Sardines have now been declared a product with enormous health benefits, including some surprising ones like preventing hair loss. We have long known that the oils in this fish, whether canned in those oils or not, is very beneficial. There are a number of you out there who don’t like the look nor the smell, but remember what your mother said “it is good for you”.
Office space use is down 20%, which is the largest amount in recent history. We have commented on this before that that is not good for real property owners and operators, at the same time, people are resourceful and creative which is what we want in capitalism, and they will find other uses which they are already doing throughout the country (shopping malls into senior housing, for instance).
The failure of Secretary Austin to disclose his absence requires that Mr. Biden remove him. This is not acceptable behavior under any circumstances, but particularly with the current state of the world. In an unusual twist, I agree with Congresswoman Stefanik.
Israeli announced that they killed a Hezbollah leader, and at the same time made conflicting announcements in internal and external communications about where the war is going. If the war widens, no matter what the Israeli’s say, it is not good for them, for the region nor for the world. It is hard to believe that Israeli leaders don’t see this negative outcome. One can only suspect that Netanyahu is doing this to ensure his survival as he knows he is on incredibly thin ice (and there is not much ice in the Middle East) with the electorate in Israel.
Scientists have found the first fossils demonstrating photosynthesis which is 175 billion years old, which they believe are the origins of life. Garden of Eden? Maybe not.
Tapes have been disclosed in the NRA case in New York made by the NRA Treasurer plotting to conceal extravagant expenses involving Wayne LaPierre, the recently retired president. Clearly a man of the people, taking donations from hard-working middle-class folks who fervently support the NRA and spending like he earned it.
It has recently been reported that the Israeli economy is suffering as a result of the war in Gaza. It appears that the tech sector has been particularly hard hit, both in terms of employees and future funding, as there is a certain level of trepidation about Israel’s future which is certainly understandable. It is also interesting to note that 350,000 reservists have been called-up to serve in the armed forces, which puts tremendous pressure on the workforce, and it doesn’t look like that is going to resolve any time soon, and allow the Israeli economy to get back to normal. Sustaining a multi-front war for a country the size of Israel is a challenge, both in terms of fighters and logistics, and the lack of action by our Republican led house on Israel and Ukraine creates additional pressure on Israel.
The border continues to befuddle Congress, and to a large extent, the American public. I have suggested before that a possible solution is to move towards a needs-based system so that we have an objective standard to decide the correct number of immigrants to be admitted each year to fill specific job needs. We need people to work in high-tech industries, but we also need many to work on farms and do other manual labor, which is where many immigrants start. The argument on asylum is more complex, but I suspect that many of the people seeking asylum would also qualify under the needs-based approach, and it is much less subjective and easier to process people. This would be good for us and for those seeking to immigrate here. It strikes me that the American public is much more focused on the economy and impacted by the fear created by the surges at the southern border, all of which could be ameliorated if we took a common-sense approach to the process.
It appears that consumer confidence is rising as a result of falling gas prices, generally slowing inflation which came in at about 3.1% in November, and a relatively steady job market in terms of openings and jobs actually added which was 216,000 in December. All this is good news for Mr. Biden as long as it translates into an improvement in his job performance numbers.
Critical infrastructure is sinking, or subsiding including levies, roads, airports - all at the same time we are facing sea levels rising by dozens of feet in places like California. We know Miami is being overrun by the water as sea levels rise. Will New York, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans? Many cities have significant issues here and people need to begin to take a serious look at how to prevent this from happening.
Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.
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