North Dakota population hits an all-time high.
Prairie Business is reporting:
North
Dakota’s population has reached an all-time high of 739,482 residents,
the U.S. Census Bureau reported Dec. 23. The state’s latest population
estimate is an increase of 15,625 residents from last year’s count.
North Dakota’s population has increased by 2.2
percent since last year, the largest percent increase in the nation.
North Dakota’s population growth was followed by Nevada and Texas, each
recording 1.7 percent growth. With the exception of North Dakota, the 10
fastest-growing states are located in the southern or western regions
of the United States.
"With the exception of ..." --- music to my ears.....
By the way, did you not find it surprising to see Nevada bouncing back, after a terrible, terrible run with the economy .... I am cheering them on. My wife does not know it yet, but we may be visiting Nevada in about two weeks. I've always had a warm spot for Nevada.
We were married there -- at least we have the paperwork to prove it, even if there were no family members or friends to witness it. A story for another time. LOL.
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Non-Energy Notes From All Over
The spin:
The genius of the way The New York Times has structured itself
is that lofty journalistic goals are protected from the short-term
demands of grubby ordinary shareholders. Ironically–and distressingly,
for those who care about journalism—it now appears that the financial
demands of those holding the shares, and particularly the generous
dividend they pay to the family members who hold large chunks of those
shares, are now making it difficult to perform the very journalism the
structure was created to protect.
The writer suggests that the problem at
The New Yorks Times is short term, without specifying "short term." In fact, I've been tracking
the death spiral of The New York Times, the first entry:
The next entry:
Four years of revenue problems hardly constitutes "short term" in my book.
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The South Will Rise Again
Link here to US Census.
By adding an average of 803 new residents each day between July 1,
2013 and July 1, 2014, Florida passed New York to become the nation’s
third most populous state, according to U.S. Census Bureau state
population estimates released today. Florida’s population grew by
293,000 over this period, reaching 19.9 million. The population of New
York increased by 51,000 to 19.7 million.
California remained the nation’s most populous state in 2014, with
38.8 million residents, followed by Texas, at 27.0 million. Although the
list of the 10 most populous states overall was unchanged, two other
states did change positions, as North Carolina moved past Michigan to
take the ninth spot.
Another milestone took place in Georgia (ranked 8th), which saw its population surpass 10 million for the first time.
Hanging chads become even more important.
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Don't Be So Silly
Updates
January 3, 2015:
FoxNews also reports --
It was no surprise that the policy, which expires on February 1, would
be quietly dropped: it was only ever slated to last two years and the
Socialist government has for months declared it would not be renewed.
Wow, talk about trying to claw back a story. Like
many laws it was put in place for two years and then if it gained
traction it would have been extended. The Socialists are trying to save
what little face they still have left.
Original Post
The French quietly bid the 75% wealth tax a fond adieu.
Reuters is reporting:
When President
Francois Hollande unveiled a "super-tax" on the rich in 2012, some
feared an exodus of business, sporting and artistic talent. One adviser
warned it was a Socialist step too far that would turn France into "Cuba
without sun."
Two years on, with the tax due to
expire at the end of this month, the mass emigration has not happened.
But the damage to France's appeal as a home for top earners has been
great, and the pickings from the levy paltry.
"The reform clearly damaged France's reputation and competitiveness,"
said a really smart analyst.
"It clearly has become harder to attract international senior managers to come to France than it was," he added.
Hollande first floated the 75-percent super-tax on earnings over 1
million euros ($1.2 million) a year in his 2012 campaign to oust his
conservative rival Nicolas Sarkozy. It fired up left-wing voters and
helped him unseat the incumbent.
Yet ever since, it has been a thorn in his side, helping little in
France's effort to bring its public deficit within European Union limits
and mixing the message just as Hollande sought to promote a more
pro-business image. The adviser who made the "Cuba" gag was Emmanuel
Macron, the ex-banker who is now his economy minister.
The Finance Ministry estimates the proceeds from the tax amounted to
260 million euros in its first year and 160 million in the second.
That's broadly in line with expectations, but tiny compared with a
budget deficit which had reached 84.7 billion euros by the end of
October.
Ne Sois Pas Si Bete, France Gall
For those who do not understand French, the lyrics of the first two stanzas:
Don't be so silly,
The tax was not pretty,
The return was petty,
France,
Cuba without the sun.
But adieu, adieu,
We are not so silly,
We let the tax expire,
France,
Still, Cuba without the sun.
In French, it rhymes.
[For the record, I prefer this version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fypWjPistSU.]
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A Note to the Granddaughters
Your mom sent me a photo of the two of you skiing in the Colorado Rockies; your young sister was in "daycare."
We are out in southern California. I never care for California when I first get back. But after three or four days, I start to acclimate. But for me, as I've often said, I have a love-"less-than-love" relationship with California. I don't know why.
Summertime Sadness, Lana Del Rey
So, we are back in southern California. Our Christmas shopping is pretty much complete. Our big shopping day was yesterday, at the huge mall in Mesa, California, and then various shopping sites between there and San Pedro on our way home. It was an awesome day; maybe more on that later.
Today we went out to the Los Angeles Air Force Base. I forgot my camera. I wanted to take some photos, but then realized that maybe one doesn't take photos on an air force base any more. But, wow, what a base, what an initial impression. I thought with all the military cuts under President Obama the stateside bases would have suffered. I am impressed what wing commanders can do with the pittance of an allowance they are given to maintain military bases. Wink, wink.
The photograph at wiki shows an almost futuristic setting for the headquarters of the Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center.
It was about a year ago, I suppose, when I last visited the air base. The base exchange (department store) had not changed much. Nonetheless it brought back fond memories of the thirteen (or fourteen) years we served overseas. Say what you want, AAFES was always a welcome site/sight for the active-duty member serving overseas.
It was also the first time, I think, that I had been back in an Air Force commissary in at least a year. It brought back wonderful memories of my frequent temporary duty assignments to a remote base in northern England (Yorkshire).
As usual, during the day, most of the shoppers were in civilian clothes, and most appear as old as I am, suggesting most of us were military (uniformed) retirees. When I was active duty, active duty members did not visit the commissary much during the day; that was the responsibility of their spouses. Unmarried active duty were found in the AAFES shoppette after hours and the Class VI store instead. Most of the shoppers that I saw today were minority -- Asian and African-American retirees (again, I assume retirees). Many more women than men. Not many white folks like me. My wife is Asian-Hispanic. It's always hard to find her when I visit the commissary; she tends to blend in with all the others (at least from behind).
There is an immediate kinship with all the shopper/retirees -- at least for me -- I want to walk up to them all -- the men -- and ask them where they served overseas, and what their MOS or AFSC was (what they did in the Army or the Air Force). I saw a few younger folks -- again, mostly minority -- they looked just like the folks I see in the protest marches in NYC and Ferguson and Washington and wherever and yet I know they are "me" when I was that age, young and energetic and optimistic and immortal and loving the military.
Walking over to the command center, I was pleasantly surprised to see all the civilian workers (identified by their ID badges) who had obvious physical limitations, and here they were, hired by the military working at one of the most secure, technology-heavy installations in the military. The ratio of civilian workers to uniformed workers looked to be about 4 to 1 based on folks out walking around at lunch. Most were young. The uniformed seemed slightly younger than the non-uniformed. Many of the non-uniformed were seen with the seemingly omnipresent Apple-white ear buds, with the cable leading to some pocket. When you are this age, I assume there will be no cable; it will all be NFC or Bluetooth or whatever they call it then.
I probably won't see a military commissary for another year. That's fine. I want the experience to be somewhat unique. It brings back wonderful memories.