THE ACTUAL FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING IN THE UNITED STATES

FACTS OR NOT, A PROBLEM FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE?

Honestly, folks, here's a problem I have & I ask for your thoughts on the matter. 

DJT has made & continues to make statements that are FACTUALLY untrue when taken literally. 

The PETUS & his spokespeople have stated in multiple settings, multiple times, during the campaign and after the election, that what the PETUS states is not necessarily what he means. It may be a symbolic statement, not a factual statement. And the MSM takes his statements literally but "the people" understand what he really means. 

Does this mean that every time he makes a statement, I should interpret it instead of listening to it? Should I believe the PETUS's statements or not? So, for example, when he says "Stop It" looking into the camera on "60 Minutes", does he really mean STOP IT! or is it really a wink & a nod to proceed? 

What I'm trying to noodle out is how to weigh what the PETUS and soon-to-be POTUS says going forward. It strikes me is that if I'm constantly "interpreting" what he really means instead of listening to what he states, I could get into a lot of trouble intellectually. 

What's your take?

SURPRISING, INTERESTING & SORT OF SCARY

Click on Money & Politics for this NYTimes article

THANKSGIVING, THINKING ABOUT GOBBLE....DYGOOK

gob·ble·dy·gook

ˈɡäbəldēˌɡo͞ok/

noun

informal

1. language that is meaningless or is made unintelligible by excessive use of abstruse technical terms; nonsense.

   synonyms:

   gibberish, claptrap, nonsense, rubbish, balderdash, blather

Good morning & happy Thanksgiving.

While the  president of the teacher's union is upset by Betsy DeVos,  DJT's Secy of Ed -- a billionaire who has fought endlessly for school choice (charter schools & vouchers to compete with public ed), some are celebrating the selection. 

While I think our current public education system (K-12) is basically bankrupt, I want to see it improved not decimated. OTOH, our HS grads are REALLY under-educated by comparison to the rest of the world. I would rather pay a good teacher $150k+ than hire another edu-crat.

In my town, when the Superintendent of Schools discusses education policy, I don't understand what she's talking about. It's all gobbledygook edu-speak which sounds good but means little.

Ike warned us about the military-industrial complex. No one warned us about the edu-industrial complex which is undoubtedly MORE important.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Working from the sunshine-is-the-best-disinfectant POV, I'm wondering if it's actually better that all the discord in the country has bubbled to the surface. Unlike undocumented workers, it's out of the shadows. Doesn't that force us to deal with it?

JUST WONDERING

Why does DJT seem to embrace military figures, ie ex-generals, military academy graduates? Could part of his rationale be that they know how to take orders? .... Calm down. It's just a question. Clearly these individuals are also leaders.

Bath Mat

THE NOSE KNOWS

FALL FOOD

RIDGEFIELD

SISTERS

NAP

PSYCHIATRIC TEAM

Kick Ass

POOH BEAR

PUNCTUATION

THE NEXT RATING FIX

What I wouldn't do to sit down with Walter Cronkite, Bud Benjamin, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, Fred Friendly, Roger Mudd, Huntley, Brinkley, Tim Russert, Bob Schieffer, and a few others to discuss how the media is covering this political season. 

I think it borders on irresponsibility especially since journos think of themselves as an indispensable column in the democratic coliseum. They are indispensable but there is much public sentiment that views them as very dispensable which is a shame but may be deserved. 

Day after day, there is uneven, lazy reporting on our crop of presidential candidates, currently the most important story in the world. I watch it day after day. And I'm sad about it. 

It's like watching an extremely accomplished, greatly respected individual now living as a drug addict, on the street, family-less, home-less, fund-less, scrounging around, wondering how to get their next (ratings) fix.

ANOTHER GRUBBY BODY POLITIC

"Federal law enforcement and local election officials say the decentralized nature of the voting process, which is run by states and counties, makes it impossible to ensure a high level of security in each district." 

So.... Why did the SCOTUS get involved in Bush v Gore? Just imagine how our current situations around the world might have been different. Let's start w Iraq.... 

Shame on the SCOTUS for intruding on states rights & forever reducing itself from a highly respected apolitical judicial body to another grubby body politic.

A WELL TRAINED WALRUS (VERY FUNNY)

THE GOP VS THE ALT-RIGHT

Ann Coulter thinks Donald Trump made the greatest speech of his campaign last night (08/31/16) in Phoenix, Arizona. The subject was immigration and border control. OK, maybe she'll sell more books.

But, personally, I feel badly for serious GOP players who blew a historic chance to have it all. 

Almost any other GOP primary candidate could have taken the former Secretary of State at the ballot box because of her historic proclivity for slipperiness.  It seems to be a Clinton chromosomal defect. 

Ms. Clinton, an intelligent student of government policies, probably one of the most prepared people to campaign for the White House, will now have to govern upstream, like her husband and her predecessor. However, unlike them, she will probably only get to serve one term.

Meantime, much of the people's business will take a back seat to continued ideological wrangling and truculence at the Federal level despite Madam  President's best efforts. 

So while the Democrats may cheer -- and rightfully so -- the rest of the country will get angrier and angrier while Mr. Trump, Mr. Ailes and Mr. Bannon make millions more running the Trump streaming network. 

And the poor GOP -- which has an important and legitimate role in balanced governance -- will try to re-build itself with minorities (soon to be majorities) in order to counterbalance the growing ALT-RIGHT contingent... assuming it's still possible in the foreseeable future.