A Turkey in Every Pot?

An A F Branco cartoon via Townhall to follow up Thanksgiving:

# # #

Your grocery store: Is it time to panic?

 

Amid the reports of disruptions to the supply chains, mandates for truckers, inflation, and other interference from the government, how do we know when the supply chains into our grocery stores have been disrupted to the point where people will start to panic?  Sundance has been suggesting the tell-tale signs of substantive disruptions to the food supply chains, and how you will recognize it as something other than the usual running-low-on-products over the weekend.  His predictions:

Initial food instability signs in the supply chain.  Things to look for: 

(1) A shortage of processed potatoes (frozen specifically).   1.a And/or a shortage of the ancillary products that are derivatives of, or normally include, potatoes.

(2) A larger than usual footprint of turkey/ham in the supermarket (last lines of protein).

(3) A noticeable increase in the price of citrus products.

(4) A sparse distribution of foodstuffs that rely on flavorings (sports drinks).

(5) The absence of non-seasonal products.

(6) Little to no price difference on the organic comparable (diff supply chain)

(7) Unusual country of origin for fresh product type.

(8) Absence of large container products

(9) Shortage of any ordinary but specific grain derivative item (ex. wheat crackers)

(10) Big brand shortage.

(11) Shortage of wet pet foods

(12) Shortage of complex blended products with multiple ingredients (soups, etc.)

(13) A consistent shortage of milk products and/or ancillaries.

These notes above are all precursors that show significant stress in the supply chain.  Once these issues are consistently visible, we will likely continue toward food instability very quickly, sector by sector, category by category.

. . .

More from Sundance here.  Another "tell":  when restaurants begin to react, such as this report from Domino’s Pizza.

It may not be time to panic, but it is time to make sure your pantry is stocked up.

# # #

Freedom and Basketball

Enes Kanter Freedom is a professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics.  He just published a piece in, of all places, The Atlantic.  Excerpts are below.  His statement will bring tears to your eyes;  he understands what America is all about, and he puts LeBron to shame.  Highly recommended!

When I first arrived in the United States, I had to adjust to a new language, new norms, and new traditions. But I was perhaps most stunned by a simple comment a teammate made. He criticized President Barack Obama, which I feared could have landed him in prison. He smiled and said: “This isn’t Turkey, brother. You have the freedom to say whatever you want.”

Americans might find the thought absurd, but the threat of prison is all too real for those living under authoritarian rule around the world. Since Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became president of Turkey in 2014, after more than a decade as prime minister, at least 12,881 people have been convicted of the crime of insulting the president. Thousands have been sent to prison, including children, for offenses as trivial as posting something on social media that might hurt the feelings of an emotionally fragile dictator.

Over the past five years, Erdoğan has all but stamped out free expression in Turkey. He’s made Turkey one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, imprisoning hundreds. Erdoğan’s regime has shut down more than 160 media outlets and hundreds of human-rights groups. Turkey’s dystopian new internet law gives the regime complete control over users’ data and enables online censorship. A current proposal would criminalize the spreading of so-called fake news online with up to five years in prison. Erdoğan has targeted every defender of freedom in my country. His regime has persecuted, jailed, and even tortured tens of thousands of educators, lawyers, judges, public officials, and activists after labeling them “terrorists.” And it has targeted me.

. . .

Human rights and democracy are under threat. Around the globe, authoritarian strongmen are getting stronger. Yet far too many celebrities, athletes, and corporations still choose their money over their morals. Speaking up for victims of authoritarian violence has somehow become controversial, just because it might alienate the perpetrators. It shouldn’t take the disappearance of a former No. 1 world-tennis star for some of us to make a statement. Freedom is not about staying silent in the face of a tyrannical dictatorship that commits genocide against the Uyghurs because you prefer to preserve your business deals.

For six long years, I was without a home. I know what it’s like for a people to have their freedom stripped away. And I know what it’s like to have my own freedom stripped away. But this week, I’m reclaiming my Freedom. I just became an American citizen, and I’m making America and its freedoms a part of my very identity.

I’m overwhelmed with emotion just writing these words: I, Enes Kanter Freedom, am proud to be a citizen of the United States of America, the land of the free, and home of the brave.

Mr. Freedom's full statement is here.  And it is inspiring.

# # #

Pardon the turkey

A.F. Branco cartoon via freedomsback.com and Legal Insurrection

Elizabeth Warren’s kind of turkey!

 # # #

There will be more out-of-control immigration

Art credit: thepoliticalforums.com

A meaningless bill to put some "safeguards" 

into immigration background checks

From cleveland.com:  

Northeast Ohio Democrats Tim Ryan and Marcy Kaptur were among 47 Democrats who joined with the majority of House Republicans on Thursday to pass a controversial bill that would increase government background checks done before Syrian or Iraqi refugees are admitted to the United States.

All Ohio's Republicans backed the bill, which passed by a veto-proof vote of 289 to 137.

But the bill is toothless. From Conservative Treehouse:

House Votes On Meaningless Refugee Bill – “SAFE Act” Passes With Veto Proof 289-137 Support….

Under the Paul Ryan approved bill -American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act of 2015– the FBI director would be required to certify the background investigation of each refugee from Iraq and Syria.  And only refugees from Iraq and Syria.  And if you are Syrian and you walk into Turkey to begin applying for refugee status, presto, the bill doesn’t cover you.

The SAFE ACT requires the FBI, along with the secretary of Homeland Security and the director of National Intelligence, to certify to Congress that each refugee is not a security threat. The legislation also requires the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General’s Office to independently assess the refugee approvals.

However, the bill is largely meaningless and well beyond toothless. Senator Sessions (R-AL) noted refugees and migrants from nine different countries have been implicated in terrorism incidents over the past year.  “Ignoring this reality, the American SAFE Act allows the president to continue to bring in as many refugees as he wants from anywhere in the world,” Sessions said previously. 

There is nothing in the bill to prevent refujihadis from crossing our borders. Just more Kabuki theater from Congress.

UPDATE Nov-20 4:30 pm: Cleveland.com reports that

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson this week joined dozens of other mayors of major U.S. cities in affirming that Syrians seeking refuge from their war-torn homeland are welcome here.

"The City of Cleveland has always opened her arms to refugees, regardless of where they are from," Jackson wrote Wednesday in an emailed statement.

Jackson joins Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings -- who all said they would help resettle Syrian refugees in their cities, despite the recent wave of panic among politicians about the perceived connections between Syrians, the Islamic State and last week's terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 people.

Mayors of 18 other cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago also signed a letter sent to President Barack Obama in September, pledging to work with the administration to help resettle Syrian refugees in their towns.

But like many of those mayors, Jackson's views on the issue depart from those of his state's governor.

# # #