OlDawg

Guess I should say, my son—after 13 years as the Nuke power Chief on the USS Ronald Reagan—got his Nuclear Engineering degree. Funny thing is, he actually works for TI in Dallas as one of the technical engineers that build and maintain their ultra pure semiconductor wafer machines. His Navy clean room, real world engineering experience made all the difference. Texas Instruments likes to hire Navy Nuclear Power vets for this position, and they pay them very well. Hopefully, he’s got a pretty solid job future. He’s been there going on 6 years I think, and really seems to like it.

Off of TexasForever’s initial topic. But, good discussion. Grew up on the farm. THAT was work! lol I also initially went to college on a scholly, became disillusioned, and joined the Navy. I’ve spoken about some of that experience. When I got out, I was hired on at a local petrochemical as a ‘B’ operator partly because of being a vet, was encouraged to go back to school while working, and got an AAS in Engineering Design. From there, I got my Mechanical and went to work contract at multiple firms. Got my PMP, and led projects for years. Got tired of working 80’s for straight pay, went back to school for my BSBM, and was asked to join Sales. I finished up as lead Downstream BD for Mustang/Wood Group, Fluor, Jacobs and a couple smaller outfits before calling it quits to take care of family. Better 1/2 was an Aggie ChemE, and son is a Nuclear Engineer.

Lamar is—comparatively—very affordable, close to industry, and has a good track record from my understanding. I assume most of the US grads stay fairly local. There’s a good network for referrals. Baddog and I are discussing a time decades before your attendance. Were there many international students in the Engineering program when you attended? Curious about it since the immigration system has been tightened up. Incidentally, I always liked hiring ET's. I also liked hiring ex-fitters. Both brought more 'common-sense engineering/design' to the table than many other new engineering grads. Maybe, because I was ex-operations before my degrees, and could see more of the value. I just never ran across many--or any--resumes from Lamar. So, I always presumed they stayed more at the direct client level in the Golden Triangle. Glad to hear there are still others who aren't just going for Liberal Arts degrees. We need them, and all crafts, skills, and trades.

I believe that was the situation. I remember hearing LU had a special program for them to do just that. Not sure how it worked with visas and such.

The running joke about Lamar & Engineering degrees back when was they were Pakistani State. I’ve honestly never met anyone with an Engineering degree from Lamar, and I was in the business a loooooong time.

I'm of the opinion that SOME of the politicians start out with good intentions. Then, the political Parties, and other influences get ahold of them, and they lose sight of why they wanted to represent. They get corrupted--so to speak. That's just me though. Term limits would be a wonderful thing. But, it's a pipe dream.

Agree. But, you wrote - "...none of these politicians...don't have the public's best interests at heart." Basically, you're saying they all DO have the public's interest at heart. That's why I said I think you meant the opposite. 🙂

I think what you wrote is exactly the opposite of what you meant. All I know is, I'm getting a little nervous with all the admitted Socialists being elected.

As with many things, this is actually highly misleading. The SP500 is weighted, and the Top 10 stocks are all high tech Googles, Apples, Nvidia's and the like. They currently make up about 40% of the SP500 to reflect their power over the economy. This skews every other sector. They didn't have this sort of clout until fairly recently with the take-off of AI.

Data checks out according to Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting on May 16, 2026.

I actually think this Administration is using it as one way of promoting their ‘America First’ agenda by making it more expensive for other countries to dump product, and it makes U.S. produced goods more competitive. It’s also helping control interest on the debt. I agree inflation is a tax, and a weaker dollar contributes to inflation. That’s the tightrope the Fed is walking right now. For about 2 decades, we had a ridiculous monetary policy of almost 0%. It was going to come back around in all areas from interest, to investments, to goods—which passes down to services. One way to attempt to help inflation is to pay down our debt. Again, the weaker dollar helps. But—for it to really help—spending must also be cut. Your Friedman links are exactly correct. Inflation will never be tamed until we lower our debt, and inflation is a hidden tax.

Double-edged sword. A weaker dollar helps our GDP, tax revenues, debt repayment, social safety net programs, exports & trade deficit. A weaker dollar also helps us fight currency manipulation from China and others as they try to flood our markets with cheap goods. But, it makes us pay more for those imported goods. Two schools of thought on the dollar valuation. Various Administrations view the strength or weakness of the dollar differently. If people buy more U.S. goods, a weaker dollar is actually a good thing. Otherwise, it hurts U.S. consumers...especially with tariffs added. If the dollar weakens too much, it can create a global recession as the U.S. consumer could draw back on purchases that companies/countries dump into our markets. We are the catch-all for the global economy. WE cause global recessions. Not the other way around. It will stay that way unless/until the dollar is no longer the world's reserve currency.

I’d love to be wrong.

If true, there went the ‘moderates’. All that would be left are the radical Islamic zealots and the IRGC leadership.

He can’t. He won’t. But, right now, he’s lost the support of those who didn’t want him to start in the first place, and he’s losing the support of those who realize the need, but want him to finish the job all the way to regime change because they know it’s the only way.