The Hail of It

Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob

“Early yesterday, an out-of-control container ship ran into the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore. Early reports claimed that a dozen vehicles and 20 people went into the cold water, with only two survivors, so far, being rescued; last I heard, however, the total went down to six missing after the initial rescues. It looks like an accident, and accidents happen, sometimes horrific ones. There’s a reason ‘thoughts and prayers’ are mentioned at such times, all other talk seeming vastly inappropriate. Nevertheless, President Joe Biden immediately promised that the federal government would pay to replace the bridge. Eleven days earlier a more humdrum disaster gave us greater license to speculate.” (03/27/24)

https://thisiscommonsense.org/2024/03/27/the-hail-of-it/

US fourth-quarter growth revised up; weekly jobless claims fall

Source: Reuters

“The U.S. economy grew faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter, lifted by strong consumer spending and business investment in nonresidential structures like factories. Gross domestic product increased at a 3.4% annualized rate last quarter, revised up from the previously reported 3.2% pace, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its third estimate of fourth-quarter GDP. … A separate report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ended March 23. Economists had forecast 212,000 claims in the latest week.” (03/28/24)

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-fourth-quarter-growth-revised-up-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-2024-03-28/

Boeing’s Problems Are Not Due to Free Markets

Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe

“On Monday, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced he will step down at the end of the year. The news comes months after a door plug blew out midflight on a Boeing 737 …. When incidents as serious as this happen, the public is rarely satisfied with the label of ‘accident.’ People want accountability for those responsible and the proper changes made to prevent similar emergencies from happening again. Accountability is relatively straightforward. Investigations determine how an incident happened and who is responsible. Then, depending on the nature of the actions and the extent of the resulting damage, offenders can be disciplined, fired, or charged with crimes. … The discourse gets messy, however, when the focus shifts to institutional change. Often, advocates for more government control will seize on any bad thing done by a company to attack markets. That’s exactly what we’re seeing with Boeing.” (03/27/24)

https://mises.org/mises-wire/boeings-problems-are-not-due-free-markets

McDaniel’s NBC News firing: Must-see-tv proves leftist [sic] media set rules they never follow

Source: New York Post
by Miranda Devine

“The ‘Mean Girls’ pile-on at NBC against Ronna McDaniel is the perfect demonstration of what bullies all these leftists are — while pretending to be paragons of compassion and empathy. They lecture everyone else about the evil of bullying and impose disastrous ‘anti-bullying’ measures on schools only because they want to reserve this instrument of social control for themselves. When they attack a defenseless person in mob fashion, mock them, denigrate them, punch them in the face and then kick them while they’re down, it’s not bullying. You must understand that the rules they set for us don’t apply to them, because they are the Chosen Few, the selfless TV anchors embarked on a crucial mission. They are always saving ‘democracy’, defending the underdog, ‘Speaking Truth to Power’ or, in McDaniel’s case, preserving the ‘Sacred Airwaves’ of NBC and its crazy sister in the attic, MSNBC.” (03/27/24)

https://nypost.com/2024/03/27/opinion/ronna-mcdaniels-nbc-news-firing-is-must-see-tv-that-proves-leftist-media-set-rules-they-never-follow/

KY: GOP-passed bill removes role of Democratic governor if Senate vacancy occurs

Source: Associated Press

“Kentucky lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a bill stripping the state’s Democratic governor of any role in picking someone to occupy a U.S. Senate seat if a vacancy occurred in the home state of 82-year-old Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The legislation calls for a special election to fill any Senate vacancy from the Bluegrass State. The special election winner would hold the seat for the remainder of the unexpired term. … The state Senate voted 34-3 after a brief discussion to send the bill to Gov. Andy Beshear. The governor has denounced the measure as driven by partisanship, but the GOP supermajority legislature could override a veto when lawmakers reconvene for the final two days of this year’s session in mid-April.” (03/28/24)

https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-legislature-senate-vacancies-faf6f1f41fa42c3e0b818fc3fb3d4d4a

Ukraine downs more than 25 drones in latest overnight Russian strikes

Source: France 24 [French state media]

“Ukraine downed 26 drones overnight as Russia launched its latest salvo of aerial attacks, a senior Ukrainian military official said on Thursday. … Russia regularly launches air attacks on Ukraine overnight and has escalated the strikes over the past few weeks, targeting key infrastructure, including power stations, in retaliation for fatal bombardments of Russia’s border regions. On Wednesday Russian strikes killed three people in eastern and southern Ukraine.” (03/28/24)

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240328-ukraine-downs-more-than-25-drones-in-latest-overnight-russian-strikes

YIMBYs Are Winning Local Housing Battles, but Can They Win the National Housing War?

Source: Cato Institute
by Scott Lincicome

“On Monday, I was in USA Today talking about the National Association of Realtors settlement and the future of U.S. housing prices. For those unwilling to click, here’s the even‐​shorter version: Yes, the settlement might lower realtor commissions and thus shave a few thousand bucks off a home’s all‐​in sales price, but Americans shouldn’t expect a reprieve from ever‐​increasing housing prices without far more fundamental reforms to occupational licensing, zoning and land use regulation, construction materials tariffs, and other policies that increase building costs and restrict housing supply.” (03/27/24)

https://www.cato.org/commentary/yimbys-are-winning-local-housing-battles-can-they-win-national-housing-war

Ukraine Takes the War to Russia’s Oil Refineries

Source: Foreign Policy
by Keith Johnson

“In recent weeks, Ukraine has found a way to overcome a lack of aid and a dearth of ammunition, using long-range drones to strike oil industry assets deep inside Russia. The attacks on Russian oil refineries — which number at least a dozen so far, including some very long-range strikes — have damaged Russia’s ability to process and refine its huge output of crude oil, dealing a small but meaningful blow to a Russian energy sector that has so far weathered the war and Western sanctions in surprisingly good shape. The campaign, which has been tacitly acknowledged by Ukrainian security services and officials, is meant to strike at both the economic and logistic sinews of Russia’s war effort, which is still grinding its way through the third year of its invasion of Ukraine.” (03/27/24)

https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/03/27/ukraine-drone-strikes-russia-oil-refineries/