Covid deaths

While one million Americans died from Covid the question come up at to how many would have died without the vaccine. To answer that look back to the 1918 pandemic. where about 675,000 died in the United States. The US population in 1918 was 100 million. Extrapolate that to today's 330 million and you find 2.2 million meaning that the vaccine might have saved 1.2 million American lives.

Oil production

There is an ongoing argument as to why we have a shortage of fuel oil and gasoline. One group says the government is interfering in the production and another says the oil companies are refusing to produce. The second argument doesn't hold water. They are saying that the oil companies now have huge profits so they don't want any more. They could produce and sell oil at $100 per barrel but they are satisfied with the status quo. The oil companies are currently producing 1.5 million barrels per day less than they were two years ago and at $100 per barrel they are passing up one billion dollars per week in profits and they are satisfied with this arrangement. NOT!

Nuclear power

Here is a quote from the president. “[When] it comes to the gas prices, we're going through an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when it's over, we'll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over,” Biden said He truly believes that wind and solar will replace fossil fuels. He never mentioned nuclear. There is hope since California's left wing governor has to decided not to close the last nuclear power plant in the state scheduled to close in 2025. While this is good to help prevent brown outs this plant should never have been built on the coast as it is subject to damage from a tsunami. Here is more hope. It took five decades, but the Democratic Party has finally changed its stance on nuclear energy. In its recently released party platform, the Democrats say they favor a “technology-neutral” approach that includes “all zero-carbon technologies, including hydroelectric power, geothermal, existing and advanced nuclear, and carbon capture and storage.”  That statement marks the first time since 1972 that the Democratic Party has said anything positive in its platform about nuclear energy. The change in policy is good — and long overdue — news for the American nuclear-energy sector and for everyone concerned about climate change

Polls

Polls show that 74% of Americans want to protect the right for citizens to own guns but 57% want stricter gun laws. 61% say abortion should be legal but only 35% say legal in the second trimester and 20% in the third trimester. People who are for these positions often quote the polls but only the first part. By doing this they lose credibility. Those who are pro gun and pro abortion do not want to give an inch for fear the other side will take a mile. The chances of getting rid of all abortions is about the same as getting rid of all guns. There are groups on the extremes of both of these issues but the majority of people are somewhere in the middle.

Strawberries

Illegal immigrants perform jobs that many say American workers will not do. If these jobs paid $36 per hour there would be no shortage of Americans to do this work. Business knows that if you can't get enough help you raise wages. Once companies increase wages they must increase cost. The average cost of strawberries is $3 per pound. The labor cost to harvest is 50 cents per pound. The minimum wage in California, where 90% of strawberries come from, is $12 per hour. To increase that to $36 per hour would mean increasing the cost of strawberries from $3 per pound $4 per pound. This is how the free market works. Americans eat 4 pounds of strawberries per year so their out of pocket cost to triple the wages would be $4 per year. When most people realize that picking strawberries means bending over in the hot sun all day they would be willing to spend and extra four dollars per year.

Fentanyl

The Mexican cartel receives raw materials from China to produce fentynal. They cook the material in an open pot out side. They have to be careful if the wind changes because the vapors are deadly. These cookers believe that if they drink beer it will protect them from the poison. Many in the area are self taught chemist working a low tech multi million dollar business. The process involves mixing and cooking three complex organic precursor chemicals. Chemist understand that when synthesizing, temperature control is essential but cooking over an open pot disregards this warning. The result is unwanted side products contaminate the mix. Each batch may have different side products. The government is so disconnected from this problem that the FDA is doing the following: Designation of Benzylfentanyl and 4-Anilinopiperidine, Precursor Chemicals Used in the Illicit Manufacture of Fentanyl, as List I Chemicals It is highly unlikely that this change in the law will have any effect on the Mexican cookers. No one knows how many are killed by the fentanyl or the contaminants. This is difficult to comprehend. Those who have watched the TV series Breaking Bad understand the difference between a trained chemist synthesizing and someone on the street.

Iraqi plot

One of the complaints about the Biden administration is that it is reactive instead of proactive. For example when the FDA shut down 40% of the US supply of baby food no one asked the question as to how this would be replaced. Instead months after the fact Biden said he was not a mind reader. Yesterday Chris Ray, the man in charge of the FBI, testified that a plot to assassinate former President Bush was uncovered and the plotter was an Iraqi citizen living in Ohio who planned to bring four accomplishes across the southern border to help him. Ray said that so far this year 157 known terrorist have been stopped at the border. Of course there is no way to determine how many were not stopped since there have been over 100,000 got aways this year. Will the administration take action only after some plot succeeds.