Missed Feeds
Raising Taxes, Raising Interest, and Raising Hell. Here's this week's news.
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Hey Friends,
I have no idea what any of you ate this week.
Seriously. Did it look delicious? Was it fancy? Was it in focus? Did I like it?!!
I truly don't know.
Because this week, I've paid literally no attention to social media newsfeeds. That means if you went on vacation, hung out with a BFF, or were humbled and honored to accept a position at any company, I totally missed it.
My social media use has literally plummeted. Because it has become increasingly apparent that the interests of the decision engines – the algorithms that control newsfeeds – are not aligned with mine. Or yours.
That means you might have missed a couple of important articles from me. I want to highlight two that are part of developing news stories.
I'll get to that in a minute...
But first, let's get to The News.
Other Newsletters
Editor's note: I partner with other writers who do great work that I think you'll like. If you enjoy The Lorem Ipsum, sign up for Matt Labash. If you don't, maybe Matt will be a better choice. I've been reading him since he launched his Newsletter (after he exited the magazine space, a printed thing I can explain to you kids later), and I enjoy every morsel. David Brooks of The New York Times says, “Consistently one of the best magazine writers in the country," but I say, "overuse of commas, but it's still a good read in bed."
Hot Takes
Week 10 of 2023
BREAKING: Charges Expected
Prosecutors signaled that criminal charges against Donald Trump are likely in the case of hush money he paid to a porn star. Trump calls the case a "witch hunt," but we respond with "which hunt?" because there are so many to keep track of. The Lorem Ipsum will have our eyes on it and keep you posted. (more)
Raising Taxes
Biden introduced his third budget since taking office to Congress this week, where he proposed an increase in taxes with the aim of decreasing the deficit and funding a variety of social programs aimed at the middle class and the poor, such as provisions for childcare and expansion of the Affordable Care Act.
Not surprisingly, Republicans won't like the proposal. Senator Chuck Grassley said, "President Biden doesn’t seem to give a rip about keeping his promises or securing the fiscal health of our nation." Concerning the Republican position on the plan, analysts expect right-wing Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green to be dressed like Cruella Deville when she criticizes the budget like she was during the State of The Union this year; however, her wardrobe plans could not be independently verified.
The Biden Administration posted a summary of the bill with the headline "The President’s Budget Cuts the Deficit by Nearly $3 Trillion Over 10 Years." To promote the plan, the President visited Philadelphia, where he was able to take pictures with several blue-collar workers with exceptionally clean hard hats and safety vests. More events are expected; however, with a divided congress, the most anticipated event for the budget plan is its funeral. (more)
Raising Interest
According to the Fed, their job to address inflation is not yet over. While inflation has calmed, it remains a problem that won't go away easily, with experts comparing it to Representative George Santos, only with less makeup. Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday said that interest rates might head higher than central bank policymakers had expected. He also said that increasing the pace of rate hikes is not off the table; however, purchasing the actual table will end up being much more expensive than it would have been just a few years ago. (more)
Raising Hell
Five women who say they were denied abortions despite life-threatening complications have sued the State of Texas on Monday. So instead of raising children (a legal requirement for women in some states), these women are raising hell with lawsuits backed by an abortion rights group. One plaintiff told the story of a doctor telling her, after identifying a grave complication with a wanted pregnancy, "I can't help you anymore. You need to leave the state." When reached for a quote, Texas Legislators reportedly said, "Blessed be the fruit." (more)
Raising Stink
Donald Trump is aiming to raise his political career back from the dead as the featured presenter of the poorly attended Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC). Historically, the event has been the launching pad for Republican forerunners in the Presidential election cycle, but this time lacked prominent figures in politics and the media. According to unconfirmed plans, the next CPAC event is expected to be held in a small closet in Trump's Mar A Lago resort, which previously served as storage for classified documents but now is expected to have "more than enough room" for the expected turnout. Trump's appearance and/or incarceration schedule is still not finalized. (more)
Skating Rink
Tucker Carlson is doing his best to present the January 6th Insurrection as little more than adult skate night at the skating rink (metaphor mine). This is based on select clips of 41,000 hours of footage. To put that in context, that's roughly one hour less than it takes me to prepare one email from The Lorem Ipsum.
The Capitol Police criticized the release of the clips, saying his report was "filled with offensive and misleading conclusions." In a clip from Tucker Carlson's show that was tweeted "truthed" by @realDonaldTrump on Truth Social, Tucker explains that the insurrection narrative is a fabrication and that congressional leaders want to control us and the media. (more)
That's it for the news. Now here's The Gist.
On The Other Side
The Gist
This week Norfolk Southern testified before the Senate on their Ohio train derailment. Since the incident, which caused a massive environmental cleanup, Norfolk Southern announced it would be adding additional heat sensors designed to detect the kinds of issues that caused the incident that stained Ohio like a brand-new white shirt. The act of implementing safety measures in response to the event highlights the point of an article I wrote called Robot Corporations.
For a corporation, its purpose is never to destroy people. To respond to its inputs and produce its outputs. Its purpose is to operate at peak efficiency. To do better. And the free market, at its best, will do just that. Like a robot, it doesn't have feelings. Like a locomotive, there is little you can do to stop it. Some day, it will derail. It's already in the budget.
The full article is behind a paywall, so for those of you who remain on the fence about becoming A Founder, here's a 7 day free trial to The Lorem Ipsum. Use it to read the article and decide if you think it's worth sticking around. I'll be posting more articles like this behind a paywall to feed my drug habit (easy fella... writing is my drug). The Weekly (this email) will continue to be free.
Daniel Herndon
Hollow Bones
I once heard about someone who had avian bone syndrome, where the inflicted has "hollow bones" which break easily. I'm not sure if it's a real disease, but avian flu is, and so is this next article. Last week, it was announced that the US is considering a mass vaccination of chickens after a record outbreak of avian flu has pushed egg prices from over easy to overpriced. Read about the situation in the article for the bargain price of zero dollars.
Daniel Herndon
As these stories develop, expect to see me diving into what matters.
That's it for this week.
Thanks to everyone that donated and participated in the NO MORE Week 5k. I did every kilometer expected of me, and if you've ever wondered what my voice sounds like, I also recorded the voiceover for this video.
From one reader:
"The cause of NO MORE resonates with me. I am the victim of abuse that crippled my life. I was fortunate to choose a path of recovery 34 years ago and have been able to find peace, understand and heal from the trauma that wasn't my fault."
Thanks for reading and supporting my work.
Have a great weekend!