Friday, November 30, 2018

TMC Columnist Bill White Is Gone

Long time columnist Bill White joins the ever growing list 'The Morning Call' has let go. Bill stated, "I accepted a voluntary buyout offer from our parent company this week that made Friday [11/30/2018] my last day here...

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.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Best Trump Fact Checking Site I've Found

Why spend hours watching the news channels or scouring the internet when Donald's own twitter account has the best fact checking resources to be found anywhere?

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Mueller Set A Trap?

Sunday Donald Trump submitted his answers to Mueller's questions. Monday Mueller submitted 175 pages to the courts claiming Manafort lied. Did Mueller wait to announce this the very next day after Donald submitted his answers because Donald's answers were based on Manafort's false testimony?

It's fairly obvious Mueller already knew the answers to the questions he asked Manafort might be false before he asked them. The problem for Donald is if his responses line up with Manafort's false testimony.

When Mueller goes to court with Manafort those 175 pages will be available to the public. In other words we will know what Mueller knows. The White House can't request the courts to seal this document since it isn't directly applicable to Trump. Thus Mueller might have done a legal runaround of any attempt by the White House to suppress his investigation results.

If Trump's answers line up with Manafort's false statements Mueller may very well be on third headed for home. We shall see.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Brief Look Back At The Roxy Theater In Northampton

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. Bruce Springsteen
Billy Joel
Sammy Hagar
Styx
Peter Frampton
John Belushi
Martin Mull
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Gilda Radner
Melissa Manchester
Sparks
Johnny Winter
AC-DC
Todd Rundgren
Leon Redbone
Cheap Trick
Thin Lizzie
Janis Ian
Blood, Sweat & Tears
KISS
Rush
Hall & Oates
Golden Earrring
The dates and some of the setlists.


Something also worth mentioning
Muhlenberg 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.

America Was Never White.

Came across this article on 'alternet'. It's a good read. Check it out.

America was never white, and it never will be.
By Joe Krulder, Ph.D., who teaches history at Butte College.
"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."

A Different Kind Of "Dancing Queen" (Music Video)

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.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Gasoline How Does $7.06 A Gallon Sound?

No wonder protestors in France are going bonkers.

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.

One Damn Big Tree

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.

Friday, November 23, 2018

LVCI Movie Recommendation "The Greatest Showman"

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.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Trump Have Dementia?







As hard as I find it to keep up with his lies it seems he has even a tougher time. Either that or something's wrong with him. Maybe we should be more concerned for his health rather then angry at him. Is there a doctor in the house who could clarify these inconsistencies of his?

Politifact--Trump’s recent comments present a sharp contrast with remarks he made on the 2016 campaign trail when he boasted about his financial ties to Saudi Arabia."

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Democrats And Republicans Both Rig Elections

TEDx Talk (October 2013)

Goes to show not all us oldsters are onboard with either party's nonsense.

We should be neither a nation of Democrats nor Republicans. Rather a nation of one beyond either of these cults.


Sometimes us damned old farts hippies got it right!

It sure would be nice if we had some new tunes to inspire the young uns like we had back in the day.

Gerrymandering Affect Election Outcomes

2016 Midterm Election Outcomes

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.

Monday, November 19, 2018

What I've Learned Since Trump Took Office

What A Cheerleader !
Our trade agreements suck
American media sucks
Our allies suck
Half of congress sucks
Our courts suck
Half the American people (liberals) suck
Immigrants suck
The NFL sucks
Forest Management sucks
War heroes who support Democrats suck
Hollywood celebrities suck
Most of our military interventions suck
The Department of Justice sucks
Our election system sucks
Recent past presidents suck
Puerto Rico's politicians suck
Protestors suck
The U.N. Sucks
Our peace agreements suck
Social services expenses suck

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Here's A Video For Bored Brains

Hacking Reality

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?

Inquisitive minds seek these answers.
Does Yours?

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Civics Lessons No Longer Being Taught?

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.

Why it takes so long to get election night results

Kicking civics out of class and taking it to the streets


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.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Drivers' Alert

Beware!


Courtesy: Daily Mail.com


Same goes with the snow piles along the streets kids tend to play in.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Trump Says Florida Should Quit Counting Votes

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1062382618870726656

Quit While Your Ahead
Sounds like a plan to me. Next time the Eagles play a home game the refs ought to call the game as soon as the Eagles are ahead. Who wants to waste their time sitting around waiting for all four quarters to play out. You know this sounds like a good idea for the Sixers, Phillies and Flyers home games too.



I wonder if this is how Trump plays golf?



https://twitter.com/daylinleach/status/1062092114488512512

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Quantum Computing Is Spooky Stuff (And More)


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.

Florida Finally Finished Counting Votes

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Voting Doesn't Need Be This Complicated



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.

Pa. Weekly FLU Updates

Already as of November 3, 2018 there were 216 confirmed cases in Pennsylvania. 25 of them in Lehigh County.

Pennsylvania 2018/19 Influenza Season Data

If anyone still hasn't gotten their shot I recommend they do it soon as possible.

Nationally The CDC reports
1,538 tested positive as of 11/03/2018.



The 2018 flu vaccine will probably provide more protection than last year's.
HERE'S WHY

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

2018 Midterm Voting Is Over

LEHIGH COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS CAN BE FOUND HERE
Official Computation starts at 9:00 AM November 9th, 2018

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.

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Hannity Appears Onstage At Trump Rally

Mediaite
Fox News Responds to Hannity at Trump Rally: We Do ‘Not Condone’ This ‘Unfortunate Distraction’
"Fox News responded to Sean Hannity‘s appearance at a President Donald Trump rally on Monday with a statement declaring that the network “does not condone any talent participating in campaign events.”"



Are you kidding me. FOX aired it. FOX owns it. This along with Judge Jeanine Pirro's appearance on the podium. If FOX didn't "condone" it this never would have aired.

Could you imagine how rabid FOX would have become if David Muir (ABC), Jeff Glor (CBS) or Lester Holt (NBC) would have pulled one of these stunts!

In other voting news...
I see the U.S. soldiers stationed in El Paso thought today (voting day) would be the perfect time to conduct military exercises even though the immigrant caravan is 3 weeks out. This just so happens to be 4 blocks away from the polling station mostly attended by Hispanic voters likely to vote against Ted Cruz. Just a coincidence?

Texas has some voting machines flipping their straight Democratic party votes to Ted Cruz. Indeed voters can correct this before they hit the final vote cast button... but they must see it. If they don't, well...

Among other problems one polling station with 13,000 voters has been moved miles away from the closest bus stop outside of downtown Dodge City, Kansas. The population of Dodge City, KS is 59.1% Hispanic, 35% White, and 2.79% Black.

North Dakota is trying to screw with native Americans being able to vote through the use of their new voter ID laws.

Check out on alternet how broken and dysfunctional America’s voting systems are.

It seems the 2018 midterm elections are more greatly affected by various methods of voter suppression then any other previous elections were by outside forces.

My Voting Day

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.

https://twitter.com/MikeSchlossberg/status/1059821265916182529



LEHIGH COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS CAN BE FOUND HERE
Official Computation starts at 9:00 AM November 9th, 2018

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Allentown Taxes Going Up Next Year


City taxes are going up.

County Taxes are going up.

School taxes are going up.




One question..
When is this NIZ thingie going to
start helping taxpayers?

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Anyone Else Remember The MTA Song?

Isto

This tune came out in the era when the TV show "Hootenanny' was popular


The New Christy Minstrels (1963)

One of the most famous acts to come out of that era was 'The Smothers Brothers".

If you thought that was so not PC...

Watch Pat Paulson


My how times have changed haven't they!
Merv's show would have been cancelled on the spot

Friday, November 2, 2018

Trump Shit Show Rolls On



I just watched Trump's latest trash talking before his departure to his next rally. Unless something unexpected comes up this will be my last post before the November 6th elections.

I realize some folks may be turned off with all these political postings. Up until now I feel these were the most important issues to concentrate my efforts on.

I will make one final statement after the election outcomes. Then intend to get back to business as usual with the many other things of interest to me. To be truthful I'm almost as sick of talking as you probably are of reading about these postings concerning politics.

In short Trump, Trump, Trump-- no more after November 6th on this blog after one final post on November 7th 2018. I'm sick of talking about the guy!

Forget Voter ID...

What we need is a test for intelligence



Scene from 'The West Wing' TV show (2002)