It Is Time

 Yesterday the United States Senate voted on the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capital. The procedural vote required 60 senators to agree to move forward to debate. Senate Republicans following the lead of Senator McConnell stopped the measure from moving forward. It was Senator McConnell’s belief that the commission would harm the chances of Republicans in their attempt to retake the majority in the House and Senate. He and a significant minority of Senate Republicans fear the revelations that may come from this investigation. It is interesting that in the formation of the legislation Democrats had negotiated with Republicans. They had given in to every Republican demand regarding the makeup and limitations of the commission. It still wasn’t enough. If you cannot get Republicans to vote for a bipartisan bill they negotiated then what hope do you have for an agreement on infrastructure, gun control, healthcare, education or any other issue? Mitch McConnell is working to do what he did to President Obama- obstruct everything. He will use the filibuster to block every piece of legislation coming out of the House. It is time to end the filibuster. 

The Republicans did not want a bipartisan commission. It is time for Speaker Pelosi to form a select committee to investigate the January 6th insurrection. Speaker Bohner form the Select Committee on Benghazi to investigate the death of 4 Americans in Libya. Surely the death of 6 Americans in our nation’s Capital Building warrants a select committee. The House select committee spent 2 years and millions of dollars investigating Benghazi. What was the purpose of that investigation? 

On September 29, 2015, Republican Kevin McCarthy said the following during an appearance on Hannity: "Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she's untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened, had we not fought."

Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Minority Leader in the House made clear the political intent of those hearings. If Republicans become the majority in the house he will be the next Speaker. 

Speaker Pelosi must form a select committee. Let it be like the one on Benghazi. That one had 7 Republican members and 5 Democrats. This committee should have 7 Democrats and 5 Republicans. It is time for a select committee  

The final part of the problem is the ongoing gerrymandering of congressional districts. Republicans and Democrats in too many districts are not concerned with their rival in the general election. They are concerned by a primary challenger that will run against them for being too willing to compromise with the rival party. The punishment for doing the right thing is failing to be re-elected. Too many members of Congress are more concerned with being re-elected than are concerned with doing what is best for the country. They have put their ambitions above what is best for America. It is time for partisan gerrymandering to stop. 

That’s a Fuckin’ Huge Boat

CGA CMG Marco Polo

Class and type:	Explorer-classcontainer ship
Tonnage:	175,343 GT 85,361 NT 187,625 DWT
Length:	396.0 m (1,299 ft 3 in)
Beam:	53.6 m (175 ft 10 in)
Draught:	16.0 m (52 ft 6 in)
Depth:	29.9 m (98 ft 1 in) (deck edge to keel)
Installed power:	Wärtsilä 14RT-flex96C (80,080 kW)
Propulsion:	Single shaft, fixed-pitch propeller
Speed:	25.1 knots (46.5 km/h; 28.9 mph)[2]
Capacity:	16,020 TEU[5] 1,100 TEU(reefers)[6]
Crew:	27[7]

The CMA CGM Marco Polo made a stop at the Port of Savannah on Wednesday. It is the largest container ship to ever visit the East coast. So, of course, people came out to watch it come up the Savannah river. I have been along River Street in Savannah when one of these ships goes by. Pictures do not do their enormous size justice. They are truly a marvel of modern engineering. At one point the Marco Polo was the largest container ship on the planet. Is the arrival of this ship and its cargo cause for celebration or concern? 

The Marco Polo and similar ships should remind us of the millions of manufacturing jobs that have been moved overseas. The jobs lost included service and repair jobs. We have become a nation who buys cheaper throwaway goods. These giant ships do not return to countries like China empty. The problem is that we are sending them raw materials and they return to us value added finished goods. So companies here save money paying lower wages overseas and sell goods to consumers in an economy that is increasingly service oriented. If you want a peek at how this has impacted us look at current manufacturing. It has been somewhat hamstrung by a shortage of computer chips. They seem to be in everything and they are in short supply. As a final thought if you wonder about the effects of a service economy look at the impact COVID-19 had on our economy over the past year. Absent massive intervention by the government our economy would have collapsed. 

Instead of cheering when these massive ships call a port we should be protesting. Next time you go shopping flip that item over and see where it was made. If you can, when you can, buy products made in the USA. 

Play Ball

 I don’t think people who didn’t play baseball or softball understand the love we have for the game. We played as children. We played as teens. We played as adults. We weren’t always good. We remember the times we played well. The big hits. The unexpected spectacular defensive play. You know the one. The ball is hit at you like a rocket. You throw your glove up while wishing permanent damage isn’t done to some part of your body. To the amazement of yourself and your team the ball ends up in your glove. A sure hit becomes a miracle out. We didn’t need 9 kids on our team and 9 on the other team. I think our minimum was four. A pitcher and a fielder. Ghost runners. Closed fields so if you hit it there you were out. Pitchers hand instead of throwing to first base. We would play for hours. I was listening to the radio today and the average child is only outside playing 32 minutes a day.  We played outside because there was nothing to do inside. There were two or three channels on the TV. Afternoon was soap operas. We didn’t want to watch any of those. So Sunday we went to East Peoria to watch Audrey play two games. Her team lost both games. She still had fun. She got a base hit on this pitch. 

After the game what does every kid want to do with their team and coach? Ice Cream! If there is a place like this one you have to go. 

In Field of Dreams there is an exchange between the characters about baseball. Through the years in good times and bad. In war and in peace. There was baseball. It marks our history. As people and as a nation. My friend Mike has the miracle of the ‘69 Mets. My love for the Cardinals goes back to ‘64. Those teams have mark the passing years of our lives. Child, teen, adult and now on the cusp of old age. We watch the games.  Follow the box scores. Always hoping for another World Series championship. Our playing days are over but our love for the game continues. We watch and remember the days when we could make that play or get that timely hit. 

Time Changes Everything

 This is the courthouse in Rushville, Illinois in 1906. 

The same courthouse in 2020. 

The first thing to note is the change in the clock tower. It has been considerably shortened.  The front left corner has also undergone some significant changes. 

There is something satisfying in seeing old buildings like this one preserved. Given care it should be around for its 2106. It would be interesting to see how it looks then. 

Mask

 The world changed a bit yesterday. The Centers for Disease Control determined that with a few exceptions those of us who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks. I know many of us were tired of wearing masks. It was, at least for me, an easy calculation. I worked for decades in correctional facilities. There are rules. Lots of rules. Rules about everything you can imagine and some things you probably can’t imagine. So we were told to wear a mask. How, when and where it was required. We could, through our cooperation, prevent the spread of disease. We could give ourselves a better chance of staying healthy. If we were infected and asymptotic we could perhaps reduce the risk of infecting someone who might get seriously ill or die from the disease. 

It made my life easier in one way. If I went out in public and shopped at a store if I saw someone not complying with their mask mandate I made a judge. In my head I determined in short order you were a self centered, ignorant asshole. You didn’t care about your fellow citizens. You were concerned only with yourself. There is a significant portion of the population that is refusing to take the vaccine. I think it is likely larger than the group who refused to wear masks. 

So now I have a dilemma. I could easily identify the assholes by their refusal to wear a mask. Now, masks aren’t required. I have no way to determine if you have been vaccinated. Your assholeliness has now been obscured. The only way for me to determine if you are an asshole is to look for other signs. Maybe a Trump shirt or bumper sticker. Perhaps one of the stupid red MAGA hats. If I get really lucky a shirt that says: “I’m with stupid!” and the arrow points up. 

I’m Not Telling

 Don’t ask. I’m not going to say what I did. 

Fuck ‘em

 

I’m growing tired of folks who were too lazy or too stupid making comments like this about those of us who decided to get a liberal arts education. I worked with some of those who attempt to belittle our education. I supervised several of them. I always saw the value of my liberal arts education in its training me to see multiple sides of an issue. It encouraged me to look beyond my thoughts and prejudices. It taught me not to take statements at face value. I was taught to research and look beyond the claims to determine truth. It is one of the reasons I find Facebook so frustrating. People see something posted that fits with their world view and could care less if it is true. There are those who claim we each have our own truth. They are just wrong. There are universal truths out there supported by facts. You are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts and not a truth that is contrary to facts. So, to my dear friend Mike, I value your philosophy education. We spent many hours debating things we experienced working together. Those discussions were always an effort to discern facts and truth. I know at the end of the day our respective liberal arts educations served us and those we worked with as coworkers and clients well. 

So those who want to demean and belittle our education and work- FUCK YOU!

Sometimes We Are Just Stupid

 If you’ve lived in Galesburg you have at one point or another gone under the viaduct at Lincoln and Fremont. I’m not sure how anyone thought this would work. 

Maybe because they confused these two items. 

Don’t be too mad at me and leave my horse out of this. 

What is It?

 A couple weeks ago I took a picture of this house in Vermont, Illinois.  

I made note of the structure to the right suspecting originally it functioned as the kitchen. I neglected to notice the smaller structure to the left. When we drove through Vermont yesterday I took this picture. 

Carol and I debated it’s possible function. It is too small to be a root cellar. Carol suggested the possibility it was an outhouse. It seems possible. That does remind me of a story. I had a young man working for me a few years ago. He was telling me about a girl he was dating at the time. In describing how attractive she was he stated: “She’s built like a shit brick house.”  Mixed metaphors. I advised him at the time I doubted she would find that complimentary. Back to this story. Perhaps it is a well house or a sits over a cistern. Tool shed? 

Any suggestions or opinions dear readers? 

Truth Doesn’t Matter

 Liz Cheney is about to lose her leadership position in the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. Her sin? She has not lined up behind Donald Trump’s big lie that he actually won the election. She knows, and is willing to say, there was not sufficient voting irregularities to cost him the election. She is willing to admit he lost a free and fair election. When Donald Trump was President she voted to support his agenda 93% of the time. She voted for his massive and unnecessary tax cut. She cannot support the lie that he was cheated out of a second term. 

Having said all that I want to make one thing clear. I don’t care for or about Ms. Chaney. I do care about the truth. I would be supportive of anyone in her position who was being removed because they could not support a lie. The Republican Party has ceased to exist. It is the party of Trump. They prefer to listen to the falsehoods shouted by an orange skinned carnival barker. He has lost consistently in court. He has lost every recount. The election is over and certified. Politicians waste time talking about fraud that didn’t happen. Fraud they can provide no evidence to prove. I will never understand the love these folks have for Trump. I listen to him talk and cannot understand how my fellow citizens do not see how stupid he is. George Carlin was right when he said something like the following. Think about how stupid the average American is and remember half the population is dumber than that. 

Someday we may wake and realize we must change. I suspect the harsh reality may be that humans are another evolutionary dead end. Our end will not be a natural disaster like the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. We will destroy ourselves with our denial of reality and stupidity. Then we will realize in the universe no lives matter. 

Workers of the World Unite

 We traveled a bit last week driving from Illinois through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. What did we see along the way? Help wanted signs. Traveling, as one would suspect, most of the places we stopped were gas stations, restaurants and hotels. Places traditionally staffed by low wage workers. I spoke to a few of the managerial folks when the opportunity arose. The problem was so severe they were not even getting applicants. It isn’t as simple as the pandemic, increased unemployment payments and stimulus checks. Tybee Island comes to mind since we had lived there. Housing for folks working in gift shops and restaurants is simply unaffordable. The house we owned was turned into an Air B&B and now rents for $325 per night. That translates to $9,750 for a 30 day month. If it was rented on a month basis with a year lease the rent would be about $2,500. I suspect unless you had several workers living together with rent, utilities, water and cable TV it would be out of reach. The other problem is the commute out from Savannah. Depending on time of day the 10 mile or so trip can take well over an hour each way. Not something you want to face after a day of serving rude and demanding tourists. Tybee is the exception. Labor and housing have long been a problem on the island. Elsewhere the problem is the low value placed on these worker’s labor. Many of them, perhaps for the first time in years, are getting enough income to meet their needs without endless worry. They are paid poverty wages when they work. They live payday to payday hoping the car doesn’t break down, the kids don’t get sick and no emergencies destroy the family budget. Now many people think they should return to work for the same or less money than unemployment and stimulus checks provide. The problem isn’t the money they are getting now. It is the fact that their labor is not appropriately compensated. No one should have to work 2 or 3 jobs to earn a living. The minimum wage must be raised to a living wage. It must be indexed to inflation so like Social Security when prices go up so does income. I know there will be those who say it will put some small businesses out of business. My response? If you can’t afford to pay a living wage you can’t afford to have a business. Isn’t capitalism about the strong businesses surviving based on their value in the market? As a final thought- we have seen the ongoing failure of trickle down economics. If we pay more at the bottom to these workers I’m sure it will still trickle up to the bloated coffers of the wealthy. At least the poor will have touched it and seen some benefit. 

Hungry?????