The U.S. national debt has risen to over $34.52 trillion. That’s $3.06 trillion higher than it was a year earlier. The U.S. government’s total outstanding public debt has increased at an average of $8.36 billion per day since May 16, 2023.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the year-over-year inflation rate in April 2024 was 3.4%, which has caused some to be optimistic that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will lower interest rates later this year. I won’t guess what the Fed might do, but I’m pretty confident the Fed will not achieve its 2% inflation target in 2024.

The California Senate is in the early stages of deliberating Senate Bill 1223, introduced by Josh Becker (D-District 13). The bill aims to classify “neural data” as “sensitive information” under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). It is one of the first legislative attempts to codify “neurorights” in the United States and among the first in the world.

While it is certain that the far right (by which I mean the nationalist, protectionist, Eurosceptic right) will make headway in the elections to the Strasbourg-based European parliament that will take place in early June in 27 countries, it is far less likely that they will exercise the influence that the media and some of their rivals think—or claim they believe.

If critics wanted proof California’s bullet train is a zombie project, they got it straight from California’s High-Speed Rail’s publicity department last week.

In Canada, Big Brother wants control of how citizens think and speak. Tragically, this Orwellian nightmare is becoming a reality. The government’s trilogy of censorship bills—Bill C-11 empowered the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to tell us what to watch, Bill C-18 extorted millions from big tech to help fund legacy media, and the recently introduced On-Line Harms Act Bill C-63 will impose authoritarian censorship laws the likes of which are found in places like Iran or China.

Pay no attention to the balance sheet behind the curtain.

Last October, the Food and Drug Administration began surveying ground cinnamon products. By November, the agency identified elevated levels of lead and chromium in applesauce pouches across several producers. Suspecting the worst, the FDA mandated recalls and began investigating whether lead was intentionally added to these products. 

I’ll admit up front that one reason I’m writing this is that I am a disgruntled TSA customer. My tax dollars pay for the “service” I get from the TSA, and I’m not happy with the service. I don’t want to have to take off my shoes as a prerequisite for boarding an airliner. Travelers from European airports don’t have to and don’t seem more at risk because of it. I’ve been harassed by TSA employees that I’m sure fit the definition of sexual assault. Also, I’ve missed more than one flight because the TSA lines were backed up. (OK, I’ve missed a total of two, but that’s still too many.) If you are happy with the service you get from TSA, feel free to add a comment.

I ran across this article on CNN’s website and found it quite interesting. It appears that the appeal of Karl Marx among Latin Americans is waning and being displaced by the ideas of Ludwig von Mises.