by Jim Rickards‚ Daily Reckoning: The Fed kept the fed funds rate unchanged at last week’s meeting‚ as I predicted. That makes 17 Fed meetings in a row going back to March 16‚ 2022‚ when I got the Fed forecast right. Events remain uncertain from here‚ but it’s so far‚ so good for my forecasting […]

by Leo Hohmann‚ Leo’s Newsletter: No true-blue Second Amendment advocate would buy into this scheme‚ which amounts to a backdoor trap to register/verify the ownership and whereabouts of all firearms The United States is about to receive its first domestically produced biometric “smart gun.” These weapons unlock like a smartphone with the owner’s fingerprints or […]

When Paola Perez shifts into gear and puts her foot down on the accelerator‚ the lime-green bus zips forward with an almost-silent whoooosh. Neat rows of dozens of identical vehicles are visible on either side through its large rectangular windshield. “This is a very beautiful place to work‚” says Perez‚ as she steers the bus through the pleasingly symmetrical universe of white lines‚ smooth gray asphalt and angular metal platforms that house nearly 200 electric charging stations. “It’s new‚ it’s clean and it all works.” La Rolita’s 195 buses are 100 percent electric. Credit: Peter Yeung This impressive space in the southwest of Colombia’s capital‚ Bogotá‚ which opened in September 2022‚ is the headquarters of a project taking a rare gendered approach to urban mobility. Nicknamed La Rolita — a diminutive of the word for a person from Bogotá‚ un rolo or una rola — it is a public transit operator largely driven by women. “It feels like a sorority‚” says Perez‚ 37‚ who has been a driver since the start. “There’s a camaraderie. We speak to each other and help each other whenever we can.” By placing women at the heart of La Rolita‚ which employs about 300 female drivers and is led by a female director‚ city authorities are creating a more sustainable‚ safe‚ equal and just transport system in the sprawling metropolis of eight million people. Paola Perez‚ who has been driving with La Rolita from the beginning‚ has found a camaraderie among the women who work there. Credit: Peter Yeung “This is a masculinized sector that we are working in‚” says Carolina Martinez‚ the organization’s general manager. “But we are beginning to change that. There are many positive and important opportunities for us to benefit from in the long term.” For one‚ according to Martinez‚ women bus drivers have fewer traffic accidents: La Rolita‚ which is the city’s only public bus operator‚ has the second-lowest number of injuries due to accidents — 72 in 18 months — when compared with the numerous private bus operators. (Other research backs this up: One study published in 2020 by Belgium’s road traffic institute Vias found that generally women drivers “take fewer risks behind the wheel than men” and “are less involved in serious accidents.”) The presence of female drivers in public transit also helps female passengers to feel safer in the face of high levels of gender-based violence across the city‚ adds Martinez. A survey in 2020 found that 84.3 percent of women in Bogotá have experienced sexual harassment while using public transit. All photos were taken by Peter Yeung. The post The Women Bus Drivers Overcoming Stereotypes in Bogotá appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

NASHVILLE‚ Tenn.—A top 100 cable TV channel is celebrating Easter with an event at the Museum of the Bible‚ a Good Friday film‚ and an uplifting made-for-TV movie on Easter Sunday. “We want to tell real-life stories that ultimately are positive in nature and really focus on the best of faith‚ family‚ and country‚” Bill Abbott‚ president and CEO of Great American Media‚ told “The Daily Signal Podcast” in an interview at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in February. Great American Media owns the cable networks Great American Family and Great American Faith &; Living‚ along with the streaming service Great American Pure Flix. (It co-owns Great American Pure Flix‚ sometimes stylized as “Pureflix‚” with Sony Pictures.) Great American Family ranked 77th out of 178 cable TV channels for viewers‚ according to Nielsen in 2023. The channel had 139‚000 viewers. Abbott contrasted the negative themes in Hollywood and mainstream TV with Great American Family’s more wholesome offerings. “Easter is obviously a big season for us‚” Abbott noted. He mentioned “The History of Easter‚” an “important partnership that we have with the Museum of the Bible.” He also cited “The Passion Play‚” a stage and musical production about the life‚ death‚ burial‚ and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He calls that production “brilliantly and beautifully created.” Great American Family has put on the production for more than 30 years. Great American Family is also releasing the Easter-themed movie “Just in Time‚” which stars Laura Osnes‚ who earned Tony Award nominations for her Broadway performances as Bonnie Parker in “Bonnie &; Clyde” and for the title role in the Rodgers &; Hammerstein musical “Cinderella.” It also stars Peter Bryant‚ who played a minor role in “Jumanji” (1995)‚ and Greyston Holt‚ known for his role in the TV show “The Night Agent.” (Watch the trailer for “Just in Time” here.) “Life is hard enough‚” Abbott said. “So‚ we want to provide that positivity when so much of what we see is negative and dark.” Listen to the interview below. The post Cable TV Channel to Celebrate Easter at Museum of the Bible appeared first on The Daily Signal.

There's that familiar saying about people who live in glass houses‚ or‚ as the British say‚ "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander." But "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart apparently doesn't like it when the microscope is turned on him. On Monday's show‚ Stewart talked about the...

Most sensible people thought the current scourge of murders in which illegal immigrants have been arrested would cause some in the White House to think that‚ maybe‚ just maybe‚ former President Donald Trump was onto something with his strong border security policies. Unfortunately‚ it has happened again. Not only was...

The establishment media have really been scraping the bottom of the barrel this election‚ in their desperate search for mud to fling at their arch-nemesis Donald Trump. From the wailing and gnashing of teeth that ensued when Trump's half-a-billion dollar bond was reduced to $175 million by the New York...

Former President Donald Trump is expected to join mourners at the wake of slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller on Long Island on Thursday. “President Trump is moved by the invitation to join NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s family and colleagues as they deal with his senseless and tragic death‚” Karoline Leavitt‚...

Authoritarian climate crusaders most likely regard themselves as too enlightened‚ important and virtuous to heed cautionary tales about green energy. For everyone else‚ however‚ those tales remind us why we did not trust the crusaders in the first place. According to ABC13 in Houston‚ a violent hailstorm on March 16...

No amount of money could ever bring someone back from the dead. But in the wake of a senseless tragedy that left a wife without her husband and an infant without his father‚ generosity toward them would only be commendable. Jonathan Diller was one such victim of the senseless tragedies...