Kidneys
A heartening number of your enquired as to my health when you didn’t receive your regular Thursday Night/Friday Morning MULLINGS.
Here’s the update
I spent two months (Mid-January 2021 – Mid-March 2021) as a guest of the wonderful people at the George Washington University Hospital. During everything that went on, my kidneys failed and I was put on dialysis, although I didn’t know it at the time.
I have been going to a dialysis clinic three days per week for about 4 hours per day ever since.
Starting last week, I transitioned to a different type of dialysis: Peritoneal Dialysis or PD. This I do at home, overnight with a machine in my bedroom.
It is way better.
Last Thursday was only the second night of this new (to me) procedure and I was totally absorbed with making sure all the bags were in the right place, all the tubes were attached correctly, and everything was clean and/or sterile.
I am still in search of a kidney, so if you or someone you know is blood type O is interested in learning more about the process, and is in good health, please have them get in touch.
United Kingdom
During the 2nd year of the Trump Presidency, a guy named Anthony Scaramucci was hired to be the White House communications director. That was on July 21, 2017. Scaramucci was fired on July 31,2017 after what appeared to be a drunken rage against some of is WH colleagues.
Ten Days.
I don’t know Mr. Scaramucci, but he invented a measure of timekeeping which he calls a “Scaramucci.” It measures time in 10-day increments. I applaud his self-deprecating humor.
I tell you all this because of the bizarre political goings on in the U.K.
After Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to resign, he was replaced by Liz Truss who ascended to the post on September 6, 2022. Ms. Truss was so inept, she was forced to resign on October 25, 2022.
49 Days.
Just shy of five Scaramuccis.
Things have been so unsettled in the U.K. that one wag pined for the stability demonstrated by the Italians where governments have a life-expectancy of about 33 weeks.
About 23 Scaramuccis.
Italy launched a complaint for having been compared to the frequency of packing cases needed at Number 10.
Economy
The big news for economists was that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 2.6 percent which the Washington Post called a “sharp turnaround after six months of contraction.”
The Post went on to write that, in spite of the GDP number there are still, “lingering fears that the country is at risk of a recession.”
But, unless you are a professional economist at a major bank, the GDP isn’t a show-stopper.
What is a show-stopper was, on the same day, the news broke, again, via the WashPost:
“The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage, the most popular home-loan product, reached 7.08 percent, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac.”
According to CNN “A year ago the 30-year fixed rate stood at 3.14%”
CNN goes onto explain,
“The rapid rise has been fueled by the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented campaign of hiking interest rates in order to tame soaring inflation.”
For most of us, defining GDP is a challenge, much less a worry. Most of us are not buying a house this weekend. But all of us are buying gasoline, groceries, or kid’s clothes.
“Soaring Inflation” is the one economic marker we all understand.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (via The Economist Daily):
“Consumer prices are up 9.1 percent over the year ended June 2022, largest increase in 40 years.” </blockquote>
The country with the highest year-on-year inflation rate is … Turkey at 83.4 percent.
That’s a good talking point if your writing talking points for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, but most of us don’t live in Turkey.
The vast majority of people planning to vote in the election coming down the road in just 12 days, don’t live there, either.
Twelve days. One point two Scaramuccis.
See you next week.
