Month: May 2025

IST Saturday News Dump–17May25

Finally the weekend has arrived and the Old Professor can let it all hang out in doing his usual ‘Dump’….all the news that was most likely missed or not readily available.

Locally–The forecast is out about the coming hurricane season which begins 01 June…..and it is looking a bit dire….2025 Atlantic hurricane season is expected to be 125% more active than average.

Predictions released as of May 13 predict an above-normal number of named tropical systems, ranging from:

  • Named storms: 13-21
  • Hurricanes: 7-10
  • Major hurricanes: 3-5

My prep work is finished and all to do now is wait and watch.

 

Personal–Last Wednesday I had another round of blood letting and scans and doctors….a joyous day altogether….I should know the results when I return to doctor on Monday.

Still trying hard to settle Sue’s estate….it is difficult going for she had so much financial stuff going on…..I spent 3 days on the phone last week talking with this agent or this analyst and still no word on the out come.  It is frustrating at best.

 

Let’s get busy shall we?

Most of us old farts take prescription drugs and we are always seeing ads about those miracle spices that have rejuvenating qualities…..but maybe you should be more careful….

A sprinkle of cinnamon on your porridge, a pinch of turmeric in your curry, or a dash of ginger in your biscuits – these popular spices are kitchen staples around the world. For centuries, spices haven’t just been used to flavour food but also valued in traditional Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for their healing properties. But could something as innocent as a spoonful of spice interfere with your medication?

Take cinnamon, for example. Sourced from the bark of Cinnamomum trees, it contains active compounds like cinnamaldehyde, eugenol and coumarin. Cinnamon oil, derived from the bark or leaves, is often used in food flavouring, fragrances and herbal remedies.

Cinnamon has been linked to a range of potential health benefits: it’s rich in antioxidants, it may reduce inflammation, it helps regulate blood sugar levels, it lowers the risk of heart disease, and even improves brain function. Traditionally, it’s also been used to ease digestion and ward off infections.

https://theconversation.com/why-eating-too-much-ginger-turmeric-or-cinnamon-could-interfere-with-your-prescription-medication-255527

Researchers may have found a better way to get needed drugs into your lungs….

Breathing in medicine-carrying microrobots may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but researchers at UC San Diego are testing a way to send microscopic algae into the lungs to fight disease right where it starts. As a press release from UC San Diego explains, the lungs are constantly exposed to outside threats—think viruses, bacteria, and pollutants—and are also protected by some pretty significant barriers: small hairs in our noses that act as filters, mucus and cilia in our windpipes to capture and push out particles, and macrophages in the lungs that are hellbent on finding and destroying unknown substances. As such, medicines for infections like pneumonia are typically delivered via the bloodstream, requiring higher doses that risk wider side effects.

Enter a team led by Joseph Wang and Liangfang Zhang at the Jacobs School of Engineering, who trialed using microrobots built from green algae as a way to get past these defenses. The choice of algae, instead of metal, comes down to compatibility—they move easily and don’t trigger strong immune responses. Medications like antibiotics are loaded onto the microscopic algae “robots,” which are then packed into aerosols small enough to bypass the nose and throat defenses and reach deep into the lungs. The big innovation: the package of drugs on each robot gets a coating made from normal cell membranes, so when immune cells encounter them, they don’t see a threat—letting the treatment spread evenly through the lungs and do its job before being cleared away.

“Post nebulization, the microrobots retain their motility to help achieve a homogeneous lung distribution and long-term retention exceeding five days in the lungs,” they write in the study published in Nature Communications. In tests on MRSA-infected mice, the technology proved promising: all mice given the microrobot treatment for pneumonia survived, while none treated traditionally or not al all did. CBS8 adds that the technology been used to deliver chemotherapy drugs to mice with metastatic lung tumors. Human trials are “foreseeable,” per the school.

This could be a major step forward for the taking of cancer meds…..

Keeping with the health meme….

This is news on the treatment of diseases of the nervous system…..

Central nervous system (CNS) diseases involve complex pathophysiology, gradual symptom onset, and significant challenges in therapeutic evaluation. Aging populations and increasing life and work stress have contributed to a rising incidence of conditions such as stroke, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), epilepsy, and depression, which are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality.

…

Edible and medicinal fungi have been utilized in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Certain fungi contain polysaccharides, steroids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and alkaloids with documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. Recent studies have examined these as potential therapeutic agents for CNS diseases, with specific compounds reported to target oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and neuronal cell survival.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-05-traditional-chinese-medicinal-fungi-potential.html

This report is for those that suffer from migraines…..

If you’re a migraine sufferer familiar with that early “aura” and other symptoms that pop up before the main pain hits, the latest study may herald relief down the road. A recent clinical trial has found that ubrogepant, an approved medication for the severe, throbbing headache that can last for hours or even days, is not only more effective if consumed when those initial symptoms arise—it may also treat those symptoms as well, which include nausea, dizziness, and fatigue, per IFL Science.

The research published Monday in the journal Nature involved 438 subjects who were frequently slammed by migraines, and who experienced some of the telltale early warning signs hours before the migraine itself actually began. The experiment didn’t directly pit ubrogepant, sold under the brand name Ubrelvy, against a placebo or other anti-migraine drug. Instead, each subject received two pills: once when the warning signs of a migraine started emerging, and another when the next bout of symptoms began. One pill was ubrogepant, the other a placebo, and the participants weren’t clued in on which was which.

The subjects then had to rate on a five-point scale how much their activity was restricted due to the migraine. Two hours after taking the first pill in their two-pill regimen, subjects who took the ubrogepant first, then the placebo were 73% more likely to say they could go about their business normally than those who took the placebo first. Those who took ubrogepant first also saw their initial symptoms subside more quickly: For example, nearly 29% of the ubrogepant-first group reported that their neck pain died down within three hours, while only about 16% of the placebo-first group noted the same.

Sue suffered from debilitating headaches…..so if that is your problem please read this and then discuss it with your doctor.

Moving on now…..I was a big fan of the Razr back in the day and I have been considering the possibility of buying a new folding smart phone…..then I saw this report and now I am reconsidering my choice….ifr you are thinking about a foldable phone then this report should be informative.

I love foldables. After taking a break from smartphones, foldables caught my eye and led me back in. But there are downsides—some I reflected on, and some I didn’t!

The first foldable I owned was the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. The first I reviewed was the 2024 Moto Razr+. In both cases, I found that the screen resolutions were not quite the same as what you have in traditional phones.

…

The promise of flip-foldables is that these clamshell devices unfolds into regular smartphones. That’s not quite true. They’re close, but they’re a bit too tall.

I have long fingers, yet I found the Razr tall enough that I had to shimmy my hand to swipe down notifications. Plus, the placement of the hinge right in the middle means the volume buttons also need to go higher than expected.

https://www.howtogeek.com/unexpected-downsides-of-foldable-phones/

Unlocking your mental power….

Do you believe in out-of-body experiences?

For most scientists, consciousness and the brain are inextricably linked—and for good reason. The brain is the synaptic center where our biological selves make sense of the world around us. But this approach only explains certain aspects of consciousness, like information processing and memory storage. The “hard problem,” as famously stated by the Australian philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers, is explaining why these physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experience.

And it is indeed a hard problem, one that philosophers, theologians, neuroscientists, and biologists have pondered for millennia. Because knowledge abhors a vacuum, many theories of consciousness have filled the void. Some have even explored the highly controversial idea of non-local consciousness—that is, a consciousness that exists beyond the confines of our physical skulls. This might seem counterintuitive to your lived experience, which feels very internal. But for years, some have analyzed the perplexing phenomenon of the out-of-body experience (OBE) as potential evidence for this controversial theory.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a64784235/consciousness-out-of-body-experience/

How about any sexual fantasies you may have during a surgery?

Under the haze of anesthesia, some patients undergoing surgery experience something you wouldn’t expect in this tense setting — vivid, sometimes disturbing sexual fantasies. In rare but striking cases, these dreams and hallucinations have blurred the lines between reality and delusion, leaving behind confusion, distress, and in some instances, legal fallout.

A growing body of literature is shedding light on an unsettling phenomenon: certain sedative and hypnotic drugs, especially those used in anesthesia, can provoke sexual hallucinations. These are not idle daydreams. They unfold with startling clarity, often in a logical sequence, and some patients recall them with an eerie sense of certainty.

https://www.zmescience.com/medicine/sexual-fantasies-during-surgery-are-a-disturbing-side-effect-of-sedatives-no-one-talks-about/

It can expand your mind and love your consciousnesses….turn on, tune in and drop out.

Under the care of a traditional Peruvian healer, serial entrepreneur Mark Gogolewski took a powerful Amazonian psychedelic as part of his healing process from alcoholism. As the Ayahuasca ceremony deepened, Gogolewski felt himself pulled to the brink of death, but also felt an encouragement to just let go and jump, he says. But something caught him—and it was “infinite love,” he says. “Like, you can imagine anything you might want—the beautiful, loving light, the source, whatever word you use—we touch it. It’s not just ineffable. It’s everything. … And I will never forget it, because it was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I can’t give you exact words, but I remember the feeling of those words.”

Gogolewski’s struggle to put the experience into words touches on a larger mystery: why do so many people who undergo altered states of consciousness find themselves unable to explain what they felt? Studies are revealing that these states may be fundamentally outside the bounds of human language. Or perhaps language itself is a filter—a cage, even—that blocks us from grasping deeper truths.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a64636206/altered-consciousness-psychedelic/

Maybe Timothy Leary was not as whacked out as we first thought.

That is enough mind numbing stuff for this Saturday…

Enjoy your day and if you are out and about then….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Would Your Child Like To Go To A Great School?

Just a little FYI for those considering a higher education for their children.

My granddaughter will be attending Univ of New Orleans this fall….and it will be a tough nut for my daughter to crack and that got me to thinking about ways that kids could lessen the costs.

We all want what is best for our children and that includes to go to a good college….but thanks to many factors that is becoming only a dream….if you are middle class then the best you can hope for is a local community college and hope something breaks so they can move on.

But did you know that there are 15 great universities that offer free tuition to middle class families?

No?

Well here they are….

With the shocking cost of college tuition these days, many hoping to earn a degree are wondering if it’s worth it, or even fiscally possible.

Fortunately, more elite colleges have been adjusting their policies to cover tuition for middle-class students, making college possible for more Americans (and creating a way to keep more cash in your wallet while attending).

Here are 15 highly respected schools that offer free degrees for middle-class students.

Brandeis University

Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, students whose families make less than $75,000 annually will receive total grants and scholarships that cover the cost of full tuition at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

Students whose families earn less than $200,000 will receive grants and scholarships to cover 50% of their tuition.

Brown University

At the famed New England Ivy, Brown University students whose families earn less than $125,000 annually can expect to have their full tuition covered.

Students whose families earn less than $60,000 annually will have their tuition, plus room, board, and other expenses, covered through scholarships.

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon’s CMU Pathway Program, which will go into effect for the 2025-2026 school year, will fully cover tuition for students whose families earn $75,000 or less annually.

Columbia University

Students who land an acceptance letter from prestigious Columbia University in New York City will also be able to secure free tuition if their family earns less than $150,000 annually.

Dartmouth College

Students whose families make less than $125,000 annually will receive a financial aid package at Dartmouth that requires no parent contribution.

Students may be expected to contribute to tuition based on jobs they hold during the summer or school year, but full needs will be met without the students having to take out loans.

Duke University

In the fall of 2023, Duke began covering full tuition for undergraduate students from North and South Carolina whose family incomes were $150,000 or less annually.

For admitted students from the Carolinas whose families earn less than $65,000, the school will cover tuition through grants, as well as financial assistance without student loans for housing, meals, and other college expenses.

Harvard University

Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, students accepted to Harvard can attend for free if their families earn $200,000 or less annually. These students qualify for “Free Tuition Plus,” which covers tuition and may offer additional financial aid for things like fees and housing based on individual needs.

Students whose families earn less than $100,000 qualify for free tuition, fees, food, housing, and more.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

MIT will begin allowing students with family incomes less than $200,000 to attend for free beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. The cost of tuition will be covered by grants and scholarships.

New York University

Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, The NYU Promise program ensured that all undergraduate students who started as first-year students on the New York campus would have their tuition covered if their families earned less than $100,000 annually.

Princeton University

Back in the fall of 2023, Princeton upgraded its financial aid program to cover the full tuition, room, and board through grants for students whose families earn less than $100,000 annually.

It was the first university in the U.S. to eliminate loans from its aid packages, and in the most recent school year, all families with annual incomes up to $180,000 qualified for some sort of aid.

Stanford University

At Stanford, accepted students whose families earn less than $150,000 annually qualify to have their full tuition covered. If a student’s family earns less than $100,000, the school covers room and board as well.

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago takes it one step further, offering free tuition to students whose families earn less than $125,000 per year and those who are the first in their families to attend college.

If a student’s family earns less than $60,000 annually, they can expect tuition, fees, housing, and meals to be covered.

University of Michigan

Students who qualify for in-state tuition and have a family income of $125,000 or less will qualify to have their tuition and university fees covered at the University of Michigan starting in fall 2025. Housing, meals, and other expenses are not covered under the new program.

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is another top-notch school moving to make Ivy League education accessible to students in the 2025-2026 school year.

Starting in the fall, the school will offer full tuition scholarships to students whose families make $200,000 or less per year. They also removed a home equity evaluation from the financial aid assessment process.

University of Texas

In late 2024, schools in the University of Texas system agreed to cover the full tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students whose families earn $100,000 or less.

The rules will go into effect in the fall 2025 semester, and students whose families earn $125,000 or less may qualify for tuition support as well.

Please if interested check out the schools…..I am sure there will be a criteria for this program so check closely……and that does not mean the entire education will be free….so far just the tuition.

Good luck.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The End Of Sanctions On Syria

On his very lucrative (for Donny mostly) trip through the hell hole many call the Middle East our boy Donny has decided to be magnanimous and lift the sanctions that have been place for many decades basically because Syria was labeled as a ‘terrorist state’…..why is he being so generous?

But now they can return to the fold of the ‘good guys’….I mean what could go wrong after all the new president of Syria was a commander in al-Qaeda. (Remember them?)

But that aside what does this turn of events mean?

President Trump’s Tuesday announcement that he would lift US sanctions on Syria was greeted with jubilation in the streets of Damascus, with the AP reporting people “whistled and cheered the news as fireworks lit the night sky.” Here’s what you need to know about what the move could mean for the country:

  • History: Syria was designated a state sponsor of terrorism in December 1979, which Middle East Eye reports put it in the same bucket as Iran and Cuba and put financial restrictions on things like US foreign aid; defense sales were banned. More sanctions came in the early 2000s. They reached their extreme in 2011 as the US responded to Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on protesters.
  • Historic numbers: Middle East Eye reports “bilateral US-Syria trade, which still stood at roughly $900m in 2010, dropped below $60m in 2012.”
  • A decimated economy: The New York Times reports the sanctions “effectively cut Syria out of the international banking system and isolated it from the global economy, blocking money transfers, restricting imports, and barring activity by most international companies.”
  • A February report: The UN found that 25% of Syrians were unemployed and 90% lived in poverty. The report held a “stark warning,” it noted: “At current growth rates, Syria’s economy will not regain its pre-conflict GDP level before 2080. Annual economic growth must rise six-fold to shorten recovery to ten years, and an ambitious ten-fold rise would be needed over 15 years to bring the economy to where it would have been without conflict.”
  • ‘Game changer’: Those are the words the Times uses for what Trump’s move could mean for Syria. It reports that countries that back Syria’s new government, like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, would be able to send financial aid without fear of negative consequences; Syrians abroad could more easily send funds home; and “private companies from Turkey and elsewhere could seek contracts in construction and other sectors.” Al Jazeera echoes that, noting, “Whether the US itself invests in Syria remains to be seen, but increased Arab and Turkish investment is likely.”
  • Mechanics: The Times notes that Trump has the power to lift some of the sanctions, but Congress will need to have a hand in removing others.

All that is well and good but I want to know how Israel is going to react since they have occupied part of Syria for 50 years and they are still bombing Damascus.

Will Israel play nice or will it just be the same as usual with the US covering their asses for them?

Or for that matter…..how will Iran react?

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Dash Through The Middle East

Our Clueless Leader is on a state visit to the Middle East, well not the whole region just the to the ones with the most cash to spread around, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, I believe his first trip on his first admin was to Saudi as well and I remember the creepy photo of him and the Saudi king holding a shimmering orb.

So what’s up with this visit?

Follow the cash.

The Saudis will be getting a sweetheart weapons deal from the US and do not forget that there is the promise of another Trump Tower in the capital.

And then on to Qatar where he will schmooze the emir and of course take ownership of that luxury Air Force One that will be donated to him (and he has said when (and if) he retires it will be part of a presidential library)

As a reminder, it’s actually unconstitutional for presidents to profit from or receive compensation from foreign governments—but that hasn’t stopped Trump one bit. The Trump family’s Middle East real estate plans include a Trump-branded golf course in Qatar (as part of a $5.5 billion development project), a $1 billion Trump hotel and residence in Dubai, and a $2 billion cryptocurrency investment by an Abu Dhabi firm into one of Trump’s cryptocurrency projects, the World Liberty Financial coin.

The family also revealed in December that it would be expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia, announcing Trump Tower Jeddah. The price tag for the building has not been made public, but one of the developers on the project, Dar Global, compared it to another $530 million Trump Tower in the city, reported Reuters.

https://newrepublic.com/post/195205/donald-trump-syria-sanctions-business-deal

The Trump Organization has similarly partnered with Dar Global on a Trump Tower set to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and an upcoming Trump International Hotel and luxury golf development in neighboring Oman.

During the crypto conference, a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, to back a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested.

While visiting these countries that are stroking his ego Donny met with the Syrians and announced the dropping of sanctions on that nation.

Trump told reporters that he wanted to give Syria a “fresh start” by lifting sanctions.

Proponents of more US engagement with Syria hoped that getting Trump into a room with Sharaa, who remains a US-designated terrorist over his al-Qaeda past, could help soften the Republican administration’s thinking on Damascus and cool an increasingly tense relationship between Syria and Israel.

“Sharaa wants a business deal for the future of his country,” Bass said earlier, noting it could cover energy exploitation, cooperation against Iran and engagement with Israel.

“He told me he wants a Trump Tower in Damascus. He wants peace with his neighbours. What he told me is good for the region, good for Israel.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-tower-syria-sanctions-meeting-b2750667.html

There it is….a Trump Tower in Damascus that was probably the best selling point for Donny’s decision.

Let’s not forget the UAE…..

Eric Trump announced plans for an 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai, the UAE’s largest city. He also attended a recent cryptocurrency conference there with Zach Witkoff, a founder of the Trump family crypto company, World Liberty Financial, and son of Trump’s do-everything envoy to the Mideast, Steve Witkoff.

“We are proud to expand our presence in the region,” Eric Trump said last month in announcing that Trump Tower Dubai was set to start construction this fall.

The presidential visit to the region, as his children work the same part of the world for the family’s moneymaking opportunities, puts a spotlight on Trump’s willingness to embrace foreign dealmaking while in the White House, even in the face of growing concerns that doing so could tempt him to shape U.S. foreign policy in ways that benefit his family’s bottom line.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-business-interests-family-middle-east-cryptocurrency-cbb7d2354304ce0308800819944cf3f8

And I bet you thought I was being a dick when I said follow the cash.

This visit is to promote Donny and his profitable enterprises not what is best for this country and its people.

When will the American people awaken from this nioghtmare?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Has Congress Stolen From Social Security?

For awhile now the common and well used meme about the shortfalls in the social security system is because Congress has taken the money out to fund wars and such…..is this true?

If you were to peruse social media message boards on topics/articles pertaining to Social Security, you’ll commonly find that Congress is the scapegoat. Specifically, some commentors point to the idea of lawmakers stealing or raiding Social Security’s trust funds to fund wars and other line items, and failing to “put the money back, with interest.”

The thing about popular opinions on Social Security is that what’s popular isn’t always what’s right. In this instance, the idea of Congress stealing trillions from Social Security is completely baseless.

In August 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Among the laundry list of provisions and rules set forth by the Social Security Act of 1935 is the treatment of any excess income (asset reserves) collected — i.e., income collected above and beyond what’s paid out in benefits and used to cover the SSA’s administrative expenses to operate the program.

By law, any excess income collected by Social Security is to be invested in special-issue, interest-bearing government bonds. U.S. Treasury bonds are exceptionally safe and backed by the full faith of the U.S. government.

What’s most important to note is that every cent of these special-issue government bonds is accounted for. In fact, the SSA publicly updates the combined asset reserve amount for the OASI and Disability Insurance Trust Fund (DI), along with the average interest rate it’s generating on its asset reserves, every month. As of the end of December 2024, the combined OASI and DI held around $2.721 trillion in asset reserves, with an average yield of 2.557%.

https://www.fool.com/retirement/2025/01/20/has-congress-stolen-trillions-from-social-security/

There is a very simple fix for any shortfall…..that would be to make all people pay into the system with no exemptions…that could raise the money to cover the shortfall and possibly work on a excess that could be beneficial to retirees that have work hard for their entire lives.

Like I said simple….but billionaires have the clout and the cash to stop any reform of the SS payment system…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

For The Return

This is a companion piece for my previous post….

We have been told what a wonderful world it will be as soon as Donny’s agenda and tariffs have done their thing…..

But is that true and how long must we wait?

President Donald Trump says his tariffs on imported goods are encouraging companies to invest in the U.S., claiming that will lead to “better-paying American jobs making beautiful American-made cars, appliances, and other goods.”

But critics say it could take years for American workers to develop the 21st-century manufacturing skills that overseas workers have already mastered.

“In the U.S. you could have a meeting of tooling engineers, and I’m not sure we could fill a room.” Apple CEO Tim Cook says. “In China, you could fill multiple football fields.”

In the meantime, critics warn, consumer products will continue to be manufactured overseas, and Trump’s tariffs will drive prices of those imports higher.

There’s a reason companies moved production offshore in the first place: It’s cheaper thanks to lower labor costs. As a result, American consumers have long benefited from lower prices.

George Carrillo, CEO of the Hispanic Construction Council, says garments and furniture made overseas are generally 20% to 50% cheaper than U.S.-made goods. But for some products, like consumer technology items, the differential is even bigger.

Apple, which makes 80% of its products in China, is a good example.

https://moneywise.com/news/economy/priced-out-trumps-plan-to-bring-manufacturing-back-to-the-us-could-cost-consumers-more-for-years-to-come

Just a little something to think about (if that is possible) when it comes to the promise of the return of American manufacturing.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

When Will Manufacturing Return?

I have written a lot about the tariffs and what it will mean to us mere peasants…..but Donny has said that it will revive the US manufacturing sector….is that really the case?

If this promise is true….how will it revive that sector?

There are some doubting Thomas’…..

The Trump administration’s tariff scheme appears less and less likely to bring manufacturing jobs back to U.S. shores.

Businesses across the country are crunching the numbers and realizing that, despite Donald Trump’s insistence, they can’t balance out his tariff hikes across the supply chain.

“Some manufacturers who had plans to open factories in the country say the new duties are only adding to the significant obstacles they already faced,” Bloomberg reported Friday.

That’s because the supply chain to produce those goods in the United States simply isn’t there, requiring companies to import raw materials and factory equipment—which Trump’s tariffs have made unaffordable—from abroad.

And Trump’s unpredictable approach to announcing and enacting or even retracting his tariffs has added confusion and significant volatility to the market, making businesses less likely to invest in large, long-term projects such as factory development.

Nora Orozco, the owner of footwear company Evolutions Brands, wants to open a Texas factory that would create 200 jobs. But the nitty-gritty of Trump’s so-called “manufacturing renaissance” just doesn’t work, according to the small-business owner.

“I like the idea of onshoring, but this makes it impossible for us,” Orozco told Bloomberg.

Reinvigorating American manufacturing has been a tall order for both political parties since the country offshored and automated the bulk of those jobs decades ago. But 2022 did see a spike in job announcements for reshored manufacturing gigs, according to the Reshoring Initiative, a U.S. manufacturing advocacy nonprofit.

https://newrepublic.com/post/195070/donald-trump-tariffs-manufacturers-opening-factories

We are also told that it may be a long haul to return the manufacturing sector to its once proud glory.

If so then why do we have open manufacturing jobs?

President Trump has been upending the global economy in the name of bringing manufacturing back. President Joe Biden signed into law massive investments aimed at doing something similar. The American manufacturing sector is reviving after decades of decay.

But there’s something a bit weird undercutting this movement to reshore factory jobs: American manufacturers say they are struggling to fill the jobs they already have.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are nearly half a million open manufacturing jobs right now.

…

One big reason manufacturers can’t fill these jobs overnight is because they require workers to have particular skills. And it’s not just skills needed to work on assembly lines. Only around 2 in 5 manufacturing jobs are directly involved in making stuff. Manufacturers also employ people to do research and development, engineering, design, finance, sales, marketing and so on.

https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2025/05/13/g-s1-66112/why-arent-americans-filling-the-manufacturing-jobs-we-already-have

The late Steve Jobs explained to Obama why he and others have gone overseas….

The famously blunt Apple boss wasn’t shy about shooting down the president’s musings. “Those jobs aren’t coming back,” he replied.

The reason why wasn’t just lower costs in countries like China. “Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ is no longer a viable option for most Apple products,” wrote the Times, summing up discussions.

To illustrate, the paper offered a story shared by a former Apple executive about a last-minute design change to the iPhone’s screen that forced a change in the manufacturing process at the Chinese factory where the phones were being assembled.

Around midnight, a foreman “roused 8,000 workers inside the company’s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing more than 10,000 iPhones a day,” the article reveals.

“The speed and flexibility is breathtaking,” the executive told the Times. “There’s no American plant that can match that.”

https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/steve-jobs-quote-on-american-manufacturing-still-applies-today/91181530

Will those ‘well paying’ jobs ever return….and if they do will Americans rush to snap them up?

But I am sure that there are some out there that feel confident that Donny’s plan will do the thing that he has promised.

Sadly I am not one of them.

But it you feel strongly that this is the proper way to go about this situation then by all means explain why you feel that way.

We await the answers.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Our Early Tariff Wars

+++Note–this is going to be another short days for posting for I return to the doctor for blood letting, scans and consultation….in the last week I have been stuck so many times I am starting to feel like a pin cushion.  I will be checking when I can on IST using my phone so please bear with me for I may miss something.  Thanx for your time and understanding+++

You guys know me I do like to inject history into the conversation whenever I can….and what better subject for that injection than tariff wars?

Tariffs are nothing new, nothing Donny came up with on his own….nope they have been with us since the very beginning of this nation….

President Donald J. Trump claims that “tariffs are going to make our country rich.” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer counters that “Trump’s tariffs are going to raise prices on American families by as much as $1,200 a year.” Debate rages on amid American tariff measures and other nations’ counter-measures. This debate over who wins and who loses from tariffs is not new. It’s not even particularly populist. As it turns out, arguing about tariffs has a long American pedigree, dating back to the administration of the first president, George Washington.

There are three important lessons we can learn from this early American tariff debate. The first and most important lesson is that each system proposed in the 1790s, like all centralized systems of industrial policy and tariffs, allowed government to choose winners and losers. Second, at a time when some form of mercantilism was still the default position for nearly all Americans, there was still vigorous debate. And third, tariffs are fundamentally a moral issue.

Americans would like to believe that the most contentious moral and political issue in the United States before the Civil War was slavery. Sadly, it was not. Until 1857, slavery often took a backseat to questions that we tend to overlook today, things like the national bank, transportation infrastructure, and immigration. The most contentious issue in early America, however, was the tariff, especially a protective tariff designed not to raise revenue but to discourage foreign trade altogether.

Why did tariffs arouse such strong opinions? To answer this question, we need to look at the major tariff debates in the early American republic. The first such debate, between the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans during the 1790s, set many of the terms for the later debates occasioned by Henry Clay’s “American System” during the populist Age of Jackson, as well as the high tariffs implemented by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.

What the tariff fight of the 1790s reveals is not the clash of free market liberalism vs. dirigisme—indeed, no one in the late 1700s promoted total free trade—but rather the clash of two different industrial policies, each of which wanted to grant the US Government coercive power over the marketplace.

Lessons from Early America’s Tariff Wars

You see nothing new.

In case you, my reader, would like to learn more about the early tariff wars then this may help.

A Brief History of Tariffs in the United States and the Dangers of their Use Today

Now hopefully you will have a better grasp on just what a tariff war is about and make a rational decision if they are good or bad.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Finally Some Good News?

Back in April of this year our clueless leader made a fantastic pronouncement on eggs….remember?

Of course not for most Americans have the memory capability of a garden slug….so let me help….

President Donald Trump, during a press conference today, seemed to get exasperated at a reporter asking him about egg prices, going on a bizarre rant that ended with him stating that ‘egg prices are getting too low.’

“You can have all the eggs you want. We have too many eggs. In fact, if anything, the prices are getting too low. So, I just want to let you know, prices are down,” Trump told the room of reporters.

This comes a day after Trump went on another egg rant at a press conference, denouncing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, where he complained about being tasked with lowering the price of eggs right after election. “The price of eggs, you know, when I came in, they hit me with eggs. I just got there,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“I was here for one week and they started screaming eggs have gone through the roof. I said, I just got here. I was there for seven days and I hear that eggs have gone through the roof before I got there. And they were screaming at me, the press, the fake news like you, you’re fake, and the fake news is screaming at me about eggs. I said, I’ve only been here, I just, this is my 7th day,” Trump went on.

Fake news?

Has this tool ever bought an egg?

Well the prices came down for the first time in a long while….

US retail egg prices fell in April from the record-high prices they hit earlier this year, according to government data released Tuesday. The average price for a dozen Grade A eggs declined to $5.12 last month after reaching a record $6.23 in March despite wholesale price drops, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the first month-to-month drop in egg prices since October 2024. Overall, the average price of eggs of all sizes fell 12.7%, the steepest monthly decline since March 1984, the AP reports. Still, retail egg prices remain near historic highs. The April average price for a dozen large eggs was 79% higher than reported for the same month a year ago, when the price averaged $2.86 per dozen.

David L. Ortega, a professor of food economics and policy at Michigan State University, said he thinks US egg prices will continue to fall in May and June. Consumer demand tends to fall after Easter, which helps lower prices, he says. Fewer bird flu outbreaks at commercial poultry operations in recent weeks has also helped stabilize the country’s egg supply, Ortega said. According to the Department of Agriculture, there were 59 bird flu outbreaks at commercial poultry operations in February, 12 in March and three in April. But Ortega says the progress of the virus is uncertain, and prices could edge up again if outbreaks expand again. Even one outbreak at a commercial facility can impact supply, because massive egg farms have millions of birds.

Lowering egg prices has been a particular focus of President Trump. In February, the USDA said it would invest $1 billion to help farmers improve their biosecurity measures to fight bird flu. The US has also increased imports of eggs from South Korea, Turkey, Brazil, and other countries. The antitrust division of the Department of Justice is also investigating Cal-Maine Foods, the largest US egg producer. The Mississippi-based company, which supplies around 20% of America’s eggs, said its net income more than tripled to $508.5 million in its most recent quarter, which ended March 1.

Two points that need addressing….

Aid to farmers to increase biosecurity….we pay to help chickens but Donny hires a guy for HHS that does not believe in it for us mere humans.

Seriously?

Second point….Trump said earlier that we have more than enough eggs (paraphrase) and yet we are importing (keep in mind tariffs) from other countries.

How will the tariffs effect prices?  (Okay that is three points….my bad)

I cannot verify the lower prices in my area for I have not been to the store in a couple of weeks….

Is anyone seeing lower prices for eggs?

Please let us know what is happening where you live.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

 

What Happened To The ‘American Dream’?

All of our lives we have heard about the American Dream….that one should aspire to this concept at all costs….family, home, good job, etc etc….but just what does this ‘American Dream’ really mean?

The term “American dream” refers to the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or their socio-economic status, can attain their own version of success in a society in which upward mobility is possible for everyone.

The American dream is believed to be achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking, and hard work, rather than by chance.

The term was coined by writer and historian James Truslow Adams in his best-selling 1931 book “Epic of America.” He described it as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.

Adams went on to explain: “It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motorcars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/american-dream.asp

If interested here is a brief history of the so-called American Dream….

Let’s go as far back as John Adams….

Adams, worshipping material success was not the definition of the American dream: It was, by contrast, the failure of “the American dream of a better, richer, and happier life for all our citizens of every rank.” Adams did not mean “richer” materially, but spiritually; he distinguished the American dream from dreams of prosperity. It was, he declared, “not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

That repudiation is crucial, but almost always overlooked when this famous passage is quoted. Adams specifically gainsays the idea that the American dream is of material success. The American dream, according to Adams, was about collective moral character: It was a vision of “commonweal,” common well-being, well-being that is held in common and therefore mutually supported.

https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/state-of-the-american-dream/churchwell-history-of-the-american-dream

But times are different and the old ‘American Dream’ is no longer.

According to a report from Moody’s Analytics in February, the richest 10 percent of Americans (households with an annual income of at least $250,000) drove half of all US consumer spending (about $10 trillion) between September 2023 and September 2024.

The fact that 12.7 million households could collectively outspend much of the rest of the nation is truly jaw-dropping. It points to the end of an economy that has depended primarily on the needs-based and discretionary spending of ordinary working Americans since the end of World War II.

The biggest surprise of all on the end of the American dream, though, is that for tens of millions of Americans, this is not a surprise. The dismantling of the American dream and the consumer capitalism that defined the nation from 1945 through the housing bubble bust in 2008 began more than a half-century ago.

…

The US, then, is back to its pre-Great Depression economy. Except that in 2025, it’s an economy in which the consumer habits of the wealthiest 10 percent have an outsized influence compared with the bottom 300 million Americans. One cannot truly have consumer capitalism if most consumers cannot make enough money to afford to rent or buy a home, take a vacation, or even pay for food and basic healthcare. But this was the end goal of wealthy Americans pretty much all along, with help from both political parties. Any remaining American dream is but a mere fantasy these days. All because all the on-ramps to general middle-class prosperity have been carpet-bombed.

(aje.com)

Sorry but the American Dream has been over for awhile just too many still want to believe.

What to do?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”