Weather: Mostly sunny and comfortable temperatures in the 80’s. Humidity a comfortable 70%. Clouds are moving in this evening. Possible showers over night. Lucky I got the back pasture cleaned up so now we can spend the rest of the weekend BBQ’ing.
Aloha and Happy Friday. This starts the beginning of a holiday weekend to celebrate Labor Day. I’ve got the baby back ribs, chicken, BBQ sauce, and all the fixings to celebrate the long weekend. As we move out of August and into September there have been subtle changes in our weather. The past two nights have been cloudless so the temperatures in the morning had dipped into the upper 60’s. That’s cold for me at 4AM HST.
Several events on the Big Island this weekend. Parker Ranch annual rodeo will be happening. Always a fun event. One of the attributes about the Big Island I love the best is the country life. Roping, Ranching, Raising. We might seem like a small spec in the middle of the Pacific ocean, but this island is vast and huge. You can drive for miles before seeing any signs of civilization. What I love are the values of God, Country and Family.
We had shark sightings at Lealea beach, also known as Magic Sands beach park, at Kahalu’u bay. This happened at West Hawai’i just north of Keauhou. There was also a report of a shark bite at Kealakekua while people were snorkeling. We go there all the time because the waters are calm and warm. This is highly unusual for our island.
It’s looking like a rainy weekend for the holiday. Although the weather predictions have been wrong before. That won’t spoil the weekend. If anything, the clouds will keep everything cool and comfortable. We always love the rain. When the sky weeps, the land lives. On the Kona side of the island the rainfall has been particularly often. You can see the amount of green growth. This is a good thing since we’re had years of drought. It’s nice to see cinder cones green again rather than the brown pastel look. As I write this, the Waikoloa resorts are experiencing thunderstorms, while here in Hilo we are experiencing lelehuna or a fine windblown rain. Usually it’s the opposite.
I think of labor day more than just a holiday. I think of labor day as an opportunity for prosperity. I know the communists look at labor day as a workers celebration. I just don’t see it that way. As I mentioned before, corporations are people. People make businesses work.
We are praying for the people of Florida. We hope that the hurricane will not do much damage and not claim any lives. We’re still in our hurricane season until December, but our waters are still cool enough to slowdown any storm. Still, we are praying.
It’s Back!!! As we get closer to the election 2020 the fears of a dire global catastrophe by the left is bubbling up like oceans rising. And it’s all your fault. So says the freshman congressman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. “We have only 12 years to live”. AOC says. It seems the twenty or so democrats 2020 candidates have bought into this hoax and it’s part of their campaign stump speeches.
Here in Hawai’i, the coastlines are dotted with windmills. Homes and businesses have solar panels. This is the green energy initiative to get off of fossil fuels. Notice the picture above, it shows a windmill leaking hydraulic oil. This is common problem with windmills. Besides leaking oil and occasionally catching fire, they kill birds and bats. Not to mention an eyesore on the landscape. The amount of land needed to erect a windmill is extremely large and it takes a lot of energy to complete them. Then the maintenance is expensive.
This is the South Point (Ka Lae) windmill farm on the Big Island of Hawai’i. It’s rusting, leaking, and damaging the environment. This was once a farmland for ranching and planting. Now it’s an abandoned environmental disaster. So much for a pristine view of Hawai’i island. These windmills also emit electrical energy around them. You can hear it on a radio in the AM band. We don’t know if these emissions are harmful. There’s never been a study on those effects.
What the socialist democrats and their new green deal want is to bankrupt America. Impose carbon taxes on everyone. It’s like they abandoned all science reality. Carbon is an essential compound to support life on this planet. The socialists want us to be carbon free, which would end life as we know it on this planet. The only pollutant on this planet is socialist idiots. If the socialist could, they’d do away with all our possessions and have us living in grass huts and wearing leaves for clothing.
Every morning when I log into my email accounts, I spend about 10 minutes deleting junk mail. It is annoying and no matter what I do to filter this rubbish out more junk mail appears.
Most of the junk mail are advertisements. Amazon, Netflix’s, Costco and all sorts of stuff I’m not subscribed to. I never respond to this inbox rubbish.
I do have a few email accounts on several of the social media carriers gmail, plus with my internet provider using MS Outlook. It’s all the same junk mail. Do you need a loan? Do you have diabetes? Do you need a business proposal? Do you need cheap medications? All crap!
The messages I really look for are from Hawai’i Police notifications and County of Hawai’i Emergency Management. There are several newsletters that I subscribe to: Gatestone Institute, Hawai’i Free Press, my broker, and a bunch of others.
I tried using my spam filter, but it doesn’t work. It starts filtering out my subscriptions. So I don’t use the filters anymore. I just spend about 10 minutes deleting about 30 junk messages. It almost makes me want to go back to standard paper letters, but then I check my mailbox and find more junk mail. It’s infuriating. I’d use smoke signals but I’m afraid that will be junk mail also.
A press briefing at the G7 a reporter asked a question. Trump gave an honest answer.
But, but, but, this isn’t how we expected a President to act! We can’t have a President that follows his own rules! We’re the fake news media and we define the rules. This isn’t how things get done! We just can’t have the President saying what he wants to say, we’re the media, we control the narrative!
It’s clear why the media types, democrats and never Trumpers don’t like the President. They can’t control him. So they question the President’s mental competence. Call him a racist. Putin’s puppet. Yet the President continues to build upon his negotiating skills. Anyone that has read Donald Trump’s book “The Art Of The Deal” knows that’s how Trump works. It does not follow the expectations of the establishment elites.
The political establishment follows their own rules ignoring the people that voted them into office. Even my own Senator, Crazy Mazie Hirono tweets out: “China is playing the long game, while @realDonaldTrump plays the tweet game. He continues to diminish our credibility and influence on the world stage with his erratic, unpredictable behavior”. Hirono said to fake news CNN. Hirono spends a lot of time in front of the CNN cameras and little time serving the needs of Hawai’i.
This the quandary that the left has. They think one dimensionally and are very predictable. So when Trump does not follow the elitists expectation, he’s called erratic and unpredictable. This has been the problem with past Presidents, they were predictable. It’s the reason why Putin easily worked around Obama and annexed Crimea in the Ukraine. Why Syria gassed their own people in defiance of Obama’s Red Line. They knew Obama was a pushover and was all talk. Talk about diminishing international credibility, Obama’s world apology tour established him as a weak and ineffective President.
I took a sales course years ago called Target Account Selling and it spent a lot of time on the art of negotiation. So I can see how Trump is driving deals with Japan, England and China. I didn’t hear about of any other G7 leader making deals with other countries. Trump is at the G7 to work for the American people. He’s not there to hob-nob with the other leaders. Just as when Trump went to Japan the first thing Trump did was to meet with the business people first and the Prime Minister second. That wasn’t a sign of disrespect, it was exactly what the Japanese people expected. It wasn’t what the media expected and the stories that Trump was disrespecting Prime Minister Abe quickly circulated. The media’s lack of Japanese protocol knowledge didn’t embarrass them, the media just doubled down.
Trump thinks out of the box. He’s always looking to cut a deal for the American people and that’s what we expect of a President. For far too long, past Presidents were more concerned with being seen with the rich elites. It’s great to have a President that puts America First. It’s called WINNING!
I’ve been watching with great interest the G7 meetings in France this weekend. President Trump and the Japanese Prime Minister announced a deal that will greatly benefit American Agriculture products. This news comes at a good time when the China tariff war is increasing. The calls to pass the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal is becoming louder with Canada, Mexico and the States that will directly benefit from this agreement. Unfortunately, a weaken Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, isn’t bringing it to the floor. Apparently she’s too busy trying to rein in the Four Horsefaces of the Apocalypse. The so called squad of hardline socialist and anti-Semites lead by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Some funny pictures out of the G7 have emerged. Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, seen here in talks with President Trump. Notice beta male Trudeau’s socks and his submissive posture. Representing “Oh Canada”! We know that Trudeau trash talks our President on a regular biases. He’s Canada’s, Obama.
Meanwhile, back in America, the Fake News Media is on a campaign to discredit the President. The left says the economy is in a recession. Yet there’s no evidence of the economy in a recession. The left says Trump is insane and needs to be removed from office.
Watch this exchange with a deranged psychologist on CNN’s George Costanza’s show “Unreliable Sources” (Brian Stelter at Fake News CNN). It’s no wonder why that CNN has lost millions of viewers. This isn’t journalism, it’s socialist propaganda. Malicious and slanderous. Dr. Allen Frances, an obvious quack, said that, “Trump is as destructive a person in this century as Hitler, Stalin and Mao were in the last century.”
Wow! Diagnosis from afar. This is not the first time the left has done something like this. In 1964, quack shrinks questioned Barry Goldwater’s mental fitness. Even though these kooks have neither seen nor examined the President. It was pure conjecture by these leftist screwballs. Where does CNN find these kooks and why didn’t George Costanza push back on his absurd accusation? The answer is clear. The left is so filled with rage and hate that they cannot think rationally and with reason.
The left’s rage and hatred has penetrated into the National Cathedral. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, another far left Episcopalian kook, asks have we no decency as she tears into the President’s personality. There is no decency on the left. They are hostile to the religious values of Christian Americans. This hatred into American culture is destructive.
President Trump has the perfect right to criticize the fake news media that asks questions in the form of accusations, and the socialist democrat left leadership that wants America to fail economically. What is President Trump supposed to do? The media asks loaded questions that are meant to embarrass and make the President look foolish? We had eight years of Barry the Bullshitter where the media fawned over this loser. I don’t want to go back to that failure. Remember this from Barry Obama? The media said nothing.
Barry asked what magic wand does Trump have to negotiate a better deal? Barry said those jobs are gone and are never coming back. We know that is not true because of the job numbers and unemployment rates. When you reduce taxes and regulations, business takes off. Hiring goes up as with salaries. However, under democrat socialist policies increasing the minimum wages has backfired causing reduced hours and businesses closing. The cost of doing business in democrat run cities is preventing growth and expansion.
Another underlining force driving the left’s hatred is the President’s populace nationalism. The left finds this obviously offensive, as with everything else that’s pro-American. They cannot believe a novice politician like Donald J. Trump could do what past presidents failed to do. Or should I say, never tried to do. Whichever, the world cannot help but be impressed by the results of President Trump’s policies.
Call it a special kind of madness and this madness is something that I can live with. Actions speak louder than words and the results are undeniable favorable.
Weather: Morning showers followed by noontime sunshine. Late afternoon clouds moving in cooling everything off. Possibility of over night rain. Temps are 76 degrees and 85% humidity.
As the population continues to grow in east Hawai’i island the traffic congestion gets worse. As with most major roads on Hawai’i island, there is one way in and one way out. There are back-roads, but they don’t complete the entire journey. You still have to get on the main arteries to reach your destination. We’re still a very rural island and we like it that way.
In my case, living in the Puna district, there is only one main highway in and out of this district. Highway 130 is also known as the Keaau-Pahoa bypass road. It connects Hawai’i Belt Road (Rt. 11) and lower Puna Rt. 137 (Red Road) in Kalapana.
For years there has been a bottleneck at Kea’au where the two lane highway merged to a one lane highway. Roadwork has moved the bottleneck from Kea’au down south to the Hawaiian Paradise Park and Orchidland subdivisions. It hasn’t stopped the traffic congestion during rush hours. The best thing to do is to plan for the delays.
Too often I see cars pulled over to the side curb because they are over heating. It doesn’t help when you have cyclists riding alongside the road. It’s dangerous and there have been many fatalities due to traffic accidents. People need to drive with aloha.
Stay safe and enjoy the weekend. Weather: mostly cloudy. Trade breezes diminished. Temperatures in the 80’s 77% humidity. Some light showers. Overall a nice day.
I miss using plastic bags. The environmentalist nutbags are quickly destroying every convenience in life. From plastic bags, to plastic straws, to Styrofoam containers, and now regulating your home thermostat. These are the regulations that hurt quality of life and make consumer items more expansive.
I remember when paper-bags were banned because the same environmental nutbags said we were cutting down too many trees and plastic bags were the clean environmental friendly alternative. Now we’re back to cutting down more trees to make more paper-bags because plastics are deemed environmentally dangerous.
Does anyone see the irony in this? Here in Hawai’i, much of the plastic that’s in our oceans is fishing gear, and not plastic bags. Recycling is encouraged here in Hawai’i, but not everyone recycles. We take our rubbish to the transfer stations since we have no rubbish pickup. Hilo has rubbish service, but the smaller subdivisions do not. I prefer it this way since a rubbish service would raise our taxes.
Weather: mostly cloudy with breezy tradewinds. 80 degrees and 81% humidity. About the humidity, because our tradewinds come off the cold Pacific waters, it feels very comfortable. It’s not like east Atlantic or Pacific shores where the humidity can be stifling hot.
TDS – Trump Derangement Syndrome. For three years now the left has gone insane with finding any means necessary to remove President Trump from office. They tried to frame President Trump. They challenged President Trump’s mental capacity. They questioned the legitimacy of the Electoral College.
The accusation: Trump colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 election and obstructed justice. Between May 17, 2017, the day Mueller was appointed Special Counsel, through Sept. 30, 2018, his office spent $12,287,852. This includes $7.3 million on salaries and benefits, $1.3 million on travel and transportation, and $2.2 million on rent and utilities. Mueller team consisted of all democrat donors and questionable lawyers with a history of withholding exculpatory evidence.
The left was gleefully anticipating a indictment. The Fake News Media was breathlessly reporting leaked documents that suggested damning evidence of collusion. When President Trump attempted to defend himself, the media and democrats screamed obstruction.
Mueller was milking the investigation for all its worth. Then the new Attorney General, Bill Barr, was confirmed and reviewed Mueller’s case against the President. I think upon that examination, AG Barr told Mueller to wrap this up as it became clear there was no evidence. As the Mueller report stated, no evidence of collusion and no evidence of obstruction.
The left had a total meltdown. Case closed? The democrats refused to believe the Mueller report. They started a new investigation. It was like Stalin’s head of the secret police, Lavrentiy Beria, said it best: “Show Me The Man And I Will Show You The Crime”.
Well, the Russian collusion didn’t stick so the left tried racism. At a news conference regarding the tragic events in Charlottesville, the President said there were people there protesting the removal of Civil War statues. They had permits to protest. There were also two other groups that were there to cause trouble, the White Nationalists and another extremist group. They caused a riot which ended in the death of a young woman.
During that news conference, the President said several time that he condemns the Neo-Nazis and White Supremacist. The media deliberately lied saying that the President said the Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists were good people. This wasn’t a case of misreporting, this was a deliberate attempt to smear the President with a racist lie. The media is still repeating this lie even though it has been proven over and over. How many times must President Trump repeat the same condemnation of these groups? The media is complicit in criminal media malfeasance. This is libel.
Then the media started a false accusation that the President was creating a false border crisis. Another deliberate lie by democrats and the fake news media. The media falsely used pictures of children in cages. Those pictures were taken during the regime of the Barry the BS’er Obama. Then they accused the Trump administration of separating families. Many of the children were not with their families DNA tests showed. Many of these children were being trafficked by cartel coyotes. Many of the children were dehydrated and sick from the long journey. Many of the female children were carrying rape kits. The children were being abused and both the democrats and fake news media are encouraging the abuse.
The amount of irresponsibility by the media and democrats was appalling. These people have no shame.
Now that the racism charge failed to stick, the media and democrats have turned to the economy. They are openly hoping for a recession. They, the democrats, don’t care if the American people get hurt from a recession. Yet here are the democrats cheering for a recession. These idiots are heartless and cruel insects.
The economy is doing fine. President Trump’s economic policies are working despite the claims by democrats that Americans are struggling. Democrats lie that the Tax Cuts only benefited the top 1% and they vow to repeal the tax cuts if they become President. We know that unemployment is at an all time low. We know salaries are rising. Our 401K’s are growing.
All economic indicators are positive, except one. The Bond Yield Curve has inverted. While historically this has been an indicator of a coming recession, it hasn’t been always the case. The Federal Reserve acts like a governor regulating the economy. Each time there’s been good economic news, the Fed has stepped on the gains. It’s almost like the Fed is trying to be a global money regulator and not a national bank reserve. There are too many positive indicators for the markets and economic strength.
Our economy will take off when the Mexico Canada USA trade deal is passed, but the democrats are holding that back. Again, more evidence that the democrats are against the American people.
Whether you like President Trump or not, he has done more good for the country than any of the last three presidents could have ever done. Focusing on America First is working. Protecting our borders. Growing the economy. Draining the Swamp. Getting rid of government corruption. Making America Great.
Weather: Cloudy with scattered showers. Cooler tradewinds. 79 degrees 84% humidity.
I’ve owned a variety of cellphones throughout the years. From the earlier suitcase phones shaped like a brick that you had to plug into the cigarette lighter in your car, to the latest cellphones that have multitasking capabilities. The evolution in the technology is amazing.
Lately I’ve noticed something odd about my cellphone. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone which I like very much. It has all the bells and whistles most cellphones have. GPS, Maps, Texting, Calculator, Reminders, Internet Access, and Social Media Apps. With so much customization built into the phone it’s like a regulator computer. So why does my cellphone suddenly wake up and start asking questions?
My phone uses Google in the Android operating system. Sometimes when I’m watching television and not interacting with my cellphone, it will suddenly wake up and say “I didn’t understand that”? Which leads me to believe that my cellphone is listening to me, my conversations, and everything else. Is this information being recorded? If so, where is it stored? Is anyone else listening? Who knows?
It’s a scary thought wondering if anyone is listening to my conversations. It seems people are more accepting of technology that does listen to them. Alexa and Echo Dot are called virtual assistants where you can use voice commands to do things like play music, turn on lights, search for things on the web. Which also means that these devices are always listening to what you are a saying. Sometimes, it’s creepy.
As more Artificial Intelligence (AI) is added to virtual assistant products including cellphones, the more I wonder about privacy issues. Especially when the government is using AI for facial recognition in public places like airports. How do you balance security with privacy? What’s to stop some unscrupulous person to use your personal information for blackmail, stalking, or worse.
It’s not unusual for people on Facebook to post when they are going on vacation. Giving criminals the green light to break into your house when you’re gone. What’s worse is that people will put up personal information such as birth dates leaving them vulnerable to identity theft.
I wonder if the answer is to completely disconnect from all technology. Or at least go back to when cellphones only made calls and had no assistant features. There is something called your social media footprint which can be used to track and spy on you.
On the other side, AI tracking can be useful to law enforcement to locate missing persons. Investigating criminal activity and fighting terrorist activity. I guess it all depends on what you’re willing to live with and how much privacy you’re willing to surrender for the convenience of technology. Imagine people’s withdrawal symptoms if suddenly all this technology was suddenly turned off? What did we do before all this technology? We could actually have a live conversation face to face at dinner instead of staring at your cellphone. Playing family board games instead of cellphone solitaire.
E Māua Ola i Moku o Keawe 