Chet Collins

For the first time in my life, my drivers license expired.

Sunday night sunset.

Rainy Saturday. ⛈️

JetBlue, Spirit Airlines Call Off $3.8 Billion Merger Deal - WSJ

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday that the companies’ decision to abandon the deal, instead of trying to appeal their trial loss, further showed the government was right to challenge the transaction.

We’ll see what the AG says when Spirit collapses into bankruptcy and the big 4 pick up all of their planes and slots on the cheap.

Saturday at the Symphony. 🎼

President Biden’s State of the Union Address 2024 – Analysis and Updates - WSJ

Taxpayers at all income levels received tax cuts, on average, with the biggest benefits as a share of income going to people in the 95th to 99th percentiles, according to the Tax Policy Center.

More benefits would’ve gone to the 50% of Americans who pay $0.00 a year in Federal income tax, but math.

Mainstream Media Warn If Trump Is Elected He Might Indict His Political Enemies, Imprison Detractors, And Rig Elections In His Favor - Babylon Bee

“We have to bend or break every moral and ethical rule in existence to keep Trump from breaking the rules.”

John Kerry Is Stepping Down as Climate Envoy at Age 80. He Isn’t Going Quietly. - WSJ

Then Kerry plans to hit the road as a private citizen, dropping in on a major oil-industry conference in Houston to press energy executives to join the ranks of other business leaders throwing their weight behind the transition.

He’ll continue to travel by private jet, one assumes.

Supreme Court Rules Donald Trump Can Stay on Colorado Primary Ballot - WSJ

The court unanimously agreed that Trump should appear on the ballot

Illegitimate court.

The group behind the challenge, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that Trump won on technical grounds. “It will be up to the American people to ensure accountability,” said CREW’s president Noah Bookbinder.

As it always was, until CREW attempted to use the courts to substitute their viewpoint for the American people’s.

IRS puts 125,000 high-income individuals not filing tax returns on notice, to recoup millions owed - WTOP

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters on Thursday that notices are going out to 25,000 individuals with more than $1 million in income, and 100,000 notices to people with incomes between $400,000 and $1 million between tax years 2017 and 2021.

WOW! Big, bold action by the IRS after up to 6 years of not so much as sending these people a letter?

Werfel said the IRS non-filer program has only run “sporadically” since 2016, because of “severe budget cuts and staff limitations.”

The high cost of postage is a burden on us all.

Prediction: FDIC seizes New York Community Bank at market close, reopens Monday under new ownership.

A bit of an odd day.

I will occasionally get behind on posts for Catholic Husband, but I always catch back up.

Unfortunately, that means some posts don’t get the attention they deserve. Here are two recents that I enjoy that were published slightly behind schedule:

⍟ 6,570 (February 19, 2024)

⍟ Contend (February 12, 2024)

Pentagon Finds It Properly Handled Austin’s Hospitalization - WSJ

The Pentagon found it did nothing wrong in deciding to not immediately inform President Biden or legislators of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s whereabouts when he was hospitalized earlier this year, finding in an internal review that staff followed existing guidelines and sought to protect the defense chief’s privacy.

Job well done, then.

AT&T to Reimburse Customers Struck by Outage - WSJ

A $5 credit to eligible accounts will appear within two billing cycles, the company said.

Mindblowing generosity…talk about paying it forward!!

The cost of reimbursement is “fully manageable while achieving the 2024 business objectives we have set for ourselves and our stated financial guidance,” Stankey wrote.

90 million subscribers x $5 = $450M. AT&T won’t even feel this…and maybe that’s the problem.

Americans have racked up a trillion dollars in credit card debt. That’s actually OK - WTOP News

The issue with those figures is that they don’t factor in that about 55% of borrowers repay their balances in full each month

What’s 30% of $500B?

Made my first PlaneDocs delivery today!

Hunter Biden Shows Joe Is No Longer in Control of the Plot - WSJ Opinion

With Jenga pieces flying all about, with further upsets yet to be named, an election of Nikki Haley vs. Ms. Harris isn’t out of the question—or the GOP’s Ms. Haley vs. any of the hale-and-heartier Democrats who might elbow their way to the fore in Mr. Biden’s absence.

Holman’s column is always a must read for me. He always has interesting takes on the stories of the day.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump Cases Imperil the Rule of Law - WSJ Opinion

In Delaware, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Court of Chancery ordered the unwinding of five years of Mr. Musk’s incentive-based compensation at Tesla, which had been approved by 80% of the company’s shareholders. The plaintiff, Richard Tornetta, held nine shares in 2018—worth about $200 then and $2,000 today, after the execution of the compensation plan that supposedly injured him.

That’s pretty stunning.