Wednesday, October 02, 2024

Another Trump Lie: Trump falsely says Georgia's governor was unable to talk to Biden about storm damage

 by Rod Williams, Oct. 2, 2024- How can you tell if Trump is lying? His mouth is moving. 

I cannot believe a single thing he says. Every day is a new outrage or a new lie. He lies so often, that when he tells the truth it should be news. I have reached the point that I just assume everything he says is a lie. It does not good to point out the lies to the Trump cult members, they will simply dismiss it with "Fake News."

Here is the latest Trump lie, assuming he hasn't said anything since.

Trump falsely says Georgia's governor was unable to talk to Biden about storm damage

NBC News,  Sept. 30, 2024- Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp hasn’t been able to reach President Joe Biden to discuss Hurricane Helene's impacts on his state.

“He has been calling the president, but has not been able to get him,” Trump said at a news conference at a furniture store in Valdosta, Georgia.

Yet earlier in the day Kemp, a Republican, said that he initially missed Biden’s call but that he called back and that the two were able to connect Sunday evening.

“He just said, 'Hey, what do you need?'” Kemp told reporters. “And I told him, you know, we got what we need. We will work through the federal process.” (link)

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Tuesday, October 01, 2024

This election isn’t about policy—it’s about the future of our democracy.

 


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Trump ignores the First Amendment and says those who criticize the Supreme Court should be tossed in jail

by Rod Williams, Oct. 1, 2024- It doesn't matter what Trump says or does, his loyal supporters are sticking with him. I guess if you stuck with him after he attempted a coup, then why get upset when he threatens to suspend the constitution or says any of the other crazy things he says. 

I think some of his supporters simply make excuses for him and don't really think he will suspend the constitution or jail his critics or adopt any of the nutty things he has proposed. That he associates with weird conspiracy theorist and neo-Nazis doesn't bother them. They make excuses. Others do believe him I fear, and they have given up on democracy and want an authoritarian leader who will sit things right. 

I can't imagine what it would take for Trump to lose his supporters if he hasn't lost them yet. If he started saying nice things about Hitler, many of his supporters would rationalize and excuse what he said and say he was just misunderstood and that pointing out what he said was "fake news." Some of them would probably conclude Hitler wasn't such a bad guy. He had his good points, they would say. Tucker Carlson is their favorite pundit, and he has already laid the groundwork for a reconsideration of Hitler, so if Trump started saying nice things about Hitler, I think his cult would nod along and defend Trump and justify Nazism. 

Recently, Trump said those who criticize the Supreme Court should be jailed. Some of his supporters will minimize this and say that is not what he really meant and that he was just expressing a justified frustration; some will agree. 

Trump ignores the First Amendment and says those who criticize the Supreme Court should be tossed in jail

The Independent, Sept. 24, 2024- Donald Trump scolded those who critique the Supreme Court at a rally on Monday, saying people should be jailed for “the way they talk about our judges and our justices” – despite the First Amendment allowing people to criticize the government.

The former president, who has invoked his First Amendment right to launch a bevy of attacks against federal and state judges, suggested it should be “illegal” to rebuke judicial decisions or try and advocate in favor of a certain decision.

“It should be illegal, what happens,” Trump told a crowd in Pennslyvania. (read more)

Trump and our system, &c.

By Jay Nordlinger, National Review, September 26, 2024 - At one of his rallies this week, Donald Trump was talking about Supreme Court justices — actually, about critics of justices. “It should be illegal, what happens,” he said. “These people should be put in jail, the way they talk about our judges and our justices, trying to get them to sway their vote, sway their decision.”

... Because Trump is a fire hose of head-spinning statements, no one pauses to consider any one of them. When he says that critics ought to be jailed, it barely makes the news.

But consider: What if the Democratic nominee had made the same statement? What if Kamala Harris had said that critics of judges and justices ought to be jailed? We would talk of nothing else, right? We would say that she was crazy, that she should not be allowed anywhere near power. (read more)


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Monday, September 30, 2024

Would you rather have eggs at $3.20 a dozen or not have them at $2.30 a dozen?

by Rod Williams, Sept. 30, 2024- The Hill reports that the average price of a dozen large eggs has gone up by 28.1 percent in the last 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

If we had Kamala Harris's price gouging policy in place, would we still be able to buy eggs at $2.30 a dozen. Probably not. Most likely not. I say most likely not, because some store might figure out a way to bring in the same amount of money by spreading out the real cost of eggs over a lot of other goods to bring in the money necessary to sell eggs at a loss. This cost shifting may work for a while leading to other distortions in market prices. More likely than not, there would simply be no eggs available to purchase if prices did not rise.

The reason for the price increase is not price gouging according to the Hill report but is attributed in part to high demand for the product. Also, it is largely due to the bird flu outbreak at chicken farms in Colorado in July. The Hill article quotes Phil Lempert, a grocery industry analyst as saying, “Bird flu is the number one reason for higher prices, absolutely.” 

If Harris's Price Gouging Board was in place, would they accept that explanation and determine that an increase in the price of eggs was justified or would they assume any price increase is price gouging? I don't know. If they take a change in price as proof of price gouging, that would be easier to administer than examining each product that has a price change to determine if a price change was justified. We already have the Consumer Price Index to track price changes. If instead of just assuming a price increase is gouging and instead if the Price Gouging Board must determine if a price change is justified, that will be a lot of work. I doubt they would just accept Phil Lempert's word for it. 

There are dozens of factors, no doubt, that go into the price of a product. If you think about eggs, there is the cost of labor, chicken feed, veterinarian services, packaging, advertising, and transportation, and interest rates on borrowed money, and the list goes on and on. And then you have different kinds of eggs: brown, extra large, jumbo, large, medium, small, cage-free, free-range, GMO-free, and combinations of these like free-range extra-large GMO-free brown eggs. I assume each product price differential would have to be justified. To make their life easier, producers and retailers would probably reduce the number of choices of eggs.

Not only eggs, but everything you buy in the grocery store would have to have the same scrutiny. To determine if every price change was justified would take an army of new bureaucrats. How many? I don't know. The IRS has about 83,000 employees. I think the Price Gouging Board would have to have about ten times that many. And how would this new agency be paid for? A fee could be assessed the grocery stores, which of course, would lead to an increase in the price of eggs. 

Studies to determine if the price increase in eggs was justified, would take time. It could not be done overnight. So, would the study have to be done before the price is increased or after? If before, while waiting, the egg producer with no cash flow could not feed the chickens and they would just have to die. That would lead to fewer eggs and most of us would be unable to buy eggs simply because there would be none for sale.  If a producer had the recourses to absorb the increased cost while waiting for a price approval increase, then that would be more cost to figure into the reason for a price increase. I could explain that, but I assume you know that drawing down cash comes with a cost. 

So, if the grocery store gets their price increase and then the egg industry recovers from the bird flu episode that caused the price increase, the store would lower the price back to what it was before, right? No, not likely. The store would not want to risk losing the right to again raise the price the next time fuel prices went up or labor cost when up, or some other factor in the cost of production, so the store would likely keep the higher price.  

I don't think this price gouging policy idea has been thought out very well. 

 

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Sunday, September 29, 2024

Former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake most Recent Republican to endorse Kamala Harris for President.

Senator Jeff Flake
Kamala Harris Gets New Republican Endorsement From Critical Swing State

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Federal judge dismisses challenge to Tennessee law banning boys from using the girl's restrooms at School

 link

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Governor Winfield Dunn, Rest in Peace

Governor Winfield Dunn
by Rod Williams, Sept. 29, 2024 – Yesterday, Governor Winfield Dunn passed away peacefully surrounded by family. He was 97 years old. 

Born in Meridian, Mississippi, on July 1, 1927, Dunn enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and subsequently served as a reserve lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Dunn graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1950 and married his wife, Betty, that same year. He continued his education at the University of Tennessee Medical Units in Memphis, earning his D.D.S. and later practicing dentistry in Shelby County.

Dunn was elected Governor of Tennessee in 1970. Prior to his election, Dunn had never held public office. As Governor, Dunn contributed to Tennessee’s flourishing by creating a statewide kindergarten program, establishing public parks, prioritizing highway construction, and creating the Department of Economic and Community Development. As the first Republican to serve as Governor in 50 years at the time of his election, he is remembered as a Governor who deeply valued civility and unified the Volunteer State. Dunn also served as chairman of both the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees and the Tennessee State Board of Regents.

Governor Dunn’s life is marked by a profound religious faith, a deep love for his family and friends, and unwavering service to the people of Tennessee.

I have had the privilege of meeting Gov. Dunn on a couple of occasions, once visiting his at his home when I accompanied Davidson County GOP chair Kathleen Starnes to his home to discuss some party business. I am honored to have been presented a signed copy of the governor's biography, From a Standing Start, in recognition of my work on behalf of the local party. In addition to the personal interactions with the governor, I have seen him speak several times.  While, I only had these couple of one-on-one interactions with the governor, I felt like I knew him. He was warm and kind and genuine. I think it would be hard to find anyone who was acquainted with him who did not like him. 

Governor Winfield Dunn was a true servant of the people, and he was statesman. He exercised political skills without being mean-spirited. He could disagree without being disagreeable. He was a good man and a gentleman. 

Governor Dunn, rest in peace.

Funeral arrangements are pending. The family’s point of contact is Charles Dunn: chasdunn@gmail.com.

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Saturday, September 28, 2024

Plaintiffs won't revive federal lawsuit over Tennessee's redistricting maps

Plaintiffs won't revive federal lawsuit over Tennessee's redistricting maps

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