Really Right – Page 49 – Religion, Politics, and Culture: Explained and Defined

Investigating Corona: Sean Hannity’s Claims on Emergency Declaration

Due to the disruption caused to our daily lives by people that should know better, I’m starting a series on Corona Virus. I’m trying to separate, myth, fact, and propaganda. I personally have no fear of getting this virus, but many people seem really freaked-out about it.

I have rarely, if ever mentioned Sean Hannity on this blog. Why should I? I’m a cable cutter and don’t get Fox News, ESPN, and a host of other media. Frankly, I think my life is better without constant exposure to the 24/7 news cycle. (It’s not too later to give up cable news for Lent. Just sayin’.) Anyway, I occasionally listened to his radio show; especially, since impeachment and now the Corona Virus.

Last week Hannity said something so damning about Barack Obama that I thought maybe this was the silver bullet to get thru to my Liberal buddy at work. Before deploying it though, I wanted to get it in writing from a solid Liberal source so he couldn’t easily discount the information. I began to investigate the claim that Hannity made on both his radio and television shows on March 2, 2020. Here are transcripts complete with audio and video respectively. Hannity has also repeated it on his radio broadcasts since that date.

Audio Transcript 02/20/2020
SEAN HANNITY (HOST): Now if you want to compare it, let’s go back to the Biden-Obama administration. It was April of 2009 when H1N1 became a pandemic. It wasn’t until six months later — now, I’ll concede, 11 days after that, the Health and Human Services of their administration said it was an emergency — but it wasn’t until six months later when Obama declared a public health emergency. But at that point, it was already a pandemic. By the time Obama-Biden did it, we literally had millions of Americans infected, and over a thousand people had died inside the U.S.

Video Transcript 02/20/2020
Now we need to put that in perspective. Let us compare this to H1N1. Swine Flu Virus as it’s known. Now, this hit the U.S. in April of 2009. It wasn’t until six months later, in October of 2009 — after more than 20,000 Americans were hospitalized, more than a thousand of our fellow citizens died — only then did President Obama and, yeah, quid pro quo Joe declare a national emergency.

Original Source

So where did Hannity get this claim that President Obama waited six months–until 20,000 were infected and over 1,000 had died–before declaring a public health emergency? The only source is a single article from P.J. Media posted on February 28, 2020 by Victoria Taft. Her post then reverberated thru various conservative websites where it was eventually picked-up by Hannity.

While American health officials declared a public health emergency on April 26, 2009, then-Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano downplayed the announcement, calling it “standard operating procedure,” adding that she would rather refer to it as a “declaration of emergency preparedness.” It wasn’t until four months later in October, that then-President Obama himself declared an H1N1 national emergency.
Fact-Check: Obama Waited Until ‘Millions’ Infected and 1000 Dead in U.S. Before Declaring H1N1 National Emergency

Timeline: H1N1 v Corona

Folks, this claim by Victoria Taft and by extension, Sean Hannity, is really bad for Obama and good for Trump. Below is the timeline for N1H1 and Corona from first US victim (Day 1) until President declared a public health emergency.

Oops, Obama declared a public health emergency on H1N1 eleven days after the first US case while Trump did so after ten days.

Here are timelines of both virus outbreaks

CDC Timeline H1N1

April 15, 2009 First infection in US
April 26, 2009 The United States Government declared 2009 H1N1 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
2009 H1N1 Pandemic Timeline

October 26, 2009
Washington (CNN) — President Obama has declared a national emergency to deal with the “rapid increase in illness” from the H1N1 influenza virus.
“The 2009 H1N1 pandemic continues to evolve. The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities,” Obama said in a statement.
Obama declares H1N1 emergency

Text of Obama declaration October 24, 2009
DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE 2009 H1N1 INFLUENZA PANDEMIC

Corona Timeline

December 31, 2019 The World Health Organization (WHO) is alerted by the Chinese authorities of a string of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people.
January 17, 2020 the CDC announces that it will begin screening passengers arriving from Wuhan at three airports: San Francisco, New York’s JFK and Los Angeles.
January 21, 2020 first US case in Washington State.
Coronavirus timeline: from Wuhan to Washington state

January 30, 2020 First case of transmission in US
January 31, 2020 President Donald Trump issued a proclamation prohibiting non-citizens from entering the United States if they were in China within 14 days of their arrival and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency.
Latest on Coronavirus: Timeline of Events Since the Start of the Outbreak in China

So, both Presidents (or Administration health officials under them) declared an emergency within about ten days.

Two Types of Declaration

Folks, various declarations by the President trigger different laws and regulations to make resources available to various states and people in need. While Obama declared a national emergency six months after declaring a public health emergency, Trump has thus far not declared a national emergency for Corona. If you doubt me, search for yourself. The only national emergency declared by Trump is related to the border wall.

Here’s the video of Obama in April of 2009 declaring a public health emergency.

The posts are conflating two types of emergency declarations a president can make.
On Obama’s response to H1N1:

Obama declared a public health emergency on April 26, 2009 — before a single swine flu death in the U.S. was reported. Such a declaration allows the government to unlock money for antiviral drugs and other medical preparedness measures.

It was in October, after 1,000 U.S. deaths, that Obama made another declaration related to the flu strain, this time a national emergency. That national emergency allowed the U.S. to activate operational plans, such as moving emergency rooms offsite to keep those infected with the virus away from other emergency room patients.

Conclusion

Folks, I’ve dug into this issue with much zeal in hopes of defending Sean Hannity’s claim about Obama’s declaration. However, it is my sad duty to report that Sean Hannity is totally wrong on this aspect of comparing the Obama response on H1N1 and the Trump response to Corona.

The issue where things diverge on the declarations of emergency is the management style employed by each man. Obama, as best as I can research it, was a very hands-off President and let the professionals handle the issue whereas Trump is right in the middle of Corona.

Obama initially authorized $1.5 billion to fight H1N1, whereas, Trump initially asked for $2.5 billion while diverting other money to the fight, pending Congressional action.

Also, Democrats are using Corona as a political weapon against Trump’s reelection; something Republicans did not do to Obama on H1N1. The media is trying to use Corona as a club to beat up Trump like they did G.W. Bush with Hurricane Katrina. In fact CNN has even called Corona, Trump’s Katrina.

Coronavirus as Katrina?: What sunk President George W. Bush and Republicans in his second term wasn’t the war in Iraq. It was his administration’s mishandling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Whispers have begun that President Donald Trump’s handling (or mishandling) of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic has the potential to have political consequences just as devastating for the GOP.
Is coronavirus Donald Trump’s Katrina?

Next up, Corona testing.

Kirk Uhler on the Ropes

Suzanne Jones: Photo from Lincoln Club of the Sierras

Folks, it looks like my $25 advertising investment on Facebook is paying big dividends. Placer County Supervisor, Kirk Uhler, is now trailing his challenger, fellow Republican, Suzanne Jones, in the race for Placer County Supervisor, 4th District. When I last looked in on the race, Uhler was up by about 107 votes but after yesterday’s update was posted, he now trails by 180 votes, a swing of about 287 votes.

Here’s the details.

Meanwhile, a few days and 3,643 votes later…

Just for reference, in Uhler’s 2016 race versus Victor Bekhet, a total of 19,784 votes were cast. Thus I would conclude that Uhler has no hope of beating Jones although the race is within the margin of a recount.

Congratulations to Supervisor Jones.

When you hitch your fate to the Just Us Brothers, such an outcome is no surprise. My only question is will Aaron Park scrub his blog of all the personal attacks on Suzanne Jones (and Tom Hudson) or let them stand?

Lastly, hey Kirk, Aaron always has this outcome when he is given the title of “campaign manager.” Like you, he thrives in the shadows not in the light. For a guy that thinks they’re friends, you don’t pay much attention to Aaron’s track record of mayhem and destruction. An ethical person wouldn’t associate themselves with him. At least now your wife can apply for the director position she’s been coveting without it being a violation of campaign laws on conflict of interest.

Corona Craziness

By Johnnie Does

Folks, it is amazing how a virus originating in China can literally put people’s minds into a pretzel. 90 day guy came into the office today, you guessed it, Lysol Wipes, hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol in hand. He said his wife forced him to bring all this to the office….I called BS. He said we should buy surgical masks, and discuss our interactions with the public, keep in mind we may get 12 people a month in the office. This is a typical overreaction from a cable watcher.

To be clear the views expressed on this blog in regard to cable are not entirely bad, frankly if you wish to pay to consume it each month, by all means. We just warn here that the job of cable (including Fox News BTW) is to gin up emotions and get people to react irrationally. Look at the events of the past 72 hours in our local city. Elk Grove Unified cancelled all classes and athletics, keep in mind nary a student had tested positive for this virus! Keep in mind the teachers were upset, but the only parental dissatisfaction were parents of the Sheldon High Men’s Basketball team scheduled to play tonight in the playoffs! I’m not bagging on the parents at all, actually they are the most rational people in this situation. Funny thing is, I saw many students of Laguna Creek High congregating and mingling with the public near my office at a local Target today! The horror! Yep can’t attend class, but they are out and about doing what kids do!

The sad thing is at the time of the editorial deadline for this article only 22 people have died in the US from this virus. I say only because the media and local educators are making this thing sound like the Spanish Flu (originating in China too BTW). Of the 22 dead, 15 occurred in the same nursing home in Washington State. We have had 2 cases in Sacramento County, 1 in Elk Grove, there has been 1 death in Placer County….an older man, just like the others who have passed away. Yet we cancelled classes for a week. Santa Clara County cancelled events with attendance over 1000, so the San Jose Sharks will play 3 games with no attendance? The Ivy League has cancelled their basketball tournament. MLB, NBA, and NCAA are considering what to do about their respective sporting events, with MLB and NBA kicking the press out of the locker rooms.

This type of overreaction is befuddling to me. However I have come to expect it. I call it “Hurricane Katrina Risk” meaning you cannot under deliver so you must over react. Why are we cancelling school, when we had 0 positive tests? Telling people not to go to games? Stockpiling food, water, toilet paper, and sanitizer? Come on man! Yet you all wonder why the stocks have been crashing?

Here is some straight talk on this; Corona is very similar to a cold, most likely you are going to contract it. My advice, stay vigilant, maintain good hygiene, and keep your immune system strong. The reality is; I work in a building with a bunch of dentists, its business as usual for them. Ditto at my bank, the restaurant I went to dinner at, the gym, and church. You are far more likely to die from the common cold or the flu, than this virus. Here we are wanting everyone to batten down the hatches and not go outside, and at this time there is nothing to be scared of unless you are elderly, or have health issues. Over reacting is not going to solve our fears here, it just makes it worse. How will you react if this virus kills more people?

Just to give you more anxiety, I heard today the Corona Virus can live in toilet paper, and I heard its transferrable in packages delivered by Amazon. No word on if UPS, USPS, and FedEx are in on the conspiracy.

Johnnie Does

BTW 90 day guy hit the golf links the past 2 days…..with the public. If he is so scared of catching this, I would think a controlled environment is far better than an uncontrolled one. Oh well.

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted yesterday, before Sheldon High School won their playoff game. Also, after this article was submitted, a report was published that an elderly person living in a senior facility in Elk Grove had died from Corona. The elderly woman was over 90 years old and had underlying health conditions.

Corona Virus Triggers Unnecessary Panic

Folks, parts of our cable television watching society are stocking up on antibacterial soap and toilet paper and looking for fallout shelter plans on eBay while the rest of us have purposed just to live our lives. I’m in the latter category.

So, on the first day of a stupid government school shutdown in my community, I’m going on record with a claim that Corona triggers unnecessary panic? Heck yeh! But the market is down 2K just today. So what?

Here’s a few thoughts on the unforced error of cancelling all classes this week in the Elk Grove School District.

In the Saturday release, the Elk Grove School Superintendent claimed he was moving Spring Break to this week, sorry, not happening. Look for the regularly scheduled Spring Break to happen next month in the second week of April. Both parents and teachers are taking off that week regardless of what was claimed in the press release issued on Saturday—much of which was a lie debunked by the Sacramento Bee which I will get to shortly.

You see, many parents scheduled time-off from work just to coordinate with the District’s schedule, buying airline tickets, making hotel reservations, and such long ago. These people will be out the money if they don’t go now. Also, there is that pesky union contract with the District’s teachers stating that the second week in April is the time off for those on both Traditional and Modified Traditional schedules. A reasonable suggestion that I heard from a teacher in the District was that Spring Break will happen as scheduled and a few extra days will be tacked onto the end of the school year. We’ll see if that prediction pans out.

As I’m writing this, a claim has surfaced that one child in the District tested positive. If that’s true, then please tell me what is the metric that children will ever be allowed to return to school? By being arbitrary, this Superintendent has opened a can of worms that he may never get back in the bottle. Just by being in school a child might give an illness to another, this is reality. If this is his metric, how can he ever risk that classes convene again?

The grilling given to the Elk Grove Superintendent by the Sacramento Bee’s Marcos Bretón is priceless.

More shocking. Saturday’s announcement, with such widespread implications, including the possibility of triggering public anxiety and panic, was rolled out with little or no coordination between the county’s public health department or key elected officials in Sacramento, even though a letter to parents Saturday said “this complex decision involved close collaboration and coordination with our Board of Trustees, labor groups, the Sacramento County Office of Education and the Sacramento County Public Health Department.”
If county health officials were communicating with the Elk Grove district all along then that message didn’t get out to county elected officials.
They were all caught flat-footed: Sacramento County Supervisor Phil Serna, the chair of the board this year, learned about the Elk Grove announcement when word of the district closure caused his phone to “blow up.”
Serna was at a campaign event for a colleague in the Arden Arcade area Saturday afternoon when he learned. With him was Sacramento Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan, a doctor, who has spent weeks trying to calm public fears about the coronavirus. With them was Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento.
All of them learned at the same time and without warning.
Closing Elk Grove schools gives a shocking lesson in how not to handle the coronavirus

Serna, Pan, Steinberg and McCarty all huddled together after learning about the Elk Grove announcement from The Bee. Together, they have planned a 1 p.m. news conference on Sunday at the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors offices at 700 H St.
The first question that should be answered there must be this: How could the largest school district in Northern California announce it was shutting its doors in a complete vacuum of information and leadership?

Why is a serious step such as closing a school district trotted out via letter to Elk Grove parents as if the contents of the letter referred to a bake sale and not an issue with serious health and policy implications?
And here is another question: Why would EGUSD, apparently with the OK of county health officials, shut down the entire district when such a drastic step is not recommended by state health officials? By late Saturday, the California Department of Public Health released its guidelines for schools, colleges and large public events to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
Nowhere in those recommendations do state officials call for the closure of a district without a single student or staff member testing positive for COVID-19. And up until now, there hasn’t been an EGUSD student or staff member who has tested positive. State health officials only contemplate closing an entire district if there have been students, teachers or staff members who have tested positive at multiple schools in a district.

But entities such as EGUSD can’t simply act without consideration for how the decision will affect a general public already jittery about the coronavirus.
As Steinberg said, Sacramento County must have a coordinated message. They need protocols. Stories of this import cannot simply be dropped like a stink bomb in the dark.

But maybe if it hadn’t been made in such a vacuum someone could have helped the Elk Grove educators make this call in a way that didn’t seem premature and haphazard.

Panic is what happens when a health crisis is mismanaged and when people who should be in the loop are not. This is not the way it should be done.

Marcus is right on this issue. (As always, I’ve quoted him extensively because this article will soon find its way behind McClatchy’s pay firewall.) Marcus, “stink bomb” is a much politer term than the ones I’m thinking of right now.

Since this opinion piece was posted, the high school boys’ basketball game is rumored to get an exemption, while the high school prom last Saturday night was killed five hours before it was scheduled to begin; off district property I might add.

Perhaps educators should try staying in their lane and let public health officials do their job. That might actually be refreshing. A coordinated response is needed not arbitrary nonsense. Panicking and then telling others that you didn’t is disingenuous and harmful; especially when your actions affect thousands of people and millions of dollars. Elk Grove’s Superintendent needs to be fired, but it won’t happen until summer just so he and the District can save face.

Folks, the Corona virus fears will blow over and the stock market will recover. These issues are just distractions to keep folks on the 24-hour news channels employed. Both of these issues will be in the country’s rearview mirror before long and they’ll go on to some other story while we that live in Elk Grove deal with the aftermath of this out of control bureaucrat.

Rick Santelli Shows His True Colors

By Chief

Rick Santelli is a commentator on CNBC who specializes in the bond/treasury markets. He usually contributes throughout the day as he reports on the swings in the market. Thursday, he made a complete and utter fool of himself and backed it up today with a halfhearted apology regarding the coronavirus.

Here is what he said Thursday:

“People are getting nervous, listen, I’m not a doctor. I’m not a doctor. All I know is, think about how the world would be if you tried to quarantine everybody over the generic-type flu. Now I’m not saying this is the generic-type flu, but maybe we’d just be better off if we just gave (the coronavirus) to everybody and then in a month it would be over, because the mortality rate of this probably wouldn’t be any different if we did it that way than the long-term picture,” Santelli said, “But the difference is we’re wreaking havoc on domestic and global economies.”
CNBC’s Rick Santelli suggests giving everyone coronavirus to spare the economy

Maybe someone should check themselves in to the doctor for a foot in mouth disease exam?

Here is his apology, if you can call it that:

“Yesterday, during a segment on ‘The Exchange, ‘I said ‘maybe it would be a good idea to expose everybody to the coronavirus, maybe it would be better off for the economy, the global economy or the markets in general,’” Santelli said of his comment that sparked outrage and calls for CNBC to fire him. “It was the dumbest, most ignorant, stupid thing anybody could have ever said.”
CNBC’s Rick Santelli sorry for saying we should infect ‘everybody’ with coronavirus to help economy

“It was just a stupid thing to say,” he said. “It’s not appropriate in this instance and we are resilient, both in the United States and in the globe. That resilience will get us through. The idea of something so absurd, I apologize, and I apologize to everybody on the segment and all my peers at CNBC.”

So ok, a lot to unpack here but here we go. First off Santelli is your typical 90 day calendar guy, when the market is up all is well, when the market is down, he incites panic. He knows no other lot in life. He is paid to comment on the news and react to market swings but how can any sane human being spout off the vomit he did on live TV and think they got away with one? Give coronavirus to everyone….nice pal…how about those of us who lack a gold plated $0 out of pocket healthcare plan Rickster? How do you expect us to come up with the money for that? Or should the government just pay for it…since in some ways it sounds like a science project to you? As far as your comment about mortality….this virus is wreaking havoc in nursing homes, and hospitals, targeting mostly the elderly and those with weak respiratory/immune systems. So it sounds like your goal is to create a stronger human race….nice. As far as his apology goes, Santelli was obviously sat down by someone far higher on the pay grade chart than him, because what he said in his apology made even less sense. He tried comparing corona virus to smallpox saying you were encouraged to expose others to it, so they could get it, and get the vaccine.

In closing I will say this, Rick is not sorry, those are his true beliefs. He saw the market get very choppy and decided to white knight and declare “we need to get this virus over with because….my retirement!” His comments that this virus is affecting both the domestic and foreign economies is somewhat correct, but the reason people are panicking is because of idiots like you Rick. There could not be more misinformation spread about this virus, both in print, online and TV media. It’s being made out to be an instant killer, with the infected quarantined off and cut out of civilization. While there is no known cure or vaccine, it seems like quarantine and maybe some medicines are aiding in people surviving. Think about that for a minute, this bozo wants to infect everyone with this, knowing there is no cure, which will overload our hospitals and health care system, because again…his stock account. To make matters worse for Rickster, today the jobs report came out….and unemployment dropped yet again. Folks the underlying economy is doing just fine. We are in a small, cable ratings fueled drop in the stock market, that’s all. Go out to lunch, dinner, or go to a gym, church, etc. People are packing these places, yet the talking heads are talking about this virus 24/7. The NBA and MLB are warning people not to go to games, and to essentially shelter in place. Rick, you are not helping.

Rick, stocks go up, and down, the overall economy is not based on whether the “Dow is up or down.” I’m actually not surprised you blew your smoking hot take for all to see, you like to rile people up, you succeeded, now more people will sell off, because they don’t want to get burned. I am however disappointed in a fellow CNBC employee, Kelly Evans. She didn’t challenge your BS at all.

The Chief

PS Santelli is a Tea Party guy, no real shock there.

Elk Grove Schools Cry “Wolf”

At noon today, Saturday, March 7, 2020, the Elk Grove School District informed teachers that due to fears of the Corona Virus, all classes in the entire District are cancelled the week of March 9.

Lest you think that was enough, Monday has now been declared as “Spring Break.” The District says there is nothing to fear. Really? So way are classes cancelled? Why, in the middle of a weekend, did you move Spring Break up one month?

Here’s the publicly released letter to parents.

Oh, rumor mill amongst teachers is that Sacramento Unified has also done likewise.

Ok, so one family might test positive and the whole county is on indefinite lockdown. Please note in the above letter, they reserve the right to cancel classes indefinitely. Again, this is not Ebola. Somebody is watching way too much cable news.

Is Bernie an Armchair Revolutionary?

Bernie Sanders is stuck in the 1970’s; a time when a minority of people in the United States fawned admirably over the idea of a people’s utopia. When guys like Bernie visited Cuba or the Soviet Union, they got guided tours by people that worked for Vladimir Putin (or whoever was running the KGB at the time). They were conducted on a controlled tour to see how the ruling class lived in such places and told that this was the lifestyle that everyone in such a society could achieve. What they experienced during their visits was diametrically different than what people back home were saying about life under communism.

Folks like Bernie had soured on Vietnam and Watergate and thus were inclined to discount Western critiques of communism. Also, socialism was on the ascendancy in Europe which cherry picked various parts that they liked and selectively applied them to public policy. This reinforced the belief that transformation from capitalism was not only possible without revolution but desirable. This formative period for Bernie is his touchstone for what should be.

History has taught us a much different lesson about how radical change is implemented. Barack Obama took some concrete steps towards socialist transformation but was halted by Republicans taking control of Congress. Ultimately, Donald Trump was elected to correct Obama’s overreach—especially by Executive Orders. The Obama revolution was largely beaten back by Trump or significantly reduced in its impact.

This Presidential cycle, Democrats on the national stage are unanimous that they want to transform the United States into a socialist nation. There was little difference in the top tier candidates on any issues.

Sanders was the only guy in the Democrat field that was honest about his goals. I had assumed that Bernie was a true believer and tired of half measures. Given his age and rhetoric, I thought he was going all in on making the revolution happen now. I viewed this campaign as him giving his beliefs as a legacy to the next generation. I took him at his word on the campaign trail.

If you heard his speech the night of Super Tuesday, Bernie sounded ready to burn our whole country to the ground.

Now, what makes this movement unique is we are taking on the corporate establishment, we are taking it on the greed of Wall Street. The greed of the drug companies who charge us the highest prices in the world. The greed or the insurance companies. And given the existential crisis of climate change, we are saying to the fossil fuel industry… We are saying to the fossil fuel industry, their short-term profits on not more important than the future of our country, or the world.
But we are not only taking on the corporate establishment, we’re taking on the political establishment. But we’re going to win because the people understand it is our campaign, our movement, which is best position to defeat Trump. You cannot beat Trump with the same old same old kind of politics. What we need is a new politics that brings working class people into our political movement. Which brings young people into our political movement. And which in November we’ll create the highest voter turnout in American political history.
Super Tuesday Speech Transcripts: Biden, Sanders, Warren, Bloomberg Speeches to Supporters

I thought it was entertaining when the next day, Mark Stein took after Bernie for being spineless. Upon his return, Rush Limbaugh also piled on. Why?

Because Bernie was outmaneuvered yet again by the Democrat Establishment. The power brokers in the party called in their markers and cleared the decks of everyone but Warren on Monday. Warren split the vote to thwart Bernie on Super Tuesday and give Joe Biden a path forward to the nomination. Her job now completed, a few days later, she too, stepped aside.

Meanwhile, since Super Tuesday, Bernie has not attacked Joe Biden for anything. Joe is the most target rich opponent that anybody would ever hope to face in politics and all we get from Sanders is crickets. I have yet to hear a single media report about Bernie or what or where he is. What kind of guy ever succeeded in fomenting a revolution that quit at the first sign of adversity?

I think the young people that believe Berie’s B.S. are in for a shock. They finally find a politician that believes just like their college professors and after going all in for Sanders, he just leaves them hanging. Depending on what happens next, Bernie’s loyal followers might decide to sit out the election in November.

Bernie wouldn’t be the first guy to stake-out a position that is all about image and lacks substance. I get the feeling that the words of the man don’t match his deeds. Thus I’m starting to view him as an armchair revolutionary.

Will Bernie fold like a cheap suit or will he soldier on for the cause? We all know there’s not another Presidential run in his future because he’s too darn old. What he does in the next few weeks will be enlightening to watch.

Conversations with the Naïve: The Real Debt Dilemma

I recently had a friend of mine who reads this blog ask if I “ever have any fun in my life, and what my future looks like?” This person referenced that the blog here hates debt, and apparently no one on the editorial staff will spend a dollar, on anything. This is complete and utter malarkey. What we are doing on this blog isn’t pointing out you should be eating a diet of ramen every day, we are pointing out that life should be lived within your means, but also with an eye toward the future. No one on this blog is a financial advisor who believes in telling clients not to take trips or have fun, while they live the good life. I’ll explain further below.

Sadly today we live in a world of illusion where style is far more important than substance. We as a society tell people to splurge on unneeded things constantly. We no longer view a pay check as revenues earned, we view it as a means to pay our monthly bills, and that is the wrong approach. We run everything through the credit card under the guise of a 1% cash back, or the 30 day terms. We see a red tag that proclaims “sale” and feel compelled to buy. The blog posts on this site have nothing to do with hoarding your money, buying gold, or locking yourself in your house and refusing to part with it. It is about planning for a very uncertain future, no one has a crystal ball, and things can change very rapidly as we have learned with the Coronavirus and its direct impact on the stock market, and global/domestic travel.

Case number 1: The former girlfriend who works 3 hours a day, takes 2 classes a semester at a local junior college. She is always broke well prior to the end of the month. After a little uncovering, the main culprit was marijuana. In a close second, credit card debt, and late car payment fees. All of this is a result of a general lack of drive and care towards her future, keep in mind she is 30. Her most important and immediate goal is getting stoned. Her intermediate goal is getting married and having kids, sounds like career advancement is on hold indefinitely.

Case number 2: The alcoholic guy we detailed some time ago. Never has any money, and is subletting a bedroom in the house he rents so he can make ends get close to meeting. While he never has money to buy food, or pay his debts, he has an endless supply of wine that would make a winery jealous. This person is on his 4th DUI in his 80 years on this earth and has recently been banned from drinking at church functions from 2 church groups. Most folks dream of their golden years traveling or relaxing, he lives his stumbling and stammering.

Case number 3: The guy who is 75k in credit card debt, in addition to his other bills as detailed here. He has champagne taste on a beer budget and wants a bailout. He is very desperate now and likely to lose both cars, and his house, and possibly his marriage. Keep in mind he has 2 young children to boot. His life is very similar to a bad car wreck, you know you shouldn’t look, yet you can’t take your eyes off of it.

Case number 4: A guy I have known since college, he got his now wife pregnant, and their kid is very special needs. He just recently wrapped up his degree, they got married, they have no income as she must stay home with child, and he is an intern…at age 33. Credit card debt? You guessed it, and they live in a bedroom at his parent’s house.

Case number 5: A person I’ve also known since college. Student loan and credit card debt, a 33% vehicle loan, every add-on imaginable, because well you only live once, and works a zillion hours a week at a theatre. I call her “red tag lady” because she needs to buy something everywhere she goes, and the only concept of a budget she has is when her card is declined, that means she needs to pay toward it. Case in point. We went out to dinner and keep in mind our coupon included enough food for 2, she decided to add on an appetizer and order take-out bacon fried rice on top of what amounts to a pretty large meal to begin with. A $45 coupon quickly turned into an $85 meal, with no alcohol included by the way. The most important thing in her life is finding a boyfriend right now, or as I call it a bailout.

Case number 6: A fellow church goer. Major health issues, all of them self-induced, fast food is a staple of the families diet, as in three times a day every day. He refuses to work, forcing his wife to labor almost all hours of the day. Credit cards? Check. High Interest loans? Check. A massive drug addiction? Check, he blames it on opioids. He is a hopeless case.

Now contrast that to myself.

I worked very hard at my job, a boutique office with just 1 colleague. Drove a 14 year old car until it finally decided to cry uncle, saving me a pant load on car insurance and car payments. I learned to cook, and budget at a very early age, and had to bite the bullet and live at home for about 3 years after college while I found my career and learned a budget. While I may have hit the bottle a bit (a habit I’ve since kicked) I learned quite a bit during my time at home. I banked money, and invested in myself. I learned everything about the industry I worked in, almost obsessively. By year 3, I was going to take the test to start my own business with this industry, I passed, becoming the youngest ever. 2 years later I applied for and was accepted to take over someone’s office who was retiring, I was elated, maybe a bit scared but elated. My office partner (boss) took me out to lunch and said I can’t believe I’m going to lose you, but I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse. He made me partner and my cut is 49% of the business after tax income, he is still the owner, and a majority one at that. I agreed, and my life has changed big time since that date. I bought my house 5 years ago, and am making double payments to reduce my mortgage (I don’t call a mortgage debt) and while I had to buy a new car, I chose to lease and the terms are 0%. I have no debt and never had any. I may pay with credit cards but I pay in full each month. I started my Roth IRA at 25, and at present its value is about $75,000. I also have a stock “mad money” account valued around $75,000. This is in addition to about $15,000 in emergency savings which will only be tapped to pay bills. Keep in mind I’m 34. I have traveled to a bunch of different states and take several trips a year.

Conclusion: Contrast me to the 6 cases named above, it’s not an exercise in tooting one’s horn. It’s about knowing a need versus a want, and being meticulous and sticking to a budget. Make yourself indispensable and you will reap the rewards. Praying over decisions and not making rash one’s helps a ton as well. I work in an industry and in a field that is going the way of the dodo bird, hint it’s similar to a travel agent. I know this job will not be there for me… I’m preparing…just like you should be doing for the next recession/political risk. Trust me, banks play fast and loose with credit/financing during boom years, when things go bust they do not play nice. To tie this all together, the 6 cases named above? One claims to be a Republican, the other 5….they all support Bernie, hoping that you and I will be bailing them out. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Johnnie Does

PS. The new boat/car/jet ski’s etc. that you had to have fresh off the dealer’s lot; someone else will be buying those off you for a song if a recession hits as hard as I think it will. That someone is likely to be a guy like me who has saved up money during the good times. In the end, that boat/jet ski/car you just had to have but only took out a handful of times will be forfeited and given to another.

Hidin’ Biden after Super Tuesday

Folks, just a quick update on the supposed results of Super Tuesday.

The media reports of Biden suddenly being ahead of Sanders by 60 delegates are true—from a certain point of view. What is missing is this. 290 delegates are still in play and not assigned to either guy. If you gave all remaining delegates to the candidate that currently leads in that state, Sanders is ahead by two. Biden would have 685 to Sanders with 687. Due to proportional assignment this won’t be the outcome but Bernie is not out of this yet… except…

What is going on with Pocahontas? Will she stay or will she go? Coming in third in your home state is usually an automatic sign to “pack it in” but this is politics. Will Warren stay in as the spoiler to Sanders chances or will she step aside and let the geriatric gents duke it out?

For a Party claiming to represent diversity to come down to the two oldest white guys in the race, it just illustrates the farce of Democrat image versus reality. Lest you think this is an accident, how was it that Jerry Brown has severed two terms as Governor of California in two successive centuries? Do you see a pattern? Power is pried from their cold, dead hands, and only reluctantly.

California votes will take so long to count that even though he won, Sanders will not be helped. The magnitude of his actual victory will probably not even get reported by the media as relevant because they will have moved on to the next shiny object long before the count is completed.

The media loves the drama of the horserace and the dream of beating Trump but somehow I think that the script will not go as planned.

Once Warren exits, stage left, Trump will be the youngest candidate in the race.

However this goes, the Presidential debates this fall will be entertaining; probably the best since Carter v Reagan.

I was Really Right on The DNC Power Brokers

By Chief

Note: The Chief sent me this post midafternoon yesterday but I didn’t have a chance to get this posted until the following day. — Editor

I wrote this past Friday that the Democrats have a Bernie problem. The problem isn’t so much his electability it’s the down ticket that matters. Bernie is popular in some core constituencies but deeply unpopular in others. The Democrats realized that and I have to give them credit for heeding my warnings. After Hidin’ Biden won big in South Carolina, his only decent showing to date, Tom Steyer dropped out. The following day Mayor Pete decided to drop out, and the “Klob-Butcher” dropped out and flew to Texas Monday to appear with and endorse “Hidin’ Biden.”

My initial reaction was that was odd, as Mayor Pete had actually shown quite well leading up to South Carolina, and had been tied with Bernie in the delegate race! The Klob-Butcher was actually starting to gain traction and the more friendly mid-western states were up next…so I was equally shocked by this. Just seemed like a lot of unnecessary dominoes fell instantly, almost like this thing is being rigged again?

Here is my hypothesis, somebody likely a Clinton appointee showed the DNC Bernie’s polling numbers in areas outside of academia and spooked the entire party. I’m sure campaign debt was paid off (also an opinion shared by the Blog Father) and suddenly…..wham Mayor Pete and Amy jump on the Biden campaign. I say suddenly because when you run for president, your campaign has rallies planned all over the place, on a given day you may visit 3 different states all in different time zones. I find it hard to believe these 2 just folded up the circus tents and jumped on Biden. Additionally I am not surprised on Steyer dropping out, he had a Jeb! One state strategy and it horribly backfired, as of writing I do not believe he has endorsed, only saying they need to beat Trump. Bloomberg I expect drops out after tonight, pending a bigger showing than I think. That would leave Biden, Bernie and Warren, the latter being key to rigging the election.

In essence, Warren and Sanders are competing for the same 40% or so of voters, if you believe like we do that if one dropped out, the supporters would vote for the other, as on policy neither differs that much. Warren needs to stay in, and likely got a promise to wipe out her campaign debt after she drops out. This sets up Biden to try to capture Bernie’s share + “x” and beat Bernie, in every state that remains, and allow him to pick up more delegates. Think back to 2016, Trump always got his 30-34% of the vote in each state, with Cruz and Kasich flopping 2nd and 3rd place finishes allowing Trump to continue winning states and an increasing delegate lead. Neither candidate would drop out, and eventually Trump got enough delegates to earn the nomination.

Here we are today, the eve of the “Super Tuesday” election primary and it’s going to get wild tonight. I say that because millions of folks have already voted, and the votes cannot be changed. Look for some wild finishes tonight, remember if a candidate gets above 15% they win delegates even if no longer in the race. Amy could well win Minnesota, Pete should do well in the mid-west states. Bloomberg is an absolute wild card in all of this, if he does well and presses on, it will be a brokered convention. The key is he needs to drop out ASAP and get behind Biden, because again, more and more states vote in the next few weeks, and his name is still on the ballot! Bernie is very aware this is happening, actually he is one of the most self-aware candidates remaining. He knows he has to ramp it up, and look for him to attack Biden big on the stump, as he knows Biden’s voters are not “hard support” like he enjoys from his voters. The key tonight is to watch Warren, if she drops out, Bernie’s chances of winning go exponentially higher, if she does not, Bernie knows this thing is rigged again, just like the last one.

My only words of advice: be very careful with Bernie’s supporters, the worst look possible is a smoke filled convention, with Bernie leading his folks out like the Pied Piper. If this plays out the way I think it will, Bloomberg, Biden, and Bernie in a smoke filled room, Biden will get routed at the polls and the Democrats could be looking at a super minority. Bloomberg can only buy off so many people.

Stay tuned,

Chief

Editor’s Note: I agree with Chief that it is unusual for so many people to drop out of the race the day before Super Tuesday. These folks have campaigned for almost two years to get to this point in the election—remember there were once 24 candidates in the field—and now the day before the Olympics of politics they all drop out??? What happened to the brokered convention? Clearly somebody connected with Clinton or Obama organizations dropped a dime on the candidates in the race. Also, if Biden is so great for blacks, why is it that no black candidates were part of the last minute endorsement or campaign blitz? Where are Harris, Booker, etc.?