“In countries around the world, the most dramatic reductions in poverty have come from increasing the amount of wealth-rather than from a redistribution of existing wealth.” Dr. Thomas Sowell
Since 1983 the states have been “certifying” minority contractors. Those are companies that are owned, primarily, by Blacks, and women, and get preferential treatment for federal contracts. The state of Georgia has certified 3,500 such companies. Imagine that?
For 43+ years, the federal government has awarded 10% to 20% of contracts to minorities. Contracts for highway builds, repairs to bridges, new sidewalks, culverts, etc were awarded to minorities and women. Companies owned by white men were excluded from consideration. Federal $$$’s were not spent based on experience, skills or financial quotes.
Finally, President Trump is ending the minority program. Now, all sub-contractors will compete based on merit and quality of work. Afterall, if women/minority owned contractors can’t compete on a level playing field after 43 years, then they should not bid for contracts.
“The most difficult people to deal with are those individuals that are stupid and arrogant. That combination creates unpleasant and often very nasty people.” Self
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These are just some of the news stories that sour my GI tract:
– Jasmine Crockett and AOC are now the leaders of the Democratic party. Both read from scripts prepared by their staffs, neither has built anything, both have ignored their own congressional districts, and together could not operate a McDonald’s franchise.
-US Dept. of Education disclosed that $30 million of student loans and grants went sent to dead people, and another $60 million was sent to ineligible people. These payments occurred over the last 3 years. How does any federal agency receive applications from dead people?
-NC lawmakers are fighting over which flags are allowed to fly over government buildings. Thankfully, the US flag is on the list. Same with the NC state flag and military flags. Of course, the issue was prompted by a group wanting to fly a LGBTQ+ flag.
Liberals are very upset about the arrests of criminal aliens. Apparently, they believe certain places are not appropriate for arrests, like streets, dormitories, churches, family homes, restaurants, or anywhere around family members. Bull. These are very dangerous people and should be removed from our communities. Anytime, anywhere.
-For years, many states have fraudulently inflated Medicaid payments to hospitals so the federal government would reimburse those payments. The states taxed their hospitals and returned the $$$$’s back to them as Medicaid payments so the federal government would reimburse (match) those funds. Shear fraud. When this practice is stopped, the federal government will save $600 billion over ten years.
–Starbucks is the world’s biggest coffee chain, with a majority of sales in the US. Last month they reported the 5th consecutive quarter of declining sales. Net profits are down 50%. I know what the problems are-prices are too high, service is too slow. and their corporate social policies were very misguided. And another comment, barista is not a career.
–Canada is a member of NATO and is required to spend 2% of its GDP on its military. Currently, Canada spends about 1.3%. The US taxpayers should not bailout Canada.
-High school and college commencement addresses should be inspirational. Graduates should be encouraged to achieve greatness in all fields. And the speeches should be patriotic. We live in the greatest country in the history of the world.
-Boys should not be allowed to compete in girl sports. Everyone knows it. This week a man pitched 7 innings in a girls’ softball championship. Same with track and field. A man won the high jump and triple jump in girl’s state championships. This problem is centered in blue states, run by Democrats. Where are the women’s groups???
“Anything built by man, can be overcome by man.” General George Patton
Speaking correctly is important. People can understand you better when you use proper grammar and good word choices. I get irritated when I hear bad grammar, slang, profanity, and nonsensical wording spoken by allegedly intelligent people. Here are some of my biggest irritations:
The word “like ” is inserted in sentences when not needed or appropriate. Here is an example: He was like running down the street and like, yelling at like the people he saw.
Last year describes the previous calendar year. The word is not “lashear.”
Me and Kelly went to the store is bad grammar. Kelly and I went to the store. Never start a sentence with “me.”
Crap ton, shit load, “the F bomb” and all the other vulgar words are never appropriate among educated people. Ignorant people use them, often to exaggerate a point. I cringe when I hear profanity on TV, especially among our government leaders. Terrible practice, Low class.
The word “to” is never spoken as “ta.” Sally went to the store, not ta the store.
The days of the week are spoken with “day” at the end, like “Monday.” It is not “Mondy.”
When ordering food at a restaurant, please say “I would like the cheeseburger”, not “I’ll do the cheeseburger.” Where did that phraseology come from.
“He don’t want to play today” is wrong. The correct wording is “he doesn’t want to play today.” I hear the wrong verb tense spoken all the time, especially on ESPN. Where is the English teachers? Hahaha.
And-“at the end of the day” and “in terms of ” are used all the time on TV, mostly by pompous people.
And my biggest irritation:
After you thank a server or customer service employee, their response should not be “no problem.” Gee, I am glad it was not a problem for you to help me. A simple “your welcome” would be fine.
“When people are presented the alternatives of hating themselves for their failures or hating others for their success, they seldom choose to hate themselves.” Dr. Thomas Sowell
Just back from trip to DR. Had to show my passport 3 times to enter and had my picture taken twice. I even had to present my passport at the hotel. Upon returning to US had to show passport 3 times and photo taken twice. I had no problem with the immigration process.
The Biden administration encouraged colleges and universities to drop standardized tests for college admissions. Instead, colleges used “life struggles” and personal essays for admissions for about 4 years. Results now show that those students did not perform well in college. Thus, the SAT’s and ACTs are back and the correlation between test scores and college GPA’s is remarkable. See graph above. And these students graduated in 4 years. Recent studies have also shown students from different backgrounds (race/gender) with similar test scores performed well in college. This is one of the reasons Trump removed DEI from college admissions.
I like RFK. He is focusing the Dept. of Health and Human Services on the prevention of chronic diseases. This includes focusing research grants and studies on healthy habits to prevent chronic diseases. About 60% of all Americans suffer from chronic disease including high body mass index, drug use, tobacco use, and dietary issues. Less than 9% of government funded research is directed to prevention. RFK is changing that. He is also issuing new guidelines for school lunches.
And speaking of healthy lifestyles, a new study from Johns Hopkins indicates that vaping is very harmful. Thirty countries have already banned the sale of vaping products. The study used 6 popular brands of vapes and found heavy metals, chromium, pesticides, formaldehyde, and hazardous aerosols in the vaping products. The product also damages human tissue.
Trump is right about school discipline guidelines. His new guidelines focus on student behaviors without bias toward student race. Biden issued guidelines to schools regarding students race and “inclusion.” That meant Black students, as an example, were disciplined differently than other students. The criteria were different. Over the course of 4-6 years that placed racial equity over student safety. And the safety for teachers. Ask any public K-12 teacher what their biggest challenge is, and they will say disruptive students.
Above is a picture of a Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van. These vans are wonderful with great interiors. Regrettably, one of these vans is taking my dental hygienist to Idaho so she can live near her daughters. She has worked on me for 15 years and I will miss her. Godspeed B.
“The formula I=I means ignorance equals inventory. The less knowledgeable a business has about its suppliers, internal processes, markets, and customers, the more inventory that company will carry.” Self
Sweden is 900 miles long and has over 10 million people. The capital is Stockholm with 1.7 million people.
Beginning in 2014, Sweden saw a huge spike in immigration, mostly from Syria. The problem was so bad, Sweden imposed border controls. The country also saw a huge spike in violent crime. And-Sweden experienced a 2X increase in pension applications. Sweden’s government provides pensions, and many people move to Sweden for that benefit.
Sweden also experienced an historical record of shootings in 2022. Same with homicides.
Currently, Sweden is experiencing the bombing of stores and restaurants. Violent immigrant gangs are extorting money from small business owners. About 30 bombings took place in Sweden in January. National Police Chief, Petra Lundh, pointed to mass immigration as the cause of these bombings. The crime statistics in Sweden point to immigrants as being “overrepresented.”
Lastly, reports indicate that immigrant gangs are recruiting new members via the internet, often posting high paying job opportunities for store bombing jobs. Sweden needs a strong leader to eliminate the gangs.
“Affirmative action encourages a victim-focused identity and sends the message that there is more power in our past suffering than in our present achievements.” Shelby Steele
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Limestone College is located in Gaffney, South Carolina and has 1,600 students. This small, private, liberal arts college offers 42 different undergraduate degrees. As of today, the college is $30 million in debt and scheduled to close in June. Who loaned $$$’s to this school? And yet, the college supports 23 sports teams (20 head coaches) including 13 women’s teams. So-offer sport scholarships and neglect other financial matters. Too bad.
Charlotte NC has a MS-13 problem. This week 2 members of this vicious gang were sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder a Wilson Edgardo Gutierrez Mejia. He was shot in the head outside a Charlotte nightclub. While lying on the ground, Mejia was shot 3 more times. It was reported that the killing helped get the two shooters a “promotion” in the MS 13 gang. The shooters were from El Salvador and Guatemala. A third MS 13 member was sentenced to 17 years for the kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl.
The US now has 900+ cases of measles according to the CDC. Thus far, about30 states have reported the outbreak but the most active cases are centered in Texas and New Mexico. The vast number of these cases involve foreign-born people. Illegal immigrants.
Nikola Motor Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company tried to make EV trucks. Their problems were varied and significant, including the payment of $125 million to settle federal charges of defrauding investors. The founder, and CEO, Trevor Milton was charged with securities and wire fraud. During this same period, the Biden administration granted Nikola $2 million as part of the “new green deal.”
Several new research studies have reported why housing prices and rents have risen so dramatically in the US. The conclusion is migration, especially in the major US cities. Same with homelessness. Major cities like NYC, Denver, Chicago attribute 80+ percent of the rise in homelessness to “asylum seekers.” And-the studies show that illegal immigrants do not “pay their way.” Arguments for low-skilled migrants built around supposed labor shortages are also false. Migrants without college degrees are a financial drain to the economies. These studies included the US, Britan, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. lastly, Goldman Sachs (bank) reported that Australia’s net migrant flow of 500,00 people raises rents by 5% annually.
Two new museums are planned for the Smithsonian Institution in DC. One for women and the other for Hispanics. Really? Why can’t we have a national museum celebrating all people. Why do these groups get their own building at taxpayer expense? However, the funding and construction has been delayed due to disagreements regarding content. The federal government wants the museums to show shared American values, not those that separate Americans into racial and/or gender groups. Some exhibits that celebrate the exploits of men in women’s sports are being planned. Sadly, is that really what the US citizens want in the Smithsonian???
” A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” Wayne Gretzky, Hockey G.O.A.T.
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Currently, North Carolina has 24, 500 international students enrolled at the state’s colleges and universities. Wow! That is a whooping number. These students are required to apply for student visas and if granted, the students are assigned case file numbers with the Department of Homeland Security.
It is a privilege granted to international students to study in the US. And there are rules to maintain their student visas. They must be full-time students attending an accredited college or university, they must have proficiency in English, and the $$$’s to support themselves.
These students are granted a F-1 visa by the Dept. of Immigration. That is the process for attending US colleges. If one of these students is arrested, then that is a violation of their visa status, and they must leave the US. It is that simple. They are not entitled to “due process.”
Organizing and/or participating in a protest rally for a terrorist organization is grounds for a F-1 visa revocation.
“Giving debt relief to people that really need it, that’s what foreclosure is.” J.P. Morgan
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Down Payment Assistance plans are a bad idea!
I am absolutely against the “new” programs to help first time buyers with the purchase of a house. Buying a new home should be hard! It is a huge decision. To buy a new home ($350,000) this year requires a 20% or higher down payment and a $300,000 mortgage loan. At today’s interest rates, a $300,000 mortgage loan financed for 30 years will cost $285,000 in interest. So-the total cost of the home will be $638,000.
Mortgage lenders know exactly and precisely what type of people (single or married) can “afford” a new home and thus qualify for a mortgage loan. The lenders have meta-data, collecting financial transaction statistics for decades. That is how the loan applications and qualifications are determined. We all know what happened in 2007 -2008 with the sub-prime loan debacle. Millions of people incorrectly “qualified” for home loans and defaulted.
Another example of this economic fallacy is the new car re-possessions in 2024. Biden mailed out millions of stimulus checks in 2021. People already had money; their overall spending was curtailed due to covid. Student loan payments were paused, so people bought new, expensive cars and trucks. Two years later the US saw historic record levels of car repossessions. See above chart.
Now- states like Illinois want to loan new home buyers money toward the down payment or even grant “forgivable” loans (whatever the hell that is). States also want to use taxpayer funds for “home assistance grants,” or even special savings accounts with matching $$$’s provided by the state. These are bad ideas. If you don’t have the down payment, you can’t afford the house. It is that simple. A young person (married or single) can save $40,000 to $50,000 in about 10 years.
Home ownership is an important step in accumulating personal wealth. It takes discipline and planning,
“If you think something is too good to be true, It probably is!” Self
The Biomed Central Journal published a recent study conducted in Denmark regarding the relationship between body tattoos and cancer.
The study revealed that tattoos appear to increase a person’s chance of getting skin cancer and lymphoma by 33% to 62%! The ink in tattoos can migrate to and accumulate in the lymph nodes, especially tattoos the size of a person’s palm, or larger. The ink particles that accumulate are treated by the body as a “foreign substance” which then triggers the immune system. Over time, this persistent strain on the immune system may weaken the function of the lymph nodes and cause other health issues. This is according to the new study.
The study also revealed that large tattoos are especially dangerous. Large tattoos increase the risk of skin cancer by 2.3 times and lymphoma by 2.8 times.
The cost of a “full sleeve tattoo” as shown above is about $3000. She will need much more money for her cancer treatments.
A good example of “equity” is when a 6th grade math teacher gives all 30 students in her class a score of 77 on a test. There were 9 students that scored above 90, and 11 students that scored in the 80’s, but the class average was 77. The top students were furious, the lower students liked the grade. On the next test, the class average declined to 72. Self.
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Dr. Thomas Sowell is my favorite economist. I have read 6 of his books on Economics.
Dr. Sowell was born in 1930 in NC and lived in extreme poverty for most of his childhood. At age 9 his family moved to Harlem. He was accepted to Stuyvesant HS (private school for gifted students). He was the first member of his family to reach HS. However, Sowell had to drop out due to family financial problems.
In 1951 Sowell was drafted into the Marines and served 2 years during the Korean War. After the war, he completed his HS diploma, studied at Howard U. and later was accepted to Harvard. He graduated from Harvard in 1958 magna cum laude. He earned a master’s degree in economics at Columbia and later (1968) received his PhD in economics from the U. of Chicago. Sowell taught economics at Cornell, Brandeis, and UCLA. He has written 45 books on economics and social politics and is considered a conservative.
This post is my tribute to Dr. Thomas Sowell. Below are some of my favorite writings from my favorite economist:
“In American society, achievement is what ultimately brings respect, including self-respect.”
“Equal opportunity laws and policies require that individuals be judged on their qualifications as individuals. Affirmative action requires that they be judged with regard to such group membership, receiving preferential treatment, in some cases.”
“To many of us, a level playing field means that everyone plays by the same rules and is judged by the same standards. To others, however, a level playing field means that results are pre-arranged by third parties who ration out benefits to various groups.”
“Government programs that promote “affordable housing” are programs to allow some people to decide what housing they want and force other people, taxpayers, landlords, others, to absorb a share of the costs of a decision that they had no voice in making.”
“Denying citizenship is not a punishment because crossing the border illegally does not entitle you to citizenship. “
On preserving the American Black culture-“in a world where an absolute majority of Black children are born and raised in fatherless homes, where most Black kids never finish HS, and where the murder rate among Blacks is several times the national average, surely there must be more urgent priorities than preserving a lifestyle and identity.”
“They say cream rises to the top. However, among government employees, the cream tends to leave after a few years, allowing mediocrity to rise to the top.”
“British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gave the best definition of consensus-lack of leadership.”
“A majority of men in prison came from fatherless families. In some cosmic sense, it may not be entirely their fault that they took the wrong road. But that doesn’t change the fact that it was the wrong road-or make it any less dangerous to turn them loose.”
“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions that by putting those decisions in the hands of people who will pay no price for being wrong.”
High Truths and Low Lies 