Sunday, July 19, 2026
James Harrison, 81, retires from a life of weekly blood plasma donations which have helped to save millions of babies of women in Australia with Rh- blood
... Harrison’s remarkable gift of giving started when he had major chest surgery when he was just 14, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service said.
Blood donations saved his life, so he pledged to become a blood donor.
A few years later, doctors discovered his blood contained the antibody which could be used to create Anti-D injections, so he switched over to making blood plasma donations to help as many people as possible.
Doctors aren’t exactly sure why Harrison has this rare blood type, but they think it might be from the transfusions he received when he was 14, after his surgery. He’s one of no more than 50 people in Australia known to have the antibodies, the blood service says.
“Every bag of blood is precious, but James’ blood is particularly extraordinary. His blood is actually used to make a life-saving medication, given to moms whose blood is at risk of attacking their unborn babies. Every batch of Anti-D that has ever been made in Australia has come from James’ blood.” Falkenmire said. “And more than 17% of women in Australia are at risk, so James has helped save a lot of lives.”
... “It becomes quite humbling when they say, ‘oh you’ve done this or you’ve done that or you’re a hero,’” Harrison said. “It’s something I can do. It’s one of my talents, probably my only talent, is that I can be a blood donor.” ...
Recent absentee ballot rejection rates according to Ballotpedia are lower than expected
Recent absentee ballot rejection rates according to Ballotpedia:
2024: 1.2%
2022: 1.5%
2020: 0.8%
2018: 1.4%
2016: 1.0%.
The New York Times indicated in October 2012 that rejection rates for absentee ballots are typically closer to 2.0%, double what they are for in-person voting. The closest we recently got to 2.0% was in 2022, but still lower than 2.0% by half a point, and the massive mail-in vote in 2020 arguably should have produced a rejection rate higher than 2.0%. Instead we got the lowest rejection rate yet, 0.8%.
That doesn't make any sense.
Error and Fraud at Issue as Absentee Voting Rises
... Nationwide, the use of absentee ballots and other forms of voting by mail has more than tripled since 1980 and now accounts for almost 20 percent of all votes.
Yet votes cast by mail are less likely to be counted, more likely to be compromised and more likely to be contested than those cast in a voting booth, statistics show. Election officials reject almost 2 percent of ballots cast by mail, double the rate for in-person voting.
“The more people you force to vote by mail,” Mr. Sancho said, “the more invalid ballots you will generate.” ...
Limited government cannot exist without social conservatism
People who won't limit themselves, who in the name of freedom will not restrain themselves, cannot produce limited government, just as gay people cannot produce the next generation.
Saturday, July 18, 2026
Northeastern Liberal Republicanism is new again?
Can wage and price controls be far behind?
How about a bigger, better EPA, renewed affirmative action, a larger welfare state, more Keynesian deficit spending, and detente with Putin, Xi, and that little squirt from North Korea?
Young Conservatives Have Unlikely New Icon: Richard Nixon...
Friday, July 17, 2026
Yeah but that rate translates to only 2.04 million after 4 years, not even close to 11 million
Trump's deportation strategy is a complete failure.
Well well well
Lettuce at Taco Bell in five states confirmed as source of a diarrhea-causing parasite outbreak
... lettuce from Mexico ... A Food and Drug Administration investigation identified a single supplier of the lettuce. ...
Thursday, July 16, 2026
37% of 46 average food prices I track through FRED at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis made new all-time average high prices for the first half of 2026
More than half of the 17 offenders are beef products.
In addition to the 9 beef products, also appearing are beer, wine, chocolate chip cookies, lettuce, tomatoes, white rice, coffee, and orange juice.
Most of the 46 foods tracked are priced near, if not at, their all-time highs in 1H2026, but inflation over time matters when evaluating what's what.
Fresh whole chicken, for example, remains a good value compared with beef.
100% ground beef purchased in the summer of 1984 for $1.31 per pound should cost about $4.22 per pound today, but in reality is about $6.78 on an average basis. You are paying a premium of 61% over inflation when you eat hamburger today.
One whole chicken, however, purchased at an average price of 66-cents per pound in the summer of 1980 should cost about $2.67 per pound today adjusted for inflation, but is only about $2.04. A year ago it was $2.06.
Smart shoppers choose the fricken chicken.
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