Sinking in quicksand is a very comfortable, yet ultimately fatal, experience. Being pulled out of quicksand is painful as the quicksand tends to stretch and strain the body in its refusal to relinquish us from its vacuum grip.

The quicksand is the Liberal agenda. The rescuing force is the Conservative agenda. The potential victim is the American public.

It is no surprise Liberals are in such a tizzy to disable Conservative policies now that the American public is being drawn toward its freedom; now that folks are recognizing how foolish the Liberal policies are. The Liberal’s power is diminishing day by day. Whatever will they do when more and more people become self-sufficient? What will they do when so very many of them are no longer needed?

Under Obama’s policies, Liberals were happy to deport large numbers of illegal aliens because they were guaranteed a sufficient level of people in poverty to vote for them, but now what do they do? They promote open borders and policies designed to lure the undocumented into the country to supplant those who are finally getting on their feet. Conservative ideology calls for small government. It promotes self-sufficiency. It believes the American Dream goes beyond the Liberal ideal of aspiring toward lower middle class.

Unfortunately for Liberal politicians, if things keep going the way they have been going the last three years, many of them will be without a job and won’t be able to find gainful employment at McDonalds because their minimum wage policies have caused that company to reduce its workforce dramatically. The opportunities that great company used to afford the inexperienced in getting a start in the private sector was torpedoed in the same way so many Liberal policies have backfired. Deceptively honorable goals with 180 degree results.

Can you name a Liberal policy that has been objectively successful in the long term? Think about it. They generally end up looking like the welfare system or dealing with homelessness…things are worse for their policies than ever. Apparently throwing good money after bad doesn’t work. Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. Liberals like to give away fish.

Thankfully, the economy has become stronger, with the lowest unemployment rates in a very long time…due to Conservative policies. This is a mitigating factor for those who want to succeed…but not for the career politicians who’ve tethered their horses to duping able people into believing we, the people, are helpless victims. We are not victims unless we choose to be. We have the power to succeed when Liberal government gets out of our way.

The United States will never ignore the plights of the truly needy and unable. We don’t need to invent those problems for others.

*See previous post.

The advent of personal electronic devices brings with it a few unhappy consequences to their overuse; not the least of which is the reduction in physical activity.

My prior post references how excessive “screen time” on personal electronic devices can foster antisocial tendencies. Along with this unfortunate phenomenon, comes the inability, during that period of physical inactivity, to burn calories effectively. The result is the path toward muscular atrophy and possible obesity.

We all recognize a sedentary lifestyle is contraindicated if someone hopes to remain physically healthy . We scoff at the “couch potato” who spends his days binge watching sports reruns, yet spending hours on a PC or smartphone  is no different. Instaed of kids going down to their local skate park to hone their skills on a skateboard, it’s much easier to do that in the form of a video game. This is especially true of those who need the exercise most.

When I enter a restaurant for a meal, I’m constantly amazed at how many patrons are busy with their faces in their phones as they consume all the calories they have no hope of metabolizing efficiently. I’m convinced that when they leave the restaurant, (after having little socialization with other human beings), they will go elsewhere and remain glued to some form of screen…perhaps TV or desk top computer.

If I were an evil scientist or leader of an adversarial nation, bent on weakening a society to the point of helplessness, I can’t think of a better way than what the tech industry has fostered and promotes.

Am I against technology and its uses? No! I’m against gullible stupidity  and a complete lack of common sense.

Amtrak is doing away with its dining cars. No longer will their rail travelers be able to enjoy the notable fine dining experience which, until now, has rivaled fine restaurants. The reasoning behind this change is that Amtrak has its head up its brass and thinks younger customers are more interested in screen time with their electronic devices than socializing with fellow passengers. Amtrak believes the millennial set is uncomfortable sharing stories and ideas with strangers as they travel and dine together. Perhaps some do. Perhaps the lack of anonymity they find on social media scares them. Many friendly,  non-transfixed patrons, who enjoy experiencing reality, prefer things the way they are.

The discontinuation of the dining cars will save Amtrak money by eliminating on-board kitchens in favor of prepackaged meals. These are being labeled “flexible’ and/or “contemporary” dining options. Couldn’t Amtrak simply add these options to accommodate preferences? Once Amtrak gets a fix averages of who prefers what, the company will see a net savings.

Peter Wilander, who oversees Amtrak’s customer experience, says, “Some people like (the dining car) and view it as sort of a nostalgic train experience,” adding, “Some people, especially our new millennial customers, don’t like it so much. They want more privacy, they don’t want to feel uncomfortable sitting next to people” they don’t know.

Does any of this sound like the promotion of a progressive antisocial agenda? Of course it does. It isn’t healthy and the results of peoples’ escaping into their electronic devices to shoot people and blow them up as blood and body parts fly across the screen, or avoid reality in other ways, can be seen everywhere you look (sometimes on the news). The ability to mingle and converse on a friendly level with new people is dying. As for the “nostalgic train experience”; something becomes nostalgic once it fades into the past. Dining cars aren’t nostalgic, but Amtrak wants to make them so.

This is one case where change isn’t only unnecessary…it is seriously wrong-minded.

In the meanwhile, Peter, find another line of work. Perhaps something that can be phoned in.

*SEE FOLLOWING POST “SEDENTARY”

I just noticed an article by Andrew G. Biggs On MarketWatch regarding whether poor people should even bother putting away money for their retirement. Biggs contends it isn’t really important because statistically retired people are in better financial shape than the working poor due to Social Security. I think he’s probably right about the statistics. I think Biggs is missing the bigger picture.

Biggs also note the “auto-IRA” programs being introduced by states such as California, Oregon, Illinois and Connecticut wherein 3%-5% of earnings would be invested in an IRA for the worker. Workers could opt-out of the program. The opt-out disclaimer makes this an inoffensive idea from which the worker would benefit. Should it become mandatory, the idea would lose all merit in a free market society.

The area of contention I have with Biggs’ assertion that the poor’s saving for retirement lies in what I believe are the main reasons many people remain in poverty and those reasons don’t really have much to do with wages earned. They have to do with ignorance of how money works and how to budget money.

The poor are directly in the crosshairs of some businesses and the economy in general. Borrowing money in the form of credit card debt is far more expensive for the poor. Interest rates are far higher. The same is true for any other borrowed monies. This could be rectified via more compassionate business practices and is no fault of the poor. Their shortcoming lies in the ways in which they spend the money they do have.

Some of the problem lies in where they chose to shop and what they chose to buy. It has been my observation that poor people are much more likely to do their grocery shopping at convenience stores and other outlets which charge more for the convenience of purchasing smaller quantities at a time. They may purchase what is needed for the evening’s meal rather than shopping on a weekly or biweekly basis at a discount supermarket. Their choice of items may include more sugary and fatty snacks, candies and soft drinks than more affluent buyers may choose. I note the obesity problem among the poor as being more prominent than among their middle class and more affluent counterparts. My guess is those issues go hand-in-hand, as do the needs and costs of associated medical care.

Budgeting for retirement is a good start in learning how money works. Guidance on budgeting, whether derived from a governmental source or charitable organizations, would go a long way in allowing the poor to raise their standard of living. I know many people whose paychecks are humble, yet their lifestyles are very comfortable. There are always the people who strike it rich by winning some lottery, just to find themselves in the poorhouse months later due to poor money management.

As to those folks who see themselves as victims of the rich, no amount of instruction or charity or taxation of the rich or middle class will solve their poverty. Unfortunately, their numbers rise as politicians promote the unworkable idea that the poor have little or no personal responsibility for their own circumstances. Some of the folks we elect are those  who truly promote poverty.

For the past few decades congress has been a little under the weather. Most times, the illnesses have presented as representatives being unable to compromise. Still, debates were finally held and things moved along. That was then. This is now.

Congress now has a definable disease. It is the ultra left and socialist influence in Washington, D.C.. Congress has always held both liberals and conservatives. The conservatives in Congress still exist without the existence of elected ultra right or fascists. The liberals still exist and are seriously thwarted by a few communists in Democrat clothing seemingly intent upon overthrowing the United States.

The policies proposed by these problem representatives, if instituted, would be so expensive all citizens would have to turn over their paychecks to the government in taxes and the government would then be required to place everyone on assistance. That is communism in a nutshell.

The far left clearly doesn’t live within the realm of logic. They believe they can change human nature. This is the one thing which made Karl Marx’s ideas non-pragmatic.

Relying on the belief the public is a bunch of infants, these elected, corrupt infants need to be corralled and given a well deserved time out. They are causing unnecessary stress in an otherwise stressful world; and tend to promote the disease of foolishness presenting itself in places like New York, San Francisco and Chicago.

The buck stops with the voters fail to research the candidates for whom they vote, want others to support them or are simply criminals. In other words…LAZY.

The funny thing is that if these far left policies were to be adopted, the lazy peons would be forced to work for only what their masters (the government) felt they needed to survive. That is SLAVERY.