Loose Ends (181)

• Good grief, if Jerome Powell wanted to tank the market, he could have just got up and said “irrational exuberance” and sat down and saved a lot of time. More seriously, I suppose Powell might be privy to some really bad inflation data not yet released, or he could be reacting to the markets and the media inhaling their own supply the last week or two by openly thinking or hoping Powell would say conciliatory things about how the Fed was going to ease up on interest rates and achieve the mythical “soft landing.” Equally likely he is convinced that once inflationary expectations get rolling among consumers, containing inflation becomes even more difficult. And maybe he decided he had to be hawkish after President Biden inexplicably said that there was “zero” inflation in July.

• This is genuine end-of-the-world apocalypse stuff over in England:

Pubs face winter ‘extinction’ with some facing energy bill spike of 500 per cent

Pub landlords are facing an “extinction” this winter as a majority of operators said they feared being forced to shut down in the coldest months. Some 65 per cent of publicans said they were likely to close over winter, despite a lucrative Christmas period free of Covid restrictions, when surveyed by industry title The Morning Advertiser.

• The transgender ideology works very hard and successfully to block any news of young adults who regret their “transition” or, even worse, who transition back. But I predict the trend will start to turn around abruptly when trial lawyers get into the game and successfully sue doctors for malpractice (specifically for not disclosing the risks of taking hormone blockers, among other things such as irreversible surgery.)

Hence, this story out of Australia may be the beginning:

‘Absolutely devastating’: woman sues psychiatrist over gender transition

The first time Sydney woman Jay Langadinos saw psychiatrist Dr Patrick Toohey she was 19, living at home and identifying as male. It was May 2010. Langadinos wanted to start on masculinising hormones and her endocrinologist had referred her to Toohey to assess if she was suitable for the treatment.

According to a statement of claim filed in the NSW Supreme Court in May, the referral letter from Professor Ann Conway said it “seemed likely” Langadinos had “true gender dysphoria”, but she was “very young” and “clearly” needed “thorough psychiatric work-up before embarking on hormone treatment”.

Toohey agreed Langadinos suffered from gender dysphoria – a misalignment between a person’s sex and gender identity – and found she was suitable for hormone therapy, in this case testosterone, which encourages the development of male secondary sexual characteristics. . .

Langadinos, now 31 and no longer identifying as male, is suing Toohey for professional negligence. The case comes amid an intensifying debate in Australia and overseas about the “gender-affirming” approach to treating gender dysphoria after an explosion in young people questioning their gender. . .

The statement of claim alleges that, before recommending hormonal treatment and the surgeries, Toohey “knew or ought to have known” Langadinos required further psychiatric evaluation by him and by a psychiatrist with specialised expertise in diverse conditions. She alleges that he was negligent in not recommending she get an opinion from a second psychiatrist for her hysterectomy. . .

Solicitor Anna Kerr, of NSW’s Feminist Legal Clinic, who referred Langadinos’ case to legal firm Slater and Gordon, believes the legal action is “likely to be the tip of the iceberg”.

“We can expect to see extensive litigation in future years related to gender-affirming cross-sex hormones and surgeries,” she said.