Illinois, California, and Wisconsin end free Medicare for immigrants in the US illegally.Photo above - Dances with undocumented migrants. John Dumb-Bear admits he is reluctant to tell Kicking Bird what will happen when all those Irish and Norwegian immigrants head west. The idea of providing free healthcare to undocumented workers and... See More » (1)
What costs $30,000, and has a 30% product defect rate?[i]Photo above - Ferris? Is Ferris Buehler here today? If your public high school looked like "Ferris Buehler's Day Off" (Chicago), please reply to this thread. Okay – the post title is a trick question. Anyone who answered “VW Golf” gets second... See More » (1)
How expensive will it be when all these AI programs start suing each other? And who should I root for?[i]Photo above - George Carlin as the AI algorithm, in the film "Scary Movie 3" Everybody hates Microsoft. But few people can explain why. Now OpenAI is suing MSFT, and the reason is hilarious. See link below. The lawsuit, which will apparently... See More » (1)
Trump to end Tesla tax subsides. Democrats cheer. But he’s also ending them on Ford and GM electric vehicles. Consternation and confusion result . . .Photo above - Charlize Theron has signed on to promote GM's updated Hummer EV line. Which, unlike the Tesla Cybertruck, actually IS bulletproof against small-arms fire. OK . . . EV tax rebates aren’t the biggest reason we have a $37 trillion... See More » (1)
Housing and gas prices fall. Thousands scheduled to take to the streets and protest Trump.Photo above - AI's response to the prompt "Cage-free child labor at a poultry farm ". Egg prices have dropped recently. Can I ask a question: when did affordable housing become a “looming threat”? (see link below) For the past 4 years – maybe... See More » (1)
348,000 millionaires? Wait, that’s just New York City, not the entire nation . . .Photo above - this writer recently visited NYC for the weekend. She did not purchase breakfast from a street vendor however, as costs have skyrocketed. Food permits are now changing hands at $18,000 per . . . . I went to New York last weekend.... See More » (1)
Germany declares war! Reducing its corporate tax rate from 15% to 10%Photo above - "Rick, after this is all over, Germany will be reducing its business tax to 10%. Perhaps you'd consider relocating your cafe' to Berlin?" Half the people I meet (at least) believe that they will not be responsible for any part of... See More » (1)
Solar Company gets $3 billion federal loan guarantee, files for bankruptcy.Photo above - AI rendering of President Biden's naptime dream, while his aides greenlighted $3 billion in loan guarantees for a solar company that banks refused to touch. Don't be alarmed. This scam was caught and killed just in time. We taxpayers... See More » (1)
Would you rather pay $20 for a single movie ticket, or watch a bunch of commercials before your film starts?Photo above - Brad Pitt (age 30) is beguiled by CGI state of the art femme fatale Kim Bassinger in the 1992 film "Cool World. His new film - F1/Apex - has a budget of $300 million, to de-age him (he's 61) and add car crashes. Okay . .. this is a... See More » (1)
Public housing. 2025 - $1.2 million each for 52 apartments in DC. Thread starteras seen on tv Start date2 minutes ago TagsNonePhoto above - if you lived here, you'd be home by now. New public housing apartments at a whopping $1.2 million each are rising in the affluent Adams Morgan neighborhood in Washington DC. Everyone has to live someplace. Even newly paroled... See More » (1)
Fire sale – 3,000 chinese EVs and gas cars worth $100 million burn at 1,000 degrees.Photo above - Chinese Fire Drill - a car transporter enroute from China to Mexico burns off the coast of Alaska. I'm guessing fire extinguishers were tried before the crew gave up and abandoned ship. The EVs on board say they were just sleeping,... See More » (1)
Is Universal Basic Income an option for me? Researchers warn AI will turn us all into “meat robots”. How much will that pay?Photo above - It's 2052, and Caleb the meat robot shares a quiet moment with his titanium helper in "Westworld" In yesterday’s column it was revealed that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (an official branch of the US government) is urging... See More » (1)
Wait – what? computer science and STEM majors have the some of the HIGHEST unemployment rates?Photo above - Bob and Bob are efficiency consultants and want to have a conversation about what you do at your keyboard all day. There's no reason to be alarmed, however. I always knew my high school career guidance counselor was moron. Not only... See More » (1)
NY Times pivots to conservative economics – condemns “buy now - pay later” economy.Photo above - Nixon asserts "We're all Keynesians now". A short while later he added "I am not a crook", but apparently not to defend his 34% increase in the national debt. There are 2 links below. The NYT article is sometimes behind a paywall,... See More » (1)
America spends $4.9 trillion on healthcare. Suppose the system CAN'T be fixed?Photo above - Believe it or not, Hong Kong has the highest life expectancy on planet earth. Ten years longer than the USA. I've actually been to HK, and I don't believe it. I’d love to live as long as they do in the UK. Their life expectancy is 8... See More » (1)
Trump administration cancels $4 billion in subsidies for big oil.Photo above - "The Hydrogen is Boomin' . . . " Big oil reacts to news that Trump has cancelled subsidies for their Hydrogen refinery . . . Everyone who thinks Exxon should get taxpayer money instead of paying for their own drilling and refining,... See More » (1)
Wait . . . what? Qatar’s 747 “gift” to Trump will cost $2 billion if we convert it to Air Force One?Photo above – His Highness, Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, preparing to take a few hot laps in his F1 racecar. Not shown - The Shiekh's 3 wives and13 princelings and princesses. Eat your heart out, Elon! Today I learned that the... See More » (1)
California gas prices to spike 75%. Bureaucrats rant at each other to shift blame.Photo above - Tippi Hedren searches for a gas station with better prices in "The Birds". In a democracy, people deserve the government they elect. But suppose most of the laws come from a permanent bureaucracy which is largely beyond the reach of... See More » (1)
Consumers dodge trillions in price hikes; Trump turns apoplectic after some court rules he can’t tax and spend as if congress didn’t exist.Photo above – actor Mark Ruffalo impersonates Donald Trump in the new film “Mickey 17”, streaming on HBO Max . . . Told’ja so. A few months ago I published a column expressing doubt that any part of the constitution allows a US president to... See More » (1)
Trump administration nationalizes US Steel . . . and makes Japan pay for it??Photo Above - "WTH ????" Robert De Niro reacts to the news that Nippon Steel took over his factory . Forget about building a border wall out of dented shipping containers, and making Mexico pay for it. This Nippon Steel deal seems better. They're... See More » (1)
Up to 3MM retirees will have Social Security checks docked to cover past due student loans. How did America get in so deep . . . ?Are you a retiree, and behind on your student loans? No . . . I’m not talking about someone who went back to college at 45, retired at 65, and is now binging on Netflix. If a boomer simply co-signed a student loan, and their kid defaulted, those r... See More » (1)
Who cares if China just cut prices on 22 different EVs? That couldn’t happen in America, could it?Photo above - would you buy this EV for $8,000? Sorry, you raised your hand too fast. The maker (BYD) just cut the price in China due to slow sales. Not coming to America any time soon, apparently. Let’s do a level-set first. Tesla is NOT the... See More » (1)
California adds $1.8 billion annually to new car purchase costs. US senate votes to overturn. Gavin Newsom sues . . .Photo above - Strange but true: Governor Newsom photobombs a Tesla supercharger to take credit for Elon Musk's work. Then he signed a bill forcing residents to ONLY buy EVs and hybrids. Well, Governor Newsom has not YET filed suit against... See More » (1)
Who wants to pay $500,000 to hear some former president speak and tell jokes for an hour? That’s wack . . .Photo above - The intricately carved 1,300 pound "Resolute" desk, gifted to President Hayes. It was made from oak salvaged from the English ship Resolute. Per applicable law, Hayes turned it over to the American people, and it was used in the Ovall... See More » (1)
Reality check: will federal budget cuts REALLY mean we can’t forecast hurricanes?Photo above - believe it or not, this is how hurricane severity is predicted - bunch of guys staring at PC monitors. Could AI possibly offer an edge? If I were asked, I’d vote for more air traffic controllers, instead of weathermen. There have... See More » (1)