Sturgis, SD, USA - May 29, 2019: A well known city for its motorcycle rally history

Bryon Noem: The Person vs. The Punchline

If you’re looking for friends who will stick with you through thick and thin, Castlewood, a South Dakota town of about 700 residents, might be the answer to your prayers.

It’s a set of values America’s political and media elite don’t understand.

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portrait of plumber with apprentice repairing pipes

Kimmel and the Elite’s Contempt for Plumbers

America has an elitist hierarchy problem.

The people who build and repair things get mocked.

The people with the résumés are revered.

Jimmy Kimmel’s disrespect for plumbers exposed the disconnect.

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Lion (Panthera leo) sleeping on grass in savannah in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

When Joe Biden’s Lion Electric Stopped Roaring

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker this month delivered the final indignity to one of the Biden administration’s green energy bets: Lion Electric’s former U.S. electric bus factory is being taken over by a manufacturer of conventional diesel equipment.

The U.S., Canadian, and Quebec governments poured hundreds of millions into Lion. School districts were promised buses that never arrived. In Quebec, roughly 1,200 electric buses were pulled off the road after a fire triggered safety concerns, canceling scores of bus routes and even forcing some school service centres to cancel classes.

Lion was hardly the Biden administration’s only EV debacle. Proterra followed a similar path—subsidized demand, rapid scaling, and eventual collapse.

The corporate media has largely treated these failures as nothingburgers. The policymakers who committed taxpayer money on both sides of the border should be held accountable.

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Ancient statue points with index finger at the sky, toned

Oxford Philosophy Majors Shall Inherit the Earth

Here’s why the smartest people in the room right now aren’t the MBAs, quants, or AI evangelists—but two Oxford-trained philosophy majors who appreciated the risks in private credit before anyone else.

One is Eugene Ludwig, the former Comptroller of the Currency under President Clinton. The other is Stephen Diggle, a money manager whose firm made billions betting on the 2007–08 financial crisis.

More than a year ago, Ludwig warned private credit was a “ticking time bomb.” Diggle is now positioned to profit from the implosion of private credit and private equity.

Meanwhile, Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Weil—the first to question Enron’s accounting—is raising uncomfortable questions about private credit and private equity valuations.

This story isn’t getting nearly enough attention.

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Creative concept. Silhouette of gasoline pistol miniature on dark toned foggy background. Close up. Car miniature on background. Selective focus

Zero Emissions? GM’s Dismal Climate Scorecard

President Biden five years ago hailed GM CEO Mary Barra for leading the world’s EV transformation.

Today, Biden’s climate savior presides over one of the most gas-thirsty vehicle lineups in America. After President Trump’s reelection, GM was also the only major global automaker that couldn’t be bothered to publish a sustainability report.

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Oct 18, 2019 Oakland / CA / USA - The facade of the historic California Hotel, currently restored and operating as low-rental housing; included in the National Register of Historic Places

Morgan Stanley’s Hotel California Credit Fund

A primer for Morgan Stanley clients invested in the firm’s North Haven Private Income Fund — where “semi-liquid” can quickly become “virtually dry.”

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Stethoscope on a background of dollars

Private Credit: Code Red for U.S. Healthcare

As if U.S. healthcare isn’t dysfunctional enough, the industry’s growing exposure to private credit could eventually make today’s system look like the good old days.

If the model cracks, as many veteran investors predict, the fallout won’t just hit lenders and investors. It will be felt in doctors’ offices, emergency rooms, and patient bills.

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