James L. Paris's Blog, page 51

Are You Spending Less When Daylight Saving Time Ends?

If not, you probably should be, according to a report from JPMorgan Chase Institute.

The study, outlined in an article over at CNBC, found that, overall, shoppers are spending about 3.5 percent less time in grocery stores, gas stations, and at retailers in the month that follows the end of daylight saving time.

Here���s what researchers did: They compared shopping habits in Phoenix, Arizona, which does not participate in the daylight saving time ritual, to shopping habits in Los Angeles, Denver, and San Diego for the period under examination. And when the results were in, the researchers discovered that consumers in the DST areas are spending less than those in the non-DST areas.

For example, it turned out that Los Angeles shoppers spent almost five percent less on fuel and at retail stores during the 30-day period following the DST switch, and almost six percent less at grocery stores.

According to Marvin Monroe Ward Jr., one of the JPMorgan Chase researchers who helped assemble the study, ���This is almost a subconscious thing. The shift in [consumers���] minds is largely consistent with their environment, in this case, less sunshine.���

The fact that this is something of which consumers aren���t aware likely means they���re not thinking in terms of productively using any actual dividend that may be accruing. But assuming you live in an area that participates in DST, you might want to see if, in fact, you are a little more flush with cash, and, if so, consider putting some to good use.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

NYPD Ready to Arrest Weinstein

It appears that Weinstein may soon go from merely being a Hollywood outcast, to an actual criminal defendant.

According to Page Six, the NYPD is ���prepared��� to put the cuffs on Weinstein in connection with a rape allegation made by actress Paz de la Huerta, known for her turn as Lucy Danziger in the acclaimed HBO series ���Boardwalk Empire.���

Addressing reporters, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said, ���She put forth a credible and detailed narrative to us. We then sought to garner corroboration ��� this happened seven years ago ��� and we found corroboration.���

���We have an actual case here,��� he added.

Presently, Weinstein is in Arizona participating in a sex-addiction rehab effort. The fact he is out of state means that the DA���s office in New York will have to issue an arrest warrant in order to have Weinstein returned to the city.

An unnamed NYPD official said that if Weinstein was presently in the state of New York, he���d already be in custody.

���If Weinstein was in New York state, we just would have gone out and arrested him. We need for Vance [New York County DA Cyrus Vance, Jr.] to get the arrest warrant,��� the official said.

According to De la Huerta, Weinstein raped her twice in 2010. She reportedly contacted NYPD on October 25 to share her story with detectives.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

26 Dead In Texas Church Shooting

On this episode Jim discusses the latest news on the Sutherland Springs, Texas church shooting. Also discussed is Jim's new Bitcoin and cryptocurrency workshop, Donna Brazile's explosive new book, and tennis star Bores Becker is bankrupt.

 

The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping - Was It A Hoax?

After it was announced that the twenty-month old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was abducted on March 1, 1932, the entire world grieved for their loss. Seventy-two days later, the body was found in the woods next to a roadway, a short distance from Lindbergh's house, near Hopewell, New Jersey. In 1927, Lindbergh was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic in his Spirit of St. Louis. By 1932, he was perhaps the most famous man alive. A great American hero, he was allowed to be the chief architect of the investigation into his son's kidnapping. He demanded that the body be cremated without an autopsy. This book traces the 2�� year investigation by the New Jersey State Police, headed by Colonel H. Norman Schwarzkopf, and which led to the arrest, trial, conviction and execution of Bruno Richard Hauptmann. It challenges the effectiveness of the investigation, and the evidence advanced by the prosecution, which convicted Hauptmann. It also details the role that Mr. Lindbergh played in the investigation. More importantly, it dissects evidence previously overlooked of Lindbergh's own role in his son's disappearance, which, in combination with the authors' expert analysis, leads to a new and bold assertion as to who actually committed the ���Crime of the Century.���

Mila Kunis Says She Donates to Planned Parenthood Monthly in Name of Mike Pence

They sure don���t seem to get it.

At a point in time when the public���s opinion of actors and other celebrities appears to be lower than ever, plenty of them insist on keeping on with the same idiotic behavior that has seen their stock with ���regular folks��� drop so substantially.

Take actress Mila Kunis, for example.

As reported by The Hill, Kunis appeared Thursday as a guest on TBS���s ���Conan��� and revealed to host Conan O���Brien that she has been making donations to Planned Parenthood each month in the name of Vice President Mike Pence, well-known for his staunchly pro-life views.

Explaining herself to O���Brien, Kunis said:

���I apologize if I���m offending anybody. It���s not so much a prank as much as I disagreed with some of the stuff that Pence was doing and was trying to do. And so as a reminder that there are women out there in the world that may or may not agree with his platform, I put him on a list of recurring donations that are made in his name to Planned Parenthood.���

Kunis added, ���Every month, to his office, he gets a little letter that says like, ���An anonymous donation has been made in your name.��� I don���t look at it as a prank, this is like, I strongly disagree, and this is my little way of doing it. It���s a peaceful protest.���

Keep it up, Hollywood. Just keep it up.

by Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Donald Trump Kicks Off Far East Trip with Rousing Speech About America���s Military Strength

When it comes to representing America to the rest of the world, there is NO mistaking Donald Trump for Barack Obama.

While the former president was never shy about using speeches given in other nations as opportunities to apologize for what he saw as America���s faults, President Trump has always seemed eager to crow about American exceptionalism when giving similar addresses.

As reported by The Washington Post, President Trump just visited Yokota Air Base in Japan, the second stop of a 13-day, five-nation tour of the Far East, where he thanked the American service personnel stationed there, and reiterated his belief in the good that can come from America���s devotion to strength and achievement.

Addressing the gathered, Trump said, ���You are the greatest hope for people who desire to live in freedom, and you are the greatest threat to tyrants and dictators who seek to prey on the innocent.���

Continuing, the president said, ���History has proven over and over that the road of the tyrant is a steady march towards poverty, suffering, and servitude. But the path of strong nations and free peoples, certain of their values and confident in their futures, is a proven path to prosperity and peace.���

Speaking of the greatness of America���s military, Trump declared, ���We dominate the sky, we dominate the sea, we dominate the land and space.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Papa John���s CEO Tears into NFL ���Leadership��� over Anthem Protests

Noticeably absent from the hoorah surrounding the ongoing and widespread anthem protests this season by NFL players has been any outspoken reaction, one way or another, by league sponsors.

Until now.

Papa John���s, one of America���s largest take-out and delivery pizza chains, has now publicly chastised the league for what the company sees as feckless leadership concerning the player protests. Papa John���s sales have slumped ��� and the company���s share price has dipped 5% - since the season started, according to Sports Illustrated. Company CEO John Schnatter, speaking during a recent quarterly conference call, blamed the league���s ���poor leadership��� for the troubles, and said that the protests should have been ���nipped in the bud��� when they began in earnest last season.

Over the years, Schnatter has more singularly tied his brand to the formerly unstoppable NFL, and likely assumed doing so was a pretty safe bet. After all, as former NFL great Howie Long once said, while baseball may be America���s pastime, football is (now) America���s passion.

Of course, that was some years ago now.

Schnatter said on the call that ���the NFL has hurt us. We are disappointed the NFL and its leadership did not resolve this.���

���Leadership starts at the top and this is an example of poor leadership,��� he added.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Actor Kevin Spacey Hit with Second Accusation of Sex Assault of a Minor

The implosion of Tinseltown under the weight of its sexual misdeeds continues.

Actor Kevin Spacey, who was basking in the glow of being a Hollywood living legend until literally just a few days ago, is fast becoming an outright pariah everywhere in the world in the wake of a list of various sexual assault accusations leveled at him, accusations that now include charges he attempted to forcibly rape a young boy while working as a teacher in New York.

Trouble began for Spacey earlier this week when actor Anthony Rapp accused the actor of making sexual advances toward him back in 1986, when Rapp was just 14 and Spacey was 26. According to Rapp, he had attended a party at Spacey���s home, and, toward the end of the evening, the actor carried Rapp to his bed and tried to have sex with him. Spacey���s initial public response to that accusation was to say he did not remember the incident, but that he nevertheless apologized ���for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.���

And on Thursday, news broke over at Vulture.com that Spacey was alleged to have had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy when he was 24, and that the union came to an end when the actor tried to forcibly rape the boy in his (Spacey���s) apartment. Spacey was working as a teacher in Westchester County, New York at the time.

The accuser, now 48, anonymously detailed for Vulture, in graphic terms, how the attempted rape unfolded, and did not mince words in his description of Spacey, flatly calling him ���a pedophile and a sexual predator.���

When reached for comment, representatives for Spacey say the two-time Oscar winner ���absolutely denies the allegations.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

War at Our Door: Red Cross Says Mexican Border State is a War Zone

During a recent visit to the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas, members of the International Red Cross came to a startling conclusion.

They were in the midst of a war zone.

Rival drug cartels, equipped with armaments like machine guns, grenade launchers, and armored vehicles, use the streets there as a battleground. One result of the chaos, according to Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, is that a humanitarian crisis has set in for the people who live there, one eerily similar to what is observed in established war zones. Using Twitter as a platform from which to make his real-time observations, Maurer commented about the inability of the citizens there to enjoy even the most basic of services, like access to education and health care.

In one such tweet, Maurer shares a picture of an empty school, and says, ���This empty school is eerily quiet. After violent clashes on the streets of Tamaulipas, #Mexico, it's too dangerous for classes today.���

As reported by QCostaRica.com, Maurer spoke with El Universal following his visit, and made a sobering comparison: ���The impact of war on disappearances, the displacement of people and the rupture of communities is the same whether the violence is derived from war, [or] is instigated or is generated by a conflict between the state and organized crime groups.���

And in case you didn���t already know, the northern border of Tamaulipas is the same as the southern borer of Texas, and stretches for roughly 230 miles.

War at our door.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Subscribers Running from Leftist ESPN Like It���s on Fire

And they appear to be fleeing sort-of competitor FS1, as well, which has also started to embark on an ���embrace the left��� agenda.

But let���s talk first about ESPN, which is the worldwide leader in not only sports, but in apparently running its company into the ground while riding on the back of progressive politics. According to The Epoch Times, reporting on data provided by Sports TV Ratings, ESPN lost a whopping 480,000 subscribers during the month of October. That breaks down to well over 15,000 subscribers per day waving goodbye.

That���s bad, to be sure. But sports network FS1, which bills itself to audience members as an alternative to ESPN, saw 584,000 subscribers bail in October.

Upon closer inspection, however, it seems that ESPN and FS1 may not be so dissimilar, after all. For example, during a recent edition of the FS1 sports debate show Undisputed, Reverend Jesse Jackson appeared as a guest, and used the platform to criticize President Trump (a real shocker), as well as make the seemingly-obligatory (for all social justice warrior types) reference to NFL players as slaves.

In point of fact, FS1 has had a few vocal leftists of its own, including former NFL player-turned-sports talking head Shannon Sharpe. It���s just never been as bad in that way as has ESPN.

The reality is that we may well be in the midst of a sea change when it comes to how sports, media, and entertainment, more broadly, are viewed by regular Americans. People seem to be, finally, losing their taste for false idols.

And for Christians, in particular, isn���t that how it should be?

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large