A Genesee County Circuit Court judge has ordered the dismissal of charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder related to the Flint water crisis, but Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Flint legal team vowed to appeal. Judge F. Kay Behm on Wednesday ruled that a June Michigan Supreme Court ruling was controlling on Snyder’s case when the high court declared unconstitutional the use of a one-judge grand jury to charge the Flint defendants.
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There is class and then there is David Whelen, brother of Paul, who remains as a prisoner in Russia after four years. David’s positive response on the prisoner exchange that allowed WNBA star Brittney Griner to be returned to the U.S after nine months is class at its finest.
Quote of the Day: “I am so glad that Brittney Griner is on her way home. As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays. There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home. The Biden administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen.” David Whelan, brother of Paul who remains as a political prisoner in Russia nearly four years after he was taken.
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I loved reading this story from the NY Times about artificial intelligence.
Social media’s newest star is a robot: a program called ChatGPT that tries to answer questions like a person. Since its debut last week, many people have shared what the bot can do. New York magazine journalists told it to write what turned out to be a “pretty decent” story. Other users got it to write a solid academic essay on theories of nationalism, a history of the tragic but fictitious Ohio-Indiana War and some jokes. It told me a story about an artificial intelligence program called Assistant that was originally set up to answer questions but soon led a new world order that guided humanity to “a new era of peace and prosperity.”
What is remarkable about these examples is their quality: A human could have written them. And the bot is not even the best; OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is reportedly working on a better model that could be released next year.
I would love to hear its answers on how to resolve immigration; how to fix the roads in Michigan; how to develop a tax system that is simple and fair; how to teach all kids to read, to write and to do math; how to feed all Americans; how to eliminate the deficit; and how to get the Lions to win a playoff game.
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The good news is that the annual inflation rate in November dropped 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 7,4%, which is still much higher than the desired annual rate between 2% and 3%. The bad news is that Wall Street analyst were predicting a rate of 7.2%. As a result, the stock market took a big hit in the last few hours of the trading today. It is going to take time, and it is going to cause some pain, but eventually, the higher interest rates are going to slow down the economy and bring inflation back to acceptable levels.
One of the key drivers to inflation is gasoline prices, which is something we all face once per week. Gas prices are below where they were a year ago and are significantly lower than where they were a few months ago. This will eventually translate to lower commodity and food prices. Per the NY Times, the drop in gasoline prices was led by a decline in worldwide energy demand, which drove oil prices lower. The national average price for regular gasoline stood at $3.33 a gallon on Thursday. A year ago, the average price at the pump was $3.34.
At their peak, gasoline prices were just over $5 a gallon in mid-June. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark that serves as the main driver of gas prices, on Thursday fell to its lowest level of the year, crossing below $72 per barrel, after trading above $120 in March and June.
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Another positive economic indicator is that the annual deficit in 2022 is more than half of what it was in 2021 and 2020.
In 2023 the deficit is going to be front and center as Congress will need to approve an increase in the debt ceiling at some point during the year. With divided control of congress, it is going to be interesting to see how the increase in the debt ceiling plays out. It will get ugly.
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Orchid of the Day: David Whelen-see above.
Onion of the Day: Attorney General Dana Nessel, who continues to waste the taxpayers’ money in the Flint Water Crisis even though the courts have ruled against her at all levels on multiple occasions. The definition of insanity is to continue to do the same thing and expect different results. It is insane if she appeals the case against former Governor Snyder.
Question of the Day: What would you ask the ChatGPT to answer?
Video of the Day:
O Holy Night-Carrie Underwood===It is worth your time.
The Lions look like a powerful team you don’t want to play in December. Playoffs are possible if that defense can stand up and deliver. Wow, I can’t believe I am saying that about the Lions!