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Having completed a review of numerous academic periodicals that feature thought-provoking articles and scantily-clad models, Adam and Jeff offer their insights as to how best to end the war in Ukraine. Jeff points out that the so-called security guarantees being bandied about by England and France are not necessarily cast in stone but are "situational" and can disappear when a new government is elected or the existing government simply weasels out of its obligations by claiming that the guarantee does not apply to a particular situation. Adam and Jeff discuss the 1994 Budapest Memorandum in which Russia, among others, agreed not to use military force against Ukraine "except in matters of self defense." Fast forward to 2014 and Russia apparently concluded that invading Crimea did not constitute a violation of the Memorandum because the Kremlin really wanted to have a port on the Black Sea. More recently, President Putin decided in 2022 that he really wanted the rest of Ukraine so he went ahead and launched an all-out invasion that has since bogged down and become a war of attrition--which has caused Russia itself to suffer more than a million military casualties. Jeff believes that the only likely outcome is a sort of "frozen peace" in which a permanent ceasefire occurs--possibly without a recognition of changed borders. As far as security guarantees are concerned, both Adam and Jeff feel that Ukraine is the only actor that can ensure its own security.

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Kamala Harris' recent announcement that she would not be seeking to become the next governor of California was not a total surprise given the shellacking she suffered in the 2024 presidential election coupled with the squandering of a $1 billion campaign fund in 3-months. Many anonymous donors have said that they do not view her as a viable candidate for future presidential runs but acknowledge that she would be the leading candidate for governor in California due to her name recognition and the fact that she is unburdened by what has been and what will be. Adam and Jeff, noted experts in career opportunities for ex-presidents, suggest that she might be better suited for a university position as a linguistics professor or perhaps a name partner at a leading law firm if she could be locked into a sound proofed corner office without access to a phone or email. Turning to Gavin Newsom, the Omaha Bugle correspondents both concede that whoever is the head of the Democratic Party in California is virtually immune from challenge because policy results simply don't matter very much. Adam and Jeff believe that Newsom's disastrous record would not play well at the national level but they do acknowledge that his hair will not move even in hurricane-force winds.

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Would-be Fed governor applicants Adam and Jeff consider whether the incessant demands by American presidents that the Fed lower interest rates really makes any difference. Jeff points out that the historical interest rates for the past century or so have averaged around 6% to 8% with a few outliers in which rates were extraordinarily high or low. Politicians want lower rates because it reduces the costs of borrowing which theoretically causes people to borrow more money to build homes and factories and improve productivity. Or maybe it does nothing at all in the end. Adam, who is very accurate on occasion, suggests that the Fed funds rate has very little to do with the actual interest rates that banks charge their customers. However, Jeff argues that the Fed acts as a signal-caller for the national economy and that its actions carry tremendous psychological weight when lenders are deciding whether to raise or lower the rates for credit cards, for example, from a comparatively low 28% to a lofty 33% rate. Both Adam and Jeff feel that the fact that the dollar, like every other modern currency, is not tied to any actual tangible asset such as gold, creates enormous potential for banker mischief--which has resulted in a 96% reduction of purchasing power in the dollar in the past century.