Welcome to the first Mueller Report of 2024!
Although not the only reason, a week of nearly unrelenting snowstorms contributed to delaying my first newsletter of the year. A week and a half ago, we had two winter storm warnings (Thursday night to Saturday morning, and Saturday night to Monday night). We finished a third winter storm warning late last week.
We’ve gotten at least a foot and a half of snow, although it could very well be over two feet in total. There are piles of snow everywhere and many of our signs are buried. It’s beautiful, though, and great for skiing!
Updates
It’s hard to believe that we are already three weeks into 2024. Life keeps going, whether we notice it or not. The Muellers haven’t made too many changes in 2024 so far. We are working on a more regular bedtime and family devotion schedule, as well as morning routines (KT has begun training for a summer rollerblading trip by skating four to five miles a couple mornings a week).
We started hosting Math Counts at our place. KT hopes to field a team in the fall. Unlike a math class, these meetings focus on tips, tricks, special topics, and competition. So far the all the kids seem to love it!
News
The economy continues to plod along, although I am concerned about these risks.
The global elite gathered at Davos last week. Here’s what I think about that. Plus, I’ve heard that President Milei gave a rousing defense of free markets, limited government, and capitalism (which I also heard was translated into English speech by an AI team).
It looks like we’ll face a rematch between Trump and Biden this fall. Start preparing yourself early; spiritually, emotionally, mentally, etc. It’s a good time to be a Christian and to have both historical and eternal perspective!
This historic cold, besides disrupting flights, reveals problems with a green electrotopia. Tesla vehicles wouldn’t charge all over Chicago because it was too cold. Plus, I explained to Teddy recently why relying on our experience of abnormal or extreme weather and temperatures may not reflect the underlying reality well. In this picture, the week with the extreme cold temperatures of sub-zero was still warmer overall than the other week.
China continues to suffer economic slowdown and problems in their real estate sector.
And the middle east remains a perennial powder keg.
Alarmism is the currency of our time, both on the political right and the political left. It’s amazing how this author can string together coherent sentences and yet make such nonsensical arguments and observations about the Supreme Court revisiting “Chevron deference.” Somehow, she seems to think that the administrative state is highly responsive to election results. The use of executive orders has been rising at an alarming rate over the past twenty years. They can tighten or loosen certain kinds of regulations or policy but most of the regulatory juggernaut of the federal government keeps rolling on. Removing Chevron deference, regardless of the case that first instituted it, puts the ball back in Congress’ court, not the Supreme Court, because they must be more specific and explicit in their legislation.
Reflection
I recently finished Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund. I highly recommend it. The book is not long. The chapters are short. The author examines the “heart” of God in Christ from many angles. He argues that the mercy and compassion of God are not equal with his wrath and justice, but greater and more fundamental. They are at the “center” of God’s acts and creation. Deeply encouraging and devotional, Gentle and Lowly is one of the better Christian books I’ve read in the past few years.
Our church continues to grow and engage the community. We recently launched a biweekly game night in the lobby of a local hotel. Turn out from the community was great for our first meeting. I’ve also been hosting a men’s group at the local coffee shop after hours. We are trying to find spaces in the community where we can be present and engage with folks on a variety of levels that are hard to engage on a busy Sunday morning at church.
Writing
Besides writing op-eds and columns, I’ve nearly finished a 10,000-word white paper on ESG. Once that is done, I’ll be focusing on two academic papers and some shorter pieces about the economics and history of unions. Here is a preview of op-eds I am in the process of writing:
The Carbon Offset Dilemma
A Tale of Two Economies
Time for the Nuclear Option on ESG
EV Corporatism
Climate Mitigation or Economic Development
Game Corner
I played Azul with the three older kids last week. It’s a great game – simple to play, aesthetically attractive, strategically interesting, and interactive without being antagonistic (usually). Basic play involves selecting tiles to place on your board. There are five types of tiles and a five-by-five matrix on your board. It takes one tile to play in the top row of the matrix, two tiles to place in the second row…and five tiles to fill a spot on the fifth row.
You receive points based on how many existing tiles your new tile is adjacent to. You receive bonuses for completing columns and rows, and for placing a certain kind of tile in every row of your matrix. Each row and each column can only have one of each of the five types of tiles.
The game plays up to four. Winning scores are usually in the 70-90 range. This is also a great game for family members who are not into games with lots of rules, small pieces, and long-playing times. Azul can be played in about 30 minutes, sometimes faster.
Have a great rest of your week!
Thanks again for the Report.
Give me a call "about the economics and history of unions" since many of your relatives (including me) were members of unions during both the early years of their inception and development and during their heydays.
Shalom.