"Just politics!"

Some people claimed during the campaign that the president-elect is "literally Hitler." The current president said that the man is a fascist and a threat to democracy. But last week he gave him happy congratulations and a "Welcome back" to the White House.

A radio host feels confused. "What happened to fascist?" Did he believe those accusations?

Back in 2006, journalist Leslie Stahl reminded the incoming Speaker of the House that she had said terrible things about the opposing party's candidates. She asked, "How will you be able to work with him after saying those things??"

Said the Speaker, "Oh that's just politics. I'm sure he understands."

Alarming, emotional, exaggerated attacks are not to be taken seriously. Even the politician who says these things often does not actually believe them, but just says them for effect. Any connection to genuine truth could be a coincidence.

As usual, you'll have to think for yourself.

Boeing's DEI died

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Boeing's new CEO knew he would have to solve problems when he took the job last August. 

What is the basic goal of the company? Right in the middle of their big troubles (yesterday's post), he focuses them on asking the most important question: "Does this help us build airplanes?" Because that is what they have to do really well.

So, the CEO cancelled their DEI program. According to one insider, "everyone who has had to build things knows that what really drives value is integrity, hard work, and technical expertise." DEI was a distraction, a dilution of focus. It divided their employees--it did not unify them.

"The best culture directly promotes values and results, not identity groups . . . Hiring on merit while truly caring for people, regardless of arbitrary one-dimensional identity- or affinity-group labels, is the way to go. After all, people do not want to be beneficiaries of bias any more than they want to be victims of it."

from City Journal

Boeing problems

Aerospace company Boeing is the largest in that sector, with a workforce of over 170,000. Their new CEO as of August has multiple problems to solve, including a huge backlog of of $500 billion. A two-month strike by machinists just ended this month.

Quality and safety failures have damaged its hundred-year reputation. Their spacecraft Starliner carried astronauts to the ISS for the first time last June, but NASA judged it unsafe to return those astronauts, so it came back to Earth empty.

Last January a panel broke away from a Boeing airplane at 16,000 feet shortly after the Alaska Airlines commercial flight took off. No one was seriously hurt, though the plane (photo) also lost a cushion from the seat immediately next to the blown-out section of fuselage😮

(cont'd tomorrow)

NYC hopes

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

New York's mayor has hope for positive change because of last week's election, like most American voters do. 

When he reached out to the current administration for help, he found only deaf ears--no help came for his city's immigration crisis. But now he's optimistic that his concerns will be heard and some of his ideas put into effect:

“I am willing to sit down with this administration like I tried to sit down with the previous administration in my 10 trips to Washington to say: we have a problem that is overrunning our cities.” 

 

Not in favor of mass deportation, he does hope for 1) federal money to help finance NYC's  support of immigrants, 2)  more secure border policies including background checks, and 3) sending some immigrants to less populated locations.

“When I talked about public safety in 2021, it was ignored. When I talked about migrants and asylum seekers in 2023, it was ignored.” He doesn't like being ignored. 

A similar story applies to the Teamsters Union who for many years were loyal supporters of the now-left-wing party. They feel ignored. But the union president found an open, responsive welcome when he wished to speak to the political party convention of our president-elect.

from Politico

NYC pays 2

 (cont'd from yesterday's post)

Migrants being housed in New York City hotels (photo) may receive pre-paid credit cards to buy food and baby supplies, a pilot program begun last March funded by the city through a controversial no-bid contract with a finance company which profits in some way.

 

They say that it saves the city millions of dollars, compared to their former policy of giving boxed meals (which received some complaints about the quality). The cards must be re-loaded every week at a value of about $350, for a monthly dole of about $1400. Recipients promise to use the cards only for authorized purchases.

Mayor Adams is ending the program at this year's end, going back to boxed meals. About $3.4 million was the total cost of this program to the city.

from CBS

NYC pays 1

New York City supports foreign-born immigrants who came across U.S. borders without legal authority. For their convenience, "benefits for undocumented immigrants" are published here.

Over 70,000 immigrants have been temporarily put up in Manhattan at the former Roosevelt Hotel, now called "the New York City arrival center," by the city since 2021. "They have no idea what's going on, they were just given a bus ticket or plane ticket."

It's unsustainable for the city, according to the Migrant Affairs Commissioner in this local video report. Mayor Eric Adams has been to Washington D.C. ten times to plead for help in managing what he deems a crisis. He says they are out of room, out of money.

 

(cont'd tomorrow)

Criminals here

Venezuela (image) has released convicted criminals to work with intelligence officers to infiltrate the U.S. Their mission is to track down former officials or military from their own country and "neutralize" them. 

 

Why would their government order such a thing? They know that at least some of these individuals may soon come before American border control and could be in a position to reveal secrets. "[T]he Maduro regime may fear some Venezuelans may trade information to avoid removal" from the U.S.

How does Venezuela know this? Because of our election results. Our incoming president taking office in January promises to deport illegal immigrants.

The story is based on a leaked U.S. Customs and Border Control field report. Over half a million Venezuelan immigrants have come across our borders since early 2020.

from Breitbart

Veterans Day

Once a year America honors its military veterans (all who have served) with a national holiday on Veterans Day, November 11. 

This year's contest winner for 2024 Veterans Day Poster is Myisha Godette, herself a retired and disabled veteran from Queens, New York.

She says,  “Ultimately, I chose to symbolize the shared experience of service members—past, present, and future—with elements like the American Flag, military “dog tags,” and the enduring strength of Veterans, embodied by a solid, dark concrete background in my design.”

To every vet reading this: Thank you for your service.

from VA News

VMI reaction

Tuesday night, or rather very very early on Wednesday, it was clear who had won the election for president of the U.S.A. 

Cadets at Virginia Military Institute (photo) were informed by an announcement at 1:48 a.m. in their barracks. They made a strong response to the news. You can see and hear it on X.

Europe's POV

Apparently, some Europeans are "shocked" by the outcome of our presidential election on Tuesday. So a Brit, Konstantin Kisin, wants to explain to them how that outcome is consistent with who we are. 

Why should this British citizen have special knowledge of the American character that the rest of Europe doesn't have? He doesn't say. 

But maybe it could help us to hear how we look to him from across the pond. He has ten points to make about Americans:

1.  We want to be the best 
2.  We don't like the idea of managed decline 
3.  Inflation has driven prices sky high
4.  We don't resent success but are inspired by it
5.  We love immigrants who come legally
6.  We reject DEI because it is racist
7.   We know jihad when we see it
8.  Being very practical, we care about what works, not what sounds good
9.  We reject the negativity of wokeness
10.  We know that the price of freedom is self reliance, and we pay it gladly
    

from a post on X and his website

National motto

 Re-post

We have a national motto, "In God We Trust." It's on our money, but it will come as a surprise to some that it's official.

photo

It was made so in 1956. Since then, it was challenged unsuccessfully in court three times. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said that the phrase "has nothing whatsoever to do with the establishment of religion."

Public schools in at least 11 states are required to display the national motto. A law passed last week in Louisiana clarifies that it must be at least 11" by 14," it must be the center of the display, the font must be easy to read . . and patriotic customs must be taught.

According to the founder of Liberty Counsel,  "The Declaration of Independence declares that our rights come from God, not government. Acknowledging this undeniable heritage is not only constitutional, it’s imperative to sustaining a collective memory of how our nation came to be."

Yes, students have a right to know where our American values came from, what got us started.

from Liberty Counsel

"Garbage"

Today is election day in the U.S.A. I've heard that some of you in the rest of the world are praying for America. Thank you. We need prayer.

Last week the current president made a big political error. He called me--and half of the country--garbage because we don't support his political party. Big mistake, huge mistake. Our sheep-like legacy media immediately saw the problem and rushed to say he didn't mean it 😄

Almost nobody buys their lame spin, so memes abound. Here's a photo of some of us lined up to vote:

He let it burn

Back in the summer of 2020, vicious thugs took a distressing cultural moment (the death of George Floyd) as an opportunity to riot, loot, and burn (photo) a big section of the city of Minneapolis. They actually burned down the Third Precinct Police station.

Lawless mobs of hundreds brought destruction to city streets, on live television, right at the height of the pandemic. Gatherings had been condemned by our governor, including church services, but he allowed this particular gathering to go on for days. His wife famously says she kept the windows open so she could smell the burning tires.

America's left wing political party chose this man to run for vice president of the USA and many are voting for him today. What an utter disaster.

Speak life

Today is "All Saints Day," a holiday celebrated in the Middle Ages. The night before it was called "All Hallow's Eve" when it was thought that spirits from Purgatory would come back from the dead and roam the town. Families stayed home that evening, ate pancakes and cider, and prayed.

Our own Halloween comes roughly from that tradition. Its theme is still related to death today.

Here is an artist of the spoken word, reciting his poem about the roots of Halloween. He contrasts it to the Bible's message of life.

"The armies of darkness while doing their worst can never extinguish this dazzling sunburst. The triumph is not with the forces of night. It dawned with the One who said, "I am the light!"

Election laugh

Things are so serious in America with the presidential election coming in just five days. One of the issues is whether identification should be required to cast a vote, as is required to travel on an airplane, to drive a car, etc.

Wait . . only citizens are supposed to vote in the U.S.A. How can it be questioned whether you must show your identity? But it is an issue. California just made it illegal to require ID to vote. 

Some say that requiring voter ID is racist, that it is beyond the ability of black Americans to comply. Wait . . who's the racist?

Babylon Bee always finds a way to laugh in the face of heavy issues.

Girls' sports

Do most Americans think it's a good idea for girls' sports to include transgendered male bodies? A study reveals what every one of us should know:

"Experts and critics believe trans girls and transwomen who have experienced male puberty hold an advantage over their biological female competitors." 

Duh.

from NYPost

Not permanent 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

What hope is there for our skyrocketing debt (image) and spending?

Maybe there's some chance that it can be slowed down and a pending catastrophe delayed.

The presidential candidate that Elon supports has asked him to trim the size of the federal government. He estimates that he might be able to cut expenses by two trillion dollars. He has a track record (cutting the size of Twitter after he bought it).

Not permanent 1

It's likely that you have seen this famous quote. But if not, then your time has come. It's from a Scotsman over two hundred years ago saying that democracy can't survive long term.

He had a very plausible reason for saying so: 

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury . ."

Check: we passed that point in America a long time ago. Power to get votes from giving away public money is entrenched in our political parties.

". . [W]ith the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy . . " 

Check: yes, America currently has loose fiscal policy in the form of runaway spending accompanied by intolerable debt.

from Goodreads

(cont'd tomorrow)

Marimba

Just for fun, here is Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" performed by a student marimba band in South Africa. To remember what the original sounded like about 300 years ago when it was composed, go here.

Chopsticks

How big are those SpaceX "chopsticks" that caught a descending 250-ton rocket in mid-air? 

This big (photo):

All in

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Elon has been on a learning curve. After losing his son to the "woke mind virus," he's been waking up to left wing politics. What he found out about the woke political party drives him in his new MAGA role, as he explains in this interview with Tucker Carlson:

 

Freedom to speak is important to him, as is clear from what he's done at X (formerly Twitter). Free speech is, as he says, the "bedrock of democracy." If no disagreement with the government is permitted (censorship), then Americans are sheep who simply do as they're told and never discover a new idea. What if the government is wrong? 

Millions (10+) of illegal immigrants have been allowed to pour over our national borders since this administration took over in 2021. Loyal to the government which enabled this invasion, they may ensure that every swing state votes left wing in the future. It scares Elon and it scares me. California has even criminalized showing your ID to vote 😟

Elon says he is all in. What if his candidate doesn't win? "I'm f--d! How many years in prison do you think I'll get?!"

Attacking Elon 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

How gullible are people? Some completely trust those in power to tell them what is true and what is "dis/mis/information" -- so they approve of government censorship.

The White House today, like tyrants everywhere, is afraid of free speech so they must suppress and control public opinion. What a contrast to President Kennedy (assassinated in 1963) who trusted the public (us Americans) with our constitutional right to free speech.

Elon is not one to humbly submit to coercion. He bought Twitter and let go of over half the staff since "content moderation" or censorship would no longer be their goal. He published documentation that Twitter had been bowing to government pressure. 

Elon's businesses make him vulnerable. This White House and its left wing political party really don't like him, and it shows (yesterday's post). So he's gone from having little interest in politics to . . joining the other political party and its presidential candidate (photo). 

As he has said in the past, Game On.

Attacking Elon 1

Our current government administration is "all-in" for policies that promote the trend away from internal combustion cars and toward electric vehicles. They sponsored a "summit" meeting in 2021 to celebrate EV's in America, inviting legacy car makers . . but snubbing Tesla.

Why would they leave out "the company that sells more electric cars [image] in the US than all competitors combined?" (Clue: unlike Tesla, those legacy car makers are all unionized and the union has advocated for the current president's political party for many years.)

 

In 2020 about $900 million in federal funding for rural broadband internet was designated to Elon Musk's Starlink after they competed for it. But the FCC withdrew the funding when the current administration took over, saying they didn't meet the requirements. SpaceX was “deeply disappointed and perplexed," and claimed "Starlink is demonstrably one of the best options—likely the best option—to accomplish the goals" of the program. 

And there's more: "The White House is attacking Musk’s business empire . . throwing everything it can find at Musk, hoping that the endless barrage of regulatory, reputational and legal attacks will cause the world’s wealthiest man to kneel." 

"The viciousness of the investigations being conducted by the DOJ, the FAA, the FTC, the SEC, the NLRB . . against a successful American business leader is unprecedented."

(cont'd tomorrow)

Dear Nike

A new athletic apparel company started up last March. They have a goal in addition to selling clothes: "We are here to protect women's sports and spaces," to protect women and girls from a travesty like what happened here, here, here.

Their name is "XX-XY Athletics," and their new ad is terrific. I want everyone to see it, so here is "Dear Nike" . .

ISS view

The International Space Station has been up there a long time, continuously occupied since 2000. Astronauts are commonly there six to twelve months. It can be uncomfortable.

But the view is amazing.

The catch

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

To remind yourself why they would try to do something as monumentally difficult as catching a rocket in mid-air, go here. 

What a moment that turned out to be. After boosting "Starship" through the thickest part of the atmosphere, seven minutes after launch "Super Heavy" disengaged from it and came hurtling back to earth. 

Precision firing of its raptor engines slowed the 250-ton rocket down til it hovered right over its target. It slowly descended into the "chopstick" arms of the "mechazilla" launch tower, back into the position where in the future it will be readied for the next flight in as little as one hour. 

This process will help attain the goal of the rapid reuse of Starship, essential to Elon's vision. He posted on X: "Big step towards making life multiplanetary was made today."

Test flight 5

After telling SpaceX that approval of their next Starship test flight would probably not be granted until late November, the government (FAA) suddenly approved it last Saturday afternoon, three days ago.

SpaceX was ready, and the flight took place just 19 hours later on Sunday morning. To my complete surprise, I saw the tweet on X as we drove home from church (which explains why this post didn't appear yesterday 😐).

As planned, the spectacular accomplishment of the day was the amazing catch of the returning first stage booster in mid-air for the first time ever. In the words of one of the engineer/narrators, history was made. 

Here is the flight video. To see SpaceX's full video at sunrise with more information and more excitement, go here.

Hurricane news 4

(cont'd from last week's posts)

Just days after Hurricane Helene carved a path of wreckage into the eastern U.S. interior, Hurricane Milton swept across central Florida (photo).

The Gulf Coast took much of the property damage, but millions more in the region lost power.

It was expected and prepared for. Over 50,000 linemen from multiple states volunteered to come fix the massive problem of fallen power lines. The Florida governor says they were "pre-staged" so they could get to work as soon as Milton was gone.

Volunteer linemen also came to Georgia to restore power after Helene. Residents of one community gathered to say a grand "thank you" complete with their local high school band. You'll enjoy it, so go here to see them express their appreciation (posted on X last week).

Hurricane news 3

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

How important is internet access to us all for communication, news, banking, etc.--and it was lost for a while in hard-hit regions. Starlink is internet access operated by SpaceX, a "crucial lifeline in parts of southern Appalachia that were devastated by Hurricane Helene." It was donated and delivered freely to hundreds of survivors as you may have seen in yesterday's videos. 

Satellite-powered, it works even in remote and devastated communities if there's a good view of the sky. Instructions for making it work are pretty basic: "Plug it in and point to sky." 

Another difference maker is Samaritan's Purse, a Christian international relief organization of 1600 employees run by the family of evangelist Billy Graham. "At our sites across North Carolina, we are doing tree work, mudding out homes, removing debris, and tarping roofs. Heavy equipment is being used to clear private driveways and private roads. In some areas, we are also offering water and potable water to the community."

 

Hurricane news 2

 (cont'd from yesterday's post)

If you aren't seeing local videos of hurricane relief on your own X account, I'd like to show you some of what I've seen on mine:

* volunteers from New York NYPD and FDNY bring supplies

* working through the night to create bridges from fallen trees and telephone poles

* citizens organizing recovery without FEMA or any government help, helicopter pilots rescuing victims while paying for their own gasoline

* team finds a woman living alone has no food, no water, no power, no transport

* completed 67 helicopter missions (as of Oct 6) bringing fuel, generators, Starlink, more

Ordinary, regular, everyday Americans mobilize their bike clubs, churches, friends, etc., to come to the mountains of western North Carolina and bring help.

 

(cont'd tomorrow, groups making a difference)