Tag Archives: pandemic

COVID’s Baby Bust

Another informative and interesting article from one of my favorite contributors, Mr. Greg Maresca. He raises some interesting statistics not often talked about. Thank you sir!

By: G. Maresca

As we observe the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s proclaimed COVID-19 pandemic, one gratuitous prediction failed to materialize.

The combined effects of quarantines and lockdowns were supposed to result in a pandemic baby boom. The boom fizzled out quicker than wearing your mask while showering. As a result, the Brookings Institution reported the nation will experience an 8% decline or 300,000 fewer births.

The baby bust’s prevailing wave will wash over a generation and will have a greater effect on the future than the pandemic that spawned it.

Makes you wonder what else the “experts” got wrong throughout a pandemic that has yet to break the top 20 with the Swine Flu of 2009-2010 ranked 18th, according to LiveScience.com.

The reasons are as plentiful as disposable masks. School closures and public-gathering restrictions along with parents dealing with the stress of coalescing work and supervising their children, who no longer attend school five days a week, has taken its toll. The  Institute reports 34% of women want to delay pregnancy, while a study from the IZA Institute of Labor Economics is predicting a double-digit drop in births this year.

According to a New York Times editorial, “Add these missing births to the country’s decade-long downward trend in annual births and we can expect consequential changes to our economy and society in the years to come.”

University of Southern California demographer Dowell Myers told CBS, America’s shrinking fertility rate is an economic crisis. For generations, the media and academia claimed overpopulation was wreaking havoc with the planet, taking the same line of reasoning as Ebenezer Scrooge who griped about reducing “the surplus population.”

Provided there are no people, what exactly is the planet being saved for?

Paul Ehrlich’s “The “Population Bomb” in 1970 wrongly predicted that “Sometime in the next 15 years, the end will come … an utter breakdown of the capacity of the planet to support humanity.” What did occur, however, was the Western world declared war on fertility and birth rates dropped below replacement.

Demographics have always been the canary in the coal mine. Low birth rates have historically resulted in a loss of population, less ingenuity and economic stagnation as the economy is fundamentally linked to the birth rate. Studies show that for every 1% increase in the unemployment rate is directly linked to a 1% drop in the birth rate. According to a study by the Federal Reserve in 2016, the decrease in fertility rates throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s was the largest factor for declining economic growth after 1980.

If the birth rate is higher than the replacement rate, a nation survives. If the birth rate is below the replacement rate, a nation is dying. The consequences of abortion, contraception, and disdain for the natural law coupled with an aging society has produced a cultural and demographic quagmire with no end in sight.

When the old outnumber the young, who will pay for Social Security and Medicare since existing workers fund those collecting? Moreover, there will be fewer in the work force to pay taxes and keep our economy growing among an aging population.

Throughout the West, governments have tried to increase birth rates through economic incentives like tax credits, paid childcare, and paid parental leave for not just the mother, but father, too. All have been met with little effect as the overall birthrate continues to decline.

Historically, we have solved many of our economic problems that derive from fewer births through immigration – a political football that politicians continue to fumble. One country can increase its demographics with immigration, but globally it remains a zero-sum game.

One of the most interesting and ironic statistics involving birth rates was the one developed country with twice the birthrate of the U.S.: Israel.

Obligation and sacrifice are both four letter words, and byproducts of our loss of religiosity. Many non-religious westerners care little about tradition and history.

Birth rates that have been precipitously dropping for two generations are now below replacement and not expected to increase. The West, having disregarded much of its Judeo-Christian footing, is not interested in reproducing itself as the command to be “fruitful and multiply” has been dismissed along with God who commands it.

Our country no longer recognizes Judeo-Christian values. God helps us.

Originally posted 2021-03-22 16:56:18.

USSA

You ask what does USSA stands for? Read on!

Unityville, USSA

By: Greg Maresca

 

America has endured the worst public health crisis in a century, 70 million claims for unemployment, trillions of dollars in borrowed “stimulus,” civil unrest, a belligerent communist China, convoys of illegal immigrants on their way to the border, which begs the question what exactly is the priority of the Biden administration?

Apparently, impeaching the former president in an attempt to divide the GOP by splintering the MAGA and establishment Republicans, while simultaneously signing a record number of presidential executive orders is.

Call it unity – Biden style, which offers platitudes about bipartisanship and national harmony, while delivering leftist executive orders on a historic scale.

Our cognitively challenged executive order signer-in-chief is ratifying whatever his leftist minions put in front of him as your next president in waiting Kamala Harris is seemingly pulling the strings standing in the shadows.

With thousands of National Guard troops from every state in the union present for Biden’s inauguration, you can put to rest the notion that no one ever shows up for Biden.  Then again, perhaps they were there to ensure that Biden does not flee back to his basement campaign bunker.

How can signing so many executive orders on his first day in office – more than any other president – truly desire unity?  Talk of unity is one thing, but to govern, as the cliché goes, is to choose.  Biden’s choice is clear – govern by executive fiat. Biden’s calls for unity are strictly virtue signaling and intended to shame all who disagree.

Recall Biden’s October interview with ABC News honcho George Stephanopoulos where candidate Biden emphasized how “executive orders are the response of dictators.”  Biden talked up consensus, but since becoming president he has done the exact opposite.

Biden’s executive orders include wrecking women’s sports by allowing a man who identifies as a woman can now compete against them.  Ending thousands of jobs by stopping the Keystone Pipeline, and terminating the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed serious crimes – all extreme measures.  In 1984, President Reagan established the Mexico City Policy, which forbids American tax dollars from supporting international abortions.  In 1993, President Clinton rescinded it. Since then, the policy has been re-enacted by every Republican president and rescinded by every Democrat.  Biden desires to revoke it permanently.

The Wall Street Journal is calling Biden’s executive order jamboree the biggest expansion of federal power since the Great Society with more on the way.

Democrats and their allies throughout the mainstream media have insisted that conservatives need to be “reprogrammed and reeducated,” a phrase out of Nazi Germany, which has only fueled hateful rhetoric throughout social media.

Welcome to 21st century America where the literary works of George Orwell continues to spook our fruited plain.  One wandering soul pontificated how they are looking forward to political reeducation classes because they always wondered what college would have been like sober.

When I get back from my re-education camp, I will grasp that Unityville is not just a township in Pennsylvania’s Lycoming County, or a hamlet in South Dakota, but budding from sea to shining sea.  In my new reprogrammed unifying self, I will forever congratulate Joe Biden for winning the 2020 presidential election and Bobby Bonds for breaking Major League Baseball’s home run record, Lance Armstrong for his numerous Tour de France victories and those Tinsel Town actors for getting their darling progeny into elite universities.

If the Biden administration was serious, they would consent Congress to legislate, while promoting a spirited public discourse – stimulating the democratic process on a national level.

Instead, Biden has doubled down on “identity politics” and resuscitating “critical race theory,” while promoting equity over equality that divides people into victims and villains by race, gender, income, and education, ad nauseam.

Whatever happened to just being an American?

Over the next four years forget about the nation’s Fourth Estate of holding the Biden administration accountable. Only the next election can do that and given the severe lack of historical and civic knowledge of your average American that is unlikely to happen. Moreover, any semblance of unity will not be possible if we cannot agree that an inflated government is no universal panacea.

We are not yet the United Socialist States of America – but certainly on our way.

Gang, if you don’t think we are on our way to becoming the USSA, you’ve been living under a rock. We, as conservatives, MUST continue the fight or we will become the USSA.  Someone has even developed the country’s flag when it happens. DO NOT donate to the RNC or the GOP; they are not our friends. Donate to individual candidates even if they are not in your State, but vet them thoroughly! God help us!

 

 

 

 

Originally posted 2021-02-03 19:31:58.

America’s War on Children Part II

I’m sorry gang, you probably want to hear more about Trader Joe, but I just got this from Fox News and almost spilled my coffee reading it. Are there any sane humans still living in California? If you know of any, please ask they why and let us know what they say.  It has to have something to do with family, ya think?

Anyway, this is a hoot, I mean an absolute hoot,. Even worse than banning straws. What is interesting is to read what some members of the school board said to defend their 6 to 1 decision. They have literally no clue what they were elected to do. We didn’t hear from the one dissenting vote, wonder why? Maybe he’s in hiding?

What’s even funnier is to read some of the idiotic comments responding to this post by Fox News. Should you desire to do so, please cut and paste the following into your browser. Otherwise read on and enjoy!

https://www.foxnews.com/us/san-francisco-school-board-votes-to-rename-schools-honoring-washington-lincoln-feinstein-others

San Francisco school board votes to rename schools honoring Washington, Lincoln, Feinstein, others.

Replacing signage at the 44 schools will cost more than $400,000, a report says, plus other related costs. The price tag could also go up to around $1 million for schools to get new activity uniforms, repaint gymnasium floors, etc., according to the Chronicle. The district is facing a budget deficit.

Not even revered former presidents George WashingtonAbraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson are safe from “cancel culture,” it appears.

The American icons were among a list of historical figures whose names will be removed from San Francisco’s public schools following a 6-1 vote by the school board Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

Washington and Jefferson were both slave owners and Lincoln, who ended slavery, became controversial because critics claim he oppressed indigenous people.

The presidents were among a long list of men and women whose namesake schools will soon be renamed. Others on the list include Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words to the national anthem, former presidents William McKinley, James Garfield, James Monroe, and Herbert Hoover, Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere and author Robert Louis Stevenson, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Even an elementary school named for current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., will be changed over allegations that she replaced a damaged Confederate flag outside of City Hall when she was the city’s mayor in 1986, according to Courthouse News. She didn’t replace the flag after it was pulled down a second time.

Historical figures have come under a sharp focus since anti-racism protests swept the country last summer, with some protesters ripping down Confederate statues but also those of figures like Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and others they deemed offensive.

STATUE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN WITH KNEELING SLAVE REMOVED IN BOSTON

Mayor London Breed rebuked the plan in October as “offensive,” saying the school board should be focused on reopening schools closed during the pandemic rather than renaming them. Wow, a sane statement in a sea of insanity; remarkable. Heck she might even have a piece of a brain left, ya think?

(Abraham Lincoln High School, among 44 schools targeted for renaming, is seen in San Francisco. (Google))

“It’s offensive to parents who are juggling their children’s daily at-home learning schedules with doing their own jobs and maintaining their sanity,” she said at the time, according to Courthouse News. “It’s offensive to me as someone who went to our public schools, who loves our public schools, and who knows how those years in the classroom are what lifted me out of poverty and into college. It’s offensive to our kids who are staring at screens day after day instead of learning and growing with their classmates and friends.”

Replacing signage at the 44 schools will cost more than $400,000, according to the Courthouse News. The price tag could also go up to around $1 million for schools to get new activity uniforms, repaint gymnasium floors, etc., according to the Chronicle. The district is facing a budget deficit.

While the board focused on renaming the schools in the Tuesday meeting, it did not discuss reopening schools from coronavirus shutdowns.

Other critics complained the panel that reviewed the appropriateness of school names used little input from historians and didn’t put the figures into a historical context or weigh their contributions with their failings.

Others argued the research process was thin, relying on selective sources and using websites like Wikipedia to back up claims.

NY TIMES COLUMNIST: ‘YES, EVEN GEORGE WASHINGTON’ STATUES MUST GO

In the case of Roosevelt Middle School, it wasn’t clear if the board knew which former President Roosevelt it was named for, but decided to have it removed anyway.

Board member Mark Sanchez, however, called the decision a “moral message.”

“It’s a message to our families, our students and our community. It’s not just symbolic,” he said, according to the Chronicle.

Board member Kevine Boggess, who supported the resolution, suggested schools shouldn’t be named after anyone.

We “should not make heroes out of mortal folks,” he said, according to the Chronicle. “I think we need to examine our naming policies across the district and really consider how the way we go about naming schools reflects our true values.”

School staff and families have until April to suggest new names for the schools.

Originally posted 2021-01-27 12:07:04.

Send in the Clowns

Remember the song “Send in the Clowns” written by Stephen Sondheim for the 1973 musical A Little Night Music? Numerous artists sang the song e.g., Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, and Judy Collins to name only a few. I personally liked old Blues Eyes’ version.

Anyway, a retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant who taught me how to spell recruiting forwarded the following to me from one of his friends. I loved it it so much I thought I’d share it with you. 

Outdated due to being “post-election”, but still on-point with accomplishments that are grossly under-appreciated.  Never did plan to invite him over for brunch, but always did plan to live in a better USA, which we had the last 4 years.  Didn’t vote for the personality, just the sound policies of a successful president.

Hey, anyone starting a pool as to the date Biden steps down, for the pre-planned entrance of Kamala into the white house?  A charade I fully expect will take place in the next 4 years as sleepy-Joe isn’t remotely qualified or physically able for the job.  I’ll bet he does not last a year before the Ho replaces Joe

Subject: Fwd: The Resume of a Clown

The clown in the White House just brokered four Middle East Peace Accords, something that 71 years of political intervention and endless war failed to produce.

The buffoon in the White House is the first president that has not engaged us in a foreign war since Eisenhower.

The clown in the White House has had the greatest impact on the economy, bringing jobs, and lowering unemployment to the Black and Latino population of ANY other president. Ever.

The buffoon in the White House has exposed the deep, widespread, and long-standing corruption in the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the Republican and Democratic parties.

The buffoon in the White House turned NATO around and had them start paying their dues.

The clown in the White House neutralized the North Koreans, stopped them from developing a further nuclear capability, sending missiles toward Japan, and threatening the West Coast of the US.

The clown in the White House turned our relationship with the Chinese around, brought hundreds of businesses back to the US, and revived the economy. Hello!

The clown in the White House has accomplished the appointing of three Supreme Court Justices and close to 300 Federal Judges.

This same clown in the White House lowered your taxes, increased the standard deduction on your IRS return from $12,500 for Married Filing Joint to $24,400, and caused your stock market to move to record levels over 100 times, positively impacting the retirements of tens of millions of citizens.

The clown in the White House fast-tracked the development of a COVID Vaccine – it will be available within weeks – we still don’t have a vaccine for SARS, Bird Flu, Ebola, or a host of diseases that arose during previous administrations.

The clown in the White House rebuilt our military, which the Obama administration had crippled, and had fired 214 key generals and admirals in his first year of office.

This clown in the White House uncovered widespread pedophilia in the government and in Hollywood, and is exposing world wide sex trafficking of minors and bringing children home to their families.

The clown in the White House works for free, and has lost well over 2 billion dollars of his own money in serving – and done all of this and much more in the face of relentless undermining and opposition from people who are threatened, because they know they are going to be exposed as the criminals that they are if he is re-elected.

I got it, you don’t like him. Many of you utterly hate and despise him. How special of you. He is serving you, and ALL the American people. What are you doing, besides calling him names and laughing about him catching the China virus?

And please educate me again as to what Biden has accomplished for America in his 47 years in office?

I’ll take a “clown” any day, versus a fork tongued, smooth talking hypocritical, corrupt liar. Please let it be known, I am not sure I would want to have a beer with him (if he drank, which he doesn’t), or even be his friend. I don’t care if I even like him. I want a strong leader who isn’t afraid to kick some ass when needed. I don’t need a fatherly figure – I already have one. I don’t need a liar – that’s what Hollywood and CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS and the New York Times are there for.

I don’t need someone to help me, but I also don’t want an obstacle or a demented, senile washed-up Swamp Monster.

God bless Donald Trump – the most unappreciated President in history. And, in the immortal words of Yosemite Sam, “Forget Hell.”

Pass this on if you agree.

Besides President Donald J Trump, who do you think was the last Clown? I’ll vote for Ronald Reagan.

Yes, PLEASE “Send in the Clowns”! The more the merrier.

 

Originally posted 2021-01-18 09:56:40.

Mr. Mattis Again!!

To begin, I want to update again on my post of 9 June entitled ” An Open Letter to Mr. Mattis.” That post has gone absolutely crazy. It has well over 1,000 views from just about every country around the world and it continues to get hits every single day. In fact, I stopped counting, since I doubt it will ever stop getting hits.

And of course , Mr. Big Mouth (aka Mattis) still runs his mouth on things about which he knows nothing. Yes, he is a retired four star, so I guess he believes that makes him a diplomacy expert. Maybe President Trump should have made him  Secretary of State. LOL He may have made a mistake; however, taking on the Honorable Mr. Pompeo.

A column this week in the Washington Times by former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis that blasted President Trump‘s “America First” theme did not disclose that Mr. Mattis holds a senior position at the Cohen Group, a firm that dedicates itself to making business deals in China.

Mr. Trump‘s get-tough approach toward China — tariffs and prohibitions on Beijing‘s cyber products — is generally counter to the Cohen Group‘s objective of bringing Chinese and U.S. companies together in multimillion dollar deals. For what purpose?

The Cohen Group, founded by former Defense Secretary William Cohen and staffed by a number of former high-ranking government and military leaders, has two of its four overseas offices in China.

Mr. Mattis’ (I’m so happy to see the author got his title correct) Nov. 23 ForeignAffairs.com column was co-authored with three other national security experts, (that assumes Mr. Mattis is one also. LOL) but it was his name that gave it weight in the news media. The article’s thoughts resemble the Obama administration‘s China approach. It could be a window into how presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden pulls back from Mr. Trump‘s hardline.

Mr. Mattis is identified in his column as a former defense secretary (Fired) and fellow at the Hoover Institution, but not as a senior counselor at the Cohen Group global consulting firm in Washington.

In the column, Mr. Mattis rejects Secretary of State Mike Pompeo‘s campaign of rallying Asian countries against China‘s drive for dominance. Mr. Mattis does not mention China‘s declared economic war against U.S. ally Australia in retaliation for Canberra calling for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

China has yet to explain and document exactly how the pandemic began in Wuhan, where the virus was first discovered in 2019.

Mr. Mattis wrote, in a broad indictment of Mr. Trump‘s foreign policy: “Crucially, the United States should not press countries to choose outright between the two powers. A ‘with us or against us’ approach plays to China‘s advantage, because the economic prosperity of U.S. allies and partners hinges on strong trade and investment relationships with Beijing. Rather than treating countries as pawns in a great-power competition, a better approach would emphasize common codes of behavior and encourage states to publicly promulgate a vision for their country’s sovereign future and the types of partnerships they need to pursue it. You have got to be kidding me!

“It would also expand the cooperative space in which all countries supporting a rules-based order can work together to advance shared interests. Cooperation across different ideological systems is difficult but necessary, and there should be opportunities to cooperate with China in areas of overlapping interests, such as pandemic response, climate change and nuclear security.”

Mr. Mattis urged Mr. Biden to remove “America First” from all foreign policies.

The Cohen Group announced Mr. Mattis’ hiring in September 2019 as a “senior counselor,” calling him a “national treasure.” Which kind of treasure? His photo is prominently featured on its home page. “China is a market of enormous opportunity and complexity,” the firm states. “The Cohen Group’s (TCG) China Practice has a solid record of success with professionals in offices in Beijing, Tianjin and Washington, D.C.  Name just one.

“Building upon decades of experience, on-the-ground management expertise, and longtime personal and professional relationships throughout the region, TCG‘s China Practice helps companies succeed in the Chinese market. TCG enables Fortune 500 companies, as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises, to achieve their commercial goals in China through tailored government, business and media relations strategies.” While they steal our technologies and jobs.

Citing a recent “success,” the website said, “TCG facilitated discussions between a global pharmaceutical company and relevant Chinese government entities regarding the regulatory framework for a high-profile drug, resulting in a mutually beneficial solution for both the company and the Chinese healthcare community.” I still ask why are we buying drugs from these communists?

Mr. Mattis, a highly decorated and respected Marine Corps four-star general (Really? Who says he is a “respected four star general” and by who?) who oversaw all Middle East troops as Central Command head, resigned Come on guy’s, tell the truth, he was FIRED, he even admitted it )as Mr. Trump‘s defense secretary to protest planned troop withdrawals from Syria.

American forces are backing Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State terrorists. Mr. Trump argues he smashed the ISIS hold on Syrian territory. About 500 American troops remain in Syria.

Robert Gates, a Republican and President Barack Obama’s first defense secretary, has praised Mr. Trump‘s foreign policy.

“At least he has not started any new wars,” Mr. Gates said on “Meet the Press.” “And he has robustly funded the military. … I thought his challenging China was about time.”

Mr. Gates has said that the Western powers welcomed China into the family of nations some 20 years ago and China reacted by violating trade rules to gain advantages. (Yep)

Led by Mr. Pompeo, the Trump administration unleashed a series of actions against China‘s drive to lead the world. It uses tariffs to rein in what it calls unfair trade practices and calls out China for the illegal theft of U.S. inventions and personal identities and for rampant spying in colleges, businesses and government. And in a subsequent Op-ed piece, Mr. Pompeo shot down Mattis’ BS with mere facts!

The FBI says it opened numerous counter-intelligence probes into Chinese nationals. It estimates that China has broken into computer networks and stolen the personal information of half the American population. The FBI? Really, Is this to say they really do something besides work for the Deep State. The whole organization is as crooked as a dogs’ leg.

The Trump administration shut down a Chinese consulate in Houston, calling it nothing more than an intelligence collection hub. Mr. Trump has blocked U.S. businesses from doing deals with Chinese companies supporting the People’s Liberation Army. It has called China‘s telecommunications giant Huawei a spying tool. He has required China‘s propaganda arms in the U.S. to register as foreign agents rather than continue operations as journalists.

Mr. Pompeo and congressional Republicans have accused China of covering up the coronavirus outbreak by telling the world initially that it was not contagious as travelers arrived in the U.S. and Europe where the virus went on to infect millions.

As vice president Mr. Biden was the Obama administration‘s point man on China while his son, Hunter, engaged in networking with Chinese billionaires. He eventually worked out multimillion-dollar deals for himself and uncle James Biden. Excuse me, but where is the FBI on this?

A Senate Republican report documented the flow of cash based on Treasury Department suspicious activity reports (SARS) filed by lending institutions because they suspected illegality such as money laundering.

In 2011, Mr. Biden delivered a speech in China as Hunter was making business contacts there, promising to integrate China into American life.

“In order to cement this robust partnership, we have to go beyond close ties between Washington and Beijing, which we’re working on every day, go beyond it to include all levels of government, go beyond it to include classrooms, and laboratories, authentic fields and boardrooms.” Classrooms? LOL

Mr. Biden returned to China in 2013 with Hunter onboard Air Force 2.  Undoubtedly to seal some more cash deals for the “Boss” as Hunter referred to Basement Joe.

Originally posted 2020-12-04 15:39:53.