TWO THINGS ON MY MIND TODAY

TRASH AND WEATHER

SO FIRST LETS TALK WEATHER. When I was growing up the weather morphed from season to season, winter gradually warmed up into spring and spring gradually moved into the hotter days of summer and summer had summer rains, ( not monsoons) and then the cooler days of fall gradually came in and the harvest was in full swing and the leaves turned color and drifted from the trees.  Then fall gradually turned cooler and then colder to turn the weather over to winter sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Only to repeat the process.  NOW, the weather just seems to go along with whatever season is in vogue and then when it decided to change, BOOM, one day it is winter, spring, summer or fall with hardly any change. Example, summer it is hot days and air conditioners. Then one day after using the air-conditioner, you need more covers on the bed at night and the heater on. Guess this is the new normal. Can we blame Al Gore and his climate change?

NOW LETS TALK TRASH. Or more specifically about trash. Does it seem that the world is getting more trashy. I'm not talking about the language on TV or in the Movies, although that may be a subject for a future post. I'm talking about trash. There is a lady in our area that is out picking up trash along a 3 or 4 mile stretch of highway every day. And I mean every day. AND she picks up garbage sack after garbage sack of trash and eventually the highway department or someone picks them up. And I have to ask, why is there so much trash along that stretch of highway? Why can't people just keep it in their vehicles until they get home or wherever they are going to put it in a trash receptacle to be properly taken care of. I don't know who this lady is, or why she picked this stretch of highway to keep the trash picked up, but I would think she would have other things to do. Maybe we the people should be more considerate, not just of her, but of our county and state as a whole and help keep the area clean.

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

Well, it has been a while since I posted anything. However, there are a few things on my mind, so I decided to make a new post. 

1. Electric Cars; I have to wonder why the government is pushing so hard for electric cars. They are expensive and the bulk of the American people will not be able to afford them. AND, the grid will not support the charging of them. At least not now. Maybe sometime and millions of dollars later in the future.  And to change a battery on one of them costs thousands. And a final note, right now the pushing of electric vehicles may even be unconstitutional.

2. Lets talk about water. The EPA has been pushing for decades about clean water. And to accomplish that, they want to get rid of farmers and ranchers and anyone else that uses water that they don't approve of. So they came up with a rule that involved wetlands. The Obama administration expanded that rule to show that any land that was within a certain distance of a flowing water would be considered  wetlands. The Trump administration changed that so that wetlands are actually only wetlands. Now the Biden administration wants to change it back, and it looks like a court fight will ensue to get that done. With all the rules they want to impose on people, it may or may not happen.

IF,  you are not aware of all of this, check it out and put n your two cents worth to your congress people. Let them know that the new suggested rules will be a devastation to the people of the west.

I have more to say, but will end this for now.

That's the view from the Ditch Bank

What's on my Mind

 There has been a lot on my mind lately. Most of it concerns the state of the country. I suppose this post will provoke controversy, but it is my post and my opinion. If you disagree, go for it, but say why. So on that note, here goes.

1. Donald Trump was an unliked President by many. He spent the full four years of his presidency fighting those who wanted to take him down. And is still fighting them. WHY? Cause they are afraid of him and don't want him to run again. Again, WHY? Well, cause he don't fit their agenda. But when Biden took over, the economy was good, inflation low, gas and food prices were low, unemployment was low and the country was moving. Were there any problems? Sure there was. And Donald Trump could not solve them all. AND Donald Trump was not a really likable person. And in the vernacular of my children, when they were young enough to be in High School, He was and I guess is, rude, crude and socially unacceptable. But as a business man, he did know how to run this country, and he didn't back down from foreign powers. And in case we forget, it was Trump that put the Covid vaccine companies on the fast track to develop a vaccine to combat the Covid virus. Many probably think Biden did that, but he just reaped what had already been sown.

2. What has Biden done? Well, he shut down the Keystone XL pipeline. A pipeline that would have provided oil to the United States for generations to come, and put thousands out of work. He shut down the Border wall and invited those from other countries to enter at will and they did. This created a problem for the border States and put thousands out of work. He cancelled leases for oil drilling on government lands and put more out of work as oil producing companies had to cut back or shut down, thus causing the rise in gas prices. When fuel began to get short, he started buying from over seas and then he authorized the use of oil from the federal reserve. A reserve that is not supposed to be used except in case of dire emergence, such as a war. And then he wanted OPEC to produce more oil to cover for his mistakes, never admitting that he made a mistake. And a fuel prices rose, so did transportation and farming, since those trucks and equipment run on diesel.

3. Now he has finally admitted that this is what he wants. He is pushing his green agenda, and he wants every one to drive an electric car, cars to be charged with the charging stations he wants to line the freeways with, at a cost to the taxpayer of billions of dollars. And he wants to create a rail system and have people ride the railroad to and from wherever they are going and this will cost another billions of dollars. And he said by doing this we can remove millions of cars off of the highways. 

4. He may take us down the rabbit hole for a ways, but there is one thing he is not counting on, and that is the American People. He said the other day on the news that he was distracted and shattered by his low approval rating, a rating as low and Donald Trumps ever was, and he just don't understand why. He then said the problem is that his aides don't understand his straight talk and they mis quote him and so the people don't know what he is trying to do. Fortunately, the people know just exactly what he is trying to do, and they aren't going to stand for it.

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FRO THE DITCH BANK

IT'S BEEN AWHILE

 THERE IS NO WAY I CAN KEEP UP ON A REGULAR BASIS WITH THE CONSTANT CHANGES of the local and national government mandates, the updates on the Covid changes, much less the various thoughts on the efficacy of the vaccines available to the public. So, on that note, I will offer a few things I have on my mind and you can ruminate on them if you so desire. 

First; I'll address the Covid pandemic. Is it real. Yes it is. We have family members that have been afflicted with this virus. For some it has been mild and others it has been devastating. We have had a few friends pass away with this virus. So, yes, it is real.  Does the vaccine work?  Some will say yes, some ae saying no, some are saying maybe, but it is my choice, not the governments.   Me, I'm saying that it probably does. I'm vaccinated. Vaccines have been on play for decades for a variety of things and they are effective for those things. Two issue's people have at this point, is that they feel this vaccine was rushed and that the government is mandating you to have it. I don't like the government interference either, but then most things that the vaccines that we are used to don't have a world wide pandemic striking people down either.

Next;  I guess I will mention the government. Of course I will. I don't like Biden. Never did. But he is the President, kinda, so I will live with it and do what puny little I can to blunt his efforts to sabotage us, the American people. No, I will not go to Washington and assault the government.

But I do have to wonder about one thing. Biden said recently that he would sell Atomic Submarines to Australia. OK by me. But France got their undies in a wad and cancelled some festivities of some kind because of that. I have to wonder why does it make a difference to France if Biden sell a sub to Australia. Seems like a good thing to me for the world peace. Including that of France. Guess I just don't understand. 

Last: Will the Covid virus go away. I don't know, but I'm thinking it is here to stay until the Millennium is ushered in. Just like the flu pandemic of a 100 years ago, it will be with us, and we will just get a Covid shot along with our flu shot every year. By the way. Have you got your flu shot this year?

So, I pay attention to the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints that I belong to and follow his advise. And his advise is good and since he is also a retired medical Doctor, I will trust him and follow his advise and look forward to a time when we can once again gather together sans masks and fear of infecting any one. Hugs and handshakes without immediately feeling the need to use a bottle of hand sanitizer. Being able to go to a public park and not wonder if someone left a virus on a hand rail or a water fountain handle or even a bench that I may want to sit on.  Those were better days for sure and I look forward to a time like that again.  At my age, and with the world like it is, I may not ever see it, but hopefully my descendants will.

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

OK I'LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO

THOSE FEW OF YOU THAT ACTUALLY READ MY BLOG WILL HAVE NOTICED THAT I HAVEN'T PUBLISHED LATELY.

Well, I am kinda fed up with the political scene, and not wanting to document my daily boring life, I just haven't blogged much lately.  However, there have been a few that actually read the blog that have commented on the lack of new posts. So, for what it may be worth, here is a new one.

Three points to start, then we will see if any thing else shows up.

First, Climate Change.  How is it working for you.  I saw a news article recently that those proclaiming climate change had recently erased past climate changes dating back longer than 1960 ish. The dust bowl of the 1930's is no longer listed with regard to climate change. Other times dating back farther than the 1960's are also being ignored by climate change advocates. That way they can point to what is happening now and say see, we told you so. BUT, we told you so doesn't work if you go back into ages past.

AOC is at it again.  She recently said that if the country would just stop building jails, and then stop putting people in jail, there would be less crime.  Eye roll and head shake here.

Dr. Fauci and the Biden administration are now saying that the Corona virus probably started in the Wuhan lab in China. In fact, they are getting quite insistent on that and are leaning toward holding China responsible. Aren't these the same people last year that was slamming President Trump for saying the same thing?  Seems to me it is. Of course the news talking heads won't say that.

One last post.  Our Governor recently announced that she was going to run for re election. Shudder that she actually does get reelected. There was a group of protesters at her rally/announcement and they were causing a stir among the crowd.  She said it was too bad she chose a place to make her announcement in the same place that the Qanon lizard people were having a rally. She don't seem to realize, or don't want to admit, that there will be protesters wherever she choses to appear, short of her office in the State building. 

WELL NUFF SAID FOR TODAY 

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK

WELL, WHY NOT

 AS ANYONE WHO MAY ACTUALLY READ MY POSTS WILL HAVE NOTICED, I HAVEN'T POSTED ANYTHING FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. I HAD ACTUALLY TOYED WITH THE IDEA OF NOT POSTING ANY THING ANY MORE. THEN TODAY I DECIDED WELL, WHY NOT. So I will post from time to time.  But first, a little background.

When I first started this post all those years back, I did so at the encouragement of some of my children. I balked at starting a blog because 1. I figured my life was so boring that no one would be interested in reading about it and 2. Even if they wanted to I considered my life my business and not for public consumption. So when I finally decided to write a blog, I decided to write about my perceptions of the things going on around me in the world. And that mostly turned out to be on politics.  But now, the political world is in such a shambles that I just didn't feel like writing about it any more.  So, we will see what transpires with this post today and any future posts as we move along.

Say what you want and feel how ever you want to about Donald Trump, brash and crude as he may be, he did have the economy in a good shape, gas prices were down and the border "crisis" was being handled and North Korea had backed down from shooting missiles around the area and making threats of war. Then the pandemic hit and after a time he came up with some money to fund a lot of vaccine research and he supported various companies retooling to make ventilators etc. The economy tanked a bit because of that and he made some rash statements that upset some people and so he lost the election.

Joe Biden came into office and immediately through executive order began undoing every thing Trump had done. He cancelled the pipeline and shutdown oil production in a lot of areas, resulting in the rapid rise of gas prices. He stopped the building of the border wall resulting in a current crisis at the border. Children are coming in at an alarming rate.  Towns, including on not so far from where I live, are having a spike in the virus as a result of many of these children and youth coming in already being infected. Will the national news media tell you that?  No they won't. But the local news media does. 

I will comment on one more item that close for this post.  6 books written by Dr. Seuss have been banned because they were determined to be racist. Maybe they are. I don't really know. But I find it odd that those books can be banned, but the song that is being touted as a great song and the performance of some of the performers on the Grammys as being very disgusting. But that is considered "Art" or something, so that makes it OK.   Not to me.   

Nuff Said for now.

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK 

THE FIRST ONE FOR 2021

 WELL, HERE WE ARE THREE WEEKSW INTO THE NEW YEAR OF 2021. SEEMS LIKE MUCH HAS HAPPENED SINCE I LAST POSTED.  Even though not a lot of time has gone by, a lot of events have happened, some of which I may comment on. Not really sure just what I will write today, except this.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.  You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help strong men by tearing down big men. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.---Abraham Lincoln said this many decades ago. It still holds true today. I could probably end this post right here and that would be nuff said, but I guess I won't.

On January 6, 2021, a group of people, a mob if you like, stormed the congress building and trashed a lot of it. I watched the events as reported by the talking heads on the news and had to wonder why they did it.  But, deep down, I know why. Or at least why some of them did it. The people are just really tired of the political process and the politicians that seem to want to rule the lives of the people of the United States. Donald Trump has been blamed for that event. What ever your opinion is, mine is that he did not incite it. At least not intentionally. Those who were there and took part in the destruction of the halls of congress did so intentionally. I know personally, one couple who was there and left when the violence started, as that is not what they, and hundreds of others went there for. It was to legally protest the election. Not to violently trash the place.

On January 20, Joe Biden took the oath of office as President of the United States. I didn't listen to his speech for a variety of reasons, but know that he promised that he would fix things that are wrong with the United States.  He said he would create jobs and stimulate the economy,  and then the first thing he did was sign executive orders that put thousands of people out of work. And anger our neighbor to the North, namely Canada. When the labor unions that supported him to get elected find themselves out of work, they may just turn against him.

Guess I'll stop here with this prediction. A prediction that I hope does not come to pass. I predict that the unemployment rate will rise higher than it has been for the past four years. I predict that more people will be laid off as employers of small businesses cannot stay in business and pay the minimum wage of $15.00 an hour. A wage that for now is geared at government jobs, but will soon spill over in to the private sector, in spite of protests against it. I predict that with the executive orders shutting down the pipeline, oil drilling and exploration and the other things that Biden is against, the price of gas will go up. And while the current pandemic may eventually go away, it will be because of the things that are currently in place, not because of any thing that Biden does, even though he will probably take credit for it. 

I could continue, but I will end this for now and if you actually made it this far, I will refer you back to the opening paragraph.

AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK