90-Second Food Review: An Excellent Hospital Breakfast for a Cardiac Patient (A Day Without Grits Is Like a Day Without Sunshine)

I underwent a catheterization procedure at a Baton Rouge hospital this morning. By the time the procedure was over, I hadn’t eaten in 24 hours, and I was hungry.

"Would I like some breakfast and a cup of coffee?" a nurse asked.

"Yes, I would," I replied, silently wondering what a cardiac patient gets for his hospital breakfast. Low-fat cottage cheese and a carrot stick?

Soon, the nurse returned with a Styrofoam tray and a cup of strong, black coffee. I knew from the first sip that I was drinking Community coffee, the only coffee people in South Louisiana drink. Indeed, the F word in Louisiana is not F---; it's Folger's.

My Styrofoam tray was separated into three compartments. One compartment held a single link sausage. The second compartment contained hot scrambled eggs. The third and largest compartment was filled with grits, a food I came to love after moving to Louisiana more than 30 years ago.

How about condiments? I examined a Styrofoam bowl containing packets of butter, salt, pepper, and grape jelly for my toast. I was disappointed not to find a little bottle of Tabasco sauce, but my condiment bowl contained the next best thing: a packet of Cajun seasoning, which I sprinkled on my eggs and grits.

All in all, I had a great hospital breakfast, and I was grateful that the hospital dietitian had approved me for a hearty helping of grits. 

My hospital care team included seven or eight young, energetic, and efficient people. Thank God, I thought to myself, that the folks bustling around me had chosen a medical career instead of majoring in gender studies or sociology.

Millions of Americans lack skills or training for a worthwhile vocation.  Seven million working-age men are unemployed and aren't even looking for work. Millions of others are pursuing college degrees in fields that don’t lead to a well-paying job. 

Every day, I meet workers in the service industry who are lethargic, sullen, and resentful because they work in menial jobs they don't want to do. I wonder how many hold bachelor's degrees in fashion design or art history.

Americans should be grateful to everyone who has chosen to pursue a healthcare career. I am constantly astonished by how cheerful and competent most of these people are.

At this stage of my life, I'm convinced that universities should close their liberal arts and humanities programs and focus solely on training young people for useful and meaningful jobs. In the future, America will need marine biologists, environmental engineers, and medical technicians. I don’t think we will need many people with degrees in philosophy, anthropology, sociology, or diversity studies.

If the U.S. Department survives the Trump administration's commitment to shut it down, I hope it will stop issuing student loans for worthless college degrees in liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences. Too often, borrowing money to get an education in these fields doesn't lead to a good job and leaves graduates with mountains of debt--debt that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. 

Image credit: Jake West

Colleges peddling expensive liberal arts degrees are engaging in fraud

My professors defined sociology as the painful elaboration of the obvious and psychology [as] the painstaking study of human behavior by people who need to be studied.

Dan E. Dunlap

As Mike Rowe pointed out recently, "Nothing has gotten more expensive in the last 40 years than a 4-year degree. Not real estate, not healthcare, not energy, nothing.” Indeed, it now costs around $90,000 a year to attend a private college.

And it is not just the exclusive schools that charge nose-bleed prices.  Columbia University costs $93,000 a year, including tuition, housing, and books. Landmark College, a tiny, obscure Vermont school, is almost as expensive. The total cost of attending Landmark for one year is $86,000. 

Is a college degree worth a quarter of a million dollars? No, of course not. And though a case can be made that an undergraduate degree in accounting or business will eventually pay off, no one can defend the insane cost of obtaining a liberal arts degree at a private school.

Columbia, for example, a university riddled with anti-Semitic racism, offers degrees in sociology, gender studies, and Yiddish studies. What kind of job will a Columbia grad be qualified to fill with a degree in those fields?

Colleges across America fund degree programs in the humanities, liberal arts, and social sciences that don't give graduates useful job skills. Why aren't these programs closed down?

Two reasons. First, universities continue to offer degrees in these fields because they have tenured professors who staff liberal arts departments who are very difficult to fire. 

Second, hundreds of private colleges define themselves as liberal arts colleges. It would be tough for these schools to justify their existence if they scrapped their liberal arts majors.

In my view, colleges that charge outrageous tuition prices that force students to take out loans to obtain low-value degrees are engaging in fraud.  College students are beginning to figure that out, and that's why enrollment in liberal arts programs is declining.

"Deserve Ain't Got Nothing To Do With It": The Dems Refuse To Be Realistic About the Ukraine War

 President Trump is trying to end the Ukraine War. Earlier this week, Vice President J.D. Vance proposed that the fighting stop with Russia keeping the ground it's gained and Ukraine pledging not to join NATO.

Obviously, President Trump's hand is strengthened if the mainstream media and the nation's political leaders are united behind him. Unfortunately, Trump's detractors don't like the Vance peace proposal. German Lopez, writing for the New York Times, implied that Trump favored Russia over Ukraine: 

Russia invaded Ukraine, but you wouldn’t know that from the peace negotiations. At every step, President Trump has pushed the victim to give ground, while the aggressor has given little of substance.

Prominent Democrats have also criticized Trump for not being more supportive of Ukraine and Ukrainian President Zelensky. Last month, Senators Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, and Chris Murphy denounced President Trump and Vice President Vance on television talk shows for supposedly ganging up on Zelensky when he visited the White House.  As reported by the World Socialist website, all three "backed the Democratic Party’s pro-war line, calling for stepped-up military aid to Ukraine and intensive efforts to defeat the Russian forces . . . ."

Zelensky insists there can be no peace until Russia withdraws from all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.  He surely takes solace from the Democrats' opposition to Trump's peace initiative, which gives him some cover for stubbornly resisting a reasonable end to the war.

Zelensky and the Democrats argue that prolonged warfare is justified because Ukraine is the innocent victim of Russian aggression. But of course, Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't see things that way. 

From Putin's perspective, the United States meddled in Ukrainian politics in 2014, when the CIA engineered the overthrow of a popularly elected, pro-Russian Ukrainian president. Russia, reasonably alarmed, invaded Crimea, where it had a significant military presence, and annexed it to the Russian motherland.

Zelensky and the Democrats believe Ukraine deserves better than Trump and Vance's proposed peace deal. But, to quote Clint Eastwood in The Unforgiven, "Deserve ain't got nothing to do with it."

The Ukrainians can fight on indefinitely so long as the U.S. provides them with financial assistance and copious military aid. But the casualties will be enormous, and Ukrainian cities will lie in ruins.

Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. will all be better off if the Ukraine war is brought to an end. Unfortunately, Zelensky and his Democratic Party allies have selfish motivations for opposing a reasonable peace deal.

 

Zelensky must agree to abandon claims to Crimea, or the Ukraine war will end badly

 As reported in the New York Times, Vice President J.D. Vance proposed an end to the Ukraine war on these terms: Russia will keep the Ukrainian territory it now holds, including Crimea, and Ukraine will abandon its efforts to join NATO.

Vance's proposal is reasonable. Indeed, all parties must agree to a settlement somewhat under these terms, or the war will drag on indefinitely and thousands more Russians and Ukrainians will die.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that Ukraine will never agree to allow Crimea to return to Russia, arguing that his nation's constitution forbids it. This is nonsense.

Crimea has been part of Russia since the 18th century, and Russia continued to have a military presence there even after Ukraine gained its independence in 1991. Eleven years ago, Russia annexed Crimea, and the Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia.

Russia will never give Crimea back to Ukraine, and everyone knows that. Zelensky's refusal to consider the issue means he is willing for the Ukraine war to go on indefinitely, with the U.S. footing the bill.

The world is well aware that Ukraine suffered mightily under Russian rule. The Holodomor and Stalin's terror campaign are still in Ukraine's national memory. Nevertheless, Russia's claims on Crimea and the largely Russian-speaking regions of the Donbas are reasonable.

The fighting will either end this year or escalate. If Zelensky refuses to bargain in good faith, I believe the U.S. should wash its hands of the Zelensky regime and end all military support.

Now is the time for the Democrats to pause their hysterical criticism of the Trump administration and show their support for President Trump's peace efforts. 

Democrats will have plenty of time to call Trump a Nazi, a criminal, and a rapist after the Ukraine war is concluded. Until that fighting stops, the Democrats need to behave like grown-ups and support Trump's peace efforts.

90-second Movie Review: "The Last Stop in Yuma County" is a Cautionary Tale for Handgun Owners

 The Last Stop in Yuma County is a sleeper. The film was made on a pauper's budget of only $1 million, and has no big-name stars. Almost the entire movie takes place in a rundown Arizona diner, which gives it the feel of a stage play. Although Last Stop won some regional film-festival awards, it was not nominated for a single Oscar.

Now the film is streaming on Paramount+ and other platforms to strong reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 97 percent rating on its Tomatometer. Matt Zoller Seitz, a reviewer on rogerebert.com, gave Last Stop a three-star rating.

I won't summarize the plot, which is so simple that I would give the whole story away if I attempted a summary. Suffice it to say that the movie features a lot of people carrying handguns, which they use to disastrous consequences.

States have liberalized their handgun laws in recent years. According to the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), 46 states allow adults to openly carry handguns,  including 31 states that don't require a permit. In Mississippi, where I live, an adult can openly carry a gun or wear it concealed without a license or training of any kind.

Fortunately, few citizens exercise their right to openly carry a pistol. Over the last two years, I've only seen three people carrying a holstered handgun, including one guy openly carrying a .380 autoloader at Sunday mass. 

Carrying a handgun is a bad idea, which The Last Stop in Yuma County repeatedly demonstrates. Some folks fantasize about pulling a 9 mm pistol to stop a mugger or save innocent bystanders from a crazed mass killer. Indeed, USCCA reports that armed civilians have saved 220,000 lives.

However, I'm skeptical. Although heroic outcomes occur from time to time, I believe an untrained civilian with a gun is more likely to shoot an innocent bystander than a villain. And I've read several news stories about people who killed an armed attacker and found themselves charged with murder or reckless homicide.

If you think carrying a handgun in public is a good idea, watch The Last Stop in Yuma County. I think you'll change your mind.

Image caption: United States Open Carry Association

90-second Music Review: My Top Ten List of Songs about Texas

 Texas Monthly recently did a tremendous public service when it published a list of 71 songs titled "Texas, " ranking them from worst to best. I consider myself an authority on Texas music, yet I was astonished by the number of songs on the list, most released in the last 25 years.

In this same civic spirit, I am listing the best ten songs about Texas. If you are a recent immigrant to the Lone Star State, I urge you to memorize these songs because they will be on the test when you die and seek admittance to Texas Heaven.

1. "Waltz Across Texas," sung by Ernest Tubb, is undoubtedly the Texans' favorite song. When I hear it, I always envision a cowboy and his sweetheart dancing from Beaumont to El Paso, only stopping at Buc-ee's occasionally, where they can always count on a clean bathroom.

2. My second favorite song is "The Eyes of Texas," the University of Texas school song. The lyrics are simple but stirring. 

The Eyes of Texas are upon you,
All the livelong day.
The Eyes of Texas are upon you,
You cannot get away.
Do not think you can escape them
At night or early in the morn --
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
Til Gabriel blows his horn.

3. "Deep in the Heart of Texas" is another excellent song--a patriotic paean to America's largest state, if you don't count Alaska, which Texans don't count.

Texas Monthly considers "Deep in the Heart of Texas" the State's unofficial state anthem, and I agree. There are at least three films with the same title. The 1996 movie, a whimsical look at Texas culture, is my favorite.

Hint: You're supposed to clap your hands three times before you sing the words "Deep in the Heart of Texas."

4. "That's Right, You're Not From Texas," Lyle Lovett's musical assurance that everyone is welcome, is a good tune to play when your Yankee relatives visit. The song contains a handy sartorial guide. Remember to wear your cowboy hat squarely on your head and not tilted. And be sure your jeans are long enough to cover the shaft of your boots.

5. "Texas Trilogy," Steve Fromholtz's ode to the gritty West  Texans, is a profoundly moving song and should be played every time you cross the Brazos River going west.

If the Brazos don't run dry
And the newborn calves, they don't die,
Another year from Mary will have flown.

6. "All My Exes Live In Texas" contains the only acceptable reason for a native son to leave the Lone Star State. If your ex-wives live in Texas, moving to Tennessee is permissible.

7. "Miles and Miles of Texas," sung ably by Asleep at the Wheel, tells you what you will see when you look into your True Love's big blue eyes: Miles and miles of Texas, of course.

8. "Ballad of the Alamo," written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Webster and sung by Marty Robbins, is a blood-rousing song about the siege of the Alamo. If you listen to this song when you are twelve years old, as I did, the song becomes embedded in your DNA, and you will never be able to think of the Alamo without weeping. 

 9. "There's a Little Bit of Everything in Texas," sung by Ernest Tubb, Hank Thompson, Willie Nelson, and others, is the most jingoistic Texas song ever written, and that's saying something. But really, why travel when Texas has mountains, beaches, and verdant forests? Admittedly, you can't ski in Texas, but that's why God made New Mexico--to give Texans a place to ski.

10. "Texas, Our Texas," is the official State song, and the state's equivalent to Great Britain's "God Save the Queen."

Texas, our Texas! All hail the mighty State!
Texas, our Texas! So wonderful, so great!
Boldest and grandest, Withstanding ev'ry test;
O Empire wide and glorious, You stand supremely blest.

I know what you're thinking. How could I have skipped over "San Antonio Rose"? That song is about a city in Texas, not the state as a whole. That's a separate list, which I'm still working on.

Three Canaries in the Coal Mine of the American Economy. That's Two Canaries Too Many

 One day after the Easter holiday, the stock market is swooning. Is this the big sell-off--the start of a long decline, maybe this century's Great Depression?

Who knows? The market may rally tomorrow. If so, what will that mean--long-term stability in the equity markets or a dead cat bounce?

I see three gasping canaries in the coal mine of the American economy:

First, prices are falling in the Florida housing market as Floridians struggle with relatively high mortgage rates and the ballooning cost of property insurance. 

Florida real estate has long been the leading indicator for the American housing market.  Trouble in the Sunshine State may portend trouble nationwide.

Second, the yield on 10-year treasuries is rising due partly to investors' concerns about tariffs and President Trump's public criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. If rates keep heading north, it will eventually mean higher mortgage and corporate borrowing rates.

Third, investors' interest in private equity funds is souring, and fund managers are having trouble selling assets to meet payment obligations to their clients. These funds own a lot of businesses and real estate. It will mean trouble for the broader economy if the equity funds run into trouble.

These three canaries are related because tariff concerns and interest rates affect them all. The feds could be relied on in past financial crises to sweep in and bail out the big players. This time may be different.

The federal government is running an annual budget deficit of $2 trillion, which isn't sustainable even in the short term if interest rates rise significantly.  Remember that this year's budget deficit adds to the nation's accumulated national debt of $36 trillion.

Some Americans are doing fine and still buying luxury cars and high-end real estate. Others are obsessed with the deportation of one guy from El Salvador and indifferent to storms on the nation's financial horizon.

Overall, Americans have adopted the philosophy of the Beach Boys: We'll have fun, fun, fun 'til Daddy takes the T-bird away. 

By the way, who is Daddy? Some people think Daddy is Donald Trump. But they're wrong, Daddy is the Chinese.

When did the Beach Boys become our financial advisor?