The Thumb of Justice

Opinion By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

How far will the scales tip for Donald J. Trump in the name of Justice?

Republican Donald John Trump became the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017 after receiving 304 electoral votes in the November 8, 2016 election against Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 227 electoral votes.  

Trump actually won the election with only 46.1 percent [62,984,828] of the popular vote compared to Clinton’s 48.2% percent [65,853,514].

Is there really any chance for this former President, who only won 46.1 percent of the popular vote in the 2016 Presidential election to win another term in office?  

It seems unlikely due to the fact he attempted, and succeeded in stealing the 2016 Presidential race from Hillary Rodham Clinton by  spreading viscous misinformation about her for years.  He also attempted to steal the 2020 Presidential race from Joseph R. Biden, but failed and lost by an even bigger margin of votes.

Prior to the 2016 election Trump and his Republican allies did everything humanly possible to make the public believe that Hillary Rodham Clinton was guilty of numerous crimes, could not be trusted and should actually be placed in jail. 

The following lies and conspiracy theories against Clinton were spread over and over again by the opposing party until many in America believed what have since been proven as lies or falsehoods.  

• Benghazi “Stand Down” Order.
• Clinton’s Health
• Uranium One Deal
• Emails
• Pizzagate
• Clinton Body Count

What’s interesting is the fact that while Trump was President of the U.S. and in charge of all the departments that had the power to find Clinton guilty of crimes, no charges against her were ever levied.  

In fact, Trump’s Department of Justice, Office of the  Inspector General, issued a 568-page report in June of 2018 (18 months after Trump became President) covering some of the false allegations made against Clinton and found in her favor.

We ended up with years and years of false allegations against Clinton with no charges, yet the person who continually spread the majority of falsehoods is currently facing an unprecedented 91 felony charges for wrongdoing.  In all fairness we must remember, former President Trump, along with the others indicted are innocent of all crimes until proven guilty. 

However, we must also take into consideration that many of those in Trump’s inner circle have already been indicted, found guilty, and/or entered into plea deals for numerous charges, including in alphabetical order:  Steve Bannon, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, Rudy Giuliani, Paul Manafort, George Papadopoulos, Roger Stone and Allen Weisselberg.

And it’s only the beginning of the trials on the 91 felony counts against the former president

© 2023 Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Richard E Walrath is a former Ohio State Budget Analyst currently residing in Central Ohio.  Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer.

GET WELL SOON JOSE VEGA

Congratulations Gloria C.C.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBBY

Happy Birthday Lisa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICHARD

Happy Birthday Dorie

Happy Birthday Perla

Congratulations to Melissa

Happy Birthday Arturo

The Dumbing-Down Of The Masses

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

If we made the statement that the majority of U.S. Citizens are familiar with the Declaration of Independence most folks would consider that an accurate statement, but is it true?  Let’s take a trip back in time and find out.

The Second Continental Congress created a five-member committee on June 11, 1776 to complete the task of composing the declaration, declaring that the Thirteen Colonies in North America no longer belonged to Great Britain, but were independent states.  The committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston and Roger Sherman. 

The committee chose thirty-three-year-old Thomas Jefferson to compose the draft.  Thomas Jefferson completed the draft, but prior to submitting to the full committee he sent it separately to Dr. Benjamin Franklin and Mr. John Adams requesting corrections.The revised copy was sent to Congress on June 28, 1776.  Even though there are six copies of the draft, there is only one “original rough draft” with edits by Franklin, Adams and Congress and it is located in the Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress. The Declaration of Independence was ratified on July 4, 1776. 

Although the document is fairly legible, Thomas Jefferson’s handwriting does leave a bit to be desired; therefore on July 19, 1776, Congress ordered the document to be formally handwritten on parchment and the title changed to The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. 

Timothy Matlack, assistant to Charles Thomson, engrossed [formally handwrote] the document and on August 2, 1776 most members of the Continental Congress met in Independence Hall and the document was signed and is on display at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C.

One of the most important documents related to the history of the United States had to be re-written by someone with better penmanship than the originator, and yet our country has chosen in the last decade or two to place handwriting on a back burner due to cursive no longer being taught in many of our schools.  Our forefathers took tremendous pride in their work on the Declaration and if you look at it closely you can see the pride Timothy Matlack took in writing each word in the Declaration with perfect penmanship.

Is not teaching writing a grand plot to subjugate the rest of us?  Has cursive just been eliminated from the poor and middle class schools or has it also been deleted from the schools wealthy children attend?    Will the new crop of doctors, lawyers and judges be able to sign their name in cursive, or will everyone’s signature now become the letter X?

The future of the United States is not in the hands of our politicians, it’s  in the hands of the children in this country and their education will determine how successful we are in the future.  The 3 r’s of Education are Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.  Do you want your children to learn the basics or are you willing to ignore what is going on in schools and allow the politicians to place learning emphasis on critical race theory, woke culture, or sexism, etc.

The United States came in 21st in a 2022 US News ranking of countries with the most educated population.  That’s 21st out of the 85 countries in the survey.  While education is our future, politics is our downfall.

What has happened to a country where a former President can demand his followers protest the fact that he may be arrested for allegedly breaking the law of the land?    On the other end of the spectrum we have Florida House Bill 1069 which, if passed, will restrict 4th and 5th grade girls from talking about their menstrual cycle.  Do they also have a bill in place to restrict 4th and 5th grade boys from talking about whose penis is bigger?

Have we completely lost our way as a country or is this truly a concerted effort, that has been planned for a decade or more, to do whatever can be done to  tear the citizens in this country apart for the sole purpose of dumbing-down the population in order to exploit our unrest and dominate our thoughts and feelings?  

Our future is at stake.  If you truly care about your country, find out what your students are being taught in school and if it’s not an education that includes the 3 r’s, and  will benefit both the student and our country in the future, protest their teachings.

© 2023 Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Richard E Walrath is a former Ohio State Budget Analyst currently residing in Central Ohio.  Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on the Second Anniversary of the January 6 Attack on the Capitol

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JUSTICE NEWS

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on the Second Anniversary of the January 6 Attack on the Capitol

Friday, Jan. 6, 2023, will mark 24 months since the attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results.

Under the continued leadership of the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the attack continues to move forward at an unprecedented speed and scale.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland made the following statement:

“Two years ago, the United States Capitol was attacked as lawmakers met to affirm the results of a presidential election. Perpetrators attacked police officers, targeted and assaulted members of the media, and interfered with a fundamental element of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.

“Since then, countless agents, investigators, prosecutors, analysts, and others across the Justice Department have participated in one of the largest, most complex, and most resource-intensive investigations in our history. I am extremely grateful for the dedication, professionalism, and integrity with which they have done this work. This investigation has resulted in the arrest of more than 950 defendants for their alleged roles in the attack. We have secured convictions for a wide range of criminal conduct on January 6 as well as in the days and weeks leading up to the attack. Our work is far from over.

“We will never forget the sacrifice of the law enforcement officers who defended the members of Congress and others inside the Capitol that day. And we will never forget the five officers who responded selflessly on January 6 and who have since lost their lives: Officer Brian Sicknick, Officer Howard Liebengood, Officer Jeffrey Smith, Officer Gunther Hashida, and Officer Kyle DeFreytag. 

“The Justice Department remains committed to honoring them. We remain committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for the January 6 assault on our democracy. And we remain committed to doing everything in our power to prevent this from ever happening again.”

***

Based on the public court documents, below is a snapshot of the investigation as of Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. Complete versions of most of the public court documents used to compile these statistics are available on the Capitol Breach Investigation Resource Page at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/capitol-breach-cases.

Arrests made: More than 950 defendants have been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia. (This includes those charged in both District and Superior Court).

Criminal charges:

• More than 284 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including approximately 99 individuals who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.
  • Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted Jan. 6 at the Capitol, including about 80 from the U.S. Capitol Police and about 60 from the Metropolitan Police Department.

• Approximately 11 individuals have been arrested on a series of charges that relate to assaulting a member of the media, or destroying their equipment, on January 6.
• Approximately 860 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds. Of those, 91 defendants have been charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
• Approximately 59 defendants have been charged with destruction of government property, and approximately 36 defendants have been charged with theft of government property.
• More than 295 defendants have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.
• Approximately 50 defendants have been charged with conspiracy, either: (a) conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, (b) conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, (c) conspiracy to injure an officer, (d) seditious conspiracy, or (e) some combination of the four.

Pleas:

• Approximately 484 individuals have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, many of whom faced or will face incarceration at sentencing.
  • Approximately 119 have pleaded guilty to felonies. Another 364 have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.
  • A total of 52 of those who have pleaded guilty to felonies have pleaded to federal charges of assaulting law enforcement officers. An additional 22 individuals have pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. Of these 74 defendants, 41 have now been sentenced to prison terms of up to 90 months.
  • Four of those who have pleaded guilty to felonies have pleaded guilty to the federal charge of seditious conspiracy.

Trials:

• 40 individuals have been found guilty at contested trials, including three who were found guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Another 10 individuals have been convicted following an agreed-upon set of facts. 16 of these 50 defendants were found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, a felony, including one who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Sentencings:

• Approximately 351 federal defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on January 6. Approximately 192 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. Approximately 87 defendants have been sentenced to a period of home detention, including approximately 14 who also were sentenced to a period of incarceration.

Public Assistance:

• Citizens from around the country have provided invaluable assistance in identifying individuals in connection with the January 6 attack. The FBI continues to seek the public’s help in identifying approximately 350 individuals believed to have committed violent acts on the Capitol grounds, including over 250 who assaulted police officers.
• Additionally, the FBI currently has 14 videos of suspects wanted for violent assaults on federal officers and one video of two suspects wanted for assaults on members of the media on Jan. 6 and is seeking the public’s help to identify them.
• Some of the violent offenders about whom the FBI is seeking public tips to identify and locate Evan Neumann, Jonathan Daniel Pollock, AFOs #91, #292, #371, and #383. AFO #91 uses what appears to be a stick to strike multiple officers numerous times while in the doorway of the Lower West Terrace, commonly referred to as the tunnel. AFOs #292, #371, and #383 are all shown on video charging at and assaulting officers, and they appear to grab and attempt to take possession of the officers’ batons.
• For images and video of the attackers, please visit https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/capitol-violence. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Topic(s): 

National Security

Component(s): 

Office of the Attorney General

USAO – District of Columbia

Press Release Number 23-3

8.7 COLA Increase For Social Security Beneficiaries For 2023

Press Release

Thursday, October 13, 2022
For Immediate Release

Mark Hinkle, Press Officer
press.office@ssa.gov

News ReleaseSOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Announces 8.7 Percent Benefit Increase for 2023

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase 8.7 percent in 2023, the Social Security Administration announced today. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January.

The 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 65 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2023. Increased payments to more than 7 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2022. (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits). The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Medicare premiums are going down and Social Security benefits are going up in 2023, which will give seniors more peace of mind and breathing room. This year’s substantial Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is the first time in over a decade that Medicare premiums are not rising and shows that we can provide more support to older Americans who count on the benefits they have earned,” Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi said.

To view a COLA message from Acting Commissioner Kijakazi, please visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgm5q4YT1AM.

Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $160,200 from $147,000.

Social Security and SSI beneficiaries are normally notified by mail starting in early December about their new benefit amount. The fastest way to find out their new benefit amount is to access their personal my Social Security account to view the COLA notice online. It’s secure, easy, and people find out before the mail arrives. People can also opt to receive a text or email alert when there is a new message from Social Security–such as their COLA notice–waiting for them, rather than receiving a letter in the mail. People may create or access their my Social Security account online at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

Information about Medicare changes for 2023 is available at www.medicare.gov. For Social Security beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare, their new higher 2023 benefit amount will be available in December through the mailed COLA notice and my Social Security’s Message Center.

The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit www.ssa.gov/cola.

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS: Here is a fact sheet showing the effect of the various automatic adjustments.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

Happy 92nd Birthday Richard E Walrath

October 8, 2022

How Do You Know If News You Are Reading is True? Did President Biden Really Sell Our Crude Oil from SPR to China?

SPR Storage Sites

Emergency crude oil is stored at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in underground salt caverns at four major oil storage facilities in the Gulf Coast region of the United States, two sites in Texas (Bryan Mound and Big Hill), and two sites in Louisiana (West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw). Created deep within the massive salt deposits.https://images.app.goo.gl/1pHJDH66potT9toJ9

By Articles and Answers 2020 Staff Writers, Patricia L Johnson and/or Richard E Walrath

One of the most difficult tasks U.S. voters will face this election cycle is trying to determine whether the news we are reading is accurate.

Back in 2018, we published an article “How in The Hell Did We Get to Where We Are Today?” where we attempted to explain how we came to have so much false information at our fingertips.  Since 2018, the situation has only gotten worse, for every true article there are ten false articles.  How do you tell the difference?

Let’s begin by looking at a relatively recent claim against the current administration by the opposition party.

“At a time of skyrocketing inflation and record gas prices, and with SPR drained to its lowest level since 1986, it is reckless and inexplicable that President Biden would allow oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be exported to China. This practice poses a direct threat to American national security, not least of all because the Chinese Communist Party is currently stockpiling oil for strategic use, and the Biden administration is aiding their effort,” said Cruz. 

https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-moves-to-stop-biden-from-sending-oil-reserves-to-china

What is truly sad about this claim is the fact that eight prominent names in the Republican Party do not seem to be aware of the rules covering our Strategic Petroleum Reserves.

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and their colleagues to introduce the No Emergency Crude Oil for Foreign Adversaries Act to ensure that reserves sold from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are not exported to adversarial nations like China. Joining Lankford and Cruz in the bill’s introduction were Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Jim Inhofe (R-OK

https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-moves-to-stop-biden-from-sending-oil-reserves-to-china

The first step in being able to read the news and determine fact from fiction is common sense.  Does it make any sense for the President of the United States to send oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves to a foreign country when gasoline prices are so high in this country?

Since the answer to that question is a resounding “no”, what really happened?

First, just like there are rules regarding paying taxes, there are rules surrounding the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which can be reviewed in the following report ” The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Background, Authorities, and Considerations”   

This 21-page report was written by the Congressional Research Service in 2020 and has been available to all members of Congress, including the above listed Republican Senators, since it was written. 

On April 1, 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Notice of Sale of 30 million barrels of SPR crude oil, with 16 companies responding.  126 bids were submitted for evaluation and the contracts were awarded to 12 companies with the highest bids.  Included in the 12 companies was Unipec America, who received a contract for 0.95 million barrels of the 30 million barrels offered.  Unipec America is a Houston based company, but it’s owned by China Petroleum and Chemical.  The Notice of Sale was published on the DOE website April 22, 2022.

“Congressionally mandated drawdowns are required by law and require the SPR to sell crude oil in a competitive auction to the highest bidder.” 

https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-07/Strategic%20Petroleum%20Reserve%20Fact%20Sheet%20July%202022.pdf

Please remember that a requirement for a company and/or customer to be on the Strategic Petroleum Reserves is they must be registered with the United States.

Not sure how it appears to you, but it looks to us like the Republicans closed the barn door after the horses already left the barn.

Step one in learning whether a particular claim is true is research.  You can’t just read something, comment about how awful it is on Twitter and then pass it on as gospel. There’s a huge difference between gospel and gossip.

There are numerous fact-checking sites available, so if you read a story that seems questionable, question the facts, question the source, and most of all use your own common sense. 

Treat fact-checking sites the same as an article, don’t readily accept what one says, research the facts until you’re sure of them.

AP Fact Check

Fact Check Tools Google

AFP Fact Check

USA Today Fact Check

Check Your Fact

FactCheck.org

Lead Stories

MediaWise

PolitiFact

The Dispatch Fact Check

The Washington Post Fact Checker

Science Feedback

© 2022 Articles and Answers 2011

Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer residing in Northeastern IL. Richard E. Walrath is a former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, residing in Central Ohio.

Why Is Inflation Out Of Control In The United States?

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

It’s amazing how many people in this country blame rising prices [inflation] on our President.  Since inflation is a global problem, blaming our current President makes about as much sense as blaming Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse for the economic downturn the entire world is experiencing.

U.S. inflation for the month of June 2022 was 9.1%, but if you look at the balance of G20 [group of 19 countries, plus the European Union] for June 2022, you’ll note that only five were under 7%, eight came in between 7.01% and 9%, while the last seven were between 9.1% [United States] and 78.62% [Turkey].  

According to Congressional Research Service Insight Report IN11926 current worldwide inflation is due to many factors as follows:

• Disruptions to global supply chains
• Labor shortages
• Temporary business disruptions due to Covid-19 
• Commodity shortages due to Russian invasion of Ukraine

All through the pandemic the labor force participation rate has been incredibly low leaving companies unable to fill job openings.  The seasonally adjusted labor participation rate for the month of June 2022 was 62.2% (published July 8, 2022).  There has been a worldwide chain reaction to delays and disruptions that has had a negative impact on all countries involved.

Without labor there is no increase in productivity and without an increase in productivity, there is no increase in wages.  There isn’t even an argument about it because there is no way to pay for an increase.  As to how to divide productivity gains, there would be nothing produced at all without labor – not to mention nobody to buy the goods and services produced.  Millions of jobs alone have been exported overseas over the past decade (s).

Many citizens in this country are too quick to try to place the blame for what is happening to us on one particular person, or one particular party, group or country.  Numerous factors have led to the current inflation rate both in this country and around the world so there is more than enough blame to go around.

© 2022 Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer residing in Northeastern IL. Richard E. Walrath is a former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, residing in Central Ohio.

Two Wrongs Do Not Make A Right And Nominating A Black Woman To The Supreme Court Is Wrong

By Patricia L Johnson

Article III, §1, of the Constitution provided for the creation of a Supreme Court.  Our forefathers considered the creation of this court such a high priority that the very first bill introduced in the Senate was the Judiciary Act of September 24, 1789 (1 Stat. 73).  Our newly formed Supreme Court met on February 1, 1790 in New York City, the Nation’s Capital at the time.

The ultimate responsibility of the Supreme Court of the United States of America is to provide the American people with the promise of EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW and currently consists of nine individuals, a Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices.  The total number of associate justices is determined by Congress (28 U. S. C. §1) and has been changed six times before settling on a total of nine justices in 1869.

Our current Supreme Court consists of the following individuals:

John G. Roberts, Jr.	Chief Justice of the United States	W	M
Clarence Thomas	Associate Justice	B	M
Stephen G. Breyer	Associate Justice	W	M
Samuel A. Alito, Jr.	Associate Justice	W	M
Sonia Sotomayor	Associate Justice	H	F
Elana Kagen	Associate Justice	W	F
Neil M. Gorsuch	Associate Justice	W	M
Brett M. Kavanaugh	Associate Justice	W	M
Amy Coney Barrett	Associate Justice	W	F

W = White   77.8%

B = Black    11.1%

H = Hispanic    11.1%

M = Male   66.7%

F = Female   33.3%

Based on the above percentages our current Supreme Court is not at all reflective of the diverse population of the citizens in the United States, which follows.  Without a doubt the next appointment to the Supreme Court should be a female, but would increase the Black composition of the court to 22.2%.

The Census Bureau indicates the following data for July of 2021 as far as percentages of the three major races and sex:

60.1% = White Only 

13.4% = Black Only 

18.5% = Hispanic or Latino

Female = 50.8%

Females now represent more than ½ of the citizens in this county and for decades females have been underrepresented in the Supreme Court, but should a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court ever be based on anything other than qualifications?

As a female, there is nothing I would like better than to see another woman appointed to the Supreme Court because that is the fair and just thing to do, but as a citizen I also have to live with the decisions made by the court and I think I would prefer to see the most qualified individual appointed, rather than an appointment to make up for past wrongs, or to fulfill a campaign promise.

© 2022 Patricia L Johnson

Is There Anyone Faster Than These Three?

We are so very proud of Gabe, Logan and Olive.

They received Star Wars: The Mandalorian, The Child – GROGU, aka “Baby Yoda” LEGO building kit with 1,073 pieces as a Christmas gift and had it completed by the day after Christmas. AMAZING!!!

You three are AWESOME!

EXCELLENT WORK BOYS! (AND GIRL)

Neurological Manifestations of Covid-19 By Jennifer K. Lynch, MD, FABSM, CoxHealth Neurology

Refer to Pages 4-5 of March/April 2021 Green County Medical Society Journal

https://cdn.flipsnack.com/widget/v2/flipsnackwidget.html?hash=z9qra0qjiq&t=&fullscreen=1

Equality, The Essence of Life – Part II – Our Number One Problem

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Part one of this series dealt with an excellent solution for dealing with the extraordinary income equalities we are now facing in this country. The solution was offered by Economist, Milton Friedman, in his “Negative Income Tax” theory published in 1962 in his book titled “Capitalism and Freedom.”

Friedman’s theory was to provide each poor family with a guaranteed income that they could spend on whatever they wanted. This would eliminate the need for welfare payments, and food stamps, rent subsidies, etc. It would also give poor families more bang for their buck because the money would go directly to the family via an IRS payment, vs., going through the various organizations that now provide assistance.

The problem with Friedman’s theory was it was so simple and logical and would have saved taxpayer funds while helping to reduce the number of destitute families that it never got off the ground. It was never implemented by those at the top.

But it apparently did not go unnoticed by members of the Republican Party because NIT became the deal of the day under Republican administrations. If more money would help bring destitute families out of poverty, what could it do for the well-to-do?

From President Reagan through President George W Bush, each time this country had a Republican President, taxes have been lowered on the rich. The end result is recessions, government stimuli to get the economy moving again so the Republicans can pass another tax cut for the rich so we can have another recession. It’s a vicious circle that has resulted in income inequality in this country that will take decades to reverse. We are now at a point in time when a guaranteed annual income may eliminate all that nonsense and get us back on the right track.

The following charts were prepared for “Un bon croquis vaut mieux qu’un long discours,” one of our articles on the economy written in 2011. Charts for the Obama and Trump terms will be prepared for a follow-up article.

The four separate charts cover a period of the 28 years, from 1981 through 2008 and are separated by each Presidents term of office. As you can readily see we had Republican presidents for 20-years and a Democratic president for a period of 8-years.

Without a doubt this is an instance where if “A picture is worth a thousand words” the four charts have to be worth a few trillion.

Republican presidents are consistent from one administration to the next – they create deficits, each and every year they are in office, the only exception in the 20 years of Republican leadership is 2001, when there was a surplus.

Why? The answer is simple, Republicans cut taxes which create deficits, and those deficits are then added to the National debt. When Democrats take over, they have to raise taxes in order to break even. Fiscal year 2020, the last year our former Republican president was in office had a budget deficit of $3.1 trillion dollars. No one wants higher taxes, but let’s face it, our founding fathers did not set up a tax code for the sole purpose of making the rich richer, and the poor poorer.

The tax cuts, which were primarily directed towards the rich, are part of the reason why people are poor. Instead of tax cuts for the rich, we need tax increases to replace our rotting, decaying and worn-out infrastructure. The recent disaster with the Texas electrical grid is a prime example of what can happen in any state.

Our founding fathers set up the tax code with a 7-1 ratio. They intended those at the top paid to pay 7 times as much in income taxes as those at the bottom. For additional information on this subject click the following What Was the Intent of Our Founding Fathers on Taxes for the Rich? or type any of the following words in the Articles and Answers search box; taxes, deficit, national debt, economy, etc.

© 2021 Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer residing in Northeastern IL. Richard E. Walrath is a former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, residing in Central Ohio with his family.

Equality, The Essence of Life – Part 1 – The Solution

By Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson

There are numerous types of inequality in this country. We have ‘economic’ inequality which generally refers to ‘income’ inequality, “opportunity” inequality, and inequality of “rights”. No matter what you call it, it all seems to boil down to one word “money”. If you have money, you generally have a place to live, food on the table, education choices and work choices.

When you are poor and do not have a sufficient amount of money, you may end up homeless, uneducated and without a future. All too many of our fellow citizens are currently in this position and something has to be done to change the path they’re following.

In 1943 Psychological Review published Abraham H Maslow’s “A theory of Human Motivation” which set up a hierarchy of human needs.

Basic needs such as air, water, food, sleep, clothing and shelter must be met before the person could move on to safety needs, which included personal security, emotional security, and financial security. Once these needs were met, the individual could then move up the ladder to psychological needs, self-fulfillment needs, etc.

As long as we continue to have a ‘poor’ population and fellow Americans out of work, basic needs of US citizens are not being met.. As long as we have individuals that are homeless, do not have health insurance and are living hand to mouth, US citizens needs are not being met.

What is the answer?

The 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics winner, Milton Friedman had the answer a long time ago and he was a Republican. Guaranteed annual income. Not out of the goodness of his heart. He saw that the economy needed more spending. The poor spend all they have and it is not enough. The rich have five or six of everything they will every need and don’t have room for anything more.

You may read the pros and cons of Milton Friedman’s “Negative Income Tax” theory (explained beginning on page 5) of the June 2003 paper prepared by our National Bureau of Economic Research.

Friedman’s theory was based on a simple premise that the solution to the poor was to give the poor more money. The following is taken from a New York Times article “The Other Milton Friedman: A Conservative With a Social Welfare Program” written a week after Mr. Friedman’s death in 2006.

His proposal, which he called the negative income tax, was to replace the multiplicity of existing welfare programs with a single cash transfer — say, $6,000 — to every citizen. A family of four with no market income would thus receive an annual payment from the I.R.S. of $24,000. For each dollar the family then earned, this payment would be reduced by some fraction — perhaps 50 percent. A family of four earning $12,000 a year, for example, would receive a net supplement of $18,000 (the initial $24,000 less the $6,000 tax on its earnings).

Mr. Friedman’s proposal was undoubtedly motivated in part by his concern for the welfare of the least fortunate. But he was above all a pragmatist, and he emphasized the superiority of the negative income tax over conventional welfare programs on purely practical grounds. If the main problem of the poor is that they have too little money, he reasoned, the simplest and cheapest solution is to give them some more. He saw no advantage in hiring armies of bureaucrats to dispense food stamps, energy stamps, day care stamps and rent subsidies.

As always, Mr. Friedman’s policy prescriptions were shaped by his desire to minimize adverse economic incentives, a feature that architects of earlier welfare programs had largely ignored. Those programs, each administered by a separate bureaucracy, typically reduced a family’s benefits by some fraction of each increment in earned income. Rates of 50 percent were common, so a family participating in four separate programs might see its total benefits fall by $2 for each extra dollar it earned. Under the circumstances, no formal training in economics was necessary to see that working didn’t pay. In contrast, someone who worked additional hours under Mr. Friedman’s plan would always take home additional after-tax income.”

Why is a plan that contains so much common sense not being utilized in this country?

© 2021 Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson

Richard E. Walrath  is a former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, residing in Central Ohio with his family.  Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer residing in Northeastern Il.

Denial Is Not Going To Fix The Economy

By Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson

The Hill published the following article :Toomey: Economy is ‘roaring back,’ another stimulus package would be ‘inappropriate’”

Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) must be talking about a different country’s economy because he certainly cannot be commenting on the US economy.  Even with a stimulus, should they ever get it passed, our economy is not going to come roaring back.  The policies of the prior administration, along with the COVID-19 pandemic have ensured the fact that our economy needs a massive influx of cash for an extended period to come “roaring back”.   In January, Toomey claimed that Biden’s stimulus plan would “likely slow down a recovery in employment,” 

It would be pretty near impossible for employment to “slow down” anymore than it has already.  49,000 jobs created for the month of January 2021 is quite simply unacceptable.

Our country has a population of approximately 329 million people.  Of the 329 million, only 150 million are employed, giving us a Labor Force Participation Rate of 61.4 percent [the labor participation rate is the number of people working (or seeking work) as a percentage of the working population].  Note:  If a person stops looking for a job, they are no longer considered part of the labor force.

Of the 150 million persons employed in this country, only 125 million have full-time jobs.  The other 25 million are all part-time workers and in many cases are working more than one job.

Numbers are meaningless unless you have something to compare so let’s compare the US Labor Participation Rate to a few other countries.  We’re at 61.4%, the UK is 79.3%, France is 71.6% and Australia is 66.2%.  Let’s remember the COVID-19 pandemic hit all the countries with the same force so why is the US so far behind the rest of the world in providing jobs for residents?

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims for the week ending February 6, 2021 were 334,524.  That means 335,000 of your friends, neighbors or coworkers that are out of work applied for PUA last week.  Who are these people?

They are folks that have exhausted their rights to regular Unemployment Compensation, or have no rights to Unemployment Compensation due to the fact they are self employed workers, freelancers or independent contractors.

Since many members of Congress feel the Biden proposed stimulus plan is over the top, it seems the only way they’ll be able to relate to their fellow citizens is to paddle the same boat.  

Immediately, their salaries should be withheld so they have no income, and then perhaps they would be able to comprehend the necessity of providing assistance to those in need.

©  2021 Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson

Richard E. Walrath  is a former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, residing in Central Ohio with his family.  Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer currently residing in Northeastern IL.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

THANK YOU WINCALENDAR!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

This tribute would not be complete without adding the name of a Very Special Marine Veteran, Patrick John, deceased May 6, 2002. THANK YOU PAT!!!!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU SO MUCH!

CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Our Country Is In Trouble; What Are YOU Going To Do About It?

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

At 5:45 PM EDT, on April 2, 2020, John Hopkins CSSE released the following Coronavirus numbers for the United States:

Confirmed Cases:  238,820

Deaths:  5758

This is only day number 71 of the Coronavirus pandemic in the US and US cases are more than  DOUBLE what the world cases were on day 71. The first reported case of Coronavirus in the United States was on January 23, 2020.  On the other hand, the first reported case of unknown pneumonia cases in China were first reported on December 31, 2019. So what happened 71 days later on March 10, 2020 in China:

Confirmed Cases:   80,924

Deaths:   3,140

71 days later the Global numbers were:

Confirmed Cases:  118,319 (includes 696 US cases)

Deaths:  4,292 (includes 25 US deaths)

We all should know the reason (s) WHY* the United States has more than double the Coronavirus cases, but the question remains, What are you personally going to do about it? Doing nothing is not an option.

Many Southern states started off with fewer cases than Northern states, but they are rapidly catching up as they ignore keep your distance rules.

Some Evangelical churches continue to hold services, helping to spread the virus. Roman Catholic churches on the other hand are closed. No where is it written that you have to be in a church setting to practice your faith.

Many thousands will die, unnecessarily, if we do not ALL do our part to contain the virus, and that means following the rules and encouraging others to do the same.

In a crisis in the past, the United States has been a leader. This time it is bringing up the rear and our children’s, grandchildren’s and every other living persons life in this country is now in the hands of an administration that cannot seem to get their ducks in a row, no matter how hard they try.

*Brookings Institution released a report on March 31, 2020 listing the government timeline in responding to this crisis. It’s a short read that’s very informative.

© 2020 Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Richard E Walrath is former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, currently residing in Ohio with his family. Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer located in the Midwest.

Should the Increased DJIA Really be Considered an Accurate Gauge of U.S. Economic Performance?

Opinion: Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson

The Stock Market goes up when there is news about the US and China getting together on trade talks. Then it goes down when this Administration cancels the talks. This produces a yo-yo effect on the market, up today, down tomorrow, but otherwise the trend would probably be down. The market as it exists, under this Administration, is far too volatile.

It all began in the late 1800’s, when Charles Dow and Edward Jones launched the Dow as a simple means of determining a measurement of 12 companies contributing to America’s economy. By 1928 the Dow Jones Industrial Average had grown to 30 stocks and has remained at that number since.

As time passed various companies were replaced by others, but the number of companies has remained at 30. The total DJIA reported on a daily basis is a price-weighted average of the total of the 30 stocks; divided by the Dow Divisor, making the value of this particular economic indicator questionable from the onset.

For each $1 change in the value of the of the 30 stocks in the DJIA, the market goes up or down by a point spread. We’ll use the Dow Divisor as of April 2, 2019 as an example. The divisor was 0.14744568353097 divided by 1 = 6.792 points. So, if one of the 30 stocks was to go up by $1, the DJIA average would have increased by 6.792 points.

The entire problem with this method of determining an average, is a $1 loss on a $10.00 stock is far more significant on a percentage basis than a $1 loss on a $100 stock, and that difference is not taken into consideration in the methodology.

On June 26, 2018 Walgreens Boots Alliance [WBA], replaced General Electric [GE] as one of the 30 stocks in the DJIA. GE, by the way, was one of the original 12 stocks in the DOW and has remained in the average until Walgreens stock was added. Walgreens stock trades around $52.56, while GE stock is going for $8.71. Seems like replacing one stock with another that’s worth six times as much, is a relatively simple way to increase the total market value. If you go one step further and multiply the number of outstanding shares of GE stock by six, you might be looking at some pretty hefty numbers.

It seems fair to say that when it comes to the stock market, there’s only one number that matters and that’s the average return. As you can see from the following, 2016 was a good year, 2017 was an excellent year (remember the former Administration economic policies were still in effect for the majority of 2017) while 2018 was the worst year for stocks in a decade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average did not return 13.54% in 2016, although that is probably a number that you’ll see quoted. Adjusted for dividend reinvestment, the 2016 Dow Jones Industrial Average Return was actually 16.47%. That’s a full 2.93% points higher due to reinvested dividends.

2017 Dow Jones Industrial Average Return. The Dow Jones Industrial Average returned +24.39% in 2017. Using a calculation which includes dividend reinvestment, the Dow Jones returned +28.11%.

2018 Dow Jones Industrial Average Return. The Dow Jones Industrial Average returned -5.97% in 2018. Using a calculation including dividend reinvestment, the Dow Jones returned -3.48% in 2018.

There are two economic numbers the majority of Americans are familiar with; job creation and the stock market. The number of jobs created under this Administration are definitely questionable, and the market ups and downs definitely appear to be manipulated.

If you’re a parent, you know what it’s like for your kids to come home from school advising they need to sell xx number of candy bars for this or that school project. Being the good parent you are you call your friends, neighbors and co-workers and invite all of them to purchase the candy.

Is this Administration doing the same thing? When the majority of your cabinet members are wealthy, when you own numerous golf courses in the US where most of us couldn’t afford the entrance fee, how difficult is it for you to ask John Doe or Jane Smith to buy a little more stock in this company or that company? How difficult is it to actually manipulate the ups and downs of 30 stocks?

Over the past nineteen years there have been several occasions when we have experienced large increases or decreases in the DJIA in any given day. The Great Recession is an excellent example. During 2008 and early 2009 there were six instances where there was a large increase and four instances of a large decrease in the daily DJIA.

The Great Recession was a catastrophic event and major upsets were expected. We have not had any catastrophic events in 2018 or 2019, yet the DJIA had six instances in 2018 with large increases and seven instances with large decreases. So far in 2019 there have been three instances of large increases and five instances of large decreases.

Without a doubt there is something not quite kosher with this particular index.

Richard E Walrath is former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, currently residing in Ohio with his family. Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer located in the Midwest.

What Games are Being Played With Jobs?

Opinion:  Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their report for the month of August 2019 on September 6, 2019 indicating August Nonfarm Job Creation of 130,000 jobs, which in one word is pitiful.

25,000 of these jobs are for temporary employees hired by the US Government for the 2020 Census count.

The problem with the jobs report, under this Administration, is the fact the numbers are revised on a regular basis after they are released. Which isn’t at all unusual. We have always had revisions to the jobs report after release. The difference is the Revised numbers from this administration are lower than the originally reported numbers, in five of the past seven months. March, April, May, June, and July 2019 have all been revised downward by a total of 154,000 jobs, or a downward revision of 30,800 jobs per month for the past five months.

Why? What games are being played with the jobs report? Perhaps your response to that question, is we’re grasping at straws. We don’t think so. Going back through prior years, there have been revisions, not every month, and certainly not trending downward on a regular basis.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does an excellent job of reporting accurately; therefore, the only conclusion that can be reached is the private sector is turning in late and/or erroneous data to the BLS. When all is said and done there were only 96,000 nonfarm jobs created by the private sector in August of 2019. Do you consider that evidence of a booming economy?

Jobs and the stock market are about all people pay attention to regarding the economy.  Monetary and fiscal policy interest rates and the Federal Reserve are not table talk topics.  This Administration knows this and is making excellent use of the information.  If the economy is not creating many jobs, the next best thing is creative reporting followed by later reports reducing the number of jobs previously reported.

Add that to the Benchmark Revision that will be made in February of 2020 for calendar year 2019 of -501,000 jobs and it’s crystal clear the only change that needs to be made is a change in Administrations.

The economy will decide next year’s election which is still over a year away.  That is a long time to keep the economy propped up with puffed up jobs’ reports followed by downward corrections.

© 2019 Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer located in the Midwest.   Richard E Walrath is former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, currently residing in Ohio with his family.

Cooking the Books aka Surviving in a Country Filled with Smoke and Mirrors

By Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson

The news coming out this week about our GREAT economy is bordering disaster.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated a preliminary revision to the number of non-farm jobs created by this Administration, during 2018 and early 2019, of a whopping 501,000 jobs.

The preliminary revision by the BLS is completed each year at this time, while the final report will be issued in February of 2020.  What is most unusual about this report, besides having overstated the number of jobs created by this Administration by half a million jobs, is the sheer percentage of jobs lost at -0.3 percent.

Annual benchmark revisions over the past ten years have averaged in the plus or minus two-tenths of one percent of total non-farm employment, while this revision is a reduction of a full three percentage points.

Other major economic happenings during the week ending Friday, August 23, are:

•  the volume drops in MBA Mortgage Applications, which have averaged 0.50 percent from 2007 until 2019, dropped from 21.7% for the week ending August 14, 2019 to -0.9 percent for the week ending August 21, 2019.
• The IHS Markit US Manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.9 percent.  This is the first time PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) has contracted with new orders falling the most in a decade (since September 2009).

A revision as large as 501,000 does more than just raise eyebrows.  It smacks strongly of cooking the books.  The Trump economy was never great.  It was propped up by ballyhoo and false statistics.  Now a trillion-dollar deficit looms.

So much for the Trump economy.

© 2019 Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson.

Richard E Walrath is former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, currently residing in Ohio with his family.  Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer located in the Midwest.

 

 

Real Life, Real Money, Not a Reality TV Show

ByPatricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

What is it going to take for the voters in this country to pay attention to the major problems this country is facing, rather than listening to the latest gaffe by former V.P. Joe Biden, or reading the most recent tweet written by our current President?

The most recent Monthly Treasury Statement was released by the Department of the Treasury on August 12, 2019, indicating a one month budget deficit for the fiscal month of July 2019 of $120 Billion.  That’s an additional -$120,000,000,000.00 in the hole in one single month under this administration.

Anyone that thinks our economy is running at top speed simply doesn’t understand the facts.  The facts are in July of 2019, we received $251 billion in receipts, while we spent a whopping $371 billion, resulting in the -$120 billion deficit.

The majority of us don’t work in billions so let’s look at these numbers realistically.  Let’s say you earn $251 dollar a week. The current Federal minimum wage is $7.25 [although some states have opted to pay their workers more per hour.  At minimum wage, a worker would earn $290 for a 40-hour week].

Our worker only earns $251 dollars a week, but he/she spends $371 dollars a week.  That leaves our worker with a shortfall of -$120 each and every week, so as each week goes by our worker gets further and further in debt.

That is exactly what is happening with our country under the current administration.   With each month that passes we become further in debt, with no end in sight, and the situation has worsened with time.

Donald Trump became President in January of 2017.  In July of 2017 we had a budget deficit of -$43 billion, with $232 billion in receipts, and $275 billion in disbursements (please recall we were still operating under the previous administrations budget in July of 2017).  Historical data located at U.S. Treasury

In July of 2018 we had a budget deficit of -$77 billion with receipts of $225 billion and disbursements of $302 billion.  The deficit nearly doubled under the current administration.

Now we are up to the current year with a July 2019 budget deficit of -$120 billion.  All the claims of how our receipts were going to skyrocket are nonsense. Receipts have only increased a mere $19 billion from July of 2017 [$232 billion] compared to July of 2019 [$251 billion] while disbursements have increased $96 billion [$275 billion compared to $371 billion].

Do you have anything at all to show for the $96 billion additional spending? Have your medical costs been reduced?  Has your income increased dramatically? Has the value of your property increased tremendously? Do you have piles of money sitting around waiting to be taken to the bank?  Are your children all attending college for free? Have all the bridges in your area been completely restored? How about the highways? How about your food costs? Have they decreased to the point where you’re not concerned about where your next meal is coming from? How about transportation.  Do you have high speed train service in your area? Do you have ANY train service in your area? Do you have needs that could and should be met by our government?

More than likely the answer to all the above questions are no.  This administration has done little to assist the average person, but the major problem is this administration has done absolutely nothing to improve our economy.  Our GDP Growth Rate for the second quarter was down a full percentage point see The Great U.S. Economy, that isn’t released on July 30, 2019.

We are now in the 11th month of our fiscal year.  10 months of data has been released and out of the 10 months of budget data, there have only been two months where we have had a budget surplus rather than a deficit.  We had a small surplus in January, and a surplus in April when taxes are due. Each of the other 8 months of the fiscal year have shown a deficit, with the deficits rising due to the uncontrolled spending by this Administration.

Closing out the economic picture is the question of the Trump not so “EASY TO WIN TRADE WARS”. How much have they cost the U.S. and the World? They are bringing on the recession sooner.  DJIA is down 700 today [when this article was written and this could be the beginning of “The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century”,  to borrow the title from Nobel Prize Winner, Paul Krugman.

Someone please tell us what this Administration is doing with the money, since they aren’t spending it on improving our lives, or improving our economy.

© 2019 Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer-photographer.  Richard E. Walrath  is a former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, residing in Central Ohio with his family.

The Great U.S. Economy, that isn’t

 

 

 

 

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

The problem with any economic number released in the U.S. is the fact a large majority of voters are basically clueless when it comes to the actual meaning of the numbers.  Let’s face it, numbers are boring, so it makes little sense to release numbers if voters, and would-be voters, are not able to comprehend their meaning.  A prime example is U.S. GDP Growth Rate

U.S. GDP or Gross Domestic Product is the total value of all goods and services produced in the United States.  The most recent GDP value was $20.5 trillion dollars for 2018.  GDP is calculated by using the following equation GDP = C+I+G+ (X-M) or GDP equals private consumption plus gross investment, plus government investment, plus government spending, plus exports minus imports.

While the actual GDP is indicated for a year and doesn’t change until it is calculated for the following year, the GDP growth rate is released for a three-month period.  The growth rate is the difference between the GDP for the previous quarter, compared to the current quarter and is indicated as a percent.

This percentage is subject to change once additional data becomes available.  The Real GDP Growth Rate released on July 26^th, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, was the “Advance Estimate”.  A new percentage will be released on August 29, 2019 called the “Second Estimate for the Second Quarter 2019, while the “Third Estimate” will be released September 26, 2019.

The 2^nd quarter, GDP growth rate percentage released on July 26, 2019 indicated a rate of 2.1 percent for the quarter.  Translated, that means during the period from April 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019 our Gross Domestic Product growth rate, was a full 1.0 percentage point lower than the prior quarter [January through March 2019 when GDP growth was 3.1 percent].

2.1 percent is the advance number so it will probably change within the next few months as additional information becomes available; but on a comparative basis GDP growth rate has averaged 3.21 percent from 1947 until this year.  GDP growth rate is one of the most widely used economic indicators released and a lower percentage for the first two quarters of this calendar year is not indicative of a “great” economy.

Forbes recently published an article titled “Trade War is Hiding China’s Big Problems” with one of the problems listed as China’s “soaring debt”.  China’s government debt to GDP is 50.5% for 2018, while the U.S. recorded a government debt of 106.10% of GDP for 2018.

What no one is bothering to tell voters about our supposedly GREAT economy is government debt to GDP averaged 62.31 percent from 1940 until 2018.  Under this Administration, government debt to GDP has risen 43.79 percent.  What do you have to show for the record 44% increase in debt to GDP?

Along with worrying about China’s debt we might want to give a passing thought to “soaring” U.S. debt, which is now over $22 trillion dollars [$22,023,283.00 through June 2019].  Year to date figures through June 2019 released by the Treasury Department indicate we took in $2.6 trillion dollars this fiscal year and spent $3.4 trillion, resulting in a 2019 budget deficit of $747 billion which will be added to the $22 trillion dollar debt we already have and we have four more months to continue our spending spree before the fiscal year ends.

On March 2, 2018, the President of the United States wrote on Twitter that ‘trade wars are good and easy to win”.  As time passed, he spoke of the many billions of dollars the US was collecting in tariffs, due to his policies.  Fifteen months later the facts are as follows:

May 2019 (the latest recorded data) had a trade deficit of $55.5 billion dollars as follows:

EXPORTS                $210.6 BILLION

IMPORTS                $266.2 BILLION

DEFICIT               $  55.5 BILLION

China, of course, added the most to the May deficit with the U.S. importing four times as much as we exported.  So far this calendar year [Jan through May of 2019], our trade deficit with China has totaled $137.1 billion dollars.

You may hear the words “great economy” over and over and again and you might believe it, but the facts are; our country is headed in the wrong direction economically.

© Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer-photographer.  Richard E. Walrath  is a former Budget Analyst for Ohio State University, residing in Central Ohio with his family.

US Military Forces and You

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

The following is a must read for all Americans that value the lives of our men and women in uniform.  The data was copied from CRS Report Number RL32170, Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2009, which consists of 33 single-spaced pages of US military involvement in foreign countries.  How many more pages would be added if the material was updated to the current year?

The 17^th anniversary of 9/11 is here and seventeen years later we are still making a major ordeal out of the attack on our country where less than 3,000 individuals were killed by terrorists.  When are we going to start reading the names of the hundreds of thousands of US Servicemembers that have given their lives protecting this country and our freedoms?

Enough is enough.  9/11 has been kept front and center for over a decade and that’s a good thing if you’re looking to go to war with every country in the world and you want the American public behind you, but 10-years should have been a reasonable length of time for us to honor the victims of 9/11.  Everyone that is old enough to remember, remembers 9/11 and we aren’t going to forget the scenes that flashed before us on that dreadful day, but the men and women in our military are going to battle every day and the very least we can do is mention their names when their life is lost, or when they are returned with broken bodies or broken minds due to the horrors of war they have endured.

America’s Wars Fact Sheet published May 2017 by the Department of Veterans Affairs (source data for battle deaths, wounded, number of Servicemembers, etc.), shows the following totals for the period of (1775 – 1991).  These totals include wars both inside the U.S. and foreign countries, such as the American Revolution from 1775 – 1783 and Indian Wars (approx..1817-1898).

2,977 victims were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack and if you add in the 19 terrorists killed, that brings the total to 2,996 dead.  From 2001 on, twice that many military personnel have been killed in our never-ending War on Terror.  It’s interesting to note the revised total of deaths due to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico is 2,975, or only two fewer deaths than occurred on 9/11.  Are we going to declare war on FEMA?

There were 6,000 individuals that suffered injuries in the 9/11 attacks on our soil.  From 2001 on there have been a total of 52,728 members of our military wounded, or seven and a half times the number injured on 9/11.

Details may be viewed on the following Department of Defense chart.

 

The 52,728 wounded are wounded that required hospitalization.  How many were wounded that didn’t require hospitalization for their wounds?  How many are going to die and/or be wounded in retaliation and when will the killing and maiming stop?

How do you determine the cost of war?  In lives that cannot be replaced?  The cost of treating the injured, sick and wounded?

The answer you will receive is we have an all-volunteer military.  Why?  Why would a person enter the military when there is a chance they might be killed or wounded?  In many instances it’s because of the patriotism they feel for the country, but in all too many cases the reason our young men and women join the military is for an education.  An education they cannot afford on their own.

The wealthy can afford the education required to make it in this country, but the poor cannot.  The draft used to be a big problem for the rich as they had to get deferments to avoid wars or serve in a war zone.  Now with an all-volunteer military, the same people are deployed repeatedly.

The Veterans Administration completed a study in 2014 to determine the number of living Americans that had served in the military.  Using figures from their own records, the Department of Defense, the US Census Bureau, the IRS and the Social Security Administration, they came up with a total of approximately 7% living Americans split as follows:  3.1% Army, 1.7% Navy, 1.4% Air Force, .8% Marines, and .5% Non-Defense or reserves.

The only way you can understand why and how our country gets into wars is to read the full report published by the CRS.  The following pages apply to the wars and deployments most Americans are familiar with, what about the deployments you knew nothing about?

These individuals in our military need your help.  They need your help in leveling the playing field and the only way you will be able to provide that assistance to them, is to vote for individuals in the upcoming election that care what happens to them, not only when they’re fighting for their lives, but when they return home and require assistance with their wounds, both on the outside and those hidden deep inside their heads and hearts.

The declared and undeclared wars listed below are those most familiar to Americans.

© 2018 Johnson and Walrath

Richard E Walrath is a former budget analyst for Ohio State University and currently resides in Ohio with his family.  Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer residing in the Midwest.

 

US Trade Wars and You

By:  Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson

Biggest, best, highest, lowest are all terms all too familiar with this Administration, so let us apply those terms to trade.

On September 5, 2018 the monthly trade report was released indicating $50.1 billion dollars was added to the goods and services trade deficit for the month of July, which by the way was $4.3 billion higher than the June 2018 deficit.

As a clarification (only for members of this Administration who don’t seem to comprehend the difference), an increase in the trade deficit is not a good thing.  We are, in fact, moving backwards.  The goods and services deficit is a full 7% higher than it was for the same period in 2017.

But let us not forget the to mention the highest:

July imports of goods and services $261.2 billion, were the highest on record (not good).

July Imports of goods $214.9 billion were the highest on record (not good).

July imports of services $47.2 billion, were the highest on record (not good).

The United States has three major trading partners (in alphabetical order) Canada, China and Mexico, which by strange coincidence are the same three countries that our current Administration has involved in an apparent no-win trade war.  These three countries represent approximately 45% of all US trading partners.

Why is it an apparent no-win?  A cursory review of the July numbers should tell you everything you need to know on the subject.

Data Source:  US Census Bureau Foreign Trade Report – September 5, 2018

When we import 75% more in goods from China than we export, does it make any sense whatsoever to wage a trade war on the country?  That obviously depends on the goal of the administration.   Is the Administration intent on bringing on a recession?  Tariffs mean higher prices; higher prices mean inflation.  The Federal Reserve will ward off inflation by raising interest rates.  We’re two steps and a tumble from a recession, as well as being overdue.  This Administration is on a path towards bringing on the inevitable sooner.

The trade deficit will continue to get worse until those in control see the error in their thinking.  People in this country will continue to buy if they have a job and money to spend.  Tariffs mean higher prices for consumers and we are already paying the higher prices.  Farmers are losing markets and our legislators are considering additional subsidizes for farmers over this Administrations apparent no-win trade war.

The Administration believes our ace in the hole are soybeans, due to the inability of China to grow enough on their own soil.  They are already working on solving that problem by buying cheap Russian land and growing soybeans.  It takes far less time to grow a soybean than it does to negotiate an apparent no-win trade war.

© 2018 Johnson and Walrath

Permission is granted to republish in its entirety.

Richard E Walrath is a former budget analyst for Ohio State University and currently resides in Ohio with his family.  Patricia L Johnson is a former special assignment writer/photographer residing in the Midwest.

US Economy and You

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the US economy?  We think it would be safe to assume most US voters think of the monthly Jobs Report as being representative of how well, or how poorly, our economy is doing.

Our current Administration is constantly touting job growth as an indication of how well this country is doing, but the fact is we aren’t even keeping pace with the number of jobs created the last year the prior Administration was in office.

Our Bureau of Labor Statistics released a preliminary figure of 201,000 jobs created for the month of August 2018, on September 7, 2018.  201,000 jobs by itself is a good number, but when you combine it with the 147,000 jobs created for the month of July 2018, you’re only talking about an average of 174,000 jobs per month, for the two-month period.  Please do not forget, these numbers are preliminary, meaning they are subject to change once finalized.  They could either be increased or decreased.

Let us go back to the prior Administration.  In 2016, the last year of the Obama Administration, there were a total of 2,344,000 jobs created or an average of 195,000, jobs created each month of the year.

President Trump went into office on January 20, 2017 and the total number of jobs created for calendar year 2017 was 2,188,000 or 182,000 jobs per month.

2018, with eight months of jobs reported, totals 1,654,000 jobs created, which is terrific, but two of the numbers are preliminary and the year isn’t over so only time will tell the story.

The one thing that must be taken into consideration is where the jobs created are coming from, they are not in manufacturing, they are not in mining, they are not in any of the industries the Administration claimed would benefit from their job growth plan.

The jobs are being created in the food and drink service industry, which will increase automatically no matter which party is in office.  Folks are no longer eating at home because it’s far cheaper and more convenient to either eat out and/or have meals delivered.

Since 2000 the trend in food and drink service jobs has increased and the increase was slightly more rapid under both the Bush Administration and the Obama Administration, compared to the current Administration.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs in the food service industry represents 5.6 percent of all jobs created, under the Trump Administration, between January 2017 and June 2018.  The balance of jobs falls into the following categories:

Data Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics

In summary, jobs created are mostly service jobs which are the lowest paying jobs in the economy.  They will not support buying a home or paying off student debt which is now $1.5 trillion dollars, for the first quarter of 2018; coincidentally, the same amount that will be added to the deficit, annually, due to the Trump tax cut for the wealthy.

In short, the rich will continue to get richer and the poor will stay poor under this Administration.

© 2018 Johnson and Walrath

Opinion or Fact?

Opinion by Richard E Walrath and Patricia L Johnson

Elections are where we are most vulnerable.  The Republicans are following President Trump’s lead and clouding the issue as much as they possibly can by talking about voter fraud.  The fact is voter fraud in the United States is minimal, and at least one Federal Election Commission member is still waiting for proof of fraud to be turned over to support the President’s erroneous allegations. 

In the meanwhile, study after study makes it clear voter fraud, in this country, is virtually non-existent, unless you consider four prosecutions out of 135 million voters major fraud.

Russia had their trolls and bots in place on Facebook and Twitter during our 2016 election spreading lies about the opposing candidate and working to influence voters in the United States to vote for Donald Trump.  It worked very well, Donald Trump gained enough electoral votes to become POTUS, even though his opponent won the popular vote by 2.9 million votes [2,868,686].

It has recently been determined that our election was not the only one influenced by Russians.

Russia wasn’t satisfied putting their choice in the White House, Russia’s interference in the Brexit vote has now been proven and investigations are being undertaken both in the UK and US to determine the involvement of the Russians, Donald Trump, and Aaron Banks, the financial backer of Brexit opposition. 

That Brexit deal always smelled funny, it was a reminder of how Trump won the title of Twitter in Chief.  Only time will determine how far and wide in our shrinking world the smell is able to permeate.

This balance of trade story is garbage, every item has been paid for.  American consumers are deep in debt; that’s how all the stuff was paid for.  Yes, as a producer, the U.S. would like to sell more to China and every other country, but making their products more expensive to American consumers is not going to help the U.S. sell more.

Brexit has already cost Great Britain billions.  Now they are trying to figure out how to have another vote on it, it’s a shame we’re not able to have a second vote on the 2016 election, any guesses on the outcome?

(c) 2018 Walrath and Johnson

The Digital Sovereign or SOV

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

Most of us have heard of “Bitcoin”, but how many of us know anything at all about the SOV?  The SOV is a cryptocurrency soon to be released by the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the small group of islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The SOV is not the first cryptocurrency to be launched by a foreign country.  Last month Venezuela released the virtual Petro, backed by crude oil reserves.

What’s different about the SOV is the fact it will be LEGAL CURRENCY, backed by the government.  The SOV will be equal to the U.S. Dollar as a form of payment.

What’s interesting about the SOV is the fact the Republic of the Marshall Islands will be working with the Israeli Company, Neema.  The Republic of the Marshall Islands will issue 24 million SOV’s in its “Initial Currency Offering”, with 12 million SOV’s going to the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and 12 million SOV’s going to Neema.

While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be purchased anonymously, the SOV requires users to identify themselves.  While the anonymity factor has kept many governments from supporting the cryptocurrencies in the past, this problem will be eliminated when the SOV is launched.

Six million SOV’s of the 12 million being held by the Republic of the Marshall Islands will be sold to international investors with the proceeds being used to invest in projects designed to lessen the effects of global warming and support those individuals still affected by U.S. nuclear testing.

Another 2.4 million SOV’s will be distributed to the 60,000 residents of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for their use in buying groceries, paying bills, etc.

When the launch date rolls around it will be interesting to see what happens, especially due to the fact the U.S. and Republic of the Marshall Islands are united through the Compact of Free Association, where the U.S. provides about $70 million U.S. Dollars each year in assistance, in addition to running the U.S. military base on Kwajalein Atoll.

The world is more than a little concerned about President Trump and our $20 million-dollar national debt, which will do nothing except go up due to the passage of the $1.5 trillion-dollar tax cuts for the wealthy and big business.  Creating another currency could allow the U.S. dollar and this country to sink, reducing the value of everything in the U.S.

The world would like to get away from the dollar.  While other countries raise taxes to pay for health care, college, and retirement the U.S passes tax cuts for the rich by going into debt.  The rich already have everything they could possibly need or want so they will buy bonds with the money.  Free bonds for the rich while the rest of us can look for a few more dollars in our paychecks.

The deficit will increase as will the national debt.  Those two things will cheapen the dollar and on top of that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to ward of inflation, with a big bust coming in the stock market.

Any sort of plan to create a new global currency should be watched carefully, but especially the SOV due to the potential for worldwide acceptance of this new currency.

© 2018 Johnson and Walrath

How in The Hell Did We Get to Where We Are Today?

By Patricia L Johnson and Richard E Walrath

The other day a stranger began a conversation with me about the weather, but immediately proceeded to talk about the sad state of our country. The gentleman asked me a question that, at the time, was totally above my pay grade, because not only did I not have an answer, I didn’t have a clue.

He asked, “how in the hell did we get where we are today?”

When I got back home I called my writing partner and the two of us spent a considerable amount of time on the phone discussing the various possibilities and finally concluded what seemed reasonable to both of us.

Social Media is the culprit, brainwashing was the method used and it all began almost 20 years ago. At the time we didn’t have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, etc. What we had was email and you would constantly find messages in your inbox making some sort of accusation. Embedded in the email would be tidbits of truth followed by paragraphs of lies and the sad truth is 20 years ago not that many people were interested in politics, so they didn’t know fact from fiction.

They would read the email, be taken aback about what they read and immediately pass it on to everyone on their contact list. The more ridiculous the lies, the quicker it was passed around because if there’s anything American’s relish, it’s the ugly truth (or in this case misleading data).

Were other countries involved in the brainwashing back then or was it simply various groups with their own personal agendas? We’ll never know. What we do know is 20 years of brainwashing worked. With the addition of social media sites more and more lies were spread until everyone in this country is angry about one or more issues, and many, if not most, have an opinion  resulting in a country so divided Humpty Dumpty and all the king’s men would be hard pressed to put it back together again.

Years ago, Richard and I had a very popular website where we would post articles and hundreds, would write comments on our blog. What we didn’t have was the extreme anger that is prevalent in most current postings. Folks had opinions, but their comments were constructive and not filled with hatred because a person believed differently than they did, were a different color than they were, a different race, or a different religion.

Richard made a comment the other day about the songs that were in the top 100 on the charts. He stated music started going downhill about the same time everybody began to tweak, twist and Twitter and a country without music is a country without a soul. The same can be said about a country without proper leadership. We are now a country without a soul.

If we continue as we have been, we WILL end up in another civil war and we’re better than that. We ARE a county of immigrants, we ARE a country of kind, good, hard working individuals that just want to have a better life for our children than we had for ourselves, but at the rate we are going that’s not going to happen. We are constantly bombarded with lies and if it doesn’t stop we’re going to end up with a battlefield in our own backyards,

Is there an answer? We think so. Sitting next to your computer, tablet or phone spilling out your most intimate feelings about any and every subject in the world to hundreds of thousands who could, quite frankly probably care less about how you feel, isn’t going to change your life for the better. There is only one group of people that can help change our country and that is our elected officials, but they can’t or won’t change anything if they don’t know how we feel (and quite frankly, in some instances they don’t give a damn how we feel, but they need to know).  When was the last time you wrote to your Members of Congress and told them how you think or feel about any of the issues?

I suggested to someone they contact their Member of Congress the other day and I was met with “he’s not going to do anything for me”.  No, he/she won’t if they don’t hear from you that’s a guarantee. But, if they are not available, their employees will listen, and they will take note of your thoughts on the various issues at hand. Remember something, it is their job to represent YOU and they cannot do that if they don’t know exactly how you feel.

Click on the following links to contact your Members of Congress

• Representatives
• Senators

Don’t forget the midterms are upcoming. If there is any time your Representative is going to listen to what you have to say it’s over the next few months.

We seem to have forgotten the one word that has carried this country through all our trials and tribulations and that word is RESPECT. Once it finds its way back into our vocabularies we will be well on our way toward the country we once were and will become again.

© Johnson and Walrath

Why Not Columbus?

Columbus, Ohio. Photo shot by Derek Jensen (Tysto), 2006-01-23

Columbus Ohio was one of the twenty locations chosen by AMAZON on January 18, 2018 as a candidate for HQ2 out of a total of 238 proposals received from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.  Up to 50,000 high-paying jobs and an investment of over $5 billion will be the ultimate prize for the metropolitan area finally chosen as the companies second headquarters in North America.

Columbus Ohio was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Olentangy and Scioto rivers, and became the state capital of Ohio in 1816.  The city is named for explorer Christopher Columbus and is the 3^rd largest city in the Midwest.

How does a company with more than 380,000 employees worldwide choose a second headquarters home?

• AMAZON prefers that its second home to be in a metropolitan area with more than one million people.

Franklin County had an estimated 2016 population of 1.3 million.  In addition, out of the six largest counties in Ohio, Franklin County is the only one that has grown in population over the past 16 years.  The population in Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Lucas, Montgomery and Summit Counties have all decreased considerably during that period.

• AMAZON prefers a stable and business-friendly environment for its second home.

In addition to the five Fortune 500 companies that are headquartered in the Columbus area: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, L Brands, Big Lots and Cardinal Health, there are also more than 300 corporate managing offices, including 15 Fortune 1000 companies with corporate headquarters in the area.

Wendy’s Donato’s Pizza, Bob Evans, Max and Erma’s, White Castle, Red Roof Inn, Rogue Fitness, and Satellite are also based in the area.

The world’s largest private research and development foundation, Battelle Memorial Institute, is in Columbus.  The world’s largest clearinghouse of chemical information, Chemical Abstracts Service, is in Columbus.  The world’s largest fractional ownership jet aircraft fleet, NetJets, is in Columbus and one of the largest universities in the United States, Ohio State University, is also located in Columbus.

• AMAZON prefers urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.

According to 2016 estimates (2012-2016) from the Census Bureau, 88.8 percent of Columbus residents over age 25 have a high school diploma, while 34.8 percent have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.  In addition to Ohio State there are 15 other 4-year universities located within 40 miles.

Columbus not only currently has the supply of technical talent required by AMAZON it has an unlimited supply of future talent.

 

The items AMAZON lists as preferences are straightforward and simple and Columbus Ohio meets, or exceeds the AMAZON preferences hands down and has something for everyone currently living in the metropolitan area, or will be in the future.

 

Good Schools:

Columbus OH was the only U.S. city named one of the world’s most intelligent communities in 2013 by the Intelligent Community Forum think tank.

Transportation in and out of the area:

1. Columbus Ohio has ready access to Interstate 70 running east-west near Cove Fort, UT to Baltimore MD while Interstate 71 runs north-south from the Great Lakes to Louisville KY.

 

2. John Glenn Columbus International Airport is located approximately 6 miles east of downtown Columbus and is readily accessible to out of town travelers via COTA AirConnect, which runs from John Glenn Columbus International Airport to downtown Columbus stopping at the Greater Columbus Convention Center as well as many downtown hotels.

 

CAR2GO is an on-demand network of 200 Smart cars providing service to Easton, Downtown, the Ohio State University and John Glenn Columbus International Airport.  CAR2GO is a great service for taking one-way trips to your destination as you may leave the vehicle in any legal parking spot within the Home area, with parking, fuel and insurance included in your fee.

 

For travelers preferring UBER or LYFT forms of transportation, both are available.

 

3. If you’re looking for a more leisurely form of transportation try the free on-demand Hopper Carts that provide eco-friendly, electric, rides to your favorite local places. If you have children, they will surely enjoy getting around the downtown area via FREERIDE.  FREERIDE utilizes street-legal, open-air golf carts serving the downtown Columbus area for free.  Simply hail one as you would a taxi.
4. We all know how important exercise is in your daily routine and CoGo Bike Share makes it possible with their public transportation system of 365 bikes located at 46 stations throughout downtown Columbus. These bikes are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

 

5. Enjoy bike rides, but don’t want to use up all that energy peddling? Try E.C.T. Pedicab for an enjoyable ride in a bike taxi.  Pedicabs are in operation most nights of the week in downtown Columbus.

 

6. What Columbus does not have is light rail or train service. This may prove to be an advantage, because if AMAZON does choose Columbus as the new HQ2 home, this could be the perfect opportunity to build new state-of-the-art facilities.

Central Ohio Transit Authority provides numerous transportation services to residents and visitors alike.

Columbus is especially interested in meeting the needs of visitors to the area.  Should you have any questions at all, look for the gold star pin worn by the Greater Columbus Certified Tourism Ambassadors.  These individuals are certified and trained to assist you with whatever you may need.

Now that we have the transportation problem solved, what can you hope to see in the Columbus metropolitan area?

North Market is the last remaining public market in Columbus and has more than 1 million guests per year enjoying their ethnic food specialties, ice cream, popcorn, coffee and pastries.

The Gallery Hop, located at the Short North Art District’s galleries and boutiques has been described by Huffington Post as the “Best art event in Ohio”.

German Village is a 233-acre historic residential district, with visitor center, and one of the well-known historic districts in the United States.

You will also want to visit the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, COSI, an excellent science center with more than 300 interactive exhibits, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the only botanical garden in the world with a permanent collection of glass artwork by Dale Chihuly, and Easton a leading shopping, dining, and entertainment area in the Midwest.

Those of you that enjoy a little gambling may want to visit Eldorado Scioto Downs, Video Lottery Terminal gaming and harness horse racing, or Hollywood Casino Columbus a Vegas-style casino with more than 2,200 slot machines, 70 table games and 36 live poker tables in addition to excellent dining.

The Scioto Mile has 33 new acres of parkland in downtown Columbus with miles of trails from Bicentennial Plaza to North Bank Park.  Free concerts in the summer are hosted by Bicentennial Park which features an enormous set of fountains for children to play in during daylight hours.

Scioto Audubon Metropark nature center and birding area, contains the largest free climbing wall in the country.

Whether you prefer ballet, opera, plays or musical performances Columbus has it all in their Theater District.  The Palace, The Ohio, The South, The Lincoln, as well as others provide performances you will not want to miss, along with The Wexner Center for the Arts and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

 

Shadowbox Live, is the largest resident theatre company in America and offers sketch comedy, live rock ‘n roll, dance theater, and much more.

 

Interested in breweries?  Columbus has a total of six small breweries located in the Brewery District.

 

Shopping:  Columbus is the headquarters for fashion giants L. Brands, Express, DSW and Abercrombie & Fitch, in addition, to having the third highest concentration of fashion designers in America.

 

Tiffany & Co., Nordstrom, Louis Vuitton are all located close to Columbus in addition to Cabela’s, Ikea and Tanger Outlets, an outlet mall with more than 90 name brands.

 

If you’re a sports fan look no further.  Columbus is the home of the Big Ten OSU Buckeyes.  What is a buckeye?  It comes from the official state tree of Ohio, the Buckeye tree, and is a small, shiny, dark brown nut with a light tan patch.  The Buckeye nut looks like the eye of a deer and according to folklore, carrying one brings good luck.

 

Without a doubt, the Buckeyes have had good luck through the years.  It is one of only five universities winning a NCAA national championship in baseball and men’s basketball and recognized as a national champion in football as well as winning national championships in other sports arenas.

 

Richard E Walrath, former Budget Analyst, Ohio State University contributed to this article.

 

© Articles and Answers 2020

Thought for the Day

from:  http://homeinsteaders.org

Sunday January 14th 2018

Posted: 14 Jan 2018 12:00 AM PST

“When the next generation asks us,
why didn’t you do something?
Why didn’t you speak up?
What are we going to say?
Mr. President,
I rise today to say, enough.
We must dedicate ourselves
to making sure that the anomalous
never becomes the normal.

With respect and humility, I must say
that we have fooled ourselves for long enough
that a pivot to governing is right around the corner,
civility and stability right behind it.

We know better than that.
By now, we all know better than that.”

~ Senator Jeff Flake

Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who since 2013 has served as the Junior United States Senator from Arizona. Due to his opposition to President Trump, Flake announced on October 24, 2017, that he would retire at the end of his current term instead of seeking re-election in 2018.

 

Happy Holidays to All!

Happy 242nd Birthday United States Marine Corps

HAPPY VETERANS DAY – November 11, 2017, celebrated November 10, 2017

What is a Veteran?

The legal definition of “veteran” from U.S. Code > Title 38 > Part I > Chapter 1 > Section 101 follows:

• 101. Definitions

(2) The term “veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.

The U.S. legal definition of a Veteran is unfortunate.  If a man or woman went to war for us, served in a foreign country for xx number of years, or months, experiencing events most of us couldn’t survive and walk away because they just can’t live with the actions they’ve personally taken, are they any less of a Veteran?

No, they were still there, they still fought, they still served their country.  They are already penalized by our government by the fact they are not eligible for any Veteran benefits if they have a dishonorable discharge.    I suspect our government would say calling them Veterans would be dishonoring those Veterans that do have honorable discharges.  I’m sure many Veterans would also feel that way, but IMHO a major dishonor to Veterans in this country is the failure of Department of Veterans Affairs, the government agency responsible for caring for Veterans to remain open on Veterans Day.  Their mission reads “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s veterans.

While VA is contemplating whether, or not, they should remain open on Veterans Day, they may also want to consider changing their mission from “To care for him who shall have borne the battle” to “To care for those who shall have borne the battle”.  Apparently, no one has bothered to inform them women are now in the military.

Veterans are the young men and women that put their lives on hold for several years to serve our country in any capacity necessary which makes them “Our Heroes”. They are there to serve us morning, noon and night, 24-hours a day, seven days a week, under conditions that most of us would find unacceptable, but they do it to protect the freedom of the United States.

They come from all incomes, all races, all political and religious affiliations, and various countries.  The men and women who serve in our military were not all born in the United States.    They are as diversified as the men and women they fight for at home.   In some instances, they are not even from this country when they fight, and give up lives or limbs on our behalf.    How many lost their lives when we initially went to war with Iraq?  Numerous countries provided military support to the U.S.

Changes don’t come quickly in this country.  Veterans Day is a prime example.  Years ago, I wrote an article about trying to find a card to send out on Veterans Day to the many Veterans I know that have served our country.  None were available and I was absolutely flabbergasted.  I could not believe millions of men and women could lose their life or limb for this country and we couldn’t even honor them with a greeting card on THEIR day.  For years, I had to hand create cards to send out.  But, times have changed, cards are available (although limited), all sorts of pastries are available and numerous establishments honor those that served with freebies, free meals, partial meals, haircuts, car washes, discounts, etc.  You may review the following list to see what’s available in your location.  Please be sure to call in advance to confirm requirements for receiving whatever benefits are being offered.  Military Benefits Info

There is a total of 23,234,000 living Veterans according to America’s Wars Fact Sheet published by the Department of Veterans Affairs.  As of April 2017, there were a total of 4,444,533 Veterans receiving service-connected compensation for disabilities incurred during World War II, the Philippines, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Era and/or the Gulf War.

Just think about that number for a minute.  That means going back 75 years, men or women in this country have suffered from a disease and/or injury incurred while fighting for us.  It’s time you fought for them by demanding the VA medical centers stay open on Veterans Day, that we do not get into another war without total Congressional approval and you help celebrate Veterans Day by thanking a Veteran for their service to our country.

HAPPY VETERANS DAY to all who served!

© 2017 Articles and Answers 2020

H.R. 1

Click here to read full text

 

 

INFORMATION for VETERANS

Click HERE to request Veterans Military Service Records online, by FAX or by mail (Don’t forget a DD215 is an addition/correction to your DD214 Discharge Summary.  Be sure to request both a copy of your DD214 and DD215, if applicable).

Click HERE to replace lost Military Medals and Awards.

Click HERE to obtain information on Healthcare available through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Click HERE for obtaining information on the 2017 ONLINE Veterans Health Benefits handbook.  If you are already enrolled in VA Healthcare you probably already received your personalized version of health benefits available to YOU.  If you are not yet enrolled, you may view the sample health benefits booklet that is currently online.

Go to the National Archives to obtain additional information sources for Veterans.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

© 2017 Patricia L Johnson

A Chart Worth Reviewing

Gabriel Zucman

Assistant professor, UC Berkeley

Go to the following link to review entire data:

Distributional National Accounts

CBO Cost Estimate of Senate Version of Healthcare Bill

The CBO cost estimate of June 26, 2017 of the Senate version of the Healthcare bill is 49-pages long, but you only need to read one sentence to make your decision on whether it’s good or bad for the people in this country.

“By 2026, an estimated 49 million people would be uninsured, compared with 28 million who would lack insurance that year under current law.”

Click to access 52849-hr1628senate.pdf

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

Happy Mother’s Day 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVE FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2017

Trump Administration Proposed Budget for 2018

Trump Budget – America First

Happy Birthday Jackie Johnson

Cost Estimate American Health Care

CBO Estimate American Health Care Act

American Health Care Act

GOP Proposed Bill to Repeal and Replace the Affordable Care Act

DOWNLOAD BILL (PDF)

American Facts of Life

There have been two articles published within the past few days that may cause the reader to sit back and think about the consequences of U.S. laws as follows:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/us/immigration-trump-illinois-juan-pacheco.html
• http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/01/us/dreamer-arrested-jackson-mississippi/

On the other side of the immigration coin,  we have the three family members, introduced by President Donald J. Trump during his Joint Session of Congress speech, whose loved ones became casualties at the hands of illegals.

The stories have been on my mind ever since I originally read them.  The good deeds Juan Pacheo did for his community over the past ten years, seem to totally outweigh his illegal status.  And the same is true for Daniela Vargas.  How on earth can she be held responsible for the actions of her parents when she was age seven upon entering this country?

Yes, we have illegal immigrants in this country and actions need to be taken to ensure these people follow the various laws of our country but grabbing them out of their households and tossing them in a detention center doesn’t appear to be the answer because it’s not the American way.

As far as the family members of Jamil Shaw Jr, Daniel Oliver, and Michael Davis, President Trump introduced during his speech, my heart goes out to them for their tragic losses, but their situation is not the norm.

As of July 1, 2016, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the United States at 323 million, broken down as follows:

• 61.6%      White
• 17.6%      Hispanic or Latino
• 13.3%       Black or African American
• 05.6%      Asian
• 01.2%      American Indian or Alaskan Native

Our President has continued to use the word “Mexicans” when referring to illegals, so I’ll use their data.  Of the 323 million population estimated to be in the U.S., 17.6% or 56,848,000 are Hispanic or Latino.  If you just deal with the number that are considered “illegal immigrants” in this country you are looking at a total of roughly 11 million.

Somehow or another the number three, as in three dead from illegals, one in 2008 and two in 2014, simply gets lost in the shuffle and do not appear to pose much of a  “National Security Threat” to this country.  Even if you multiplied by 100, that would only be 300, multiply by a thousand and you’re still only looking at a total of 3,000 out of 323 million or a tiny drop in the population bucket.

If only 1.2% of the population is American Indian that means all the rest of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants.

Are you a legal or illegal?

(c) 2017 PJ

 

 

 

 

How is This Even Possible?

Kevin Liptak, CNN White House Producer, published a story this afternoon quoting President Donald Trump as making the following statement regarding the Affordable Care Act:

“Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”

How is it possible for a person to run for President of the United States, state they are going to discontinue the Affordable Care Act immediately upon gaining entrance to the White House, and not comprehend the complexities of the law governing the act?

How is it possible for a political party to state their one goal is to rid the country of the Affordable Care Act and seven years later not have a plan in place for replacement?

“Ignorance is bliss” simply does not apply when it comes to the health and well-being of United States citizens.  We deserve better!

© 2017 PJ

 

 

 

Happy Holidays to All!

• Sunday,  December 25 – Christmas Day
• Sunday,  December 25 – Hanukkah Begins
• Monday, December 26 – Kwanzaa Begins

Happy Thanksgiving November 24, 2016

HAPPY VETERAN’S DAY 2016

HAPPY 241st BIRTHDAY U.S. MARINES

The United States Marine Corps was born on November 10, 1775 when the Second Continental Congress provided legislation for “two Battalions of Marines”.

JOURNAL OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS

(Philadelphia) Friday, November 10, 1775

Resolved, That two Battalions of marines be raised, consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant Colonels, two Majors, and other officers as usual in other regiments; and that they consist of an equal number of privates with other battalions; that particular care be taken, that no persons be appointed to office, or enlisted into said Battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve to advantage by sea when required; that they be enlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress: that they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered as part of the number which the continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of.

Ordered, That a copy of the above be transmitted to the General.

Pasted from <https://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/Pages/Speeches/ContinentalCongress.aspx>

The official Motto of the United States Marine Corps is “Semper Fidelis” ^[1] (“Always Faithful”) and was adopted around 1883. Prior to 1883 there were three different mottoes used by the Marine Corps, but all three were considered traditional rather than official.

· “Fortitudine” ^[2] (“With Fortitude”)

· “By Sea and by Land” – a translation of the Royal Marine’s “Per Mare, Per Terram”

· “To the Shores of Tripoli”, subsequently revised to: “From the Halls of the Montezumas to the Shores of Tripolli”

(C) 2016 Patricia L Johnson

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CUBBIES 8-7 in the 10th

Happy Birthday UNITED STATES NAVY

By Patricia L Johnson

The United States Navy will be celebrating its 241st birthday on October 13, 2016. Please be sure to wish any current Navy personnel and all Navy Veterans a Happy Day when the 13th rolls around.

The following resolution, written by the Continental Congress, established our United States Navy and was taken from the Naval History & Heritage Command website. The Naval History & Command website is currently in the process of being redesigned, so it may not be readily accessible, but is an excellent resource for naval history.

 

The question of which came first, the chicken or the egg seems to also apply to the birth of the United States Navy. The Marines have always used a birth date of November 10, 1775, which was earlier than the inconsistent dates [March 27, 1794, and April 30, 1798] the Navy provided when questioned about its beginnings. In fact, for fifty years, from 1922 until 1972, the U.S. Navy celebrated “Navy Day” on October 27^th to correspond with President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday.

It was finally determined the Continental Congress established the Continental Navy on October 13, 1775 by providing for two warships. The Continental Congress then established the Continental Marines on November 10, 1775, a little less than a month later, by providing legislation for “two Battalions of Marines’.

No date had been recognized as the Navy’s birthday until 1972, when Admiral Zumwalt, Chief of Naval Operations and Vice Admiral Edwin B. Hooper, Director of Naval History, authorized October 13 as the date to observe the Navy’s Birthday.

The birthday for the Marines had been established by the Marine Corps Commandant in 1921.

© 2014, 2016 Patricia L Johnson

CONGRATULATIONS ZANE!!!!!

Click the following link to hear “Anchors Aweigh” played by the United States Navy Band.

 Chief of Naval Personnel Announcement

The Difference Between a $27.00 and a $2,700.00 Campaign Contribution

The date was May 10, 2016 when the Federal Election Commission sent the Bernie Sanders campaign yet another letter detailing general reporting errors made by the Sanders campaign as well as indicating the possibility that hundreds of Sanders supporters had exceeded the contribution limit of $2700.00 per person, per election, and hundreds more of his contributions may be received illegally from foreign nationals.

Along with the six-page letter, the Federal Election Commission listed each and every ‘questionable’ contribution to the Sanders campaign and this listing took up 638 typewritten pages. That’s six hundred and thirty-eight typewritten pages of questionable donations to this campaign. The very last page of the correspondence Page 639 listed 24 refunds to contributors that had previously been made, yet the original donations had not been disclosed to the FEC.

The FEC six-page letter and 639-page listing of over 1,500 questionable donors may be read at the following link: http://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/847/201605100300045847/201605100300045847.pdf

The Federal Election Commission Detailed Form 3P, filed by the Sanders campaign on June 20, 2016, for the period of May 1, 2016 to May 31, 2016 indicates “Refunds of Contributions To: (a) Individuals/Persons Other Than Political Committees as follows: This period, $1,084,634.45 and Election Cycle-To-Date of $4,117,578.02.

You may read Detailed Form 3P at the following link: http://docquery.fec.gov/pres//2016/M6/C00577130.html#DETAILED

In other words, more than four MILLION dollars in contributions to the Sanders campaign had to be refunded due to being illegal. The Federal Election Commission allows 60 days for refunds to be made so the amount of “Excessive, Prohibited or Impermissible” refunds may far exceed the four million dollars already refunded.

In an interview scheduled to air today on C-SPAN, host Steve Scully asked Senator Sanders whether or not he would be speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Sanders finally conceded “it doesn’t appear that I’m going to be the nominee, so I’m not going to determine the scope of the convention”.

It’s good for the country that Senator Sanders finally admitted he would not be the nominee.  Whether or not Sanders supporters will support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is yet to be determined, but one thing is for certain. The losers will be the voters that do not make an educated choice.

© 2016 PL Johnson

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY – JUNE 19, 2016

Fact vs. Fiction 06-17-2016

Senator John McCain [R-AZ] made the following comment Thursday, June 16, 2016, regarding the Orlando massacre:

Republican Sen. John McCain on Thursday blamed President Barack Obama for the deadly shooting in Orlando that killed 49 club goers.

He said the president is “directly responsible for it because” of his “utter failures” in Iraq.

“Barack Obama is directly responsible for it because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al Qaeda went to Syria and became ISIS and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failures, utter failures by pulling everybody out of Iraq thinking that conflicts end just because we leave,” McCain told reporters on Capitol Hill, according to audio obtained by NBC News.

“So the responsibility for it lies with President Barack Obama and his failed policies,” McCain added.

As usual, when it comes to the majority of our politicians there is little or no truth to his statement. If you are interested in the actual facts on the evolution of the Islamic State you may want to read an article I wrote back in 2014 on the subject. http://wp.me/p18Bs5-1fV

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTINE!

Happy Mother’s Day to All

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT SERVED!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY U.S. MARINE CORPS

 

U.S. House – Discussion Draft – To Provide To Provide a Bipartisan Budget Agreement

Discussion Draft

“FBI Releases 2014 Crime Statistics”

https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2014-crime-statistics

Vatican Statement Regarding meeting between Pope Francis and Davis

By Patricia L Johnson

1.  Rumors that Pope Francis met individually with Kim Davis and discussed her views on same-sex marriage are not true.  The Pope met with a group of individuals, which included Davis and there was no individual discussion between her and the Pope, nor was their any discussion of same-sex-marriage the meeting which included dozens of others.
2. After the meeting, Davis apparently told ABC News:
   

   Just knowing the pope is on track with what we’re doing, and agreeing , you know, kind of validates everything.

3. Davis was obviously attempting to tell ABC News the Pope agreed with her views on same-sex-marriage when, in fact, the subject was not even discussed.

Davis has no respect for the oath of office she took so it’s not surprising she has no respect for the truth either.

http://www.vis.va/vissolr/index.php?vi=all&dl=38c2ff7a-225f-0993-6fe9-560e788f9364&dl_t=text/xml&dl_a=y&ul=1&ev=1

A Must Read for All Interested in the Iran Agreement

My thought for the day – August 16, 2015

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posted a press release on August 6, 2015 on his website on the proposed Iranian agreement.

Normally I have a great deal of respect for Senator Schumer, but when it comes to the Iran agreement Senator Schumer’s thoughts appear to be unduly influenced by the Israel factor which is understandable, since Senator Schumer is Jewish.    Whether we want to be or not, the majority of us are biased in some way or another.

Unfortunately too often in politics we are swayed by ‘what appears to be’, rather than ‘what is’.  While Senator Schumer’s press release concentrates on ‘what appears to be’, Fareed Zakaria’s opinion deals primarily with ‘what is’.

Fareed Zakaria published an Open Letter to Senator Schumer in the Washington Post, and CNN’s website on August 14, 2015.  Fareed is CNN’s foreign affairs show host as well as being a Washington Post columnist, a contributor to The Atlantic and a New York Times best selling author.

Why should Fareed’s opinion matter to you?  If you take the time to read his bio you’ll note he can probably be considered the U.S. foremost authority on foreign affairs, AND he’s not running for office 🙂

If you have doubts about the Iran Agreement, take the time to read both Senator Schumer’s opinion and Fareed Zakaria’s opinion, and then form your own opinion after reading the actual Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action published on July 14, 2015.

Apparently many of those that have formed an opinion on the agreement haven’t bothered to read it.

(c) 2015 Patricia L Johnson

JCPOA July 14, 2015 – Vienna

Click to access ARCHIVO-16091855-0.pdf

Supreme Court Decision OBERGEFELL v. HODGES – June 26, 2015 (Marriage equality)

Click to access 14-556_3204.pdf

Supreme Court Decision King v. Burwell – June 25, 2015 [a.k.a. “Obamacare” decision]

Click to access 14-114_qol1.pdf

Harvard University Report – “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2015”

Click to access jchs-sonhr-2015-full.pdf

ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

Click to access papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si_en.pdf

FEDERAL RESERVE FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE RELEASE – JUNE 17, 2015

• June 17, 2015
  Federal Reserve Board and Federal Open Market Committee release economic projections from the June 16-17 FOMC meeting
• June 17, 2015
  Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement

LQNN, Inc. Recalls Poultry, Beef and Pork Products Produced Without the Benefit of Inspection and Misbranded With Unauthorized Use of the USDA Mark of Inspection

LQNN, Inc. Recalls Poultry, Beef and Pork Products Produced Without the Benefit of Inspection and Misbranded With Unauthorized Use of the USDA Mark of Inspection.

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee April 28–29, 2015 – Release Date May 20, 2015 – 2:00 EDT

Click to access fomcminutes20150429.pdf

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT CONCERNING FOOTBALLS USED DURING THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME ON JANUARY 18, 2015

Click to access investigative-report-on-a-f-c-championship-game.pdf

“For the reasons described in this Report, and after a comprehensive investigation, we have concluded that, in connection with the AFC Championship Game, it is more probable than not that New England Patriots personnel participated in violations of the Playing Rules and were involved in a deliberate effort to circumvent the rules.”

Official CDC Health Advisory – CDC HAN 377

CDC HAN 377: Outbreak of Recent HIV and HCV Infections among Persons Who Inject Drugs.

Nepal 7.8 Earthquake – More than 1,400 dead

“A powerful earthquake — the country’s worst in 80 years — rocked mountainous Nepal on Saturday, killing more than 1,400 people and leveling buildings and centuries-old temples. Dozens if not hundreds remained trapped under mounds of rubble.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/25/nepal-earthquake/26354073/

USDA Class I Recall – Hong Ha

Hong Ha Recalls Beef And Pork Products Due To Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens.

USDA Class II Recall – Alpine Sausage Kitchen

Alpine Sausage Kitchen Recalls Beef And Pork Products Due To Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens.

TPP – TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

TPP Issue-by-Issue Information Center

The United States is participating in negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement with 11 other Asia-Pacific countries (Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) – a trade agreement that will open markets, set high-standard trade rules, and address 21st-century issues in the global economy.  By doing so, TPP will promote jobs and growth in the United States and across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Obama Administration is pursuing TPP to unlock opportunities for American manufacturers, workers, service providers, farmers, and ranchers – to support job creation and wage growth.  We are working hard to ensure that TPP will be a comprehensive deal, providing new and meaningful market access for goods and services; strong and enforceable labor standards and environmental commitments; groundbreaking new rules designed to ensure fair competition between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private companies; commitments that will improve the transparency and consistency of the regulatory environment to make it easier for small- and medium-sized businesses to operate across the region; a robust intellectual property (IP) rights framework to promote innovation, while supporting access to innovative and generic medicines and an open Internet; and obligations that will promote a thriving digital economy, including new rules to ensure the free flow of data.

This page and the following links describes the Administration’s goals and objectives for the TPP, and presents the main elements of each issue area from the United States’ perspective.  Negotiations toward a TPP agreement are ongoing, and many of the elements detailed below are not settled.  These are our objectives; there is still work to be done to achieve them.  This document lays out the Administration’s vision, which the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is advancing, of harnessing trade as a tool for economic growth and supporting jobs, and building opportunity for Americans in the context of an agreement that will benefit all TPP countries.

Please click the links below, or to the left, for chapter-by-chapter overviews of the United States negotiating objectives in the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Trade in Goods

Textiles

Services

Investment

Labor

Environment

E-Commerce and Telecommunications

Competition Policy and State-Owned Enterprises

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Intellectual Property Rights

Technical Barriers to Trade and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

Transparency, Anticorruption and Regulatory Coherence

Customs, Trade Facilitation, and Rules of Origin

Government Procurement

Development and Trade Capacity-Building

Dispute Settlement

U.S.-Japan Bilateral Negotiations on Motor Vehicle Trade and Non-Tariff Measures

Pasted from <https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-issue-issue-negotiating-objectives>

Outlines of the Trans-Pacific Partnership

TPP Economic Opportunities

Public Comments on TPP

New Reports Illustrate How Made-In-USA Exports Support Jobs, Grow the Economy, and Unlock Opportunity for Americans

USTR Highlights Trade Opportunities for Small Businesses in Chile and Peru

New Sister Center Partnership under the Small Business Network of the Americas Will Foster Trade between Virginia Small Businesses and Mexico, TPP countries

 A Note on Stakeholder Consultation

Global Trade Grows Main Street

The Facts about Government Procurement and TPP

The United States and Environmental Protections in the TPP

The Facts on Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Safeguarding the Public Interest and Protecting Investors

Stakeholder Input Sharpens, Focuses U.S. Work on Pharmaceutical Intellectual Property Rights in the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Values Driving U.S. Trade Policy

The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Economic Benefits

The United States in the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Increasing American Exports, Supporting American Jobs

Transparency and the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Engagement With The Trans-Pacific Partnership To Increase Exports, Support Jobs

Joint Statement at the TPP Ministers Meeting in Singapore

Trans-Pacific Partnership Leaders Statement

2013 Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Ministers’ Report to Leaders

TPP Summary of Objectives

TPP Negotiating Document Procedures

Letter to Congress on Intent to Enter Negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

Report on Proposals Advanced in Negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement That May Require Amendments to U.S. Trade Remedy Laws

Letter to Congreess on Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Rememdies Report

Letter to Congress on Intent to Include Japan in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations 

List of USTR TPP Negotiators

Pasted from <https://ustr.gov/tpp>

IAU – International Astronomical Union Campaign for Public Participation in Naming Features on Pluto

“In partnership with NASA’s New Horizons mission and the SETI Institute, the IAU is endorsing a campaign that will allow the public to participate in naming newly discovered features on Pluto and its satellites. It is expected that many new features will be discovered in the upcoming flyby of Pluto and will be available for naming. The public is invited to suggest names within the designated IAU themes for these celestial bodies.”

Pasted from <http://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1502/>

FBI Releases Final Report on Protecting the Homeland

FBI Releases Final Report of the 9/11 Review Commission

Report Details the FBI’s Implementation of the 2004 9/11 Commission Recommendations

Protecting the Homeland in the 21st Century

Two Americans on Board Germanwings Flight 4U9525

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/two-americans-killed-germanwings-alps-plane-crash-france

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi Flees Yemen

“SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s embattled president fled his Aden home Wednesday for an undisclosed location as Shiite rebels neared his last refuge, five officials told The Associated Press.”   http://time.com/3757650/president-flees-yemen/

Department of Interior Final Rule for Safe and Responsible Fracking Released March 20, 2015

Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Final Rule 

USDA CLASS I RECALL – Stoneridge Wholesale Division, LLC

Stoneridge Wholesale Division, Llc Recalls Pork Tenderloin Product Due To Misbranding And Undeclared Allergens

Economic Projections of Federal Reserve Board Members and Federal Reserve Bank Presidents, March 2015

ECONOMIC PROJECTIONS OF FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD MEMBERS

Smile for the Day

SMART KID – STUDENT RECEIVED 100 FOR HIS ANSWERS TO THE EXAM QUESTIONS

Q1.. In which battle did Napoleon die? * his last battle

Q2.. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed? * at the bottom of the page

Q3.. River Ravi flows in which state? * liquid

Q4.. What is the main reason for divorce? * marriage

Q5.. What is the main reason for failure? * exams

Q6.. What can you never eat for breakfast? * Lunch & dinner

Q7.. What looks like half an apple? * The other half

Q8.. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become? * Wet

Q9.. How can a man go eight days without sleeping ? * No problem, he sleeps at night.

Q10. How can you lift an elephant with one hand? * You will never find an elephant that has one hand.

Q11. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges

in other hand, what would you have ? * Very large hands

Q12. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it? *

No time at all, the wall is already built.

Q13. How can u drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it? *Any way you want, concrete floors are very hard to crack.
~Author Unknown~

 

National Association of Home Builders Report on Builder Confidence for March 2015

Builder Confidence Report – March 2015

New York Federal Reserve – Empire State Manufacturing Survey – Released March 16, 2015

Empire State Manufacturing Survey