Saturday, July 22, 2017

DUNKIRK-A MOVIE WORTH SEEING, BUT DID IT MISS THE MARK?

Jenny and I went to see Dunkirk yesterday.  The movie was powerful, and did a more than adequate job of depicting how Britain came together to rescue their stranded troops at the port of Dunkirk.  The timeframe was the beginning of June 1940.  Hitler's Germany had recently invaded and subjugated Poland, with France and Great Britain declaring war on Germany on September 3rd, 1939.  Great Britain had sent over a large expeditionary force of almost 200,000 men and equipment to bolster France's resistance to the Nazi push to take over all of Europe.

The new war technique of Blitzkrieg implemented by German commanders beat the French and the English back to the sea.  By the middle of May 400,000 French and English troops had their backs against the sea at the French port of Dunkirk, completely surrounded by 800,000 Germans, with their artillery and tank regiments at the ready.  It appeared that the entire Franko-English army was going to be wiped out!

Hitler did not think it wise to send tanks and heavy artillery into the marshes of Dunkirk.  He was of the opinion that he would lose too much equipment using that strategy.  Instead, he took the advice of Marshall Goering, and let his Luftwaffe destroy the trapped army.  Goering convinced Hitler that his Air Force would do the job in no time at all.  They did not count on the motivated and feisty English Royal Air Force!

The British people have not yet been told that the situation in Dunkirk is hopeless, but their new Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, is well aware that the war now could be lost!  He has tasked the Royal Navy to rescue as many of their soldiers as they could, and privately thought that if they could get 30,000 of them home they would have done a good job.  He also has tasked the Royal Air Force to back up the effort with as many planes as possible, knowing that the Luftwaffe would be running bombing sorties both on the rescue ships and the men on the beaches of Dunkirk.

By the last week of May 1940, it looked hopeless.  Winston Churchill put out an order to civilians.  The order was that their country needed their boats.  Fishing boats, yachts, coastal runners, anything that floats is needed now to evacuate the troops out of Dunkirk.  Now, the cat is out of the bag, and everyone knows that there is major trouble ahead.

People with their boats came to the rescue, some 700 boats of all kinds in all.  Some making multiple trips to and from Dunkirk to rescue, braving torpedoes and attacks from the sky.  Ships were sunk, lives were lost, but this ragtag fleet got 330,000 soldiers back on English soil by June 4th, 1940.  This ragtag fleet, along with the brave pilots of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, saved Great Britain from total defeat!

This was a great story, and for the most part the movie did an excellent depiction of how Britain came together, and everyday civilians risked life, limb and treasure to come to the rescue.  It also depicted the selflessness of the English sailors and flyers in their efforts to get their soldiers out of Dunkirk.  An amazing effort that anyone watching this movie will be astounded by.

On June 4th, the morale of the British people was in the gutter.  The general population was happy to get their boys back, but the thought was that they were no match for Germany, and that invasion would be coming soon.  A dark malaise descended over the country, and it appeared that their worst fears would soon be realized.

The movie did not focus much on what happened next.  What happened next was incredible!  Their new Prime Minister, Winston Churchill rallied his people with an incredible speech!  The speech put iron in the backbones of every Britain, and rallied them to fight on.  In fact, the speech was most probably the saving grace not only for Great Britain, but for the whole of the Western World!  The movie, on the other hand, did not focus on this turning point, but instead had a rescued soldier grab a paper and read a headline about the speech.  For this reason, I give this movie a B-.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

PROFILES IN COWARDICE

Frankly we all should be disgusted with the present congress.  They do not have the backbone to get anything substantial done.  The Democrats are in "Resist" mode, refusing to cooperate in any productive way.  In fact, they purposely stand in the way of many productive initiatives for no other reason than resisting the leadership of the President.

Republicans, on the other hand, cannot agree on anything substantial.  Health Care is now dead, tax reform is foundering, and regulations imposed on the economy by the previous regime are still in place.  They seem not to understand that voters gave them a majority in the house, senate, and the Executive Branch because they wanted Health Care reform, tax reform, and toxic regulations eliminated so that the economy can grow.  They seem to be backing off all their promises in fear that if they actually did what they promised, that they might alienate future voters.

There is another reason why congress can get nothing done.  It is the way the institution has morphed from a body representing constituents, to a body raising money for their respective parties.  Freshman congressmen are told that their primary job is to insure that they raise at least $18,000 per day for their party.  In short, they have little time to represent the voters that put them in office.  Instead they are professional fundraisers.  They need to raise money to insure that they continue to have their job after the next election cycle.  $174,000 per year and their perks are more important than representing their constituents!

There are a few that actually show the courage of their convictions.  Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Ron Johnson, Andy Biggs, and Mike Coffman are some of the senators and congressmen that stick by their principles and vote their conscience.  Most of the rest are just too busy trying to get reelected.

As voters, we need to get rid of this system that ignores our better interests.  We need to vote these "Do Nothing" representatives out of office and replace them with people of moral substance.  At the end of the day it is us, the voters that have actually let these elected officials run amok, and only we can stop this insanity.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

KEEPING THE RUSSIAN NARRATIVE ALIVE

Donald Trump Jr. is certainly his daddy's son!  He tends to trip over himself and if that doesn't work, then he shoots himself in the foot!

The New York Times makes a big deal of this nothing burger, and instead of letting it just run its course, Junior sends them his e-mail trail depicting every conversation he had about this matter.  That didn't prove there was any wrongdoing, but it definitely reopened the almost closed door on Russian/Trump collusion, yes, even if there was none.  ABC, CBS, NBC, and all the cable news networks owe their higher ratings to young Junior.

Can't these guys just understand that they are never going to be media sweethearts, and when you are in that position, don't fan the fire?


Saturday, July 8, 2017

A WALK INTO THE PAST - VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA


My wife and I have decided to move to the Reno/Carson City area in the near future.  We took advantage of the long July 4th long weekend to visit the area, and fell in love with property in Dayton on the Carson River.  But that is not what I am writing about today.....

Abandoned mine in Silver City
Abandoned mine in Virginia City


The face of Virginia City

We spent some time in Virginia City, one of our favorite haunts in this part of Nevada!  Virginia City is really a step back in time!  The city has been preserved as it was in the late 1800's, complete with saloons, boardwalks, old-time hotels, shops, old mines, museums, and restaurants.  But it is not just the city, but the citizens of the city that makes everything happen on the weekends!

The locals put on their early western outfits, complete with 6 shooters, shotguns, and western boots and go into town to party, and boy do they!  The Bucket of Blood Saloon is a favorite of ours, complete with Country Western band, the famed Comstock Cowboy's who performed their Second Amendment Concert in honor of the Fourth of July Weekend and a big dance floor in case you want to do some stomping!

Last Saturday the Scottish American Military Society staged their "Scottish Takeover of the Bucket of Blood Saloon".  Veterans dressed in Highland regalia, complete with kilts and sgian-dubh's were the order of the day.  When the CW band takes a break, a Scottish piper would march through the Bucket of Blood bellowing rich Scottish military music from his bagpipe.  The local commander of SAMS Post 1864 then would go up and make a speech about their organization, brandishing a Scottish Claymore battle sword being auctioned off that night for a dollar a ticket.  My wife Jenny would then go through the crowd collecting money for the raffle.  She personally sold hundreds of dollars in tickets, and had a lot of fun doing it!  Lot's of cowboys, cowgirls, ladies, and gentlemen dressed in period costumes bought from her!


Jenny and I are looking forward to the day when we can walk down Virginia City's boardwalk with our boots on and 6-guns strapped to our waist!  That day is coming soon.  Stay tuned!

The drive down the mountain back to Reno always includes a stop in the Highlands of Virginia City to see if we can catch a glimpse of any wild mustangs.  We weren't disappointed.  We found a small herd with a brand new colt, still wobbly on it's little legs.  So good for the heart that we can still find a bit of the wild west left, especially for us Southern California city dwellers!
New baby to add to the herd
This baby was so new, it's little legs will still wobbly.


The last of the Wild West, please support efforts to keep our national treasure safe!



Thursday, July 6, 2017

EBT-WHAT DOES IT REALLY DO?


The foundation for SNAP (Supplimental Nutrition Assistance Program) was implemented in 1933.  It was a "New Deal" program that assisted farmers during the depression where the Federal Government bought food from farmers and redistributed the food to the poor.  This program was called the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act).  This did save many farms from bankruptcy and greatly assisted hunger relief programs at the local level.

The Food Stamp Plan was another "New Deal" program implemented in 1939.  Food stamps were made available to low-income individuals and were only to be used for specific nutritional foodstuffs, not for luxury items or alcohol or tobacco. Individuals were required to buy booklets of orange stamps, with each stamp worth $1.  For every orange stamp purchased, individuals were given a blue stamp for free that was worth 50 cents.  The program was discontinued in 1943, as World War 2 raged and the subsequent economic boom greatly decreased the amount of people living below the poverty line.

In 1961 President Kennedy brought back the food stamp program.  The stamps still had to be purchased, and were redeemed for nutritious foodstuffs only.  In 1964, the Food Stamp Act was passed as part of Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society Program".  It outlawed discrimination for qualification for the program by race, color or creed, but was basically the same old program that had been around for years.

The program funding was cut drastically during the Reagan administration.  Also, participation in this new program now officially called SNAP was relegated to the states, with the federal government matching funds.  The new regulation also called for individuals to be eligible for participation only if their income is less than 185% of the poverty line.  This new program had the effect of drastically cutting eligibility and participation rates.

In the early 2000's, the program changed once again.  Eligibility was extended to immigrants and children 18 years old and younger.  This spiked participation rates dramatically.  EBT cards were introduced, allegedly for the purpose of eliminating fraud and reducing the stigma attached to using government benefits.  The card looks like a debit card from any bank, and is used in much the same way.
Local carwash with two signs showing acceptance of EBT cards
Same carwash, not only can you get your car washed, but you can get cash to spend anyway you want.


45 million Americans are now carrying EBT cards.  The Obama administration actually paid for advertisements to entice people to sign up for SNAP, along with eliminating the work requirement.  With 14% of the population now on this program, the advertisements and work requirement eliminations were very successful.  Allegedly the program is limited to retailers that sell nutritious food, and does not include purchases of luxury items, alcohol, tobacco, or any non-nutrition related services.
Perfect example of non-nutrition related food stuffs, at local liquor store.
Fast food using EBT, the cost of one fast food meal, can feed an entire family if food was purchased and home made.

Today, carwashes, liquor stores, restaurants, casinos, and banks proudly advertise their acceptance of EBT cards.  At banks one can get up to $100 in cash daily.  You can get your car washed, a pack of smokes, 6 pack of beer, or a casino bankroll in Las Vegas with your EBT card.  In fact, over 20% of EBT purchases are "out of state" at luxury resorts, cruise ships, hotels and restaurants.
Every liquor store we drove by had a sign advertising acceptance of EBT cards.

This program is not doing what was originally intended.  The abuses are rampant, and something needs to be done.  Further, there is no reason why 45 million Americans need to be on this program.
Additionally, there does need to be a stigma for using such a program, and food stamps, although embarrassing, did serve that purpose.

Some states like Alabama are now requiring able bodied people to search for and to accept work in order to be eligible for SNAP.  Alabama has shown that this requirement has lessened their participants by 85%.  Similar results are shown with other states that are embracing work requirements.  This is a step in the right direction.  There also needs to have purchase restriction enforcement on what can actually be bought with the program.

Sources:
Fox News July 4, 2017 - Food stamp rolls plummet in states that restore work requirements.
Los Angeles Times Oct. 4, 2010, Jack Dolan author - $69 million in California welfare money drawn out of state.
SNAPtohealth.org - The History of Snap.
EBT Abuse:  The Cash-for-Drunkards Program - Jan. 11, 2013 by Michelle Malkin.
Watchdog.Org - EBT fraud and abuse:  Looking past your state - July 24, 2012 by Todd Shepard