Protest

On most of the news channels they are discussing the campus protest and many are comparing things to the Vietnam protest but they only know what they read in the history books. The war protest started slow and legal but graduated to illegal culminating in Chicago during the democratic party convention. This followed the Students for Democratic Society (SDS) march on Washington in 1965. These protest went on for over five years and turned deadly when four students were shot and killed by the National Guard at Kent State University in 1970. These protesters were directly involved because of the draft. Many left the country. The big difference today is the Jewish element. I was too old but the protesters were mostly students who had the time. My friends worked full time and went to school part time so there was little time left for protesting. The protest groups were the same people who went to Woodstock. They were mostly from wealthy families. My guess is that many of today's protesters are also from well off families judging by the tuition at these schools.

Students

As what should have been expected, the students are getting violent across the country which means they will be arrested but that does not deter them as they have watched over the past few years criminals being arrested and released without consequences. They assume that they will receive similar treatment. They get the notoriety of being on social media but in the end no charges will be filed. While this may be an exhilarating experience for some, for others it is disrupting their schooling and for some that can be costly. Many of these students witnessed the summer riots of 2020 so it is not surprising the things have turned violent. When law and order are disregarded by the authorities it is not surprising that it will be disregarded by the citizens.

DEI

In 1961 President Kennedy started affirmative action to employ more minorities in government jobs. It was successful but later came under criticism as it moved into private business sometimes in the form of quotas. Overall it served a ligament purpose and was ended by the Supreme Court in 2023. The Rainbow Coalition was an anti-racist, working-class multicultural movement founded April 4. 1969 by the Black Panther Party. It started with the best of intentions but devolved into a scam to extract money from business to prevent threatened boycotts. Jesse Jackson used these tactics effectively and gained national notoriety. One well known benefit was that Jackson's two sons were given the Chicago area distributorship for Budweiser. As the Rainbow Coalition faded it was replaced by Black Lives Matter(BLM) founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman. BLM was a social movement that highlighted racism, discrimination and inequality experienced by Black people. Once again the unexpected consequences of good intentions came into play as the money collected from business ended up in the pockets of a few in leadership and ended in disgrace. The latest attempt at using corporation money to promote anti-racism is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). It requires businesses and universities to higher DEI experts to promote their ideas. After a number of disastrous mistakes DEI has now come under scrutiny and will soon go the way of the past attempts to promote equity. When people understand that equity means equal results at the expense of meritocracy they do not like the idea.

Immunity

President Biden is the first president to bring charges against a previous president and this has put the Supreme Court in a difficult position. When President Ford pardoned Nixon he chose not to prosecute saying it was best for the country. The real problem here, if the court allows this prosecution to go forward, is the precedent it sets for future presidents. Will all future presidents have to make decisions based on what might happen to them after they leave office. If they are charged they might be found not guilty but it could require many days in court and millions in legal fees and they could face multiple charges going on for years. They could face charges for actions they took many years before they were in office. It would severely restrict the presidents willingness to make tough decisions. It would not effect obvious actions like the president murdering his wife but it would come into play on everyday decisions that all presidents have to make. If they are going on a case by case basis then the president will have to have legal counsel on each decision where they try to determine what will future presidents do. Could Washington and Jefferson be charged with owning slaves. It sounds absurd but they are currently being excoriated for same. The court is being put in the awkward position of having to decide what actions get immunity and which do not. There are countless possible situations which can arise that the court cannot anticipate and their decision today could affect future unknown actions. The current case involves the claim that Trump tried to overturn the election. If the court rules he has immunity then the case is over. If the court rules he does not have immunity it will result in further legal battles that will extend beyond the election. If Trump is not reelected the country will lose interest and if reelected then Trump will pardon himself. This is why many people feel that this case is not motivated by law but by politics.

Trump

The anti Trump voters see a man accused and hopefully convicted of crimes. They see a man who wants to destroy democracy, a man who wants to go back to Jim Crow and put Blacks in chains, a man who is evil, a man who wants to be an autocrat and be president for life and represents the second coming of Hitler. The pro Trump people see home loans under two percent, inflation under two percent, two dollar gas, a secure border, law and order, low taxes, strong military, energy independence, rising real wages for low and middle income groups and no wars. The first group is all about opinion and the second group is about facts.

Palestinians

The recent disputes on college campuses are somewhat similar to the Black on Black crime situation. When Muslims kill Muslims as was the case in the 8 year Iran/Iraq war not much made the headlines in the US or when Muslims kill Muslims daily in the Syrian civil war things are relatively quiet but when Jews kill Muslims it is a different ball game. The reason is that people see Jews as White just like when a White person in the US kills a Black, especially if the White is a police officer. The odd thing about this is that the Muslims in Palestine are Caucasian. This is from the National Library of Medicine. The genetic profile of Palestinians has, for the first time, been studied by using human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene variability and haplotypes. The comparison with other Mediterranean populations by using neighbor-joining dendrograms and correspondence analyses reveal that Palestinians are genetically very close to Jews and other Middle East populations, including Turks (Anatolians), Lebanese, Egyptians, Armenians, and Iranians. If anyone takes the time to look up pics of Palestinians and compare them to pics of Southern Europeans like those in Italy and Greece it is difficult to see a difference in color. While there are some Muslims who do not like Jews because of religion most see a people with White privilege attacking non White people. This concept has been preached on campuses for many years and has now boiled to the surface. Google pics of Palestinians

Super power

Many articles have pointed out that Biden's decline in the polls started with the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan but the effect internationally was even more profound. Many feel it was instrumental in Putin's decision to invade Ukraine although this could have been prevented if the US had agreed not to allow Ukraine into NATO. The war started with Russia and Ukraine but quickly expanded as NATO forces led by the US joined in the fray. Right from the start China began buying oil from Russia at discounted prices. This was followed up with military supplies. As NATO sent more arms to Ukraine the Russians started getting help from Iran and North Korea. The mess was seen by Iran as the time to interfere with the attempt by the Abraham Accords to unite the Saudis with Israel and encouraged Hamas to attack Israel. Now we have student protest throughout the country. This is all conjecture but it illustrates the interconnection between countries when one event leads to another. The man in the White House is held responsible for all of this because as Truman said, the buck stops here. When you are the leader of the worlds only super power everything you do and everything you say effects things around the globe.

Abortion

The reasons for abortion are: Rape in incest .3% Risk to woman's life or major bodily function .2% Other physical health concerns 2.5% Abnormality in the unborn baby 1.3% Elective and unspecified reasons 95.7% The last reason is composed of not affordable or mother not ready to take on the responsibility. Since 90% of abortions happen before the 12th week it is incumbent on women to determine the emotional and financial situation before the 12th week. Abortions after 12 weeks become increasingly complicated and should be avoided when possible. For many the fetus is large enough that suction no longer works and the fetus must be clawed out in pieces. These require a two day procedure. The first day the uterus is prepared and the patient needs someone to drive them home. The later things are the more gruesome are the procedures involving crushing, dismemberment and removal of a fetal body from the uterus. As these parts are removed they are reassembled to make sure nothing is left behind. These kinds of procedures can be avoided if the woman would decide before 12 weeks. When women are made aware of the procedures used the more likely the decision will be made early. Polls show that 70% oppose abortion after 15 weeks.

Communism

The differences between the Soviet Union and the United States became apparent even before WW 2 ended. In 1945 as the war was coming to conclusion the Soviets were approaching Berlin from the east while the Allies were closing in from the west. The Soviets who had gotten into the war because they were attacked by Hitler suddenly stopped their advance toward Germany and turned they eyes to the south. They saw an opportunity to take new territory in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and other Eastern European countries. They were planning to build a communist empire which they did when the war ended. The West instead of taking new lands invested in building up most of Western Europe. It took 40 years of cold war to free the communist countries and today Western Europe stands as a monument to the help provided by the US.

Europe

The differences between the Soviet Union and the United States became apparent even before WW 2 ended. In 1945 as the war was coming to conclusion the Soviets were approaching Berlin from the east while the Allies were closing in from the west. The Soviets who has gotten into the war because they were attacked by Hitler suddenly stopped their advance toward Germany and turned they eyes to the south. They saw an opportunity to take new territory in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and other Eastern European countries. They were planning to build a communist empire which they did when the war ended. The West instead of taking new lands invested in building up most of Western Europe. It took 40 years of cold war to free the communist countries and today Western Europe stands as a monument to the help provided by the US.

Dead

According to the NY Times: Officials estimated Ukrainian losses at close to 70,000 killed and 100,000 to 120,000 wounded, said the paper. As any math persons knows it is more accurate to interpolate than to extrapolate but sometimes extrapolating is the only way to make solid projections. The US has so far sent Ukraine roughly $110 billion in weapons, equipment, humanitarian assistance and other aid since the start of the war more than two years ago. House approves $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine after ... Thus if $110 billion equals 70,000 dead then an another $61 means 25,000 dead.

Dead

According to the NY Times: Officials estimated Ukrainian losses at close to 70,000 killed and 100,000 to 120,000 wounded, said the paper. As any math persons knows it is more accurate to interpolate than to extrapolate but sometimes extrapolating is the only way to make solid projections. The US has so far sent Ukraine roughly $110 billion in weapons, equipment, humanitarian assistance and other aid since the start of the war more than two years ago. House approves $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine after ... Thus if $110 billion equals 70,000 dead then an another $61 means 25,000 dead.

Biden

The Biden administration has suffered from unforced errors from the start. Early on he dismantled Trumps immigration policies using executive orders saying I'm not making new law, I'm eliminating bad policy. Next he declared that he would end fossil fuel production. He signed the American Rescue Plan by sending $1.9 trillion to American families which included $1,400 to 90% of the people, added $300 federal money to unemployment compensation, increased the child tax credit to $3,600. He signed the $800 billion dollar Paycheck Protection Program which cost $200,000 per job saved. He signed the $1.2 trillion dollar Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. He passed the $1.85 trillion dollar Build Back Better plan. This massive spending led to inflation. Then in April he announced he would withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by 9-11 which would be the 20th anniversary of the War. This was done despite advice from his generals to leave 2,500 troops there and an additional 20,000 at Bagram Airfield. Instead Biden pulled out all the troops leaving behind the people and equipment. Biden planned to do a victory march on 9-11 but his withdrawal turned into a disaster. This was the start of Biden's decline in the approval polls going from 62% to the thirties where it stands today. Thus the big issues today are the border and the economy.

Appeal

As news comes out about the jurors in the Trump trial there appears to be an unknown aspect to the case. Apparently the jurors get most of their news from the NY Times, CNN and NPR. During the trial they will be presented with information that will be new to them and in some cases contrary to what they have previously heard. It's like people who never watch Fox News. They get only one side of the story. While the jury leans toward conviction they may have a reasonable doubt when all the facts come out. It's a slim chance but one that is not being explored. In any event the case will be appealed based on pre trial prejudice.

Germany

It's March of 1945 and the Allies have just crossed into Germany. The German cities have been bombed into piles of ruble and the people are starving and medical facilities are closed. The country is on its last leg and just waiting for the final nail in the coffin. Next month Hitler will commit suicide. Back home in the USA people are protesting in the streets about the genocide taking place in Germany as day after day bombers fill the skies over Berlin and Hamburg setting the smashed buildings and home afire. The people demand that the Allies call for a six week cease fire and send in food and medical supplies to the starving people in the German cities. President Truman is asking all countries to stop the fighting to stop the killing of innocent civilians. If he doesn't his reelection is in jeopardy.

America

It is difficult for the baby boomers and those older to understand why many young people see the United States as some evil country. By every measure the US has improved. Life expectancy has improved along with healthcare. Vaccines and other medical marvels have reduced pain and suffering. More people have more education than any time in history. Technology has brought new excitement to daily activities. Much progress has been made in race relations. The Soviet Union ended without a war and communism was defeated. The numbers of people who vote in presidential elections has increased from a third to half. The numbers of women in congress has increased from 10 to 150 and the number of Blacks from 2 to 62. The Supreme Court was all White men and today it is 4 White men, one Black man that 4 women one who is Hispanic and one who is Black. College grads have increased from 5% to 40%. In my youth we had no TV but we had an ice box and during the war we had to limit things like sugar, gasoline and spare parts including used tires. We all got German measles, three day measles, mumps, whopping cough and scarlet fever. We had only one vaccine and that was for small pox. Even death by flu has dropped from 70 per 100,000 in 1950 to 20 per 100,000 today. There were no flu vaccines. This list could go on and on but many are too young to understand what things used to be like. America has always been an exceptional country and is so today. Count your blessings.

Jury

The jury selection for Trump's trial is in the news because the area is overwhelmingly democrat. This case is unusual because the out come may determine who will be the next president and every citizen is affected by who is president. This is why political trials, unless for serious crime, should be avoided especially just before an election and even more important when the defendant is the leading candidate for president. The definition of an impartial juror is someone who doesn't have a stake in the outcome. If that concept is followed there is no one eligible for the jury.

Workers

For many years the democrats claimed to be the party of the working class but the first chink in that armor appeared with the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. They also voted for Bush 41 and then shifted back to Clinton and Obama. Contrary to what the press says about this group they were not racist as they voted twice for Obama. Beneath the surface these blue collar people began to understand something the liberals have still not figured out. The government, especially the democrats, were pushing globalization. They promoted world government which fit nicely with big business which profited from the free trade. All the while this was going on the working people were watching their good paying manufacturing jobs go overseas and the income gap grow wider. They knew this was not right but they could not overcome the internationalist. When Trump came out with the motto of make America great again, these voters interpreted that to mean that the good jobs would be coming back and they voted for Trump and they did the same in 2020 but they were crushed by ballot harvesting. In 2024 they will once again vote for Trump but this time the republicans are also playing the ballot harvesting game. In any event the working people are now part of the republican party but the democrats still don't know why. Many democrats are now insulting the MAGA voters as they see them as ignorant people incapable of understanding the issues.

Troops

House Speaker Mike Johnson said today he is sending a bill to congress to fund the war in Ukraine. In his remarks he said he would rather send money than American troops. This is a sentiment common to many people but looking deeper, it brings out some disturbing aspects. It puts a price on the heads of Ukrainian troops which seem expendable in the face of sending American troops. It also challenges the stated goal of the Americans which was to prevent Russia from taking over more territory in the fear that they would not stop until the regained all of the territory of the former Soviet Union. This was considered an existential threat to the free world and could not tolerated. This threat, however, is not grave enough to risk the lives of any American soldier or will that come at a later date. Will the war slowly escalate to the point where US troops will be called upon to serve. Will it become another Vietnam or Afghanistan. Are the congressmen who vote for this bill thinking long term. Will they some day be voting to send troops. Are they being sucked into a quagmire or are they already there.

Trump case

The Trump hush money trial is underway and is unusual in a number of respects. First off, Justice Department investigators ended their investigation into the hush-money payments in July 2019 after convicting Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation because the payments he arranged to silence the women in the weeks before the 2016 election could have affected the results. But Trump wasn’t charged. Not satisfied with the Justice Department resolution Attorney General Alvin Bragg decided to take action. Bragg has said he sued Trump more than 100 times when he worked in the state Attorney General's office, including successfully targeting the Trump Foundation for misuse of charitable funds for personal and political purposes. Federal prosecutors and former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. considered charging Donald Trump for covering up hush-money payments and both declined, but Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was undeterred. Many assume that the judge in charge of the trial is a democrat. Judge Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal case in New York, donated $35 in political contributions to Democrats in 2020, including a $15 contribution to the campaign of Trump’s opponent, President Joe Biden. The trial is being conducted in the Manhattan District where jurors are selected from voter registration records and 87% are registered democrats. The sister of the judge is also in the news because: It's true that Loren Merchan has served as president of Authentic Campaigns, a firm that does digital campaign work like online fundraising, mobile messaging and web design. They work with Democratic political candidates, including some of Trump's most outspoken opponents.Apr 7, 2024 Bragg took the initial charge which was a misdemeanor and had expired because of the statute of limitations and upgraded it to felony in order to proceed. Interestingly enough Bragg changes 60% of felony charges presented to him to misdemeanors just the opposite of what he did in the Trump case.

Inflation

Inflation is a big item in the news for a number of reasons, one of which, is that most adults today do not remember the late 70's and early 80's. During the mortgage crisis of 2008 the press reported it was the worst recession since the Great Depression but this was not true. The recession of 1980 saw interest rates of 21%, 13% inflation and unemployment at 10%. The fed raised interest rates to 20% to bring down inflation and it worked and inflation stayed close to 3% for almost 40 years. Inflation is now running at 3.5% but it will rise over the next few years as the country is reshoring much of its industrial base. The economy will be growing rapidly and inflation along with it. As the new facilities incorporate the latest technology the productivity will increase and in the long run offset the inflation but there will be rough sailing for a few years.

Awful

Why people will vote for or against Trump comes down to two different groups. The never Trumpers say he will bring back Jim Crow, that he will put Blacks in chains and he will end democracy while the pro Trumpers say he will secure the border, back the police, drill baby drill and end the war in Ukraine. The more logical view of what Trump will due is pretty much what he did when he was president and this leads to the old political question of are you better off now than four years ago. There is a large group of voters called Reagan democrats. These are working people who became democrats to vote for Reagan because they could relate to him. These same people voted for Obama and then for Trump. This group has slowly slipped away from the democratic party and are now the subjects of ridicule by the establishment elites, as witnessed by recent remarks from Kati Couric. These feeling about working people have been building for a number of years. It started making fun of good old country boys who drive pick up trucks with a rifle in the back window, who smoke Marlboro's and drink Miller beer and has grown into name calling like cult members and not too bright. Those with formal educations from the best schools cannot understand why anyone would vote for someone like Trump. They assume that they know what is best and these low information people are being misled by a slick talking salesman and they won't investigate other possibilities. Many of these people can be best represented by the white female college grad who lives in the suburbs and her only contact with the working class is the plumber who fixes the leak in her sink. Things like inflation, crime and illegal border crossings happen only in some far off place that she occasionally sees in the news. Life is good for this lady and she wants to keep the establishment in power. She has an advanced degree, an income of over $150,000, two children and a $500,000 house. She represents a formidable group with the acronym of A.W.F.U.L. Angry ,White, Female, Urban, Liberal. She is holding on to abortion to keep her from sliding into the Trump camp while closing her eyes to the rest of the world.

EU

As new support for Ukraine is held up in congress an interesting thing is happening. The Europeans are stepping up their support. This same thing might happen if the US begins to limit its support for European defense. Many feel it is time for Europe to start building up their own defense instead of relying on the US. The US has always been criticized for not having universal healthcare like Europe but when these other countries have to pay for their own defense they may have to cut back on some social programs. The EU spends $260 billion on defense while the US spends over $880 even though there are 450 million people in the EU and 330 million in the US. The EU spends $3.2 trillion on social programs while the US spends $1.2 trillion. The money the US spends defending Europe is enough to pay for Medicare for all in the US. As globalization winds down is now the time to make changes.

Couric

Katie Couric, a well known media person said about Trump voters: “The socio economic disparities are a lot and class resentment is a lot and anti-intellectualism and elitism is what is driving many of these anti-establishment [people] — which are Trump voters. Add this to Hilary's comments about deplorables and you see that attacking Trump has disolved into attacking Trump supporters. Eleanor Roosevelt famously said: Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. Come election time some talk about policies and some talk about personalities. 74 million people voted for Trump in 2020 and it is probably a mistake to put them down as dumb. It is similar to the mistake people make when the confuse formal education with intelligence.

Dexter

The sad story of Dexter Reed, the man who was shot by police and killed in traffic stop in Chicago on March 21st of this year. Dexter was a talented basketball player with ambitions of being a sports broadcaster. In Feb of 2021 he received $20,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program. Later that year he was shot in a confrontation at his home which resulted in long term problems. Here is his statement. “I’m physically disabled and mentally unstable with PTSD, short-term memory loss, slurred speech, drop foot in one of my legs, blindness in one eye, shoulder/arm hard to move, weakness and/or sensitivity,” Reed, who was 26 when he was killed last month, wrote in an August 2023 court filing. “With all these medical conditions it has been hard for me to work and/or do certain things.” According to Police records, Reed was arrested on July 13, 2023, two blocks from the United Center and charged with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Reed was also arrested on April 20, 2023 and charged with theft from the Zara clothing store. During the incident on March 21 when he was fatally shot, Reed was stopped for a traffic violation and when asked to get out of the car he fired 11 shots through the passenger side window injuring one officer. Next he exited the car without his gun and officers opened fire and killed him. Reed's car has tinted windows so the police could not see his actions in the car. The question has come up as to how the police could see he was not wearing his seat belt which was the reason given for the stop. Why did four officers happen to be there for this traffic stop. The family is now suing the city for wrongful death. While the circumstances surrounding this death are questionable what is not is the fact that a man with mental problems was driving around with an illegal gun. This was an incident looking for a place to happen and it did.

Accords

One important news item has not received much attention but should. Saudi Arabia admits helping Israel defend against attacks from Iran. Saudi Arabia is determined to secure a military pact requiring the United States to defend the kingdom in return for opening ties with Israel and will not hold up a deal even if Israel does not offer major concessions to Palestinians in their bid for statehood, three regional sources familiar with the talks said. The opportunities opened up with the Abraham Accords are still available if the US will act. Do not let the fact that these Accords were started by Trump deter the US from taking advantage of securing ties with other Middle East countries who want to keep Iran from gaining power. When Iran attacked Israel o

No change

This is something I wrote 20 years ago in a letter to the editor of our local paper. It was after the 1994 presidential election but it seems appropriate for today. The election results from last November have been analyzed primarily based on their impact on the two major political parties. In any general election some always vote Republican and about an equal number always vote Democrat and they cancel each other. This leaves the independents to determine the outcome. They tend to vote issues for and against, but mostly against and I call these against issues, the fed ups. They are fed up with people who consider themselves victims of some injustice and who refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. They are fed up with children who refuse to show respect toward their elders and for adults who fail to behave in ways that deserve respect. They are fed up with laws that encourage unmarried teen girls to have babies. They are fed up with teachers who must spend all their time being parents instead of teaching. They are fed up with teen boys in jeans who rob liquor stores going to jail while men in suits who rob S&L's go free. They are fed up with courts that are more concerned with the rights of criminals than with the rights of victims. They are fed up with political correctness run amok. They are fed up with jails so full of pot smokers that we must release hardened criminals because of lack of space. They are fed up with elected officials who take money from PAC's and maintain that those gifts do not affect how they vote. They are fed up with a system that gives jobs to lesser qualified applicants because of some real or perceived past injustice. They are fed up with tax dollars being spent on illegal aliens to provide benefits that bona fide citizens must do without. They are fed up with constitutionalist that maintain that religion should stay out of government instead of government staying out of religion. They are fed up with not receiving a proper return on the investment of their tax dollars. In general these independent voters view government in the ways it effects their personal value system and for the most part they don't like what they see.

Israel

The US position on Israel has varied back and forth with concern for the US's most important ally in the Middle East and votes by Muslims in Michigan. Starting on the very day of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, Biden has emotionally expressed his solidarity with Israel and affirmed its need to fight fire with fire. He has expedited military assistance and, most dramatically, he flew to Israel and sat as part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Since that time the US has changed to expressing concern when Palestinian's were being killed and asked Israel not be more discriminate in their attack. Then Biden decided to build a dock on the sea to get supplies into Gaza. He has sent envoys to discuss allowing aide into Gaza. All the while he continues to send military assistance to Israel. In all of this the hostages have been forgotten. It would seem wise to privately tell Israel to declare victory and pull out. Then the US can encourage other Arab countries to help rebuild Palestine.

Voting

It is illegal for non citizens to vote in federal elections but it is easy to get around the law. All Minnesotans can obtain a driver's license regardless of immigration status. To get a driver's license, an applicant who is 21 or older must prove their identity, pass the vision test, and pass the written and driving tests.Mar 31, 2023. You can prove your identity using a utility service bill issued in the last 12 months. Voters who have not previously registered to vote using their current Minnesota address may register at the polling place on election day. To register, voters must complete an application, make an oath, and prove their residence. To prove residence, a voter must present one of the following: • A valid Minnesota driver’s license, learner’s permit, Minnesota identification card, or a receipt for one of these documents, provided that the document presented contains a valid current address in the precinct This means that if you are an illegal migrant you can go to the polling place on election day present your drivers license and your utility bill from last month showing your address in the precinct and vote. This would be fraud but difficult to check. You can pre register using the same procedure and mail in the ballot. Most illegals would not do this on their own volition but in concert with help from a ballot harvester they might.

Policies

Here are some recent headlines Biden bucks liberals and tells democrats to get tough on crime Biden administration presses forward with border wall plans in Texas, angering allies Biden says he may have authority to close border on his own. Biden administration now producing oil, natural gas and coal at record numbers. Using the benefits of hindsight it can be said that if Biden had just left the Trump policies in force he would easily win reelection. The question is why did he do away with the policies that were working.

Students

So far President Biden has approved $153 billion dollars for student loan payments. T2T has paid off 200 mortgages for disabled vets. If these average $400,000 per house that is $80 million. While this is a remarkable achievement the student loan pay off money could pay off 382,500 homes. The point is when government starts to decide who gets what, it opens the door to different opinions on who is most in need.

Trump

The claim that electing Trump will be the end of democracy is fading fast because it is not believable to most people. If you want to know what Trump will do you have a good road map. He will do much the same thing he did when he was president. He will increase fossil fuel production, decrease regulations, secure the border, promote law and order, bring jobs home and end the war in Ukraine. His biggest problem will be inflation and that will not be stopped in one term so it will be up to whom ever follows him.

Ukraine

According to the CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank, To date, the US has committed about $114 billion in Ukraine‐​related emergency funding, equivalent to the combined 2023 budget for the Department of Homeland Security and NASA. Should Congress decide to pass additional emergency funding, Ukraine aid plus interest could top $240 billion. If this is accurate the US will be sending another $126 billion over the next two years. This comes to $840 for each working family. How many of these families would be willing to write a check today to continue this war. The argument is that if Russia is not stopped here they will be emboldened to recapture the countries of the old Soviet Union. If you agree with this argument will you be willing to send American troops along with the money to stop Putin. If not, does this mean that US money is the equivalent to Ukrainian lives. If Putin represents the threat to the world that is implied, is it logical to assume that the next step to stopping him is US troops on the ground.

news

NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner has spoken out against the liberal bias promoted by NPR. While this comes as a surprise to some for many it is merely confirmation of what they already knew. The press from the beginning has been left of center but over the past 20 years things have moved further left to the point where many times instead of reporting the news they have become advocacy groups. As the progressives pulled the democratic party to the extremes the press followed in their path. The story is about NPR but it is much the same at MSNBC, CNN on cable and the NY Times and Washington Post in print. The foundation of the first amendment is the free press whose job it was to reign in the power of government but they have joined forces to promote one side. As these organization lose viewers and readers they are being replaced by social media pod cast where there remains a variety of opinions. Berliner, who has worked there for 25 years, saw the decline in listeners and warned management but they did not heed his warnings. He pointed out that in the newsroom democrats outnumbered republicans 87 to zero. The same thing happens in the Washington and New York news groups where many attended the same schools and are in the same social circles. Most are unaware of their bias because they rarely hear dissenting opinions. They have certain beliefs and they all reinforce one another. They promote stories that enforce their agenda and hide stories that conflict with their agenda. This is not news reporting this is propaganda. In too many cases the press has assumed the role of joining forces with government instead of challenging government. The people over time have come to understand this and are losing trust in the media.

Liberals

In my youth, I often switched sides between conservative and liberal because they both wanted similar things they just had different ways of getting things done. What used to be called liberals were people who wanted free speech, a safety net for the those who fell through the cracks, safe streets even in poor neighborhoods, good paying jobs, good schools, fair taxation, secure borders and voting rights for all. Today the liberals have been taken over by the progressives and the new democratic party stands for individual rights vs group rights, critical race theory, men playing in women's sports gender surgery on minors, segregation, equity, cancel culture, Black lives matter and virtue signaling. Let's hope that the old time liberals regain control and the parties start to talk about the issues that polls say are important to people, the things liberals used to talk about.

Debt

Recent data shows that 37% of Americans have a four year college degree. Data also shows that these people will earn $1.3 million dollars more over their life time than non college grads. Data shows the 60% of these grads are White. To propose that the general public using tax dollars pay off student debt means to take from those who have less and give to those who have more. It just exacerbates the existing problem of wealth distribution. What about the many people who served the country to get the GI Bill. What about people who went to school part time and worked full time to pay for their college. What about the parents who sacrificed to pay for their children's college many by holding a second job. The current student loan debt is $1.6 trillion and the current credit card debt is $1.2 trillion. How about paying off credit card debt instead of student loan debt. In any case there is something unseemly about shifting the responsibility for debt.

UN

The 30th anniversary of the Rwanda massacre is in the news this week. It will be news for a few days and then gone just as it was when it happened. The United Nations was warned of the pending disaster but did nothing. The calls for a mandate and troops were denied. The world basically ignored the situation and the major powers at the UN discouraged any intervention. The result was the murder of somewhere between 500,000 and one million people. The killings went on for 100 days and most were killed by machetes. The river swelled with body parts. Many women were taken and kept as slaves. The UN had forces in the country but were not given the order to stop the killing. Two million people fled to neighboring countries. This whole affair just added to the frustration that many people felt then and feel today about the UN. Many of the 193 countries represented in the UN are third world countries where people barely have enough to feed themselves. These starving people send representatives to New York where they spend 9 months out of the year living a lavish life style supposedly to act when situations like Rwanda arise but they did nothing. The money wasted on these representatives could be better spent trying to help the people back home. Some feel the UN, like other international organizations, has outlived its usefulness.

Communism

The cry we shall never forget usually last only one or two generations. Most people alive today do not remember the start of the cold war that ended with the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviets led by Stalin promoted communism while the West led by Truman pushed for free market capitalism. The best picture of this 40 year struggle can be seen in Germany. Germany was divided, part going to the Soviets and part to the West with Berlin the capitol city in the East. The entire country was destroyed during the war so each side started from scratch. By 1989 West Germany's income per capita was $17,700 and in the East it was $9,600. Life under communism was so bad that East Germany had to build a wall to keep its citizens from fleeing to West Germany. The news showed pictures of empty grocery shelves across the Eastern section. While this was going on the same thing was happening in Korea which was divided in 1953 into communist North Koran and capitalist South Korea. Both countries were leveled by war but by 2006 the economy of South Korea had a per capita GDP of $20,000 while North Korea struggled with a per capita GDP of $500. To this day the people in North Korea are starving while living in fear of their lives. Young people today often express a desire for a more socialist type of government. This happens when ever the wealth gap in a country gets too large and some charismatic leader comes along with a promise to redistribute the wealth. This has been tried many times but always failed. The most recent example is Venezuela. It starts off great but in ten or fifteen years it all falls apart. As Margaret Thatcher said, socialism is great until you run out of the other guys money. It the West today a little socialism works to balance things but the temptation is always there to expand and those who have forgotten are not aware of the dangers.

Equity

It first appeared in the 1960's when it was called affirmative action and was targeted at government employees. In time it spread to private employers. It was an attempt to make up for past discrimination. At the time it seemed like a reasonable approach to solving some of the problems of past mistreatment of minorities but like so many programs, it took on a life of its own. About 20 years ago entry test for firemen and policemen were adjusted to accommodate minorities and more recently college entrance exams have been made less difficult. This process has entered into airline pilot and medical school testing. What started a few years back in schools has spread to law enforcement. Schools stopped expelling students for behavior problems when they discovered that Black students were disproportionately punished. In today's world career criminals are not sent to jail because it results in too many Blacks being incarcerated. The result is disruptive classrooms and street crime. It is what George Bush called the soft bigotry of low expectations and it is the result of striving for equality of outcome which is called equity. This has replaced equality of opportunity which is consider racist. The price paid for this attempt to correct past discrimination is that striving for excellence has been replace by mediocrity. Perhaps the country has made enough progress in fighting prejudice that it is time to move back to evaluating on merit instead of race.

Drug babies

The Mass General Brigham Hospital system is making a major change and it will impact their youngest patients. The hospital will no longer report suspected abuse or neglect to the state solely if a newborn baby tests positive for drugs after birth. The reason for this change is that too many babies born with drugs in their system are disproportionately born to Black mothers. This is another attempt at equity.

Jobs

The news reports today that 300,000 jobs were created in March. The job growth has continued since the end of the pandemic but has not yet caught up. This can be seen by the labor participation rate which was at 63.3% before the pandemic and is 62.7% today. During the pandemic 120,000 businesses temporarily closed and 30 million Americans were unemployed. 15 million jobs have been created since Biden took office but there are still 9 million unfilled jobs. About 8 million who left the work force during the pandemic say they are not coming back. As the economy moves to double the industrial base the number of new jobs will continue to grow.

Gaza

The situation surrounding the Gaza War is presenting a dilemma to certain groups. The charge of antisemitism is thrown at some who criticize Israel's intervention in Gaza and many are upset by this. They say just because we are critical of the actions of the Israeli government does not mean we are antisemitic. This happens regularly when a person criticizes migrants crossing the border illegally are called xenophobes. It happens when a person points out the high murder rate of Blacks killing Blacks and they are called racist. It happens when a person criticizes teaching about sexual matters to elementary students and they are called homophobic. It happens when a person criticizes sex changes to children and they are called transphobic. This is a tactic used by some to silence opinions. It is often used when a good counter argument cannot be made and so they end the conversation by name calling.

Equity

When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) an argument can be made for diversity and inclusion but not for equity. All to often equity can be explained by addition of fractions where you have to find the lowest common denominator, emphasis on the lowest. Parents in Seattle Public schools are upset by the district's decision to shut down 11 schools dedicated to highly capable learners. The reason is that these schools have more White and Asian students than other races. The education experts have given up on the idea of raising the bottom and are now resorting to lowering the top.

Change

In October of last year President Biden said about Israel: So, in this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel.  We stand with Israel.  And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack. Today Biden signaled that the White House would reassess its backing of the war in Gaza. This is a good decision as the situation has changed and requires a new approach. Let us hope Biden will reevaluate his statement of February 2023 when he said; he declared that the United States is going to back Ukraine as long as it takes. Things have changed here and it is time for a peace settlement.

Ballots

As the election gets closer more information about ballot harvesting is coming out. Most recently democratic operatives have cautioned about harvesting Black voters because some are switching to Trump. This, in one respect, speaks to the honesty of their collection process because it assumes these harvesters will turn in all votes. It is possible that when they collect the ballots they could just forget to mail certain ones that might hurt their cause. The possibility of election interference comes up in two ways. First the ballot collector can help the voter decide and second certain ballots can get lost. In either case any recounts will not matter.

Jobs

At the end of WW 2, the US realizing that the Soviet Union was the new threat, decided to organize the free world against the Soviets. This was done through globalization with the US protecting the sea lanes for all countries that would join with them against the Soviets. In 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed and there was no longer any need for globalization. While free trade is best for all concerned it was undermined by China. They used currency manipulation, unfair import taxes, government subsidies and intellectual property theft to take advantage of what was supposed to be free trade. The US, led by corporations, saw China as a place of cheap labor with few safety and environment regulations, where they could manufacture goods on the cheap and reap the profits here at home. The rich got richer at the expense of the low and middle income groups. The industrial jobs in the Midwest and South disappeared and millions of people were left to fend for themselves with low wages and no benefits. Trump, not being part of the establishment and not being influenced by Washington politicians and big corporations, realized what was happening and decided to make American great again by bring manufacturing jobs back home. He told the country that China needed the US more than the US needed China and that he would stop their unfair trade practices. This immediately put him at odds with the profiteers in big business and the politicians who depended on business money to get reelected. The working people gathered around Trump and he won the election. He placed import taxes on $200 billion of Chinese products and banned Huawei, China's big tech company, from the US. He placed restrictions on chip equipment shipments to China. These policies were continued under Biden and Biden added more restrictions under his America First plan. Businesses are coming home and this will result in a doubling of the US industrial base over the next few years.

Hamas

As the war in Israel continues there is developing among the talking heads that what is needed is a clean war. This is a war where only combatants are killed or injured. The innocent civilians are protected from all violence. They have a right to three hots and cot and proper health care. This is not realistic in any war but in a situation where one side uses humans as shields it is impossible. The only way to stop the killing is to have Israel declare that Hamas is no longer a threat and pull out.

Drugs

Portland does an about face on drugs. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill Monday restoring criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of hard drugs, reversing a first in the nation law that advocates had hoped would help quell a deepening addition and overdose crisis. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said it was a mistake to decriminalize drugs. How many people were hurt during this time. How many people left and how many businesses were harmed. This is much like the new ways of teaching kids that were tried in the past. In the end the experts say it didn't work but what happened to the students who were used as guinea pigs.

CIA

The CIA was founded in 1946 and in 1953 Allen Dulles took control in 1953. Information released and uncovered over the years has shown that the CIA often times operates outside of the law and is guilty of criminal offenses. These things are usually found out years after they happen so it is not unreasonable to conclude that illegal things are happening today. This is one of many government agencies that lie to the people normally under the pretext of protecting national security. The CIA was formed for good reasons. It was to spy on the Soviet Union but as is often the case it didn't take long for things to get out of hand. In order to complete its mission the CIA resorted to tactics that were outside the law. In order to catch a crook they decided to act like a crook. During the cold war the actions of the CIA became notorious in their illegal methods. They overthrew government that were pro Soviet and propped up pro western governments. The process of protecting anti Soviet dictators was so common it became known as the Kirkpatrick Doctrine. UN ambassador Jean Kirkpatrict developed the "Kirkpatrick Doctrine" which advocated U.S. support of anticommunist dictatorships. It is a wise person who challenges any information provided by the government.

Climate

It is time for some clear headed logical thinking to take charge of the climate issue. As the US moves away from globalization toward a period where the industrial base will be growing rapidly, the electric power grid, which is already outdated, will come under additional stress. This is not the time to promote electric vehicles which people do not want. Just as the change was made from leaded gasoline to non leaded the country is ready to move from gasoline to natural gas. Instead of installing charging stations for EV's they should be installing natural gas pumps. This adds no new pressure to the grid. Next step is to promote small nuclear reactors to be placed near the use point to further reduce the stress on the grid which reduces the need for cross country high voltage lines. In time these reactors can be used to create hydrogen by electrolysis of water and the hydrogen can replace the natural gas for cars and the only bi product from burning hydrogen is water. Hydrogen can be combined with carbon dioxide, removed from the air, to synthesis diesel and jet fuels which when burned will return the carbon dioxide to the air for a carbon neutral cycle. The next step is to use small nuclear reactors to desalt sea water and grow crops in desert areas. These changes will eliminate the need for windmills and solar panels and the destruction caused to the environment by mining, processing and disposing of the materials needed to manufacture wind and solar. This will be the end of fracking and result in a carbon free environment. The only thing standing in the way of all of these developments is politics and as people learn more about these changes, the politicians will be forced to act.

Ukraine

When people say the first casualty of war is truth here is an example. On Feb 25, 2024 Zelenskyy says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed On Feb 24,2024 US officials put the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed at 70,000, Zenlenskyy says 180,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. General Staff of the Ukraine Armed Forces says 414,680 Russian soldiers have been killed UK MoD says 355,000 Russian soldiers have been killed Ukraine military says 407,240 Russians have been killed Here is the latest from Zelensky. “Millions” could die in Ukraine’s war with Russia if US lawmakers don’t approve President Joe Biden’s $60 billion aid request for Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN on Sunday. 70% of Americans want the Biden administration to push Ukraine toward a negotiated peace with Russia as soon as possible, according to a new survey from the Harris Poll. Putin has said repeatedly ever since the war started that he wants to negotiate a peace. It would seem like a wise move to at least talk.

Mexico

When Trump was in office he went to the president of Mexico and told him to put troops on his southern border and accept the concept of remain in Mexico and if he did not go along the US would impose import taxes on Mexican imports and he agreed. The president of Mexico met with US officials last week and demanded that the US take the embargo off of Cuba and send money to Venezuela. Here is what he said on 60 Minutes. Alfonsi noted Obrador's demands for the U.S. to send $20 billion a year to Latin America countries, lift sanctions on Venezuela, end the Cuban embargo and legalize millions of Mexicans that are living in the U.S. The difference between two different US presidents. Trump has already promised to tax Mexican imports of Chinese cars at 100%. Which candidate for president does Mexico want win.