U.S. Job Openings Exceed Number of Unemployed

U.S. job openings unexpectedly rose to a fresh record in April, with vacancies increasingly exceeding the number of unemployed workers amid a robust labor market, Labor Department data showed Tuesday.

 March’s upward revision made it the first time in data back to 2000 that vacancies exceeded the number of unemployed, a gap of 48,000. That difference grew to 352,000 in April and is poised to keep widening, as the number of unemployed dropped further in May, to 6.07 million.

 I believe most Americans are primarily concerned with their economic situation over any other issue.  If collusion with Russia, attacks on the Justice Department, immigration policy, health care, equal opportunity, the environment and other issues are far less important than the economy the Republicans will most likely retain both houses of Congress. 

 The November election will tell us all what Americans think is really important.

Hateful Time in America

For one day we came together to honor those who gave their lives in the protection of the United States (Memorial Day).

We are living in a hateful time in America.

America has deteriorated into a world of hate for the “other.” That would be anyone that does not think like me, look like me, or believe like me.

Roseanne Barr (TV program “Roseanne”) referred to Valerie Jarrett (an adviser to President Barack Obama) as the offspring of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Planet of the Apes – the film franchise on a Tweet. The exact tweet read “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby = vj.”  Barr subsequently wrote, “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.”

This is not the first time someone in the entertainment industry has created a storm. Kathy Griffin was fired from CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage for her disturbing photo shoot holding up a faux severed and bloody head of President Trump.

America has become a tribal society. By that I mean that Americans have divided themselves into groups that see others as enemies. It is not just political parties. It’s religious groups, racial groups, ethnic groups all throwing epithet’s at each other. And most of them are hate filled name calling.

We need leaders who will bring all Americans together as one nation indivisible.

Memorial Day: 150 years of honoring the America’s fallen military


Memorial Day flag display at Pepperdine College in Malibu, California

In 1866, Henry Welles of Waterloo, New York, suggested that the town’s shops should close May 5 to commemorate the soldiers who had died during the Civil War. Two years later in Waterloo, Gen. John Logan issued a declaration that Decoration Day should be observed nationwide. The declaration said that May 30 would be designated as a day to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.

In 1882, the name of the holiday was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day. After World War I, the holiday was expanded to remember soldiers from all American Wars.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon made Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Monday in May.

North Korea Nuclear Timeline

The cancellation of disarmament negotiation with North Korea should not come as a surprise to anyone.  Like the Peanuts cartoon where Lucy pulls the ball away just as Charlie Brown is running to kick it so has North Korea pulled away from completing an agreement to end its nuclear/ballistic missile program.   North Korea has pulled away from every agreement.

Here is a an abbreviated list of the previous failed efforts as reported on a CNN web site.  

1985
North Korea signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

1994
North Korea and the United States sign an agreement. North Korea pledges to freeze and eventually dismantle its old, graphite-moderated nuclear reactors in exchange for international aid to build two new light-water nuclear reactors.

2002
October – The Bush Administration reveals that North Korea has admitted operating a secret nuclear weapons program in violation of the 1994 agreement.

2003
January 10 – North Korea withdraws from the NPT.

2005
North Korea tentatively agrees to give up its entire nuclear program, including weapons. In exchange, the United States, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea say they will provide energy assistance to North Korea, as well as promote economic cooperation.  

2007
February 13 – North Korea agrees to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for an aid package worth $400 million.

2008
December – Six-party talks are held in Beijing. The talks break down over North Korea’s refusal to allow international inspectors unfettered access to suspected nuclear sites.

Donald Trump did the right thing in cancelling a Singapore summit.

Crocodile Tears for the Homeless

I am a member of the local community Neighborhood Council. There are 97 such councils in Los Angeles. All are officially recognized organizations that are certified by the city and receive funding from the city.

In the past year there has been a cry at the multiple meetings I attend about the homeless and the city’s lack of action to help those poor people. The mayor, Eric Garcetti, has recently proposed that a homeless shelter would be created in all 15 city council districts.

The sad reality is that no one wants those facilities in their neighborhood. Proof of that is the plan to build a facility on a main thorough fare in the Boyle Heights neighborhood. It was deterred for about a year because of objections by neighbors.

Now a planned “temporary” shelter in Koreatown neighborhood on a city owned parking lot has been confronted with hundreds of people waving and carrying signs protesting that plan. The protestors actually took to the street yesterday and blocked traffic at a major intersection for three hours.

So the homeless will continue to be pushed from location to location and everyone will be tsk tsking the plight of the homeless but not really willing to actually participate in solving the problem.

Interestingly a majority of voters did vote to raise taxed for building housing and providing services for the homeless. They just don’t want the housing or the services in their neighborhood.

Avenue of the Giants

The Avenue of the Giants is a scenic highway in Northern California, U.S.A., running through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It is an old alignment of U.S. Route 101, and continues to be maintained by the state as State Route 254.  We were there about 25 years ago on our way home from the Oregon Caves. 

Along the way we stopped at the Trees of Mystery located in the heart of the Redwood Empire, at the very center of Redwood National and State Parks. Trees of Mystery is California’s premier nature attraction on the North coast!

Rolls-Royce’s Yacht-Inspired Phantom Convertible

There it was parked on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills, California. A Rolls-Royce Convertible with the top down. It was parked like any other car.  I could see the entire car in the morning sun. 

I was taking Freddy, my terrier, into the groomer for a trim and bath.  After I parallel parked I realized that there was a Rolls-Royce in front of me.  When you go to the car show they have these cars on display but you really can’t see the interior easily.  This car could be seen by everyone walking or driving by.  No one was around and I ran my hand over the wood not certain that it was really wood.  No license plate on the back told me it was very new.  The owner was definitely showing off.

Check out the luxurious teak wood decking on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Convertible. “The optional teak decking was inspired by classic racing yachts – hand-made from 30 separate pieces and cut from the same tree for consistent grain,” explained on the hogring.com web site. The teak wood decking is optional and comes at a hefty price of $9,875.  Anyone willing to spend nearly $500,000 on the base model would not baulk at paying an extra $10K for such a gorgeous feature.

 Here are the pictures all taken by me.

back of a new Rolls-Royce Phantom Convertible
I  Zoom in to confirm Rolls-Royce insignia
front view of a really big car
side view of convertible

optional teak decking
racing yacht steering wheel

 

California Alone is the Fifth Largest Economy in the World

It is accurate to say that California is a challenging place to live if you are not a millionaire. It is very difficult for median income families.  Median household income for California was $67,739 in 2016. Housing costs are among the highest in the nation. Gasoline is currently averaging $3.63 a gallon for regular. That gasoline price is matched only by Hawaii.

Despite those challenges California’s gross domestic product is only surpassed by the entire United States, China, Japan, and Germany.

The reason for this situation is the multiple economic engines.

-Silicon Valley: the area south of San Francisco is the home of Facebook, Alphabet previously known as Google, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Intel, Cisco Systems, Nvidia, Netflix, Tesla, and many less known tech companies.

-Hollywood: Really all of Los Angeles is the television and movie entertainment capital of the world. CBS, NBC Universal, Disney, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Brothers are all in metropolitan Los Angeles.

-Tourism: According to the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, 48.3 million tourists visited L.A. in 2017, an increase of more than 2 percent over 2016 and the seventh consecutive year of record-breaking results. The total number of visitors to San Francisco last year rose 2.3 percent to 16.9 million.

-Import and Distribution: The two largest ports in the United States are Long Beach and Los Angeles. 40% of all goods imported enter through those two ports. They are then moved to distribution warehouses in Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino.

-Agriculture: California produces a sizable majority of many American fruits, vegetables, and nuts: 99 percent of artichokes, 99 percent of walnuts, 97 percent of kiwis, 97 percent of plums, 95 percent of celery, 95 percent of garlic, 89 percent of cauliflower, 71 percent of spinach, and 69 percent of carrots (and the list goes on. California is the leading US state for cash farm receipts. I have seen California strawberries in Toronto Canada.

-Manufacturing: Manufacturers help to drive California’s economy, with $142.39 billion in manufactured goods exports in 2016.

These are the reasons that nearly 40 million people see the state as the heart of economic opportunity.

Incels and Difficult Relations with Women

This is the first time I have ever posted anything personal about myself.  I do this because it still hurts. WordPress and Facebook are places where people bare themselves.

Standing for “involuntarily celibate”, the term Incel was originally invented 20 years ago by a woman known only as Alana, who coined the term as a name for single men who have a difficult time developing a relationship with a woman. These man have concluded they are ugly and that is the reason they are celibate.

This all stems from the fact that many men are frightened of people in general or perhaps afraid of even trying to develop even a friendship with a woman.

A Canadian woman reportedly coined the term “involuntary celibates” when she launched a website more than 20 years ago to offer support to people struggling to find partners.

As someone who was very shy as a teenager I understand that problem all too well. I was determined to change that situation. For me it was more than relations with girls and young women. It was connecting with all people.  I did overcome the shyness issue in my 20s.  Still I was turned down by many woman when I asked for a date in those days. Oh yes they were somewhat friendly but I was rejected repeatedly. I never thought of myself as being “ugly.” I concluded that I was not “hip” enough and not smart enough for those women.

In the 21st century those “Incels” are striking out in a manner that never once occurred to me. To find the solution to incel woes, red pill-oriented forums offer various self-help pablum. What these suffering men need is a little backbone and positive support from self help gurus like Tony Robbins.

Sitting at home and whining about your situation is no solution.

It all turned out well for me. I have a wonderful wife of many years and two grown children.

Will I post anything ever again about me or my family.  I will try not to do it again.

Barricades and Fortresses Takes us back to the 1200s

All in the name of security.

Within hours of Monday’s van rampage on Yonge St. in Toronto, in which 10 people were killed and another 14 injured, the city placed concrete barriers in front of Union Station. It was an acknowledgment of the vulnerability of anyone on foot as they walk down a sidewalk.

Temporary barricades were put in front of Union Station Toronto

Alternatives to those ugly barriers, sometimes called k-rails, are being used in many cities where the streets are crowded with pedestrians. We saw that last summer in Manhattan where the barriers look like tables covered with a thick fabric or large concrete planters placed near the curbs where the crowds of people are significant.

Barricades and Planters in Manhattan on 5th Avenue at 34th Street

The table blocks were being used by street vendors to hawk their wares. The planters held brightly colored flowers that actually made the sidewalks more enjoyable on Bloor Street in Toronto and in Manhattan.

It is really sad that we have to take these kinds of precautions. It speaks to the thought that living in gated communities and behind fences and walls is now a necessity in the 21st century.

It appears we are returning to the time when fortresses were the way to protect our families. Windsor Castle was built in the 13th century. Americans built forts to protect themselves as they ventured into Indian territories in the 1600s and 1700s. In the 21st century Israel has built walls to keep Palestinians at bay and Donald Trump wants to build a wall along America’s southern border.