Author: Jack
I retired in 2008 and so I have more time now to devote to several of my interests The blog here is mainly for my interests in some current events but may have the occasional rant on other subjects. I have also decided to keep my genealogy posts and book reviews here instead of 2 additional blogs (and so simplify my life a little).

Cassandra Files: Genesis by Rod Pennington

Cassandra Files: Genesis by Rod Pennington

Posted on by Jack

Lieutenant Cassandra Morse, USN came from a Navy family, three generations of Admirals. She was on track to be the fourth until she was suspected of spying and forced out of the Navy. The same terrible event that ended her Navy career left her with terrible nightmares that predicted horrific events.

Cassie works to solve the mystery of what happened to her and works to understand her dream and prevent a disaster. I found the book hard to put down.

I recommend this book and thank Netgalley for the chance to read it before publication.

I especially enjoyed the strong characters and the humour. It was a fast paced thriller and seems to be a great deal. When I looked today, the Kindle version was 99 cents. It was free for those with the kindle unlimited program.

Win by Harlan Coben

Win by Harlan Coben

Posted on by Jack

I don’t think I read anything by Harlan Coben before but I was looking for a good mystery/thriller and this was available on Netgalley. I knew Harlan Coben was a best selling author of this type of book so I thought I’d give Win a try. I’m glad I did. I highly recommend this book and thank Netgalley for the chance to read it before publication.
Continue reading “Win by Harlan Coben”

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

Posted on by Jack

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 also known as H.R.1319 passed the House of Representatives with only Democratic support. All 210 Republican who voted cast their vote against this bill. One Republican did not vote (Bost of Illinois). The final vote was 219-212. For those interested, HR 1319 and actions on this are summarized at congress.gov.
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What part of all do you not understand?

What part of all do you not understand?

Posted on by Jack

The vast majority of Senate Republicans voted to prevent the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Their position was that a trial is unconstitutional because Mr. Trump is no longer in office. Many voted to acquit for that reason despite the Senate voting it was constitutional.

If this view stood is that any future President (and others) could do something that is clearly wrong, be impeached by the House, and then never face trial or be convicted by simply resigning before the Senate starts the trial.
Continue reading “What part of all do you not understand?”

Both sides can agree on PPE

Both sides can agree on PPE

Posted on by Jack

There is no question than this country and our congress face a huge divide. It is important to try to bring them together. Here is one issue I hope they can agree on.

When the pandemic hit, there was a huge shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the US and we were dependent on foreign sources who gave us only a limited supply since they needed the PPE for their domestic use. American manufacturers tried to increase the domestic supply.

A recent article discusses several small manufacturers who invested to increase the national supply of N95 masks.

Surely we can agree than since we should increase our national stockpile of PPE, we can Buy American in order to do so.

2021 impeachment may have consequences

2021 impeachment may have consequences

Posted on by Jack

A few days ago I wrote about Republicans who believe the 2021 impeachment of Donald Trump is unconstitutional because Mr. Trump is no longer in office. Impeachment has been done before under these circumstances, but never for a president. Yesterday his lawyers did their best to present their case that this is unconstitutional.

Unfortunately for the ex-president, they did not do a very good job. Continue reading “2021 impeachment may have consequences”

Senate Republicans favor no consequences

Senate Republicans favor no consequences

Posted on by Jack

The vast majority of Senate Republicans voted to prevent the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Their position was than a trial is unconstitutional because Mr. Trump is no longer in office.

The problem is if this view stood is that any future President (and perhaps others) could do something that is clearly wrong, be impeached by the House, and then never face trial or be convicted by simply resigning before the Senate starts the trial. Do Senate Republicans favor no consequences for any act against the United States if the person is smart enough to resign before going to trial? Is this any way to run a country?

Back to iPhone but I miss my Pixel

Back to iPhone but I miss my Pixel

Posted on by Jack

I’ve tried different cell phones. In the old days (the 1990s), I had a several different phones. But when I moved from my old flip phone to a smartphone I picked an iPhone. I think it was an iPhone 4 and then I moved up to a 5 after a few years I had the iPhone 5 for several years but was a bit curious about the Android world. So my next phone was a Samsung Galaxy. I liked that but next time I was ready to move I picked a Pixel.

I liked my Pixel but wanted to try the Apple watch. I was mainly interested in the ability to monitor some health issues and keeping track of some exercise things was probably a good idea too. Afterall, I do call this blog RetiredGuy and I am getting a bit older. So I got the new iPhone 12 and the Apple watch 6. The watch just came a few days ago so it it really to soon to comment on that. But I’ve had the phone for a week or so.

The main thing I miss about the Pixel is call screening. If I got a call from an unfamiliar number and did not know if I wanted to answer, I could let Google answer. Google would say they were screening the call and a transcript would appear on the phone. When they asked who the caller was and what the caller wanted, I would get a transcript of the answer. Of course spammers usually hung up at that point. But if there was an answer, I could decide whether on not to answer the call. I haven’t found something similar to the Iphone 12 yet.

The Scorpion’s Tail by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

The Scorpion’s Tail by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Posted on by Jack

The Scorpion’s Tail is another great mystery by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I reviewed the first in this series about 18 months back. At the time I remarked “Preston and Child are about all you need to hear to know it is going to be a good, and likely great, mystery novel. Their collaboration is simply amazing.”
Continue reading “The Scorpion’s Tail by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child”

Republicans can choose power

Republicans can choose power

Posted on by Jack

Republicans in Congress have a choice. They can choose to continue opposing the majority in everything or they can choose to exert their power as a minority. This is an important point so let me repeat it another way. Simply put, Republican power is a choice.

The Democrats have a small majority is the House of Representatives. They can pass bills with a party line vote, although a bipartisan votes is preferred. One reason is President Biden’s desire for bipartisanship. Another would be that it just looks better to the American people.
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Hypocrisy of some Republicans

Hypocrisy of some Republicans

Posted on by Jack

It turned out that all the election challenges did not work. Joe Biden was inaugurated as President of the United States yesterday. And the hypocrisy of some Republicans serving in the House of Representatives and the Senate was on display at the inauguration.
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Republicans oppose democracy

Republicans oppose democracy

Posted on by Jack

The Republican party used to be highly principled and an important part of our democracy. But now they seem to oppose the very idea of democracy. I liked them better when the were opposing “big D” Democrats, not “little d” democracy. The party now seems to be about retaining power at all costs. See my previous post Are Republicans the enemy of democracy? for more.
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The FBI Way by Frank Figliuzzi

The FBI Way by Frank Figliuzzi

Posted on by Jack

The FBI Way is about integrity of an organization. The full title is The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau’s Code of Excellence by Frank Figliuzzi. It is specifically about the FBI and how they maintain high standards which is interesting in itself but the lessons can be applied to other organizations.
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Are you worried yet ????

Are you worried yet ????

Posted on by Jack

The number of arrests related to the recent terrorist attack on our nation’s Capitol continues to rise and may amount to hundreds.

The obvious question for those who participated in the attack and have not be arrested to date is: Are you worried yet ?

Another good question would be: Is President Trump worried ?