Month: October 2020

Will the issue of school choice be relevant in the choice that some voters make in the upcoming election? I guess that we’ll see.

For the uninformed, the term “school choice” means giving parents the power and opportunity to choose the schools their children attend. Traditionally, children are assigned to a public school according to where they live. People of greater economic means already have school choice, because they can afford to move to an area with high quality public schools, or to enroll their children in private schools. Parents without such means, until recently, generally had no school choices, and had to send their children to the schools assigned to them by the district, regardless of the schools’ quality or appropriateness for their children.

The following is from the website of the U.S. Department of Education in early October of this year:

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, alongside Sen. Tim Scott and members of the White House Domestic Policy Council, participated in a call with African American leaders this week on the importance of education freedom and how the “School Choice Now Act” could expand educational options and opportunities for African American students.

“African Americans, and all Americans, need more opportunities to grow, to develop, and to prosper, and that all starts with a great education. President Trump and I are fighting every day for more options for every student and every family across America,” Secretary DeVos told participants. “Under the President’s leadership, we’ve lit a prairie fire across America for parental school choice. Countless surveys show that more families today support parental choice than ever before. Notably, a very recent RealClear Opinion survey found that 73% of African American families want their education dollars to follow their children to wherever they go to learn. Three out of four families with children in public schools want the same thing.”

Sen. Tim Scott thanked Secretary DeVos for her leadership on school choice initiatives and for her support of the “School Choice Now Act” which was included in the most recent Senate COVID-19 relief package. Sen. Scott called the issue of school choice “personal,” noting that he grew up in a single-parent home below the poverty line with limited access to a quality education.     

“The commitment to education is not a political one,” Sen. Scott said. “The commitment to education is to ensure that the American dream is alive even for the poorest Americans.”

The call engaged a broad audience of African American community leaders and school choice advocates from across the country to discuss the importance of school choice in the African American community, especially for low income families.

Now one might ask why I am writing about school choice just a few days before the upcoming election. 

Is there anyone who does not believe that educating poor children in better schools is good not only for these children, but also in fact, good for our society in general?

As a matter of fact there is . . . Joe Biden does not believe in school choice. The Democrats do not believe in school choice.

On the other hand President Trump is a strong believer in better schools for the less fortunate. He has made this one of his campaign promises, and as we all know, he keeps his promises. 

Who else should be backers of school choice? I would think that the economically disadvantaged parents of poor children would be on board for their children getting a better education . . . but are they?

We’ll see.

Interestingly in the 2018 Florida governor’s race between the black challenger, Andrew Gillum, and the incumbent Ron DeSantis,, the issue of the school choice program in Florida (vouchers) was a major issue. In fact it was the vote of young black women that surprisingly put DeSantis over the top. Almost all of the pre-election polls had predicted a relatively easy win for Gillum. (Trafalgar was the outlier.)

Just like in Florida in 2018, I see a shift in the voting pattern of young black women towards Trump and school choice in the upcoming election. How big of a shift? 

We’ll see.

Today I found, yet, another poll. I found this one interesting because it broke down the voters into multiple different sub-segments. This was the IBD (Investors Business Daily)/TIPP Presidential Tracking Poll.

From the I D website:

“Each day, the IBD/TIPP Presidential Tracking Poll data reflects a survey of 800-1,000 likely voters conducted over the prior five days. As in prior years, TIPP — the polling arm of nationally recognized research firm TechnoMetrica —will conduct live telephone interviews. However, TIPP will supplement phone interviews with online surveys this time to better capture younger voters. In this poll Biden is ahead by 4.6 points, 50-45.4% among likely voters.”

First, the bad news:

Amid the ups and downs in the IBD/TIPP Biden vs. Trump poll, some key features of the race that favor the Democrat have remained consistent: Biden has a solid lead in the suburbs; Trump is losing a small but significant share of his 2016 voters; and Biden holds a wide advantage among those who voted for a third party or didn’t vote in 2016.

Next the good news:

Enthusiasm. President Trump has a clear advantage when it comes to voters’ intensity of support. Among those who intend to vote for Trump, 80% back him strongly, vs. 69% among intended Biden voters.

Trump’s Electoral College victory in 2016 came despite losing the popular vote by 2.1%. If state polls are correct, Biden may be cutting into Trump’s 2016 advantage in red states like Texas, Georgia and Ohio. That could make the popular vote even less of a predictor than it was in 2016. TIPP President Raghavan Mayur figures Trump could lose the national popular vote total by 3 points and still have a chance, with key battlegrounds again determining the outcome.

From my perspective, another wild card here is the present day riots in Philadelphia. If I lived in the suburbs or in any of the smaller cities in Pennsylvania, these riots would scare the crap out of me . . . perhaps enough so that I would be more likely to vote for law and order, namely Trump. It is really a sad state when I am forced to say that riots may be a good thing for the country!

I just read an article by Byron York about a tri-state road rally. I had heard of Trump boat rallies, in fact, we attended a Trump boat rally here in San Diego. But, Road Rallies? Where? I hadn’t read anything in my local “newspaper” about Road Rallies, so I googled it. Apparently there are quite a number of these rallies. To me more important than the fact that they are occurring, is the fact that they are demonstrative of ENTHUSIASM for Trump in places where it matters.

The tri-state rally that Byron York was referring to went from St. Clairsville, Ohio, to Wheeling, West Virginia, to Washington, Pennsylvania — in the heart of oil and gas country. Many, many of the participants had either direct or indirect connections to the energy industry. (The most concise statement on that came from a man from Greene County, Pennsylvania, who said, “Yes, I am connected to the energy industry, because I’ve got electricity and gas in my house.” That was a short way of saying how important the industry is to all of us.)

Spurred on by reading about this tri-state road rally, I googled that subject, and I was surprised by what I found. What follows are a few examples of things I did not know existed.

On October 17th, 2020, over 7,000+ vehicles and 12,000 roadside patriots in the PA 1st Congressional District came out to support the re-election of President Donald J. Trump. The rally wound from Newtown to Doylestown and back covering over 40 miles over 4 hours.

Similarly on 10/25/20 more than 600 trucks, cars and motorcycles with President Donald Trump flags and signs filled Walmart’s parking lot in Wilkes-Barre Twp. and paraded to Luzerne County Republican Party headquarters in Kingston.

Lynette Villano, the former Republican chairwoman of Luzerne County, said she was thrilled with the huge turnout on Sunday.

“I thought 2016 was something. This is 100 times more enthusiastic,” Villano said. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.”

Likewise from the Washington Examiner:

A Philadelphia suburb saw thousands of cars decked out in President Trump flags gathered for a road rally over the weekend.

“We’re fighting for America. We’re fighting for the soul of America … even those people that hate us … we’re fighting for them,” rally organizer and Pennsylvania’s First District People4Trump Political Action Committee’s Jim Worthington said.

“Hey, this could be a long day,” Worthington added. “But if it gets us 100 extra votes, 1,000 extra votes, five extra votes … 44,000 votes made the difference last time. Who the hell knows if this doesn’t make the difference this time.”

But this is not just in Pennsylvania.

From the AP:

When a flotilla of pontoon and fishing boats decked out with “Trump 2020” flags cruised past him this summer, Dale Fullenkamp got an idea.

“I figured I don’t have a boat, but I do have a tractor,” he said.

Soon he was leading nearly 300 combines and tractors pulling hay wagons and manure spreaders through the western Ohio village of Fort Recovery, one of many parades nationwide organized by a swell of grassroots supporters for President Donald Trump.

These Trump parades — whether by boat, pickup truck or tractor — have become a show of strength for the president’s supporters and a way to make themselves visible in a year when the coronavirus pandemic has upended traditional campaigning and put a stop to huge arena rallies and picnic fundraisers.

Thousands of cars, minivans and motorcycles on Saturday jammed the interstate circling Cincinnati and many more road rallies were held around the U.S. Another dozen are on tap for the campaign’s final week in Ohio alone.

As these road rallies are indicative of grass roots support, they are encouraging for those who want “four more years!”

The following list is from Wayne Grudem, professor of Theology and Biblical studies.

As with other long lists, this list of 25 good things that President Trump has done for America will be in increments. Please forward this list to your email mailing list.

21. Streamlining environmental reviews for major construction projects: in order to build a new section of highway, a new subway line, or a new gas pipeline, the necessary environmental impact statements have recently taken an average of 4.5 years, and many ran for six years or longer40. These delays massively increased construction costs and delayed relief for over-congested highways for many years. But on July 15, 2020, President Trump’s White House released new guidelines limiting environmental impact studies to two years and limiting less-extensive environmental assessments to one year41. The Wall Street Journal says these new rules “could literally cut thousands of years of cumulative delay”42 for construction projects. This will be a huge help in renewing America’s aging infrastructure.

22. Sending weapons to Ukraine: Whereas President Obama sent only humanitarian aid, President Trump authorized the selling of actual military equipment to Ukraine, including Javelin missiles which were necessary to defend against Russian aggression.43

23. Standing up to China, Russia, and Iran: Trump has been the first president to decisively denounce China’s blatant practice of industrial espionage and bullying44, stealing of intellectual property45, and violating international copyright protections46. He has followed up with strong trade sanctions against China47, an increased US naval presence in the South China Sea48, and the closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston, which was a center of Chinese espionage49. He withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action, which would have allowed Iran to build a nuclear bomb within the next few years50. The Trump administration has closed several Russian consulates in the US and expelled over 60 Russian “diplomats” (espionage agents)51, issued sanctions against several Russian officials52, and persuaded several European nations to increase their defenses against potential Russian invasion.53

24. A wise COVID-19 response: President Trump imposed strict restrictions on travel from China on January 31, 2020, long before other leaders recognized the danger of this coronavirus. Then, when the COVID-19 virus began to spread rapidly within the United States, the fear was that we would run out of hospital beds to care for the sick. President Trump immediately mobilized the military to construct huge new hospital facilities in New York City and elsewhere, and soon there were enough beds54. The next fear was that we would run out of ventilators, and President Trump persuaded leaders of American industry to fast-track the manufacture of ventilators, and soon there were enough ventilators55. Then the question was how soon to reopen buildings and meeting places, and present Trump wisely left the decision to local governors and other local officials who best know the different situations in their individual locations. Finally, the FDA has fast-tracked the trial and approval process for a vaccine56, and the federal government has made commitments to purchase millions of vaccines from various companies as soon as they are approved for widespread use. Several promising vaccines are now in the advanced stages of testing on human subjects. In addition, President Trump, working with Congress, quickly passed threecoronavirus relief packages, with the result that millions of Americans continued to receive pay in spite of their workplaces being temporarily closed.57

25. Welcoming evangelical Christians into positions of influence: rather than marginalizing evangelical Christians (as was the practice of the Obama administration), President Trump has appointed a remarkably large number of evangelicals to high government offices. These include Vice President Mike Pence, Ben Carson (Secretary of Housing and Urban Development), Betsy DeVos (Secretary of Education), Rick Perry (former secretary of energy), Scott Pruitt (former administrator of Environmental Protection Agency), Dan Coats (former director of national intelligence), Mike Pompeo (Secretary of State), Russ Vought (Director of Office of Management and Budget) and others.

In addition, he has frequently welcomed evangelical pastors and other leaders to the White House, for both public and private conversations.58

The following is from my recent radio interview where I was asked some softball questions:

Q: Did Joe Biden sexually harass Tara Reade back in 1993?

A: I don’t know and I do not care.

Q: Is that because you are a big fan of Joe Biden ?

A:  Actually, far from it. I think Joe Biden is a bozo. He’s been in politics for a gazillion years, and I still do not know what he stands for. Lately, after hearing him speak, I am not sure if he even knows what he stands for. If the fact that his handlers have kept him hidden away in his basement during this pandemic doesn’t tell America something, then America is in trouble. 

Just imagine if Joe Biden was the President now! Granted President Trump hasn’t been perfect during this pandemic, but this is a street that we have not been down before. Joe would have trouble finding the right city, never mind the right street!  Presidents have to make a lot of tough decisions, and I do not think that Joe is up to the task. When I watch a series of Biden flubs, I almost feel sorry for the guy. Let’s face it, he is the Democratic nominee, basically because the Dems did not have anybody else 

Q: So if you are not a Biden supporter, why don’t you care if he possibly did something to Tara Reade back in 1993?

A:  Because it was supposedly back in ‘93.

Q: No entiendo!

A: Three reasons: 

First, there will never be a “for sure, without a doubt answer,” so why are we wasting all of this time and energy on something we will never know for sure?

Second, let’s assume that Tara Reade’s accusation is true. It was 27 years ago. Are we saying that someone should be forever be damned for something that happened many, many years ago? I think not, because I think that people can change over the course of twenty, fifteen, or even ten years. There must be statute on limitations . . . for just about everybody.

Third: We need to put a stop to these “he said, she said” accusations in politics. If someone is sexually abused, let him/her bring it out in the open . . . Right then. If the accusations by Tara Reade are true, my sympathies and condolences are with her.

Q: Any closing comments?

A: I think that it is only fitting that Joe Biden could have been hoisted by his own petard, but wasn’t, because her story was ignored by the mainstream media.

But, since he’s going to get shellacked by Trump in November . . . no me importa. 

For what it’s worth, I am always on the lookout for good polling news, as it doesn’t happen very often.

Again for what it’s worth, there is reason to be somewhat optimistic, now only eight day before the upcoming 11/3/20 election. The following is from The Daily Caller:

President Donald Trump is narrowly leading Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Monday’s, 10/26/20, Rasmussen Reports’ daily White House Watch poll.

Trump, with 48%, snuck past Biden, who garnered 47%, in the latest poll among likely U.S. voters. Monday’s poll marks a difference from just last week, where Wednesday saw Biden ahead 49% to 46%, Rasmussen reported.

Monday marks the first time Trump has notched a lead since mid-September, according to the report. The president has 84% support with Republicans and Biden has 77% of support from Democrats. The president is also ahead by seven points with voters who don’t identify as Republican or Democrat, according to the survey.

The poll surveyed 1,500 likely U.S. voters and was conducted on Oct. 21-22 and 25. There is a margin of sampling error of +/- 2.5% points and Rasmussen cited a 95% level of confidence.

However, many other polls are seeing Biden maintain a substantial lead, although some have indicated that Trump is narrowing the playing field.

For what it’s worth, Trafalgar has some new polling in some of the critical states:

@trafalgar_group

 Post Debate Poll:

Michigan:

Trump 49% (+2)

Biden 47%

Jorgensen 2%

Florida:

Trump 49% (+2)

Biden 47%

Jorgensen 2%

Arizona:

Trump 50% (+3)

Biden 47%

Jorgensen 2%

If Trafalgar is to be believed, these three predictions are indeed good news.

So far, I have not made my official prediction. It will be coming out in 5-6 days, as my polling is not yet complete.

The following list is from Wayne Grudem, professor of Theology and Biblical studies.

As with other long lists, this list of 25 good things that President Trump has done for America will be in increments. Please forward this list to your email mailing list.

11. Energy production: President Trump gave approval to the Keystone pipeline25, the Dakota access pipeline26, and oil production from the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge27, which could produce up to 20 percent of our petroleum needs28. His administration has also granted more permits for mining of oil, gas, and coal from federal lands29. The result has been US energy independence so that we are now becoming the leading exporter rather than a net importer of energy30.

12. Waterways of the US: the Trump administration’s decision to abandon the “waterways of the US” policy rightfully returned control of water on private lands to the owners of those lands into the states, rather than the federal government seizing control over nearly all waterways in the United States. These rules have hindered farmers, ranchers, and developers31. American Farm Bureau Chairman Zippy Duvall praised the action, saying: “Farmers and ranchers care about clean water and preserving the land, which are essential to producing healthy food and fiber and ensuring future generations can do the same. That’s why we support the new clean water rule. It provides clarity and certainty, allowing farmers to understand water regulations without having to hire teams of consultants and lawyers. We appreciate the commitment of the agencies involved and this administration to crafting a new regulation that achieves important regulatory oversight while allowing farmers to farm. Clean water, clear rules.”32

13. Halting the increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards: The Trump administration decision altered the Obama-imposed harsh annual increases in projected average miles per gallon required in new cars every year33. This decision will lead to more consumer choice and less expensive and safer cars, which is much better than the Democratic policy of ever-higher mileage goals, requiring ever-lighter cars and smaller cars, which means more dangerous cars, and less consumer choice.

14. ISIS: President Trump gave our military forces the freedom to defeat ISIS and drive them out of large sections of Iraq and Syria, which they did34. This is far superior to the Democratic policy of inaction and appeasement, which had allowed ISIS to take over large areas of the Middle East.

15. NATO: President Trump has insisted that NATO countries start to pay their fair share of defense costs, and they have responded by increasing their defense budgets and some NATO countries. In 2017, five countries met the goal of spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense and that has now increased to nine according to the alliance’s latest budgetary data. The U.S. is set to spend over $750 billion on its military this year and it’s joined above the 2 percent threshold by Bulgaria (3.25 percent), Greece (2.28 percent), the United Kingdom (2.14 percent), Estonia (2.14 percent), Romania (2.04 percent), Lithuania (2.03 percent), Latvia (2.01 percent) and Poland (2 percent)35

A few nights ago, we went to a concert featuring The Beach Boys . . . actually it was an outdoor, “stay in your car” concert. To be honest we actually sat in front of our car in beach chairs (how apropos . . . in beach chairs for The Beach Boys) . . . without masks!

You might ask,”How was this concert?”

Well there was plenty of Beach Boys music – almost continuously for about 90 minutes. Most everyone in attendance  knew just about all of the songs. My favorite has always been “Help Me, Rhonda,” and yes “they” played it. Who exactly were “they?” There was one of the real original Beach Boys (Mike Love), and a bunch of young electric guitar players with so-so voices. To be perfectly honest Mike Love, who is now apparently 79 years old, can’t really carry a tune any longer. But the three or four young, and quite talented guitar players were able to drown out Mike Love’s voice after just a few bars. 

Supposedly Mike Love owns title to the name ‘The Beach Boys,’ but no way was this group anything like the good old-fashioned real Beach Boys of 50 years ago. The songs were the same. The name was the same. Mike Love was the same guy, but it was just not the same. Granted it was entertaining, but it was not the same.

As I sat and listened to the music, I thought that the concert was reminiscent of what the U.S. will look like if Biden wins. The name . . . “President of the US,” will be the same, but it will be far from what we are used to. Joe Biden will be the same person . . . but at age 77, he is not the same person as he was in his prime. He will attempt to put on a good show, but will be drown out by those who are younger and can sing louder. A Biden presidency will be an expensive poor imitation, just like the concert. 

A Biden presidency will be a homophone – the word, “President”, will be spelled the same, but will have a totally different meaning, similar to The Beach Boys and The Beech Boys!

And the answer is, “Yes I would go and see them again!”

The following list is from Wayne Grudem, professor of Theology and Biblical studies.

As with other long lists, this list of 25 good things that President Trump has done for America will be in increments. Please forward this list to your email mailing list.

6. Israel: reversing President Obama’s repeated marginalization and shunning of Israel, President Trump has reaffirmed our commitment to support and defend Israel. He decisively moved the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem16. He recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel. He has welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House several times and has repeatedly reaffirmed our support for Israel17. I recently read in the Jerusalem Post a statement that Israel has never had a better friend in the White House than Donald Trump.18

7. Building a border wall: President Trump has relentlessly battled against Democratic stonewalling and liberal federal judges to build an effective, secure border wall along hundreds of miles of our southern border19. This is absolutely necessary to keep our nation secure and to gain some control over an immigration crisis that has spiraled out of control. It won’t stop all illegal immigration, but it will probably stop 95% of it.

8. Comprehensive immigration reform: President Trump has proposed and worked for sensible, comprehensive reform of our broken immigration system that would change our policy on legal immigration from a system based on extended family connections and randomness to a system based on merit, so that we prioritize admitting people who will be most likely to contribute positively to American society20.

9. Religious freedom and freedom of conscience: President Trump’s administration has repeatedly and continually worked to defend religious freedom, and his Justice Department has defended religious freedom in numerous court cases, such as supporting the case of Colorado cake designer Jack Phillips at the Supreme Court who faced massive fines for politely declining to design a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding21 and the right of faith-based organizations not to be forced to provide access to abortifacients through their health care plans, overturning the Obamacare HHS regulation that had forced them to do so 22.

10. Withdrawing from Paris climate accord: President Trump wisely and decisively removed United States from the Paris climate accord, a radical environmentalist program which would have brought massive increases to US energy prices with no statistically significant benefit to the environment23. Doubling or tripling of US energy costs (as under the Paris climate accord) would have harmed the poor most of all as they spend the highest portion of their budgets on energy. In addition, it would have cost America more than 206,000 jobs by 2024.

In May in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania the Taste of Sicily restaurant reopened in defiance of state orders. The restaurant had initially closed down for two months in obedience with the original state orders. However in May, the owners of the family restaurant said, “no way.” The restaurant left it up to its customers as to masks and social distancing. They were subsequently fined close to $10,000 for violating Governor Wolf’s (Dem) mandate.

Then the vengeful governor fixated his attention on Lebanon County and the Republican leadership supporting small businesses like Taste of Sicily that defied state orders. Wolf decided to withhold $13 million in funding from the county on July 17, leaving it as the only county in the state to have been cut off from the $625 million package of coronavirus relief funds. Wolf blamed the Republican-controlled Board of Commissioners in Lebanon County.

The restaurant, which is co-owned by siblings Michael Mangano and Christine Wartluft, took its case to court, and was found not guilty in September. A federal judge ruled that Wolf’s gathering restrictions and shutdowns of non-essential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic were unconstitutional.

Taste of Sicily’s  lawyer, Eric Winter, told he Daily Caller that Wolf’s and the Department of Health’s Orders couldn’t be punished under Pennsylvania criminal law.

“The mask mandate, the plexiglass, the social distancing, all of those things that the governor and [Secretary of Health Rachel] Levine were implementing are not an enforceable citation,” Mangano, the owner, told the Daily Caller. “In other words, they can’t legally enforce that. This says that any fine that you get from the state is legally non-enforceable.”

I say it’s about time that small business owners stand up to the diktats of “health commissioners” and governors. The arbitrary designation of businesses into “essential and non-essential” is obviously arbitrary and thus unconstitutional. Hopefully the verdict in Pennsylvania is the needed canary in the coal mine. Perhaps this will embolden more small business owners to stand up for their constitutional rights.

We’ll see.