How Jim Rice Cured Me of Racism

I grew up around a lot of racism. We were a neighborhood of mostly white, working class Catholics of French Canadian origin. The N word was used often and not ironically. Awful Jewish jokes were told involving ashtrays. The term Puerto Rican was used as a term that meant someone couldn't follow the rules of a game or a lazy person. Stereo-types of the Polish, Asians and Portuguese were accepted as truth. I found myself buying right into it, because I was a kid I didn't know better. I remember an internal dialogue of trying to figure out what it all meant and how true it was. I didn't really have anyone strong in my life to set me straight.

At the time, in the 1970's, the media didn't help. We watched a lot of television, which was three networks of mostly crap with a lot of racisms mixed in there (along with a lot of other isms). We had the natives on "Gilligan's Island," the natives on "F Troop," or the Chinese on "Kung Fu." In serious shows, black characters were pimps and prostitutes like Sugar Bear on "Baretta." Occasionally we had a show that had a diverse cast of complex characters, I remember "Barney Miller" being one of them. The one real thing we had on television, that was not scripted, was sports. In my house, it was baseball.

1974 was the year Judge Garrity ordered Boston schools to be desegregated and forced busing began. For four years, he was kept under guard for his safety. Protesters burned him in effigy outside his home. Boston was a very racist city. In 1975, the Boston Red Sox were in the World Series. On that team were two amazing rookies, Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, often called the Gold Dust Twins for their able to cover each other in the outfield. Lynn won rookie of the year that year, Rice placed second. Lynn also won Most Valuable Player and Rice was voted third. They were an amazing team. If not for the slightly more amazing Cincinnati Reds (aka the Big Red Machine), they would have won the World Series. One year later, 1976, was the year I became a Red Sox fan. I knew nothing of their history.

The Red Sox, historically, was a very racist team. There is no denying this. They had early opportunities to draft Jackie Robinson and Willy Mays and did not do so because of their race. They were the last team to integrate, doing so in 1959 with Pumpsie Green twelve years after Robinson joined the Dodgers. This nonsense was so bad that at one point, they wouldn't even allow anyone on the team who wasn't Catholic. This explains why they were so bad for a long time. Their losing ways was mostly their own making. They were not alone in this, every team in Major League Baseball was doing it, but the Red Sox were one of the worst. It is our cross to bear as Red Sox fans. 

I didn't know it at the time, because children have no sense of history, but when Jim Rice became a star in Boston sports, this was a big deal. He was the first black star in Boston. He was the first of many to come. He was not just an incredible player and future Hall of Famer, but he was a gentleman and truly gentle spirit. Any time I heard a racist comment among my friends and at school etc., my go-to-black-man was Jim Rice. I'd ask myself is that true about Rice. Of course not. How could say that this guy was lesser than anyone else? This guy:

That was that. From there on, racism was nonsense, an embarrassment really. His soft spokenness, his classiness, on and off the field, his friendship with Lynn, Yazz and Dwight Evans, his amazing athleticism ... that's all it took.  I was cured. 

In 2016, I mourned David Bowie by playing nothing but Bowie for at least a week. My wife was a little irritated particularly with the obscure stuff. When Bob Dylan passes, I have no doubt, much to my son's displeasure, I will react in kind. When Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007, I walked around saying things like "So it goes" for at least a week. When Woody Allen dies, I foresee a moviefest even though his private life seems ... well... disgusting. Along with Walt Whitman, all their works have been formative in how I think, see the world and lead my life. Yet not a tear will be shed when they pass. I am not so sure about Jim Rice. I dread the day I hear about him passing; I get weepy just thinking about it. 

Why Pro-Gun People Always Bring Up Chicago

In reading old blog posts of mine, I have come to realize that posts with lots of stats don't read well. So I have been trying to keep them to a bare minimum which is really difficult when it comes to the subject of gun laws. Gun laws work, we know this. Lets keep it simple, this could be shown with two lists. 

Here are the US states with lowest rates of firearm mortality in 2021 according to the CDC: 

CA, CT,  HI, MA, NY, NJ & RI. 

Here the states with the strictest gun laws: 

CA, CT, HI, IL, MA, NY, NJ & MD.

Notice the cross over? Ya, I am saying it ... strict gun laws bring down the incidents of murder.  Duh! This is pretty obvious. But yet, when I talk to gun rights people, they always say the opposite that gun laws don't work. They always use the example of Chicago.  They usually don't mention New York, LA or Boston all of whom have historically low gun crime. 

On the surface, they are correct. Gun laws aren't working in Chicago. Cook County, Illinois and Chicago have some of the country's highest rate of gun death including suicide and homicide. Chicago's has 25 gun murders per 100,000 citizens But it is a lot more complicated than that. Both Chicago and Illinois have very strict gun laws, but look at Chicago on the map, it on the edge of Illinois very close to Wisconsin and Indiana. If you want to buy a gun, legally, you just need to make a short drive to Milwaukee (murder rate of 32), Gary (64) or South Bend (23).

Detroit (45) has the same problem but it is even worse because their state, Michigan, has lax gun laws so Detroiters just need to go to the suburbs to buy their guns. 

In comparison, someone who wants to buy a gun legally in New York City, can't go to the suburbs or the closest states (CT & NJ). They would have to drive to PA or VT which is a significant effort. They will either make a road trip, buy the gun illegally or not buy it at all.  The last option is what we are hoping for a potential mass shooter.  The goal of gun laws is not to stop all murders, which would be impossible, but to stop some of them. They are succeeding   

By the way, Jackson Mississippi has the highest murder rate in the country of cities over 200,000 people of 69 per 100,000 people. It is very easy to buy a gun in MS. Those liberal cities where the politicians are supposedly so soft on crime are very low. The four largest city in Texas have the higher murder rates than New York (3), LA (7) or Boston (7): Houston (15), Dallas (13), San Antonio (9) and Forth Worth (9).

When I was kid, both new New York and Boston were known for their violent crime, but a lot has changed since then.  They are safe cities and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Congratulation to everyone who has worked so hard to make this true.

I apologize for all the stats. I was originally worse, much worse. Through the magic of editing I kept to a bare minimum.

Future of Local Journalism and the Collapse of the Fourth Estate

Disruption (or creative destruction) in an economy can be a great thing and an awful thing simultaneously. When the automobile was introduced, this disrupted the livelihood of thousands of people who sold and serviced horses (horse-breakers and blacksmiths) and wagons (wheelwrights). While they all lost their jobs and businesses, thousands of businesses and jobs were created making cars, paving roads and selling gas. Disruption is inherit in capitalism. Technology is not the only disruptor, but it is the most common. The biggest disruptor in my life has been the introduction of the internet and ecommerce. Almost every industry has been affected: music, education, retail, movies and gyms among others. 

Brick and mortar stores are being killed by Amazon, movie theaters are being killed by Netflix and music stores almost don't exist anymore because you can buy a song instantly on your phone or stream for free. Jobs and careers have really been shuffling for the past decade or two. I have benefited by this as well. I have been able to have a high-tech job and tele-commute to NYC each day while living in my rural home in northern Vermont. This wasn't possible twenty years ago when I moved to VT. 

Of all these disruptions, the one that bothers me the most is what is happening with local newspapers. Local news is expensive. Newspapers have to employ reporters who attend town and city counsel meetings, local events, sporting events, car crashes and fires. This is, of course, in addition to their overhead and the expenses of producing the paper. Traditionally their revenue streams are the selling of advertisement space and classifieds. When I was young, if you were looking for a job or looking for a kitten, you had to pick up the local paper. Now you can go on Craigslist for free. Craigslist devastated the classified revenue for papers, which in turn greatly reduced circulation. When circulation is down, it is harder to sell advertisement. Collapse ensued. 

In 2000, the advertising revenue for newspapers peaked to over $70 billion in the US. In 2018, it had dropped to under $15 billion which is lower than the 1950's. As of 2019, 65 million Americans live in a county with one or zero local news sources. How do citizens stay informed if there is no local news source? How can they vote confidently? How do they find out about businesses that is polluting their water or a politician that is stealing from them? They don't. Meanwhile, your local clueless jackoff has a YouTube channel, he's "telling it like it is" and giving it out for free. People are not just uninformed, they are misinformed. 

Some papers are hanging in there with a digital presence, but digital advertising revenue is still very low. There is also an increase of digital subscription in the past few years. Four in ten people under the age of 35 have at least one digital subscription. Young people are figuring out that paying for media means you get better information. Regardless, the outlook for local news to remain local is not good. When is a local paper not local? 

Since its founding in 1906, Gannett has been going around buying up small newspapers and other media markets. In addition to owning US Today, they currently own 260 daily local newspapers and about 300 national papers. These including The Providence Journal, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Detroit Free Press, Indianapolis Star, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, El Paso Times etc.  They own media in 47 states and Guam. This is a lot of power. Gannet is not immune to circulation problems. They are losing circulation even higher than non-Gannett papers. Here in VT, our "local" Gannett paper, The Burlington Free Press, circulation is down more than 36% since 2017. How long can they can survive with numbers like that? 

The Void: In capitalistic societies, the voids left by failing industries and businesses are often filled quickly but not always in desirable ways. The New York Times this week ran an article about how pay-to-play organizations are filling this void. Political and/or corporate PR groups are paying free lance reporters to write articles supporting their agendas. That agenda could be to promote their business or attack their opponents in an election. These articles are then sold to less than credible "news" papers and not labelled as advertisements, which they should be (according to the Federal Trade Commission). Here is a list of them organized by state. You may recognize some of them. Perhaps you get one of them free in the mail or perhaps, you pick one up outside your local market. They look legit because they might have a real article about your local high school soccer team or a local fire, but they are not. In 2010, there were five of these. Now there are over 1200. Something you should always remember, when you get something for free, it is not the commodity, you are. You are being manipulated into voting for someone or buying a product.  It is not journalism that you are reading but an advertisement. 

On a more positive note, David Plotz, one of my favorite podcast journalists, has created a new venture called City Cast. Print may be dead or dying, but podcasting is thriving. He is trying to create a network of local podcasts in cities around the country where the void is at its worst. I listen to podcasts all day at work. When I jump in my car, I put them on. We listen in bed. If there was a local podcast that I liked, about my town or larger local towns, I'd be listening. I feel so clueless about local news and politics. He is trying to get this going, guess what? ... he's hiring.  Contact him if you are interested. I contacted David on Twitter to find what towns they are going to start with and I haven't heard back yet. I assume medium size cities like Portland or Cincinnati. Regardless, I am excited about this. Hopefully it is coming to your town soon. 

Why Are Liberals So Bad At Branding?

You know you have a bad slogan when you have to explain it. It should make sense to you immediately. Like this one: Make America Great Again! We may not like what it says, but we understand it. We are not great now. We used to be great. Lets get back there. When your message is simple, primal (borderline racist) and hasn't changed in 100 years, messaging is easy. When your message is more nuanced and challenging, messaging is not so easy. Liberals have the harder task and they don't always succeed.

Black Lives Matter is a perfect example. People don't get it immediately. It often needs explaining. This is what I hear a lot, "All Lives Matter." Of course, they do. When someone says this, they are obviously missing the point. Some white people think that we are saying their lives don't matter. I assume it is one of these people stealing my BLM sign off of my lawn. The message is supposed to say that we acknowledge that there is a problem with racism, particularly in policing, in this country. We stand by our black friends and the oppression needs to stop. This is just too long for a sign. How about Black Lives ALSO Matter. The "also" makes it more clear, it does seem to fall flat. Maybe there would be less resistance to it if it was more inclusive. A lot of white people suffer from oppression from police. Pulling them into your plight may be more helpful. 

Another slogan that needs explaining is Defund the Police. Of course, we don't want to completely cut the budget of the police. I can't imagine what sort of mess our cities would be under those conditions. Currently, the police do too much. They direct traffic, mediate domestic abuse, investigate murder, chase bank robbers, respond to noise complaints .. the list is too long. No one has all the skills needed for this job. By defund the police, we mean to divvy up some of these responsibilities elsewhere and adjust the budget accordingly. Perhaps social workers could be dispatched to domestic violence situations instead of the cops. Seattle has volunteers policing the "protest zone" which seems to be working. The other problem is that cities are using their police as a revenue stream. Seven percent of Chicago's revenue comes from tickets ... not the police department's revenue .. the city's revenue. Yeow!  This is such bullshit. It is usually the poor they go after, because the wealthy have the resources to fight back. If you ever wonder why people hate the cops, here is Exhibit A.  

I know I have said it here before. I am a 50+ year old white man and I have yet to have a positive interaction with the police. Ever. When I was young, I seemed to have a target on my back and I really didn't make a lot of trouble. I was a bit obnoxious but I barely broke the law. I smoked pot, that was about it. I can't imagine how it would have been if I were black. Even now, as an older man, cops are rude and seem to be on a power trip no matter what the situation. A situation would have to be very bad for me to call the police. I have never called them, about anything, because I just don't trust them. I'd rather take care of problems on my own. Things are much better since I have left southern New England but it is still ingrained in me to be scared when I see a cop.  The bad part of town doesn't scare me. Seeing gang colors don't scare me. See a police cruiser does. That is just wrong. 

Few things make me shutter more, than when I think about how militarized our police have become in the past few years. I didn't need to see George Floyd killed to figure out we needed a change. I am glad others are finally figuring it out.  

The Longterm Social Effects of this Crisis

The greatest long term effect of the Spanish Flu pandemic in the early 20th century was its effect on World War I. It hit Germany and Austria before it hit France and England giving the Allies early advantages and the Allies eventually won the war. This flu is often considered the "forgotten" pandemic because there was so much else going on in the world at the time, not just a World War but other major illnesses also hit the world around the same time: yellow fever, diphtheria, cholera and typhoid.  History classes often overlook the diseases of this era because of the war. The Spanish Flu lasted 36 months and killed 50 million people. We all hope this pandemic won't be as devastating. At the writing of this sentence, the world is at three million and counting.

The long term effects I am talking about in this post are the social ones. The Spanish Flu left people with a lingering lack of trust in strangers. Strangers carry disease. This lead to isolationism and xenophobia giving way to fascists like Hitler, Mussolini and Franco. Of course, there were other factors, like a horrendous war, but the flu contributed to it. Anti-Semites have long linked Jews to the plague. Hitler famously referred to them as "racial tuberculosis" in "German lungs."  Such vile terms were more effective with the memory of the Spanish Flu fresh in their memory. .

It is impossible from this vantage point to predict the long term effects of COVID-19 on our society. Most lasting societal changes usually come as a surprise. Henry Ford had no idea that the mass production of cars would lead to more teenage pregnancies and air pollution. Did the flood of boys without fathers after World War II bring us rock and roll?  Did Roe v. Wade help bring us low crime rates decades later due to the lack of unwanted children? These are thought experiments. Let's do it, a COVID-19 version.

Celebrity: Celebrities have been showing us who they really are in this crisis. Maybe we'll finally stop making otherwise stupid, careless and mega-privileged people famous. Maybe we'll be more selective on who gets to be famous or perhaps put them on a lower pedestal. Of course not all celebrities are so bad. The smart ones know how to control themselves and shut up. You notice that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt haven't stuck their feet in their mouths, but the hyper-narcissists and morons surely are.

• Ellen DeGeneres (aka Queen of Nice) compared her quarantine to being in a prison while she lives in a beachfront palatial mansion 
• Evangeline Lily urged people to ignore social distancing rules and isolation using terms like "Marshall Law" on Instagram which she obviously doesn't understand nor know how to spell. 
• Actress Jaimie King released a video thanking the virus 
• Gwyneth Paltrow is tweeting about what the best dildo to use during isolation, selling them as well. Some poor warehouse worker is risking his/her life to get someone a dildo. 
• Sam Smith tweeted the stages of his meltdown while he had to deal with isolation in his $15 million London mansion
• NBA player Ruby Gobert touched a bunch of mics at a media event as a joke. A few days later, he tested positive.
• Gisele Bundchen posted a picture of herself in front of a tropical waterfall meditating.
• High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens suggested that people dying is "like, inevitable."
• Bette Middler is figuring out what her appliances do, no joke.

While many of their fans are living in tiny apartments, some of them under duress ... we get a crash course in how crudely unequal our society is. Our doctors, who keep us alive, don't live this way. Entertainers do. Will income inequality become an even bigger issue after this crisis?

Entertainment: When next year's television shows roll out, will they be including the pandemic in their story lines?  Do we want them to? Do you prefer them to have more of an escapist quality? Will we get to see the family on "This Is Us" in social isolation ... where will the plot line come from. We get to watch them binge watch other shows and argue ... not so fun.

Concert venues will be devastated by this crisis.Our days of hanging shoulder to shoulder in the dark listening to our favorite bands jam may be a thing of the past. They will be the last businesses to be allowed to open and for all we know, may not be allowed to fill them in like they used to.  This means that entry and/or beer will be more expensive ... I cried a little bit while writing this.

Environmental: Quarantine is only a few weeks old and already we see the environment recovering. Factories are idle, planes are grounded and commuters are staying home. We have cut carbon emissions worldwide by 8% and energy use is down in some places by 25% of last year. Some cities are reporting seeing constellations for the first time in decades. With the city streets desolate, wild life is returning to some areas that haven't seen them in decades. We will return to our old ways soon enough but this quick recovery might really inspire people to change. Stay home, use less, use mass transit, telecommute ... these are easy to do for some of us. We might just get into the habit.

Cities around the world have closed more than 1,000 miles of streets to cars for the use of bicycles. How much of that is going to be permanent? Seattle has already announced that 20 miles of their new bike only roads will be permanent. If the locals like it, it will stay. So if this is happening in your area. Contact a politician to keep it. They are probably desperate to find ways to make citizens happy right now.

Hate: Hate crimes are already a lot higher for anyone that looks Chinese. Trump hasn't helped with this. "Go back to China," "Kung Flu" and "Wu Flu" are all things being said to and about people from Far East origins. Hate will only subside until we get rid of the creep in the White House, but it will never go away permanently. The protests in Michigan and other states have been organized by white supremacy groups. Many of the people showing up don't even know this. I hope this is all temporary, but isolation breeds contempt and xenophobic (the evil twin of isolationism) is not far behind. I fear these people will get more powerful the longer this quarantine lasts. Here is a list from the Anti-Defamation League of anti-Asian incidents in America since this crisis began.

Sporting Events: Maybe we'll have standing ovations for doctors, scientists and other essential workers during our sporting events rather than for the military. Instead of players wearing khaki to honor the troops, maybe they will wear smocks to honor the real heroes, and not those who make invasions possible. We live in a violent nation, with a violent past. It would be nice, if our priorities could finally change.

Parades: Maybe our parades will celebrate these essential workers as well.

The Work Place: A lot of mangers are going to realize after this is over that remote employees are quite productive. I have been doing it for twelve years now and it has its distractions but compared to the distractions of being in the office, it is nothing. No one is coming into my office to talk about the game or the weather, and I have no commuter traffic to stress me out.  Telecommuting is the way to go. Those who can do it, will. Office spaces will become like empty warehouses, and food delivery, during work hours, will spike to new heights. This is not going away.

Teachers: The only real distractions, for a lot of us, these days is that kids are at home. Will there be more respect for our teachers now that many parents had to teach their own kids and they getting first hand knowledge how difficult their angels really are to teach? or how difficult teaching actually really is? I'm guessing that the snow day will no longer exist now that we know teaching can happen remotely. Teachers should have a national strike in the Fall, demanding more pay.  We'd all freak to think that we'd have to have our kids home anymore after this Spring and cave immediately. 

Essential Workers: Will people have more respect for essential workers? I am not talking about me, someone who supports a hospital's software system. But those who bring us food, stack shelves, drive trucks and buses. They are not staying home and they are keeping us alive. I am guessing once this is over, we will go back to paying them badly and not providing them health care. That's the America I know. Hopefully, I am wrong. But with scum like Trump and his loyalty cult in charge, I don't see how change for the essential worker could be possible. Can you imagine how bad it would be without Obamacare (aka the ACA)? And yet, Trump is still busy trying to repeal it. I'm guessing (and hoping) that Medicare For All will get a big boost from this crisis, but I have been very wrong about this type of thing in the past. I did predict a landslide victory for President Gore.

Trade: Isolation will raise its ugly head again. I am expecting that domestic manufacturing will make a comeback. We still have factories in the US now, but not like in the past. I expect factories, mostly with robotic workers, will increase. Buying American will give people a sense of security and consumers will pay more for that feeling ... but not a lot more.This come back will be short.lived. Businesses will find new and creative ways to trick people that something is made domestically and eventually, they will forget all about this.

The Economy - What industry will recover? Will people go to gyms anymore now that they know how easy it is to do the trainer thing on-line. I want to know how my favorite restaurants are going to survive this. Restaurants have such a thin profit margin. How could they possibly survive this? I have a friend who is a contractor who did two hours of work in April, doing a training on Zoom. The state of Vermont used that as a reason to reject him for a small business grant. You think quarantine has been crazy, the recovery is going to be completely nuts.

After the Spanish Flu, if you had the flu and survived, this gave you economic benefits over others who had not. At this point, we don't know if having COVID-19 makes you immune. If this does end up being true for COVID-19, I could imagine that anyone that works with the public would have the advantage in a pre-vaccine economy.

Privacy: Those in charge know that when we are in crisis, we are more likely to accept power grabs... think of the Patriot Act after 9/11. Some authoritarian countries are using this crisis as justification to monitor their citizens. I can imagine this will get worst before it gets better. Expect more invasion of your privacy. It will be justified under the moniker of public health.

New Cold War: Will this crisis spark a new Cold War with China. Should they pay for their negligence in the matter of the spreading of the virus and the lack of openness? As soon as healthcare workers started getting sick, they should have told the world about it. There was a three week period that we could have stopped this pandemic or at least saved many lives. Perhaps they should reimburse the world, but they won't so why push it? It also sets an awful precedence, especially with the recent discovery that the Spanish Flu started in Kansas. If we push this, they may just close their doors to the world. You think a world where is China is open is a bad thing, wait until they shut their borders!

Politics: Maybe we'll stop electing politicians who are ignorant of science. Germany elected a Chancellor that has a PHD in Chemistry who wrote her thesis on quantum chemistry ... the US elected a President who doesn't understand and rejects evolution. Guess which country has been better prepared for this crisis?  Perhaps the Republican Party's war on science will finally come to an end.

Trump missed a golden opportunity. Great presidents emerge in the midst of great crises. FDR with World War II and The Depression, Lincoln in the Civil War ... we remember them as great leaders for taking us forward. We barely remember Hoover and Buchanan ... because they faltered. This disease's second wave will be hitting us badly right around the time of the presidential election. Hopefully, people will remember Trump's disastrous performance and lack of leader while they go into the polls. 

The countries doing the best during this crisis are the countries with the strong safety nets: Germany, South Korea and Taiwan. The countries with libertarian bents, the US and the UK, are fairing badly. Will we learn from this lesson? COVID-19 is the first truly global event in human history. Perhaps it will make the world closer.  It is hard to be believe when yahoos with guns are storming statehouses.But maybe this crisis will just scare enough people to move us along on this matter. Government can be a good thing with the right people in charge.

Hindsight 2020: November 2019

Thank you for helping me think this election through. This is a difficult decision and I wouldn't be able to make an intelligent decision without someone to talk to. I am coming to the conclusion lately that Republicans are even more disgusting than I thought they were. The president's behavior is so repulsive and their lack of getting behind the impeachment only shows how little respect they have for the US Constitution which they claimed to love so dearly when President Obama was in office. Trump seems to use the Constitution as toilet paper on a daily basis and most of them stand behind him waiting to flush. Where is the civil outrage?

Impeachment is a not a gleeful thing. It is something we do with many regrets. It is an admission of failure as a society.  But it is something that needs to be done and those who have had the courage to go forward with it, especial those in his own party, should be thanked, and certainly, not punished. They are simply doing their job.

In the meantime, we turn to the election for a more civil way to replace an incompetent, ill-prepared and uncivilized leader. The impeachment process affects the election in two ways:

1. The amount of media coverage of the impeachment takes away from the candidates. This badly affects the lesser known candidates. 
2. Once the process gets to the Senate, the six Senators (among our 18 candidates) will have to spend a lot of time putting the president on trial. The other candidates (the governors, the mayors, reps, ex-cabinets members, business people and VPs) will still be out there campaigning.

Both of these advantage Biden. He is the only candidate that still beats Trump in polling in all the battleground states. 

With Joe Biden becoming the king of gaffes and the Democrats being too afraid to go as far left as Warren and Sanders, I expect other moderate candidates to get a boost every time Biden opens his mouth. Klobuchar, Harris, Buttigieg ... here is where you make your move. If they were considering moving their queen into their opponents' pawns at some point, that moment would be now. Buttigieg is already polling higher than Biden in Iowa. He might just be the candidate to pull ahead of the field.

Something we should all remember whenever Giuliani talks about Biden. It was Biden that torpedoed his presidential campaign back in 2008 ... a noun, a verb and 911 comment.  Giuliani obviously has a vendetta against him.  I don't believe a word he says about Biden.

Dropping out:
Beto O'Rourke: In 2018, when he ran for US Senate, O'Rourke set a record for the number of votes ever cast for a Democrat in the state of Texas and he lost to the very awful Ted Cruz. This got him a lot of press outside of Texas and a lot of popularity. Some of us thought he was the next Obama. He has suspended his campaign. We'll see him again.Texas will be blue soon.

Our field:
Congressman Ryan did not make the debate stage this month, but remains in the race.

Governor Bullock didn't make the cut for the debate either.He talked at the Politics and Eggs series in New Hampshire.

Both Congressman Sestak and Mayor Messam didn't make the numbers for the debate either. I am not sure why they are wasting everyone's time. If they don't have the name recognition and support by now, they won't by election day.

Congressman Delaney was interviewed on Fox Business.

Vice President Biden wrote an Op Ed in the Washington Post. He also released his gun violence prevention plan. He was interviewed on 60 Minutes.

Congressman O'Rourke appeared on NPR's Off Script. This was before he dropped out.

Senator Booker releases a plan to reduce childhood poverty He also introduced the Break the Cycle of Violence Act in Congress.

Secretary Castro released his labor policy plan,  a plan for foster children and a criminal justice platform.

Mayor Buttigieg released his prescription drug plan and a criminal justice plan. He appeared on NPR's Off Script.

Senator Sanders released a plan for campaign finance reform.

Senator Harris released her family leave program.

Senator Warren released a plan to assist people affect by climate change.

Mister Yang was on Freakonomics, one of my favorite podcasts, last January. I just heard it so I am sharing it now.  He is fascinating. He also appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show to talk about foreign policy:

Senator Bennet released an affordable housing plan.

Power Rankings:

I count 18 candidates. If I had to rank the Democrats in order of my personal preference, I would do so in the following manner: 

Biden

Buttigieg

Warren

Klobuchar

Booker

Sanders

Bennet

Harris

Gabbard

Delaney

Ryan

Bullock

Yang

Castro

Messam

Sestak

(I probably won't vote if the people below get the nomination)

Steyers

Williamson

I expect this to change.

Hindsight 2020: September edition

A recession is coming. The only good thing about a recession is that a lot of people will blame Trump. Even though Presidents have little effect on the economy, it is one of the biggest factors that help determine whom people vote for. This could also have the opposite effect. The recession could take awhile to get here and people could blame the new president for the bad economy. Remember how some people blamed Obama for the mess he inherited? It could really stunt a new administration even if we elected the best possible candidate.

In watching the debates in the past two months, it appears that these candidates are trying very hard to lose the general election. They are spending their time debating old issues like busing and bashing Obama (who is extremely popular with their base). I am not sure what they are thinking. Surely, they know that everything they say will be used as sound bytes by Trump's people in the general election. I am concerned and yes, fear is setting in.

As expected, Biden is starting to scare me as well. I am reminded again why I didn't vote for him in the past. He is a gaffe machine: Here are some things that Joe has said this year that are downright awful:

“Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” 

... and ...

“We choose truth over facts!”

He also called Theresa May, "Margaret Thatcher" and claimed that England used bio-fuel to fuel their "steamships." No shit! He really said that. This wasn't Trump, but the Democratic party's leading candidate. I'm pretty confident that many of us would be hopping on Trump for saying such things. Trump's way ahead in the gaffe department. Biden has always been this way. I do think Biden can beat Trump, but I'd like see someone really smart rip Trump to shreds. Trump and Biden debating, sounding like drunk idiots I'd meet at Rira's five minute before last call, is not my idea of inspirational. Warren, Harris, Bennet, Gabbard, even Bernie ... they'd tear him a new one. Biden seems more like a nice, mildly liberal and slightly more competent version of Trump. 

Whenever I hear the word "spiritual," I prepare myself ... this word is a red flag. The word "spiritual" announces to the world that bullshit is being spoken. It means it is time for me tune out. There are a lot of things I could be doing with my attention right, listening to bullshit about spirituality is not one of them. So when I hear that one of the candidates is a "spiritualist" this is a huge red flag for me. Ignore Marianne Williamson! The last thing we need right now is more empty platitudes. They are just painful to hear. She represents everything that is wrong with the American left. No policies, just talking points. It pains me to hear this woman getting applause at the debates. She really needs to go away.

Trump now has three legit primary challengers: Joe Walsh, Bill Weld and Mark Sanford. Jeff Flake and John Kasich may get in the race as well.  I am looking forward to the Republican debate (this is sarcasm).

Dropping Out:
John Hickenlooper is dropping out of the Presidential race to concentrate on a Senate run, something I wish more of these candidates did. He recently wrote an Op Ed criticizing Trump's tariff.

Jay Inslee, Seth Moulton, Mike Gravel and Kirsten Gillibrand have all suspended their campaigns. 

Our Field:
Cory Booker introduced a bill that would eliminate the death penalty. He also announced his plan to fight hate crimes.

Elizabeth Warren proposed creating an office of Broadband Access to get more Americans connected. She also released several proposals regarding Native American issues and a criminal justice plan. He is a policy rock star.

Tulsi Gabbard left the campaign trail for two weeks to fulfill her National Guard training in Indonesia. She was the inaugural guest on Matt Taibbi's new podcast, Useful Idiots.

Pete Buttigieg released his healthcare plan, which would overhaul healthcare in rural areas, and a policy to combat domestic terrorism.  He also released plans to tackle mental health and addiction.

Amy Klobuchar released a plan to combat domestic terrorism and a farming communities program.

Bernie Sanders was on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. He just released his plan to fight climate change.

Beto O'Rourke wrote an Op Ed about the shooting in El Paso. He released his economic plan and a trade plan.

Bill de Blasio wants to raise taxes on the wealthy.  He was interviewed on WBUR's Here and Now.

Kamala Harris released her plan to combat domestic terrorism.

Michael Bennet was on WBUR's On Point. He announced his idea for a national mentoring and apprenticeship program.

Julian Castro announced his economic and tax plan and proposed doubling our investment in wind power.

Tim Ryan appeared on one of my favorite podcasts, The Gist.

Andrew Yang released his climate change policy.

Power Rankings:

We are getting down to a manageable field. If I had to rank the Democrats in order of my personal preference, I would do so in the following manner: 

Warren

Buttigieg

Biden

Sanders

Booker

Klobuchar

Harris

Castro

O'Rourke

Gabbard

Bennet

Delaney

de Blasio

Ryan

Bullock

Yang

Messam

Sestak

(I probably won't vote if the people below get the nomination)

Steyers

Williamson

I expect this to change.

Hindsight 2020: July 2019 edition

It is easy to say that a lot of these candidates should drop out if they are still only at 1 or 2% in polls at this point in the race, but it is still early. In 1991, Paul Tsongas wasn't even at 1% at this point and he went on to win New Hampshire and won five of the first 15 primaries/caucuses. He ended up losing to Bill Clinton who was also polling below 2% at this point in 1991. Jimmy Carter was only at .75% at this point in 1975. I realize we live in a very different era now, but a long shot still has a chance at this point. I am not predicting a surge for Michael Bennet or Tim Ryan, but I am not ruling anything out either.

On all the polling I see, five candidates stand out: Biden, Sanders, Harris, Warren and Buttigieg. Biden is always first and sometimes with a double digit lead. Polling is imperfect and it is still early. Most Americans don't pay as close attention to this as I do. Most voters pay attention to the election like I do the Super Bowl. The day before the game, I ask who's playing. Those of us paying attention pick the candidate for the rest of them. We need to pick someone who can beat Trump.

I found the debates very interesting and entertaining. I hate having raise-your-hand type of questions in a debate but with this many candidates on the stage, I can't see how we could avoid it. These debates were much better than usual. Some real discussions, disagreements and arguments happened. We can argue policy all we want, but no one is going to beat Trump because of great policies. That might serve them well in the primary but not in the general. If voters voted based on who had the best policies, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore would have won in landslides. Voting is more primal and emotional.

I thought Castro, Sanders, Warren, Harris, Delaney, Booker, Buttigieg, Swalwell and Hickenlooper, all did well at the debates. O'Rourke, Biden and Gabbard, not so. Both Harris and Warren are surging since, Biden, Sanders and Buttigieg are falling.

I am torn because I like what some of the people on the left have to say. Warren and Sanders appeal to my sense of wanting to tear the whole shit house down and rebuild from ground up. But it is this very thing that is going to scare the heck out of the moderate voters in the general election. If it is Warren/Sanders against Trump in the general election, the moderates will have no place to go again. They will split their votes or vote third party or just not show up ... just like they did in 2016. This is why I am drawn to a moderate like Joe Biden who is ahead in the polls right now. I have no love for Joe Biden. I think he, like all of these candidates, is flawed. But in the general election, if the moderates have a choice between Biden and Trump, they will flock to Joe. In 2016, a ton of Obama voters voted for Trump. Was this because they loved Trump? Of course not. It was because they hated the alternative, Hillary. We need an alternative that is at least palatable to the moderate. Trump will try to make Biden seem as unlikable as Hillary in the next few months, but I don't think he'll succeed. I know some Republicans that hate Trump as well. Some of them even voted for Hillary but most did not. Most of them will NOT vote for Sanders or Warren but they would for Biden, Klobuchar, Hickenlooper or Delaney. The goal here is to defeat Trump. Remember: Perfection is the enemy of progress. If you are waiting for the perfect candidate to vote for, you could be waiting a very long time.

Trump has a steady base of support but after that, his support is slim. We need to go after these slim supporters. To do this, Democrats need stop talking about the minimum wage. The people that are hurting the most now are people that used to have $30 to $40 an hour manufacturing or mining jobs. A $15.00 minimum wage just makes them shutter. Democrats used to do well with this crowd. How do you attract them without lying to them? Be honest and tell them that their old jobs aren't coming back. Tell them about the new jobs they will get in the Green Economy. Trump attracts them by lying to them and demonizing immigrants. The higher ground of the truth is a winner here.

Announcing:
Joe Sestak is a Congressman from Pennsylvania. He is ex-Navy and a Persia Gulf War vet. I am sure he is a great guy but we don't need anymore candidates.

Our Field:
Joe Biden rolled out a climate change plan much of it may be plagiarized.

Pete Buttigieg said he wants to depoliticize the Supreme Court by expanding it to 15 judges, 5 Dems, 5 Reps and 5 chosen by a bi-partisan group. He is having difficulty on the home front with a police shooting in South Bend. His honesty about it, during the debate, was refreshing.

Julian Castro announced a policy on policing. He wants federal oversight, standards and demilitarization. He held a town hall on Fox News. He says he supports a Marshall Plan to address problems in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Bernie Sanders wrote an Op Ed in the New York Times about his financial struggles and income inequality. He announced a bill in the Senate that would cancel all student loan debt. This would really work for me if it were retroactive.

Cory Booker released his housing plan that includes tax breaks for renters.

Steve Bullock wrote an Op Ed for the Des Moines Register about defeating Citizens United.

Eric Swalwell appeared on The View. He released his gun control plan.

Elizabeth Warren introduced her Green Energy Economy Plan. She appeared on The Ezra Klein Show podcast. She also announced another plan, this one to eliminate private prisons. 

Andrew Yang was on Real Time with Bill Maher and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Amy Klobuchar was on Face the Nation. She has stated that she plans to give mental health a top priority. 

John Delaney was on The View. It is too bad he is not polling higher. I think he would make a fine President. He is the only candidate to admit that he supports the Trans Pacific Partnership. 

Kamala Harris released an immigration plan. She was on Face the Nation.

John Hickenlooper released his climate change plan. He supports the Green New Deal but not the job guarantee component. He also wants to give all people who are here illegally, a 10 year visa.

Tim Ryan was on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah and Morning Joe.

Michael Bennet was profiled by Yahoo! Finance focusing on his health care plan. He also introduced (along with some other Senators) the Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act of 2019 which attempts flexibility in providing for hungry children.

Tulsi Gabbard was on Real Time with Bill Maher. She had made it clear, ending wasteful wars is her top priority. She is a combat veteran and brings this experience to the job.

Jay Inslee announced his fourth climate change plan, the Freedom from Fossil Fuels Plan. 

Power Rankings:

We have 25 candidates. If I had to rank the Democrats in order of my personal preference, I would do so in the following manner: 

Warren

Biden

Buttigieg

Booker

Sanders

Inslee

Klobuchar

Swalwell

Harris

Delaney

Hickenlooper

Castro

O'Rourke

Gabbard

de Blasio

Ryan

Bennet

Bullock

Moulton

Messam

Yang

Sestak

(I probably won't vote if the people below get the nomination)

Gillibrand

Gravel

Williamson

I expect this to change.

Trump Log #60: The Shadow Government

Many times Trump has called the New York Times "fake news." If he truly believes this, then why does he care one bit about the anonymous Op Ed that appeared earlier this week. Is calling NYT "fake news" just another one of his lies? Of course it is. Even his opinions are lies to stir up his base of deplorables. I'm not sure there is a person under that pile of lies and affectations. He is more like a ventriloquist dummy with strings being manipulated by his staff, Fox "News" or his, equally disgusting, sons (what are their names Uday and Qusay?).

This happened with Nixon as well. In the final days of his administration, we was having conversations with JFK's portrait and having drunken prayer sessions with Kissinger. Within his own administration, he was circumvented. James Schlesinger, Nixon's Secretary of Defense, told his staff that if they got any orders from the President to check with him first. The president was incapacitated and the public did not know. A shadow government ensued. The difference now is that we do know about it and he has been like this since day one. I am under no delusion that his cabinet will invoke the 25th amendment.  They were hired for their loyalty not their backbones. Unless the Democrats take the Senate, impeachment will do nothing.

If you'd like to be reminded of what a good president looks and sounds like, check out President Obama's recent speech at the University of Illinois and follow his instructions, vote in November.

Trump Log:
Monday 9/3/18 - By being stricter on legal immigration, Trump is really hurting some small businesses. (Source: New York Times)

Tuesday 9/4/18 - If you gave birth to a child and used a mid-wife (as opposed to going to a hospital) and you have brown skin and live in a border state, your child could have difficulty being declared a citizen. (Source: New York Times)

Wednesday 9/5/18 - The American President thinks that protesting should be illegal.  Wrap your head around that!  (Source: Washington Post)

Thursday 9/6/18 - An anonymous Op Ed written by a Trump inside appeared in the NY Times yesterday. It describes a shadow government, one keeping Trump under control because he is unfit for office.  (Source: New York Times)

Friday 9/7/18 - Trump wants his Justice Department to investigate the anonymous Op Ed writer to uncover their identity. Not a great use of American tax payer money. (Source: Washington Post)

Saturday 9/8/18 - Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh, seems to have the same relationship with truth that Trump does. (Source: New York Times)

Sunday 9/9/18 - Bob Woodward is probably America's most trusted journalist. In his latest book, Fear, about the Trump White House, he describes an administration in chaos being run by non-elected underlings who are handling the President. (Source: Washington Post)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017

Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017

Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017
Issue #32 - posted June 20, 2017

Issue #33 - posted June 27, 2017
Issue #34 - posted March 12, 2018
Issue #35 - posted March 19, 2018
Issue #36 - posted March 26, 2018
Issue #37 - posted April 1, 2018
Issue #38 - posted April 8, 2018
Issue #39 - posted April 15, 2018
Issue #40 - posted April 22, 2018
Issue #41 - posted April 29, 2018
Issue #42 - posted May 6, 2018
Issue #43 - posted May 13, 2018
Issue #44 - posted May 20, 2018
Issue #45 - posted May 27, 2018
Issue #46 - posted June 3, 2018
Issue #47 - posted June 10, 2018
Issue #48 - posted June 17, 2018
Issue #49 - posted June 24, 2018
Issue #50 - posted July 1, 2018
Issue #51 - posted July 8, 2018
Issue #52 - posted July 15, 2018
Issue #53 - posted July 22, 2018
Issue #54 - posted July 29, 2018

Issue #55 - posted August 5, 2018
Issue #56 - posted August 12, 2018
Issue #57 - posted August 19, 2018
Issue #58 - posted August 26, 2018

Issue #59 - posted September 2, 2018

Tяump Log #53: The Other Russian Story

So much shit is going down, it is difficult taking it all in.  Don't let it overwhelm you and by no means, turn away. Our Democracy is at stake.

The story that I am afraid is being lost in this mess is that of Maria Butina, a 29 year old Russian political activist that was arrested this month by the FBI for espionage. She has been working closely with the NRA to sow discord here in America. An America in chaos is good for Putin. Do you remember when it was Democrats that used to be accused of cozying up to Communists?  Check out this video from The Guardian:

Monday 7/16/18 - Trump not only doesn't push Putin for the extradition of the 12 Russians indicted by Mueller, but he calls the probe a "disaster." A foreign country disrupts our elections and the US president (who benefited by it) is denying it and working against the investigation, this is nothing less than treason. (Source: Washington Post)

Tuesday 7/17/18 - Trump's EPA has proposed a new rule that would limit the amount of scientific studies if the data used couldn't completely be made public. They would simply not read them or "throw them out." Many of them contain private health data of the participants so they cannot be published. (Source: PBS)

Wednesday 7/18/18 - In most administrations, White House stenographers follow the president almost everywhere so that we have a record of everything he says. This is for historical record, but also, so that if the media misquotes him, they have proof. In this administration, the stenographer have difficulty getting access to the President. We all know why, right? (Source: New York Times)

Thursday 7/19/18 - Trump is making the Endangered Species Act weaker.  This is what you get when you have a developer as President.  (Source: Washington Post)

Friday 7/20/18 - Trump's EPA has solidified is working against the environment. Polluters can decide for themselves how they deal with coal ash. Fox is officially running the hen house. (Source: Washington Post)

Saturday 7/21/18 - Trump is going after journalists with indictments just to smear their reputation. (Source: The Intercept)

Sunday 7/22/18 - Carter Page, one of Trump's campaign aides, is suspected of being recruited by the Russians to help disrupt the 2016 election. (Source: Slate)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017

Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017

Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017
Issue #32 - posted June 20, 2017

Issue #33 - posted June 27, 2017
Issue #34 - posted March 12, 2018
Issue #35 - posted March 19, 2018
Issue #36 - posted March 26, 2018
Issue #37 - posted April 1, 2018
Issue #38 - posted April 8, 2018
Issue #39 - posted April 15, 2018
Issue #40 - posted April 22, 2018
Issue #41 - posted April 29, 2018
Issue #42 - posted May 6, 2018
Issue #43 - posted May 13, 2018
Issue #44 - posted May 20, 2018
Issue #45 - posted May 27, 2018
Issue #46 - posted June 3, 2018
Issue #47 - posted June 10, 2018
Issue #48 - posted June 17, 2018
Issue #49 - posted June 24, 2018
Issue #50 - posted July 1, 2018
Issue #51 - posted July 8, 2018
Issue #52 - posted July 15, 2018

Trump Log #43: You Can't Make This Shit Up

On the same day that Melania announces her "Be Best" program that among other things concentrates on children's health, her husband asks Congress for a massive cut in CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance Program.  You can't make this shit up. The CHIP program has existed since the 1990's and has been nothing but a success. Even if you look at from only a fiscal side, by getting to health problems early, we save lots of money. Even if it weren't fiscally sound, isn't children's health worth throwing money at. What are our values? 

Reading this week's Trump logs and Trump logs from the past, our values clearly do not include children's health ... in any way, shape or form.

Trump Log 
Monday 5/7/18 - Trump's AG, Jeff Sessions, states that he will prosecute all illegal border crossers and separate them from their children. (Source: Washington Post)

Tuesday 5/8/18 - Trump didn't have the votes to repeal Obamacare (thank you John McCain). Now Trump and his GOP minions are trying to destroy it from within. (Source: New York Times)

Wednesday 5/9/18 - Trump asks Congress for $15 billion cut to budget which includes $7 billion from the Children Health Insurance Program. (Source: Bloomberg)

Thursday 5/10/18 - Since the A Team (and the B through D team) don't want to work for Trump and his clown posse, we are stuck with a bunch of incompetent low lifes on the highest levels of government. A perfect example is his new Ambassador to Germany.  The first thing he did was send out a Tweet that pissed off his host country.  (Source: TheIntercept)

Friday 5/11/18 - Trump's pulling out of the Iran deal could lead to an all-out war between Iran and Israel, not just a cold war. (Source: Washington Post and New York Times)

Saturday 5/12/18 - Trump's trade policy has a potential to hurt the American automobile business very badly by causing prices to increase, decreasing sales and cutting the US off from the Chinese market.  (Source: New York Times)

Sunday 5/13/18 - Trump's Education Department has stopped investigating corruption at for-profit colleges.  (Source: New York Times)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017

Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017

Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017
Issue #32 - posted June 20, 2017

Issue #33 - posted June 27, 2017
Issue #34 - posted March 12, 2018
Issue #35 - posted March 19, 2018
Issue #36 - posted March 26, 2018
Issue #37 - posted April 1, 2018
Issue #38 - posted April 8, 2018
Issue #39 - posted April 15, 2018
Issue #40 - posted April 22, 2018
Issue #41 - posted April 29, 2018
Issue #42 - posted May 6, 2018