“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.”
“A good answer late is always better than a fast answer that’s wrong.” Self
Throwing firebombs at Tesla dealerships and cars! An act of terrorism!
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Gasoline has a high energy density. It is explosive, especially when contained in solid object like a glass bottle. In the US. the Molotov cocktail is considered an “explosive device” and is illegal to own. Gasoline has 15 times more stored energy per unit than gunpowder!
The Molotov cocktail was invented in Finland in 1938 and used against Russian military tanks. The device, named after a Russian general, was very effective. It is a handheld firebomb.
Today, in the US. it is used by “peaceful” protestors during riots in our large cities. Over the last 2 years (2021-2023), Molotov cocktails were thrown at police cars, police stations, Federal buildings, churches, store windows, police barricades, and at crowds of people. And now at Tesla cars and dealerships.
The people that hurled these bombs are terrorists. Yet hardly any were arrested. The FBI will find these people and arrest them. I will be very interested in learning the terrorist’s backgrounds.
During some riots, the liberal leaders in our cities and many universities ordered the police to “stand down.” Hundreds of police officers were injured, thousands of businesses were destroyed, many with Molotov cocktails.
The US. needs strong leadership and law and order. Anyone caught with a Molotov cocktail should be arrested and charged with terrorism.
“Many people have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy cause.” Helen Keller
North Carolina native, Roberta Flack, died on February 24 after a fight with ALS. She was 88 years old. Flack was born in Black Mountain, NC a very rural area of Western NC, the same area recently hit by hurricane Helene. Both parents were musicians. Roberta was a classically trained pianist. At age 15 she accepted a full scholarship to attend Howard University to study music. She graduated four years later. She studied piano and voice.
Roberta had many top hits, but my favorites were “Killing Me Softly” and “The First Time I Ever Saw his Face.” Roberta Flack was a accomplished song writer.
Roberta was nominated for 14 Grammys and won 5. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she won numerous American Music awards. and was inducted into the NC Music Hall of Fame.
Roberta taught music at many levels, in both private classes and in public HS. Her influence on R/B music was large. She will be missed by all.
“There are three things that never lie-very young children, drunks, and yoga pants” Anonymous.
President Trump is right about DEI. He signed an executive order removing DEI practices, offices and programs from all federal agencies and federally funded programs. The US. Dept. of Education spent $3 billion on DEI over the last several years. That is incredible.
Regrettably, DEI activities developed in North Carolina schools, especially under the Biden era. So, this month, the NC State legislation, led by Republicans, is passing a new bill to stop the DEI programs and teachings in public schools. I support this bill.
Of course, our local “fish wrap,” the Charlotte Observer, published a full-page story about this situation, condemning Trump, yet highlighting the details of the proposed NC bill. As crazy as it sounds, here are some of the details of what the new law would ban in schools:
– the teaching of divisive concepts
-that one race or gender is inherently superior to another race or gender
-an individual, solely based on his or her race or gender, is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive. Can you imagine a 3rd or 4th grader being taught these concepts????
-an individual, based solely on his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by members of the same race or sex. How does an 8-year-old girl deal with those accusations?
-character traits, values, moral and ethical codes, privileges, or benefits should be ascribed to a race or gender or to an individual because of the individual’s race or gender.
-a meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist. What a troubling notion to teach children. Who is qualified to explain this outrageously flawed view to elementary students?
-the United States was created by members of a particular race or gender for the purpose oppressing members of another race or sex.
-lastly, the new bill would ban the teaching of white privilege, systemic racism, and that white people have unfair advantages due to their race that comes at the expense of people of color.
The teaching of all DEI related subjects must end in our public schools. Focus instead on Math and Science and Reading. NC schools rank 43rd in the US compared to all the other states in education.
“We’ve got some hogs with all four feet and their snouts in the trough, and we have to find out who they are!” Senator John Kennedy, Republican-Louisiana.
NYT released lengthy study on Planned Parenthood citing poor conditions, bad employee training and rundown conditions. Their pay salaries are so low the employee turnover is 50% and many staff come from Medicaid and federal food assistance ranks. There are even reports of shortages of pain meds and IV solution. Planned Parenthood spends huge sums on political issues, campaigns, consultants, and defending itself against patient lawsuits. According to the NYT study, over the last 5 years PPH has distributed $899 million to its affiliates, but none of it went directly to patient care. PPH has 600 locations covering all 50 states.
US trade imbalance hit record high in 2024. Americans purchased $4.1 trillion of goods and services from outside the US. Much of this was car parts, weight loss drugs, computers, and food. The US shipped $918 billion to other countries leaving a trade deficient of $1.2 trillion. That was a 17% increase from 2023. China represents 1/3 of this imbalance, Mexico and Vietnam also have huge trade imbalances with the US. This is exactly what Trump is talking about.
Many presidents from universities across the country have announced the school’s policy on cooperating with ICE. The policies are to not hand over students who are criminal illegal immigrants to ICE. I cannot disagree more with this policy. Criminals should not be protected just because they are on a college campus. Can you imagine a US citizen suspected of rape being “sheltered” in a dorm? This is madness and will lead to a dangerous situation on campus. And-what about a suspected terrorist?
Trump fired the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. Her name is Jennifer Abruzzo a Biden appointee. See picture above. Trump also fired Gwynne Wilcox, a Black women from the NLRB Board. Both women were extreme liberals and drove the Board to overreach its powers, including forcing companies to support Black Lives Matter. The Board’s charter is to protect worker’s rights to form unions, not push social and racial policies.
Illegal immigrants are causing a sharp rise in infectious disease cases in the US. Kansas City reports 67 cases of Tuberculosis, the largest outbreak in recent history. Charlotte NC has experienced 31 active cases of TB. Studies indicate the cases involved foreign-born patients. Texas has reported 100+ case of measles, a highly dangerous virus. The FDA has said the disease in very dangerous with 30% cases requiring hospitalization. Thanks Joe Biden.
Colleges across NC and many other states have announced free tuition programs for low-income families. Duke University is providing free tuition to students from families with incomes below $150,000. Wow!!! With an income level like that I would think the parents could save for college. UNC Chapel Hill sets the family income at $80,000 for free tuition. This is another way of getting low-income students enrolled in college and a direct result of the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding race being used for college admissions. Tuition free students must be qualified for college study, or this program will fail miserably.
“There will always be the lower 20% in any population.” Thomas Sowell, Economist.
We all believe in equal opportunity, but equity is different. Equity means equal outcomes. Examples of equity might include-all applicants admitted to Harvard. All Iowa farmers raise the same amount of corn. All 6 graders score the same on a math test. All employees paid the same, all cross-country runners cross the finish line at the same time, everyone is promoted together, etc. See how foolish this concept is?? Would you fill a basketball team roster with all the same height men??
The capabilities of people are not the same. Some are much more intelligent than others, some work harder. Some people are just great in math, others are great in art or music. Some people are physically stronger. Of course, some people are short!
Some people are lazy! They do not apply effort to work or life. Some people are brave and have courage, others are weak.
To pursue equity means directing resources to people so they might reach the higher outcomes of others. Sadly, it can also mean lowering the level of outcome for all. To get to all A’s on a 6th grade math test, the teacher might make to test “extra easy.” But-many in the class will not be challenged and/or study extra hard. The result, in this example, is mediocracy. Cross country runners in the front have to slow down to wait for the rest of the team. Ugh!!
For 2-3 centuries, in most prosperous countries, the fundamental economic principle was to direct scarce resources to those people with the brightest ideas, innovation, and proven track records. Banks should never make loans based on equity. The best method to help underachievers is to live in a thriving economy with opportunities for all.
While teaching college 6 years ago, my university changed admissions criteria to include “life’s struggles” as a major factor in admissions. Sounds noble, but HS grades and SAT’s were not equally considered. Sadly, the students admitted using this new set of criteria failed miserably and most dropped out, many with student loans. Ugh! I wondered about the students that were not admitted because they did not have a “struggle” to report.
The pursuit of “equity” is just a bad and outdated social experiment.
Lastly, a word about diversity! In the business world, diversity means granting jobs, promotions, pay increases, bonuses, and other “rewards” based on race and sex. Therefore, merit is not a factor. This is analogous to “butting in line.”
“It is not true that Congress spends money like a drunken sailor, a drunken sailor spends his own money, Congress spends our money.” Economist Art Laffer
Costco has 134 million members which includes me. I like shopping at Costco because of their pricing and quality. I have even booked trips through Costco Travel. You just can’t beat their $4.99 rotisserie chicken and the $1.50 hotdog with drink.
Costco has 891 stores worldwide with 600+ in the US, and total sales worldwide of $250 billion in 2024. Wow!!!!
Costco also has a member magazine which is mailed to the homes about once a month. The January 2025 issue has 124 pages loaded with advertisements for their health and beauty products. There are also numerous articles about a how to live a healthy and active life.
Sadly, the January issue also contains a full-page article written by a “leadership coach” named Pete Walsh. He is advising leaders to build a multigenerational team with up to 5 generations of employees. Hogwash!!!! Doing the simple math, a woman in high school would have to give birth at age 18, then for the next 4 generations her daughter, granddaughter, great granddaughter, and great great granddaughter would have to do the same. That would make the original woman 90 years old, and her daughter would be 72 and so forth until all 5 generations are working. I would not recommend building teams with 90-year-olds or even 70-year-olds. There is no evidence proving ” multigenerational teams are high performing! The author is a hack trying to sell articles to a naive editor.
Also in this month’s issue is an article about various individuals and their outdoor activities. One of the featured persons is a 65-year-old hang-glider. She is pictured in the magazine high above the land in England with a small child in tandem. It appears the child is about 6-7 years old. Perhaps that might be newsworthy, but I think it is very dangerous and close to child endangerment. Can you imagine hang-gliding with a small child?
I think Costco should re-think the magazine and the tenure of the editor.
“If criminals place little value on the long term, then doubling police patrols might be a more cost-effective way to reduce street crime than doubling the jail sentences.” Author Andrew Leigh, Australian Economist.
Recently, I have watched a lot of football on TV, both college and the NFL. But two things bother me about the broadcasts, one-the same old commentators are on the shows. I am tired of watching Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Coach Cowher, Jimmy Johnson, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Boomer Esiason, Phil Simms, Chris Berman, and all the others. The broadcasts need new talent and not DEI hires, please. And another thing-why do players have mouth guards attached to their face masks, but not in their mouths?
Pleased to see punks arrested for “illegal street takeovers.” Gangs of youths block city intersections and race around the area “burning rubber.” Citizens and residents can’t get through. This is an easy crime to prevent, just arrest those involved, suspend their driver’s licenses, impose heavy fines, and impound the vehicles. Don’t wait until some teenager is run over or shot to death.
NC Governor Cooper granted clemency to 15 death row inmates on his last day in office. Why wait until the last day-afraid of the backlash from victim families and/or law enforcement? How can this be morally right? The governor is a coward!
This is an arrest photo of Dana Stubblefield, ex-NFL star. He is 6’2″ tall and weighs 290lbs. He was convicted of raping a disabled woman at gunpoint and sentenced to 15 years in prison. This week an Appeals Court overturned the conviction citing racial language used in the trial was in violation of the state’s new Racial Justice Act of 2020. Apparently, the prosecutors used inappropriate language in the closing argument. He can be re-tried if the California prosecutor makes that decision. The victim was in Stubblefield’s home being interviewed for a babysitting job.
Over the last 5 seasons, the Carolina Panthers football team has the worse win/loss record in the NFL. The team’s record is 24 wins 60 losses for a .285 winning percentage. During the recent season the Panthers set a new NFL historical record for allowing 534 total points while on defense. Yet, their head coach, Dave Canales (his record is 5-12) assured the fans that his defensive coordinator, Ejero Evero, will return next season. How is that possible?
A recent report by the US Dept. of Education showed that 100+ colleges closed their doors in the last year 2 years, with more scheduled to close this year. Almost all are small, private, liberal arts colleges. This situation is a good example of “survival of the fittest.” I have never had a strong positive view of small, liberal arts schools. Most are very expensive and have less than 2500 students. I do not believe the quality of education is worth the cost, nor is the quality of the student body. So, student enrollment is down. These schools get their funding from tuition and fees. However, many enroll students with Pell Grants (low income) so colleges can’t just raise tuition. And-colleges get $$$’s from alumni donations, which are almost non-existent from Pell students and/or students not being able to find jobs with liberal arts degrees. So, without enough students and donations, the colleges are forced to close. I also believe the dubious on-line colleges compete for students. Their tuition is cheap and so is the quality of the education.
” My own feelings were sad and depressed at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered much for a cause, though the cause was, I believe, one of the worse for which a people ever fought.” General Ulysses S. Grant in reference to General Robert E. Lee.
This full-size poster below, was displayed at the entrance to Belk’s Men’s department in the South Park mall. Thousands of men, women and children pass by this display. The picture is disgusting, inappropriate, and lewd or was that the point?
According to a recent report released by the US. Census Bureau, Charlotte, NC has 186,000 illegal immigrants. That number has doubled in the last 6 years. The large increase is straining the housing market, schools, social services, and hospitals (Atrium Health reports 35% non-payers). What worries me is drivers with no insurance or driver training, crime, money flowing back to South America and not spent locally. No federal or state income taxes paid. This is wrong!
The US Mint announced 5 new quarters to be issued in 2025. George Washington is being replaced by 5 women. Hmmm??? Seems a stretch to me. Of course, the women chosen are minority activists often called “trailblazers.” One woman was a tennis player (Althea Gibson), another was a Native American activist, and one woman was a civil rights activist. I never heard of any of these women. But have head the names Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, Grant, Hamilton, Jackson, and Kennedy.
The European countries like France, Spain, Poland, and UK have allocated $118 billion in aid to the Ukraine over the last 22 months. The US has spent $85 billion, roughly a 60: 40 ratio. I want Trump to cut funding immediately and end the war. And-I want the Ukraine to allocate its natural resources to the US.
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Northvolt, Europe’s premier battery company has filed for bankruptcy. Investors included the governments of Canada, the EU, Germany, Poland, and Sweden. Other investors included Goldman Sachs, Blackrock, BMW, and Volkswagen. JP Morgan also lost millions. Northvolt lost $1.2 billion in 2023. The leaders of Northvolt were incompetent. A complete disaster. The picture above is Northolt’s major factory in a remote area of Sweden.
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Last New Year’s Eve in Charlotte a man named Daevion Crawford, age 19, shot 5 people gathered to celebrate the New Year. He was arrested and charged with 5 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Judge Carla Archie (above) accepted a plea deal and sentenced Crawford to 1 year, 9 months. Sadly, a 35-year-old man from Kannapolis was sentenced to 3 years, 2 months in Federal prison for his part in the Jan. 6th riot in Washington. He was found guilty of obstructing law enforcement and assault. He had no weapon. I hope Trump’s new Attorney General reviews the Jan. 6th convictions. The FBI had 26 operatives in the crowd on Jan. 6th. They knew in advance the riot might happen but did nothing to protect the Capitol. I saw the videos; the Capitol Police pulled the barriers back and allowed the rioters into the Capitol. The police chief resigned the next day.
Finally, I watched a few NFL games this week. One game had 22 accepted penalties, including delay of game, illegal formation, lining up in the neutral zone, illegal shift, too many men of the field, false start, offside, and of course, holding. And they call this “professional football.”
High Truths and Low Lies 