David Passmore
@davidpassmore.bsky.social
Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Penn State University (https://davidpassmore.net). Member, Battle of Homestead Foundation. Live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Niagara Falls, New York, native. I post critical presentations & analyses of information I read. .. more
Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Penn State University (https://davidpassmore.net). Member, Battle of Homestead Foundation. Live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Niagara Falls, New York, native. I post critical presentations & analyses of information I read.
Economics
26%
Education
12%
If you see shit, smell shit, identify shit, there is no need to kiss it.
It is almost impossible to smile at shit...
...it would be disingenuous and faux-naïf. You must have principles, right?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
...it would be disingenuous and faux-naïf. You must have principles, right?
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/u...
MEASLES
The "first building block of childhood disease protection falls in real time: protection against measles. Because this is the most contagious virus on Earth, even small drops in vaccination coverage give it an opening.... In January 2026...662 measles cases were reported."
bit.ly/Measdrops
The "first building block of childhood disease protection falls in real time: protection against measles. Because this is the most contagious virus on Earth, even small drops in vaccination coverage give it an opening.... In January 2026...662 measles cases were reported."
bit.ly/Measdrops
HANNIBAL CROSSED THE ALPS
"He was one, by nature, eager for action, yet an oath-breaker,
cunning beyond all, though of questionable fairness. Armed, he was no respecter of the gods; bold to do wrong, scorning
the virtues of peace."
~ "Punica (Second Carthaginian War)," Silius Italicus, c. 96 AD
"He was one, by nature, eager for action, yet an oath-breaker,
cunning beyond all, though of questionable fairness. Armed, he was no respecter of the gods; bold to do wrong, scorning
the virtues of peace."
~ "Punica (Second Carthaginian War)," Silius Italicus, c. 96 AD
USDA shifts sterile fly dispersal efforts to defend U.S. border
Immediate and decisive actions will better protect U.S. animal and public health.
bit.ly
I LIKE ME A STERILE FLY, SHUG.
The USDA is shifting a 100 million/week sterile fly dispersal to the U.S.-Mexico border. Larvae of the screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax), a parasitic fly, feed on livestock (and humans), posing a significant threat to animal health and agriculture.
bit.ly/catfly
The USDA is shifting a 100 million/week sterile fly dispersal to the U.S.-Mexico border. Larvae of the screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax), a parasitic fly, feed on livestock (and humans), posing a significant threat to animal health and agriculture.
bit.ly/catfly
Pirro Threatens Jail Time for Lawful Gun Owners Who Travel to D.C. With Firearms
www.nytimes.com
MAGA EATS ITS OWN
“I have a license in Florida and DC to carry. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others,” [Representative Greg Steube of Florida, a U.S. Army veteran], wrote. “Come and Take it!”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
“I have a license in Florida and DC to carry. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others,” [Representative Greg Steube of Florida, a U.S. Army veteran], wrote. “Come and Take it!”
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
Hah, more than they ever will deliver, that's all, Dan. Not part of their process.
'If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity....Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet...breathe the same air...cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal."
~John .F. Kennedy, 1963, American University
~John .F. Kennedy, 1963, American University
Enhancing Worker Productivity Without Automating Tasks: A Different Approach to AI and the Task-Based Model
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
AI WITHOUT AUTOMATION?
Criticism of AI impact emphasizes the replacement of human workers by machines. Yet, AI often augments workers.
Paper highlights the role of education and training policies in shaping the economic consequences of AI-driven technological change.
www.nber.org/papers/w34781
Criticism of AI impact emphasizes the replacement of human workers by machines. Yet, AI often augments workers.
Paper highlights the role of education and training policies in shaping the economic consequences of AI-driven technological change.
www.nber.org/papers/w34781
A.I. and Our Economic Future
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
AI HORIZON
"What if machines—AI for cognitive tasks and AI plus advanced robots for physical tasks—can perform every task a human can do but more cheaply?"
www.nber.org/papers/w34779
"What if machines—AI for cognitive tasks and AI plus advanced robots for physical tasks—can perform every task a human can do but more cheaply?"
www.nber.org/papers/w34779
Groundhog Day generates millions of dollars for the local economy. Median household income of Punxsutawny is half the PA average & 40% of children live in poverty. The event attracts around 20,000-25,000 visitors, benefiting local hotels, restaurants, & shops.
A ballad:
youtu.be/7MHKV3tEL4U?...
A ballad:
youtu.be/7MHKV3tEL4U?...
If there are no reports of anyone being sent to the hospital during the Groundhog Day celebrations this year in Punxsutawney, then why was the 1993 movie, Groundhog Day, released if not to warn us?
Scene in hospital where in the background you can see a young boy with a broken leg.
Scene in hospital where in the background you can see a young boy with a broken leg.
Watch out, true believers.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration compared the critter's forecasts (& those of 18 other famed weather prognosticating animals) with actual U.S. national temperatures over the previous 20 years. Punxy Phil was only right about 35% of the time.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration compared the critter's forecasts (& those of 18 other famed weather prognosticating animals) with actual U.S. national temperatures over the previous 20 years. Punxy Phil was only right about 35% of the time.
A whistlepig is a common name for the groundhog, a type of rodent that makes a whistling alarm call when it senses danger. The term is also used in some regions of Pennsylvania to refer to this animal.
Sorry, a siffleux to the eastern Canadian friends I might still have.
Sorry, a siffleux to the eastern Canadian friends I might still have.
THE WHISTLE PIG LONG-TERM WEATHER FORECAST
PA is the corporate home of AccuWeather (www.accuweather.com), but the state prefers, offers, and promotes long-term forecasts from a Marmota Monax, a rodent of the family Sciuridae in the order Rodentia.
BTW, did you know the Earth is a flat planet?
PA is the corporate home of AccuWeather (www.accuweather.com), but the state prefers, offers, and promotes long-term forecasts from a Marmota Monax, a rodent of the family Sciuridae in the order Rodentia.
BTW, did you know the Earth is a flat planet?
Dan, you asking for consistency and coherence?
META'S AGRESSIVE AI ACCOUNTING
"Meta wants other people’s money to pay for the data center. Those investors want to know Meta ultimately has their backs....[But} Meta wants to keep its near-pristine credit rating and doesn’t want the extra assets and debt on its books."
on.wsj.com/4c3eMl8
"Meta wants other people’s money to pay for the data center. Those investors want to know Meta ultimately has their backs....[But} Meta wants to keep its near-pristine credit rating and doesn’t want the extra assets and debt on its books."
on.wsj.com/4c3eMl8
"About 200 courses are said to be under review by the administration for prohibited content. A master’s class entitled “Ethics and Public Policy” was cancelled in its first week after its black professor refused to tell the college dean exactly which days he planned to discuss race."
econ.st/4qfSJLA
econ.st/4qfSJLA
“To prop itself up, to appear decent, it will without fail call forth its ally—Lies. For violence has nothing to cover itself with but lies, and lies can only persist through violence.”
— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Russian writer, publicist, poet and politician (1918–2008)
— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Russian writer, publicist, poet and politician (1918–2008)
SONNET 138, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
When my love swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young.
When my love swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young.
Gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) compares countries' economic productivity and standards of living by adjusting for the relative purchasing power of their currencies.
See: paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-world-...
See: paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-world-...
Bernie Sanders Says Companies Like Amazon Would Replace Workers With Robots Because They Don't Need Wages Or Benefits: 'It's Time To Tax Robots' - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Sen. Bernie Sanders criticized Amazon for replacing workers with robots and renewed calls to tax automation, an idea backed by Bill Gates and Mark Cuban as AI-driven job losses accelerate.
bit.ly
BERNIE SAYS TAX ROBOTS!
Robots are human substitutes. They do not earn taxable wages. Tax robots to substitute for lost wage tax revenue.
bit.ly/49OiQ7A
Robots are human substitutes. They do not earn taxable wages. Tax robots to substitute for lost wage tax revenue.
bit.ly/49OiQ7A
AI Is Transforming the Economy—Not Destroying It
When it comes to AI and the workforce, we should ask a simple question: are we making it easier or harder for someone to start tomorrow what doesn’t exist today?
bit.ly
CATO SAYS...
"State legislatures...appear fixated on regulating AI...believing that AI is to blame for...economic woes....>100 AI bills were signed into law at the state level last year....lacking a connection to empowering Americans to thrive economically."
You say what?
bit.ly/4qU7a9s
"State legislatures...appear fixated on regulating AI...believing that AI is to blame for...economic woes....>100 AI bills were signed into law at the state level last year....lacking a connection to empowering Americans to thrive economically."
You say what?
bit.ly/4qU7a9s
Hospitals Are a Proving Ground for What AI Can Do, and What It Can’t
Healthcare is going all-in on artificial intelligence, from reading patient scans to fighting insurance denials.
on.wsj.com
AI IN MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS & HOSPITAL OPERATIONS
"Among health systems, 27% are paying for commercial AI licenses, triple the rate across the U.S. economy."
Worker shortages and Medicaid cuts, as well as the possibility of better diagnostics, are driving this leading trend.
on.wsj.com/49SUHv6
"Among health systems, 27% are paying for commercial AI licenses, triple the rate across the U.S. economy."
Worker shortages and Medicaid cuts, as well as the possibility of better diagnostics, are driving this leading trend.
on.wsj.com/49SUHv6
When Love Comes to Town – Venezuelan Rebound Would Test Gulf Coast Refiners’ Affection for Canadian Crude
The evolving situation in Venezuela is rife with uncertainty. But as the outlook for Venezuelan crude oil improves, there are significant market issues at play as well, including the potential for ren...
bit.ly
"Venezuela was once a critical supplier of heavy sour crude to Gulf Coast refineries." It's back."Developments in Venezuela have also clouded the path...for...Canadian heavy crude....The developments in Venezuela have added a new layer of uncertainty to the heavy sour market."
bit.ly/4tcnJ1Y
bit.ly/4tcnJ1Y
License to Kill? The Legal Black Hole of Federal Misconduct
As long as the Supreme Court continues on its trajectory of insulating government officials from accountability and Congress remains missing in action, federal agents will operate with the knowledge t...
www.cato.org
LICENSE TO KILL?
"Every day Americans [are] falling victim to a system that enables—or even encourages—gross misconduct."
www.cato.org/blog/license...
"Every day Americans [are] falling victim to a system that enables—or even encourages—gross misconduct."
www.cato.org/blog/license...
"Immigrants consumed about 24% less in welfare benefits than native-born Americans on a per capita basis....immigrants made up about 14.8% of the US population but accounted for only 10.4% of...welfare & entitlement benefits....53% less than native-born Americans."
bit.ly/4q52lIU
bit.ly/4q52lIU
TIDE OF PUBLIC OPINION EXPOSES ICE?
“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked."
— Warren Buffett, investor
“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked."
— Warren Buffett, investor
HUBRIS
Thucydides said hubris leads to the downfall of powerful states. In the Peloponnesian War, overconfidence led to poor decision-making & ultimately tragedy. Arrogance blinds leaders to the consequences of their actions, resulting in catastrophic outcomes for their cities & allies.
Thucydides said hubris leads to the downfall of powerful states. In the Peloponnesian War, overconfidence led to poor decision-making & ultimately tragedy. Arrogance blinds leaders to the consequences of their actions, resulting in catastrophic outcomes for their cities & allies.