“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so you can learn to let go, things go wrong so you can appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so eventually you learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”
-Marilyn Monroe (born 100 years ago on June 1, 1926)
_IRAN
I predicted this would be more difficult than expected. Will it turn out to be more trouble than it was worth? Not if we achieve what we initially set out to do. But I expect it to end with some sort of watered-down agreement that will be spun by both sides as a win. For as long as Islamic extremists remain in Iran and throughout the Middle East, and for that matter around the world; and as long as Western Civilization depends on oil, the blood feud will continue, unlikely to end well for either side.
_INFLATION
With the Iran conflict dragging on oil prices shot up almost 50% at one point only adding to the stubborn inflationary pressure Americans have be facing throughout most of this decade. A reckoning is coming and it will not be pretty.
_TRUCKING
This subject means more to me because I am involved with it on a daily basis recruiting management, sales and executive talent for the industry. It should mean a lot to everyone because certain truck drivers who had no business being on the road were having headline-making deadly accidents on a weekly basis. Turns out that hundreds of thousands of truck drivers, most of those entering this country over the past 5 years, literally had no business driving 18-wheelers. The government crackdown is pulling thousands of these drivers (and trucks) off the road. The result is rising freight rates and some relief for trucking companies that have suffered through a painful 3 year “freight recession”. The downside is that those higher rates will end up adding to the cost of most everything.
_FIFA World Cup
I really tried to watch it, but I fail to appreciate the “beautiful game”. The athletes are exceptional and there are moments when the matches are as exciting as any sport one might watch. I know this because I wait and watch those moments via recaps on You Tube. I can see soccer being a great sport if you’re playing or your kids are playing. But as a spectator sport, especially on television, it’s like spending two hours watching an ant farm. For me the best thing coming out of the World Cup are the comments from our international visitors, in particular those from Europe. Turns out that America is a great place after all despite what they have been fed by the media, entertainment and political elites. Who knew?
_DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM
Why not give it a try, right? There are plenty of reasons why some people are embracing this, most of them revolving around “affordability” and “equity” grievances. But life is not fair and they will discover soon enough neither is Democratic Socialism.
_ICE
The aggressive “catch and remove” approach has been toned down a bit, but this remains a hot-button issue that will get a lot of attention from both parties going into the mid-terms.
_250
OK, technically July 4th is in the second half
of the year, but America is 250 years old so I will include it in the first half,
the second half and whenever the mood strikes me. Happy Birthday to us.
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