High Truths and Low Lies

State Farm will no longer insure homes in California!

June 12, 2023

California has 40 million people, the most populous state in the US. State Farm is the largest insurance provider in the US. The insurance giant announced last week that it will no longer write homeowner insurance for new homes. This is a huge business decision for State Farm.

State Farm was founded in 1922 by a retired farmer. The company is headquartered in Bloomington IL. and employs 57,000 people, including 19,000 agents. The company has been very successful over the last 101 years. State Farm is ranked 42nd on the Fortune 500 list.

Barry Manilow wrote the popular State Farm jingle “like a good neighbor” in 1971.

State Farm announced the company can no longer assume risk for new homes in CA. The reasons, according to the company, are high new home/replacement construction costs and catastrophic losses due to wildfires. 25,000 homes have been destroyed in CA. in the last 5 years due to wildfires, and thousands more damaged. Thousands of businesses have also been lost. Replacement costs have skyrocketed.

California is not properly managing its forests. The number of massive wildfires can be reduced. Fuel load (dead/dying trees, grass, invasive species, fire breaks, controlled burns, and brush have to be managed. And think about the water being used to fight these fires.

California is not business friendly! Taxes are high, regulations are overwhelming, crime rates have soared, and huge companies are leaving the state. California has the highest gas prices in the US. at $4.90/gal. including a $.66/gal state tax.

Not being able to obtain insurance on homes will have a dramatic impact on lending, and thus, a cascading effect on the financial system.

California is in trouble.

Canadian forest fires

How to prevent!

June 10, 2023

Smoke from massive forest fires in Canada has drifted into northeastern US. Air quality alerts are in effect in 12-15 states. People have been advised to stay indoors. Our northern neighbor is responsible. No apology from Trudeau.

The idiots in Washington are using this serious event to “fan the flames” about climate change. Our leaders are either stupid or blatantly pushing a false narrative. Experts in the field of forest management all agree that management practices of public forests are the major cause of this event.

Here are the facts:

Almost all major forest fires occur on public land. Privately owned land is managed to prevent major fires. Private land is an asset to owners. The land is protected.
Forest fires are most often started by lightning strikes, arsonists, and people in the woods not obeying regulations/laws or ignoring safe practices. Fires occur every year.
Fuel load within the forest is the major cause of large fires. Dead or dying trees are not removed, grasses are not removed, fire breaks are not built, invasive species are not eradicated, controlled burns are not performed, lower-level brush is not cleared.
Fire fighters are used to put out fires. They are heroes and perform dangerous work. Most are part-time workers, called upon as fires develop. That service must continue, but we also need full-time forest management personnel to perform the services mentioned above.
Regrettably, forest management practices are criticized by environmental activists. These activists influence our ignorant and cowardly politicians. So, nothing gets done. Just look at California. Every year that state has wildfires. Fools!
And two very important thoughts-just think about all the water being used to fight these fires. Water is a scarce resource. And lastly, a single tree can remove about 48lbs of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Think about the millions of trees destroyed by these fires. And the smoke!!

US. Trade Deficits

June 5 2023

Note the Trump years versus the Biden disaster.

This chart shows the net amount (imports to exports) of US goods and services from other countries. We are supporting the China economy, Mexico, Vietnam and many other countries in Southeast Asia and Europe. NAFTA and the Trans Pacific Partnership (signed by Obama) resulted in this huge trade imbalance. US manufacturing jobs left the US. led by Walmart and Amazon. More recently, Biden is buying oil and gas from outside the US. Many European countries have import tariffs on US goods.

Wind turbines, batteries, solar panels, semiconductor chips, and pharmaceuticals have grown this imbalance. Ironically, the IRS outsourced the processing of US. tax returns to India!

Many countries tried to levy import tariffs on US. goods and services. Trump successfully fought this practice and won. Fair trade policies should be on the Biden agenda.

Products and services vital to US security and healthcare must be sourced from within the US.

Cracker Jill

A new snack treat for Women!

June 2, 2023

The original “Cracker Jack” was invented in 1893 by a German immigrant. The Borden Company bought the product name in 1964 and in 1997 the brand was sold to Frito Lay. Over the life span of Cracker Jacks the product generated billions in sales.

The term “Craker Jack” is even used to denote a person of high ability and ingenuity.

Frito Lay changed the brand name, See above! The product is now “Cracker Jill” After 130 years, the product has a new name. This is a cheap and frivolous marketing ploy. Did the Bud Light Marketing Director land a new job with Frito Lay???

BLM is an Extortion Racket!

June 1, 2023

BLM used threats of boycotts, organized and violent riots to force companies to donate $90 million in 2 years! Where did the money go?

BLM used the death of George Floyd to collect money from large companies and private citizens. There was no accounting oversight, tax filings, auditing of expenses or systematic process for helping Black American’s. Some of the money was donated to local BLM chapters, and hopefully, the money was put to good use.

The two Black women that founded BLM were paid exorbitant salaries and expenses. $12 million went to purchase mansions in LA and Toronto. Family members were paid “consulting” fees. See chart above. This is disgraceful!

The leaders of BLM should be charged with fraud, racketeering, and tax violations. The IRS and the Dept. of Justice need to conduct a very thorough investigation.

My Memorial Day Story!

May 26, 2023

The Death of my best friend!

Seargent Bill Hawkins died 53 years ago!

Sgt. William E. (Bill) Hawkins died 53 years ago. Bill died in the Thua Thien area of South Vietnam while serving as an Army medic aboard a Huey Medical evacuation helicopter. His Huey was struck by ground fire. All personnel aboard the Huey were killed. The date was May 26, 1970. Bill was 21 years old.

Bill was my best friend in high school. We both graduated from Waynesboro High School, Class of 1967. I remember our high school days. Bill was a skinny kid, about 5′ 9″, weighing 140 lbs. He had red hair and always had a smile on his face. Bill was raised by his grandmother in a very poor area of the town. Both Bill’s parents were killed in a car accident while Bill was very young. Bill always wore short-sleeved plaid shirts in high school rotating them using some sort of method. Bill was a good student, much better than me and finished WHS with a “B” average.

During our junior and senior years Bill ran track and earned varsity letters both years. His grandmother bought Bill a white cardigan sweater to display his letters. Bill wore the sweater year-round. Bill was a very pleasant young man and a good friend.

The summer of 1967 Bill vacationed with my family the Claytor Lake State Park. My Dad rented a cabin on the lake. My four younger siblings loved Bill. One evening while trying to make the kids laugh, Bill attempted a handstand on a bar stool and fell on his head, causing a large cut above his right eye. It took 12 stitches to close the wound. Bill thought the wound made him look dangerous!

That fall, we both went away to college. Bill entered VPI (Va. Tech) and I went to East Tenn. State. Bill used scholarships, grants, and loans to pay his expenses. We were both in Army ROTC. Since WHS was such a good high school, our freshmen grades were excellent. Bill and I visited each other 2-3 times that school year. While in college, we were exempt from the selective service draft.

Regrettably, Bill and I agreed to pledge social fraternities our sophomore years. We had great fun, but our grades declined, and Bill lost his draft deferment. Bill enlisted in the Army, serving in the 326 Medical Battalion of the 101st Airborne. Bill’s training was at Ft. Campbell and in Frankfort, Germany. Bill was trained as a Medic and nicknamed “Doc.”

The Poisoning of America

May 26, 2023

See chart above. Note the Biden years! Fentanyl is killing 100,000+ Americans each year. The precursors to make fentanyl are made in China, then shipped to drug cartels in Mexico. The cartels smuggle fentanyl into the US via our southern border. This illicit drug trade is an act of war and should be treated as such. Smugglers are terrorists!

During 2021 to 2022, more US citizens were killed by fentanyl than during the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Biden’s border enforcement policy is the cause of these deaths. Biden is allowing the drug to be smuggled into the US. In 2019, President Trump met with China’s Xi Jinping and successfully requested China to ban the fentanyl production. The supply stopped and deaths declined. See chart above. But Congress fought Trump regarding building the wall along our southern border. Construction stopped. By late 2020, Mexican cartels, the Sinaloa’s, Chapitos, and CJNC increased their smuggling activity. When Biden took office in early 2021, the US. experienced an historical increase in fentanyl deaths. Now, the death rate is 4X higher.

Biden is responsible. The Democrats had complete control over the WH, Senate and House. Biden cares more about future voters than American deaths. The fool Biden wants to give amnesty to illegal immigrants, many engaged in drug trafficking.

Since a majority of the fentanyl deaths are to Black people, I do not understand why our Black leaders are not outraged. Where is the Congressional Black Caucus? Where is VP Harris? What exactly did Pelosi do? She visited Taiwan which caused China to up their drug production. Why do the Democrats allow poison to be smuggled into the US?

This is Anne Milgram, Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Milgram has been the DEA leader for 2+ years, a Biden appointee. Milgram has no managerial experience, no administrative experience. She should be fired for gross negligence. The DEA has a budget of $3 billion, 23 domestic field offices and 10,100 agents. Their mission is to stop illicit drug trade. The DEA does have a diversity organization providing extensive training for all agents.

Labor Participation Rate

May 24, 2023

Note the Trump years and the Biden years!

Millions of men and women in the US. are not looking for work, about 1/3 of the labor force. They have given up! Most are living on state and federal benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, childcare credits, stimulus payments, unemployment, free lunches, disability benefits, home energy assistance, eviction relief, housing assistance, Earned tax credits, and many more.

Labor participation is calculated as “unemployed” + “employed” divided by Adult population. Currently calculated at 62% in the US. This means about 60 to 80 million workers are not working, See chart above.

Of course, millions of the unemployed cannot work due to education, disability, drug addiction, retirement, job skills, language barriers, drug tests, location, transportation, etc. However, if just 10% of the unemployed started back working, about 6-7 million workers, there would be no labor shortage. The problem is incentives to work or not to work.

Here is a short list of factors that affect unemployment:

Brandon Johnson is Chicago’s new Mayor

Chicago is the third largest city in America, about 3 million people. Chicago is also one of the most violent cities in the US. In 2022 Chicago had 695 murders, and this year through May there have been 971 shootings, an average of 7 per day.

Yet the foolish voters of Chicago elected a union organizer as the new mayor. Johnson has no qualificators to be mayor. No management experience, no financial background, no budgeting skills, no legal or contractual experience, and little leadership skills. His formal education is in youth development. And he has no business experience. He has never built an effective team!

Johnson got endorsements from unions, especially the Teachers Union. The police endorsed his mayoral opponent. Johnson is a leftist democrat and political activist.

Chicago has an operating budget of $11 billion and its 4 major pension schemes are in default, underfunded. And-the Federal covid funds are ending. The city needs a strong, experienced executive. Running a large city requires a substantial set of skills and knowledge.

Johnson will be a disaster as mayor. The voters of Chicago will regret their decision.

PS- as of March 2023, Johnson owed the city of Chicago $3,250 in unpaid water and sewer bills plus $1,000 + in unpaid parking tickets. Truly a man of character.

Directions on a Paint Can!

May 16, 2023

This is a quart size paint can purchased at Lowes. I am re-staining my front porch railings with this product. This product is expensive, about $100/gal., so I have to follow the directions on the can.

However, I cannot read the directions because the font size is so small. Even with a magnifying glass, the writing is too small. Why? Half the writing is in Spanish!

My Hispanic friends can’t read the instructions either. Two different languages crowded onto one paint can. This approach serves no one!