High Truths and Low Lies

My Hights Lights for the Week

These are my obscure events in case you missed.

January 25, 2023

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” Lyndon B. Johnson

-Bill Belichick is looking for a new coaching gig. He seems qualified to me.

-The L.A. Times has announced major layoffs, same with Sports Illustrated. McDonald’s in California is cutting staff. New $20 minimum wage is the reason. Duh!

-Trans man won ladies professional golf tournament. It was just a matter of time. Riley is so right..

-A new Miss Japan has been crowned. She was born in the Ukraine. Image provided by Google.

-A new minority group has been identified; lactose intolerant folks have rights and are suing on discrimination. The next group will be those allergic to nuts.

-California has a $68 billion budget deficit. Yet, it can provide free health benefits to illegal immigrants. Newsome is a good talker, but no leader! Also, California is ready to pass a new law to mandate prisons provide African American hair products, like anti-curl gels. I suggest they outsource this to Ulta and give the profits to the victims.

-Chicago is a mess. There is fighting among all political groups. The issue is migrants overcrowding the city services. Where are the Black leaders? Mayor Johnson is a fool.

-Migrants are living in major airports at cities like Boston, NYC, San Diego, and Chicago. Whole sections of the terminals are being used. However, there are no showers, so hygiene is a problem. Leaders are starting to blame Biden.

-Tunnels to Towers Foundation is a wonderful charity. They provide help to families of military, law enforcement and firefighters injured or killed while on duty.

-The cover has been pulled back on DEI programs. Gender and race are not qualifications. It is a fundamental economic fact that resources are scarce, and therefore must be allocated on merit. United Airlines is hiring pilots based on gender and race. Scary!

Just for fun: Pizza is made round, placed in a square box and then cut into triangles. That’s geometry!

New Study about Fentanyl

Imports equal drug deaths

January 21, 3034

“Fall down seven times, get up eight times.” Japanese proverb

I have written many times about the fentanyl crisis in America. Here is a new slant:

Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin. A single $5 pill is lethal. One gram of fentanyl, the equivalent of a pack of Splenda, is enough to kill 500 people. In 2023, 112,00 people in the US. died from drug overdose, mostly fentanyl.

Total US deaths from the last 4 major wars:

Korea 36,500 + Vietnam 58,200 + Iraq 4,492 + Afghanistan 2,325 = 101,517. More people were killed last year from fentanyl.

Most fentanyl is smuggled into the US via our southern border. It is despicable that the Democrats and Biden have allowed this to occur. The drug smuggling is controlled by Mexican gangs. I have always thought the US should declare war on these gangs.

A new study, yet to be released, shows a correlation between US. imports and drug overdoses. In the US., states with higher levels of product imports have higher levels of drug deaths. Since a majority of product imports are from Asia and mostly low cost, this means that fentanyl is being smuggled in the lower cost items. Fentanyl is very potent and can be easily smuggled in small quantities. Obviously, this is alarming.

We must fight this war on many fronts including the southern border and our shipping ports. We just need a strong president to lead the fight.

Two Bad Men

January 17, 2024

“Evil succeeds when good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke

This is a story about 2 bad men.

The first man is Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors. During an NBA game on December 12th, Green punched an opposing player in the face. The player was knocked to the floor. Green was ejected from the game for the third time this NBA season. Subsequently, Green was suspended by the NBA indefinitely. About a month earlier, Green was ejected for putting a headlock on another player. For that, Green was suspended for 5 games. Just 3 days prior to that, Green was ejected for multiple technical fouls. Overall, Green has been suspended by the NBA 6 times. Green is 6’6″ and weighs 230 lbs. How many chances does he get??

The second bad man is Michael Daryle Withers, age 27, from Charlotte, NC.

Withers is a convicted felon. In August 2021 Withers was arrested for a fatal shooting (second degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon) while on a basketball court in a city park. He made bail and was released. He is currently awaiting trial.

In early January 2024, Withers was involved in another shootout, this time with an assault rifle. He is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, shooting into two occupied dwellings, and damage to property for firing rounds into parked cars. At least 4 cars and 3 apartments were riddled with bullets. Police have said they expect to file more charges.

Somehow, our current broken legal system allowed this man to post a $10,000 bond and walk free. He is not in jail. Can you imagine a convicted felon, with two pending felonies for murder and deadly assault walking free? How many chances does he get???

The Decline of Germany

January 16, 2024

“The more you sweat in peace, the less you will sweat in war.” N. Schwarzkopf

The most popular politician in Germany today is Alice Weidel. Her party, Alternative for Germany, (AfD) is surging ahead of all others. Dr. Weidel holds a PhD in Economics.

Weidel believes the German border should be secured. Voters agree.

For too many years Germany was run by Angela Merkel, German Chancellor from 2005-2021. During that time, thousands of refugees from Muslim countries like Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq were allowed into Germany. Weidel believes “politicians must point to the negative sides of certain groups of Muslims.” Crime rates have soared in Germany and 90% of recent violent crimes are committed by migrants. See graph below. Notice the surge beginning 2009. In years prior to 2009, Germany’s crime rate was in decline.

The education system in Germany has also been impacted by the influx of migrants. Test scores comparing Germany to other European countries show a decline. Migrant children do poorly on the tests, while placing a huge burden on the education system.

Even Merkel’s party has become alarmed, once stating “Islam belongs to Germany,” now revised to “Germany welcomes Muslims who share German values.”

Alice Weidel’s political views are consistent with the surging parties in Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, and many other European countries.

Germany was once one of the most powerful countries in the world, now it’s just average. Germany has 85 million people, now about 25% are foreign born.

Houthis and the Blowhard!

January 15, 2024

“A good answer late, is always better than a fast answer that’s wrong.” Self

Biden was president less than a month (Feb. 2021) when he reversed Trump’s decision to list the Houthis as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization. The Houthis are backed by Iran using money Iran received from Biden ($6 billion). Biden unfroze the Iranian money in exchange for 5 US hostages. There is no doubt that Iran provides financial support for numerous terrorist groups, including the Houthis.

The October 7th terrorist attack (Hamas) on Israel was funded by Iran, approximately 6-7 weeks after Biden released the $6 billion to Iran. Biden hoped the funds would “calm” tensions in the Middle East and thus give the Democrats a better chance during the US elections this Fall. Their plan had exactly the opposite effect.

The Houthis used drones and ballistic missiles to attack commercial ships in the Red Sea. As of today, there have been 25-30 attacks by the Houthis against commercial ships. There have also been missile attacks on US military vessels.

An anti-ship ballistic missile is designed to carry an explosive warhead approximately 700 to 1000 Km’s, using radar or other more sophisticated guidance systems.

See picture below of Iranian missile:

Biden was forced to respond by striking Houthi encampments in Yemen. What a dangerous mess. The ongoing war in the Ukraine, Israel’s fight in the Gaza Strip, and now the US striking targets in Yemen. What a disaster Joe!

I’m Back

To my faithful readers,

For the last 2 months I have been locked out of my blog. Denied access for some strange reason….

So, I find myself with a lot to say. Please stay tuned!

My Comments on the United States Postal Service.

November 26, 2023

The USPS is run by the Executive Branch of the US government and is considered to be an independent agency. It has 655,000 employees, including about 160,000 part-timers and contractors. The average pay per employee is $66,000. Unfortunately, the USPS is heavily unionized. A Board of Governors provides oversight to the Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy. Again unfortunately, the Board is heavily Democratic, and union influenced.

The USPS is in the service industry, moving letters and packages from place to place. Overall, it is not a sophisticated operation.

The USPS fiscal year ended in September and reported a $6.5 billion operating loss. Net income for the year was $56 billion including billions from the Postal Service Reform Act, a government bail-out. The $6.5 billion loss comes after 4 postage rate hikes in the last 2 years. Rate hikes actually hurt mail volume, especially for business marketing mailers. Duh.

PM DeJoy has a 10-year plan which began 2021. The goal is to make the USPS net positive. Bull! There is no such thing as a 10-year plan in any industry or business. Too many factors change. Things have gotten worse. A drop in overall revenues and a hike in operating costs resulted in the $6.5 billion loss. Of course, higher fuel costs for delivery vehicles (thanks Joe) were a huge factor, along with the decline in business mailings.

There is no future for “hard” mail. The world is going paperless. So, DeJoy needs to do the following:

The Charlotte “Fish Wrap”

November 24, 2023

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Maimonides

Our local paper is terrible. Every day the paper runs several articles about 1,2, or 3 oppressed groups. The headlines are always exaggerated and misleading. And recently the “esteemed” editorial board is publishing liberal opinions on minor issues or non-events.

Case in point-the paper ran a half page article about voter ID’s. The “Fish Wrap” headline was “NC’s voter photo ID law could trim votes in 2024.”

The vast majority of Americans (80%) favor voter ID laws. If you want to vote, you must present a government issued photo ID. We do not want non-citizens to vote, especially after Biden opened the border to 8 million immigrants.

According to the editorial board, the new NC voter ID law was actually an attempt by Republicans to suppress Democratic voters. Hogwash!! Buried in the article was some data about the recent local primary elections. Out of 99,000 votes cast, about 40 were set aside due to lack of proper ID. I guess those people can’t buy alcohol, travel by air, drive a car, buy cigarettes, apply for government assistance, rent a car/house, or open a bank account.

Voters without proper ID can cast provisional ballots, and have it count after presenting additional information. So-what’s the problem? For me, the issue is illegal immigrants casting ballots. Finally, recent elections in many states showed record voter turnout, Georgia is a good example. There was absolutely no voter suppression. The editorial board should use data and facts not prejudiced speculation.

Dawn Staley is Wrong

November 23, 2023– Thanksgiving Day

Dawn Staley is the women’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina. In 2021 she signed an historic coaching contract for $22 million. Her annual pay is 2.5 times higher than the Dean of the USC Business School. She has a net worth of $7 million. She has been incredibly successful as a player and coach.

Recently, she used her high-profile status to highlight alleged pay disparities for Black women. She claims Black women are subject to racial and gender bias. The data does show Black women earn less than white men and white women, but nowhere does Staley offer the true reason. Black household income is $20,000 to $30,000 less than white families because Black households are overwhelmingly (75%) single women, often poorly educated and working part-time. These Black women have childcare issues. White families mostly have 2 wage earners. Asians often have 3 wage earners per household.

Data shows men earn a higher income than women, and the reason is very clear and indisputable. Men work in higher paying industries. Period. Women work in retail, clerical, childcare, education, medical admin., and other low skill industries. Also, due to childcare issues, many women work part-time.

Racial and gender bias is not the reason. Staley is wrong. Black women need job-related skills and education. For years, companies have tried very hard to recruit Blacks and women. Quotas, affirmative action, and DEI have hardly made a dent in the wage gap. Notable economists James Heckman (Nobel Prize) and Thomas Sowell have studied the pay gap problem for decades. They both conclude parenting skills, family structure, and education is the true basis for any wage disparities.

Footnote–Staley is 53 and has never been married, and has no children.

My Trip to the Mall

November 17, 2023

“If you buy things, you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.” W. Buffet

I recently went on my annual trip to the mall. South Charlotte has a very large and upscale mall, with stores like Tiffany’s, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Lululemon, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Kate Spade, Burberry (scarfs were $475), and Michael Kors. There are a total of 165 stores at this mall, including the small annoying kiosks. The mall also had a food court. Chick-fil-A was jammed.

Victoria Secrets had a store, but I have always been too intimidated to enter.

In the large stores like Nordstrom, Belk and Macy’s I could not find an employee. Nor could I find a cashier. To make a purchase I had to travel the width of the store to check out. Since I was shopping for clothes for my wife, I was amazed at the horrible fashions. A lot of grays and browns. No wonder the store was empty of customers.

And women’s sizing is incomprehensible. I saw an extra-large petite. a 2X small, a 5-6, numerous plus sizes, and extra small petite (a cocktail dress for a 4th grader). Torn jeans cost more than regular jeans; some were shredded.

The cosmetic departments and perfumes were staffed by foreign speaking women, most from eastern Europe. And-there’s always a holiday gift set, with 7-9 products and a “gift bag.”

The mall was beautiful but had very few customers. Older men were sitting on couches waiting for their wives. Some walking clubs were present, just walking the mall for exercise.

I don’t see a future for these malls. Another mall in Charlotte recently defaulted on a $147 million loan. Too bad. The frosted soft pretzels were very good.