Monthly Archives: October 2022

Avoiding the Stone Age       

31 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by in Grid

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            I hope one of the many items our country’s leadership should be worried about is the big transformers. One of the many things the recently signed Fight Inflation Act is going to do is to increase and make more efficient our electrical grid. The Southwest States, Texas, and California have more than enough renewable power for their customers. The region’s undersized grid can’t send power to where it is needed in the Midwest and Northeast.

            Thousands of miles of heavy wire will be needed to tie all the areas together so power can be moved around to where and when it is needed. As we become more dependent on electricity to fuel our vehicles, heat and light our homes, and for other uses an efficient grid will be necessary.

            Another requirement for those large and giant transformers in hundreds of more substations and for replacement of those in existing location is safety. Not long ago an underground group shot into one of those unprotected substations causing the transformers to catch fire. The transmission companies had some spares so they were soon replaced but what if it happened at too many places and the companies didn’t have enough replacements. They can cost several hundred thousand dollars each.            

What if the Russians damaged more transformers than the Ukraine could replace. Wouldn’t the United States and other Countries send them some? Shouldn’t the Administration build up a large inventory of transformers for emergencies and help in building the national grid? Transformers make our modern society function and without them we truly would go back to the Stone Age.

Abetting A Criminal

31 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by in President Trump

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            One of Donald Trump’s most famous and truthful comments was made a few years ago. He said “Anyone who takes the Fifth Amendment is a crook.” When he was interviewed in late August he took the fifth over four hundred times. In his own words, he is a crook.

            His financial guru has been convicted. The guru originally said he wouldn’t testify against anyone. However, to prevent being in prison for the rest of his life he is going to throw two of the Trump kids and perhaps Trump himself under the bus.

            We have all heard Trump call to the Georgia Attorney General asking him to manufacture votes. Many of his sycophants are being questioned about his effort to discredit the election and Georgia Officials.

            His financial lies in New York City and State have put him in court for a civil liability for hundreds of millions in penalties which will put him into criminal court with the State’s Attorney General. E-mails have put his attorneys on trying to change the vote in Georgia in legal jeopardy because they knew he had lost the election.

            Trump’s stealing of records and his attempts to cover it up only placed him in greater legal jeopardy with the FBI. Now the government believes he still has papers that had been in those empty folders shown on TV repeatedly. As of the sixth of October, the FBI believes through an informant more papers are in his New Jersey Mansion.

            He has so many legal problems; the question is which criminal act will put him in court first?

Inflation Causes Unsettling

31 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by in Inflation

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            During the Ohio Senate race debate both candidates agreed on one topic. They both agreed that bringing jobs back from China is a great thing. Here’s the problem with doing that today. The Chinese are paid for the day’s work what our workers will get in a little over an hour. Chinese labor has gotten so “high priced” that work is being outsourced to Vietnam and Africa.

            Now when we re-shore those jobs the price of those items must increase, sometimes greatly. The Federal Reserve raises their rates to combat the wage inflation. Raising rates causes the buyer to think twice before buying a company’s more expensive product since the competition’s product is still made in China or Vietnam.

            It was easy to put American workers out of work and start production in China, thus lowering prices and the inflation rate. Reversing that trend is called inflation. Those rising prices means labor wants more money so they can continue to buy what they had been buying causing more inflation.

            The obvious question, is re-shoring a good idea? Obviously it is but it will be unsettling to the economy as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates. Their economic programs can’t be updated to account for supply conflicts, sanctions, Ukraine War, and Politics. We have so many transitory problems their outdated programs are just making inflation worse.

Kevin McCarthy

26 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in Kevin McCarthy

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            Minority Leader of the House of Representatives is Kevin McCarthy. He has been campaigning for Republicans wanting to get elected or stay in the House. Doing so means they will give him their vote to make him Speaker of the House.

            McCarthy was scathing in his floor speech on past President Trump after he came out of hiding January 6. He also was the first to make the trip to Mar-A-Lago to kneel before Trump. McCarthy is well known by Representatives to do whatever is needed to help Kevin McCarthy,

                McCarthy says he will tear up the January 6 Committee Report before it becomes public or make sure if it gets to the National Archives that it is kept secret for fifty years. He has said he will get rid of Attorney General Merrick B. Garland so his probes into the January 6 peaceful march will end. He wants to please the Far Right support by getting rid of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg because he is openly gay and married to another man. McCarthy has made many more pledges to make sure he is the next Speaker.

            Why does he want to be the all powerful Speaker and the second in line to be President? What is the reason he says he will make sure President Biden and Vic-President Harris are impeached and thrown out of office? What he doesn’t say is he will then be President, maybe for ten years legally or for life if he follows in Trump’s footsteps to overthrow the government.

            When voting for the person to represent you in the House or Senate, remember, you may be voting for power mad Kevin McCarthy as your next President!

Vote to Save America

26 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in Elections

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            Who is the greatest threat to our nation after Donald Trump? I believe it is Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy. He has learned from Trump that if you want the support of the crazies and the sycophants he must say and do stupid things. Granted he isn’t the only one kissing Trump’s rectum as Trump is declining in popularity, but he is the one who wants to be third in the Nation’s Leadership and in control of it\ legislation and impeachment power.

            McCarthy has stated one of his first priorities is to impeach President Biden and several of his Cabinet Secretaries without giving any reason other than being Democrats. Great majorities of American’s want to aid the Ukraine in their battle against Russia but McCarthy has said he wants to limit support to them. That statement gives encouragement to Putin to continue the fighting and destruction of the civilian homes and infrastructure.

            Imagine a power hungry anti-everything except disruption of the American Democratic System person in control of the House pressuring the Senate Majority Leader McConnell into making laws for their far right radical supporters. Their goal is an authoritarian government with them in control of America like Putin, XI, and others that Trump adored.

            November 8 may be the most important Election Day the United States has had in over a century. Historians have made the case that the conditions of today are similar to Hitler’s rise.

            So go vote if you care about America and its future.

Look In the Mirror

26 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in Chicago Bears

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            As I painfully watch the Bears being destroyed by the Vikings I was reminded that we all know why. Management wants to move to a new bigger stadium in Arlington Heights. They say they need a bigger stadium seating more people. I can see empty seats in Soldier’s Field Stadium so a bigger stadium that’s more difficult to get to won’t put more butts in the seats. The problem is they don’t look in the mirror to see the problem.

            Management blames the coaches but who hired the coaches? Look in the mirror. Who decides what kind of team it will be by the players they hire? Hire passing quarterbacks and coordinators but put the money on a running team. I’m glad the management passed on drafting Patrick Mahomes because he would have been wasted in Chicago. The management should look in the mirror to see why.

            Years ago the management decided to rebuild with a younger team so they dumped their old field goal kicker. Over a third of the points scored each season is field goals. Some games are only field goals. So what old player did the Bears dump – Robbie Gold! His nickname is still “Good As Gold” with his new team. The NFL is full of Ex-Bears coming back on the field to haunt them.

            If management really wants to know what the Bears problem is they should look in the mirror and replace who they see.

Believe It or Not

26 Wednesday Oct 2022

Posted by in Republican Party

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            The Republican Party is putting forth a host of people who say the 2019 election was unlawful, stolen, or many other terms. The question is did they say that because they need the radical right and the deluded conservatives to win the Primary? What will they continue to say in the General Election when the two parties are close to being equal or will they conveniently downplay it?

            “The Big Lie” is getting less and less believers every day. The GOP has pinned their rallying cry on that lie to get through the Primary knowing they may have problems getting independents and a few Democrats to vote for the GOP candidates later.

            They are still praising Donald Trump while hoping any legal problems are either dropped or delayed until after the November elections. He has problems with at least two states and the Federal Government.

            Criminal charges are stacking up and Trump has a habit of not paying his bills so his top tier lawyers for his New York crimes got ten million dollars upfront. Even his lawyers know he is a crook but people and the GOP stand behind him just as many stand behind the January 6 insurrectionists.             How can the United States claim the high moral ground when so many people and their political leaders are so stupid?

Ethical Dilemmas

22 Saturday Oct 2022

Posted by in Ethics

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            Today a Florida jury decided to not execute a kid who shot up a school. It didn’t take long for the jurors to decide since three jurors were ethically opposed to killing anyone. Some jurors believe the three lied when they swore they were unbiased. Some others may not have liked the idea but mass killing of kids was the ethical line for them. The ethical dilemma is would those against an execution feel the same if he had killed their child.

            During World War II someone made the decision to not bomb the railroad tracks leading to the extermination camps. Why we don’t know and may never know who made that ethical decision. Today we are training Ukrainians to use the high tech equipment we are sending to them for use against the Russian invaders. Putin has repeatedly said he will use tactical nuclear weapons to stop his army’s defeats. How will we respond? Will we give the Ukraine nuclear weapons to respond, will we respond through NATO, or will be do nothing again.

            The ethical question each American is asked to make today is here in the United States. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned after 50 years, each voter is being asked to decide how they stand by who they vote for. Many of those running have been adamantly against it in the Primary but are lessening for the general election to get votes. Some have changed their position weekly. Illinois’ GOP Governor Nominee said he “is against it for right now.” Inconsistent ethics is based on getting elected for most.

            We are all faced with ethical decisions and one is whether to give those who disagree with us the opportunity to present their view and perhaps to compromise on an issue both can live with.

What is in a Word?

22 Saturday Oct 2022

Posted by in Lies

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            Misleading, misinformation, disinformation, deceiving and a Thesaurus of other words are constantly being used by the media and politicians. Whatever happened to lying? It is a simple word. Whoever told their child to quit misinforming them?

            Politicians call each other names that should be bleeped on a news report but won’t use lying. Instead they use all the words above. The Republicans have a standard bearer who doesn’t use any of the other words. Donald Trump calls everyone any name or slur he can think of against either party. He says the most scurrilous words against other people and goes ballistic when people retaliate.

            The media uses the lying substitute words when Trump says his ridiculous rants. Why don’t they quit pulling their punches and call his lies what they are? He got elected because the media gave him a pass on his lies and they have seldom called him on today’s.

Dark Money

22 Saturday Oct 2022

Posted by in Dark Money, Politics

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            The money donated by millionaires and billionaires through Political Action Committees are Dark Money and PACs don’t have to tell what or who supplied the money. This allows the people to get around the limits the average person can give. PACs are not supposed to coordinate with the candidate or their campaign staff. This also allows them to say things so misleading or so nasty that even a barely ethical candidate wouldn’t want to be associated with the Ads.

            The Illinois Governor’s race is an example. The People Who Play by the Rules PAC has already crossed the line with their ad getting a local retired and respected black newsman, Charles Thomas, to say in an ad that the current governor has failed the Black People in the Chicago Area. One issue is Thomas has lost the impartial stance news people should have. Why would he destroy his and the much sought impartial image of himself and his profession? The PAC is paying him $50,000 dollars. Several billionaires don’t like Illinois’ billionaire Governor because he tried to put through a higher tax on billionaires.

            Billionaires and multi-millionaires funded the Tea Party under an IRS code that allowed them to fund groups which had no particular association to a party. The code did not require public disclosure of whom and how much was donated. The IRS was excoriated and funding cut for the following the rules Congress had set. This opened the door for black money PACs.

            It’s time to eliminate all dark money. However we know politicians who depend on dark money are going to make sure that doesn’t happen.