Monthly Archives: May 2019

The Truth is Leaving Us Forever

25 Saturday May 2019

Posted by in Social Media

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A long, long time ago I was a participant in a gossip experiment. The grade school teacher gave a short message to the first student in the first row to her right who told the one sitting behind him. Twenty-five students later, the last student gave the teacher the evolved message. It was nothing like the original. I still remember that lesson.

The same lesson could be applied to the social media of today. Not only does the social medium skew the real facts, I believe most of the information going into it is crap to start. A great example is the video of Pelosi that was slowed down to make her appear senile so Trump could imply she had changed. I watched one person morph into another so the second person’s words came out of the first’s mouth. The voice was enhanced to sound the same. Today the only way to know for sure is to watch an interview with at least one other person on real media.

Is social media the way most people will be getting their news? We have entered a time when those with money and power can control their people so easily. Of course there will always be some fruit-loop that spouts crap and gathers millions of followers. I fear common sense and factual information has gone forever.

The Library Will Set You Straight.

25 Saturday May 2019

Posted by in Education

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If Minooka District III Board Member, Lori Lakota, wants to see a science book that agrees with her views on the heating of our planet then she should go see retiring librarian Carolyn Kinsella. She will be happy to show her the science fiction section of the school’s library.

I wonder what today’s graduates are going to say at their twenty year reunion about someone who tried to have them taught that global warming was fake news. By then the world’s carbon footprint will have been greatly reduced. Let’s hope their children and grandchildren will have more responsible people directing their education. Minooka isn’t some backwoods town in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, or Tennessee. What’s next–Evolution in a science class instead of Sunday school?

Talk Softly or Shut-Up

20 Monday May 2019

Posted by in President Trump, Uncategorized

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I bet few readers ever considered I could ever agree with anything President Donald J. Trump did. Well, I do, just not the way or the constant chest thumping, narcissistic, and abusive communication he uses to destroy the good work. We differ the most on his going it alone. I am more of a Bush I in my philosophy. President Teddy Roosevelt said “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” when dealing with other countries.

We agree immigration is a problem but his politicizing and solutions are mostly wrong. We agree on the need to stop North Korea’s nuclear program. We disagree on making it so public. Quiet discussion with the same sanctions would not have backed both sides into corners. Both leaders can’t lose face and maintain their base and power.

China-America trade and espionage is a real problem and I am sure it would have quietly been handled without our public interference in their political system. Their economy is stronger, not bigger, than ours but another armed suppression is always possible if the Chinese people create problems.

I totally disagree with his mollycoddling of Putin. I would lead in sanctions and support of NATO in as loud a voice as possible and not be forced by Congress to levy sanctions. Trump has undercut NATO’s plans with Russia.

Staying in the White House, working more than a couple hours a day, eliminating the Fox Network influence, stopping constant camera appearances, and stopping his daily electronic communications would increase his effectiveness.

Teddy is on a mountain for good reason!

Tolls Will Fix the Roads

17 Friday May 2019

Posted by in Infrastructure, Taxes

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A few weeks ago I wrote “I-80 from Iowa to Indiana should be a Toll Road.” Since then I have found out how Governor Gina Marie Raimondo of Rhode Island solved her state’s funding for roads and bridges. She put a toll on her roads affecting only trucks. This gets around the family cars getting on and off. I think of Rhode Island as Will County. I have talked with others from Grundy and LaSalle and their plan is to stay on local and two-lanes to avoid the toll.

I would not only put a truck toll on I-80, I would add, I-55, I-57, I-64, I-72, I-39, I-70, and I-94. This would bring in tens of millions each year without affecting the residents in the area. The short haul trucks that don’t leave the state would have to be billed another way. Those that skirt the tollways would be ticketed heavily.

A thousand dollar registration for electrics is stupid! It should be the same as gasoline vehicles plus the average gasoline tax. In a decade a huge percentage of vehicles sold will be electric. This includes six, ten and eighteen wheel trucks.

We should add at least a quarter per gallon to the state tax so the rest of us will contribute. This toll and tax proposal has the vehicles doing the most damage to our highways paying the most. How tolls would be structured and where toll exits would be located is beyond information available to me. Tell your legislator this plan has your approval.

Gun Violence and the Constitution

15 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by in Assault Weapons, Gun Control

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The “Chance for Sanity” Party will wade into the second amendment morass by pushing the legal limits farther than previously. Just within our country over 15,600 non-suicidal deaths occurred in 2017 out of over 61,800 non-suicide incidents. During 2017, 346 mass-shootings occurred. A mass shooting means four or more were shot in a single event. The vast majority of Americans want something done and the “Chance for Sanity” Party will push for a sane second amendment.

Thanks to the leadership at the National Rifle Association, America is awash with guns. Initially the organization involved hunter gun safety which everyone supported. It did not bring huge monetary wealth into their cheap suit pockets. By spending tens of millions of gun manufacturers’ and members’ money to create fear and a patriotic fervor, the NRA has persuaded Americans they need to have many guns. They have convinced people their safety is carrying a gun everywhere. Over 2,000 people found having a gun around was dangerous in 2017. That’s over 10,000 since January 2014. During the same period over 3,500 children and 15,000 teenagers were shot. Many of the teenagers were shot due to their gang and drug activity. This was a result of the ease of getting guns. Gun running has become a major source of revenue for gangs.

The Party’s platform will be to combat the gun lobby propaganda by constantly telling the truth about gun violence. People need to be de-programmed from the gun culture manufactured by the gun lobby and their sponsors. Standing up to the gullible and weak minded is critical to restore real safety.

We will also define the parameters of the second amendment as to what weapons and accessories are legal and which are not. Assault type weapons, large capacity magazines, and non-personal defense or abnormal hunting accessories will become illegal to make, sell, or own. Less of these things make us safer and saner.

The gun lobby and manufacturers have kept a gun safety system from being marketed. It works off a finger print identification system. The only person who can fire it is the one finger printed. All handguns will be required to have it.

Just as in most states the Federal Government will issue gun owners permits to lawful gun owners. Those with mental problems and drug dependency and certain ex-cons will be denied the cards. We must reduce unlicensed sale or exchange of guns by and to those people without a federal card. This will end most gun shows where guns are bought in a lax state and smuggled into a stricter state and to most mass shooters.

The vast majority of Americans want these controls. It is a tough but winnable battle.

A Real War on Illegal Drugs

11 Saturday May 2019

Posted by in Illegal Drugs

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A Real War on Illegal Drugs

The “Chance for Sanity” Party’s plank on Illegal Drugs will be one of enforcement and not kowtowing to the liberals, addicts, corporate leaders, and criminals. Instead of taking one slip after another down the well-greased slope to a drug infused culture like some sci-fi movie, I will greatly reduce our addiction.

The drug usage in the 1950’s was a minor problem because growing, importing, wholesaling, retailing, and usage were illegal and imprisonable. We have caved to the point where the federal government has reduced actual funding for drug intervention and enforcement while allowing states to supersede federal drug laws by enacting laws legalizing recreational and medical marijuana use. Allowing users to buy a $5.00 ticket if caught means it is okay to break the law and become addicted.

My policy on drug use will be to arrest users and put them into low security work camps for a minimum of fourteen days for first offense and adding an additional two weeks for each successive arrest. In addition to the fencing, drug dogs will be on patrol to ensure no drugs are smuggled to the detainees. Counselors will be used to aid in detoxifying heavy users. Those who retail the drugs — kids or adults — will be imprisoned in more secure and less pleasant camps. The many camps will not allow any electronic or personal communications. Those people in the higher positions of sales will have their possessions confiscated even if they are co-owned by their families and sold to pay for enforcement and detention.

Those in the wholesaling, transportation, manufacturing, importing, involvement, and financing will be locked up in a medium security prison and lose all their possessions. A special division will search for the cash kept offshore or invested. Financial institutions will be accountable and the CEO’s and down will be held as those who deposited the money.

States will participate in the local crackdown and getting the confiscated possessions for their use or sale. Any state or community which does not fully participate will lose federal funding for all law enforcement funding and other funds that they depend on in their budget. Federal offices will be moved out of that state to a surrounding state. This is a necessary and drastic action

The manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical drugs and knowing or suspecting of overuse will be considered as a criminal activity. The private or corporate entity will be confiscated for sale. The officers, some employees, and investors gained from the sales, so they will be penalized. Previous investors may have their profits clawed back. Banks and other financers will lose their investment.

The federal government has the power and authority to do most of this battle to end our addiction. Congress will only need to fund another 30,000 federal agents. The war will not be won in a few years but could be in ten years.

Solving Our Immigrant Problem

10 Friday May 2019

Posted by in Immigration

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My “Chance for Sanity Party” is an independent party and will not have a leader in the Congress or Senate. Hopefully this means both parties can step out of their far right and far left philosophies on immigration. Because of America’s past policies and actions and the future effects of climate change, movement of people around the world must be considered an American priority.

When I was young the illegal immigration was mainly men and families crossing the border to work in the agricultural industry during the growing season and then go back to Mexico. In spite of technology, we still need tens of thousands each year to plant our vegetables and fruit in the spring and harvest them later. Alabama passed a very strict law against illegals and vegetables and fruit rotted in the fields. Two years later they quietly rescinded it. We need English speakers in hundreds of thousands of tourist type jobs during the summers, without them business can’t operate. These are usually young Europeans. The U.S. Farms employ hundreds of them each summer. In addition tens of thousands of businesses need people for landscaping and construction.

We need these people for our country to survive. Most would be happy to have a work permit to come up, work, and go back home. Passing the necessary laws that both parties have wanted for years should be easy.

The flood of families and parentless kids from Honduras, Guatemala, and Costa Rica is vastly different because those people are fleeing conditions we are largely responsible for. Our policies over the last 150 years have created an unlivable condition. We have deported our Los Angeles originated gangs to those countries and now they are almost as powerful as the national governments. They terrorize the people by kidnapping, extorting, and murdering the poor and the rich.

We have played one country against the other for years. The NRA has facilitated the gunrunners while we have pushed the governments to buy weapons and to have us train their military and para-militaries in our failed methods used in “pacification” in Viet Nam. Both sides randomly kill the civilians to keep control. We have actively allowed marijuana and cocaine to be moved through them so the Feds can track it.

These policies have made life untenable so they must use the last of their money and risk their life in hopes of a safer, better life. If we can stop their countries’ collapse and start rebuilding their countries, then not only will they stop moving here, they will go back home. We can provide hundreds of thousands of jobs by moving manufacturers from Asia to Latin American. Tax incentives can make that happen. If we support people with the integrity to run their countries, then we can start to end the immigration problem.

Medicare Confusion

05 Sunday May 2019

Posted by in Medicare

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The May 2nd article in the Tribune by AP Reporters Richard Alonso-Zaldivar and Alan Fram showed the confusion about Medicare-For-All and Single Payer Systems. They are not the same thing but were used interchangeably in their writing. A Single Payer pays for everything not specifically covered such as an unnecessary cosmetic or hair transplant. Medicare-For-All pays a certain part but not all so insurance or the patient picks up the rest. The purpose of a Medicare Advantage insurance policy is to reduce the patient’s cost.

The critics that say such programs would delay non-emergency surgery is ridiculous because appointments quite often take two or three months with our current system. Critics cite some Canadians coming to American for surgery when they can’t get it in Canada. It’s almost always being done in Florida in January (Duh) or elective that the patient doesn’t want to wait their turn.

I think the Medicare plan is the least disruptive and still covers everyone. Employer insurance costs would be lessened and cover employee costs even with minimal plans. Medicaid would not be needed and healthcare costs would be reduced because we would not need thousands of people figuring out how to deal with so many different plans and companies. We currently spend almost a trillion on health insurance policies so most would not be needed. Both would mean no loss of coverage at 27 years old. The only doctors not involved would be those who do 100% concierge. Few people would go that way since it would be expensive. No person would go uncovered or have to declare bankruptcy because of medical care. It’s the number one reason for bankruptcy.

Why has stupidity and pride overruled commonsense for poor but costly medical care in the United States?

Real Cowboys Didn’t Wear Guns

05 Sunday May 2019

Posted by in Gun Control, Uncategorized

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When I was a pre-teen Mom and Dad got me the Paladin gun set. It had the belt, .45 with bullets I could put caps in, and a derringer. It was the envy of my fourth grade class. Most of the boys wore our “side arms” in class until the principal decided that was enough. During that time few adults had a handgun. Most had a long gun for sport. I had a 20 gauge shotgun. Most of us matured, but millions haven’t.

The movies and TV were filled with westerns showing every man either carrying a gun or having one under the counter. Every bartender had a double barrel shot gun he pulled out to intimidate trouble makers. The image of every “real man” carrying a gun has created the need for today’s rush to carry a gun. In reality very few “real men” carried a gun on their hip. My toy gun was light but heavy for my skinny body. A real .45 gun, belt, and holster weigh several unnecessary pounds. That extra weight is why the movies were theatrical and not realistic.

So why is it so important today for the average citizen to wear a concealed gun. Why are the gun lobbies (there is more than one) pushing for open carry like the Texan nutcases. Is it because the gun manufacturers pump millions into those lobbies to promote sales and fear? The underlying message is the more guns we own the safer we are. To get women to buy the manufacturers will sell them a pink gun. The NRA hired a media consulting company for millions of dollars each year to promote gun ownership. They hired Charlton Heston at a huge salary to be their front man. They have flooded the internet (Russian, too) with propaganda that is misleading and often completely false.

Why isn’t the escalating violence with guns being attributable to the greater number of guns being bought? Why is it the occasional “hero with a legal weapon” played up by the gun lobby and not the hundreds of others where the drunk went back into the bar and emptied the magazine? The lobbies are pushing a reciprocal allowance of concealed carry. This would allow those states where being a warm body is all that is needed to get a license. Some of them allow internet sign-ups from other states and countries. Everyone would be upset if somebody got a driver’s license by taking a test on an internet game.

Imagine what our country would look like if some limits are put on what weapon can be carried in the “right to bear arms” line in the second amendment. Could an arm be that weapon with a rotating drum of explosive charges or a real automatic rifle? Why is a 30 round magazine needed? Why is it the majority of the NRA members want sensible laws but the leadership promotes more extreme laws? Money, money, and more money to the organization. That’s why the NRA is pushing greater gun rights in over 50 other countries.