Headlines

UK to allow quarantine-free travel with nearly 60 countries — but not the U.S.

Senate Republicans cool to 2nd round of stimulus checks, direct deposits

U.s. Attorney says there are 150 federal cases tied to riots

National parks are latest target of systemic racism claim in America

Judiciary Committee to interview Manhattan federal prosecutor ousted by Barr

Surgeon general stops short of warning people to avoid crowds on Fourth of July

Protesters to storm D.C. over Independence Day weekend

Poll: 7 in 10 ‘angry’ about ‘state of the country’

Florida hits new COVID-19 record ahead of Pence visit

Experts fear the end of eviction moratoriums could plunge thousands of people into homelessness

Texas Gov. Abbott establishes mask mandate for entire state

Poll: Most Liberals say Americans are too lazy to work

Counterpoint

Recently I wrote a blog specifying all the good things that can be said about the United States ... see: Rose-Colored Glasses. However, daily we see media articles that show these advantages often slip-sliding away. To illustrate this I have juxtaposed below, next to my previously-stated advantages, media stories that show the slow dulling of our nation's edges:

We have a capitalism-driven growing economy ... the largest in the world. See: China Overtakes the U.S. as World;s Largest Economy.

We have a plentiful supply of cheap labor to our south ... anxious to experience our American life. See: Donald Trump Was Right.

We have a premier higher-education system ... the envy of the world ... and one which keeps supplying us with gifted entrepreneurs. See: Higher Education -- Not What It Used To Be.

We have the geographic advantage of being isolated from most of the rest of the world by two large oceans. See: How Geography Explains The United States.

We have a very low inflation rate. See: What Official Inflation Figures Aren't Telling Us.

We have a generally benign climate. See: Scientists Warn Sun Will Go To Sleep In 2020, Cause Temperatures To Plummet.

We have a national park system that is the envy of the world. See: Obama Designates More Than 1 Million Acres For Three New Monuments.

We have the world's best health-care professionals and technology. See: Healthcare Is Getting Worse Under Obamacare.                 

Despite continuing declines, we still have an enormous manufacturing capacity. See: Fast Track To Lost Jobs.

We are currently not in a hot war draining our treasury and supply of young people. See: Pentagon Official Lists Militants, Russia and China As Threats To The U.S.

Most crime in this country is on the decline except in a few hot spots. See: Murder Rate Surges In Major U.S. Cities.

We have a democratic-elected government and all the freedoms provided by our Bill of Rights. See: The Constitution Is Eroding.

We are abundantly supplied with raw materials. See: How Putin's Russia Gained Control Of A U.S. Uranium Mine.

We have a stable currency ... the basis of most world-wide commerce. See: Momentum Builds To Label Chinese Yuan A Reserve Currency

We have the strongest military in the world. See: Lawmakers Blast US Army Force Cuts.

We have a very large middle class that supports our democracy and our way of life. See: The Shrinking American Middle Class.

We have an enormously efficient food-supply chain. See: America.s Fragile Food Supply Chain.

We lead the world in most technological advances. See: U.S. Moving From Technology Leader To Laggard.

We still carry a large surplus of prestige with most world governments. See: The Decline Of U.S. Power?

Now you see "the rest of the story."

Rose-Colored Glasses

This blog, like most of the Internet commentary, has a decidedly negative flavor. Not so good ... ergo, I've decided to try, at least for this one post, to walk on the sunny side of the street. One of Ronald Reagan's strong points was that he was always looking at things through rose-colored glasses. And the genius of Barack Obama's first presidential campaign was it slogan, "Hope and Change." Accentuating the positive is almost always the better strategy. People like to feel good ... and therefore they like people who try to make them feel good.

So what is so positive in our lives in America today? We have a capitalism-driven growing economy ... the largest in the world. We have a plentiful supply of cheap labor to our south ... anxious to experience our American life. We have a premier higher-education system ... the envy of the world ... and one which keeps supplying us with gifted entrepreneurs. We have the geographic advantage of being isolated from most of the rest of the world by two large oceans  We have a very low inflation rate. We have a generally benign climate. We have a national park system that is the envy of the world. We have the world's best health-care professionals and technology. Despite continuing declines, we still have an enormous manufacturing capacity.

And we are currently not in a hot war draining our treasury and supply of young people. Most crime in this country is on the decline except in a few hot spots. We have a democratic-elected government and all the freedoms provided by our Bill of Rights. We are abundantly supplied with raw materials. We have a stable currency ... the basis of most world-wide commerce. We have the strongest military in the world. We have a very large middle class that supports our democracy and our way of life. We have an enormously efficient food-supply chain. We lead the world in most technological advances. We still carry a large surplus of prestige with most world governments.

Enough? Feeling better?

Yes, we also have problems ... but I leave these for later comment.

A Test

I am herein offering a test to measure the bias of national media outlets .. that is, if and whereof they mention what happened in Congress yesterday that was meant to ameliorate the effect of the government shutdown. The House of Representatives proposed a piece of Ted Cruz's strategy ... a measure that funded the District of Columbia, veterans' services, and the national park service.  But the House Democrats kept this from reaching a required 2/3rds majority ... even after passing a similar measure to fund the Defense Department ... which was later passed by the Senate and signed in to law by President Obama ... see: The Blaze Story.

However, this morning's printed version of the New York Times indicates that somehow this bill made its way to the Senate and Democrat Majority Leader, Harry Reid, refused even to bring this proposal up for a vote in the Senate.  I'm sure that this was meant to punish the Republicans by punishing segments of the American people ... with the cooperation of national media outlets.  How cynical can one political party get?

Although the New York Times did reveal this information on page one this morning, it was in paragraph 8 and referred this measure as a "narrow bill."  I grade the Times with a B- ... it should have been in the headline and the first paragraph ... it's real news!  An exercise that you, dear readers, can use to test our media outlets' biases is to follow how much of this really important development the national media are willing to convey to you.  This should be fun.

Don't Feed the Bears

Newt Gingrich has called Barack Obama "the food-stamp President" because this U.S. Dept. of Agriculture program has more than doubled under his watch.  See the interesting table here.  Now, in a bit of government bureaucratic irony, the U.S. Forest Service has posted this equivalent notice in many of its National Parks:

Please don't feed the bears. They get used to this
source of food and then can't fend for themselves.

(Thanks to John B. for a heads-up to this tidbit.)