Highlights of the News

No, coronavirus is NOT like THE STAND. It’s not anywhere near as serious. It’s eminently survivable. Keep calm and take all reasonable precautions.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 8, 2020

Donald John Trump is still our president.

ITEM 1: The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta reported, "The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the first quarter of 2020 is 3.1% on March 6, up from 2.7% on March 2. Following data releases by the Institute for Supply Management, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Census Bureau, the nowcasts of first-quarter real gross private domestic investment growth and first-quarter real personal consumption expenditures growth increased from 5.2% and 2.2%, respectively, to 6.1% and 2.4%, respectively, while the nowcast of first-quarter real government spending growth increased from 1.7% to 2.1%."

3.1% growth? The New York Fed has it at 1.71%. St. Louis at 2.05%

I have no idea what the stock market is doing. Nobody does. Irrational angst. I hope the Fed is correct and the economy continues to expand.

When Warren Buffett starts buying, buy. Otherwise, hold.

ITEM 2: Reuters reported, "Oil prices suffered their biggest daily rout since the 1991 Gulf War on Monday as top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia began a price war that threatens to overwhelm global oil markets with supply.

"A 20% slump in oil prices triggered another day of heavy losses on Wall Street’s main stock indexes as the rapid spread of corona virus amplified fears of a global recession."

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. FDR said that not about World War II, but about the stock market when he took office.

ITEM 3: United Press International reported, "The number of COVID-19 cases continued to decline in China on Monday, new cases were confirmed elsewhere around the world and European nations imposed tighter restrictions on movements.

"At least 108 countries and territories have reported a confirmed case of the virus, totaling 110,041 worldwide and 3,825 deaths, according to a live tally of government data by Johns Hopkins University."

United Press International also reported, "As South Korea's confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, the country's health officials said Monday the outbreak is stabilizing and expressed confidence that "we will overcome" the disease.

"'The situation is steadily coming under control,' Kim Gang-lip, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, said at a briefing by several health and government officials for international journalists in Seoul. 'We are seeing success in our efforts to stem the spread of this infectious disease.'"

Writer Stephen King is right. This ain't the big one.

ITEM 4: The Associated Press reported, "American troops have begun leaving Afghanistan for the initial troop withdrawal required in the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement, the U.S. military confirmed Monday, amid political chaos in Kabul that threatens the deal.

"Army Col. Sonny Leggett, spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement that the U.S. is moving ahead with plans to cut the number of forces in the country from about 13,000 to 8,600 over the next four and a half months.

"Another U.S. official said hundreds of troops have headed out of the country as previously planned, but they will not be replaced. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the movement ahead of a public announcement."

Remember this the next time Washington demands a war.

ITEM 5: NBC reported, "Members of Congress are becoming increasingly anxious about corona virus, and there is growing pressure on leadership to take steps to protect lawmakers — even potentially recessing for a period of weeks — two Democratic congressional sources said Sunday.

"Multiple sources said anxiety was on the rise among lawmakers as more cases are reported and the virus spreads.

"Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., said he will close his office in Washington and will self-quarantine at home in Arizona for 14 days after he came into extended contact with a person who is hospitalized with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. They came into contact at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Gosar said."

I doubt they will go into full recess because that would allow the president to make appointments without Senate confirmation.

I favor this because Congress is only dangerous when it is in session.

ITEM 6: AFA Journal reported, "The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal to a pro-life law in Kentucky. Called the Ultrasound Informed Consent Act, HB2 was passed into law in 2017 and mandates that an ultrasound be performed before an abortion is administered.

"The law stipulates the ultrasound must be described to the woman, who is also given the opportunity to hear and see her child in the womb. The law was initially challenged by the ACLU, claiming it to be unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is now refusing to hear an additional challenge, securing the bill as law for the foreseeable future."

A real choice by informed women cuts into business for abortionists. Keep 'em dumb and unpregnant.

ITEM 7: The winner of the Internet to is...

Man, I saw Keith Moon trending, and I was afraid that he died.

— Iɢɴᴀᴛᴢ, the Bringer of Jollity. (@ignatzz) March 9, 2020

He's been dead longer than he was alive.

All of us will be eventually.

ITEM 8: Steven Hayward reported on "a paper from two researchers at Boston College and one at the University of Texas, recently posted to the Social Science Research Network. The paper is entitled The Perils of Private Provision of Public Goods."

The researchers found, "In May 2018, in response to protests, Starbucks changed its policies nationwide to allow anybody to sit in their stores and use the bathroom without making a purchase. Using a large panel of anonymized cellphone location data, we estimate that the policy led to a 7.3% decline in store attendance at Starbucks locations relative to other nearby coffee shops and restaurants.

"This decline cannot be calculated from Starbucks’ public disclosures, which lack the comparison group of other coffee shops. The decline in visits is around 84% larger for stores located near homeless shelters. The policy also affected the intensive margin of demand: remaining customers spent 4.1% less time in Starbucks relative to nearby coffee shops after the policy enactment. Wealthier customers reduced their visits more, but black and white customers were equally deterred.

"The policy led to fewer citations for public urination near Starbucks locations, but had no effect on other similar public order crimes. These results show the difficulties of companies attempting to provide public goods, as potential customers are crowded out by non-paying members of the public."

Hahaha.

ITEM 9: Jonathan Turley reported, "What Bernie Sanders has that Joe Biden doesn't."

Turley attended a rally for Breadline Bernie at the University of Michigan and talked to some of the 10,000 people who were there.

Turley wrote, "Every establishment figure now appears lined up against Sanders and over a dozen people told me that the concerted effort has only angered them more with the Democratic party. While half insisted that they would reluctantly vote for Biden if needed, half were not sure or outright refused to support Biden.

"In other words, many are likely to stay at home. They are ready to storm the White House, the ultimate administrative building for Bernie but not willing to walk into a polling place for Biden.

"One former Michigan graduate wearing a homemade Socialist Butterfly jacket with Bernie's picture on it said that she became a socialist after listening to Sanders in 2016. She is back again in 2020 with the same commitment. She still feels the Bern but feels nothing for Biden.

"The Democratic establishment is hoping that the hatred for Trump will fill that void, but the coordinated effort against Sanders is only reaffirming the view that it is the establishment writ large that is the problem."

That is a problem.

In 2012, Republicans thought enthusiasm was all they needed to defeat Obama. Democrats now say the same thing about President Donald John Trump.

ITEM 10: BBC reported, "St. Patrick's Day parades across the island of Ireland have been affected by corona virus. On Monday night, Belfast City Council in Northern Ireland voted to cancel the city's parade.

"Earlier, Taoiseach (Irish PM) Leo Varadkar announced all parades and festivals in the Republic of Ireland would not go ahead. Other parades in Northern Ireland are still scheduled to go ahead but are under review."

Erin go Sober.

ITEM 11: United Press International reported, "Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota will light up with fireworks for the first time in a decade if the National Park Service approves a fast-tracked plan.

"The state's Republican Gov. Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump asked U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in May to help bring back fireworks to the park, which lies in the middle of the Black Hills National Forest."

Obama ended them in 2009, his first year in the White House.

Such a trifling dude.

ITEM 12: The New York Times reported, "With the Democratic presidential nominee all but certain to be a man, party activists, elected officials and voters are setting their sights on the biggest consolation prize in American politics: the vice presidency.

"Within hours of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s exit from the race, a departure that left the party facing a primary battle between two septuagenarian white men, prominent Democrats began publicly insisting that the ticket include a woman, preferably a black woman."

Who will volunteer to be the next Geraldine Ferraro?

ITEM 13: Someone told a joke on late-night TV. Is that legal?

Fallon: Ahead of Michigan’s primary, Joe Biden was endorsed by Detroit’s two newspapers. Biden and newspapers have something in common, they both can’t believe they’re still around.

— Andrew Malcolm (@AHMalcolm) March 10, 2020

They also have in common that they don't know what century it is.

ITEM 14: The New York Post reported, "Are you sick of being healthy? Would you like to experience the corona virus firsthand?

"Look no further than the Queen Mary BioEnterprises Innovation Center in London, which is looking for 24 volunteers to inject with the dreaded corona virus and participate in their flu camp.

"They will be paid about $4,588 for their troubles."

No, I am good. I'll pass on the money. My share of the inheritance from Nigeria should arrive any day now.

ITEM 15: Interesting Engineering reported, "Scientists Develop Novel Needle-Free Vaccine That Dissolves in Your Mouth. The new technology works essentially like hard candy."

Breaking news from 1961.

Science History reported, "Sabin’s live-virus, oral polio vaccine (administered in drops or on a sugar cube) soon replaced Salk’s killed-virus, injectable vaccine in many parts of the world. In 1994 the WHO declared that naturally occurring poliovirus had been eradicated from the Western Hemisphere owing to repeated mass immunization campaigns with the Sabin vaccine in Central and South America. The only occurrences of paralytic poliomyelitis in the West after this time were the few cases caused by the live-virus vaccine itself."

I remember the sugar cube.

ITEM 16: The Daily Mail reported, "The federal government is suing Facebook for allegedly disclosing more than 300,000 Australians' personal data without their consent.

"The Australian Information Commissioner lodged proceedings against Facebook in the Federal Court on Monday.

"It is alleged that Facebook allowed the survey app This is Your Digital Life to access users' personal information such as their relationship status, occupation, political and religious views and interests."

The right to privacy is the civil rights movement of the 21st century.