or not flirting with some attractive AI in Virtual Reality could make someone less likely to cheat in real life. Researches posited that an interaction in VR could "inoculate" users from the desire to cheat. Their three experiments seemed to show some success, but I have to wonder if some people would fall in love with the AI instead!
NICK CANNON HAS GOALS NOW As he isn't even close to having 102 children like this Ugandan man with 12 wives. He says he can't even remember the names of his kids. What a great dad.
HUNTER BIDEN IS A SEXUAL PREDATOR WHO FORCED HIS ASSISTANT TO HAVE SEX WITH HIM FOR MONEY If we are all going to be upset and angry that Harvey Weinstein was able to use his position to victimize women I sure hope we're consistent and hold Hunter Biden responsible for the same thing. The Daily Mail has gotten its hands on messages from Hunter's abandoned laptop that show him forcing his assistant, who had not been paid by his law firm and had her insurance cancelled without her knowledge, to have sex with him for money HE OWED HER. He is a disgusting pig.
DO WE NEED TO REMOVE VIOLENCE FROM OUR SPEECH? Even as I worry about the culture of violence in our country, this seems a little too silly to be taken seriously. Someone has come up with a list of "violent" phrases that we use, though some of these show a complete lack of understanding of where these phrases originated in the first place. Check them out:
I MISSED MY CHANCE TO SEE OZZY As Ozzy Osbourne is hanging up his touring shoes forever amid health issue after health issue. Read more here.
WHO WILL BE THE LAST JOSH STANDING? This is just funny.
BREAKING SOME RULES HELPED THIS GUY RETIRE EARLY And he is giving out some great advice on the rules he broke here. I especially love his take on "follow your passion" which is honestly a total crock for most of us who want to earn a good living.
MOMS SUES AFTER HER 4 YEAR OLD IS FORCED INTO A GAY PRIDE PARADE This is the kind of thing that I have strong feelings about, not because I have an issue with gay pride, but because schools are making little activists out of kids. A Christian mom is having her day in court after her son's school told her that she could NOT opt her 4 year old out of the gay pride celebration because of her religious beliefs. This is happening in the UK, where free speech protections are not what they are here. Read more here.
USING THE KARDASHIAN VOICE IS FUNNY Because they all talk like little girls which annoys the crap out of me. Click here if it doesn't load.
COULD THE SUPER BOWL TURN INTO THE SUPER BIRTH? I kind of love this story. One of the Kelce brothers has a VERY pregnant wife who wants to go to the Super Bowl so she's bringing her OB/GYN to the game just in case. This story is so great.
AND NOW, DISNEY CHARACTERS ON THE TREADMILL BECAUSE WHY NOT Click here if it doesn't load.
THE MYSTERY OF THE BLACK DOTS ON YOUR WINDSHIELD SOLVED I learned something new today. Click here if it doesn't load.