Note from JWR:

Today’s entry is brief, as we prepare for a small family memorial gathering to honor the life of my late wife Linda (“The Memsahib”) who passed away last weekend. My sincere thanks to the 40+ readers that have made Linda Rawles Memorial Fund contributions to benefit the Anchor Orphanage and School in Zambia. (Linda’s favorite charity.) God bless you!




Economics and Investing:

More trade war rumblings: China Condemns U.S. Tariffs on Tires as ‘Protectionism‘. (Our thanks to KAF for the link.) Reader Laura H. mentioned: In 2009, US public debt will be approximately 90% of GDP “In 2009, US public debt will be approximately 90% of GDP. It will quickly approach and surpass 100% of GDP in the near future.” Items from The Economatrix: Getting Better Bargains Easier in this Economy Government Home Loan Agency Faces Cash Squeeze. “The Federal Housing Administration said Friday that its financial cushion will sink below mandatory levels for the first time in its history, but officials …




Odds ‘n Sods:

An average of once per day, I get forwarded “warning” e-mails about two essentially mythical legislative threats: SB-2099 and HR-45. Let me clear up some misunderstandings: SB 2099 is dead in committee, and is a piece of Illinois state legislation (not Federal), with no co-sponsors. HR-45 (a.k.a. The Blair Holt bill) is an actual bill before the US House of Representatives but it is similarly dead in committee, with no co-sponsors. (See the last two paragraphs of its Snopes article. BTW, I consider it horribly disingenuous of the leftist Snopes editors to bury this information at the bottom of the …