EBOLA OUTBREAK IN CONGO—A SERIOU GLOBAL EMERGENCY
I think most readers know how serious Ebola is. The mortality rate is usually over 80% (death). It is easily spread by contact with bodily fluids. This is scary stuff. Read as much as you want, but if you are a world traveler—be very careful where you go and how you interact with other travelers.
MEANWHILE…POLITICAL INSANITY IS UPON US.
A DC-BOLA: OUTBREAK OF FOOLISHNESS, IGNORANCE AND LACK OF GOOD SENSE
This seems to afflict elected officials a short time after they arrive in Washington, DC, and it often lingers for years and recurs over and over, typically on 2 year (election) cycles. DC-BOLA is marked by outbreaks of wildly questionable statements, reversal of prior positions, (also known as flip-flopping), extremely polarized political behavior and in general, a loss of good sense, civility and a desire to govern responsibly.
SIDE EFFECTS ARE PARTICULARLY TROUBLESOME
Side effects of DC-BOLA seem to be the inability to compromise and reach collaborative, effective outcomes, needed for the good of the country. The most notable victims of DC-BOLA are either very high ranking, long-time elected officials or very new elected officials, seeking to gain more publicity than their experience, contribution and opinions warrant. One side effect that continues unabated is to spend taxpayer money (whether the US has it or not) at the slightest provocation. Another is the unusual form of verbal tantrums, often exhibited during interviews, at speeches, and on cable and network TV.
Warning: This side effect seems to be more contagious than most, spreading to large groups of followers with only visual or audible contact.
DC-BOLA seems to have a particularly high level of infection in places where people congregate such as rallies and college campuses. Suspicions that media/journalists, talk-show hosts, faculty members and many politicians are “carriers” has been theorized, and evidence continues to grow in support of this premise.
THE NUMBER OF DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT CONTINUES TO GROW
Many researchers have questioned whether a widespread mental condition often referred to a “Trump Derangement Syndrome” is a contributing factor to the growing number of people who are under the illusion (or delusion) that they are qualified for election to the most difficult job know to exist—being President of the United States. This aberration was first seen as the “Hillary Effect", during the prior election, when an unusual number of candidates emerged, but then fell by the wayside during the campaign.
MYSTICAL, MAGICAL, IMPOSSIBLY CONFUSING
A "Sorting Process," as mystical as the one used at Hogwarts (of Harry Potter fame), seems to be required to resolve this issue. In the "sorting process" a group of elderly wizards and witches weigh in on the various candidates, in hopes of reducing the number and increasing the quality of a few who remain. One side effect of this unusual process is to inflame the media magicians, who report the process and attempt to cast evil spells over voters, using strange incantations, and (allegedly) evil trances and potions.
THE MOST CHALLENGING TASK FOR CANDIDATES
Candidates from both sides face daunting tasks. One side must convince voters that impossibly expensive ideas they have are somehow affordable in a kingdom facing a mountainous debt already. The other side has an equally arduous chore, illustrating how the promised things claimed by opponents to be “FREE” are actually an impossibility. Everything worthwhile has a cost to it—and is not FREE. The only question from "who else’s money" will that cost be paid.
IT APPEARS MAGIC IS TRULY THE ONLY SOLUTION
Magicians promise that "taxing the rich" will make all the "free things" possible. However a detailed study done by the wisest of wizards (The financial accounting wizards) has proven that even if ALL the money of the rich were taken and used, it still wouldn’t begin to cover the fiscal debt and mounting deficits. Even great Magic, cannot make something out of nothing, it seems.
Further, the mystical council has revealed that even though the poor of the kingdom are given more and more money and help, they remain poor, and indeed, actually waste what they are given and become poorer. With this disappointing report, the council recessed to seek even more powerful, (and more expensive), and magical ways to make lies into truths and truths into lies.
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BACK TO THE WORLD OF REPORTING FOR A MOMENT—UPCOMING ELECTIONS.
A few Excerpts From Kiplinger (A serious source)2020 elections—expected to be the most expensive campaign ever—$7B plus —in U.S. history, surpassing 2012's record $6.86 billion… Outside groups' outlays will again be dwarfed by that of candidates and party campaign committees. … The 20 PLUS Democrats seeking to challenge Trump have collectively raised $270 million so far ...(Hillary Clinton spent $768 million in her 2016 races.) Political campaigns are big business... witness their billion-dollar price tags...
What is driving up costs so dramatically? Presidential candidates foregoing public funding... and its spending limits...and a Supreme Court ruling that allows unlimited spending on political speech from outside groups such as corporations, labor unions, super PACs and nonprofits.
Also contributing: New tech. Massive candidate fields. Social fragmentation. Social media is now a major line-item on campaigns' budgets. Advertising on Twitter, Facebook and Google is a must. It's cheaper than TV airtime, but you need more of it.
Campaigns are investing in analytics, data mining and marketing tactics to find every like-minded and uncommitted voter eligible to participate in their races. Such expenses were small...a decade ago. Driving these costs higher: The unprecedented number of contenders.
Political digital ads already cost more than last time, campaign folks say. Some candidates have spent more than $35 to get $1 back in donations via Facebook because the competition is so fierce. Others are spending six figures to rent donor lists from other campaigns and outside groups. Trump has spent $35 million to find donors online. His campaign says it will have found "40 million to 60 million" potential donors by Election Day, whereas a "good candidate might have four to five million" by then.
Americans' media consumption habits are also driving up campaign costs. Buying local airtime in a congressional candidate's district isn't enough anymore. Fewer and fewer voters watch broadcast TV. But you can't drop TV advertising either. Candidates must spend across all platforms.
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A BULLETIN FROM THE MYSTICAL COUNCIL OF OIL, GAS AND HOT AIR
After the USA striving for decades to become energy independent, it was discovered that energy producers drilling for oil, are actually causing enormous waste of an equally valuable resource—natural gas. Every day, $1.8 million worth of gas (in one area alone—Texas) is simply burned off, polluting the atmosphere, and wasting the energy, because oil companies do not want to pay for pipelines to transport it, or find alternative uses for this valuable energy.
AN INTERIM RESOLUTION DOESN’T SOLVE ANYTHING—AS USUAL
These wasteful events are due to a process called Fracking. The council finally decided that the best interim step was to change that name to Fricking. Then it would decide what to do with all the Fricking energy it is wasting foolishly. The wizards suffering from DC-BOLA argued into the wee hours of the morning about what to do with this valuable substance besides just setting it afire.
WHAT DID THE MEGA DEBATES TELL US? THEIR CONCLUSION
After two separate debates, spanning two evenings each, with ten candidates on stage each night we have learned several important things. With this group of candidates, they would prefer to give illegal immigrants the full benefits that US citizens have—and then some—like free health insurance, and a lot of free other things. The wisest wizard of all it seems, was the esteemed Milton Friedman who published the collection “There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: Essays on Public Policy” which printed the maxim on its back cover. In fact “somebody” pays for anything that seems “free” because everything created requires either time, or energy, or effort, or money from the creator.
Only the charlatans who claim it’s “free” are getting something “free,”—they are getting publicity for being liars, and scam artists of the highest order. The twenty candidates on the debate stage all, at times, sounded like intelligent, reasonable people. That gave me hope for America. Until, that is they started bickering about whose “fee stuff was better,” and who could offer a rationale that that wasn’t ludicrous about why their plans were better. Ironically, the more sane the rationale seemed, the more vigorous the attack by their fellow candidates.
Give it to the politicians, seeking FREE stuff, to give everyone, to pay for all the FREE stuff, which isn’t really FREE after all. Let the Fricking Energy pay for it. Then the wizards retired to the local Inn & Pub to quaff some ale and figure out how else to fool the people into leaving them in charge. You have entered the Kingdom of Make Believe and a tousle-haired, yelling wizard named Bernie Sanders seems to be the loudest voice in the kingdom. It also appeared that one candidate, named Warren, and bitten down on bitter and bad tasting biscuit. Why else would she have that expression on her face?
The coolest head on the stage, stumbled at times, but he kept referring to how well he had served the make-believe former President whose approval rating at 97% among fellow Democrats threatens to defy science and logic and exceed 100% (but then Democrats often exceed that number in election registrations, so perhaps we are in the land of make believe after all. Meanwhile, at another place, the reigning golden-haired Grant Wizard Trump ranted about how great he is for almost as long as the ludicrous debate went on. His followers loved it.
NOT THE END—JUST THE MUDDLE—and an election is still 15 months away.
JOHN
Odds are the next debate for the Dems will only require one night and a stage of ten or less—all of whom agree on only one thing…Grand Wizard Trump the is evil spirit/person “who shall not be named.” (Donaldemort?)
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