Trump 2.0 lays out specific plans to bring America back from the brink of a Biden-Harris- induced disaster. China is not only our largest national security threat, but it is also our largest economic threat since it is the number two economic power on the planet behind the USA. China’s ongoing thefts of intellectual property and its complicitness in the worldwide fentanyl traffic and unfair trade practices create multi-dimensional threats. From what I have read, the Biden-Harris Administration has not been successful in challenging China on many issues. It seems that the lay down in the street and hope you don’t get run over strategy has not proved particularly useful when facing an adversary such as President Xi. I for one am grateful that Kamala Harris won’t be the one negotiating with him and that Donald Trump has the iron balls to stand up to him.
Labor Unions, Anti-Advancement? Huh?
The history of America holds one example after another of new technologies disrupting old and established industries. My guess is that the buggy whip manufacturers alliance and the horse- drawn carriage employees marched on Washington, DC, when Henry Ford announced his horseless carriage and magnificent production line. It seems they were on the wrong side of history since many Americans were more than ready to ditch their horses for a Model T.
I recall family trips as a kid to Macy’s at Herald Square in Manhattan, my dad pulling his BankAmericard out of his wallet and the clerk placing it in an imprint machine for billing. The clerk pulled down a large handle (looked like a giant stapler) that transferred the impression on the card to a thin carbon-backed receipt. These machines preceded today’s Mastercards and Visa cards. Modern credit cards are imbedded with chips that store all sorts of information. Before too long, they will probably be Bluetooth compatible and make pancakes for breakfast. If I recall, BankAmericard was a brainchild of Bank of America, and my guess is that the bank is doing just fine today with $2.55 trillion in assets.
While the jury is still out, the ability for students to learn via computer instead of being in a physical classroom has forever changed our idea of education. Students can earn college degrees without ever setting foot on a college campus. Of course, they will miss out on the whole socialization thing—fraternities, sororities, beer pong, and streaking across the soccer fields at midnight.
And with all that computing power comes the entire work-from-home movement that has had tremendous effects on commercial real estate and the need for enormous, expensive office space. Who knew we didn’t have to get out of our houses or, in many cases, our pajamas to get work done?
America may stop thinking, innovating, and coming up with new and better solutions to our problems, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Advancement is part of who we are, evidenced by our swapping caves and firepits for condos with terraces facing the Gulf of Mexico.
Yet today, longshoremen and dockworkers are up in arms because they foresee a loss of jobs as more advanced technology is introduced to the docks via AI.
It’s basically an issue of workers versus automation. Workers have demanded huge pay increases and promises that their jobs will not change due to technology. They term it “protections against automation.” The International Longshoremen’s Association is against any form of automation, whether partially or fully automated—and they won’t budge.
They demand a total ban on automated cranes. In other words, they demand that we turn back the clock and that no innovation takes place in their sphere of influence. Global competition be damned. They are okay with China cleaning our clock when it comes to global trade. It’s okay that the internal combustion engine give way to eclectic vehicles or hydrogen-powered cars, just as long as there is no automation on the docks.
The Longshoremen’s Association demands a 77% pay increase over six years. That’s 12.8% per year. That’s for entry-level positions requiring no education, beginning at $81,000 and reaching as high as $200,000 with overtime. Make no mistake, the all-powerful unions call the shots. They could shut down the ports and bring the American economy to a dead stop. With 36 port facilities on the Atlantic Coast and Gulf Coast, they handle or touch 57% of all container volume in the United States. No one even comes close to the amount of power they wield.
Since the founding of America, mechanized automation has always replaced or augmented manual labor. The fact is that American ports lag way behind European and Asian ports in mechanization, technology, and efficiency. If you were to compare a new Chinese port and the port of Baltimore, you would come away scratching your head. Are they in the same business?
Odds and Ends
I spied a headline that began, “TickTocker Stunned.” I didn’t have the stomach to read the rest.
Reportedly, a man in India regained consciousness just before he was to be cremated. I just don’t know what to say. Do you?
Justa hunch, but I think that Amazon’s Black Friday haul was most likely orders of magnitude larger than the GDP of Batswana.
I Know ALL Words Are Made Up, but …
I recently read that President Trump’s Cabinet picks are being threatened and “swatted.” I stopped and thought, what the hell is swatting? Is it like swatting at a fly with a rolled-up magazine?
Google seems to be of the opinion that it deals with calling in fake threats, like pipe bombs to EMTs, police, and firefighters. These are heinous acts, and the perpetrators should be jailed.
But to go a step further, I wish whoever is in charge of words would stop creating new ones. We have more than enough already. Hey, if it ain’t in Merriam Webster’s dictionary, circa 1985, we don’t need it. So enough of swatting, blogospheres, lawfare, infowars, Twitter wars and the like. There! I said my peace. I’m done.
Hollywood Asshats
I hear that several Hollywood actors have called Trump supporters uneducated. I thought I would stand up for a change and call out these asshats. Some of the most educated folks I know— multimillionaires, entrepreneurs, attorneys, writers, members of Congress, and other supposedly uneducated Americans—stood in line for hours to vote the Biden-Harris trash out of Washington and replace them with American values, patriotism, and common sense. So, to all the Hollywood royalty pissing on us uneducated Americans, go screw yourselves.
English … DOA
What am I to think when I see headlines like “AOC Rips MTG after DOGE Promotion”? My first thought is that journalists far and wide failed English and intro to journalism classes. Either that or they choose to speak a secret language that no one else cares about, which begs the question, what has become of the English language?
Today’s acronyms spell the doom of intelligent conversation and written communication. Face it. Modern English is dead on arrival. Besides, who is in charge of anointing someone with initials instead of the name their mom and pop gave them? Is Elon Musk called EM by his close associates? Was Albert Einstein referred to as AE? If you are the world’s smartest or richest guy, it seems you would qualify. Evidently not. I’d like to file a complaint.
Back in my formative and youthful days, I was taught conciseness in English even though I got a C in the class and was written up for poor classroom behavior. I was taught that words had meaning and we should strive to be understood in our communications. My teacher was very concise in her letter to my dad, alerting him to the possibility of both of us being called to the principal’s office for a not-so-friendly sit-down.
Worse yet was the verbal lashing I got from my dad when we got home. He threatened to ground me until I went away to college—if I could ever find a college that would accept a behavior problem like his youngest son. It seems my pop’s threats worked as intended since I have indeed learned how to communicate and am ready to teach today’s media.
An Abuse of the Second Amendment
I get it. The Second Amendment was created to provide protection to Americans from the government seeking to confiscate their weapons. I am pro Second Amendment. I believe in the right of the people to keep and bear arms. What I am not pro about is an illegal alien trying to use the Second Amendment as a defense for having over 170 guns and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition.
I am happy that a judge tossed out this felon’s Second Amendment defense and is preparing to boot his ass out of the country. By definition, an illegal alien is a felon and a criminal.
Folks Absolutely Have the Right to Be Idiots
Where would we be without idiots in our midst? While scanning online media, I spied a story about a bunch of Wisconsin women assembled near Lake Michigan and engaged in a primal scream to mark their displeasure and frustration that the majority of Americans thought it was high time to dump the Democrats and elect Donald Trump as their next President. They termed it a release of their pain.
You can find a video of it making the rounds on social media if you are so inclined, although I can’t understand why you would want to. Not one to criticize the mentally bruised, I sincerely hope their screams proved therapeutic and pray I never run into any of them.
Obviously, I’m never ever going to step foot in Wisconsin. By the way, I googled my phone and learned that Wisconsin is about 1,100 miles from Canada, so these ladies can easily hightail it up north and not have to deal with the policies of the Trump Administration. Just sayin’….
How a Government Goes from Bad to Worse ─ A Tale from 5,000 Miles Yonder
Thanks to my son Jason for sharing something chilling with me. In the 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged, author Ayn Rand detailed the exodus of leading industrialists and those of unusual capabilities from society since they were targeted by the government for their productive abilities and talent to generate capital. The more they succeeded, the more they were targeted with biased laws that singled them out and punished their ability to produce.
My disdain for the Biden-Harris Administration is rooted in their belief that it was okay to practice the same sort of lawfare against their political enemies and committed numerous crimes in the process. So why have I shared this with you? Government overreach and socialist policies are not just the stuff of great novels; they are real and ongoing today, especially in current day Norway.
Norway? Yes, Norway. About 25% of their richest folks have exited the nation due to punitive tax policies. Worse yet, the government of Norway has now imposed an exit tax of almost 40% in case you try to leave with your assets. This is yet another case of political extremists—think Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders’ policies actually becoming reality.
Social Security and Your Blood Pressure ─ The Ugly Truth
Some folks pay tax on 50% of their Social Security income. Some folks pay tax on 85% of their Social Security income. President Trump has floated the idea that Social Security income should not be taxed at all.
So, you ask, what does that have to do with my blood pressure?
Well, everything. Your retirement lifestyle is what you experience after you have paid the taxman. As you know, an income of $40,000, $127,000, or $350,000 is seldom an after-tax reality. Like the 401(k) and IRAs of old, it’s what you have left after accounting for taxes. Many seniors and the mobs at AARP will be all over tax-free Social Security benefits. I just hope they don’t suffer strokes and heart attacks while watching House and Senate sessions tearing the idea apart and focusing on how much it will balloon an already gargantuan federal tax deficit time bomb.
I can see the conga line of ambulances arriving at county hospital emergency rooms with a diagnosis of Social Security Syndrome, brought about by the evil dictator Donald Trump. The most likely outcome in Congress is that they manage to kick the can down the road (that’s their superpower by the way). All those seniors in emergency rooms hoping for a lower tax bill and more cash flow can have a night of bingo.
An informed and aware American is a force to be reckoned with on Election Day.
—Rodger Friedman
Your Neighbor Voted for a Dimwit
Dimwit, buffoon, asshat—who’s to tell? But here’s what you do know about that neighbor. Whatever you discuss with them turns adversarial. They do not see your viewpoint on anything. Their belief is that Donald Trump will bring about the end of America, and you have learned by now not to waste any energy trying to convince them differently.
Yes, they are a lost cause, and that’s okay because the world has been populated by lost causes since time began. Don’t try to convince them that Kelly Clarkson and Bernie Sanders are not qualified for Cabinet positions— you won’t change their minds. They refuse to believe that the Biden-Harris illegal immigration scheme has financially broken many states and caused untold misery and despair among the families of those attacked or killed by illegals. I’m told that some women on the far, far left have shaved their heads and sworn off sex. The more I think about it, the happier I am about their decisions.
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