There are good economists in the Council of Economic Advisers who likely helped invent this "formula." People like Kim Ruhl. He is a trade economist. I suspect his credibility is shredded for all time coming. For a few pieces of silver he ... Back in the day, the CEA's role was to represent the economics profession and to tell truth to power. I know many people who have served well in that role over the years. Those days are in the rear view mirror.

Thanks! One of the many problems was I didn't have the old phone to copy its data. Goggle wouldn't give me my own Gmail address because it already existed. This created a cascade effect where every site and app (including my carrier) wouldn't let me sign in because my new Gmail address wasn't their address on file and/or they sent codes to the old Gmail address and I can't access it. My new phone is still logged out of about half of the sites I visit. The would be (hopefully) engineer said it's "a very sensitive thing to change phones." It's not that sensitive. Wow.

Wow!

In the end all we got was some rain. I understand that some areas got hit pretty hard.

@wtg said in Mr Booker goes to Washington: “My challenge was, was that my strategy was to stop eating, I think I stopped eating on Friday, and then to stop drinking the night before I started on Monday, and that had its benefits and it had its really downsides.” Oh my!! I had no idea! How did he stay standing up that whole time,wow!!!

The town of Jerome was named after the Jerome family, and our own Grotriman is a direct descendant (it's his first name).

we adopted a heeler pup--I believe they are the longest lived breed--3 years ago. I was 66 at the time. Hubby is 8 years older than me. Didn't stop us. But I did tell myself the heeler is going to be my last dog.

If you're a Venezuelan migrant and you have a tattoo, you get deported to El Salvador. But if you're a nominee for SecDef and you have a tattoo, you get confirmed and get the job. ‘He is not a gang member’: outrage as US deports makeup artist to El Salvador prison for crown tattoos Andry José Hernández Romero sent to an El Salvador prison after claim ‘crown’ tattoos proved he was a gang member For as long as anyone can remember Andry José Hernández Romero was enthralled by the annual Three Kings Day celebrations for which his Venezuelan home town is famed, joining thousands of fellow Christians on the streets of Capacho to remember how the trio of wise men visited baby Jesus bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh. At age seven, Andry became a Mini King, as members of the town’s youth drama group Los Mini Reyes were known. Later in life, he tattooed two crowns on his wrists to memorialise those carnival-like Epiphany commemorations and his Catholic roots. “Most Capacheros get crown tattoos, often adding the name of their father or mother. We’ve lots of people with these tattoos – it’s a tradition that began in 1917,” said Miguel Chacón, the president of Capacho’s Three Kings Day foundation. The Latin American tradition appears to have been lost on the US immigration officers who detained Hernández, a 31-year-old makeup artist, hairdresser and theatre lover, after he crossed the southern border last August to attend a prearranged asylum appointment in San Diego. Hernández, who is gay, told agents he was fleeing persecution stemming from his sexual orientation and political views. Just weeks earlier, Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, had unleashed a ferocious crackdown after being accused of stealing the presidential election to extend his 12-year rule. But Hernández’s tattoos were deemed proof he was a member of Venezuela’s most notorious gang, the Tren de Aragua, and a “security threat” to the US. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/its-a-tradition-outrage-in-venezuela-as-us-deports-makeup-artist-for-religious-tattoos

A federal judge on Wednesday formally dismissed the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, granting the controversial request from the Justice Department that generated a public outcry and spurred the largest mass resignation of senior federal prosecutors in decades. The order from U.S. Judge Dale Ho brings an end to the case against Adams, who had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud and other charges following his indictment last year. Ho said he was dismissing the case with prejudice, meaning the government could not bring the charges again later — contrary to the Justice Department's request to dismiss the case without prejudice. "In light of DOJ's rationales, dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor's freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents," Ho wrote. "That appearance is inevitable, and it counsels in favor of dismissal with prejudice." https://www.npr.org/2025/04/02/g-s1-57386/judge-new-york-eric-adams

@Steve-Miller Sounds like fun! Your post title made me go searching for performances by my favorite pairs couple, the Protopopovs. I know, I know, I'm old. The Protopopovs dominated pairs skating in the 1960s. I found this video of them performing in 2013. Oleg was 81 at the time and Lyudmila was 78. Link to video

I miss him, too.