Scary Halloween

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90CkXVF-Q8M

If you want to be scared for the holiday I recommend watching the movie on the link above.

Instead of a zombie apocolypse it shows the very real destruction of our wonderful home.

Now the people doing this are mostly doing it for profit and they very well may deny that it is harming the planet, but if you see the wasted coral reefs, the desolate tar sands, the lost rainforests, the melted ice and loss of habitat, it is clear that destruction is happening.

If an alien came here and did these things we would unite as a planet to stop him.

If yo think the impact of all this is not real, you are in denial.

Consider if you would the butterfly effect where every single thing has certain consequences.that if some cases are unpredictable.  However, how can you watch noxious gases being spewed into the air and think that is a good thing?

Every species lives in a certain ecological niche that favors them.  Humans have only existed for a blink of an eye in geological terms.  If we commit suicide as a species the earth will continue and adjust.

It doesn't need us.

We need it.

Thrill seeking

Moderation in all things is a saying that is often used but seldom followed.

Generally people end up chasing a thrill, only to return to reality or possibly a state worse than when they started.

Its one of the reason people do things like climb mountains, bungee jump, take drugs etc.

The gratification is relatively short lived but provides a "rush" that is memorable.

Of course these highs and lows are not the healthiest thing but we often make fun of those who live quiet but productive lives.

At least the thrill seekers do.

Of course this is the essence of gambling.

Most gambling is designed to let gamblers win a certain amount of the time.  These wins become addictive. The losses are generally ignored in search of the next win until there is nothing left to gamble with.

If you outsmart the gamblers by counting cards you are considered a cheat, because you might not actually lose.

Generally smart people cheat, they rig things, they steal from the owners.

Gambling houses depend on people not thinking too much and chasing the thrill.

Now they treat you nice and give you comps to keep you playing until they can milk you dry.

They simply want your money.

Now not everyone gets addicted and a very few people actually hit a big jackpot, but understanding the business model, the vast majority is going to lose and some are going to lose big.

If you put your future in the hands of a casino owner, there is really only one inevitable outcome.

Misinformation

One of the biggest issues I encounter is how much misinformation is circulated and believed.

Now, Flip Wilson had a memorable line, "The Devil Made Me Do It" and it always got a chuckle.

But nowadays I see so much blamed on things like "The Government", "those Regulations", "the Economy", "Obamacare" which pretty clearly have nothing to do with any of those things that it has become pandemic.

If you have employer health insurance and your premiums go up or your deductible gets higher, its because your employer is reducing cost, not because the Government or Obamacare made it happen.

If you lose your job, it may have something to do with the economy, but since the economy is doing pretty good, its more likely either because of your performance or your company deciding to move or automate your job.

Yes there are regulations and some regulations impact people, but they are given a lot more credit or blame then they deserve.

This actually goes on and on and once it starts it seems to spread like wildfire since we, as a nation, are often too lazy to verify the facts.

It clearly is in everyone's best interest to get these things straight so that they can make informed decisions and just because someone else tells you something, it doesn't mean its true.  It might be, or it might not be, but you should be particularly wary if it starts with a vague prhrase like "I heard" or "Someone told me".

Generally if it involves a Government policy or regulation, it is easily researched and most agencies have help lines.

Bad advice is always harmful, since it either convinces you to do something you shouldn't, or keeps you from doing something you should.

Bad information is not as bad although it may lead to opinions that are simply not based on facts.

You would think the internet and the widely available information would help, but it just seems to make it worse, either by people deliberately spreading bad information or doing it innocently.

Just check your facts.

Creatures of the Night

Dracula since he could not be up during daylight had a fondness for "creatures of the night" that most people find repellent or scary.

Understandable since we are a species that generally thrives in the daytime where we are adapted to see and survive better while night creatures present unique dangers to us.

Of course back in our evolutionary past we developed strategies to survive and those strategies always included a certain security for the night.

Now, as the world has evolved you would think this has changed.

Certainly the night is still generally scarier than the daytime but we have found ways to block out the dangers for the most part.

But then you have the internet.

Now there is no particular reason that late night on the internet should be very different than it is in the daytime, but it is.

All the creatures of the night emerge.

Your conspricy theory people, your alt-righters, your porn lovers, trolls and hackers.

Now if you spend significant time on during those hours you can find many alternate versions of reality.

It will skew your views on what is normal, and what is acceptable.

Insulting anyone who disagrees with you, standard practice.

Treating women disrespectfully, perfectly acceptable.

Everything is rigged and we can't get a fair shake, of course.

The country is controlled by (insert name of group), certainly is.

Everyone is corrupt and everyone covers it up, of course.

Its a world where you can easily lose your perspective and common sense as aliens are everywhere, immigrants and refugees are destroying the country and everyone, except "US" is getting a free ride on our backs.

People up at 3AM get exposed to all these things.

Some actually believe them.

You are what you made yourself.

This election has highlighted how so many people have refused to take responsibility for their own lives.

America is based on working hard and getting ahead.  However, its never been guaranteed that doing those things would lead to success.  In fact, history points out that most of the time it just isn't enough.

The world and country we live in is constantly changing either due to technology or natural changes.  Does anyone think the victims of the dust bowl didn't work hard?  What about all the workers who suffered during the depression?

What those people realized was that they had to do what was needed to survive.

So now in an era where coal is being phased out, or manufacturing is being robotized or exported, we have Americans who want the Government to fix it.

The idea that someone is going to roll back progress and recreate some earlier period is wishful thinking.

There is some wonderful economic opportunities in this country and if you develop the right skills and go to the right place you can do quite well.  If you sit at home in a rundown house buying lottery tickets and drinking beer most of the time, you probably won't.

Taking responsibility for your life is the first step required.  Blaming others is not the way to American greatness.

Now, there are cases where chance or misfortune causes a crisis, but that has always been the case but thats not the problem with most of these folks, they bought into a dream of success that didn't require them to do much.

It has always been true that you get rewards based on what you invest.  Working hard is not enough, you have to prepare, develop skills and change, or you simply go extinct.

Its always been the same.

Distinguished and Historic Career and there is much more.

Hillary Clinton attended Wellesley College, graduating in 1969, and earned a J.D. from Yale Law Schoolin 1973. After serving as a congressional legal counsel, she moved to Arkansas, marrying Bill Clinton in 1975. In 1977, she co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. She was appointed the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978, and, the following year, became the first woman partner at Rose Law Firm. As First Lady of Arkansas, she led a task force whose recommendations helped reform Arkansas's public schools, and served on several corporate boards.

As First Lady of the United States, Clinton led the unsuccessful effort to enact the Clinton health care plan of 1993. In 1997 and 1999, she helped create the State Children's Health Insurance Program. She also tackled the problems of adoption and family safety and foster care. At the 1995 UN conference on women, held in Beijing, Clinton stated in a then controversial and influential speech, that "human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights". 

Clinton was elected in 2000 as the first female senator from New York, the only first lady ever to have sought elective office. Following the September 11 attacks, she voted to approve the war in Afghanistan. She also voted for the Iraq Resolution (a vote she later said she regretted). She took a leading role in investigating the health issues faced by 9/11 first responders. She voted against the Bush tax cuts. She was re-elected to the Senate in 2006. Running for president in 2008, she won far more delegates than any previous female candidate, but lost the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama.

As Secretary of State in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013, Clinton responded to the Arab Spring, during which she advocated the U.S. military intervention in Libya. She helped organize a diplomatic isolation and international sanctions regime against Iran, in an effort to force curtailment of that country's nuclear program; this would eventually lead to the multinational Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement in 2015. Leaving office after Obama's first term, she wrote her fifth book and undertook speaking engagements before announcing her second presidential run in the 2016 election.

Clinton received the most votes and primary delegates in the 2016 Democratic primaries, formally accepting her party's nomination for President of the United States on July 28, 2016, with vice presidential running mate Senator Tim Kaine. She became the first female candidate to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. As part of her 2016 platform, she has emphasized raising incomes, improvements to the Affordable Care Act and reform of campaign finance and Wall Street. She favors allowing pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, expanding and protecting LGBT and women's rights, and instituting family support through paid parental leave and universal preschool; she also proposes tax increases on the wealthy, including a “fair share surcharge," as means to fund the costs related to her proposed programs.

Affprdable Care Act Increases

There are going to be some fairly large rate increases on some of the affordable care plans as the market adjusts to the actual experience of the first few years.

What happened was that the people who signed up were in general sicker than predicted and used more services than projected.  Not sure if this is a result of the projections or the fact that many young people didn't sign up because they could continue coverage under their parents plans or felt it was cheaper to pay the penalty.

Now what was easily projected and what happened is that all the people with pre-existing conditions and chronic health conditions did sing up and getting them coverage is a very worthwhile objective.

It should be noted that increases in the first couple of years were very low due to some provisions inn the affordable care act so to some extent this increase is partly a result of that.

Couple of points.

First, the people who use the most health care are already signed up so the demographics going forward should improve as others decide to sign up.

Second, because of subsidies, the enrolled will not see these increases if they are eligible for the subsidies.  More people will become eligible so the increases are not as bad as advertised.

Third, in some states the number of providers is going to decrease and reduce competition.  This should be self correcting as insurers find out how to market profitable plans.  One solution would be to have some nationwide plans in the exchanges similar to the federal employees plans.

Fourth, This impacts a very small percentage of those getting health insurance and is going to look worse in headlines than it actually is.  The impact on any individual has to be determined and certainly it will be a hardship for some, but not most.

Fifth, The plan is structured this way to maintain market forces.  If we went to a single payer system it would not be an issue.  However, fixing a system that provides coverage to those who need it the most is still a worthy outcome.

This is how market forces work and the proposed rates may very well be a bit too high as we see the typical pendulum movement in the year to year predictions.  The gains from the affordable care act are not gone, millions have coverage, and the cost will find its level ultimately.

Boring Economics

One of the points being made in the current election is that the US Economy is not growing like it should.

The comparison made is to previous recessions and the bounce back that followed them.  However, in an interesting article in the NY Times, the impact of demographics was brought into play.

Since the second world war, the number of productive workers in the workforce has tended to increase each year for a couple of reasons.

First as the baby boomers entered it it swelled its ranks.

We have seen a great increase in women working outside the home.

Now growth is simply the change in economic activity from one year to the next.

Increasing populations tend to increase growth because they each contribute to economic activity both as consumers (demand side) and workers (supply side).

As the population bulge cause by the baby boomers moved through the prime earning years, we saw some significant years of growth.  Now we also saw some significant inflation and some analysis shows that in constant dollars growth has been somewhat lower than it appears.

In addition, we have had a series of recessions which reduce the average overall growth rate on a cumulative basis.  To point to growth right after a recession or even right before one could be problematic considering some of that growth is easily wiped away.

However, while growth may not have been as high in the past as claimed the main point is that the demographics we face over the next period are not conducive to high growth rates unless we do in fact open the borders and bring in great numbers of younger people.  This is unlikely so we are faced with some simple math.

As productive baby boomers leave the workforce, not all of them will be replaced since there are less new workers.  This will depress growth.

To achieve real growth we need to increase the productivity of each worker to compensate for the loss of workers.  Promises of growth being made ignore economic reality since we don't have enough available workers to achieve those levels.

Even now, the skilled jobs have trouble finding qualified candidates much of the time.

I warned you this would be boring.

Rambles

Democracy has always been messy business, but orderly is worse.

People who propose term limits simply don't trust themselves or their neighbors.

Latest wall proposal has us paying for it and sending a bill to Mexico, good luck with that.

People are upset that Hillary isn't Bernie Sanders.  Really?

It seems we used to know that when you have the entire political spectrum in play the final color is somewhere in the middle.

We have so many angry people, just not sure what they are so angry about.

We used to be better it seems at minding our own business.

Half the country thinks the other half is lying.

That half thinks the first half isn't very bright.

Its almost like jocks vs nerds.

Pretty sure the nerds are going to win this one.

Not surprising that all the smoking guns are with the 2nd Amendment avocates.

Self Delusion

There is so much bad information in certain media sources that we have a lot of people who are being deluded.

In probably one of the most successful disinformation hacks ever, a large portion of the American public believes things about Hillary Clinton that just aren't true.

In fact, some of these lies are repeated by the republican presidential candidate at events (she was never thrown off the Watergate commission (she was on the impeachment committee which was disbanded after Nixon resigned) but these lies enter the culture.

In a land where free speech exists, people have the right to say almost anything.  This isn't new and lies have been spread across history.  What seems to be new, although I can't speak to past times, is that lies spread faster because of technology and Americans are more gullible.

Now, consider Benghazi.  However tragic the events there were, there would be no reason I can think of that a Secretary of State would deliberately put a ambassador in danger.  Now of course all such assignments have some danger associated with them, but the accusations that she refused to help him or provide needed security is simply ridiculous.  One could make an argument that someone was negligent, but thinking that the Secretary of State is responsible for all the details concerning security at all the embassies and consulates around the world is simply an absurd concept.  Possibly there was a bad risk assessment, but there actually isn't any evidence of that.

What is actually sad is that this tragedy has been exploited in a partisan way rather than in any kind of constructive "lessons learned" approach leading to some belief that something inappropriate was done.

Americans die serving their country.  Each death is a tragedy and we as a nation should honor those who serve, not make them pawns in a political witch hunt.

I could go on and on, but the lies go way back and I don't want to imply that anyone is perfect, no one ever has been, but in the absence of any criminal convictions or charges there is so much misinformation out there that you would think any rational person would realize it couldn't be true.

Howver, a large number of Americans believe these stories or feel that thee must be something because of all the smoke.  There isn't, its just a lot of smoke.

Now one wondrs why this has been so successful.  In all honesty, all the investigations have effectively cleared her of any serious wrongdoing but despite that the allegations continue only to have added to them the idea that she is a master conspriator who manages to cover up enough evidence to "get away" with things.

In fact this inability to prove the allegations is in fact another silly allegation.

Amercia is perfectly happy in many cases to conntinue deluding themselves.

Sadly.

Social Skills

One of the things that is a bit hard to define but easy to spot is if someone has good or bad social skills.

We all know people who seem to fit in where ever they are effortlessly.  The just seem to belong.

Of course there are those that don't seem to fit in.

They range from the awkwardly shy to the obnoxious bore.

Of course the really obnoxious ones are pretty easy to spot, being too loud and trying to dominate the gathering.

We frequently also notice the awkwardly shy ones too, although they are trying not to be noticed, as they find a place to be alone trying to disappear.

Of course we feel a lot of sympathy generally for the shy people, many of us have been there, done that.

Generally most of us want to fit in and be accepted.

However, certain people either because of being born into privilege, or a personality issue, think they are the center of the universe and that whatever they do is good.

Social norms are ignored, scenes are made, people are insulted, etc. etc.

Now of course rich and powerful people are catered too and how they react to that is probably the true measure.

A certain number of us, uncomfortable  ourselves, get a kick our of seeing this person make others uncomfortable too.

In this election we are seeing a great example of this and maybe its actually a good thing.

If the electons get too bland and uninteresting, we have too many that don't even show up.

If nothing else, more people are paying attention.

Election Integrity

The United States hass been notable for the fact that we respect our constitution and election results.  This is not always true in much of the world.  To claim the election is being rigged is a serious challenge to our democracy and is not very likely.

Now, are there unscrupulous people, of course there are, and in history there very well may have been some instances of elections being manipulated.

When Kennedy won, there were accusations about shenanigans in Chicago.

When Bush beat Gore, the process in Florida was questionable.

However, elections are run locally.  Both parties as well as state inspectors get to monitor polling locations.

All studies indicate very few instances of voter fraud.

In fact, its easier to not count votes than it is to create votes.

Disenfranchising voters is easier than creating illegal voters.

I want to point out that you might be able to register a dead person, but its hard to actually cast a ballot.

I'm not familiar with the procedures at every polling location but I don't think any of them allow hoardes of people to come off the street and vote.

You have to be registered and sign in.

Recently there have been a number of instances of fraudulent registrations and registrations being altered.  They were discovered but of course some might not be.

In all honesty, the idea that these have something to do with swinging elections is unlikely.  I think its more likely that they are designed to show flaws in the system to promote voter ID laws.

Just speculation by me, but it fits that agenda which needs to create incidents to support theire argument.

All studies have shown very few fraudulent votes.

Making this claim is is outrageous and has no basis in reality.

R E S P E C T

What is most sad about the current election and America in general is how we have lost certain core values like common courtesy and mutual respect.

We always had a certain amount of bad behavior in the culture, but it was generally disapproved of and if you continued to behave that way you were eventually shunned.

At some point however the culture changed.

Maybe it was the tremendous expansion of channels and outlets brought about by cable TV and the growth of the Internet and social media.

Views that were on the fringe became more acceptable as popularity and ratings overtook any sense of responsibility.

Whatever you think of it, CNN started as a pretty straightforward news outlet.

Then FOX attacked it as a liberal bastion and spread its own biased view and grabbed ratings.

Of course the Internet provided even more opportunity for extreme views and rumor mongers and the only objectives were spread an agenda and get clicks.

Its probably not going to get better and the public is the only one that can control it by ignoring the real fringe groups.  However, it doesn't take much to start and maintain them, so they will go on.

This has led to totally false accusations and allegations, supported by either nothing or falsified documents which take on a life of their own.

Of course a little research reveals the falsehood but most of this simply gets passed along by either willing or unwilling dupes.

Its a new world but not a better one.

Banana Republic

Donald Trump thinks we live in a banana republic where elections are rigged, rich and influential people can get away with anything and you jail your political opponents before putting them in front of a firing squad.

Its also strongly machismo where women are primarily decorations to be discarded when they fail to look perfect, are toys with no say in how they are used and you talk about them in very derogatory manners.

Debates can be won by belittling your opponents or intimidating them if you are bigger and speaking in generalities without providing specific details.

Of course you have to surround yourself with sycophants who agree with everything you say and stand up for you against everyone else without question.

You can promise the populace anything, they are too stupid to know its a lie and once you get in office feather your nest and your supporters while increasing poverty for the working class.

Of course you know more about war than the generals and admirals who actually studied it and you might as well replace all of them with new ones who think like you do.

Try to bully foreign leaders into doing what you want and when that inevitably fails tell the populace you won anyway.

Attack the media as corrupt and rigged and after the election suppress it and promote media that you can control and which will spread your propaganda for you.

Fix the "rigged" election process to actually rig it so that in future elections you win without working so hard.

Arrest your opponents and purge your own party of anyone who won't toe the line.

Restore the constitution to what the founders wrote, eliminating pesky additions such as women voting, no slavery and term limits for the President.

Fix the inner cities by razing them and making the residents live in shantytowns.

And so on.

Climate Change

Climate changes, it has been happening since the earth was formed.

We have been ice covered, water covered, and the cold periods and warm periods are related to the oscillation in the orbit as well as other factors.

Now, one factor that predates man was the storage of vast amounts of carbon in in the earth as vegetation and animal life died and was buried.

This carbon took a number of forms, coal, oil, natural gas, but it was removed from the atmosphere and stored.

We learned how to utilize this source of energy and it powered the industrial revolution.

This is where we influence the natural changes in climate.

Now ultimately, we aren't introducing alien products into the atmosphere, the carbon was always here, and to some extent, if you ignore how it will impact humanity, the earth will be fine.

That's a long term view.

In the short term we are screwing the pooch.

Te increase in carbon is increasing the earth's temperature.

This is melting ice.

This is raising sea levels.

This will impact currents.

If you don't believe it, you are ignoring science and common sense.

It also increases air pollution that has other impacts on our existence.

This isn't about saving the whales, although that's a good idea, its about saving your fellow humans.

Its called self preservation, both now and in the future.

Policies that are good for America

In all the mud flying around we are ignoring the most important aspect of any election, what is the path forward for the country.

Below are the goals that I believe we should pursue to keep America great.

Improve our health system to keep the best parts of the Affordable Care Act while fixing things that didn't work so well.

Adjust our tax system to make those who have benefitted the most pay a fairer share.

Reduce the burden of student debt that shackles our younger generation.

Promote American values throughout the world while minimizing American deaths.

Review trade agreements and promote a robust international economy that benefits both America and its trading partners..

Continue the move to cleaner energy while instituting programs to help workers impacted by the changes.

Provide economic incentives to encourage job growth.

Enact some additional background checks to keep guns from known terrorists while protecting the second amendment rights.

Work with banks and wall street to enact and improve regulations to prevent the abuses that led to the financial crisis while maintaining a system that allows investment in America's future.

Combat terrorism by working with allies, including our Islamic allies to defeat it at its source, understanding that each culture has its unique characteristics that deserve to be respected.

Continue our support for Israel.

Prepare our Military for the challenges of the future to maintain it as the defender of freedom.

Honor our treaties and commitments around the world.

Ensure the ability of Social Security to meet its obligations. 

Make Government more efficient so that essential services can be provided with reduced waste.

Recognize that immigrants have built this country and develop smart solutions that keep families together, improve border security and address the undocumented issue.

Continue the tradition of helping refugees make new lives. 

Accept that diversity is something that creates strength and growth in a culture, promote respect for all people, ensure the safety of all citizens and residents and support and help public servants who risk their lives in service to their communities.

Saturday thoughts

A lot of my contemporaries like to say they lived through environmental hazards as kids and came out OK.  Not so sure, lot of Trump supporters among you.

Guess the production capacity of the KGB e-mail fraud department is determined by how many Wiki-Leaks issues each day.

Most coal miners live in mountainous inland areas, so coastal flooding not much of a concern to them.

The problem is a lot of white people don't understand that the way they get treated every day is white privilege.  They just think its normal.

Trump talks about the recession in the early 90s after the Reagan-Bush years.  We had the financial crisis after the last Bush presidency.  After Nixon-Ford we had the gas crisis and terrible inflation.  Isn't three strikes enough already?

In order to reduce the National Debt we need to have a surplus.  Because of current demographics that isn't going to happen for a while.  However, the Republican plan of reducing taxes, preserving Social Security and increasing Defense Spending is going to make it much worse.

A few simple fixes to Social Security such as eliminating the income cap would go a long way to stabilizing the fund and protecting benefits.

The main complaint abut the current economic recovery is that its too slow.  Guess they miss the old boom and crash method.

Slow steady growth, low inflation, more jobs, reduced deficits, less uninsured Americans, less American troops in mortal danger every day.  It's a disaster!

Based on his history and comments there's no real doubt that Donald Trump molested or at least came on to many women.  Most of his current supporters don't have to worry based on his usual standards.

Typical Bully

Bullying has been going on since the very beginning.  It serves a distinct purpose, allowing someone to intimidate others into submission without actually having to risk damage.

You see this in the primate world where giving enough size, one will attempt to intimidate the rest into compliance.

The art of bullying requires that the intimidated don't fight back.

Now not all bullies are are bad fighters, at least in the beginning.  They very often have to establish dominance by fighting in the beginning.  Its the memory of that which lends credence to the intimidation.

So not all bullies will back down if you stand up to them.  Many however get used to having little to no opposition.

After a while they come to expect it and when they do get opposed sometimes don't know how to react.

They often get outraged by the impudence of those that stand up to them.

They can't believe that they are being defied.

Now it is inevitable in the natural world that dominence get relinquished eventually.

In human society it isn't inevitable.

Some bullies stay that way forever because of wealth and power.

But when the bullying fails to work, they don't have any other strategy.

They get outraged but all they know is how to lash out even more.

Find something new to use to re-establish dominence.

We are seeing an example of this in the current election.

Its ike a performance art rendition of "The Last Hurrah"

Selling your soul is never a good idea

Generally the idea that humans are so weak that they are willing to live out eternity in hell for something in the present is embedded in literature from the bible to modern TV dramas.

Part of the reason is our inability to delay gratification.

Now, as we all should know from religious training or just in general, the devil is pretty slick.

His temptations aren't easy to resist.

You have to be strong and steadfast to earn your ultimate reward.

In politic the temptations are to pander to certain voters to win a current election.

You hope they buy your promises and vote for you and ideally leave you alone.

It doesn't work.

When you promise that you will make unrealistic changes and don't deliver, they get angry.

The more you promise, the angrier they get.

They get so angry they come out and vote in your primaries.

They vote for the most obnoxious, boastful, lying person running, since they believe he'll actually do what he says, whatever that may be.

You wanted to stop Obama.

You got Trumped.

Enjoy your reward!

Glory Days

The song glory day (by Bruce Springstein) recounts how certain people who were the "popular" kids in High School relive those highlights in later life.  Being good at sports, being attractive, are important characteristics at 17 but not enough unless you are trully exceptional in either category, to get you very far later in life.

Now, clearly some of the popular kids, especially if they come from the right background or have parents with money, parlay this into later life.  However the great majority of working class kids often have their best years in high school, when they can dominate nerds and everybody kowtows to them.

Well, call it the revenge of the nerds if you want, but it turns out that studying, getting into a good college, or any college at all, and applying yourself is a much better formula for success.

This is how the system is rigged, it rewards hard work and planning.

Now, let me be clear, many of these popular kids had to work hard after high school but what was missing was the planning.  They got into factories, mines, construction, etc. got married, had kids, bought a car and thought this was what they were entitled to.

Well, they weren't.  The economic forces are pushing America into a post industrial period.  Technology is eliminating many jobs, more than foreign competition really.  The skills required have to be acquired, and some of these folks did adapt and learn and generally they are doing better than the others at this point.

However, the idea that the Government owes you a good paying job is simply not the case, in fact that smacks of communism.

You see slogans about how they just want the opportunity to compete.  However they had that opportunity and didn't do well.

Now, they are looking for a handout.  They want someone in the Government who is going to recreate a world that is long gone. They found someone who promises to do that.  Of course the promise is false and can't be kept. The claims are mostly lies.

But much like when they were children waiting for Santa, they are going to keep on believeing.

They miss those Glory Days.

Reality

Reality might be settling in on the Trump campaign.

At least for some of them.

Article in the Washington Post where some supporters realize he might lose.

They're blaming the media, the system and to some extent even Trump.

Of course they think everyone feels like they do.

They look around at the rallies and that's proof enough.

Since they believe all the fantastic lies spread about Hillary they don't understand how anyone could vote for her.

You wonder how they ended up in such a fantasy world?

Illegal Immigrants get everything for free and they don't.

Minorities too!

And Refugees.

Climate change is made up.

The economy is terrible.

Obamacare is a disaster.

America's military is weak.

ISIS is winning.

The media lies.

The system is rigged.

And it goes on and on.

When reality happens they aren't going to believe it, and reality is coming.

In 28 days.

Is the Afforable Care Act failing

During the debate last night we heard the ACA called the worst disaster ever and it needs to be repealed.  Now we also heard that it needs some fixes.

What actually is the state of the ACA at this point.

• It has achieved one of its major goals which was to reduce the number of unemployed Americans who didn't have health insurance.

• It has eliminated the ability of insurers to refuse coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

• It has allowed young adults to stay on their parents coverage until the age of 26.

• It has required certain preventive care to be provided at no additional out of pocket expense.

Now it has some issues.

• Some areas are seeing less competition as companies drop out because they are unprofitable

• Some of the proposed rate increases are higher than they were in the first few years.
• http://www.bna.com/report-expect-sharp-n57982074279/
• Some plans have pretty high deductibles

• Some plans have limited network providers.

Now, the general idea of these exchanges and the idea of insurance in general is that there is shared risk.  So everyone pays the average cost even though some use a lot more of the services as others.  It was fairly predictable that when people who had been denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions got insurance they would use a of of services.

The idea to offset this was to get younger healthier people enrolled so the average cost would decrease.  There were penalties associated with not having insurance.  The penalties were however too low apparently since the low risk pools have not signed up to the extent expected.

So in our market based economy, the cost will adjust until the companies make enough profit to continue.

So is this the worst disaster imaginable?  Hardly.  A program that achieves its major goals while working through some market forces is hardly a disaster.
Sounds more like a success.

Does he have any honor?

We have never had a candidate for president with documented behavior like Donald Trump.  Now now all of them were angels, but this is all public record and there is clearly more to come out.

Some of the behavior may even be criminal.

Now in all honesty, I don't see him being honorable, why would he start now.

Clearly the honorable thing would be to drop out of the race and apologize.

I'd rather he stayed in because he is the gift that keeps on giving.

Instead he will sling accusations and mud at the Clinton's trying to convince his followers they are worse than he is.

They clearly aren't, but his avid supporters have drunk the kool-aid and will stand by him.

Whatever percent they are, they are enough to fill his rallies and further inflate his delusion that he has "great" support.

The polls must be lying, and everything is rigged.

In all honesty, getting him to be the nominee was all that was needed.

Crotch grabbing?

Trump was talking about grabbing women's crotches, but  he's move on to trying to grab America's.

I have to admit I've heard people talk like that sometimes, but none of those folks are running for anything.

You know with a month to go, this might not even be the worse thing to come out about Trump, he's the gift that keeps on giving.

This really opens up Democrats chances for the Senate and even the Congress as disgusted Republicans just stay home in shame.

On the other hand we have leaked emails about Hillary's paid speeches, gee, she expressed opinions about problems with the Political process and how to get things done.  Can you believe it!!!!!

Fox news tried to spin it into things that would upset progressives, like progressives watch Fox news.  Their viewers have already drunk the kool-aid.

One of the female broadcasters complained how Trump wouldn't do her show, probably a good thing considering his lack of control around women.

I feel a bit sorry for the people who believe all the negative things said about Hillary Clinton.  The delusion runs deep.

Like I said, I think we should realize that no matter how bad and outrageous the last piece of news was, he can still TRUMP it!

The Lies about Hillary

I went to Snopes and did a search for Clinton.  That resulted in 15 pages of items.  Now not all of them were about just Hillary, some were about Bill and even Chelsea, but they are so numerous and so outrageous in any cases that you don't think anyone could take them seriously.

But you would be wrong.

This is true despite the fact that she is one of the most scrutinized public figures alive.

So millions of Americns accept the fact that she has been involved in murder, espionage and other crimes and misdemeanors but gets away with it because:

1. she's really good at it
2. there's a vast media conspiracy to cover it up
3. well you know, the liberals
4. her husband was the President

In addition some things are just accepted.

The Clinton foundation, despite its very public disclosures and high scores from organizations that review charitable foundations is really just a money laundering gimmick that funnels most of the money right to the Clintons.

She compromised the security of this nation by using a home server, that doesn't appear to have been hacked, and maybe having a few snippets of low lever confidential information in a few e-mails sent and received by appropriate people.

Shes a terrible liar who can't be trusted (actually as far as liars go she is really bad at it, just look at Donald Trump).

She has an incurable maybe fatal disease that she is hiding from the public by using a body double.  In fact she may be the walrus.

She rigged the primaries and will rig the general election, Of course since they are all so convinced of this, not sure why they will bother to vote.

Shes mean and evil who criticizes her political opponents (oh my!)

And the worst thing of all, the really unforgiveable fault she has.........

SHE's A WOMAN!

Its Thursday

Only a month to go before we elect a new President, she's going to be great!

Trump says he can't lose because it would be a waste of time and money.  I agree, hes wasted enough of our time already.

I'm still waiting to find out what Trumps plans are.

Of all the military people Trump could have brought up at the debate he went with Douglas MacArthur.  He's the one who announced to the enemy that he would return not all that secretive.

Trump doesn't understand the difference between strategy and tactics obviously.

I've decided Mike Pence must have a hearing problem since he never heard Trump say all those things.

He should visit Trump tower to get that Mexican thing they serve there.

If Trump got elected somehow he would need a wall to keep people in the country.

There's a lot of people who think he says what he does to get votes and he would be different in office.  they said the same thing about Hitler.

Yes he did

Last night we saw a vice presidential debate which was a bit like watching the under card at a boxing match.  They might throw some decent punches but its just not the main event.

However, the main takeaway I have is that Mike Pence kept saying that Donald Trump didn't say things he actually did say and Tim Kaine couldn't sit there and listen to the inaccuracies he was spewing.

Below is a link to the fact checking on the debate.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/factchecking-the-vp-debate/ar-BBx18BF?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iSEM_G_Homepage

Now almost everything Kaine said that Trump said he did say, including deporting children of undocumented immigrants born in this country.

Of course what he says on any given day week or year can be different but that's one of the problems with someone so unpredictable and flippant.

However all the outrageous things that Mike Pence denied Trump said, were things he actually said.

Yes they are.

Our fantasy world

Some people just don't like reality.

Maybe at certain times everybody likes fantasy better.

I understand it and its certainly pleasant enough to get caught up in a book or a movie and escape reality for a bit.

However, its important that we address reality at least some of the time.

I was watching a guy walking up and down the street yesterday talking with no one else around.

Now, I think he was on his cell phone and just out for a walk.

Years ago I would have been sure he was a loony.  (not sure that is PC)

We have people out in the real world looking for imaginary Pokemon.

We have media and speakers who promote a totally fantastic view of the world.

There were always people who believed in alien abductions and conspiracy theories etc.

However we now have some media promoting a fictional view of the world 24 hours a day.

It makes them money and its a bit entertaining, but it just isn't real.

Its a problem and in our democracy there really isn't a solution.

It would be nice if media accepted some civic responsibility but profit drives what they do and if they stopped someone else would step in.

Its not unique to this country, the BREXIT vote in England was based on a lot of fantasy about the EU.

Its so ingrained now that there is a belief that people speaking the real facts are engaged in a conspiracy and cover up.

I still think a majority of us have a decent grasp of reality and the adults will prevail.

God help us if I am wrong.

State of Things

Almost everything you look at in the society and economy are doing pretty well.  We have some problems with service jobs replacing manufacturing, but we still do well with high tech.  We have improved crime statistics overall but still there is no acceptable level of crime.  Something needs to be done to make sure police are trained in non lethal techniques.

We have some issues with the deficit that need serious solutions that also preserve the needs of the citizens.  Need serious infrastructure improvements and some federal assistance to the States.

The list is long, but bottom line is things aren't perfect but they are getting better.  There is very little inflation and mortgage rates remain near all time lows.  Gas is way down from its high and our trade balance is helped by the oil and gas we are producing.

The Affordable care act has helped millions get health coverage but it has to deal with potential premium increases as the market adjusts.

Too many students finish college with a lot of debt and not enough job opportunities, especially if you were a liberal arts major.

Our technology has progressed so much in a very short amount of time that we have smart phones that can do more than our best desktop computers couldn't in the recent past.

We have however added a lot of diviseness to our culture.  It seems tht everyone is convinced that those who don't agree with them are anti-American.  Well we are all Americans even if we have different views.

One problem with statistics is that they aggregate while people experience things individually.  If you are struggling, hearing that the economy is doing well will only make you feel like someone is lying.  All politics are local, so if a bunch of executives are doing really well, its not helping thw clerk at Walmart make his car payment.

So much is going well but some people aren't and they are getting played by certain factions.

No real point today, just whatever this is.

Responsibility and Blame

Its pretty easy and convenient to blame others.

Its much more difficult to take responsibility.

Now, things we do have consequences.

If you didn't acquire the right skills to compete, your failure to get a good job is your responsibility.

Of course its easier to blame the Government, or immigrants or something.

If you didn't save anything for retirement you won't have anything saved.

But its easier to blame the economy or those bills.

If your kids act as irresponsibly as you do its probably the example you set.

Its easier to blame the schools, society, culture, etc.

Life is hard.

You have to put some effort into it.

Some people think that they had a deal with America.

Get a basic education, and they would get a good paying job, have a nice family, house and car.

To some extent the media sold this concept.

It was never true.

Every generation had to fight and struggle to survive, from the settlers, to the farmers scratching a living from the earth, to the factory workers who saw their jobs disappear during the depression, to the generation that sacrificed so much to end fascism.

Then we got TV.

Now we had radio, but the images on TV showed that four person family, in that nice house, with a loving family who dealt with problems.

We saw a blueprint or how life was supposed to be, at least in the minds of the creators of the show.

We had daytime soap operas filled with the most elaborate plot twists and more cases of Amnesia and newly found siblings than you could shake a stick at.

It was all fantasy, but it crept into the culture.

That's how life was, or was supposed to be.

Now, some people might live like that, I suppose its possible.

Most of us don't.  We scramble and scrape and do the best we can unless we give up.

You end up smoking your cigarettes, drinking your beer,watching your TV until a savior comes along and tells you its not your fault, its "them".

You did what you were supposed to and didn't get the reward because "they" took it away.

Well you didn't do what you needed to do to succeed.

But why take responsibility for your own life when you can blame "THEM".

Donald Trump is a liar

Don't think anyone, including Trump supporters are shocked by the headline.  He lies so much and so blattently that everyone knows it, except maybe him.

I recognise that he may be totally delusional and some of his lies could simply be hurried tweets sent out because he thought he saw something.

The problem is that if he is actually having thee hallucinations, then he is hardly qualified to be anything at all, let alone President.

He saw imaginary Moslims dancing after 9/11 in New Jersey.

He was against the Iraw war despite tellng Howard Stern he was for it, One of those statements has to be a lie.

Hes going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it.

Hillary Clinton has been fighting ISIS for 30 years (they haven't existed that long).

His support among African American is spiking.

Hes gonna win New York and California.

The dishonest media is out to get him (by reporting what he does I guess).

Everybody thinks Rosie Odonnell deserves the trash talk Donald dished out (this everybody has to be his pet goldfish or something since it come out of his mouth so much).

America is in the worst shape ever.

There was no terroism before Obamma (well thats actually Giuliani)

All his business ventures were great (what about those bankruptcies?)

Trump University was great.

He has his real hair.

And this barely scrapes the surface.