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I hope you Harrumphers had a great Thanksgiving! Just a picture from some of our family festivities last night.
On this Black Friday - just as I did Wednesday - I wanted to extend one more - totally free - Harrumph Society newsletter to any of you who’ve yet to become part of the club. Enjoy one more edition today, then subscribe for the year! Or give this as an early gift to a conservative you know would love reading this newsletter three times a week in their email box!
Just $2.50 a month - $30 for the whole year! I gotta shut it down by close of business Saturday, so if you want to join this incredibly important conversation through next election, now’s your time! Harrumph! ⬇️
Today’s Election Betting Odds
Former President Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden are the betting favorites at most sportsbooks to win the Presidency in 2024. Trump has around +150 election odds to again become US President at most sportsbooks. Biden has around +156 election odds to earn a second term as US President. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (+614).
Election Odds 2024 | Who Will Be The Next US President?
Today’s National Poll
Trump +6
RealClearPolitics - Election 2024 - General Election: Trump vs. Biden vs. Kennedy vs. West vs. Stein
Today’s Harrumph Society Poll
Today’s Monologue
Most of the country is talking about and participating in some way with Black Friday— a day where deep discounts help shoppers get the biggest bang for their buck.
At the Harrumph Society, we enthusiastically celebrate Black Friday-- Happy Free Market Capitalism Day!
Self-appointed elites criticize and mock those shopping on Black Friday. They look down on it as a day when lower class rubes crash Walmarts aggressively looking for Christmas deals.
And the problem is?
Christmas is glorious on many levels, but let's not pretend it isn't expensive. And let's remember what political party made it painfully more costly. Families are expensive 24/7, and Christmas puts an exclamation mark on expensive.
Businesses have to attract consumers— in retail stores and online. They compete with one another for what little disposable income Americans have left.
Free markets allow for loss leaders (A loss leader is a pricing strategy in which a product or service is sold at or below cost to attract customers and encourage them to purchase other, more profitable items). Competition to succeed in business is not for the faint of heart!
Companies use every trick in the book to move inventory and still make a profit. It's a high-stakes calculation because if decisions result in too many losses, bankruptcy can result, and no one wins.
Healthy competition helps everyone in the long run.
Now imagine if drug companies had to operate under free market capitalism rules. When COVID hit town, there was a mad dash to release experimental vaccines. That's all good, as COVID's impact wasn't fully understood. However, massive problems arose when the government stepped in and suspended free market rules.
When Big Pharma was handed immunity from lawsuits filed for injuries, undisclosed side effects, and other forms of negligence, consumers were screwed. Eliminating threats of lawsuits and bankruptcy guarantees human suffering on a massive scale.
The balance of power between buyer and seller became a cruel joke.
Our taxes pre-paid for experimental shots. Fraudulently named "vaccines" were distributed as if they were free. Price objections weren't an issue, and we were told everyone might die without the product.
Markets were bastardized.
Competition implies fairness. When government rules skew markets, they tilt towards one party's agenda. When that happens, there are no fair bargains.
It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. — Thomas Sowell
So, Happy Free Market Capitalism Day! Black Friday demonstrates why transparent and fair negotiations between buyers and sellers work long-term. COVID, on the other hand, demonstrated why government power must be limited.
Give us a price, let us ask questions about what we are buying, and let us sue when we are misled or harmed through negligence.
That's a sustainable way of doing business.
A Toast To This X Post
Kiyah Willis (@kiyahwillis) on X
A Toast To This Bonus X Post
Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) on X
A Toast To This Extra Bonus X Post
Alice Smith (@TheAliceSmith) on X
Today’s Tucker
Always trust your gut. If you feel like they're lying to you, they are.
Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) on X
Some stories I thought you might find interesting
Story #1
Why Rep. Elise Stefanik could be Trump’s veep pick in 2024
Story #2
Story #3
Today’s Scripture
Let history be our guide— A look back
Remember the House Banking scandal? At the time, it was considered a political earthquake that would change Congress forever-- for the better. It would cleanse Congress of low-down, no-good, self-dealing, self-enriching corruption.
HA!
The House banking scandal was a political controversy in the United States during the early 1990s. It was revealed that hundreds of members of the United States House of Representatives had overdrawn their checking accounts at the House Bank, a special bank that served only members of Congress. The House Bank had a policy of covering overdrafts without penalty, which allowed Congress members to borrow money from the bank without interest.
The scandal came to light in early 1992 when the General Accounting Office (GAO) report revealed that 338 current and former House members had overdrawn their accounts 20,000 times in the previous three years. The GAO report also found that the House bank had waived $200,000 in overdraft fees.
The revelations about the House bank scandal caused a public outcry and led to calls for reform. In response, the House of Representatives passed reforms, including:
Prohibiting members of Congress from overdrawing their checking accounts at the House bank
Requiring the House bank to charge interest on overdrafts
Disclosing the names of members of Congress who overdraw their accounts
The House banking scandal was thought to have significantly impacted American politics. At the time, it damaged public trust in Congress, leading to the defeat of several Democrat incumbents, and produced a historic Red Wave in the 1992 elections. The scandal also contributed to the passage of the Ethics Reform Act of 1995, which tightened the rules for ethical conduct by members of Congress.
Compare that to what we're living with now!
Today’s Chuckle
Today’s Harrumph!
Today’s Harrumph! goes out to friendly, polite, and helpful people who work retail or take orders over the phone.
You have no idea how much you are appreciated!
Harrumph!
Have no family. I served at my church, N.O.A.H No one alone on a holiday, ZERO chance for politics. But lots of showing the hands and feet of Jesus.
Great family photos, Chris!! Can’t believe how tall Drew is now! Miss you here in DTown, but it’s clear you all are flourishing back in the Midwest!! 😊