Same ole song and dance, the government is going to shutdown ho hum……again. But first, does the low propensity voter feel insulted?

 

I wonder because they might be the smartest voters.

It seems the world only pays attention to them for two months out of every four years. They are just as important for the entire four years as everyone else. So many of us spend the entire four years yelling and screaming at our government and it never listens anyway even if you give the politicians advice. You have to be careful with advice, it is like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, while advice is either good or bad in the ear of the listener. Anyway our politicians just don’t care about the majority of us for four years, but for two months this fall everyone is talking about the low propensity voter; like what does that mean.

And I am being a hypocrite here, I have written that we need to cut down the time of our elections anyway, but I rant and rave all the time about politics in this blog. Maybe the low propensity voter has this down to a science, just don’t give a rat’s back end until September and bam everyone wants your vote now. So they do what I say and that is care about elections for only a couple of months. It would actually do this country some good to cut down election season, but I haven’t got the fortitude not to be the angry old man yelling at politicians to get off of my lawn.

Of course politicians will make the same empty promises to them that they do to the rest of us, yet the low propensity voter is at least promised irresponsibly to specifically. I don’t get that attention and again I even give out free advice.

So let’s hail the low propensity voter, pat them on the back for their ingenuity and more importantly their sanity for ignoring all the hubris for over 3 and a half years and still be the group most people say will decide this election.

Maybe I should target them to get new parties.

And I asked the question of someone specifically this evening, but now to y’all: are you tired of hearing about another government shutdown? I mean this issue is older than dirt, but much less important. We need dirt for food, still trying to figure out why we need our current political parties.

A shutdown will cause problems, but the duopoly that gets elected every two or four years still hasn’t figured out, it is us, the voters/citizens they are supposed to respond. And you knew this one was bad when the Representative from Georgia Ms. Marjorie T. Greene even called out her own caucus over it.

It is old news, bad government, bad political theatre and incompetence all rolled into one overly dramatic stage show that accomplishes nothing. And over the years this has pushed our budget into very dangerous territory.

And people think I waste my vote when I don’t vote for Democrats or Republicans, please… please think about this before you waste your vote.  We are way past the lesser of two evils consideration, this is the greater of two incompetencies thinking.

Cheers

The campaigns are heading…..? and other thoughts

 

I wanted to use a horse racing analogy, you know there headed down the back stretch, rounding the final curve, or headed down the stretch, but I occasionally go to the horse races and I really like them so I didn’t want to taint something fun.

Anyway I was reading an article discussing the paycheck to paycheck people who might vote for Trump since many people feel they were better off under Trump’s administration than Biden’s. And technically they were, but what they do not realize is that mostly a President’s administration is a lagging economic indicator not a leading economic indicator. Of course you need to understand a bit of basic economics to understand where I might be going with this, so what a President does that might influence the economy shows up late in their administration or at the beginning of the next administration.

And in many cases what a President does cannot even be a leading economic indicator, many times circumstances dictate more of what happens and it is how the President responds that effects the economy. Bush wasn’t the direct cause of the 2008 recession, but it fell under his administration so many people blame him for it. Obama reacted accordingly and some of his policies eventually helped the economy, but also the Fed dropping interest rates to historic lows benefitted the perception of some people (Democrats) on how well Obama did. Eventually our economy started growing again and Trump ended up benefitting from that growth. Then Trump cut taxes for the rich, they bought stock like crazy since they had free money with low interest rates and more of it with the tax cuts so the stock market boomed under Trump. The actual economy was good, but stock price growth was stronger than the actual economy.

Then the pandemic happened and even though the stock market did a roller coaster drop then bounced right back again with the continuation of historically low interest rates, the actual economy took a hit, not in growth, but in inflation which occurred as the economy transitioned from Trump to Biden. Trump’s lack of reaction to the pandemic and other factors lead to the high levels of inflation we saw, but since it happened under Biden’s administration many people feel inflation is Biden’s fault. And of course in this election cycle the Republicans are playing this tune to no end. With most people not having majored in economics in college the understanding of all the factors of inflation are easily manipulated.

So for the paycheck to paycheck voter it is easy for them to mistake the economy under Trump and Biden so after all the above I tend to agree with the author’s premise that they might be more likely to vote for Trump than many Democratic operatives want to realize or admit and Trump still has a strong chance of winning the election.

And before you say Biden had a hand in reducing inflation over the last year or so, it was the Fed raising interest rates that also had a stronger affect on inflation than anything Biden did.

And now that inflation is slowing the Fed is thinking of cutting interest rates, which is what they should do, but the Republicans are going to cry foul since it is coincidentally going to happen a month or so before the election. And the Republicans I am predicting will scream loud and hard that the Fed is trying to help the Democrats by lowering interest rates now.  I bet you dimes to donuts and donuts are worth more now because of inflation you will see this messaging from the Republicans next week if interest rates are cut which seems to be likely. It will be all Biden’s doing that interest rates are lowered now and they will twist this more ways than a pretzel to try and make their case.

And even though the policies of both Presidents exacerbated inflation for different reasons, neither is directly responsible for it. Yet tell that to millions of Americans suffering from it right now so again there is going to be way too much of a tendency by Republicans to tie inflation to Biden, too much of them yelling foul when interest rates get lowered, but in the end neither party not sure what to do next for our economy and that is where we stand in the campaign, a bunch of people in Washington touting stuff they only have a partial handle on and blaming the other side for all they don’t have a handle on.

Throw in the hundredth let’s shut down the government threat from the Republicans and all sorts of madness is going to be spouted on the campaign trail for the next 50 or so days with neither party exactly sure what they are doing.

Or you know why Trump and Harris don’t have an economic plan, well…..

because they don’t have a clue.

Other thoughts:

I am not a big fan of class action lawsuits for the same reason most people are mad about them. You hear about grotesquely large sums being touted, yet everyone gets thirty eight cents or whatever. I am saying this because I read about two this weekend and you know the attorneys will make hundreds of millions of dollars, but we all doubt we will get a hundred cents from them. The two I heard about where one about banks and Mastercard and Visa settling for excessive ATM fees that blocked competition and the other for Navient being sued for predatory practices regarding refinancing student loans. Millions of Americans are affected by these suits, but what we will see. Hmmmmmmm

What is going on with right wing women and their looks. You see so many derogatory comments about left wing women with meme pictures spread on right wing social media sites including “X” formerly Twitter (when can we stop saying formerly Twitter?) looking well memeish. Yet what is with Laura Loomer? She looks like a Kimberly Guilfoyle wanna be and ugh, why would she want that look. Both look scary, like some serious technical flaws in a Stepford wife design. Or where the manufacturing of said Stepford wife had serious breakdowns. And I saw a recent picture of Megha Kelly and she looks overly emaciated. What has happened to her? No matter what, I would think some of these right wing social media influencers may want to say something to some of their own before posting anymore comments.

And finally going back to the economics situation above, I have been touting my own ideas to lower the deficit and debt of our country for decades and first put into print for the 2012 election. It isn’t that hard folks.

Cheers

Well the debate is over, now what?

 

How about going to the beach, a mountain, a national park, anywhere just to get away from the madness. 

Well that didn’t go well for one Donald J Trump. I do not think Harris knocked it out of the park, but at least she didn’t come across as an angry old man with no vision.

Harris spent most of the debate either goading Trump or painting some rosey future with no substance behind it and Trump told us all we live in a dystopian hell.

The little Harris did offer for the economy was some quaint ideas that might help a few families specifically, but the rest of us are now going… well what about us?

Like many I do not think the moderators should have fact checked as they went along, yet it was nice to see Mr. Trump challenged on his incessant madness of lies on occasion.  Harris should have been the one that challenged him on his facts, so she got lucky that she didn’t have to waste her answer time to question what Trump said.

Did it appear the moderators favored Harris? To an extent yes, but it wasn’t as bad as right wing media plays it out. And the comments that only losers complain about the refs is probably working in Harris favor for a minute portion of the undecided voters.

And another randomly small portion of the undecideds that pay attention to world politics probably were scratching their heads at the Orban reference. Why use him as an example of someone to tout your leadership skills on the world stage? Is that the best you can do? Not a good look for anyone that is aware of what is going on in Europe. Just in general Hungary isn’t a country most Americans pay attention to and since Trump didn’t reference where Orban was from, the reference went somewhere into foul territory in left field. It wasn’t hit in the park. And there is nothing wrong with Hungary, I hope to include it in a long sightseeing trip through Europe one day. Actually I have three or four separate self planned European tours on my bucket list I hope to accomplish. I hope I get to make them all.

Anyway back to the debate, or really maybe not. There wasn’t much of the debate on policy. And the actual statements of help for first time homebuyers, family care and for small businesses, we didn’t hear much else about the economy except for it can be rosey or you are living in that dystopian hell. No one mentioned the budget or lack there of, no one talked about taxes, oops we did get a bit about healthcare or that it exists and we need to make it better. For some strange reason, the Affordable care act or Obamacare got some burn, Trump saying he made it better in lieu of creating his own program, and Harris saying she wants to make it even better. Since it is mediocre at best, won’t be hard to make it better and I am not sure how Trump made it better during his tenure as President. Yet as always, he loves to tell us he made everything better. I wish I could say that and get away with it. I could tell the better half how wonderful our budget is as I struggle to pay the monthly bills. Just look up at her and smile while my stomach turns as I see the checking balance go down with each bill. Wouldn’t that be nice.

Overall Harris avoided policy issues she could be called out by triggering Trump and Trump has never offered any specifics on policy except for the occasional drill baby drill rhetoric, some statements about the border situation which we all want improved and he is going to tariff the rest of the world into economic submission. Not sure how that is going to work though.

Overall we still need new candidates, new ideas, really any ideas with some depth would be helpful and new parties. If Harris doesn’t jump dramatically in the polls from this debate it still proves the economy is voter’s most important issue and she needs to get out in front of that fast otherwise why would anyone want Trump except for his fans at this point.

Cheers

Oh yeah, it is Dallas Cowboys season

 

Every year I make a prediction on how their year is going to shake out. How well will they do, etc.?

And every year it gets more nauseating to think about another season.

I did not predict they would go far last year in the playoffs, yet I was actually hoping to be proven wrong. They didn’t fail my prediction, lost in the playoffs and didn’t make the NFC Championship much less the “big game” yet failed me as a fan. They appeared to be much better at the end of the year than I thought they would be, then for the umpteenth time since their last Super Bowl they fell short.

So how does a person or fan predict how they are going to do this year? It is just about impossible and with contract distractions all preseason, who knows how each player feels about the future. And I am including the players who don’t have contract negotiations going on because they have got to be looking at the front office (meaning Jerry Jones) and wondering what is the commitment to win. And that can lead to a why do I need to care attitude. If the owner isn’t showing commitment, why should the players, all of them in fact.

It is a bit scary to think this season could fall through a crevice and turn out real ugly. I do not want this to happen, but honestly I think it is a possibility. If the players have lost confidence in Jerry and there are no loud rumblings coming from Frisco right now, but it may only take a game or two for players to decide Jerry ain’t doing anything. And this is all feeling.

I am glad Lamb is signed, it does say something, but is it enough. Players have to feel their efforts are supported and that is by the front office paying the correct players, if those players are paid then the other players feel like ownership is committed to winning.

Also a problem that concerns me is how good is our offensive line or for that matter the defensive line. I did not see enough of preseason to present a strong opinion, yet the little I did see or hear about doesn’t leave me with a ton of confidence. The good news is I may have not seen enough. I am a big believer in the front lines on both sides of the ball really dictate a game and if you want success in the NFL your line better be good if not really good.

I still have confidence in the coaching staff so I believe if they can get some rhythm they still might make the playoffs. 

To me football boils down to the players, the coaching staff and the intangibles. If you have talented players across the board, you don’t always have to have the best at each position, but talent across the board you have a good chance. If all things being equal or close in player talent then the coaching staff matters immensely. A well thought out game plan with players who truly understand their position and role makes a huge difference. Finally you have the intangibles and this is where I worry the most. The Cowboys for many years since the last Championship have had the first two aspects mentioned above. And this is why they have failed to move past one or two playoff wins especially the last couple of years. They have come out flat at the first of games, seriously flat, no focus, no desire, and then try to recoup it throughout the game. You cannot enter a playoff game without enormous amounts of intensity, desire, energy etc…. the intangibles.. who wants it more and this has to be from the very first play. And is this the coaches or the players fault? I think both so until I see the intangibles come to fruition I worry each and every year about winning in the playoffs. There is a good chance the Cowboys will make the playoffs this year. And there is a good chance I am going to be throwing things at my TV in January. I am not sure I can continue watching this year over year.

Thank goodness I am old and have seen every NFL championship game the Cowboys have played including Green Bay in the 60’s. I would like to see some more, yet not quite sure if I will unless Jerry Jones retires, then maybe there will be hope.

Yet for this year I am going to go out on a limb and say the Cowboys will go 10-7 or maybe, maybe 11-6, make the playoffs and actually make it to the NFC Championship game. I do not think they will win it. I think McCarthy is smart enough to realize the Cowboys have to approach the playoffs completely different than the last few years and will push the team to be somewhat successful. They are going to struggle at times this year, but will win enough to get to the playoffs. And again I think they will win at least two playoff games.

So let’s see if I am proven wrong and have a TV in February.

Jerry makes me drink so Cheers!

Shock of shocks, podcast number 2 is live

 

Come listen to the second podcast for Dallasareaopinion as I slowly move into the 21^st century.

It is on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV2C7q4Fwxw

Cheers

Happy Labor Day and the irony of it

 

Well to those of you who are blessed with the day off I hope you are enjoying it.

Unfortunately due to the fact that the majority of our country works in the service industry they are working, yet some how or another Wall Street and executives have the day off.

So what gives? A bit of corporate greed, a bit of lack of family values, a bit of hypocrisy and so on.

I love to hear conservatives say they are for family values, yet all their policies go against it. It isn’t just Labor day, it is in general. People should be off to be with their families.

We struggle nowadays to be with our families and it isn’t just the so called political divide. This problem has been developing for decades. And it is worsened with so many people working in the service industry.

It wouldn’t hurt the world for people to be off, yes even people who work in convenience stores, grocery stores, gas stations etc. People can plan a day ahead for basic necessities or wants.

We need to get back together as families and spend time with each other and society needs to support this concept. Instead it is discouraged. People are required to work 60 hours or more a week. And before you worked 60 hours a week to “get ahead” or earn extra money for that family vacation. Now it is 60 hours a week to survive.

We all wonder what is going wrong with our country, yet the answers are staring us in the face, but we don’t want to go towards it. People are dragged away from their family early or they come from a dysfunctional family and do not know what it takes to have even basic family interaction. And this dysfunctional family is partly because as a society we do not encourage being with your family.

People always talk about “back in the day” and yes there were family problems back then, but people tried or some would. There was an understanding of the value of the family, not just for economic survival but for community and support.

I always say we shouldn’t legislate morality, yet we can create policies that support our families. And supporting family and main street over Wall Street would not be anti conservative policy. Wall Street shouldn’t be the primary driver of public policy. Our values should be and even without legislating morality. 

It would not hurt us to shut down all non-essential businesses for holidays. We did it during the pandemic, so why not a few times a year for the holidays already in place such as Labor Day, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter or even add a couple more if needed, but the vast populace should have the day off and then as a society we go back to encouraging people to be with their family and friends during this time. This is family value policy as much as anything else.

And even if we started doing this, it is going to take some time for people to regroup with their family since we have spent so much time splitting it up.

So this means talking to our young people about what is important. Let them know, computers, games, streaming are here, but so are your parents, your grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles etc. They may not always be here. And what happens when you grow old, who are you spending time with? Yourself? Maybe they may not want a family now, but do they want to completely ignore old age. We spend time encouraging people to save for retirement, but what about the time going to be spent in retirement. Who will you wake up next to, who will call you to talk, who will you meet at a restaurant for lunch?  These are valid questions to ask yourself even while you are young.

People do not want to hear this, but the Catholic Church was open today and had Mass. What other churches are open today so you can come and celebrate with your family? We need them to be open and people come together to celebrate even the small joys in life and to thank for what we have. Yet this is discouraged.

Again, there is so much talk about family values from Republicans, yet they spend more time propping up Wall Street and the one percent instead of focusing on what is truly important for this country. A company’s profits are nice, but they do not need to post record profits every quarter. Supporting the business climate above all isn’t conservative policy, that is just greed.

Our country is great because of the work people put into it and today we should let the worker be celebrated, not too much to ask if you really care about your workers, even the service industry workers.

Happy Labor Day,……. Sort of