Month: July 2020

“Up in the mornin’ and out to school

The teacher is teachin’ the Golden Rule

American history and practical math

You study’ em hard and hopin’ to pass

Workin’ your fingers right down to the bone

And the guy behind you won’t leave you alone”

Q: Who among us doesn’t recognize Chuck Berry’s “School Days” from March,  1957? 

A: Potentially anyone less than sixty may not be familiar with this song!

Back when I was young, “black,” or “white” didn’t much matter to me and as far as music was concerned … Chuck Berry, Little Richard … BSM (black singers matter). I liked them all. 

However this is not about Chuck Berry, but rather it is about sending children back to school come September. President Trump just came out and said that schools should reopen in September, and predictably those on the left are going to oppose whatever he says. It sounded like the President was arguing that going back to school was necessary from from an economic viewpoint.

Let’s look at “kids going back to school?” from this economic perspective first. 

Many many families, both families with two parents and both working, and single-parent families need to have their children looked after while they are at work . . . or else they cannot go to work. How many children are we talking about?

About 56.6 million students will attend elementary, middle, and high schools across the United States:

• 50.8 million students in public schools
• 5.8 million students in private schools

Of the 50.8 million public school students:

• 1.4 million will attend prekindergarten
• 3.7 million will attend kindergarten
• 35.5 million will attend prekindergarten to grade 8
• 15.3 million will attend grades 9 to 12

If we assume that those of high school age do not need day care in order for the parent(s) to work, that still leaves about 35+ million school aged kids that need some kind of day care, assuming that the parents are not going to leave them home alone during the day or assuming that grandma will not be able to take care of them.

Of course the more affluent can afford to hire someone to watch their kids, but those are often the same more affluent that can often work from home. Those more affluent are not the ones that will be hurt the most if kids do not go back to school. Going hybrid? I view this as being able to say that you are doing something, when in essence you do not have a clue as to what to do!  (“Sorry, Mr. Boss, I can’t come in tomorrow or on any even numbered day this month because my kids only go to school on the odd numbered days, and thus are home on the even numbered days!”)

If BLM really cared about black kids, they would be all over this one. Which kids will suffer the most if they are not in school? Black kids!

When you look at “should kids going back to school” from a purely economic perspective, it seems to be a clear “yes, send the kids back to school!”

The second and probably even more important reason that kids should go back to school is that kids need to act like kids! Keeping them in pseudo-solitary confinement in the house is counter-productive to them maturing normally. They need friends. They need social interaction. They need to play. They need to run around. They need to learn how to interact with other kids. As I am sure that many of you have read, child abuse is up, as is spousal abuse. Alcoholism . . . up; drug use . . . up, perhaps partially due to the fact that these borderline individuals are now trapped inside all day with their kids. For their own good, send the kids to school!

The third reason to send kids back to school is to educate them. Let us not forget that the purpose of schools is to educate the children. Is it possible to educate kids at home? In some circumstances obviously it is not only possible but potentially better if the home-school teacher is both qualified and motivated. Personally I am dubious that home-schooled kids are as socially adept as those kids that are able to escape from under their own roof … but that is another topic for another day. A lot of children, especially those from poorer families need to get an education if there is to be any hope for them. They can either stay home and stay poor or they can go to school and have a chance to improve their lot in life.

The final reason that kids should go back to school is a negative one – there is no proven health reason to keep them home. In many European countries, in Australia, and in New Zealand kids have safely been going back to school fo months. At this point it is questionable whether or not the children spread the virus to adults (i.e. teachers) or even whether or not it matters when they spread it to each other. Will someone suffer because a child brought the virus home to grandma? Inevitably, yes, and that will be a sad situation, but not a reason to keep the 35+ million from going to school.

In the end – hard as it may seem to some – I agree with President Trump

On 7/6/20 I read an article in the NYT about the increasing gun violence in Chicago, and a lot of what follows is from that article. This article was basically detailing the innocent children who are unintended casualties in this mayhem. Since 6/20 there have been nine children, less than eighteen years old, killed by guns on the west and the south side of Chicago, and this does not include the total stats for this past July Fourth weekend. So far at least two youths were shot and killed on July Fourth . . . a fourteen year old boy on the South side and a seven year old girl on the West side.

Within the last two weeks, Sincere Gaston, 20 months old was shot and killed while he sat in his car seat in the backseat of his mother’s car – she was driving home from a laundromat.

Also James Mekhi, 3y/o, was shot and killed as he sat in the backseat of his step father’s car. (In an accompanying picture of the location of where he was killed was a sign for West Suburban Hospital . . . my wife was born at this hospital, and it is located less than a mile from where I went to grade school.

“The Windy City is becoming the Bloody City,” said the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger of Saint Sabina Church, calling it the worst period in the 45 years he has worked on social issues. “I have never seen the despair, hopelessness and anger all mixed together at the level it is right now.”

Okay, I think all would agree that this situation is a disaster. What to do? Less law enforcement? More law enforcement?

More ?

The police too are feeling the strain as they try to confront both the violence in the city and the pandemic. “All of the people and organizations that we usually depend on to respond to homicide and violent crime are overburdened right now,” said Thomas Abt, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice.

Less?

Distrust of the police is also a contributing factor as many residents of the hardest-hit neighborhoods feel reluctant to call on law enforcement

People who have lost trust in the police are more prone to settle scores on their own, experts said. “The lack of trust, the lack of confidence in police and the lack of willingness to use police, I think is going to have a broader effect,” said Mr. Abt.

To me it seems that no one knows what to do. Certainly the approach of the politicians in Chicago, to put it politely, is to ignore the problem . . . at least that’s what it seems like. Perhaps, they ignore it because there is no answer!

So what is the answer for the black families that live on the Westside and/or the Southside of Chicago? They are trapped in a dysfunctional city. As of July second there have been 336 murders in the city. You can be killed driving from the laundromat or attending a block party. Recently one of the children who was murdered, had the audacity to be sitting in her living room watching TV!

To my way of thinking, there is only one thing to do . . . Move out of Chicago. 

Leave! Get out!

But where? . . . Anywhere, but not to another big city.

If “Black Lives Matter” really wanted to help Black lives, they would expedite and facilitate a Chicago exodus.

Update: In Chicago this past weekend 69 people were shot and 16 were killed. I am waiting for a comment on this from BLM, or the Illinois Democrats.

Yesterday I mocked the response of CNN and the NYT to President  Trump’s speech at Mount Rushmore. They both called it “divisive.” In all honesty, I had admitted that I had not listened to that speech. After being chastised by hundreds or maybe even a thousand readers over the last twenty-four hours, I decided to possibly recant, and perhaps reassess my opinion. I decided that in fairness, I would watch the speech on You-Tube. I did just that, and now I am going to give an honest informed opinion of that 42:25. A recant ?

First of all, it was not a typical Trump campaign speech. He did not mention Joe Biden once! He talked for at least five minutes about each of the four presidents enshrined on the mount just above his head. This was not “rah-rah,” but very complementary toward each of the four. While I was listening to stuff about Lincoln and Roosevelt, I could not understand why CNN/NYT called the speech “divisive.”

He said that attacks on liberty must be stopped, and that he was deploying federal law enforcement to protect our history and to arrest the rioters that were defacing statues. Now here I can understand why this might be viewed as divisive by “left-wing nut jobs!”

President Trump also said, “the American family is the bedrock of American society.” Divisive? . . . only if you are on the side of BLM, that wants to destroy the family.

He also said, “We will stand proud and will only kneel to Almighty God.” Divisive ? . . . only if you are a big fan of Colin K. and the NFL. (BTW, Nike is losing a lot of money this year. Hooray!)

He went through a litany of great American accomplishments and famous Americans from Bob Hope to Louie Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. Divisive ? . . . I dare CCN/NYT to show me anybody who does not like Hope or Satchmo Armstrong.

He closed by asking all Americans to step-up and defend the integrity of our country. Now, can anyone explain how defending the integrity of our country can be divisive? 

An his final line . . .  “God Bless America!” There are only two groups who would call this last line “divisive” . . . our enemies or the devil! 

To which group does CNN and the NYT  belong?

A recant? . . . Hardly!

Oops,I did it again … unintentionally, but guilty as charged! It happened at my gym . . . again. For years the TV that is situated directly in front of the exercycles has been tuned to Fox News. As I got situated on my bike – wiping it down with Purell, adjusting the seat using Purell again, and getting ipod earbuds positioned correctly, a commercial was on the TV screen. I started pedaling, and at about two minutes in, I noticed, much to my dismay that the TV directly in front of me was tuned to  . . . CNN!

At that point I had a decision to make. Either get off that exercycle, move to another piece of exercise equipment, and go through all of the Purell rigamarole again . . . or continue as is, and do my best to control the nausea. “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.” “Mea Culpa!”

Although thankfully I could not hear any of the drivel that was being spewed out by the announcer, across the bottom of the screen the word, “divisive” was used repeatedly in association with “Trump’s speech at Mount Rushmore.” Because this was CNN, I suspected that it probably was a good speech.

Later today while looking at some things on the internet, I noticed that the NYT had referred to that same speech as, “dark and divisive!” ( I guess “divisive,” must have been the leftist word of the day. If today wasn’t a holiday, I’m sure that “stretched-face” would have used that same word of the day.) After I read that the NYT was vociferously not happy with the speech, I knew that it must have been good!

Next I read an article by Roger Kimball about that same speech. The headline of that article was the following:

“Looking back on the 2020 election, historians will say the Mt. Rushmore speech was the moment that Donald Trump won reelection.”

Damn, I wished that I had watched that speech!

At least my suspicions about the speech were confirmed . . . “if both CNN and the NYT both disliked it, it must have been very good!”

Recently a friend of mine was talking about moving to upper Manhattan to be close to her son. She was concerned that as she getting older, she might need a local support system if she became ill. She was fearful about facing the inevitability that the health of her and husband would go downhill, and she didn’t want to face that inevitability alone. Since her children had moved away many years ago, and would not be ever moving back, she figured that she should go to where they were.

Well the good news for her is that this might be the ideal time to move to Manhattan. After all, who else in their right mind would want to move to New York City now? In fact the data from this last quarter are hinting at a NYC exodus, and the more deBlasio is in the news, the more crowded the highways that lead out of NYC will be.

The following is from The Daily Caller:

“Manhattan real-estate sales have seen the largest decline in 30 years as apprehension about coronavirus continues and buyer preferences shift, the New York Times reported.

A report from the brokerage Douglas Elliman reported by the New York Times found that the number of closed sales in the second quarter decreased by 54% compared to the same quarter in 2019. The cost of buying has also plunged 17.7% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

There were also only 1,147 sales in the quarter, marking the lowest number on record according to a study by Compass.

Most indicative of the market’s pulse is the number of apartment contracts signed, which decreased 76% in June when compared to the same time in 2019. Brokers say the rental market will face the most immediate pressure since renters can leave the city easily, and few renters are moving in, according to CNBC.”

Don’t get me wrong, I have been to NYC three or four times in the past (pre deBlasio), and loved it. However, as I have told my friend, “No way am I ever going back! That train has left the station.”

Let me be clear from the git-go that I am not a fan of our Governor, Gavin Newsom, however he has said and done some good stuff with Covid in California. Yesterday he said, “The whole purpose of the original stay-at-home was to buy us time, not put us into to a permanent state of closure. No one advertised that we would shut down the fifth largest economy for a year.”

“Right on, Mr. G !”

The smart thing that he did back in May was to shift the pace for the re-opening of businesses in counties to each individual county. (As opposed to the governor of Wisconsin who insisted on treating counties with 16,000 residents and no Covid cases, the same as Milwaukee County with 600,000 residents and a lot of Covid cases.) No way should Placer County be treated the same as L.A. County or San Diego County be treated the same as Imperial County. “Right on Mr. G !”

Let’s re-emphasize Mr. G’s point:  ‘lockdowns not meant to get rid of the virus.’ When places start to open up, there will be an increase in cases. If the increase in cases is “huge,” then taking two steps back . . . “mother may I?” . . .  is not unreasonable. Everyone who was paying attention knew that cases would increase after all of the “peaceful protests,” and the re-opening of some businesses. That increase is now here. After the present “surge” has abated, hopefully the reopening strategy will again proceed, and we can all take three baby steps forward . . . “mother may I.”

As an aside may I suggest to all the newspapers that they eliminate two words from all of their Covid articles . . . “huge” and “surge.” These words are their favorites because they are meant to intensify the emotions of the the readers. Wouldn’t “large” be just as good as “huge?” And wouldn’t “increase” be just as good as “surge?” Can we convince them to temporarily eliminate the use of these emotional two words? 

Maybe we should ask Mr. G to take up this cause . . .  “mother may he!”

This will sound satiric and irrational at first (even though I am not usually prone to satire) . . . could the Wuhan virus be a blessing in disguise? 

Look at all the benefits that have accrued because of this virus. They are actually innumerable, and these benefits touch many aspects of society. 

For instance, after the initial trauma of the forced prolonged and constant cohabitation, it seems as if families are actually getting to know each other better, and are now more accepting of each other’s idiosyncrasies. This can only be good.

Many have learned to be more self-sufficient . . . now doing their own yard work, painting, and home maintenance projects. This can only be good.

Many are experiencing working from home, and finding that they like it. I just read a business article that stated that companies are finding that their workers are, in fact, more efficient when working from home. Projects are getting done ahead of deadlines, and in some cases employees are looking for more to do! This can only be good.

Driving has become much less. The freeways are no longer packed with cars. This can only mean that there are less pollutants being spewed into the atmosphere. This can only be good.

Whereas, my wife and I used to like to go to movies a fair amount, we haven’t seen a movie in months. This can only be bad for Hollywood . . . and this can only be good!

However, I have saved the best for last. What if I told you that somehow the Wuhan virus has led the way to a dramatic decrease in severe illnesses. Here I am being satirical . . . however I am perplexed on how to explain the following, which I cut-and-pasted from a medical website:

“Samantha J. Lange, M.P.H., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues described trends in emergency department visits for three acute life-threatening health conditions (MI, stroke, and hyperglycemic crisis), which always necessitate immediate emergency care, before and after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared as a national emergency (March 13, 2020). Data were obtained from the National Syndromic Surveillance Program.

The researchers found that compared with the 10-week period before the emergency declaration (Jan. 5 to March 14, 2020), in the 10 weeks following the emergency declaration (March 15 to May 23, 2020), there were decreases of 23, 20, and 10 percent in emergency department visits for MI, stroke, and hyperglycemic crisis, respectively.”

It’s hard to decide what this stat actually means, but is there any way that this can be anything but good?

7/1/20