Probably a Mistake

This is probably a legitimate mistake, but it does not induce any level of confidence in the American electoral process:

Taxing Unrealized Gains is a Disaster

Here's an explanation of why taxing unrealized gains is a super bad idea.  In addition, inheritance taxes are a terrible idea as well (more on that in the future).  

Keep this video in mind when you go vote and you should be able to avoid the mistake of voting for Kamala Harris and Democrats in general.

Janet Yellen, dumber than a post

Inflation in May jumped again after a small fallback in April.  It's at an advertised rate of 8.6%.  I say advertised because they have made adjustments to how they calculate which have had a dampening effect on how bad it really is.  It's not so high because of the war in Ukraine since it predates that by a longshot.  Even if it was the gas prices due to the war in Ukraine, Let's Go Brandon could have mitigated that by not crippling the American oil and gas industry.  And it's not just the ridiculous Let's Go Brandon $1.9 trillion stimulus spend from last year, although that was a big factor.  It was mainly the ultra-loose monetary policy from the Fed  that has been on display frankly since 2008 (if not earlier) that has culminated in a massive bubble economy.  

Janet Yellen, Democrat, and head of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018, didn't see it coming.  This is how you know she's an idiot.  She's supposed to understand economics.  But she didn't.  She's since apologized for her horrible misread.

In March 2021, when inflation hawks were arguing that the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan was going to overheat the economy, Yellen called the risk of inflation “small” and “manageable,” and a couple of months later said, “I don’t anticipate that inflation is going to be a problem.” She wasn’t alone. For much of 2021, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that he thought inflation would be “transitory,” and even as inflation rose above 6 percent, the Fed kept interest rates near zero. (Its first interest-rate hike was not until March 2022.)

Along the way, that thing Yellen thought was not going to be a problem became a huge one—not least, politically. Indeed, with today’s news that inflation in May was 8.6 percent (previously at 8.3 percent), it is arguably the biggest problem that the Biden administration faces—high prices are overshadowing pretty much everything else about the U.S. economy. 

I studied economics while in university back in the late 1980's when it was not all Leftist running the departments.  Since then economics has been an interest of mine, but I am by no means an elite expert on economics.  But I saw this coming.  I was telling my friends who had also studied economics and they didn't believe me.  But the fundamentals are the fundamentals. Profligate spending combined with incessant and insane money printing is a recipe for intense inflation.  It will get worse this year, not better.  Because, reality.

Janet Yellen saw through rose colored glasses because she wanted to see things that way.  But reality is more powerful than your wishes.  She's not qualified.  This was worse than a mistake it was an epic blunder by someone who was supposed to know better.  If I could see it coming, why couldn't she?

The article I quoted above, which goes on to excuse Yellen as well as the leftist economic agenda during the Obama administration, going so far as to take credit for America's economic resurgence under president Trump, completely misses the mark too.  Excusing someone so powerful who was so far wrong, is as much of a failure of their duty as was Janet Yellen's horrible, terrible abomination of an economic stewardship itself.  Instead of lauding her for coming clean, they should be excoriating her for her ineptitude.

Bobby Jindal's not so good reaction to recent SCOTUS rulings

A few days ago Governor Bobby Jindal reacted to SCOTUS rulings on Obamacare and gay marriage. Not well.

When your gut reaction to bad rulings is to scrap the Supreme Court, I'm not sure you still qualify as conservative.  It strikes me as being as bad as progressives saying "...let's scrap the Constitution - it was written hundreds of years ago by old white guys."

I'm not sure how this will play with conservatives. I get the visceral gut reaction of disgust. I empathize - these were bad decisions, from a legal perspective, not just a conservative viewpoint.  I even get to playing to that same reaction in others.  I just don't get this approach as it relates to presidential politics. Sure it will play in Louisiana and a few other states, but beyond that, as a broad based conservative appeal.

What the rulings display is what Jindal says later on - we need a better cohort of Justices.  That's how he should be campaigning. Honestly, his answers to the questions were better than his self-inflicted soundbite.

Quick stuff worth noting

A few quick highlights in the news today, since I won't be posting again.  Here are a few items to watch.

Nevada caucus discrimination?

But near the table where participants were to sign an affidavit stating under penalty of perjury that their religious beliefs precluded their ability to vote during regular caucus hours, a cluster of voters who did not meet that requirement slowed the line as they were turned away, one by one. Most had come at the urging of the Ron Paul campaign, which had placed calls to its supporters informing them of the "second chance" to vote Saturday night.

"I received probably 10 phone calls today saying if you didn't make it this morning to your caucus, you can come down here - 30 minutes away from my home - and they would let you vote, get a second chance at it," said 23-year-old Henderson resident Michael DiCicco, a Paul supporter who said he was not aware the late caucus was reserved solely for those who practice certain religions. "It's discrimination."

Romney admits mistake on anti-poor comment.  No word on an apology for Romney-care.

“I misspoke,” Romney said Thursday in an interview aired on KSNV, a CNN affiliate in Las Vegas. “When you do I don’t know how many thousands of interviews, now and then you may get it wrong, and I misspoke.”

Romney made the original comment in an interview with CNN on Wednesday morning, in which he said he was not "concerned about the very poor" because there is a safety net in place for them—but added, "if there are holes in it, I will work to repair that."

Egypt's version of the Arab Spring goes horribly awry. More stuff Obama won't claim credit for now.

The son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is among 19 Americans being referred to criminal trial for allegedly receiving foreign funds illegally and being involved in banned activity in Egypt, several news agencies reported Sunday. In all, Egyptian officials say 44 non-governmental organization workers will be put before the court after investigating judges claimed they had reason to try the democracy and rights workers.

In case you are living in an area with an unusually warm winter like me, don't get all global-warming-hysteria on everybody again. It's not like that.

Bitterly cold weather sweeping across Europe claimed more victims on Sunday and brought widespread disruption to transport services, with warnings that the chilling temperatures would remain into next week. 

At least 200 people have lost their lives as freezing weather sweeps across the continent westwards, while airports in Britain and France saw disruptions from new snow.