“Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon Thy great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of Thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously.”
–St. Francis of Assisi.
The Federal Reserve Bank voted unanimously to raise interest rates, by a quarter point. The move is said to be an interest to further tamp down inflation. Hmmmm. A better approach might be for Congress to rein in spending, and the Fed to quit printing money to cover that spending.
Led by the very bitter Representatives Thomas Massie (R. Ky.) and Nancy Mace (R. S.C.), 7 House Republicans joined all Democrats to pass a bill requiring the President to withdraw the U.S. military from its Iranian operations. Sigh. With “friends” like this . . . .
How do you think these legislative actions affect the Iran conflict? Do you think it might embolden and harden the Iranians? Do you think this is helpful to the United States efforts?
“. . . the private sector has created over 1 million jobs. Real wages are outpacing inflation. The bottom 25 percent of wage earners are seeing larger wage increases than those at the top. And the Working Families Tax Cuts has delivered the largest share of tax relief directly to millions of low- and middle-income Americans.”–Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The Kennedy Center is closed for repairs, and is on the verge of bankruptcy. The natural consequences of years of Democrat neglect.
Chicago, Illinois Mayor Brandon Johnson (D.) announced he was running for reelection. Pity the poor Chicago residents if he wins.
The Los Angeles, California District Attorney announced that he would not seek the death penalty against Nick Reiner. Huh. Nick Reiner lay in wait for his parents, in their home, and then brutally stabbed them to death. So exactly why is the death penalty not appropriate for this case?
Federal Judge Paul Diamond of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and his chief deputy to the U.S. Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. It seems that Mr. Krasner’s recent handling of a murder case may have involved false statements, perjury, and obstruction of justice. Oh, my!
Larry Krasner is a vicious anti-Trump critic, a Democrat partisan, and a soft-on-crime Leftist. The criminal referral could not have happened to a nicer guy.
“We haven’t lived up to the promise of democracy. And of course, some countries are farther along than others, and sadly, here in America, where that experiment started, we are backsliding. And that troubles me greatly. But all of us still have so much more work to do to create a true democracy . . . We should look, as Americans. to other countries, especially in Western Europe, for inspiration about how to continue with this experiment and ultimately reach that goal of a true democracy, of a beloved community.”
–U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico (D. Tx.).
Uh, no. Forget it. Not going to happen. Take your soy boy, vegan, sexually ambiguous posterior to Europe if you wish. But bringing that chaos here? No thank you!
“We should all be outraged that powerful people are more upset about what an artist says than the displacement, starvation, and killing of innocent Palestinian children and families. Thank you, Macklemore, for speaking up. This is a moment for us to come together, find our moral conscience as a nation, and end this genocide.”
–Representative Pramila Jayapal (D. Wa.).
Some rapper named Macklemore (I do not listen to rap) was serving as the opening act for Ed Sheeran (a singer I have never listened to or heard of). Macklemore made a habit of advocating for Gazans, Arab terrorists, and liked to yell “Free Palestine!” at concerts. Odd, offensive, but okay. Then Ed Sheeran fired him. Rumor has it that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was behind Ed Sheeran’s decision (ah, the Jews did it again!). And now the controversy has erupted with cries of censorship. CAIR (the Council on American Islamic Relations), a terrorist group, has condemned Mr. Kraft and Mr. Sheeran, as has Puddin’head. Sigh. Any excuse to promote Leftist terrorism and denounce Israel.
“Canadians now boo at the mere sound of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” They brag of a new “elbows up” policy to stop U.S. “aggression.” Their social media is flooded with braggadocio about new ways to hurt Americans. Some three-quarters of the country has bought into [Canadian Prime Minister Mark] Carney’s fantasies. Hating America is the new Canadian pastime.
But, sadly, this will not end well for Canada, for at least five reasons.
First, America certainly is not the cause of Canada’s maladies, other than by subsidizing its suicidal domestic choices for years. Canada’s self-destructive socialist and globalist policies are its government’s doing alone.
* * * *
In truth, America prefers a militarily and economically strong Canadian partner, not a weak one lashing out from insecurity.
Second, the American public has so far been mostly indifferent to the spat. But now that the North American media has begun revealing the extent of Canada’s anti-American venom… anger is rising at his cheap politicking and the animus he has fanned.
* * * *
Third, for all his globalist background and internationalist performance-art stunts, Carney is alone on the world stage. Europe may applaud his defiance, but it has no desire to join his anti-American campaign. When the United States finally insisted on symmetrical trade, only communist China and Canada… slapped counter-tariffs on the United States.
Fourth, Canada is far more vulnerable than the United States if Carney’s “war” continues. Canada relies on the United States for 72 percent of its exports, while America relies on Canada for only 15 percent of its own exports. Last month, even before the full effect of the new tariffs was felt, Canada lost 42,000 jobs while the United States gained 160,000.
* * * *
Fifth, since Carney walked out at the last minute, it will be incumbent upon him to resume talks — especially as the damage he has done to Canadian workers and small businesses worsens. But should Carney seek to renew negotiations immediately after the Canadian provincial elections and the U.S. midterms, he will be exposed as a disingenuous politico who ginned up the fight to manipulate both Canadian and American balloting to benefit himself and his party.
If that happens, he may learn that the American friendship train has left the station. He will also discover that China treats obsequious outreach from Western “middle powers” as weakness to exploit, not magnanimity to reciprocate.”
–-Victor Davis Hanson.
Beginning in 2028, The PGA Tour will have 2 membership categories, the Championship Series and the Challenger Series. The Challenger Series will serve as a feeder tour for the Championship Series. The 2 series will play separate tournaments. Essentially, the Championship Series will be composed of Fed Ex standing golfers ranked 1-95, and the Challenger Series will be composed of Fed Ex standing golfers ranked 96-175. There are certain other qualifications, and limited movements between the series. It all seems rather complicated.
GFK