Hillary starting to resemble Richard Nixon

I can't turn on the TV on any random day without seeing a story that is unflattering to Hillary Clinton to put it mildly. 


Now we see that she is banning reporters that she doesn't like from covering her public appearances.  Not flattering at all.  And to boot, that particular campaign event was lightly attended by perhaps 2,000 folks, hardly what anyone would call a throng.


The Democrat Party hardcore apparatchiks are wringing their hands about their presumptive nominee.  This latest event was no different than others as of late for Mrs. Clinton, and no questions were entertained from the press. 


Voters don't like that.  And the apparatchiks don't like that the voters don't like that. 


It appears that Mrs. Clinton will be the Democratic nominee for president, but the Democrat machine is likely working furiously behind the scenes to scrounge up somebody, anybody, that can challenge Hillary for the nod in the primaries. 


I think it is becoming crystal clear by now: even though her last name is Clinton, Hillary is not even close to matching her hubby's political skill.  She handles questions clumsily, if at all lately.  She tells little old ladies to get back to the end of the line.  She doesn't tip waitresses.  She seems quite crabby at times, almost Nixon-esque. 


What a lovely irony, with Hillary's antics the last few years.  She apparently took detailed notes while working to bring President Richard Nixon down as a young Democrat Party legal worker. 


And now she and Nixon are becoming virtual twins, with the only exception being that Hillary, unlike Nixon, destroyed the evidence of her skullduggery, malfeasance and general rottenness.


She learned well at the feet of the master, Richard M. Nixon.  If she starts growing a 5 O'clock shadow, I don't know if you could tell the two apart. 
 

'Rocky Mountain High' only for the few

Over the years, I find myself listening only to music of my youth, misspent as is was, and ignoring anything written after 1989.  And whouda thunk that rap would last this long, and I don't even consider it music.


I am turning out just like my father, who was stuck in the Big Band era forever, and bad mouthing Elvis, the Beatles and especially the Rolling Stones as Godless hippies.  My favorite quote from my dad, when we were watching the Beatles perform "She Loves You" on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964: 'look at those idiots. Anybody can grow their hair long and sing 'yeah, yeah yeah.'  These guys stink.'


And now here I am, bad mouthing Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and their ilk, all the while glued to Serius-XM's '80's on Eight,' and 'Instant Rewind.'  You know, the good stuff.


But something always gnawed at me after listening to John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High."  The lyrics that bugged me were these:


Now his life is full of wonder
But his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down
To bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land


John Denver sounds like one of the stupid 'save the farmland' people we have around here, who want to eliminate via legislation any more residential development simply so they can continue to hunt on the open fields and race their insipid snowmobiles without having to pay for any of it. 


When John Denver sees bulldozers scraping away the dirt so that a foundation for a home can be poured, he seethes at this 'scar' upon HIS land, which is obviously not his.  Of course, John (God rest his soul) had a palatial spread up there in the Rockies, but now that he had gotten his, screw everybody else.  Did he consider that when HIS bulldozers were 'scarring' HIS lot, there might be locals who seethed at that scar of his?  Of course not.


Liberals are like that.  Once they get theirs, to hell with everyone else.  Let them eat cake. 


John Denver was a moron. 


Confession time: I kind of like Lady Gaga's "Applause.'  Pretty catchy tune, I must admit. 

Unintended consequences of $15/hr min wage

I still can't comprehend the number of people in the US who think that raising the minimum wage to $15/hour will be a good and positive thing for American society.


Of course it will improve the lives of those currently making minimum wage of $7.25/hour, assuming they don't get fired because the business owner can't afford to pay $15/hour.  Their lives will improve, of course.  Doubling anybody's wage without asking anything in return, such as greater skills, and perhaps more commitment to the company will benefit that individual enormously.


BUT: and there's always a but in these kinds of policy decisions.  The number of people making minimum wage in the U.S. currently are just a fraction of the total work force.  Additionally, this minimum wage is only offered to those with minimum skills, and with perhaps little or no workplace experience.  Minimum wages earned by people over the age of 21 are, to be frank and honest, are the going price for people who have so far failed in their lives to improve themselves.  Additionally, if these minimum wages are paid to Americans over the age of 60, this is the price that is paid to people who have failed to plan and save for their Golden Years, and if these low end jobs are the best they can find, there is no sympathy to these folks from me, sorry to say.  You oldsters on minimum wage had an entire working lifetime to improve your skills and to save your pennies for just this eventuality, 'as ye sow, so shall ye reap.'  Or so they say.


But what most Americans do not understand is that by jacking up the minimum wage without requiring a commensurate increase in productivity, the only thing nationwide that we will see is increased unemployment at the bottom end of the wage scale.  Lots of current $7.25/hour people will be simply sacked.  Nothing personal, it's just that the business that employed them cannot afford to pay a low skilled worker anything more than what they produce. 


Business owners will find ways to get the job done with fewer employees, such as fire unenthusiastic U.S. teenage citizens and slow poke Americans in favor of highly motivated undocumented
workers.


Businesses will invest in automation to accomplish the lower level tasks that were done by employees prior to the jack in the minimum wage.  Resulting, of course, in higher unemployment.


Wages are nothing more than the price of labor.  In pure economic terms, when the price of something goes up, the demand for that something goes down.  When the minimum wage goes up, demand for people earning the minimum wage goes down.  The lowest on the economic ladder always get hammered.  Except for the few lucky jamokes who somehow keep their jobs, and these workers are truly the exception.  Additionally, the employer will keep only the best of these remaining souls, and will actively seek replacements of these guys and gals, too, now that they are paying top dollar for their unskilled services.  Take that to the bank.


I am always astounded at the average Joe who doesn't get this.  It's as simple as 2 + 2 = 4.  No more complicated.