Author Archives: Commentary about the Blue Marble

Is Any Job Safe

10 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by in Economy

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I never thought deeply of the economic impact electric cars will have on the economy until I read an article in a business magazine. They have about a third to half less parts than an internal combustion car. Ultimately that means most parts manufacturers must find other business because cylinders, fuel systems, engine blocks and crankshafts won’t be needed. Tens of thousands of workers will be out of work. The service businesses depending on those workers will close or be cut back. Less workers means less appliances sold and houses foreclosed or sold at depressed prices.

John J. Rockefeller made his money refining petroleum into gasoline for the growing automobile industry. Electric cars don’t need gasoline so the refiners, distributors, and others will reduce workers causing area businesses to be hurt. Of course we won’t need many oil well drillers either but we will have pumped most of the petroleum out by then.

Both of these examples won’t happen at once but will slowly happen over the next couple of years to a couple decades. The many ethanol refiners may have to close but the corn farmers will have billions more people to feed so they won’t be badly hurt. Gasoline stations will convert to being electrical charging stations. I bet soon or later battery packs will be more like those I have for my tools. A fill-up will be sliding the old pack out and the new one in.

I don’t think anyone can foresee how all this retrenchment will work out. Other jokers in the deck are artificial intelligence and robots. I don’t think any job or economy is safe.

Tariffs — The Truth

10 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by in Economy, Tariffs, Uncategorized

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President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he is hurting the Chinese with his tariffs. Last quarter was the biggest trade deficit with China possibly ever. Companies have pre-bought Chinese products in case Trump won’t back down on his promised raises in the tariffs. He has made it him against the Chinese government and they can’t back down so the Chinese will go to their closet of retaliations.

He has said the billions in tariffs are going into the U.S. Treasury. That is true! The money isn’t paid by the Chinese but by the American Companies purchasing the items. Companies don’t eat that money they paid to import the item, so they pass along the tariff money to the consumer–the American consumer. We, the American consumer will pay this back door tax, wiping out any minimal tax we may have gotten. The steel and aluminum tariffs cost GM $1.4 billion, not China.

The Chinese have put tariffs on many exports to China. Farmers have been especially hit hard. Soybeans have been hit hardest. Corn, wheat, other grains, pork, beef, turkeys, and chicken prices have dropped–Good for consumers, bad for farm communities, farmers, and businesses.  The U.S. Government is going to partly subsidize the soybeans and to a smaller amount the corn farmers, and others. The Agriculture Department just released the meat in storage numbers. They are the largest in years or ever depending on who read the release and their research. When the freezers burst our costs at stores will plummet and so will the price farmers get.

The President thinks in a time span of days and maybe weeks when he destroys markets that were carefully nurtured. China can buy products elsewhere and leave us out for years. Many industries are worried if China will come back.

Another Game of Sticks

08 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by in International, Politics, President Trump, Trade Agreements

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The Middle East is always complicated but the death and reaction to Jamel Khoshoggi’s murder has further complicated a geo-political game of sticks. We had helped the Saudi’s in their war with the Yemen’s Houthis by selling the planes, bombs, and rockets and refueling their planes so they bomb the southeastern cities. We provide intelligence through drones, satellites, and electronic monitoring so they know what to bomb. The bus full of kids was probably our intelligence error.

The President says we can’t cut relations or sanction Saudi Arabia for killing Khoshoggi because they are our partners in the region and they are buying over $100 billion in military equipment from us. The President hasn’t stated to the world what another country can do before he will react. The question is where is the line and how will he react.

NATO and the European countries say our President is Putin’s boy. He hasn’t implemented all the sanctions Congress mandated for interfering in our election. President Trump has repeatedly said he sees no purpose in antiquated organizations like NATO, SEATO and OAS. The destruction of NATO benefits only one country – Russia.

The destruction of the trade pacts and tariffs has upset world’s trade routes, supply lines, and multi-national companies. The new NAFTA is the old NAFTA with the changes that had been planned for years. The agreements being worked on with the Asian countries is the old TPP. Without the TPP agreement China has been able to make huge inroads into Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia.

Geo-politics is not a game of sticks for beginners.

Climate Agrees with Projections

08 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by in Global Warming

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The computer projects for global warming predict rising yearly world temperature–Check. More violent storms–Check. Violent swings in weather–Check. More and greater droughts–Check. Heavier rains–Check. Flora and fauna moving towards higher latitudes or altitudes–Check. Massive immigration people from tropical areas to temperate areas–Check. Forest and grassland fires–Check.

Highest recorded temperatures ever in Japan, Portugal, Spain and Southwestern United States. Highest recorded ocean levels and rising. Highest recorded rain falls in many places. Forest fires above the Arctic Circles. Ice free water is open for months between Canada, Siberia and the polar ice. Russian icebreakers go to the North Pole. Glaciers from Greenland to Antarctica disappearing or melting faster than ever. Desserts are expanding faster. Insects moving farther north and not freezing out in winters. Tundra melting and releasing thousands of years old methane. World CO2 levels higher than ever recorded in 600,000 year-old glaciers and Antarctica ice cap. Ours and other navies are figuring out how to raise or move bases.

Some people just can’t see facts and what is happening in front of them! Even the world’s major religions are behind some of the global warming studies. The Vatican funded some of the studies which is why the Pope is warning of the danger. When world’s unbiased scientists and governments say it’s happening, why do some American’s think otherwise?

The American government just released an in-depth study from all its scientific departments telling how bad global warming will be. They didn’t try to minimize the damage and gave us reality. The President, as usual, denied science.

Greed Created the Problem

08 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by in Drugs, Gun Control

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What have we done and how can we fix it? Do all our problems revolve around billions of dollars? Money must be the common root cause of our problems. No, we can’t eliminate money. It is how wealth and power are demonstrated and it runs through the problems discussed below.

Drug abuse is a general term for over prescribed drugs like Oxycodone and Fentanyl which caused many people to move on to street drugs like heroin, marijuana, and cocaine with its derivatives. The prescription drugs have been over prescribed by doctors because the drug companies pushed them. They said they were not addictive so the companies could make more money. The cartels sell the addicts drugs when the prescriptions run out. The drugs make money from the Columbian growers to the street dealers. Legal and illegal drugs make billions.

When I was a kid, the gangs in cities would have fights over territories and slights or no reason. Their weapons were usually homemade zip guns, knives, and bats. Not its automatic pistols and assault guns. Why? – because the money goes to the manufacturers who have flooded us with weapons for their billions. The lobbyists and the NRA have made billions by conning people into thinking they are necessary for protection from the guns they sold.

The gangs selling the drugs and buying and selling the guns are an invention of our addictions and greed. We created our own disasters and we don’t know how to fix them. We don’t seem to get off drugs and we can’t seem to get over the childish fascination with guns. Our country would be much better off if we could quit our drug addiction and melt 200 million guns.

Republics and Democracies

17 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by in History

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This is in response to Larry Pottorff’s letter on democracy. The oldest democracy today is in London. In 1649, Charles I was executed by Parliament, starting a civil war, and Cromwell formed a Republic. He was a terrible dictator and after he died Charles II became King by act of Parliament. In 1721, under George I, England became a constitutional monarchy with a “Prime Minister” making the kings figureheads. A complete democracy came with 1918’s representation of the People’s Act tripled the number of voters. A republic didn’t work for England because people like to feel they have some control over their government.

Four democracies that morphed into what Larry would call Republics are Venezuela, Germany, Italy, and Russia. Chavez, Hitler, Mussolini, and Putin were all voted into office, took control of their legislatures through violence, controlled the media through intimidation and murder, and had control over the national police and courts. All four started with a small group of supporters and convinced a vocal and, sometimes violent, super minority of loyalists.

Three used the boogeyman strategy of pointing to an ethnic groups (Hitler-subhumans) (Chavez-foreigners and rich) (Putin-foreign governments) to get control of their people. Today’s nationalists in Europe are using the Syrian refugees as their foil. All required some group to scare their supporters. All convinced their people that they and they alone know what are best for them. All used tremendous egos, a huge thirst for power, and convincing lies to gain total control.

Mr. Pettorff’s hope that my “vast knowledge of History” would support his belief that a Republic is better than a liberal Democracy is not correct. Republics are more likely to go to war, to declare martial law, and to overreach their supporters.

Research Your Vote Now

17 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by in Politics

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Thank you to all of you who disagreed with who I voted for on the sixth of November. Mother and Dad did not always agree on who to vote for so they said they would cancel out each other’s vote for some offices. So if you disagreed with me and didn’t vote, my vote mattered.

If you didn’t vote then you have no right to complain about who won and how you think I may have voted. My friends and I have often debated whether someone should vote if they don’t take the time and effort to learn about the issues and people running to represent you.

Finding the truth is not always easy in today’s world. The social media and websites are designed to influence those people who believe the misinformation and total lies. Often we have nothing more to go on than what the candidate actually says. In the Governor’s race, Rauner had a record and Pritzker had only his words for making a decision. I have been told the websites and social media was full of lies on both sides by their proponents.

Two years ago Trump’s words and financial history should have prophesied his words at the 2018 CPAC meeting when he said, “You knew I was a snake when you elected me!” His opponent had been smeared for over three decades with little of it being factual but the lies had stuck in many people’s minds. Russian involvement influenced some of the people I know to vote as Putin wanted.

After researching the issues and deciding who to vote for, and not what party, a person should consider themselves fit to vote. So start doing your research on upcoming local, state, and national elections.

Shooting Ended 100 Years Ago

17 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by in Uncategorized, War

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The shooting during World War I ended 100 years ago at 11:00 am. November 11, 1918. It was called “The War to End All Wars” because it was so deadly for the 10 millions killed and the tens of millions wounded, blinded, disfigured, and missing limbs. It was the end of the trenches and mass charges in the face of machine guns and massed devastating artillery.

I was born eleven minutes shy of exactly 29 years after the shooting ended. Today we call my birthday Veteran’s Day but it was called Armistice Day and Victory Day when I was born. As a fourth grader, I went to a grade school with a one-armed middle-aged crossing guard. When I asked my Mother about his arm she told a 9-year-old about the horrors of war he had endured.

This was our first real war since the Civil War and our army was totally unprepared. We bought French machine guns that were of poor design and English and French artillery and planes. The entant (allies) and the axis (Germans and Austrians) had bled each other dry. The French and British had lost an entire generation of men. The Germans were sending old men and boys into battle. By the time we got into the war, the axis could see what would happen with us sending a million men a month for at least 10 months. The German and Austrian people were starving so they capitulated. Many soldiers on both sides were killed in the last few minutes before 11:00 a.m.

Unfortunately, World War I and its aftermath created the basis for World War II in Europe and over 40 million deaths. The aftermath of it has spawned more wars so “The War to End All Wars” could be considered the starting point.

To Vote or Not To Vote

17 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by in Politics

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I was talking with an individual who is known to the area’s readers when the topic of voting entered the conversation. He said he had voted in the past for people who he disliked the least. It seems he doesn’t care for politicians. Reading between the lines, he doesn’t vote in primaries because he doesn’t like either party, he thinks both parties and the people running for office are self-serving and makes dupes of the voters.

After the conversation was over, it occurred to me he was voicing the attitude of many people I know. I doubt he voted for Trump because he is against everything Trump says. I think he is smart enough to know how the Republican Party has smeared Hillary Clinton for almost four decades, but did he vote for her? I don’t know. I also don’t know who his pick for Governor was, but my gut says it wasn’t Rauner because he knows of him.

How many other people do the same thing when they vote? How many wives vote the way their husbands tell them and children as their parents’ advise?

I really wonder if it is better for people to not vote or to vote based on misinformation and lies. The President has lied over 6,000 times since taking office and many voted based on what he said. Exit polls showed over 60% of those who voted this November did so because of him, not his policies. The question is still the same. Should a voter go to the polls if their knowledge is based on lies? I hope readers will give their opinions.

Faking Science

09 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by in Education, Global Warming, Politics

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I was just reminded of Steven Hawkins’s fear that Americans are not only losing their respect for science, they are actively trying to destroy science and scientific research. Along with this destruction is the downgrading of educating the future scientists.

Two examples of American’s stupidity are Climate Change is a hoax and vaccines are going to give the patient the disease. Even Trump has now said Climate Change is real and may be caused by human activity. He backtracked by saying if it is true he isn’t going to sacrifice American jobs to cut emissions. Reality in other countries and here has shown the reverse is true. There’s more jobs in being green than old polluting technology. The rest of the world is taking two steps forward while some in our country are taking us two steps back for profit.

A European doctor did a “study” with nine people. He managed to get around peer review and get published. His study has been completely refuted by many large and reputable studies. He has lost his license and all respect except for idiots who still believe his philosophy. Thanks to him many American mothers have lost their kids because they were not vaccinated.

Americans believe in greedy reports from those who will benefit instead of real research from peer reviewed studies. The country that excited students into going into science when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon (Yes, he really did), now disdains science. Will we become a second rate science educated nation?