Toma nota.../Take note...

The U.S. economy embarked on a rollercoaster ride in 2023, grappling with high inflation, soaring interest rates, wars abroad, and a shaky banking sector. The inflation rate is slowing down but American consumers are still paying 18% to 20% more for "just about everything", vox populi. According to the latest Bankrate survey, a staggering 63% of Americans don't believe they will see any improvement in their financial situation in 2024. Although the U.S. economy has shown resilience in the face of numerous challenges, many analysts predict a significant slowdown in the coming months, with some even anticipating a recession. We forecast at least two-quarters of negative growth that will be broadly felt across the economy.

Buckle Up for a Bumpy 2024, Economists Say

Inflation, interest rates, tight housing supply, and an election year: Analysts are divided on which direction the economy will shake out this year.

Jan. 7.– The U.S. economy embarked on a rollercoaster ride in 2023, grappling with high inflation, soaring interest rates, wars abroad, and a shaky banking sector.

This time last year, the U.S. economy was bracing for an impending recession. Concerns about a recession persisted through 2023, particularly following the banking turmoil in the second quarter, which witnessed a 1930s-style bank run on Silicon Valley and First Republic Banks.

Offshore Wind is a Catastrophic Scam  

by Edward Ring

It’s about time Californians of all ideological persuasions wake up and stop what is possibly the most economically wasteful and environmentally destructive project in American history: the utility-scale adoption of wind energy. And with that acknowledgment of bias clearly stated, readers are invited to review this week’s selections and make up their own minds! You will not find very much information critical of wind in a Google search. For example, the term “evidence wind power harms whales” will turn up an uninterrupted assortment of articles and reports attacking that assertion as “misinformation.” Evidence, for which there is plenty, is nowhere to be found. When it comes to wind, along with most other critical issues surrounding water, energy, and the environment, search engine bias is alive and well. Algorithms are neutral. People who code them are not.

The California Legislature intends to despoil our coastline and coastal waters with floating wind turbines, 20+ miles offshore, tethered to the sea floor 4,000 feet beneath the waves. Along with tethering cables, high voltage wires will descend from each of these noisy, 1,000-foot tall leviathans, but we’re to assume none of this will disrupt the migrations of our treasured Cetaceans and other marine and avian life, not the electric fields emanating from hundreds (thousands?) of 20+ mile long live power lines laid onto the ocean floor, nor from the construction, the maintenance, or the new ports, ships, and submersibles. Offshore wind energy is not worth the cost. End it. End it now.

Newsom and the Legislature Send the Dept. of Water Resources Shopping for Offshore Wind

Enthusiasm for Electric Vehicles Is Running on Empty

by Gary Isbell

If you were naïve enough to believe the dominant media and the extreme environmentalists, you might think that folks are ready to ditch their gas-guzzling cars to buy electric vehicles (EVs). Some inconvenient facts, however, demonstrate otherwise.

One fact is public fatigue over the constant drumbeat of climate alarmists. There seems to be no inconvenient weather event or natural disaster that they do not blame on climate change. The public is rightly skeptical of their doom-and-gloom prognostications and thus reluctant to jump on the EV bandwagon.

Thus, there is a declining market for EVs despite the pervasive propaganda parroting their purported benefits. People are beginning to see through the hype, and the empirical evidence is more convincing than radical utopian agendas.

The Consumer is the First Victim

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Unpacking The Call For Democracy’s ‘Revival’ In Telangana

Telangana, Dec.23.– Here are some possible interpretations:

1.    Counteracting perceived erosion of democratic values: Some individuals, particularly those in opposition to the current Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government, may perceive a weakening of democratic institutions and practices in the state. This could include concerns about:

•     Limited space for dissent: Allegations of suppression of criticism towards the government or ruling party.
•     Erosion of checks and balances: Concerns about the weakening of independent institutions like the judiciary or media.
•     Centralization of power: Concerns about the concentration of power within the ruling party or individual leaders.