Fidel is Dead

After watching the Gonzaga game, then Arizona vs Arizona State, A news bulletin was announced that Fidel Castro died. 1926-2016. Our relationship with that country has been a convoluted one.

First, we liberated Cuba from Spain during the Spanish-American war, along with the Philippines. We then turned Cuba loose to seek its own destiny. But a dictatorship evolved, aided by our Costa Nostra who took over much of the tourist industry, building huge casinos, with gambling galore.

Castro and others came along and staged their own revolution. Only this one was communist backed. Then The Soviet Union proceeded to import missiles that could reach most of the east coast of the U.S. This happened right during the transition from the Eisenhower administration to the Kennedy's.

Caught by surprise, Kennedy botched the invasion of Cuba, but did institute a blockade forcing Russian ships to turn back from the continuation of arming Cuba.Many years have gone by in which we have isolated Cuba from the West, keeping them in poverty.

Unwilling to ease up with the Island's dictatorship in full force, it as lasted many years. My question, is how can we differentiate between the dictatorship in Cuba, and the dictatorship in China, our principal trading partner in the far east.

The answer lies in Florida, where thousands of escapees from Cuba adamantly refuse to give up their sacrifices for a peace unearned by new comers. The Cuban Florida vote is powerful enough to throw national elections  into turmoil.

Now the question is can we, should we, have the political will to ignore that power block and normalize relations with this Island Nation.

Archives 2005

http://bayviews.blogspot.com/2005/12/conversation-with-kathleen-parker.html

Working Class

There are several labels that piss me off. One is working class. Like DFO goes to work most weeks, juggling news stories, controlling debate, answering his phone while trying to keep track of the day's activities via the police calls. He doesn't work? White collar office workers and government employees don't work, just because they wear ties?

All of these people are working class. They just don't work in industrial or construction trades, all honorable. Perhaps a term such as blue collar workers would be less pejorative.

Then there is the term, "Little People." How can one get more insulting than that?

I spent the majority of my career wearing a suit and tie, working in the mortgage lending field. Back when it was respectable with legitimate income/debt ratios which spelled out one's ability to pay.

I worked my butt off in that endeavor, taking on the responsibility of guiding borrowers into lending programs that were the best fit for them. I too, was a working man.

It is time that the working press, yes they work too, comes up with less insulting labels to describe the various people that exist in our classless society.

Bayview Water & Sewer

Trump 2016

I don't view this year's presidential election as an anomaly, but a serious long term polar shift in partisan politics.

It all started several years ago when the Democrat Party chose to abandon organized labor and switched to racial minorities. For years, labor had no advocates. Suddenly, they all rose up simultaneously, as a group. They chose to adopt or take over the GOP.

Following a somewhat billionaire redneck, these blue collar workers voted in the Republican primary for Trump. The only question was whether they would just  make noise, or would they, many for the first time ever, go to the polls and actually cast a vote.

Now we have a party that is distinctly divided into a new labor party, along side of so called Tea Party  conservatives. This could develop into several different scenarios. We could end up with three political parties very easily, which would leave the Dems in control.

What ever happens, it is going to be very interesting. So far the labor interests are just at the presidential level. but that could change, as the labor people flex their collective muscles.

Trump's selection of cabinet and judges will reveal a lot. He can make up his lack of experience with judicious choices for his cabinet. With congressional leaders distancing themselves in order to protect their majorities, relations with Trump could be strained at the very least.

One thing for sure, the next few months will not be boring.

466,680 page views since 2005

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Bayview Poll News

County Clerk, Jim Brannon reported that as of 9:30 am, 109 votes were cast in Bayview. Wow!

Clothespins

I missed out on a sure fire way to riches recently. I came up with a public service that would cause money to pour in on election day.

All I had to do was buy a ton of clothespins that could be sold at polling places so those that wished to avoid the odor coming from some of the choices, could apply the clothespin to their noses.

Alas, a great idea went up in smoke when I couldn't find any clothespins for sale anywhere. Oh well, back to the drawing board as they say.

Deplorables

Defining Deplorables according to the arrogant Hillary Clinton is any blue collar worker that is tired of elitists and fumbling bumbling politicians that accomplish nothing but running for public office.

Drug prices? tort reform? veterans suffering VA budget problems and bad management? All of these unfinished problems can be laid at the feet of the current administration and their policies, plus the congress, made up mostly of attorneys, that will not vote to fence in bad laws and worse lawyers.

In my adult lifetime, lawyers were not permitted to advertise. Now the airways are flooded with class action suits that attack every pharmaceutical product as soon as it hits the streets. We need more real people in public office. Doctors, businessmen,  yes and even laborers.

Many of us think that Hillary, Bill and other elitists are the real Deplorables. Please do not vote for a criminal that would be impeached leaving us with a no name VP as president.

If Trump turns out as his detractors say, we can get rid of him quickly, leaving us with a real qualified president, Governor Pence.

The Bell

A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit the Onion Creek School's reunion. My mother taught there in 1932. The original school bell was still there. I can understand why a couple of people would want to ring the bell in McEuen Park.

Faced with a bell, most of us would immediately want to ring it. I fully understand why the couple did so, accidentally damaged the one in Coeur d'Alene.

When I was taken on a tour of the original one room schoolhouse, I too, rang that bell.

My Opinion

In recent events, along with the previous FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's misuse of official State Department communications, several things are coming together.

The odd way FBI Director, James Comey dismissed the allegations of misuse of classified material, choosing to characterize it as sloppy but not criminal is and was suspect.

Combined with the fact that our current Justice Department is the most politicized in my memory, suggests that James Comey was coerced into dropping the charges that could and should have been levied. A recent interview with a retired federal judge brought out the emphatic statement that intent is not an issue in laws pertaining to security matters.

That would make sense as to why he suddenly reopened the investigation. The controversy within the FBI faced Comey with a difficult choice.His reputation versus following the party line which obviously is pro-Clinton. He chose to go with his sense of integrity in what is a scandal of epic proportions, much that will come out only after the election.

The huge scandal though, is when Director Comey asked the Attorney General for permission to investigate the Clinton Foundation for corruption, he was turned down.

Whether one is a liberal or a conservative, our country should trump (no pun intended) partisanship in favor of integrity. Lacking that, I'd rather have another peanut farmer, than Hillary. She makes Slick Willy look like an angel.Clinton is right. There is a double standard, just not the one she spins. Justice and equal treatment under the law va blatant partisanship.

Save the Orcas

An Associated Press story in Sunday's Press bemoans the shrinking of the Puget Sound Orca pods, citing starvation as the primary cause.

They went on to say we could reverse this trend by tearing out the Snake River dams, allowing more salmon to survive.

This is probably true except for one small detail. The Snake River flows into the Columbia which enters the Pacific Ocean. Why this geographic genius thinks Puget Sound would benefit is beyond me.

Perhaps they took two conservation subjects, combined them to make points on both. Still, if a reporter wants to write about fish runs in Puget Sound, he ought to do a little more research.

Kaepernick Syndrome

I have given a great deal of thought to this demonstrative behavior at Football games. One, the right to protest is basic. The question though, is the setting.

When a player is in uniform and present at a game, he is representing the team he plays for. As such, if allowed, the inference is that the team approves of the action.

Using a captive audience, such as at a football game is a misuse of that privilege. If that protester wants to speak out or act out to support a political position they should do so off the field of play and on their own time.

As has been pointed out by other athletes, while they have a right to their opinion, so does the public who may rebel against that which they disagree. Consequences are always possible.
In Kaepernick's case, he lives a mansion that is worth millions. It is terribly hard to classify him as one of the down trodden.

Unpredictable vs Shyster

I have decided to vote for the unpredictable Trump who might be OK if elected, rather than the very predictable Clinton who has a closet plumb full of skeletons.

While Trump just might choose qualified cabinet members and accept guidance from a Republican congress, Hillary will tilt the government hard left except when she is selling influence.

But the biggest issue is the Supreme Court. You may favor liberal issues or Conservative, but with a court that doesn't waiver from the constitution, we maintain balance.This is vital. There are those people out there that want to shred our government into a socialistic mob where the recipients of government largess outnumber the tax payers. When that happens we cease to be a democratic Republic and proceed down the drain.

Our Election Choices

It has been obvious that neither of our presidential candidates are fit for office. What to do? Well, first develop the key issues.

Back in the 1950's, former California Governor, Warren was named chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The rulings that followed, invented a new form of government that only vaguely resembled the constitution. This was the beginning of the liberal movement that decreed that the old fogies of yesteryear no longer mattered. They institutionalized Changes in constitutional reviews.

You see, the high court no longer reviews laws with an eye toward the constitution, but to legal precedents from previous court decisions.

No longer encumbered with previous precedents, they stray away from the bible of our country.
Now we have the choice between two unqualified candidates. One, Donald Trump, doesn't have a clue as to how to run a country. That can also be said for many others that ascended to that office.

On the other hand, we have supreme court justices with one foot in the grave and in one case, a mouthy liberal that needs to quit for the sake of the court's reputation. When a justice cannot or will not separate their personal opinions to the rule of law, they are no longer representing us.

Now we have the  other candidate. Hillary Clinton. A well known enemy of the military, a liberal that will appoint up to possibly three new justices, A left turn in our government is assured. In addition, she will continue to allow jobs to pour over seas for cheap labor. We avoided that for many years. We used tariffs to equalized the playing field.

Pay no attention to the polls. They don't have access to the blue collar workers that if they vote, will decide this race.

If Trump is the disaster that the left predicts, we can have him put of office very quickly. The cooperative efforts of the democrats, along with the establishment Republicans can kick him out in weeks, leaving Pence, a highly qualified guy as president.

Trump For President

Clinton or Trump? Since neither candidate is suitable, I'm going with Trump. If in fact he is the disaster many are predicting, we should be able with the help of Democrats and establishment Republicans to kick him out. We would then be left with Pence, who is far above either candidate.

On the other hand, Clinton is so firmly in control of the Democrats, we could never get enough votes to oust her from office.

So I'm going with the wild card. I'm thinking about selling clothespins at the polls for those not able to stand the smell of this election.

2024 Summer Olympics

I read today that Rome, Italy has pulled out of the running for the 2024 Olympics, joining Boston and Hamburg, Germany in declining further consideration.

Left are Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest. Los Angeles still has the infrastructure from previous Olympic games, with a swimming and diving facility and of course the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Paris won't stand the security test and Budapest will not be able to afford it. That leaves the Los Angeles Coliseum instead of the Roman Amphitheater. This will disappoint those were were lobbying for a new event from the past. Christians vs Lions.

Snow????

Today's weather forecast according to Accu-Weather is interesting. Tonight's low 29 degrees with a bit of snow. That is the local forecast for Bayview.

If in fact it does happen it will be the earliest I can remember. If squirrels are harbingers of a cold, snowy winter, the ground behind my home is covered with the waste left after these rodents finish off a pine cone.

Many people are predicting a snowy winter using every thing from Farmer's Almanac to how high bees nests are off the ground. Me, I'm a student of the law of averages. Been lucky for a couple of years? Then this will be the big one.   

We'll see.

Hurricane Mathew

In all of my years watching hurricanes hit the east coast, they would always turn NE out into the mid-
Atlantic. For the first time in my memory, if ever, the storm track is predicted to bounce off the Carolinas, then turn 180 degrees and head back to the south where it would meet it's tail in the Florida Keys. They weather guessers are not talking about that and what effect it would have, but it is sure unusual.

My brother has a winter home in Tampa Bay. It is a park model in a rented space. If the storm track shifts a bit to the west, the Gulf Coast could get it, too.

Hurricanes are unpredictable. Kind of like a spoiled child on steroids. I hope those that think just because they weren't driven out in their lifetimes, they won't die in this one. According to the Weather Channel, the U.S. hasn't seen a category four since about 1898 hit the Florida coast. Good luck toe the ignorant ones that will not survive this time, and prayers for those who do the right thing and still succumb.

Butt Out, Spokane

As far as protests go, I seldom agree with them. This is primarily because if you are in the majority, you have no need to protest.

The vast majority of protests come from left wing minorities, whose opinions are not widely held.

In the case of oil and or coal ports, the people near the affected areas have a right to protest, even though I and many others disagree with them.

In virtually all cases, the principle they are claiming, pollution, etc isn't really what they are trying to stop. It is the same as the Spotted Owl. In that case nobody gave a damn about the owls, it was about not cutting trees. They coined the vague phrase, "old growth," instead of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.

Just don't even thin the forests. Do not cut down any tree for any reason.

The same applies to oil and coal. These are environmental extremists.

Yesterday, I read where the Spokane City Council voted to support a protest, get this...of a pipe line from North Dakota to Illinois. This is not a Spokane issue. Butt out. Extremists feel they have the right to control everyone, not just their neighbors. Sheesh!

2016 Oktoberfish

Sir

   This past weekend Ralph's Coffee House held our 12th annual OktoberFish Derby here in Bayview.

It would be great to share our results with the public.

I have attached pictures of the Adult and youth winners

 OktoberFish 2016 winning fish L/R

Brooks Fickenscher (Spokane)    1st place 15.36lb
Ron Harrelson (Twin Falls)           2nd place 14.50lbs
Dan Whitney (Spirt Lake)              3rd place 14.36lb

Youth A  

Carson Laybourne  (Sandpoint)   1st place

Daisy McCorkle  (Athol)                2nd place

Morgan Beitey   (Spokane)           3rd place

Youth B

Eli Day (Spokane)    1st place

Samantha Day (Spokane)  2nd place

 Thank You for your consideration 

Ralph Jones (Derby Master)

Ralph's Coffee House 

208-683-2218