Wake Up Democrats. Nine In Ten Americans Are Satisfied

When listening to the Democratic candidates one cannot help but wonder if they a talking about this country. To a person they all begin with the statement that the economy is working great for the top one percent but the rest of the population lives in abject desperation, living paycheck to paycheck, presumably waiting for a white knight in the person of, pick your favorite Democrat, to rescue them.
Not so says Gallup polling. Nine in 10 Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in their personal life, a new high in Gallup's four-decade trend. The latest figure bests the previous high of 88% recorded in 2003.
Yes, nine in ten, a full 90 percent are, God forbid, satisfied with the personal lives.

But it gets worse for the Democrats. Sixty-one percent of Americans say they are better off than they were three years ago, a higher percentage than in prior election years when an incumbent president was running. In the 1992, 1996 and 2004 election cycles, exactly half said they were better off. In three separate measures during the 2012 election cycle, an average of 45% said they were better off.

Critics can question the accuracy of the polling but it's the same polling techniques Gallup has used in the past. If they did not question the polling then they shouldn't question it now.

Dollar Stores Prey on the Nutritiously Unwoke

"Research hasn't yet yielded many answers to how dollar stores affect neighborhoods, mostly because scholars and media have only paid attention to dollar stores in the last year," 

Who knew the affects of dollar stores on neighborhoods begged for academic research? While Mayor Pete promises to end incarceration for all drug possession retailers Dollar Tree and Dollar General loom as clear and present dangers to public health.
That dire assessment comes from Planetizen, a web site owned by Urban Insight of Los Angeles but it is pretty much in agreement with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's anguished analysis.
"While dollar stores sometimes fill a need in cash-strapped communities, growing evidence suggests these stores are not merely a byproduct of economic distress. They’re a cause of it."
Think about that the next time you drive past one of these doomsday catalysts. By selling merchandise for less they cause economic distress. Following that logic Bernie should be promising more expensive health insurance. Worse yet, they "encroach on the grocery business" as if the grocery business was the lawful venue of Walmart, Kroger, IGA and of course Whole Foods.

How did this happen? Who let these poachers threaten public health and invade the rightful domain of Walmart, Kroger et al? "The dollar chains have thrived in part by taking advantage of lax land use policies." So says the ILSR. Whether free citizens want to admit it or not the appointed members of their local zoning boads know better than they do where they should shop.  But shopping is not the real issue. It's not where you shop that upsets the paternalistic ILSR it's what you eat and the dollar stores just do not carry enough healthy foods.

So if one wants to eat healthy he should eschew the corn chips from DG and revel in Creamy brie, aged gouda, nutty gruyere from Whole Foods who have Certified Cheese Professionals to guide you. Where would the world be without Certified Cheese Professionals?

Personally, I take bargains where I find them. Usually the wife and I buy everything we can at the Dollar General before going to the the supermarket. On some items DG is the cheapest by a big percentage. DG trash bags are the cheapest and the best. Their house brand bleach Top Job is $1 for a gallon jug and their Clover Valley chicken and beef broths cannot be beat price wise. Now I have a new incentive to shop at DG. Like voting for Trump, I know it pisses liberals off.

Two Really Good Apps

No, we are not turning this site into a tech blog but this long lay-off has produced some writer's block. Although the primary focus of this blog has been politics I did report frequently on the development of the Utica Shale gas fields and occasionally took on the contentious subject of Bluegrass music. Now before returning to the grind that is contemporary politics allow me to share my opinion of two apps I found to be useful.
I installed this app on my wife's Samsung and liked it so well I installed it on my phone. The shopping list app from TK Solution with voice to text is simplicity squared. Just tap the speaker icon and say " pork chops" and the text appears. Once you have the item in your shopping cart tap the delete icon and the text is gone. It doesn't get any easier.

Remember the glory days of Napster when you could download about any music you wanted for free, copyright restrictions not withstanding? Napster went on to become a streaming service, where, for a price you can listen to but not keep the music. Pirate Bay and other torrent sites are still around if one can endure their periodic disappearances, some very malicious malware and nasty email from one's internet provider threatening to suspend internet access. What's a body to do?
Hiding in plain sight is YouTube which boasts of 1700 years of content but downloading music has always been a tedious chore. No more. Playlist Downloader from Microsoft's Store allows the user to download entire playlists, extracting the audio portion ready to be played on your favorite device. If one wants to keep the video that option is available.
 Once you have installed the program go to YouTube and search your favorite artist. For instance a search for Judy Collins might produce this result.

Now click on the first playlist "Mix - Judy Collins. It will open the page below. Copy the URL from the address bar and paste it in Playlist Downloader.

Playlist Downloader will look like this. Select audio (mp3) then click on Import to download list.

Review the pending downloads. If there are any songs you do not want just uncheck the respective box. Open Windows Exployer on your computer and create a new folder somewhere on your computer where you can find it. Now click start in Playlist Downloader and select the folder you created. That's it.

Once the mp3 files have been downloaded they may be listened to on your computer or burnt to a cd. I cannot speak to all automotive media players but if your car has Ford Sync 3 you can play them from a thumb drive via a USB port. Enjoy!

Dems' appeal to patriotism won't work because...

     I gotta say it's pretty offensive how often the Left is claiming to love our Constitution, our DEMOCRACY and our independence as Americans.
     It's interesting that these buzz words have been so rapidly and frequently employed by Democrats and those who despise Donald Trump, even while adoring all Democrat politicians as if they have no desire to rule the common people. You know, like the farmer, the blue collar worker and the deplorables in general.
      In fact, it's most astounding to see contemptible self important narcissists like Maxine Waters trying to move her face, er,  claiming that she, SHE is trying to "save our democracy" against Trump who views himself as "monarchical."
    So to whom are these leftists appealing?
    It certainly cannot be their own **true believers** because those folks ARE the gullible peaceniks who believe that the communist Chinese government is reasonable when it comes to human life. The vaunted Bloomberg believes we should change the news according to what the Chinese government thinks is news, not the truth.
    You know, that government that abuses Muslims and Christians, Falun Gong, routinely tortures political prisoners, even harvesting organs to donate to the favored, even rewriting Scriptures.
    Yeah, so these desperate Democrats, some of whom (like Carville) seem to understand that Bernie really is a communist and will not appeal to mainstream Americans, are reaching out to appeal to YOU, Americans who really do value the Constitution and our REPUBLIC.
    These frequent and often immaterial references to values we hold dear are part of a "journolist" style attempt to change the minds of those patriots who get queasy when Trump tweets an insult.
    It's all a ploy.
    Bernie loves communist administrations, Warren loves criticizing tuition while getting $300000 to teach one class at Harvard, Bloomberg is buying a candidacy (no, REALLY), and so it goes.
    Hypocrisy abounds.
    Not to mention meaningless flailing to get the vote of those who REALLY love the Constitution and all the freedom it represents.
    We can't be bought.
    No, the Dems' appeal to the patriotism will not work because we know that the Democrat party has historically represented racism, misogyny, class warare and genocide of babies.
    And so they spiral even lower.
   To be honest, I didn't think it was possible.
  

Democrat IMPLOSION continues! Worsens!

     So, wow. The Democrat race is a reminder of the chaos in the Democrat party itself.
     With the fan-tabulous mess into which the Biden campaign has devolved, Warren and Biden are complaining that billionaire Bloomberg shouldn't win by already throwing more cash into his "race" than Trump did in his whole campaign.
     Other than Tulsi Gabbard (who has links to a cult), all the Democrats currently running are at least millionaires. Personally I have no animosity toward millionaires/billionaires, but being accustomed to flying private jets kind of changes your attitude toward the "blue collar" workers that make up the Trump audience.
    Consequently, Democrats are running on nastiness, bad feelings and negativity about a country which, while far from perfect, is the best on earth.
    So on a couple notes to prove my point:

• Warren is whining that the media aren't treating her fairly because she's, um, a girl, I guess.
• There's concern the Bernie bros will devolve into violence when/if he gets screwed again on the nomination.
• The Hillary fans are undoubtedly cranked up that Bloomberg may want to tap her as a VP. 
• It's possible the nomination may morph into screaming and running around the room Road Runner style if the Democrat convention becomes a brokered convention.
• While concern grows over the mess of the Iowa convention which was run by the DNC, lawyers have been hired for that particular can of worms, which was so eloquently illustrated when the Iowa Democrat chairman posed at his little podium just as the Democrat Party sign fell off and broke.
• Another (however agonizing) example of the poopy streets coming your way/controlling your Big Gulp/increasing the minimum wage to $15, $20 and as much as $22 an hour. Of course, they don't do it themselves, but whatever.

     Well, that's all for now, though I could go on, like the fact that Nevada's LatinX population doesn't like Bernie, and Michael Avenatti was convicted and **IN JAIL** rather than spewing lies on the political scene as the Democrat nominee, and Sports Illustrated has committed to featuring some really (shall we say) imperfect bodies on their pages, and liberals continue to devolve in front of the ever present cameras.
      But, oh, there's so much more.
      I gotta say this little article about how Democrats just don't get it is one of those must reads of the week.
      MEANWHILE we look forward to another great show on February 19 in Arizona by our dude, Donald J. Trump who has our back.

The best live presentation in history

That's what the 2020 SOTU was, if you have a heart. Just sayin'.
The behavior of the Democrats was abhorrent. They can't even pretend to love this country, its inhabitants or its principles.

https://twitter.com/SenateGOP/status/1224928294660923392?s=20
https://twitter.com/SenateGOP/status/1224928294660923392?s=20
https://twitter.com/SenateGOP/status/1224928294660923392?s=20