🌞 Ides of March – March 15 2022

In Case You Missed It

credit: getty

🚨 A judge ordered the autopsy for actor Bob Saget to be permanently banned from public record. 

🪖 The U.S. and Japanese militaries are conducting joint training sessions.

🚀 Republicans say that they will block President Biden’s attempts to revive a nuclear deal with Iran which asks Iran to ramp down nuclear weapons in exchange for sanction relief.  

🇰🇷 South Korea is readying troops in defense of North Korea’s continued missile tests. 

​​​​Coronavirus Update: 🗣

• There is now a term for how you felt during the pandemic when you gave up on living your best life, staying in bed eating junk food, watching junk TV and not grooming: goblin mode. 
• Covid cases are rising in Europe but that's not stopping the EU from eliminating most covid restrictions. 
• London’s Heathrow Airport will no longer require masks starting tomorrow. 
• The CEO of Pfizer says that a fourth Covid vaccine “is necessary.” 
• Analysis of American sewer water indicates Covid cases may be rising. 

*stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00 am ET.

The Lead: War and Speech

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Diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine are getting nowhere and so the fighting continues. 

Russia’s demands include: formally ceding Crimea to Russia, recognizing the independence of pro-Russian areas of Ukraine and change its constitution to guarantee neutrality, which means end any discussion with NATO. Ukraine refuses so the aggression continues. More people were killed when an apartment building was bombed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile in the West, anyone who points out that the United States is not blameless in this conflict and that there are in fact American Biolabs in Ukraine is being called a traitor. Namely: Tulsi Gabbard. She has been critical of the Biden administration for its role in the war and pointed out that the State Department did in fact acknowledge Biolabs until recently. She points out that they are dangerous. Now there are calls for her arrest, calling what she is saying “Russian propaganda.” 

The United States and Ukraine have acknowledged the presence of these labs and said that they are there to “prevent” biological weapons, not create them. She doesn’t say that they are there to create them. She says that they are there and contain dangerous pathogens and should NOT fall into Russian hands. Her opinion is that the labs should be shut down but the media doesn’t want her to say those things. So…arrest her!?

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Oil Companies Making Huge Profits

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Why are gas prices hurting you and not the gas companies? If the problem is Russia, wouldn’t big oil feel the sting just as much as consumers? 

The fact is, they’re not. Big oil companies stand to close out 2021 with a record $200 billion in profits. Prices were skyrocketing long before Russian sanctions were put in place. 

The White House briefed TikTok stars on this matter, telling them that gas prices are due to the Russian war, which they then repeated on their platforms. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling this “Putin’s gas hike.” It sounds good but it rings hollow given that shares of Chevron, Shell and their brethren are at record highs. 

Big oil backers say that now is the time to turn back on pipelines that were paused for environmental concerns and ramp up fracking. Environment be damned. 

Big oil may face litigation for decisions such as these though. In the UK, a group called ClientEarth has notified Shell that it intends to hold the company’s directors personally liable for a failure to shift to sustainable energy. There is a precedent for this type of case. A judge in Denmark held Shell responsible for the climate crisis and ordered them to shift to clean energy faster. 

So are the questions: Can big oil use the Russian conflict as an excuse to ramp up fossil fuel production instead of down? Will gas prices go down if we let them? Do we trust their talking points that we can blame this on Putin? Can we also buy the Brooklyn Bridge? 

News By The Numbers

credit: boston globe

2 months. That is how long Tom Brady was in retirement before he decided he could not take playing himself in Madden any longer. The Super Bowl champ announced he will come back for the 2022-2023 season because he has “unfinished business.” 

190. That is how many Papa John’s Pizza stores will remain open in Russia. 

$65 million. That is how much a group of nonprofits in Minnesota received in federal aid to feed needy children during the pandemic. The Justice Department says that almost none of that money went towards feeding children and are investigating the group for fraud. 

Work From Home

credit: sciencemag

If your company is allowing you to keep working from home, you may be passing up on promotions and bonuses, according to economists. 

That stands to reason. If you’re not there, you’re not top of mind. Possibly. Economists say that this risk is greater for women than it is for men because women are opting to work from home in greater numbers post-pandemic. (Can we say “post-pandemic” yet?)

In fact, ZipRecruiter found that women are twice as likely as men to opt for permanent working from home. But Harvard Economist Claudia Goldin told the Wall Street Journal that this can negatively affect workers’ wages, retirement savings and career prospects. Something to think about – and talk about- with your boss! 

Always Look On The Bright Side of Life

credit: nypost

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Maybe, judge yourself before the pandemic/war/inflation/climate crisis all heated up just to be fair. 

Or use this image of a cat. Apparently the way you see this cat can tell you if you are an optimist or a pessimist. If you see the cat going UP a set of stairs, you are an optimist. If you see the cat going DOWN a set of stairs, you are a pessimist. (I saw down. No surprise there.)

If you see the cat going up, you may live longer! A new study from Boston University shows that optimists have longer, healthier lives. Maybe even nine of them! 

What's Trending?

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#RIPScottHall is trending. He was a wrestling star who went by the name of Razor Ramon. He died on Monday at the age of 63 after suffering multiple heart attacks following hip surgery.

Times New Roman is trending with people taking to Twitter to debate its place as the proper default font. It’s not. It’s Verdana. 

Ides of March is trending because that is today. On the Roman calendar, this was a day for settling disputes. It is notably the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated, marking a turning point for the Roman empire. Try not to read too much into it. (I can’t!)

Elon Musk is trending because he challenged Vladimir Putin to a fight on Twitter. Lucky for him, Putin is too busy with another fight. 

Mayim Bialik is trending because she said that she wants to stay on as the host of Jeopardy! People online mostly support that! 

Today's Live Show

JOIN US TODAY AT 9AM EASTERN TIME

Join us on today's live morning show.  Today we're looking at why the Biden administration is hiring social media influencers to sell a phony oil narrative. We're also looking at Senator Romney's calls for Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard's arrest. All of that and more on today's show. Click here to RSVP and I'll see you at 9 AM Eastern. 

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