Monthly Archives: November 2022

Democracy is Most Important

12 Saturday Nov 2022

Posted by in Democracy

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        I heard many people blame President Joseph Biden for a bad economy. The reason we have some inflation is because we have a hot economy, low unemployment, and high consumer demand. If the number of unemployed skyrocketed the Fed would stop raising rates so if your neighbor is out of work, it’s great for you.

            About one person in four considered democracy threatened as a high priority of who they voted for this time. Too many Republicans said they would only accept the result if they won. Do we have that many children running for office? Democrats and many moderate Republicans thought Vice President Al Gore was cheated in his run but he was gracious in his concession speech to President Bush. Those who keep pushing “The Big Lie” should remember what happened in Germany in the 1930s and Russia a decade ago. Once we start down that road to authoritarianism Liberty gets rolled over.

            The only hope we have after this election is the trials in many cities and states will put a stop to the brewing insurrection. If for some reason those efforts fail then it is up to every right-thinking voter to stop our country from going down the path of destruction of the American Dream. The Founding Fathers thought they ensured this would not happen but the Civil War and today’s insurrectionists have proven their efforts were not enough. The minority who has been deceived need to open their eyes before it is too late.

Rebuild or Not?

09 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by in FEMA

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            The desire and greed of land developers over the decades and even the centuries have caused people to build in areas they should not build homes and businesses. Many towns and cities were built on flood plains which flooded every spring until they were protected by levees. When the levees break they blame the governments and plead for financial help to rebuild time after time. FEMA got tired of rebuilding a small town on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River and rebuilt on the bluff where it cannot flood.

            Hurricane Ian just hit North Carolina wrecking houses and businesses on the coast. It hit at high tide so the surge went inland and into homes and stores. A sculpted levee would have absorbed the surge and kept out the flooding. Why no levee? It would end the ground floor views of the ocean. We know the Atlantic is raising and floods will be common with future tides. The rise is the result of glacial melting and the expansion of warming water but developers insisted a law be passed in North Carolina and Florida making it illegal to consider that event in any way.

            Ian just destroyed much of Florida and the Governor and President say money will be available to rebuild again. Flood maps say do not build here but owners get expensive insurance from governments and keep rebuilding. By definition building on a barrier island is stupid but Florida developers were allowed to put thousands of people in danger.

People build towns over and over in fire prone areas in California and other Western states. Governments pay out billions of tax dollars over and over. The ultimate lunacy is New Orleans which is protected by levees because it is below the Mississippi River and sea level. Some structures were abandoned after Katrina hit but rebuilding is starting again. Flood insurance should require hatches and boats on the roof for use during floods.

Ethical Conflict

09 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by in Uncategorized

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            During an interview a Georgian woman had a very interesting answer as to why she was voting on the first day of early voting. She thought one party’s conflicting statements was confusing. She thought Republicans were more concerned about saving a fetus’ life which hadn’t breathed than they were about people killing people with “automatic weapons” who did breathe. It was a conflict that I hadn’t thought about before. Politics creates such conflicts just to get elected.

            Some people complain about Nanny State and then work to make sure their constituents get as much out of it as they can to get re-elected. Some people in the House and Senate voted against the infrastructure bill but made sure their district and state got their fair share.

            I have heard many people complain about how the rich don’t pay their fair share of taxes. The conflict is when the government wants to raise taxes on billionaires and rich corporations; they complain or vote against the change. The IRS is going to hire thousands of new agents so the reports from those people and corporations can be audited. It may require a hundred agents to audit a return of hundreds of pages. Some people have said those agents will go after the poor and middle class voters to get re-elected by scaring people.

            Some people have been conned so much and so often they believe anything they are told. When a con artist can convince so deeply that they are willing to overthrow their government and install a dictator, then the American light is out.

Moral and Ethics Matter

06 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by in Voting

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            I remember when a Missouri Senator wanted to run for President but was harassed out of the race because he had had a few sessions with a psychologist. I remember another Senator who was with a woman not his wife on a boat and had to quit his presidential dream when pictures came out in the newspapers. I remember another Senator who lived in a Canadian border state and called Canadians Canucks and was ridden out of the race because he supposedly disparaged the Canadians. (It is the name of a Canadian Hockey team.) I remember a President who was run out of office for something unrelated to his job.

            I remember when JFK was supposed to have gotten in because Mayor Daley pumped in 20,000 votes to put him over the top with Illinois’ electoral votes or Nixon would have won. This may not have been the first time a Republican said he was cheated. Kennedy got 303 and Nixon got 219 so Illinois wasn’t the key. Since then the popular vote has been separated by millions and no problems with the loser concerning defeat. Even Al Gore conceded after being screwed in Florida because that was what real Americans do to help rejoin the country.

            Today we have over a few hundred people running for Senator, Representative, governor and attorneys general in many states and say they won’t accept defeat. Many U.S. Senators and Representatives say the only way they lose is fraud. All of those deny Trump lost, or they don’t get his approval or the votes of his deluded followers.

            How have the voters of the United States suddenly found that voting for liars, racists and other immoral and unethical to be okay? What happened to believing the person with the most votes should win? Vote for people who want democracy and not a dictatorship.

40 Shootings is Unconscionable.

06 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by in School Shootings

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            As I write this the United States has had forty school shootings. From kindergarten to my graduate degree I never heard or thought about a school shooting. I grew up in Southern Illinois where most families probably had a rifle or shotgun in the house for hunting. I was probably seven or eight when Dad let me shoot his 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun which knocked my 40 pound body at least six feet back. Much later I became proficient with a 22 revolver, a 22 rifle, a 410 gauge and 20 gauge shotgun. I could probably come closer to hitting a target by throwing my brother’s WWII Mauser than shooting at it..

            When I was a junior in high school one project in Speech II was to do a demonstration. I chose to disassemble and reassemble my brother’s Mauser blindfolded. The teacher and the principle said it was okay only as long as it wasn’t loaded, kept in the office before and after the class. I bet there isn’t an American school that would allow that to happen today.

            The few gangs in big cities didn’t have many revolvers or automatics when I was in school. They fought with switchblades (I traded for one in the fourth grade.), clubs and zip guns. Zip guns were homemade single shot devices which didn’t always fire.

            So what has changed? The National Rifle Association went from teaching gun safety and looking out for bad weapons to promoting the purchase of pistols. Assault style weapons and video games teach kids to kill with impunity. Too many parents have not done their job in rearing their children to respect others. The most obvious reason is the declining control of ownership in many states and the Supreme Court rulings.