tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26071447629481509312024-03-05T05:36:18.678-08:00Pension Vocabulary John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.comBlogger401125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-46813906279874076752020-12-12T12:57:00.000-08:002020-12-12T12:57:20.077-08:00WHEN THE HURLEY-BURLEY'S DONE...?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSzsMt4a9anGzzvVnPS9kpMCCaUHtbnu6nrUi5qu-m0dGDUdSnqsQT7vXuoCqXkRQJivPYA0EzjjHYngMMaW1CCbgoCQ-Eug3FSLRqYEncoQKGUvPS3nLdZI_CMvoG0mXwaMnKO8s2zj0/s267/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirSzsMt4a9anGzzvVnPS9kpMCCaUHtbnu6nrUi5qu-m0dGDUdSnqsQT7vXuoCqXkRQJivPYA0EzjjHYngMMaW1CCbgoCQ-Eug3FSLRqYEncoQKGUvPS3nLdZI_CMvoG0mXwaMnKO8s2zj0/s0/images.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">When the Hurley-Burley’s done…?</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: red;"><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Having served as journalist at </i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>The Washington Post</i></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> for over two decades, John Harris is a veteran political journalist and co-founder of Politico, the political news and opinion organization available on various newsfeeds. Harris and Jim Vanderhei founded Politico in 2007 and Harris served as editor-in-chief until 2019. Excerpts of his recent article below demonstrate a less emotional and hopefully more accurate prediction of what is to come – even if too slowly for many of us. </i></span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Donald Trump lost the presidency, but his opponents so far have not achieved the victory they want most: A fatal puncturing of the Trump movement, a repudiation so complete that it severs his astonishing grip on supporters and leaves him with no choice but to slink offstage and into the blurry past.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“For now, Trump dominates conversations about both present and future. His outlandish claims that he won the election except for comprehensive fraud have helped raise more than $200 million since Election Day. Many of his partisans share his dream of recapturing the presidency in 2024. For those who despise him, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream_Shall_Never_Die#:~:text=%22The%20Dream%20Shall%20Never%20Die%22%20was%20a%20speech%20delivered%20by,Square%20Garden%2C%20New%20York%20City.&text=It%20has%20been%20remembered%20by,speeches%20in%20modern%20American%20history."><span style="color: #0a7cc4; text-decoration: none;">to paraphrase a famous Democratic speech</span></a>, it seems clear the work goes on, the cause endures, the fear still lives, and the nightmare shall never die.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Except it will die — most likely with more speed and force than looks possible today.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“There are three primary reasons to be deeply skeptical that Trump’s moment of dominating his party and public consciousness will continue long after Jan. 20.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Most important are the abundant precedents suggesting Trump does not have another important act in national politics. The perception that Trump will remain relevant hinges on the possibility that he is a unique historical figure. Trump, however, is singular in one sense only: No politician of his stripe has ever achieved the presidency. In multiple other ways, he is a familiar American type, anticipated by such diverse figures as Joseph McCarthy, George Wallace, and Ross Perot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Like Trump, they all possessed flamboyant, self-dramatizing personas. They tapped into genuine popular grievance toward elites, and had ascendant moments in which they caused the system to quake and intimidated conventional politicians of both parties. In every case, their movements decayed rapidly. Cults of personality in American politics are quite common. But they never live long, and Trump has offered no reason to suppose he will be an exception.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“That’s the second reason Trump is not well-positioned to retain his hold on public attention: He has largely abandoned any pretense that he thinks about anything other than his personal resentments, or that he is trying to harness his movement to big ideas that will improve the lives of citizens. When he vaulted into presidential politics five years ago, Trump’s still-potent gifts — for channeling anger, for mockery, for conspiracy theory — were once channeled to an agenda that fellow Republicans were largely neglecting, over trade, immigration, globalization, and perceptions of national decline.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“These days, no one can follow Trump’s Twitter feed and believe that he cares more about the public’s problems than his own, and that is not a recipe for sustaining political power.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Here is the third reason to be bearish on Trump’s future: Politics never stands still, but Trump largely does. As he leaves the White House, Trump should be haunted by a stark reality — if he had any capacity for self-calibration, he wouldn’t be leaving the White House at all. He’s got one set of political tools. When things are going well, his instinct is to double down on those. When things are going poorly, his instinct is to double down on those. In political terms, the pandemic demanded modulation of Trump’s blame-casting brand of politics — but also would have lavishly rewarded him if he had done so.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Trump didn’t change because he didn’t perceive the need and couldn’t conceive of how to do so. That’s a combination of flawed judgment and impoverished imagination that hardly supports optimism about his ability to retain power in the new circumstances that await him once gone from the White House.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Time moves on. Ambitious Republicans who wish to regain control of the party and become president themselves do not have to confront and defeat Trump, as his 2016 rivals tried and failed to do. They merely have to transcend him, using issues to create leadership personas that will soon enough make the 74-year-old Trump look irrelevant, an artifact of an era that has passed. What about his 88-million Twitter followers, and the possibility that in his ex-presidency he will start his own news network? It is true that Trump will not lack for avenues to get his message out. But what will that message be, beyond repeating claims of a stolen election that his own attorney general has said are not true. Conspiracy theories, of course, can have power, even when the evidence is nil — that’s just proof of how deep and wide the conspiracy must go. But this isn’t a promising basis to return Trump to the White House or make him kingmaker."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 33pt;"><span style="color: red;"><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s so much more to savor reading by Mr. Harris’ article “Relax, A Trump Comeback In 2024 Is Not Going To Happen.” <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/10/trump-comeback-2024-not-happening-444135">https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/10/trump-comeback-2024-not-happening-444135</a> I hope you do and entertain a reason to hope that his longer view of our nation’s political history will once again repeat. </span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></span></p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-77825719780621249352020-12-05T17:16:00.002-08:002020-12-06T06:58:48.457-08:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYM9ZwpCt89CRf343r29j-lmiiVGlfxJF5yfBZZwglmU1CplPT6OqijPeyUn3D0FVy3PtKmvLbKpcS4Qsc1uKJO0C5kzogubB3P9K1wZO8hxLq_ceMH_Yka65D4tfdyuQp_YLPxC7nvH5g/s920/920x920.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYM9ZwpCt89CRf343r29j-lmiiVGlfxJF5yfBZZwglmU1CplPT6OqijPeyUn3D0FVy3PtKmvLbKpcS4Qsc1uKJO0C5kzogubB3P9K1wZO8hxLq_ceMH_Yka65D4tfdyuQp_YLPxC7nvH5g/s320/920x920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">TRUMP’S PARTING</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;"> </span><i style="color: red; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt;">QUID PRO QUO</i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The Republican Senate in November of 2017 approved the $1.5 Trillion Tax Relief Bill skewed to assist the wealthy and major corporations but not without an offer to repay some major part of the cost of debt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">That payment would involve a deal: the reassignment of public lands as well as Native American lands as leasable to private oil, gas, and energy companies just before the end of Trump’s first term in office. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Those lands, the “Coastal Plain” of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge represent nearly 8 percent of the 19 million acres of publicly owned land that is the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In addition, the Trump Tax Relief Bill also provided subsidies for oil and gas industries, cuts in federal investments for clean energy development, and the lessening of plans to control climate change. But there’s more: Trump’s administration has added to the $8 Billion gas and oil companies already receive in tax benefits as well as reducing royalty rates to be paid to the U.S government for use of lands, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The “coastal plain” is nearly 1.5 million acres, but it is also the environmental and biological heart of the ANWR, supplying life to the migrations of thousands of caribou, providing safe denning for hundreds of polar bears, protecting endangered avian species, and maintaining large salmon resources. And the home of indigenous peoples who depend on those resources for their culture and survival. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Trump started the process for selling oil rights in the coastal plains just after his election loss on November 17<sup>th</sup>. The procedure included a 30 day window for oil companies to confidentially tell the government which pieces of land they would like to include in a possible lease. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Like a car, it’s a lease that ends with an option to buy and own. Or, the companies can turn it back over to the Native Americans after they've “developed it (aka mutilated) beyond recognition. But, if profitable, the companies can purchase it and carry on.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Although distasteful, this is not really very new. Land reform deals where Roman patricians gained financially over plebes through swindles of acreage and the emperor over those same patricians reach back to 500 BC, but oil companies have been salivating over this opportunity in the coastal plain of ANWR for decades.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1k0KGRPXTeQFBxRM85zusqmY0okLM-zsDtSO7-hWzMg5D05a7iA_qe2AnqyOTiQIpNMH5LVRmBbXww3Vcw4_x9vUImykQ9uKiq34Qk19HzCa3GcO7SWrdaJH9auzEq1l2TRzxyiki9uCt/s624/5a7a311e2000002d00eae0a8.png.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1k0KGRPXTeQFBxRM85zusqmY0okLM-zsDtSO7-hWzMg5D05a7iA_qe2AnqyOTiQIpNMH5LVRmBbXww3Vcw4_x9vUImykQ9uKiq34Qk19HzCa3GcO7SWrdaJH9auzEq1l2TRzxyiki9uCt/s320/5a7a311e2000002d00eae0a8.png.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patterns of seismic blasting the '84 and '85.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Between 1984 and 1985, more than 20 oil companies found means and method to survey the lands under the coastal plains, leaving scars and pockmarks that lasted many years. Findings were unclear, but in 1986, Chevron and BP got the opportunity to spend $40 million and drill down 3 miles to find the answer, an answer no one is allowed to know. The well was called KIC-1. </span><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We’ll never know if there was oil or not – unless BP or Chevron (now Standard Oil) give away their position when bidding on a lease. Through the work of their hordes of lawyers and subsequent court filings, the two companies were able to muzzle the Alaskan Department of Natural Resources from releasing any of the two companies’ data. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">As for Alaska? A Republican state without income or sales taxes and dependent upon its 50% of all revenue from mandated lease sales, despite its effects upon its indigenous people? They can easily look the other way as the political process continues.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">If you were wondering what another four years of Trump might look like, this is just one small sample of what he would do and is doing to burn it down before leaving an office in shambles for the next President. President Biden may find his hands somewhat tied if Trump and his gang can get the leases finalized before he is forced to leave office on the 20<sup>th</sup> of January, but Biden does control the permitting process afterward and the future costs enough to make even BP or Chevron take pause. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Let's hope he does.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Resources: Center for American Progress and NRDC</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-78132943096878162882020-11-28T13:39:00.004-08:002020-11-29T13:24:20.136-08:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FSBHmdsGYaFozdJQol2dgZzm2OOcPV1hfonIfGNBL3O_-Rv2KTn4iYMQ1vzPalp_QXSxS1LG6SUVMCL8qjj5j999sOZVzNWxOU1NiI7z68BowthiQsEFr7e7-zFtuSbrb2xjQHdqv2zV/s2048/il_1588xN.2297674898_1qe7.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FSBHmdsGYaFozdJQol2dgZzm2OOcPV1hfonIfGNBL3O_-Rv2KTn4iYMQ1vzPalp_QXSxS1LG6SUVMCL8qjj5j999sOZVzNWxOU1NiI7z68BowthiQsEFr7e7-zFtuSbrb2xjQHdqv2zV/w208-h278/il_1588xN.2297674898_1qe7.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 18pt;">“HOPE IS A THING WITH FEATHERS – “</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>“Hope is the thing with feathers –</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>That perches in the soul – <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>And sings the tune without the words – <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>And never stops – at all - “</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Thank you, Emily Dickenson, who in hurried verse warns next of the many threats to that small bird, “that sings the tune.” I thought to write some screed today of the latest long-lasting attempts by Trump to wreak some more devastation upon the environment before January 20<sup>th</sup>. Alas, last Friday’s move to roll back the regulations protecting migratory birds, legal consequences which have stood in place since 1918, was too hard to swallow much less explain. Add to that the black record of what has been done to our climate and natural landscape in the last four years, well, let’s lock up those straight razors, friend. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>“And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard – <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>And sore must be the storm – <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>That could abash the little Bird <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>That kept so many warm – </b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">So, then, on to a diatribe about all the vultures flying into the state of Georgia to manage the scads of money being sent through the Republic National Committee and the Republican wanna-be Senators in their prostrate performances for cash on FOX News outlets. Calling Karl Rove, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, etc., being paid a king or queen’s ransom for consulting from purse money sent to the cult of Donald. That’s a clear staircase to cynicism and beyond. No thanks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>I’ve heard it in the chillest land – <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>And on the strangest Sea –<o:p></o:p></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>Yet – never – in Extremity,<o:p></o:p></b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><i><b>It asked a crumb – of me."</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">That brings us to Georgia and the runoff for Senate. Two seats and quite possibly an opportunity to take the possession of the Senate by the Democratic Party. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Democratic candidate Ralph Warnock is running against Republican Kelly Loeffler. Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff is campaigning against Republican David Perdue. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">So, just maybe, this time <b>Hope</b> is not enough. It’s time to pay the crumb.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The runoff is January 5<sup>th</sup>. Get involved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Willing to – <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Write Postcards, man phone banks, work phone banks directly with candidate offices, contribute directly to Ossoff or Warnock or the Georgia Senatorial Campaign Committee, or support ongoing efforts to increase the civic participation of underrepresented and underserved communities of color in Georgi and elsewhere? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Contact <a href="https://www.indivisiblechicago.com" target="_blank">Indivisible Chicago</a> now. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We are “in Extremity.” THANK YOU.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQlE0z70Isvt_f0XujlhzhsogA-yWbX3aKuuP9UKgP8QT2nkWIRo0ArNO9ny5bQ0a9JlKU5p5BCD7vU3pqecFn7waHF1UWSi4yKqFQtVGrme6LDEdDN4HM2j1v8HA4N5ZJctnGJeI68er/s963/IMG_4502.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="828" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQlE0z70Isvt_f0XujlhzhsogA-yWbX3aKuuP9UKgP8QT2nkWIRo0ArNO9ny5bQ0a9JlKU5p5BCD7vU3pqecFn7waHF1UWSi4yKqFQtVGrme6LDEdDN4HM2j1v8HA4N5ZJctnGJeI68er/s320/IMG_4502.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span> </span><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-20795545313936653282020-11-21T17:39:00.001-08:002020-11-21T17:42:12.998-08:00BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 22pt;">BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJX-7v7vKfN4csAIACK4OQS95SgbzJO4LXyzNs3jnL9b5OZDBEBdI7lAX_LQ1K1Lr2IG12-AF2oKCjzf6eFg6MtRsYy8pu4U7R8krlkMUHjDzmKR7Pa502FCVgqrFZ6CDJeTehVYm1nHK/s992/tulsa-01-as-ap-200620_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="992" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJX-7v7vKfN4csAIACK4OQS95SgbzJO4LXyzNs3jnL9b5OZDBEBdI7lAX_LQ1K1Lr2IG12-AF2oKCjzf6eFg6MtRsYy8pu4U7R8krlkMUHjDzmKR7Pa502FCVgqrFZ6CDJeTehVYm1nHK/s320/tulsa-01-as-ap-200620_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Back in 2016, a larger number of people I worked with admitted they were going to vote for Trump for two reasons: they detested the well-established power of Hillary Clinton AND they wanted to send someone to the Whitehouse who would destroy the status quo. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">They sure did.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Now in 2020, Clinton has disappeared in the rearview mirror, but Trump is about to pay all of us (even supporters) back for the electoral college loss. Not simply refusing to concede the election in order to soak them all once again for money to “fight” the inevitable, but also to lay the framework(s) for kneecapping Biden’s Administration for the next four years after January 20<sup>th</sup>. And, in so doing, likely loose economic havoc upon the nation if possible in order to show us just how sorely he will be missed after being fired. Always the Imperial Sulker. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This week, treasury Secretary Mnuchin began an unexpected battle with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell about how to handle the remnants of nearly $1.8 trillion provided by the Congress for the CARES Act, passed in March of 2020, to assist the businesses, markets, and working population suffering from the effects of the Covid pandemic. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPL8DKg1TRh6AHBDGDCjvRs0qsln1XeYhaK0CQW02sP1ungcKAaNNnMtVoWlj6udjbT9kzFjDG3SpNy0ZUPjVWiX6G_0apCFGR3IOHfXmuGIwU0b7HAMwFAcEkzMlbLI-h4mrcEoZ_cR9/s1486/90.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1486" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPL8DKg1TRh6AHBDGDCjvRs0qsln1XeYhaK0CQW02sP1ungcKAaNNnMtVoWlj6udjbT9kzFjDG3SpNy0ZUPjVWiX6G_0apCFGR3IOHfXmuGIwU0b7HAMwFAcEkzMlbLI-h4mrcEoZ_cR9/w200-h113/90.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Ignoring the current precipitous climb in Covid cases nationally as coldly as he ignores the lack of any actual plan to do anything by a Whitehouse which has not addressed or attended any Task Force meetings for two months, Mnuchin cites the economy’s “great shape” as reason enough to pull money back to the Congress that was earmarked for the Federal Reserve for use in playing lifeguard if economic conditions were to drown. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">You can read this later: <i>(Very <b>simply</b> put, the money in the CARES Act was given to the Federal Reserve to provide money to all of us in need as the pandemic wreaked destruction on our economy: cutting borrowing rates, maintaining lowered interest rates, actually purchasing massive amounts of securities to stabilize residential and commercial mortgage backed borrowing, providing safety backstops for to cover losses for money market funds hit hard by the initial responses to Covid, eased overnight lending for cash and short term requests to keep price stability, assistance to small businesses, relief for municipal and state governments, and many more.)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Riding the market’s high wave of Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccine announcements, Mnuchin, according to <b><a href="/private/var/folders/lf/m_g7hpr1371dm4kltd1kjsgr0000gn/T/com.apple.Safari/WebKitDropDestination-iLJUI7S5/Mnuchin Cites Principles in Clawing Back Fed Money. Democrats See Politics. - The New York Times.webloc" target="_blank">the New York Times</a></b>, “is taking away a source of economic support just as the new administration comes into office and as rising virus cases dog the recovery. By asking the Fed to return the money that enables the emergency efforts, he could make it harder for the Democrats to restart then at a larger scale or on more generous terms.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Get it? Things are probably to get worse with the Covid before they get better; the economy is therefore going to falter; and there will now not be any money left to help counter the problem. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="Mnuchin Cites Principles in Clawing Back Fed Money. Democrats See Politics. - The New York Times" target="_blank">One policy economist</a></span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> stated, “It is not just closing down the store for Biden; it’s burning down the store.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">On the other hand, “The Fed’s lawyers have interpreted the law to mean they can keep the programs running into 2021…”. But Mnuchin argues that the original CARES Act was written to end on December 31, 2020. Mitch McConnell, of course, agrees. And the money returned to the Secretary will not be recouped in loan repayments as it was originally intended. When returned to the Congress, it will instead be added to the deficit as Congress can use it to spend as they like. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">How many more reasons do we need to become involved in a Senate run-off in Georgia in January? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">According to the CDC, we’ve incurred nearly 200,000 new cases of Covid today. Those in need will see the end of their fiscal assistance on December 26<sup>th</sup>. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Trump and his cronies, realizing they will not win in the courts, are now in the process of assuring that the next incoming administration faces as many crises as they can manufacture – no matter how many people, friend or foe, are injured or killed. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Payback. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span> </p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-69765372679195735362020-11-14T13:21:00.004-08:002020-11-14T13:22:36.454-08:00TEN YEARS AFTERS<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFfmYilgBOOP9sc2x1cZuKNysuaGALyZxVhhLdajTL8M3fa7vkZ-lLtIDdsThkZ2JYGrWbXPJmrV-F2fmNukrW8HPVA049PBbcTAV4D9hrwDikeW31-JZX20AB2dOl2UkBoQhUWkP30KH/s1988/Alvin_Lee.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="1988" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFfmYilgBOOP9sc2x1cZuKNysuaGALyZxVhhLdajTL8M3fa7vkZ-lLtIDdsThkZ2JYGrWbXPJmrV-F2fmNukrW8HPVA049PBbcTAV4D9hrwDikeW31-JZX20AB2dOl2UkBoQhUWkP30KH/s320/Alvin_Lee.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 24pt;">Ten Years After…</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Apologies in advance. This post will wander all about, but in keeping with 2020 not much remains undistorted anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Ten days ago seems now much like Ten Years After. And an old rocker like myself fondly recalls Alvin Lee’s singing “I’d Love to Change the World.” And, honestly, I believe there are at least 78.5 million Americans who would agree with that idea right now…yesterday, in fact.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Of course, Trump refuses to accept the obvious outcome, just as his niece Mary Trump warned in her recent book and as Bill Maher has been finger-wagging for nearly four years. And, well, here we are.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNl9nmk6Xf9dRFt-7BdyjJvssxyGnqc65Cm8vVmJtfshP3ISRGlOTsybhcoU521jaVqRR7hCK2n5vb52NMby7c7TFJSFdlKT7dbuNOgklkOMYkIjb43DI8c2-8ttNDQwM_8ks_v2tgV7cB/s292/Unknown.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="292" height="119" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNl9nmk6Xf9dRFt-7BdyjJvssxyGnqc65Cm8vVmJtfshP3ISRGlOTsybhcoU521jaVqRR7hCK2n5vb52NMby7c7TFJSFdlKT7dbuNOgklkOMYkIjb43DI8c2-8ttNDQwM_8ks_v2tgV7cB/w200-h119/Unknown.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><br />But always the transactional narcissist and would-be dictator, Trump will not exit until he can feather his ample nest with more and more cash. And his quietly frightened cohorts in the Trump/Republican Party will not be any obstacle, nor will those who still occupy shady if credentialed positions in the GOP’s transition to whatever it stands for now. (Remember this last election cycle; the Party avoided identifying any platform whatsoever.) <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Newt Gingrich, for example.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I just received my call to action from Newt in my email. I always enjoyed reading the descent of the Republican Party into chaos and fawning for an Uberfuhrer, so I never did hit that “unsubscribe” part of their blasts. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Digression: When we taught together in high school, our language arts team often approached vocabulary as a student’s means to “play” with language while learning its power to generate a voice, a persona, a sense of emotion, and often an appreciation for persuasion – sometimes serious and sometimes ludicrous. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I’m afraid poor Newt would not have fared so well in any of our classes. I’ll provide the plea for cash for Don at the end of this post, but you’ll notice there is no ethos, pathos, or logos in the emotional request. Nothing playful or even interesting. Anger, loathing, and fear-mongering, in fact, is all that runs through it: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Friends: The Election is unlike anything we have ever witnessed. The systemic corruption is breathtaking. The mainstream media, the Left-wing academics, and the entrenched Democrats will all ask us to roll over right now. There is voter fraud in this Election that MUST be reported and uncovered.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">While it is true that the Election was unlike anything we have ever witnessed in the sheer numbers of people inspired to come to the polls – especially to rid ourselves of the current mistake – no one has found any systemic corruption, and judges are reprimanding the false claims of lawyers approaching the bench to find any for Trump. Pennsylvania’s prestigious law firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur has withdrawn representing a suit to claim miscounts in that state. Another firm in Arizona has done likewise. There’s so much here. Okay, maybe a positive for ludicrous…. In his closing sentence, Newt suggests an illogical and perhaps <b>alternative</b> reverse of cause and effect: “reported and uncovered.” Normally that phrase would be other way around, but this is 2020 and this is Newt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Or is it?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I think maybe, just maybe, Newt plagiarized this from Stephen Miller. Don’t you?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #4472c4;">Friend,<br /><br />It’s time for us to get MAD.<br /><br />This Election is unlike any we have ever witnessed. The systemic corruption is breathtaking. The mainstream media, the Left-wing academics, and the entrenched Democrats will all ask us to roll over right now. There is voter fraud in this Election that MUST be reported and uncovered.<br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8xslRBBOyTPW-eEZPRf2KooMjN_Er50KnK1d7-9f-Wt2MsdDuLDAvaOdD2Jz1Q6ZvGSlUzowmujUQE4Q52GlLazlVWtFoLYpimghUESXQYQGfu26ftnaIOwof0c_bhV13oi5QGfBBD9Y/s700/Official_Election_Defense_Fund_1605018342.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8xslRBBOyTPW-eEZPRf2KooMjN_Er50KnK1d7-9f-Wt2MsdDuLDAvaOdD2Jz1Q6ZvGSlUzowmujUQE4Q52GlLazlVWtFoLYpimghUESXQYQGfu26ftnaIOwof0c_bhV13oi5QGfBBD9Y/s320/Official_Election_Defense_Fund_1605018342.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: medium;">President Trump isn’t backing down - nor should he - but he needs YOUR help to keep going. He’s calling on a select group of his STRONGEST supporters, like YOU, to step up and bolster our critical Election Defense Fund.<br /><br />This is the moment that will decide everything - will you join President Trump and FIGHT for America’s future? <br /><br /><i>He’s even agreed to increase your impact by 1000% if you ACT NOW.</i><br /><br /> Thank you,<br /><br />Newt Gingrich</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">AND TRUMP'S GONNA MATCH YOU 1000%?<br /></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 12pt;">And now, “I’m Going Home.”</span></p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-51277117524718088032020-11-06T17:45:00.001-08:002020-11-06T17:45:14.258-08:00Short Thoughts on the Vote 11-6-2020<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoZ6Ke1syOxZ3-kVYREs5Td1sW7J1zBeutme-xuOi2siIBBziAwGnF4cGJMN_2MZC9g3MSGx5UH44wFRroT6Mgg1d2LF0qYoWBnWmH4GyCzIYzvA_4VWpDUT0yMhvRIDFgW3AeoMGW6hyphenhyphen/s850/united-states-constitution_850x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoZ6Ke1syOxZ3-kVYREs5Td1sW7J1zBeutme-xuOi2siIBBziAwGnF4cGJMN_2MZC9g3MSGx5UH44wFRroT6Mgg1d2LF0qYoWBnWmH4GyCzIYzvA_4VWpDUT0yMhvRIDFgW3AeoMGW6hyphenhyphen/s320/united-states-constitution_850x.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From John Pierpont (1785 – 1866)</span></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We all re-invent and undergo major self-renewals in our lives. Teaching poetry to young and active minds in my youth, I often asked students to seek the compressed multiple lessons in a single piece of poetry, no matter how compact. Our discussions unfolded not only the elements of poetic thought but our own positions as well. And each year brought a new and vibrant re-interpretation from the points of view of those who would live so much beyond my own lifetime. We all become strangers in our own land, but we also hold on collectively to what is good and noble. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This single poem by John Pierpont, a graduate of Yale, Unitarian minister, abolitionist, and would-be chaplain in the raging Civil War of the United States is certainly worth another careful look in these turbulent times:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">THE BALLOT<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">A weapon that comes down as still<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">As snowflakes fall upon the sod;<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">But executes a freeman’s will,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">As lightning does the will of God.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I wish you well and health as this terribly important lesson in Democracy runs its course. <o:p></o:p></span></p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-17421810811006529372020-10-29T19:12:00.009-07:002020-10-30T07:21:23.128-07:00YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE FEAR<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxhTzcl1zc7v6ujwSl6zgO9Mh4K917-fcK56MacnlG0Vhx4JLhcd-EibWV2awUh1HtzbsOUvFMa-eVthNSWqmYxd6ZLUm842tcQf5cNYQd2HUBL1BKZIVSzgUn5hDt9XKZPHKT_ykOsv5/s225/Unknown-1.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxhTzcl1zc7v6ujwSl6zgO9Mh4K917-fcK56MacnlG0Vhx4JLhcd-EibWV2awUh1HtzbsOUvFMa-eVthNSWqmYxd6ZLUm842tcQf5cNYQd2HUBL1BKZIVSzgUn5hDt9XKZPHKT_ykOsv5/s0/Unknown-1.jpeg" /></a></div><br /> <span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">HERE’S A SPOOKY OUTCOME THREE DAYS AFTER HALLOWEEN: </span><span face=""Copperplate Gothic Bold", sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;"><b>NO OUTCOME</b></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let’s face it. After the last four years and the exclamatory ending called Covid-19, we can’t imagine anything getting worse than what we have endured. Right?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sorry…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Blame it on the Founding Fathers, if you will, but if you’ve been wondering why 79 days exist between election day and the swearing in of the new Commander-in-Chief, it’s more than just organizing a vote in December by the Electoral College in case of an inappropriate and harmful choice by the country’s populace. That vestigial process didn’t work well last time, but what if there were <b>NO OUTCOME</b>. In other words, what if a tie in the popular vote too close to call and an actual tie in the Electoral College: 269 to 269 votes? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I know, not probable, but, still, possible. And after this year, well, why not?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMP0zT0AF1Sanfm88XcJ0B1UPmfmZZfutyrBo0F_opiu-E_Cs0IlgII1g1sKu-dnBmiM5vnDrl6ba_UFPeGd_dNv6Zb5VDAsqzcrr7dcyfzxy649a4Lq4cWb-KC2DxckWphx6iOzYp851/s276/Unknown-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMP0zT0AF1Sanfm88XcJ0B1UPmfmZZfutyrBo0F_opiu-E_Cs0IlgII1g1sKu-dnBmiM5vnDrl6ba_UFPeGd_dNv6Zb5VDAsqzcrr7dcyfzxy649a4Lq4cWb-KC2DxckWphx6iOzYp851/s0/Unknown-2.jpeg" /></a></div><br />And, believe it or not, the Founding Fathers and a later Amendment or two make that convoluted selection process of a new President and Vice President somewhat clear and slow-moving. And the process indicates just how dreadfully important each down ballot for Senator or Representative in each state will be. <b>“Vote like your life depends on it?”</b> <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While the polling may indicate a substantial lead for the Biden/Harris campaign right now, Biden campaign handlers warn that the election may be closer than anyone thinks; after all, they’ve seen a snake bite before. And Tom Edsall in the New York Times indicates that data shows in some key states Republicans are registering to vote in numbers far greater than Democrats<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Most of this nightmare emerges from an unsettling possibility reiterated by Elaine Kamarck in a review of the unlikely process for the Brookings Institute. Here’s what happens:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The Constitution is pretty clear on how this plays out. If there is no winner in the Electoral College, Article 2, Section 1, Clause 3 states that the decision goes to the House of Representatives while the Senate picks the vice president. But the voting in the House is different from the Senate. In the vote for vice president, each Senator has one vote. But in the House each state has only one vote for president—regardless of its size—and a presidential candidate needs 26 states to win.” Illinois has, for instance 18 Representatives in the U. S. Congress – 13 Democratic and 5 Republican (at this time). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“If the presidential race should end up in the House the outcome would depend on which party controls the state’s delegation. As it stands Republicans are in the majority, with control of 26<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">state delegations. <span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"> Democrats control 23 state delegations and one state, Pennsylvania, has a tied delegation: 9 Democrats and 9 Republicans.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>But the Congress is sworn in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;">before</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;">the Electoral College votes are read out in the Senate. In the case of a tie it will be the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;">next</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;"> </span></i></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;">Congress not the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><em><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;">current</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;"> </span></i></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;">Congress that votes on the presidency, and a handful of 2020 congressional elections could decide the presidential election.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWL4AiHMGpNPCYumOwmx916R3dS-piXt7j3qO_vfPnjYjjl1nwS7wWddOQvleN8CDfEAtyC8Yn2BaKKMRXkfO2rjsI59CHoR7YCaqCHNadVzI6Qr5texN8Xa82J_k7-6EOOpmYsbX-pRbc/s296/images-3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWL4AiHMGpNPCYumOwmx916R3dS-piXt7j3qO_vfPnjYjjl1nwS7wWddOQvleN8CDfEAtyC8Yn2BaKKMRXkfO2rjsI59CHoR7YCaqCHNadVzI6Qr5texN8Xa82J_k7-6EOOpmYsbX-pRbc/s0/images-3.jpeg" /></a></div><br />The next Congress? The battle that is taking place before us these last weeks and the next very few days. But is it really likely? Only in our recent lifetime has America had two elections where the winner of the popular vote did not become the President because of the Electoral College. And the danger in holding to an antique and obsolete notion of distrust for the people’s vote makes possible that this undermining of democratic processes could repeat again. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Need something to watch carefully Tuesday evening? Kamarck gives us several:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pennsylvania</span></b><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">: “Start with Pennsylvania, a state that is already getting outsized attention—it was very close in 2016 and looks to be close again. Since its congressional delegation is tied now, if Democrats hold their seats and win only one congressional seat they will control the delegation. According to the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cook Political Report<span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"> the most likely seat to flip is Pennsylvania’s 10</span><sup><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;">th</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;">Congressional District, located in the south central portion of Pennsylvania. The Republican incumbent Scott Perry is running against State Auditor General Eugene de Pasquale, a Democrat. The district has a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>PVI score<span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"> of +6 Republican, meaning that in recent elections it tends to vote for Republicans. But recent polling suggests a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>neck and neck race.”<span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Florida</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">: “<span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;">Next is Florida where the Republicans have a one-seat advantage over the Democrats. If one seat switches from Republican to Democrat, control of the Florida delegation moves to Democrats. Democrats have to hold all the seats they have and pick up one seat. Their best chance is Florida’s 15</span><sup><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;">th</span></sup><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;">Congressional District, northeast of Tampa. It’s an open seat currently occupied by Ross Spano, who was defeated in the Republican primary. In the general election race Democrat Alan Cohn, a former ABC News anchor, is running against Republican Scott Franklin, a Navy veteran and city commissioner. Like Pennsylvania’s 10</span><sup><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;">th</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;">Congressional District, Florida’s 15</span><sup><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #101010; padding: 0in;">th</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;">tends to be Republican. But Cohn is running<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>slightly behind Franklin and<span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010;"> within the margin of error.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A clear landslide on either side dampens any arguments moving the outcome toward this kind of scenario, although Trump will always be the wild card in the aftermath of dog whistle/electoral/judicial reviews of his outraged complaints. And if Trump says it could go on for a very long time? Well, he may be the last to have read the United States Constitution, but it’s a possibility: “</span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #101010; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What if the tied Electoral College race results in a tied race in the House of Representatives? The House keeps voting until someone gets 26 votes. If the House can’t elect a president by Inauguration Day, the person elected vice president by the Senate becomes the acting president until the House manages to select a president.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And the House must continue its voting until it finally the deadlock finally breaks…until the deadlock finally breaks. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So, grab your popcorn and handkerchief…or something decidedly stronger, and settle in for a long, long evening on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Wishing us all the best. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> <o:p></o:p></p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-24835247182441035512020-10-25T08:25:00.002-07:002020-10-25T08:32:30.215-07:00Herd Mentality<p> <b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Heterophemy</b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">(noun): The use of a word different from the one intended.</span></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:598560561;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:-1981512976 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1
{mso-list-id:989863222;
mso-list-template-ids:-1093377838;}
@list l1:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l1:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l1:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l1:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
-->
</style><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: red; font-size: 11pt;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4CGEE-v399DMpxEaldOs91rMBJI_g8oPYLUiOlKsC9n7sWhkFdXxHk7B_zSZapzj-dP1O32Yu3aTH2ZajC3fZaZ_8-SEVcZOY5_0ahrl353zPY5j9gBaZ0zEnvNbmACVC0pub82g4HzJ/s300/Unknown.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4CGEE-v399DMpxEaldOs91rMBJI_g8oPYLUiOlKsC9n7sWhkFdXxHk7B_zSZapzj-dP1O32Yu3aTH2ZajC3fZaZ_8-SEVcZOY5_0ahrl353zPY5j9gBaZ0zEnvNbmACVC0pub82g4HzJ/s0/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></i></div><i><br /><span style="color: #2b00fe;">“You’ll develop like a herd mentality,” Trump said, almost certainly meaning herd immunity. “It’s going to be, going to be herd-developed and that’s going to happen.”</span> <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/trump-covid-pandemic-will-go-away-due-to-herd-mentality.html" target="_blank">(Trump speaking at a Townhall: September 15, 2020) NY Magazine</a><o:p></o:p></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: 20pt;">Herd Mentality*<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/comprehensive-review-revolving-door-between-fox-and-trump-administration#currentfox" target="_blank">Two dozen or more people</a> have come to the Trump Administration from Fox Media or left the Trump Administration to join Fox Media. And many, who have never left Fox but remain as network employees, also currently act as advisors to the President who monitors their programs on television and speaks often with them by phone. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRt9xQo2jZymyi37cWeBdQdM1wApTAVREn5gYF7HOJBZhMi6X7fIsQ9GRANl0LfMFJrmV2quRhX94sBXRQx3h9owBkoMotcuTpcu-_HSnY_gPBaXzALxjTPqfLmiRO6U91YHEZo0bXQb1/s310/images.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRt9xQo2jZymyi37cWeBdQdM1wApTAVREn5gYF7HOJBZhMi6X7fIsQ9GRANl0LfMFJrmV2quRhX94sBXRQx3h9owBkoMotcuTpcu-_HSnY_gPBaXzALxjTPqfLmiRO6U91YHEZo0bXQb1/s0/images.jpeg" /></a></div><br />The latest added associate has been Dr. Scott Atlas who, having found a willing ear for a Hoover Institution senior fellow’s medically pedigreed endorsements of reopening schools, opening businesses, and ignoring aspects of careful social distancing as well as behaviors earlier advanced by Drs. Birx and Fauci, is finding a regular place on the dais with President Trump. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #0e2430; padding: 0in;">According to Media Bias/Fact Check: ”Overall, we rate (Stanford’s)Hoover Institution Right-Center biased based on economic positions that align with the conservative right, coupled with left-leaning libertarian social stances. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to a clean fact check record.”</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0e2430;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_8e1-27q2k" target="_blank">A YouTube Q & A</a> with Dr. Atlas and the head of the Hoover Institution at Stanford will give you a possibly clearer look at how his particular take on the economic policies and medical philosophies merge: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">As for the medical faculty at Stanford, the response to Dr. Atlas’ descriptions of needed policies in the White House left them with what they believed no choice but to respond – and strongly. On September 9, 2020, nearly 100 members of the medical faculty signed a published letter to criticize the proposals and involvement of Dr. Scott Atlas with the Trump Administration’s revised direction for addressing the pandemic. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUdJFgFD5edo0JNWoSwQ4MdH9nl_a65TBWNS3E9y7w_s-oojPZwcBGLA3Fq8ULU7k2T4EnbNjxv1LedG4oZljRu1Q8yTkf-3Ir2ET2bG-n1NdDrz-FqY2OXvpIPXnCJxqeJNXn9HnMRLC/s475/Unknown.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="106" data-original-width="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHUdJFgFD5edo0JNWoSwQ4MdH9nl_a65TBWNS3E9y7w_s-oojPZwcBGLA3Fq8ULU7k2T4EnbNjxv1LedG4oZljRu1Q8yTkf-3Ir2ET2bG-n1NdDrz-FqY2OXvpIPXnCJxqeJNXn9HnMRLC/s320/Unknown.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /></b><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></b><div><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">September 9, 2020</span></b><b><br /></b><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">As infectious diseases physicians and researchers, microbiologist and immunologists, epidemiologists and health policy leaders, we stand united in efforts to develop and promote science-based solutions that advance human health and prevent suffering from the coronavirus pandemic. In this pursuit, we share a commitment to a basic principle derived from the Hippocratic Oath: <i>Primum Non Nocere </i>(First, Do No Harm). <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">To prevent harm to the public’s health, we also have both a moral and an ethical responsibility to call attention to the falsehoods and misrepresentations of science recently fostered by Dr. Scott Atlas, a former Stanford Medical School colleague and current senior fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University. Many of his opinions and statements run counter to established science and, by doing so, undermine public-health authorities and the credible science that guides effective public health policy. The preponderance of data, accrued from around the world, currently supports each of the following statements: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> The use of face masks, social distancing, handwashing and hygiene have been shown to substantially reduce the spread of Covid-19. Crowded indoor spaces are settings that significantly increase the risk of community spread of SARS-CoV-2. <o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 frequently occurs from asymptomatic people, including children and young adults, to family members and others. Therefore, testing asymptomatic individuals, especially those with probable Covid-19 exposure is important to break the chain of ongoing transmission. <o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Children of all ages can be infected with SARS-CoV-2.While infection is less common in children than in adults, serious short-term and long-term consequences of Covid-19 are increasingly described in children and young people. <o:p></o:p></span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> The pandemic will be controlled when a large proportion of a population has developed immunity (referred to as herd immunity) and that the safest path to herd immunity is through deployment of rigorously evaluated, effective vaccines that have been approved by regulatory agencies. </span></b></li><li class="MsoNormal"><b style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">In contrast, encouraging herd immunity through unchecked community transmission is not a safe public health strategy. In fact, this approach would do the opposite, causing a significant increase in preventable cases, suffering and death, especially among vulnerable populations, such as older individuals and essential workers.</span></b></li></ul><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Commitment to science-based decision making is a fundamental obligation of public health policy. The rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the U.S., with consequent morbidity and mortality, are among the highest in the world. The policy response to this pandemic must reinforce the science, including that evidence-based prevention and the safe development, testing and delivery of efficacious therapies and preventive measures, including vaccines represent the safest path forward. Failure to follow the science – or deliberately misrepresenting the science – will lead to immense avoidable harm.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We believe that social and economic activity can reopen safely, if we follow policies that are consistent with science. In fact, the countries that have reopened businesses and schools safely are those that have implemented the science-based strategies outlined above.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">As Stanford faculty with expertise in infectious diseases, epidemiology and health policy, our signatures support this statement with the hope that our voices affirm scientific, medical and public health approaches that promote the safety of our communities and nation. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">98 Signatures followed.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Atlas took umbrage at the idea that he was espousing a pathway to herd immunity which would require the deaths of many more Americans than we are now witnessing. On the other hand, </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Atlas has denied advocating the benefits of herd immunity after </span><a href="https://radio.foxnews.com/2020/07/09/dr-scott-atlas-there-is-no-risk-to-children-from-covid-19-i-dont-know-why-people-deny-this/" target="_blank"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #144aa8; font-family: inherit, serif; padding: 0in;">telling Fox News in July</span></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif">, "These people getting the infection is not really a problem, and in fact, as we said months ago, when you isolate everyone, including all the healthy people, you're prolonging the problem because you’re preventing population immunity. Low-risk groups getting the infection is not a problem. In fact, it's a positive." <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_q2y4qONsraOudTV1T6tXaNUJ5eHT4JTMd-1Lc9qdPRGKbCL6a3JRTGDAGLuyuFrHv0YkwtnRnpr-V3o_6xmWBSlKxUwrRrnZNGex6DchUUojryXQTZ83HQm4Vt1CpGo1JvTGwY4TafbR/s744/Dr.-Atlas-details-the-57-page-vaccine-distribution-plan-which-was-sent-out-to-all-50-states-today_Moment2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="744" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_q2y4qONsraOudTV1T6tXaNUJ5eHT4JTMd-1Lc9qdPRGKbCL6a3JRTGDAGLuyuFrHv0YkwtnRnpr-V3o_6xmWBSlKxUwrRrnZNGex6DchUUojryXQTZ83HQm4Vt1CpGo1JvTGwY4TafbR/s320/Dr.-Atlas-details-the-57-page-vaccine-distribution-plan-which-was-sent-out-to-all-50-states-today_Moment2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Even as we in the Midwest witness surging numbers of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, Dr.Fauci and Dr. Birx have departed stage left, and enter Scott Atlas stage right to echo Trump’s message that we are turning the corner. <o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">In the interim, Dr. Atlas decided to fight back legally. Retaining a lawyer, Atlas’ legal advisor Kasowitz on September 16 of 2020 demanded <b>“ immediate press release withdrawing your letter and that you contact every media outlet worldwide that has reported on it to request an immediate correction” of the defaming letter or by September 18 we will take appropriate measures…”seek compensatory punitive damages for the harm you have caused.” <o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">It would appear that the medical staff at Stanford was not moved. The response came quickly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">September 23, 2020<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Dear Colleagues,<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We are a group of 105 doctors, scientists, and public health experts and faculty members at Stanford University who, on September 9pth, expressed our serious concerns about statements made by Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford and now an advisor to the White House Coronavirus Task Force. We believe that his statements and the advice he has been giving foster misunderstandings of established science and risks undermining critical public health efforts. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Today, we stand by our September 9<sup>th</sup> letter and reaffirm our concerns. In addition, we are deeply troubled by the legal threats that Dr. Atlas has made against us in an attempt to intimidate and silence us in the midst of a pandemic, as we speak out on important public health issues.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We stand together and we reiterate clearly and with great affirmation that public health policy must be guided by established scientific principles and not opinions, especially ones that could harm individuals and the health of our nation.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">And so it goes on. If Trump finds himself flustered or less adored than the individual standing next to him, he replaces them with one of the herd of sycophants and hangers-on from Fox Media. They’re faux economists, environmentalists, politicians, money-managers, not competent/caring humans. His bottomless ego is momentarily quieted until he tires of them. Or they gain favored status, and we will start over again – even as hundreds of thousands or more suffer needlessly. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202124;">“The dark and distant drumming<br />The pounding of the hooves<br />The silence of everything that moves<br />Late at night you'll see them<br />Decked out in shiny jewels<br />The coming of the caravan of fools.”</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></i></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></i></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Musical artist John Prine was one of 225 thousand Americans </span></i></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><b><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">who died of Covid this year.*<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p></div>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-59153195352242977202020-10-17T16:45:00.000-07:002020-10-17T16:45:03.365-07:00“DON’T EVER USE THE WORD SMART WITH ME…JOE”<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwonHKfTOQvhC5sjRqZ9LOJ3efF6L8Uwxh3xQ0g0xsgE16QVL3svCkk9Vu6DazIJKfquM8kSeDc-2KgsIC1yfYMUib5u2BTBQ4OmrKPXhveSy80fRtdXmYYZHtoUuohh71PAZjDDZ1Io3S/s300/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwonHKfTOQvhC5sjRqZ9LOJ3efF6L8Uwxh3xQ0g0xsgE16QVL3svCkk9Vu6DazIJKfquM8kSeDc-2KgsIC1yfYMUib5u2BTBQ4OmrKPXhveSy80fRtdXmYYZHtoUuohh71PAZjDDZ1Io3S/s0/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div><br /> <span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">“DON’T EVER USE THE WORD SMART WITH ME…JOE”</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In their first meeting, hardly a debate, presidential candidate Joe Biden touched an exposed nerve in Donald Trump’s thin skin which forced an eruption of projected anger. It was one of many outbursts and interruptions which left political pundits shaking their heads and feeling like student teachers on a grammar school recess yard. Did you repress it? You can find the angry retort on YouTube here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOsW3cj53FI" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOsW3cj53FI</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Chris Wallace was at a loss too, and he couldn’t restrain Trump’s anger at having his “stable genius” considered, much less questioned. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">My suggestion? <b>Make sure you bring it up again this week, Joe.</b> Watch him respond like Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz after being hit by a pail of water. “All my beautiful dreams…….”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And projected anger? “Joe, you said you went to Delaware State but you forgot the name of your college. You graduated the lowest or almost the lowest in your class. Don’t ever use the word smartest with me…”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">As for Trump’s self description, he graduated either number one or with honors from prestigious Wharton College. However, according to Jonathan Valania , in the City Life section of Philadelphia Magazine, a lot of mystery surrounding Trump’s self-described ascension into academic superlatives at Penn’s Wharton College are quite questionable. And his responses to those who question his intelligence, his immediate retort is anger and vehemence. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> <a href="https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/09/14/donald-trump-at-wharton-university-of-pennsylvania/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/09/14/donald-trump-at-wharton-university-of-pennsylvania/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPuaZTmZUGVbyx7PhZnECsUcb00O5ZzIDCtMpC68ARBT9g-X_2nmEV5YdTSdxm7NG92y_ObJ6ee-F3jpuySl72pyo2lfBdeitp0M6ApZ17cawKA-38tD-T-qeqxILUAlHrpu5BzL_hueQ/s955/trump-stable-genius-like-smart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="955" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPuaZTmZUGVbyx7PhZnECsUcb00O5ZzIDCtMpC68ARBT9g-X_2nmEV5YdTSdxm7NG92y_ObJ6ee-F3jpuySl72pyo2lfBdeitp0M6ApZ17cawKA-38tD-T-qeqxILUAlHrpu5BzL_hueQ/s320/trump-stable-genius-like-smart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />“Ahh, the college transcript. Trump famously graduated from Penn’s Wharton School in 1968 — a fact he reminds audiences of over and over again. (Per Penn’s student newspaper, the <a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2018/01/trump-penn-wharton-data-education-times-ivy-league-business-finance-philadelphia-campaign" style="color: #954f72;" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #d2232a; text-decoration: none;">Daily Pennsylvanian</span></i></a>, he publicly name-dropped Wharton 52 times between June 2015 and January 2018.) But despite all his humblebragging about that Wharton degree, Trump <b>has never allowed</b> his academic performance there to be made public.”<o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“’This was a major, major thing with Trump — that people might think he’s stupid,’” Michael Wolff told me around the time of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Siege</em>’s publication earlier this summer. “’The focus of that for Trump is the college transcripts, which are apparently terrible. I’ve spoken to friends of Trump from that time, and this was a guy that was obviously not interested in school and possibly never read a book in his life. For everyone that had known him then and years afterward, the assumption was that he had terrible grades, he was a lackluster student at best.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Remember also that family member and psychologist Mary Trump in her recent release of <b>Too Much and Never Enough</b> said that it was common knowledge that Donald had paid someone take the college entrance exams for him before entering Penn. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“In truth, Trump’s Wharton GPA is just one of many mysteries surrounding the 45th president’s relationship with Penn, Philadelphia’s most powerful private institution, which, unwittingly or not, helped unleash Trump on the world. Over the years, there have been rumors about how Trump might have gotten into Penn in the first place, and how much — or how little — he’s donated to the school as an alum.” <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqx3oMopa-dt-PqXtVmaoeiHlaLI7WEDYzalheHDDDva2B7_2hG31wP98c_H3chVM_Ryrmyk7SFqK4gVZvqLuwsp_-E8dAMfJg11sCMvQBSO11ADUv-ijrA9kBAp16_1lfBf4DtGdh8EW/s620/geniustoon01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWqx3oMopa-dt-PqXtVmaoeiHlaLI7WEDYzalheHDDDva2B7_2hG31wP98c_H3chVM_Ryrmyk7SFqK4gVZvqLuwsp_-E8dAMfJg11sCMvQBSO11ADUv-ijrA9kBAp16_1lfBf4DtGdh8EW/s320/geniustoon01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />“Perhaps the biggest reason for this shroud of mystery is Penn itself; the school’s sphinx-like reticence about its most famous alumnus plays at times like a silent scream. For instance, Penn has never had Trump deliver a commencement speech or conferred an honorary degree on him. In the wake of his election, Penn tour guides were discouraged from bringing up the T-word and issued simple instructions for handling questions about Trump’s tenure at Penn: Keep it short and sweet — “’Yes, he graduated from Wharton in 1968’” — and leave it at that. Tell Penn you’re writing an article about Donald Trump’s time there, and you’ll get the academic version of name, rank and serial number: “’Donald J. Trump earned a B.S. in real estate, which was awarded on May 20, 1968,’” says Ron Ozio, Penn’s director of media relations, declining my request for an interview. Which is peculiar, given that most universities make a lot of marketing hay out of an alumnus in the White House — and Trump is Penn’s first.<o:p></o:p><p></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“It’s rare for a professor to disparage the intelligence of a student, but according to attorney Frank DiPrima, who was close friends with professor William T. Kelley for 47 years, the prof made an exception for Donald Trump, at least in private. “’He must have told me that 100 times over the course of 30 years’,” says DiPrima, who has been practicing law since 1963 and has served as in-house counsel for entities including the Federal Trade Commission and Playboy Enterprises. “’I remember the inflection of his voice when he said it: ‘”Donald Trump was the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">dumbest goddamn</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>student I<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">ever</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>had!”’” <b>He would say that [Trump] came to Wharton thinking he already knew everything, that he was arrogant and he wasn’t there to learn</b>.” Kelley, who passed away in 2011 at age 94, taught marketing at Wharton for 31 years, retiring in 1982.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“This assertion (that Trump was number one in his class at Wharton) appeared in a fawning<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/28/archives/a-builder-looks-backand-moves-forward-builder-looks-back-but-moves.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #954f72; transition: all 0.2s ease;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #d2232a; text-decoration: none;">New York Times</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #d2232a; text-decoration: none;"> </span></span><span style="color: #d2232a;">profile</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of the Trump Organization published in 1973, the same year the Department of Justice sued Donald and his father Fred for housing discrimination for refusing to rent to people of color. Sample paragraph:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“Donald, who was graduated first in his class from the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, joined his father about five years ago. He has what his father calls “drive.” … “Donald is the smartest person I know,” he remarked admiringly.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“The claim was repeated in another doting profile of Trump in the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">New York Times</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in 1976. Noting that practically every article ever written about Trump in the wake of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Times</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>profiles parroted the “’first in his class’” claim, the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Times</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>finally corrected the record in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">yet another</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/08/magazine/the-expanding-empire-of-donald-trump.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #954f72; transition: all 0.2s ease;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #d2232a;">eye-roll-inducing profile</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>published in 1984 (“Spending a day with Donald Trump is like driving a Ferrari without the windshield. It’s exhilarating; he gets a few bugs in his teeth”), declaring that the notion that Trump finished first in his class at Wharton was contradicted by the university’s commencement program.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“The program for the commencement ceremony lists the names of students who graduated from Wharton with honors — cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude — and Donald Trump isn’t among them. Nor is his name included on the Dean’s List published in 1968 by the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">Daily Pennsylvanian</em>. Given that colleges and universities are prohibited by law from releasing transcripts to anyone other than the student in question, and that Trump has purportedly forbidden the school to do so, we’ll have to rely on proof by omission that Trump didn’t graduate with any academic distinction whatsoever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“Trump himself finally copped to this in a 1988<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="box-sizing: inherit;">New York</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>magazine story written by Julie Baumgold. “’Okay, maybe not ‘first,’ as myth has it,’” Baumgold wrote, “but he had ‘the highest grades possible.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> “As Trump admitted in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Art-Deal-Donald-J/dp/0399594493" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #954f72; transition: all 0.2s ease;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="color: #d2232a; text-decoration: none;">The Art of the Deal</span></em></a>, all he got out of Wharton was bragging rights: “’In my opinion, that degree doesn’t prove very much, but a lot of people I do business with take it very seriously, and it’s considered very prestigious. So all things considered, I’m glad I went to Wharton.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Joe, it’s not a chink in the armor, it’s an opening you should drive through every chance you get. Good luck this week. And go get him. </b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><span style="box-sizing: inherit;"></span>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-48600844999529742382020-10-13T09:37:00.000-07:002020-10-13T09:37:24.799-07:00What Does Pension Reform Have in Common with the Fair Tax Proposal? Nothing Really.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAC03ejkjqcS8YNmltUDuDtIL42S0BcHNos1Hv9Q12Yh67Bobwxpp1epl0Z0ZnOimrG6apUfbU4CvbFzQ57URjrVWaDlqhlq-p_05oeOVHAkEGzbnDxEysEockcprI0chaVKw4xPmzhKN/s270/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAC03ejkjqcS8YNmltUDuDtIL42S0BcHNos1Hv9Q12Yh67Bobwxpp1epl0Z0ZnOimrG6apUfbU4CvbFzQ57URjrVWaDlqhlq-p_05oeOVHAkEGzbnDxEysEockcprI0chaVKw4xPmzhKN/s0/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div><br /> <span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">UNDERSTANDING THAT A PENSION REFORM AMENDMENT WON’T WORK TO DO ANYTHING.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In Sunday’s, October 10, issue of the Tribune Editorial pages and conspicuously placed under the section “YOUR VOICE,” Illinois Policy Institute president Matt Paprocki led off with another argument against the Fair Tax Proposal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The Tribune turns to the IPI, which describes it as a non-partisan research organization, although on-line it is characterized as a libertarian group with strong ties to Bruce Rauner, bankrolling the Mark Janus anti-union case for the ex-governor all the way to the Supreme Court. Mr. Janus is now a senior fellow at the IPI.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">So, here they are again on my Sunday edition batting clean-up in the Trib’s ongoing effort to stop the Fair Tax Amendment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">One deflection that both the IPI and the newspaper engage in over and over is this: “We can say ‘no’ to this newest tax scheme and rescue Illinois by implementing practical structural reforms that would actually fix the problems” (Paprocki). “Instead of taxing…,we could implement pension reform through a constitutional amendment…”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">With the Tribune and IPI it’s pretty much always the same old falsehood: No matter how many attempts are made to correct the systemic fiscal shortages in Illinois, the culprit will always be the “pension problem” and the unacceptable cost of living rates for retired union members. Please note:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">THE ELIMINATION OF PUBLIC PENSION BENEFITS HAS ALREADY BEEN ACCOMPLISHED BY THE ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY THROUGH THE CREATION OF THREE CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEES AND CURTAILMENT OF THEIR FUTURE EARNED BENEFITS.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Unlike the Tribune or the Illinois Policy Institute, on May 8, 2015, the members of both political parties in Springfield understood the unanimous decision of the Illinois Supreme Court very clearly. And well they should have:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">“The concerns of the delegates who drafted article XIII, section 5, and the citizens who ratified it have proven to be well founded. Even with the protections of that provision, the General Assembly has repeatedly attempted to find ways to circumvent its clear and unambiguous prohibition against the diminishment or impairment of the benefits of membership in public retirement systems. Public Act 98-599 is merely the latest assault in this ongoing political battle against public pension rights (¶84, p25, Pension Reform Litigation, 2015 IL 118585).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The cost of living benefits provided to all <b>Tier One</b> public pension retirement systems in Illinois are thus safeguarded. On the other hand, heavy-handed, changes will affect the earnings of hires after January of 2011. Those hires are categorized as <b>Tier Two</b>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Tier Two annual annuity increases are NOT compounded. They are simple increases of a maximum of 3% or ½ of the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. Tier Two members are eligible for the annuity increase at age 67.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Tier Three (to be implemented) annuitants will be given an option to join Tier Two, and the annual increases are the same regardless.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Note: Inside each of these plans, revised descriptions of benefits become complicated, conditional, and decidedly less in every aspect. For all of us, retired or readers of the Chicago Tribune, let it be understood that for 9 years now, public sector union workers have been brought in under Tier Two. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">THE COST OF LIVING ISSUE IS DEAD TWICE. ONCE IN THE ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT AND AGAIN IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Paprocki’s and the Tribune’s longing to flog the public retirees in Illinois with a pension amendment proposal is just for entertainment, a libertarian blood sport. <b>It’s already been done. <o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b> </b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtl3x_lgXWpV5DOQs5WaFp69SUPldBL9rgiHi4ZWuiUV3yY17x5rWN0agdgF7EVi9dZZiB1VSNaeoEPBxAvAo6tfrRD8aFjNj2HQO0WLJ8e-6oUiQjO2Kg5bniywFhUc63Nv56lN73UUqX/s305/Unknown-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtl3x_lgXWpV5DOQs5WaFp69SUPldBL9rgiHi4ZWuiUV3yY17x5rWN0agdgF7EVi9dZZiB1VSNaeoEPBxAvAo6tfrRD8aFjNj2HQO0WLJ8e-6oUiQjO2Kg5bniywFhUc63Nv56lN73UUqX/s0/Unknown-1.jpeg" /></a></b></div><b><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-28242206491723033342020-10-12T18:41:00.000-07:002020-10-12T18:41:14.307-07:00From "Breadcrumbs" and written by Ida Wye on Facebook<p><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_krHvCrUZa_f4gqUwDIwj5vPW54RyU9O5ZKilpDCfGDaoDWDvbhbmxGQS0972xzcUkDmCJsSFSz1o_eV9dGgV0NVL8F6x05xk3ZZQvFaxD7pku2MHMYrws4ZBt_cvVgNFNdOf91WEnMQ/s898/bookcover28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="570" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR_krHvCrUZa_f4gqUwDIwj5vPW54RyU9O5ZKilpDCfGDaoDWDvbhbmxGQS0972xzcUkDmCJsSFSz1o_eV9dGgV0NVL8F6x05xk3ZZQvFaxD7pku2MHMYrws4ZBt_cvVgNFNdOf91WEnMQ/s320/bookcover28.jpg" /></a></b></span></div><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b><br />ARE WE THE MORIBUND IN A RUSSIAN NOVEL? BREAK THE CHAINS!</b></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 1.5pt; vertical-align: middle;"><b><span style="color: #616770; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 16pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Breadcrumbs-786100618178343/?hc_ref=ARQE-9tIS8773jeudE8VhDaY7xfw2VP2JJ2PADyLHyhv61SH1q3yDqr7r01rovv4_SY&fref=nf&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDY2PX8a4m4rtX-RbVtrX90f4nvh7wKfur80P1OO61BZt3FxaF5NERGNPhtgWBqftXXlwkK4H76DxI3YO6AdOPXRqCk4kHdiBL30RAtn_lxAtH0G0lltwVntKUO4qmnhrDY4ii2qsYzkp7u4-KANkxeYuDSKmr67m-BFUSSMcOUZUyBNbMumXN98I8-ElrsEbkzkuJQwTMsqG4BqoZRVdDrmUuc0P0HEkwqshtr6veqlu1arimm_QWgqQSnSgNy5Z8Ojj5HEN0dVP3FYSaD2P1YwHln2erdyNrGEwYloBgaJWE8ZwSu1BoyTJ4jxlBkcEZyk_MEXZRZcYHzbFJDGg&__tn__=kC-R"><span style="color: #385898;">Breadcrumbs</span></a></span></b><span style="color: #1c1e21; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="color: #90949c; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3276556222466091&id=786100618178343&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDY2PX8a4m4rtX-RbVtrX90f4nvh7wKfur80P1OO61BZt3FxaF5NERGNPhtgWBqftXXlwkK4H76DxI3YO6AdOPXRqCk4kHdiBL30RAtn_lxAtH0G0lltwVntKUO4qmnhrDY4ii2qsYzkp7u4-KANkxeYuDSKmr67m-BFUSSMcOUZUyBNbMumXN98I8-ElrsEbkzkuJQwTMsqG4BqoZRVdDrmUuc0P0HEkwqshtr6veqlu1arimm_QWgqQSnSgNy5Z8Ojj5HEN0dVP3FYSaD2P1YwHln2erdyNrGEwYloBgaJWE8ZwSu1BoyTJ4jxlBkcEZyk_MEXZRZcYHzbFJDGg&__tn__=-R"><span style="color: #616770; text-decoration: none;">September 16 at 3:35 PM</span></a></span><span style="color: #616770; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> · <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 4.5pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Author : Ida Wye <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“I’ve been wondering why this entire<br />country seems to be under a cloud of<br />constant misery.<br />Why we all seem to be Russians waiting in line for toilet paper, meat, Lysol.<br />Hoarding yeast and sourdough starter<br />“in case we can’t get bread”, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Buying stamps so that one of our most beloved institutions might survive.<br />Why we all look like we are in bad need<br />of a haircut, or a facial or a reason to dress up again and go somewhere.<br />Anywhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There is no art in this White House.<br />There is no literature or poetry in this<br />White House. No music.<br />No Kennedy Center award celebrations.<br />There are no pets in this White House.<br />No loyal man’s best friend. No Socks the family cat.<br />No kids science fairs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">No times when this president takes off his<br />blue suit-red tie uniform and becomes human, except when he puts on his white shirt- khaki pants uniform and hides from Americans to play golf.<br />There are no images of the first family<br />enjoying themselves together in a moment<br />of relaxation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">No Obamas on the beach in Hawaii<br />moments, or Bushes fishing in Kennebunkport, no Reagans on horseback, no Kennedys playing touch football on the Cape.<br />I was thinking the other day of the summer<br />when George H couldn’t catch a fish<br />and all the grandkids made signs and<br />counted the fish-less days.<br />And somehow, even if you didn’t even like GHB, you got caught up in the joy of a family that loved each other and had fun.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Where did that country go? Where did all<br />of the fun and joy and expressions of love and happiness go? We used to be a country that did the ice bucket challenge and raised millions for charity.<br />We used to have a president that calmed and soothed the nation instead dividing it.<br />And a First Lady that planted a garden<br />instead of ripping one out.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We are rudderless and joyless.<br />We have lost the cultural aspects of<br />society that make America great.<br />We have lost our mojo. Our fun, our happiness.<br />The cheering on of others.<br />The shared experiences of humanity that makes it all worth it.<br />The challenges AND the triumphs that we shared and celebrated.<br />The unique can-do spirit Americans<br />have always been known for.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We are lost.<br />We have lost so much<br />In so short a time.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 4.5pt 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">These last 4 years we have seen nothing but chaos, nasty tweets filled with lies , insults and hate . <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Apple Color Emoji";">📌📌</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Vote Blue in November <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/votebidenharris?__eep__=6&source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG&__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDY2PX8a4m4rtX-RbVtrX90f4nvh7wKfur80P1OO61BZt3FxaF5NERGNPhtgWBqftXXlwkK4H76DxI3YO6AdOPXRqCk4kHdiBL30RAtn_lxAtH0G0lltwVntKUO4qmnhrDY4ii2qsYzkp7u4-KANkxeYuDSKmr67m-BFUSSMcOUZUyBNbMumXN98I8-ElrsEbkzkuJQwTMsqG4BqoZRVdDrmUuc0P0HEkwqshtr6veqlu1arimm_QWgqQSnSgNy5Z8Ojj5HEN0dVP3FYSaD2P1YwHln2erdyNrGEwYloBgaJWE8ZwSu1BoyTJ4jxlBkcEZyk_MEXZRZcYHzbFJDGg&__tn__=%2ANK-R"><span style="color: #365899; text-decoration: none;">#</span><span style="color: #385898; text-decoration: none;">VoteBidenHarris</span></a> <br />Yes we can ! </span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "Apple Color Emoji";">👍</span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-60810225659874401702020-10-10T14:36:00.002-07:002020-10-10T14:41:05.221-07:00TAXING RETIREMENT INCOME HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ILLINOIS FAIR TAX PROPOSAL<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoCi2kLUCRpEljI3WIMvYhdmVNJRprIGNbjqXceVcWgTbeJ6xEi-n0FAIgr7uP21nMspwc2WUmIfVTEU6D95kSa0cxwI7gBuLwdNn-7I1y9eSWvb1KeF4oSfapaDEZ-qzLYUDn2626kb8/s300/Unknown-1.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoCi2kLUCRpEljI3WIMvYhdmVNJRprIGNbjqXceVcWgTbeJ6xEi-n0FAIgr7uP21nMspwc2WUmIfVTEU6D95kSa0cxwI7gBuLwdNn-7I1y9eSWvb1KeF4oSfapaDEZ-qzLYUDn2626kb8/s0/Unknown-1.jpeg" /></a></div><br />WHAT WILL YOU PAY WHEN THE FAIR TAX PASSES?</span> <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> On Friday, October 9, 2020, Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board provided an ambiguous and misleading title to his opinion piece: “Taxing certain retirement income would be a benefit of a graduated-rate tax.” </div><div><br /></div><div> Buried deeper in the piece, Eric Zorn reminds us : “…”but I have to admire the successful effort to get us all talking about an issue (taxing retirement income) that isn’t even remotely on the table.” This attach/attempt led by the ultra-conservative Illinois Policy Institute, which is currently leading a legal attempt to revise the state of Illinois’ mailed proposal for the referendum as being confusing for many Illinois citizens. In short, the arguments provided in the pamphlet do not provide enough emphases for the IPI in the “reasons against” section of the explanation. And, of course, one specious argument would include the thought that retirement income would be a part two of the passage of the referendum. </div><div><br /></div><div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4SpZ1pxL4SJr9HIv4LtMA12YvjErbx9-QcL1Evk-bgfUYwSuHps8VjtyVgqUyMVAVuDc1Dg-i1rLhdkoZUZz2dBOdNTIlOsCVBx89P7lRxMckew5c0u-qL6ThLORfS_z6nmtydUQobbJ/s300/images.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4SpZ1pxL4SJr9HIv4LtMA12YvjErbx9-QcL1Evk-bgfUYwSuHps8VjtyVgqUyMVAVuDc1Dg-i1rLhdkoZUZz2dBOdNTIlOsCVBx89P7lRxMckew5c0u-qL6ThLORfS_z6nmtydUQobbJ/s0/images.png" /></a></div><br />Mr. Zorn recalls having debated the IPI’s Austin Berg about the merits of the referendum to pass a Fair Tax in Illinois. And he reminds his reader that thus far Pritzker has “emphatically refused to put retirement income taxes on the table.” </div><div><br /></div><div> But then, things become muddy. Just the lack of clarity that social media loves to swim in. </div><div><br /></div><div> At first, Eric Zorn in his closing paragraphs seems to endorse the greater need for a graduated tax system for Illinois: “And the devious effort to distract us with talk of retirement income takes our eyes off the real question: Which system of taxation will best protect those toward the bottom of the income scale as we close our massive budget gap?” That’s a seriously good question. </div><div><br /></div><div> Then, in a confusing 180-degree turnabout, Zorn embraces the two positions – one actual and one “not remotely any part of the question” – as the best alternative. “And it distracts us from the right answer: A graduated tax system that includes retirement income.” </div><div><br /></div><div> So much for clarity. </div><div><br /></div><div> Maybe one step at a time? </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;">Remember: only those earning more than $250,00 will see an increase in their income tax. For 97% of taxpayers, taxes will remain the same or go down; only the top 3% will see their taxes go up.
To</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;">find out what your tax would be, go to the Fair Tax Calculator:</b></div></div><div>https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/gov/fairtax/Pages/default.aspx </div><div><br /></div><div> Yogi Berra once said: “You gotta be careful if you don’t know where you’re going because you might not get there.” </div><div><br /></div><div><b> Let’s concentrate on the Fair Tax.
</b></div>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-48154796557713516392020-10-07T16:33:00.002-07:002020-10-07T17:46:29.837-07:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZpGB_FvC1gmkg3ltnISqGUCwLFNPFR92rjAkoklS6YtOA6AyXdB1ARNRW3CHk3pXd7xB_o69LmdVHy2K_nzJk1r7TPxnOAOAdMJXeX9FItuUw-jmJZVCVqM9hqH7FItoDxVKLZabH9CE/s304/images-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZpGB_FvC1gmkg3ltnISqGUCwLFNPFR92rjAkoklS6YtOA6AyXdB1ARNRW3CHk3pXd7xB_o69LmdVHy2K_nzJk1r7TPxnOAOAdMJXeX9FItuUw-jmJZVCVqM9hqH7FItoDxVKLZabH9CE/s0/images-1.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">LAST MINUTE THOUGHTS ON THE GRADUATED TAX IN ILLINOIS</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When I fire up the laptop in the morning, I usually see any number of new messages on our local community chat-board. “Looking for a good hairdresser.” “Anyone know a cheap roofer?” “What were all the sirens about last night?” Now, though, it’s not unlikely to find a daily wave of misinformation about the progressive tax proposal coming this election for Illinois. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>“If you vote for (it), all our taxes will be raised immediately.”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>“Your pensions will be either taken away or reduced!”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>“You can’t trust our politicians, especially not to raise our taxes at will if we pass (it).”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">As a public teacher pensioner, I can empathize with that last concern - IF I had not witnessed the crash and burn of Michael Madigan’s, Lisa Madigan’s, and Pat Quinn’s failed attempts to override the Pension Protection Clause of the Illinois Constitution in 2015.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>Taxes will be raised immediately?<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The General Assembly has always had the power and ability to raise and lower taxes as they felt necessary. The Progressive Tax Amendment is an attempt to stave off that likelihood given the loss of revenue during the current Covid crisis. Think of it this way: NO Progressive Tax; more necessary increase in taxes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>Pensions taken away?<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Well, if you’re in a private pension situation, the future fiscal solvency of your company or union will determine that, not the politicians. As for public pensions, the unanimous decision of the Illinois Supreme Court on May 15, 2015, clearly prevents that for all members of Tier One. Lisa Madigan’s argument for police powers in an emergency was dismissed, and the jurists of the ILSC also reminded those who would attack the pension system that the state of Illinois had never (still does not) make the necessary actuarial payments to support the pension system. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">You can’t trust politicians…”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Of course, you can’t. I know from personal experience. But when Illinois, one of about eight states that still utilize a flat tax system, faces a systemic revenue shortage, they have in the past only one way to go: <b>INCREASE PROPERTY TAXES</b>. Oh, did I mention that my local chat board is also decorated with a hundred people complaining they’re leaving because the property taxes are so high as compared to Indiana? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMIElnSen-A6XkIHSkCoNM0Dna2BmZgguLuj3e1d4ulYK8W-RcczcURT66NqJp3NmhTn9FnPa2zagpNwqA0BNDVHCllJuDlpZH2XGknACHK1en8Gq97allLl0l-cV6oPgVi9VU2hR-Nhx/s244/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMIElnSen-A6XkIHSkCoNM0Dna2BmZgguLuj3e1d4ulYK8W-RcczcURT66NqJp3NmhTn9FnPa2zagpNwqA0BNDVHCllJuDlpZH2XGknACHK1en8Gq97allLl0l-cV6oPgVi9VU2hR-Nhx/s0/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ken Griffin Citadel Investments<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />So why is Ken Griffin, who is spending over $50 million in advertising so keen to get us chatters to vote NO on the Amendment? Like many of those who are morbidly wealthy, Ken does not mind spending 1/20,000,000 of his billion to stop a fairer tax to help all of us. Put it on all of them, says, Ken, not me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Right now, Ken pays 4.95% like all of us. ALL of us. As of 2016, the poorest 20 percent of families in Illinois pay an average of almost 15% of their income on state and local taxes. Meanwhile the wealthiest one percent pay just above 7 % (CBTA). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">97% of all of us will pay the same or less than we ay currently. Only those making $250,000 or more – or those small businesses making profits of $250,000 or more – will pay more. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">It’s the first item on the ballot, so make sure you vote on it. If you ignore it, it will count as a NO. Remember, Ken Griffin is throwing one twenty-millionth of his money to stop you from voting YES:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b> VOTE YES ON THE PROGRESSIVE TAX. <o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bKR9B2hpTw08dfCXWWw1gUd-FL5h5jfo8Uymla5rI7QfzwXQ5CXYB70q-BrsE6lvCwGtJYE3uqFD_eBQaZFpT0PALV8f8RBXQMR0H8-y7_YPeuFfmsWBtPcSXqGihC7FEz28N_ZZFGlZ/s1000/poverty-news-cartoon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1000" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bKR9B2hpTw08dfCXWWw1gUd-FL5h5jfo8Uymla5rI7QfzwXQ5CXYB70q-BrsE6lvCwGtJYE3uqFD_eBQaZFpT0PALV8f8RBXQMR0H8-y7_YPeuFfmsWBtPcSXqGihC7FEz28N_ZZFGlZ/w455-h368/poverty-news-cartoon1.jpg" width="455" /></span></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><br /></b></p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-47205891012559810772020-09-24T16:37:00.003-07:002020-09-24T16:43:39.989-07:00<p> </p><p><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">MY WEALTHY FRIEND DOES NOT UNDERSTAND A GRADUATED TAX. DO YOU?</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This UPCOMING voting season affects me most – psychologically,”</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> my wealthy friend Ernesto uttered between sips of cognac the other evening. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzc44RHbBjMSt3ywPgfKlnbmybQG_4g2JATDY5P1plyKkTTaIcLMXhy5TpvzGeODbZrlbfdghLeE6dRhaUadaIea4iCQuHCdmvhVPuXR2uwrt_gTZ8RnBLl0-lakiWHV5DyhBVdMXJ3iBv/s294/Unknown-1.jpeg" style="clear: right; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“It has been a brutally rainless summer, Ernesto,” I offered hopefully, “but the end is coming with each day’s decreasing sunlight.”</span></b></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzc44RHbBjMSt3ywPgfKlnbmybQG_4g2JATDY5P1plyKkTTaIcLMXhy5TpvzGeODbZrlbfdghLeE6dRhaUadaIea4iCQuHCdmvhVPuXR2uwrt_gTZ8RnBLl0-lakiWHV5DyhBVdMXJ3iBv/s294/Unknown-1.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="171" data-original-width="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzc44RHbBjMSt3ywPgfKlnbmybQG_4g2JATDY5P1plyKkTTaIcLMXhy5TpvzGeODbZrlbfdghLeE6dRhaUadaIea4iCQuHCdmvhVPuXR2uwrt_gTZ8RnBLl0-lakiWHV5DyhBVdMXJ3iBv/s0/Unknown-1.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzc44RHbBjMSt3ywPgfKlnbmybQG_4g2JATDY5P1plyKkTTaIcLMXhy5TpvzGeODbZrlbfdghLeE6dRhaUadaIea4iCQuHCdmvhVPuXR2uwrt_gTZ8RnBLl0-lakiWHV5DyhBVdMXJ3iBv/s294/Unknown-1.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“I am talking taxes, my friend,”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> Ernesto responded, glowering. <i>“I am imprisoned by your government’s exasperating 33% income tax. And, I suppose, you are now part of that progressive rabble that wishes the same - a graduated income tax in Illinois?”</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Goodness, Ernesto. Thirty-three percent indicates a significant income. I am happy for your success. May I ask what portion of your income is subject to this rate?”</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Why, all of it…just as you and your union bosses would wish in Illinois.”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Actually, Ernesto, if Illinois were ever to move to a “Fair” tax system, one you would call progressive or graduated, the increases in taxation would occur as they do on the federal level – at thresholds or gradients. In other words, Ernesto, if you achieve $3000 above the threshold for 33% taxation (which is $226,850), you pay 33% on that $3000, not your entire earnings.</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“In fact, Ernesto, you pay your federal tax like everyone else for all of our services for each of the thresholds as you move through them, my friend. That means you pay only 10% on your first $18,000, 15% on your next $56,000, 25% on your next $75,000, and so on. You don’t fall into a category where you pay 33% for all of your earnings. That’s why I use the term gradient tax system (or fair tax) rather than graduated when I talk about it. “ </span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“You don’t know my pain…”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> “In truth, Ernesto, you pay the same percentage tax as me until you move well beyond me…and then you pay extra for only those amounts above our joint threshold.” </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“I see. Don’t you have anything better than Hennessey? Paul Ferrand or Skye?”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Sorry, no. And that is how a fair tax would work in Illinois, Ernesto. We, both of us, would be taxed at higher levels for the amounts we earned above thresholds of income, not for all of it.”</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Ahhh, my friend. But you’re still stealing from me for being successful, are you not?”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Well, not actually, Ernesto. In truth, you and I might actually be stealing from the greater population in Illinois who pay more dearly for their services – education, protection, healthcare, roads and transportation – than we ever will. And, if we’re not stealing, we’re certainly getting a better deal for it all.”</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Ridiculous.”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2SVnU_WIR3DUyZPpMyEHfeEO_15gmF7buDuMggWRSHA3tQObnRjG2ywXUXne5NHKQ7TAODglCYhFPSuGvmnroZrtXB22WP82aeR4WQSFfNsWHdgWcClMFaHVHHLzdNMneDDcV8zBWAFt/s300/images.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2SVnU_WIR3DUyZPpMyEHfeEO_15gmF7buDuMggWRSHA3tQObnRjG2ywXUXne5NHKQ7TAODglCYhFPSuGvmnroZrtXB22WP82aeR4WQSFfNsWHdgWcClMFaHVHHLzdNMneDDcV8zBWAFt/s0/images.jpeg" /></a></b></div><b><br />“Not so, Ernesto. The average earner in Illinois pulls in $47,485 annually. At 33%, I know that you pull in much more, and I’d venture nearly ten times that amount. Nevertheless and without denial, let’s review our numbers. Suppose Mr. Average needs a new car for his family and purchases a solid sedan at $25,000. I see by your scowl that such a concept is impossible. Will you accept $40,000? “ </b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Only if I have to…”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">The taxes on this family’s precious purchase will be several – New Vehicle Tax, Cook County Home Rule Tax, Cook County Sales Tax, possible Chicago Home Rule Tax…and others. Those taxes, Ernesto will run to nearly $3,000 – or almost 7% of the earner’s annual salary. “ </span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“And…?”</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“For an income earner like you? A mere .6% of your salary. Ernesto, you would need to purchase at least ten of these vehicles to begin to feel that same impact on your income. That is something, I might add, you would not and never need do. But it does illustrate a significant difference in our relationship with tax requirements, doesn’t it? We get away with a lot, my friend.</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">“Add to your and my advantages the costs of milk, gasoline, clothing. Costs of living and taxes for these average workers, Ernesto, drain huge portions of their ability to live, and we are not talking disposable income. </span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> “Indeed, what you and I pay for the protection of police and fire, for our schools, for transportation, health services, and other benefits is a steal, Ernesto. Don’t we owe it to make it more even?”</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">Silence</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxf5L4DvWxlipjw4QjeNnhRkKHW2AMhjcAtXZ5UEaqQUL-SnzDGdfruaFkw9HKlmB0K2qcw8z8zpQ0SrczzTk6iwKRO1b9MD09Upj_GCEMTxuu2RQ6KhosQLcSs23mp4t9DX1owPwm5dQ/s310/Unknown.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPxf5L4DvWxlipjw4QjeNnhRkKHW2AMhjcAtXZ5UEaqQUL-SnzDGdfruaFkw9HKlmB0K2qcw8z8zpQ0SrczzTk6iwKRO1b9MD09Upj_GCEMTxuu2RQ6KhosQLcSs23mp4t9DX1owPwm5dQ/s0/Unknown.png" /></a></div><br />Note to self: Purchase Paul Ferrand for next get-together. <b>AND VOTE FOR THE FAIR TAX AMENDMENT!</b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-37460265972651211852019-08-31T17:05:00.003-07:002019-08-31T17:05:40.856-07:00Happy Labor Day! 2019<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 28pt;">Happy Labor Day in Illinois 2019<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">My Latin American friend Ernesto swung his new hybrid Escalade into the driveway the other morning and once again shook his head disapprovingly at my sign in the front yard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HhQagiH9jG0U2jOcV2ZCFy91XM_VA0UmWFvVEH2HRcazC5zj1xfNzgt-7GX7AVS0_o84hDcvgyD-iBrB4exoseDXQ11bRQv3XoeXv4DeJmugmDzLIujqfDChLvaO2dH_dmUimLCkyUu7/s1600/7f6d977f1a375947e143cfb92af84b35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1191" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HhQagiH9jG0U2jOcV2ZCFy91XM_VA0UmWFvVEH2HRcazC5zj1xfNzgt-7GX7AVS0_o84hDcvgyD-iBrB4exoseDXQ11bRQv3XoeXv4DeJmugmDzLIujqfDChLvaO2dH_dmUimLCkyUu7/s320/7f6d977f1a375947e143cfb92af84b35.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">“What is this doing here in open display, my friend? It makes you both look so…so...very low class.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">Ernesto was chastising my wife and me for keeping a red, white, and blue sign that displayed “Proud Union Home” in front of our house. Ernesto does not live in an area where such signs would be tolerated, nor would anyone ever likely see one. There are codes to follow in Ernesto’s gated compounds, and there are the unspoken taboos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">You might remember Ernesto from several posts ago, when he disciplined me on the wrongness of contracts and the rightness of possible Illinois governors:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<a href="http://pension-vocabulary.blogspot.com/2013/06/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x.html" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">http://pension-vocabulary.blogspot.com/2013/06/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x.html</span></a><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">This Monday, on Labor Day, Ernesto will celebrate with his family and friends, but it is very likely he will <b>NOT</b>celebrate Labor Day. Not in the traditional or even the authentic sense. Like the Chicago Tribune, which commemorated Labor Day a couple of years ago with praiseful editorials about the benefits of work for the soul and spirit, most of Ernesto’s people will avoid the real history. Ignore the real significance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">And the Tribune will pay some lip service to the qualities of work and a day off for workers, and it wouldn’t be unlike the editorial board to make a passing neutral reference to the JANUS decision. But Collective Bargaining? Public pensions? Health Benefits? Equal Pay? Contracts as promises? Workplace Safety? Costs of living? Not likely. Not with any fondness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">According to the United States Department of Labor, “the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country” (</span><a href="http://www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif;">http://www.dol.gov/laborday/history.htm</span></a><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">I think it’s always rewarding and refreshing for Ernesto to visit my “side” of town – not for Ernesto, but for myself. I learn a lot more…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">The origins of Labor Day are obscured by the variety of movements at state levels to recognize the good work of all of us, and eventually those sentiments coalesced into a federal observation of a holiday. Even as early as 1885, various municipal ordinances were being written to celebrate workers’ contributions. Oregon was actually the first state to pass a law of such recognition in 1887; however, by 1894 nearly two dozen other states had adopted similar laws recognizing a day to honor workers. By 1909, the Sunday before the Labor Day Monday was reserved nationally as Labor Sunday, dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQhoib4SfuGsfEytDwq8eXLdY2EaJhkgFripQDEp2emF6wuZujBHS-necsf6YxTvXFx-TxhyphenhyphenGxuy4NyVfrCj1tuOLMim68yP-c8AUEic4eaDGda76MSPjTjcaumgY9iGvGqgmXWwBx9Kr/s1600/8-hours.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1536" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQhoib4SfuGsfEytDwq8eXLdY2EaJhkgFripQDEp2emF6wuZujBHS-necsf6YxTvXFx-TxhyphenhyphenGxuy4NyVfrCj1tuOLMim68yP-c8AUEic4eaDGda76MSPjTjcaumgY9iGvGqgmXWwBx9Kr/s400/8-hours.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">Many argue about the actual individual responsible for the first Labor Day observance, but make no mistake about it: it was a union member or union official. Some consider one Matthew McGuire the founder of the holiday across the river in New Jersey, while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Matthew was a machinist and member of Local 244 (International Assoc. of Machinists).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">Others ascribe the incentive for the holiday to a Peter McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and later co-founder of the American Federation of Labor. I favor Peter only because of his supposed words defending such a holiday to honor all those <b>“who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.” <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">Ernesto couldn’t have said it better. Actually, Ernesto would never have said it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">The first proposals of the holiday outlined a basic form for the observance and celebration, and remnants of that festivity are still observed in many towns and villages. Parades were considered the first order of business, followed by drinking and barbecues. Children danced their last moments of summer freedom, and neighbors gathered to share a respite from the hard work of building a nation, day-by-day and brick-by-brick. Of course, it was also a jamboree tailor-made for lengthy speeches by politicians seeking labor’s backing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Cambria, serif;">Still is. Have a wonderful celebration of Labor Day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-29133432762521749592019-06-18T06:33:00.001-07:002019-06-18T06:33:28.800-07:00What is Juneteenth Day?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0d8vVcMaPQYPdsAGC8ut5tn_GFup5kS2dYY9thgjG-72ndpj0ifPEU8LiM2NV5lt4lJ_sr-xw_E5cbLVUw1BVbvHHL7iEB57SKWLa8K_Ge-sex37fJ9T3aLTeUtRtvDCvypgoVoCTJCf/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0d8vVcMaPQYPdsAGC8ut5tn_GFup5kS2dYY9thgjG-72ndpj0ifPEU8LiM2NV5lt4lJ_sr-xw_E5cbLVUw1BVbvHHL7iEB57SKWLa8K_Ge-sex37fJ9T3aLTeUtRtvDCvypgoVoCTJCf/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #c0504d; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt;">Wednesday, June 19<sup>th</sup> is the 154<sup>th</sup> Juneteenth Independence Day </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">The date celebrates the June 19, 1865, announcement of the loss of the Civil War and the abolition of all slaves in the state of Texas. This was two and a half years after Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1<sup>st</sup>. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">In Chicago, many events were held on the previous weekend, and a number of concerts will be held in Hillside and the city. Customary celebrations, like those held in Texas in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s provided an opportunity for simple freedoms like singing, dancing, and readings from worshipped artists.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Why June 19<sup>th</sup>? It was on that date in 1865 that Union soldiers under the command of General Granger finally washed ashore in Galveston to inform the Texans of what had transpired. By and large, Texas and its citizens were not impressed. The limited size of the Union force and the increased numbers of slave-holders fleeing southern states to Texas as the war ravaged their plantations made for little response or acceptance of the news.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Other stories and conspiracy theories, most likely apocryphal, surfaced as reasons for the delay in the announcement for over two years after the President’s Proclamation. The soldier sent to carry the news to Texas was murdered by those who wanted to prevent such information from reaching the fields. Plantation owners kept the information from their work force to maintain order and production. The Union soldiers were complicit in keeping the information from slaves to assure cotton crops were picked before freedom.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5AAb8sAv4vREolBcpS58Tqt7_F_wyIR6CWr9Sfc2MtiXJ5DVOB_lG-n_q0EeQkb86TQpqtXl4Jk6sQDliMje12ykevhet9my4po2kcnBNmy3EddrDo-Y6Z-aDK-iADp4XgKj1CbsNwOZ/s1600/3ad72fddac969e56f575cbc8e4cd97aa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="418" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD5AAb8sAv4vREolBcpS58Tqt7_F_wyIR6CWr9Sfc2MtiXJ5DVOB_lG-n_q0EeQkb86TQpqtXl4Jk6sQDliMje12ykevhet9my4po2kcnBNmy3EddrDo-Y6Z-aDK-iADp4XgKj1CbsNwOZ/s320/3ad72fddac969e56f575cbc8e4cd97aa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">In fact, slaves worked and tilled the fields for over two years after they had been acknowledged free men and women in the Capitol.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Despite the Lone Star pushback, after Lee surrendered in April of 1865, it was only a matter of time before the tide of change would sweep across the nation. Texas Supreme Court decisions in the next decade reaffirmed the status of freedom for those brave African Americans who had cautiously celebrated their liberty in June in the streets of Galveston upon first hearing the news.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Other racial justice organizations will mark the day remembering the horrific history of the slave trade and its everlasting impact on a people and two continents separated by over 5000 nautical miles. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Over 2 million died while crossing the Middle Passage into America. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">At least as many others perished during the forced transportation across West Africa to the waiting ports.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Estimates of total captives brought to America for slavery run as high as 12 million.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Several hundred captives were chained together below decks in deplorable conditions, suffering cramped contagion and death on the journey.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Insurance brokers provided for coverage in cases of drowning, but not simply deaths. As a result, some historians visualize the Atlantic sea bottom marking the exact paths of ships with the mountains of bones left from throwing strings of sick or unwanted slaves overboard. Deplorable.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">It’s small wonder that Juneteenth will likewise mark the strong, resentful argument for reparations by racial justice organizers like the Black Land and Liberation Initiative. They and others symbolically revisit the issue by highlighting General William Sherman’s original order in 1865 by recognizing a national day of action. According to writer Aviana Willis, “In 40 acres across 40 cities black people will take nonviolent direct action to occupy and reclaim spaces such as abandoned schools and empty lots, with the goal of putting these spaces into service of the community.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">(<a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/20249/black-land-and-liberation-forty-acres-mule-juneteenth"><span style="color: #1776ac;">http://inthesetimes.com/article/20249/black-land-and-liberation-forty-acres-mule-juneteenth</span></a>)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Black Land and Liberation Initiative states it clearly: “We are people who have been enslaved and dispossessed as a result of the oppressive, exploitative, extractive system of colonialism and white supremacy. In this system, our labor and its products have been taken from us for generations for the accumulation of wealth by others.”(<a href="http://blacklandandliberation.org/"><span style="color: #1776ac;">http://blacklandandliberation.org/</span></a>)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2224; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">“We have been taught in school that the source of the policy of “40 acres and a mule” was Union General <a href="http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3353"><span style="color: #af2d17;">William T. Sherman’s Special Field Order No. 15</span></a>, issued on Jan. 16, 1865. (That account is half-right: Sherman prescribed the 40 acres in that Order, but not the mule. The mule would come later.) But what many accounts leave out is </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Eeu_NXBD4BcHgpevUQsgp8NMn3przchqIEmDUMAXzeyXz91Q_4yQpLAGqtRaZaw1rXUoSwOo8efn7feuixFiFl1kMEMpTHa5s4htttiHdfl-S5kZEbRvxFozQ5p61_ILx0t4ny3fzUJ3/s1600/william_sherman_portratt-uR6ZoXmb1B93thXH8hAehA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="750" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Eeu_NXBD4BcHgpevUQsgp8NMn3przchqIEmDUMAXzeyXz91Q_4yQpLAGqtRaZaw1rXUoSwOo8efn7feuixFiFl1kMEMpTHa5s4htttiHdfl-S5kZEbRvxFozQ5p61_ILx0t4ny3fzUJ3/s320/william_sherman_portratt-uR6ZoXmb1B93thXH8hAehA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
that this idea for massive land redistribution actually was the result of a discussion that Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton held four days <i>before</i> Sherman issued the Order, with 20 leaders of the black community in Savannah, Ga., where Sherman was headquartered following his famous March to the Sea. The meeting was unprecedented in American history.<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2224; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">“Today, we commonly use the phrase “40 acres and a mule,” but few of us have read the Order itself. Three of its parts are relevant here. Section one bears repeating in full: “The islands from Charleston, south, the abandoned rice fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the St. Johns river, Florida, are reserved and set apart for the settlement of the negroes [sic] now made free by the acts of war and the proclamation of the President of the United States.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2224; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">“Section two specifies that these new communities, moreover, would be governed entirely by black people themselves: ” … on the islands, and in the settlements hereafter to be established, no white person whatever, unless military officers and soldiers detailed for duty, will be permitted to reside; and the sole and exclusive management of affairs will be left to the freed people themselves … By the laws of war, and orders of the President of the United States, the negro [sic] is free and must be dealt with as such.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2224; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">“Finally, section three specifies the allocation of land: ” … each family shall have a plot of not more than (40) acres of tillable ground, and when it borders on some water channel, with not more than 800 feet water front, in the possession of which land the military authorities will afford them protection, until such time as they can protect themselves, or until Congress shall regulate their title.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2224; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">“With this Order, <i>400,000 acres</i> of land — “a strip of coastline stretching from Charleston, South Carolina, to the St. John’s River in Florida, including Georgia’s Sea Islands and the mainland thirty miles in from the coast,” as <a href="http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3353"><span style="color: #af2d17;">Barton Myers reports</span></a> — would be redistributed to the newly freed slaves. The extent of this Order and its larger implications are mind-boggling, actually.” (<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/the-truth-behind-40-acres-and-a-mule/"><span style="color: #1776ac;">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/the-truth-behind-40-acres-and-a-mule/</span></a>)</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2224; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Stanton had gone to a group of African American preachers and ministers at the conclusion of the war, asking what would be an appropriate payment for the debasing of a race and people. The answer was the assurance of future economic freedom by receiving land on which to farm, land that had been taken in Sherman’s march along the southeastern coast of the United States. Sherman later threw in the single mule with the 40 acres – as many of the pack animals were now available after the war.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1d2224; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">“And what happened to this astonishingly visionary program, which would have fundamentally altered the course of American race relations? Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s successor and a sympathizer with the South, overturned the Order in the fall of 1865, and, as Barton Myers sadly concludes, “returned the land along the South Carolina, Georgia and Florida coasts to the planters who had originally owned it” — to the very people who had declared war on the United States of America.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">Only a small handful of states – Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota and South Dakota – do not recognize the date as a day for observance, a ceremonial holiday or state sanctioned holiday. 45 other states, including Illinois, recognize the date’s importance and its observance of the participation and achievements of African-Americans in the progress of our country. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-2506575842469167742019-05-31T18:30:00.003-07:002019-06-01T17:33:11.060-07:00Next Target of the Republican Junta? Mueller.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivf35Q3zirvaXxgt7gYb4CrX53jMNck7P97P6jWl4lTH9BQg1ZeKdBnKrzPO7hsK0I6V_04sqmQ3dMR6iiKpg-EjA6HRjPyrPWFpsSgdFeviw7u9NE7lrHccnW_PN4mBfajUktux1vYUcI/s1600/Mueller%252Breport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="810" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivf35Q3zirvaXxgt7gYb4CrX53jMNck7P97P6jWl4lTH9BQg1ZeKdBnKrzPO7hsK0I6V_04sqmQ3dMR6iiKpg-EjA6HRjPyrPWFpsSgdFeviw7u9NE7lrHccnW_PN4mBfajUktux1vYUcI/s320/Mueller%252Breport.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">Next Target of the Republican Junta? Mueller<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Had Robert Mueller decided to entertain a doctorate in British Literature rather than Jurisprudence, he might have been the darling of the Literary Review Board for his unique ability to generate almost unfathomable, nuanced statements replete with double negatives. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“It was not as if Hamlet were unable to not comprehend his father’s not being aware of his own brother’s lack of fealty to the realm and even the former’s not feeling guilty about his attitude.” </i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Board of Professors:<i> “Oh, well done, sir.” “Remarkably layered, my young man!” “You're not the first who hasn’t failed to notice the connections, you prodigy.” </i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Any normal American trying to follow what exactly Mueller is stating in his report will have to contend with nothing so ridiculous, but a particular careful semantics which will leave many readers wondering whether to just leave the interpretation to Sean Hannity or Anderson Cooper. <i>“Yawn, whatever, I have Game of Thrones to watch…”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Coming soon: Mueller implores us all to read the Report. And Mueller knows that he has only limited time because, failing to motivate an unreading public to read a 400+ page report detailing two years of investigation will soon make him the target of the Trumpian/Republican Party and Fox News, which will target him for abuse and character assassination to defend the unspeakable alliance they have accepted as their fate. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
In the summary of Part Two of the Mueller Report, the Office ends with this statement before providing the litany of facts and evidence behind obstruction. Every American should be aware that the evidence is there, that double negatives that state there was no evidence of not having done anything illegal equates to <b>THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF LIKELY ILLEGAL ACTIVITY</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Mueller Report: Conclusion to Executive Summary to Volume II<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Because we determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment, we did not draw ultimate conclusions about the President’s conduct. The evidence we obtained about the President’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that would need to be resolved if we were making a traditional prosecutorial judgment. At the same time, if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it does not exonerate him.” <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-15260848238608689212019-05-02T18:07:00.001-07:002019-05-02T18:07:03.987-07:00Trump's EPA announces that Roundup is Safe!!!!!!!!!!<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZG2HSGI6jtmih7Vmm91mYDAHoXWPqQQLH7R4BlTa4n6R2CNows8HIoOVlCZXv1jhwWAPn10ERd6mxr2lo1OMwS-Ikv0slB0JOFCpb8t14yuXQWPey5pjcqMeEPi_-hK-k9tG7uKQ35jM/s1600/Dandelion-lawn-small.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgZG2HSGI6jtmih7Vmm91mYDAHoXWPqQQLH7R4BlTa4n6R2CNows8HIoOVlCZXv1jhwWAPn10ERd6mxr2lo1OMwS-Ikv0slB0JOFCpb8t14yuXQWPey5pjcqMeEPi_-hK-k9tG7uKQ35jM/s320/Dandelion-lawn-small.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">First: The Real News and Fake Science.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roundup-weed-killer-is-safe-epa-says-giving-bayer-a-win/">From CBS</a></b> on May 1, 2019: “EPA Says Roundup Weed Killer is Safe, in a win for Bayer”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #101010; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #101010;">The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gave Bayer a boost when it decided that its Roundup weed (sic) killer didn't cause cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #101010; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #101010;">Two recent court cases found just the opposite, ruling against Bayer and Roundup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #101010; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #101010;">Environmental advocates, including the National Resources Defense Council, denounced the EPA's decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 18.75pt 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #101010;">“After two recent defeats in court, Bayer has won a round — this one delivered by regulators — as it contends with more than 10,000 lawsuits claiming a chemical in its widely used Roundup weed killer causes cancer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/proposed-interim-registration-review-decision-and-responses" target="_blank"><span style="color: #101010;">said</span></a> it "continues to find that there are no risks to public health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current label and that glyphosate is not a carcinogen." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 18.75pt 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #101010; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“The agency said its findings were consistent with those of "many other countries and other federal agencies." But environmental advocates, including the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) denounced the decision. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 18.75pt 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #101010;">"’Health agencies and credible non-industry experts who've reviewed this question have all found a link between glyphosate and cancer," Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist at NRDC said in a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/nrdc/epa-backs-industry-defending-carcinogenic-herbicide-glyphosate" target="_blank"><span style="color: #101010;">statement</span></a>. The World Health Organization in 2015 <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/who-rebuts-house-committee-criticisms-about-glyphosate-cancer-warning" target="_blank"><span style="color: #101010;">termed</span></a> glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans.’"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 18.75pt 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #101010;">What follows is a post from August 2018 that is so very much in line with today’s special interest takeover of our current government and, given this week’s EPA announcement, the long-lasting effects upon our world and we the people.<span> </span>And your children’s children.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 22pt;">Good Morning from Monsanto and Bayer.<span> </span>Snacks for All the Kiddies!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
I know it is cold and wet.<span> </span>Have you been wandering along the aisles in Menards or Lowes, or Home Depot in anticipation like me and noticing the white plastic bottles of Roundup layered on pallets like rows of shark teeth waiting to be purchased at reduced “spring sale” prices.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1320291057"></span>My last post<span id="goog_1320291058"></span></a> </b>warned about the continuing poisoning of ourselves and especially our children with the chemical, glyphosate, in Roundup.<span> </span>Here’s another look in specifics at what levels your feeding to you children, friends, or selves:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
From the Holistic Health Journal:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“In the United States, glyphosate was deemed safe for public use in 1974 and since then has been applied on crops by farmers. The most popular product that contains glyphosate as a main ingredient is Roundup, a product made by Monsanto. It is marketed not only towards farmers, but also heavily promoted towards people who have gardens at home. However, glyphosate, may not be as safe as the marketing claims suggest. Different studies have actually linked this herbicide to cancer and other health problems.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><sup><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[1]</span></sup><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“According to a 2013 study published by Thongprakaisang, et. al., glyphosate caused the growth of breast cancer cells in humans. Glyphosate was found to be an “endocrine-disruptor”, meaning it has detrimental effects on the body’s hormones, specifically on estrogen. High levels of estrogen is known to cause hormone-dependent breast cancer, where in breast cancer cells multiply and spread in the presence of estrogen.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><sup><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[2]</span></sup><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“According to an FDA- registered laboratory, popular American food contained worryingly high levels of glyphosate. Recent evidence suggests that glyphosate can pose a threat to human health at very low levels of 0.1 parts per billion (ppb). The laboratory found that popular snacks sold in most supermarkets had glyphosate levels between 289.47 and 1,125.3 ppb.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><sup><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">[3]</span></sup><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 19.2pt 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“Other countries all over the world, specifically the European Union, are more strict regarding glyphosate exposure – with the “safe” limit placed at 0.3 mg per kilogram of body weight per day compared to the US 1.75 mg/kg/bw/day. Here are the values of glyphosate content reported by the laboratory:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8UD-U1UcpRFzFa9fvVdMXiZ_ibLcnbbxT37Awuq7ynOC3OtqqUKhOt_pRMmZe-JELP2rV5ddNvy8azZUkUwhNwqpDMa4RLfpdFx5A7jjSuVgZzgbjGF_f1E4XcgO2ef3ViazNd2b-QrD/s1600/FDA-Registered-Lab-Finds-Alarming-Levels-Of-Glyphosate-In-Major-Food-Brands.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim8UD-U1UcpRFzFa9fvVdMXiZ_ibLcnbbxT37Awuq7ynOC3OtqqUKhOt_pRMmZe-JELP2rV5ddNvy8azZUkUwhNwqpDMa4RLfpdFx5A7jjSuVgZzgbjGF_f1E4XcgO2ef3ViazNd2b-QrD/s1600/FDA-Registered-Lab-Finds-Alarming-Levels-Of-Glyphosate-In-Major-Food-Brands.gif" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 19.2pt 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 19.2pt 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Call your Representative and Senator.<span> </span>Inform that you are concerned at the personal level as well when your neighbor is spraying Roundup around the yard and garden without any self-protection or comprehension of the breeze’s spread to your yard and children<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 19.2pt 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 19.2pt 0in; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Or?</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Call your favorite snack company?</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-decoration: none; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Kids love Goldfish! </span><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We are off Triscuits…. You should be too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 19.2pt 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 19.2pt 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 19.2pt 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 19.2pt 0in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
<!--
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
span.apple-converted-space
{mso-style-name:apple-converted-space;
mso-style-unhide:no;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:161161413;
mso-list-template-ids:-1225123038;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
-->
</style><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-10251312301797565882019-04-19T07:26:00.002-07:002019-04-19T07:26:26.210-07:00Jonathon Chait on Why "Congress Should Impeach William Barr"<div class="clay-paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">
<u><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/impeach-attorney-general-william-barr.html">From NEWYORK Magazine</a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJbMXkwYWd8LSrkgIgmswlPoi3pNJkVh0sfCQ1far84E_8D_m7NZI5RCsed_6N9V0-zPNP4PBV_vDORBeRQFgWOJ3Ev3JGC7CvQZd9aQhRUAoYvvzTFQJ58ryVGUQfEI7chEf4gEdPl-l/s1600/4df11eae-8175-4406-9053-fcc88db15ef3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJbMXkwYWd8LSrkgIgmswlPoi3pNJkVh0sfCQ1far84E_8D_m7NZI5RCsed_6N9V0-zPNP4PBV_vDORBeRQFgWOJ3Ev3JGC7CvQZd9aQhRUAoYvvzTFQJ58ryVGUQfEI7chEf4gEdPl-l/s320/4df11eae-8175-4406-9053-fcc88db15ef3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="clay-paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">
<span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">“Congress Should Impeach William Barr”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="clay-paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">By Jonathan Chait</span><span style="color: #ed7d31; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="clay-paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“House Democrats are going to face a difficult decision about launching an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Balanced against the president’s impressive array of misconduct is the fact that several more criminal investigations that may add to the indictment are already underway, and that impeaching the president might jeopardize the reelection of red-state Democratic members. But in the meantime, Attorney General William Barr presents them with a much easier decision. Barr has so thoroughly betrayed the values of his office that voting to impeach and remove him is almost obvious.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/cjun0sgds00103h63q1w1b72e@published" data-word-count="70" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“…And while many members of the old Republican political Establishment had recoiled against Trump’s contempt for the rule of law, Barr has shown no signs of having joined them. He<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/trump-first-wanted-g-pick-bill-barr-another-job-defense-lawyer-231509009.html" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 1px 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #954f72; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="color: black;">met with</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Trump to discuss serving as his defense lawyer, publicly<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/338210-trump-allies-hit-mueller-on-relationship-with-comey" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 1px 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #954f72; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="color: black;">attacked</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the Mueller investigation (which risked ‘taking on the look of an entirely political operation to overthrow the president’), called for more investigations of Hillary Clinton, and circulated a lengthy memo strongly defending Trump against obstruction charges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<aside class="ad vp-1180-plus" data-google-query-id="CJnz3pSp3OECFRm7TwodrJoCbw" data-label="outStreamDesktop" data-name="/4088/Intelligencer/Politics" data-placeholder="settings" data-site="Intelligencer" data-sizes="528x379" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/ad/instances/cjun0sc65008hdty5x5k6g1ye@published" id="ad-cid-17oocYXu" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-user-select: none; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; height: 1px; margin: 0px auto; overflow: hidden; position: relative; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; z-index: 1;"><div class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/cjun0sggn00143h63wwokattq@published" data-word-count="119" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; text-align: start; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></span></div>
</aside><div class="clay-paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The events since Barr’s letter have incinerated whatever remains of his credibility. The famously tight-lipped Mueller team told several news outlets the letter had minimized Trump’s culpability; Barr gave congressional testimony hyping up Trump’s charges of ‘spying,’ even prejudging the outcome of an investigation (‘I think there was a failure among a group of leaders [at the FBI] at the upper echelon’);<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1118635291580014594" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 1px 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #954f72; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;"><span style="color: black;">evaded</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>questions as to whether he had shared the Mueller report with the White House; and, it turns out, he’s ‘had numerous conversations with White House lawyers which aided the president’s legal team,’ the New York<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">Times</em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>reports. Then he broke precedent by scheduling a press conference to spin the report in advance of its redacted publication.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="clay-paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“…Barr’s letter had made it sound as though Trump’s campaign spurned Russia’s offers of help: ‘The Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign,’ he wrote. In fact, Mueller’s report concluded, ‘In some instances, the Campaign was receptive to the offer,’ but that the cooperation fell short of criminal conduct.</span></div>
<div class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="nymag.com/intelligencer/_components/clay-paragraph/instances/cjun0sggm00133h63scwrxe6q@published" data-word-count="102" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0in 0in 15pt; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Where Mueller intended to leave the job of judging Trump’s obstructive conduct to Congress, Barr interposed his own judgment. Barr offered this incredible statement for why Trump’s behavior was excusable: ‘[T]here is substantial evidence to show that the President was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks,’ Barr said. ‘Nonetheless, the White House fully cooperated with the Special Counsel’s investigation,’ and credited him further with taking ‘no act that in fact deprived the Special Counsel of the documents and witnesses necessary to complete his investigation.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="clay-paragraph" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“…There is no other department in government in which mere norms, not laws, are all that stand between democracy as we know it and a banana republic. Barr has revealed his complete unfitness for this awesome task. Nearly two more years of this Trumpian henchman wielding power over federal law enforcement is more weight than the rickety Constitution can bear.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
The entire article is available<a href="http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/impeach-attorney-general-william-barr.html"> <b><u>here</u></b>.</a> I urge you to read it. <o:p></o:p></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-63261992686016253432019-04-11T16:57:00.000-07:002019-04-11T16:57:06.452-07:00Why the Tribune Is Pushing a Constitutional Amendment Change<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLHAHIuKQ8RqJIP-qfj3U-BNuL4kGMBnKyEbqr1qU9mQqZi-jwVFVM_SxXDNNz_4I30G5mt7E2BBZE_59OZKqRDaL9MRO_KGIWTEKD-8sZW9un7-dK54aD2QswcN3akq-JawhijfC3gxO/s1600/union-membership.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="770" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLHAHIuKQ8RqJIP-qfj3U-BNuL4kGMBnKyEbqr1qU9mQqZi-jwVFVM_SxXDNNz_4I30G5mt7E2BBZE_59OZKqRDaL9MRO_KGIWTEKD-8sZW9un7-dK54aD2QswcN3akq-JawhijfC3gxO/s320/union-membership.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: red; font-size: 18pt;">Tribune Calls on Pritzker to Propose a People’s Vote on an Amendment to the Pension Protection Clause in the Illinois Constitution <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
An up-to-date reader of the Chicago Tribune would have to scratch his/her head at the newspaper’s strained reasoning to force a voter’s amendment to the state Constitution remove or “fix” the Pension Protection Clause in Article XIII, Section 5. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Why? Major changes made to the benefit structures of current and future hires in Illinois’ public workers’ sectors will make drastic reductions in eventual pension earnings in the approaching future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
There’s no need to make any alterations in a promise to pay the contractual benefits. Not when the contractual benefits are being diminished by the General Assembly every year or so. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
The Pension Protection Clause protects what you were promised once you started, but if you are getting less and less when you start, the “protection” isn’t worrisome when it promises less or little. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Tier One teachers who have the benefits afforded to current retirees were those who began working and contributing to their pensions before January 1, 2011. The General Assembly changed that for all those hires who began working and contributing on or after January 1, 2011, by creating a new benefit structure called Tier Two.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Tier Two public sector workers are required to work an additional 12 years (age 67) before retiring or face penalties of 6% of the annuity for each year before age 67. A wall will stop the determination of a final average pension payout as the Consumer Price Index (currently approximately $110,000). Any Cost of Living adjustments will no longer be 3% compounded; instead, the COLA will be 3% simple or ½ the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
This is getting thorny, so take my word that Tier Two workers are getting taken to the retirement cleaners. In fact, the benefit structure is so bad, there may be later consequences for the state of Illinois in not meeting the “safe harbor” requirements for retirement thresholds determined in Social Security returns. (See Glen Brown for more information there)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
But wait. There’s more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
The General Assembly has also created a new benefit structure for those entering public sector work called Tier Three. Tier Three has so many moving parts that the exact benefit structure is still being hammered out. The thorns are thick in this structure too, but suffice it to say that an individual choosing to remain within this yet-to-be-introduced benefit structure would need to work 60 years to attain the level of pension benefit afforded to a Tier One retiree. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
60 years. Start working at age 21 and – for the full pension – work until 81. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
I say, defibrillators in every room, kids. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Within the Tier Three plan, whenever it should appear, are other reductions in benefits which give ample reason for anyone still in the public sector to jump at the chance to move (one time only) to Tier Two.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
In short, very short – There’s not really any need whatsoever to force a 3/5ths vote by the senate and the house on a proposed change to Article XIII, Section 5, in the Illinois Constitution which promises a protection of the benefit structure of a pension <b>when continual removals of benefits are forced into the structure before hiring. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
So, I’m back to why? The Chicago Tribune knows full well about these Tier I, II, III changes. The Tribune knows that changes in the benefit structures of public workers will leave them severely short on retirement funds. The Chicago Tribune knows full well that the $130 Billion debt from money diverted from funding pensions over seven decades will still remain as an ironclad and legal IOU to the pension funds as determined unanimously by the Illinois Supreme Court. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Because, I believe, the Chicago Tribune – like the Illinois Policy Institute and the Better Government Association in Illinois – want to blame, scapegoat, and eliminate collective bargaining, unions, and pensions altogether. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
It doesn’t take a lot of perusing the editorial pages of the Tribune to see that they invite I.P.I. perspectives and anti-union slant to form their editorial positions. In June of 2018, it was once again editorial board member <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-mcqueary-janus-afscme-unions-20180622-story.html">Kristen McQueary </a>who found the opportunity to present the Tribune’s singular trope: unions are bad, the pension debt is all the unions’ fault, the tax increase (using some kind of convoluted mathematics) was the fault of the unions, politicians are corrupted by unions, the unions have too much influence, and (God forbid) the unions have an affinity for the democratic party rather than the Republicans (like the Tribune). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">“And taxpayers are on the hook. The union advocates for tax hikes and government growth — last year’s 32 percent income tax hike and now a proposed graduated income tax — to shore up its strength to the detriment of Illinoisans en masse. All those years of unbalanced state budgets and shortchanged pension funds? AFSCME, an ally of the Democratic majority, was an enabler.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">“On the political side, the union is an operative in political campaigns. Its leaders interview and endorse candidates up and down the ballot. They provide staff for petition-gathering and campaign strategy. They dump cash into dozens of races. They coordinate with other unions and political party officials to elect and defeat candidates.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;">
<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">“From 2013 to 2017, 74 percent of the union’s political contributions went to Democratic committees or organizations, according to the Illinois Policy Institute, a right-leaning think tank. Six percent went toward Republican committees or organizations.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Janus</b></i> decision aside, the Tribune wants to eliminate the Pension Protection Clause altogether as just one step in an ongoing right-leaning process of falsely blaming unions for the unfunded liability, and eradicating collective bargaining until we too descend into a right-to-work state like Wisconsin and Michigan and Indiana.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0in 0in 13.5pt;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-58981672637911117972019-03-30T17:13:00.003-07:002019-03-30T17:23:42.543-07:00Why Teachers Have Compounded COLA of 3%.<div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BsM_i-UIml67iVJPKPZnQn_kcvJCvT1Vcyth3NH9NAAzGLSXXE_1x4OhCKrDq6B58AbXOI7DbEzadmhUGOKZ7R5CJdQhZw4r54mIFwGvx8fJcusNO5FgTXY-4hsB70eOQ9Xo3qNOZdiN/s1600/1481191305159A4tYc6EMDB1N_O.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BsM_i-UIml67iVJPKPZnQn_kcvJCvT1Vcyth3NH9NAAzGLSXXE_1x4OhCKrDq6B58AbXOI7DbEzadmhUGOKZ7R5CJdQhZw4r54mIFwGvx8fJcusNO5FgTXY-4hsB70eOQ9Xo3qNOZdiN/s320/1481191305159A4tYc6EMDB1N_O.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">Compounded Cost of Living for Teachers? How Did That Happen?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
If you read the editorial pages of the Chicago Tribune or follow the voices of many of their right-bent guest writers, the 3% compounded cost of living (COLA) provided to retirees in Springfield was a smoky backroom deal done in the dark of night by unknown legislators looking to feather their own retirements. Unknown, except for Madigan, who is deemed the Master Illuminatus controlling all past and present evils in the General Assembly. <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
The real story is actually a bit more interesting and, believe it or not, an attempted bit of fiscal compassion. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Mr. Peabody: <i>“Set the Wayback Machine, Sherman, for 1980.”</i> Sorry, Millennials, this is a reference to a short series included in the original Rocky and Bullwinkle series on TV…oh well, never mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>1980</b>: a year when Fax machines became operational, Rubik’s Cubes went on sale, John Lennon was sadly killed, and PacMan hit the arcades. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
More importantly - Following previous years of equally high inflation, 1980 delivered an additional blow to consumers with a country wide annual rate of <b>13.58%</b>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Despite the median price of a home at $63,000, interest rates were running so high that people were taking out balloon mortgages that offered lower beginning rates but were tethered to an arrangement which required a full payment at the end of a specified time. That last payment was called “the bullet.” No amortization, just a total payment for the balance later.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
(If that sounds familiar, then you are too knowledgeable about pension ramps in Illinois).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Sorry, Millennials, I digress…again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
The inflation rate for our past year 2018 was 2.44%. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
But starting in the mid 1970’s and into the 1980’s, inflation rates were stubbornly high. <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: auto;" /></span>
<br />
<div class="WordSection2" style="page: WordSection2;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGg0GcBo9a10Y8QEvmoEhQx8e6t2Lx8hevNtBFbOfn4rYRNs469UznH3ZuXSt0RiJL6_xZS-1ShKDiocBbkUKCFQROy3WN7CB2bsQMwHLkj9Ve_VbuzKD0W-1Bf6oOd7spS9oPwYiCasn4/s1600/U.S.+Yearly+Inflation+Since+1900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="557" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGg0GcBo9a10Y8QEvmoEhQx8e6t2Lx8hevNtBFbOfn4rYRNs469UznH3ZuXSt0RiJL6_xZS-1ShKDiocBbkUKCFQROy3WN7CB2bsQMwHLkj9Ve_VbuzKD0W-1Bf6oOd7spS9oPwYiCasn4/s320/U.S.+Yearly+Inflation+Since+1900.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1975 – 11.3%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1976 – 5.75%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1977 – 6.5%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1978 – 7.62%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1979 – 11.2%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1980 – 13.58%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1981 – 10.35%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1982 – 6.16%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1983 – 3.22%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1984 – 4.3%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1985 – 3.55%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1986 – 1.1%<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1987 – 3.66<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
1989 – 4.83%<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page;" /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
(<a href="http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/">The People History</a>)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
As past Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System Trustee Bob Lyons observed, “In the 21 years from 1969 through 1989 there was only one year that inflation was less than 3.3% and the average annual rate of inflation was just over 6.2%. In making the decision in 1989 to change our annual increase from three percent simple to three percent compounded, the members of the General Assembly made what they felt was a reasonable assumption that inflation would continue and that it would grow at the rate that it had been for more than 20 years. Since state pensions had not kept up with inflation they would provide a necessary increase, but they did not ask anyone to pay for it because they assumed it would not really be expensive. The change would cost the state, but they assumed it would still run behind inflation. And growing inflation would mean the state would collect more tax revenue.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Anticipating further elevated inflation rates, the General Assembly granted a change from 3% simple to 3% compounded COLA in 1989 to the retirees in TRS. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Since 1990, (high of 4.1% in 2007 and low of .1 in 2008) the average inflation rate for the country has been overall 2.4%. As Mr. Lyons writes, “The reality is that the change from 3% simple to 3% compounded did just what it was supposed to do and it has more than protected us from inflation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
And he’s right. On average, thus far, we are looking back nearly 30 years with a .6% positive break. And in our current media environment of people turning on each other rather than to each other, this COLA correction seems unacceptable to those who criticize the Illinois “Pension Problem” as simply an issue of too many benefits. The finger pointing by the Tribune and other anti-union organizations ignore the truth: the cost of pension would not be so overwhelming if there were no debt payment as a result of decades of avoiding payments. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Eric Madiar, the past Chief Legal Counsel for Senate Leader John Cullerton and author of a thorough exegesis “Is Welching on Public Pension Promises…,” speaking before the City Club of Chicago, once reminded his audience: “Our current pension disaster cannot be blamed on salary or pension cost increases. Between 1985 and 2014, pension funding liabilities grew by $97 billion. Benefit increase only counted for 8%, or $8 billion of that growth. Pay increases were actually less than actuaries had assumed they would be. And the actually helped bring down the unfunded liability by $1.3 billion. The state's failure to fund the system accounts for 49 or 47% of that growth. So simply out, the main reason we are in this mess is for insufficient pension contributions” (City Club of Chicago). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
But like any Zen Balance question, we are all awash in what may decidedly come again in another inevitable wave. Okay, so now maybe we are .6 ahead. Now. But in the 15 years before the 3% compounded (1975-1989), we were battling an average of 6.7% inflation – or a 3.6% disadvantage even if pensioners had compounded COLA’s. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Maybe the General Assembly didn't foresee a lessening of inflation or the Great Recession, but they understood what continued rampant inflation was doing to state retirees. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
And, it’s not pensioners that created the fiscal problems at the state or municipal levels; it is and will always be the avoidance of funding the pensions that now comprise the interest-laden debt which must be serviced yearly. As Bob Lyons also wisely points out, “The truth is that this year 76% of the 8.5 billion going to pensions is to make up for the continuous past underfunding of the five systems. If Illinois pensions were fully funded, all it would take to fund the pensions for all current employees would be just a little more than two billion dollars. The so-called pension problem in Illinois has in reality not been caused by the cost of our pensions, but by the failure to fully fund them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
The next time someone suggests that retirees’ benefits are the cause for the “pension problem,” “pension crisis,” or the “pension’s unsustainability,” please help them see the truth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Thank you, Bob Lyons.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-16938344057655157982019-03-28T16:21:00.002-07:002019-03-28T16:21:44.811-07:00Mark the Calendar. April, Vote for Doug Strand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mDpUnCyp0XfhDCV5sCUXiAF7BOJKHmGCL-ur_6sdrLcjpUdDw6WrZF7L66TKoxD_1q6nW1bNkyGIrH61ita7hjC7W8d2DYPWqu_pNf84CioR9-7lOZ20bBPEuVsp7wY72TpT5ash0oMK/s1600/hqdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mDpUnCyp0XfhDCV5sCUXiAF7BOJKHmGCL-ur_6sdrLcjpUdDw6WrZF7L66TKoxD_1q6nW1bNkyGIrH61ita7hjC7W8d2DYPWqu_pNf84CioR9-7lOZ20bBPEuVsp7wY72TpT5ash0oMK/s320/hqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">Doug Strand for Trustee of TRS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
You’ll remember that the Illinois Retired Teachers' Association was the legal spearhead in the battle to prevent the stripping of pension benefits under SB1’s argument of financial necessity (aka <i>sovereign powers argument</i>). It was the <b>IRTA</b> that legally held the line and secured the unanimous decision by the Illinois Supreme Court in May of 2015 that the Pension Protection Clause in the Illinois Constitution cannot be ignored. Cannot be brushed aside out of a state’s sudden needs, especially when the state’s underfunding was causal for the “emergency.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Now, the <b>Illinois Retired Teachers Association</b> has unanimously endorsed Doug Strand for Trustee of the Teachers Retirement System. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Here’s some background: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Mr. Strand holds two Bachelors and one Master’s degree.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
He was an accounting intern during his undergraduate years at Luther College with Price Waterhouse in Chicago, Illinois. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
After college, Mr. Strand worked as an account auditor in Minneapolis, Minnesota. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
After that experience, Mr. Strand worked as an educator for forty years until his retirement at United Township in East Moline, teaching history, consumer education, and economics.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Mr. Strand served as a member of the East Moline’s Police Pension Board and the East Moline City Council.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Currently, Mr. Strand serves as Vice President of the Blackhawk College Board of Trustees.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Mr. Strand also sat on the Board of the Service Plus Credit Union, a credit union founded by educators of East Moline High School. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
And the <b>IRTA</b>, a stalwart and resolute defender of retirees’ pension benefits, has selected this individual to steward and protect our funds and benefits. That’s more than a significant reason to vote, and make sure to vote for Mr. Strand. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
But you should <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjqH2krZop4&feature=youtu.be">listen to Mr. Strand himself</a>. You’ll see what the IRTA liked too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Remember to Vote! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-9443297111529107022019-03-20T16:55:00.002-07:002019-03-20T16:55:52.852-07:00Vote Doug Strand for TRS Annuitant Trustee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4eBJR-WN6e8W-cvUQRw3Fr_GI0pFNZpIMrGi2bHubBECqarPDZWnXA1Q5M6YJ70sl2xUdrS3ttP_qki06n_jur8xfVkFjaPRNO3_6yjePCNG2v9JjEvwADddk4pOpKozKy_n5z3SjbZEt/s1600/Pensions-retirement-960x480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4eBJR-WN6e8W-cvUQRw3Fr_GI0pFNZpIMrGi2bHubBECqarPDZWnXA1Q5M6YJ70sl2xUdrS3ttP_qki06n_jur8xfVkFjaPRNO3_6yjePCNG2v9JjEvwADddk4pOpKozKy_n5z3SjbZEt/s320/Pensions-retirement-960x480.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">Why to Vote for Doug Strand for TRS Annuitant Trustee<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
I gladly borrow this retrospective from Glen Brown and sadly attest to its accuracy. Recent communiques from TRS as well as the IRTA indicate that little or less is being done to correct the continued exploitation of the Illinois Pensions System by legislators in Springfield. We need stalwart representation in order to sincerely protect our earned benefits. I too will vote for Doug Strand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
From <a href="https://teacherpoetmusicianglenbrown.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-consistent-incompetence-and-hubris.html">Glen Brown</a>: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit, serif;">It was under the IEA leadership and agreement of Bob Haisman when the flawed “Pension Ramp” (Public Act 88-0593) was signed into law in 1995. It was later discovered that "the Statutory Funding Plan's contribution schedule increased the unfunded liability, underfunded the State's pension obligations, and deferred pension funding. The resulting underfunding of the pension systems enabled the State to shift the burden associated with its pension costs to the future and, as a result, created a significant financial stress and risks for the State..." (In re Pension Reform Litigation (Doris Heaton et al., Appellees v. Pat Quinn, Governor, State of Illinois, et al., Appellants)). </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit, serif;">It was under the IEA leadership and agreement of Ken Swanson when SB 1946 passed on March 24, 2010 in approximately 10 hours, a senate bill where </span>Tier II members would begin subsidizing both Tier I and Tier II benefits, where the state would eventually not owe any annual contribution to TRS because the Tier II members would be paying down the entire cost, where Tier II members will receive a TRS pension that will be less than Social Security, and where school districts will be responsible for making up the difference. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit, serif;"><br />It was the IEA leadership of Ken Swanson and Cinda Klickna that “proudly supported” Senate Bill 7 signed into law in June 2011, the bill that ensured that teachers’ evaluations and their tenure were tied to the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (Public Act 96-0861), the bill that ensured a so-called “streamlined process for the dismissal of teacher tenure,” the bill that also required an authorization of 75% for a strike vote in Chicago, to name just a few complications that confront today's teachers.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit, serif;"><br />It was on July, 2, 2012 when Fred Klonsky, John Dillon, Michael Cousineau, Catherine Lenzini, and I met with Cinda Klickna and other IEA leaders to discuss our concerns about the IEA's willingness to negotiate teachers' and retirees' constitutionally-guaranteed pension benefits and rights. Of course, the IEA leadership did not heed our advice. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit, serif;">Instead, 10 months later we witnessed the folly of the IEA leadership's agreement to a reduction of pension retirees’ benefits and rights in Senate Bill 2404<b> </b>in May, 2013. The IEA leadership believed SB 2404 would have thwarted any further attacks on the Pension Protection Clause. Fortunately, Michael Madigan never called for a vote on this bill. What soon followed, however, was Michael Madigan’s Senate Bill 1 in December 2013, another diminishment and impairment of teachers’ and retirees’ constitutionally-guaranteed benefits. Senate Bill 1 was ruled unconstitutional by the Illinois Supreme Court on May 8, 2015.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit, serif;">It is the current IEA leadership under Kathi Griffin that recently endorsed candidates, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif;">such as Michael Connelly, Don Harmon, Sue Rezin and others, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit, serif;">who had voted to diminish and impair teachers’ and retirees’ pension benefits.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit, serif;">It is the current IEA leadership of Kathi Griffin that recently stated: <span style="background-color: #fff9ee; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">"...It’s refreshing to have a governor not only focused on what is best for students and Illinois’ future, but who is willing to work collaboratively to get the best results... We applaud Gov. Pritzker for looking at various funding sources because funding has to play a role in the future he’s building for Illinois. A starving state cannot grow. And, we find the Governor’s pension proposal an interesting start to the conversation..."</span>Both the Illinois Retired Teachers’ Association and the Teachers’ Retirement Association have emphatically disagreed with Pritzker's proposed state budget. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-63501902829420245672019-03-18T16:06:00.002-07:002019-03-18T16:06:18.795-07:00Impeach Trump? Think Carefully, Please.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAptY0par5Pu6-Uon4oQnchlxTnPn_9GsmxPAXlovJP1CzsECy1OfwzUOlljYizrQZyeK0BT6Dfqy3UuZPbnb9GswapYrtwlKqd0GkdJvp3uszneYlDrLHHsFg3bFYNjfW852JXLwB-yqx/s1600/a-1-a-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="650" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAptY0par5Pu6-Uon4oQnchlxTnPn_9GsmxPAXlovJP1CzsECy1OfwzUOlljYizrQZyeK0BT6Dfqy3UuZPbnb9GswapYrtwlKqd0GkdJvp3uszneYlDrLHHsFg3bFYNjfW852JXLwB-yqx/s320/a-1-a-15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 20pt;">Impeach Trump? Think Carefully, Please.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><i>The New Yorker’s </i></b>Adam Gopnik in his March 18<sup>th </sup>essay “The Pros and Cons of Impeaching Trump” offers serious considerations about the wisdom of pursuing sudden energy to impeach a man as notably ill-equipped in politics, a education, and morality as the current President of the United States. If you have not read the article, you’d be most wise to do so. It may be true that Pelosi’s observation that <i>he isn’t worth it </i>may also be a prescient warning as to why it is not worth it for such an activity to proceed on many, many levels. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
I take the liberty to provide three observations by Adam Gopnik. I believe you’ll find these separate observations quite enough to bring you to reading and thinking about his judicious opinion at <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/03/18/the-pros-and-cons-of-impeaching-trump"><b><i>The New Yorker</i></b>.</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
“<i>There is, however, a real and reasonable argument among congressional Democrats—and, indeed, among the public—about whether pursuing Trump’s impeachment, even assuming that we get the facts, is a wise idea. The arguments against it range from the hyper-practical point that a President <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tag/mike-pence"><span style="color: blue;">Mike Pence</span></a> would be worse, to the procedural-minded one that, since impeaching Trump would mean that two of the four most recent Presidents would have been impeached, and since articles of impeachment can be passed by a simple majority in the House, every President from now on would risk facing it the moment the opposition has a majority. This would create perpetual governmental paralysis, and, while Trump might not care about safeguarding democratic institutions, the country should.</i>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
“<i>Any one of a dozen things that Trump has done overtly would have resulted, if done clandestinely by another President, in near-universal cries for impeachment, if not for immediate resignation. Just for a start, his firing of the director of the F.B.I. and then confessing to both a journalist and the Russian foreign minister that he did it to end an investigation into his own campaign’s contacts with Russians follows the exact form of one of the impeachable offenses—<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/trump-robert-mueller-and-obstruction-of-justice"><span style="color: blue;">obstruction of justice</span></a>—that was applied against Richard Nixon. The “smoking gun” tape smoked because it showed that Nixon had tried to stop the F.B.I. from investigating the Watergate break-in on phony “national security” grounds.</i>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
“<i>Pragmatism is not a way of negating principle but, rather, the realist’s way of pursuing principle. The arguments against impeachment today are primarily pragmatic, the arguments for it primarily principled, but the principled course could, before long, turn into the only practical course. Impeachment may be too good for Trump. It may yet prove just the thing for the country.</i>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Please read the entire article. Let's work together and save our Constitution together.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2607144762948150931.post-6520865363328881802019-03-09T16:32:00.003-08:002019-03-09T16:32:38.227-08:00What's Right About a Fair Tax in Illinois?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbNIM8-KHNsaI175NhApB0Lh93nov2xe0dJ4aE1AdBRe_dtkUELpyUlvAL096jbdAmi_pCL-D9FFHD85wOnzZZjzZPd6kNYMdcLH67jNIppQxu_3O8Y1oMuxvTTPRa6KF7h7SngMOjfVE/s1600/MW-EH576_dosequ_20160309231849_ZH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="890" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbNIM8-KHNsaI175NhApB0Lh93nov2xe0dJ4aE1AdBRe_dtkUELpyUlvAL096jbdAmi_pCL-D9FFHD85wOnzZZjzZPd6kNYMdcLH67jNIppQxu_3O8Y1oMuxvTTPRa6KF7h7SngMOjfVE/s320/MW-EH576_dosequ_20160309231849_ZH.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Why must royalty pay more, my friend?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 22pt;">Graduated or Gradient? – Looking for Accuracy in a Fair Tax for Illinois*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
“<i>This season affects me most – psychologically,”</i>my wealthy friend Ernesto uttered between sips of cognac the other evening. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“It has been a brutal winter, Ernesto,” I offered hopefully, “but the end is coming with each day’s increasing sunlight.”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“I am talking taxes, my friend,”</i>Ernesto responded, glowering. <i>“I am imprisoned by your government’s exasperating 33% income tax. And, I suppose, you are now part of that progressive rabble that wishes the same - a graduated income tax in Illinois?”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Goodness, Ernesto. Thirty-three percent indicates a significant income. I am happy for your success. May I ask what portion of your income is subject to this rate?”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“Why, all of it…just as you and your union bosses would wish in Illinois.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Actually, Ernesto, if Illinois were ever to move to a “Fair” tax system, one you would call progressive or graduated, the increases in taxation would occur as they do on the federal level – at thresholds or gradients. In other words, Ernesto, if you achieve $3000 above the threshold for 33% taxation (which is $226,850), you pay 33% on that $3000, not your entire earnings.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“In fact, Ernesto, you pay your federal tax like everyone else for all of our services for each of the thresholds as you move through them, my friend. That means you pay only 10% on your first $18,000, 15% on your next $56,000, 25% on your next $75,000, and so on. You don’t fall into a category where you pay 33% for all of your earnings. That’s why I use the term gradient tax system (or fair tax) rather than graduated when I talk about it. “ <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“You don’t know my pain…”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“In truth, Ernesto, you pay the same percentage tax as me until you move well beyond me…and then you pay extra for only those amounts above our joint threshold.” <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“I see. Don’t you have anything better than Hennessey? Paul Ferrand or Skye?”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Sorry, no. And that is how a fair tax would work in Illinois, Ernesto. We, both of us, would be taxed at higher levels for the amounts we earned above thresholds of income, not for all of it.”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“Ahhh, my friend. But you’re still stealing from me for being successful, are you not?”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Well, not actually, Ernesto. In truth, you and I might actually be stealing from the greater population in Illinois who pay more dearly for their services – education, protection, healthcare, roads and transportation – than we ever will. And, if we’re not stealing, we’re certainly getting a better deal for it all.”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“Ridiculous.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Not so, Ernesto. The average earner in Illinois pulls in $47,485 annually. At 33%, I know that you pull in much more, and I’d venture nearly ten times that amount. Nevertheless and without denial, let’s review our numbers. Suppose Mr. Average needs a new car for his family and purchases a solid sedan at $25,000. I see by your scowl that such a concept is impossible. Will you accept $40,000? “ <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“Only if I have to…”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>The taxes on this family’s precious purchase will be several – New Vehicle Tax, Cook County Home Rule Tax, Cook County Sales Tax, possible Chicago Home Rule Tax…and others. Those taxes, Ernesto will run to nearly $3,000 – or almost 7% of the earner’s annual salary. “ <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i>“And…?”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“For an income earner like you? A mere .6% of your salary. Ernesto, you would need to purchase at least ten of these vehicles to begin to feel that same impact on your income. That is something, I might add, you would not and never need do. But it does illustrate a significant difference in our relationship with tax requirements, doesn’t it? We gest away with a lot, my friend.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Add to your and my advantages the costs of milk, gasoline, clothing. Costs of living and taxes for these average workers, Ernesto, drain huge portions of their ability to live, and we are not talking disposable income. <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b>“Indeed, what you and I pay for the protection of police and fire, for our schools, for transportation, health services, and other benefits is a steal, Ernesto. Don’t we owe it to make it more even?”<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh561qGZ_C5VTlloVnkIR7rk9naLHRicLZABRQMkknAJtGYJiYHG6RBOE7z-TtNjczPPpd1r0U7niQdtLP6_PPvNCTzggj4JBA8Z1C5IT6aINJOZQuuUZLe5oktkZIlUm369WpANmry3nEF/s1600/pierre-ferrand-reserve-20-years-old-cognac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh561qGZ_C5VTlloVnkIR7rk9naLHRicLZABRQMkknAJtGYJiYHG6RBOE7z-TtNjczPPpd1r0U7niQdtLP6_PPvNCTzggj4JBA8Z1C5IT6aINJOZQuuUZLe5oktkZIlUm369WpANmry3nEF/s320/pierre-ferrand-reserve-20-years-old-cognac.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Silence</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Note to self: Purchase Paul Ferrand for next get-together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red; font-size: 26pt;">*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkdqIaxWT3QkJqOoaI0_LaH-Fl_spmvMKal4d7epU15siWFhv6mNpr6VyJ10dLnXbHnqtI9KVy_cooHSEa7lUquAp074lWyeSQ5oq1lg1pwfj86cNAfprKDlymGOYhvOocXP9FQsCd7wy/s1600/5177961_030819-wls-pritzker-taxes-430-vid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzkdqIaxWT3QkJqOoaI0_LaH-Fl_spmvMKal4d7epU15siWFhv6mNpr6VyJ10dLnXbHnqtI9KVy_cooHSEa7lUquAp074lWyeSQ5oq1lg1pwfj86cNAfprKDlymGOYhvOocXP9FQsCd7wy/s320/5177961_030819-wls-pritzker-taxes-430-vid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
In the last two days, new-elected Governor Pritzker has finally offered up a schema for his proposed graduated income tax for earned income in Illinois. It is his hope that such a plan will provide Illinois with enough additional revenue to offset some of the $billions in overdue bills and ultimately long-term pension underfunding. His plan, like the necessary act of putting an amendment to change the constitution remains a wishful work in progress. Likewise, his preliminary specifics/numbers offer a starting point for serious debate over the schedule of payments to be made by income earners. Let us not forget that the addition of a non-marginalized payment of 7.95% for anyone earning over $1million annually is just a starting point as well. While the Tribune and the IPI will quickly jump on that distractive possibility, legislators would have to hammer out the actual payments after a successful adoption of a change to the Illinois Constitution. I resurrect this adapted discussion I had with my friend some years ago to point out the inadequacies and penalties of a flat tax in Illinois.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
John Dillonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10516552420300264491noreply@blogger.com0