QUICK TAKES…

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We are entering the era of using cloned animals to test various products…what a dilemma for PETA!!! Are these “animals” owed PETA protection? But a bigger question looms: If we use dare-I-say “artificial” creatures for test purposes how can we be sure that any results are valid? Aren’t we required to assume that the test subjects are exactly the same as “conventional” animals? Is that really the safe way to predict results on humans? Is this another “progressive” step that should not be taken?

The world of Major League Baseball is being rocked by the LA Dodgers. In the span of one week the Dodgers spent over $1 billion on three players. The Baseball Commissioner was silent. For those of us old enough to remember, the Commissioner’s Office was always the court of last resort in OKing any deal. The logic was that an imbalance in talent could result in a detrimental impact on the game–especially in smaller team markets. The sudden Dodger wealth is the result of a 15 year contract with Time Warner paying a guaranteed $8.5 billion for exclusive broadcast rights. If we project that cash bundle the Dodgers could possibly acquire the best player at every position. And still–no comment from the Commissioner. In 1978–during the dominating years of the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati–the Reds tried to acquire a pitcher named Vida Blue. He was the star pitcher for the Oakland Athletics at the time but had problems with their owner, Charlie Finley. The Reds did sign Blue but the Commissioner felt that Reds dominance would be “overwhelming” and so he nixed the deal. Fast forward to the Dodger present–where is that standard? Why isn’t the Commissioner speaking up? have we politicized the national past time? Said another way, is anyone going to bet against the Dodgers winning the World Series for the next 15 years? And isn’t that the imbalance we all feared?

Climate change–the forgotten threat…isn’t it amazing that the biggest threat to our world still resides on the back burner? Trillions of tons of ice melt occur every year. The globe continues to heat up at a faster-than-anticipated rate every year. More fossil fuel is produced and consumed annually. And the impact on various regions of the earth is becoming more evident all the time. We now have tornadoes out-of-season, more severe hurricanes, moisture pattern changes producing cataclysmic flooding, etc. IF NOTHING MEANINGFUL IS DONE TO STOP THIS CYCLE WE DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT PANDEMICS, NUCLEAR WAR, THE ECONOMY OR ANYTHING ELSE. WE WON’T BE HERE.

We predict the GOP ticket–assuming Trump is still eligible and not in jail–where he should be. Trump will pick Elon Musk who has more money than God. Trump sees the Musk intelligence and aggressiveness but he also sees the Trump wealth. Remember the Trump machine runs on deficit financing up to the present. But Musk has the “real” money that Trump could wallow in for future pie-in-the-sky projects. Back in the 1950’s President Eisenhower warned America of “military-industrial complex”. His meaning was that government dependence on private business to produce weapons of war needed to be carefully monitored. Too much dependence could spell disaster for America if war occurred and corporations could not adequately respond. Fast forward to the Trump-Musk era and you see this danger in a more tenuous light. Imagine two aggressive narcists running the nation on a profit motive basis without regard to the Constitution, national interests or security. Deals will be made with Russia, North Korea, and Iran on the basis that they generate Trump-Musk profits–not whether they are in the best interests of American citizens. Worry when you hear the Musk news; and hope that Musk sees Trump for the hollow and failed businessman he is. Maybe we can still avoid that partnership.

Need we say more about social media…another great example of a terrific idea that has gone sour? Every aspect of Musk-owned “X” (formerly Twitter), Chinese-owned TIKTOK, Instagram, and the others have provoked concern. There is no tech way to censor what is published. And First Amendment lawyers live well off the suits filed by anyone who ventures into the communication abyss. The easiest example is the Trump platform, TRUTH SOCIAL. What an ironic name. Almost nothing ever posted on that site has been true. Anyone who follows “TS” for any reason but laughs is “sus”–to quote a current term.

If you follow local newspapers you are given the opportunity to comment on stories they present. But in the past week your “anothersview” editors have submitted three comments in that were rejected. These comments did not violate ANY of the criteria named in the “terms and conditions” of the comment section. But they all had one common trait. They were embarrassingly truthful about the Republican Party. Just another example of managed news–the reason we started this blog nearly 5 years ago.

A public service announcement…as a result of significant casualty losses the State of Florida is experiencing incredible premium increases in the cost of homeowners insurance. Some people are seeing a tripling of their numbers. The losses are so severe that three major insurance companies refuse to market in Florida. The medium range impact of this will be to slow down the homebuilding industry in Florida. And eventually the state may need to find ways to subsidize insurance costs to re-generate home developments.

So what if Fani Willis is having an affair? Would that change the outcome of the Trump conspiracy trial? It does show how desperate the Trump team is. They cannot defend the charges because we all heard the phone calls and saw the interference first hand. So–when you can’t argue law–you try to discredit the lawyer. If Ms. Willis is in fact having the alleged affair, unless she has violated some law or other ethical restriction, so what? If this is another stall strategy imagine (with great trepidation) that Trump could be held as convicted after his election to the presidency. Since he can’t pardon his state conviction we would have a situation where the sitting president is possibly “jailable” for violating an official proceeding in Georgia. And you thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse!!!!

Trump can’t keep Haley and Pelosi separate in his own mind. They really don’t look alike. They aren’t seen in any pics together. They don’t even seem to mention each other in sound bites on the news. When people dismiss Biden for suspected senility–remember this and other Trump statements. We think Trump may be on the verge of a medical event. It’s still a long campaign road with much pressure. Let’s see who the last man standing is.

Some words about Bidenomics. Inflation is down and continues to drop. Employment–job creation– is steadily growing. The Federal Open Market Committee has indicated at least three prime rate cuts this year–a move that will grow the economy even more. The stock markets–which usually reflect what the big money world is expecting in the near term–is at all-time highs. Have you bought gas lately? You see the positive. Don’t let GOP propaganda tell you otherwise.