The one US town where residents live significantly longer...
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
The warning signs were a lot older than a few days
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15566063/Robert-Dorgan-gunman-hockey-Rhode-Island-warning-signs.html
Monday, February 16, 2026
Sunday, February 15, 2026
The CBO forecasted last week that we will be $64 trillion in debt by 2036
... In CBO’s baseline projections, whereas debt held by the public increases by $24 trillion from the end of 2026 to the end of 2036, debt held by government accounts remains relatively stable, averaging $7 trillion over the next decade. As a result, gross federal debt is also projected to rise by $24 trillion over that period, reaching $64 trillion at the end of 2036. Debt held by government accounts makes up 12 percent of that sum. ...
More (page 18).
Spending: Wei Tu Hai
Taxes: Wei Tu Lo
The cost of making a banana bread at home for breakfast spiked 57% in 2023 and 70% in 2025 from Jan 2020, and is still up 31% in Jan 2026
The ingredients in the data below come from the Gold Medal Flour Best-Ever Banana Bread recipe printed on the package, minus the (small amounts of):
vanilla (1 teaspoon), baking soda (1 teaspoon), salt (1 teaspoon), and the nuts (1 cup, optional anyway), for which I do not have the data.
Saturday, February 14, 2026
New York firewood supplier sold face cord equivalents, 8'x4'x16", for $493 during recent winter cold snap
Shivering Americans Snap Up Firewood as Winter Grinds On...
... On Jan. 24, the day before a winter storm buried much of the Northeast in snow, Woodbourne Firewood had its highest-grossing sales day in the history of the company, which was started in New York in 2022, said Mr. Heby, 35, the owner. He said the company sold seven full cords of wood, units that are eight feet long, four feet tall and four feet deep, enough to fill a tractor-trailer and generating $10,356 in revenue in one day. ... Grahm Leitner, 48, a logging contractor and forester from Waterbury, Vt., said the number of days spent logging in a given year is about half of what it was in the 1980s, especially because of climate change. ...
It could be worse: If the average price of coffee in this chart had kept up with inflation since Jan 1980, the average price in Jan 2026 would be $13.42 instead of $9.37
Soaring coffee prices rewrite daily routines...
... Coffee prices in the U.S. were up 18.3% in January from a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released on Friday. Over five years, the government reported, coffee prices rose 47%. ...
The cost of a traditional American breakfast in Jan 2026 is up 55.3% since Jan 2020
Menu:
Coffee with milk
Bacon and eggs
Toast with butter
Orange juice
Friday, February 13, 2026
I can no longer has cheezburger under Donald J. Trump
100% ground beef hit a new all time high average price of $6.752/lb in Jan 2026.
On the eve of the election Trump promised cheaper grocery prices, but breakfast costs nearly 8% more in Jan 2026 than it did then
A basket of bacon and eggs, whole wheat bread and butter, coffee and whole milk, and orange juice cost on average $32.47 in the United States in 3Q2024. Stretched out over a week, your breakfast cost you $4.64 a day.
That same basket in Jan 2026 is now $35.00 on average, up $2.53 or 7.8%.
Stretched out over a week breakfast now costs $5.00 a day.
Meanwhile OJ hit a new high, and despite removing some coffee-related tariffs, coffee hit a new record high price in Jan 2026, too.
Core cpi inflation falls to 2.5% year over year in Jan 2026, still 39% elevated above the 1.8% average rate which prevailed for twelve years 2009-2020
The average yoy rate for eleven months of 2025 was 2.91%.
On the campaign trail in August 2024, Trump promised to cut energy prices by 50% but in Jan 2026 they are down just 4.3%, and entirely on the back of modestly falling gasoline prices
Average prices per unit of energy in 3Q2024 vs. Jan 2026:
Gasoline $3.496 vs. 2.961 (down 15.3%)
Natural Gas 1.403 vs. 1.704 (up 21.5%)
Electricity 0.178 vs. 0.192 (a new record high, up 7.9%)
Total 5.077 vs. 4.857 (down 4.3%)
The U.S. state capitalist EV boondoggle comes to an end, shape-shifting automakers take well-deserved $50 billion hit
... Following years of investments into EV technology, the Detroit Big Three ... have announced more than $50 billion in combined write-downs.
EV sales fell more than 30% in the fourth quarter, after a $7,500 federal tax credit that had juiced U.S. sales expired in September. ...
Automakers’ retreats and massive write-downs have come as Republican lawmakers abolished a lucrative federal tax credit for EVs last fall, while also doing away with federal fuel-efficiency mandates. Even with federal support, EV demand was below expectations. ...
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Feds declare victory in Minnesota immigration enforcement operation and begin withdrawal, cutting their losses
They leave two murdered civilians in their wake, a permanent stain on the Trump administration.
... “We have greatly reduced the number of targets for enforcement
action” in the Twin Cities region as a result of the influx of thousands
of officers from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and
Customs and Border Protection agencies, Homan said at a press
conference. ...
U.S. House votes 219-211 to overturn Trump tariffs on Canada
House votes to override Trump’s Canada tariffs
... the effort is likely symbolic. Even if the Senate approves Meeks’ resolution, Trump would likely veto the legislation. ...
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
MA78A: The civilian employment level was 59.3% of population in Jan 2026, which was the average level first achieved way back in 1978 lol
The White House doesn't have a clue.
Federal government employment in Jan 2026 is down 324k since Trump took over, with local government employment up 140k and state government employment down 72k
That's a net hit to government jobs at all levels of 256k in Trump's first year.
The federal government last averaged 2.69 million employees in 1966. The Jan 2026 level is 2.686 million.
I'm so old I remember when Jan 2026 full time employment at 48.79% of population was Great Recession level bad
That whole China joining the WTO and globalization thingy has really worked out great for the American middle class amirite?
The winter trend since Jan 2023 has been DOWN:
Jan 2023: 49.32%
Jan 2024: 49.16%
Feb 2025: 48.88%
Jan 2026: 48.79%.
GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska strongly opposes hypocritical GOP scheme to federalize elections
How did Trump and the GOP sweep into power in 2024 with all these illegal aliens voting?
Inquiring minds want to know.
GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski comes out against Trump's election bill, with a warning to her party
... “When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed,” Murkowski said in a statement. “Now, I’m seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act and MEGA that would effectively do just that. Once again, I do not support these efforts.”
“Not only does the U.S. Constitution clearly provide states the authority to regulate the ‘times, places, and manner’ of holding federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington, D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska,” she added. ...
“Election Day is fast approaching. Imposing new federal requirements now, when states are deep into their preparations, would negatively impact election integrity by forcing election officials to scramble to adhere to new policies likely without the necessary resources,” she said. “Ensuring public trust in our elections is at the core of our democracy, but federal overreach is not how we achieve this.” ...
“This is not a federal issue,” McConnell told reporters in January 2022 when the bill came before the Senate. “It ought to be left to the states. There’s nothing broken around the country. The system upheld very well during an intense stress during the latter part of the previous Congress. There’s no rational basis for federalizing this election, and, therefore, there’s no point in having a debate in the U.S. Senate about something we ought not do.”
Ford Motor blames tariff timing and fires at an aluminum plant for earnings miss when it was its electric vehicle business
... On an unadjusted basis, the company’s net loss of $8.2 billion last
year was its largest since the Great Recession in 2008, according to
FactSet. That included $15.5 billion in special charges during the
fourth quarter largely related to a pre-announced pullback in its
all-electric vehicle plans.
Automakers commonly exclude “special items” or one-time charges from their adjusted financial results to provide investors with a clearer picture of their core, ongoing business operations.
Ford reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $11.1 billion, or a loss of $2.77 per share, compared with net income of $1.8 billion, or 45 cents per share, in the same period in 2024. Adjusted for the one-time charges, the company reported earnings of 13 cents per share.
Representatives Massie, Kiley, and Bacon revolt against House GOP and vote with all Democrats to take back Congress' Article I tariff power from the president
Expect tariff votes in the U.S. House in the near future, but not necessarily victories.
... The House Rules Committee on Monday approved language that would block
any House votes disapproving of Trump’s tariffs through July 31. ... The Senate has on multiple occasions voted to strike down tariffs issued
by Trump, while the House has blocked votes on tariff-related
resolutions. The latest prohibition on tariff votes expired at the end
of January. ...
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
To get around the law on national emergencies, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives declares that the next 171 days will not add up to even one calendar day
Remember when the Obamacare provisions in March 2010 were deemed to have passed when they hadn't?
Remember how the Big Ugly Bill which passed last summer under reconciliation rules deemed that the Trump tax cuts of 2017 which had had a cost in 2017 no longer had a cost in 2025?
Remember how your mother told you "Saying doesn't make it so?"
That's how all this works now, including son saying to mom, "Mom, I'm a girl now".
Our rotten society views reality as the enemy.
Monday, February 9, 2026
The bond market has voted Nay Nay on the Fed's interest rate cuts which started in September 2024, but I repeat myself
Worries about softening employment have been entirely misplaced. Jobless claims have been FLAT for four consecutive years.
The Fed was wrong about jobs, just like it was wrong about inflation being transitory.
Why did Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick lie about his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein?
Lutnick and Epstein were in business together, Epstein files show
... Lutnick, the former chairman of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald who at one point lived next door to Epstein, told the New York Post in October that he and his wife Allison had cut ties with Epstein in 2005, deciding after taking a tour of Epstein's New York townhouse, "I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again."
However, it appears Epstein and Lutnick continued to maintain contact and emails show they arranged calls and planned to have drinks in 2011.
The following year, the couple and their four children planned a visit to Epstein's island, Little St. James, emails show. Lutnick was invited for lunch on Dec. 24, 2012, and later, Epstein's assistant wrote on behalf of Epstein, "it was nice seeing you."
Their Adfin deal was signed four days later. ...
By the time Epstein and Lutnick agreed to buy stakes in Adfin, it had been more than four years since Epstein agreed to enter a guilty plea to Florida state charges of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. The case brought forth allegations of far broader sex trafficking and victimization of girls, but it wasn't until 2019 that Epstein was charged with federal felonies including trafficking. He died in jail in the weeks after his arrest. ...
... Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., urged Lutnick to step down after The New York Times reported the Trump ally interacted “regularly” with Epstein, according to files released by the Department of Justice relating to the notorious sex offender. Massie was the lead Republican on the Epstein Files Transparency Act that compelled the release of the Epstein files.
“He should just resign,” Massie said on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday.” “Howard Lutnick clearly went to the island if we believe what’s in these files; he was in business with Jeffrey Epstein, and this was many years after Jeffrey Epstein was convicted.”
He added: “He’s got a lot to answer for, but really, he should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign.” ...
Why is NBC afraid of the truth?
... NBC has denied editing the crowd audio, although it is difficult to resolve why the boos so audible in the stadium and on other broadcasts were absent for US viewers. ...
Sunday, February 8, 2026
Trump's corrupt state capitalism, but I repeat myself, is anti-American, anti-competitive, and advances long-standing Democrat objectives, which is one reason big business is keeping its big yap shut
When the Democrats can't get what they want, a Republican chump comes along who does it for them.
The power of existing businesses will only get stronger thanks to Trump, so mum's the word.
The Trump administration’s portfolio of equity stakes in U.S. companies has reached a scale that is unprecedented outside economic crisis or wartime....
“It is a invisible barrier to startups and new market entrants,” said Scott Lincicome, an international trade lawyer affiliated with Cato Institute. “Why would you ever want to enter a market that you know your chief competitor is backed by the U.S. government?”...
The Trump administration’s approach is a major ideological departure for the Republican Party, which has traditionally championed free market capitalism and excoriated government intervention. The Democrats have typically been the party of industrial policy and intervention in markets.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, for example, introduced an amendment to Biden’s CHIPS Act that would have allowed the government to take stakes in companies that accept federal funding for semiconductor manufacturing. The measure ultimately died in the Senate....
Top executives have voiced virtually no public criticism of the Trump administration taking stakes....
Before the U.S. took its stake in Intel, Trump said CEO Lip-Bu Tan was “highly conflicted” and called for his resignation over his ties to Chinese companies. The comments sparked a brief sell-off of Intel shares....
Trump bought 433.3 million shares of Intel in August 2025 at $20.47, about $3 off its recent lows around $17.66, risking taxpayer money, not his own.
America's bailouts of banks and then businesses in past crises have paved the way for Trump's full-blown state capitalist interventions in the private sector, buying company stocks with the people's money, making loans, and taking direct control
Trump is turning America into China, but all America cares about today is the Super Bowl.
The Trump administration has made unprecedented equity investments and obtained other stakes in at least 10 companies over the past year. ...
In the past, the U.S. has taken temporary stakes in companies in the context of bailouts, said Peter Harrell, who served as the senior director for international economics under President Joe Biden.
“With these companies, it’s a very different thesis,” Harrell said. “The government is kind of acting as a strategic investor to put capital into these companies so that these companies can achieve both a commercial return but also, at least in theory, some kind [of] national purpose.” ...
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Trump is setting records at Rasmussen Reports for record high disapproval at 57%, record low total approval at 41%, record high strong disapproval at 47%, and record low approval index at -20
I dunno, was it something he said lol?
To be entirely fair, these low numbers were already achieved on Feb 5, the day Trump posted the Obama ape video. The low numbers went up in the morning and reflect polling from the previous day(s).
The Obama ape video was just a coincidence.
I think the low numbers are a reaction to Trump's Monday call for federal interference in the coming elections.
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