May 31, 2018

We're Number (Thirty) One!

From Yahoo ....

"Daily Digit is the story behind the numbers that make the world turn. Today we’re looking at life expectancy in the U.S., which has gone down for the third time in as many years. The Centers for Disease Control says the drop is directly related to the rise in opioid abuse. While the drop from 78.8 years in 2015 to 78.6 years in 2017 may see minor, it shows a startling reversal of a decades-long trend of rising life expectancy. The last time life expectancy dropped for three consecutive years was between 1916 and 1918, during one of the worst flu pandemics in modern history. The U.S. now ranks 31st in life expectancy globally, behind Costa Rica."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-s-life-expectancy-dropped-opioid-abuse-blame-163548779.html

May 31, 2018

Emulating Columbine

"Interviews with law enforcement officials, educators, researchers, students and a gunman’s mother, as well as a review of court documents, academic studies and the writings of killers and would-be killers, show that the school-shooting copycat syndrome has grown more pervasive and has steadily escalated in recent years. And much of it can be traced back to the two killers at Columbine, previously ordinary high school students who have achieved dark folk hero status — their followers often known as “Columbiners” — in the corners of the internet where their carefully planned massacre is remembered, studied and in some cases even celebrated.

Investigators say school shootings have become the American equivalent of suicide bombings — not just a tactic, but an ideology. Young men, many of them depressed, alienated or mentally disturbed, are drawn to the Columbine subculture because they see it as a way to lash out at the world and to get the attention of a society that they believe bullies, ignores or misunderstands them."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/us/school-shootings-columbine.html?nl=top-stories&nlid=74838209ries&ref=headline

May 30, 2018

The death toll in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria

could surpass 4,600 ....... according to a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday.

4600 people!

Have we heard Trump comment on THIS? Have we heard ANYONE from his regime comment on this? No, they are all obsessed with Roseanne.

Our priorities in this country are so screwed up....

May 29, 2018

Another judge rules against Trump

The U.S. Postal Service’s method to set prices for competitive services was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on May 22.

The ruling comes in the wake of President Donald Trump’s assertion that USPS doesn’t charge Amazon.com enough to deliver its packages.

http://www.ttnews.com/articles/postal-services-pricing-methodology-upheld-appeals-court

May 28, 2018

Treetop Flyer

May 28, 2018

Altuve is Amazing

From Yahoo sports....

"Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was unstoppable at the plate this weekend — and he’s got his name in the record book to prove it.

Altuve recorded a hit in 10 straight plate appearances for the Astros this weekend against the Indians, setting a new club record. His mark, only the sixth ever in MLB history, was just two shy of the American League record, too, set by Walt Dropo in 1952.

Altuve’s stretch was broken on Sunday in the top of the ninth inning when he lined out to centerfield.

His stretch of hits included six RBI, three doubles, a triple and a home run."

********** of course he was doing all this against my Cleveland Indians! But, wow, just to watch this guy hit and run .... he is just the most amazing player to come along in years. You can't help but root for him. Not bad for a kid who was always told he was "too small to play baseball" by all his coaches.

May 26, 2018

Four Immigrants who were Real American Heroes

"I would need hours to recount the heroism of every immigrant who has earned the Medal of Honor, so let these men represent them all. May they remind us of a simple but precious truth — one we owe it to them to remember."

"The American story is not told on birth certificates. It’s written on hearts."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/they-were-immigrants--and-real-american-heroes/2018/05/25/6c8e13aa-6043-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html?utm_term=.552134ee97ab

May 26, 2018

I was folding towels

this morning that I had washed -- they were beach towels, and some of them I've had for ages!

My 25-year-old son wandered into the room, and I told him, "A few of these beach towels I've had ever since I was a child!'

To which he replied .... in all seriousness .....

"How are they still intact?"

May 26, 2018

Two Realities

The U. S. economy isn't as good as it seems.

"The U.S. economy has a problem. The usual economic bench marks look really good: America in 2018 is enjoying faster growth, low unemployment, record numbers of job openings and a stock market near an all-time high. Yet an alarming number of Americans are still struggling to get by.

In the past week, two reports — a new Federal Reserve survey of more than 12,200 Americans about their finances and a new United Way report on financial hardship — reveal just how unstable life remains for a large number of people. Here's a rundown of the key findings:"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/25/the-alarming-statistics-that-show-the-u-s-economy-isnt-as-good-as-it-seems/?utm_term=.0f3e8306271d

May 26, 2018

I am wondering why

Why is Trump bending over for Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, despite fierce bipartisan opposition from Congress? I have read that this action amounts to something akin to a U.S. bailout of a Chinese company with the U.S. getting very little in return.

If Congress wants to stop this act, they will have to pass a law with a veto-proof majority to stop the Commerce Department from rolling back penalties. Will they stand up to him and pass it? What's Trump's reason for this in the first place?