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Elroy Jetson, Yep. Many are sick of Trump...Yay, Brian Driscoll. Trump's loyalty demands expose two more of his lies. Trump said he would not be divisive, and that he would govern for all Americans. His going after Jan 6 prosecutors and his DOJ demands for FBI firings contradict both of those electioneering promises. Driscoll's sturdy stand didn't save the eight, but he stood by the law. Trump's DOJ isn't.
Senior FBI official forcefully resisted Trump administration firings
Brian Driscoll pushed back so aggressively that some feared he would be dismissed. He has
so far not handed over the names of thousands of FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 cases.
[...]
Experts say the firings are illegal
Legal experts said that few, if any, of the firings carried out so far by the Trump administration have been legal under civil service laws because the employees were not afforded due process.
The Trump White House argues, though, that the president has the absolute right to fire anyone he wishes in the executive branch. The Supreme Court has ruled that federal employees have a right to a hearing before they are disciplined or terminated.
Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney and NBC News legal contributor, called the firings illegal.
“Career federal employees can be fired for conduct or performance issues, not because they failed to demonstrate political loyalty to the current incumbent of the White House,” said Vance. “Trump ignored controlling law and regulations to do this, and unless the Supreme Court changes their interpretation, any firing of permanent members of the civil service should not stand.”
Even if some of the employees sue and win, they said their public service careers have been irreparably damaged, if not ended.
One of the Jan. 6 prosecutors fired on Friday told NBC News that they “did nothing wrong” and had no regrets about their work. The person, who asked not to named due to fear of retaliation, said it was discouraging to be fired after seeing Trump pardon violent rioters who attacked police officers.
“We’ve all been looking over our shoulders, like, ‘Is this the day that we’re gonna get fired?’ Because we were doing our jobs?” the fired prosecutor told NBC News. “We’ve been forced to dismiss all of the cases that we’ve been working on of all these people that were very violent offenders. It’s been awful.”
Current and former FBI agents say the purge at the bureau has had a shattering effect on the morale, sending a message that agents who work on cases that anger someone in the Trump administration could be targeted.
“Who right now would want to work on a case that would get them crosswise with the administration?” one former FBI official asked. “They will come after you.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/senior-fbi-official-forcefully-resisted-trump-administration-firings-rcna190301
Trump has already done what he falsely accused Biden of doing, he has weaponized the justice system.
It’s time for Nvidia to replace Intel in the Dow - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-time-for-nvidia-to-replace-intel-in-the-dow-05dcb2cd
Intel is missing out on one of the biggest booms in semiconductors, while Nvidia embodies where the chip sector stands
After Intel Corp.’s disastrous news on Thursday, it is time for the once great semiconductor company to be replaced in the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the real leader in the sector, Nvidia Corp.
Intel, once the world’s largest chip maker, fell a little further on Thursday, since it first lost its crown a few years ago. Intel shares tumbled almost 20% on the news that it needs to cut $10 billion in costs and is cutting 15% of its workforce and its quarterly dividend, starting in the fourth quarter. Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger even admitted that Intel has yet to “fully benefit from powerful trends like AI.”
Earlier this year, when Amazon.com AMZN replaced Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P Dow Jones Indices said at the time that the change was a reflection “on the evolving nature of the American economy.”
In the current economic environment, Intel is missing out of the AI boom, especially in the data center, where Nvidia’s graphics processor units (GPUs) are becoming an essential purchase to turn data centers into AI factories, as CEO Jensen Huang likes to describe them. Customers appear to be spending more on GPUs than on the core central processing units (CPUs) that Intel makes.
“I think the issue is that companies and cloud vendors are shifting capex expenditures to buy more GPUs and less CPUs,” said Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research, in an email.
Intel’s latest version of its graphics accelerator chip, Gaudi 3, is expected to be in volume production in the third quarter. Last quarter, it forecast $500 million in revenue from Gaudi for the second half, a paltry projection compared with Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s forecast for its AI accelerator chips, the MI300, which it raised to $4.5 billion in 2024. On Thursday, Gelsinger mentioned AI accelerators a few times but did not give an updated forecast. Intel is also developing AI PC chips, which are also in the early stages of launching later this year.
Earlier this year, Nvidia issued a 10-for-1 stock split, making the stock an even more appealing candidate for a Dow component, since the index is price-weighted. Its previous stratospheric price would have made it a no-go for inclusion in the average.
Intel’s stock, on the other hand, is headed toward its worst day since September 2000, if its current pattern in after-hours trading continues Friday.
Nvidia has a solid position as the leading semiconductor giant in the U.S. right now, after years of focusing on the high-performance computing market. And while Intel has continued to manufacture its own chips, it is now also developing a costly business to manufacture chips for other companies, while Nvidia outsources its manufacturing.
The committee that makes the decisions for inclusions in the Dow is known to be extremely secretive. But with the Dow up 7.1% this year, while the S&P 500 has outpaced it with growth that has doubled, its conceivable that the committee is looking at its components.
Intel’s performance and talk of continued challenges should be a wakeup call for investors, and for the committee that makes the Dow’s recommendations.
Everyone in the oil and gas business knew Russia's oil production would quickly decline without continued access to western oil companies and their technology. Putin's Russia is a kleptocracy where theft from businesses took precedence over investing in the future of their businesses.
In the short-term Russia goosed-up production at the expense of well life and selling their oil at a major discount in spite of greatly increased costs, but now just 18 months later they're having problems supplying their own domestic and war demand for oil and gas.
Analysts Predict 42% Decline In Russian Oil Production By 2035
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Analysts-Predict-42-Decline-In-Russian-Oil-Production-By-2035.html
BP analysts:Russia's oil output will likely decrease from 12 million barrels per day in 2019 to 7-9 million bpd in 2035.
Last year, against all odds, Russia managed to grow its oil output despite being hit with tough sanctions, a plethora of oilfield service companies exiting the country as well as the refusal by western countries to buy its crude for the most part.
Indeed, Energy Intelligence reports that in 2022, Russia’s crude and condensate production increased 2%, with oil production clocking in at 10.73 million b/d, above Russia's ministry for economic development forecast of 10.33 million b/d.
Russia managed to pull off this feat mainly by offering huge discounts to buyers like China and India, with Bloomberg's oil strategist Julian Lee reporting that the two were receiving discounts of $33.28 per barrel, or about 40% to international Brent crude prices oil at the time. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-11-27/china-india-squeeze-big-oil-discounts-out-of-putin
But Moscow cannot continue defying the odds indefinitely. BP Plc(NYSE: BP) has predicted that the country’s output is likely to over the long-term, with production declining 25%-42% by 2035. BP says that Russia's oil output could decrease from 12 million barrels per day in 2019 to 7-9 million bpd in 2035 thanks to the curtailment of new promising projects, limited access to foreign technologies as well as a high rate of reduction in existing operating assets. https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/87420/]take a big hit
In contrast, BP says that OPEC will become even more dominant as the years roll on, with the cartel’s share in global production increasing to 45%-65% by 2050 from just over 30% currently. Bad news for the bulls: BP remains bearish about the long-term prospects for oil, saying demand for oil is likely to plateau over the next 10 years and then decline to 70-80 million bpd by 2050.
Bleak Future For Russia
That said, Russia might still be able to avoid a sharp decline in production because many of the assets of oil companies that exited the country were abandoned or sold to who retained some critical expertise, but without access to western technology. https://www.energyintel.com/00000186-07f6-d2f7-a387-affe275f0000]local management teams
Bloomberg had earlier reported that Russia sharply increased its diesel exports before the European Union sanctions on crude oil kicked off in February. Fuel shipments from Russia's ports in the Baltic and Black Sea were set to increase to 2.68 million tonnes in January, good for 8% month-on-month increase from December’s volume and the highest export rate since January 2020. - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-30/russia-set-to-export-large-amounts-of-diesel-before-eu-sanctions
The European Union will ban Russian oil product imports by Feb. 5. This follows a ban on Russian crude that took effect in December.
Exports of Russia's flagship Urals crude blend from the Baltic Sea ports are, however, expected to fall to around 5 million tonnes from 6 million tonnes in November, thanks to an EU embargo on Russian oil and a Western price cap, according to Reuters calculations. Some estimates have predicted it could fall as low as 4.7 million tonnes. - https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sanctions-could-cut-russias-baltic-oil-exports-by-20-2022-12-22/
The $60 per barrel price cap introduced by the European Union, G7 nations and Australia allows non-EU countries to import seaborne Russian crude oil, but prohibits shipping, insurance and reinsurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude unless it is sold for under $60.
Traders have reported to Reuters that Russia is struggling to fully redirect Urals exports from Europe to other markets such as China and India India and is also having a hard time finding enough suitable vessels.
Russia’s problems have been compounded by a shortage of non-western tonnage, moderate demand for the grade in Asia, especially in China and a weak export economy. Indeed, Reuters has reported that Russia’s pipeline monopoly Transneft has been unable to fill some of the available loading slots due to a lack of bids from producers while other slots were postponed or canceled. Only China, India, Bulgaria and Turkey are currently willing to buy Urals with the blend now being sold to export markets at below overall production cost including local levies.
Widening Budget Deficit
Back in December, Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the country’s budget deficit in 2023 might exceed the expected 2% of GDP as the oil price cap takes a hit on export income. That marked the first time a Russian official has acknowledged that the $60 per barrel price cap imposed on Russia by Europe and G7 nations will negatively impact its economy. Siluanov said that the country will be forced to tap debt markets to bridge the deficit. Russia is projected to have used over 2 trillion roubles ($29 billion) from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) in 2022 as total spending exceeded 30 trillion roubles above the initial budget. - https://www.reuters.com/markets/oil-price-cap-may-widen-russias-2023-budget-deficit-says-finmin-2022-12-27/
Russia’s economy is expected to contract in the current year, with Central Bank governor Elvira Nabiullina citing “worsening trade conditions” as a key reason. Russia’s cash flows are expected to weaken considerably in 2023 as oil and gas sales to Europe plunge. Ukraine’s Ministry of Economy says it expects that the EU embargo on Russian oil and petroleum products should cut Russia’s profits by at least 50%. - https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-economy/3639187-ukraine-hopes-oil-embargo-to-halve-russian-profit.html
"We expect the collapse of profits from oil and gas exports to be at more than 50%, precisely because of the introduction of the EU embargo on oil and petroleum products and the introduction of price restrictions. Oil and gas account for 60% and 40% of federal budget revenues. We expect that Russia's revenues will fall below the critical level of $40 billion per quarter," Yuliya Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine has said. She has expressed hope that plunging profits will make it more difficult for Russia to continue waging an expansive war.
Meanwhile, the Russian ruble - has finally caved in slumping past 70 per U.S. dollar to a more than seven-month low courtesy of plunging crude prices as well as fears that sanctions on Russian oil could hit the country's export revenue, Reuters reports. Russian equities have also taken a hit, with the dollar-denominated RTS index finishing in the red last year. - https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rouble-plunges-below-68-per-dollar-hit-over-7-month-low-2022-12-19/?rpc=401&
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
TL;DR: Mods if you want this board moved to free zone, let us know.
As you all know, we're trying our best to clean up stock boards while allowing more ebb and flow of natural dialog without the trolling and bickering. One of the things that we've always known derails stock boards, creates havoc and leads to deletions on stock specific boards is political discussion. Sadly, what people consider "political" these days is far reaching and weirdly triggering. So we've decided to allow political boards outside of the Premium zone (i.e. subscribers only). We are leaving all current boards in the Political category as Premium for those Mods that want to be able to ban or restrict members. Otherwise, if as a Mod, you'd like to open your board to a wider audience, just reply to this with an @IH Admin [Meghan] (former) or @IH Admin [Shelly] indicator or send us a PM.
Alternatively, anyone who has any interest in setting up your own board focused on politics, open to all Members, you can find a new free category here: https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/boards.aspx?cat_id=308. From that link, you can simply click Create a New Board" and use the drop down menu (yes, it's long and clunky!) to [Free] Free Zone - Politics.
Secretary BootyJuice - HAHAHA
Biden calls Pete Buttigieg “Secretary BootyJuice”..
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) September 1, 2023
We are truly living in a simulation .. 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/WAiYCuKeXD
“It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”
— The Rabbit Hole (@TheRabbitHole84) August 29, 2023
— Mark Twain pic.twitter.com/1cQgQg3FR7
Trump is back on Twitter
https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/Mcbf2xozsY
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2023
This is not the sound of the Left. The Left will throw rocks at him.. they are ashamed of their behavior, they are ashamed of their beliefs and they are ashamed of what they have become. They will hate Oliver Anthony, aka, Christopher Anthony Lunsford. God is good
BREAKING: Oliver Anthony releases 'Brink of War' as his first follow up to "Rich Men North of Richmond" pic.twitter.com/TBSfPJ8D66
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 23, 2023
Remember when Barack Obama’s personal chef drowned on his property and the Obama’s lied about being there, they refused to identify the 2nd paddle boarder, hid who made the 911 call, the local police left information blank on the police report, and the media ignored the story?
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) August 17, 2023
LOL Yes, you can make that shit up. In any event, even if true, I guess that oligarch must have been pretty gullible. However, where's the crime? Hunter didn't work for the government.
It is also okay to shove a light up your ass, so go for it as your fuhrer recommends.
Great idea since it has been shown to not work for that purpose. Grow up and get on with your pathetic life, move on. No one cares what you think times 1000.
LOLOLOL - Told ya so
#HorseDewormer now approved to treat the Rona!
— Angela Box (@TheBoxThatRoxx) August 11, 2023
I love being right about everything. 😎#Ivermectin #ClotShot #DeathJab #CovidVaccine #ScamDemic #Depopulation @joerogan pic.twitter.com/YO4Om5FpHf
well, there ya go - here is my sign ------> I Told ya so.
Doctors who had the courage and compassion to treat COVID patients believe hundreds of thousands of Americans died needlessly because the @US_FDA sabotaged the use of cheap, safe, and effective generic drugs.
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) August 11, 2023
Now the FDA quietly approves ivermectin's use? What's going on? pic.twitter.com/hDt0R6VRUU
Hunter Biden used his father’s influence to coerce a Kazakhstani oligarch to buy him a $142k sports car.
You can’t make this sh*t up.
you wrecked your health and your doctor got a bonus
Your doctor took the bribe if he told you to get the covid19 vaccination. Here's the schedule of the payment program. pic.twitter.com/QVVlicXjp8
— Jack Straw (@JackStr42679640) August 9, 2023
Google, Microsoft, and Meta can’t stop talking about A.I. — here’s why Apple rarely mentions it
PUBLISHED FRI, JUL 28 20231:57 PM EDT UPDATED FRI, JUL 28 20233:12 PM EDT
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/28/why-apple-doesnt-talk-about-ai-as-much-as-google-meta-and-microsoft.html
Kif Leswing
The most powerful technology companies simply cannot stop talking about artificial intelligence, and in particular, the “generative AI” flavor that can create human-like text, images, and code.
Apple barely talks about artificial intelligence, and you shouldn’t expect to hear much about it during the company’s earnings next week.
Apple’s AI works in the background. And the company doesn’t yell about it the way some of the other companies do because it doesn’t need to.
MSFT
-0.27 (-0.08%)
After Hours
META
+0.06 (+0.02%)
After Hours
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 22: Apple CEO Tim Cook arrives at the White House on June 22, 2023 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hosting a state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of his official state visit. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
The most powerful technology companies simply cannot stop talking about artificial intelligence, and in particular, the “generative AI” flavor that can create human-like text, images and code.
During calls after this week’s earnings reports, Alphabet
CEO Sundar Pichai and his team said “AI” 66 times. Microsoft
CEO Satya Nadella and his execs said it 47 times. And on Wednesday, Meta
CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook executive team said the magic phrase 42 times, according to a CNBC analysis of transcripts.
But Apple barely talks about artificial intelligence, and you shouldn’t expect to hear much about it during the company’s earnings next week.
Its sober approach to the new technology contrasts sharply with its rivals, which are stoking excitement and elevating expectations every chance they get.
During May’s Apple earnings call, CEO Tim Cook only said AI twice, and that was in response to a question. During Apple’s two-hour software launch event in June, it never said the phrase, although it announced several new features powered with AI.
Apple execs instead use the phrase “machine learning,” which is more popular with academics and practitioners. Apple execs also prefer to talk about what software does for the user, such as organizing their photos, improving their typing, or filling out fields in a PDF, as opposed to the technology that makes all that possible.
Apple’s approach to AI as a core underlying component instead of the future of computing represents a way to present the technology to its consumers. Apple’s AI works in the background. And the company doesn’t yell about it the way some of the other companies do because it doesn’t need to.
Microsoft, Google and Meta are rallying everyone around AI, even though the future is murky
Google launched Bard AI, it's own chatbot to rival Microsoft and OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images
A closer look at executive remarks this week from earnings calls shows that while Meta, Microsoft, and Google are eager to sell the shovels for the AI gold rush, such as cloud services and developer tools, it’s still unclear how AI could change their most important products and when it could start bolstering balance sheets.
Google, for example, has announced its plans to revamp its search engine using an AI model called Search Generative Experience. Microsoft’s biggest new initiative is a $30 per month “Copilot” subscription that integrates generated text or code from partner OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Word, Powerpoint and other apps. Facebook parent Meta’s most recent investment in AI technology is its own large language model it calls LLaMA, which could underpin new kinds of social media chatbots or automatically generate online ads.
Meanwhile, Apple still makes the bulk of its money from iPhones, which generated $51.3 billion of its $94.84 billion in revenue during the company’s fiscal second quarter. Why talk a big AI game?
Besides, mega-cap tech companies signaled to investors earlier this week in earnings calls that the rollout of AI products could take a while.
In Microsoft’s case, Nadella tempered investor expectations for Copilot, signaling that growth would take time, and finance chief Amy Hood said that its rollout would be “gradual.”
It could take until next year before investors understand how the Copilot subscription affects the company’s revenue. “In the second half of the next fiscal year, we’ll start getting some of the real revenue signal from it,” Nadella said.
Google and Pichai say that the company’s text-generating AI models will make its search engine better and could even answer questions that normal Google search can’t. From a business perspective, Pichai said, generative AI used for creating and serving ads will “supercharge” the company’s existing ads business, adding there are “opportunities” for new kinds of ads with AI-generated search.
But Pichai said it’s still “early days” for the new AI-powered search, and later, when pressed about how SGE might increase usage of the search engine, and therefore increase revenue, he said the company was experimenting.
“I think we are definitely headed in the right direction, and we can see it in our metrics and the feedback we’re getting from our users as well,” Pichai said.
Zuckerberg was effusive about AI technology and its applications in virtual reality, ad targeting and recommending content from accounts users don’t follow.
He was particularly optimistic about a concept called “AI agents,” in which software would be able to message business customers automatically without a human involved, or act as a coach, or be a personal assistant.
Still, Zuckerberg admitted he didn’t know how many people would use the new AI features.
“The reality is, we just don’t know how quickly these will scale,” Zuckerberg said. He said Meta was debating internally how much it should spend on servers for AI.
The peak of the hype cycle
Microsoft - Bing seen on mobile with ChatGPT4 on screen, seen in this photo illustration. On 12 March 2023 in Brussels, Belgium.
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images
The slow rollout of revenue-generating AI products from Big Tech matters because many people in the industry believe that new foundational technologies go through a “hype cycle” based on research from analysis firm Gartner.
When new technology is introduced, according to the hype cycle model, it gains lots of attention and investment as it reaches a “peak of inflated expectations.” But, as the deployment of the tech moves slower than initially expected, enthusiasm and investment dry up, in a “trough of disillusionment,” before maturing and becoming productive.
For now, “shovel makers” and people seeking investment capital are benefiting from the AI boom. Nvidia
stock has risen 220% so far in 2023 as investors have realized its graphics processing units are essential for the technology. Venture capital investment in AI startups has boomed, and many of those dollars are going to Nvidia for computer capacity, and to cloud providers for access to AI models.
But if everyday consumer applications for AI don’t catch on, then many AI companies could slip into the trough of disillusionment again. Analysts found earlier this month, for example, that downloads for OpenAI’s iPhone app slowed earlier this month after launching in May.
Some analysts are starting to understand that an investment opportunity based on new AI products won’t be immediate and that the costs could stack up.
“We cautioned investors that that process of translating early demand to large-scale implementations and recognized revenue will be a multi-year trend rather than an instantaneous flip of a switch,” JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy wrote this week.
“We recommend investors invest elsewhere until Metaverse, Reels, Threads, Quest and Generative AI investments become accretive (if ever) to META’s [return on invested capital], rather than dilutive,” Needham’s Laura Martin wrote in a note.
UBS analyst Lloyd Walmsley wrote this week that generative AI was still an “overhang” over Google.
“Management expressed optimism around the ability to solve for ‘deeper and broader’ use cases with Search Generative Experience (SGE), but we do not believe the company is out of the woods with management still describing monetization as having a ‘number of experiments in flight including (for) ads,’” Walmsley wrote.
Apple’s a product company
Apple iPhones are displayed at an Apple store in Chicago on Nov. 28, 2022.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
When Apple reports its earnings next week, analysts will likely press it on its plans for AI, given the industrywide obsession, and especially after a recent Bloomberg report that said the company was developing a ChatGPT-like language model internally.
Last month, Apple announced new iPhone keyboard software that uses the same transformers architecture as GPT, showing that it has substantial internal development of AI models. But the tech giant just doesn’t like to talk about products that aren’t out on the market yet to stoke investor anticipation.
Apple is unlikely to discuss AI at length next week as its mega-cap rivals did this week. During Apple’s earnings call in May, when asked about the technology, Cook quickly moved the conversation back to the company’s products and features.
“We view AI as huge and we’ll continue weaving it in our products on a very thoughtful basis,” Cook said.
Capitol riots: Did Trump's words at rally incite violence?
He clearly knew there were people in that crowd who were ready to and intended to be violent, and he certainly did nothing to discourage that. He not only did nothing to discourage it, he strongly hinted it should happen.
Football is in the air....
Football is in the air 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zjwcDtGtnc
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 21, 2023
Jason Aldean CRUSHED his speech right before he performed tried that in a small town.
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) July 22, 2023
CAN’T CANCEL THE TRUTH! pic.twitter.com/HZEGQtOkoe
IRONY: Democrats voted to censor @RobertKennedyJr's testimony from a hearing on censorship.
— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) July 20, 2023
You can't make this stuff up!@RepThomasMassie calls out the lunacy: pic.twitter.com/NPkiHTMBl0
Don’t bet against Bidenomics
The National Economic Council recently put out a report showing how much emphasis has been placed on investing in parts of country previously hard hit from automation and offshoring — which happen to include many red states and regions.
But, but, the Dems turned their backs on rural, Red state, middle class America. Except, when they didn't.
Again, Kudos to MTG for helping to craft Biden's '24 campaign message:
"Joe Biden had the largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs, that is actually finishing what FDR started, that LBJ expanded on, and Joe Biden is attempting to complete," she said. Unsurprisingly, Biden's campaign for president used Greene's words approvingly, flipping the context to how, yeah, Biden's done some good things for the country and thanks, Marj.
Don’t bet against Bidenomics
By Jennifer Rubin
Columnist
July 21, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. EDT
President Biden on July 7 in the East Room of the White House. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
What caught my eye
President Biden has been on quite a roll. June numbers show inflation has been cut by more than two-thirds from its peak — down to 3 percent year-over-year from 9.1 percent. The White House calculates, “A single hour of work 12 months ago could only pay for 5.5 gallons of gas, a figure that has since risen to a bit more than 8 gallons. The increase appears to reflect a 27% drop in prices at the pump compared with a year ago, and also average wage gains of about 5%,” the Associated Press pointed out. The outdated talking point that prices are rising faster than wages needs to be retired.
Instead of political polls (in which respondents reflect their tribal identity), take a look at economic numbers that correlate to how people plan and spend their money. CNN reported: “Consumer sentiment tracked by the University of Michigan rose 13% in July, the second straight month of improvement and the biggest [month]-over-month gain since 2006, according to a preliminary reading. … The index reached its highest level since September 2021.” Consumers now expect inflation to abate (which affects purchasing decisions and can head off price hikes). “The survey showed a broad improvement across all of its components, ‘led by a 19% surge in long-term business conditions and 16% increase in short-run business conditions,’ according to the release.”
The markets responded accordingly. The Wall Street Journal reported: “Wall Street is more convinced than ever that inflation is subsiding. That’s giving investors hope that the Federal Reserve might be able to pull off what once seemed impossible: containing pricing pressures without tipping the economy into recession.” In short: “The economic data that came out this past week could hardly have been better.”
The National Economic Council recently put out a report showing how much emphasis has been placed on investing in parts of country previously hard hit from automation and offshoring — which happen to include many red states and regions. “Place-based policies that create opportunities in economically underserved communities pay off with greater economic benefits,” the report states.
“One study estimates that the economic benefits of policies that add jobs in a given place are at least 60 percent greater in ‘distressed’ regions than in ‘booming’ ones.” The report continues: “Investments in expanding access to rural broadband, for example, promote growth, employment, and education. An array of economic evidence also indicates that co-location — bringing multiple investments into communities — can reduce transportation costs and facilitate positive spillovers. These productivity and other benefits arise because clustering promotes the development and sharing of new ideas, knowledge, technology, and physical infrastructure.”
Moreover, the scale of investment is truly impressive. “Since the President took office, companies have announced over $500 billion in investments in the United States, including over $200 billion in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing and nearly $225 billion in clean energy, electric vehicle, and battery investments,” the NEC finds. “Inflation-adjusted spending on manufacturing construction overall has increased by nearly 100 percent since the end of 2021. After years of flat investment in manufacturing construction in the United States, trends are moving in a different direction.”
Bidenomics is proving to be a short-term success. (The Post reported that “Americans are still better off now than before the pandemic, with nearly 10 to 15 percent more in their bank accounts than in 2019, new checking and savings account data shows.”) More important, it has the potential to transform the economy and remake communities that had felt left behind. If so, that would be an economic and political game changer.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/21/biden-success-ukraine-inflation/
Trump said: "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."
Listen to 4 years of Democrats -
Here’s a mashup of Democrats explicitly calling for violence and unrest. When will any of them be held accountable? pic.twitter.com/mbGYXTX8CF
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 18, 2023
facts
True story 👇😎 pic.twitter.com/lCviHz5UVV
— VeBee🇺🇸✝️ (@VeBo1991) July 17, 2023
I agree that some people's preference for uncommon pronouns borders on silliness but I don't see it as an issue that justifies legislation. On the other hand, the Michigan bill serves a legitimate purpose in regulating hate speech that could be interpreted as threatening physical harm to someone. Right wing media has distorted and sensationalized the bill and its original intent...
Michigan residents face five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for using wrong pronouns
Michigan's House of Representatives has passed a hate speech bill, known as HB 4474, criminalizing the use of hate speech.
This means that if anyone uses words causing someone to feel "terrorized, frightened, or threatened", including using a gender pronoun the "threatened" person does not identify with, they could end up with jail time.
The bill lists "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression" as protected classes.
Offenders could face up to five years in prison for committing such a felony offense. They could also be slapped with a staggering $10,000 fine.
The bill reads: "'Intimidate' means a willful course of conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a reasonable individual to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened."
The bill passed in the Democrat-controlled House 59-50. It is now set to move to the Michigan State Senate for further reading.
It would be signed into law by the Democratic state Governor Gretchen Whitmer if it passes.
Penalties would be based on how the victims and court would "feel" about individual cases.
State Rep. Emily Dievendorf told CBS News Detroit: "We know that at this time in history, extremism is on the rise. But also, our hate speech has translated into hate actions that put our most vulnerable populations at risk."
A Michigan bill makes it a felony to intimidate someone by using the wrong gender pronouns,
resulting in prison time and a $10,000 fine.
Thought Police (Nineteen Eighty-Four) - The repressive regimentation of society.
Thus I ask those whom agree with the above, why do you want the human minds of others
to be altered and controlled by psychological techniques, to reduce the subject's ability
to think critically and independently, but to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts
and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes, values, and beliefs.
The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of these twisted minds.
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