Saturday, March 1, 2025

DOGE Accounting and Hockey Fighting

The Schloss-Blog has noticed that DOGE's accounting has been off - by several billion dollars. And in hockey, if you fight, you risk losing. Which is why you see so much less of it in playoffs and championship international matches.

Plus, Trump's popularity is very unpopular.

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DOGE, the Department of Government Inefficiency, has been claiming that it has cut $8 billion out of the federal budget with the personnel moves and other cuts it has executed and recommended.

However, close examination of the claim, and its accounting, reveals it is more like $8 million. But this is most typical of Elon Musk, who, like Trump just makes things up.

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Watch the 4-Nations Face-Off?

The games were entertaining, played hard with emotion by all four teams (Canada, U.S., Switzerland and Finland).

Kudos to Canada for sticking it to the Trump-blessed U.S. team for the title, but the thing that stood out most was the fighting - or lack thereof.

Yeah, the first U.S.-Canada game featured three fights in 9 seconds to start the game, but the rematch, in the championship game, featured - none!

How come?

Well, no one wants to be lost to his team for a 5-minute major in a significant game like that. And make no mistake, it was significant - tickets at TD Gardens in Boston were going for between $2,000-$4,000.

It's that way in the NHL playoffs too - goons who fight regularly in the regular season refrain from it in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the same reason - no one wants to be lost to his team for 5 minutes.

And that's the problem - in hockey, you fight, it's 5 minutes. In baseball, basketball or football, you fight and it's an ejection and a likely suspension.

Five minutes. No wonder regular-season hockey sucks.

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Looking to buy a house?

Good luck. Home sales in the U.S. slumped again in January and you know why? Prices and especially high interest rates are keeping people out of the market, especially first-time buyers. Interest rates are as high as 7%.

Trump promised to get prices down, keep them down. How's that going?

Bought eggs lately?

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Trump's popularity, his approval rating, that is, is as low as prices are high.

At 47% in January, it has sagged to 44% in February as prices continue to soar (gas, groceries, housing) and his threatened tariffs prospectively seem to keep inflation running high.

Plus, the Fed is showing no signs of lowering interest rates while inflation runs rampant.

Now, with all the layoffs, expect unemployment to spike.

Saving money? The government is laying off people and cutting services everywhere, at the FAA, where recent air accidents have people nervous, and at national parks, where layoffs have caused the most-popular sites, like the Grand Canyon, to experience 2-hour lines at entry gates.

Wait till this summer, when America hits the road - and can't afford the gas or the wait time at the gates.

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Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary show was a treat, especially the appearances by so many former guest hosts and original cast members.

But Adam Sandler's solo, celebrating so many ins and outs of the show, genuinely brought a tear.

Paul McCartney closed the show with an Abbey Road medley. Wish he'd done Hey Jude instead.

Paul Simon, singing with Sabrina Carpenter to open the show, was fabulous. And the Q&A with the stars in the audience, anchored by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, was a riot. They are both rumored to be in line to take over producing the show if and when 80-year-old Lorne Michaels retires.

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Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Miley Cyrus.

More Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.


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