October 6th, 2024 • 3h 14m
Shownotes
Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.
Helene
Hanlon's Razor
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence."
Our Government is an administrative state filled with Pencil Pushers and Power Points
My WNC Thoughts
My interpretation is that we now see that ALL government, especially state and federal are completely incompetent. They have forgotten and forsaken their true mission and simply are not capable. Media cannot cover this simple fact, lest the people catch on.
Specifically North Carolina, I recall all too well how concerned the lawmakers and administrators there were about gender neutral bathrooms and men playing in women's sport. The push for abortions, but when the rubber really meets the road, they have no clue how to operate. They only know how to follow rule books and take meetings, but zero capacity to execute.
FEMA Flooding Boots on the Ground
Hey Adam,
Spoke w/ an old neighbor / friend of mine who is a retired police psychologist and very plugged into numerous branches of the military due to all the clients she's worked w/ over the years...
She told me the reason for FEMA confiscating private donations for victims is b/c FEMA has contracts already assigned to provide assistance. Problem is these contracted companies are having difficulty getting on site to help. So to avoid losing money on already purchased supplies, FEMA is stopping and confiscating private individuals from helping. Once again it's all about the $$$.
Maybe this has already been discussed in some form of media but I found it interesting and hadn't heard it before.
Keep fighting the good fight brother!
Helene Federal Response BOTG
ITM,
I’m Anon producer that has had a small part to play in the Government response to Helene in FEMA region IV. The mountain region in Eastern North Carolina got wrecked by the hurricane because it was already flooding there before the hurricane hit. According to my FEMA guy, that area got hit with 3 years worth of rain in a 36 hour period.
The N. Carolina emergency management and National Guard response was immediate. They were supported by 22 other states providing various capabilities through agreements made in an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)(Pronounced: “ eee-Mack”) The N.Carolina National Guard operated under State Active Duty authorities. They are essentially state employees operating military equipment.
FEMA, the lead federal agency responsible for this response, started pre positioning supplies, people, and equipment prior to landfall. They also start hounding the military for stuff like search and rescue helicopter with crews, trucks, and medium and heavy lift helicopters. These are US Code Title 10 forces, hereafter referred as Federal forces.
FEMA and Federal Forces supporting FEMA can not ended a sovereign State without that state asking for them. FEMA always wants in. They get pissed when they can’t come in.
There weren’t active duty troops responding because N. Carolina didn’t want them or need them.
They don’t want them for a number of reasons.
The state usually has to pay 25% of the cost of the Federal response unless POTUS waives it. Which he did. The people in the response take up a lot of space. FEMA buys blocks of hotel rooms for their people in or near the affected area. Also, federal troops invoked in road clearing, water Distro et.al. take up a lot of space and require a robust logistic support chain which may compete for resources. Finally, States, especially southern states, don’t care to be occupied by Federal forces.
The Federal response for this disaster was a ham-fisted power play. After POTUS and the FEMA administrator visited N.Carolina, a stay-behind team of White House staff likely influenced NC gov to request federal assets. Coincidentally, he is a Dem up for re-election.
Now general purpose troops from Ft. Liberty have arrived in the affected area. Also, the 18th Airborne Corps Commander is chomping at the bit to get in the action.
One take away from all this is to keep in mind that All disasters occur locally. All domestic politics occur locally. Therefore, all disasters are political. Perhaps all politics are a disaster.
Big Pharma
Transmaoism
Norman Lear Foundation new observation from Dame Aquamarine BOTG
I know it’s long, but my observations of books I’ve read that were copywritten in the last few years.
ITM Adam!
From Producer Dame Aquamarine
I am an avid reader who’s been reading popular fiction and been a member of book clubs in two different states and both public (library) and private groups for over 10 years.
I hate to say it, but I believe the Norman Lear Foundation has infiltrated popular literature and the offices of the editors and the offices of the booksellers. I will give examples below. The last three books I have read for either pleasure or book clubs have embodied the Foundation’s goals. Also, the moderators use questions provided by the editors or authors to facilitate discussions which tend to skew toward the Foundation’s views.
It used to be that a book might contain characters or situations that were thought provoking and would add to the story. Now the subjects seem to be added for no real reason other than to mention them.
**The Hunting Party** by Lisa Foley
Climate change is mentioned often ….. and I mean often. I get it, it’s hot and dry in Ireland in the summer. (PS The author is Irish).
**The Measure** by Nikki Erlicht
A lot is made of the lesbian relationship between two of the main characters. It was not just a mention of the relationship, but discussing the relationship over and over again. Also, climate change and an interracial relationship.
And my favorite…..
**Mad Honey** by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
I could only get through 150 pages, and in that 150 pages, the following subjects were included in the story.
Suicide
Domestic Abuse
Anger Management
Climate Change
Transgender
Gender Reassignment at a young age
Interracial Marriage
Lesbianism
Gay Marriage
Police oppression of blacks
Alcoholism
I used to enjoy Jodi Picoult as an author and enjoyed many of her previous books. They were formulaic, but they were enjoyable. During this book, I felt lectured at constantly, especially if I didn’t agree. It was frustrating to me, a NA listener to hear how other readers fell for the author’s views. I was in the lone voice when I brought up the sterilization and long term mental health outcomes.
PS I’m sending you an Ayn Rand short story to your PO box.
Dame Aquamarine
Finland Drinking
Gene mutation linked to impulsive behaviour with alcohol, study finds | Science | The Guardian
A genetic mutation that makes people more impulsive when they consume alcohol may explain why some are more prone to drink driving, impulsive sex and random acts of violence.
The mutation disrupts a gene called HTR2B which the body uses to make serotonin receptors in parts of the brain that have a governing role in decision making and self-control.
The genetic glitch has only been found in Finland so far, where 2.2% of the genetically isolated population carry the mutation, amounting to more than 100,000 people.
A study in 2010 was the first to identify the mutation in Finns, though many of the subjects who donated DNA were violent offenders with alcohol problems and personality disorders, making it hard to assess its effects in the general population.
Israel vs Everyone
Abraham Accord 2.0 BOTG
ITM Gents,
Here is my humble analysis of the situation having good understanding of the region, US and international affairs.
It seems that this is ramping up to cleanse all Iranian proxies before Jan 2025. This explains the Trump Netanyahu meetings and will give both something to brag about. Trump ending a huge conflict from day 1, and Netanyahu emerging like a national hero.
This will revive a new Abraham accord. With friendly neighboring countries. Minimal threats for new beachfront properties and shining pipelines.
Hezbullah will be completely eliminated, and I believe there will be a new leadership in Lebanon, could be supported by Lebanese military. Which will guarantee support by Gulf nations for a stable and friendly Lebanon.
Syria on the other hand, will most likely end with a military coup. With a friendly military leadership just like Lebanon.
The same will be repeated in Yemen.
Iraq is halfway there, with a couple of militias to be pushed a side and no strong or charismatic leader for proxies.
In this part of the world, people look for a singular leader and the proxies lost a lot of them recently.
During the Abraham Accord 2.0 stage, Iran will be isolated, sidelined and ready to be internally rebelized, through turban tossing and ticktock videos.
And that will end the Wes Clark seven!
BTW, there may be other Dudes Named Mohammed, but I am the OG and I actually coined the phase 🙂
TYFYC@
Dude Named Mohammed
Kamala
Kroger Dynamic Pricing BOTG
Adam,
My wife is an exec at Kroger ([linkedIN](https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-ferrell-606695b/)), and I can assure you that they are NOT doing dynamic pricing. In fact, they're pretty confident that their customers would (rightly) freak out if they were found to be doing that.
But, it is pretty hard to get anyone to work right now at all, so changing prices is hard enough. And with inflation, keeping the printed labels up-to-date isn't trivial just on a every day basis, so having the ability to update the prices remotely makes a lot of sense without any nefarious rationale.
Brett
Black Knight of the Seven Hills of Cincinnati
Mad at Warren?
Yes, but they're more pissed that their merger with Albertson's is being
held up in court when both Amazon and Walmart are both much bigger...
which is why they cannot complain too loudly about anything, they really
need the court and FTC to allow the merger to go forward, so they're
the whipping boys for awhile.
Big Tech AI and the Socials
The Hearing Aid Revolution That Wasn’t
Over-the-counter models have high return rates. Can Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 change things?
People returning the
devices often cite poor audio quality or lack of adequate customer
service, audiologists and retailers say. And sellers of OTC hearing aids
say that along with high returns, few people are even trying them in
the first place.
Michael
Abt, co-president of Abt Electronics, a large, independent appliance
and electronics store in Glenview, Ill., stopped carrying OTC hearing
aids over the past two months because of their 40% return rate.
“You want to sell people something they love and cherish and tell their friends about,” Abt says.
It has been nearly two years since a Food and Drug Administration ruling
allowed retailers to sell hearing aids without a clinical assessment.
Doctors lauded the move as a solution for over 20 million American
adults who have hearing loss that isn’t severe enough to warrant
expensive prescription devices. Regular hearing aids can set people back
$3,500 or more, while OTC models were expected to cost as little as
$200.
In reality,
many go for $1,500 to $2,000, audiologists say. People have been
deterred by this higher cost and the stigma of wearing something that
suggests old age. Just 2% of adults with hearing difficulties have
purchased an OTC hearing aid, according to a survey
commissioned last year by the American Speech–Language–Hearing
Association. (That’s one reason it was hard to find a customer to
interview for this column.)
The struggles come as Apple AAPL 0.50%
prepares to release a potential game-changer—a software update that
will turn its popular, $249 AirPods Pro 2 into hearing aids.
The cost of service
No
one has officially tracked OTC hearing-aid sales or returns, but
audiologists have estimates from what they’ve seen themselves and have
heard from vendors
Nationally,
the return rate on such devices ranges from 15% to 30%, compared with
6% to 10% for prescription hearing aids, says Vinaya Manchaiah, director
of audiology at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colo.,
citing what he’s heard from industry insiders. He says people often need
help troubleshooting and getting their OTC hearing aids programmed
correctly.
“Some companies do this well, but others are not able to provide that kind of support,” he says.
Eargo,
a large manufacturer of OTC hearing aids sold directly to consumers
before retailers could offer them, has a return rate of around 25%, says
interim Chief Executive Bill Brownie. That’s come down from a few years
ago, when about a third of all OTC models were returned, he says.
Brownie attributes that to Eargo customer-support improvements.
OTC hearing aid maker Eargo has seen its return rate drop after improving customer support. Photo: Eargo
Eargo
hearing aids cost $799 to $2,950. The higher pricing, Brownie says,
allows Eargo to better help customers. “It’s difficult to do that at
$300,” he says.
Meaghan
Reed, director of clinical audiology at Mass Eye and Ear, a Boston
hospital that assesses hearing for up to 4,000 patients a year, says the
hospital’s return rate for OTC hearing aids—17%—is three times that of
prescription devices. She says that’s largely because they don’t meet
patient needs.
“One
of the things that’s frustrating and surprising is that OTC devices are
still not as low-cost as we were hoping,” Reed says.
About
60% of patients who returned their OTC models got a prescription
version instead, because they could get ongoing support for adjusting
them, she says.
Lower-price models have their own issues.
Abt
Electronics, which began carrying OTC hearing aids a year ago, offered
four brands ranging from $300 to $1,200. The cheaper products had higher
returns, with customers reporting they didn’t work as hoped. Abt didn’t
want to only carry the more-expensive hearing aids because he wanted to
provide choices to customers.
“With hearing aids, we felt we had to be all in or not in,” he says.
A bite from Apple
When Apple rolls out new software this fall, its AirPods Pro 2 will be able to function as hearing aids. The update will also include a hearing test and a hearing-protection feature that reduces loud noises.
While
hearing industry executives and audiologists say AirPods Pro 2 could
eat into the low-price OTC hearing aid market, they aren’t worried it
will totally take over. Their battery life—at most six hours—isn’t
long enough for people who need all-day hearing assistance. They’re
also the opposite of discreet, with white stems that stick out of
people’s ears versus the many OTC hearing aids that fit inside the ear
canal.
People also might hesitate to talk to AirPods wearers, thinking they’re on the phone or listening to music.
Apple’s $249 AirPods Pro 2 will turn into hearing aids through a software update this fall. Photo: Nicole Nguyen/WSJ
“When
you see someone wearing AirPods, it doesn’t signal that they’re open to
having a conversation,” says Lindsay Creed, associate director of
audiology practices at the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association.
The
biggest advantage of the new Apple feature, hearing experts say, is
that it could help people realize they have mild hearing loss. That
could shift business to higher-end OTC devices over time.
“Once
people actually experience what hearing amplification can do and how it
can improve their life,” Brownie says, “it could drive adoption of OTC
hearing aids overall.”
