When I heard that Robert Kennedy, Jr., was thinking about picking Aaron Rogers as his V.P, it seemed odd. If he wanted to pick a football player to run with him, why not a smart one like Patrick Mahomes, or Russell Wilson, or either of the Kelce Brothers? Then it hit me. You would have to be really dumb to run with Kennedy.
And who popped up? Aaron Rogers.
The Panther Valley School District, comprised of Coaldale, Nesquehoning, Summit Hill, and Lansford, was a party to a successful lawsuit that said the Pennsylvania method of funding schools was unconstitutional. Districts with low property values have been losing out.
You would expect the legislators who represent the people of the Panther Valley School district–Sen. Argall in the State Senate and Rep. Doyle Heffley in the State House–would be leading the charge to reform the property tax system of funding, especially since they’ve been talking about it for over a decade. You’d be wrong.
Nonetheless, and in spite of the lack of funding, Panther Valley High School students this week won the Carbon County Quiz Bowl, beating all the other high schools in the County. Along with that came the victory of Brenda Banks, who won the first ever PIAA girls state wrestling tournament in her class. Ms. Banks was honored with fire truck parades in Nesquehoning, Lansford, Summit Hill, and Coaldale.
I don’t live in the Panther Valley School district, but for some reason I feel proud.
Info for this post came from articles in the Mar. 15 issue of the Times News by Jarrad Hades and Patrick Matsinko.
Rogé Karma explained this in an essay in the April issue of The Atlantic. I certainly have noticed an amazing increase in my grocery bill. Karma explained that when economists measure inflation they refer to an index of goods and services the typical household buys annually. Since the average household spends about 1/3 of the annual income on housing (mortgage or rent), that determines 1/3 of the index. If big ticket items like refrigerators or TVs go up in price we can postpone the purchase. And since we don’t buy big ticket items often, we may not even remember how much we paid the last time.
What we buy at the supermarket is only around 10% of our budget, but it is something we buy almost every week. When food prices rise (and they have risen quickly), we notice it immediately, and we notice it again and again.
Thus, the Administration or the Federal Reserve Board can talk about inflation being bought under control, but as long as those food prices remain high, it all sounds very hollow. Once the food prices are higher, a drop in the inflation rate doesn’t mean much. If you compare your current grocery bill to last year’s bill, an inflation rate that has dropped to 1% doesn’t matter. The grocery bill won’t return to last year’s level. And you think the economy is bad even if employment is high and wages are going up. Karma says workers think they deserve the increase in wages, but it feels like that increase is unfairly taken away. Therefore, the economy sucks. Chances are you will blame the Administration.
Today on the 13 of March, I was bitten by a mosquito. (I felt it, saw it, and killed it.) My next door neighbor found a tick behind her dog’s ear. The daffodils are blooming. The crocuses have already bloomed.
I often wonder if the people who deny climate change ever go outside. It is March 13. Officially still winter.
On another topic, I want to thank the two readers who sent in the name of the billionaire who gave $6 million in support of vouchers for private schools in Texas. His name is Jeff Yass, and he has a large investment in the Chinese parent company of Tik Tok. What is wrong with these tech guys?
Tomorrow: Why people aren’t impressed with the decline in the inflation rate.
An article on Texas Republicans said Greg Abbott, Republican Governor of Texas, is campaigning statewide for private school vouchers. A number of Republican legislators opposed spending public money on private schools. Abbot backed their primary opponents.
The article said that Abbott has been receiving help from national supporters of voucher programs, “...including a $6 million contribution from a Pennsylvania billionaire, the largest in Texas history.
Does anyone know who this guy is? Or how to find out?
I found this in J. David Goodman, “Moderate Republicans Feel the Wrath of Texas Voters; Democrats Pick a Cruz Challenger,” New York Times (Mar. 8 2024), p. A 15.
Obviously I could name a whole bunch of differences, but one that is not often noted is the ability to criticize their candidates. I hear Biden supporters often complain about Biden. He’s too old. He hasn’t taken the border crisis seriously enough. He has been too easy on Netanyahu. He wants to extend the warrantless surveillance program. His Afghanistan pullout was a disaster. We do it all the time. We’ll still vote for him, but we recognize flaws, and we aren’t afraid to point them out.
Now tell me when is the last time you heard a Trump supporter say anything negative about Trump? Do they criticize his tax cheating? Or his gaffes? Or his claim of immunity? Or his lies about losing the election? Or his Covid policy? Or his sucking up to Putin? I could go on, of course, but you understand. They will not criticize anything. There is something sick about that.
According to a poll published earlier this month more than 60% of Americans have doubts about Biden’s mental acuity. This is not surprising, since Biden:
claimed you could cure Covid by sticking a light up your butt,
said windmills cause cancer,
used a Sharpie to change the path of a hurricane,
autographed Bibles,
saluted a North Korean general,
talked about airplanes in the Revolutionary War,
stared into the sun during an eclipse,
called his wife Mercedes,
Oh, wait...
