Friday, July 31, 2026
Why Won’t America’s Aging Elite Retire? | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat or Russ Douthat and his guest discover what I've been saying for years.
I've been shouted down for saying that the elderly Baby Boom generation needs to yield, often by Boomers themselves.
Well, it's a good interview. A lot of this is exactly what I've said here. The one thing I adamantly disagree with is his endorsement of euthanasia. That is completely immoral.
I've noted this enough here that it might be one of the most common, or at least reoccuring, themes of this blog. As noted, when I've brought it up, I often get shouted down. Now we see a law professor in his 50s bringing it up, and noting that he's a victim of the situation himself.
He's a Gen Xer.
Saturday, July 31, 1976. The Big Thompson River Flood.
Colorado's Big Thompson River flooded killing 151 people in Larimer County. It was a flash flood in an area in which the geography contributed to the disaster.
You'd think I'd have a clear memory of this, but I don't. I can vaguely recall it happening, but that's about it.
Susan Ellen Stern, a member of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Weatherman and the Seattle Liberation Front (SLF) died of drug related heart failure.
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Friday, July 30, 1976. Spanish pardons.
Wednesday, July 31, 1946. Cracking Venona.
American cryptanalyst Meredith Gardner made a breakthrough, identifying the ciphers used for spelling English words, in a team project to crack Soviet espionage codes used in the United States.
His work remained secret for decades, and he personally felt badly about how it was used in the McCarthy era. He died at age 89 in 2002.
The stillborn Morrison-Grady Plan was proposed by Herbert Morrison of Britain and Henry F. Grady of the U.S., providing for the division of Palestine into three districts.
President Truman and Prime Minister Attlee would both endorse it, but it had no support from Arabs or Jews.
President Truman signed legislation creating the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.
Philippine Airlines made its first transpacific flight.
Last edition:
Monday, July 29, 1946. Anping Incident.
Saturday, July 31, 1926. Calles Law takes effect.
The "Calles Law" went into effect.
Rioting broke out.
The French Chamber of Deputies voted in favour of Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré's drastic tax increase plan to save the nation from bankruptcy.
The gutless U.S. Congress should do this right now, but it's too spineless to do so.
Various magazines hit the stands in the English speaking world with summer themes.
The New Yorker depicted men sleeping outdoors to escape the heat.
The British journal Country Life went with scenes of Scotland
Taking a different theme entirely, the Saturday Evening Post depicted dogs.
Last edition:
Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Today -100: July 30, 1926: If Catholics, scarfaces...
Monday, July 31, 1911. End if the Porfirian legislature and of Standard Oil. Complaining Russians and Germans. First Black Boy Scouts.
The pre revolution Mexican legislature went out of session. A new legislature was slated to be elected and convene in September.
Standard Oil announced its break up plan with November to be the date the company would become multiple companies.
Oh for the days the Government actually enforced the Sherman Anti Trust Act. Looking at you Apple.
General Motors became the first automobile company to list its stock for sale on the New York Stock Exchange.
North Carolina saw the formation of the Elizabeth City Troop, the first chartered black Boy Scouts troop. It wasn't the absolute first, as an unchartered one, which would later be chartered, had been formed in Brooklyn in August, 1910.
Russia's ambassador to Persia demanded the resignation of Treasurer General W. Morgan Shuster. Shuster was an American businessman who had been hired by the Iranian parliament to manage the nation's finances. Germany made a similar demand the following day.
The British weren't very keen on Shuster either.
Akron Ohio, July 31, 1911.
Brady Lake, Ohio. July 31, 1911.
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Saturday, July 29, 1911. Trade reciprocity dissolves the Canadian parliament.
Wednesday, July 31, 1901. Ascending.
Reinhard Süring and Arthur Berson ascended in a hot air balloon to a height of 35,500 ft breaking the official record for the highest distance away from the Earth at the time. They took off at Tempelhof on the Preussen and landed at Cottbus.
Henry Tracey Coxwell and James Glaisher claimed to have reached 37,100 ft on September 5, 1862, after losing consciousness after recording a barometer reading at 8,800 metres.
The RRS Discovery departed London from the East India Docks to take on supplies and to await the visit of King Edward and Queen Alexandra before its departure on the British National Antarctic Expedition.
The House of Commons voted a grant of 100,000 pounds to Lord Roberts in appreciation of his service in the Second Boer War.
Last edition:
Tuesday, July 30, 1901. Limiting voting.
Subsidiarity Economics 2026. The Times more or less locally, Part 6. The screwworm edition.
Exports of petroleum products and capital goods jumped to record highs reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
The capital goods item is interesting and I haven't seen it explained. That is a positive trend, if sustainable. The oil exportation one is not as it depletes a diminishing resource at the expense of U.S. consumers. A lot of it seems to be related to AI exports, which isn't necessarily good, aircraft production, and war related purchases. If all that is correct, it won't be sustainable at the current levels, probably.
Screwworms have reappeared in Texas after a sixty year hiatus. The Trump administration is blaming the Biden Administration, as that's its default thing to do, but the Trumpistas lifted protections that were in place and allowed importation of Mexican cattle via ports in a probable attempt to lower beef prices. This is likely to have the opposite effect. It's a more likely cause, although there were concerns about animals moving across the border illegally during the Biden Administration.
Mexico itself was screwworm free as of 1991. Somehow that got reversed one way or another, and now the problem is back. Given that, it probably was coming back no matter what. It is a major crisis.
Nobody has cited the weather, but it is spread by a fly, and that may very well have resulted to the spread of the flies range.
Inflation is up to 4.2%.
cont:
Reporter: Are you concerned, Mr. President, about the latest inflation number which came out this morning?
Trump: No, I love it. I love the inflation.
Johnson is already saying that's not what he meant.
June 14, 2026
Indeed, this would be horrible news:
Wyoming Outfitters, Hunters Say Screwworm Would Be Wildlife Disaster If It Hits State
And Carney continues to press for the new reality of American unreliability.
‘A global rupture’: Carney calls for Canada-EU unity before G7 summit
June 19, 2026
Those of us in the livestock industry should pray for rain. We also ought to realize that voting for climate change deniers like Harriet Hageman is basically putting a knife to the through our our children, and then cutting their arteries.
Wyoming Ranchers Pray For Rain As Drought, Demand Push Beef To Record High Prices
Drought? Get real. This isn't a normal drought.
June 22, 2026
Senate overwhelmingly passes sweeping bipartisan housing affordability bill
A rare distributist bill. It bans private equity acquisition of homes.
It will be challenged
Senate overwhelmingly passes sweeping bipartisan housing affordability bill
June 26, 2026
West Texas is at $69.53.
June 30, 2026
The 1.5-gigawatt Prometheus Hyperscale data center will now all be in Natrona County on the Falls Ranch property owned by Texas billionaire carpetbagger Russell Gordy.
Trump called the housing bill that passed both houses "a big yawn". He's holding it hostage in hopes it makes congress pass the antidemocratic SAVE Act.
July 1, 2026
ABC reports that President Trump has earned more than $1 billion from his cryptocurrency ventures while in office.
July 2, 2026
Grand Teton National Park employees unionize
July 9, 2026
Wyoming coal company wins federal money to extract critical minerals from Powder River Basin
July 14, 2026
Illegal tariffs being refunded pushed the June federal budget deficit up to $120 billion.
July 15, 2026
Headline in the CST:
Low US birth rate may create future housing glut
Also a headline in the CST:
Out of reach: Research: More young Americans can’t afford to buy a starter home
In truth, the two headlines actually aren't contradictory. An era of declining population will come, and that will cause a housing glut. And that's all a good thing.
July 20, 2026
The illegitimate demented fool occupying the White House as Congress is too cowardly to boot him out, is attempting to raise tariffs on Canada 50%.
Yet another dumb ass diversion
It'll fail in the courts.
July 22, 2026
Trump approved a 30 year deal with Saudi Arabia that will provide the it with a civilian nuclear program and potentially open the door to uranium enrichment in the kingdom.
The Saudi's likely want this as they know that oil is a finite resource, which we seemingly do not, and they know that global warming is not a fib, which the GOP does not.
What an irony, however. Nuclear deal with a theocratic Islamic state while we're at war with another nearby theocratic Islamic state for having a nuclear program.
And, an interesting examination of petroleum prices:
July 24, 2026
The Trump administration is imposing new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on 60 trading partners, including the European Union, on the pretext of lax enforcement of forced labor bans.
It comes right as the 10% tariffs expire and it'll be challenged in court, and fail.
It's really difficult to believe that an administration that won't release all the Epstein files, which involved a sort of child sexual labor, is concerned about forced labor. This is absurd but fits into the Navarro economic model Der Fibber has bought into.
July 30, 2026
Coal and the Wyoming Congressional Delegation. They always have your back:
July 31, 2026
Growth fell in the second quarter, despite the AI business spending boom.
Cont:
The Trump administration announced it will end the Medicare Part D subsidy program in 2027.
Last edition:
Subsidiarity Economics 2026. The Times more or less locally, Part 4. Economics in the Dementia Ward.
Thursday, July 30, 2026
Friday, July 30, 1976. Spanish pardons.
Spanish King Juan Carlos I issued a general amnesty for most of Spain's 650 political prisoners and reinstated university professors who had been dismissed for political activities.
Bruce Jenner won the gold medal in the men's decathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
A great athlete, and noting that it's not popular to say it, Jenner always appeared a bit odd and at least to me, even back in the 70s and 80s he came across as a homosexual. He later took up a female persona. He was married three times prior to that.
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Wednesday, July 28, 1976. Earthquakes in northeastern China killed 650,000 people.
Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Today -100: July 30, 1926: If Catholics, scarfaces...
Whatever It Is, I’m Against It: Today -100: July 30, 1926: If Catholics, scarfaces...: The Mexican government is expecting trouble when the anti-Catholic Church law comes into effect. Catholics are ordered disarmed, newspaper ...
Last edition:
Tuesday, July 30, 1901. Limiting voting.
The last Imperial German Army troops left China following the Boxer Rebellion.
The Alabama constitutional convention began the first of its measures to disenfranchise African Americans from voting by limiting the right to register to vote to those persons whose ancestors were war veterans.
Given Southern conscription during the Civil War, that would have been a fairly large body of white Alabamans. It's interesting to note, however, that if that provision existed today, which thankfully it cannot, Not one Trump could vote, and locally, none of Wyoming's Congressional delegation could.
Mrs. E.N. Dickerson, of New York, N.Y. with a 363 lb. black sea bass, Santa Catalina Island, July 30, 1901
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Monday, July 29, 1901. Reds.
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Monday, July 29, 1946. Anping Incident.
Chinese Communists and U.S. Marines engaged in hostilities in Anping, China. Four Marines and 15 Chinese Communists were killed.
Tensions between the American military mission to China, which had very unclear directives, and the Communist Chinese were increasing.
First group picture of the International Justices of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East since Major General Myron Cramer took the place of Justice Higgins on the bench. Seated, left to right, Justice Patrick, Great Britain; Justice Cramer, United States; Chief Justice Webb, Australia; Justice Mei, China; Justice Zaryanov, Russia. Standing, left to right: Justice Pal, India; Justice Roling, Netherlands; Justice McDougall, Canada; Justice Bernard, France; Justice Northcroft, New Zealand; Justice Jaranilla, Philippine Islands.
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Thursday, July 29, 1926. Fascist mindsets.
The fascist government of Italy prevented 2,000 Italian pilgrims from visiting the church of Madonna del Sasso in Locarno, Switzerland, on the basis that Italians should spend their money in Italy.
It was the first time the pilgrimage had been disrupted in 400 years.
Sounds like something the Orange Mussolini would do today.
The Convention and Statute on the International Régime of Maritime Ports providing freedom of access to maritime ports without regard to a ship's nationality or maritime flag, went into effect. Sounds like something the Orange Mussolini would oppose today.
Al Capone was freed after having spent a night in jail after being arrested on charges arising from the April 27 murder of assistant State's Attorney William McSwiggin and two friends, James J. Doherty, and Thomas "Red" Duffy. The new assistant State's Attorney, George E. Gorman, stated that evidence was insufficient for the charge.
Still living Polish literary and anti communist figure, after having been a communist, Jacek Bocheński was born in Lwow, which is now in Ukraine.
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Labels: 1920s, 1926, 1927, Diplomacy, Philippines, Politics, Prohibition, The Press, U.S. Territories, United Kingdom, United States
Saturday, July 29, 1911. Trade reciprocity dissolves the Canadian parliament.
The Canadian Parliament dissolved over ratification of a trade reciprocity treaty, which the US had ratified but Canada had not.
I wonder what my great grandfather and great grandfather thought of the matter?
An election was called for September 21.
The Persian government put a price of $100,000 on the head of the former Shah who was now attempting to regain his thrown with the backing of Russia, and the opposition of the United Kingdom.
Ricardo Flores Magón argued in an op ed in Regeneración that the liberal/anarchist movement was not a personal political cult in order to distance the struggle of the now defeated Magonistas from individual leaders like Francisco I. Madero. Infighting was setting in.
Given that, it's not surprising that the U.S. Army remained encamped on the Mexican border.
Camp of 2nd Prov. Regt., Ft. Crockett, Galveston, Tex. July 29, 1911.
The frightening industry of the day carried forward.
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Friday, July 28, 1911. War ending as other prepare for war.
Labels: 1910s, 1911, Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Australian Navy, British Commonwealth, French Army, Haiti, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy
Monday, July 29, 1901. Reds.
The Social Democratic Party and Socialist Labor Party merged to create the Socialist Party of America.
Donald Trump reacted with glea, giving him a phony baloney issue to campaign on (he was already 70 years old at least). Chuck Gray cried.
This Socialist Party, a real Socialist Party, lasted until 1972, at which time it became the Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA), which is sort of ironic in that one of the parties that merged to form it had been the Social Democratic Party.
The original US Social Democratic Party had been formed in 1898, basically at the dawn of socialism in the United States as a serious movement. It was not as old, however, as the Socialist Labor Party, which had formed in 1877.
Symbol of the Socialist Labor Party,
People like Der Fibber seem to have just discovered Socialism, with Trump himself being by far the most Socialist President the country has had since the Great Depression, but the US had a strong Socialist movement at one time. It no longer does, and the Social Democrats USA only have marginal influence on the country's politics at all at present by running as progressive Democrats. At one time, particularly following the collapse of the Progressive Party, which had evolved out of the Republican Party, Socialist seriously contended with the two main parties as a force in American elections, although they were always distinctly a minority third party.
Theodore Roosevelt was, of course, the most famous member of the Progressive Party, and that party advanced some ideas that would be regarded as Socialist by modern bed wetting Republicans. However, Roosevelt at the time noted that it was necessary to carve the best concept out of the progressive left so as to avoid true Socialism. That principal still applies. It was applied, of course, most broadly by the Democrats during the Great Depression, bringing in some socialist concepts such as Social Security. Franklin Roosevelt co opted quite a few socialistic ideas during the Depression, many of which retreated post World War Two, although even such diverse Presidents as Harry S. Truman and Richard Nixon attempted to bring in national health care, something every advanced economy brought in following World War Two save for the United States.
Outright socialism, in which the state owns the means of production, was advocated in a form by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, but it took until Donald Trump until it was advocated for in the really crude socialist form. In that sense, Trump is outright the most socialist president the country has ever had. If socialism is a really bad idea, and for the most part it is, Trump is a socialist and is advocating for it.
Given that, the adoption of the Republican Party of the color red is really appropriate.
Continuing the dispossession of Native Americans from their land, Department of the Interior began the process of drawing for allotment of land applications in the former Kiowa and Comanche Indian nations in Oklahoma.
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