James L. Paris's Blog, page 162
May 23, 2016
This Hidden History Of Giants - Jim Vieira
Jim Vieira, author of Giants on Record: America's Hidden History, Secrets in the Mounds and the Smithsonian Files, joins Jim Paris Live to discuss his latest books. What is the motivation of the scientific community to hide the existence of giants? Are these the giants mentioned in the Bible? How tall were they and what other physical characteristics did they have? What happened to this race of giants and could they still be living today?
New Bitcoin Rival Ethereum Doubles In Price
On this episode, Jim discusses his interest in Ethereum (a Bitcoin rival), a new digital currency that has recently doubled in value. He also discusses why he invests in multiple digital currencies other than Bitcoin. National polls showing Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton, U.S. credit card debt now at $1 trillion dollars, is the Teamsters pension fund about to go under?, why are colleges paying commencement speakers six figure fees?, and a new Facebook scam to be on the lookout for.
May 22, 2016
Trump Support Begins to Climb as the ���Never Trump��� Movement Evaporates
According to a new FOX News poll, Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton by a margin of 45-42 percent, and while that is hardly an overwhelming advantage, the numbers contradict a long-running national narrative about how badly Trump would lose in a general election matchup against Clinton. Trump has said all throughout the contentious primary season, during which he has supposedly polled badly against Clinton, that if he were to become the Republican nominee, he would turn those numbers around through a ferocious campaign style that would take Hillary to task for positions and actions for which the mainstream media has been unwilling to hold her accountable, as well as by a dedicated effort to unify the party before the general election campaign begins in earnest. As to the latter, the latest poll numbers also suggest that the so-called ���Never Trump��� movement is falling flat ��� not only do 82 percent of Republicans presently support Trump, but calls by certain Republican power players to find a Trump alternative are increasingly falling on deaf ears, with the calls themselves now becoming fewer and further between.
What is particularly revealing is how those Republican notables and long-time members of the Republican establishment who have sought to target Trump in his march to the nomination have been roundly criticized by so much of the Republican Party electorate. 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who, heading into this election season, was actually looking pretty good in the eyes of rank and file Republicans after four more years of poor stewardship of the country by President Obama, saw basically all of that goodwill entirely dissipate after his numerous, direct criticisms of Trump, and particularly after his nationally-televised anti-Trump speech made on March 3. Pundits like Glenn Beck, who similarly denounced Trump and his election run with great vigor, have now essentially disappeared into the shadows in the wake of the collapse of the candidacies of Ted Cruz and John Kasich.
According to the FOX News poll, the other 18 percent of Republicans surveyed are split among the categories of those who say they will actually vote for Clinton, hope to support a third-party candidate, won���t vote at all, or are presently undecided. However, as Trump now turns his adversarial attention to Clinton, as well as continues to evidence transparency in his plans for a Trump administration (his recently-announced list of prospective Supreme Court nominees was generally very well-received), it is likely that the numbers of Republican voters who plan to do something other than vote for Trump in November will grow smaller.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr Editor At Large
May 21, 2016
5-Year-Old Suspended for Bringing Bubble-Making ���Gun��� to School
For those wondering how brash and proudly politically-incorrect Donald Trump could become the Republican Party���s nominee (and he surely will),and why he is now polling well against presumptive Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton, you really need look no further than this.
On Monday, a 5-year-old girl was suspended from her school in Brighton, Colorado���a suburb of Denver���for bringing in a toy bubble-blowing gun. It is just the latest in a long and growing list of absurd examples as to how zero-tolerance gun policies are enforced in schools.
Few among us would disagree that students should not be bringing guns���real guns���to school. However, the interpretation and enforcement of zero-tolerance policies at the district level throughout the country often takes great liberty with the concept, a liberty resulting in a governmental overreach that is nothing short of insane.
As it applies to guns in schools, zero-tolerance became a more formal declaration through its expression in the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, a federal law that was a product of the Clinton administration. Clinton said at the time, ���Zero tolerance is a common-sense policy. Why does anybody need to have a gun in school?���
The answer is they don���t, and even I have to give our former commander-in-chief the benefit of the doubt and assume that when he said ���guns,��� he was referring to the kind that actually go ���bang!���
Unfortunately, some progressives at local levels of government throughout the country saw this, as well as the tragic incidents of school shootings to which the country has borne witness over the last 20 or so years, as their cue to either take leave of their senses entirely, press their gun control ideologies at the most grass-roots of levels, or both. The result? Cases like this, where a kindergarten student is suspended for bringing a bubble maker to class, as well as others, where children have been suspended merely for drawing pictures of guns, forming their hands in the shape of a gun, and other such mind-numbingly inoffensive and harmless acts.
As you would imagine, Colorado���s School District 27J is taking a beating over this in the court of public opinion, but is sticking to its own guns, if they���ll pardon the expression, saying in a statement, ���While we hear and understand the parents of this student being concerned about this discipline in light of the student���s age and type of item, this suspension is consistent with our district policy as well as how Southeast [Elementary] has handled similar situations throughout this school year.���
Assuming that is true, then it is not the child or the parents who are deserving of scrutiny; it is the aforementioned ���district policy,��� which, based on this example alone, must be stupid to a degree that cannot even be appropriately described in words.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
May 20, 2016
With Interest Rates Still Low, Investing in Real Estate May Be a Great Option for You Right Now
While the recent talk about interest rates suggests they will be moving higher again shortly, the reality is that they are still so low that any increases in the foreseeable future will result in rates remaining low, overall. Additionally, the economy, both domestically and globally, remains soft, with a large number of weak underlying fundamentals, such that there really is no solid ground available on which significantly higher rates can gain traction.
Low rates mean favorable borrowing terms, of course, and favorable borrowing terms open you to the possibility of ���good��� debt or leverage, like that exemplified by smart real estate investing. While owning investment property is a big step, and can certainly come with its own set of headaches, at times, it can also be both a solid source of additional current income and lump-sum windfall when the appreciating asset is eventually sold off.
Another terrific advantage to owning real estate as a part of a comprehensive investment portfolio is that it is an asset class that has a fairly low correlation, historically, with the stock market. This means that it offers true diversification, because it can perform well as both a source of income and as an appreciating asset without regard, largely, to how the stock market is doing. This is not to say that there are not ���down��� periods for real estate���there certainly are���but the point is that as a separate asset class unto itself, real estate can help shore up your portfolio at times when other investments are weighing it down.
This said, while we can all easily learn the basic benefits to investing in real estate, it is a whole different matter when it comes to actually knowing how to buy a property that possesses inherent, beneficial investment characteristics. In order to make good decisions about what properties to buy and what properties to pass on, you need to be able to perform some useful investment analyses.
To that end, I want to suggest a really well-done course, available at the popular Udemy remote-based educational platform, that will introduce you to the important concepts associated with analyzing prospective real estate investment purchases. The name of the course is Real Estate Investing: Complete Investment Analysis, and is taught by professional real estate investor and educator���and Stanford MBA���Symon He. The curriculum consists of 128 video lectures that total 18 hours of instruction, and all of that material���to which you gain lifetime access���is available right now for just $40.
Here is a brief overview of what you will learn from the program:
Understand the core concepts of real estate investing
Understand professional real estate investment strategies
Understand the revenue possibilities of Airbnb rental units
Confidently evaluate the return potential of an investment
Understand analysis techniques for both residential and commercial real estate
Receive hands-on practice with expertly-crafted investment models
Understand the Waterfall Distribution Framework and its application
Let me be clear ��� this is a serious course that revolves around what is, ultimately, the most important aspect of real estate investing: proper analysis of a property that you���re considering for purchase. Remember that unlike many stocks and mutual funds, for example, each individual piece of real estate is extremely unique, and may often have little in common with another property that is right next door to it. Given that, it is imperative that you know how to intelligently analyze any and every property before you move forward with its purchase.
One of the really great features of this course, too, besides the wealth of information and the current price, is that it comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee. If you decide you don���t like it, for any reason, you can get a no-questions-asked refund directly from Udemy during the first month. How great is that? Anyway, if you are ready to learn more about the Real Estate Investing: Complete Investment Analysis course, or would like to enroll straight-away, Click Here.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
May 19, 2016
Democratic Party Implosion Begins to Take Center Stage
Practically all we���ve been hearing about since this campaign season began in earnest is the substantial internal strife plaguing the Republican Party. Make no mistake, it has been real. However, something very interesting is taking place right before our eyes: just as the Republicans seem to be embarking on a genuine effort to unify the party in advance of the general election showdown, the divide on the side of the Democrats, which has been real but largely downplayed by the mainstream media until now, is in the process of becoming perhaps so wide that there will be no fixing it before November 8.
The first real clue that things were not all love and roses in the land of the Democrats is the very fact that Hillary Clinton was going to face a serious challenger for the nomination that she surely assumed, at the outset, would be handed to her without incident. Then that challenger, Bernie Sanders, actually began winning in some states. And then winning some more. In fact, Sanders has done so well against Clinton up to this point that his string of victories has been, in my opinion, the real story of this entire campaign season.
In the wake of Sanders��� electoral successes, his supporters, who represent the more progressive wing of the party, have grown simultaneously more emboldened and frustrated by the results; emboldened, because they see the actual victories, but frustrated, because they also see those victories not leading to a better path to the nomination for their guy. You likely read about the eruption of Sanders supporters at the recent Nevada state Democratic Party convention in Las Vegas, who felt that the convention process had been rigged by party leadership in favor of the Dem���s establishment choice, Hillary Clinton. For a glimpse into the hostility that characterized much of the convention, here is how California Senator and Clinton ally Barbara Boxer was received when she addressed the gathering there:
The good news for Republicans, and the horrible news for Democrats, is that it appears this intra-party upheaval will only get worse. Sanders has vowed to fight all the way to the Democratic National Convention, and, if he does, his supporters will likely become even more enthusiastic and emotional in their efforts to see him crowned party standard-bearer���which means if he is not so crowned, those supporters may well enter the general election season harboring more animosity for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
Meeting Survival Supply Needs at the Friendly, Local, Neighborhood Walmart
I have a confession to make: I like Walmart.
I probably shouldn���t like Walmart, for a whole host of reasons, but at basic, ���shopping��� level, I really like it. I like it because it is the biggest, best, and most convenient convenient store out there.
Like most of you, my time nowadays is at a distinct premium. I just do not have much���really any���to spare. This means that when I do go into town, I really have to try to get everything I can in one stop, and for as little as possible���and that means Walmart.
The time constraints with which I now deal, along with the greater distance I now live from ���civilization,��� means that Walmart has also become my primary stop when I am looking to stay stocked with basic survival supplies���food, water, all kinds of things. It comes down to this: As important as it is for me to stay prepared, I just don���t have the time right now to dedicate to going to ten different places to find the ���perfect��� version of this supply or that supply. I need to be able to keep that part of my life quick and easy, as well, which invariably means I end up at���Walmart.
Hardcore preppers will scoff at the idea that anyone could get serious prepping done at the local Walmart, and, in one sense, I would agree with that ��� there are plenty of unique sorts of survival supplies, gear, and equipment that cannot be found at Walmart. However, most people who engage in prepping are not, and will never be, dedicated, devoted preppers; they are, instead, people who want to be as prepared as they can realistically be, while still living their lives as ���regular people.��� For people who fit that description, Walmart can be an excellent prepping resource. As for me, I���m some of both ��� I have some of the more serious gear that characterizes the ardent prepper, but I also want to be a ���regular person,��� as much as possible, so most of my supply purchases take place at Walmart.
What I think is particularly great is that as much as I like Walmart as a place to get supplied, someone else out there actually wrote a book on the subject, called Get Prepped in 1 Trip to Walmart. It is a terrific information source for those people who want to make the stockpiling of essential survival supplies as quick and painless as possible. Make no mistake, however; this is not just some glorified checklist (although the several supplies lists provided are excellent resources, and go a long way to helping one to more quickly and efficiently obtain what he or she needs). The Get Prepped in 1 Trip to Walmart package contains a wealth of actionable information on how to be prepared for the next disaster. Get Prepped is presented in a multitude of e-reports and videos that cover a wide array of survival topics. It would not be feasible to list in this space all of the different videos and PDFs that make up Get Prepped, but here are the self-explanatory titles of just a few:
Fifty Essential Food Items, Parts 1 and 2 (videos)
Home to Fortress in 7 Days (PDF)
How to Keep Your Stockpile Hidden (PDF)
Spot a Disaster Before It Hits (PDF)
DIY Solar Water Purification (video)
Fundamentals of Organic Gardening for Preppers (video)
Stockpiling for Pennies (PDF)
Safeguarding Your Family Against Terrorist Attacks (PDF)
Ultimate Survival First Aid Kit (video)
This is just the beginning���there���s lots more, including, as mentioned, several lists to help make the accessing of necessary provisions so much easier. Best of all is that everything you need can be found at Walmart, which is what this package is really all about. In just one afternoon, you and your family members can emerge from your local superstore with everything you need to be ready should protest violence, a natural disaster, or some other kind of significant trouble comes your way.
If you see yourself as one of those folks who could benefit from a bit of a head start when it comes to prepping, and, like me, appreciate having the ability to grab in just one afternoon all of what you���ll ever likely need to withstand even a relatively severe crisis, then Get Prepped in 1 Trip to Walmart may be just the ticket. Note, too, that as with practically every product we suggest in this space, this package comes with a 60-day, money-back guarantee, so that if you decide it���s not for you, no problem; it���s super-easy to get a full refund. To learn about this great package, or to simply grab it straight-away, Click Here,
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
May 18, 2016
Musician Daryl Hall of Legendary Hall & Oates Unloads on Interviewer over ���Cultural Appropriation���
Musician Daryl Hall, one-half of the now-legendary pop duo Hall & Oates, was asked to address���from a musical perspective���the relevance of ���cultural appropriation��� during an interview with lefty website Salon. Now, Hall is a long-standing member of the popular music community, who is not known for any outspoken conservative viewpoints, so his response during the line of questioning, which I have detailed below, likely took the interviewer by some surprise.
Before I get to that, let���s be sure you know what ���cultural appropriation��� is. Cultural appropriation is another of the progressive social justice community���s recent ideological contrivances, and it refers to the use or reflection by a member or members of one culture���of features, characteristics, or other basically inherent elements of another culture. A good example (to some) is the wearing of the dreadlocks hair style by a white person. To the ardent social justice warrior, the white person wearing his or her hair that way is not merely copying an admired hairstyle or even paying tribute���but is, instead, guilty of an offense, the offense of cultural appropriation, because this person coopted an inherent cultural feature from a race to which he/she does not belong. Get it?
Well, the cultural appropriation debate, as you might imagine, comes up nowadays with some frequency in the music industry. Some of what Hall and Oates produced in their heyday was sometimes referred to as ���white soul,��� and while that was never thought a transgression before the current days of progressive lunacy descended upon all of us, it apparently it is now.
Anyway, with that background in place, here���s how the Daryl Hall ��� Salon interview went down when the subject of cultural appropriation was raised:
One of the current debates is over ���cultural appropriation��� ��� The idea that white people should not appropriate the culture of ethnic and racial minorities. I know that you don���t like the term ���blue eyed soul.��� Have you followed this conversation?
Are you trying to say that I don���t own the style of music that I grew up with and sing? I grew up with this music. It is not about being black or white. That is the most na��ve attitude I���ve ever heard in my life. That is so far in the past, I hope, for everyone���s sake. It isn���t even an issue to discuss. The music that you listened to when you grew up is your music. It has nothing to do with ���cultural appropriation.���
I agree with you entirely, because���
I���m glad that you do, because anyone who says that should shut the f--- up.
Well, this entire critique is coming back���
I���m sorry to hear it. Who is making these critiques? Who do they write for? What are their credentials to give an opinion like that? Who are they?
Much of it is academic.
Well, then they should go back to school. Academia? Now, there���s a hotbed of idiocy.
Anyone who knows about music, about culture in general, understands that everything is much more natural. Everything is a mixture.
We live in America. That���s our entire culture. Our culture is a blend. It isn���t split up into groups.
Like I said, there is no evidence to suggest that Hall is much of a conservative, by nature, but his exasperated response is an indicator of how far off the rails that some of the more fringe progressive narratives have gone. We���ve now reached the point where there are actually meaningful discussions (���meaningful��� in the sense that there are actually people out there who take them seriously) about whether it is appropriate for white people to prepare and sell foods that are representative of cultures not their own. While it is startling that these bizarre notions gain any traction at all, we are, thankfully, beginning to see a pushback against some of them. As I have always said, when left-wing lunacy becomes so voracious that it results in liberals eating their own, that is a cue that the pendulum may be on the verge of mercifully swinging back in the other direction.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large
U.S. District Judge Rules That D.C. Gun Requirement is Likely Unconstitutional
Try as it might, the District of Columbia is not having good luck in its effort to statutorily keep law-abiding citizens from bearing arms.
You might recall that D.C.���s longstanding gun ban was struck down by the Supreme Court in its District of Columbia v Heller decision back in 2008. Of course, the D.C. politicos were none too happy about that, and have been aggressive in slowing to a crawl any attempts on the part of their constituents to functionally keep and bear firearms. Part of their effort at throwing up roadblocks included the institution of a ���good reason��� requirement when applying for a concealed carry license ��� when applying for the permit, applicants have been required to show ���good reason��� for wanting to carry a gun.
However, in a ruling that came down May 17, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the ���good reason��� requirement is ���likely unconstitutional,��� and that the right to bear arms enshrined in the Second Amendment includes the right to carry them outside of the home. In his decision, Judge Leon wrote, ���The District���s understandable, but overzealous, desire to restrict the right to carry in public a firearm for self-defense to the smallest possible number of law-abiding, responsible citizens is exactly the type of policy choice the Justices had in mind.��� In relating his decision, specifically, Leon further wrote, ���Because the right to bear arms includes the right to carry firearms for self-defense both inside and outside the home, I find that the District���s ���good reason��� requirement likely places an unconstitutional burden on this right.���
As you might imagine, the District is appealing this decision, so the rule stands, for now. However, based on the direction of these recent rulings, as well as the determined effort on the part of select individuals and groups to go after D.C.���s harsh gun laws, it may well be only a matter of time before District residents are actually able to keep and bear arms in accordance with the provisions of, you know, the Constitution of the United States.
By Robert G. Yetman, Jr.
