Trump Needs an Intervention

 Or so Far Right Thinks?  It is pretty scary when Trump is the most knowledgeable and rational "person in the room". :-)

"Root praised the former president, saying he considers him a friend, before taking aim at Trump's vaccine comments.

"He needs an intervention from a friend, because he's the greatest president of my lifetime. I love him. I will always love him," Root said of Trump. "He's been right on everything except this issue. He's so horribly wrong on this issue."

Jones was also among those bashing Trump, saying on his show last week: "Hell, we're fighting Bill Gates and Fauci and Biden and the New World Order and Psaki and the Davos Group ... And now we've got Trump on their team!"

Who are these nut cases and why do people listen to them?

Trump approved funding for the vaccine rush, Trump claimed credit for the vaccines and now they think he needs an intervention because he supports the vaccines that he claimed as his own?

I keep praying that every nut case like this dies struggling to breathe...  As the COVID virus destroys their lungs...

I know it is not very charitable or Christian, but please remember that I believe in Darwin's Theory of Evolution.  And our gene pool will be much better off without people who are this "something"...

The Stock Crystal Ball?

What will happen in the New Year?

Any fortune Tellers out there?

Xmas: It could be Worse

FUBAR and SNAFU are two acronyms that come to mind today.

We had wonderful plans of attending or hosting 4 family gatherings over Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  Then reality hit...  The wife and I came down with head colds.  And my daughter who is working near Washington DC surprised us by coming to town... and testing positive for COVID... 😮😮😮😮 

So needless to say, attending 3 of the celebrations was cancelled. And we are thinking of creative ways to celebrate with the girls.  Maybe even opening gifts in the garage. 😷😷😷😷

It would be easy to be disappointed and frustrated with the current situation, however instead I prefer to choose gratitude and happiness.  We are all safe at home and we can care for our little plague carrier. 😊😊😊😊

Merry Christmas !!!!

Happy Holidays vs Merry Christmas

 A bunch of religious right self centered people like to make a big deal of this issue, I will never understand it.  However one must remember that I believe in trying to follow the Platinum Rule, not the Golden Rule.

Golden Rule: Treat Others as YOU Wish to be Treated.

Platinum Rule: Treat Others as THEY Wish to be Treated.

I mean how many Christians want to be wished Happy Hanukkah by their Jewish neighbors?  Or Happy Kwanzaa by their African American neighbors? 

Given my experience of working with people from all over the world, the answer seems pretty simple.  You wish people well based on what they value, not what you value.  A Chinese co-worker just wished me a Merry Christmas since he assumed I am Christian. (a correct assumption and a welcome wish)

Therefore if you are uncertain of the audience's religious affiliation, Happy Holidays is the correct phrase / wish.  I mean most people in most countries celebrate holidays at this time of year.  Well, except my friends in China, I wish them Happy New Year later in January !!! :-)

Manchin Buries BBB?

Or is he just negotiating?  Of course, the progressive DEMs are NOT happy. 

I hope Manchin holds the line and ensures the Progressive's wish list items are stripped before this gets passed.

US is a Flawed Democracy?

Is Civil War pending?  Well Laurie has been reading opinion pieces that are preaching a very bleak future for the USA.  She has posted links in the comments over here.

Now I have to agree with her that Trump questioning the Presidential election results like the immature narcissistic poor loser he is certainly did not help.  Then again there are his willing cult followers who seem willing to doubt the results even though Biden won by 7.5 MILLION votes and 4 States.  And this has NOT changed no matter how many recounts these idiots stage.

And it is correct that we now score as a FLAWED DEMOCRACY.  Though we are the most complicated / diverse / large country near the top of the list.  And we only score really low in 2 categories: "II. Functioning Of Government"  "IV. Political Culture"

II. Functioning Of Government has some very Un-American Criteria... " Public confidence in political parties", "Public confidence in government", "Popular perceptions of the extent to which citizens have free choice and control over their lives.", "Does the government’s authority extend over the full territory of the country?", etc.

IV. Political Culture is equally at odds with American Culture. "Is there a sufficient degree of societal consensus and cohesion to underpin a stable, functioning democracy?", "Perceptions of leadership; proportion of the population that desires a strong leader who bypasses parliament and elections.", "There is a strong tradition of the separation of Church and State.", "Perceptions of rule by experts or technocratic government; proportion of the population that would prefer rule by experts or technocrats."

From my perception, no wonder we score questionably on this.  Given that the FAR Left and FAR Right are sizeable blocks in our polarized country, what in the world would success look like?  Since our States intentionally have significant power, what would success look like?

Here was their summary:

The global average score hit an all-time low.

As recorded in the Democracy Index in recent years, democracy has not been in robust health for some time. In 2020 its strength was further tested by the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The average global score in the 2020 Democracy Index fell from 5.44 in 2019 to 5.37. This is by far the worst global score since the index was first produced in 2006. The 2020 result represents a significant deterioration and came about largely—but not solely—because of government-imposed restrictions on individual freedoms and civil liberties that occurred across the globe in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The deterioration in the global score in 2020 was driven by a decline in the average regional score everywhere in the world, but by especially large falls in the “authoritarian regime”-dominated regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa. Their scores declined by 0.10 and 0.09, respectively, between 2019 and 2020. Western Europe and eastern Europe both recorded a fall in their average regional scores of 0.06. The score for Asia and Australasia, the region which has made the most democratic progress during the lifetime of the Democracy Index, fell by 0.05. Latin America’s average score declined by 0.04 in 2020, marking the fifth consecutive year of regression for the region. The average score for North America fell by only 0.01, but a bigger decline of 0.04 in the US score was masked by an improvement in Canada’s score.

US democracy under pressure from rising polarisation and declining social

cohesion. The US’s performance across several indicators changed in 2020, both for better and worse. However, the negatives outweighed the positives, and the US retained its “flawed democracy” status (see page 42). Increased political participation was the main positive: Americans have become much more engaged in politics in recent years, and several factors fuelled the continuation of this trend in 2020 including the politicisation of the coronavirus pandemic, movements to address police violence and racial injustice, and elections that attracted record voter turnout. The negatives include extremely low levels of trust in institutions and political parties, deep dysfunction in the functioning of government, increasing threats to freedom of expression, and a degree of societal polarisation that makes consensus almost impossible to achieve. Social cohesion has collapsed, and consensus has evaporated on fundamental issues—even the date of the country’s founding. The new president, Joe Biden, faces a huge challenge in bringing together a country that is deeply divided over core values.

Extreme Weather Causation?

Massive killer tornadoes in December?

A tornado in MN in December?

I have not visited the folks lately, however I assume FOX is blaming these on Biden... :-O

Where as this is the real reason...  More energy in the atmosphere...

History by Trump / O'Rielly?

Who would be dumb enough to PAY for this?

Thankfully not many people... 

FOX Loses Credibility

with Chris Wallace leaving. not that it will likely matter to their viewers who seem willing to believe conspiracy theories,  false claims, etc.  It will be interesting to see if they replace Chris with a real honest journalist, or if they try to turn the Sunday morning show into right wing entertainment like most of their cable broadcasting?

Brett Baier seems to do moderately well at sticking to fact based news.  Only time will tell.

Trump For US Debt Default

 After he caused it.  If you doubt this, please remember the unpaid for tax cuts, the year after year spending increases and the HUGE bailouts.

And I bet there are foolish people who forget that Trump is the cause of our HUGE deficits and the need to increase the Debt Limit.

What would we expect from a guy mismanaged companies into bankruptcy 6 TIMES. :-O

Democracy to End in 2024?

TRUMP’S NEXT COUP HAS ALREADY BEGUN  January 6 was practice. Donald Trump’s GOP is much better positioned to subvert the next election.

Laurie left that Atlantic link.  If you can not get to it, in essence it says that the GOP is working in battle ground states so they can disqualify votes in districts and votes that they disagree with.  And to some extent that is true.

My response was. "Too conspiracy minded for me.  The best thing the DEMs can do is start sounding like the party of reason, law, order, fiscal responsibility, etc. Unfortunately the Progressives are not allowing that."  "I was just thinking how Jerry would interpret those GOP actions... "It is about time they cancel all those "illegal" votes" !!!!"

Laurie's response to that was "I think democracy in America will end in 2024. Are you concerned about this possibility?"

US News Piece

Roll Call Piece

Brennan Piece

I guess I do not see our democracy coming to an end, though I am very sad that so many GOPers are delusional about 2020.  4 states and 7.5 million votes and they just can not admit that Trump go stomped on.

I am optimistic because at one point minorities and women could not vote, now they can.  White conservatives are dropping like flies due to COVID and over doses. And I have to have faith that moderate people like me will swing the elections to more moderate positions.  It may be screwed up for awhile, however I think we will continue to improve over time.  Hopefully!!!

School Shootings

 Are at a Record High :-(

And conservatives freak over stupid stuff.

It is amazing and sad.

COVID Holiday

Thankfully everyone was vaccinated at our Thanksgiving gathering.  But maybe we will need to try this out during the next festivities. :-) 

Responsibility to Vote

And to help all citizens to vote. The Mrs. and I visited my daughter in Washington DC this weekend.  We toured and toured and toured some more.  If you have not gotten there, you should do so.  There are so many wonderful museums full of incredible history.

The only problem is that I think too much and the history of voting rights has me all riled up!!! :-O

The founding fathers gave a lot of thought to the topic originally, I mean we did not end up as some monarchy.  Then we fought a MASSIVE war to free slaves and worked to give all men the right to vote.  Then some incredible people worked for 50 years to get women the right to vote.  Then there were decades of on going efforts to ensure that States did not rob minorities and women of their hard fought for rights.  Given all of this history, I am trying to determine who sickens me more:

1. The lazy women / minority citizens who do not get out vote?
2. The self serving slime who want to make it harder for some Americans to vote?

On the upside, it did reinforce the importance of voting for me personally.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Law and Order?

This summarizes things pretty well... :-)

A Kid, A Gun and Murder

Kyle may have gotten off because of legal technicalities and he was a panzy who was scared of some people chasing him.  However I certainly think him and his friend (Dominick Black)  should be sharing a cell for a good long time.

Thankfully in this case the civil court will have a chance to punish him, his idiot friend and likely his parents.

I mean how does a stupid pumped up chicken shit bully end up at a protest with AR15?  And then he kills 2 people and injures a third innocent person because he is scared?  At least 2 of those guys were heroes who tried to stop what they thought to be an active shooter.  

Now I can understand killing to protect your home, your livelihood, your family or to get vengeance against an evil person who did you or your family severe harm.  But if a would be vigilantly who has watched too many Punisher movies starts killing citizens...  Everyone should be enraged and seeking to send him to jail.

Unfortunately it seems that many disturbed individuals in our country are okay with armed untrained yahoos walking our streets playing shootem up. :-( 

Unvaccinated Driving MN COVID

 If you can not go to the hospital, thank your unvaccinated friends.

Not only are they ~15X more likely to be hospitalized...

They can also be in there for multiple weeks tying up critical resources that could be used to treat other patients.

Biden and Progressives

Seem to going for more spending and taxes.  Oh well, hopefully more moderate heads will win in the end.

Kind of like when McCain chose to vote NO to ending ACA / Obamacare with no plan for what was to take it's place.  Why do parties try to over reach so often? :-( 

You know my crazy preference... Balance the budget by cutting entitlements and raising taxes...  Good thing I am not running for office.

Wyoming GOP Boots Liz

Cheney from GOP.  The party of Trump, Lies, Conspiracies, etc seems to be doubling down on its insanity by ousting one of its most respectable members.

It will be interesting if she runs as an independent, splits the vote and it leads to a DEM candidate. :-O

Obstructionism is ???

 GOP to punish Bi-Partisan Politicians?

I find it simply sickening that the apparent goal of the Republican party is to totally stymie any and all bi-partisan work?  Then of course they and their Far Right base will complain that nothing gets done in Washington DC.  Of course, the DEMs and their Far Left base play the same stupid game when the tables are turned.

They seem just fine driving this country into the ground as long as they stop their "opponent".  Given the 2 polarized tribes we have gathered into and who we elect.  I guess we Americans are getting the government dysfunction that we deserve.

Trump Failed at Infrastructure

 And he is upset that Biden succeeded.

He definitely was our most petty President.

Bi-partisan Infrastructure Summary

Bi-partisan Infrastructure Bill Details

Fear and Obsession

No wonder so many people are stressed out !!!  Both Tribe Liberal and Tribe Conservative seem to thrive on scare mongering and feeding fear / anger.  And their members seem to have an insatiable hunger for that negative worrying stream?  

Now let's remember a few things:

• They make money when you tune in.  Just like a weather person predicting potential storms to drive ratings, these folks sensationalize and scare you into tuning in.
• The USA has survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, 2 World Wars, etc.  It is unlikely to end anytime soon.
• Turn off your TV, Phone, computer, etc and spend more time enjoying life, volunteering to help others, living in the PRESENT, etc and you will feel much of that anxiety flow away.
• If you spend much of your time thinking about what may happen, you will likely die earlier and waste many of the days between now and then.

I hope you will have a wonderful media free day !!!!

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

750,000 and growing

Well Thursday I followed up my initial J&J vaccination with a Pfizer booster.  And I still do not understand the cowardice many rural American's are showing?

It seems to be people in those communities that are still dying at a higher rate so it should not bother me too much.  But it is such a pointless waste...  I guess it is true... You will reap what you sew...

Stupid Wokeness Cost DEMs BIG

says James Carville.  This was interesting to watch and I certainly agree with him.

The "woke progressives" are somewhat nuts and going to cost the DEMs their majority.

I mean if the GOP doesn't shoot themselves in the foot by running crazy Trump clones, the GOP is going to stomp them in 2022.

SALT Deduction Unacceptable

 To Bernie Sanders.  Here is a quick reminder...

"The repeal of the SALT provision - which caps federal deductions for state and local tax at $10,000 - has long been championed by some Democratic lawmakers, who believe that the Trump-era law unfairly impacted those in high tax blue states, like New Jersey or California.

The SALT deduction allows taxpayers to deduct their state and local tax totals from their federal obligation. Trump's tax plan especially hit people with properties in multiple states, which could deduct their state property-tax totals in, for instance, New York City, if they had a property there and a nearby state like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Connecticut."

The irony of this is that usually DEMs support this deduction, even though it allows people liberal states to avoid paying their fair share of federal taxes.

I personally really DISLIKE this deduction for that exact reason.  I mean if DEMs from Liberal states are going to pass a LOT of Federal spending, welfare, etc...  Then I want them to pay their FULL Federal tax bill, not get to shield their income because they live in a high tax state.  

If they want to vote Progressive, they should be happy to pay high Local, State and Federal taxes. Right?

Why Smart People Can Be SO STUPID

Very Easily It Seems.  It is actually more amazing that people often get things correct.  I mean just look at all the ways in which we can deny knowledge and protect our personal beliefs.  If you truly want to be wise / knowledgeable, it is worth asking how prone you are to these cognitive errors?  And what are you willing to do to correct for them?

List of Common Cognitive Biases

1. Confirmation Bias
2. Hindsight Bias
3. Anchoring Bias
4. Misinformation Effect
5. Actor-Observer Bias
6. False Consensus Effect
7. Halo Effect
8. Self-Serving Bias
9. Availability Heuristic
10. Optimism Bias
11. Attentional bias
12. Functional fixedness
13. The Dunning-Kruger effect

What Is Cognitive Bias?

A cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are processing and interpreting information in the world around them and affects the decisions and judgments that they make.

The human brain is powerful but subject to limitations. Cognitive biases are often a result of your brain's attempt to simplify information processing. Biases often work as rules of thumb that help you make sense of the world and reach decisions with relative speed.

Some of these biases are related to memory. The way you remember an event may be biased for a number of reasons and that, in turn, can lead to biased thinking and decision-making.

Other cognitive biases might be related to problems with attention. Since attention is a limited resource, people have to be selective about what they pay attention to in the world around them.

Because of this, subtle biases can creep in and influence the way you see and think about the world.

Tax the Billionaires?

Why Elon Musk dislikes the idea.  

FED Wealth Analysis

Billionaire Wealth Gain

I do wonder how many people would be against ensuring these folks are paying a higher rate than the normal work folks?

A Land of Free Choice

Vaccine Shot or Pink Slip.  My employer falls under the federal mandate, so it will be interesting to see what my vaccine reluctant co-workers choose?

Let's Tax the Rich?

 Are people finally okay with it?  I mean folks do not want to cut Entitlements or Defense spending. (vast majority of Federal spending)   

So the money needs to come from somewhere.  And we certainly are not going to get it from the lower 75th percentile.  What other choices do we have?

Maybe DEMs Can Win

 if Trump Urges Voter Boycott...  And people seem to keep listening to his ideas and lies. :-(

By the way, here is a final scorecard regarding the Trump Presidency.

Manchin Understands

Americans.  Too bad the DEMs do not listen to him. If they did, maybe they could rebuild their blue wall.  Instead they seem to keep ignoring the normal middle class main stream folks.  More regarding the work by David Shor.  And the possible consequences for the 2022 election.

Rural Denial Strikes Home

 

On a lighter note

Maybe folks weren't selfish chickens back then?

Politicians Play as US Totters

towards default and recession.  This comic is SO TRUE...

So what would happen if they fail to act like responsible adults who pay the bills they previously passed?  

I mean the GOP and Trump cut taxes, raised spending, did nothing about entitlements, handed out Trillions of dollars of bailouts, encouraged the FED to print money, etc.  Which of course increased the annual deficits...  And drove us to hit the debt ceiling even sooner...

And now the GOP politicians choose to play chicken with DEMs?

Me Me Me Me Me

Is that all people are concerned about?  I have been exchanging comments with some folks on FB who are skeptical and/or fearful of the COVID vaccines.  Some of their comments were:

• I am not scared of the vaccine.
• I am okay if I get COVID. My choice.
• I may experience long term issues from vaccine.
• I don't trust the main stream media.
• I don't trust the CDC, Mayo Clinic, John Hopkins, State Reporting, etc
• I am 99.7% likely to survive COVID
• I should be free to do as I wish. Just lock up the "at risk" and elderly.
• I should get excellent healthcare no matter what choices I make.

Below are some of my responses.  I am still curious how our society became so "ME" centered ???

---------------------------------------

 Personally I am not worried about the people who choose to remain unvaccinated. That is their choice and they will need to bear the consequences.

I am concerned that they are

- more likely to be virus carriers

- more likely to be hospitalized

- filling hospitals so they need to ration care

- torturing and burning out healthcare personnel with needless deaths

The simple reality is that COVID Delta is killing people and over whelming hospitals in the states where individuals chose to not get vaccinated. (as shown below) In fact, most of the last 100,000 dead were the unvaccinated.

Thankfully this wave seems to be cresting. Let's just hope the next one will be smaller, not bigger.

How do you think injecting a weakened or dead virus into you is going to kill people decades from now? We are exposed to viruses every day. Please explain. Thanks and stay safe. John

------------------------------------------

If by Main Stream Media, you mean the CDC, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, State Case Reporting, etc. Then I am guilty as charged.

So would we have moved everyone with high risk factors into internment camps or something, along with everyone who was need to care for them? Somehow radiated the food and supplies that were delivered to those sites? Stopped people from visiting them? For how long?

It sounds like you support the FL method over the NY method. That test so far has cost a lot of lives. It will be interesting to see what happens going forward. (see below)

Please remember that I am an analyst, not a zealot. If people want to jump off bridges, ride motorcycles without a helmet, smoke a pack a day, drive drunk, text /drive or not get vaccinated.

I am fine with that, though I do not support other citizens suffering or dying because of those choices. In this case the non-vaccinated are still filling hospitals, exposing healthcare workers to unnecessary trauma, delaying treatments / surgeries for other citizens, subjecting their family to unnecessary trauma, etc.

Maybe unvaccinated people could sign a waiver that says "society shall not need to treat me for COVID if I start finding it hard to breathe"? Or "I will be financially liable if it is proven that I have infected others and caused their death"? Then they truly would bear the consequences of their choices.

I assume you think people should be held accountable when they choose to text/ drive or drink/drive, and harm others?

It is truly a worthy discussion to have and thank you for being so polite about it.

----------------------------------------

What source would you recommend for the other side?

From South of the Border

 From The Real Inn Tijuana...  Yesterday I flew to San Diego, took a taxi to the border and walked across for a work trip. Now I am settled into my hotel room with this interesting view of Tijuana and the Border Wall.

Coming to Mexico was simple.  It will be interesting to see how walking back on Wednesday will be... :-O 

Maricopa Audit Results

 A Brief Summary of Reality.

And the Spin for the Crazy Person.

More rational coverage.

I am happy to hear the count was pretty gosh darned accurate.

Too bad the folks who want to undermine faith in our country and its election system seem intent on continuing their efforts. :-(

$1 BILLION for Israel Iron Dome. Really?

 What are politicians thinking?   I will never understand why the USA spends SO MUCH MONEY in Israel...  Apparently we gave them $38 BILLION in 2020... Why did we do this again?

How Are Things Going For Biden?

~8 months in...  I certainly like the fact that Biden tells the truth more often than his predecessor.

However he seems SO SCREWED...  He has:

• Progressives demanding over reach on all fronts, even though it will likely cost them the House and Senate in 2022. (ie spending, migrants, police reform, voter rights, etc)
• Republican politicians who seem happy to destroy the US economy just to make Biden look bad.  (cut off nose to spite face)
• Crazy irresponsible anti-vaxxers who seem to be happy supporting the spread of COVID and the death of their neighbors.

Oh well, the DEMs had a chance to show they could manage the country better than the GOPers...  So far it does not seem to be working out very well for them.  Oh Well...

Will GOP Wreck Economy?

By defaulting on US debts just to  make Biden look Bad?

Of course, the hypocrite GOPers never hesitated to raise the debt ceiling while Trump was President and way over spending revenues.

Now I personally would demand that the government raise taxes and cut spending to balance the budget.  Unfortunately I seem to be in a very small minority of fiscally responsible adults.  Most seem fine with living well by heaping debt on their kids.

That is a selfishness I will never understand...

SS Reduction Gets Real

People in 50's to get Less?

I keep covering this topic, so I am happy when the media does so also. :-) 

And yet the politicians and general population keep their heads in the sand. :-O 

SCOTUS Partisan or Perspective

SCOTUS Barrett      SCOTUS Breyer

Both indicate that the court is not partisan, that decision are made because of their interpretation of the Constitution and the Law.

Given that we can tell most of the time how the  court will rule by the topic.  I find this hard to believe.

Though  it is nice that sometimes 1 or 2 of the Justices still surprise us at times.  Thoughts?