I used to love San Francisco. It had a great history, beautiful setting, a temperate climate and fantastic food. Along with London, it was one of my favorite cities in the world. I looked forward to going there every time I could. No more. It has become a cesspool and I’m being kind with that description. I hope Tony Bennett went back to get his heart that he left there, or he would no longer recognize it.

I remember a time when a company needed to earn money. You know, actually make a profit with real cash flow, in order for the executives to make money. Sell a product or service for more than it costs you to produce. If the company didn’t make any money, neither did the executives.

By now, you all have heard lots of analysis on why the “red wave” broke just north of Jacksonville, and the polls were wrong again, albeit in the other direction this time. I do not intend to give you some new analysis of why things happened as they did on November 8th. You can read all about whose “fault” it was or who gets the “credit” from others. Instead, I will give you some observations and point out some trends and details about which you might not be aware.

All signs are now pointing to a good night for Republicans nationwide on Tuesday. Why? We all know many of the reasons. But one major one is contained in the clip below. This is a link to an interview on “Meet the Press” (the Palm Pilot of news programs) in which host Chuck Todd interviews New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu.

Elections, like sporting events, have their ups and downs. For a while, one side can be winning. Then something changes and the other side prevails in the end.

You may not get too upset about what we have begun to call wokeness. You may think that economics and foreign policy and crime prevention are more important. After all, those are the things our elected officials have power over. I understand the point.

No, I have not fallen off a cliff or driven one of my fast cars into a barrier. You have not heard from me in several months. Yes, I’ve been a bit busy and I have had some sickness which will lead to sinus surgery in November. But, those are just excuses. The main reason I have not written is because I have been quite negative about all that is going on at the moment. I did not want to be a “Debbie Downer” and write you every week about another bad thing that is happening. That would be too much like the 6 o’clock news.

Here are two pieces I consider worthy of your time to read. They are both unlikely to come to your notice as they have not appeared in major publications. The first is a speech given just a few days ago by Trump’s former US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer. He lays out a compelling case for why the trade policies towards China and others started during the Trump presidency should be continued and supported even by “free trade” conservatives.

One of the major schisms between the left and the right, is how we look at those who have gone before us. On the right, we value the wisdom of the ages; the words of sages who have gone before; enduring values that transcend any given political or societal movement. On the left, they believe that they are smarter than that. Thousands of years of history have made today’s persons (no way they would say “men and women”) more omnipotent than anyone who preceded us. There are no enduring values. Only old mores that need to be rejected or revised.

There will be a recession. The business cycle has not been repealed. The question is whether that will occur this year or next year or five years from now. I don’t know when this will occur. The technical definition of a “recession” is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. The financial press is obsessed with this definition.

As Winston Churchill said, “the future, though imminent, is obscure.” That is particularly true today. Just this morning, I read one prediction from a major source that the price of oil is going to $380 a barrel, and another from a similar source that it will drop to $45. With so much in flux and transition around the world, this is a harder time than most to make predictions 3 years in the future. But I will do it anyway, with the caveat that any more “black swans” cruising in like the virus can always change everything.

Predictions – ESG and the Climate Change Worshipers will win. The world will lose. ESG is the new Communism

When any of us are making predictions, it is important to try to mitigate the biases that we all have in order to make a more rational judgment about what may come to pass. A committed Democrat will always have a bias towards predicting their side will prevail as will a committed Republican. That is where hope and bias leaks in to influence thought.

Last week’s decision by the United States Supreme Court on the Dobbs case, returning abortion laws to the states, was expected but still has generated much joy and anger around the country. I wrote a piece in these pages back in May after the leak of said decision came out entitled “Divisions Deepen.” For any of you new subscribers who missed that, I am reprinting it here.

It will not surprise regular readers of these missives that I am and have long been a Star Trek fan. Now, I was not fanatic enough to attend any conventions dressed as a Romulan, but I did write letters to the studio in the late 60s in an attempt to keep the show on the air. Our appeals were successful to get season 3 but failed to obtain a 4th season of the original series.

I am not anti-electric vehicles. In fact, I own two of them. I did not buy them because I believe any of the garbage that somehow, I am saving the planet with them. I am a car guy and I bought them because I enjoy the very different driving experience and because I think the technology is fascinating. Neither of them are Teslas, however. Personally, I am not fond of Teslas.