Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
This bill passed the House and has been sitting in the Senate for about 6 months now.
Seems likely it is just one of those bills that the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (aka Moscow Mitch) just won’t let reach the floor for debate. (For an example see Why does “Moscow Mitch” oppose election security ????).
Continue reading “H.R.8 – Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019”
So far I have watched all the Democratic party debates for the Presidential nomination for 2020. There a quite a few issues discussed but healthcare is a very common one. I think all the candidates have universal healthcare as a goal but differ on how they think the we can get there.
Some present detailed plans and the candidates disagree on which is best and spend a good bit of time in arguing about why my plan is better than your plan. And the questions from the moderators seem to encourage that type of argument.
Continue reading “Democratic debates on healthcare”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A GREAT-AUNT
Continue reading “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A GREAT-AUNT”
I was reading an article that mentioned How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt and it sounded like an interesting book and very relevant to my earlier post on The End of Democracy.
Continue reading “Reading now: How Democracies Die”
Let’s say a family in Alabama heard President Trump’s false warning concerning the hurricane and decided to evacuate. Say they incurred costs during the evacuation. Can they sue Donald Trump for impersonating a weatherman?
President Trump is now directing at least one Federal Agency to lie to the American public in support of his “truths”. Is this President Trump trying to figure out how far he can go using the powers of his office to mislead the public?
Continue reading “Trump wins, we lose”
President Trump holds many titles The Constitution states that the chief executive “shall be Commander in Chief” (Article 2, Section 2). And many would award him with various other titles including liar-in-chief, Commander in Cheat, and probably a few others.
Is Weatherman-in-chief his latest?
Continue reading “Weatherman-in-chief”
Farmers are losing big in President Trump’s tariff war with China. For example, the Nebraska Farm Bureau estimated farmers will lose almost a billion dollars in revenue this year. And that is just one state.
Yet although President Trump’s support among farmers is slipping, it still remains substantial.
A couple weeks ago I wrote about Telephone Fraud. No surprise that it is continuing but one call was particularly odd.
A few weeks ago, I got a call that someone was about to renew my subscription and debit my bank account for $199 unless I Pressed “1” to speak with a representative or called back. Yesterday, I got a very similar call except the amount had been increased to $299.
Does this mean the spammers believe those who did not respond to a $199 threat might be more concerned if the amount was $299? I’m wondering if they just called back to everyone who did not respond the first time.
“Moscow Mitch” McConnell is still refusing to do anything to increase our election security. This lack of action is in the face on overwhelming evidence of Russian election interference in the last 2 elections. (see US Election security and Secure our elections in this blog).
Continue reading “Why does “Moscow Mitch” oppose election security ????”
Lately I’ve been thinking about democracy in general. It is certainly in trouble here in the US but there are similar problems in many counties. I recently read a piece called “The Shocking Paper Predicting the End of Democracy” which suggests a more general problem with people and democratic governance. Professor Shawn W. Rosenberg presented this at International Society of Political Psychologists’ annual meeting. Here is another article on that presentation.
President Trump defends his weakening of fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks by citing greater safety which will save lives. Cars can be bigger and heavier and therefore safer. They will also be cheaper so
On the other hand, internal documents from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year indicate the rule change would increase deaths. But publicly they support President Trump’s claims.
Continue reading “President Trump wants to weaken fuel economy standards”
Several month ago I addressed the question Should we abolish the Electoral College?. I think it an important question. I gave my opinion and what I saw as arguments on both sides and thought we should talk about it.
I thought a good place for debate might be Congress and resolutions pending before both houses of Congress might be a start for the debate. In both the Senate and House the bills have been referred to committees or subcommittees but as far as I can tell there has been no debate or hearings.
Continue reading “Should we talk about the Electoral College?”
Lately it seems that more telephone calls are some sort of telephone scam or fraud than people I actually want to talk to.
Just in the past few days I have gotten calls from people you claim to be from the IRS or the social security administration or utility companies, or credit card companies.
Continue reading “Telephone Fraud”
The God Jar by Phill Featherstone is a hard book to characterize. There are elements of mystery, science fiction, sorcery, magic, and historical fiction. The author does a nice job of blending them. It makes for an interesting story. Some parts being more interesting than others.
Continue reading “The God Jar by Phill Featherstone”