Rep. Dan Bishop – sowing seeds of doubt sanding over past voting scandal

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Note, the following is specific to North Carolina, but serves as an example. A winning Congressional candidate named Reverend Mark Harris was forced to vacate his win, when it was discovered he hired an operative to collect mail-in votes and toss those in opposition. Sadly, Harris has won the Republican primary in 2024.

To support his run for North Carolina Attorney General, US Representative Dan Bishop recently drew attention to Reverend Mark Harris being asked to forfeit a Congressional win in 2018 by a “Democrat majority” State Board of Elections over what Bishop called “some fairly minor illegal ballot harvesting.”

We should not forget that Reverend Harris’ own son testified that he warned his father about the illegal tactics being employed on his behalf by a political operative. And the “Democrat majority” board that rescinded Harris’ 2018 win did so by a unanimous vote, not just the Democrats.

I am tired of candidates purposefully sowing seeds of doubt, as Bishop did. They want voters to have less confidence in the election process. Sadly, people believe these stories. Harris was wrong and it cost him. So is Bishop. *

* I am certain Rev. Mark Harris is perturbed with Rep. Dan Bishop for raising this issue. The Reverend probably did not want to remind voters that he cheated before, hoping they would forget counting on short memories.

I sent a variation of this post and it was printed in the Letters to the Editor this morning in the largest newspaper in North Carolina.

The person who hates windmills

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Donald Trump has a long term dislike for windmills. In Scotland in 2015, he sued the Scottish government to halt a project of eleven offshore windmills as he attested they ruined the view from his golf course. He lost the case. Here is a subtitle from an article in 2019 in Politico.

“Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire golf resort must pay the Scottish government’s legal costs following a court battle over a major North Sea wind power development.”

He later said the onshore windmills hurt cattle, yet in Texas, the largest wind electricity producer in the US, ranchers make $5,000 annual rent per windmill. One rancher said he made $55,000 per annum on his eleven windmills, which offers a nice supplement to his income. Note, I said “Texas,” “rancher” and “windmill” in the same paragraph.

I actually think windmills are elegant beasts. There is a site in the rolling hills near Corning, New York where a staggered row of windmills add to the vista. In Ireland, even fifteen years ago, there were fields of windmills.

Let me close with a comment from now deceased oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens made on “60 Minutes” about a dozen years ago. He said, natural gas will buy us time, but the future of electricity in the US is wind energy. He said the wind blows on the plains states. Since then, in addition to Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma all have significant wind energy successes. And, solar energy has also grown significantly here, with California leading the way. So, progress is being made.

We are lied to by too many who are sowing seeds of doubt

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Too many of our troubles seem to have a common factor. Elected officials and business leaders are not being totally truthful to us citizens, consumers and employees. It is hard enough to solve our problems when armed with facts, but nigh impossible when they are distorted or withheld.

I recall back in the 1990s a panel of tobacco industry CEOs testifying to a Congressional Committee under oath. In succession, each CEO lied that nicotine was not addictive. That was before a whistle-blower provided evidence that they knew nicotine was addictive for about thirty years. The industry was made to pay a massive fine for their subterfuge.

For years, the US military refused to effectively evaluate the link between the brownish and awful smelling water at Camp Lejeune and numerous cancers and illnesses of Marines and their families. Too many were needlessly harmed until they were made by two North Carolina Senators to investigate. Now monetary and health support are available.

The 2005 Energy Act was written by a former fracking CEO who was Vice President at the time, Dick Cheney. He slipped in two key protections for the industry. Fracking would not be subject to the Safe Drinking Water Act or the Clean Air Act.  Fracking takes a huge amount of water that cannot be reused as the water is laced with chemicals to make fracking easier. Further, natural gas caps leak methane and sometimes natural gas is vented on purpose. Americans are owed the truth about the negatives of fracking.

In early 2018, a Tax law was passed sold as a tax cut for all, but the primary beneficiaries were corporations and the wealthy. It was also sold that it would pay for itself with increased revenue. These assertions are never true and the estimated increase on the debt of $1.6 trillion was waved off. That estimate came from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. First the legislators believe their own lies, then sell them to us. The Tax law gave our pretty good economy a sugar rush for a several months before waning back to previous levels. It never came close to paying for itself as the debt climbed even more.

Finally, the 2020 election was sold by the former president as fraudulent. Yet, the head of election security Chris Krebs said it was the most secure election in our history leaving auditable trails. That was before he was fired by the former president. The latter had more than ample opportunity to prove his claims failing miserably losing every recount, review and audit and all but one court case out of about 65. Yet, he continues to perpepuate his bogus election fraud claims along with too many sycophantic members of Congress and notable state legislature and governor houses. Sadly, seeds of doubt are sown in the process with purpose, yet it is much more believable that a proven liar has lied to people and been supported by others.

Sowing seeds of doubt. Right now, we should dig deeper using multiple sources. We should ignore facts offered by all politicians especially those known for lying like the former president. He has further tainted the veracity of everyone.

Nikki Haley disappointment

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As an independent and former Republican of 25 plus years, it greatly disappoints me to see Nikki Haley say she will now vote for the former president. She ran for all the right reasons to keep this nominee from further damaging both the Republican Party and our country.

Joe Biden is not perfect, but he has done better than both Republicans and Progressives give him credit for. We must get to the bottom of all of the charges facing the former president, preferably before the election.

The former president has already been found liable for fraud three times and defamation twice in the last few years. He says he has done nothing wrong, but that is simply untrue.

Three terms, really?

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He who shall not be named (HWSNBN) said recently he wants to serve three terms.

From where I sit as an Independent and former Republican of 25+ years (and Democrat for 5 years), my hope is the former president will serve three successive sentences for election meddling, classified documents mishandling and for his role in the insurrection on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. From what I read, hear and understand, I believe he is guilty of many of these charges.

It concerns me greatly that HWSNBN has gotten this far as a candidate. Americans deserve better. Republicans deserve better. I would love to see Republicans replace him with someone we all can be at least proud of, even if we do not agree with all of their policies. I do not agree with former Representative Liz Cheney on several policy positions, but she is the most courageous Republican by far. Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, calls the former president a “coward” for lying to the American people.

That is what I think. And, no I am not a Democrat. I included this for some MAGA folks who accuse me of such when I dare criticize their frontrunner. This is part of the cognitive dissonance protective pushback.

Courage doesn’t always roar

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A blog I subscribe to is called “Short Wisdom” by Elena.  Elena offers several quotes per day from a variety of authors.*

One I found quite profound is belied by its brevity. Here goes:

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says l’ll try again tomorrow.”

Mary Anne Radmacher

I love this. Courage is most definitely not false bravado. That is posturing. Courage can be noticeable, but quiet courage is not advertised. It just happens day after day by everyday people.

*https://shortwisdom.wordpress.com/2024/05/21/motivational-quote-by-abhijit-naskar-a-pen-may/

Monday morning you sure look fine…just avoid the lunatic fringe

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With another shout out to Fleetwood Mac, let’s start the week with one of their lyrics. If you are a fan, you know the next line is “but Friday I got travelin’ on my mind.” So, until then, we can just look fine.

Speaking of fine, if the former president wants to testify, please, oh please let him. That would be more than fine. When an untruthful person gets on the witness stand, two things happen – perjury risk goes up and changing answers increase. I have shared before, an attorney got the former president to change 30 answers to avoid perjuring himself in one sworn deposition.

Speaking of fine, I keep reading how even MAGA fans are getting tired of the antics of some of the elected “lunatic fringe” in their party. At some point, these folks wear out their welcome even with other more strident folks. I hate using labels, but to me the lunatic fringe represents the negative tail of a statistical distribution. In a normal distribution, the negative tail could be 2 1/2% of the group using two standard deviations.

In the context I am referencing, the Republican Party is not a normal distribution as the former president has pulled more negativity into the mix making his views more mainstream, So, the lunatic fringe is a little larger. Democrats have their fringe as well, but I do not see it as large as the Republican one.

“Lunatic fringe” is also a cool song from Red Rider. Just a few lyrics will reveal how prescient this song is:

“Lunatic fringeIn the twilight’s last gleamingThis is open seasonBut you won’t get too far
‘Cause you’ve got to blame someoneFor your own confusionWe’re on guard this time (on guard this time)Against your final solutionOh no.”
So, we must be on guard. Push back on people who are espousing nonsense. We know their names. And, we should also push back on those who believe the BS these folks are espousing. We won’t really be fine until we do.

What is this BS about women not deserving a career?

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There is a movement in some evangelical circles that has been picked up as a rallying cry. Women should aspire to being mothers and let a career be secondary. Let me first set aside this narrow-minded view in that many women and families don’t have an either/ or choice. The female spouse has to work and be a mother.

I have even heard some evangelical bent radio hosts note that it is an assault on masculinity for a wife to work. Of course, it is not. Relationships and marriage are hard work. Whatever combination of genders form the relationship, the people need to work together to earn family income and raise a family.

Single parents don’t have that choice. Half of marriages fail (go back to the hard work comment). Some mothers acted rashly in the heat of passion without birth control and are left with a child, but an absent sire. I read and hear often that parenting is easier with two parents. That is often true but assumes both parents are up to the challenge. In a homeless working family agency I helped with 1/3 of our single mothers (and often the kids) were victims of domestic violence.

But, back to the concept that women should aspire to being mothers first and foremost, the answer is they can do both and many have to do both. Those who think women are not up to the same challenges as men, here are four top of mind examples:

A female colleague of mine whom I shall call D is the best project manager I have ever worked with. D is a terrific organizer and delegator of work and juggled many balls while walking forward. D is loved by her clients.

A female colleague in New York whom I shall call R is the most knowledgeable consultant I have ever worked with on executive compensation for the financial industry. R has terrific customer service skills and adds a dose of candor to any relationship. Ironically, with a college degree, she had to start out as a Secretary back in the early 1970s.

Two of the best client managers in my old company were women, one in Dallas and one in New York. They were tasked with growing relationships with large clients and did it well. Not ironically, they worked hard and were tough task masters expecting the same level of commitment. Of course, they were called the B word, but they could outdo any man in the role.

If men feel threatened by successful, multi-tasking women, that has more to do with them than women. Being an adult man (or woman) has more to do with accountability and responsibility. It has more to do with being a good partner in a relationship to make it thrive. A lesson I learned a long time ago, the best thing a father (or mother) can do is love their partner. This recurring act will offer a great deal of security and comfort to kids.

So, to me this one or the other debate is just noise. In our practical world, you do what you have to do to raise a family and keep them housed, closed and fed.

Using your best toddler voice, say with me

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Like many Americans and non-Americans, we are long past weary of the relentless lying and posturing words and actions of the former president. To me, long before he ran for president he was not known for truth telling. In fact, as Rick Reilly said in his book “Who’s your caddy?” about his stories caddying for golf pros and celebrities about twenty years ago, “Donald Trump cheats at golf right in front of you.” He makes no bones about.

That is as good a metaphor for his routine sales schtick he uses to mislead the American people. His lying and cheating are OVERT. He does it right in front of you. And, it is his modus operandi learned over many years of practice. In fact, in Cassidy Hutchinson’s book “Enough,” she said Trump did not mind being called a liar – he minds being called a loser.

Yet, when caught in a lie, sin or crime, we know it is never his fault. His mantra is to deflect blame or accuse someone else. His excuses are very much like a toddler’s when his hands are found in a cookie jar with crumbs on his face. So, in your best toddler voice mimic Trump’s excuses:

”I didn’t do it.”

“They just don’t like me!”

“They don’t want me to win.”

”They stole it from me. I won by a long shot!”

“It is all unfair. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

”She’s not my type.

”I didn’t sleep with her.”

Now, repeat them again honing your best toddler voice. This is what Trump sounds like to me when he offers his tiresome excuses. As for his sycophants and spineless rationalizers, I need to figure out a voice for them. I am thinking of a bully’s yes men (or should I say boys?) on the playground. They are around until someone punches the bully in the nose and he whimpers away. In Trump’s case, it is usually a strong and intelligent woman who does the punching.

These women get vilified for speaking the truth to the former president. Yet, they are like his Mommy saying now Donald, tell me the truth – you did eat the cookies, didn’t you? Now, wipe the crumbs from your face.

Miami 2017 – Billy Joel needs to change the ending with the encroaching seas (an encore post)

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I wrote this post ten years ago. Think about what has changed and what has not. The then governor forebade his staff from mentioning the words climate change in speeches or articles. Yesteday, the current Florida governor is overseeing a law that says climate change is not really a problem. Note, his state is surrounded on three sides by water. You would think a good steward ought to be at least somewhat concerned.

In one of Billy Joel’s more memorable songs written in the 1970s, “Miami 2017” sometimes referred to as “The Night the lights went out on Broadway,” he sings of how everyone moved away from New York to Miami when it got so bad there. Here are the concluding lyrics: You know those lights were bright on Broadway. But that was so many years ago… Before we all lived here in Florida. Before the mafia took over Mexico. There are not many who remember. They say a handful still survive… To tell the world about… The way the lights went out. And keep the memory alive…

However, Joel may need to change the song ending as Miami is being encroached upon by the sea and it is not anticipated to let up. Per a PBS Newshour news article led by Kwame Holman, sea water is now coming up through the sewage system into the streets, the only place the water can escape. And, unlike Hurricane Sandy that leveraged off the rising seas to wreak havoc, this is happening without a hurricane, which makes it even more scary. Here is a link to the article:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/south-florida-rising-sea-levels/

I am not implying Miami will be under water by 2017, but I am saying that the predictions of a meter rise in the seas (between 39 and 40 inches) by the end of the century, may be too optimistic. Miami’s Dade County has been joined by three other adjacent counties to plan for the rising sea. Per the article, Eric Carpenter of Miami Beach Public Works Department said, “We have done our storm water management master plan that was adopted in 2012, and that had identified approximately $200 million worth of improvements that we needed to do over the next 20 years in order to keep pace with sea level rise and addressing flooding concerns within the city of Miami Beach.”

Per Holman, “Miami Beach is not alone in addressing sea level rise. South Florida has become a model for regional cooperation on this issue. Projections by a four-county climate change compact were turned into an action plan with more than 100 recommendations. Those now are being reviewed. Some have been adopted by county governments. Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs has been at the forefront of South Florida climate change discussions and has earned national recognition for her work.”

The dilemma is the $200 million estimated fix will likely not be near enough, some thinking it may need to be doubled. Miami is right at sea level, so any rise of significance will be problematic. Yet, the fact four counties have joined together to discuss the problem and identify action steps is encouraging. The logical concern is how to pay for what needs to be done. So, mapping that funding strategy must be a key part of the equation.

Several states have accepted reports of the 39 inch plus sea level rise – Virginia, Louisiana are two that come to mind. Unfortunately, I sit in a state that refused to accept such a report and would only accept one that projected forward off the previous 100 years’ results. So, North Carolina is hoping the seas only rise by 8 inches by the end of the century. North Carolina is literally holding back the sea with legal briefs. I applaud South Florida for doing what we are not in NC. Climate change is real, we are seeing it already and we need to do something about it. I hope that other communities share Miami’s concern and plan accordingly.