Welcome to Transylvania

Transylvania is a real place, even though you might initially think that it is a location invented by Bram Stoker as a setting for his famous novel, Dracula.

It is located in what today is central Romania, and it has a very long history. Prior to its conquest by the Romans in 106 AD, it was the center of power for the kingdom of Dacia.

It’s not entirely clear what inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula, but invasion literature was very popular in England during the last years of the 19^th century. Dracula was published in 1897, but was actually preceded by at least 3 other vampire novels in the earlier parts of the 19^th century. Bram Stoker spent 7 years researching European folklore and tales of vampires, and was heavily influenced by Emily Gerard’s 1885 essay titled ”Transylvania Superstitions”. Although Bran Castle in central Romania is commonly referred to as Dracula’s castle, it bears no resemblance to the fictional one created by Stoker.

The word “trans” suddenly became a hot topic a few days ago, due to the actions of our tweeter-in-chief. Without consulting with his military leaders, Trump issued an edict (by Twitter) that transgender individuals would no longer be allowed to serve in the military “in any capacity”. Although it is difficult to know exactly how many transgender people are serving in the military, studies done by UCLA and the Rand Corporation put the number between 10,000 and 15,000.

Although the majority of Trump’s decisions appear be impulsive, with little regard for facts or consequences, it appears that he may have had a little help on his latest decision. To their credit, our military leaders do not plan to take any action until they are ordered to do so by John Mattis, our Defense Secretary.

In 2015, the National Center for Transgender Equality determined that, compared to the general population, transgender people:

Were 2.3 times more likely to serve in the military –

Were 3 times more likely to have experienced a sexual assault -

Were 3 times more likely to live in a household that had an annual income of less than $10,000 –

Were 4.8 times more likely to experience police harassment –

Were 8.7 times more likely to have attempted suicide at some point in their lives

The “man behind the curtain” on Trump’s recent decision is James Perkins, the head of Family Research Council. Early in his career, he purchased Klansman David Duke’s mailing list for use in a political campaign he was managing, and in 2001, he gave a speech to the Louisiana chapter of Council of Conservative Citizens, a white supremacist group. Perkins is a graduate of Liberty University, a right wind Christian college that was founded by the late Jerry Falwell. 

Although the Family Research Council describes itself as “the leading voice for the family in our nation’s halls of power”, its real specialty is defaming gays and lesbians. The Southern Poverty Law Center has called it an anti-LGBT hate group, putting it in the same category as the Westboro Baptist Church. 

The Family Research Council was founded by James Dobson in 1983. In recent years, the group has also set up a Facebook page called Faith Family America. If you review their page, you will notice that I added some background about its parent organization on April 2, but it was not an April Fools joke.

https://m.facebook.com/faithfamilyamerica/?refid=46&sld=eyJzZWFyY2hfc2lkIjoiMDE3OWY0ZmZjYTAzZmMwM2MzY2E5OTBkYzkxZGY5OWEiLCJxdWVyeSI6ImZhaXRoIGZhbWlseSBhbWVyaWNhIiwic2VhcmNoX3R5cGUiOiJTZWFyY2giLCJzZXF1ZW5jZV9pZCI6MTg3NTU1ODk4NSwicGFnZV9udW1iZXIiOjEsImZpbHRlcl90eXBlIjoiU2VhcmNoIiwiZW50X2lkIjoxODQ4NTk3ODUwMjYwNjAsInBvc2l0aW9uIjowLCJyZXN1bHRfdHlwZSI6Mjc0fQ%3D%3D

James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family and the Family Resrach  Research Council, recently expressed his belief that transgender people using public bathrooms should be killed, completely ignoring the fact that “irregularities” in public bathrooms were the exclusive domain of Republican politicians. 

  

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2016/05/james-dobson-kill-transgender-people-using-public-bathrooms/ 

I’m not opposed to folks who consider themselves to be religious, but I AM opposed to the ones who hold extreme religious views. The same people who STILL believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim also believe that Donald Trump is a Christian. Both of those beliefs, of course, are pure fantasy.

Sadly, the religious extremist part of our population strongly support a man who is clearly mentally ill. In August of 2016, Michelle Bachmann (the queen of crazy) told the Christian Broadcasting Network that God picked Donald Trump to be the Republican Party’s nominee, and the “religious nuts” believed her. 81% of the white evangelicals voted for him.

To further solidity that base, Trump invited 30 religious leaders (including Bachmann) to the White House in early July, where they laid their hands on him as he bowed his head in prayer. He also recently nominated Sam Brownback, the failed governor of Kansas, to be Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom. 

It’s not clear at this point how Trump’s desire to rid the military of transgender people will pan out, but I predict that it will follow the same path as the Muslim bans that he tried to implement earlier, and head straight to court. Since it is illegal in America to discriminate against people due to race, creed, color, national origin, or sexual preference, his edict is also unconstitutional, and likely to be stopped by the courts.

Although Bram Stoker’s novel was a commercial success, the character of Dracula became MUCH more popular after the motion picture industry started making movies about the character. To date, there have been more than 200 movies that have been made that either used him as a villain, or included his name in the title of the film. None of the actors who played in those films, however, will ever be as well known as Bela Lugosi, who starred in the 1931 film version.

If you carefully study a picture of Bela Lugosi, you will notice that he has a very distinctive hairline. If you also study a picture of Anthony Scaramucci, who was recently named as the White House Communication Director, you’ll notice that his hairline is a very close match to the one sported by Bela Lugosi.

Just a coincidence, you say?

Probably, but wouldn’t it be interesting to have Dracula strolling through the White House late at night?

As Donald Trump tossed and turned in his sleep, in preparation for his next 3 a.m. tweet, the sight of Dracula strolling through the halls would likely bring back memories of Ichabod Crane (from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow) rushing away in terror from the flaming pumpkin tossed his way by Brom Bones (the headless horseman).

Perhaps we would never see him again.

Now, wouldn’t that be a damn shame? 

Alice's restaurant

I love old churches.

On a trip to Oceanside, California earlier this year, our small group walked through Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, which was founded in 1798, Since it is the largest of the 21 missions in California, it is known as “the King of the Missions”. It has been close to ruin several times since it was first built, but it is now a beautifully restored and fully functional building.

  

As impressive as this building is, it is not the oldest church that I have been in, a distinction that belongs to Mission San Xavier del Bac, which was completed in 1770. Today, it has been beautifully restored, and masses are still celebrated there on a regular basis. It also happens to be located about 5 miles from our current home in Tucson.

If we ever get tot Germany, I’d like to retrace our daughter’s steps, since she actually got inside the cathedral in Cologne. Construction on this place started in 1248. If you would like to get a better idea of what is was like to build a structure like this a LOT of years ago, read “Pillars of the Earth”, by Ken Follett.

The July 23 edition of USA Today had an article about the “repurposing” of some of the old churches in our country. Sadly, at least a few of them have been razed to become a Walmart, but most of them have fared better than that. The most expensive example of repurposing is a condo development in Washington, D.C. known as The Sanctuary, where individual units sell for as much as $1,000,000.

The best known repurposed church (at least to us baby boomers) is a church that was built in 1829 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The original name was St. James Chapel, but in 1866, it was enlarged and renamed Trinity Church. At some point in time it was deconsecrated, and in 1964, it was purchased by Alice and Ray Brock, who converted it to their private home. In 1965, they hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at the place, and one of their guests was a young man named Arlo Guthrie, who they had met due to their mutual connection to the art-oriented Stockbridge School. After dinner, Arlo and few other guests offered to take out the garbage – and that’s when things got interesting.

I’ve actually been to Stockbridge, Massachusetts (the scene of the crime), and I have seen both the former church that the Brocks bought (now the Guthrie center) and the local police station, where officer Obie used to work. I have even been to Alice’s first restaurant, which was located directly below the studios of Norman Rockwell.

Arlo Guthrie purchased the property in 1991, and converted it to the Guthrie Center, a non-denominational church. Every year at Thanksgiving, the center hosts a “Thanksgiving dinner that can’t be beat”, and the proceeds from the dinner are used to fight Huntington’s disease, the ailment that killed Arlo’s father, Woody Guthrie.

Some of the church repurposing in our country has taken a more sinister side, since at least a dozen churches in America (including one in my old home town of Evanston) are purported to be haunted. Although the real officer Obie died in 1994, and his old chair sits inside the Guthrie Center, he has not made an appearance – so far.

If you ever find yourself in the Northeastern part of America on a road trip, and you’re feeling hungry, just remember this fact:

You can anything you want at Alice’s restaurant. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM

This swill is not swell

 

 

The summer after I graduated from college, I shared an apartment near St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota with three other guys, all of whom had at least some connection to the St. Paul seminary. One of them eventually became a Catholic deacon, and one of them actually made it all the way through the ordination process – but it got complicated after that. 

What we all had in common was a fondness for beer. Fortunately, one of my roommates (John Huls, who later became a pilot for the Air Force) went home to northern Minnesota on nearly a weekly basis, and he always brought back at least one case of Fox Deluxe beer, which sold for less than $3 for a case of 24 bottles. 

As you might suspect, Fox Deluxe is not what you would consider to be a “premium beer”, but in 1969, there weren’t a lot of premium beers anyway.  

As I was waiting in line this morning at a local grocery story, I thought of Fox Deluxe again, largely due to the fact that the customer in front of me was buying a 30 pack of Busch beer, which sells for roughly $17.99, not much more than you would pay for TWELVE bottles of the better known craft beers like Samuel Adams, Shock Top, or Blue Moon. . 

Fox Deluxe was brewed in Chicago until the late 1950’s or early 1960’s, when production was shifted to my old home town of Waukesha, Wisconsin.  A short time later, production was shifted to the Cold Spring brewery in Minnesota. 

Due to the proliferation of craft brewers in America, you would assume that Fox Deluxe had simply gone the way of the dinosaurs – but you would be wrong. 

Today, there is a new Fox Deluxe brewery in Oswego, Illinois. Their offerings include an IPA, a wit, a doppelbock, and an abbey blonde, all of which are a far cry from what Fox Deluxe sold in the summer of 1969. 

https://www.ratebeer.com/forums/fox-deluxe-new-beer-line-in-illinois-anybody-know-more-about-it_87246.htm 

One of the definitions of “swill” found in the Urban Dictionary is “cheap crappy beer”, which the 1969 version certainly was. 

Just as there is still a market for MD2020 and Ripple wine, there is also still a market for what is now called “sub premium beer”, which holds roughly 10% of the market share for beer in America today.   

The Slate article included below provides more insight into the “sub premium” market. Although I would recommend that you read it in its entirety, here are a few of the highlights: 

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/drink/2012/12/best_cheap_beer_a_taste_test_of_pbr_natural_light_busch_and_more.html

Natural Light – it’s the best-selling beer in the sub-premium category, and the 5^th best- selling beer in the country. According to RateBeer.com, however, it is the second worst beer in the world, trailing only Olde English 800, which is a malt liquor. 

Milwaukee’s Best – according to The Beast, it should more properly be called Milwaukee’s Worst. The best description of the beer, though, is the description of it by a Beer Advocate user named bambam2517: 

Took about 9 of these before I could swig down a swallow without making a clicking sound with my cheeks. Once I got past that though, it was all I thought it could be. Got me cross-eyed, piss in my roomies sock drawer drunk. Left me with a skull splitting hangover the next morning. Everything I remember from it in college is still true. 

Busch – introduced by Budweiser in 1955 to undercut Budweiser’s low end competitors. The most redeeming quality of the beer is its label, which depicts snowy mountain peaks. 

 

Miller High Life – the “champagne of beers” used to be considered high class, but its image slipped when Miller discounted its price in the 1980’s. 

PBR – this is the only one of the sub-premium beers whose sales have increased this past year, possibly because it is now considered to be a “rebel” beer 

Porkslap Pale Ale – not necessarily the best beer of the group, but worth buying just to get the label.



 

None of us will ever try any of the world’s most expensive beers, even though I’d be tempted to buy a Samuel Adams Utopia if I suddenly had more money than I knew what to do with. What’s particularly interesting is that a version of Pabst Blue Ribbon also would up on the list. 

 http://mentalfloss.com/article/30987/10-worlds-most-expensive-beers 

Whether you like beer of not, it’s a fact that Benjamin Franklin had this to say about it: 

“beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy” 

How can I argue with that? 

Those darn foreign cars

 

 Until the 1960’s, foreign cars did not make much of a dent in the American car market. By the early 1950’s, General Motors was the largest corporation in America, and from 1949 to 1978, the full size Chevrolet was the best-selling car in America for all but 3 years.  

By 1955, General Motors became the first corporation in America to pay $1 billion in taxes, and the only employers in the world who were larger than General Motors were the combined Soviet agencies. 

Needless to say, things have changed a lot in recent years. 

In 1949, Volkswagen sold exactly 2 cars in the United States, but the company’s sales increased dramatically in the 1960’s, in large part to the efforts of their advertising agency, Doyle Dane Bernbach. In 1999, Advertising Age’s “The Century of Advertising” voted Volkswagen’s “Think Small” ads as the no.1 campaign of all time. In 1970, Volkswagen sold 570,000 Beetles, its peak year for the model. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you read through the link below, you’ll discover that General Motors has had some tough times in recent years, which culminated in the firing of its CEO by the President of the United States in 2009. 

 http://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2011/08/whats-good-for-general-motors-is-good.html 

Up until the 1970’s, Japanese cars sold an insignificant number of cars, even though Toyota first started selling cars here in 1957. Over time, the deteriorating quality of domestic models, coupled with safety issues for VW, helped Japanese car sales to increase  In 1982, Honda became the first Japanese brand to establish a manufacturing plant in America (in Marysville, Ohio). Other Japanese makers quickly followed suit, and today, Honda has 4 manufacturing plants in America, and Toyota has 6. In addition, Nissan, Subaru (Fuji Heavy Industries), and Mitsubishi all built plants here, and they have been followed by other European and Asian companies.     

 Although the full size Chevy was the best-selling car in America for decades, it eventually lost its crown to the Oldsmobile Cutlass, which was the best-selling car in America in 1976, 1980, and 1981. 

The Ford Taurus was the best-selling car in America between 1992 and 1996, but gradually fell from favor. For the last 15 years, the Toyota Camry has been the best-selling car in America. Prior to 1998, the best-selling Japanese model (for 15 years) was the Honda Accord. 

General Motors was the largest auto manufacturer from 1932 to 2009, when it get passed up by Toyota. In 2014, General Motors got passed up by Volkswagen, and is now the THIRD largest car company in the world. Eventually, of course, one of the Chinese companies will move to one of the top tiers, since China is currently the largest car market in the world. China already makes models for Volvo and Buick that are sold in America, and that trend will likely continue. 

Korean cars first entered the American market in 1985, when the Hyundai Excel was introduced to our market. The car’s quality was good, and the car sold in large numbers because it was considered to be a bargain. 

The Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1976. After its merger with Kia, it is now the 4th largest auto manufacturer in the entire world, behind Toyota, VW, and General Motors.  The company’s manufacturing plant Ulsan, South Korea is the world’s largest integrated auto manufacturing facility.  

Many Americans would not even consider buying a Kia, but here is something to consider: 

For the last 2 years, Kia has had the best initial quality of any manufacturer, according to J.D Power and associates. If you also include Genesis (another Hyundai subsidiary) and Hyundai, you’ll realize that Hyundai has captured 3 of the top 10 spots in the survey.

http://www.jdpower.com/cars/articles/jd-power-studies/infographic-2017-us-initial-quality-study-key-stats

Today, there is no such thing as an American car, or a Japanese car, or a European car, since all vehicles use parts from all over the world. The car that has the highest percentage of American parts and labor is actually the Toyota Camry, and cars that you might consider “American iron” (like the Chevy Impala) are actually made in Ontario Canada. If you are curious where a car is built, the first number (or letter) of the 17 digit VIN will tell you that information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_identification_number 

A few months ago, our Nissan Altima (made in Smyrna, Tennessee) had outlived its usefulness, and was replaced by a Hyundai Sonata. You can consider it to be a Korean car if you want, but only if you consider Montgomery Alabama (where it is built) to be part of Korea.  

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that General Motors was the first corporation in American to pay $1 billion in taxes, so here’s a fact that will surprise you:  

In addition to my Social Security income, I also receive income for being a substitute teacher. Since both my wife and I are both over 65, we qualify for a double exemption, so our taxable income for at least the last 2 years has been ZERO. In spite of that fact, though, we paid more in taxes than General Motors, who had a tax CREDIT in 2015 of $1.9 billion, even though its earnings before taxes were $7.7 billion. General Motor’s worst year was 2008, when it lost over $30 billion, and had to be bailed out by the U.S government. 

In pure dollar amounts, the government lost over $10 billion on its investment in GM, but saved the country from a disaster that would have been far worse. However, when you factor in the profit that the government made from its $432.7 billion in both TARP and the auto industry, the government actually made a PROFIT of $10.9 billion, including the $10.5 billion it lost on General Motors.  

http://theweek.com/articles/454749/auto-bailout-officially-over-heres-what-america-lost-gained

If you’ve ever hesitated to buy a “foreign car”, consider this: 

In 2010, only 3 of the top 10 cars sold in America had domestic names, but 9 out of the 10 were made here. In 2010, Chevrolet (the “most American” of brands) sold 20 models in American but only 10 of them were made here. . 

http://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2010/10/baseball-hotdogs-applie-pie-and.html 

 You can still the USA in your Chevrolet, but you’ll meet a lot fewer Chevys along the way than you used to, and you’ll see a lot more of “those darn foreign cars”.

 https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=dinah+shore+-+1956+chevroltet+ad&view=detail&mid=AA92E13E4F4562D3C182AA92E13E4F4562D3C182&FORM=VIRE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The religion of Facebook

 

 

 

The Washington Post published an article on the morning of July 4 that had an interesting premise. It stated that if Facebook were a religion, it would be the second most popular religion in the entire world. 

That seems a bit far-fetched, until you consider a few facts: 

The most popular religion in the world is Islam, with 1.3 billion adherents. 

Close behind the religion of the Muslims is Roman Catholicism, which has 1.2 billion followers. However, when grouped together with its many variations (Lutheranism, Greek Orthodox etc.) Christianity jumps to the number one spot, with 2.1 billion followers. 

If you review the chart shown below, you’ll discover a few surprises: 

https://m.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/06/the_odd_body_religion/ 

The THIRD most popular religion in the world (with 1.1 billion “followers”) is “none of the above”, which translates into “non-believers”. In all, there are 4300 religions practices around the world, including the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which is considered a legitimate religion in at least 2 countries in the world. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

 

 

Although Facebook has only existed since 2004, it would be considered a VERY successful company. As of today’s date, it has 2 billion followers around the world, which technically would make it the world’s 2^nd most popular “religion”. However, in July of 2014, Facebook had 2.2 billion users (roughly 1/3 of the world’s population), which technically would have made it THE most popular “religion” in the world,

  http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-inc-has-22-billion-users-2014-7 

To say that Mark Zuckerberg has done well in recent years is a HUGE understatement. In January of this year, his net worth jumped by $5 billion, and it has increased rapidly since that time. As of today’s date, he is worth $62.5 billion, which makes him the 5^th richest man in the entire world. It’s not hard to imagine him eventually passing Bill Gates to become the richest person on the planet.

https://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/  

To put Zuckerberg’s wealth into perspective, consider this fact: 

He is now 31 years old. If you added up the net worth of every other individual in the United States who is 31 years old, their wealth would be unlikely to be worth as much as Zuckerberg is all by himself. On top of all that, he was Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2010 – when he was 24 years old.  

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2036683_2037183,00.html

 Although Donald Trump has been on the cover of Time 14 times, he was 43 years old when he made it the first time – and not all of those covers have been complimentary

 

 

 http://time.com/4528468/donald-trump-time-cover-2/ 

As the article in Forbes magazine mentions, he and his wife plan to give away 99% of his wealth during their lifetimes. Since he has founded an LLC instead of a charitable trust, he has a lot more control over where his money goes, which means that he could dwarf both the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelman on political donations, Although he would be considered a conservative by some people, and a liberal by others, the notes under “politics” on his bio (see Wikipedia article) seem to indicate that liberal causes have a strong edge in his overall philosophy.

 

http://fortune.com/2015/12/02/zuckerberg-charity/ 

Zuckerber’s wife, Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg, is the daughter of ethnic Chinese refugees who fled Vietnam in refugee boats. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class in Massachusetts, and graduated from Harvard (where she met Zuckerberg) in 2007. She graduated from the University of California (San Francisco) in 2012 with a medical degree, and is now a licenses pediatrician. She is fluent in Cantonese, English, and Spanish, and is the first person in her family to graduate from college. Her famous husband, meanwhile, can read and write French, Hebrew, and ancient Greek, in addition to his fluency in English. 

We can argue until the cows come home about whether America is the greatest country in the world (it isn’t) but where else could a young Jewish boy from New York, and the  daughter of immigrants, enjoy success beyond the wildest imagination of even the most optimistic of our population?  

Can I get an “amen”, brothers and sisters?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His name was Pierino

None of us can explain why our brains work the way they do, so you’ll understand when I tell you that I have no idea why I woke up this morning thinking about a person who was very famous when I was growing up.

After breakfast, I did some research, and learned a number of interesting facts about him. He was the 7^th of 10 children born to a poor immigrant family in the early years of the 20^th Century, but the first of the family who was born in America. Since his family spoke their native tongue at home, he did not start speaking English until he started school.

Although his father was a poor mill hand, he believed in the value of music for his children, and all of his children took music lessons, even though he could barely afford them. Because his family did not have a lot of money, young Pierino started working when he was 10 at a local barber shop for the princely sum of 50 cents a week.

When he was 14, his father became unable to work due to a heart condition. By this time, Pierino had acquired enough skills as a barber that he was able to open his own barber shop, In a very short period of time, he was doing well enough that he had to hire 2 additional barbers.

When he was 17, he met his future wife at a picnic, and fell immediately in love. By the time of his death, at the age of 84, he and his wife had been married for 65 years. Due the delight of my Catholic relatives, he was “a good Catholic boy”, and he managed to get through his entire life without a hint of scandal. For their silver anniversary, Pierino and his wife traveled to Rome to visit Pope Pius XII. While there, he was named a Knight Commander of the Equestrian Order of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and his wife was named Lady Commander.

At the age of 20, his musical training as a child paid off, and he was offered a singing position in a band. However, since the $28 he would make in a week was less than $125 he made as a barber, his wife could not afford to travel with him, However, his father encouraged him to pursue a singing career, which turned out to be very good advice, since his career spanned for close to 60 years. In addition to live performances, he also performed on the radio, on television, and in movies. He finally retired at the age of 82, after acquiring numerous awards, including three stars on the Holllywood Walk of Fame.

I won’t tell you his name, but if you click on the link shown below, you’ll be able to listen to his best known song. I guarantee you that it will stay in your head for the rest of the day - but I can’t explain why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnIj2fwo1Cc

is it time to raise the minimum wage?

There WAS a time in our recent history when both political parties worked to improve living conditions for the average American. The best proof of that is the 1956 Republican Party platform, which you can read in its entirety by clicking on the link below:

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25838

 As you read through this document, you will note a number of items that really jump out at you:  (emphasis mine) 

*****************************************************************

"The legitimate object of Government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for themselves in their separate and individual capacities.

While jealously guarding the free institutions and preserving the principles upon which our Republic was founded and has flourished, the purpose of the Republican Party is to establish and maintain a peaceful world and build at home a dynamic prosperity in which every citizen fairly shares.

We shall ever build anew, that our children and their children, without distinction because of race, creed or color, may know the blessings of our free land. 

We are proud of and shall continue our far-reaching and sound advances in matters of basic human needs—expansion of social security—broadened coverage in unemployment insurance —improved housing—and better health protection for all our people. We are determined that our government remain warmly responsive to the urgent social and economic problems of our people.

 We shall continue vigorously to support the United Nations. 

We hold that the major world issue today is whether Government shall be the servant or the master of men. We hold that the Bill of Rights is the sacred foundation of personal liberty. That men are created equal needs no affirmation, but they must have equality of opportunity and protection of their civil rights under the law.

The individual is of supreme importance. 

The spirit of our people is the strength of our nation. 

America does not prosper unless all Americans prosper. 

Government must have a heart as well as a head. 

Courage in principle, cooperation in practice make freedom positive. 

Under the Republican Administration, as our country has prospered, so have its people. This is as it should be, for as President Eisenhower said: "Labor is the United States. The men and women, who with their minds, their hearts and hands, create the wealth that is shared in this country—they are America."

The record of performance of the Republican Administration on behalf of our working men and women goes still further. The Federal minimum wage has been raised for more than 2 million workers. Social Security has been extended to an additional 10 million workers and the benefits raised for 6 1/2 million. The protection of unemployment insurance has been brought to 4 million additional workers. There have been increased workmen's compensation benefits for longshoremen and harbor workers, increased retirement benefits for railroad employees, and wage increases and improved welfare and pension plans for federal employees.

In addition, the Eisenhower Administration has enforced more vigorously and effectively than ever before, the laws which protect the working standards of our people.

Workers have benefited by the progress which has been made in carrying out the programs and principles set forth in the 1952 Republican platform. All workers have gained and unions have grown in strength and responsibility, and have increased their membership by 2 million.

Furthermore, the process of free collective bargaining has been strengthened by the insistence of this Administration that labor and management settle their differences at the bargaining table without the intervention of the Government. This policy has brought to our country an unprecedented period of labor-management peace and understanding. 

We applaud the effective, unhindered, collective bargaining which brought an early end to the 1956 steel strike, in contrast to the six months' upheaval, Presidential seizure of the steel industry and ultimate Supreme Court intervention under the last Democrat Administration.

The Eisenhower Administration will continue to fight for dynamic and progressive programs which, among other things, will: 

Stimulate improved job safety of our workers, through assistance to the States, employees and employers; 

Continue and further perfect its programs of assistance to the millions of workers with special employment problems, such as older workers, handicapped workers, members of minority groups, and migratory workers; 

Strengthen and improve the Federal-State Employment Service and improve the effectiveness of the unemployment insurance system;

Protect by law, the assets of employee welfare and benefit plans so that workers who are the beneficiaries can be assured of their rightful benefits; 

Assure equal pay for equal work regardless of Sex;

Clarify and strengthen the eight-hour laws for the benefit of workers who are subject to federal wage standards on Federal and Federally-assisted construction, and maintain and continue the vigorous administration of the Federal prevailing minimum wage law for public supply contracts;

 Extend the protection of the Federal minimum wage laws to as many more workers as is possible and practicable;

Continue to fight for the elimination of discrimination in employment because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry or sex; 

Provide assistance to improve the economic conditions of areas faced with persistent and substantial unemployment;

Revise and improve the Taft-Hartley Act so as to protect more effectively the rights of labor unions, management, the individual worker, and the public. The protection of the right of workers to organize into unions and to bargain collectively is the firm and permanent policy of the Eisenhower Administration. In 1954, 1955 and again in 1956, President Eisenhower recommended constructive amendments to this Act. The Democrats in Congress have consistently blocked these needed changes by parliamentary maneuvers. The Republican Party pledges itself to overhaul and improve the Taft-Hartley Act along the lines of these recommendations. 

We have asked the largest increase in research funds ever sought in one year to intensify attacks on cancer, mental illness, heart disease and other dread diseases.

 We recommend to Congress the submission of a constitutional amendment providing equal rights for men and women.

Civil Rights

The Republican Party points to an impressive record of accomplishment in the field of civil rights and commits itself anew to advancing the rights of all our people regardless of race, creed, color or national origin.

In the area of exclusive Federal jurisdiction, more progress has been made in this field under the present Republican Administration than in any similar period in the last 80 years.

The many Negroes who have been appointed to high public positions have played a significant part in the progress of this Administration. 

Segregation has been ended in the District of Columbia Government and in the District public facilities including public schools, restaurants, theaters and playgrounds. The Eisenhower Administration has eliminated discrimination in all federal employment.

Immigration

The Republican Party supports an immigration policy which is in keeping with the traditions of America in providing a haven for oppressed peoples, and which is based on equality of treatment, freedom from implications of discrimination between racial, nationality and religious groups, and flexible enough to conform to changing needs and conditions

We believe that such a policy serves our self-interest, reflects our responsibility for world leadership and develops maximum cooperation with other nations in resolving problems in this area. 

We support the President's program submitted to the 84th Congress to carry out needed modifications in existing law and to take such further steps as may be necessary to carry out our traditional policy. 

In that concept, this Republican Administration sponsored the Refugee Relief Act to provide asylum for thousands of refugees, expellees and displaced persons, and undertook in the face of Democrat opposition to correct the inequities in existing law and to bring our immigration policies in line with the dynamic needs of the country and principles of equity and justice. 

We believe also that the Congress should consider the extension of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 in resolving this difficult refugee problem which resulted from world conflict. To all this we give our wholehearted support.

Guarding and Improving Our Resources

One of the brightest areas of achievement and progress under the Eisenhower Administration has been in resource conservation and development and in sound, long-range public works programming. 

Policies of sound conservation and wise development—originally advanced half a century ago under that preeminent Republican conservation team of President Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot and amplified by succeeding Republican Administrations—have been pursued by the Eisenhower Administration. While meeting the essential development needs of the people, this Administration has conserved and safeguarded our natural resources for the greatest good of all, now and in the future. 

Our national parks, national forests and wildlife refuges are now more adequately financed, better protected and more extensive than ever before. Long-range improvement programs, such as Mission 66 for the National Parks system, are now under way, and studies are nearing completion for a comparable program for the National Forests. These forward-looking programs will be aggressively continued.

Our Republican Administration has modernized and vitalized our mining laws by the first major revision in more than 30 years. 

Recreation, parks and wildlife.

ACHIEVEMENTS: Reversed the 15-year trend of neglect of our National Parks by launching the 10-year, $785 million Mission 66 parks improvement program. Has nearly completed field surveys for a comparable forest improvement program. Obtained passage of the so-called "Week-end Miner Bill." Added more than 400,000 acres to our National Park system, and 90,000 acres to wildlife refuges. Has undertaken well-conceived measures to protect reserved areas of all types and to provide increased staffs and operating funds for public recreation agencies. 

We favor full recognition of recreation as an important public use of our national forests and public domain lands. 

We favor a comprehensive study of the effect upon wildlife of the drainage of our wetlands.

We favor recognition, by the States, of wild-life and recreation management and conservation as a beneficial use of water. 

We subscribe to the general objectives of groups seeking to guard the beauty of our land and to promote clean, attractive surroundings throughout America.

We recognize the need for maintaining isolated wilderness areas to provide opportunity for future generations to experience some of the wilderness living through which the traditional American spirit of hardihood was developed.

*************************************************************************

Most of us would agree that the ideas proposed by the Eisenhower administration are good ideas. By 2012, however, the Grand Old Party had acquired a much different attitude. 

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2014/oct/28/fhttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25838acebook-posts/viral-meme-says-1956-republican-platform-was-prett/

The 2016 Republican Party platform strays even further than the ideas espoused in the 1956 platform: 

https://www.gop.com/the-2016-republican-party-platform/

The 2016 Republican Party Platform | GOP www.gop.com Today delegates to the Republican National Convention adopted the official 2016 Platform of the party. The Platform declares the Party's principles and policies.

Since last November’s election, it’s fairly clear that the Republican Party has simply lost its collective mind. Eisenhower would not only not recognize his party, he would no longer have a chance of getting elected to any position in the party.

  

There actually was a time when both parties fought for a livable minimum wage. As of today, it has been 10 years since the Federal minimum wage was increased to $7.25. Nineteen states started out the year with minimum wages higher than that, and a handful of states have passed laws that will gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/25/news/economy/minimum-wage-bill-democrats/index.html

Carl Icahn: 'The minimum wage should go up' money.cnn.com Congress hasn't raised the federal minimum wage in 10 years. Democrats on Capitol Hill decided to mark the occasion by introducing a bill that probably won't pass.

 Members of Congress received an increase in salary every year from 2000 to 2007, but have only had 2 small increased since that time.

https://www.legistorm.com/member_of_congress_salaries.html

About Member of Congress Salaries www.legistorm.com Congress is required by Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution to determine its own pay. Pay adjustments can be enacted through stand-alone legislation or through ...

 Since the approval rating of Congress is below 20%, and has been as low as 9%, Congress is unlikely to attempt a raise in its own pay. If the abominable American Health Care Plan passes the Senate, Congressional approval rating will plummet even further.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-congress-approval-rating-drops-to-11-percent/

 You may have seen the story in circulation that compares military pay to a fast food worker making $15 an hour. Here is one example: 

http://www.blakeporterneuro.com/misconceptions-on-minimum-wage-of-fast-food-workers-and-the-us-military/

Misconceptions on Minimum Wage of Fast Food Workers and ... www.blakeporterneuro.com This “rant” about minimum wage, fast food, and military compensation has been circulating around Facebook for the past few years, one version can be seen here:

 A comparison between the two, of course, is absurd, since the REAL compensation of the individual in the military is significantly higher than the money he/she receives in the form of salary. The fast food worker, meanwhile, has to pay for housing, food, insurance (car, health, and renters), clothing, and transportation. Even if the minimum wage were increased overnight to $15 an hour, most full time workers would not be able to afford a two bedroom apartment in most of the states in this country if they tried to limit their housing costs to the 30% of income recommended by housing experts:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-much-you-need-for-rent_us_5942cc92e4b0f15cd5b9e2ee?utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&utm_source=politics_fb&utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013&section=politics

 The Affordable Care Act, fortunately, has made affordable (and life-saving) health insurance available (for the first time) to millions of people in the country. For now, many of the fast food workers are safe, but they could change in the very near future is members of Congress don’t come to their senses. 

None of us would argue that folks who serve in our military should get paid less. However, there is an awful lot of bad information about the status of fast food workers. Contrary to popular opinion, fast food workers are not simply high school kids trying to make a few extra bucks for spending money. 40 % of the workers in the fast food industry are over the age of 25, 26 % are parents with children, and 31% of the workers have at least attempted college.

https://groundswell.org/fast-food-misconceptions/

 Diane Sawyer’s recent series, “My reality: a hidden America”, provides a great deal of detail about the struggles of families trying to get by on low wage incomes.

http://www.thewrap.com/diane-sawyer-2020-special-my-reality-hidden-america-struggling-middle-class/  

The most common argument against raising the minimum wage is that it will hurt job growth. Nor surprisingly, that simply is not true. The link below will take you to a site that lists the states that have the highest minimum wage. 

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/jobs-careers/states-with-highest-minimum-wage-1.aspx 

The link below will allow you to see economic growth in all of the 50 states

https://blog.bea.gov/category/gdp-by-state/  

5 of the 10 states that had the highest minimum wage also showed economic growth when comparing current quarter figures to the total for the last 4 quarters. With one exception, the 5 states that showed a decline all suffered minor declines. The exception was Arizona, which has some of the worst education funding in the country. Arizona also has a governor who believes that tax cuts are the answer to prosperity. He happens to be good friends with the Koch brothers.

Sam Brownback, the governor of Kansas, is also a friend of the Koch brothers. His relentless tax cuts in Kansas have been a disaster for the state. Economic growth for the last 4 quarters in Kansas was an anemic .3%, and the most recent quarter has declined even further. In recent weeks, the Kansas legislature overturned a Brownback veto, and finally agreed to a tax INCREASE. 

The lowest unemployment in our country since the end of WWII was 2.9% in 1952 (during the Eisenhower administration.) In that same year, the marginal tax rate was 92%,

https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNU04000000?years_option=all_years&periods_option=specific_periods&periods=Annual+Data

 The boom that occurred during the Eisenhower years was due to the passage of the G.I. bill in June of 1944. As a result, millions of returning vets received free college tuition and subsidized housing because the government believed in INVESTING for the future. 

In contrast, the HIGHEST unemployment rate that we have had in our country since 1945 (9.7%) occurred during Ronald Reagan's first term:

https://www.infoplease.com/business-finance/labor-and-employment/united-states-unemployment-rate

By no small coincidence, the top marginal tax rate in 1980 was 70%. In 1981, it dropped to 69.13%, and he following year (1982) it dropped to 50%, until it was lowered (again) in 1987 and 1988. George H.W. Bush was smart enough to get the rate raised in 1991, but it prevented him from earning a 2nd term in office.

Bill Clinton managed to get the rate increased to 39.6% in 1993. If the top marginal tax rate had stayed at that level, our national debt would have been ELIMINATED by the year 2000.

The most significant INCREASE in our national debt occurred during the Reagan years, when the national debt nearly TRIPLED (from $908 billion to $2.602 billion):

https://www.thebalance.com/national-debt-by-year-compared-to-gdp-and-major-events-3306287

The George W. Bush administration lowered the top rate in 2001, 2002, and 2003, and pushed the economy into the worst mess it has been in since the end of WWII. It took 8 years of Democratic leadership to reverse the damage.

 https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNU04000000?years_option=all_years&periods_option=specific_periods&periods=Annual+Data

 A few years ago, Minnesota passed the largest tax increase in the state’s history. Economic growth has been strong over the last 4 quarters, and has improved even further in the current quarter. Minnesota also is one of the most generous states in funding for education, and the median income in my home state (land of the sky blue waters) is $10,000 a year higher than it is in Arizona. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o83xxWCel8g 

The Walton family is one of the wealthiest families in America, and Walmart is the largest private employer in the entire world. However, Walmart Corporation costs U.S. taxpayers $6.2 billion a year in public assistance for food stamps, Medicaid, and subsidized housing.

The average Walmart supercenter costs taxpayers between $904,542 and 1.75 million per year. As Bernie Sanders recently pointed out, the absolutely horrible Trumpcare health plan would give the Walton family a tax break of $52 billion. That’s an inflated figure, but he DOES have a point. 

In 1925, Henry Ford raised the minimum wage for his workers to $5 a day, more than double what they had been making before. Not only did the higher wage reduce turnover, it also enabled his workers to buy the vehicles that they had produced. 

In 2008 dollars, Henry Ford was worth $188.1 billion at the time of his death. 

Donald Trump has actually advocated for a higher minimum wage, although he would prefer that various states should take the lead.

Will the minimum wage be increased by Congress? 

Only time will tell, but I have my doubts. 

In the meantime, if you are a fast food worker …. 

You deserve a break today