Have You folks got the message yet? This Trump thing is not working. Just look at the facts.
The promise to end out Mid Easr woes? They are worse. The promise to rein in N/ Korea? They just figured out how yo launch an ICBM.
Get tough with China/ They're now our best buddies.
At Home? They cannot write am immigration directive that can pass the courts The Wall is not going to happen. Health Care reform is going to take a wee bit longer. Yax reform is being pushed down the road. Jobs are being created at avout the same ratel we have no huge upswing in employment.
The whole 'buy American' thing will remain a joke since his own daughter's clothing line is produced elsewhere.
The White House gas become a den of backstabbers worthy of the Medici's of old Iraly. They function from crisis to crisis, ,ost caused by the President's bug mouth, over blown ego and increasing paranoia.
This cannot continue or the Nation will be a roral disaster. So, with that in mind, I want you all to practice saying '{resident Mike Pence."
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Monday, March 20, 2017
America - Watch the Pea
I imagine most folks have seen the shell game. You know, the one where the con man put a pea under a walnut shell, flanked by 2 empty shells, shuffles them around and the poor idiot who bet with him has to pick the one with the pea under it. The con man always wins. Americans are being conned.
We are being urged to be concerned about wiretapping. Look, everyone spies on everyone. Every nation with any sort of power tries to influence other nations and everyone in any country's political system spies on every other politician. That is just the way things are and no amount of investigating is going to change a bit of it.
We are told that we should be vitally concerned about the Supreme Court Nominee's hearing. Why? It's a done deal. When Trump was elected, he got to make his pick and while you may not be happy about it, that is the way Government works, The Nominee is qualified and, thanks to he Democrat's own parliamentary manipulations, the work of Harry Reid, they cannot even filibuster the matter. Truth be told, with the exception of abortion rights and, maybe gay rights, their is little that the appointment is likely to change. Even in those cases, the issues will likely go back to the States, where they always belonged, and if you are not happy with your State, you have the right to move.
What is being hidden? Two things. First, real climate change. I do not believe humans are destroying the environment with fossil fuels, but we have done plenty of damage by dumping toxic wastes in an indiscriminant manner and by attempting to hide nuclear waste in old mines instead of spending the money to learn how to recycle fuel rods. I might also add our seeming obsession with growing useless grass by wasting vast amounts of good water. But. all that aside, the climate is changing, likely due to natural cycles of change. Geologist know that the climate just sometimes changes, radically and we are at one of those times. No need to panic, we can adapt, but not if we don't get busy. We don't get busy because a great deal if the problem is happening around coastal areas and there is no good solution except moving people out. But, they are important business and resort areas, so we don't want to do that. Atlantic City, NJ and Miami Beach, Fl are subjected to regular flooding these days, but we don't want to deal with it.
The other issue being hidden is the fact that the World has seemingly gone quite insane. Russia is now saying that, if confronted by a threatening conventional army, it would consider using nukes to 'de-escalate' the crisis. This would be like putting a fox in a henhouse to de-escalate a squabble between 2 chickens and it is madness. But, there is more. Israel is now flying bombing raids and lobbing missiles in Syria. The pretext is to prevent arms shipments to Lebanon; the reality is to put pressure on Iran to stay out of Syria, Iran is going to do no such thing, so the tension will rise. Add to this China's reluctance to rein in the fat Korean kid (or maybe they just can't do it) and war of some sort is becoming a real possibility. US officials don't want you thinking about this because they would have to admit that they cannot do much about any of this. Contrary to what we have been taught, we do not rule the World.
So don't sweat all of these Senate investigations. Don't get yourself in an uproar over the Health Care bill (yeah, it's bad deal. Don't fret, it won't pass). Relax, enjoy your time while you can because it is going to get rough soon.
We are being urged to be concerned about wiretapping. Look, everyone spies on everyone. Every nation with any sort of power tries to influence other nations and everyone in any country's political system spies on every other politician. That is just the way things are and no amount of investigating is going to change a bit of it.
We are told that we should be vitally concerned about the Supreme Court Nominee's hearing. Why? It's a done deal. When Trump was elected, he got to make his pick and while you may not be happy about it, that is the way Government works, The Nominee is qualified and, thanks to he Democrat's own parliamentary manipulations, the work of Harry Reid, they cannot even filibuster the matter. Truth be told, with the exception of abortion rights and, maybe gay rights, their is little that the appointment is likely to change. Even in those cases, the issues will likely go back to the States, where they always belonged, and if you are not happy with your State, you have the right to move.
What is being hidden? Two things. First, real climate change. I do not believe humans are destroying the environment with fossil fuels, but we have done plenty of damage by dumping toxic wastes in an indiscriminant manner and by attempting to hide nuclear waste in old mines instead of spending the money to learn how to recycle fuel rods. I might also add our seeming obsession with growing useless grass by wasting vast amounts of good water. But. all that aside, the climate is changing, likely due to natural cycles of change. Geologist know that the climate just sometimes changes, radically and we are at one of those times. No need to panic, we can adapt, but not if we don't get busy. We don't get busy because a great deal if the problem is happening around coastal areas and there is no good solution except moving people out. But, they are important business and resort areas, so we don't want to do that. Atlantic City, NJ and Miami Beach, Fl are subjected to regular flooding these days, but we don't want to deal with it.
The other issue being hidden is the fact that the World has seemingly gone quite insane. Russia is now saying that, if confronted by a threatening conventional army, it would consider using nukes to 'de-escalate' the crisis. This would be like putting a fox in a henhouse to de-escalate a squabble between 2 chickens and it is madness. But, there is more. Israel is now flying bombing raids and lobbing missiles in Syria. The pretext is to prevent arms shipments to Lebanon; the reality is to put pressure on Iran to stay out of Syria, Iran is going to do no such thing, so the tension will rise. Add to this China's reluctance to rein in the fat Korean kid (or maybe they just can't do it) and war of some sort is becoming a real possibility. US officials don't want you thinking about this because they would have to admit that they cannot do much about any of this. Contrary to what we have been taught, we do not rule the World.
So don't sweat all of these Senate investigations. Don't get yourself in an uproar over the Health Care bill (yeah, it's bad deal. Don't fret, it won't pass). Relax, enjoy your time while you can because it is going to get rough soon.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
America and the Global Game of Risk
I don't know if people still play the old board game of Risk,, in which the goal was World conquest, but all over the World, that game is heating up and it needs to cool down.
Old alliances are breaking down. The EU is teetering and Brexit is looking more and more sure (the House of Commons has approved it and the House of Lords seems likely to follow).NATO is splintering, with Turkey growing very close to Russia and Trump vowing to review our role in that increasingly irrelevant organization.
The UN has grown so irrelevant that the US is talking about defunding it, or at least cutting the amount we contribute.
The Mid East is torn to bits. It seems that most of the Countries hate each other and share only one thing, their hatred of Israel. Israel must be feeling a tad better with Trump in office. They are undoubtedly glad to see Obama gone, but they must be getting a wee bit nervous over the increasing presence of Russia in the area, especially the great friendship between Russia, Iran, and Turkey. If Assad survives in Syria, he will join those three and I imagine Israel will begin to sweat a little.
Especially with Trump seemingly wanting to be buddies with Russia. I certainly agree that it is better to be cordial with Russia than at each other's throats, but we need to be very cautious. Putin is playing a different game than we are, and the more I read about it, the less I believe that we should trust the man. Reach agreements? Yes. Trust? No.
And what of Asia? That may be worse. China is growing very aggressive, now claiming islands traditionally thought of as Japan's and is claiming waters thought of as International. By all accounts, tales of their fantastic economy have been greatly exaggerated. South Korea is reeling from political corruption. Thailand and Myanmar are unstable. India and Pakistan are still at each other and still remain sewers barely fit for human habitation. Japan is very jittery, in part because the insane fat kid in North Korea is still building nukes and trying to figure out how to build rockets that work (odd, it seems harder to build working missiles than it is to build nukes; peculiar).
Africa is a disaster. South Africa is relatively wealthy and stable, relatively, for now. The rest of the Continent is torn by tribal and religious wars, and is an ecological disaster, in part because of war, in part because of bad farming practices, and in part because of the whims of the Natural World. The last I heard, and this changes daily, Zimbabwe was almost inaccessible to outsiders and the Congo had 14 different armies fighting for power. The Northern Countries are worse.
South and Central America are slightly better than Africa, but only slightly. Disease, poverty and corrupt leaders, combined with ecological havoc caused by a combination of clear cutting rainforests, poor farming and worse mining procedures and Natural climate changes, have left a vastly over populated and impoverished people.
The big players, America, China, and Russia are playing Risk with the World. They are positioning troops, building industries and spending money in efforts to carve out their spheres of influence. It is fascinating to watch this game of imperialism play itself out, but it is a terrible idea. Imperialism was rampant in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and it all played itself out in the early 20th Century when WW1 shocked the World. This led to WW2 which should have made it clear that imperialism is a really, really bad idea, but it seems that humans just don't learn. We are living in fascinating and very dangerous times.
Old alliances are breaking down. The EU is teetering and Brexit is looking more and more sure (the House of Commons has approved it and the House of Lords seems likely to follow).NATO is splintering, with Turkey growing very close to Russia and Trump vowing to review our role in that increasingly irrelevant organization.
The UN has grown so irrelevant that the US is talking about defunding it, or at least cutting the amount we contribute.
The Mid East is torn to bits. It seems that most of the Countries hate each other and share only one thing, their hatred of Israel. Israel must be feeling a tad better with Trump in office. They are undoubtedly glad to see Obama gone, but they must be getting a wee bit nervous over the increasing presence of Russia in the area, especially the great friendship between Russia, Iran, and Turkey. If Assad survives in Syria, he will join those three and I imagine Israel will begin to sweat a little.
Especially with Trump seemingly wanting to be buddies with Russia. I certainly agree that it is better to be cordial with Russia than at each other's throats, but we need to be very cautious. Putin is playing a different game than we are, and the more I read about it, the less I believe that we should trust the man. Reach agreements? Yes. Trust? No.
And what of Asia? That may be worse. China is growing very aggressive, now claiming islands traditionally thought of as Japan's and is claiming waters thought of as International. By all accounts, tales of their fantastic economy have been greatly exaggerated. South Korea is reeling from political corruption. Thailand and Myanmar are unstable. India and Pakistan are still at each other and still remain sewers barely fit for human habitation. Japan is very jittery, in part because the insane fat kid in North Korea is still building nukes and trying to figure out how to build rockets that work (odd, it seems harder to build working missiles than it is to build nukes; peculiar).
Africa is a disaster. South Africa is relatively wealthy and stable, relatively, for now. The rest of the Continent is torn by tribal and religious wars, and is an ecological disaster, in part because of war, in part because of bad farming practices, and in part because of the whims of the Natural World. The last I heard, and this changes daily, Zimbabwe was almost inaccessible to outsiders and the Congo had 14 different armies fighting for power. The Northern Countries are worse.
South and Central America are slightly better than Africa, but only slightly. Disease, poverty and corrupt leaders, combined with ecological havoc caused by a combination of clear cutting rainforests, poor farming and worse mining procedures and Natural climate changes, have left a vastly over populated and impoverished people.
The big players, America, China, and Russia are playing Risk with the World. They are positioning troops, building industries and spending money in efforts to carve out their spheres of influence. It is fascinating to watch this game of imperialism play itself out, but it is a terrible idea. Imperialism was rampant in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and it all played itself out in the early 20th Century when WW1 shocked the World. This led to WW2 which should have made it clear that imperialism is a really, really bad idea, but it seems that humans just don't learn. We are living in fascinating and very dangerous times.
Friday, February 3, 2017
America - Look at What's Happening
This weekend we are going to have the Super Bowl. We have been hit with controversy and protests over the immigration issue and Democrats are threatening all sorts of things they cannot do to stop Trump's SCOTUS appointment. Do not pay any attention to a bit of that. Ignore demonstrations in Berkley. Give not 15 seconds thought to possible LGBT discrimination or religious freedom rants.
Fascinating issues, one and all, but side shows. Watch Russia, Iran, Israel, China and Korea if you want to see the future. We are entering a war time era. Will we see true warfare any time soon? Maybe, but even if we do not, there will be incredible tension. When? Good question. Ten minutes from now is a distinct possibility. Within 10 years is almost a sure bet. However, there is a way out, for the USA. The folks running this Administration, and how much that includes Trump I don't know and really don't care (Trump may be part of the side show), are smart and competent. Russia is playing odd games, but we can deal with them, carefully. China is desperate. They cannot grow enough food and with increasing efficiency in American industries, we really do not need them to turn out cheap goods. S. Korea is a corrupt mess and N. Korea seemingly has a suicide wish because they keep stirring the hornet's nest, even though they cannot possibly get their way. Iran and Israel will, one day, finally blow up and Iran will be no more.
But, what do we do? We seem to be moving on 2 fronts. One, fear. We are scaring the crap out of other nations while getting ready to rebuild and modernize our already awesome military. Second, withdrawal. We are closing borders, ousting illegals and making it clear that all future economic deals will favor us. Corporations are coming home and seem to understand that in the current world atmosphere, home is the safest place to be. They even seem willing to boost the sagging lifestyle of the average American, maybe because of altruism but, certainly because they know a somewhat prosperous middle class (which has been decimated by previous Administrations) is not going to be given to upsetting the apple cart.
So, again, if all goes well, things will be okay, maybe even good. But that will only happen after a very rocky period.
Fascinating issues, one and all, but side shows. Watch Russia, Iran, Israel, China and Korea if you want to see the future. We are entering a war time era. Will we see true warfare any time soon? Maybe, but even if we do not, there will be incredible tension. When? Good question. Ten minutes from now is a distinct possibility. Within 10 years is almost a sure bet. However, there is a way out, for the USA. The folks running this Administration, and how much that includes Trump I don't know and really don't care (Trump may be part of the side show), are smart and competent. Russia is playing odd games, but we can deal with them, carefully. China is desperate. They cannot grow enough food and with increasing efficiency in American industries, we really do not need them to turn out cheap goods. S. Korea is a corrupt mess and N. Korea seemingly has a suicide wish because they keep stirring the hornet's nest, even though they cannot possibly get their way. Iran and Israel will, one day, finally blow up and Iran will be no more.
But, what do we do? We seem to be moving on 2 fronts. One, fear. We are scaring the crap out of other nations while getting ready to rebuild and modernize our already awesome military. Second, withdrawal. We are closing borders, ousting illegals and making it clear that all future economic deals will favor us. Corporations are coming home and seem to understand that in the current world atmosphere, home is the safest place to be. They even seem willing to boost the sagging lifestyle of the average American, maybe because of altruism but, certainly because they know a somewhat prosperous middle class (which has been decimated by previous Administrations) is not going to be given to upsetting the apple cart.
So, again, if all goes well, things will be okay, maybe even good. But that will only happen after a very rocky period.
Friday, December 23, 2016
America - Merry Christmas
We have truck terrorism in Germany, a plane hijacking in Malta. a shooting in Switzerland, an assassination in Turkey. Russia is modernizing its nukes and Trump is insisting we do the same. Clinton supporters are still whining and a few are trying to impeach Trump before he takes office.
China is kvetching about The Donald. Obama is blaming the news media for his woes. Syria has basically been demolished, and Iraq is still fighting. ISIS is calling for the Holiday bombings of Churches. Indonesia, Germany and Australia have just arrested several suspected terrorists and the Tampa, Fl. police have busted a guy in the process of building a bunch of bombs.
Heroin is rampant and the NY cops just busted some folks with 250 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms. No one has a clue what we are going to do economically and Congress is ready to go after most of the Cabinet appointees, when they're not busy investigating the ubiquitous Clinton emails.
My solution? For the next few days, forget the whole mess. There is not one thing you can do about any of it. Sit back and enjoy the Holidays.
Merry Christmas to one and all, and have a Happy, prosperous New Year.
China is kvetching about The Donald. Obama is blaming the news media for his woes. Syria has basically been demolished, and Iraq is still fighting. ISIS is calling for the Holiday bombings of Churches. Indonesia, Germany and Australia have just arrested several suspected terrorists and the Tampa, Fl. police have busted a guy in the process of building a bunch of bombs.
Heroin is rampant and the NY cops just busted some folks with 250 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms. No one has a clue what we are going to do economically and Congress is ready to go after most of the Cabinet appointees, when they're not busy investigating the ubiquitous Clinton emails.
My solution? For the next few days, forget the whole mess. There is not one thing you can do about any of it. Sit back and enjoy the Holidays.
Merry Christmas to one and all, and have a Happy, prosperous New Year.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
America - The Donald Chronicles, Part 1
Here and there, I want to point out the strange activities of our President elect. I will call these posts the Donald Chronicles.
Right now, Trump seems intent on filling his Cabinet with as many Military officers as possible. These guys also, often, have deep ties to the Defense industry. I get a wee bit uncomfortable with such folks controlling how the Government spends its Defense dollars. Also, the Military seldom has a lot of interest in keeping us out of conflicts, since conflicts justify all that money they get.
Trump has, seemingly (it is really hard to keep track of what he's doing) gone from four candidates for Secretary of State to maybe as many as ten. This includes Gen. Petraeus. who admitted and resigned from the CIA because of giving classified information to his biographer and lover. This is the same crime Trump beleaguered Hillary about. She deserved it, but why is he excepting the General's behavior.
Then, we have his financial issues. He says he will give control of his business to his kids, but then wants his kids as advisors, setting up a very real conflict of interest problem. Then, today, he says he might keep some control of his business. Legally, he doesn't have to do anything. He can run his business while President if he wants to, but it does seem a might tacky. Any way you look at it, it would be nice if he could just make up his mind.
Then, we have Gen. Flynn, who has gravely and idiotically insulted the Chinese. He has written that they, the Russians, the Cubans, and the North Koreans are deeply tied to Al Qaida and ISIS. The Chinese point out that a) it's not true and b) they are having huge Islamic problems of their own with their Moslem Uighar population, which makes their denial of ties to terrorist groups pretty plausible.
Trump named a virulent Global warming opponent to head the EPA, which is at least consistent with his stated position on the matter (he called it a hoax created by the Chinese, angering them even more). However, he then says maybe he's wrong and has started asking Climate Change aficionados to visits at Trump Tower.
He is claiming that he has negotiated with Carrier and convinced them to stay in the USA. Well, that is sort of truthy. Yes, a good number of jobs are staying, but a great many are still going away and it only cost us $7,000,000 in tax breaks. I didn't know we were going to bribe companies into staying.
As far as the Japanese banker investing $50 billion in the USA, I would love to know the details and as far as the 50,000 jobs that is supposed to bring, well, we are going to have to wait and see on that, but I would not hold my breath.
I will return to the Chronicles of The Donald in the near future. In the meantime, remember this. Everything that is being said by the media and the President-elect's transition team is just a shell game, three card Monte on a global scale. On the other hand, it is one of the most inane and silly shows on TV.
Right now, Trump seems intent on filling his Cabinet with as many Military officers as possible. These guys also, often, have deep ties to the Defense industry. I get a wee bit uncomfortable with such folks controlling how the Government spends its Defense dollars. Also, the Military seldom has a lot of interest in keeping us out of conflicts, since conflicts justify all that money they get.
Trump has, seemingly (it is really hard to keep track of what he's doing) gone from four candidates for Secretary of State to maybe as many as ten. This includes Gen. Petraeus. who admitted and resigned from the CIA because of giving classified information to his biographer and lover. This is the same crime Trump beleaguered Hillary about. She deserved it, but why is he excepting the General's behavior.
Then, we have his financial issues. He says he will give control of his business to his kids, but then wants his kids as advisors, setting up a very real conflict of interest problem. Then, today, he says he might keep some control of his business. Legally, he doesn't have to do anything. He can run his business while President if he wants to, but it does seem a might tacky. Any way you look at it, it would be nice if he could just make up his mind.
Then, we have Gen. Flynn, who has gravely and idiotically insulted the Chinese. He has written that they, the Russians, the Cubans, and the North Koreans are deeply tied to Al Qaida and ISIS. The Chinese point out that a) it's not true and b) they are having huge Islamic problems of their own with their Moslem Uighar population, which makes their denial of ties to terrorist groups pretty plausible.
Trump named a virulent Global warming opponent to head the EPA, which is at least consistent with his stated position on the matter (he called it a hoax created by the Chinese, angering them even more). However, he then says maybe he's wrong and has started asking Climate Change aficionados to visits at Trump Tower.
He is claiming that he has negotiated with Carrier and convinced them to stay in the USA. Well, that is sort of truthy. Yes, a good number of jobs are staying, but a great many are still going away and it only cost us $7,000,000 in tax breaks. I didn't know we were going to bribe companies into staying.
As far as the Japanese banker investing $50 billion in the USA, I would love to know the details and as far as the 50,000 jobs that is supposed to bring, well, we are going to have to wait and see on that, but I would not hold my breath.
I will return to the Chronicles of The Donald in the near future. In the meantime, remember this. Everything that is being said by the media and the President-elect's transition team is just a shell game, three card Monte on a global scale. On the other hand, it is one of the most inane and silly shows on TV.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
American Disconnect
I want to mention a few things today. First, the Stock Market fluctuations. Today, so far, things are up a bit, but, mostly we have seen a horrible downslide, despite the fact that our leaders tell us the economy is fine. For starters, the economy is not fine. It is sluggish at best. That aside, we are told that uncertainty in China and the sharp decline in oil prices are responsible. As far as China goes, we really have no idea what is going on. Western press correspondents walk on thin ice there. One wrong word and they are subject to censure, arrest, and/or deportation. All reports seem to show considerable unrest in Western China among their sizable Moslem population and it is almost certain that they cannot feed their own population. They do import a tremendous amount of food. Since they have been called a great threat, I am not sure why their failing economy should hurt us. We have other nations we can trade with. China has lent us a bunch of money but, so what? If we tighten our shipments of food, they will have deep troubles. You cannot eat food. So, I do not understand why their economic decline troubles our investors.
Sliding oil prices help the average working man. Gas is now fairly cheap and the less money you put in your car, the more you have to spend. Yet, this troubles investors. Why? Stop and think. The Middle Class, the source, for years, of much of our Nations strength, has been largely wiped out as more and more wealth is in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The poorer we are, the easier we are to control. If we start having a few extra dollars, we might start to be a force in the nation again and the Powers That Be do not want this. A strong Middle Class is their worse nightmare. Does that make sense? Not a bit, but we are dealing with a group of people who have an irrational, no, an insane lust for power. Thus, when things get better for the Average American, such as happens when gas gets cheaper, they panic. We are seeing proof that the interests of Big Business and Big Money are diametrically opposed to the interests of Americans.
In a related story, folks in Iowa are in a snit because the subsidies paid to corn growers are being threatened. Of course, nothing on two or four legs eats this corn, It is converted into ethanol and added to gas. Now, ethanol does not appreciably reduce carbon emissions, and with gas prices low, it is not needed to stretch supplies. It makes sense in a place like Brazil, where they can grow massive amounts of sugar cane and use the scraps left after the sugar is extracted to make the ethanol. Brazil makes the stuff for almost nothing, as a by-product of a cash crop. Here, we have to grow a special crop and a lot of it. This takes up a whole lot of land that could be used for other crops and we see high grocery costs. Ethanol sells for so little that we have to subsidize farmers or they would lose money on the deal. The only legitimate way to use all that corn is to call ethanol what it is, moonshine, and sell it in liquor stores. So, to sum up, we are paying farmers a bunch of money to grow an unneeded crop to make an unneeded product, and they are upset because we seem to be wising up to the deal. This is similar to paying a subsidy to tobacco farmers to grow a product that we then try desperately to get people to quit using. Is it any wonder the Nation is in such bad shape?
Last, let me mention the latest Campaign debacle. I thought Trump had reached a new low when he appeared at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University trying to win over evangelicals. The preposterous image of the Donald trying ineptly to quote scripture was one of the funniest things I have seen in years, but, that aside, what was the point? When will we quit pandering to this group? Evangelical Christians are a small, and ever-shrinking, minority in this Nation. Then, to make things worse, Trump dragged Sarah Palin away from the frozen North Land and back to the spotlight, giving her a chance to once again bray like a jackass and ramble incoherently. Is Trump that desperate? I guess so, because he is hinting that she will have a place in his administration.
I, in the sick, twisted corners of my mind, was sort of hoping that we would, one day, have a Palin-Clinton race for the White House. The thought of those two, screeching at each other like wounded Banshees during a debate would have been worth seeing. Ah well, it looks like we will have to settle for Clinton-Trump. God help us all.
Sliding oil prices help the average working man. Gas is now fairly cheap and the less money you put in your car, the more you have to spend. Yet, this troubles investors. Why? Stop and think. The Middle Class, the source, for years, of much of our Nations strength, has been largely wiped out as more and more wealth is in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The poorer we are, the easier we are to control. If we start having a few extra dollars, we might start to be a force in the nation again and the Powers That Be do not want this. A strong Middle Class is their worse nightmare. Does that make sense? Not a bit, but we are dealing with a group of people who have an irrational, no, an insane lust for power. Thus, when things get better for the Average American, such as happens when gas gets cheaper, they panic. We are seeing proof that the interests of Big Business and Big Money are diametrically opposed to the interests of Americans.
In a related story, folks in Iowa are in a snit because the subsidies paid to corn growers are being threatened. Of course, nothing on two or four legs eats this corn, It is converted into ethanol and added to gas. Now, ethanol does not appreciably reduce carbon emissions, and with gas prices low, it is not needed to stretch supplies. It makes sense in a place like Brazil, where they can grow massive amounts of sugar cane and use the scraps left after the sugar is extracted to make the ethanol. Brazil makes the stuff for almost nothing, as a by-product of a cash crop. Here, we have to grow a special crop and a lot of it. This takes up a whole lot of land that could be used for other crops and we see high grocery costs. Ethanol sells for so little that we have to subsidize farmers or they would lose money on the deal. The only legitimate way to use all that corn is to call ethanol what it is, moonshine, and sell it in liquor stores. So, to sum up, we are paying farmers a bunch of money to grow an unneeded crop to make an unneeded product, and they are upset because we seem to be wising up to the deal. This is similar to paying a subsidy to tobacco farmers to grow a product that we then try desperately to get people to quit using. Is it any wonder the Nation is in such bad shape?
Last, let me mention the latest Campaign debacle. I thought Trump had reached a new low when he appeared at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University trying to win over evangelicals. The preposterous image of the Donald trying ineptly to quote scripture was one of the funniest things I have seen in years, but, that aside, what was the point? When will we quit pandering to this group? Evangelical Christians are a small, and ever-shrinking, minority in this Nation. Then, to make things worse, Trump dragged Sarah Palin away from the frozen North Land and back to the spotlight, giving her a chance to once again bray like a jackass and ramble incoherently. Is Trump that desperate? I guess so, because he is hinting that she will have a place in his administration.
I, in the sick, twisted corners of my mind, was sort of hoping that we would, one day, have a Palin-Clinton race for the White House. The thought of those two, screeching at each other like wounded Banshees during a debate would have been worth seeing. Ah well, it looks like we will have to settle for Clinton-Trump. God help us all.
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