2022..

 

Stimilus..

 

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told Yahoo Finance in an exclusive interview that corporate "price gouging" has fueled inflation, placing the blame largely on dominant companies that hike prices and rake in profits without fear of competition. 

She strongly rejected claims that government stimulus in response to COVID-19 has caused the price spike, warning that such a diagnosis of the problem could lead to spending cuts with dire consequences for millions of people dependent on federal support. 

Ocasio-Cortez, a critic of corporate power since she joined the House in 2019, called for policy action on antitrust enforcement and worker protections as a means to address inflation. 

Economist Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and director of the National Economic Council under Barack Obama, has also pointed to pandemic-related government stimulus as a driver of inflation and criticize the antitrust notion as a Non economical principle in fighting inflammation. He also criticized what ignorance of ignoring economics and proceed with massive spending.  Just an"Non Economical" thought. 

Misguided..

 

About 20% of Americans struggled to pay their energy bill in full at least once in 2021, according to a December study by HelpAdvisor.

Those who weren't able to pay their bills often put off paying for necessities such as energy, potentially putting themselves and their families at risk. In the last 12 months, at least 18% of Americans kept their house at a temperature that was either unhealthy or unsafe, and 28% skipped a basic expense such as food or medicine to pay an energy bill.

In addition, the households most vulnerable to not being able to pay bills or skipping other essentials to do so tend to be those with children under the age of 18, people of color and folks who already struggle to live on the lowest incomes.

Nearly half of U.S. households that heat with natural gas are projected to spend 30% more than they did last winter on average, according to the Winter Fuels Outlook 2021 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The 41% that heat with electricity are expected to spend 6% more.

The smaller number that heat with propane or heating oil 5% and 4% of households, respectively could see even bigger leaps in cost. Propane users will spend 54% more this winter, while heating oil users could see bills go up 43%, according to the report. The handy work of this administration. But feel worm people, the President is appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court. A heart worming gesture to combat the high cost of heating fuel.  Just a "Misguided" thought.

Cheslie..

 

Cheslie Kryst, who won the Miss USA sash in 2019, has died after a fall from her high-rise Manhattan apartment building. She was 30.

Her family confirmed “Her great light was one that inspired others around the world with her beauty and strength,” it read.  

Suicide affects all ages. It is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34, the fourth leading cause among people ages 35-44, and the fifth leading cause among people ages 45-54.3

Suicide rates vary by race/ethnicity, age, and other factors. The highest rates are among American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic White populations.3 Other Americans with higher than average rates of suicide are veterans, people who live in rural areas, and workers in certain industries and occupations like mining and construction.5,6 Young people who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual have a higher rate of suicidal ideation and behavior compared to their peers who identify as straight.

Costly..

 

Going out is not only less common these days, it's also a lot more expensive. In general, the prices that consumers pay for goods and services recently notched their largest year-over-year jump since 1982.

Gas prices, alone, are up a whopping 58.1% over the past year, and that's just to get to where you are going.

A table for two isn't what it used to be, either. Restaurants, which have been under pressure since the very start of the pandemic, are charging more for meals to combat ongoing staffing challenges and higher food costs.

Most have had to raise wages to attract workers on top of paying more for ingredients and that means menu prices look a little different now. Just a "costly" thought.

Red Light..

 

Amsterdam was voted the second-best city in the world by Time Out in 2021, and around 2.5 million people from across the world visit the city every year, according to Dutch Art Institute.

The city is arguably best known for its Red Light District. This neighborhood is often visited by "nuisance tourists," which the city's government website says are often British men between the ages of 18 and 34, according to The Independent. 

They've been known to visit the neighborhood for bachelor parties or to visit sex workers in the famous red-light windows.  

On the other side of the world, in 2020, the Bourough of the Bronx had a violent crime rate of 663.15 incidents per 100,000 residents. Out of the 100 most populous cities in the United States, the Bronx's violent crime rate is the 46th highest in the nation. 

Long Beach, Reno, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Las Vegas all have similar violent crime rates as the Bronx.

What is the reason of this violence in one place, and no violence on the other? Frustrated young people? Just a "peaceful" thought.

Bite .

 

The crowd erupted in applause after Trump asked if they wanted to hear the song, which he referred to as a poem. 

The 1968 soul hit, which was sung by Al Wilson, a Black man, is about a "tender-hearted woman" who saw "a poor half-frozen snake" and took it in. 

The woman "wrapped him up all cozy in a coverture of silk" and "laid him by the fireside with some honey and some milk."

When the woman returned, the snake was "revived" but "instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite (ooh)," the lyrics continue. 

When the woman cries and asks the snake why he bit her, the snake replies that she knew he was a snake before she took him in. 

"And that's what's happening to the United States of America with immigration," Trump said. "I think it's pretty accurate, do you agree?

Who..

 

Amnesia..C..

 

DeSantis specifically called out Psaki for saying Florida hadn't done enough to distribute money to help keep schools open during the latest COVID-19 wave.

"Are you kidding me? I remember them criticising me when we did this almost two years ago," DeSantis said of Democrats who slammed his decision to open schools in the fall of 2020. "We were the only big state to have every school open for in person, and we did that way before Biden was even president. We didn't need the Biden stimulus money for that." 

Many Democrats facing reelection have come around to fewer restrictions, too, and the Biden administration has said schools should stay open despite the latest COVID-19 wave. 

Florida was one of the only states to push schools to re-open in person during the coronavirus pandemic while others held only virtual classes, leading to frustrations between teacher's unions, elected officials, and families. The topic has become a lighting rod issue ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, with Republicans seeing fewer COVID-19 restrictions as a winning message for bringing for bringing people to the polls. Just a 'fair' thought.

Prosecutor..