Last year I said, "Here's to hoping 2018 will be a more compassionate caring and empathic world then the one we've experienced in 2017".
Yeah well we all know how well that turned out.
This year I have two words each of us should think about...
Personal Responsibility
Years ago when I attended what was then 'Central Jr. High' it's principle Carroll Parks had those two words plastered in every classroom. He also instructed teachers to explain what this meant. I think it was as good a lesson back then and it is now. What I would like everyone reading this to ponder is what those two words mean to you. For me it means... In 2018 a lot of the misery was based on peoples refusal to accept reasonability. It was a year filled with all kinds of finger pointing ranging from politics to road rage. Neither you nor I can change the world. What each of us can do is change our attitudes towards adversity. If we can't even manage changing ourselves how could we ever expect to change the world?
Realistically I don't expect next year to be different then the last but it's still worth repeating Michael Jackson's message over and over again in the hopes one day his words may finally sink in.
Obama to Use Executive Action to Secure Southern US Border (06/2014)
Oh my-- was that Trump or Obama speaking?
Let us not pretend this is something new. What is new is the way this president carries on like he's the only one who has ever had to deal with this problem. Shutting down the government and screaming at Democrats is not the answer.
Obama had to deal with inaction for 6 years under Republican control of congress while Trump has been only dealing with them for the last 2 years. Instead of a childish hissy fit maybe Trump ought to reach out to Obama and the two of them get together since they both are mostly on the same page. We pretend like there's some huge difference between the previous administrations over this issue when in reality there is not.
I could scream everytime I hear-- Republicans or Democrats are this or that. Damnit we're all Americans. Democrats are not alien invaders from some other planet. Neither are Republicans. But you'd never know it the way people are acting.
"The song from Carey’s 1994 album “Merry Christmas” soared to the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s global top 200 chart on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."
Yeah it did but here's the thing that annoys me. While by-and-large Mariah gets all the credit it's not hers alone. It was co-written by Walter Afanasieff who seldom is mentioned.
Walter Afanasieff's interview in 2014...
ASCAP writer-producer Walter Afanasieff has won multiple Grammys and written and/or produced some of the best-selling singles of all time, including Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."
AND hundreds more! Including some for Kenny G, Michael Bolton, Savage Garden and Barbra Streisand to name a few.
The take away on this. Whether it be in music, the movies or on stage it takes lots of people to make so-called stars look good. Composers, costume, makeup, writers, sound/lighting, set/stage designers, editors, computer programmers and all so many more. Without these working behind the scenes, unknown except to the insiders, there'd be practically no stars.
In other words it takes a hellva lot of people to make any one person look good. Same as it does in every other kind of endeavor whether it be in entertainment, the military, politics or any other situation where people appear larger then life.
The president just signed the "First Step Act" allowing none violent federal offenders to get out early. According to Wikipedia... Former mayor Pawlowski was sentenced to 15 years. Let's take a quick look at the math and see how this might benefit him. Under part (i) the number of credited days could total up to 120 a year. Under part (ii) an additional 60 days. So if Pawlowski were to meet both of these requirements he could reduce his sentencing by 180 days (6 months) yearly.
In other words by the end of 10 years he could be credited with 5 years off his sentencing under this act. In addition another 54 days per year credit for "good conduct". Meaning in a best case scenario the former mayor could serve as few as 8 1/2 years or thereabouts.
If I were God of the universe this is the way I'd like to see the federal shutdown work. No pain. No gain. The problem is they no longer take shutdowns seriously. Since they themselves are unaffected they have no skin in the game. I'd bet things would change real quick if they did.
Of course this will never happen since they get to set the rules of the game. But wouldn't it have been nice if our founders had put it into the constitution? Course they never could have imagined leaders one day could wield such financial power over citizens.
Oh we easily could blame Trump but truth is every federal politician deserves equal credit for this mess.
Both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate were equally content in passing a bipartisan "continuing resolution" bill forwarding it to members in the 'House'. It was at this point Trump pulled the rug out by threatening to veto it without the funding for "his" border wall. House members crumbled. At this point they voted and approved $5.7b more for Trump's border wall request. Then tossed it back to the Senate where everything came to a screeching halt.
Here's why I said there was no reason for this shutdown. Initially all members agreed to a simple clean "continuing resolution". Why are they now kowtowing to Trump's demands? Congress could override a Trump veto with 2/3rds a majority coming from both the Senate and House. Since they don't seem to have the guts to oppose Trump they own it too.
Congress has always proudly stated it's main power is that over the purse. Apparently not anymore. Of the three branches Congress is the most important one. They set the laws the president and courts must follow Sadly right now the courts and president are running the show because of congress's failure to agree on just about anything.
Our form of democracy is being tested like never before. Our founders designed this country so it would have checks and balances on each of it's branches of power. They never wanted neither the judicial, legislative nor the executive branches to go unchecked. If any one of the three fail to live up to their responsibilities the whole system is in danger of collapse.
"Police officers, in fact, generally are not under any legal obligation to protect citizens who are not in their custody... “Neither the Constitution, nor state law, impose a general duty upon police officers or other governmental officials to protect individual persons from harm — even when they know the harm will occur,” said Darren L. Hutchinson, a professor and associate dean at the University of Florida School of Law. “Police can watch someone attack you, refuse to intervene and not violate the Constitution.”"
Does the same thing apply to another cop or the judge being shot at?
Look if all they're going to do is write a report up I could hire stenographers for a whole lot less.
Either I'm living in another universe or severely laboring under a misapprehension of how I thought things were suppose to work.
"For the first time in 13 years, Allentown residents will see a property tax increase."
This works out to an average of 2.07 percent per year. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On one hand that's not too terribly unreasonable. On the other, 27 percent in one giant leap comes as quite a surprise. What went mostly unrecognized Allentown's revenue nearly doubled over the last 13 years. These revenues mostly came from many other sources most taxpayers were unaware of. The problem here is this particular increase comes solely from property owners making this increase a lot more apparent. Thus becoming quite a hot button issue.
For most taxpayers this should amount to $25 a month or less. When I look back over my cable, car payment, insurance bills and others over the last 13 years they each went up a hellva' lot more. Rentals most certainly did. I bet so did most people's salaries.
Look, I'm not trying to justify whether this increase was needed or not. What I'm trying to point out is when you put this in perspective it isn't as bad as it sounds. Although it sure would be nice if candidates running for office would have been honest enough to prepare us for this so we could plan accordingly.
Once again I reinstate-- Rather then bitching them out, if anyone has any good ideas I'm sure council and the mayor are both more then willing to entertain them.
Stick a fork in it... Out of the three major networks 'Saturday Night Live' comes in dead last most weeks. There's a good reason for that-- they aren't funny. Not unless you find humor in making a dick out of other people. The other day I posted about the bygone era when comedians mostly made fun of themselves or some situation we could all relate to. Over the years SNL has steadily gone off the rails attacking public figures. Not exactly a great path to take far as I'm concerned.
Think back to the original cast. Laraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, and Chevy Chase. Later on came Bill Murray, Al Franken, and Eddy Murphy to name a few. You'd be hard pressed to come up with any of their bits trashing public figures. If SNL did a bit on a public figure it was done with a good natured ribbing in mind.
I'll embed a couple of clips that show why SNL is nothing like it use to be. Maybe Lorne Michaels ought to take a look back and see why his show is tanking.
This post is a reminder if you haven't already it's still not too late to get vaccinated against the flue. There's been an uptick in the number of confirmed flu infections here in Pennsylvania.
It will only get worse from here. Peak flu season is in January and February. However it can run late as March before it begins to taper off going into April.
This immigration problem is being vastly overstated for political reasons.
Current estimates are there's only 2,500 immigrants still waiting to get in at our southern border. Each and every day it's estimated there are 6,775 deaths per day in the United States. The number of births per day around 10,829. Thus our current population growth is 4,054 people per day. This works out to 1,479,710 more people per year.
Even if we were to approve all of the original 5,000 immigrants they'd only represent a one time growth of less then .33%.
All 5,000 would amount to about half of the babies born in just one day.
We can think of this in yet another way. If all 5,000 were spread out across each of our states it would amount to less then 100 in each. Far less then most of our smallest towns and villages. Hell even less then the average size apartment complex for that matter. By the way.. Lincoln Financial Field's capacity is 69,176. Coca-Cola Park in Allentown capacity is 10,000 (8,100 seats). J. Birney Crum Stadium 15,000. PPL Center 8,500.
There's nothing wrong with reviewing our immigration policies, but let us not exploit them for political purposes. This isn't a national emergency. There are far larger issues to concern ourselves with. Like our financial support for the Saudi's ongoing war in Yemen. According to the UN and other sources, from March 2015 to December 2017, 8,670–13,600 people have been killed. A national debt of $21 trillion and growing. To name only two.
I consider this little more then manufactured crisis exploiting peoples' insecurities for political advantage. Protectionism at it's worst. Something evil leaders in the past hitched their horses to. Which had disastrous consequences.
* When all of us could relate knowing somebody like this guy...
Talk about self-deprecating humor...
There's lots of ways to be funny without it being at the expense of others. Matter-of-fact the funniest stuff came from comedians making an idiot of themselves.
We're becoming a nation of renters. I don't see this as a good thing. Car and home ownership is becoming out of reach. It's always better to own rather then be subjugated to the terms and conditions set by others who have their own best interest in mind. It's almost like being beholden to a master.
New vehicles have become so expensive many are opting to lease instead. There's a few problems as I see it. (1) In two or three years lessees are forced out of their much needed transportation. Sometimes costing them more at the end for things they haven't factored in such as exceeding mileage or vehicle wear. (2) If one purchases a vehicle they can determine when they can best afford another one. Who knows in two or three years what one's financial situation might be. Maybe hanging on to a vehicle for a few years longer would be someone's best option to avoid financial difficulties. (3) Scheduled maintenance is not an option for a lessee. I'll give you one bad example. My son leased a van. The dealer forced him in for an oil change. They overfilled it causing the engine to blow out the crankshaft oil gasket. They demanded he pay $300 for the repair.
Housing rentals are a terrible option.(1) Some charge extra or won't allow pets. (2) Nuisance complaints are handled by the property owner rather then police. Police can't evict people for noise complaints, outside decorations and the all so many restrictions apartment owners come up with. (3) Mortgages payments are spelled out contractually. Apartment owners can raise them to most anything they desire. (4) Twenty or thirty years after paying rent you are entitled to nothing. Owning something on the other hand means you have a tangible asset of value. (5) Even crazier yet is to "buy" a property and still be obligated to pay condo fees. In most cases it's a hellva lot cheaper to pay contractors for repairs and maintenance only when necessary
Don't think for a moment government isn't encouraging this. Some cities have relaxed their single housing zoning requirements. Here in Pennsylvania there have been a number of multimillion government grants to help developers convert so-called historic structures into rental units (including right here in the Lehigh Valley).
While I'm on the subject-- why become a rental employee? I'm talking about being hired by a firm subcontracted to employ workers for a company. Companies are required by law to follow certain rules for their employees. Companies are able to skirt many of these protections by the use of a subcontracted third party jobber. In other words legally speaking, temp agencies. Others hire their labor as independent contractors. Both which means such a worker is being rented out to them on a day-to-day or hourly basis under whatever terms of their choosing.
Seems to me... We should never buy a new car we can't afford. Buy a used one instead. Hang on to it till you can afford a better one. Rather then rent try to find a mortgage that would be in line with what you now pay in rent. For a long time people bought a "starter home. After a few years flipped it for something better as their earnings grew along with the value of their home. As far as jobs are concerned-- no one should ever settle for less then being actually hired by a firm itself. Perhaps at the same time seeking to make themselves more attractive by acquiring greater skills. It wouldn't hurt to start up a little side business on your own either.
The point is all too many of us are allowing ourselves to become enslaved by making wrong choices. Anytime we allow ourselves to be indebted we become beholden. In order to free ourselves as much as possible we need to release those ties which allow others to control us by financial means whenever possible.
Lehigh Valley Business.com-- While the bank said it will maintain a corporate presence in Allentown, there will be some other positions eliminated in Allentown as a result of the changes.
BB&T joins the ever growing list of those coming and going. These businesses, much like it's residents, are renters. Nearly every new property built is for renters Not ownership. No wonder so few are concerned with the city's future over the long haul.
In the 50's when Allentown was in it's heydays nearly every business owned the property they did business out of. This was most certainly the case with those who were displaced by the NIZ a few years ago. The way things are in Allentown it's more like a campground then a city. This explains why Allentown is the way it is.
Frankly I had no intention of watching. Now I'm happy I did. Here are a few of my reflections on the event.
This went very well with just the right amount of humorous anecdotes while still maintaining dignity of the occasion. I think #41 should be well pleased. Many of the old stories had Donald Trump laughing. Seldom something I seen him do.
Usually I don't enjoy the musical selections. However in this case I enjoyed each and every one of them.
This was billed as more of a celebration of his life rather then a funeral. Yes there were some heart rendering moments but those were inner dispersed with humor as each speaker recalled their fond memories of him.
Most importantly it was a 100% politically free event. Very refreshing considering the National Cathedral was loaded with current and past leaders of all stripes. Exactly what Bush 41 wanted. People to come together if only for two hours to experience the common bonds each of us can relate to.
He wasn't perfect. Nobody is. What this memorial service reminded me is each of us one day shall pass. One day we will be judged for the good acts we've accomplished and those in which we faltered. In the case of George H.W. Bush most certainly his good deeds will remain as a measure to those of us left behind. Let us learn from them.
Newspapers could be on their way out. They're facing difficult business models making them decreasingly less profitable. Compounding this difficulty are greedy investors.
"These hedge-fund scavengers know nothing about journalism and care less. They’re ruthless Wall Street profiteers out to grab big bucks fast.
They slash journalistic and production staff, void employee benefits, shrivel the paper’s size and news content, sell the presses and other assets, and triple the price of their inferior product — and then declare bankruptcy, shut down the paper, and auction off the bones before moving on to plunder another town’s paper"
Reporters and news media face lots of challenges if they are to continue. People have demonstrated time and again their unwillingness to pay for online content. So too local advertisers share much of that same reluctance. Most people get their local information from social media. As do newspapers and TV in many cases these days because of staff reductions.
This may be fine for car accidents, assaults, robberies, neighborhood complaints and the like. However without a financially well off news organization having a robust number of investigative reporters this does nothing to provide oversight of government. Perhaps the very reason why the 1st amendment was enacted and that which should be their number one mission. Only robust well financed operations can afford to confront those who'd otherwise crush any individual or small group who tried to expose corruption. Indeed we do rely on government to take care of these things but it's the news media who calls them out when it fails to do it's job or when because of budget cuts government is unable.
Ok now we know the problem. What's the solution? Well the first step is to break up these huge chains thereby making them less attractive to wall street investors. No group of investors should be allowed to own more then say two or three newspapers (like in the old days).
The second step would be to refocus almost entirely on local issues. These should be on the front page and at top of the webpage viewers first come across. In other words localize it. Investigative pieces should come first. News that will actually affect people second. All else behind those two.
Next comes the revenue problem The first thing that comes to mind is reporters don't need a desk and office in a expensive building to get the job done. They could quite easily work at home or file their stories from out in the field. When needed show up at shared workspaces and conference rooms provided. About the only thing a reporter needs is a recorder and computer to get the job done.
A la carte pricing for various subscription delivery. For those online who wish to view advertisement free there'd be an offering for a small fee. Those who insist on hard copy home delivery there could be two levels. One the way it's done now (tossed out a car window). Another delivered right to the door with additional coupons and features published separately not offered elsewhere either online or at the lower tier.
Shared reporting. There's no sense paying separate reporters to duplicate the same reporting as another newspaper, radio or TV station. Why not coordinate? Perhaps several small independent newspapers, radio and TV stations could financially contribute to the formation of a separate organization to gather their news. This would also help offset the costs for expensive investigative reporting they'd otherwise not be able to afford. Sort of like a mini AP (Associated Press) designed just for this region.
Finally there is this.
Just what if all the laid off media people got together and created a commercially sponsored website? There's no reason why they couldn't create a startup offering a little competition to those who've shunned them. When Huffington Post started out nobody thought it would amount of a hill of beans. Look where they are today. Hey ya never know.
Bush Senior's Debate With Reagan On Immigration 1980
On Climate Change (1990)
George H. W. Bush Rally in !992 The election he lost
Of course I don't agree with everything he said at the rally but he sure beat the hell of what we're stuck with today.
Three things I remember most about him....
He knew how to win and when to start a war (Kuwait). What the objectives were, then get out. The man new foreign powers like few before. Reagan knew that too. That's why he appointed him as his vice president.
Thirdly, he valued family and people above all else.
My hopes for the United States is one day we shall have another leader as compassionate, well spoken and knowledgeable as George H.W. Bush was. I may not always agree with everything he said or did, but he was as fine a person who has ever lived. May the United States be blessed once again to be led by someone so great as he.
At this point the Morning Call Christmas party for all their employees and families would be lucky to fill a shipping container. Course a shipping container might be just the thing since they'll all probably be shipped out before long the way this is going.
I wonder how many remember the famous acts that once appeared at The Roxy. The following is a partial listing of those who appeared with the sponsorship under the former owner of WSAN radio. These acts appeared after WSAN switched from Top 40 to a progressive format. Shortly thereafter Z95 simulated WSAN's new format. Since Z95 had a better FM signal quality listeners began to leave WSAN. But while it lasted WSAN was king of the hill spanning several years for those fans of the newer up and coming performers. There were three main jocks during this period. Bob Ross, Harvey Musselman (the owner's son) and one other whose name I can't remember.
I assumed these performers came here to try out their new material before they took it to the big expensive venues all across the country. Which means we got to hear them first at a fraction of the cost. As I recall less then $10. Here's a list of many of the performers.
Something also worth mentioningMuhlenberg College use to do some of these too. I recall sitting down casually speaking with Steve Perry of Journey. I stopped him when he came from the back after talking with his sound guy. We spoke for three or four minutes. This was before anyone even recognized who he was previous to them hitting the big time.
Other artists included.... Counting Crows (10/14/2001), Los Lobos (10/12/1987), The Hooters (02/26/1986), The Stray Cats (01/27/1994), The Prentenders (02/04/1982), Harry Chapin (11/15/1980), The Kinks (02/26/1980), Al Stewart (11/06/1976), ELO, Ian Mathews and the Beach Boys (1966) to name some of them.
Indeed the Lehigh Valley was somewhat of a music Mecca before Musikfest or the PPL Center ever existed. In fact there were 100's of groups going back to 1958 who appeared at the Allentown Fairgrounds. One of my favorites was Jefferson Airplane. Grace Slick got crazy. Not only she invited those on the outside to come inside free but invited as many who could fit on stage as they performed.
One of the other memories was when concert promoters thought it was a good idea to pull in a farm wagon loaded with baskets of oranges to throw into the audience. For those handlers if ever planning to do it again I recommend wearing rain gear and equip yourselves with umbrellas. You'll need them both to repel all the INCOMING FRUIT MISSILES aimed at ya :-)
Ah the good times we old codgers had. Don't tell the kids. It'll spoil their image of us as well behaved citizens at their age in little old boring Lehigh Valley. Ssssh don't tell them about great grandpa's visits to the Saturday night burlesque shows at the Lyric either. Just tell them we all sat around the radio listening to Patti Page growing up.
"What the alt-right desires is an America where whites maintain some semblance of power over anyone of color if not outright ethnic cleansing. Their rhetoric of Heritage is pure myth, a fabrication of a false past, creating memory where none existed."
They say, "There's more than one way to crack a nut". The same goes for different musical arrangements. A great composition is always a great composition no matter how it's rearranged if done right.
If there's one sure fire way to get people fired up it's when they are getting their pockets picked. Kind of works that way between countries as well. Something to think about when it comes to trade deals. More then one war got started this way.
ON ANOTHER SIMILAR SUBJECT
Ever notice in countries where the economy collapses chaos ensues. Not long after refuges begin to flee in huge numbers. Seems to me the refugee problems can be attributable to the economic woes in their home countries from which they are attempting to flee. These refugee problems are a result of sanctions and unfair trade deals.
Here's a crazy idea. We should negotiate trade deals giving priority to needy countries over our current partners who are doing quite well. Those in poor countries whose labor would not only be more appreciative but work for far less money. Manufacture items and grow crops that would be tariff free with promises to import certain volumes. Both our economies and consumers would be better off for it.
This could be achieved through tax incentives for companies to build and buy in these underdeveloped countries for things that wouldn't greatly impact our own labor force. Some examples are agricultural products indigenous to these poorer countries. The tedious and time consuming task of assembling parts our engineers design and manufacture here could be done in theirs. Allow greater numbers of foreign workers exclusively from a select number of poor nations prone to refugees fleeing to work here for a few months doing the jobs most Americans don't want.
Doing anything towards this direction is better then the policies we have in place. I don't see how threatening desperate people at the point of a gun is going to make them any less desperate. Poverty ALWAYS leads to violence. Either we can choose a path towards helping to make these people economically sustainable or continue treating them as vermin. One speaks well of the United States. The other, a country who deserves no more respect then other nations who fallen before it.
Not every tree has a nickname, but 'The President' in California has earned it. This giant sequoia stands at 247 feet tall & is estimated to be over 3,200 years old. Imagine, this tree was already 700 years old during the height of ancient Greece's civilization and 1200 years old when Jesus lived and Rome was well into its rule of most of the western world and points beyond.
The trunk of The President measures at 27 feet across with 2 BILLION needles From base to top.
National Geographic photographers have worked along with scientists to try and create the first photo that shows the President in all its glory. They had to Climb the tree with pulleys and levers, and took thousands of photos. Of those, they selected 126 and stitched them together, to get this incredible portrait of the President. And here it is:
The man standing near the trunk of the tree is a good indicator of the tree's size.
I'll admit I'm a little late to the party but this had to be one of the greatest musical films in 2017. The two most important elements was the music itself...
And the message the film contained-- we all deserve respect. Rich, poor or those considered freakish.
Very uplifting for me especially in such times as these.
Oft times those in control of congress would have us believe they speak for the majority of people. Statistics indicate otherwise.
History shows us the majority of people aren't always right, but neither should members of congress discount other views they are suppose to take into consideration. Failing to do so places our democracy at risk.
So what's going on? Are we just some experimental software algorithm playing out? Previously archived files on a server as testament to days gone past? Perhaps three dimensional beings limited and unaware of other dimensional beings living beyond our own?
There can be no better example of failure by the American schools then that when comes to teaching civics classes. Apparently most of the people in United States (including it's politicians) have little clue how voting works. It seems nearly everyone believes in instant results This is especially true of our paranoid president who has the impression there is some sort of con going on if all the results are not made official with 24 hours.
Hopefully these two links will help educate some folks who never paid attention in Civics Class, never had one, missed a semester in high school or dropped out before 9th grade.
IN SUMMARY Vote tabulators from one end of this country to the other are not in on some giant scheme to defraud voters. Frankly it takes a sick mind to think all these people are reprehensible and untrustworthy as some of the candidates they're required to certify for office.
To my way of thinking there are two kinds of people bitching when it comes to this vote counting controversy. Those who are guilty themselves of what they claim others to be. The other too dumb to know any better.
I have a few thoughts running through my mind after watching this video. First off is how close we are coming to know how this universe actually functions. Experiments have proven when it comes to the exact same quantum experiments any number of outcomes can result. There are no wrongs. It all depends on what outcome you're expecting. In other words all things can exist at the same moment. Thus time is an illusion that owes it's existence to whatever differences an observer expects an outcome to be. So in truth time has no basis. This is getting petty close to explaining what we misunderstand eternity to be when in fact there may only the here and now. It's only when we limit ourselves by expecting certain outcomes they appear as such.
This is why us mere mortals will never be capable of immersing ourselves into the greater whole. All our physical being (including our brain) relies on a series of events. Never will we be capable of assimilating simultaneously all events at once. For us we are doomed to be forever limited in our observations for that which we are only physically capable of. One could assume from this our so-called God whom we think exist separate from us isn't at all. Instead everyone of us and everything are only aspects of the same thing all occurring at once.
The video brought up another consideration. Could so-called artificial intelligence one day replace us either peacefully or by other means? I don't see how it wouldn't be possible. Whatever this quantum conundrum is would still remain as it always has. It's not dependant who it observes but rather the observers who prefer to continue observing. Whose to say machines have not already? Could us humans just be some archived recorded memories that once existed before intelligence evolved? Perhaps every war, every death and all that comes before or after may be nothing more then an outcome to some really vast experimental quantum equations being carried out far beyond our limited human comprehension.
One thing is for certain. Deep within us all buried deep inside there is knowledge in the beginning we all came from the same place as one. The core element that shall forever remain a timeless eternal part to all that exist. Retreat to the comfort in knowing these things. By doing so we will come to realize we're one of many expressions to whom we are a part of as one without end.
Imagine if you will what would happen if banks and retailers would conduct business the same way states do when it comes to voting. I mean, come on really how hard could it be to create a national database fed by each registration office who would issue these individual cards.
People would have 24 hours to either physically swipe their cards at a location or enter them online. Thus ending these insanely long lines, the need for so many poll volunteers or wait days, sometimes weeks for election results.
Security: (1) It wouldn't be that hard to have triple verification. Each use of the card would go to three separate banks of servers administered by three separate entities. All which would have to match.
(2) Each person gets a separate transaction number which either they or the polling station prints out helping prevent duplicate voting. Everyone who wished could check online their transaction number to verify their votes were recorded correctly.
(3) Any stolen, missing cards or incorrect votes could be invalidated attributable to any particular card.
(4) If each county registration office had access to some sort of national database it would make it a lot easier for them to verify a person's citizenship status and whether they were registered in other states at the same time.
I honestly don't see why we make this so damned harder then things have to be. Maybe we just like bitching more then actually solving these kind of problems each and every election.
My general impressions are... Neither party was given a mandate. Even though some house members were replaced by Democrats the vote spreads were only a couple percentage points apart. Hardly a mandate. I wasn't expecting a 'blue wave' however I would have thought the spreads would have been further apart.
Question remains will Trump tone down his divisive rhetoric or get worse once Democrats in the House start putting pressure on him?
Whether it be in the House or Senate neither party has enough votes to do any kind of meaningful legislation unless there is a bipartisan agreement put forth on the bill under consideration.
Generally speaking most conservative votes came from rural areas and those for liberals urban areas.
Things were less predictable because usually heavy turn outs mean incumbents are likely to lose seats. In this election there was nearly the same turn out supporting incumbents as there were those hoping to unseat them.
Those wishing things would settle down in Washington D.C. are going to be disappointed. Democrats no doubt will conduct a bunch of investigations into Trump. The purpose of which is to make him look as bad as possible if he should decide to run for a second term. Yes folks as soon as one silly season ends the next begins with this bunch. It's a never ending cycle with sometimes a bit of work getting done for the people who elected them.
Here's a voting tip. The wife and I deliberately went when the rain was at it heaviest around 9:30 am. This allowed for us to take only 18 minutes out of our day from the time we left the house till we returned after voting. Kinda figured most people would try avoiding a downpour :-)
Our polling place had around 145 who already cast their votes. About 20 more then some of the others I heard about.
Ed Rendell is making the rounds in Allentown. I saw some people taking selfies with him. Gee, I sure hope he doesn't skip voting.
"Not everyone is convinced, though, and skeptics have already formed a Facebook group about the proposed change. Those skeptics include the head of the local teachers union, and a chorus of parents."
When the cops arrive at a shooting how can they differentiate between the two?
The other problem. After some kid gets killed in the crossfire by a school employee there will be one hellva lawsuit.
How can we be certain some kid won't get a hold one of these guns? They'd have to be in easy reach of teachers to be of any use. Places like desk drawers or concealed on their person. After all they wouldn't do much good locked in a file cabinet or closet would they?
It's been said "only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with one". Please define "good guys". Can we safely assume every student, teacher, janitor and administrators are all "good guys" who will never whack out?
Considering all the present day division Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury recorded this most fitting piece in 1985. My hope is we can all benefit from their musical message.
Call it what you like. Karma or self inflicted pain, but we can't solve this problem by military force or starving them out. The resolution lies in making their countries more livable through trade agreements (SAFTA) and dealing with these governments through the state department (not the pentagon). We once relied heavily on the state department negotiations to avoid these situations. Not just in this country but others with the problems they're seeing as well. Instead Donald is using the state department as a messenger to deliver threats to other nation's economies and our potential use of force. Obviously diplomacy is not in Trump's vocabulary.
Here's an immediate solution for the time being. The United States should negotiate with one or more of these countries in setting up safe haven areas inside and just outside their borders for these people. Then work towards making economic deals to help these impoverished nations Eventually this would enable these immigrants to return once they felt it were safe enough and there were at least some economic opportunities in their home countries.
The reason people flee is because crime is rampant. Crime is the result of people turning to crime when all other hope is lost. Take for example South American agriculture. Farmers too poor to live off coffee beans, fruit/vegetables or tobacco will produce far more lucrative crops like cocaine, marijuana and heroin. Hence any wonder why drugs are flowing into this country? And of course what follows is all kinds of violence. What we have now is a situation where these immigrants fear less getting shot by our military then the people back home.
This isn't rocket science. The solution to drugs and crime cannot be found at the end of a gun. We've been trying this for years and it's not working. What is needed is "fair trade" and enabling security not just for us but for them as well. We have a choice here. Either we spend 10x's as much to fight them off and/or detain them here. Or we could spend money to house them in their own countries where the economic costs would be a fraction we're likely spend under present policy.
Besides it's always better to make more friends then enemies.
According to Quorum The 115th Congress is among the oldest in history-- "Today the average American is 20 years younger than their representative in Congress... The average age of the Democratic House leadership is 72 years old, whereas the average age of Republican House leadership is 48 years old.
How about the those also likely to run for president in 2020?
I'm reading all kinds of stupid stuff candidates of both parties are saying. It's like a competition between certain members of either party trying to out crazy the other's. The important thing is to stay focused on the things that will really matter to the people themselves. Here's one of the biggies I've been focusing on....
McConnell Said Tax Cuts Won't Grow Deficit (12/04/2017)
Instead the national debt grew by 17% ($1.2 trillion) this fiscal year.
What is Mitch's solution?
What Would Ronnie Tell Him?
This is the huge difference between the Republican party we're seeing today opposed to what it once was traditionally
Everyone needs to stay focused on this issues instead of what these bat-shit-crazy candidates are saying about one another with their many false attacks. I'll give you a couple of examples. No... Democrats are not paying Honduran immigrants to attack our southern border so they can come here to vote That absolutely makes no sense. This situation can only serve to reinforce Donald's claimed need for a border wall. If any one were being paid it would make more sense for Donald's team to encourage this. Even a stupid Democrat would want to avoid confronting this issue so close to an election. They know no matter what they say it will cost them votes. Notice how most Democrats are avoiding talking about this?
Mob rule-criminal Democrats hyperbole-- I assume noisy relatively peaceful demonstrations are what is being referred to. As far as criminals. There are equal numbers from both parties who've enjoyed their stays at the greybar hotels. Neither party holds a monopoly.
All Republicans are alike.
No they are not. Neither are Democrats.
About the only thing they have in common are some loons who embarrass both parties.
Try to stay focused on the issues which actually affect us. Look behind candidates words. Will they be the kind that will try and work with other members or instead spend their term trying to trash talk their way through to the next election? We already know the problems this country faces-- infrastructure, government waste, immigration, healthcare, foreign policies, social/economic needs, education, immigration, lack of unity and all so many more. Instead of looking of whom to blame these candidates should be addressing how they intend to fix these. Right now there appears to be a lot more self focused opportunist running for office then problem solvers. Then again. It seems that's always the way it's been every election year.
"After instituting a $1.5 trillion tax cut and signing off on a $675 billion budget for the Department of Defense, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the only way to lower the record-high federal deficit would be to cut entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security."
Note: Medicare is not premium free. When you get SS, they deduct about $125 a month from it for Medicare. Then you pay another $100-$135 for Part B to a private insurance company.
Atheists/agnostics don't believe in God's promise of an afterlife in heaven. Since they believe this is as good as it gets and only have one shot at life they are less likely to risk their freedom or their lives by taking foolish chances.
Atheists/agnostics are absent the religious convictions that lead to wars and hatred so many other nations' governments are founded on.
Atheists/agnostics aren't expecting God to bail them out or others (including other species). Thus their inclination towards taking action isn't dependant on prayer to some guy in the sky. Rather dependency within themselves to do what needs to be done.
Atheists/agnostics feel the same passions and compassions as all other humans do. However their moral compass isn't guided by threats from God. They suffer or are rewarded for their actions the same as believers. Difference is believers are left racked by guilt and fear over some future punishment or reward by their God. (Wait till your father gets home!).
Atheists/agnostics don't believe there's a God who favors a country, sports team or sits around all day taking millions of requests by the second.
Imagine if God only exists within?
It's been said-- if there were no God humans would surely invent one to conform to their various ideologies. Let us all visualize for one moment being all alone on this rock called Earth. How would each of us behave towards other species and humans each of us came across knowing our time was limited and there was no life beyond this one? Would we savior those we come across befriending them or instead choose to make them subjugated to us?
Look I don't know what the end game is, but if I were God and there was such a thing as hell-- for many on Earth this is it. Being imprisoned in physical bodies with a limited lifespan and suffering is abundant. If this were to be the only life for many of those who suffer, nonexistence would come as a blessing. All I'm saying is whether one believes in an afterlife or not, everyone would be far better off if we wouldn't impose ourselves on others. Instead help one another get through this with little pain as possible. So far throughout Earth's history it isn't looking so good. God or no God.
"The problem for the GOP started when Workman sued, alleging her impeachment was illegal because the legislature did not actually specify any misconduct and violated her due process... There was no valid state supreme court that could hear the case — all the justices were either suspended or had been replaced with acting justices who then recused themselves"
"The loans are 15- or 30-year fixed with interest rates below market, about 4.5 percent."
All of us remember what happened the last time banks tried this. This time it's quite different and may actually work. Gleaning over the article I see a few things that stand out. Unlike last time these loans will receive $10 billion in backing from banks in the event things start heading South. There's a lot more documentation required to receive approval. Plus applicants would have to go through financial counseling before being considered and have to actually reside in the home. None of which was required when things turned sour ten years ago. Not being forced to buy mortgage insurance should also help as well.
For consumers I would think this would be a better deal then trying to keep up with ever increasing rents. Some which will be higher then these mortgages a few years from now. Sounds like a win for everyone all the way around. Check out the article for more details.
Community Solutions.com: "Ohio counties exempt from SNAP work requirements are disproportionately white. Ohio’s minority populations are much more concentrated in urban areas that are not granted this hardship exemption, despite municipal unemployment rates that are equally high or higher than those in the exempt counties."
Is This Election Rigging? The Washington Post: Republicans may be about to steal an election in Georgia-- "Brian Kemp the Republican nominee for governor, is locked in an extremely tight race with Democrat Stacey Abrams. He also happens to be the secretary of state, the official in charge of all elections in Georgia... Georgia’s population is approximately 32 percent black, according to the U.S. Census, but the list of voter registrations on hold with Kemp’s office is nearly 70 percent black."
Judicial Branch Could Become Politically Biased San Francisco Chronicle: Feinstein, Harris to try to block Trump nominees to 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump is nominating only conservative judges to this district which has ruled against him in the past. This (like just about everything he does) is unlike how this was done in the past. I'm certain this is also Trump's payback to these two Democratic Senators who opposed his supreme court nomination.
Republicans Have a Secret Weapon in the Midterms: Voter Suppression THE DAILY BEAST-- "Many Republicans furious over the treatment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the 2018 elections are likely to see the highest turnout of midterm voters in recent history. But those voters will be confronted by a byzantine array of voter restrictions...
COMMENTARY There's a good argument against gridlock. On the other hand it's far worse when we have either party singularly in control. I've used these stories regarding Republicans because they are in the drivers seat for now. However I have no doubt Democrats are just as capable of trying to pull these shenanigans.
Hence why I urge people to continue voting for whatever party is not in complete control. Republicans in congress mostly kept Clinton and Obama in check. Same went with Democrats in congress under past Republican presidents. When either party in history controlled the whole shooting match things didn't turn out well. Mankind has always been tribal in nature. We can't allow either party to exploit this completely. We've always been a nation of bickering. This is what separates the United States from China, N. Korea, Iran and other nations whose people are far less fortunate because of it.
So go out and vote. Do your duty. Keep either party from becoming too monolithic. Whether be in your town, state or at the federal level everyone needs to elect members whose positions differ from the tribalistic tendencies of those in the party which they claim to belong. Most importantly in this election it's vital we don't allow one single party to remain in control of Washington. Come 2020 who knows. Maybe it will be the other way around and we will have to take a look at what Democrats did in the house if they should gain control.
"Social Security and SSI beneficiaries are normally notified by mail in early December about their new benefit amount. This year, for the first time, most people who receive Social Security payments will be able to view their COLA notice online through their my Social Security account. "
The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $132,900.
Before you get too excited remember Medicare premiums will also rise. Depending on the amount of your monthly SS income your mileage will also vary. Last year I ended up with a $3.70 increase.
I shared a happy meal with my wife to celebrate the occasion
Bob Schieffer addressed this issue in 2011. What he said then is equally relative today.
A MUST WATCH
ATTENTION
This is perhaps the most significant post I've ever done. There is nothing I feel more strongly about then this at the present time.
It doesn't matter what political party one subscribes to or how someone feels about this blog. What does matter is the willingness to take a few moments of time to listen to what these two had to say. Do it for the good of the country. If this doesn't trigger a response there is very little else I can ever say that will.
"The layoffs and transfers will impact more than 30% of Verizon's 153,100-employee workforce - as of the end of June - and are part of a 4-year plan to save the largest U.S. wireless carrier $10 billion by 2021."
I wonder what Verison's going to do with the extra $10 billion?
LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK I'm temporarily adding this to all my posts throughout October. I have a few questions and requests.
(01) Which of these interest you (maybe none of them)? (02) How do you feel about what was said? (03) Are there any you feel need correcting? (04) What could I improve on? (05) Would you subscribe or refer this blog to a friend? (06) What are your impressions of the author (me)? (07) What subjects matter to you that I haven't covered? (08) How often do you visit? (09) Are there topics I should avoid? (10) Do you prefer posts without remarks? (11) If you ever decided to blog what would you blog about?
ON A SIDE NOTE
I call this blog "Lehigh Valley Clancularius Introspectives" for a reason. It is because you'll never know what I come up with next. This is because I have so many varied interests.
Please follow me via email (right sidebar) or through an RSS feed. Even if it's only one or two items you find of interest to you. Thanks, LVCI
"Microsoft's big Windows 10 Update version 1809 is here and... it's also causing a serious problem. One that can't be reversed. If you're not enthusiastic about potentially losing every scrap of data in your user folder such as music, photos and documents, please read on."
Over the years I've found they caused more problems then they were worth. The only one I do is my antiviral ware.
LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK I'm temporarily adding this to all my posts throughout October. I have a few questions and requests.
(01) Which of these interest you (maybe none of them)? (02) How do you feel about what was said? (03) Are there any you feel need correcting? (04) What could I improve on? (05) Would you subscribe or refer this blog to a friend? (06) What are your impressions of the author (me)? (07) What subjects matter to you that I haven't covered? (08) How often do you visit? (09) Are there topics I should avoid? (10) Do you prefer posts without remarks? (11) If you ever decided to blog what would you blog about?
ON A SIDE NOTE
I call this blog "Lehigh Valley Clancularius Introspectives" for a reason. It is because you'll never know what I come up with next. This is because I have so many varied interests.
Please follow me via email (right sidebar) or through an RSS feed. Even if it's only one or two items you find of interest to you. Thanks, LVCI
"Nobody is going to believe you anyway." Looks like this has always been a problem for women. Why start now?
LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK I'm temporarily adding this to all my posts throughout October. I have a few questions and requests.
(01) Which of these interest you (maybe none of them)? (02) How do you feel about what was said? (03) Are there any you feel need correcting? (04) What could I improve on? (05) Would you subscribe or refer this blog to a friend? (06) What are your impressions of the author (me)? (07) What subjects matter to you that I haven't covered? (08) How often do you visit? (09) Are there topics I should avoid? (10) Do you prefer posts without remarks? (11) If you ever decided to blog what would you blog about?
ON A SIDE NOTE
I call this blog "Lehigh Valley Clancularius Introspectives" for a reason. It is because you'll never know what I come up with next. This is because I have so many varied interests.
Please follow me via email (right sidebar) or through an RSS feed. Even if it's only one or two items you find of interest to you. Thanks, LVCI
This is despicable. Never since the Civil War has this country been so divided.
This not addressing issues. Rather it is pitting one segment of society against the other in the worse possible way.
LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK I'm temporarily adding this to all my posts throughout October. I have a few questions and requests.
(01) Which of these interest you (maybe none of them)? (02) How do you feel about what was said? (03) Are there any you feel need correcting? (04) What could I improve on? (05) Would you subscribe or refer this blog to a friend? (06) What are your impressions of the author (me)? (07) What subjects matter to you that I haven't covered? (08) How often do you visit? (09) Are there topics I should avoid? (10) Do you prefer posts without remarks? (11) If you ever decided to blog what would you blog about?
ON A SIDE NOTE
I call this blog "Lehigh Valley Clancularius Introspectives" for a reason. It is because you'll never know what I come up with next. This is because I have so many varied interests.
Please follow me via email (right sidebar) or through an RSS feed. Even if it's only one or two items you find of interest to you. Thanks, LVCI
