Tuesday Truisms

Rather than focus on a song title like “Ruby Tuesday,” “Tuesday Afternoon” or “Tuesday’s gone with the wind,” I thought I would stick to a short and sweet title – Tuesday Truisms. In no particular order are few truths to digest this Tuesday.

People wonder why drug prices in America are so much larger than in other countries. A key reason is quite simple. Other countries do not allow the pricing of Research and Development (R&D) in the cost of the drug. So, Americans pay for a huge share of the R&D costs. This is a key reason why the industry fights against the US government negotiating prices for Medicare.

When the recent testimony and findings of the House Select Committee are reviewed, just set aside the culpability on the planning and execution of the insurrection for a minute. There are two truisms that are clearly evident that need to be loudly stated. First, the insurrection does not happen if Donald Trump is not president. Full stop. This statement needs no further explanation and truly speaks on its own. Second, Donald Trump did not lift a finger after being pleaded with for 187 minutes to help elected officials and stop the attack on the Capitol. Security details were talking with the Vice President not the person who could have cooled the jets of the seditionists. Full stop. Then you can factor in his role in the planning and execution which does not look good either.

Oh, Boris. We will miss you when you are gone. A sure sign that Boris was not up for the task of British Prime Minister was evident when the Brexit marketing team to get people to vote for such did not want Boris or Nigel involved in the planning. That spoke volumes to me. So, knowing Brexit was not going to go well from the outset, then pairing it up with Boris to lead the way, it was not a recipe of success. The British people deserve better. They deserve the truth and truth tellers.

Speaking of the truth and truth tellers, please ask yourself why people who know they are going to be vilified for saying something, say it anyway. Names like Cassidy Hutchinson, Fiona Hill, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger should be remembered well for their courage and upholding the constitution. Yet, if you mention their names in MAGA circles, you will get a different response. Some would rather believe the likes of not very credible sources like Greene, Gosar, Jordan, Trump, Giuliani, Bannon, Stone, McCarthy, Hannity, Carlson, Ingraham, et al. By the way one person who was on this list, Mr. Cawthorn, who did not win reelection, is in more legal troubles being accused of using campaign funds for personal benefit.

As for what is happening in Ukraine, the story is hard to follow given the eagerness for both sides to claim success. I start from a position of not believing much of what Vladimir Putin says given his bent and training to misinform and disinform. There is a reason Trump admires him so. Yet, that does not mean Russia is not inflicting damage. So, Ukraine continues to make this fight linger on and in several areas have withstood the Russian offensive. To me, you need to look past the bluster of Putin. He cannot afford to make this fight go on too much longer and he certainly cannot afford to attack a lot of other countriies. That would be economically and militarily suicidal in my view. Yet, what he has accomplished is galvanize other countries against him and make him even more of a pariah.

That is all I have for now. Have a great week.