TGIF 10/7/22

Here are your good week/bad week honorees for the week.

I've been a fan of the Boston Red Sox since I was a kid. There's a picture of Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski in our foyer - my husband's favorite player of all time, and mine. This wasn't a good year for us, but it was a good year for a couple of players

• Aaron Judge, of the hated New York Yankees, became the first player in the American League to hit 62 home runs in a single season. He beat fellow Yankee Roger Maris's record of 61, which lasted that many years. 
• And, over the National League, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, joined the 700-home run club, and finished the season with 704 in his career, fourth on the all-time list. Before the season started, Pujols said this would be his last year. As he got closer to the milestone, reporters pestered him on whether he'd really retire if he didn't make it. I'm glad he didn't need to worry about it at the end. 

Major news was breaking in my neck of the woods this week, as Micron announced intentions to build not one, not two, not three, but four chip fab plants in Onondaga County, in Central New York. (Yes, there are places in New York more specific than 'upstate'.) The 20-year, potentially $100B with a B project is the result of a local, regional, state, and federal collaboration, and has the opportunity to be transformative not just for us, but for the state and for the country.

President Biden made news this week when he announced pardons for people convicted of federal crimes for simple marijuana possession, and he's encouraging governors to do the same for folks convicted in their states. In addition, and perhaps more important that the pardons, he's directing his team to review how pot is classified under the law. Right now, it's in the same bucket as heroin, which is (and always has been) ridiculous.

Speaking of President Biden, his administration's getting a lot of letters asking for infrastructure money from House and Senate Republicans, including some who were big critics of the bills that include the funds. Notably, none of the letters mention the authors' criticism of the bills, or their votes against them.

None cite “socialism” or “radical spending.” No one included a paragraph about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy calling the law “rushed and irresponsible,” or Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling the Republicans who voted for it “traitors.” Often, the letters signed by members of the House and Senate appeal using the same terms that they derided Democrats for using, from “economic growth” to “sustainability” benefits.

This is not uncommon, but it's fun - especially since some of these folks are running against the very spending they're so willing to bring home to their district.

And finally, let's close out the list with the abject failure of the IRS to monitor applications of charities for tax-exempt status. How bad is it? One man, a convicted criminal, got approval for 76 charities himself, often using the name of well-known organizations such as the United Way and the American Cancer Society. It's mind-boggling. 

All of this was made possible by stripping down processes a few years ago, at a time of budget and staffing cuts. Which makes all the political handwringing about the Biden administration's funding additional IRS staff to backfill vacancies, provide customer service to taxpayers, and yes, to do the vetting that would prevent this kind of things all the more absurd. 

How was your week? Got any nominations for either of the lists? Drop a comment.

Email of the Week (v21)

I know I've got an in-box full of emails from the Biden team, now the Biden-Harris team, and I thought about incorporating pieces of those in today's post.

But then, there was that lawsuit filed by the NYS AG, Tish James, seeking to put an end to the NRA, and as expected, there was a reaction from the man at the center of it all, Wayne LaPierre.

The lawsuit alleges Mr. LaPierre spent hundreds of thousands of the organization’s dollars on private plane trips, visiting the Bahamas “by private air charter at least eight times” in three years, according to a summary of the suit. He and his family were often allegedly “gifted the use of a 107-foot yacht” by an NRA vendor and he spent more than $3.6 million on travel consultants, including luxury black cars, over two years. He also is said to have secured a post-employment contract without board approval worth more than $17 million.

(For his part, LaPierre apparently argued that he needed to go to the Bahamas on a 107-foot yacht complete with a gourmet chef and two Jet-skis for “security” reasons. He doesn’t need a bigger boat, but he damn sure needs a better alibi.)

And, it should be noted, there was really no surprise about the lawsuit - the investigation had been well-publicized long before James announced her decision. Similarly, there's been ample time for LaPierre to draft the mother of all emails to recruit people like me.

So, without further ado (and without fact-checking the claims included in it), here's your email of the week:

The radical fringe of our country – now openly supported and cheered by anti-gun politicians, elites, and the media – is working to tear America down and tear our nation apart.

Our cities have fallen under a cloud of violence, mayhem, and destruction. Crime rates are soaring.

JOIN NRA!

Anti-gun politicians are shuttering gun shops and doing everything in their power to deny law-abiding Americans our Right to Keep and Bear Arms – and at the same time, ordering the police to stand down in the face of criminal violence.

This is nothing more than a disgusting, brazen attempt by gun-ban politicians to shackle freedom and leave regular, law-abiding Americans defenseless.

And now, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James just launched yet another attack in their war on our freedom – one they’ve been plotting and planning for years.

THEY ARE SUING TO FORCE NRA TO CLOSE OUR DOORS FOREVER.

JOIN NRA!

Even on the campaign trail when she ran for office, Letitia James made it clear that she hated the NRA and everything we stand for.

She vowed that, if elected, she’d use the full power of the Attorney General’s office to silence our voice – even claiming that NRA isn’t a charitable organization but a “terrorist” one instead.

The fact is, NRA is the oldest and most effective civil rights organization in America – representing millions of law-abiding citizens from all walks of life.

JOIN NRA!

But according to Letitia James, NRA members are “terrorists” because we support a freedom enshrined in our Constitution that she personally despises and wants to eradicate from the face of the earth.

And now, she’s deployed the full power of the Attorney General’s office to take down the NRA – with a lawsuit to revoke our New York corporate charter that’s been in effect since 1871 and dissolve our Association.

JOIN NRA!

This isn’t politics as usual. It’s a vendetta – by despotic government officials who believe their power entitles them to muzzle and destroy opposing views.

They’re inspired by pure contempt for the law, and by an unbridled and burning hatred for the NRA.

They know that the minute NRA closes its doors for the last time, our nation’s first and most important line of defense for the Second Amendment will be gone forever.

Make no mistake. NRA is fighting back with every ounce of legal strength we can muster. And others have joined us – even the ACLU – because they know that if the government can weaponize its power to shut down the NRA, it can shut down any organization in America.

But we can’t win this fight without you.

That's why I'm asking you to join the National Rifle Association TODAY.

This weaponization of government power is like something you’d expect to see in Communist China – NOT in the United States of America.

JOIN NRA!

This isn’t simply a fight for the continued existence of the NRA. It’s a fight for the continued existence of American freedom as we know it.

This is a fight for the Right-to-Carry permit in your pocket that you’re sure to lose if and when NRA goes out of business.

This is a fight for the guns in your safe that are certain to be banned and confiscated if NRA is forced to shut down.

And this is a fight for your God-given right to protect your life and your loved ones against violent criminals – who will still have their illegal guns long after you hear that knock at your door.

So please, join NRA today. Add your VOICE, your VOTE, and your MEMBERSHIP to our FIGHT.

JOIN NRA!

Let’s not allow Andrew Cuomo and Letitia James to shutter and silence our great NRA fighting machine that’s done so much for freedom’s cause. Let’s not allow Cuomo and James to destroy our right to peaceably join together under the NRA banner to fight for the Constitutional rights we cherish.

And let’s not allow Cuomo and James to weaponize government – and turn this nation into a place where those in power can shut down any organization or silence any voice they disagree with.

If we win this battle, we will score the biggest victory for freedom in the history of the NRA – and make a mark on the Second Amendment and the First Amendment that will be remembered for generations.

JOIN NRA!

That's why it's important for you to join NRA today. And when you join, you'll receive a $15 or more discount on your dues, valuable members-only benefits, plus a FREE GIFT of your choice.

But the best benefit of all is leading the fight to save your Right to Keep and Bear Arms...a fight we can't win without you.

So PLEASE, let me hear from you today.

We need to fight back against this attack like we’re fighting for the Declaration of Independence and our freedom – because it’s ALL on the line.

In Liberty,

Wayne LaPierre
Executive Vice President

TGIF 4/17/20

To all the nurses and doctors and respiratory therapists, and lab techs and 

pharmacists and housekeeping staff and IT staff and office staff and

cafeteria staff and supply clerks and delivery drivers and every single 

other person who works in the healthcare field, whether at a hospital or 

a clinic or a lab or a doctor's office, who are fighting each and every 

day for us, and caring for our loved ones and holding their hands

when they pass, and who are bringing new life into this crazy world we 

live in, often far from home because they go where we need them to go 

and to the scientists that are working on tests and vaccines and therapeutics; 

and to all the 911 operators and dispatchers and EMTs and police officers 

and firefighters who put their lives on the line to help us when we 

need it most, and keep the peace when nerves are frayed, and to

the public, and to the folks who operate our public

transportation systems, the subways and buses and

trains and help people get where they need to be;

and to all the school bus drivers and teachers and administrators and 

secretaries and aides and janitors, who are feeding children, seniors and 

shut-ins and seniors, and who are doing their best to teach and 

help students find new ways to learn and to continue to thrive, and who

are finding creative ways to let their students know that they

are loved and missed, and that things will be OK; 

and to all of the restaurant workers, the cooks and owners and wait staff

and delivery drivers and cashiers and the folks running food out to us in

curbside pickup spots, the bakers and donut makers and ice cream makers

who are keeping people smiling while they keep a social distance, and to the 

gig workers, the Grubhubbers and Doordashers, who do for some what 

they don't want to do themselves;

and to all of the people working in grocery stores, liquor stores, home stores,

warehouses, gas stations and other essential businesses, and the, UPS and 

FedEx and Amazon drivers, and the men and women of the United States

Postal Service, and all the other people that are keeping us moving and

keeping things moving and keeping checks and bills and catalogs

and cards arriving, and sending them where they need to go;

and to all of the charities, the non-profits, the NGOs that are playing a 

part in keeping people safe, helping cover rent and utilities 

and whatever else is needed, and to the food banks and food pantries 

and their workers who are putting in long, long hours making sure that 

mile-long lines of people can get food, and to the farmers who are donating 

their crops so that others can eat, and to the tens of thousands, maybe millions of people who are donating their time, money, effort, ingenuity, and creativity to help others in ways large and small; 

and, yes, to the politicians, the public servants, the good ones, who sit

and stand in front of microphones every day and tell the truth, who

talk straight, and straight from the heart, who show sympathy and

empathy and humanity as they tell us about more deaths, and more

infections, and more recoveries, and even when they give us more guidance, 

when it restricts us, and who get yelled at by us, and by those who

should be helping, instead of using gratitude as a bargaining chip;

and to everyone who is doing their level best to do what we're being

asked to do, to help protect others, and maybe even ourselves, and to anyone I missed.  

Thank you. 

TGIF, everyone.

Stay safe.

What's a Charitable Heart to Do?

I have found that, among its other benefits, 

giving liberates the soul of the giver. 

~Maya Angelou

Lots of folks give generously of their time or money throughout the year, but this is the particular 'season of giving' that inspires many folks to jump in and give, or give even more than usual, to help others.

Truth be told, it's almost impossible not to hear opportunity knocking, whether it's something you get in the mail, a personal appeal such as the Salvation Army bell ringers, or an 'add this coupon' solicitation at the grocery store checkout. And don't forget television commercials, and newspaper ads (yes, I still read the newspaper).  The hardest to avoid? The multitude of opportunities that bombard us on social media. 

You know the ones: fundraising for national events such as hurricanes and wildfires, which are sadly all too frequent lately; or medical charities like St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, dozens of cancer-related organizations, Planned Parenthood, and the like; animal rescue groups; and of course, many groups that devote their time and resources to active duty military and veterans. There is literally a charity for every cause imaginable, and for some that are unimaginable. 

And what could be wrong with these? A couple of things come to mind, first and foremost being the possibility that what we're seeing may be a scam. We've seen the headlines, right? Below are two from my neck of the woods:

• Police: Parents faked son's cancer to get donations
• Former charity CEO sentenced to prison
  

Some people will do anything to help themselves; other people will do anything to help others, including accidentally sharing fake or outdated information on social media, with the best of intentions. One share becomes five, becomes twenty, becomes fifty - and that's just the start of it. The outcome can be that people possessing a charitable heart end up doing something that won't fulfill their intentions - and that stinks.

How do you know if your desire to do good will result in good being done? Here are some quick options that might cost a bit of time, but will save in the end:

• Fact-check the information. Snopes.com and similar sites are not perfect, but if you enter a few keywords, you're apt to get a sense as to whether something is on the up and up, or if it's outdated information, which is more often the case.
• Look up the sponsoring charity on Facebook; often they'll have information about fundraising or other campaigns they are doing, as well as explanations for why they're not doing something you might see on social media. Check their other social media sites as well.
• Use one of the charity rating sites (CharityWatch, Charity Navigator, and similar) to learn more about the charity; be sure to check for any donor alerts or articles about the charity.

It's hard to escape Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with all of the fanfare, news stories, projections, and all of that. And of course, there's Small Business Saturday, too, designed to get people into the web and bricks-and-mortar doors of small companies.

Maybe a little less popular is Giving Tuesday, but it's a great opportunity to make a difference. On the website, you can search for local or national charities, pick a favorite, and make your donation. In some cases, donations might be matched, so keep your eyes peeled.

A few years back, I made the decision to support local charities instead of national organizations; keeping my charitable dollars local just makes more sense to me, especially when the national charities have so much already, have celebrity support, telethons, infomercials, etc. Meanwhile, local nonprofits sometimes struggle to keep critical programs alive - not just now, but throughout the year. 

If you want to optimize your giving to your desired charity, whether it's local or national, here are some additional things you might consider:

• If you're a PayPal user, consider the PayPal Giving Fund, which allows you to donate from your PayPal account directly to your favorite charity's PayPal account, without any fees. This is available year-round. 
• Reach out to charities in your own backyard to find out what they need, if they're running any campaigns, and so on. If you're not familiar with local organizations, try your United Way website, or go to Great Nonprofits to find some; you can filter by location, issue/cause, and rating. 
• Consider adding 3% to donations you make online to charities (some will ask you if you want to do this), which allows you to pay the fees and your charity to get the full value of your donation.
• If your charity offers a thank-you gift in return for your donation, look for the option to refuse it. This may seem like a small thing, but if everyone did that, the charity might be able to reduce its fundraising costs and use more of your money for the programs you want to support.

So, back to our central question - what's a charitable heart to do? 

Liberate your soul. Give freely to organizations and causes that matter to you, using trusted donation mechanisms. Don't be afraid to trust, but verify, even if it makes you feel 'judgy.'

While monetary donations are always welcomed, and sometimes preferred, 'giving freely' includes giving your time, offering your skills, or parting with your no-longer-needed, gently used clothing, furniture, or home goods. It's giving blood - or even your old car. Here's some info on car donations from the NY AG's office; check with similar agencies where you are.

Do as much good as you can, because all donations matter. Large or small, recurring or one-time, local or national - they all matter. 

TGIF 8/18/17

I've been tinkering with a post all day long, without getting past my own objections to my writing, so I'm throwing in the towel for now on that, and instead will just noodle about some random things tonight.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump's main accomplishment,will be speaking to a conservative group at the end of September.

At Trump's Washington DC hotel.

Now, I've always been squeamish with SCOTUS justices giving speeches to ideological organizations - regardless of the ideology in question; something about that just doesn't smell right. Gorsuch's address to the Fund for American Studies at Trump's hotel comes just days before the first Monday in October, when the Court's term kicks off; their docket includes Trump's travel ban. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth, to go along with the smell.

In contrast, some organizations are coming to the decision that holding big charity functions at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Winter White House and home of the 'Have Your Photo Taken with the Football' event. David Farenthold, a reporter for the Washington Post who has been focusing on Trump businesses and charitable acts (or the lack thereof), is reporting that seven organizations have moved from the 'yes we'll be back' column to the 'no, we won't' column. Groups include the Susan G Komen Foundation, the Cleveland Clinic, the American Cancer Society, the Salvation Army, and the Red Cross, which has cancelled its event all together.

So here's a question for you: how long before the president starts attacking these organizations on Twitter? We all know how he hates when people do mean things to him, and taking high profile events away from his beloved Mar-a Lago sure counts as mean.  This has to be way up there on his list of acts requiring retribution. And not only that, but will his base stop donating to these organizations?

On another topic, it seems historians and others have noticed a striking resemblance between monuments to Union soldiers and to Confederate soldiers.  The Washington Post has a story today that includes these two pictures. I know people have long said that the Civil War had brother fighting brother - can you tell who's Blue and who's Grey?

from the Washington Post

That's Union on the left as you look at the pic, and Confederate on the right. The difference? The belt buckles - US for the North, CS for the South. As the article notes,

To the Monumental Bronze Co. in Bridgeport, Conn., it was all just business. Union or Confederate, a customer was a customer, another $450 for a zinc statue that could mean whatever you needed it to mean. It was a business model that could appeal to president Trump - a highly profitable product that could dress up a drab little town and make many Americans feel great again.

One American who's not feeling great again is Susan Bro. The mom of Charlottesville terrorism victim Heather Heyer, Bro has said in an interview that she has received death threats sand that she's not interested in talking to the president.

It seems the White House has reached out a few times, including the first time which might have actually been during Heather's memorial service; there were others after that as well. Bro was too tired to watch the news, and when she did, her opinion changed dramatically - after all, she had thanked Trump earlier in the week for his kind words. But now?

I hadn't really watched the news until last night and I'm not talking to the president now. I'm sorry, after what he said about my child. It's not that I saw somebody else's tweets about him, I saw an actual clip of him at a press conference equating the protesters...with the KKK and the white supremacists. You can't wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying "I'm sorry." I'm not forgiving for that. 

She also offered some advice for Trump:

Think before you speak. 

And finally, one more touch on the #MAGA theme. Trump has been telling us that Foxconn, the foreign company that makes electronics (including Apple products) in Taiwan, was going to be opening a factory in Wisconsin. Jobs, jobs jobs, he told us - that'll keep us from treating each other like crap, quell the racism and white supremacy and whatnot.

For some reason, when I heard the president going on and on about these great Foxconn jobs, I wasn't thinking we were buying those jobs through a massive corporate welfare program, did you?
Well, that's exactly what happened.

The Wisconsin state Assembly reached a deal on the economic development package for Foxconn, which will be putting its new factory in House Speaker Paul Ryan's district. I kid you not. Anyway, the deal is worth $3B -- billion with a B - in mostly cash incentives. The plant will eventually employ 13,000 people (less than the 50K the company said they wanted to create here) and average wages will be around $54K for the first 3,000 hired.

Oh - those incentives? The break-even point on that investment is not expected to hit for at least 25 years.

TGIF.

Wondering on Wednesday (v91)

Welcome, one and all, people and non-people alike, to tonight's wonder-full adventure!

We've talked about the two different kinds of people - living, breathing ones and bricks and mortar ones a few times before in these pages, but I have to say this is the first time I've gotten to talk about non people, which might mean just Democrats, or it might mean anyone who doesn't like Eric Trump's daddy, I'm not positive.

In an interview with Sean Hannity on The Trump News Network, which was widely reported,  Eric had this to say.

I've never seen hatred like this. To me, they're not even people. It's so, so sad. I mean, morality is just gone. Morals have flown out the window. 

OK, let's stop right there for a second, and think about Trump's father and his nonstop campaign of insults and lies and personal attacks on his opponents during the Republican primary, and against Hillary Clinton in the general election, and against the Khan family, and pretty much everyone else? Lyin' Ted, and Little Marco, and Low Energy Jeb!, and "look at that face" Carly Fiorina?  Or his pussy-grabbing? Or his lying about being a member of a particular church? Or his assailing the Pope? Accusing Lyin' Ted's dad of being involved in killing Kennedy?

Or, how about pretending that Barack Obama wasn't even an American? That was Eric's dad, too. He started down a similar vein with Cruz.  Or how about calling John McCain a loser? That's some love right there, I've gotta say. Maybe not 'hatred like this' but certainly Trump's 'morality' seems long gone... I could keep going with this because there is so much ammunition, but I'm sure you get the drift. Let's get back to Eric's statement.

We deserve so much better than this as a country. You know it's so sad.

Wow - I couldn't agree more - I wonder how the hell that happened?

Next, Eric turns to the Dems.

You see the Democratic Party. They're imploding. They're imploding.

Darn it -- I thought it was the Affordable Care Act that was imploding? Or was it Trump's explanation for firing James Comey? Or was it Donald Trump himself?

They have no message. You see the head of the DNC, who is a total whack job. There's no leadership there. 

Sadly it's hard to argue with that part.

And so what do they do? They become obstructionists because they have no message of their own. They have no solid candidates of their own. They lost an election they should have won because they spend seven times the amount of money that my father spent. 

Now, does anyone wonder who spent more money on the presidential campaign? According to Open Secrets, total spending on Trump's behalf (campaign committee and outside money) totaled $408,396,207 compared to Clinton's $794,875,608, for a difference of $386,479,401. That's a whopping amount of money to spend, much less to outspend someone else. But it's disingenuous for Eric to consider only the amount of money Daddy spent ($66M) and not the totality of the money spent on his behalf.

It's also disingenuous to ignore the incredible value of the free publicity Trump received throughout the primary campaign and the overwhelmingly negative publicity Clinton received. Donald Trump, a man so media hungry that he used to call people pretending to be someone else and talk about himself, knew how to play the media, and play them he did, like a Stradivarius.

But anyway -- back to Eric.

They try and obstruct a great man, they try and obstruct his family, the come after us viciously, and it's truly, truly horrible. 

OK, I've gotta wonder a bit on that last part. Not on the 'great man' part -- every child is allowed to think his or her father is a great man. But obstructing him? How is that happening? Trump hasn't done anything other than sign executive orders (something he said  he would not do) - and nominate a Supreme Court justice. He's been slow in getting legislation sent up, and his biggest obstructionists to date have been Republicans who only supported him so they'd have someone to sign their stuff -- not to implement his stuff.

He has failed to get nominations over for confirmation for literally hundreds of positions, some of them critical. He assumed that once he won, he could get everything he wanted, and is finding out that's not the case. His administration is fraught with leaks and, the leaks are to be believed, massive infighting among senior staffer. And he's played a boatload of golf. He is probably the biggest obstruction to his own presidency.

As to obstructing the Trump family, I can only scratch my head; what does Eric consider obstruction? If he means we don't like their conflicts of interest, or how they play fast and loose with their ethics, or how the Trump and Kushner families are trying to capitalize on the presidency? Or how we have to pay in the tens of millions of dollars to protect the extended family on vacations, and business travel, and so on?

I wonder, is that what he meant? Because if yes, then why yes, we are 'obstructing' the family of the great man. And why yes, our country does deserve better.

And, by the way -- Eric's assault on us non-people happened to come on the heels of an article in Forbes regarding how the Trump Organization at some point started making money off Eric's foundation, which gave millions to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And how the foundation allegedly shifted money designated for St. Jude to other charities. And how Daddy's own charitably-challenged hand was in all of this.

I wonder if Eric sees that morality go flying out the window?

Wondering, on Wednesday (v31)

Blame it on the medication. I'm wondering, this Wednesday, about simple things.  For example:

Ever get a catalog from a place you would never, even on your worst day, go shopping? And you see the big banner on the cover advising you that "THIS MAY BE YOUR LAST CATALOG" and you thank your lucky stars that you'll never have to see it again?  And then a week later, you get another one from the same place? 

Similarly, credit card debt reduction services, which tell you every single day that this is your last chance to take advantage of their services (which you didn't ask for, don't need, and don't want).  I've tried ignoring them but they keep calling, and I've tried 'pressing 3' to be removed from their call list, and I've even pressed one to 'talk to a person who is standing by to help me.'  When I get through to said person, and they ask how they can help, I explain that I'm an adult, capable of paying my own debts, and would like them to stop calling me. Somehow, saying "please stop calling me" has a direct tie to the disconnect button on their end.  How does that work, I wonder?

Completely different subject (again, blame it on the medication):  Why would the "most effective anti-odor/anti-wetness product you can buy without a prescription" go on wet?  Doesn't that seem counter-intuitive?

I'm having a hard time understanding why I hear from the same Alzheimer's charity several times a month - one week I got four separate mailings from them! I know the charity game is tough, but I can't imagine that any organization can afford this kind of outreach.

And finally, which is more shocking, I wonder -- the fact that George Stephanopoulos donated $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation, or that ABC gave him a $105,000,000 contract? 

That's it for tonight.