November 22

Nice sunny morning. First for several days. It didn't always rain but it sure was gloomy. We are watching the soccer games and being lazy. I have washed dishes and cleaned up most of the kitchen--have a bit more to do during half times and the post game shows.

Affordability seems to be the watchword for politics now and Trump is trying very hard to claim it was his own. Unfortunately for him not many believe him. Yves Smith posted this on NAKED CAPITALISM which gives an indication of why. She cross-posted a COMMON DREAMS piece by Stephen which does a deeper dive into food prices that goes beyond Walmart's much touted Thanksgiving family meal which keeps the price down by reducing the number of components by one quarter and substituting lower priced house brands. Hey, Trump, we call that shrinkflation.

Another step in the evolution of THE UNITED STATES OF SURVEILLANCE. I wonder how long before they drop "land of the free" from the STAR SPANGLED BANNER. 

I found this article about rising rates of malnutrition and malnutrition related diseases in the UK which triggered my curiosity. A quick Google search yielded this article at USNews. The U.S. is experiencing similar conditions and increasing food insecurity. This report from the WHO indicates that food insecurity and malnutrition have reached levels not seen since 2008-9. Back in the 1980s the original "green revolution" aimed to reduced hunger by introducing new high yield crops and better farming methods. It seemed to work--at least for a while.

Just when you think you have seen the worst the Big BeautifulUgly Bill/Act included--you find there are even more nasty inclusions. According to CROOKS&LIARS, the (Formerly) Department of Education nursing is no longer a profession and post Bachelor's students won't qualify for all of the available loans designated "professions" would have received. I found other reports which claimed that the Department considers the new designation a cost cutting measure. But I also noticed that several of the re-labeled no longer professions are female dominated. Coincidence? I don't think so.