Author: coastcontact

I am a somewhat cranky but mostly optimistic 65 plus who refuses to give up on this maddening world. The purpose of this BLOG is to express my feelings, thoughts.

Trump: The Great Protector

Former President Donald Trump cast himself as a “protector” of women at a Pennsylvania rally Monday evening and claimed that American women won’t be “thinking about abortion” if he’s elected.

The former president claimed women are “less safe,” “much poorer” and are “less healthy” now compared to when he was president and vowed to end what he described as their “national nightmare.”

“Because I am your protector. I want to be your protector. As president, I have to be your protector. I hope you don’t make too much of it. I hope the fake news doesn’t go, ‘Oh he wants to be their protector.’ Well, I am. As president, I have to be your protector,” Trump said.

Palos Verdes landslide keeps getting worse. Residents’ anger boils

While I am sad to read of the landslides in Palos Verdes apparently the people living there want the government to fight mother nature. The On January 10, 2005, a landslide struck the community of La Conchita in Ventura County, California, destroying or seriously damaging 36 houses and killing 10 people. This was not the first destructive landslide to damage this community, nor is it likely to be the last reported the U.S. Geological Survey. From a landslide in Sonoma County to intense floods in San Diego the cliffs and hills near the beach communities are common. Amtrak announced the tracks are unexpectedly closed due to debris on the rails in the San Clemente area. A landslide caused by recent weather events was identified as the culprit, as reported by the L.A. Times. Anger will not solve this problem. If there was a solution to the landslides in Palos Verdes the government would have already taken that action.

I noticed that one news outlet called Palos Verdes the richest area in the country so money to fight the landslides is not an issue.  

Approaching Retirement with little savings

If you are in your 60s with too little retirement savings, you aren’t alone. The median balance in defined contribution plans of those ages 55 to 67 is just $87,571, according to the Vanguard How America Saves Report.

Financial concerns are a fact of life for America’s retirees. In fact, an AARP survey found that 20% of adults ages 50+ have no retirement savings, and more than half (61%) are worried they will not have enough money to support them in retirement.

It’s not a comfortable financial position, as a $50,000 nest egg only allows you to withdraw around $2,000 in annual income, assuming you follow the 4% rule to set a safe withdrawal rate. With Social Security only replacing around 40% of pre-retirement income, $2,000 to spend each year from savings simply won’t cut it. You must find ways to boost your savings.

Be wary of quick money making schemes. Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, which ran for decades, defrauded thousands of investors out of tens of billions of dollars. Investors put their trust in Madoff because he created a front of respectability, his returns were high but not outlandish, and he claimed to use a legitimate strategy. In 2009 Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison.

My solution to this dilemma was a Reverse Mortgage on my house. It is an expensive choice but I can continue living in my house for the remainder of my life and Social Security pays my other bills.

Forget Multi-Level Marketing Businesses as a source of income. They are mostly Pyramid schemes. They can look remarkably like legitimate MLM business opportunities and often sell actual products, maybe even ones you’ve heard of. But if you become a distributor for a pyramid scheme, it can cost you and your recruits — often your family and friends — a lot of time and money that you won’t get back.

Who will win the election on November 5?

I am going with the prediction of Allan Lichtman.  Lichtman is a historian who has correctly predicted the outcome of nine out of the past 10 presidential elections, has confirmed his prediction on which candidate will reclaim the White House.

This year, he predicts Vice President Kamala Harris will win.

Since 1984, Lichtman has published his “Keys to the White House” manuscript, in which he predicts which candidate will claim the presidency.

He’s made the correct prediction in 10 recent presidential elections, except for the razor-thin George W. Bush victory in the 2000 election over Al Gore, who Lichtman predicted would be the winner.

He bases his prediction on thirteen keys, or “big picture true-false questions that tap into the strength and performance of the White House Party.”

The keys include whether:

  • The White House party gained House seats during the midterm elections.
  • The sitting president is running for reelection.
  • The White House party is avoiding a primary contest.
  • There is a third-party challenger.
  • The short-term economy is strong.
  • The long-term economic growth has been as good as the last two terms.
  • The White House party has made major changes to national policy.
  • There is sustained social unrest during the term.
  • The White House is untainted by scandal, the incumbent party is charismatic.
  • The challenger is uncharismatic.
  • The incumbent is charismatic.
  • The White House party has a major failure in foreign policy.
  • The White House party has foreign policy success.

Incendiary Rhetoric Likely to become more Harsh as Election Day approaches

J.D. Vance warns calling a candidate a ‘fascist’ can lead to violence but doesn’t mention that’s what Trump calls Harris. Trump also called Harris a communist.

Presidential historian on Monday’s CNN NewsNight panelist Tim Naftali suggested in the aftermath of the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump that Trump made himself a bigger target by “using the rhetoric of the 30s.” Fortunately, New York Post reporter Lydia Moynihan and CNN commentator Scott Jennings were also there to recall the violent rhetoric and “bunch of lies” directed towards Trump over the past several years.

Naftali declared, “I remember so well July 13th. And I remember the conversations in the days that followed. I remember President Biden’s speech about toning down the rhetoric, and I saw the rhetoric toned down on both sides and then 20 minutes into his acceptance speech, Donald Trump turned up the volume.”

Both Vance and the former president, who said Democrats calling him (Trump) a “threat to democracy” is “what is causing me to be shot at,” have been cited for the hypocrisy of their pleas to deescalate incendiary discourse.

Could someone get shot and killed? The answer is YES! There has already been two efforts to kill Donald Trump.

Have you forgotten?

Former President Donald J. Trump has called the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a “love fest” and the jailed rioters “hostages.” Credit…Jason Andrew for The New York Times

Trump falsely claimed that he had nothing to do with the assault, blaming it on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the police officers who protected the building that day against a mob of his supporters.

On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then–U.S. President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup d’éta  two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. 

In the Trump-Harris face-off there was a clear Winner

It’s pretty clear to me that on Tuesday night, Vice President Kamala Harris won what may be the only debate between herself and former President Donald Trump.

I watched the entire debate. As Trump was speaking I myself thinking about Captain Queeg, the unstable skipper of the destroyer-minesweeper U.S.S. Caine in The Caine Mutiny movie. In the movie a doctor on cross examination admits that Queeg has symptoms that fit the profile of a paranoid personality disorder.

That is what I believe Trump has, a paranoid personality disorder.

Trump looked angry for most of the debate.

Sadly there is no requirement of mental fitness to qualify for president of the United States.