Common Sense

 I've had alot of political affiliations in my life: Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Green, Libertarian, Anarchist. But I was reading an article about the good friendship of Justices Scalia and Ginsberg, even though they disagreed politically. Why can't we all do that and use common sense instead of party to solve problems. 

 Sometimes big cities like Seattle will give tax breaks to big corporations to keep them in town. Even small towns like my town of Albany tried giving a tax break to Pepsi but it fell through. Usually what happens is the companies end up moving jobs out of town anyway and you never get any taxes out of them. Why not, if you have $2 million in tax breaks, give 200 local people $20,000 each to start a business. Even if half of them went under, you'd still be better off. Even instead of sending drug dealers to jail, give them money to start a legitimate business. They are smart cookies, a lot smarter than the Boeing execs who couldn't bulid the 737 right and killed over 300 people.

And they have that S.C.O.R.E. organization of retired executives who mentor small businesses. Well, aren't we all snall businesses. Because we're all selling our labor. And you have these people of color getting gunned down; but that is just the tip of the iceberg as minority communities have a hard time getting loans, buying houses and even getting a decent grocery store close to home. Well, why doesn't Mayor Wheeler in Portland get the protesters to team up with SCORE and set up a training program to train the protesters to be mentors to minority citizens and go with them when they go to get a loan, or buy a house so they don't get ripped off. Let's all work together.

Fires

Big fires in Western Oregon. We're not in danger in Albany, but sky is filled with smoke and ash collecting on porch.  My son said everyone will be wearing masks now. When people see a clear and present danger, they have no problem following common sense rules. I've veen wearing a mask, just giving government the benefit of the doubt on this virus thing, but I can see where people get confused and disoriented as messages change every day depending on who you're listening to or when. There are so many media outlets now and they all put their own spin on it. But the people on this planet will survive somehow as we always do, in spite of government ineptitude. Just remember, the average folk in all countries are the same, so don't let media or government demagogues split us apart. We're all in this together.

Tom Seaver

Tough to see Tom Terrific pass on. He was a great one. Tough on Cardinals. One year, maybe 1970, he went against Bob Gibson four times and beat him every time. Seaver was a real class act. He will be missed.

Sept. 1st

The Summer went fast. Even though no one reads these posts, I'm going to try to write something everyday. The question today is why long time Republicans like Lindsay Graham, Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell ally themselves with Trump. My wife thinks they have something to hide. I think it is because they think the voters in their districts have made it clear they need to back Trump or they'll be voted out. It's very strange why they'd sell their soul for Trump. Just shows how shallow they are.