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So much stuff. So little time.

Every time I see an electric Hummer ($100,000+) or a Tesla Cybertruck ($85,000+) somehow I am reminded of P.T. Barnum.

Speaking of P.T. Barnum, the Alaskan democrat party has decided in their official platform to advocate a rapid transition away from fossil fuels to “renewable energy.” Mind you, gas and oil provide the bulk of the revenue to the state. The party now opposes all new exploration and drilling and endorses carbon pricing. One would think that the platform would doom the reelection chances of representative Mary Peltola who is severely criticized as being out of touch with everyday Alaskans and is in a tough race with the state’s lieutenant governor. But there is no explaining stupidity.

The Department of Defense is sponsoring a company called BioMade whose website says its mission is to “enable domestic bioindustrial manufacturing at all scales, develop technologies to enhance U.S. bioindustrial competitiveness, de-risk investment in relevant infrastructure, and expand the biomanufacturing workforce to realize the economic promise of industrial biotechnology.” I haven’t a clue what all that gobbledygook means but the bottom line is the company manufactures lab grown meat. Why would the Department of Defense sponsor such a company, you ask? Apparently, the goal is to feed soldiers lab grown meat (yuk!) in order to reduce the military’s carbon footprint. I kid you not. I’m sure this will be a great recruiting tool. If this isn’t a call for new leadership at the Pentagon I don’t know what is.

The Trump verdict seems to have awaken the Congressional republicans out of their slumber. Six senators (including our Bill Hagerty) have pledged to block the fast tracking confirmation of at least 44 of Biden’s nominees. This does not mean that they will block confirmation only slow it down. I guess we should be grateful that these senators are doing something but it snacks of posturing. I wish they would stop the usual business of the senate until they attack the real issues that face us today. And by the way, why only 6 republican senators? Where are the other 41?

The IAAF (World Athletics Foundation) has lowered the level of nanomoles per liter of blood for males to compete as women from 10 to 5. This is still too high for the vast majority of women have a level of 2.5 nanomoles per liter while 10 is the lowest for men. While some women have levels at 5, this is rare (unless they were from East Germany) and the rule should be that the athlete must be female at birth and through puberty to compete as a woman. Otherwise a person who is male at birth and through puberty will have physical advantages over women.

Wil(lia)m Thomas lost his appeal to compete in the Olympics. The ruling was that he “lacked standing.”  Actually, Thomas lacks a bit more than “standing.” Thomas was allowed to compete in NCAA events while at Penn leading a member of the NCAA Committee on Infractions to resign stating that the NCAA policies were regressive and discriminated against female student athletes. I am surprised that Penn who just wanted to win and named Thomas “Woman” athlete of the year didn’t put men on all of their women’s sports teams. Penn told its women swimmers to shut up or get off the team. I am surprised that they acquiesced.

Thomas was a mediocre male swimmer and apparently craved attention and craved trophies that he could not get competing as a man. The NCAA then adopted a policy that punted. It declared that the eligibility of the trans athletics would correspond to the policy determined by the particular sport’s international federation. Contrast this wimpy approach to that of the NAIA, the body governing mostly small colleges. Their council of presidents unanimously approved a policy banning trans athletes from competing in women’s sports. The policy is all athletes may participate in NAIA- sponsored male sports but only athletes whose biological birth sex is female and who have not begun hormone therapy will be allowed to participate in women’s sports. If the athlete has begun hormone therapy then he/she may participate in all team activities except interscholastic competition. Methinks the NCAA should grow a set and follow the lead of the NAIA. That Wil(lia)m Thomas was allowed to compete is a travesty. That the Biden administration is trying to force the transgender participation in women’s and girls’ sports through Title IX is also a travesty. I just wish everyone would start just saying “no.”

So much stuff. So little time.

More Random Thoughts

Kamala Harris headlined a political rally for Angela Alsobrooks, the democratic candidate for Senate in Maryland. Alsobrooks is county executive of Prince Georges County and defeated dem representative David Trone in the democrat primary. Trone is the multibillionaire from Total Wine who bought his seat in Congress and spent $60 million of his own money in a losing effort in the Senate primary. Good riddance. I am glad he lost. Harris used the occasion to tout Alsobrooks’ support for gun control legislation. Alsobrooks said that she would hold gun manufacturers accountable “for the immense harm that they have caused our state and country.” That is interesting. Figures show that in 2022 they were about 48,000 firearm-related deaths in the US. More than half were suicides. Forty percent were classified as homicides That means that less than 20,000 are the cause of the “immense harm” cited by Alsobrooks. Consider that there were 46,000 vehicle deaths in 2022. I guess Alsobrooks is going to hold the automobile manufactures accountable for the immense harm that they are causing our country as well. Alsobrooks also stated that firearms were the largest killer of young people. This is not even close to the truth. The biggest killer of young blacks is the abortion industry with 500,000 deaths per year! Yet I bet Alsobrooks supports abortion on demand.

That Harris is considered an asset by the Alsobrooks campaign speaks volumes about the voters of Maryland who gave Biden a 20 point victory over Trump. Her opponent is the former governor Larry Hogan who is the rare republican to win statewide office in Maryland and was elected for two terms. Hogan is the type of republican that purists hate and label as RINO. Yet he is the only republican with a chance to win in Maryland. If he does win, don’t be surprised if he is the first republican whose voting record actually would overlap with at least one democrat senator. The purest on the right may be carping about Hogan’s positions but they should shut up. Hogan would be preferable to Alsobrooks.

A recent poll shows that 61 percent of Jews will vote for Biden and only 23 percent support Trump, despite Biden’s actions regarding Israel. This is virtually the same as Jewish support in the 2020 election.. Eighty-five percent feel strongly connected to Israel and say it is important for the US to support Israel. Ninety three percent of those polled said that antisemitism in the US is a serious problem and 55 percent say that Biden is better at combatting antisemitism than Trump. Huh? Have the Jews been paying attention to the pandering to the Muslims by Biden? I need someone to explain these poll numbers to me. Blacks have been cited as a blindly loyal voting bloc for the democrats. Perhaps it is time to add the Jews to the list. 

Hamas has reported that 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israelis retaliated to the killing of 1,200 of their citizens on October 7. The pro-Hamas mob in the western world has labeled this as genocide and has vigorously protested Israel’s conduct of the war prompting a flareup of antisemitism.

I wonder what the same folks would call the killing of almost 500,000 unborn blacks per year? Genocide? Antiblack? Certainly not. But 500,000 abortions are performed on black women yearly. Think of this: over the past 10 years there are almost 5 million fewer blacks alive. The neo-Nazis rejoice – along with AOC, Raphael Warnock and members of the Squad who are people of color.

The CDC reports that 42 percent are non-Hispanic black women, 30 percent are non-Hispanic white women, 22 percent Hispanic and 6 percent other races. I find this astounding since blacks are only 14 percent of the US population. In New York City the number of abortions exceed the number of live births. I have written before how Planned Parenthood was founded by the racist Margaret Sanger to limit black births as a form of genocide. Planned Parenthood is predatory targeting black women and is disproportionately in majority black census tracts. Dick Gregory, the great comedian once equated abortion with genocide and at one time there were billboards in black communities stating “Black children are an endangered species.” Don’t misunderstand me. I am not opposed to birth control. But I am against the use of abortion for birth control. Abortion has been cited as the main reason for Biden’s support among suburban white women. Since apparently relatively few suburban white women get abortions, does this mean that they are antiblack? The stance of politicians of color can likely be traced to their financial supporters in the abortion industries. Isn’t this what they call “useful idiots?”

Margaret Sanger once said that Planned Parenthood recruits black ministers to promote their abortion clinics. Raphael Warnock calls himself a “pro-choice pastor”. How supposedly men of God can embrace abortion is beyond me. Perhaps their God will have a reckoning with them in their afterlife. Of course, Warnock is now a US Senator and probably feels beholden to his fellow leftists to spout the party line. Nonetheless, it is still troubling that he appears to have neither a heart nor a soul.

The EU is poised to follow the lead of the US in imposing stiff tariffs on Chinese EVs citing their low cost constitutes an unfair advantage to European carmakers. Ironically, the European carmakers have mostly opposed the imposition of the tariffs because of their heavy involvement in China. Many have manufacturing facilities there used both for the Chinese market and for importing to Europe. The question is whether cars in China made by European countries will be subject to the tariffs. The Europeans claim that the Chinese EVs are not only low cost but are also heavily subsidized. But don’t the Europeans subsidize their autos? The US with its China tariffs also subsidizes EVs and heavily subsidizes green industries as well as agricultural and industrial products. Criticizing China is disingenuous at best and is a case of the kettle calling the pot black – is that racist?

I have been waiting for the ethanol industry to revolt against going green. Ethanol is a gasoline additive derived from corn. It is a lousy additive with zero positives. It only exists to pander to the corn growers, especially in Iowa. The ethanol special interests are somewhat late in realizing that Biden’s green mandates threaten their boondoggle and have sued the EPA to preserve their cash cow. I guess now the ethanol lobby will contend that ethanol is a low carbon fuel and vehicles that run on it are actually green and should be exempt from the EPA madness.

Again it seems reasonable to me to set as a goal a level of carbon emissions that generate a minimal amount of harm – assuming that carbon is harmful. Instead of banning fossil fuel products, the administration should fund research on getting to that target, such as alternative fuels, more efficient engines and the like. Instead of wasting money on inefficient energy such as solar and wind to power the grid, the government should concentrate on nuclear and clean coal. Solar panels would be for individual structures only. Wind turbines only exist because of government subsidies which would be eliminated. The trillions of dollars spent on most green stuff has largely been as a political payoff ignoring economics. Such waste is rarely beneficial except to the environmental grifters.

A friend sent me this:

POLL

Why Do people want to change sexes?

a. It’s cooler than a tattoo

b. Boys wnat those girl trophies

c. The Rachel Levine look is in

d. Your fashion choices double

e. Mental health care is so boring

Speaking of trans, at the Rays-Orioles game in St. Petersburg a young man was wearing a t-shirt showing the tour dates of something called the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I had visions of these LGBTQ+ folks dressed in heavy fur coats mushing Siberian huskies while eating bear paws and baikal omul. But no, it is an American heavy metal band.

Never mind.

Happy Fathers’ Day 2024

My dad died on August 13, 2002. He was in the hospital terminally ill. He knew he was dying and had said to me that he had once wanted to make it to his birthday on November 19 but had changed his mind. Now he just wanted to live until my daughter delivered his latest great grandchild. My granddaughter arrived the morning of August 13 and twelve hours later Dad died. He saw pictures of his new great granddaughter who my daughter named Haley Savannah: Haley after Alex Haley (who was a friend of mine) and Savannah as a tribute to my father who graduated from Savannah State University. Dad could now go peacefully knowing that he had a healthy beautiful great granddaughter named “Savannah.”

Dad was strong, forceful and very strict (with me). He did not tolerate excuses. He used to say to never apologize. Just do better next time. He said that I was entitled to my opinion, so long as I kept it to myself. He did not care what I wanted to be – so long as I was the best I could be. I remember when he pointed out some young men hanging out on a street corner and said “if you ever hang on a corner, make the others jealous of how you hang.” He said that envy was a waste of time and to make others “envious of you.” He rarely showed affection and almost never offered praise. He demanded strict obedience. But he never exercised corporal punishment. He never struck us in anger. 

My older brother was the favorite son and was treated differently. He was the one with straight “A’s”. But I loved my brother and he was my best friend until his junior year at Purdue. After that we never recaptured our past closeness.

I was a very good student but apparently not good enough. Dad was visibly disappointed with me when unlike my brother I was neither the valedictorian or salutatorian of my high school class even though I graduated with high honors and was a member of the National Honor Society. I was two years ahead in school graduating from high school at 16. I never had a date in high school. I was often miserable at home and looked forward to leaving for college even if that college was the University of Georgia in 1962.

When I was admitted to Georgia as their first black male freshman, Dad said to shut out the noise and focus on my objectives. He said to work hard and find my limits and then find someone to help me push through them. He cautioned me saying I would not have any friends (thankfully he was wrong) and to be prepared for any adversity. After my first quarter at Georgia where I had endured my room being set on fire, my windows broken most nights, fire crackers dropped down the slats in the door, no one sitting on the same row in class and other incidents too numerous to name here, Dad got my grades. I never told him of what I was going through because I knew he would not be sympathetic. He opened my grades (they were addressed to him), balled them up, threw them on the floor and pointed his finger at me saying “Never bring grades like these again into my house.” Puzzled, I unfurled them and saw an A, a B+ and a B. I cried and told my mom to take me back to Athens. When a couple of quarters later I made all A’s, Dad said “Don’t they give A+ at that place?” I hated being home and found that I rather stay at the university with all that was going on than to come home on the weekends.

He never said he was proud of me or that he loved me, not even when I was appointed by Jimmy Carter to the first National Credit Union Administration Board. It wasn’t in his DNA. Yet when I would go to church, people would come up to me and tell me how proud he was of me. He boasted on me and my accomplishments. I used to say “Are you sure you are talking about Eldred Black?” As a matter of fact I used to tell my friends that Eldred was Spanish for “the terrible.” El Dread.

Both Mom and Dad were among the first blacks were sent to white schools when the public schools in Atlanta finally got around to integrating faculties. Mother went to an elementary school that was ironically only 15 minutes from the house, saving her 45 minutes commuting. She said that the blacks working at the school were overjoyed that she was there because they had been treated like servants by the white teachers who forced them to serve them in the cafeteria and clean up behind them. Dad was sent as an assistant principal to a high school that sat in between black Section 8 housing and white Section 8 housing. He never talked about his experiences but at his funeral one former student said that Dad single handily stopped race fights daily and ended up defusing volatile situations. He commanded respect. The students – both black and white – loved him. I remember when he had a biology home room at my high school his students would call him “Daddy Black” – behind his back. They would tell me how lucky I was to have him as a father. Again I used to say “Are we talking about the same Eldred Black?” Dad was a powerful role model to all the hundreds of students he touched and all that knew him. There are now men named “Eldred” because of him.

He also worked full time at night as a postal clerk. The Atlanta Post Office was one of the few with an integrated work environment. However, all the black clerks had college degrees while all the white ones had high school degrees. Only the white supervisors had college degrees. That rankled Dad. He understood what his place was in the segregated south and would have been fine with it if segregation were voluntary. He had no desire to live in their neighborhoods, go to their churches, eat in their restaurants, go to their theatres or even go to their schools. But he deeply resented being told he could not. He also forcefully pushed back against the mantra that somehow blacks were inferior when he saw that was a lie on a daily basis. I remember him saying during the suit to integrate the University of Georgia that “I am paying my taxes to that school and yet they won’t let me go there.” But I never heard him say a derogatory word against whites until I was, ironically, set to go to Georgia. Dad said “Show those crackers who’s not qualified.”

I have talked with contemporaries and most had similar dealings with their fathers. Those dads were of a generation where they viewed showing love and offering praise as a weakness that would cause us to not work as hard. That we all were successful may be testimony to that treatment. However, I would not recommend it.

Dad and I had our “come to Jesus” moment when finally I told him how I felt about how I was treated growing up. I was then a tenured full professor with a vita full of publications and awards. He simply said he was just trying to be a father. He offered no apology. But I did not expect one. He still never said he was proud of me. He still never said he loved me. He just could not bring himself to do that. He did not ask for forgiveness nor would I ever forgive him. Yet we grew closer as we both aged leading my mother to ask why she and I did not get along as well as I got along with him. His death was not a surprise. My nephew was there and said that Dad died peacefully, undoubtedly contented with his life and the accomplishments of his two sons and his grandchildren.  

Well, I love you Dad. Happy Father’s Day.

A friend of mine wanted me to contribute to an event celebrating Juneteenth. The celebration included support for expanding voter registration, teaching about slavery and black history and advocating for a woman’s “right to choose.” I told him that I was all in favor of expanding voter registration but he should add voter education to the statement. I was in favor to teaching an accurate accounting of slavery and black history (not the woke version) but I was opposed to carte blanche advocacy of abortion. I told him that the mantra used of “my body my choice” was inaccurate since it was not the woman’s body that was in peril but the baby’s. I also said that the main issue of importance to me was k-3 reading and math proficiency. He said that he would include wording on proficiency but would not change the language regarding abortion on demand. I told him that in that case I would not make a contribution.

Isn’t it interesting that abortion is the main social item that separates republicans from the democrats? It has always puzzled me why the sides line up like they do. I think it is reasonable to say that most abortions are performed on democrats not republicans. That means that the democrats are decreasing the number of their future voters. Shouldn’t the democrats then be against abortion and the republicans be for it? Consider that there are over one million abortions performed each year. The CDC reports that 42 percent are non-Hispanic black women, 30 percent are non-Hispanic white women, 22 percent Hispanic and 6 percent other races. I find this astounding since blacks are only 14 percent of the US population. In New York City the number of abortions exceed the number of live births. I have written before how Planned Parenthood was founded by the racist Margaret Sanger to limit black births and is a form of genocide. Planned Parenthood is predatory targeting black women and is disproportionately in majority black census tracts. Given that black women are among the most loyal of the democrat constituency it is safe to assume that the majority of those aborted black babies would have grown up to be democrat voters. Therefore, it seems to me that the republicans should change tactics and become vocal supporters of abortion. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how the democrats would react?

Random musings

My NextDoor account was suspended. I guess they want more queries about the best plumber than one about the best government.

I don’t understand the attraction of plug-in hybrids. You get only about 30 miles as an EV. I guess that might do for a short daily commute. You have both the gas engine and an electric motor with battery. Doesn’t this just make the vehicle heavier, more complicated and more expensive to maintain and fix? So wouldn’t you get a better vehicle if you eliminate either the EV or the gas part? 

Isn’t it interesting that many of those on the left feigning outrage over Alito’s upside down American flag are the same ones who have professed hate for the flag? I hear no condemnation from the same whiners on the left over those who say that the flag is racist and a symbol of hate.

I must admit there are times in which I am tempted to turn my American flag postage stamps upside down.

So why is Biden trying to tell the Israelis how to fight their war? Who anointed him in the first place?

Surveys show that Trump’s conviction did not move the polls and that he and Biden remain tied. That Biden is actually tied shows what a terrible candidate is Donald Trump. A cardboard cutout would be up by 20 points.

This may be one of the few elections where the choice of vice president may actually matter. A vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris for president. Does anyone think that Biden will be able to last 4 more years if reelected? I wonder if the dems will change VPs due to the thought of the voters not voting for Biden because of a President Harris. 

I just returned from a camping trip to Florida towing my fifth wheel behind my diesel pickup. For the first time I saw a number of EVs on the highway with out of state tags. In Florida EVs abound, just like in west Knoxville. My daughter who lives in northern Virginia said that there EVs are as plentiful as rabbits. So I wonder if all the EVs have had a noticeable impact on energy consumption and energy prices. Worldwide fossil fuel energy consumption continues to rise as developing countries increase their consumption. Recall the president of an African country in response to the Paris Accord said that no country ever emerged from poverty using expensive energy. Well fossil fuel consumption is higher now than before the Paris Accord was signed.

Going to Florida we saw two sites where the landscape was covered by solar panels. This strikes me as an incredibly wasteful use of resources. This is not putting these panels in a desert but on arable land. I guess it is because of all the Federal handouts subsidizing solar. It seems to me that if the government gives incentives it should heavily subsidize solar for the home while funding nuclear power if it wants to force a movement away from fossil, rather than using inefficient solar and wind to generate power for everyone.

The results in the European elections should send a warning to the greenies in this country – but they are tone deaf. The growth of the European right coupled with the loss of seats on the left are due to the consequences of aggressively going green. The shutting down of nuclear plants and coal plants made the situation worse. The higher costs of energy are being painfully felt forcing a slowdown in the transition to a carbon free environment. This is because of the stupidity of the left. Why not say how much carbon is a good thing rather than trying to eliminate it totally? I am reminded of the comments of a friend with a $100,000 stereo system who said that for $20,000 you could capture 95% of the sound. But you have to spend an additional $20,000 for every one percent gain but you can never capture 100%. The same is true for carbon emissions.

The green left is overplaying its hand. Yes, they have gotten the endorsements of western governments. But most of us in opposition are more opposed to the heavy handed government edicts than to the idea of green energy (if market driven).

Trump has proposed to make tips nontaxable. If he wants a winning issue he should take my recommendation to make the salaries of all active duty military tax exempt.

Benny Gantz has quit Netanyahu’s cabinet with the statement that “Fateful strategic decisions are stuck due to hesitancy and procrastination out of political considerations.” Sounds like Biden and Blinken’s nosing into Israel’s business has produced a fallout where military decisions are being trumped by political ones. Sounds like Viet Nam.

How do the panhandlers get to their street corners?

I don’t give to able bodied beggars. With all the “now hiring” signs out there, economics tells us that the panhandlers must be making more by begging than by getting a job.

I will occasionally give to disabled panhandlers and always if they have a dog.

Lastly, did you see where the left wing media is trashing Byron Donalds? They already hate him because he is a nonapologetic black conservative and are now contending that he said that Jim Crow was a good thing for black families. Of course Donalds said no such thing but the media knows that the vast majority of the public are intellectually lazy and will not read what Donalds actually said. He stated the well known fact that there were more nuclear families and children born into them prior to Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society not that Jim Crow was good for black families.  But as Hitler’s Joseph Goebbels once said that if you tell a lie enough times, it will become the truth.

Random thoughts

June 7, 2024

Trump found guilty in New York show trial. What did you expect? What is interesting is the reporting on those who would not vote for Trump if he were found guilty. What is not reported is how many of these would not have voted for Trump before the verdict.

So now Biden wants to tighten the border ahead of the election. I think voters know that he is the main cause of the open border and will see through the ruse. We will know if it is a serious effort if AOC and her ilk go ballistic.

Did you see where over 350,000 amnesty cases have been dismissed since 2022? This means that the amnesty claims were not reviewed and they are allowed to remain in the country indefinitely.

Much like Biden’s policies are the result of high energy costs and gas prices, his releasing gasoline from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to temporarily lower case prices is a similar ruse. We all know that gas prices are over a dollar a gallon more than when he took office. So don’t you love Biden claiming he is fixing problems that he himself caused?

The headlines shouted that Mexico has elected its first woman president. What is less known is that both candidates were women.

Isn’t it interesting that both sides claim that the other is a “threat to democracy”? I guess the left has jumped on the Trump off comment about being a dictator for a day while the right claims that Biden has been a dictator for three years. I know that some will say that the congress is endorsing his actions but doesn’t the Politburo rubberstamp Putin’s?

Biden claims that the republicans are attacking “bedrock freedoms”. What are these freedoms? He says women’s reproductive rights, Social Security and voting rights. How is abortion a “bedrock freedom”? What radical changes to social security have the republicans endorsed? How have voting rights been hindered? More fundamental are the dems wanting to stack the Supreme Court, to abolish the Electoral College, to make the Constitution a “living document”. Which is the greatest threat to democracy?

Both parties present the other in a dystopian view. However, it is much more dangerous to rule by the flavor of the moment than in staying true to fundamental principles.

A lot has been written about the dems favoring open borders in order to convert the illegals into voters – assuming that they would mostly be democrats. The right considers this an attack. But little has been written about whether such an effort if successful would permanently enshrine the dems in power. It would depend on where the illegals settled – if they got the vote. If they landed in New York, Illinois, California, Washington, Oregon or other democrat run states, they would not have an impact – except perhaps supplanting blacks as the favored minority. But what about Texas and Florida? Those would be interesting. I doubt if they could flip Florida and south Texas is strongly republican due to bearing the brunt of the illegal invasion.

So Fauci finally admitted that there was no scientific basis for masking or social distancing. He has kind of admitted that Rand Paul was right about the gain of function financing of the Wuhan lab. I guess I was ahead of my time when I was writing for the USA newspaper in Knoxville which refused to publish my article in 2020 listing all the restrictions placed by our health department. I wrote that I could find no scientific evidence for any of the restrictions. The paper being in the “keep them scared” camp would not publish it so I quit and starting writing for a local weekly. I don’t reach as many people but at least I am no longer censored.

We are on our third camping trip of the season. For us camping is in a fifth wheel with 2 flat screen TVs, air conditioning and all the comforts of home. We don’t like sleeping in strange beds and if it were not for the fifth wheel, we would likely not travel to any place other than the farm in Gray, GA. We are in Florida and it is 100 degrees with oppressive humidity. There are no tents at out campground. It is a testimony to how awful it must be to live in the democrat run states in the north that their residents are moving to Florida with its heat, palmetto bugs, mosquitos, black flies, love bugs, alligators, fire ants and boa constrictors. Do they still have walking catfish?

Finally, the left is gleefully calling Trump a convicted felon. The Babylon Bee points out that before the conviction the left was imploring a change in “hateful language” preferring the term “justice impacted individual.”

Harold A Black

June 1, 2024

One of my favorite things to do is to look at the legislative scorecard from the Institute for Legislative Analysis (https://www.limitedgov.org). And yes I do have a life. The Institute lists all senators and representatives with its Limited Government Index. So a priori one would assume that someone like Rand Paul would be the most conservative senator and Bernie Sanders would be the most liberal. In the House someone like Chip Roy– or Marjorie Taylor Green – would be the most conservative and a member of the Squad like Jasmine Crockett or Jamaal Bowman would be the most liberal. Within parties, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Milt Romney should be the least conservative of the republicans and Joe Manchin should be the least liberal democrat (Manchin has just declared himself an independent). 

Those are my priors. Looking at the scorecard, Mike Lee not Rand Paul is the most conservative senator with a score of 100%. Rand Paul is the second most conservative (98.18%).  Not surprisingly the least conservative republican senators are indeed Mitt Romney (59.49%), Lisa Murkowski (51.79%) and Susan Collins (50.00%). No democrat senator ranks ahead of any of the three “liberal” republicans. Joe Manchin is the least liberal democrat but his score is only 35.19%.Recall that I cautioned all those who were wishing Manchin would change his affiliation to republican? Obviously those who wanted that didn’t have a clue as to his voting record. Manchin only looked like a conservative when compared to any other democrat in the senate. The next least liberal democrat senator is Jon Tesler who only scores 28.57%. Tesler keeps getting elected in Montana despite his record. What about the most liberal senator? Surprise! It is not Bernie Sanders who ranks only number 67 on the Institute’s scale with a 7.14% ranking – tied with Maria Cantwell – meaning that there are 32 democrats more liberal than Bernie. The most liberal is Connecticut’s Chris Murphy at only 1.79%. Compared to Murphy, Bernie is moderate.

On the House side, the most conservative republican is Scott Perry who scores 100%. Scott Perry? Who is Scott Perry? He’s from Pennsylvania. Chip Roy and Bob Good also score 100%. If Bob Good scores 100%, then why did Trump endorse Good’s opponent in the Virginia republican primary? It’s because Good endorsed Ron DeSantis. I wonder if Trump called Good a RINO? Paul Gosar, Josh Brecheen, Andy Biggs and Dan Bishop all score 99+%. Majorie Taylor Green ranks only 28^th(95.87%), behind our Tim Burchett (#23 at 96.77%). Andy Ogles (98.39) is the most conservative Tennessee representative. Not surprisingly Steve Cohen is the least conservative ranking 330 with a rating of 6.09%. The least conservative republican representatives are Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania at 36.51% That’s not far from the least liberal democrat Jared Golden of Maine at 33.33%. The most liberal democrat is indeed a squad member Jasmine (Fake Eyelashes) Crockett at 1.61%.  Jamaal Bowman scores 3.23% tied with Don Beyer (the auto mogul from Virginia) and followed by such luminaries as Cori Bush (2.97%), Joaquan Castor (2.73%), squad member Ayanna Pressley (2.59%), Sylvia Garcia (2.46%), squad members Ilhan Omar (2.40%), Rashida Tlaib (2.38%) and Summer Lee (2.38%), Greg Casar (2.38%), Delia Ramairez (1.67%), Raul Grijalva (1.64%) and Valarie Foushee (1.63%). AOC? She is ranked 398 at 4.07% meaning that there are 34 representatives more liberal than AOC!

What is interesting is that on the senate side Romney, Murkowski and Collins are called moderates while on the democrat side, Manchin, Tesler are called moderates. But their scores are far below those of the republican “moderates”. I guess it is like the Les McCann song “Compared to What?” Romney, Murkowski and Collins are moderates compared to Mike Lee and Ryan Paul. Manchin and Tesler are moderates compared to Chris Murphy and Mazie Hirono.

Again, there is no overlap in either the senate or the house. Is there any wonder there is so much rancor between the political parties. Is there any wonder there is so much discord amongst the rest of us? 

The Food Network has a headline “What is kefir?” I was outraged. That is the term used by the racist apartheid whites in South Africa for blacks and is the equivalent of the n – word. Consider this definition from the web: 

Any Black African — a disparaging and offensive term used by white South Africans 

I was totally outraged until I noticed that the Food Network said “kefir” not “kaffir”. Seems like “kefir” is a “tangy, yogurt-like fermented drink that’s made from dairy milk or water and kefir grains, a type of yogurt starter with a gelatinous texture and white to yellow color.”

Never mind.

Recall the posting to my old blog (haroldblack.blogspot.com) on India Hicks.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2011

India Hicks?

In the Wall Street Journal’s weekend edition for April 23-24 was an article entitled “India Hicks”. I was expecting 
1. seeing a woman in a sari smoking a corncob pipe
2. guys throwing hummus cans out of pickups
3. people ordering light bread pita sandwiches
4. elephants with “88” painted on their sides
5. Ravi Shankar-Dolly Parton Grand Ole Opry videos
6. trailer parks in New Delhi
7. reruns of the Mumbai Hillbillies
8. sales reports on white socks and Blue Ribbon beer in Bangalore
9. Jeff Foxworthy routines of “you might be a brown neck”.
10. cobra handling

But no. It turned out to be an article on an interior designer of that name. To quote Ruth Buzzi “never mind”.

Trump is to be sentenced four days before the republican convention. Why are the republicans holding their convention in Milwaukee? Yes I know it is in part an effort to get Wisconsin back in the republican column. But Milwaukee will go for Biden regardless and is solidly democrat. It is solidly union, has elected three socialist mayors, and hasn’t elected a republican mayor since 1908. Its mayor has said “I’m a Democrat, and I don’t espouse to support any of the policy proposals that Republicans will spew” “But I’m a mayor of a city that wants to have large-scale investment and exposure.” What about going to Green Bay instead? I guess Milwaukee may be the only city in the state with enough hotel rooms to host to convention but somehow Green Bay can accommodate the Packer fans on football Sunday.

Back to Trump’s sentencing. He can be fined, given a suspended sentence or sent to jail. The thinking is that in no way would the judge send Trump to jail. But what if he did? From all accounts, the judge was prejudicial. First, he allowed the trial even though an impressive array of legal minds argued that the case was bogus. Second, he granted leeway to the prosecution that some argued was unusually lenient. Third, the judge’s instructions to the jury were just plain weird. He said (quoting another source) “that it is not a requirement for them to be in unanimous agreement about what “other crime” Trump committed, instead receiving a choice of three separate crimes they can select to convict the former president.” Again, I am no attorney but couldn’t the verdict be overturned on appeal simply because of these instructions to the jury?

The democrats have failed to derail the Trump campaign due to Biden’s incompetence. Would it be a shock if the judge – who is obviously biased – remanded Trump to jail sending him off in shackled to serve out his time? Would that stop Trump from being nominated at the convention? If so who would the republicans nominate? Surely not Nikki Haley. Wouldn’t they be obligated to nominate Trump if he has the most delegates pledged to him? If they nominated Trump, would the judge allow him to campaign from jail? Well Joe Biden campaigned successfully from his basement. Of course, a vice president nominee would emerge from the republican convention and that person could do the campaigning as would a bevy of surrogates. Then what if Trump were elected from prison? Could he pardon himself to allow himself to go to the White House? BTW, the Constitution is silent on whether a convicted felon or even one imprisoned can be elected president. It only speaks to birth and age.

This verdict has those on the left celebrating. I know people who are overjoyed. But I caution you. As I said when Harry Reid suspended the 60 vote rule to elect Obama’s judges, what goes around. Reid got his judges but Trump got Kavannah, Gorsuch and Barrett. Dems may be rejoicing the Trump conviction but Pandora’s box is now open. Expect that Republican AGs will go after high ranking dems on flimsy charges. Expect that if Trump is elected that his “Justice” Department will have a different view of justice than Biden’s. Expect charges brought against all the Bidens, Mayokas, Garland and a host of others. You ain’t seen anything yet.