Men at Work

By Fred Owens

Men at Work

It was a sign, a strong and beautiful three word poem. You saw it near a highway construction crew. You saw the sign. Then you saw the men working, or standing around. It was plain as day. There was nothing to explain. It said Men at Work.

But they took it down -- it was not inclusive, they said, so they had to take the sign down and then millions of men quit working.......

Okay, maybe those millions of men were kind of stupid to quit working just because they took down the sign. Maybe those millions of men were a little simple-minded because they saw the sign every day and that meant they were supposed to go to work.

They could have had a sign that read "Men, go to work!" because there are a lot of fellas that need a shove, otherwise they sit around the house all day playing video games, which is what we have now.

Then Trump comes along and says he will make everybody go back to work -- give them jobs -- so they voted for Trump, because they felt guilty sitting at home in their pajamas waiting for the phone to ring.

Trump comes along and promises them jobs. He says "I won't forget you." And they believed him. He said, "I will put the sign back up."

Millions of men are not even looking for work, according to this story in the NYTimes. Millions of men, sitting around the house all day, in their pajamas, waiting for the phone to ring.

Cool Apps, but no Jobs. California, Oregon, Washington -- the Pacific corridor -- we all voted for Hillary Clinton, by a margin of more than two million votes, a lopsided victory...... And we really believed she would win. We could truly say, "Everybody I know voted for Hillary Clinton, so she's certain to win."

But we kind of lost touch with the rest of the country, assuming everybody is just like us. We began to believe our own predictions.

California, Oregon, Washington -- the Pacific Corridor -- host of the new economy. Amazon! Microsoft! Facebook! Apple! Google! We are mighty, we are powerful, we are the future.

Everybody loves us. We have the coolest apps. We have everything that you ever wanted -- except jobs. Oh, jobs. We don't really do that anymore.

So those ignoramuses back in Ohio still wanted jobs. What is wrong with those people? Jobs are not happening anymore. It's all about cool apps.

What possessed these people to vote for Trump?

But it's a design flaw that Google needs to fix. They did away with the jobs, but they forgot about the rent. Maybe they should do away with the rent first, and then get rid of the jobs. Now there's a vision. That's a really cool app.

Thomas Friedman, the NYTimes columnist, knows that millions of new jobs will be created in the long run. Globalization and high technology are disruptive forces that first wipe out entire industries, and then rebuild them bigger and better. "In the long run we will all be better off." That is what Friedman preaches.

But what about the short run? In the short run we're screwed. We actually live in the short run, most of us. The long run is like a place in heaven, if we ever get there, by and by.
So the people voted for Trump, because he lives in the short run, like the rest of us.
Trucks with No Drivers.

Google and the others are developing driver-less trucks that will put many thousands of people out of work -- why is that cool? Why do we applaud these efforts? Google and others should be creating products and services that increase employment.
They should design a truck that requires TWO drivers. That puts a lot of people to work.
Trump promises that he will put people to work, and he got elected, but the software geniuses from Silicon Valley should have gotten there first. We still need jobs, because we still have to pay the rent.
You go to the landlord, and show him this really cool app on your smart phone. And he says, "Where's the money?"
Homeless people have smart phones. Try sleeping in a smart phone some day -- see if it keeps you warm and dry.
Men at Work. Look, we don't have to bring back the sign, but we have to come up with another sign that is stronger and better. "Persons Engaged in Productive Activity."  That's inclusive. That's diverse. But it sucks. Gotta come up with something better then that.. If you don't, Trump will.
Maybe this will help  -- clean energy jobs ....... Bloomberg is a pretty good source..... Bloomberg says that clean energy businesses now employ more people than old fossil fuel companies.
Gratitude. As always at Frog Hospital, I use reputable sources, but I draw conclusions that are speculative. I am not trying to prove a case  -- I just want to keep the conversation going. Thank you for your time and interest in my humble words.

Donations Requested. Stay with us and please help us out with your donation dollars. This income keeps the editor from endorsing a cause or a movement. This income keeps the editor from getting preachy or self-righteous.

Go to the Frog Hospital blog and hit the PayPal button with your contribution of $25 or $50.

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Fred Owens

1105 Veronica Springs RD

Santa Barbara, CA 93105

--

Fred Owens
cell: 360-739-0214

My gardening blog is  Fred Owens

My writing blog is Frog Hospital

This is Maddening

By Fred Owens

This is Maddening. Alec Baldwin does a mock imitation of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. Trump challenges Alec Baldwin with a Twitter blast. So what will happen this Saturday? Alec Baldwin will spoof on Trump again, in spades, and ratings will go through the roof.... Trump Twitters and the ratings soar. They try to hate Trump at the networks, but he's good for business. This is maddening -- Trump wins again.

Freedom of the Press.
The President has no obligation to talk to the press.... No legal obligation, as far as I know ... It is in the best interest of the nation if he does talk to the press, of course, but I think he is not legally obliged ..... Trump can say whatever he wants to say, he can meet with whomever he chooses and the NYTimes is free to write whatever they choose to write about him ..... Is that correct?
What law says Trump has to talk with the NYTimes? It seems I understand freedom of the press in a different way than some other people...... No one can compel me, or the President or any other citizen to talk with a journalist. Journalists do not have the power to subpoena and compel testimony, It's all voluntary. And the journalist is free to write anything he or she chooses. For instance, I have the right to say that Trump is a jerk, an idiot and a threat to our democracy. The NYTimes might choose to publish words just like that, if they choose, and Trump could not stop them.. ... that's the freedom ...

A Part-Time President. We have only ourselves to blame for this -- how often have we praised multi-tasking? How often have we praised bringing the home to work and bring work to the home? So our new President will be occupying the White House for several days a week, flying in for a few meetings, and then off to one of his golf courses or resorts.

I support this. If he only works twenty hours a week being President, then he does less damage. The less the better. If he makes a few billion on the side, that is the least of his potential crimes.

Forgive me. I'm trying to approach the whole topic in a light-hearted manner. A lot of people are vigorously upset by the Trump Ascendancy and don't see the humor. Maybe there is no humor.

The Mexican Gardener. This morning I was doing some yard work for the neighbors. It's a part-time occupation for me. I charge by the hour. Vicente was working across the street. I wave hello to him. He waves back. He seems so friendly these days -- because he's afraid he might get deported? Maybe. I might ask him where he's from and he would tell me. When I meet someone I often ask where are they from, but I would not ask him if he was here legally. 

I want to calculate my self interest. Vicente and I are competing for the same dollars. I would get a $5 an hour raise if he goes back to Mexico due to the scarcity of labor. And I would like to make more money. That is my self interest, short term,  if the Mexican gardeners would leave Santa Barbara.

But the homeowner who hires Vicente would prefer to keep him, because he works hard for small dollars. The restaurant owner knows that half his serving staff is undocumented, but he wants to keep them working. The farmer wants to keep his field hands. This is not humanitarian, this is self interest and we can calculate that.

So I don't know what will happen to Vicente. In the long term and in the bigger picture we have room for him here. In the short term, if he leaves, I make more money.

Out with the Old, in with the New. For the first time in 24 years there are no Clintons on the horizon. Their day is done. This is a great opportunity for new people in the Democratic Party. The national media will surely notice California's new senator, Kamala Harris, age 52.

Identity Politics. Identity politics is a big mistake for the Democrats. One of my own beloved relatives praised the election of a Somali woman to the Minnesota legislature.... That's all my relative knew about the candidate, that she was female and that she was Somali and therefore that was a good thing .... That is identity politics in a nutshell and not a good thing..... Then I am tagged with an identity....older white low income male ... I'm sorry to not qualify as uneducated ... But I am a close fit to Trump's ideal demographic  -- he's pitching it right at me .... None of this is any good ...

Judge me on my behavior and my words and not for anything else.  ...

Donations Requested. Stay with us and please help us out with your donation dollars. This income keeps the editor from endorsing a cause or a movement. This income keeps the editor from getting preachy or self-righteous.

Go to the Frog Hospital blog and hit the PayPal button with your contribution of $25 or $50.

Or mail a check for $25 or $50 to

Fred Owens

1105 Veronica Springs RD

Santa Barbara, CA 93105

--

Fred Owens
cell: 360-739-0214

My gardening blog is  Fred Owens

My writing blog is Frog Hospital

Thanksgiving Plans

 

By Fred Owens

I called my daughter in Seattle. Eva and Lara are coming down for Thanksgiving  -- to stay with friends in Santa Monica. We will see them on Friday, the day after. On the day itself we will have turkey dinner with my girl friend Laurie's folks in Manhattan Beach.

Lots of relatives on both days. Cousins, uncles, aunts, friends. We are lucky  -- there are no difficult people involved.

I hear that people are heated up and divisive about the election. Maybe, but I don't see much evidence of that where I live.

Except Eric got a bit angry. I saw him at the coffee shop in Venice. The coffee shop is called Abbot's Habit. I don't think their coffee is very good, but the ambience is quite right. I go to this coffee shop whenever I come to visit my sister -- she lives three blocks down the street -- has lived in Venice for forty years, in that same house.

Eric has been in Venice even longer, more than forty years. He grew up in the

Bronx, and like many upwardly mobile young Jews at that time, in the 1940s and 1950s, he saw greener pastures in Los Angeles.

Greener pastures is the wrong metaphor for Los Angeles. We are five years into the drought. It is dry and dusty and brown in these parts -- but the economy is kicking, at least to judge by the pace of home and apartment construction. People still want to come and live here. Immigrants from foreign countries..... But maybe we should encourage immigrants from Ohio  -- they voted for Trump because they got depressed and the factories are closed. Well, why not just leave? To hell with Akron, come out here.

That's what Eric did years ago, coming from the Bronx, and my sister and I coming from Chicago. We came out here and voted Democrat.

But, as I said, people are getting along all right after the election, except Eric was especially vehement. He said Trump is a dangerous man, and it wasn't so much his words but his tone. Eric doesn't usually get angry -- sometimes cynical or sarcastic -- but last week when we were having coffee he was a little mad.

Eric said Trump is going to ruin the country. I said I hope he doesn't do that. Eric said I hope so too and let's talk about something else.

So we talked about his impending move to Petaluma, in Sonoma County north of San Francisco. This is a big change. He bought a house up there, to be near his daughter and the grandchildren. His whole life Eric has lived in the Bronx and LA, big cities from start to finish. I teased him about that. I said Eric, you're going to lose your edge. Everything is nice in Petaluma. Everybody will be nice to you. It will be so relaxing, living out in the country, There's no traffic.

I teased him about the widows. Eric is healthy, of a kind nature, and financially independent. He is devoted to his single status, his bachelor solitude. Women like him.

In Venice, surrounded by much younger people at the coffee house, he is protected against the widows.

But he will meet his match in Petaluma. I said Eric, they're waiting for you up there with trays of cookies. He said for damn sure nothing is going to happen. I said Eric, you're good, but you're not that good. They're waiting for you to move up there and we won't be there to back you up. Your bachelor days are over. He said not so fast, buddy.

Eric is facing the future. He is a realist, but also kind and intelligent.

Election Forecast.  I predicted that Hillary Clinton would win by a narrow margin. I was wrong. But Nate Silver, our most prominent pollster, was also wrong about that, so how come he gets paid so much more than me?

Nate Silver should have interviewed more cows. It was the cows that voted for Trump -- I mean the people who own the cows. They voted for Trump in very big numbers because nobody was paying attention to them.

They are called "uneducated white men."  I prefer to call them rural voters or country folks  -- or maybe rednecks, which is not quite insulting, but not quite polite. 

Well, you guys got your man in the White House and you have our attention now.

We have to take care of the cows, and the land, and the people who live on the land. They tend to be more conservative than us city folks. They got riled up this year because we ignored them. But I promise to never again forget about the cows. I love the cows, and the land, and the people who live on the land. Forever. Amen.

Donations Requested. Stay with us and please help us out with your donation dollars. This income keeps the editor from endorsing a cause or a movement. This income keeps the editor from getting preachy or self-righteous.

Go to the Frog Hospital blog and hit the PayPal button with your contribution of $25 or $50.

Or mail a check for $25 or $50 to

Fred Owens

1105 Veronica Springs RD

Santa Barbara, CA 93105

--

Fred Owens
cell: 360-739-0214

My gardening blog is  Fred Owens

My writing blog is Frog Hospital

Anything Can Happen

Anything Can Happen

By Fred Owens

Anything can happen this election day. My forecast is a narrow victory for Hillary Clinton, but your guess is as good as mine.
Hillary has the lead, but Trump is closing fast. All the news is about sex and emails, but does that matter? You look around and ask "Are you better off?"
Employment and wages are up. Crime is down, except on the south side of Chicago. Putin makes a lot of noise, is he really a threat? The civil war rages in Syria. Now there's a serious problem, I admit that. But here in our country, people are making a living -- unless they're shooting heroin in rural Ohio.
It's not a disaster and that means Hillary wins, but as I said, anything can happen. I am seeing, on Facebook  and around town here in Santa Barbara, the emergence of closet Trumpistas, more than I expected. Trump will finish strong, but he will finish second.
Truth
We should remind people that it is a secret ballot and that a polite answer to who are you gonna vote for is none of your business. I'm voting for Hillary, but I don't have to tell you that.... With that in mind I encourage people to vote for whomever they think will make the best President. If you think this election is a joke, then I support your decision to vote for Wavy Gravy. I even celebrate your right to abstain from voting. In sum, I do not believe it is possible to "waste" your vote. Your vote is your coin, spend it as you choose.

And no matter how you vote, I support your right to complain about the results.....
You do not need my approval. I sure don't need yours.
What a country!
Disgusted, Discouraged and Disappointed. So many people say this about the election. Not me. I'm having a great time. I love a good fight. We're supposed to be living in a divided country --  what nonsense. I find it easy to make friends with people who don't agree with me.
The bad things are out there -- hatred and vile language  -- I don't want to seem all happy talk, but by and large people are not losing their minds.
Both candidates have proven themselves. Although they are of advanced age, being 69 and 70, they have both shown exceptional stamina. They talk and talk and talk. Then they go to another state and talk some more. 
It's true they lack wit or style. A good joke now and then would be appreciated.
Voting for Hillary
Like millions of Americans I am choosing Clinton because she is not Trump. She is highly over-rated. She has poor political skills. She is the first presidential candidate to be over-qualified for the job. She has been in the public domain since I was in high school, like forever. But she has that outstanding quality of not being Trump, so she gets my vote.
And when you get to substance, I actually agree with her on a lot of issues. She tends to moderation and middle of the road positions. So do I.
Trump is just a little bit too much for me. You can heap pejorative adjectives on him, but I will not do that. I just think he should not be President.
A Pledge
Somebody is going to lose. Somebody is going to be in a sour mood come Wednesday morning. I pledge to extend the hand of friendship to one and all when this is over. If we win, no  gloating. If we lose, no crying. That's life. Don't get mad, just get over it.