February 23, 2019

China Uses DNA to Track Its People, With the Help of American Expertise

China wants to make the country’s Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, more subservient to the Communist Party. It has detained up to a million people in what China calls “re-education” camps, drawing condemnation from human rights groups and a threat of sanctions from the Trump administration.

Collecting genetic material is a key part of China’s campaign, according to human rights groups and Uighur activists. They say a comprehensive DNA database could be used to chase down any Uighurs who resist conforming to the campaign.

Read more at:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-uses-dna-to-track-its-people-with-the-help-of-american-expertise/ar-BBTUfOE

February 5, 2019

Please express your opinion on the Wall/Trump issue!

a. He tries the emergency approach
b. He uses military personnel to build the wall and any spare funds from military for materials
c. The congressional panel makes a deal on DACA and gives him $3 Billion for the wall
d. He gives up for now, and promises his base it will be built in his 2nd term
e. Mexico pays for the wall

February 1, 2019

Payrolls increase by 304,000 in January

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected payrolls to rise by 170,000.
There were revisions. December’s big initially reported gain of 312,000 was knocked all the way down to 222,000, while November’s rose from 176,000 to 196,000.
The unemployment rate ticked higher to 4 percent, a level where it had last been in June, a likely effect of the shutdown, according to the department.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/nonfarm-payrolls-january-2019.html

January 6, 2019

Trump: I'm nearing decision on emergency declaration to build wall

Source: Politico


President Donald Trump again threatened Sunday to declare a national emergency as a means to construct his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying he would first gauge the results of upcoming negotiations to end a partial government shutdown triggered by partisan debate over his campaign trail promise.

“I may decide a national emergency depending on what happens over the next few days,” Trump told reporters as he exited the White House en route to Camp David, according to a pool report.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/06/trump-emergency-border-wall-government-shutdown-1082712

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Since when our country became dictatorship? Who does Drumpf think he is?
But he is crazy and could very well try to declare national emergency.
If that does happen I hope SCOTUS will rule against him.
How does the military fit into this picture? Will military remove him from office?

January 4, 2019

JOB GROWTH SURGES BY 312,000 IN DECEMBER

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/04/nonfarm-payrolls-december-2018.html

Are these numbers massaged by the government?
Figures don't lie but those who make up figures can lie!

December 14, 2018

You wanna live into your 90's? Retire early!

When I was 57 years old, the symptoms began with high heart rate, feeling faint at work in
the morning. My HMO doctor was actually good and had many tests ordered to find out why
I was experiencing those symptoms. First I had high blood pressure and secondly I was
border line diabetic.

So I retired at age 57, and began retirement and soon was bored out of my mind. My wife is a
dozen years younger than me, and was working at a full time job. I had a great job at a lab
funded by department of energy, but what good is having lots of money if you retire after 65
and the body is in bad shape. You will be spending lots of money on healthcare, which is #1
cause of bankruptcy in USA.

To keep busy, I joined a cheap private golf club and began playing golf 5 days a week.
At first I had a real hard time walking the 18 holes which is 5 miles minimum if you hit
straight, 7 miles for me because I was rarely in the fairway.

But I kept at it, and played 18 holes five times a week. I played with the senior group
who teed off every week-day mornings at 10am. Every one chipped in $3 and whoever
played best that day with handicap got most of the money. It was lot of fun. Golf is more
fun once you begin to break 90 every round.

Living cost is very cheap in retirement IF ONE STAYS HEALTHY. I get senior discounts
every where, including property tax breaks in Florida. Now at age 78, I have no health
problems, no heart attacks, no strokes, no back pain, no knee pain, no hip joint pain,
no arthritis, good blood pressure, good blood glucose level etc. Before I took up full time
golf, I was border line diabetic, had high blood pressure, had hip joint pain, got chest pain
after eating a good restaurant meal of red meat, and used to get panic attacks.

That 6 to 7 miles of walking 5 times every week has done wonders for my body. Now at age 78
my legs are still good enough to walk several miles every day. Reaching Age 100 is looking possible. I rarely see a doctor and last time I was in hospital was at age 50 to remove my gall bladder. My healthcare costs at age 78 are near zero. Actually my Humana Medicare advantage
plan pays me $55/month!

Moral of my story is....exercise (just walking several miles) is the best medicine. Retire early,
begin any exercise routine which does not bore you, and live a long pain free life!

December 12, 2018

Beto O'Rourke narrowly tops wide-open MoveOn 2020 presidential straw poll; Biden is runner-up

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/beto-o-rourke-narrowly-tops-moveon-2020-presidential-straw-poll-n946501

An early straw poll of members of the progressive group MoveOn.org shows a wide-open competition for liberal voters in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, with Rep. Beto O'Rourke narrowly beating out former Vice President Joe Biden.

December 12, 2018

Facing pressure, McConnell agrees to criminal justice vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure from President Donald Trump and many of his Republican colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he will bring legislation to the floor to overhaul the nation's sentencing laws.

McConnell's decision comes after more than three years of overtures from a large, bipartisan group of senators who support the criminal justice bill, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump announced his support for the legislation last month, but McConnell treaded cautiously, as a handful of members in his caucus voiced concerns that it would be too soft on violent criminals........

Read more at
https://news.yahoo.com/mcconnell-says-senate-vote-criminal-justice-bill-153302991--politics.html

October 15, 2018

Trump fears Biden 2020, losing Pennsylvania

Advisers to President Trump say Joe Biden is the Democrat he most fears running against, and that Pennsylvania is the state he worries most about flipping against him.

Trump’s calculation is based partly on how weak he sees other Democratic possibilities, including Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, and partly on who’s capable of appealing to his base of working class whites.

Biden, sources tell me, doesn't think Trump is morally or politically fit for the Oval Office.
The former vice president, who at 75 is three years older than Trump, pines to run and will test the waters this fall.
But family considerations could prevent him from ultimately pulling the trigger. Biden sees the same opening Trump does with working class voters, especially in Democratic states like Pennsylvania that Trump won.
Trump advisers say Biden, like the president, conveys authenticity, is comfortable in his own skin, can work a crowd, and relishes throwing and returning punches.

Biden could — and would — needle Trump, and get under his skin, with a brio that few other big-name Democrats could muster.
He has kept his connection to his birthplace — Scranton, Pa., emblematic of the working-class, Rust Belt territory that joined Trump Country in 2016.
A Democratic source close to Biden said he'd be strong with "Obama-Trump voters" in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin where "the blue wall became the red threat" — Obama won them twice, then they flipped narrowly to Trump.

https://www.axios.com/scoop-trump-fears-biden-losing-pennsylvania-1532514558-e1bf871b-5edb-44e8-baa4-5506e99550fb.html

September 14, 2018

Beijing's problems in the trade war with the US

There are also no signs of excessive inflation. In the view of economic experts, this gives the Chinese central bank further scope for stimulating growth through monetary policy.

The volume of goods potentially affected by punitive tariffs is impressive: $250 billion (€219 billion) for Chinese imports into the United States, $110 billion in the opposite direction.

So far, China has reciprocated every US punitive customs measure in equal kind, but this strategy is likely to reach a limit because China imports much less from the US than it exports there.

https://www.dw.com/en/beijings-problems-in-the-trade-war-with-the-us/a-45047737