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The stupid party strikes again!

The democrats govern by raising taxes and increasing handouts. How do the republicans govern? The answer is very badly. The republicans are in the majority in the House of Representatives and all spending bills originate in the House. So why has spending increased to where this year’s deficit is an astounding $2 trillion? It’s simply because republicans are incapable of getting their act (and it is an act) together. Speaker Mike Johnson has a better chance of herding cats than getting the dysfunctional republicans to act in concert. Consider the annual kabuki dance known as the budget. Since the republicans have neglected to pass the 12 spending bills before the September 30 deadline, Johnson introduced legislation for a continuing resolution (CR) to continue funding the government. Mind you, the republicans have had all year to pass those spending bills. Johnson’s continuing resolution would have kept government spending at its current levels for six months and included Chip Roy’s SAVE act which requires proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections which is already illegal because it was clear that many republicans were not going to vote for the continuing resolution without the SAVE Act attachment so Johnson included it. 

Understand that with the addition of the SAVE Act, the democrats were going to vote against the continuing resolution. It might have passed the House but Chuck Schumer and the democrats in the Senate would have defeated the bill. Anyway our president in absentia said that he would veto it in the unlikely instance that it reached his desk. I guess he would have come back to DC from the beach. Without passage of the continuing resolution, the government would go through another semi-shutdown. Only this time, the democrats would be blamed if the CR had passed the House.

Did the House republicans pass the CR? No. Johnson was forced to withdraw the bill because over a dozen republicans including our own Tim Burchett said that they would vote against it. Burchett is against CRs period saying that it is “terrible legislating.” Indeed it is but in today’s House, I would like him to give us a better alternative. Perhaps our congressman can tell us how his better legislating can pass a budget. Some republicans were against the CR because it continues funding at the current level of spending prompting one dissident to say “we have been in the majority for this term and have not cut a cent.” Again, how do you cut even a cent with the democrats in control of the Senate and the White House? Still others were against the bill because its six month timetable. The hawks moaned that the six month CR would limit increases in military when additional spending is necessary to combat all the threats in today’s world. The Pentagon agreed as did many prominent Senate republicans. Thus you have republicans who won’t vote for the CR because it does not contain additional spending, albeit for the military, versus republicans who want to cut the budget. Herding cats is easier than dealing with this bunch.

Also Johnson favored a six month CR that would have put the budget decisions in the hands of a new Congress with perhaps majorities in both the House and the Senate and a republican president. A three month CR would have left spending with this Congress that would not have approved any budget anyway.

Mind you there is an election in November. If the republicans cannot pass either a budget (which is impossible) or a CR (which seems equally impossible) the blame for a government shutdown will be squarely on their shoulders. Tim Burchett is in a safe district but republicans who are in competitive races may face angry voters. If the republicans can’t get their stuff together when they are in the majority then why send them back to Washington? The only reason to vote for a republican is the specter of democrat majorities in the House and the Senate along with a President Harris.

Random thoughts

Are we seeing a collective losing of minds? I would have thought that the murder of the six hostages by Hamas would have united the world against the terrorists. Yet much of the anger has been focused at Netanyahu for not negotiating a surrender to the murderers. Over 200,000 Israelis marched to protest Netanyahu’s refusal to give in the Hamas’ terms for a truce. Campus protests around the world continue to support Hamas despite their brutality. What am I missing?

The treatment of Jews on some campuses is shameful. No encampments should be allowed and those students that set them up should be suspended for the year. Any student harassing or attacking another student should also be suspended for the year. Hate speech, signs and slogans should not be tolerated and met with suspension. The campus should be a place where all can feel safe regardless of race, religion and belief. The problem is that many of the campus administrators are anti-Israel and support the protestors. What the administrators should do is to visualize what actions they would take if the protestors were anti-LBGTQ.

How do you deal with spam calls? I answer all calls, even those from “unknown caller.” In some cases, those calls are from people that I want to talk to. However, if there is any delay from the time I answer to the person on the other end talking, I hang up. The delay tells me it is a robocall and likely spam. If they call back – which is rare – I do not pick up and let it go to voicemail where very few messages are left.

The other day I went into a local restaurant for lunch when a diner stopped me. He said he was a former student and was in my class in 2007. He wanted to tell me how much he disliked me while in my class. He especially hated that I did not use multiple choice/ true-false exams and took off a point for misspelled words. At the start of the semester I gave the students a list of words that had to be spelled correctly (capital, usury, principal). Students still persisted in misspelling these and others. He then told me that forcing him to spell correctly was one of the best things that happened to him and belatedly he wanted to thank me. Too bad those teacher evaluations can’t be revisited.

I think one of the best indicators of my classroom instruction was the semester in which one of the student evaluations read “Dr Black hates white students” while another evaluation complained “Dr Black hates black students.”

It seems like the Atlanta Braves have had targets on their backs the entire season. Ronald Acuna, Jr was thrown at. Michael Harris, Travis D’Arnaud, Austin Riley and then Whit Merrifield have all lost significant time after being hit. Yet in the hit by pitch per game statistic (yes, such a statistic exists) Atlanta ranks only 21^st at 0.35 players hit by pitch per game. Seattle leads the majors with 0.70 players hit by pitch per game. With more and more pitchers throwing 100 mph, being at bat which has always demanded a bit of bravery becomes even more of a challenge. What can be done? As Merrifield pointed out, when a player gets hit and has to leave the game, the pitcher faces no punishment unless it was determined that he was intentionally throwing at the batter. A friend of mine suggested that in the case of hit by pitch, the batter be awarded second base.

Only the leftist media would consider Liz Cheney’s endorsement of Kamala Harris newsworthy. Cheney is a completely irrelevant ex-politician who hates Trump. Harriet Hageman’s “Fed Up” speech remains one of my favorites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcONyHZCBS0. Cheney’s dad also said that he would vote for Harris. BTW if you google “Dick Cheney will vote for Harris” you will have to scroll down six pages before you find a single story that is not in the leftist press. But then no one ever accused google as being fair and blanced.

I hate all tv providers

Do you hate the TV providers as much as I do? I have had cable, Dish, DirecTV and now YouTube TV. I hate them all. I had cable until my provider got into a spat with ESPN and took it off the air. I lost a week of college football which occupies space when I have little else to do. So I dropped the cable and went to the Dish which then had a dispute with another network at an inconvenient time. I went to Directv which then had a spat with TNT and TBS. Satellite tv was a pain especially during bad weather. I then went to YouTube TV.  Then YouTube tv had a spat with Bally Sports and I lost the Braves games. I almost changed to Fubu until I found out that it did not carry TNT or TBS and some networks that my other half watched. So I stayed with YouTube TV. Then they dropped the MLB Network forcing me to buy the MLB package. The Braves are still blacked out since they do not carry Bally Sports but I can listen to the broadcasts. I wish MLB had a package to include all the teams that are blacked out. But my patience is wearing thin with YouTube TV. Comcast had a dispute with ESPN right at the start of college football. Enough is enough. Now if YouTube tv takes any network I watch off the air, I will dump it. Anyhow, I have Roku and look at only a few of the networks on YouTube tv.

Ideally I would like to stream with all the news channels for my other half, stream MLB and college football and then one where I can pick and choose the networks. My grandchildren watch very little network programing and stream instead. I do not watch movies so I have no need for the movie networks. I don’t watch the basketball or hockey and watch the NFL if I have nothing else to do. The NFL is abusing its fans. It is moving more and more games to pay for view. I read that if a fan wanted to look at all the NFL games it would cost over $1,200. I am not an NFL fan so I won’t buy the NFL package, subscribe to Prime Tv, Netflix, ESPN+ or any of the rest. Are you going to pay for a Prime TV subscription to watch NFL on Fridays? I’m not. I will watch a baseball game instead.

Most Sundays in the Fall I am hunting unless it is raining. Then I will watch the NFL if it is on network tv– maybe. At night if I watch at all, I will turn it off at halftime. So I am wondering if the NFL will alienate its fan base and start losing viewers. Right now is a golden age with billions in TV contracts, sky high team valuations and diehard fans. But the league feels that the demand for its product is inelastic allowing it to continually raise prices and basically screw its fans. The NFL right now is a national sport with fans tuning in regardless of who is playing. Kansas City Chiefs versus Baltimore Ravens draws a national audience. Baseball on the other hand is a regional sport. Few fans outside the home area will watch other teams play unless it is a national brand like the Yankees or Dodgers. You won’t likely see a national broadcast of the Kansas City Royals versus the Baltimore Orioles. But I will watch it on the MLB Network.

As to the tv providers, I’ve about had it. Sooner or later YouTube TV is going to make a favorite network go dark. The next time that happens, I will cut the cord and stream free on Roku. I will get my local (free) channels just like in the olden days and say goodbye to the rest. I think the providers are digging their own graves and I will help shovel dirt on them.

Do you want fries with that?

Kamala Harris claims to have worked at McDonald’s to earn extra money while in college. The left wing media merely nodded its head and accepted the admission without question. The right wing media lost its mind, delving into employment records and questioning Harris’ sincerity. Of course, if Trump or Vance had made the statement the media’s coverage would be the opposite. Just like all the attention made about Vance’s comment on childless cat ladies which dominated the left’s reporting for weeks, the Daily Beast and MSNBC would have devoted at least a week of investigative reporting of Vance’s possible employment at McDonald’s.

Was it true that Harris worked at McDonald’s?  Maybe. I worked as a bus boy at IHOP during high school because my father insisted that we work during the summers unless we went to summer school. One summer I worked construction as a hod carrier. In college, my parents forbade me from working insisting that I spend all my time studying. So of course I worked to buy a car that my parents never knew about. I would drive it to the bus station and ride the bus home. I waited tables at a local restaurant in Athens that no longer exists. I got fired. All the white help could take their once daily meal in a section of the dining room but all the black help had to eat in the kitchen. When I decided to eat in the dining room instead, I was fired. Now I doubt very seriously if any of the above is documented in any fashion. Just like I doubt if there is any record of Harris’ time at McDonald’s. I really don’t care. What I wonder about is what Harris learned from working at McDonalds. My parents insisted that we work to learn the discipline of work. Get up. Get to work on time – although Dad insisted that on time was 5 minutes late. Make some money. Save it for a particular goal. Work hard and be rewarded. But most of all, realize that without a college education you were condemned to low paying menial jobs like busing tables and carrying hods. 

Did Harris learn these things at McDonald’s? Did she realize that many if not most of McDonald’s managers started out flipping burgers and asking if you wanted to super size your order? BTW I guess that is what they say at McDonalds because I have not been in a fast food restaurant in the past 30+ years except when I used to stop by Hardee’s for hot tea and a couple of biscuits at 6 AM enroute to a deer stand.

I read one report scoffing at Harris’ claim stating that as the child of two PhDs it is likely that she is making stuff up to seem down to earth. But I know the need for extra cash and perhaps she (like me) didn’t want to ask her folks for more money. Again, did she understand that very few of McDonald’s employees work there as the major earners in their households. Most are dependents. Most will look at this as a starter job not a permanent one. Importantly, Harris should realize that many are adversely affected by government mandated increases in minimum wages. She would now see automation replacing even low wage workers as management is forced to substitute capital for labor. She should see the cost of fast food rising making it more difficult for poorer households to eat out. She should realize that this is the consequence of her advocacy of policies which make energy more expensive and is inflationary. The disappointment is that Harris does not seem to have learned these things from her job at McDonald’s. Her response is likely that of the typical leftist devotee: push people out of work and make them totally dependent upon the largesse of the state. The poor become unemployable and then have to resort to welfare and the black market. Let them eat cake.

I went to Georgia for the Clemson game – Go Dawgs! The TV airwaves were full of one Kamala Harris ad after another. In them you would never guess that her opponent was Donald Trump. Rather it seemed as if she was running against Joe Biden. The ads were warm and fuzzy spreading joy. Aside from the usual fluff about how brave she was fighting big business and being for the little people when she was California’s attorney general, her goal as president would be to lower prices. Mind you that those prices were a direct result of her time in office with Biden. Never mentioned were immigration, industrial policy (Green New Deal), crime, foreign policy, Israel, China, Russia, Ukraine or any of the rest of the mess stinking up this administration. Her ads did not even mention Trump. Rather there was an attack ad from some PAC that was full of lies saying that Trump favored a national ban on abortion, that he was in full agreement with Project 2025, that he wanted to cut medicare and social security and that he wanted to have dictatorial power. Meanwhile despite the barrage of Harris ads the only Trump ad was a short one of him pandering to those who worked for tips (no tax on tips) and old folk (no tax on social security). I saw two of these Trump ads and possibly 20 Harris ads.

I was wondering how many vice presidents were elected president immediately after the sitting president had served a full term – or two terms. I could think of only John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and George H. W. Bush. All of the other vice presidents became president due to the death of the president, the resignation of the president or were elected after they left office (Richard Nixon). Bush was Reagan’s vice president for two terms and then was elected on his own right for two terms. I guess that because Reagan was so well liked – except by the media who didn’t like him until his death – that the voters elected Bush as a Reagan surrogate. The problem facing Harris is that Biden is thoroughly disliked by the majority of voters. His approval ratings are abysmal and the question is why would voters want four more years of that? So Harris is pretending that she had nothing to do with any of the country’s woes. Forget that she was the border czar. What has she done in office? The pliant media lists her visits to abortion clinics as an accomplishment (I kid you not). She was anointed to oversee the White House office on the prevention of gun violence (an obvious success) and she was the deciding vote for the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (another obvious success). One article even praises her role as border czar (again I kid you not).

Don’t misunderstand, it is difficult to point to any major achievements of any sitting vice president. Recall that John Nance Garner was misquoted as saying that the office was not worth a bucket of warm spit – Garner actually said the word usually substituted for urine rather than “spit”. Garner also said “Worst damnfool mistake I ever made was letting myself be elected Vice President of the United States. Should have stuck with my old chores as Speaker of the House. I gave up the second most important job in the Government for one that didn’t amount to a hill of beans. I spent eight long years as Mr. Roosevelt’s spare tire. I might still be Speaker if I didn’t let them elect me Vice-President.” 

Now of course for some reason politicians look about being vice president as a career enhancer. How else to explain the parade of people groveling before Trump like Tim Scott or even vying for the nomination to be Harris’ running mate like Josh Shapiro? But think of the past vice presidents who were nominated for president and think whether being VP further enhanced their post VP careers: Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Al Gore. Typically, the vice president just stays in the background, presides over the Senate and is occasionally given something to do by the president. By all accounts, it is a ceremonial position with little actual responsibilities. It only becomes important if the president leaves prior to the end of the term. Perhaps the vice president wannabes are hoping for an early exit from the president. Nonetheless, It would be a major historical event if Harris were elected president because she carries the legacy of a failed administration.

Joy?

First Joe Biden and now Tim Walz. Both are serial liars. Maybe that is why Harris picked Walz having gotten used to being around someone who has difficulty telling the truth. Although some like our own Tim Burchett have labelled Harris as the “DEI vice president” the same applies to Walz. Isn’t it interesting that Harris apparently was instructed to pick only a white middle aged man as VP? Never mind that Michelle Obama or Amy Klobuchar or Julian Castro would have been stronger running mates and have greater appeal that Walz. There is nothing appealing about Walz no matter how hard the media tries to embellish him. What’s that saying about putting lipstick on a pig? Being an unpaid assistant high school football coach is not generally a resume enhancement regardless of what MSNBC says. Lying about military service, saying that he was a retired command sergeant major when he wasn’t, saying your wife used IVF to conceive when she didn’t, claiming being named Outstanding Young Nebraskan when he wasn’t, saying that he taught in China through a Harvard program when he didn’t, saying that he carried an AR-15 in war when he never was in combat (AR-15s are not used in war zones), and lying about a drunk driving are some of his lies. 

In his acceptance speech he also lied saying that Trump wanted to pass a law banning abortion nationwide, that Trump endorsed the Project 2025, that Trump wanted to repeal Obamacare and “gut” Social Security and Medicare. Of course, the media coverage gushed over his speech calling it “fiery”, “emotional”, “heartfelt”, “impassioned” and “rocking”. When I googled “Tim Walz acceptance speech lies”, the first 25 references all were fawning articles on how wonderful a speech it was. None mentioned his lying. Then the fact checking articles were left leaning explaining away his lies. Those were followed by a series of articles detailing “20 lies told by Trump” in his acceptance speech! Mind you, I googled Tim Walz not Donald Trump. Finally, google listed articles from Red State and the New York Post on Walz’s continued lying. Recall that the Washington Post turned off its fact checker after 100 days into the Biden Administration. I guess Biden broke it. Well the fact checker will remain off for the democrats during this campaign and into the future. Sure, politicians lie. Biden made it into an art and the media ignored it. They are doing the same with Walz. To date, they have left Harris alone. Perhaps its because she says so little of substance.

From all accounts the democrat’s convention had Trump Derangement Syndrome on full display with each speaker hurling insults at the former (and likely future) president – and sometimes at JD Vance. Has there been another political convention that has done that? Perhaps all of this was intended to spark a reactive retort from Trump whose track record had been to trade insult for insult.

The overriding theme of the convention was “joy”. Was it joy that Biden had been ousted? Again I wonder how much money did the democrat billionaires have to give Biden to make him go away. Was it joy that the leftists, the Bernie Bros had finally triumphed and taken over the party? Nonetheless, the outpouring of joy seemed a bit strange for a crowd that are the most joyless people in the country.

Regardless of all the efforts to transform Harris into a credible candidate and excuses made for Walz’s lies, if they get elected they will make Biden’s policies look like Reagan’s. The four years of damage done to the economy, done in foreign affairs and done to the social fabric of the country under Biden will be amplified under Harris. We will soon see if you can fool most of the people most of the time. 

As to joy, I am reminded of Frankie Beverley and Maze’s, Joy and Pain. 

“Remember when you first found love, how you felt so good 
The kind that last forevermore so you thought it would 
Suddenly the things you see got you hurt so bad, so bad 
How come the things that make us happy, make us sad?

Joy and pain are like sunshine and rain 
Joy and pain are like sunshine and rain”

The left’s manufactured joy will surely bring pain.

This is from a National Review article on the 1992 Democrat platform. How times have changed.

• “The goal of our nation must be to make abortion less necessary” 

• “Republicans brought America a false and fragile prosperity based on borrowing, not income, and so will leave behind a mountain of public debt and a backbreaking annual burden in interest. It is wrong to borrow to spend on ourselves, leaving our children to pay our debts.” 

• “Therefore we call for a revolution in government—to take power away from entrenched bureaucracies and narrow interests in Washington and put it back in the hands of ordinary people. We vow to make government more decentralized, more flexible, and more accountable—to reform public institutions and replace public officials who aren’t leading with ones who will.” 

• “Only a thriving economy, a strong manufacturing base, and growth in creative new enterprise can generate the resources to meet the nation’s pressing human and social needs. An expanding, entrepreneurial economy of high-skill, high-wage jobs is the most important family policy, urban policy, labor policy, minority policy and foreign policy America can have.” 

• “Above all the Revolution of 1992 is about restoring the basic American values that built this country and will always make it great: personal responsibility, individual liberty, tolerance, faith, family and hard work. We offer the American people not only new ideas, a new course, and a new President, but a return to the enduring principles that set our nation apart: the promise of opportunity, the strength of community, the dignity of work, and a decent life for senior citizens.” 

• “To make this revolution, we seek a New Covenant to repair the damaged bond between the American people and their government, that will expand opportunity, insist upon greater individual responsibility in return, restore community, and ensure national security in a profoundly new era.” 

• “We must strive to close both the budget deficit and the investment gap. Our major competitors invest far more than we do in roads, bridges, and the information networks and technologies of the future. We will rebuild America by investing more in transportation, environmental technologies, defense conversion, and a national information network.” 

• “Addressing the deficit requires fair and shared sacrifice of all Americans for the common good.” 

• “We need a national crackdown on deadbeat parents, an effective system of child support enforcement nationwide, and a systematic effort to establish paternity for every child.” 

• “Democrats in 1992 intend to lead a revolution in government, challenging it to act responsibly and be accountable, starting with the hardest and most urgent problems of the deficit and economic growth. Rather than throw money at obsolete programs, we will eliminate unnecessary layers of management, cut administrative costs, give people more choices in the service they get, and empower them to make those choices. To foster greater responsibility in government at every level, we support giving greater flexibility to our cities, counties and states in achieving Federal mandates and carrying out existing programs.” 

• “The success of democracy in America depends substantially on the strength of our community institutions: families and neighborhoods, public schools, religious institutions, charitable organizations, civic groups and other voluntary organizations. In these social networks, the values and character of our citizens are formed, as we learn the habits and skills of self-government, and acquire an understanding of our common rights and responsibilities as citizens.” 

• “Our communities form a vital ‘third sector’ that lies between government and the marketplace. The wisdom, energy and resources required to solve our problems are not concentrated in Washington, but can be found throughout our communities, including America’s non-profit sector, which has grown rapidly over the last decade. Government’s best role is to enable people and communities to solve their own problems.” 

• “Democrats will pursue a new course that stresses work, family and individual responsibility, and that empowers Americans to liberate themselves from poverty and dependence. We pledge to bolster the institutions of civil society and place a new emphasis on civic enterprises that seek solutions to our nation’s problems. Through common, cooperative efforts we can rebuild our communities and transform our nation.” 

MAGA anyone?

I had lunch the other day with a close friend who had on a cap that said “Prosecutor vs Prosecuted”. He is salivating over the prosect that judge Juan Merchan sentences Trump to jail. Never mind that any sentence will be appealed or that the charges were bogus, or that the judge was compromised, or that the judge was biased. None of that matters. What matters to him is that Trump is a convicted criminal regardless of what happens afterwards.

Do you like your cooking? I know a person that along with his wife eats out every night. How can they stand it? I like my own cooking. I make a better pizza than I can buy locally. Also the best chicken enchiladas, chicken and dumplings, venison stew, omelets, meat loaf, salmon patties. I cannot come close to Hattie B’s hot chicken and there is a local restaurant that makes the best baked ziti. However, in the main I would rather eat my own cooking than any restaurant’s.

We don’t know much about Kamala Harris’ thoughts on anything. She is not campaigning on her years as vice president. There are precious few positives. She won’t talk about inflation, immigration, foreign policy, energy costs or anything of substance. She hasn’t been interviewed or held a press conference and the compliant media is letting her get away with it. She opposes Israel’s Gaza campaign but it likely not an antisemite given her husband is Jewish. But I wonder if she supports an arms embargo to Israel. Like hiding Biden in the basement, Harris will hide her views and deny all her previous positions throughout the campaign. The question is whether Trump and Vance are disciplined enough to stay on message rather than simply calling names and defending themselves against a hostile media.

Wouldn’t you like to know how Harris feels about Ukraine? About Israel? About Iran? About China, trade, Taiwan, South China Sea, tariffs? About the EU? About the Supreme Court? Electoral College? DC Statehood?

What we do know is that she likes price controls. She likes Biden’s proposed 5% cap on rents. She embraced rent controls. She wants to increase the supply of apartments but somehow doesn’t realize that rent controls discourage increases in supply. She thinks that giving first time home buyers $25,000 will increase housing affordability. Huh? Won’t this just increase prices by increasing demand? Maybe this is a reverse Say’s Law and here demand creates its own supply. She somehow thinks that food companies are price gouging even though retail grocery prices have jumped less than wholesale prices. She fogets that this is a competitive market and that price increases are due to her administration’s actions. Naturally she would increase government by setting up a bureaucracy to limit price increases. She ignores the fact that price controls lead to shortages in products. Some have called this “communist” seemingly forgetting that the last president to impose wage and price controls was that famous red, Richard Nixon. What Harris is actually showing is that her administration will be to the left of Biden’s. 

Neither Harris nor Trump is talking about economic growth. Harris, being on the left, is in the fixed pie camp where for one party to gain, another has to lose. Any learned person should know better. However, Trump isn’t much better. Instead of embracing growth policies, Trump is a retrenching protectionist. Trump ignores small businesses, the growth engine of the economy. Rather Trump is a big business guy. He shut down small business and left the big ones open during COVID. I wish he would set out a small business agenda. Talk about lessening regulations that stifle business. Talk about targeted tax reduction on small business. Become the small business president. Grow the economic pie. Remind Americans about the power of expanding the pie. Talk about why there are so few poor people in America today and those that are poor would be wealthy if compared to the poor 100 years ago. The only way to make America great again is to make the market great again.

Industrial policy and tariffs: At last agreement among the left and right

In a recent op ed piece, one of the most liberal democrats in congress compared his industrial policy views to that of JD Vance. It was a matter of degree. Both favor increased tariffs and industrial policy. However, the democrat is for more immigration while Vance opposes all immigration – even legal immigration. Curious because Vance’s wife is Indian-American. Another difference is Democrats love the Green New Deal and subsidies flowing to their big business bros. Vance says that the Green New Deal will be shut down on Day 1. Both think the FTC’s Lina Kahn is doing a great job trying to rein in what they consider anti-trust violators – even though Kahn keeps losing in court. There is considerable evidence that Kahn’s efforts are making industries less competitive and driving up prices to consumers. But never mind the consequences. Its the appearances that count.

Again, the politicians seeking to reduce prices to consumers often end up limiting consumer choice. Consider that the pharmaceuticals now have to “negotiate” certain drug prices with the government for Medicare inclusion. The result will be fewer new drugs on the market as the companies will not be able fund research with proceeds from profitable drugs. The government pooh-poohs this finding noting that only about 13 new drugs won’t come to the market under the price negotiation mandate. However, those who suffer from the ailments that would have been addressed are ignored. It is no secret that in economies with price controls on drugs, that fewer drugs are available in those countries. But what are a few thousand sufferers when millions can save a few bucks on their drugs?

Speaking of industrial policy, why are there so many Chinese EV companies? One can look to China as evidence of industrial policy in action. The EV industry is a case in point with enormous subsidies from the Chinese government. Currently there are at least 46 EV manufacturers in China. However, every year more and more fail, endangering the viability of the suppliers that service the manufacturers. It seems to me that Xi should have concentrated his subsidies on only a few manufacturers such as BYD rather than wasting billions of all comers. Chinese industrial policy is a drain on their economy and has restricted China’s economic growth and had a negative effect on its people’s well being.

Of course, Trump wants to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs and on this Biden agreed. The question is why do politicians want to do this. Supposedly it is because American manufacturers cannot compete with the Chinese. If the Chinese were allowed into the US market they would push the American manufacturers out of the market. Does this make sense to anyone other than Trump, Vance, Biden, and Harris? Consider that the manufacturers in the US market sell high priced EVs. If the greenie weenies want widespread adoption of EVs then why should they favor pricing the lower priced Chinese EVs out of the market? I guess they want EVs only for the rich and let the great unwashed be forced to ride mass transit. The main impact of keeping the Chinese out of the US market is to limit the incentive of car companies in the US market to produce better, cheaper, more efficient EVs. Moreover, economists will tell you that Chinese subsidies constitute a wealth transfer from the Chinese to the rest of the world. The Chinese bear the cost of the subsidies while the rest of the world gets an underpriced product. If the Chinese are fools enough to engage in such an economic policy we are bigger fools not to let them.

There is growing evidence that Trump’s tariffs are harming American workers. Instead of protecting jobs, there is a loss of jobs. There are studies showing that a result of imposing tariffs hurts American suppliers who then lay off workers. Recently John Deere has announced the closing of American factories and opening ones in Mexico. Harley-Davison is laying off workers and shifting production to Thailand. Why? First as a result of Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, the EU retaliated imposing an increased 31% tariff on Harleys. The average price of a Harley increased $2,200 forcing Harley to move production of its bikes slated for sale outside the states to Thailand. Harley’s market value fell by over $1.5 billion. Harley’s increased costs to its US customers has helped fuel a 20% drop in US sales. With the Asian market increasing in importance Harley has announced it is moving even more production to Thailand and laying off US workers. What has the Biden Administration done? Instead of getting rid of the tariffs, it has instead given Harley a $89 million grant to its union worker plant in Pennsylvania that manufactures the Livewire, Harley’s electric motorcycle.  Never mind that Harley loses over $177,000 on every electric bike it sells. Not surprisingly, Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey now wants a $7,500 subsidy on electric motorcycles. I can’t be the only one who sees the sheer stupidity in this Rube Goldberg machine. But hey, blame the Chinese for problems caused by US politicians and then waste taxpayers money by incurring more debt.

Speaking of which, have you noticed that neither Trump nor Harris is talking about the national debt? In fact, both of their policy agendas will significantly raise the debt. But what’s another $2 trillion a year?

So much stuff. So little time.

Lithium battery fires are rare but intense. That is why when I considered replacing my Can Am Spyder’s battery with a lithium one I opted for the old fashioned lead acid one. The lithium has a lot going for it. It is lighter, more powerful and longer lasting. However it requires a different charger and I don’t want it in my garage. Too many reports of fires for me.

Media says that the Trump campaign was not prepared for Biden to step down and be replaced by Harris. If that is true then Trump needs a new campaign staff because most of us knew that Biden was going to abdicate.

Trump can’t stop calling names. While on a stop in Montana to support Tim Sheehy in his race to unseat Jon Tester, Trump said don’t be fooled because Tester “is a radical left lunatic like Kamala.”True that Tester professes to be independent while voting with Biden 90 percent of the time but calling Harris a lunatic is off putting to so many of the electorate. However calling her a radical leftwing is on point.

The media is going to brand Trump’s name calling of Harris as either racist or chauvinistic or both. Of course Trump insults everyone friend or foe but he has got to stop it.

I understand why Trump was in Montana. Taking back the Senate should be a priority to the republicans. But Trump needs to concentrate on the swing states and send surrogates to the rest. I am still aghast that he continues to make a fool of himself in Georgia.

Trump and Vance’s campaign theme should be “Where’s Kamala?” The democrat brain trust has decided to emulate Biden’s stay-in-the-basement strategy. It worked. Trump was out there as he repeatedly said “working his butt off” while Biden was in the basement. Biden won. Now Harris is not granting interviews with a press that has elevated her from the lowest ranked national politician to St Kamala. Harris did not even deign to be interviewed in the Time cover article that fawned all over her non-accomplishments. I would be shocked if she debated Trump. All he would need to do is ask her to explain her previously announced positions on anything. I would love to hear him ask if she favors an arms embargo of Israel. It is apparent that the democrats will try to keep her quiet because she will spout some nonsensical word salads and embarrass everyone but herself. It will be interesting to see if they can keep her quiet up to election day.

Again, a cardboard cutout would be twenty points ahead of Harris. That Donald Trump is not ahead is a testament to how perfectly awful he is as a candidate.

The war in the Sudan is horrific and largely ignored by the press. More than 200,000 are dead and 24 million are in need of food. More than 200,000 have starved. In its capital of Omdurman is buried The Mahdi, the legendary Islamic cleric who defeated the Egyptian and British armies and who is said to appear at the End of Times to conquer evil and injustice. Not coincidentally the fans of Dune (of which I am one) recognize the Mahdi as the one who leads the Freemen to save Arrakis. Perhaps many in the Sudan hope that the Mahdi will intercede in these desperate times.

Speaking of the forgotten or the ignored, it is amazing that China can get away with its human rights abuse of its minorities, in particular the Uyghurs.  Also ignored is the systematic repression of ethnic minorities and religious groups such as Christians, Buddists and the Falun Gong who make up over half of China’s forced labor camps.

There are over 70,000 ISIS men, women and children in detention camps in Syria. What is going to happen to those people? Surely you cannot turn them loose to create more havoc in the Middle East.

There are over a million Rohingya living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. The Rohingya are native to Myanmar where they have suffered genocide. They have been called the most persecuted people in the world. Myanmar has removed their citizenship, restricted their travel, and denied them access to public education and civil service jobs. One over 1.5 million lived in Myanmar and now they reside mostly in camps in Bangladesh. Many fled to Malaysia but that country closed entry. Now many, including unaccompanied children, are migrating to Indonesia in search of a better life. The world ignores their suffering making them the largest group among those whose plight is either ignored or forgotten.

You have to be brave to be a Christian in Nigeria. The Islamic Boko Haram insurgency has murdered over 60,000 Christians since 2009. Yet the world yawns. Over 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools have been destroyed. Remember the abduction of the Christian girls? Well to date over 800 Christians have been kidnapped. Five million Nigerian Christians have been displaced and are now sheltered in refugee camps. There is no more dangerous place in the world to be a Christian than in Nigeria. One wonders if the western world would be so indifferent to this genocide if it were Christians persecuting and killing Muslims?