Ilinois is a model of Bernie's Socilialism.
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It is way too early to predict the outcome of the 2018 election but several things are going to be important in having an effect. In no particular order:
a) Pelosi is a blessing for Republicans. Either she is living in a twilight zone or is so biased she cannot see through the fog her comments are creating.
b) The Mueller Investigation may still be ongoing past the election but his credibility is slipping badly and there is increasing evidence Democrats are more guilty of manipulating the ' 16 election than Putin.
c) The economy should continue to remain positive and it is hard to sell it is all because of Obama. Crumbs that can be deposited in bank accounts carry more weight than those that increase one's girth.
d) If N Korea's leader truly is sincere then Trump will be able to claim a positive development which will still have to unfold but as long as it appears favorable that is a plus.
That does not mean voters, in their infinite wisdom will avoid doing something stupid, and end imposing a Democrat House on Trump, thereby, crippling his momentum.
e) Meanwhile, Bernie Sander's continues to sell Socialism while Trumpian Capitalism is making him look more foolish with every new economic statistic.
f) History is on the side of Democrats when it comes to mid-year elections. Improvement is on the side of Republicans. Which will dominate remains to be seen.
One thing that could surprise Democrats is a shift on the part of black voters who are actually benefiting the most from Trump's economic progress. The question is are they capable of shucking the chains which binds them to the Democrat false narrative that has been used to play them like a violin?
Stay tuned. (See 1 below.)
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Every year the Board of The Ga. Museum of Art tries to meet away from Athens. This year we went to N Carolina to visit The Univ. of N Carolina's Museum (Ackland), The State Museum, the museum of N Carolina Central University, The Nasher Museum (Duke University) and three private collections (Anne Thomas whose husband, Howard Thomas, was a noted artist, Larry Wheeler's home, director of The State Museum and Jim Goodnight's collection - founder of SAS, a software company located in the Triangle area that Governor Luther Hodges and Terry Sanford conceived,)
Essentially we stayed in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham.
When I was working N Carolina was a state I covered until I hired an associate and then I turned the territory over to him so I have not been in Raleigh in over 30 years. In my opinion, N Carolina and Virginia state governments support culture whereas in Georgia, except for Atlanta, culture is not a primary governmental focus.
The N Carolina State Museum is located in two marvelous buildings situated on 165 acres. Their collection is magnificent, consists of about 3000 objects and they have one of the largest collections of Rodin statuary in the nation, gift of Ida Cantor. Their collection covers 14th century massive objects to the current and each item is a superb representation of the best produced by each artist.
The director, Larry Wheeler is retiring after 20 plus years and is the highest paid state museum director in the south and has been a powerful force for putting N Carolina art on the map.
His home is unique and his personal collection eclectic.
The Ackland is a small museum, housed in a remodeled old facility and they too have some interesting objects and are beginning to increase their collection of African artifacts as is the State Museum. The Ackland was featuring a national award show of some rising artists which was outstanding.
Our Chair, Brenda Thompson, had attended N Carolina Central University, so we visited their small but interesting exhibit featuring some of the most outstanding black artists who have finally gained well deserved recognition. The Director, Kenneth Rodgers, hosted us and gave a wonderful folksy insight into the background of each artist.
Central U student body is now split between white and black .
Durham is a bustling city, great restaurants, apartments and condos going up on every corner and is a magnet for young people.
The Nasher is on the outer rim of Duke University's Campus, is modern and comprises 5 contiguous sections. They were featuring a wonderful collection of some outstanding Black artists. (Sam Gilliam etc.) Their permanent collection is quite small, representative but not extensive. They have significant funding but are behind the acquisition curve.
Jim Goodnight's collection is being gifted to The State Museum. The curator of American Art is using Goodnight's generosity to flesh out gaps in their own collection and currently consists of some 27 paintings by American masters (Stella, Hassam, etc.) The home is some 35 years old, located in a wooded setting with a beautiful lake in the back.. Everything in the home is obviously the very finest and I would characterize it as comfortable understated elegance.
If you love art and want to experience a thriving American Southern State where three N Carolina Triangle cities are clustered, this is a must visit.
On another note, Bill Eiland, the wonderful, accomplished, entertaining, gifted and internationally known director of The Ga. Museum of Art is going to discuss our State's Museum (located on the Univ. of GA's Campus in Athens) at The Adult Learning Center on Wednesday July 25th at noon (3025 Bull Street.).
I encourage you to come.
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I believe man and climate change are connected but I am not persuaded by the scientific community that they have the correct answers.
The climate change debate has been politicized by progressives who love to embrace emotional issues which defy logic and generally have cost tags that have nothing to do with reality.
If it was up to progressives they would spend every dollar on poverty, climate and various save the world causes . To them everything fails because not enough money is ever allocated. They are unfulfilled and never can be satisfied because their appetite for spending is analogous to bottomless pits. Consequently, I am reluctant to buy their arguments because they will suck you dry with their demands. Furthermore, how can you argue with their specious logic
Moderation is not a word progressives understand. Everything, to them, becomes a zealous challenge and those who are unwilling to buy into their brutish propositions are attacked as uncaring and worse.
Read: The Politically Incorrect Book That Debunks Climate Change Myths, by Rob Bluey .
Then you decide.
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Dick
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1) The Red Wave is Growing
By Newt Gingrich
Dick:
Over the past few days, four building blocks have fallen into place which strengthen the case for a red wave in 2018 instead of a blue wave.
Three of these building blocks are Republican-favoring political developments in what would normally be considered safe, blue states.
First, New Jersey’s Senator Bob Menendez is a Democrat who has been deeply weakened by charges of corruption. He was tried in a long, highly-publicized trial that ended in mistrial. The government decided not to prosecute again, but the news reports about the case had already shed light on some of Senator Menendez’s actions, which were pretty indefensible. Then, the Senate Ethics
Committee admonished him in April for serious corruption allegations. The result is that on Tuesday, a relatively unknown Democrat – who did not raise enough money to meet the $5,000 threshold for reportingcampaign funds –earned 37.84 percent in the Democratic Primary as a protest against Menendez.
Bob Hugin, a former pharmaceutical executive, is the Republican nominee and will run a well-funded campaign. At a minimum, this puts New Jersey in play for Republicans and will draw millions of Democratic dollars away from other races to defend Menendez. At a maximum, the Democrats will lose the seat. If they lose New Jersey, there is no possibility they can win control of the Senate.
Second, the California Primary put Republican John Cox in the general election with Democratic Lieutenant Governor (and former Mayor of San Francisco) Gavin Newsom. The difference in statewide Republican turnout with a GOP candidate on the ballot for governor has been estimated at 23 percent. This turnout will make the governor’s race competitive and could be the difference between winning and losing a number of House seats. In addition, the disaster of a massive gas tax increase, the state’s sanctuary policies that protect MS-13 gang members, Newsom’s promise to raise both income and property taxes and his proposal to have government take over all healthcare combine to make California Democrats more vulnerable than they have been in a quarter century.
Third, the Minnesota Democrats went crazy last Saturday, and their state convention was taken over by the hard Left (yes, there are Minnesota activists to the left of the already liberal state’s Democratic Party). The result was that the repudiated Attorney General decided to run for governor in the primary. That created a vacuum that ultra-left-wing Congressman Keith Ellison decided he would try to fill.
This combination of personality-driven bitterness and ideological extremism has suddenly made Minnesota Democrats vulnerable. Long time Minnesota analyst Barry Casselman has written shrewdly that former Governor Tim Pawlenty is now likely to be the next governor, that two Democratic House seats are now likely to go Republican (making the possibility of a Democratic House this fall more unlikely), and if the chaos continues and the Democratic Party becomes both more radical and more splintered, even Senator Tina Smith – who was appointed to replace Al Franken – could suddenly be in trouble. All of this chaos will help Republicans and drain even more Democratic resources into a state they thought would be easy to keep.
The fourth building block that strengthens the case for a red wave in 2018 is the growing and undeniable strength of the economy. As I explain in my new book, Trump’s America, which was released this week, the real achievements of the Trump administration have been masked by the hostility and bitterness of the elite media who insist on focusing on trivial matters and ignoring big stories. However, after the most recent jobs numbers were released last Friday, even the liberal New York Times was compelled to write an article with the headline, “We Ran Out of Words to Describe How Good the Jobs Numbers Are.”
When we have the lowest Black unemployment on record in America, something big is happening.
When there are more job openings than job seekers in America, something big is happening.
When the Federal Reserve is estimating second quarter American economic growth at well over 4 percent (a Reagan era number and more than twice the growth rate of the economy under Obama) something big is happening.
Americans are beginning to conclude that their lives are getting better, and that President Trump and Republican leadership are a part of that phenomenon.
The result has been a collapse of the Democratic advantage in the generic ballot from a double-digit lead in December to some polls now showing Republicans on top. This is an enormous shift.
I will keep reporting on election patterns as they unfold, but as of now, I feel pretty good about my assertion that we are more likely to see a red wave than a blue wave in 2018.
Your Friend,
Newt
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