There was a story in the paper today about how Richard Nixon successfully leaned on the then Chair of the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates in the lead up to the 1972 elections to improve his re-election chances. The upshot of this was the inflation rate (which was 3.2% in 1972) rose to over 12% by the end of the decade.
The world economy will get whacked if Donny boy gets to set his own rates by replacing Jerome Powell with a patsy when his term ends in April.
Nixon was motivated by an unsubstantiated belief that the Democrats were conspiring to seize power ... but that's where the similarity ends.
I was following a Tesla through Geelong recently (in my V8 diesel 😇) and I noticed a very stylish, bespoke decal on the boot that appeared to strobe as the vehicle went from shadow to sunshine. It read, “Purchased before Elon went crazy.”
I know that (a) Elon has always been crazy, (b) similar stickers have been around for a while, and (c) the driver was probably a tosser, but it made me smile.
I'd just like to acknowledge Australian Test captain Alyssa Healy's wonderful career now that she has announced her retirement. She has had an outstanding career in all forms of the game.
I really enjoyed listening to her insights in the commentary box. She is extremely knowledgeable, speaks clearly and explains things very well, and has a good sense of humour without being blokey. I think part of her post-playing career is sewn up!
Milwaukee Bucks NBA coach Doc Rivers made a powerful statement about the fatal shooting of Renee Good and the overt racism of the current administration.
Rivers said that when he was growing up, the POTUS was always a role model, but being a bully and always lying has a negative affect on kids today.
And the oil companies have said, “Thanks, but no thanks!” to Taco’s Venezuela proposal 🙄
What's happening with Trump's border wall ? I don't hear about it these days.
A significant part of the wall's path is in Texas and most Texas land is privately owned. Court cases attempting to secure the land for the wall that started during Taco's first presidency weren't resolved. Apart from that, there are practical, financial and logistical barriers to construction. The White House seems a little coy about providing facts but the Texas Facilities Commission reported that it had completed 66.4 miles of wall and it's believed that the US Government has finished around 140 miles. That's for a 1,254 mile border in Texas and the Texas Government has quietly defunded their works.
Of course, there are "smart walls" and water barriers in addition to physical walls; the Rio Grande makes up around two thirds of the border. Taco is claiming that the wall, whatever that is, will be completed in late 2029.
A major factor in shootings by US police/enforcement agencies is the prevalence of gun carrying by the public. YouTube is full of clips of officers shooting drivers and drivers shooting officers after traffic stops. Officers are expecting the worst and shooting first and asking questions later is self preservation. That's not going to change without reform of gun ownership and that's not going to happen without a major change in attitude towards the Second Amendment.
A US National Library of Medicine study found that the incident rate for fatal police shootings in the ten high-gun states was 3.6 times greater than in the five low-gun states. As an aside, the study notes that USA has very high rates of homicide by police compared to other high-income countries ... and that's bleedingly obvious.
A former police officer was recently sentenced to 33 months in prison after being convicted of violating a black woman's civil rights by using excessive force in fatally shooting her during a raid on her home. The maximum sentence is life imprisonment and Taco's administration asked that the officer be sentenced to one day in prison.
You know what I meant He won't be thrown straight to the wolves. He'll be eased into the contest gradually. If he lights it up early he may get a fair amount of game time.
But that's just my guess and when and how he's played will be up to the coaches. It wouldn't actually surprise to see him start forward.
I did?
2026 will be a new kettle of worms with a five man bench and we'll have to see how that pans out. However, the players who spent most time on the pine last season were still >70% time on ground. If Dean is good enough to play, then he doesn't need to be protected other than for possible endurance issues. Forwards like Moir, Motlop and Williams tended to spend more time on the bench and Billy Wilson had a slightly lighter workload than our other defenders.
I'm not opposed to the idea of Dean spending time forward but I don't think that really helped Weitering's development.
We're talking about the opening round. And it's clear we do have options. The question is, will Dean play from the get-go or will the Key backs be a Weitering/ Young or Weitering /Haynes combination.
I suspect Dean will be in the side but on the bench.
I still have hopes for Lewis Young in 2026 And while he may not be a long term prospect... He's very much a confidence player. He played the best quarter of football of any Carlton player I saw in the VFL last year before he was injured. He's proven in the past he can handle the position. He was in everybody's best 23 a few years back. It will be intersting to see if he's in the side for the opening round.
Weitering had a lighter workload than normal in our win over Essendon and only spent 94% of the game on the ground. Lewis Young had 96% game time and, at the other end of the ground, McKay had 94% game time. Interestingly, De Koning only spent 74% of the game on the ground.
Before his injury, Harry O'Farrell's game time was in the 90% range.
I expect Dean to debut in opening round, and he may well start on the bench, but he's not going to stay there; we no longer have 19th and 20th men Lods
Dean probably won't have Weitering or Young game time from the get go and I suspect that he won't be spending a lot of time playing on Amartey or Curnow. I think that he will be used initially as an intercept marking defender with Weiters and Young as the KPDs but he will take his turn on whoever Sydney uses as KPFs. Dean may well take over a KPD mantle as the season progresses but he would be equally at home as an intercept defender and ball distributor.
It's in the eye of the beholder Paul and some aren't particularly discerning. As the great Taco remarked during the campaign, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?"
Weitering is a no brainer. Haynes is the next best. How do you fit both young and dean in the backline as well....and everyone needs to stop with the haynes on the wing nonsense, its not a legitimate position change. ....and there is always a potential for mcgovern as well.
To me, young just cant get in ahead of dean for any length lf time.
Haynes played on the wing in our last four games of last season. We won two of those four games, Haynes was among our best players, we didn't miss him in defence, and he played on the wing earlier in his career.
He may not play on the wing again, he could spend the season in the VFL, or the MC may decide to continue with what worked well at the end of last season. Either way, Haynes on the wing isn't nonsense and it's a legitimate option for next season.
I'm sticking with Weitering, Newman, Cowan, Florent, Haynes, Saad, Dean, L Young as my backline, but there's no reason why Haynes can't move into the midfield group and be replaced by O Hollands or Carroll.
It's also worth noting that, in addition to the defenders available at the end of last season when Haynes was playing on the wing, we should have Newey, Florent and Dean available for Opening Round.
Interesting that Taco informed the oil companies of the attack but didn’t bother with Congress.
Kings don't need to consult jesters.
I think that you've got the Turkish proverb arse-about Shane. It's "When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a king; the palace becomes a circus."
A pity Khawaja made so little of his last innings: he pottered around like an old chook when the conditions required something more positive. Granted that he isn't Travis Head, but his total lack of attacking really lost us momentum.
That's been my knock on Khawaja; with a couple of exceptions, his recent innings have been dreadfully slow and he doesn't turn the strike over. It's as if not getting out is more important than contributing to the team's total.
