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Originally from the 419, I've done news and views from Delmarva since 2005.
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Category: Business and industry
Time to indulge our 'Made in the U.S.A.' consumerism
This is the sixth annual edition put out by the folks at the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
This is always a good post for Black Friday.
It's been several years now since I scratched an itch to promote our American manufacturing by joining a (sadly ill-fated) venture called American Certified. One thing that short foray gave me, though, was a place on the mailing list of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a union-backed promoter of (you guessed it) American manufacturing. Its president Scott Paul is perhaps among those I've most quoted on this site, and arguably first among non-Maryland non-politicians.
The AAM has, over the last several years, created what they call their "Made in America Gift Guide." It actually worked well hand-in-hand with an effort by the Patriot Voices group (the people who keep two-time Presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum in the news on occasion) called the Made in the U.S.A. Christmas Challenge, but that challenge has seemed to go by the wayside, leaving AAM as the sole purveyor and promoter of American-made Christmas gifts.
This is year 6 for AAM and they picked at least one item from each state – 83 overall by my count. I thought Delaware's selected entry this year was a little bit off the wall, but then again RAPA ships its scrapple around the country during holiday time (November to February.) It may not be the gift for everyone on your list, but I'm sure there are some who now live in other regions of the country who wouldn't mind a taste of home.
But in a neat piece of irony (and no pun intended) the selected Maryland gift comes from an Eastern Shore company called Butter Pat Industries. Their claim to fame? Hand-crafted cast iron skillets, which have drawn the attention and raves from cooking aficionados. (That's why I've never heard of them, since I burn water.)
Since I quote him so often, here's what AAM's Scott Paul had to say:
Everything on this year's list is new, and many of the ideas came from readers like you.
We think there's something for everyone on your gift list. Our team made sure to include a mix of items at a variety of price points.
If everyone in the United States spent $64 of their holiday budget on American-made products, it would support 200,000 new factory jobs! But we know it can be hard to find Made in America goods in big box stores or at the local mall.
By putting together this list, we hope to shine a spotlight on some great companies who support local jobs and their communities — and make it easier for folks like you to find great American-made gifts during the busy holiday season.
Scott Paul, Alliance for American Manufacturing press release, November 26, 2019.
Of course, they also strive to not repeat gifts from year to year so Delaware's list has varied nicely over the years: baby accessories, unglazed cookware, handcrafted gifts and furnishings, Jell-O mix (!), and – of course – Dogfish Head ales. (Too bad they didn't give the late lamented 16 Mile brewery the same love.) The Eastern Shore has also been represented in Maryland's selection on a couple previous occasions, including Paul Reed Smith guitars.
So if one of your Christmas goals is to shop local, this guide is a pretty good place to begin. And the job you save may be that of someone you know.
Author MichaelPosted on November 29, 2019 December 6, 2019 Categories Business and industry, Delmarva itemsTags Alliance for American Manufacturing, American Certified, Black Friday, Business and industry, Delaware, Made in America, manufacturing, Patriot Voices, Rick Santorum
Odds and ends number 95
Back with bloggy goodness in bite-sized chunks of a couple sentences to a few paragraphs. Let's see what the e-mail bag has in store.
A pro-life concern
Political e-mail is often chock full of hyperbole, but I found a recent e-mail from the folks at the Maryland Pro-Life Alliance PAC interesting – is there really a renewed pro-abortion push here? They call it a "political attack group," a 501 (c)(4) which "will be able to take massive checks from outside Maryland starting from Day 1." But I didn't find any news story on the subject, which makes it sound like just so much hype.
To me, theirs is the kind of e-mail that sets back the cause. Don't just tell me there's an AP story, give me a link – for all I know this was three years ago. It's bad enough that a group with less than $1,000 in the bank, and a group that didn't spend a dime on candidates in the 2018 election, is asking for money to counter this phantom threat.
More bad news for Maryland business
The headline of a Maryland Public Policy Institute business climate study made it sound like businesses are becoming less optimistic about business conditions in the state overall, yet they remain relatively positive.
But buried in the remaining information was an interesting dichotomy between businesses along the I-95 corridor, where companies believing the state was business-friendly prevailed by a 49-16 average margin, and outstate companies which only deemed the state business-friendly by a 39-35 count. Given that the overall mark was 46-19, it's apparent that the outstate entities were but a small portion of the survey – probably no more than 15%. However, that's 100% of the issue here on Delmarva.
Add to this the war on plastic – which is in the process of having the good guys lose in Delaware – as well as the laughable job creation numbers proponents of the maglev boondoggle are touting, and we may have seen an economic peak on Delmarva until people with real sanity are placed back in government, at least in the view of the MPPI.
But their annual magnum opus is the Annapolis Report, which grades the Maryland General Assembly on its work for the session. If they were a college student, the MGA would be on academic probation.
The Democrats' deplorable problem
For decades the prevailing belief was that Republicans were for the business man while Democrats were for the working man. In 2016, however, that philosophy was turned on its head as thousands and thousands of union workers ignored their Big Labor bosses who backed Hillary Clinton and pulled the lever for Donald Trump, enabling him to win in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
But, as David Catron recently argued in The American Spectator, the Democrats who think those voters are the key to 2020 victory are barking up the wrong tree. He contends:
(S)upporting Trump simply isn't the done thing in polite society. To do so is to risk loss of social status – if not outright ostracism – and open conflict with friends or family. Trump supporters mislead pollsters or simply refuse to answer their questions pursuant to similar psychological and social incentives. All of which leads to a lot of confusion concerning who it is that supports President Trump and precisely why. This, in turn, renders it very difficult for round heel politicians like Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren to pander to "working class" voters they badly need to "win back" to the Democratic fold in the 2020 election cycle.
David Catron, "Why the Dems Will Never Win Back Trump Voters," The American Spectator, June 24, 2019.
I've talked about this a couple times on the radio, and Catron makes the argument as well: I sensed this back in 2016, which is why I did "Bradley effect" updates on the Presidential race. If you believed the actual polls on a state-by-state basis, Hillary Clinton should have had upward of 300 electoral votes. But if you assume the polls underestimated Trump by five points, your blue map becomes a shade of pink that carries The Donald to victory. My last couple "Bradley effect" maps suggested a narrow Trump win so I wasn't as shocked as I thought I might be when it really happened.
On another deplorable front, the pull of Big Labor doesn't seem to be as strong as it used to be. I remember writing on this situation for The Patriot Post back in 2014, but even after another half-decade of trying the UAW still can't get its hooks into an auto plant south of the Mason-Dixon line, failing again to unionize the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This latest update comes from my friends at the Capital Research Center.
More on the Presidential sweepstakes
I have a number of different items here.
Let's start with Erick Erickson, who points out in a brief but concise Resurgent article that Joe Biden's not a racist – it's just proof of how far the Democrats have moved the Overton window on that subject.
And if you want bat-crap crazy Democrats, look no further than the Indivisible crowd.
After the recent Democrat debates, the Astroturf group polled its followers and found that their preferred candidates didn't line up with the ones on top of the mainstream polls:
We asked Indivisibles to identify which candidates they are considering voting for and which they are definitely not. The results revealed that the historic candidacies of women, people of color and LGBTQ candidates are faring well among the movement and have plenty of room to grow as the field narrows. It also revealed that some of the presumed frontrunners may hit a ceiling with activists, given how many Indivisibles say they aren't considering them at all.
Indivisible news release, July 2, 2019.
In other words, identity politics is alive and well. "(I)f the election were held today, 35% of people said they would vote for (Elizabeth) Warren and 31% selected (Kamala) Harris," they said. Compare this to the Morning Consult poll from yesterday (July 16) where Warren and Harris combined for just 27% of the vote, a number that still trailed frontrunner Joe Biden. In fact, those "women, people of color, and LGBTQ candidates" only account for about 40% of the vote, trailing those white males in the top 2 slots and scattered among the rest.
I'm not going to sit and do the math, but I daresay that Indivisible isn't much of a movement when the candidates 66% of their group support can't even muster half that amount of support in a wider poll.
Who's really gerrymandering?
This is a fascinating study from the CRC. While the Democrats contend that independent redistricting commissions will best address the issue of gerrymandering (which, of course, only became a problem after the TEA Party wave election of 2010, which got the break of getting to draw districts for this decade), this study suggests the hype from Democrats is overblown.
Two more states – but a bunch to go
If you're a fan of the Constitution Party, the good news is that they kept ballot access in two states (Arkansas and North Carolina) and their goal is access in 35 states. Maryland will probably not be one of them because their 10,000 signature threshold is daunting for the two minor parties which generally qualify for the ballot, the Green Party and Libertarian Party, let alone a smaller entity such as the CP. In Delaware they need over double their number of registered voters by the end of 2019 to qualify, which seems unlikely unless a concerted effort to flip members of other minor parties occurs.
You may notice this is the day of Tawes, but there's no pictorial.
After 13 or 14 years of going, I just lost interest in the event the last few years. And considering this is a pretty much dead year on the election calendar – no 2020 Senate election and not much going on in the Congressional realm – it was not worth taking a day off to go and overpay for food, a little bit of beer, and a crapton of diet Pepsi. Since I'm not an invited guest to the tents where the real action is, I'm happier being home.
To my friends who were there, I hope you had a good time. But it just isn't that much fun for me anymore.
Author MichaelPosted on July 17, 2019 Categories All politics is local, Business and industry, Campaign 2020, Culture and Politics, Delmarva items, Maryland Politics, National politics, Personal stuff, PoliticsTags Big Labor, Capital Research Center, Constitution Party, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren, Erick Erickson, gerrymandering, Hillary Clinton, Indivisible movement, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Maryland General Assembly, Maryland Pro-Life Alliance, Maryland Public Policy Institute, Tawes Crab and Clam Bake
I've been meaning to get to this for maybe a month or so as my e-mail box kept filling up. So finally I'm writing all these quick takes of a couple sentences to a few paragraphs as I have done 93 times prior. Let's begin with this one.
The Biden Rules
Because I was on the American Possibilities e-mail list, I'm now on the Biden 2020 e-mail list, and that gives me no shortage of amusement because the e-mail come across to me as gaffetastic as the real thing.
First came the e-mail where Biden pledged to not take money from "corporate PACs, federal lobbyists, and registered foreign agents." Better than his old boss, I guess, but all that means is that some entity will be laundering the money through a series of contributions first. So this is essentially meaningless.
But even better was the one where Joe took it as an insult from President Trump that he "abandoned Pennsylvania." I always like it when he talks to me:
Well Michael, I've never forgotten where I came from. My family did have to leave Pennsylvania when I was 10 — we moved to Delaware where my Dad found a job that could provide for our family.
Let's be clear Michael: this isn't just about me. This is proof that Donald Trump doesn't understand the struggles working folks go through.
He doesn't understand what it's like to worry you will lose the roof over your head. He doesn't understand what it's like to wonder if you'll be able to put food on the table.
Biden e-mail, May 21, 2019.
Bear in mind that Biden could have moved back to Pennsylvania at any time once he reached adulthood. But Joe made his life in Delaware, or at least got his start there since he's truly a creature of Washington, D.C.
But my real point is that there were a lot of people who faced that issue when Barack Obama was in office. I'll grant that Obama's was a situation inherited from the Bush administration but the "jobless recovery" we struggled through meant a lot of kids had to hear that same sort of news. And speaking of Obama…
Who does the gerrymandering?
Another legacy e-mail list that's led to some howlers is my ending up on the list of an entity called "All On The Line" – that's a result of being on the Organizing For Against America list. Every so often AOTL sends me what they consider egregious examples of blatant gerrymandering: one was Wisconsin's First District (until recently represented by Rep. Paul Ryan), for which they claimed:
You won't look at Wisconsin's districts and see weird shapes. State legislators have used a more sophisticated, subtle form of gerrymandering — but the intentional manipulation is undeniably there. That's why even though Democrats won 54 percent of the state's congressional votes in November 2018, they won only 38 percent of the Congressional seats.
"All On The Line" e-mail, May 22, 2019.
By that same logic, Maryland Republicans should be more fairly represented as they won 32% of the Congressional votes but only got 13% of the seats – a larger disparity than Wisconsin's.
Another of their complaints came about from North Carolina's 11th District, which was once competitive (but won by Democrats) but now – not so much. And it has crazy boundaries in the city of Asheville to boot. In this case, they blamed the idea of exactly equal population. It's now represented by Mark Meadows, who chairs the Freedom Caucus – that's why they are upset.
Before that, I got a missive about Jim Jordan's Ohio's 4th District, where they whined about Oberlin College being included therein. Yes, he's another member of the Freedom Caucus, and yes, that map was drawn by Republicans. In other words, you will never see them complain about Maryland, which is arguably the worst example of gerrymandering.
I have some ideas on how to address this, but it will be a future post.
Saying the right things
This was an interesting article from the Capital Research Center, as it talked about how language is used to shape public perception of an issue. It's the first part of what I consider a must-read series from the group, which is really worth following if you're into being a policy wonk.
I also have the CRC to thank for revealing that, while the Left howled in protest about President Trump's short list of judicial nominees, they're quite reticent about who they would select. Wonder why?
Old ideas become new, or just stay timeless?
I know that education needs to be reformed, but perhaps our old friend Bobby Jindal can do a little better than just dusting off an old proposal. Perhaps setting the groundwork for a 2024 or 2028 run, Jindal's America Next group dusted off the e-mail list to send me this, which I noticed was from 2015 – just before he got into the 2016 race. Good stuff, but a bit dated. And of course, it was enclosed with a fundraising appeal.
The force for good
Last week my update from API has an item that hit a nail on the head. From their blog:
John Watson, then the chairman and CEO of Chevron, once was asked how the natural gas and oil industry is perceived since so much of the climate discussion is aimed solely at producing fossil fuels.
Unflinchingly, Watson countered that his industry is a noble one – delivering light, heat, transportation, food, clothing and other benefits to people every day – and that natural gas and oil are foundational for almost everything that we use and do. Simply put, Watson asserted that natural gas and oil are forces for good in human development and far from a deterrent (and instead an enabler) of climate progress.
It was an argument for the societal value of natural gas and oil and the opportunities they create, thanks to U.S. energy abundance. Connecting communities with energy and opportunity remains a pillar of our industry today – especially when you consider America's growing capacity to share energy with the rest of the world, where many areas haven't benefited from abundant or reliable energy.
"A Force For Good", Megan Bloomgren, Energy Tomorrow blog, June 13, 2019.
Of course, she works for API, but working for them doesn't discount her point of view. When our CO2 emissions are on the decline while those of many other nations are increasing, you have to say we're on to something.
It boils down to this: at this stage, the top renewables are not the top reliables. While we are at the time of year we receive the most sunlight per day, it doesn't mean you won't have a cloudy day… and unfortunately, those warm, still days of summer are the days you don't receive a whole lot of wind to push those turbines around.
The career stepping stone?
You know, I've never thought of my humble little site as a job provider. Shoot, as little as I've blogged here over the last three years it's a wonder the lights are still on.
So I was somewhat surprised to get an e-mail from "Jessica Stewart," who's leaving her "role" as a finance and business writer to building a freelance portfolio. But this is what she told me:
I have some ideas, I think your monoblogue.us audience will enjoy.
Are you open to accepting free guest post content for publication on monoblogue.us?
Her ideas were (and I'm quoting verbatim):
Why Direct Lending is Surging in 2019
Why the Small Business Administration can't help in a small Business loan?
Why rising interest rates are creating refinancing headaches for small Businesses?
Problem was – I did a Google search of the titles and found them on other sources. So I wonder what overseas writer making a pennies a day is really writing as Jessica Stewart?
After all, if I had a paying writing gig why would I leave it? Why do you think I've stayed with Patriot Post for all these years?
That's enough for these odds and ends, until next time.
Author MichaelPosted on June 17, 2019 Categories Bloggers and blogging, Business and industry, Campaign 2020 - President, Education, Inside the Beltway, National politics, PoliticsTags All On The Line, American Petroleum Institute, American Possibilities, Barack Obama, blogging, Bobby Jindal, Capital Research Center, Donald Trump, Jim Jordan, Joe Biden, Organizing Against America, Paul Ryan, renewable energy
Thoughts on the Downtown Salisbury Festival 2019
It used to be one of three events I looked forward to; the trio of spring harbingers which came and went each April: opening night for the Shorebirds, Pork in the Park, and the Salisbury Festival to wrap up the month. Regarding the latter two, I made it to most of those over the last decade of their runs, missing a few because of prior engagements but generally having a good time. Pork in the Park came to an inglorious end a couple years ago when the county decided to focus its efforts on other events.
By that same token, after its 2015 rendition the Salisbury Festival went on hiatus, or in the description of the new incarnation, the concept was "retired." In its place last year, moved back on the calendar to a new early June timeframe, was the newly-rechristened Downtown Salisbury Festival. Unfortunately, the 2018 event was marred by the same rainy weather which seemed to dog us every weekend last year.
While I attended last year's event on Saturday, with the vendors strung along a couple blocks of East Main Street, this year our one opportunity to show up was Friday night. And thanks to construction along East Main Street as well as the completion last summer of the riverside amphitheater, the venue was set up a lot differently.
Instead of their traditional placement in Lot 10 or closer to the library, this time the rides were placed across the river from the amphitheater. To me that made things more festive.
The food court pretty much stayed where it has always been, and the selection wasn't too bad. (We decided on dinner at a different venue, though. *Read to the end for a mini restaurant review.)
Some of the selections in the food court. It used to be just booths and tents – for many years the Wicomico County Republican Club was a staple there selling hamburgers and hotdogs right off the grill – but now it's a fair number of food trucks, too.
More of the food court. It was a cloudy but not overly hot Friday night, so I thought the crowd was a little on the modest side.
I would have thought there would be a few more people down there, although the threat of rain may have dampened things a tad bit.
But because I was there on Friday night, all of the action was centered around the riverwalk. It made for a nice overall photo from the pedestrian bridge.
Looking eastward from the pedestrian bridge toward the amphitheater. This was the crowd as The Permilla Project was wrapping up.
In years past, I remember going to the old Salisbury Festival a couple of times on a Friday night and this was where the musical stage was set for that particular party. Now that's become the main stage as opposed to using the steps of the Government Office Building or the makeshift space in the Plaza. So I gotta hand it to the city: the amphitheater is truly a nice venue to watch this size of show. There were probably 200-300 people there – maybe more – but it didn't seem overly crowded at all. It probably could have (and should have given the talent level of the performers) held twice or thrice that many just fine.
So the question I have for anyone who read this and remembers last year: were there the same number and quality of vendors on Saturday? I missed it this year because of a previous engagement, but I thought it was misleading that the maps showed vendors but didn't point out they were only there on Saturday (and maybe Sunday, although that was pretty much a washout.) In that respect, though, they really haven't departed from the Salisbury Festival tradition – all they have done is moved the venue out of the Plaza and over to the riverfront. I suppose this works well for making it different from Third Friday.
Still I think the June date is a bit problematic. I'm not sure what the target market is for this event, but at least this year they picked a weekend that wasn't crowded by high school graduations. On the other hand, we are also into beach time as well as vacations for the family. While the weather wasn't as cooperative, I think as a regional event this always worked better in late April. If the idea is a little bit lower-key event, then June is okay.
The DSF wasn't hurting for sponsors, at least. But there are a number of charitable and government entities here as opposed to local businesses. That's why I wish I knew what vendor turnout was like.
I'm not done with the posts on this, though. Most of the reason I stuck around was to bring back a series dormant for too long. Here's a hint.
Headlining Friday night was the Paul Reed Smith band. This weekend will feature a brand new edition of Weekend of Local Rock. Yeah, it's been awhile!
Once they get through with remaking downtown perhaps this festival will get back to its peak, just like the Salisbury Festival did in the mid-aughts. (They had some great local bands there, to be sure.) I know a lot of the air gets sucked out of the lower-tier events because the city of Salisbury is concentrating on the National Folk Festival and its post-2020 successor but this is one worth fighting for if they can make a few tweaks.
*Oh, and by the way: I almost hate to say this because we literally pretty much had the run of the place by the time we left, but if you want to try something good, the new Salisbury Pit n' Pub was excellent. It's right by the old Monkey Barrel (site of several renditions of WLR) across from SU. We actually ate at the 28th Street OC location on a church couples' retreat over last winter so we were glad to see one opened here. It definitely made me miss Pork in the Park.
Author MichaelPosted on June 11, 2019 Categories Business and industry, Delmarva items, Personal stuffTags Downtown Salisbury, Downtown Salisbury Festival, Pork in the Park, Salisbury Festival, Weekend of Local Rock
A delusion of support?
It's probably as close as the 2020 Presidential campaign will get to Delmarva – although with over 20 Democrats currently in the race, you never know what rocks they'll crawl under to get the buzz needed to qualify for the first round of debates.
But Joe Biden has chosen Pennsylvania to be the home of "the official beginning of our campaign, held in the birthplace of democracy ." More specifically, it's going to be held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, presumably in front of the steps made famous by the movie Rocky.
I'm guessing it's the compromise choice between beginning it in Scranton where he was born and Delaware, where he spent most of his adult life. (That is, if you don't count the 44 years he was in some sort of federal elected office in DC: 36 in the Senate representing Delaware and 8 as vice president.) Never mind that Philadelphia is a much larger media market that Scranton or Wilmington and the symbolism of those steps too much to resist for a man who deems himself a champion of the working class.
As an aside, if that is the "official beginning" of the campaign what does that say about the union gathering in Pittsburgh when Biden announced? I suppose he believes they are already in his pocket, like the firefighters union that passed on 2016 but quickly endorsed "Creepy Joe." It's interesting that he would allow his campaign staff to organize but "believes the work environment he's offering is good enough to prevent any push for a union." I'm sure thousands of others thought the same way.
But one thing I noticed in the announcement of his Philadelphia rally is the prohibition on homemade signs. Obviously that's an effort to control the message, but it is an open-air rally. And there you run the risk of not being able to fill the space – although I'm betting some compliant local unions will be bussing people in to make the crowd look larger.
That sign prohibition is really a shame, though, because I'd love to see a replica sign like this one:
This was the souvenir I recovered from a trash pile at the 9/12 Taxpayer March on Washington. Too bad I don't have it anymore to lend out for Joe's rally.
But we have a lot of J-O-B-S now; in fact, unemployment is at 50 year lows – or should I say back to a time when Joe Biden hadn't yet been elected to office.
So it will be interesting to see how Joe will argue against more of the same for the economy. I'll bet he tries, though.
Author MichaelPosted on May 13, 2019 May 11, 2019 Categories Business and industry, Campaign 2020 - President, Delaware politics, National politics, PoliticsTags Big Labor, Campaign 2020 - President, Joe Biden
Losing the middle class
Most of my readers know that, after months of speculation as to his fate, former Delaware Senator and Vice-President Joe Biden entered the 2020 tournament for the Democratic presidential nomination a couple weeks back.
I had the opportunity to find this out a little in advance as I've been on his American Possibilities e-mail list for awhile. Of course, that's morphed into the Biden 2020 mailing list so now I get regular missives from him on a variety of topics. Most of them I ignore, but this one begged for a counterpoint. I'll pick it up after the formalities and omit the appeals for money as I go point-by-point. He'll be in italics and I'll be in regular font since it works better than a blockquote.
Michael, this country wasn't built by bankers, CEOs, or hedge fund managers. This country was built by the American middle class.
It's nice that you know my name, Joe, and in many respects you are correct. But most "bankers, CEOs, or hedge fund managers" were once members of the middle class – they just used hard work, talent, and aptitude to rise above the rabble that may not have had those same priorities, abilities, or desire to succeed. And the country needs ditch-diggers, too: there's no shame in hard work. America was built by this team effort.
But today, the middle class is under attack, and too many families are being left out. They are working longer hours for less pay.
That's why I'm calling for a $15 minimum wage — so we can build an economy where everyone has a chance to get ahead. (Emphasis in original.)
An hour is really still 60 minutes, but I get the point. But it seemed to me that median wages were increasing faster than inflation was since your successor took office, and government figures bear me out. They also prove that the Trump administration is succeeding much better than your old boss in addressing the situation.
I'll grant the numbers come in at the tail end of the Great Recession (on the cited chart they begin in 2010) but in constant dollars the time period from 2010-2016 saw a net increase of just $5 a week during that six-year period. Moreover, while women's earnings increased $10, men's earnings actually declined $2 a week in constant dollars (based on 1982-84.)
Conversely, under Trump men have increased by a full $10 in nine quarters and women are up $2. Overall, the numbers are up $6 despite a hiccup at the end of 2017 that saw a sharp decrease in all categories. In 2018-19 men are up $11 a week, women $4 a week, and overall we have gained $10 a week. (Remember, that's in 1980's-vintage constant dollars. In actual 2018-19 terms the numbers since the end of 2017 are $51 a week for men, $29 for women, and $44 overall. A full $20 of that overall figure came upon the enactment of the Trump tax cuts between 2017Q4 and 2018Q1.)
Given that the average wage is now $23.31 an hour (and has risen about $1.50 since Trump came into office): I think the middle class is doing pretty well in this economy. But let's soldier on:
And Michael, I'm asking you to stand with me on this, Sign your name to call for an increase of the national minimum wage to $15:
No, you're standing by yourself on this one, Joe. Aren't I already on your mailing list anyway? (By the way, that was originally a link to the money page.)
The middle class isn't a number — it's a set of values. Owning your own home. Sending your kids to college. Taking care of your geriatric parents.
The cost of all of these things is rising. And wages? Those aren't.
We need to fix that. (Emphasis in original.)
Didn't I just prove that wages were rising? Surely not everyone has an equal bump in pay, but as a whole they are.
And let's talk about these milestones, shall we? One huge issue for the Millennials is the student loan debt they carry thanks to a society (aided by government regulatory policies at all levels) which requires a college degree for most of the desirable jobs. But not every degree is created equal; hence you get the proverbial womyn's history majors working part-time as a barista at Starbucks while many engineering majors make serious coin. (Moreover, a large percentage of STEM majors are foreign students – look at a list of graduates from any engineering program and you won't see a lot of common American names.)
And why is college so expensive in the first place? Conveniently, this chart happens to go back to my senior year of college and is in constant 2015-16 dollars – so you can see how the cost has grown so much faster than inflation. It's been almost twenty years since I set foot on the campus of my alma mater but even in that fifteen years between graduation and my last visit there was a LOT of building on that campus – mainly in the category of student amenities such as a recreation center and complete renovation of the student center. Yeah, there were a couple new academic buildings (and they were gutting and expanding the architecture department building at the time) as well but that's not what really attracts the kids.
Add to that the multitude (as in growing at a rate twice as fast as student enrollment) of new administrators – who surely receive an upper-middle-class salary and benefit package – and you have the beginning of a rampant increase in costs.
But the kicker was finalized by your old boss. Once the government shifted from guaranteeing loans – a practice for which the modern incarnation began in the early 1990s as a pilot program under Bush 41 – to becoming the sole provider in 2010 as a codicil to the Obamacare act, schools had no incentive to keep costs in line – why not dip your greedy mitts into that sweet manna of taxpayer dollars and keep everyone working on campus fat and happy? They had their money, so who cared if the government didn't get theirs? That was on the student!
So the graduates (if they finished at all) have no money for a house, which is why many millions still live at home. And since their Boomer parents seldom put enough away (perhaps because they're still supporting Johnny and Sally) for retirement and old age – believing Social Security and Medicare would somehow be enough to cushion their lavish lifestyles – those Boomers and their kids got a rude awakening when it was time for long-term care: Medicare doesn't cover it and Medicaid will help itself to your estate for reimbursement.
Maybe it's time to reconsider how much the government has already "fixed" for the middle class here? And don't worry, I didn't forget about ol' "Creepy Joe." Here he is again:
We need to restore the basic bargain for Americans so that if you work hard, you are able to share in the prosperity your work helped create.
To do this, we need to start with paying fair wages from the beginning.
Joe, did you forget that the true minimum wage is zero? Chances are, if you work hard and learn the skills needed to succeed in the workplace, you won't be a minimum-wage worker for long. Yes, you may have to relocate or do tasks you might think are "beneath" you, but there are still paths to success in America – even in states where the minimum wage is set to the federal minimum.
Honestly, if we wanted "fair" wages we would have no minimum wage. That would be the ultimate in fairness as you are paid what you are worth to the employer. Don't forget: employers aren't there to give you a job, they are working to make a profit for themselves. If that doesn't suit you, there are many opportunities to be your own boss – be cautioned, though, that there's a much smaller safety net underneath you. But you would definitely "share in the prosperity your work helped create."
I'm asking you to speak up, with me, and call for a raise of the national minimum wage, as the first step of many to have the back of American workers.
I told you no once, Joe. Get the government off the back of American workers.
This is just the first step. I look forward to sharing more about my plan for America in the future. Stay tuned.
Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. When your plan consists of rightsizing government to conform to the Constitution – that would be a good first step. Until then, you're just a guy who's lived on the taxpayer dime for way too long.
You know, Joe, I was only six years old when you were first elected, and in that interim time I've worked in the private sector for thirty years or so. (For about fifteen of those I was paying off student loans – and that was only for about $10,000, plus scads of interest.) You made it all the way to vice-president, and I'll give you props for dealing with the tragedies in your life. But arguably you have less in common with a working man than Donald Trump does, even though you talk a good game and he's a billionaire or whatever. Trump took risks and had spectacular failures but he's signed the front of checks for thousands of employees, too.
And comparing his economic record to that of your former boss – well, I don't think there are too many who want to go back to that malaise. I know I don't.
I don't know what your domestic situation is, but I would be curious: what do you pay your hired help? Hopefully it was more than your charity giving once was.
Anyway, it was nice talking to you, Joe. Good luck in the debates – you'll need it.
Author MichaelPosted on May 7, 2019 May 6, 2019 Categories Business and industry, Campaign 2020 - President, Delmarva items, National politics, PoliticsTags American Possibilities, Barack Obama, Business and industry, Donald Trump, Fight For $15, Joe Biden, Medicaid, Medicare, Minimum Wage, student loans
There's been a lot piling up in my e-mail box as I prepared The Rise and Fall of the TEA Party, so now that I have that wrapped up I can move on to a few long-overdue things, like this one. As always, it's things I can speak to in a couple sentences to a few paragraphs, wrapped up in a rhetorical bow.
On the Maryland front
I've received a number of items from my old friends at the Maryland Public Policy Institute but these few stuck out at me. First was Marta Mossburg's assessment of our governor's Presidential election chances:
If Gov. Larry Hogan decides to challenge Donald Trump for the presidency, he will lose before stepping into the ring.
A man who in the State of the State and at his second inauguration tried to out Roger Mr. Rogers with calls for bipartisanship has no chance outside the small neighborhood of Maryland. Anyone with an R beside their name is evil to those on the progressive left throughout the nation even if they never don a MAGA hat. And what in his record will speak to the national Republican base so loudly they would be willing to dump Mr. Trump for him?
"I lowered tolls!" isn't a rallying cry to stir the masses. Neither is "I stopped Democrat overreach!" And "I supported the most expensive public transportation project in the world" won't win him an invitation to break bread with wealthy Republican donors who want to shrink government.
"Maryland needs to win for Gov. Hogan to win higher office", MPPI blog, February 5, 2019.
Not to mention we already have a socially-liberal #NeverTrump in the running for losing the GOP nomination. But the point remains: Donald Trump, for all his faults, is probably more conservative than Larry Hogan is. A conservative Larry Hogan would veto practically everything the Maryland General Assembly passes (instead of caving in to some of their worst proposals) because how often do they even consider his sponsored bills? Add to that the fact that Trump will actually campaign for conservatives (unlike what happened to a certain Maryland U.S. Senate candidate last time around) and the thought that Hogan would be wise to concentrate on Maryland makes more sense.
And if that wasn't enough, MPPI scored big with their assessment of Maryland's spending problem and long-standing alternatives to a job-killing $15 per hour minimum wage.
A fast-growing industry
Speaking of Governor Hogan and caving in: despite Maryland's foolish refusal to get in on the game, extraction is the nation's fastest-growing industry. But even Andy Harris has been reluctant to advocate for offshore drilling despite its potential benefits, as this op-ed suggests. As I often say, the reason environmentalists oppose seismic testing isn't the harm to creatures but is truly that of what we may find is out there now that testing methods have improved over those of 30 years ago.
On the other hand, those trying to kill industry in the country are hard at work trying to fool people. Two cases in point come from the Capital Research Center, which posted a couple good pieces on union influence in politics these days in left-leaning states as well as the federal government. But if you really want to take the cake, just listen to what Slow Joe Biden said a few days ago:
It's time we told the truth about what unions have really done for America.
With the dues they paid, the picket lines they walked, the negotiations they sweated through, those union workers weren't just standing up for other union workers.
The rights they fought for benefited every American worker.
Minimum wage. Overtime pay. The 40-hour workweek. Safer working conditions. The elimination of child labor, for crying out loud. The list goes on and on.
This country wasn't built by a few Wall Street bankers, CEOs, or hedge fund managers. It was built by the American middle class.
"It's Time To Tell The Truth About Unions." e-mail from American Possibilities.
Here's a little more truth: I was often told by a relative – who was a union steward, for crying out loud – that "unions are for the lazy man." When the incentives become perverse, like intentionally slow-walking a task so the productivity expectation remains artificially low, it's apparent that unions provide a floor level of benefits but also create a ne plus ultra of accomplishment. The most productive and innovative have no place in a union.
Good news for the Constitution (party)
Did you know the Constitution Party has 110,000 registered voters around the country? It doesn't seem like much but worth remembering is that not all states specifically allow registration to any party but the big two.
But I love the contributions being made by an unknown person who goes by the nom de plume "Digital Paul Revere." In one statement, DPR said a lot about the type of person the Constitution Party should attract:
I am writing to you because I have witnessed firsthand the absolute horror of socialism. These essays are not newsletters. They aren't meant to bring you recent Party news. They are long-form commentaries on current events happening in our country. They are viewpoints, seen through the lens of a Millennial American who has lived for a significant length of time under a true socialist dictatorship: China. These essays are meant as an olive branch to young Americans, frustrated by the perversion of the political process today, alienated by the major political parties, crushed under unimaginable debt with little hope of ever having the means to repay it, and "politically homeless". They are also meant to give older generations of Americans a glimpse into the future that awaits your children and grandchildren, should you fail to act now.
In these essays, I hope to provide a point of view that will help fellow American patriots see the danger that our nation is in and call to action all who wish to see the situation improve. I can tell you with absolute conviction that many Americans do not know the extent to which socialism has corrupted our systems and institutions. I didn't know either. It is only after having lived under true socialism that I can see the telltale signs of its growing influence on our country.
"Introduction to a Reformed Millennial," DPR.
In a similar vein, DPR writes that it's better to be an American. I like that.
The Constitution Party also gained a couple more officeholders thanks to partisan switches – one from Republican and another from a conservative Democrat who was elected based on their votes in a North Carolina race. In looking up the results, though, I found this gentleman was an incumbent county commissioner who turned out to be a primary election loser that took advantage of the CP's newly-won ballot access to avenge his primary loss. In most cases, "sore loser" laws would prevent this, so his victory comes with an asterisk, too. It's tough to compete with the duopoly, though.
The Kochs of the Left
The penultimate piece before I go is a groundbreaking report from the Capital Research Center on a left-wing dark money entity called Arabella Advisors. If you ever wonder how these left-leaning "grassroots" groups suddenly pop up out of nowhere, this piece may help you to understand that it's some serious Astroturf. And they had the nerve to call the TEA Party "Astroturf?" Sorry, I know some of the TEA Party founders and believe me, they are legit. If you're still not convinced, read this.
Flogging the scamPAC horse
That's not to say that the TEA Party didn't eventually sell out, though. Call it flogging a dead horse, but the TEA Party Express is coming off like a scam PAC with an appeal that claims:
The recent polls coming out are showing President Trump behind many of the Democratic candidates. Now, as financial disclosures are due for the first quarter of the year, we see that these Democrats are raising unheard of millions of dollars – over $70 million and counting. So Trump is behind in both the polls and in the critical fight for financial resources to communicate with the American people.
We launched the "Tea Party for Trump" to get conservatives off the sidelines and back in the field to preserve the tremendous gains we have made over the last two years and achieve even more victories ahead in a second term of Trump-Pence.
"Fight back for Trump" e-mail from Sal Russo of the Tea Party Express.
There are no less than seven different linked appeals for donations.
Now I'm not sure if the TPX (as I called it for shorthand in my book) ever ran a bus tour for the 2018 midterms – if they did it was nowhere near my radar and I think I have a decently attuned one. But if Lloyd Marcus is to be believed they may get the band back together for Trump 2020. We will see.
Still. it's a shame how far the TPX has fallen. Luckily my friend Mark Williams isn't dead or he may be rolling in his grave about this one.
Now that I have pretty much cleaned out my e-mail, I think we can put odds and ends to bed for a few weeks.
Author MichaelPosted on April 28, 2019 April 28, 2019 Categories Business and industry, Campaign 2020 - President, Culture and Politics, Delmarva items, Maryland Politics, Personal stuff, PoliticsTags Andy Harris, Arabella Advisors, Big Labor, Campaign 2020 - President, Capital Research Center, Constitution Party, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Larry Hogan, Maryland Public Policy Institute, Minimum Wage, TEA Party, TEA Party Express
Observations on an avocation
Because people have actually paid me for doing this stuff for over a decade now, I consider freelance writing to be my side hustle. But with a steadier full-time job, I really hadn't taken the craft seriously enough until I got closer and closer to finishing The Rise and Fall of the TEA Party – in part because I didn't wish to repeat the mistakes I made with my first book seven years ago. (As part of taking it seriously, Lord knows the tempo of posting here has slowed to an agonizing crawl, right?)
So this year I had a door opened as I found out the Eastern Shore Writers Association was hosting a self-publishing track as part of their annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference. I hadn't previously been a member but now I am among their ranks, and it's an interesting group – as I found out last Saturday.
One feature of their conference is a bookstore of their authors' products, and I learned that, for the most part, my peers in the group work in fiction and poetry. It's not something that I have an issue with at all; in fact, I salute their creativity and imagination in pursuing their craft. However, it should be said that I am probably the outlier when it comes to both genre and viewpoint – I tell people I'm "barely left of militia" but my observation was that most of these folks are likely left of center – and a few barely this side of Stalin.
But I think all of us share a goal of getting out our story, whether it be a fictional figment of wild imagination or a historical and political documentation like Rise and Fall. I know it may not have the audience of a Tom Clancy thriller nor the reach of someone who's a known figure and can negotiate a $65 million advance. (Heck, I would have done cartwheels for a $6,500 advance – or maybe even $65.) Still, I was a bit disappointed that no one really wanted to take a chance on being an agent for the book, but I shouldn't have been surprised given the hundreds of thousands of titles produced annually, many by already-established authors.
Fortunately, I have an available outlet in self-publishing and over the six hour-long seminars I attended I learned a lot about the ins and outs of selling that way. One author made her series of romance novels a hit by studying the trends of well-selling similar books and adding those elements into her stories, which are set on the Eastern Shore. Another shared her insights on producing a good finished product, still a third talked about the art of face-to-face hand-selling of hard copies, and so on. I have pages of notes and several handouts to guide me. Now I have a strategy in mind for marketing, incorporating some of the elements I already have in place such as my book website.
So now I'm doing the final edits to Rise and Fall, among other things taking care of one maddening aspect that I found to be an easy enough fix. But I suppose I can let it slip that Rise and Fall won't be the last book I do, and hopefully in about 18 months there will be a companion to it on fine bookshelves and e-readers everywhere. At this point that's all I will reveal.
All in all, the Bay to Ocean event was good for me, and hopefully you'll soon agree that it made me a better writer and marketer. I have definitely found more appreciation of craft after the event.
Author MichaelPosted on March 16, 2019 March 16, 2019 Categories Bloggers and blogging, Business and industry, Personal stuffTags Bay to Ocean Writers Conference, Eastern Shore Writers Association, Personal stuff, The Rise and Fall of the TEA Party
Why $15 is the wrong fight
I have seen reports all over social media and the "real" media that the Maryland House of Delegates has passed an increase in the minimum wage that will eventually lead it to $15 per hour by 2025. I'm not up on just who is who in the House these days but I presume a 96-44 vote is pretty much party line – there may have been a Democrat who voted against it, but I don't know and it likely doesn't matter in the scheme of things because it's a vetoproof majority and the way Democrats are ramming this through it will be passed at a time when the veto can be overridden in session. (With Larry Hogan's record, I can no longer say "inevitable veto.")
It should be pointed out first of all that the "fight for $15" is sort of a misnomer because the raise from the current $10.10 per hour – a rate established last July – to $15 an hour would not be complete until January, 2025. This is a significant change from the original bill, which mandated the raise be in place by July, 2023. (The House bill has been amended while the cross-filed Senate bill remains as it was originally intended, so it works well for comparison.) But since the state began regularly raising its minimum wage in January, 2015, workers have already received a 26.3% bump in four years – well beyond the rate of inflation and a far cry from the normal 2-3% annual raises many workers receive if they are lucky. Whether it takes eight years or ten years, a salary increase of 87.5% for gaining absolutely no skills is far more than the market would naturally allow.
I'll circle back to that point in a moment, but it's also worth considering that union workers who have their wage rates tied to a point above the minimum wage will also get a raise. And when workers get a raise, guess who else does?
In today's climate of dramatic minimum wage increases of 50% or more, unions — predominantly in the service sector — can also directly benefit from minimum wage increases because their members' pay is less than the new minimum. Take California, for instance, which passed a $15 minimum wage last year. The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) usedCensus Bureau data to estimate that roughly 223,000 union members in the state will receive a direct pay increase by the time the law is fully implemented.
It's bad news for taxpayers, but a solid investment for unions. A powerful California-based SEIU local spent about $1.6 million to collect the signatures needed to qualify the $15 ballot measure that forced Gov. Jerry Brown to back such a mandate. EPI estimated that California unions can expect a return on investment of roughly $9 million in additional dues per year.
"Why Do Unions Fund The Fight For $15 Minimum Wage? Because They Gain A Financial Windfall In Return," Ed Rensi, Forbes, January 19, 2017.
You can bet your bottom dollar that Big Labor here in Maryland has similar deals with business owners held hostage to these union contracts.
Now circle back with me if you would and think about who earns minimum wage from a job. Generally they are people just entering the job market or those who don't develop their skills beyond the point of being barely hireable. My first "real" W-2 job was working in the on-campus dining halls at college, and it was a minimum wage job – just as my roommate who snagged a cushy library job made. Since I was essentially a temporary worker, it didn't matter to the school that I was making $3.35 an hour to run a dishwasher. And since most of my money went to the local sub shop or to buy the occasional 12-pack when I became legal, I didn't much worry about it, either. In fact, my first job out of college at a department store was minimum wage – but this college graduate quickly parlayed his degree into a 49% raise when the architectural firm I interviewed with a few weeks earlier offered me a position less than a month after I started working at the store. More skills and a little bit of work experience = higher wages. I created more potential value from my labor.
This is the problem with minimum wage as I see it. Do you think Maryland workers are going to instantly create another 75 cents to a dollar's worth of value to their employers each hour just because the calendar flipped from 2020 to 2021 or 2024 to 2025? Of course they won't – but if a business owner had 20 minimum-wage employees who worked an average of 20 hours a week, it's an extra $300 or $400 they need to clear.
I'll grant there's a bit of merit to the argument that raising the wage creates people with more money to spend, but what are the chances enough people will take their extra money and spend it at the business in question? When the percentage of workers who make minimum wage hovers in the low single-digits, there's not enough of an impetus for that so-called "extra" money to make much of an impact on the economy at large but, at the same time, it can be devastating to a business that requires a lot of unskilled labor.
There's also the impact on workers who make slightly to significantly more than minimum wage to consider. They won't get an automatic raise, but their standard of living declines by the amount that businesses have to raise their prices to cover costs. It may only be an extra percent or two in scattered businesses, but eventually that adds up. Note that amendments to Maryland's most recent minimum wage bill not only slowed down the increase by 18 months but also scrapped the automatic increase based on inflation – probably to make it an issue for the 2024 or 2026 elections.
I have often said, and will continue to say because it's true, that the real minimum wage is zero – the amount you make when the job you may have secured when the minimum wage was $8 an hour and you weren't a significant risk to the employer if you didn't work out is the job that's no longer available at $10.10 an hour.
Regardless, it's all but certain that a minimum wage increase will pass in Maryland this year. The Left needs that victory and many others in order to try and tank the state and national economy for the 2020 election. (Notice the lack of enthusiasm over the 2.9% GDP increase despite the fact it's our best since 2015 – losing by a fractional .0009% – and close to the first 3% annual calendar year growth rate since 2005. One could argue the Schumer-Pelosi-Trump shutdown may have cost us that 0.1 percent.) Apologists for the Obama economic record ("Analysts have called into question just how much a particular president actually impacts the economy during his tenure") now expect a recession to hit by the next election ("While the fourth-quarter cooling isn't quite as extreme as some economists feared, the metric does little to placate existing concerns about a global economic slowdown.")
But someone believes in magic, as in that people will magically produce more value through an arbitrary wage increase. Cue the pixie dust and unicorns.
Author MichaelPosted on March 1, 2019 March 1, 2019 Categories All politics is local, Business and industry, Campaign 2020, Campaign 2020 - President, Delmarva items, Maryland Politics, National politics, Politics, State of ConservatismTags Donald Trump, Fight For $15, Larry Hogan, Maryland General Assembly, Minimum Wage
Considering the state of emergency
We have reached the point where the perceived inability of Congress to do something – anything – about stemming a tide of illegal immigration across our southern border with Mexico has led President Trump to declare a state of emergency, the preamble of which follows:
The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency. The southern border is a major entry point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics. The problem of large-scale unlawful migration through the southern border is long-standing, and despite the executive branch's exercise of existing statutory authorities, the situation has worsened in certain respects in recent years. In particular, recent years have seen sharp increases in the number of family units entering and seeking entry to the United States and an inability to provide detention space for many of these aliens while their removal proceedings are pending. If not detained, such aliens are often released into the country and are often difficult to remove from the United States because they fail to appear for hearings, do not comply with orders of removal, or are otherwise difficult to locate. In response to the directive in my April 4, 2018, memorandum and subsequent requests for support by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense has provided support and resources to the Department of Homeland Security at the southern border. Because of the gravity of the current emergency situation, it is necessary for the Armed Forces to provide additional support to address the crisis.
"Presidential Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States," February 15, 2019
My reading of the actual directive – which is not long at all, just 629 words – is that, under the National Emergencies Act of 1976 (which would have been passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress under President Ford) the President is authorizing the use of military personnel and funds to build a border barrier in the most vulnerable places. I'm going to presume that it's going to be the style of wall such as this prototype.
A prototype of the border wall preferred by President Trump. (Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images.)
Naysayers, of course, make the claim that such a wall could be cut through to go with the other claims that a wall can be tunneled under or flown over. Of course, these statements are true but unless the average person has superhuman strength or a MacGyver-like streak of ingenuity with objects carried on one's person – since I don't think most would-be border-crossers have a steel-cutting saw, extension cord, and a few spare hours to cut through several inches of steel nor did they bring a backhoe with them to dig a tunnel – I think such a barrier will keep most people out or (as they are really supposed to) funnel them to more easily-guarded ports of entry. It's part of an "all of the above" border security solution, not the be-all and end-all for the problem.
(To truly solve the issue of illegal immigration, though, we don't just need border security but also to eliminate the carrots that attract illegal aliens: an end to chain migration and birthright citizenship as well as a crackdown on those who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. One would think there is a way to check whether they have duplicate Social Security numbers, forged work visas, or other phony documentation.)
The first question then becomes whether this state of emergency is Constitutional. (Well, if it isn't first on your mind it really should be.) It took nanoseconds for this to be brought into court, so how should a court decide this?
In such times as this I lean on expert advice, so I looked at what those close to the Constitution Party have to say. This piece from KrisAnne Hall, who bills herself as a "Constitutional Attorney," says, no, there is not Constitutional justification for the state of emergency. On the other hand, there is Constitutional justification for Trump's actions in general, argues "Publius Huldah," a pseudonym for another attorney, Joanna Martin. Thus, the answer would seem to be that a state of emergency wasn't needed but President Trump couldn't just capriciously move the money so he chose to use that route instead of citing some of the Constitutional points Publius Huldah did.
From the other side of the spectrum, you get this paranoid article in The Atlantic written by attorney and Brennan Center legal analyst Elizabeth Goitein, who posits that Trump would use these emergency powers to conjure up a reason to disrupt the 2020 election. More of a mainline, comparative view comes in this assessment by William B. Fisch, then a law professor at the University of Missouri School of Law (now professor emeritus, as this was written in the early 1990s.) Fisch argues that the courts have generally deferred to government during times of crisis, snapping back to normal if the subject is questioned and reviewed after the crisis has passed.
In this case, the crisis will likely pass when the first of two differing possibilities occurs: one, the barrier is built to President Trump's satisfaction, or, secondly, a Democrat becomes President – in that case, the state of emergency regarding the border will be immediately rescinded.
This leads to the second part of the question, which stems from the threat made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that a national emergency could be declared by a Democrat to invoke gun control. (Fellow Democrat Rep. Emanuel Cleaver took this even farther on Twitter, as he considers climate change, income inequality, and access to healthcare as national emergencies, but not border security.)
It's certain that a Democrat president would try these actions, citing the capricious nature of President Trump's declaration – a declaration that in this case Democrats didn't agree was an emergency. (Would it be their intention to encourage illegal immigration, then? You either are for border security or you're not. Having an easily-breached fence at the border as is the current situation is obviously not doing the trick.)
Yet the effects of illegal aliens in this country are relatively quantifiable to the extent we have statistics on those effects. In terms of crime, though, statistics have suggested that the illegal alien population as a whole is not more likely to be in prison than native-born Americans are: although one piece of research I found is a couple decades old, a more recent Cato Institute study suggests that illegal immigrants are actually less likely to be criminals than native-born – but far more likely to be criminals than legal immigrants.
There's also the claim that apprehensions are down, but apprehensions are those who were caught, not the total number crossing. Still, there are also costs in education and health care to consider, despite the fact that a large number of the children of illegal aliens are "anchor babies" who have, via a long-standing but improper interpretation of the 14th Amendment, birthright citizenship.
Yet in the other instances Pelosi, et. al., seek to consider as "national emergencies," there are one or more obstacles in the way – some are legal and others are logical.
With regard to gun control, there isn't a true national emergency with regard to the tool as there is the attitude that makes those who use it as a weapon to kill (outside of self-defense) believe it's okay. Having access to a gun does not justify its use to get even with a company that fired you or with someone who defeated you in a game. If there's any national emergency in that regard, it's the callous disregard for life our culture seems to have. The gun is not the problem, and leaving a situation where only government has guns will surely lead to abuse of that authority. (Hence the biggest obstacle: the Second Amendment.)
Nor is climate change a national emergency, mainly because there's little we can do about it. Given the lack of actual accurate observation, we are only speculating what the climate was like until the last couple centuries, but the conventional wisdom holds that our planet has been both warmer and colder as a whole than it exists today. So what is the true optimum climate? We can't say for sure – for all we know, this so-called climate change could be a return to normal.
Democrats tend to forget there are things bigger than they are.
And then we have "income inequality" and "access to health care." I just checked, and nowhere in the Constitution are we guaranteed an income or health care. But let's do a little math in terms of income.
According to the Census Bureau, U.S. median income is $61,372 per household. But over the states, the scale varies widely: Maryland happens to have the highest median income, while Mississippi is the lowest, with a difference of approximately $35,000. To achieve true income equality, a household in Maryland would have to send $35,000 to one in Mississippi. Of course, those in Mississippi would think that's great but a Maryland family will protest the whole time – what did that family in Mississippi (that probably doesn't vote the same way as us) do to deserve our $35,000 that we earned?
Now I know that "income inequality" is really a code word among the Left for class envy – a hatred of the so-called 1%. But what would its effects really be?
A rough estimate of CEO-to-employee pay disparity is that CEOs make up to 3,000 times the pay their employees do – that seems to be a favorite complaint on the Left. So let's say there's a company with 10,000 employees and one CEO: just to make my math easy we'll say the employees make $1 and the CEO $3,000. Income equality means that employees share in a pool of $13,000, meaning they all get $1.30. Now a 30% raise sounds great to an employee, but the nearly 100% pay cut means the CEO quits. Then who runs the company?
Actually, this illustration of income inequality is a corollary argument to health care access. Using Maryland and Mississippi as examples again, those in Maryland are fortunate to have a hospital on the scale of Johns Hopkins in their state while some in Mississippi may be 20 miles from a rudimentary clinic. But would those in Maryland be willing to give up their access to help the poor people of Mississippi? Probably not. And just as in the argument about income inequality, given the finite resources the improvement, if done by force, will be minimal.
A capitalist system isn't perfect for allocating resources, but what it does best is enlarge the available pool. People on the left often deride this as a "trickle-down" theory but in reality it's a "rising tide" theory that lifts all the boats. Simply compare the situation in Venezuela to our system and you'll see the result of the foolhardy vision of Democrats.
Maybe our national emergency is that we have lost our common sense?
Author MichaelPosted on February 17, 2019 February 17, 2019 Categories Business and industry, Culture and Politics, National politics, Politics, State of ConservatismTags 116th Congress, Border Security, class envy, Donald Trump, Emanuel Cleaver, global warming, illegal immigration, National Emergencies Act
More oh-so-expert advice on how to run a blog.
After doing this for almost 14 years, you would think people would figure out I have a way of doing things and a comfort zone I'm not apt to stray from. But they keep trying and as I described last night this comes from the lighthearted stack of stuff.
These are two recent appeals that I'm going to write verbatim. I decided not to use blockquote for this one, so trust me that I didn't make these up. But I am going to print my ongoing responses in italics.
Hope you are doing good.
I think I do a lot of good every time I write. To borrow a phrase from Walter E. Williams, I try to push back the frontiers of ignorance.
I checked your website monoblogue.us and wanted to shoot you a quick note. If you want we can make few changes to make your site convert more visitors into leads and to place it higher in the organic search for some selected terms.
Leads to what? I don't sell anything here except maybe my first book and overall philosophy, the latter of which I give freely as a mission of sorts.
If you are not on Google's first page, your website is a waste. If you want to know the major issues of your website, I am sending few points below.
Telling me my website is a waste? Yeah, that's a good way to drum up sales.
Due to poor and unauthorized link sites.
Relevant keyword phrases are not visible on first page listing.
Your website is not search engine friendly.
Website content quality is not high standard.
Website is having on-page and on-site issues.
On point one, I link to those things I think are useful to the story. Since a lot of them are news, does that mean the media is poor and unauthorized?
Points two and three are irrelevant to me since I don't write content for SEO, but to tell me my content quality is not high standard – well, up yours, buddy. And talk to my server about point number five, since they are the ones who generally cause the issues. For some reason, WordPress seems to want to add a point six on this, too.
Area of Improvement:
Get quality content and theme based back links.
We will give you 1st page ranking on Google, Yahoo and Bing.
Improve your organic traffic and sales.
Secure your website from Google penguin updates 4.0
Target your local market to increase business.
The fact that I don't know what the heck this guy is talking about for the most part tells me his quality is not high standard – although maybe you figured it out from the grammar before this point.
Note*: We give guarantee to improve your keyword ranking from the first month itself, if we fail to achieve then we will refund your money.
Is that before or after you sell my e-mail address and skim my credit card?
Our main objective is to increase your website's online visibility which results in improvement in traffic, link popularity, goal conversion and ROI.
Then you are a poor business. Your main objective should be to make money legitimately. My online visibility is just fine.
For more details please reply. We have your WEBSITE ANALYSIS REPORT ready with us.
Let me guess – it's the same report as the other 600 website owners you sent this e-mail blast to would get. But I figure it must be enough that if only a couple fools take up their offer, then ROI is positive.
So that was batch number one of supremely helpful advice. (Update: going through my spam folder I found another but with a different "sender." You know it's fake when it's a name followed by a number on Gmail.) By the way, that went to my old e-mail address I really don't use anymore, as did the second one a day or two later.
You know, everyone thinks they can give me good content. But there's a reason I call it monoblogue, and this leads me to e-mail number two, which came all the way from Germany. It was like pulling teeth to read this – imagine each line double-spaced.
My name is Rik, I have two clients that want to publish content on your website.
Congratulations! Is it really that hard to start a blog in Germany, though? I'd rather do the work myself, thanks.
Do you allow paid content on your website?
Actually, I do. Most (but not all) of my record reviews are paid content, but the writing is mine. I would love to have a sponsor for Shorebird of the Month, though.
If yes how much does is it cost to publish an article on your website?
You know, I'm half-tempted to write back and tell him (in my best Dr. Evil voice) "one meeeellion dollars." He's from Germany, think he would understand?
Our budget is not limited. The better the websites metrics are the more we are willing to pay. An upfront payment is not a problem!
So where's my check? I figured it would come in the mail if you're this confident.
We would prefer to write the article ourselves but you can write the content also.
If it's some boring subject where I have to insert fourteen keywords in the first 200 words I'll take a pass. I like my own subjects and words, thanks.
We as an agency are looking for a long term cooperation since we have many different clients.
Clients as in people who are paying you to advertise or clients like the best of ESL writers from India who can subsist on a quarter-penny per word? Or maybe you suckered them into doing it for the "exposure" like I was once upon a time when I was young and naive.
Can you tell I'm a bit jaded? Does it show?
Ps. I take my job really serious please check out below my social profiles and read more about my clients testimonials.
Actually I did. I think he had two testimonials and I'll bet he made them up.
This is as close as you will get.
As I said, each line was double-spaced when these sentences could have been combined. If that's the writing I get then I think it's worth what I would probably make off the deal.
Maybe someday people will get the hint that I like my sandbox the way it is and there are few invited guests for a reason. Of course, then how would I write my occasional snarky replies?
Have I told you writing is just a struggle? I know it was a struggle to keep a straight face with these two. Tomorrow you get some of my paid content as I wrote a record review last night.
Author MichaelPosted on February 8, 2019 February 8, 2019 Categories Bloggers and blogging, Business and industry, Personal stuffTags blogging, Personal stuff, snark tank
The more regular than it used to be look at the pile that's my e-mail box and dredging out items worth a few sentences to a few paragraphs starts now:
A private fight for $15
My friends at the Maryland Public Policy Institute recently pointed out that there are a number of Maryland companies who are already paying starting employees $15 an hour (or soon will be.) MPPI's Carol Park notes that, "The main goal for Maryland government should be to incentivize businesses in Maryland to grow larger and more profitable, so that they can become the new Amazon and Target and not only pay their employees $15 an hour but employ hundreds and thousands of Marylanders who are looking for a job."
While Park is right, she also misses a point. Using that argument, larger businesses may be comfortable latching onto the so-called "Fight for $15" because it allows them to throttle back prospective competition. Small companies running on tighter margins won't be able to pay the higher wages, so they won't be able to compete.
Listen, if the SEIU and big business are on the same side (and, according to Leonard Robinson III of the Capital Research Center the SEIU is greasing a lot of Democrats' palms to get this enacted at the federal level) it just can't be good for the rest of us.
Returning to the subject of MPPI, they have also recently asked the state to "resist" raising taxes in the wake of the Kirwan Commission report advocating an additional $3.8 billion in school spending – none of which is slated to follow the child as it should. They cite prospective income tax increases on the middle class as well as possible expansion of the sales tax to include more services and business tax hikes as possible outcomes.
Knowing how the Kirwan Commission came together, is it any wonder higher taxes are on the docket? Resist we must.
Did Trump really cave? Or is it "fake news" from the dividers of Indivisible?
This probably deserves its own post, but we all know Indivisible will take credit for anything that's a loss to America or makes President Trump look bad – naturally, that extends to the end of the recent Schumer-Pelosi shutdown. So this was their "state of play" after the furlough ended.
Pay attention to the "ask" – Republican Senators are asked for "No new wall money. Keep the government open." It sounds to me like the Democrats have already determined they will shut it down again and try to blame Trump again. Nope, that one would be on you – particularly since Democrats have the majority in the conference committee.
In another Indivisible-related item I found interesting, they laid out a fundraising wish list in an e-mail I received in the wake of the shutdown:
$1,475,000 for "doubling our organizing team," adding 14 state-level organizers, 3 digital organizers, and 3 training organizers.
$80,000 for Hubdialer, which, as the name implies, assists volunteers in making phone calls.
$114,000 for Mobile Commons, which is a text messaging system.
$1,315,820 for digital ads. More money for Mark Zuckerberg.
And $140,000 for ActionKit, a "mass e-mailing tool."
All told, that "ask" is a little over $3 million, which I'm sure they're going to invest in pushing more propaganda for 2020. Yep, that's some grassroots for you.
And speaking of Astroturf…
If you wondered why Obamacare has hung tough despite its unpopularity, maybe this is why. From CRC's Hayden Ludwig:
At least thirteen pro-Obamacare organizations aren't independent organizations at all, but websites hosted by a handful of mega-funder nonprofits: the Sixteen Thirty Fund, New Venture Fund, and Hopewell Fund.
Those three funds are in turn managed by Arabella Advisors, a mysterious consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. Arabella Advisors advises wealthy clients on what it calls "strategic philanthropy." In practice though, Arabella's strategic giving involves philanthropic investments to left-leaning causes and organizations.
"Who is Behind the Groups Pushing Obamacare?", Hayden Ludwig, Capital Research Center, January 10, 2019.
Nor should we forget this tangled web the Left weaved.
And people thought the TEA Party was Astroturf because Americans for Prosperity printed up a batch of signs? Okay then, feel free to be wrong.
More wasteful spending
Another winner from the CRC comes in this investigation by Robert Stilson – employment programs that make work for connected non-profits. It's yet another case of low-hanging fruit to be plucked and another score for the Capital Research Center, which is beginning to become a (sorely needed) bulldog of the Right. Don't miss their look at the Census controversy either.
The state of American energy…is strong
At least according to the lengthy (over 120 pages) and colorful annual report from the American Petroleum Institute. It should be required reading for environmentalist wackos, including one Larry Hogan. Maybe he'd learn something and get back to what he promised.
If you want something a little more "official" the far less colorful Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook 2019 is out as well. Both documents are chock full of good news for the energy industry as long as government stays out of the way.
So is the state of American manufacturing
Fresh off "another strong month of job growth," the folks at the Alliance for American Manufacturing believe, "This strength in factory and overall hiring gives the administration considerable leverage headed into the final leg of trade talks with China," according to AAM President Scott Paul.
But they're never quite happy, always wanting something more. On the heels of a Trump "buy American" executive order, the group wants it expanded already. Here's what it covers, in a nutshell:
Within 90 days of the date of this order, the head of each executive department and agency… administering a covered program shall, as appropriate and to the extent consistent with law, encourage recipients of new Federal financial assistance awards pursuant to a covered program to use, to the greatest extent practicable, iron and aluminum as well as steel, cement, and other manufactured products produced in the United States in every contract, subcontract, purchase order, or sub‑award that is chargeable against such Federal financial assistance award.
"Executive Order on Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects," issued by President Trump January 31, 2019.
While the additional jobs are good news, I've always been a little leery of "Buy American" orders such as these just because it's gaming the market and making American products just that much less competitive on a global scale. Why invest in new technology and better facilities when you have a captive customer?
Having said that, I do believe President Trump is trying to level the playing field a bit as other nations subsidize their industries to varying degrees, too. For several years I received missives from AAM and others decrying the "dumping" of steel on the American market by Asian competitors, and that's a case where a "Buy American" law can be of assistance. But I would rather see fair trade as a part of free trade, and there can be instances where "Buy American" may not be the best option.
Fighting the last war
In terms of total votes, the most popular politician in Maryland isn't Larry Hogan. Instead, the top vote-getter in 2018 was Comptroller Peter Franchot, who drew 1,620,264 votes in winning a fourth term in office. Peter carried all but three counties (Cecil, Garrett, and Washington) in defeating the vastly underfunded Republican challenger Anjali Phukan. (Her campaign, beginning in May, 2017 and ending last December, raised a grand total of $2,051.25. The remaining $460 was donated to charity.)
But Phukan remains convinced that Franchot's victory was achieved through underhanded means. Recently she attempted to convince the Maryland Board of Elections that an investigation into Franchot's campaign finance was necessary, but to no avail. So she took the next step:
With no administrative options left, at the suggestion of some fellow Republicans, I filed a "Writ of Mandamus" with the Circuit Court in Anne Arundel County, to make the Board of Elections investigate my concerns, and act accordingly, as required by Maryland law. In this writ I also requested an injunction and declaratory judgement. I had presented my concerns before the election board as I discovered things in the process of reviewing his campaign's financial records, and yet the account was still deemed compliant enough for Franchot to be certified!
Anjali Phukan, newsletter to supporters, January 27, 2019.
She's also began plugging an obscure electoral watchdog website that's had barely 700 visits in the last 2-plus years (as there is still 2016 information on it.) A GoFundMe campaign for it has raised a grand total of $5. But while it seems Phukan is tilting at windmills, she brings up some very troubling concerns about the Maryland campaign finance system.
Having written and read a few campaign finance reports in my time, I'm sure I've pointed out the weaknesses in the system. But a glaring one is how one very minor change in information submitted could conceivably allow an entity to donate far more than the prescribed limit, and seldom does the Board of Elections act on these irregularities. Since I haven't heard of them overturning any elections due to unlawful campaign finance, I presume the punishment is generally making the campaign return the donation and perhaps a modest fine to the candidate and/or treasurer.
I glanced through Phukan's summary of Franchot's issues and, while it wasn't a vast percentage of his campaign funding, you would think a person who is charged with being an accurate collector of revenue wouldn't have such large accounting errors. It seems to me that the Board of Elections is just putting these self-reported records out to present a fig leaf of accountability but not really checking into them. (And let's face it: most campaigns in this state don't involve enough money to pay the mortgage for a year.)
And, by extension, the lack of interest in checking Franchot's campaign finance seems to be echoed in their lack of interest in (or utter contempt regarding) cleaning out voter rolls. The erstwhile watchdog group Election Integrity Maryland found thousands of duplicate registrations in a May, 2014 survey. (Third release here, from an archived web page.) It's now February, 2019, and something tells me that number is twice as high. Just wait until they get the automatic voter registration!
I couldn't let this post go by without mentioning the recent passing of my former colleague on the Wicomico County Republican Central Committee, Dave Goslee, Sr. Sadly, the 78-year-old Goslee had just in November won a seat on an institution he'd been fighting to reform for the first ten years of his twelve-plus year tenure on the Central Committee, the Wicomico County Board of Education.
Dave showed the value of getting out the vote as he won that Board of Education seat by one vote after a December recount showed that vote was incorrectly credited to his opponent. But the fourth-term WCRCC member couldn't beat leukemia, and it's likely his opponent will get the seat back anyway as a 14-member panel mainly comprised from the local schools will select Goslee's successor – that committee selected William Turner, who Goslee defeated for the seat, in 2017.
Dave and I were not the closest of friends on the committee when we first started, but over the years we developed a respectful relationship as we each came to understand what the other brought to the table. He was also a devoted season ticket holder for the Shorebirds, so I saw him often even after I left the WCRCC. He will be missed, both at the games and certainly in local politics.
I almost put this into the odds and ends, but decided I would devote a stand-alone post to those who would tell me how to do my job. I may use that as the light-hearted stack of stuff to start the weekend.
I also have the third in a quick batch of record reviews to do for Saturday, but that may be the last for a short while. Or it may not.
Longer term, a suggestion I've had placed in my hopper once again was to bring back something I tried for a couple seasons in 2014 and 2015: predicting the 25-man Delmarva Shorebird opening day roster. (My 2014 guesses had 10 correct for Opening Day and 5 coming along later in the season. In 2015 I had 11 on Opening Day and 6 later on. That year I did it a week before the season, but it didn't help.)
This year's roster may be even more tricky because of the new management for the Orioles – players who may have been favorites under the Duquette regime may not catch the eye of Mike Elias, who will presumably prefer a player more like those in the Astros organization from which he came. (And who am I to argue with their success? Not only was the major league team a division winner in 2018, so were four of their top five farm clubs – the other was a close second. On the other hand, the Shorebirds were barely a .500 team but that was still best among Baltimore's full-season affiliates last season.)
But since my situation is a little better than it was back in mid-decade I think I'll give it a shot. Still not going back to Shorebird of the Week but at least I'll enhance my coverage this way.
So the mailbox is emptier and you're up to date.
Author MichaelPosted on February 7, 2019 February 7, 2019 Categories Business and industry, Delmarva items, Delmarva Shorebirds, Maryland Politics, National politics, Personal stuff, Politics, SportsTags Alliance for American Manufacturing, American Petroleum Institute, Angie Phukan, Dave Goslee Sr., Delmarva Shorebirds, Donald Trump, Election Integrity Maryland, Energy Information Administration, Fight For $15, Indivisible movement, Maryland Board of Elections, Maryland Public Policy Institute, Minimum Wage, Obamacare, Peter Franchot, SEIU1 Comment on Odds and ends number 92
2019 monoblogue Accountability Project
Here is the 2019 interim session edition for Delaware.
2019 Accountability Project
Here are the first two Delaware editions.
2017-18.
With the 2018 election over, the Maryland edition is now retired. I'm keeping the 2018 edition up for the archives but no new updates are forthcoming.
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The Race for 2020
Mark Sanford - withdrew 11/12/19.
Donald Trump (incumbent) - Facebook Twitter
Joe Walsh - Facebook Twitter
William Weld - Facebook Twitter
Ken Armstrong - Facebook
Adam Kokesh - Twitter
John McAfee - Facebook Twitter
Arvin Vohra - Twitter
Michael Bennet - Facebook Twitter
Joe Biden - Facebook Twitter
Mike Bloomberg - Facebook Twitter
Cory Booker - withdrew 1/13/20.
Steve Bullock - withdrew 12/2/19.
Pete Buttigieg - Facebook Twitter
Julian Castro - withdrew 1/2/20, endorsed Elizabeth Warren.
Bill de Blasio - withdrew 9/20/19.
John Delaney - Facebook Twitter
Tulsi Gabbard - Facebook Twitter
Kirsten Gillibrand - withdrew 8/29/19.
Mike Gravel - withdrew 8/6/19, endorsed Sanders/Gabbard ticket.
Kamala Harris - withdrew 12/3/19.
John Hickenlooper - withdrew 8/15/19.
Jay Inslee - withdrew 8/21/19.
Amy Klobuchar - Facebook Twitter
Wayne Messam - withdrew 11/20/19.
Seth Moulton - withdrew 8/23/19.
Beto O'Rourke - withdrew 11/1/19.
Deval Patrick - Facebook Twitter
Tim Ryan - withdrew 10/24/19.
Bernie Sanders - Facebook Twitter
Joe Sestak - withdrew 12/1/19.
Tom Steyer - Facebook Twitter
Eric Swalwell - withdrew 7/8/19.
Elizabeth Warren - Facebook Twitter
Marianne Williamson - withdrew 1/10/20.
Andrew Yang - Facebook Twitter
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text:
Dallas man accused of leading DPS on pursuit in Smith County found with 77 pounds of pot
By Stephanie Frazier
Published: Jan. 19, 2023 at 9:05 PM CST|Updated: Jan. 19, 2023 at 10:31 PM CST
TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - A Dallas man was arrested Monday after he allegedly led a DPS trooper on a pursuit and was found with numerous pounds of marijuana at the end of the chase.
On January 16, at around 10:30 p.m. a DPS trooper tried to pull over a 2015 Hyundai Sonata for a traffic violation on CR 164 in Smith County. The driver of the vehicle did not stop and a pursuit ensued, according to DPS Sgt. Adam Albritton.
The pursuit ended at the Village on Broadway apartment complex, where the driver got out of the car and fled on foot. The trooper chased the suspect and captured him.
The suspect is identified as Wilbert J. Brown, 47, of Dallas, Texas. Albritton says a search of Brown's vehicle revealed 77 pounds of marijuana. Brown was charged with evading arrest or detention with a motor vehicle, possession of marijuana >50lbs <2000lbs, fail to identify- fugitive from justice.
Brown also had four warrants for his arrest out of Tarrant County. Brown was booked in the Smith County jail. He is being held on $375,500 bond.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl