UCSD HOOPS
How ‘bout them Tritons??!! UCSD just went on the road and beat UC Santa Barbara. UCSB has been one of the leading teams in the Big West, UCSD beat them 2x last year. Why is this important? Because UCSD is now eligible for post season play, including March Madness. They have finally exited the purgatory of a 4 year transition to D1. We know for sure that the winner of the Big West will get a big to March Madness, but don’t count on an at-large bid. The Tritons have a legit shot to win their conference. UC Irvine appears to the preseason favorite. Can you imagine UC San Diego playing in the NCAA Tournament? This would be epic. I have said for decades that the only negative thing about attending UC San Diego when I did in the 1980s was that we were not a big time sports program. Academically, socially, lifestyle and culture were all great at UCSD. We were just a Division 3 program playing Pomona Pitzer and small religious and academic institutions. UCSD has been big time in research and academics for a long time. Great to see them going big time in sports too. If UCSD makes the tournament, I’m going. I also plan on attending a number of home and road games too.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND FALLING OFF THE ROOF
We are a few days away from the 22nd anniversary of me falling off our roof putting up Christmas lights. That was a wild one. I am truly lucky to be alive. At our old house on Garden Rd in Poway I built a huge lighted star to go with regular Christmas lights along the eaves. I had installed everything on Thanksgiving weekend, but there were a few bulbs burnt out on the big star. So I got out the expansion ladder, climbed to the top of our 1st floor and fixed the bulbs. As I went back to the ladder, I had to ratchet it up higher so I could grab it as I swung around the ladder to go down. As soon as my foot hit it, the ladder collapsed. I went straight down on to our concrete driveway. Looking back, I must not have “clicked in” the ladder after I ratcheted it up. I remember flashes of the fall, the intense pain, and then rolling around in agony on the front lawn. Thankfully 2 neighbors saw me fall and raced to help me. I ended up spending a week in the hospital. I was out of work for 3 months. I broke my wrist, my shoulder blade, and the bones around my eye. Holy crap. Now I am “the guy” that other people tell stories about. LOL Looking back, it was amazing how much risk I took on with those Christmas lights. I also maxxed out the extension ladder to put the lights up on the second floor eaves. Message to you DIY Homeowners: hire a pro to hang your lights. Your life is too valuable.
CAPTIALISM VS POVERTY
Capitalism is the most effective anti-poverty program in the history of the world. It’s remarkable to me how so many people say the opposite. They say capitalism enslaves people. These people are living in a fantasy world. Capitalism is based on private property and free trade. Just 30 years ago approximately 30% of the world lived in abject poverty. Now it is down to 7.1%. UN officials project abject poverty to be wiped out by the end of this decade. How is this possible? It’s because nations like China, India, Vietnam and many others are moving in the direction of free enterprise. In other words, less state control. As these economies have freed up their people to innovate and produce, we see the standard of living grow for the ordinary person. Now we are seeing similar impact in many parts of Africa. Capitalism needs to be something we embrace, not something we fear.
COACH PRIME FANBOY
That’s me. I am a big fan of Deion Sanders and the work he is doing at Colorado. But I am an even bigger fan of his message on X. Coach Prime is always sharing inspiration about prioritizing your own life and pursuing happiness. From today:
Coach Prime expresses what should be a very American idea. You matter. Your project is your life. Pursue success. But too often in our culture people call this selfish and put down those that put their lives first. I think it is terrific to hear this message from a popular coach and not just from wonky philosophers and politicians. You go Coach Prime.
DOGE AND THE NATIONAL DEBT
Lots of screeching going on about Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plans to radically cut federal government spending. I am loving this. Our federal government wastes enormous amounts of our tax dollars on foolish and even immoral policies. Plus, politicians are piling on insane amounts of debt on to the backs of future generations. It’s nuts. Now, to be clear, I don’t have confidence Musk or Ramaswamy will have that much impact. There is too much power to give up if that spending went away. The myth that the GOP are a fiscally responsible party that wants to cut spending continues to exist despite actual evidence that proves the opposite. Musk says he wants to cut $2T in spending per year. There’s simply no way to do that without reforming Social Security and Medicare. Reforming those entitlement systems needs to be done, but politicians are too afraid to take it on for fear they will lose their election and powerbase. Right now this is all theater. Let’s see what actually happens. One thing I know for sure: Trump loves spending taxpayer money. Trump increased spending every year, even before COVID. Every instinct I have tells me there will be no significant spending cuts. But I hope I am wrong.
IS TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS A LIE?
Progressives have done a very good job convincing people that Tickle Down does not work. The rich just get richer, right? Of course the rich get richer. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially when so many middle class become richer… and many poor people rise up to middle class. The fact is that the money is more productively used to grow the economy and generate wealth when it is deployed in the private sector rather than the public sector. Private investment seeks a return on investment, not a politically calculated objective to help win over a segment of society in order to win an election. One thing progressives got right is that it wasn’t a trickle. In fact, it was a flood.