Finished a book this afternoon
Jackie completed her puzzle last midnight
David McCullough's history of Ohio's beginning
Heritage providing a memory of July's trip to Lake McDonald
Outside the day is gray and windy
two robins stand with heads cocked to the side then fly away
a few brown leaves are tumbling across our lawn
somewhere on a dead stump is the tat tat tat of a woodpecker
Yesterday we watched a new Hallmark movie
he was trying to escape the hub bub of fame and the big city
she wanted to snag a big promotion by interviewing the poor sap
we were on the edge of our rocker recliners until they kissed
Little pieces are back in their box and card table put away
when this is all over we will return puzzles and books
give each of our grandchildren an extra long hug
then turn our heads to the side and drive away
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
12 Things The Democrats Tried To Add To The Covid19 Relief Package
Well, it's day two of State mandated stay at home for Jackie and me (minimum of 3 weeks). I was wondering what kind of relief package our government would pass that would help take the bite out of not being able to work for that amount of time and how could small and big business be helped so that many of them don't have to go out of business. And I wondered if that would be possible without adding excessive amounts of dept for my children and grandchildren.
It turns out that there was a package ready to go Sunday night that was hammered out between Dems and Repubs that focused just on those areas (except for the debt). And then Nancy flew into town on her private jet, talked with Chuck, bipartisanship flew out the window, and the following stuff was added into the relief package.
Please point out to me which one of these is needed to dig us out of the hole that the Covid19 virus is putting our country in.
- Racial and gender pay equity provisions
- Diversity on corporate boards
- Increased use of minority banks by federal officials plus other diversity provisions
- Increased collective bargaining power for unions
- Cancel all U.S. Postal Service debt
- Fuel emissions standards for airlines
- Required carbon offsets for airlines
- Tax credits for alternative energy programs
- 9.5 billion in funds to colleges and universities
- 100 million to juvenile justice programs
- Suspension of various aspects of immigration laws
- Election requirements for States
There was more but I digress. It really doesn't matter if you are for these provisions or not. Our country is in a crisis and elected officials are putting ideology ahead of recovery.
I would like to boil up some tar, gather some feathers, tie a rail or 2 to the top of my car and drive to Washington. But, oh yeah, I'm currently sheltered in place.
It turns out that there was a package ready to go Sunday night that was hammered out between Dems and Repubs that focused just on those areas (except for the debt). And then Nancy flew into town on her private jet, talked with Chuck, bipartisanship flew out the window, and the following stuff was added into the relief package.
Please point out to me which one of these is needed to dig us out of the hole that the Covid19 virus is putting our country in.
- Racial and gender pay equity provisions
- Diversity on corporate boards
- Increased use of minority banks by federal officials plus other diversity provisions
- Increased collective bargaining power for unions
- Cancel all U.S. Postal Service debt
- Fuel emissions standards for airlines
- Required carbon offsets for airlines
- Tax credits for alternative energy programs
- 9.5 billion in funds to colleges and universities
- 100 million to juvenile justice programs
- Suspension of various aspects of immigration laws
- Election requirements for States
There was more but I digress. It really doesn't matter if you are for these provisions or not. Our country is in a crisis and elected officials are putting ideology ahead of recovery.
I would like to boil up some tar, gather some feathers, tie a rail or 2 to the top of my car and drive to Washington. But, oh yeah, I'm currently sheltered in place.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Driver Testing With Covid19
My blue latex gloved hand
holds a yellow number 2 pencil
jotting down upon a legal sized scoresheet
intersections, head checks and stop lines
I notice every eye flutter and sweaty palm wipe
how markets are full while roads are sparse
an itch on my cheek that cannot be touched
and the wash of bright Spring sun on fading brown
When our forty-five minutes are up
certificate signed, black pen Cloroxed wiped
I great the next customer from a distance
extending my blue fingers for their documents
It has been two crazy weeks without inspiration
words like the virus hiding somewhere out there
perhaps next week I will shelter-in-place
watching for cars outside my window
holds a yellow number 2 pencil
jotting down upon a legal sized scoresheet
intersections, head checks and stop lines
I notice every eye flutter and sweaty palm wipe
how markets are full while roads are sparse
an itch on my cheek that cannot be touched
and the wash of bright Spring sun on fading brown
When our forty-five minutes are up
certificate signed, black pen Cloroxed wiped
I great the next customer from a distance
extending my blue fingers for their documents
It has been two crazy weeks without inspiration
words like the virus hiding somewhere out there
perhaps next week I will shelter-in-place
watching for cars outside my window
Sunday, March 1, 2020
It's All Over Except For The Shouting
As I write, the South Carolina Democrat primary is over and the all important Super Tuesday primaries are coming up in just two days. Joe Biden managed to stay important with a 30 point victory margin. However Bernie Sanders (according to Five Thirty Eight) is still the odds on favorite to win Super Tuesday and advance to the July Democrat party convention with the most delegates in hand, although maybe not enough to secure the nomination. The only other person who may figure into the race is Mayor Bloomberg, whose billions bought him name recognition but whose lack of personality was priceless.
But let me say this to all my liberal friends and family who may be convinced that Bernie, Joe or Mike actually has a chance of beating Donald in November. The political world has been and is currently rapidly undergoing a fundamental shift in alliances. In probably appears to you and to your friends that Progressive ideology is winning and the revolution is at hand when in truth just the opposite has been happening. This shift has been so fast that it doesn't matter who the Democrat Party runs in 2020. He or she will lose, the margins may be huge and there is a real possibility that your party will splinter and not recover for decades.
The first trend is with the African-American electric. In 2016 Donald Trump collected just 8% of that voting group, which is about average for Republicans in past Presidential elections. Several months ago 3 different polls showed Trump with an average 33% favorable rating with Blacks. Those numbers increased to 40% in a poll released 2 weeks ago. There are several reasons why, not the least of which is the Democrat Party's surge to far left social positions. So it's not just about Trump popularity but also about a movement away from the traditional alliance Blacks have had with the Democrat Party.
Twenty-seven per cent of overall Democrat votes come from the Black community. I'm not saying that President Trump will increase his share from 8 to 30% votes in 2020, but if he increases to 15% or even 12% with Blacks then it is game over (for a long time).
In may shock you but President Trump's approval rating in the Hispanic community is also over forty per cent (he received 28% in 2016). There are a lot of reasons for this as well (some the same as with the Black community) but the important thing to note is that the numbers are increasing. Forty per cent of those who attend Trump rallies in places like New Mexico are Hispanic.
The current Democrat Party is rapidly losing their traditional support from White working class voters in industrial states. In 2016 Trump's narrow victories in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and one other industrial state were because of this. In those states there were a total of 200 counties that had voted blue by a twenty point margin since the 1980's who voted red by a 20 point margin in 2016. Those voters have not been given any reason to flip back. In fact I predict they were just the tip of an oncoming iceberg
Which leads to the next interesting point. Trump received about the same total number of votes as Romney did in 2012. That means that if he overperformed in the traditional Democrat white working class he underperformed in another area. And I can tell you for certain that area was with Evangelical voters who did not believe that Trump would do what he promised and were put off by the person. Many either voted third party or did not vote. Many are still put off by the person but are thrilled by what President Trump has accomplished in regards to pro-life, pro-Christian, pro-Israel efforts and by the 2 Supreme Court selections and the 200 Federal and Circuit Court judges chosen and confirmed.
President Trumps approval rating in his party is over 90%. That is higher at this point in a Presidency than ANY OTHER PRESIDENT - EVER. Unlike most other politicians he has kept or at least tried to keep almost every one of his campaign promises. From pro-life to judges to building up the military to getting other countries to pay their fair share be it NATO funding or trade agreements, to a middle class tax cut to reducing Federal regulations and the size of the Federal government to moving our embassy to Jerusalem to eliminating ISIS to reducing our military presence in the Middle-East to removing the government mandate in Obama Care to reducing the flow of illegal immigrants across the Southern border to shaking things up in the Washington swamp, Trump has followed through.
And of course there is the economy stupid, which has been robust in almost every historic metric under Trump and where most people actually feel and understand that it has been. The average American votes on how they think the economy is treating them.
So a note on the Corona Virus where the stock market has seen a sharp drop because of fear and the disruption of supply chains. This really could not have come at a better time for President Trump. The Dow average rose from a 18,000 high when President Obama left to 29,000 in just over 3 years under Trump. It was due for a major correction and the virus and disruptions were as good any reasons to get the needed correction. Drugs to treat the virus will be available within 3 months, factories for Apple and others in China are starting to open again, and by fall it will all be a distant memory.
The move toward rejecting globalism and embracing nationalism has been happening throughout Europe. The effects of large immigrant communities not adapting to a countries traditional norms and beliefs has been a huge factor there. While we in America do not have massive immigration of Muslim populations from Northern Africa and the Mid-East who live separated in their own communities it should not be underestimated how important the issue of illegal immigration is to the vast majority of average American. It was one of the main issues Trump ran on. The current Democrat position of open borders and universal amnesty of illegals is not a winning political argument. And by calling President Trump racist on the issue it is at the same time calling everyone else who agrees with him racist.
If Bernie Sanders comes into the convention with enough delegates he will get the nomination. He has already surrendered Florida because of the Cuban vote. He will be positioned not as a Scandinavian Socialist (which he is not) but rather as a Marxist/Communist which he and a couple of the top people in his campaign actually are. The motivation on the Republican side (already very high) will be huge. There will be a fever pitch of excitement with the Bernie true believers but it will not be enough to overcome those Dems who will sit this one out. Bernie will lose by historic margins.
If Sanders comes into the convention with out a clear majority of delegates it is very likely that the DNC will go with someone else. Let us say Sleepy Joe. Now Biden might make the race a little closer (although he has his own problems) except for one major problem How will the Bernie Bros react? Will they riot? Will they want Bernie to go third party? Will many of them sit out or even some of them vote Trump? A third party run by whomever will mean a 50 state sweep for Trump.
One last word on trends. Unlike what you may have heard, the percentage of the White population is not shrinking in America. Historic trends show that not only do 70% of Americans identify as White but that 70 per cent will remain constant for many decades forward. The major immigrant population in America is Hispanic.Ten per cent of first generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Forty per cent of second generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Seventy to ninety per cent of third generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Most of the offspring of those that intermarry identify themselves as White and adopt the same (mostly Conservative) values.
So come November, even though the media and your friends have assured you that Bernie has it in the bag and no one of right mind would ever vote for Trump again, remember to take a deep breath, stay calm, and if you want to make a little extra money, invest in some Pence 2024 buttons.
But let me say this to all my liberal friends and family who may be convinced that Bernie, Joe or Mike actually has a chance of beating Donald in November. The political world has been and is currently rapidly undergoing a fundamental shift in alliances. In probably appears to you and to your friends that Progressive ideology is winning and the revolution is at hand when in truth just the opposite has been happening. This shift has been so fast that it doesn't matter who the Democrat Party runs in 2020. He or she will lose, the margins may be huge and there is a real possibility that your party will splinter and not recover for decades.
The first trend is with the African-American electric. In 2016 Donald Trump collected just 8% of that voting group, which is about average for Republicans in past Presidential elections. Several months ago 3 different polls showed Trump with an average 33% favorable rating with Blacks. Those numbers increased to 40% in a poll released 2 weeks ago. There are several reasons why, not the least of which is the Democrat Party's surge to far left social positions. So it's not just about Trump popularity but also about a movement away from the traditional alliance Blacks have had with the Democrat Party.
Twenty-seven per cent of overall Democrat votes come from the Black community. I'm not saying that President Trump will increase his share from 8 to 30% votes in 2020, but if he increases to 15% or even 12% with Blacks then it is game over (for a long time).
In may shock you but President Trump's approval rating in the Hispanic community is also over forty per cent (he received 28% in 2016). There are a lot of reasons for this as well (some the same as with the Black community) but the important thing to note is that the numbers are increasing. Forty per cent of those who attend Trump rallies in places like New Mexico are Hispanic.
The current Democrat Party is rapidly losing their traditional support from White working class voters in industrial states. In 2016 Trump's narrow victories in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and one other industrial state were because of this. In those states there were a total of 200 counties that had voted blue by a twenty point margin since the 1980's who voted red by a 20 point margin in 2016. Those voters have not been given any reason to flip back. In fact I predict they were just the tip of an oncoming iceberg
Which leads to the next interesting point. Trump received about the same total number of votes as Romney did in 2012. That means that if he overperformed in the traditional Democrat white working class he underperformed in another area. And I can tell you for certain that area was with Evangelical voters who did not believe that Trump would do what he promised and were put off by the person. Many either voted third party or did not vote. Many are still put off by the person but are thrilled by what President Trump has accomplished in regards to pro-life, pro-Christian, pro-Israel efforts and by the 2 Supreme Court selections and the 200 Federal and Circuit Court judges chosen and confirmed.
President Trumps approval rating in his party is over 90%. That is higher at this point in a Presidency than ANY OTHER PRESIDENT - EVER. Unlike most other politicians he has kept or at least tried to keep almost every one of his campaign promises. From pro-life to judges to building up the military to getting other countries to pay their fair share be it NATO funding or trade agreements, to a middle class tax cut to reducing Federal regulations and the size of the Federal government to moving our embassy to Jerusalem to eliminating ISIS to reducing our military presence in the Middle-East to removing the government mandate in Obama Care to reducing the flow of illegal immigrants across the Southern border to shaking things up in the Washington swamp, Trump has followed through.
And of course there is the economy stupid, which has been robust in almost every historic metric under Trump and where most people actually feel and understand that it has been. The average American votes on how they think the economy is treating them.
So a note on the Corona Virus where the stock market has seen a sharp drop because of fear and the disruption of supply chains. This really could not have come at a better time for President Trump. The Dow average rose from a 18,000 high when President Obama left to 29,000 in just over 3 years under Trump. It was due for a major correction and the virus and disruptions were as good any reasons to get the needed correction. Drugs to treat the virus will be available within 3 months, factories for Apple and others in China are starting to open again, and by fall it will all be a distant memory.
The move toward rejecting globalism and embracing nationalism has been happening throughout Europe. The effects of large immigrant communities not adapting to a countries traditional norms and beliefs has been a huge factor there. While we in America do not have massive immigration of Muslim populations from Northern Africa and the Mid-East who live separated in their own communities it should not be underestimated how important the issue of illegal immigration is to the vast majority of average American. It was one of the main issues Trump ran on. The current Democrat position of open borders and universal amnesty of illegals is not a winning political argument. And by calling President Trump racist on the issue it is at the same time calling everyone else who agrees with him racist.
If Bernie Sanders comes into the convention with enough delegates he will get the nomination. He has already surrendered Florida because of the Cuban vote. He will be positioned not as a Scandinavian Socialist (which he is not) but rather as a Marxist/Communist which he and a couple of the top people in his campaign actually are. The motivation on the Republican side (already very high) will be huge. There will be a fever pitch of excitement with the Bernie true believers but it will not be enough to overcome those Dems who will sit this one out. Bernie will lose by historic margins.
If Sanders comes into the convention with out a clear majority of delegates it is very likely that the DNC will go with someone else. Let us say Sleepy Joe. Now Biden might make the race a little closer (although he has his own problems) except for one major problem How will the Bernie Bros react? Will they riot? Will they want Bernie to go third party? Will many of them sit out or even some of them vote Trump? A third party run by whomever will mean a 50 state sweep for Trump.
One last word on trends. Unlike what you may have heard, the percentage of the White population is not shrinking in America. Historic trends show that not only do 70% of Americans identify as White but that 70 per cent will remain constant for many decades forward. The major immigrant population in America is Hispanic.Ten per cent of first generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Forty per cent of second generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Seventy to ninety per cent of third generation Hispanics intermarry with Whites. Most of the offspring of those that intermarry identify themselves as White and adopt the same (mostly Conservative) values.
So come November, even though the media and your friends have assured you that Bernie has it in the bag and no one of right mind would ever vote for Trump again, remember to take a deep breath, stay calm, and if you want to make a little extra money, invest in some Pence 2024 buttons.
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