Paradise News

Tag: United States

  • Heather Holmes is Helping Brands Through Impactful PR with Her Firm Publicity For Good – The US Times

    Publicity For Good is on a mission to grow purpose-driven brands and individuals to grow their influence so they can continue to do good for the community. Heather Holmes (formerly DeSantis, find her on Instagram), founder and CEO of America’s top PR firm for purpose-driven consumer brands, Publicity For Good (PFG), has helped over 200 brands achieve industry leadership through effective and impactful public relations and communication campaigns that show the true worth of a brand. 

    Driven by Purpose

    Publicity For Good works exclusively with mission-oriented brands that operate to give back to the world. Heather, an award-winning and highly respected publicist has found success for several brands in food, beverage, beauty, and fashion by helping them gain exposure by telling their stories through digital and traditional media outlets and formats.

    She has worked with several small, medium, and large brands including Jovial Foods, WhatIF Foods, Eco Lips, Flying Embers, and Nutpods, and helped them extend their influence over their audience to gain industry leadership and recognition. Heather’s work in PR has been recognized by many organizations, naming her as one of the top women leaders in public relations. 

    Building Relationships and Creating Leaders

    Publicity For Good has given over 200 brands the chance of industry leadership. Central to the work that she does is the value of transparency, communication, and building relationships with clients and their dream media outlets. By effectively strategizing ways how a brand can leverage its unique purpose alongside its products and services, Heather gave these brands the ability to speak their truths to an audience far wider than they could have ever imagined. Through impactful communications and building lasting relationships, she has forged strong partnerships with her clients and media members so they can have a collaborative relationship that helps the brands communicate their truths with impact. 

    To highlight her ability to create impactful campaigns for purpose-driven brands, one of PFG’s clients, Prospector, achieved stellar success for the National Popcorn Day Campaign. In the weeks leading up to the event, she was able to amass a total of 76 media opportunities for the brand, achieving a total reach of 79.5 million media impressions. As a result, Prospector Popcorn enjoyed a single-day revenue that’s 84% higher than the previous year’s. Moreover, revenue was up by 3900% on National Popcorn Day, and for the first time, they reached a page one ranking on Google in the United States. The Kombucha brand, Flying Embers also enjoyed excellent coverage with Heather’s help. They were able to achieve 88 media stories, reaching over 699 million consumers. As a result, Flying Embers was able to lead the hard kombucha industry, occupying 84% of the industry space.

    Making the World a Better Place

    At its core, Publicity For Good wants to make the world a better place. Heather seeks to achieve this by helping brands with inspiring and relevant missions to achieve growth so they can extend their influence and help more people along the way. Publicity For Good and Heather’s focus is to help brands in achieving their missions, so they can leave behind a better world for future generations.

    Publicity For Good has set the bar in purpose-driven public relations and communications. Heather has helped several mission-oriented and purpose-driven brands reach a global audience so they can continue pursuing their missions. With that, it’s an exciting opportunity to see what amazing things are in store for the purpose-driven brands championed by Heather and Publicity For Good

    More on Heather Holmes and Publicity For Good

    Heather Holmes (formerly DeSantis) is the founder and CEO of public relations agency for purpose-driven brands, Publicity For Good. More than being a publicist, she is also a wife and mother, living life off the land in their 22-acre homestead in the mountains of Morganton, North Carolina, while simultaneously achieving socially responsible brands with their needs for exposure and public relations. Since her agency’s inception, Heather has represented and written for over 200 purpose-driven brands and counting.

    Considered the Good Girl of public relations, she’s helped over 200 purpose-driven brands achieve media success, earn features in major publications such as Forbes, Authority Magazine, and Medium, and reach countless people, helping the community and the world in the process. Her work in publicity certainly hasn’t gone unrecognized. She’s earned the 2021 Ragan’s PR Daily awards for PR Leader of the Year, the Bulldog PR Awards, Gold Star of PR, inclusion in  PRNews’ 2021 list of top Women in PR Entrepreneurship, and a nomination in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. She was also a finalist in the 2021 Platinum PR Awards CEO of the Year as well as the 2016 Miss Ohio International Pageant winner. Moreover, her agency, Publicity For Good has won several accolades from a variety of organizations. Her work and life have also been featured in the media. She has been featured on Fox News, Your Tango, and Business Insider.

    Publicity For Good has been awarded O’Dwyer’s Best PR Firm for CPG Brands (2019), Bulldog PR Awards Gold Small Agency of the Year (2019), Bulldog PR Awards Bronze Midsize Agency of the Year (2021), and Clutch Award for Top PR Firm in NC (2022).

    Find Heather on Instagram

    Discover Publicity For Good



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  • KEN’S CORNER: Why I Am Not A Zionist | The Liberty Beacon

    By TLB Contributing Writer: Ken LaRive

    What this is below is the most horrible that can be found in the so-called Christian Bible. It was required reading at Loyola, by my Jewish teachers, to take one religious study, and one dialogue class every semester, and discussed very similar ancient religions and deities, from Zoroaster to Amen Ra, and what I learned was very disconcerted.

    In that process I formulated what I still consider a truth that is very well hidden from the general population, for a reason… you see, the God of the Old Testament, as depicted and understood, Is a jealous God of wrath and vengeance, whereas God, as depicted and understood by the words of Jesus, is one of Agape love. Called the perfect love, agape is a selfless love. Of course, each, and every one of us must fumble our way through life in search of truth, but I see a frightful future of turmoil, with a deception so great, it will not just be the death of western civilization, but the annihilation of humanity itself… Read this if you will.

    Compare the words of Jesus with this:

    In Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah which is also the fifth book of the Christian Old Testament, Moses shares this message from God as the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land: “I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.” (Deut. 32:42)

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    “When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you. And when the Lord, your God, delivers them before you and you defeat them, destroy them utterly. Make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them” (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).

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    “When your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ . . . you shall kill him, your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God. . . ” (Deuteronomy 13: 6-10)

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    “When you approach a city to fight it, offer it terms of peace. If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, all the people found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, besiege it. When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, kill all the men in it. Take as booty only the women, children, animals, and all that is in the city, all its spoils. Use the spoils of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you. . . Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. Do not leave alive anything that breathes” (Deuteronomy 20:10-17).

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    “Kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. But spare for yourselves all virgin maidens” (Numbers 31:17-18).

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    “I will send my terror in front of you. . . you shall utterly demolish them and break their pillars in pieces” (Exodus 23: 23-24, 27).

    ••••

    Read more from KEN’S CORNER

    ••••

    Ken LaRive

    From the Author, Ken La Rive – We in the Liberty movement have been fighting to take back this country for less than a decade, peacefully and with the love of God and country in our hearts. Our banner has been trampled on and displaced by a multitude of distractions, further eroding our nation and the cause for Liberty. And so, as we are pulled by forces we cannot fathom, powerful entities with unlimited resources stolen from our future, unaccountable trillions printed out of thin air and put on our backs as debt, we must formulate the most pitiful of all questions any patriot might ask in the final hour: Are we going to fight for our master’s tyranny, or are we going to demand the return of our civil liberties and Constitution? Are we going to choose The Banner of Liberty, or the shackles of voluntary servitude? Will it be a war for corporate profit, or a war to regain our ability to self govern, as the blood and toil of our forefathers presented to us, their children, as a gift? I fear that decision is emanate. I fear that any decision will be a hard one, but my greatest fear of all is that the decision has already been made for us.

    Image Credit: In-Article Image – Pixabay License.

    ••••

    Checkout TLBTalk.com:

    Click Here to Visit the TLBTalk.com Site

    ••••

    Welcome to the TLB Project Neighborhood

    TLBTalk – Republic Broadcasting Network – The Liberty Beacon – The Butcher Shop

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    Stay tuned to …



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  • Man sentenced for kidnapping woman, tying her to signpost in the desert, and watching her die

    LAS VEGAS (TCN) — A Pennsylvania man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for kidnapping a woman, misleading her to believe he was taking her on a vacation, driving her to Nevada, and killing her in the desert.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada announced Aug. 2 that a judge sentenced John Chapman to life in prison in connection with the abduction and death of a woman, identified by NBC News as 33-year-old Jaime Rae Feden. A jury convicted him in May of one count of kidnapping resulting in death.

    In a bulletin, the Bethel Park Police Department said Feden was last seen on Sept. 15, 2019. Bethel Park Police in Pennsylvania performed a welfare check on the victim in November 2019, during which neighbors reportedly said they saw Feden with Chapman, who they believed was her boyfriend. Inside the home, authorities discovered identification cards with Chapman’s name and photograph, Feden’s phone, zip ties, and duct tape, according to prosecutors.

    One of Feden’s relatives told officials she was speaking with the victim via Facebook messenger, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Investigators reportedly discovered Chapman responded to messages as Feden after her death. Prosecutors said Chapman also used Feden’s home and money.

    Bethel Park Police arrested Chapman on Nov. 15, 2019. He told authorities that he drove Feden from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to Las Vegas in September 2019. Chapman confessed that he “misled the victim to believe the trip was a vacation, and they would potentially purchase a residence in Las Vegas.” However, prosecutors said Chapman planned to kill Feden before they left for Nevada.

    Chapman informed officials that he drove Feden to the desert in Lincoln County, Nevada, where he told her they were going to do a bondage photo shoot. Chapman allegedly zip-tied the victim’s hands and feet and attached her to a signpost. He then reportedly “applied duct tape to her mouth and nose and watched her die from asphyxiation.”

    According to the criminal complaint, after Chapman’s admission, investigators learned Lincoln County officials in Nevada found a deceased victim on Oct. 5, 2019. Using dental records, the Jane Doe was positively identified as Feden.

    Detectives also reportedly discovered photographs of the victim on Chapman’s cellphone, including one of her under a “VEGAS” sign, as well as a photograph of Feden bound in the desert and affixed to the signpost.

    In a statement, United States Attorney Jason Frierson for the District of Nevada said, “The defendant violated the victim’s trust by luring her away from her family and friends in Pennsylvania and out into the Nevada desert where he viciously killed her.”

    MORE:

    • Pennsylvania Man Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For Kidnapping And Death Of Woman Whose Body Was Found In Nevada Desert – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada
    • Pennsylvania Man Convicted For Kidnapping And Death Of Woman Whose Body Was Found In Nevada Desert, 5/1/2024 – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada
    • Man Charged In Kidnapping And Death Of Pennsylvania Woman Whose Body Was Found in Nevada Desert, 2/28/2020 – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada
    • U.S. District of Nevada vs. John Matthew Chapman
    • Missing Person, 11/14/2019 – Bethel Park Police Department
    • Pennsylvania man charged with kidnapping woman found dead in Nevada desert, 2/28/2020 – NBC News

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  • Local child reads 370 books during APL’s summer reading program

    Local child reads 370 books during APL’s summer reading program

    Published 9:15 am Monday, August 5, 2024

    DJ Damons was recently recognized by the Andalusia Public Library for reading 370 books during the APL’s Summer Reading Program. (PHOTO COURTESY OF CARYL LEE RAY)

    The Andalusia Public Library has awarded D.J. Damons as a top reader in its Summer Reader Program.

    D.J. read 370 books and was presented with an assortment of prizes, including pizza from Lost Pizza Co.

    APL Children’s Librarian Caryl Lee Ray said this year had the largest turnout in her 17 years of employment with 1,465 people attending the 2024 Summer Reading Program.

    The Andalusia Public Library is located at 212 South Three Notch Street and is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

    For more information email library@cityofandalusia.com or call 334-222-6612.

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  • A chat with Nigerian award winning casting Director and Producer; Kolade Shasi – The US Times

    Kris; Give us a small biography

     

    Kolade;

    I am Kolade Shasi; an Actor, Casting Director and Producer. I am the first African Casting Director (along with Christa Shamberger) to be accepted into the International Casting Director’s’ Association, and one of only two African members till date. My Casting credits include the Netflix original Series; Far From Home and the Amazon Original film — Breath of Life (unreleased).

     

    I joined the film industry as a young Actor over 20 years ago and I’ve since moved into Casting Directing and Producing. As a Producer, I have produced some of the biggest television commercials from Nigeria, for Brands like UBA, hotelnownow, DSTV and Flutterwave, some of which have aired on major platforms like CNN. I have also produced films like “Date Night” starring Adesua Etomi and Deyemi Okanlawon as well as Employee of the Month which has presently screened at over fifteen film festivals including Durban, Rhode Island intl. Film Festival and Cannes to mention a few.

     

    Kris;

    You were nominated for the Best Actor award at the In-short International Film Festival, Lagos, in 2015, for the multi-award winning film – Blood Taxi, so it seems you’re quite accomplished in all facets but which awards are dearest to you?

     

    Kolade;

    (Laughs) That’s a very hard one to answer! To be candid, they are all equally important, they make up who I am. I am always happy to see films that I handled Casting Directing for, win awards in the Acting categories, yet I do know for a fact that there are very few award categories specifically for Casting Directors, and this is a global issue, not just in Nigeria or Africa. There needs to be more recognition for the work Casting Directors put in, so for this reason, such an award will be one that I’d cherish. This is part of the work that the International Casting Directors’ Association is doing, to create more awareness and recognition for the work of Casting Directors.

     

     

    Kris;

    Your journey is an intriguing one, from humble beginnings, being nominated for the best Actor at the In-short Film Festival, Nigeria, to a film you produced – Employee of the Month – winning the Best Short Film twice, at both the Diversity in Cannes and at the American Pavilion in the Cannes Film Festival, that’s a huge leap, how did you get here?

     

    Kolade;

    By climbing on the backs of persons who have been kind enough to lead the way and show me the ropes. There is one universal truth about filmmaking; it is a collaborative work. It does take a village to put a film together. I have been lucky to work with exceptional individuals. I have also kept two things close to heart; one is the words of Phillip Stanhope that my mum always rang in my ears, “what is worth doing, is worth doing well.” The second is the words of Alfred Hitchcock, “to make a great film you need three things – the script, the script, and the script. I have always had an utmost appreciation for a good script, and I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing screenwriters and storytellers, the likes of Anthony Kehinde Joseph, Muyiwa Aluko and Goga Clay who is the Writer-Director of Employee of the Month, a film that has literally taken us round the world. It has just won us four awards in the span of one week, all in France! It’s extremely humbling and quite surreal.

     

    Kris;

    Indeed! It’s been a very rewarding week for Employee of the Month! It started with winning Best short Film at Nollywood Week Paris and then at the American Pavilion but also winning Best Actor and Best Short Film at Diversity in Cannes, this brings me to an important question, how inclusive has Cannes been this year?

     

    Kolade;

    This is a very important question and I’d be honest, having Employee of the Month screen at Cannes has opened my eyes to how important the biggest festivals are. These are where the really big deals get struck. We’ve been lucky enough to have a few investors become very interested in what we may want to do with this film and if we would want to make a feature-length. These conversations started even before we won the Best Short Film awards at the American Pavilion (and Diversity in Cannes) and for this reason, it is extremely important that Cannes be more accessible to BAME. You may be aware that Ramata Toulaye-Sy, whose film is in competition for the Palme D’or, kudos to her by the way, is only the second black female director to ever be in competition for the Palme! An amazing achievement for her, but Cannes Film festival needs to take very deliberate steps to break down the barriers further. If you look around the festival, you’d notice that filmmakers from the BAME are not as many as would be ideal. Which is another reason to appreciate the work that Yolonda Brinkley and Diversity in Cannes are doing.

     

     

    Kris;

    Winning the Best Short Film Awards at both Diversity in Cannes and the American Pavilion at Cannes is a significant accomplishment. How did you feel when it was announced the winner twice, and what do you think made it stand out among the competition?

     

    Kolade;

    My head was spinning! I think I felt gratitude. It’s really the Director’s vision, and as the Producer, my job is just to help him realise his vision, so I was grateful to Goga Clay for bringing me on board, to Rotimi Ajibola, our Executive Producer, our amazing Cast and really amazing Crew; the extremely detailed Cinematographer – Maciej to one of the Best Makeup Artists in the business – Aminat Bolaji, to the Gaffer, Muri! It was an amazing team that made my job as a Producer much easier.

     

     

    Kris;

    Nollywood has gained global recognition over the years. In your opinion, what unique qualities and stories do Nigerian films bring to the international stage, and how do you contribute to shaping this narrative through your work?

     

     

    Kolade;

    Nollywood has indeed grown leaps and bounds over the years, it is an industry that I am proud to be part of. An industry that has risen to where it is today by sheer will and perseverance, with very little Government and Corporate support. I think the answer to your question, is in the question itself. The stories. Africa and Nigeria are rich in stories. We have so many unique stories. At a time when Hollywood has been depending a lot on franchises, remakes and sequels, they could lean on collaborations with Nollywood to tap from our rich stories. Consequently, Nollywood would gain a lot from such collaborations as we have a lot to learn from Hollywood in many areas and also in making better scripts from our rich stories.

     

    As regards how I contribute to this, I simply try to pay attention to the Pre-Production phase, regardless of what role I am playing on a project. I firmly believe that taking time to properly plan for a project gives us the opportunity to make the best version of that project possible. This detailed Pre-production involves allowing the script to go through as many drafts as it requires to be ready for Principal photography, albeit most of that usually happens in the development phase. This is equally important when I am hired as an actor, because “an Actor prepares”. As a Casting Director, most of the work we do is in the Pre-production phase, and we’re sometimes done with our duties by the time principal photography starts.

     

    Kris;

    As a casting director, you play a crucial role in assembling the right cast for a project. Can you share any insights or strategies you use to ensure the perfect casting choices and create memorable performances?

     

    Kolade;

    A Casting Director must have a very large database of Actors. Especially up and coming actors, not just established actors. In Casting Directing, it’s important to be able to read the script and breakdown the characters, analyse them, have discussions with the Director to understand his/her vision for the film and the different characters. All of these will help the Casting Director to find suitable actors for the different roles. It’s also very important to have a team of actors who are believable as a team and not just individuals who can play the different roles.

     

     

    Kris;

    What upcoming projects or collaborations are you excited about, and what can we expect from you in the near future as an actor, producer, and casting director?

     

    Kolade;

    There are quite a few, and I must say, I am really excited about all of them. There are also discussions like I stated earlier, to explore making Employee of the Month into a feature-length movie. There is “Ripple Effect”, a movie that we shot on a smart phone that is presently in Post-Production, it sheds light on mental health issues as they affect African men. It’s been five years in the making and I am really excited to be this close to sharing it with the world. My Production company, Ephizzie Films is also collaborating with 1200 Pictures to develop “Man on Ground”, an espionage thriller about insurgency in Africa. So there are quite a number of projects in the pipeline, all of which I am quite excited about. If it doesn’t excite me, then it’s not really for me.

     

    Source

  • Bidenomics: New Employment Numbers Say Recession Is Here | The Liberty Beacon

    According to the most recent report from the federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy added 114,000 jobs (according to the establishment survey) during July. This was a lackluster number that came in below expectations, and it wasn’t enough to prevent a surge in the unemployment rate up to 4.3 percent. Moreover, the “underemployment” rate, the “U-6” unemployment rate, jumped substantially from 7.4 percent to 7.8 percent. Excluding the Covid Panic, that’s the largest year-over-year increase in U-6 since the Great Recession.

    At the same time, the BEA’s other employment survey, the household survey, showed that the year-long stagnation in employment continued into July. According to the household survey, total employed persons in the United States increased by only 57,000 from July 2023 to July 2024—an increase of a mere 0.03 percent. Since September of last year, the number of employed persons has fallen by 284,000.

    Moreover, the establishment survey continues to be suspect in light of the so-called “birth-death” model as well. This model is used to estimate how many new jobs were created by new businesses—i..e, “births”—that are missed by the actual survey results. The BLS says it must use “non-sampling methods” to add in these newly created jobs. “Non-sampling methods” means the numbers are made up by number crunchers. They don’t show up in any survey. In July, the establishment survey simply assumed the creation of 246,000 jobs.

    Other indicators have long pointed to a disappointing employment situation. The nation has been in a recession in full-time jobs for months. That is, part-time jobs have accounted for the vast majority of employment growth over the past year, while growth in full-time jobs has largely disappeared. Full-time employment has fallen, year over year, for the past six months. Meanwhile, temporary employment has been down, year over year, for the past 21 months. Both of these trends are strong recession indicators.

    In spite of all these other indicators, the media over the past year has steadfastly doubled down on the establishment survey—the one indicator that continued to show significant job growth. Following the release of today’s report, however, it seems serious cracks are now appearing in the narrative. In the financial media, claims that the US is in the midst of a Bidenomics-fueled boom now appear all but dead. This may be due to the fact that the unemployment rate’s surge has triggered the so-called “Sahm rule” which is influential among finance media pundits.

    According to the Sahm rule, a recession is expected “when the three-month moving average of the national unemployment rate (U3) rises by 0.50 percentage points or more relative to the minimum of the three-month averages from the previous 12 months.” In July, that three-month moving average hit 0.53 percent. That’s the highest since the Covid Panic, and it’s now following a pattern similar to Spring 2008 as the US entered the Great Recession.

    Indeed, the response from Wall Street to today’s jobs report is quite different from what we’ve seen in most months during the age of Bidenomics. Over the past year—until today—the market’s reaction to an unimpressive employment report had generally reflected a “bad news is good news” attitude. The Dow and other market indices would often surge on “bad news.” It was assumed that bad economic news would trigger easy money from the Fed that would then lead to one of those mythical “soft landings” that the central bank claims is on the horizon.

    The tone appears to be different today, however. As of this writing, the Dow is down more than 850 points, and the S&P 500 is “potentially on pace for its worst day since 2022.” There is a growing chorus of investment bankers calling for the Fed to intervene immediately, slash the federal funds rate, and flood the economy with easy money. Rising numbers of Wall Street pundits appear doubtful that the Fed can achieve its proposed soft landing at this point, especially if the Fed waits until its September meeting to slash the target interest rate.

    In the Fed We Trust

    This is quite a shift in tone from Wednesday when the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee announced it would hold the federal funds rate steady at 5.5 percent—although the Fed strongly hinted that a rate cut was coming in September. In response to this news, markets were calm. But what a difference 48 hours makes. With the September meeting nearly two months away, and in light of the new employment numbers, many on Wall Street would prefer to see the Fed panic right now and call an emergency meeting.

    (A perfect example of this is economist Mark Zandi’s flip-flop on the state of the economy this week. On Wednesday at 3 pm, Zandi serenely declared, “The economy is set to soft land.” On Friday at 8 am, Zandi was suddenly concerned, stating that the Fed “should have begun cutting rates months ago…unemployment is rising quickly…”)

    Frequent readers of mises.org will note the problem with this way of thinking. The fact that we hear these calls for the Fed to hit the panic button and “print the money” shows that many financial-sector analysts are still clinging to the false notion that the Fed can engineer a “soft landing” and somehow end the boom-bust cycle. A common sentiment one sees among investment analysts in social media and in the financial media is that the Fed can steer a painless path between high inflation and recession as long as the Fed doesn’t make a “policy error.” The policy error in question is usually assumed to be one in which the Fed allows interest rates to rise for “too long” and then cuts target rates “too late.” There is no evidence whatsoever to support this false hope. The Fed never delivered on any of its promised “soft landings.”

    Moreover, the “policy error” we need to fear is not the Fed failing to pump easy money at the “right time.” The Fed’s policy error already occurred years ago. The real policy error was forcing down interest rates to near-zero or zero levels for more than a decade after the 2008 financial crisis. That was made worse by the additional and enormous policy error. That was the error of essentially printing trillions of dollars during the Covid Panic to bribe people to stay home and not work.

    The best thing the Fed could do now is avoid yet another policy error by letting a real recession finally pop all those inflationary bubbles that the Fed has been maintaining since it first created a housing bubble after the 2001 recession. Thanks to the Fed’s asset purchases of mortgage-backed securities and government bonds after 2008, we are still looking at bubbles in home prices, bond prices, and other bubbles that have yet to be discovered. Only a recession and an unwinding of malinvestments can undo the many real policy errors of recent decades.

    Without this, we’ll continue to face an increasingly fragile economy that perennially relies on ever greater infusions of  easy money just to keep the economy afloat. The result will be ever mounting levels of price inflation with no deflationary periods to ever offset the rising prices that are crushing younger families and consumers.

    Federal Reserve Forecasts Are Useless

    As a final note, I just want to point to how today’s numbers show how utterly useless the FOMC’s economic projections are as an indicator of real world economic activity.

    In its Summary of Economic Projections released on June 12, the elite economists and analysts of the Federal Open Market Committee reported their forecasts for where the unemployment rate is headed in the United States. The FOMC predicted a median unemployment rate of 4.0 for 2024, 4.2 for 2025, and 4.1 for 2026. The “longer run” projection for unemployment was 4.2 percent. Overall, the SEP makes it clear that few members of the FOMC were willing to say that the unemployment rate might rise much above 4.2 percent over the next three years.

    Well, it’s already clear that those numbers are quite divorced from reality, and provide us with zero insight into how the economy is likely to look in 2025 and 2026. The employment numbers were so soft in July that the unemployment rate has already exceeded the projections of most FOMC members. Moreover, all experience points to the unemployment rate increasing further in coming months. That projected 4.2 percent unemployment rate for 2025 is looking like a whole lot of wishful thinking.

    Of course, we should not believe for a minute that the published forecasts of the SEP reflect the actual opinions of the members of the FOMC. The SEP is a propaganda document designed to push a picture of the economy that supports regime policies and plans. The SEP, like the FOMC’s press conferences and “forward guidance” are tools of narrative management. They exist to manipulate public opinion about the state of the economy. Not surprisingly, the SEP virtually always predicts relative economic stability and predictability.



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  • McDonald’s employee sentenced for setting fire because he was frustrated restaurant was busy

    SAVANNAH, Ga. (TCN) — A 34-year-old McDonald’s employee will spend several years in federal prison for setting fire to the restaurant’s dumpster last year.

    According to a July 31 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, Joshua McGregor pleaded guilty to arson, and a judge sentenced him to 60 months in prison. McGregor will also have to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution for property lost in the flames.

    In April 2023, McGregor, who worked at the McDonald’s on Montgomery Avenue, became “frustrated because the restaurant was very busy.” He reportedly lit a piece of cardboard ablaze and threw it into the dumpster. There were other flammable items and cardboard in the trash container at the time, causing a fire to erupt. McGregor allegedly filmed the incident on his cellphone.

    According to prosecutors, the flames “became so intense that customers in the drive-thru lane had to back out of the parking lot.” The restaurant was closed for a short time as the Savannah Fire Department worked to extinguish the fire.

    Investigators identified McGregor as the primary suspect on surveillance video, and Savannah Police took him into custody.

    U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Jill Steinberg said, “Intentionally setting a fire in an effort to shut down or damage someone else’s property is inexcusable.”

    Beau Kolodka, assistant special agent in charge for the ATF Atlanta Field Division, added, “Arson is an extremely violent crime that not only destroys property but also places firefighters, first responders, and the general public at great risk.”

    MORE:

    • Chatham County man sentenced to federal prison for lighting dumpster fire that temporarily closed a restaurant – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia

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  • Lelia Capps Gebhard

    Lelia Capps Gebhard

    Published 9:26 am Monday, August 5, 2024

    Lelia Capps Gebhard, 88, of Pensacola, Florida, left for her heavenly home on July 31, 2024, after a long illness.

    Lelia was born on Sept. 3, 1935, to John and Johnnie Capps in Red Level, Alabama.

    Lelia and Harold Gebhard were married for 63 years at his passing in 2017.

    She graduated from Red Level High School was a member of the Beta Club, was an Honor Student, and received a Good Citizenship award.

    She retired from a career as an accountant for the United States Air Force. She enjoyed building houses.

    Lelia was predeceased by Harold Gebhard (her loving husband), her parents John and Johnnie Capps, brothers, Tommy Capps, Richard Capps, and Claude Capps, sister, Leona Taylor, and two nephews, Ricky Capps and Joe Capps.

    She is survived by two brothers, Robert Capps (Barbara Ann), Cecil Capps, ten nieces, Carolyn Taylor, Debbie Jackson (Casey), Margaret Bennett (Wayne), Susie McIness, Marie Pittman, Julie Edwards, Marianne Kirkpatrick (Jeff), Blair Swearingen (Rob), Channelle Capps, Angela Holland (Chris), two nephews, David Capps (Candy), Spencer Capps, sisters-in-law, Hilma (Clay) Mumma, Hazel Chapin, and Paul Stull, an exceptional family friend.

    Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with the arrangements. Visitation only will be on Tuesday, August 6, 11:30 a.m., at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North. Burial will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery.

    Please make a memorial donation in her honor to the Fairmount Baptist Church Cemetery Fund in place of flowers.

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  • Equipping Women as Powerful Forces in the African Economy – The US Times

    Miss Africa International is an exemplary pageant geared towards celebrating the myriad of African culture. It serves as an overseeing body for 54 countries, representing the immense and diverse beauty of the African continent.

    As an organization, we hold a firm belief in the necessity of familiarizing all continental citizens with the multifaceted cultures and traditions that define us. It is our goal to highlight every strand of our diverse heritage, spreading awareness and knowledge.

    In line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, which emphasizes gender equality and women’s empowerment, our intention for this pageant is to fortify the participants with leadership and entrepreneurial skills, thereby ensuring their continued personal and professional growth.

    We are confident in the significant role that women play in the African economy, and hence it is paramount that they are provided with the necessary tools and resources to excel in their chosen fields.

    The grand finale of the 2023 edition is scheduled to take place on the 26th of August at the esteemed La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana. A deserving winner and her runner-ups will be crowned on this grand African stage, set to fulfill their duties and advocacies for the subsequent year.

    For more information
    visit www.missafricaint.com

    Or contact the team on
    +256770812980
    +17088447756
    Missafricaint2@gmail.com
    Info@missafricaint.com

     

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  • England in flames? The merchants of dismay are at it again | The Liberty Beacon

    Intro by Steve Cook Is England in flames as the government and luridly misleading media hysteria would have you believe? Nope. Not even close. We are witnessing a classic fabrication designed to spread dismay, an […]

    The post England in flames? The merchants of dismay are at it again first appeared on The Liberty Beacon.

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