Trade and Education

Huffington Post - Targeting Trade and Trade Pacts for Job Losses Is Counterproductive in Presidential Campaigns.  The Huffington Post is pretty liberal, though, seems to be more behind Hillary than Sanders.  This writer claims that free trade agreements have been good for the United States because the trade deficit is offset by the increase in foreign investment in the United States. I want you to read that again and make sure you understand his argument.

What he has basically argued is that we lose in manufacturing; but, people who own the country are increasing their return by selling the country to foreign interests.  So who paid for the loss of manufacturing? The middle class. And who benefited from the increase in asset sales, the .1%.

So yesterday was Memorial Day, a holiday to honor those who have fought for this country. Today, there were a number of movies about World War II on television. I watched a couple on Turner Classic Movies. I watched "The Cain Mutiny" and "Mr. Roberts". It reminded me of something, the wealthy got drafted during World War II also. By Vietnam, the wealthy were able to keep there kids in college and thereby avoid the draft, they found lots of ways to change the laws so that their kids didn't have to fight and risk their lives.

How many children of the people who run the financial industry are in Iraq, Afghanistan or the military at all? Do you think that globalists send their kids to join the military and fight for this country when they do not believe in nationalism? While much could be said about that, I want to talk about the effect it has. See, during World War II the wealthy fought alongside the poor and middle class, they made friends with people who had less and were risking their lives side by side with them. As a result of that war, America became the wealthiest nation in the world. Wealthy kids today only spend time with the middle or lower class when being served. They do not see themselves as having anything in common with the middle class or lower class because they don't know them on a personal level.

The one place where the young wealthy and middle class are treated almost like equals is in college; but, you are more likely to see people from foreign countries is in the more expensive colleges and you will be less likely to see middle class kids.

I came from a middle class family and my parents poured money into putting me through college. Law School cost them even more and I had to take out school loans. Upon graduating, it took me years to pay off those loans and I did, on time and early. My parents could not have done that today and I would have to had think long and hard before taking on the debt that it would cost today. I probably would have had over $150,000 dollars debt by todays standards. The equivalent of half of the cost of a house in Los Angeles today and I am being very conservative in my numbers. I don't know if I would have taken on that amount of debt.

Here is a question, if middle class and working class cannot afford and are not allowed into state run colleges, then why do we pay for them with our tax dollars? Why are we paying taxes for state run colleges and universities that take foreign students before American students because foreigners pay more?

Here is a thought, why not eliminate all funding for state Universities and use that money to give college vouchers to kids whose parents are middle or working class. Then are taxes will be used to educate our children and they will be free to pick which college to go to without cost being a problem? Isn't that the same logic that is used by the right to promote charter schools and vouchers for private school? It is; but, they will not come out in support of what I just said.

I forgot something, no college vouchers for anyone whose parents make over $300,000 a year, I think their parents don't need the rest of us to help pay for their kids college. Think about it.

2016 Presidential Debates, Sanders, Trump and Clinton.

There have been 12 Republican Presidential debates this season and nine forums. I remember when you were lucky if you got any debates. There is NO requirement that people hold debates, it is a tactical decision and always has been. In fact, if it were not for the League of Women Voters, we would have had a lot fewer debates in the past 40 years; unfortunately, you don't hear about that organization too often anymore. It did a lot of good at examining issues from all sides.

Recently, Trump was asked if he would consider debating Sanders on the Jimmy Kimmel show. YouTube - Donald Trump is Willing to Debate Bernie Sanders.  Watch the video, the statement that was made from Sanders began with the fact that Hillary Clinton had promised to debate Sanders; but, had backed out. Trump said he would consider it if a lot of money went to charity. Trump had previously asked a channel to pay around 10 million if they wanted him to go to the debate with the Republican candidates because he was bringing great ratings and they were making millions off of the debates.

Later Trump said that he would not debate Sanders because Sanders wasn't going to win the nomination and he saw no point. Trump had made it clear in his comment that if they could come to an agreement on the money and the charity, he would debate him; but, there is no evidence that they did come to any agreement or that anyone offered the money he had previously said he would require. Not Fox, CNN, CBS, ABC or NBC came out in public and offered to make the deal, not one. Since then the media has gone wild crying that Trump had said he would and then declined to debate Sanders. By the way, the Democrats have held nine debates. The Democratic debates have had half the viewership and were not shown during premium time slots. In fact, Sanders has complained that the DNC has intentionally had the debates at times when they were the least likely to be watched.

It is to Trumps advantage not to debate Sanders unless Sanders wins his party's nomination. If Trump debates Sanders, how does it help him win the Republican nomination? Sanders wants the debate because if he can best Trump, he might have a better chance against Hillary Clinton. Believe me, the last thing that Clinton wanted was a Sanders Trump debate, she hasn't even kept the agreement with Sanders to hold a debate this month and none is scheduled.

So, here is the question. Why isn't the media pushing Clinton to debate Sanders? Better yet, what prevents the three of them debating? It should be noted that it is also not to Trump's advantage to debate Hillary without Sanders in the debate.  That would only increase her support at the expense of Sanders. Another way to put this is whoever Trump debated would have an advantage in the Democratic primaries.

Do you remember when Trump did not attend one of the Republican debates because they would not give their money to charity? That was big news with all the media asking if it would backfire on him, it did not, the ratings of the debate that he skipped were half that of prior debates. If "The Walking Dead" lost half it's viewership, it would be off the air. The Democratic debates have not scored as well as reruns. Love him or hate him; but, Trump makes ratings and revenue for the media go up.

Now, I want you to see how a mind like mine works on a problem like this. If I were Trump, I would wait until a Democratic nominee was finalized and then challenge them to a debate, immediately. If Clinton is the eventual nominee then I would say, "You refused to debate Sanders in May, will you refuse to debate me?" Her predictable response would be, "Well, you refused to debate him in May too" and the response to that is, "I never ran against him, you did." I the alternative, if she does debate Sanders this month, then Trump's first statement after Clinton wins the nomination should be, "You debated Sanders, do you have the integrity to debate me too". Here is the logic, by acting first, you push your opponent to respond and the slower the response,, the more you learn about them and the weaker is their preparedness. I have an equally complex series of scenarios for a Sander nomination. The point is that this is a chess game, chess is based on strategy and was the game of kings. It was used to train princes to think ahead, to plan to see moves ahead. Strategic thinking is a way of life, it is an approach to how you view the world. Trump is more strategic than Clinton or Sanders.

The truth is, the media and establishment are lying to themselves. Trump can beat Clinton, I am not sure if he can beat Sanders. Trump and Sanders supporters are the same people. Neither supports the establishment, neither believes the media and both are middle class and working class people who have been hurt by the changes in the country and our economy. At the beginning of this race I said I hoped it would be Trump versus Sanders. The establishment oligarchy wanted it to be Bush vs. Clinton, because either outcome meant they remained in control.

If the media cared about the Trump Sanders debate, all they have to do is publically announce that they are willing to pay $15 million to a charity that takes care of veterans. Trump could not then refuse. It is not a complicated thing to do; but, you will not see the media, not CNN, not Fox, not CBS, not NBC and not ABC offer to do that even though they will make a profit. The media does not want a Trump Sanders debate at the moment, as it does not help the one candidate that is still in the race and is owned by the globalists corporations that comprise the 6 companies that own over 90% of all the media.

Failing Hands

I have arthritis in my hands for about 35 years. About 25 years ago my doctor predicted that I would need to have my knuckles replaced in ten years, he expected that my knuckles would need to be removed within the last 15 years, I have exceeded expectations. During that time my hands have continued to deteriorate; but, I have found that the pain has less and less meaning. It may be that the delay has caused some nerve damage, I cannot say. I chose to wait to have the operation and that was my choice. 

The problem now is that my hands are now failing in worse ways. I have kept my hands busy by typing all of my own work and of course this blog also. I can still type; but, I find my hands seizing up in the last month. I thought it might just be the weather; but, it is getting worse. I am now faced with the question again of having my knuckles removed and replaced with plastic. I am quite sure the technology has improved in the last 25 years. My health provider has my history and x-rays of my hands, they documented the problem and would pay for the treatment. I can afford the time needed to heal as I am retired.

Let us consider the risks and rewards of having my knuckles replaced. A mistake might leave me unable to use my hands at all. Success would be no more constant pain and who knows, possibly even the ability to draw again or write legibly. There is another thing to consider, I don't want to have body parts that are not mine. My knuckles and I have been through a lot and they have allowed me to be an artist, a cabinet maker, a writer and fix plumbing. I respect my body, it has always done what I needed it to do.

I think I shall keep my knuckles unless the pain requires constant medication and I cannot use them at all. I have also refused to get laser eye surgery or use contact lenses. I feel no need to change myself at this time; but, I am willing to use items to assist me such as glasses. These things are personal choices. As for the blog, if I can no longer type, I will get a voice program that will type for me. Hope you all have a great weekend.

A Black Scarlett O'Hara? Is It a Good Idea?

This is not an important post, it is merely a responsive one. I read as much news as possible everyday, I post on only limited articles that I believe deserve a little more attention. I try to focus on what will effect your lives that is not be sufficiently discussed. This is not about any of that.

I was reading the news and watching videos over the past couple of months and it turns our that Daniel Craig (who did a great job) is quitting the James Bond movies. At first people asked whether or not we should have a black James Bond next and now they are asking if we should have a female James Bond. I have a minor reaction to this, it is stupid as an idea and sort of racist; but, in the scheme of things it is meaningless.

I find it odd that people who did "black face" (theater that used white people using black makeup to pretend to be black, very often it exaggerated the stereotypes of blacks that were held a long time ago in a negative way) are considered evil bigots; but, we want to make a black version of "The Odd Couple". I understand what people perceive one of the differences to be (that the black odd couple plays it as black); but, then where do the racial and gender divides cease mattering. Do you have to be white to play King Lear or Hamlet or Romeo? Could you do Romeo and Juliet with two men? I think you could; but, when would it add to the play? That is always the question for me. Shouldn't the selection of set and lights and actors be an attempt to help explain what the author meant? I think the only time it makes sense to play with those things is when you want to say something about the original story.

James Bond was a white man, the man who wrote the stories (Ian Fleming) was a white man who had been in the British intelligence agencies during world war II and while there were women spies, the person the books were based on was also a white man. I have no problem with saying that having John Wayne play a Mongolian was stupid and did not add anything to the story, so what does having a woman or a black person play a white British secret service agent add to the story. Remember I said the story?

The reason this came up has nothing to do with James Bond or Gone With the Wind, one of my daughters has now told me on two occasions that she things the all female Ghostbusters is a stupid idea and I agree. We both like the actresses; but, think that trying to make the movie a statement loses the point of the franchise. So, what if this film fails, will people blame it on the fact that it had an all female lead cast in a big film and they couldn't make bank? Hollywood is not about diversity, it is about money.

Why do I say this, you cannot complain about white males playing roles that were written for white males and then complain about white males playing black male roles. This is true in reverse, black males cannot complain about whites playing their roles if they play roles written for whites. Either any actor can play any role or no actor can play any role that was written for their race and gender. You sort of have to pick what you believe is right, I personally can live with either answer. I just don't care and am only pointing out the hypocrisy that exists with others regarding the answer.

Let's go back to the title of this post. I can imagine putting on "Gone With the Wind" where all the white roles are played by blacks and all the black roles are played by whites. I would do it to use the same metaphor that was used in Planet of the Apes. The story of the original Planet of the Apes was written during the time of great racial tensions in the United States.  If all the humans had been black, the story would not be about what it was, it would have been about slavery rather than how blacks were being treated in the 1960s in America. When blacks and whites were finally allowed to marry a movie came out called, "Guess Whose Coming to Dinner" about a black family and a white family coming to grips with that fact that their children were going to marry. If it had been about two men, it would not have addressed the racial issue it was attempting to deal with.

Historical events and historical novels and plays are just that, historical. I think if we don't have something to add to that narrative, the intent of the author, then we should be true to it. I say this as a stage manager, not a writer. This is my artistic believe coming out, oh, and by the way, yes, I do believe the show must go on with all my heart. I was and am old school theater; but, I think my questions still have merit.

Here is what you should know, if Hollywood could put out a new black face comedy and make a billion dollars, they would make more of them. If an all female Ghostbusters makes a lot of money, expect and all female The Expendables and an all female A Team, anything that makes money becomes the trend. I remember when every other film was blackploitation films, Shaft and Super Fly were great; but, the films got worse and worse and then there were no roles for blacks. Watch what happens if the all females Ghostbusters loses lots of money, we won't see any more all female leads and that is a shame. The choice of actors should be based on who adds to the entertainment value whether it be comedy or tragedy or drama.

When you have a cast that is all black or white or male or female and it does not add to the point the writer was trying to make or add to it, then you are just exploiting. My daughter and I discussed the possibility of having one female as a ghostbuster and both agreed that would be okay, though, our choices are different. Personally, my choice for the ghostbusters would be Will Ferrell, Jennifer Lawrence (I know she is not a comedian; but, she is very funny and silly, she would do fine and probably love the role), Seth Rogen and Bruce Campbell. My choices are bizarre; but, interesting and they would not detract from the emotion these movies are meant to bring to the audience, they are not a distraction, just questionable. They do not have a political agenda, they are based on something else, story integrity and meaning. Be well.

The Future for Europe is Muslim. What Does that Mean for the United States?

I am going to discuss the Islamification of Europe tonight. Now, that is not quite accurate, it is about the Arab Islamification of Europe, there is a difference. Firstly, and I always try and get people to understand this, there are more Asian Muslims than Arabs. For some reason Americans seem to think that all Muslims are Arab, they are not. We don't talk about Asian Muslims in Russia, China, India or Southeast Asia. They don't come up because we are not bombing their countries.

This post is not so much about their religion or what they believe as it is about what Europe will be like in the future and what that might mean for America. While some of what I am going to show today may shock you, get beyond the shock and head directly to acceptance that this is what is going to happen.

Lets start with the population of Europe. While I wrote about this a long time ago, I am going to focus more on the changing demographic and less on the simple fact. The simple fact is that the west no longer produces enough children to maintain our populations or cultures. YouTube - World Population and Muslim Demographics.  If you watch the video you will learn the numbers, by 2050 most of Europe will be Muslim and of Arab decent. As I used to say in business, this is not a debate, it is just numbers. Right now it is estimated that 90% of the immigration to Europe is Muslim. You can think this is good, bad or be indifferent. If you don't recognize it though, you will fail to deal with the question of what it will mean for our relations with Europe and how it may affect geopolitical issues.

I was first exposed to this fact back in the early 1980s by one of my professors who was an expert on Russia and a consultant to them when they were still the Soviet Union. It is also one of the major reasons that the Soviet Union gave away Eastern Europe, they moved many of their own Muslims there first as if they had not, they would already be primarily Muslim and that did not set well with the Atheistic Communists.

So, what effects is this changing demographic having in Europe. Well lets start with this. YouTube - What Normal Muslims Think - And Europe Fails to Understand.  The video is only about three minutes long; but, I would rather you watch it then read my description.

YouTube - 'Sharia Patrols' Harassing Citizens in London, Belgium, Sweden. This video is from a 60 Minutes episode.

YouTube - Secrets Of Britain s Sharia Councils BBC Documentary.  This is from Panorama, a British investigative news show.  It is about how their is an Islamic court system that follows Sharia law working in Britain.

YouTube - Panorama: British Schools Islamic Rules. I highly recommend you watch the whole video so that you will understand what Europe will look like in the next couple of decades and what the new Europeans are teaching their children.

Now if you bothered watching the videos you might be pretty shocked right now and I understand that, Americans do not pay enough attention to what goes on in the rest of the world. It really doesn't matter because the numbers are the numbers and this is where Europe is headed. When the majority of people in Europe are Muslims of Arab decent do not expect Europe to have the same culture or beliefs as it had in the past. If you need a historical comparison, think of when the Europeans took over the Americas and killed and controlled the native people. What we are seeing is the beginning of a cultural shift, of a new Europe. Oh, and by the way, the new Europe will have all it's laws written by the European Union, not individual nations. Currently the EU writes 50% of the laws for European nations.

So, what can we expect our relationship with England to be when it is 50% Muslim? You think we will continue to be best friends or that they will support us in protecting the right of Israel to exist? How will you feel knowing that Britain and France which have many nuclear bombs is Muslim of Arab decent.

Some may think what I am writing is alarmist because it alarms them. Alarmism is used to motivate people to avoid something they fear, this is unavoidable, it is just numbers and those don't get scared and these numbers will not change. Germans, Italians, French and English people are not going to start having 8 kids per family. Imagine Americans suddenly seeing the majority of families having 8 kids. Not going to happen.

So, what happens when Europe is Muslim of Arab decent? I say of Arab decent because Asian Muslims don't blow themselves up in Israel, England, Europe or America. People like me who are planners ask themselves these questions. We prepare contingency plans. The U.S. government actually had contingency plans for invading Canada. That is documented and the British and Canadians knew it, cause they had contingency plans for dealing with it. The British plan was to do nothing because they determined there was nothing they could do. We are in the same position, there is nothing we can do to stop the changes that are coming and to tell the truth, neither does Europe.

From a business standpoint, how should we prepare for the change in Europe? I do not care what restroom Caitlyn Jenner uses, I do not care that gay people live together as spouses, I do not believe I have the right to tell another person what to do with their body even if it means that they might have an abortion, I do not care about people eating pork (personally I love pork), I don't care if blacks and whites have sex or not, I do not care what you think about tattoos, I do not care what you think about body piercings, I do not care about things that are personal choices that do not harm anyone but themselves. I have a strong Libertarian streak; but, I am more complex than the simplicity of Libertarianism. I am a realist and a nationalist, I believe in communities attracting similar beliefs and people that are free to switch communities for ones where they feel in agreement. It is not the belief of a community; but, the tolerance of freedom of belief in the community that defines it for me.

I have been told all my life that the person I am most like in my family was my great grandfather, my grandmother even said that. He was very politically interested and had been in the very early Irish Republican Army (it had a different name at the time). I never met the man, I do know that he told my father that when the Arabs and Chinese united, it would be a whole new world and not a good one for America. At the time, we had total control over Arabia and China was a joke and exported nothing, My great grandfather saw something different coming and he was right. What happens when China is the only manufacturing country and Europe is Muslim?

A lot has been said about the Irish, we have been stereotyped in so many ways. When people meet me they often assume that I am Jewish because I am well educated and urban. I find it funny because my name is as Irish as they get. My look is similar to that of Bono, blue eyes, had jet black hair and my skin is as white as it gets. Having said all that, it is true that when my great grandfather was growing up in Ireland, they had a pub society where people would go to the pubs to socialize and talk politics. The Irish in my great grandfather's day were know to talk about race, religion and politics in the pubs. That is how he grew up and the conversations were deep and probing into these issues. I don't think he ever thought the Muslims would overtake Europe; but, he knew that their beliefs and the beliefs of the Chinese combining would be a problem for others. Okay, not their beliefs their interests. All nations act on their interests or commit suicide.

So here is the point of the post. How should we deal with Europe and the European Union when it is controlled by Muslims? Alarmists and Idiots ignore the numbers and facts to their own detriment. The people who insisted that Trump would not win the Republican primaries are idiots and he is now the presumptive nominee. He will be the nominee unless someone kills him and then we will see an ever stronger reaction by the forces supporting him and possibly civil disturbance.

We have time to figure out how we will deal with these things in the future, here is no extreme rush and as the years travel forward, the numbers will be understood by more and more people, I am just giving my readers a heads up and the questions they will be asking themselves later to them now. Have a great week.

Trump and Media Manipulation

YouTube - Britain Might Leave the European Union: A Closer Look.  I want you to go to 1:43 seconds into the video and listen to what Mr. Seth Meyers says, he said that the Prime Minister of England should not allow the people of Britain to vote on whether or not to remain in the European Union because when you put things to a popular vote, crazy shit happens. How do you feel about that, about the anti-democracy opinion pushed by the establishment?

YouTube - Polls: Trump Closing In On Hillary.  Go to 8:15 in the video. Here is a guy that hates Republicans saying that Trump could win the election in all the swing states.

YouTube - Trump Isn't Conservative Enough For Wall St. Journal... Hillary Is.  This is the same guy as in the video above; but, a few days later and a different issue. He discusses how the thing the Establishment want is for Hillary to win over Trump because the establishment doesn't know whether or not Trump will increase taxes on the wealthy and they know Hillary will work to reduce their taxes.

YouTube - Anti-Trump GOPers Consider Trick Shot Strategy | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC.  Ms. Maddow discusses how certain establishment Republicans believe they have found a way to deny either Clinton or Trump the white house by having each state pit their favorite politician against Trump and throw the decision on who becomes President out of the electoral college and into the House of Representatives.  The wealthy and powerful do not believe in Democracy. Go back and re-read the first paragraph and watch the video. The House of Representatives has about a 10% approval rating, they are not trusted by 90% of the people and the grand plan to stop Trump or Clinton from winning, mostly to stop Trump, is to take the vote away from the people and even from the electoral college which can only represent the votes of the people. Is anyone dumb enough to believe that the establishments extreme attempts to stop Trump are because he wants to keep out illegal aliens? It is about money, it is about taxes and trade. Follow the money. Don't allow your emotions to be used to guide you or you biases. Follow the money.

After this election is done and a president has been chosen, go back and study how the press reported it. I studied propaganda, mind control and hypnosis. I read about subliminal messaging when I was 12 (see "Subliminal Seduction", just go to google or yahoo or bing, it was a book). I grew up in Los Angeles with people in the business (refers to the entertainment and media industry).  In my whole life I have NEVER seen the amount of propaganda and manipulation that I have seen by the Republicans or anyone against their own nominee. Love Trump, hate Trump, it doesn't matter if you don't learn something when this election is over.

If you are so pig headed that you hate Trump and are glad that people are being used to vote against him then you are condoning that approach being used on you again to sway you the other way. When this election is over, the outcome will be irrelevant; but, the process and how the media was used by six companies to try and effect the outcome will be obvious. Just go back when this election and look at the story arc and how the media acted, the media that is controlled by six people in the whole world, the heads of the six companies that own 90% of all the media in the world.

My Apologies, I have been quiet too long

Dear Readers,

I just noticed that I had not posted in ten days. Time has passed so quickly. I am in the process of attempting to move into a new place. My building was bought and everyone was given 60 days notice to move out. Not a problem just time consuming. Unfortunately, this is a one man show and the blog has nobody else to contribute in my absence.

In that time I have received a comment from someone that claims to have known Ms. Daniels and implies that her ex-husband had monetary reasons to have her cease to be. Something regarding his families property gong to her. I have absolutely no way to know if it is true or not, my guess is not. The ex is always the first person to be investigated by the police and I am quite sure they investigated him and found nothing. If they had, they would not have gone to other states to investigate people with no relation to her ex-husband.

There is news worth discussing; but, I am filled with thoughts of my imminent move. I have saved things to post on; but, not yet. My thoughts are distracted. Have piece in your heart.

Monday, 5/9/2016 A Mixed Bag of Nonsense

Geek Wire - BioViva’s Liz Parrish makes progress in controversial gene quest to reverse aging.  A women took an experimental gene therapy in Columbia, because it is illegal in the United States. If you think this technology is decades away, you are foolish. If you think it will be available to you, you are stupid. How much do you think the wealthy would pay to live forever? A lot more than you or me.

L.A. Daily News - America’s trucking industry faces a shortage. Meet the immigrants helping fill the gap.  The trucking industry refuses to pay truckers enough to keep up with inflation, their solution is to hire recent immigrants at low wages for that industry. Their next solution will be to buy self-driving trucks. Watch and see.

The Hill - Trump warns against ‘false song of globalism’. Isn't globalism worth discussing, the young people think it is and the middle class wants to know how it has benefitted them. How does anyone benefit from outsourcing jobs to China other than China and those who want to dodge taxes?

Yahoo - Reuters - Exclusive: Half of Americans think presidential nominating system 'rigged' - poll.  That is because it is rigged, the leaders of the parties have told you how they are rigged. Neither party has a truly democratic process, the wealthy and powerful vote is worth more than other members of the party. That is just a fact.

New York Post - Bloomberg turning to robots to deliver the news.  Yes, the media is seriously looking at automating reporting. I actually wrote about this years ago. I guess you just program it to automatically generate propaganda.

Bloomberg - Inside the Secret Meeting Where Wall Street Tested Digital Cash.  This "revolutionary" technology is basically a new version of Bitcoin. Here is where the problem begins, you can instantly move money out of the country instantaneously and thereby avoid taxes. That is the primary reason behind it. The question becomes who will control it and how can new digital currency be created, by the government or by the financial industries? Rothchild once said that he didn't care who ran a country as long as he controlled the currency.

Yahoo - Associated Press - Puerto Rico skips bond payments, says Congress must help.  Puerto Rico is an American territory, it doesn't get representation and is prohibited by the U.S. from declaring bankruptcy, a right that apparently Detroit and New York have. Will it become America's Greece where we impose unlivable austerity to pay back hedge funds?

Reuters - Japan ambassador takes veiled swipe at Trump's 'America First' stance.  This is great, the Japanese Ambassador basically said that they need America to have nuclear weapons so that South Korea and Japan don't need to pay to make their own. Great, Trump said they need to pay more for us to be the military for them.

American Manufacturing and the Election

I have been reading articles that ridicule the idea of bringing back manufacturing. They all basically say that jobs coming back will go to robots. Okay; but, the revenue from manufacturing would return to the United States which would help take care of this country. The wealthy do not want that but the middle class and working class do, that is what the Sanders and Trump campaigns are about.

The wealthy's hate of Democracy and a strong middle class became fervent in the late 1960s and one indication of it was a memo written by Lewis Powell, who became a Supreme Court justice when he pleaded with the Chamber of Commerce to help change public opinion so that the power could be taken away from the majority.

The Powell Memorandum

He basically claimed that business could not tolerate the democratic process being used to fight against big business or for consumers. He called for using the educational system and the media to propagandize the middle class. Nothing has changed. Oh, that memo was issued in 1971, that is when the attacks on the middle class were began in earnest.

Trump and Debt

Huffington Post - Great, Donald Trump Threatened To Default On The National Debt.  I want to tell you something and expose a hypocrisy. Donald Trump has said that he would borrow money to fix our infrastructure and would consider re-negotiating the rates if we couldn't pay them. This has driven the left and the right crazy. Both sides say they have never heard of such a thing and that it is outrageous.

You may or may not remember what the Federal Reserve Chairman said during the economic crisis. He said he wasn't worried because we could always just print more dollars to pay our debts. Guess what, it is the exact same thing. Here is the difference. When we print more money, the money you have is worth less. If he offers 90 cents on the dollar for government debt, the money you have is worth the same amount. I know this is sort of technical but I want to explain it a little more.

By the way, the people that buy U.S. debt, tends to be the same banks that we bailed out during the economic crisis. In my humble opinion, we should have nationalized those banks and then bailed them out. I also believe that the heads of the banks that rigged the Libor and commodities markets should have gone to jail and we should have seized all of their assets.

I will go one step further. While at dinner with my conservative friends tonight we were discussing politics and the issue of companies sending jobs overseas came up. I gave a suggestion, I would nationalize Apple and Carrier. Sounds really communistic except I would then sell the stock to Americans who would then be the new stock holders. That is capitalism and nationalism at work. Anyone who works against the best interest of America and Americans is my enemy. My friends liked the idea.

One more story. I am working with a realtor who is from South Africa, he has been here for like 40 years. He supports Trump. I have had the opportunity to get to know the guy a bit and he sees what is happening here. In case you are wondering, he was against apartheid and worked with blacks in South Africa even though it was frowned on at the time.

The fact of the matter is that our friends who are middle class and live in foreign countries, like England, want to see us get our jobs back and secure our borders. The battle we are seeing is not between different cultures, it is between globalist, elitists and nationalist, middle and working class citizens.

The friends I went to dinner with tonight are the most conservative people I know. Old school, cold war Republicans who hate socialism. They are also loving, caring, gentle and giving. They don't read the blog so I can say this. I know they want to lend me the money to buy my mobile home, I know this, they have hinted at it enough. I also know that they give a lot to charity. Look, I have the best friends in the world and they have been with me through some pretty ugly times. None of my readers ever have to worry about me, ever. I can pretty much have anything I want and that is the problem because there isn't anything I want that I don't have. I want to read the news, write and pretty much be left alone other than family and friends. I have those things.

I don't want my friends help because I am a prideful old man. I earned what I have and I have enough. If I absolutely needed help, it is there and I would take it. The hardest lessen and I wrote about this, was learning that if we help others, we have to be willing to be helped if we need it and I don't need it. My choices are not based on need or force, I don't respond to those things and walk my own path.

I have had people say that they like my blog; but, don't like the spiritual stuff. Well, if I didn't say the spiritual stuff than they would not know me. I would not be open and honest to hide those things. I have absolute faith that God will take care of me. If my friends have to help me than I am concerned that it will appear that I do not have that faith. It might be easier to take help; but, I have faith in God.

The Republican Pledge as Worthless As Them

Do you remember the first Republican debate? That is the one that began with moderator asking all the candidates if they would commit to supporting whoever the eventual nominee would be. They all said yes except Trump. Well, now that Trump has won, turns out many of them lied. Jeb Bush lied, he now says he will not support Trump. The Republicans that made such a big deal about Trump not making the pledge at the debate (though he later signed the pledge), haven't kept their pledges.

I want you to think about that. How can you possibly trust any of the people who made that pledge and/or insisted on it? This has relevance to another issue. The Republican establishment is now saying that it is up to Trump to make up with them by letting them tell Trump what his policies should be. Guess what, that is going to backfire. The Trump supporters will vote against the people who reject Trump. We might actually see Paul Ryan lose his speakership. To think that people will vote for a Republican that votes for Hillary is insanity.

The fact that Trump has won more votes than any other Republican in the history of the primaries should scare these idiots. While you may or may not like Trump, he has struck a cord with the middle and working class and if they go against Trump, they are going against their base. Whether Trump wins or not, those who are Republicans and go against him will lose a lot of votes.

Clinton's Server and National Security

I have to admit that I did not much care that Hillary Clinton used her personal e-mail to receive government e-mails. I am changing my mind about that. It turns out that she did receive top secret information to that account and that the account was on a personal server. That is a problem; but, the bigger problem is that it now appears that the account was hacked. A jailed hacker named "Gucifer" has said that he hacked the server and read what was on it. He is now being sent here to testify from an Eastern European prison. Now we can debate how important what she did was or not; but, the government is taking it seriously.

Here is what this comes down to. If she is indicted, her campaign cannot possibly win. If she is pardoned, her political career is OVER. If any of that happens there is no way for her to continue running for President and Sanders becomes the only candidate left. The party will not support Sanders and neither will the establishment donors. You may actually see the Democratic party freak out even more than the Republican party did over Trump winning. I personally do not believe the Democrats would allow Sanders to be their candidate and their super-delegates and Hillary's delegates will pick another candidate to represent them. 

If Hillary is charged then we could see a Trump Sanders general election. I did not consider this to be a real threat to Hillary; but, now I think it just might be. I did not really spend anytime discussing it before; but, I will be keeping a better eye on it from now on. This is the most fascinating race ever.

You Need To Watch This, the Former President of Mexico Apoligizes to Trump.

Breitbart - President Fox Apologizes, Invites Trump to Mexico. WTF.

Now here is the funny part, they will build the fence, they are afraid of Trump stopping companies from moving to Mexico. Read the article, watch the video. China will reach out to him next. The last stage is always acceptance. Trump is going to win the Presidency. We still have power and Trump is willing to use it, they know that. It is why globalists are afraid of him.

Donald Trump Wins the Republican Party Nomination

This has been the most fascinating election in my lifetime. I am clearly a news junkie and follow this stuff intensely. While I personally am a social Democrat, I cannot help but look at the media manipulation and spin that they put out to lead us to vote as they would want. Lets start with how this race began, it began with the media saying that nobody would vote for Trump and that he was a joke candidate. The Huffington Post actually put reporting on Trump in the Entertainment section.

In Indiana 92% of the people said the issue was jobs and the economy. Trump has won more votes than any other Republican in the history of the primaries. Trumps number one issue is American jobs and how illegal immigration and outsourcing to China effects those jobs. Here is what you need to understand, the people do not wish to be told how to vote by the media. They do not trust the media. This is a fact and their shrill attacks on Trump and even more importantly against people who voted for him has made the media even less trusted.

The Trump and Sanders candidacies are a slap in the face of the "business as usual" establishment. Neither Trump nor Sanders wants to see American jobs continue being sent overseas. Why didn't anyone else address this issue. Most of the Republicans said the way to create jobs was to give tax breaks to the wealthy; but, ignored that those jobs would be in China and not here. When Carrier decided to move their business it helped Trump win and that was the news story. That was the story because the media knows that the real issue is American jobs and the economy. The problem is that the media supports outsourcing because their owners support it. The 6 companies that own 90% of all the media are globalist companies.

When this election is over, there will be a lot that the media and the establishment will have to pay for. The media spin will no longer work and they will be trying to figure out what their future approach will be.

The media has constantly said that Cruz, Kasich and everyone other than Trump has a better chance of beating Hilly. Who could possibly believe such nonsense. Kasich got less than 10% of the vote in Indiana. Trump has locked up the nomination faster than any recent Republican candidates, has brought in millions of Democrats and Independents and has a greater turnout than anyone else. Trump has secured the nomination quicker than Clinton who lost tonight in Indiana. Combined Sanders and Clinton got just about the same amount of votes as Trump by himself. Trump had more votes in Indiana than ANYONE else. We had been told that Trump is hated by 2/3rds of the Republican likely voters; but, he has won more than half the delegates to date. Those numbers don't jive with what we are being told.

Trump has had over 10,000,000 votes cast for him. He has had more people vote for him than have voted for Clinton. People who voted for Cruz would NEVER vote for Clinton. People who voted for Sanders will vote for Trump. 92% of the voters identified jobs and the economy as the most important issue. The Republican party has seen the most votes in their history and those votes have been for Trump. These are just facts, personal feelings only deny us the ability to objectively view the facts. Hey, I would have preferred Sanders; but, I don't think he has a chance because of the Super Delegates and that annoys a lot of Democrats, like me. I am registered as a Democrat. In the primary, I will vote for Sanders because I cannot vote for Trump. It is not allowed in my state. If Sanders dropped out, I would not vote at all. I would not and have never voted for a Clinton. I have consistently said that I dislike the Clintons and Bushes. I do not trust them.

I have traditionally voted Republican, with a few Democrats in between. I voted as soon as I turned 18, knew the candidates and knew the issues. I stopped voting with Clinton and Bush. I mean I stopped voting. I stopped voting for Republicans because of the Bushes and Schwarzenegger and for Democrats because of the Clintons. I haven't seen anyone worth voting for in years. I didn't even see a viable protest vote to make, so I stopped. I lost hope that people would wake up and actually vote for someone who cared about this nation and the middle and working classes. Sanders and Trump, I believe, actually care about the people of this country and not just the wealthy.

I don't care if someone is Liberal or Conservative, as they used to say in the 60s, "Some of my best friends are conservatives (they used to say black)". Truth is, most of my friends are conservatives, not all, most. Hardworking, working and middle class, backbone of this country, self-reliant people. Everyone of them is voting for Trump. Everyone of my friends gives to charity, everyone of my friends would give someone in need the shirt off their back. I personally have taken in the homeless to live with me. My conservative friends know about that, they knew it when I was doing it. Most of my friends are Christians who I did not meet in church, I don't have any close friends from churches that I attended. While the people who I preached to may have liked me a lot, they were poor gay Hispanics most of which did not speak English. We didn't have a lot in common and I don't speak Spanish so we didn't talk about politics.

I should point something out. The church I preached at was not just gay and Hispanic, most of them were illegal aliens at some point. Yep, they were Christians who came here to avoid being killed in their own countries because they were gay. Most were given asylum for that reason. I am going to make a guess about something. Trump has said that he is against illegal immigration; but, he has also said that we should take in more Christian immigrants from Arab nations because there are threats against their lives. I bet he would allow in more gay Christian Hispanics if they lived in countries where their lives were at risk too. I would love to ask him that question because I would. I would take in any Christian whose life was threatened and any gay. I am as straight and square as a Saltine cracker; but, what I have in common with my conservative friends is that I am Christian and love others. Those are the Trump supporters I know.

Look, my friends and my world is as diverse as is possible. I have friends that are multi-millionaires and friends that don't have a dime to their name and need my help sometimes. I have as many young friends as old friends. I have friends of every color, creed, sex and sexual preference. I have friends from private industry and government and interest group. All my friends know my position on issues. I have the best friends in the world and they know my heart and I know theirs. I do not have friends that do not care about others or this country. That is the only thing we all have in common. We disagree on so many things, the people I go out to dinner with the most often, they are as old school conservative, working class, Republican as they come. They are also some of the most loving people I have ever had the pleasure to be around.

I would have to say that my heart is for Sanders and the pragmatist in me is for Trump. I think Trump is more like my friends than any of the others. I believe I could sit down with Trump, ask him hard private questions and I think I know how he would answer. Trump said something really important to me, he said that if he were president no American would die on the street because he couldn't get healthcare. He said that to the Republican party. A party that voted in congress 100% against Obamacare (the Affordable Healthcare Act, it's real name).

Trump is not a conservative and he is not a liberal, he is a pragmatist, nationalist and capitalist, just not crony capitalism. Trump has a middle class attitude and his children are the best example of this, they are not just some trust fund children, they have to work and work hard. I would love to meet his kids, especially, Ivanka and Eric (sorry Donald Jr., you are also impressive; but, I would rather ask them questions - test them). I know the question I would ask all of his children. If your father is the Republican nominee and he could not own any corporation and had to sell Trump Industries to go into the general election, would you tell him too. Now remember, his kids all work for that company. I think his kids would all tell him to sell the company and continue the race. I asked my kids once if they thought I should have taken jobs in the private industry that paid a lot more and were offered to me, they all said no, we had enough. That is what my kids told me and that is what his kids would say. I believe that and your kids don't learn that if they are lazy, greedy people.

There is no way that anything I say on this blog will effect the election. I have a very limited readership. I will probably never meet any of the Trumps and I am a social democrat. Socialism just means taking care of your neighbors, that is all it means. If Trump is alive when the final Presidential election is held, I will vote for Trump rather than Clinton. That will mean that in the past 20 years or so, I will voted for one Democrat (Sanders) and one Republican (Trump). I think that makes me an Independent. Have a great day.

Smoking and Cancer - A Question

I am going to insert a video by John Oliver where he discusses smoking, it is funny and points out an interesting statistic. In 1965 43% of people smoked, that number is now 18%. That means that the number of people smoking is half of what it used to be. So, why are lung cancer rates. Now according to the American Lung Association, lung cancer is going up and has been for awhile. I will provide a link to this.

American Lung Association - Lung Cancer Fact Sheet.

Now I want to be clear, because this is not a post about smoking, smoking causes cancer in smokers. What is nonsense is second hand smoke causing cancer. If you ask an industrial hygienist (the people who scientifically measure smoke from just about everything you can imagine and all other workplace exposures to everything you will find that they say there is NO cancer caused by second hand smoke because the amounts received are way below any harmful levels. I know, when I was told to investigate the matter years ago, that is what they told me and then they gave me the studies to read. I read them and was disgusted by the lies we were being told..

The study that created the concept of second hand smoke was a study of children born to mothers who smoked while they were pregnant. Babies who had received first hand smoke, not second hand. It is like comparing a baby whose mother drank alcohol while pregnant to one who drank alcohol after she stopped nursing. They are not the same thing.

I want you to think about this, we are writing more and more laws against cigarette smoking while states are increasingly legalizing smoking marijuana. We are even outlining e-cigarettes which don't burn anything and merely vaporize a liquid. Lets face it, we love to outlaw things that other people do and we find offensive. This country actually outlawed alcohol for a decade, that failed miserably and we had to change the Constitution to make it legal again. But that is not the point either.

The point of this post is to say that you have to be very careful of people who claim the science is settled and shut up opposition. Industrial hygienists did not come out in force to say that there was no such thing as second hand smoke because the industry relied on medical doctors who immediately were ostracized for disagreeing with the official word.

UPDATE:

Fox - Stossel: Lung cancer and me.

Reporter John Stossel has lung cancer. People berated him for being a smoker and that he deserved what he got. There is only one problem with that analysis, he never smoked.