Just One Thing
Following up on yesterday's discussions:
There was a piece in the NY Times over the weekend (see link below) about three new Yorkers who died over a short period of time last March from fentanyl poisoning after they all ordered cocaine from the same delivery service. They were all highly-educated professionals. Having never done an illegal drug, I asked for some listener input and got a few things. First, apparently fentanyl test strips, to test a drug for the presence of fentanyl, are inexpensive and available. Not as good as not taking the stuff, but better than dying, right? Second, one listener texted “I trust my supplier” moments after another listener texted “People say they trust their suppliers but forget that the supplier’s supplier can change, and sometimes they change frequently.” Taking illicit drugs at this point in time strikes me as very similar to Russian roulette.
And, combining the drug conversation with yesterday's discussion (also inspired by a WSJ piece) about how we have to stop apologizing so much, this right-on-target note: San Francisco’s Mayor Apologizes for Telling the Truth
Today's Guests
Joe O'Dea is the Republican candidate for US Senate, taking on incumbent Democrat Michael "Cheaper than Sominex" Bennet.
Joe O'Dea for Colorado (joeodea.com)
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Linda Kinstler's new book, "Come to this Court and Cry," is a very interesting read, and quite different from any book you're likely to stumble across this year (or any other year.) In her research about Nazi collaborators in Latvia, Linda learned that her grandfather may have been involved with that group...but also may have been a KGB agent. Years of research, travel, and interviews bring forward an interesting story...though from her perspective perhaps a frustrating lack of more definitive information about her grandfather.
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Engineer Guy Mitchell is, among other things, the author of "Global Warming: The Great Deception", subtitled "The Triumph of Dollars and Politics Over Science and Why You Should Care."
We'll talk about the suffering that is about to befall Europe because of that continent's "leaders" rushing down the road toward "all-renewable" energy sources and eliminating domestic energy production when 1) renewables are not ready and maybe never will be ready to fully power a nation, or even a large city and 2) crushing domestic production put them at the tender mercies of Vladimir Putin.
UK warns of three-hour winter blackouts if gas supplies fall short | Fox Business
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Other Stuff
Sen Elizabeth "Pocahontas" Warren didn't invent the "I'm an American Indian" grift: Sacheen Littlefeather’s Sisters Say Claim of American Indian Heritage Was A Fraud | Vanity Fair (The now-deceased fake-Indian "Littlefeather" -- actually Cruz -- is the person in the main picture for today's blogcast.)
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I don't know whether this is what I think or what I hope, but I suspect that this poll masks how well the GOP will do in two weeks. The one area where it points that way is the big enthusiasm gap (Republicans more enthusiastic to vote than Dems, but both numbers are VERY high). 'Anger on their minds': NBC News poll finds sky-high interest and polarization ahead of midterms
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I was wrong about this...I thought she'd be home this year but that looks very unlikely now: Russian court denies Brittney Griner’s appeal of 9-year prison sentence (nbcnews.com)
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Speaks for itself, but I'm yet to hear even a single Republican say that the federal gov't should claw at least some (or most) of the unspent money back: Federal covid funding is going unspent by many school districts - The Washington Post
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The new British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has a tremendous amount of experience with financial markets, which is what is needed right now. I agree with Charlie Gasparino that he should stick with promoting tax cuts but, unlike Liz Truss, it has to be in combination with cutting spending. It's the right prescription but in the "we're all Keynesians now world" of 2022, it will be politically difficult. Also love Sunak's position on Israel. (He's Hindu, not Muslim, and you can bet that makes a huge difference on this issue, among others.)
Rishi Sunak shouldn't give up on tax cuts to help spur UK economy (nypost.com)
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Bjorn Lomborg explains that renewables are not taking over: https://twitter.com/BjornLomborg/status/1576607887794708480
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This headline is exactly right: Fetterman faces high stakes at Pennsylvania Senate debate | The Hill. Pennsylvania has a ridiculously long 50-day early voting period. That should be cut by more than half. Anyway, this is the only debate between leftist Bernie Sanders acolyte John Fetterman, who is dealing with the cognitive impacts of a stroke, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who's an accomplished real doctor but best known for being more of a TV snake-oil salesman. They're both terrible candidates. Fetterman was way ahead some months ago but lately the polls show the race a dead heat as Fetterman's medical condition and his history of very-soft-on-crime policies are causing voters to think again.
Fetterman is being helped out by the TV station hosting the debate by providing him with screen captions of everything said by everyone but him. It's a benefit he won't have if he's in the Senate and if I were the Oz campaign I would make that point in a way that gets it across but doesn't seem overly unsympathetic to Fetterman's medical issues.
If Fetterman stammers his way through the debate, if it's clear that he really doesn't understand what's being said to him -- again, less likely than it might have been due to the use of captions -- it could push Oz to a victory even if a big percentage of votes have been cast already. If he exceeds expectations and shows people that he's up to the job, the debate could propel him to victory. Given his real and significant medical challenges at the moment, Fetterman is smart to be doing this: John Fetterman downplays expectations for Pa. Senate debate with Mehmet Oz (inquirer.com). But if he really stumbles (figuratively, not literally, in case you were wondering), there's no expectation-setting that could be low enough.
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The markets hate Xi Jinping almost as much as they hated Liz Truss: Foreigners Flee China Stocks at Record Pace as Panic Spreads (yahoo.com)
More here: 🇨🇳 Investors flee China (axios.com)
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Fantastic news for natural gas prices in Europe so far this year but don't be fooled: next winter could be very very difficult. European gas slumps below €100 for first time since Russia cut supplies | Financial Times (ft.com)
Meanwhile, America has its own very significant problem with one particular fuel right now: Diesel Supply of Just 25 Days Poses Problem for Biden (yahoo.com)
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Today's Videos
Cultural differences: Check out the unbelievable number (heck, try to count them) of clever/wacky/odd gadgets, devices and storage systems:
And, from the same TikTok account, an example of the weird weird phenomenon of ASMR videos, namely videos in which sound (in particular) is supposed to generate other feelings, even physical sensations like "tingling".
How A.S.M.R. Became a Sensation - The New York Times (nytimes.com)