Commentary: Another Morning Cup Of Coffee “News” A Little Of This and That”

Another Morning Cup Of Coffee “News” A Little Of This and That”

By Dannie McIntire

September 6, 2022

Good morning Indiana, a fresh cup of coffee in hand, it’s time for me to review the news article you may have missed this week.

This week my wife and I received our Indiana Taxpayer Refund, thank you Governor Holcomb and the Indiana legislators, “surprise money” is always appreciated. Oh, wait, my wife just ran out the door headed to the New Albany Ben Franklin store which is having a going-out-of-business sale.

Some readers may not know that Ben Franklin stores are a franchise system, with individual stores owned by independent proprietors. The local New Albany store was a third-generation staple in our community. It’s sad to see another “hometown family business” going out of business.

  Last week I wrote the article “The Best Circus To See Is In Washington, D.C.”,

I may have to apologize for that headline as I now believe the best circus to see is in California. 

California air regulators voted last week to approve new air quality rules that would ban the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035, setting new targets to begin phasing out fossil-fueled cars starting with 2026 models, intending to force its residents into going all-electric by 2035.

Now, barely a week later, the governor of California, Eric Newsom, has signed an executive order to increase the electricity supply as the state braces for a major heat wave. The California Independent System Operator has warned that stress on the energy grid could lead to blackouts and called for consumer conservation, and specifically not to charge electric vehicles between the hours 4 to 9 PM,

So, what happens when your state doesn’t have sufficient electrical infrastructure to meet its current peak demand? “Hey I have a great idea, why don’t we pass a rule to force our state residents to begin buying all-electric vehicles”. Have you ever heard the old phrase, “don’t put the cart before the horse”?

Speaking of California, Los Angeles County just began a basic income program in which 1,000 residents will begin receiving $1,000 every month for the next three years. This money will be added on top of any state or federal assistance the participants may already be receiving.  

Over 180,000 residents applied for the “giveaway”. The intent of the program is to tackle poverty and income instability.

Looking at some of the program’s guidelines, those being selected must be 18 years old and have a household income under $56,000 for a single person or $96,000 for a family of four. 

Now I do have to scratch my head a little on the above guidelines, a single person making $56,000 or a family of four making $96,000 considered poverty?  

L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said, “Given the huge number of L.A. County residents who applied, it’s abundantly clear that a guaranteed basic income is an idea whose time has come.”

No, the idea that has come in L.A. County, as in other cities this is being tried, is just pure good old “democratic socialism”; make the population so dependent on government that they keep voting to keep your party in power.

Ask the people in some of the southern hemisphere “socialist” countries how well this has been working out. Well, come to think of it, you may have to find them at our southern border to interview them.

Well, the next article I read was certainly welcoming news. Being age 72, I had anticipated drinking coffee in the morning for at least another decade.

The National Center For Health Statistics just announced that the average life expectancy in the United States had the biggest two-year decline in almost a century. The life expectancy for Americans fell in 2020-2021 to an average age of 76, compared to an average of 79 in 2019.

In a prior article, I related after coming home from shopping my wife had complained about the rising cost of coffee, telling me I was going to have to cut back. Now, if I only have four years left, I’m going to tell her to upgrade from the house brand, I want the expensive stuff.  

Good grief is it that time of the year already; while my wife was downstairs looking for fall decorations I discreetly started a fresh pot of coffee.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues to be one of my political heroes. To bring attention to President Biden and the democrat’s deftness to the problem of illegal immigration along our southern border he had been bussing detained immigrants to New York City and Washington, D.C.

This week he added the city of Chicago to the mix, delivering the first bus load of an estimated 80 to 100 “new Chicagoans” to their Union Station.  

Part of a statement released by a spokesman for Chicago democratic mayor Lori Lightfoot said; “Unfortunately, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is without any shame or humanity”. 

No, what is without “shame or humanity” is the present Washington, D.C. administration allowing our southern border states to be overwhelmed by uncontrolled illegal immigration.

Now we all can trace our “American heritage” back to “immigration”, present or past. Even “Native Americans”, which DNA testing shows descended from a single gene pool with their ancestral tracing back to Asia, immigrated to North America.

Since the dawn of modern man, “mankind” has “immigrated” to new lands in search of a better life. America was built on immigration; I have nothing against immigration. I believe as a nation we should continue to have our arms open to “new citizens” seeking freedom, and a better life for themselves and their families. 

However, I do believe we need to control immigration in a sensible, legal, manner. We still haven’t solved the problems of poverty, and homelessness for many of our own citizens; we need to control the illegal immigration at our southern borders if nothing more than to “catch our breath”.    

One last cup of coffee this morning; from yahoo news;

I was reading their most recent article on the difficulties our armed forces are having in recruiting, not that there isn’t sufficient interest among potential recruits, but an inability of many applicants to pass the academic or fitness requirements. 

It detailed one applicant who had failed the service’s academic test more than 10 times over the past decade.

“Now, at age 29, the potential recruit thinks he has a real shot to pass, thanks to a new Army program that gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards”.

Here is a sample of the math part of the test;

“If 10 inches on a map represents an actual distance of 100 feet, then what actual distance does 25 inches on the map represent”?

A: 25 feet

B: 100 feet

C: 150 feet

D: 250 feet

Just saying, my thinking is I’m not sure I want someone who hasn’t been able to pass the required military ASVAB test after ten times directing the fire of an M777 Howitzer. 

It’s just another sad example of how the American education system is failing a large portion of our youth.

I’m out of coffee, time for a nap. 

FOOTNOTE: This article was by the City-County Observer and posted without bias or editing.