capnmatt.bsky.social

Just sending it again, like prices, the number of images is going up

Need some liquidity in the face of rising gas prices? Here you go!!

Too hot to play and damned if I am gonna give it to the dog

Buck playing hide n sneak...another one just like him 50 feet away

Random

Random beauty

Seals have invaded our TN pool, global warning. They are so happy they are wearing party hats

Charlamagne was a wise king: It seems to us proper that strangers and pilgrims and poor people should have hostels established at various places by monks and canons, for the Lord himself will say on the great day of reward--'I was a stranger and you took me in' (Matthew 25:35)

Great blue heron, east TN. We have every kind of critter you can imagine, from elk to koalas

Shrinkflation...what is wrong with this octopus? The dogs need to complain

Running a pink flamingo rental service, let me know if interested

Uncle M is very polite when asking for his big brothers Scooby treat

Dufus McDogus McDingus McGee aka Kato. Best of friends!!

Kino just hang'n

This is cousin Kino

From the woods of east TN

Pete Hegseth, Nancy Mace and Jeanine Pirro walk into a bar. Bartender says...

This is why we are doomed. Newsmax doesn't know the difference between positive and negative. We lost 92k jobs

Uncle M says he likes it warm.

Break on through to the other side Uncle M.

Kino the Magnificent emerges from her undercover mission

No Kings Knoxville. Probably close to 10k peaceful American loyalists who love their country and are trying to save it

My 1977 T17 Michicraft canoe is nicer than yours

So Trump wants to buy his way to heaven by saving lives? Is that how you do it? Perhaps he should consult Luther in his prayers. Another sad case where his supporters will see nothing wrong, buying your way is just fine, he has bought everything else he owns. So much for grace and faith. Disgusting

He can clearly count up to par

Just a random WTF? So Bill Maher doesn't think Trump's tariffs are affecting and will affect future prices. More evidence that he needs to go to Mars with Musk. Not funny, poorly informed and... He just needs to go away. I suggest taking Joe Rogan too. Two of the dumbest guys acting oh so smart

If the Johnson rule will not be used, then churches need to be taxed. The IRS now says churches can openly express political views and it's just fine. No, it's not. If you play in the political arena you should be taxed, period. Not easy, but it can be done as is the case in some European countries

Nice place to start a Thursday

Uncle M happily enjoying his post meal nap

In case you would like to know...and especially if this is something you didn't want to know, Europeans were dark skinned until about 5 thousand years ago. Now how inconvenient is that?? Really matters what starting point in history you want to begin from.

Anyone interested in history and current politics might want to see a discussion of de Tocqueville's "soft depotism." This is where we are now. Our friend Chat can provide more info and context. History is an exceptional way to understand today

Would be nice to see a long term line chart on military enlistments up to current, showing the Biden bump in 2024

The attacks on Harvard are truly despicable. Harvard has survived the British occupation of Boston and the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and two world wars. Ideas trump tyrants.

All those folks complaining about people raking in "welfare" benefits. In TN, the monthly average cash benefit is $438 for TANF. The "T" stands for temporary. This won't come close to paying rent let alone sex, drugs, rock and roll. Medicaid is an essential complement for low income families

So Trump wants an Arab version of the Trail of Tears, moving 1 million Palestinians to Libya? Will they walk like the Cherokee did? It's a lot further than TN to OK. There are no Indian reservations in TN, a sad and cruel legacy that captures the hateful spirit of millions today. Please don't!!!

"Champions of Christian nationalism would have you believe that these efforts to rule the country are inherently theological; that they are in service of a broader effort to reclaim America for God. This is a lie." Tim Alberta, The Kingdom, the Power the Glory. READ this book, thoughtful, powerful

Tariff v sales tax. Latter exempts tangible business inputs to production, unlike a general tariff. What happens to your state when you remove this exemption and triple the rate? Good luck exporting, say goodbye to jobs. Important lesson here

Anyone interested in the fate of altruism would benefit from the (somewhat technical) book A Cooperative Species. Are humans inherently altruistic? How could altruism prosper in a genetic competition that rewards selfishness? Great book to understand answers and why/how altruism is being compromised

Amidst tariff turmoil, it is stunning that no one is talking about the most important shot in the arm the economy needs--a productivity boost. Rather than hunker in the tariff bunker, promote growth, raising incomes and easing pressure from the nation's debt. Bunker mentality is stifling

Some tariff thoughts forthcoming. Start with a quiz like one I might ask policy students: if you were a county that wanted to create jobs, what would happen if you tariffed all imports into your community? Who would be the winners and losers?

The tariff misinformation is just scandalous. Despite what our Treasury secretary says, prices will go up and we will be worse. There is simply no economic model or historical precedent to support the conclusion that tariffs will make us better off, none, zero, zip. Too much cool aid trumps truth

Big Shout Out to Dr. Rob Godby, U of WY, for being outspoken in the media on how economists view tariffs. No BS, just frank, practical remarks. Really hard for U faculty to speak out, in most places it's filtered/not allowed unless you go directly to the media, and then you can pay a price. Quiet...

Treasury sec. Bessant apparently doesn't know who pays tariffs, explains why he took the job. Consumers generally pay but depending on mkts (elasticities) they can be shared with producers. An honest discussion would be welcomed but honesty is not part of the Trump brand

Saw the phrase "MAGA Maoism" the other day, perfect. USSR and China had closed economies with prices for pencils and dolls set by govt, exactly like now. Destroyed productivity and quality of life bc of no competition and no productivity gains. We need a focus on productivity not protection

So today is a new day for tariffs--100% as they are a national security threat and they are subsidized by foreign countries. We subsidize films in this country, look at the state film commissions including AL, GA. Just one more nail in America's credibility coffin. Republican lemmings to the cliff

America's Back? So a TN senator says. Well dear miss Blackburn, America has always been here, doing it's work, day by day. We weren't here only because you were too blind to see us. You see the angry MAGA crowd, but you don't see the millions of silent Tennesseans who just go to work. Get a job.

I hope my economist colleagues are tracking prices, especially on Amazon, so we can discern post tariff effects on prices. Especially important since Bozo apparently won't post tariffs embedded in price. A convenient time to obfuscate tariff impacts and also co-mingle any other price increases.

On behalf of about one half of Americans that have some values and pride, a big shout out to our Canadian friends north of the border!! How did you avoid the insanity that we are enduring? Even George Orwell couldn't have made this mess up

Trump admin now blasting Amazon for NOT obfuscating and hiding tariffs on their products. How dare they support fiscal transparency. I am ready to puke, still no good news in the obits this morning.

Trump was misquoted once again this weekend. He did not say that he "runs" America or the world. He said he "ruins" America and the world. What a difference one little letter can make.