Opinion and commentary on national and international politics and government affairs.
Banks have been trying to get bank consumers to go electronic for some time now. The reason is that payroll is likely a bank’s largest expense followed by real estate. Much of the need for labor lies in handling cash transactions. Cash transactions for banks are onerous as much of it cannot be automated. Consumers,… Read More Banks Shedding Jobs After Covid
The question on many minds is whether the government will issue more stimulus checks to people or will there be more government programs to stimulate the economy. The country’s reopening of the economy became stalled as the Coronavirus re-surged in many states. Unemployment remains higher than normal. Adding to the stress of the economy is… Read More Second Stimulus Check?
The problem for México is that every so often a Mexican president takes the helm of the country and immediately kowtows to the powers that be. Santa Anna is one such character. Santa Anna is best known for losing almost half of the Mexican territory when he waged an unsuccessful battle plan to quell the… Read More AMLO Meets With The Patrón Today
America was built on the backs of minorities and not on White exceptionalism. The history books and the entertainment industry have created the illusion of a White America. Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison are among the faces that most Americans recognize because that has been the White Americans intent. Very… Read More America Was Built On The Backs of Minorities
It doesn’t matter where you stand on Donald J. Trump. It doesn’t matter if you voted for him or detest what he has done to America. It doesn’t matter if you believe that Covid-19 is real, a conspiracy or something else. The one thing everyone should be able to agree on is that Covid-19 has… Read More The Covid Presidency
The June job report is expected out today. The speculation is that about 3 million jobs were added in June as America began to reopen the economy. However, the the unemployment rate is expected to remain higher than normal. And then, Covid-19 struck again. Many states started to reopen their economies by ending stay-at-home orders… Read More Has Covid Stalled The Economy?
Over the last few months, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend going on. I’ve dubbed it creeping prices. I first noticed it when one of my long-time service providers for my business, Cognent, suddenly doubled their prices for services we were purchasing from them. The price increase came without notice. It just increased from one month… Read More Covid-19 Creeping Prices
Unless one is living under a rock these days then they likely know that there is an ongoing conversation between the need for police forces, how police forces deal with the citizenry and if there is a need to reform policing in America. The discussion ranges from conversations towards outright rebellion. In political science there… Read More The Citizenry And The Police
Many political observers are scratching their heads as to why Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) wants to meet with Donald Trump as his first government to government meeting outside of México. López Obrador has refused to travel abroad during his presidency insisting on holding virtual meetings as he keeps to his promise of austerity measures.… Read More Understanding the Lopez Obrador Lovefest With Donald Trump
There is much discussion across the nation about whether Confederate statues and symbolism belong in America. Those opposed to the Confederate iconography argue that they represent slavery in America and thus have no place in American society. They argue that the Confederate symbols glorify slavery. Supporters of the Confederate symbols, on the other hand, argue… Read More Symbols Matter
Donald Trump recently further restricted immigration to the United States ostensibly to protect American jobs. Most anti-immigrants argue that immigrants are a drain on the U.S. taxpayers, American resources and add to America’s lowered wages. Trump has waged a war on immigrants and his immigrant bashing is about to cost American jobs. With unemployment rates… Read More Thousands Of Federal Employees To Lose Jobs Over War On Immigrants
Yesterday, John Bolton’s book; The Room Where It Happened officially went on sale. Although Bolton dealt mainly with national security issues, his book offers us a glimpse into Donald Trump’s immigration rhetoric. It is understood that Donald Trump is using the immigration issue to bolster his support among his base. Trump has unleashed a war… Read More John Bolton Book On Trump Immigration Rhetoric
Let me save you the trouble of reading and spending money to buy John Bolton’s book The Room Where It Happened. It is officially to be available today, but many bootleg copies were made available over the weekend. I got to read one of the bootleg copies. Let me share with you what the book… Read More The Room Where It Happened Book Synopsis – Tongue and Cheek, Sort Of
Donald Trump ran on the slogan that he was out to Make America Great Again. Trump bemoaned how America had fallen because of his predecessor and thus embarked to bring American prowess back. Americans have been known for their pride in America. “I am an American and I have rights” is mocked by others when… Read More American Pride Falls Due To Donald Trump
The American 2020 riots seem to be centralized on the inequality that Black Americans feel each day. In the previous posts we looked at slavery as the reason that America became the economic powerhouse it is today. It is also the American lie that is driving today’s unrest. But many Americans refuse to understand the… Read More Immigration And The Riots
The underlining driving force of the American riots is the lie that slavery was not central to the American experience. Yet, America’s prowess is related to slavery although many Americans like to pretend that slavery is not central to America, or nothing more than a foot note in history. But America would not be the… Read More Racism and the American Lie
All are equal says the U.S. Constitution and it is the rallying cry behind the American “exceptionalism” arguments. It is the lie that has propelled the country from the moment it was founded. This lie perpetuated the rest of the American lies that follow it, the lie that all are free to worship or argue… Read More The Big American Lie
The pandemic news has been overshadowed by the national riots started by the murder of George Floyd and energized by the inequality that underlines American lives. This new series of posts are going to be difficult to read for many because it looks at America from the perspective that American values are about division. Many… Read More America Is Broken
Americans, it is time to have a “come to Jesus” discussion about American history. It is these types of talks that most will avoid but it must be had for the sanity of the country. Most Americans learned a varnished and palatable version of history. The history of America taught in American schools glosses over… Read More The Confederacy Was About One Thing – Slavery
Unless you live under a rock then you know that Donald Trump does not want immigrants to come to America. Trump has made it almost impossible for any immigrant to come to the country. This is especially true for those who want to Make America Great Again by their hard work. But even with Trump’s… Read More Covid-19 Recovery Requires Immigrants
For some time now I have been arguing that June is the pivot point. I still believe it is. There is no doubt that the way things were before Convid-19 are no longer the same. Many graduates wore medical masks to graduations and the ceremonies were streamed online. The Covid-19 generation – from middle school… Read More Unemployment Continues To Get Worse
The first sign that a dictator is losing his grip on his nation is when he deploys the military to hold the line. North Korea has its military on the streets. Iran has its military patrolling their streets. In countries where the people want a change in their government, the military is deployed to the… Read More American Riots
Many are shocked with what is happening in America today. Maybe it is because of the realization that 100,000 Americans are dead due to Covid-19 the latest American divide scares many Americans. It should, but it isn’t new. The riots are a manifestation of America’s dirty secret. The secret that not all Americans are equal.… Read More Riots: Either Everyone Is An America, or No One Is
As many readers likely know, the number of unemployed workers has approached the dismal numbers of the Great Depression. Although many workers believe that their jobs are still waiting for them, the reality is that those jobs are likely not there anymore. Even if the jobs remain, many workers will be shocked to learn that… Read More Post-Covid-19 Job Crisis
As America nears the all-time high unemployment rate of 20% for May, the numerous bankruptcies indicate that unemployment is worse than most believe. Next week the unemployment numbers for May will be released. Many expect the rate to be over 20%. The problem with the unemployment numbers is that they count workers who qualify for… Read More Bankruptcies Make Bodes Worse For Unemployment Numbers
Over the last few weeks I have been producing visuals of the Covid-19 pandemic. The infographics are designed to provide complex information in an easy to digest format. The news media leads with the number of cases and deaths without giving consumers context as to what the number mean. The following are two are my… Read More Visualizing Covid-19 Global Cases and Mortality
We are a drain on the American economy they say. We seek America for benefits. We are takers and give nothing back. That is what the anti-immigrants say. That is what they want you to believe. Never mind that immigrants make America great. This has been proven many times, but the anti-immigrants refuse to believe… Read More We Are A Drain On The American Economy They Say
There is an ongoing debate on whether mandatory lock downs are hurting the economy, or they are not. Part of those who are advocating for their right to remain open support the idea that Americans are a free people and that government should not interfere with their basic rights. The problem with this thinking is… Read More June is The Pivot Point
How deadly is Covid-19 seems to be on the minds of many. And, for good reason. Although some tend to believe that the disease is unprecedented, there have been six previous pandemics to hit the United States. The first in 1910 and the latest is Covid-19. To make sense of it all it is important… Read More Covid-19 Compared to Previous Pandemics
To fully understand how incompetent the Donald J. Trump administration has been in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic one needs to look at the cold hard numbers of death. The problem is not that the pandemic was unexpected. Every country has had to deal with it. The problem is not the growing numbers of unemployment… Read More The Incompetence of Donald Trump Through The Covid-19 Numbers
As many readers likely know, Donald Trump uses the immigration debacle and immigrants as fodder for his political base. The Trump base hears immigrants are bad and that Trump has closed the borders. The reality is that Donald Trump is relying on immigrants to get the country back on track after the pandemic ends. Most… Read More The Trump Immigration Problem and The American Way of Life
On Monday, April 11, Mexican foreign relations minister, Marcelo Ebrard posted on Twitter a clarification on the diplomatic note the Mexican government had sent to the U.S. Embassy recently. The diplomatic note asks the U.S. government for information and documents pertaining to the ATF Fast and Furious operation that allowed U.S. guns to enter México… Read More AMLO, Trump and Fast and Furious
Today, there is an estimated 20.5 million Americans without a job. It is an estimate because the true numbers of unemployed is unknown. About two weeks ago in “The Pending Unemployment Catastrophe” (link) we looked the unemployment rates from the Great Depression onward. Although the unemployment numbers released for April are not the 20%, I… Read More Unemployment Numbers for April 2020
The world is full of shysters always looking for a quick buck to make. The why let a good pandemic go to waste is what is driving today’s shysters. Unless you are literally living under a pile of rocks then you have seen the many videos and ads for masks and quick “remedies” for the… Read More The Plandemic Shysters
Depending on what media outlet you are reading you are likely to get two or more versions of the real story. This has been true for years because biases are part of what is published for public consumption. Take for example remittances from Mexicans working in the United States, both legal and undocumented and the… Read More Mexican Remittances And Covid-19
Yesterday we visualized Covid-19 cases, deaths and unemployment across the nation. We also learned from various news sources that on Friday, we will learn the latest unemployment numbers. Some analysts are bracing for unemployment figures to be 16% or above. If that holds true, the unemployment rate will be close to what it was during… Read More Covid-19 And Unemployment Analysis
There is an ongoing debate about opening the country’s economy. The issue centers around the notion of whether it is safe to get back to work. In the discussion there is also the issue about the rising unemployment numbers. Although the actual unemployment numbers are yet to be collected, anecdotally they seem to be as… Read More Visualizing the Correlation of Covid-19 and Unemployment
As America starts to prepare for the reopening of the economy there is a serious problem awaiting everyone. Officially America’s unemployment rate hovers around 4.4%. That is the official government number before the pandemic killed the economy. Anecdotally, the unemployment rate is at, or above 20%. We will not know for sure for some time,… Read More The Pending Unemployment Catastrophe
When I first started my blog around 2000, I soon began to focus on El Paso corruption. Corruption is the underlining issue/problem on the border. This is true for both sides of the border. Most focus on the Mexican side forgetting that for corruption to be successful there must be willing participants. Without a complicit… Read More The El Paso Crisis
While everyone is distracted by the pandemic crisis one of America’s archenemies defied Donald Trump and launched a satellite into orbit. Trump is not only chaotically trying to get a handle on the economic crisis facing Americans because of the Covid-19 disaster, but he is now dealing with unconfirmed reports that North Korea’s leader, Kim… Read More Iran Launches Satellite