R. Frederick Riddle's Blog, page 18

A Look Forward

The Riddle Report 12 26 2020

Christmas is past and New Year’s is right around the corner. Confusion reigns as the country wants to know who won the 2020 Election. Although the media says it was Biden and call him President-Elect the results have yet to be verified and acted upon. It looks like we might not know until January 6th or even later.

All of this makes it hard to predict the future course of our nation. We can make some general predictions. For example, if President Trump gets reelected we can expect a rebounding economy that will shock the experts. Why? Because he did it before when he took a stagnant economy (Biden’s pride and joy) and transformed it into a booming economy. We can also expect Trump’s international successes to continue, again because he already has done much internationally. That includes Mideast peace moves.

On the other hand, if Biden/Harris (I use this designation because we don’t know how long Biden will last) are elected we can also make some general predictions. Although our economy is struggling due to uncertainty about the election and Covid-19 it is growing faster than economists have predicted. But assuming Biden/Harris follow through on their campaign promises, then the undergirding of our economy will be ripped away. We can expect fracking to be stopped, thereby once again making us dependent on OPEC. As they enact their Green New Deal we will see businesses once again leaving and probably never again returning to America. We can also expect unemployment, which is currently coming down slowly, to start rising again.

And of course, there is Biden’s health. How long would he be able to act as President? When will Harris push him out? We simply don’t know.

But all of that is conjecture. One thing we can be certain of is that when Harris becomes President she will be an activist President and lead us to disaster!

The truth is the election results are unknown. While there is plenty of evidence of election fraud, it must be examined, and determinations must be made before true results finally are known. So, we wait.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like waiting. This is particularly true when waiting on people. I try to be patient, but it doesn’t always work. Nor am I fond of waiting on God.

But while not fond of waiting on Him, I know He will act for my own good (Ro. 8:28). That makes waiting easier. So, in the case of the Steal, I am praying that He will act to prevent it and that we can have 4 more years of a government that at least honors His will.

But, folks, we have no guarantee of that. God sent the Israelites into judgment because they refused to worship and obey Him. This happened several times, and even now they are still under judgment. The day will come though when Israel will be back in His good graces.

America has slipped a lot since our founding fathers. Back then men and women worshipped, honored, and obeyed Him. He granted us victories we should not have won, protected General Washington more than once, and watched over our fledgling nation in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and many others. But like the Jews of the Bible we have turned from Him and may well be in the crosshairs of judgment.

So, what do we do?

Well, for me and my house (consisting of my wife and me), we will wait on the Lord. But not just for election results. We will pray, serve, and wait on Him.

We will Pray for:

Our own healthOthers’ healthOur churchAmerica

We will also continue to serve Him in:

ChurchBusiness (writing & and helping others to write and be published)

In other words, while we have little control over the election, we still have control of how we live and serve God. While I believe a Biden/Harris Presidency will be bad for our country, I also believe that God is in charge. He may allow Biden/Harris to rule, but He always has the right and the power to overrule!

I recently heard a man preach that there will never be another worldwide revival of the Christian faith. He may be right, but the Bible tells us to pray for our nation, our rulers, missionaries, evangelists, and the furtherance of the Gospel. Our faith is proactive!

Pray for revival and then find out what God wants you to do.

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ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

==========

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Merry Christmas!

The Riddle Report 12 24 2020

Merry Christmas everyone. Today’s news is about the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Date of Christ’s Birth

Most people know that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th. Rather, this was a date set aside by the Catholic Church to counter pagan beliefs and traditions. Some of their traditions eventually became part of the Christmas celebration. But this blog is not about that.

Scholars have long debated the actual date of Jesus’ birth. There are many theories as to the date. The most reliable theories fall between 6 BC and 1 BC. The most reliable source is the Bible.

In the Bible we are referred to Cyrenius, governor of Syria. We now know that he ruled twice; the first began in 4 BC and ended in 1 BC, while the second began in 6 AD. We also know the taxing was the first of Cyrenius (Luke 2:2). And, of course, it was while Caesar Augustus ruled (Luke 2:1). While I make no pretensions of being a Bible scholar these facts suggest that the birth of Christ was somewhere around 4 BC or 3 BC.

Time of Christ’s Birth

While some people try to state the time of day for His birth, I won’t go there. However, as to the time of year, we have facts that point to a particular season.

According to the Bible, it was while the shepherds were “abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night”. That means they were nearby and not in the mountains. It can also be further narrowed down to either Fall or Spring as the time for lambing, the reason for being in the fields, occurred between mid-September and mid-March. Of the two, Fall would seem the most likely, but some believe it was Spring.

There is a belief, based primarily on astrological charts, that Christ was born on September 11, 3 BC. While this certainly places His birth in the Fall, the use of astrological charts would seem inappropriate and unreliable. Just the same the time of year seems relatively correct.

We can say for sure that according to the Bible Jesus Christ was born during the rule of Caesar Augustus and governor Cyrenius’ rule. When you check out the dates the year seems to be either 4 BC or 3 BC.

But That is not the Most Important Fact.

 If God wanted to clear up the matter of the date of Christ’s birth, He would have given us the information we needed right in the Bible. But the birth of Christ has a greater significance than the date.

While we tend to look at the physical scene, there was a spiritual scene taking place that made the birth of Christ of eternal importance! This is the fact that the Living Word of God became flesh for the purpose of dying on the Cross as our Redeemer! (John 1:1-14)

Many years ago, I was in charge of an Easter display at our local mall in Michigan. I asked a friend of mine, who was quite good as an artist, to draw a picture of the Nativity Scene with the shadow of the Cross passing over the manger. And that is how we should picture the Nativity Scene.

Christmas and Easter are eternally connected; without the manger there is no Cross and without the Cross there is no need for a manger!

As my pastor recently preached, John 1:1-14 is the spiritual backdrop to Luke 2:7-12. Christ came into the world to die on the Cross so that you and I might have eternal life! (John 3:16)

How Then Should I Celebrate Christmas?

It is all right to celebrate Christmas with a Christmas tree, a nativity scene, the exchanging of gifts, and singing songs. But it is imperative that we remember that the little Babe in the manger came into the world to save us poor miserable wretches by taking our sins upon Himself, dying in our place on the Cross, and becoming our Saviour!

Here’s wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. May you find joy and peace in Jesus!

Get free Guide to Writing at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com.

Subscribe to Author Alerts (click and submit signup form)

For information about us (“we edit, proof, and publish the book within you”) contact us at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com and get our Free Brochure which tells you about our services.

AUTHOR’S PAGE: amazon.com/author/rfrederickriddle.

ARE YOU A BOOK REVIEWER? Want to review our books? Contact me at marketing@tr-indbkstore.com with the subject line indicating that desire. Such as, ‘Seek to review [book Title].’ Be sure to indicate your email address and your name.

==========

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Stimulus Package

The Riddle Report 12 21 2020

It looks like a new stimulus package worth almost 1 trillion dollars is going to be passed sometime today. As a matter of principal, I am wary of stimulus packages. Particularly, those packages which Democratic hands have touched. Historically speaking, such spending is a short-term bonanza and a long-term disaster. I am afraid this may fall in the same category.

On the other hand, it is hard to argue against the necessity for help. While the economy is rebounding in a V shape, it is not happening as fast as hoped. At least part of this is fear generated by the press. Instead of making judgements based on facts the people are believing the fear mongering of the press, staying home, and only shopping for necessities. This results in a need for a stimulus shot.

One of the more interesting aspects of the package is the similarity to the Republican proposals earlier in the year. From what I have seen, the only concession by Conservatives was the desire to protect businesses. But the Democrats conceded more. The big one, in my opinion, was that they were forced to drop the bail-out of Democratic states and cities which were guilty of mismanagement.

Another part of the bill provides weekly unemployment benefits for up to 11 weeks. Having experienced unemployment myself many years ago, I know how vital that can be. But I believe having an end-time for these additional benefits is also important. In recent unemployment benefits the benefit was actually greater than wages being offered. Most people are prepared to work, but it puts undue pressure on them to be paid more for being idle than for working.

In addition, the bill provides relief for the airline industry, which is much needed. Then there is relief for small businesses, vaccine distribution, and more. These are all needed and their troubles are not related to mismanagement but to Covid-19.

All of that and more makes me think this package is good and needed. But even as they are voting on this package, they are already talking about another one bigger and wider! This, in my opinion, would be disastrous. The current package plus the previous packages all must be paid down, and work should begin on that immediately.

Whether President Trump wins reelection or Biden/Harris win, this latest package needs time to work. Get that money into our economy and then watch to see what happens. Right now our economy is slowly rebounding because of strong underpinnings. Assuming that Trump is reelected which evidence points to, then the underpinnings remain, and the economy takes off. But if Biden/Harris prevail those underpinnings could disappear rather quickly, and new help will be needed.

It is sad to watch anyone, Democrat or Republican, use much needed legislation as a bargaining point. How many people have suffered due to the Democrats wanting their agenda? Too many! But now they have gotten serious and dropped the worst pieces and so we can thank God for this help. But they could have agreed to this same package last summer.

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R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Demise of the Press

The Riddle Report 12 16 2020

You may think me hard on our press, particularly the national news media. But I’m what’s called a dinosaur. I date back to the time when reporters actually reported facts and kept their opinions out of their articles.

This past Sunday I read an article about the loss of local news. It was very sad to read how the local news media has faded. But what the author didn’t mention was that the national media is also slipping. The article identified what the author thought was the real problem and went on to suggest a solution. But, I believe that he missed the mark. Let’s take a look.

According to the article more than a quarter of the country’s newspapers have closed and over 1,800 communities have lost their news outlets since 2004. That is truly sad, but what is sadder is the lack of understanding why.

The article blames the rise of websites (blogs?) that are ‘ordered up by political operatives…’ Instead, they should be looking in the mirror.

Here’s why.

Associated Press

Have you noticed how far left the AP has gone?

The next time you read an article from the Associated Press watch for words or phrases like no evidence, false charges, ranting, or the like. These are not words that you would expect to read in a fact-based news article; instead, they are opinion words. And they clutter the average article, specially those coming from the Associated Press.

Such words are a dead giveaway. You instantly know the authors are inserting their biases. A true report tells us the facts and doesn’t tell us how to read it or understand it. A true reporter digs up the facts, tells it like it is, and lets us decide!

The AP is no longer the reliable news source it once was. Back when ZI was a young man, reporters did what I described above. They dug up and put the facts out there for us to read and decide. But now they think it is their job to teach us how to interpret the truth. So, they place their highly valued opinions right in the article they are writing. Don’t believe me, pick up a paper and read an article written by the Associated Press. Just in case you accidentally find an honest to goodness report without bias, you should probably read two or three articles.

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor used to be informative. In reading them you often learned things and there was always the possibility to change your mind. With all the controversy surrounding the election I decided to add my two cents worth shortly after reading one man’s letter that was fraught with innuendo and falsehood. So, I sat down and wrote a letter. In the process I read the rules and tried my best to meet them. I mailed it and waited for it to be published; I waited some more, and finally realized it wasn’t going to be published.

Later this year I wrote another fact filled letter. It got the same results. I don’t know what it’s like in your community, but here in a Conservative area the liberal letters outnumber the conservative letters by a large margin. So, it makes no sense why my letter was not published.

It is hard to prove they were biased against me, but the perception of bias is clear. A Conservative letter is not desired.

FACTS

That is an odd title. But consider this: in the ongoing battle over legal and illegal ballots the news media has not been reporting the whole story. If you want to know all sides of a story you often have to go to other sources.

The reason the news media has protection in our Bill of Rights is because our founding fathers ‘expected’ the press to keep the public informed on the issues. They say they are informing the people. But today’s media has failed in that endeavor. Instead of facts we get opinion. And when facts are given, they are preceded and followed by opinion. (Check out my comments about the Associated Press.)

Solution

The article identified what the author considered the problem and then gave us a solution: money. That’s right. The solution was money, which would provide better equipment, etc. But throwing money at a problem rarely works. Besides, money isn’t the problem.

The problem is the way reporters are being trained. One reporter unwittingly provided the real problem. She was caught on air stating that it was her job (as a reporter) to tell people what to think.

No, it isn’t.

It is her job and the job of all reporters to tell us the facts and let us decide the right course of action! That is old fashioned reporting. When I was a young man, opinions were found in the Editorial Pages not in the articles. Today, opinion is mixed with facts and the reader, if not careful, assumes that all is fact.

The only true solution is to return to the ideal of reporting facts and letting the readers, that’s us, decide. Give us truth and transparency.

Will it happen?

Unlikely.

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R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Confirmed?

The Riddle Report 12 15 2020

We live in an era when the news media thinks it is the arbiter of facts, truth, and the American Way. But the news media has continually abused our founding fathers’ belief that they should inform Americans honestly and without prejudice. But the news media has long left the honest reporting of news. The latest example, because the Electoral College voted for Biden over Trump, they claim it is over and Biden is President-Elect.

No, it isn’t!

No, he isn’t!

The facts keep getting in the way of these statements.

Fact: There are multiple lawsuits in the federal court system working their way to the Supreme Court.

Fact: The United States Constitution gave the power to determine electoral votes to the state legislatures, not the governor nor the secretary of state.

Fact: The only date that is considered hard is January 20th and that has flexibility.

These are all facts. Denying them doesn’t change them. Let’s take a look.

Lawsuits

The Texas filing failed because it was determined they had no standing and could not prove they would be harmed by the election outcome. That is the only reason the Supreme Court rejected the filing.

But now there are multiple lawsuits filed within battleground states that do have standing and could be harmed by the outcome. These lawsuits have been filed and are in the federal system. One way or another these have to be dealt with.

But there are other lawsuits also in the system. These have been filed by Sidney Powell and must also be dealt with. Powell is a former federal prosecutor and knows a thing or two about the law. She has been investigating the criminal side of the election and has already filed several lawsuits. Again, these must be dealt with.

On the basis of the lawsuits themselves the case of election fraud continues. By the way, the media keeps saying no evidence seen. But that is because they are not looking. All of these cases are supported by evidence.

Another point. I am not a lawyer, but I believe it is improper to put your evidence out in the public. It belongs in court where it can be examined by lawyers and judges.

State Legislatures

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors…

U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1

That clearly gives state legislatures the sole power to determine electors. No state, not even the state legislature, can take that responsibility away. Can they delegate? It would seem so, but they are still responsible.

Can state or federal courts overturn it? No. It is in the Constitution.

So, what does that mean?

It means they still have the power. Since the electors were verified by the governor or secretary of state, it is my understanding that the state legislature can still invalidate the votes. And at least some of the state legislatures are investigating and may take action.

January 20th

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States. U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1

All the other dates are determined by law. However, even January 20th is not stated in the Constitution. There are several contingencies affecting that date. The Constitution has determined that the term of office for President and Vice President is four years. That means President Donald Trump’s current term expires on January 20th, thus establishing that date as the final date.

But remember those contingencies? If there is no winner by this date then the contingencies will be activated, which could end up with the Speaker of the House or the President Pro Tempore of the Senate becoming Acting President.

The mass media and Social Media monopolies like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube ignore the above facts and may even deny them. But if we are a nation of laws centered upon the U.S. Constitution then the above is pertinent.

Want to fact check this article? Get out your copy of the Constitution or go to the local library and get a copy. Check out Article II, Section 1 plus Amendment XII and XV.

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R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Antitrust lawsuit against Facebook

The Riddle Report 12 09 2020

This is big news!

The FTC and 48 states have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook. In the lawsuit they allege that Facebook has engaged in unlawful behavior to eliminate social networking competition.

While there are several aspects to this lawsuit one item caught my eye.

“Facebook’s unlawfully maintained monopoly power gives it wide latitude to set the terms for how its users’ private information is collected, used, and protected,” the states said in the lawsuit. “In addition, because Facebook decides how and whether the content shared by users is displayed to other users, Facebook’s monopoly gives it significant control over how users engage with their closest connections and what content users see when they do.” Emphasis mine.

Let’s narrow it down: “In addition, because Facebook decides how and whether the content shared by users is displayed to other users, Facebook’s monopoly gives it significant control over how users engage with their closest connections and what content users see when they do.”

It has been an increasing complaint by Facebook users that Facebook controls who sees our posts. And here you have the government saying the same thing. But that control, in my opinion, goes deeper than anti-competition. It also has become prosecutor, judge, and jury over what should be free speech.

I would support Facebook efforts if it was just trying to keep the internet clean from filthy language and pictures, but now if they don’t like the political content of a post, they feel quite all right censuring and removing that content. And they are not the only ones doing this. You also have Twitter and YouTube acting up.

It is high time that these monopolies were reined in!

I understand that these monopolies feel that there is a lot of misinformation out there. But the American people should be the arbiters of what is good and bad, not a corporate CEO or committee.

The ongoing discussion about voter fraud is a legitimate discussion. In the public courtroom of opinion both sides should be able to state their case. The fact that Facebook and others use their power to squelch opinions other than their own shows a disdain for free speech and the free intercourse of opinion.

America has no use or room for businesses that operate in this matter. I don’t know where this lawsuit will go, but I sure hope and pray that they’ll get more than a slap on the back of their hands.

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R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Senator Cruz to Represent Case before SCOTUS

The Riddle Report 12 08 2020

The following blog is based on an article by Janita Kan in the Epoch Times. I have used excerpts from the article and enclosed them in ‘’.

I subscribe to the Epoch Times which carries timely news that impacts the United States. In this morning’s news (12/8/20) an article by Janita Kan caught my attention. Currently there is a case regarding the election before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). That case concerns an ‘appeal seeking to block the state from taking further action to certify their election results.’

According to this article Senator Ted Cruz (R – Texas) is willing to make oral arguments before the Supreme Court on behalf of the appeal. I regard this as a heavy weight decision since the Senator has previously argued cases before the court. That is a fact that speaks to his standing before the court and his experience.

‘The appeal is currently pending before the Supreme Court after Pennsylvania Republicans filed a request to block the finalizing of certification citing constitutional challenges.

In the instance where the certification has been finalized, Republicans asked the court to restore the “status quo” by compelling Pennsylvania officials to nullify its actions until an order from the court.

The Republicans also asked the court to treat the request as a petition of certiorari, asking the court to review the lawfulness of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision.’

For those of you who did not know what certiorari is, I looked it up. It means, ‘a writ or order by which a higher court reviews a decision of a lower court.’

‘Cruz said that he was asked whether he would be willing to argue the case before the nation’s top court if the justices grant certiorari. The former Texas solicitor general said that he had agreed and that he would “stand ready to present oral arguments.”’

Folks, it is one thing for well-known lawyers to file lawsuits and argue before the courts, it is altogether different when a man of Sen. Cruz’ reputation and intellect agrees to do so. Yes, he has been a lawyer, but not every lawyer can argue a case before SCOTUS as he did 9 times between 2003 and 2008, plus he wrote 80 legal briefs. But it is more than that.

Senator Cruz is articulate, experienced, and has a solid reputation as a conservative and as a lawyer. I might remind you that he was a strong opponent to Donald Trump in the 2016 election. And he has been a strong backer of Trump in the Senate.

‘“Because of the importance of the legal issues presented, I’ve publicly urged SCOTUS to hear the case brought by Congressman Mike Kelly, congressional candidate Sean Parnell & state rep. candidate Wanda Logan challenging the constitutionality of the POTUS election results in PA,” Cruz wrote in his statement.

As I said last week, the bitter division and acrimony we see across the Nation needs resolution. I believe SCOTUS has a responsibility to the American People to ensure, within its powers, that we are following the law and following the Constitution.”’

‘In the case at hand, Pennsylvania Republicans escalated the case to the nation’s top court after their state Supreme Court overturned a lower court order blocking election officials from certifying the results of the 2020 election. The Pennsylvania justices also dismissed the case.

In an unsigned opinion, the state’s top court ruled to reverse Commonwealth Judge Patricia McCullough’s temporary injunction that would have prevented the state from taking further steps to complete the certification of the presidential race.’

While it is frustrating to be turned down by the state courts this was expected since they are primarily liberal justices, which are historically not strict constitutionalists. This has been an education for me as it probably has been for you.

If you would like to read the entire article click here to go to Epoch Times article.

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R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Non-Election News

The Riddle Report 12 07 2020

While the Presidential election fraud cases wind their way through the court system to the Supreme Court, I thought it appropriate to take a break and report on other news matters. So, what follows covers wide ranging subjects.

Covid-19

This issue continues to dominate the news. In my opinion, while it is serious it is no longer the danger it once was. It doesn’t help that the media and selected doctors talk about a second wave when such a second wave is hard to find. I haven’t been following Europe, but here in America the spikes have appeared to be in areas where Covid-19 wasn’t a major factor earlier. An exception would be nursing homes, which is another story.

Take the Death Rate. It is by far the most important factor, but it is continually under-reported. For example, while the Cases are spiking, the Death Rate continues to fall. In today’s paper the deaths and cases reported turn out to have a death rate of 0.0191 or 1.91% for the nation and 0.0184 or 1.84% for Florida. It keeps going down as the cases go up.

This suggests that while there are record setting daily deaths the overall death count has stabilized and is falling. How can that be? Well, it is hard to tell but watching the news carefully you might detect that many of the spikes are in areas not previously hit. In a recent blog I mentioned Findlay, Ohio. They have been hard hit, but I saw a chart that showed the virus as negligible prior to that. And, in my opinion, that is not a second wave, it is the first wave hitting new territory.

Clearly, this is evidence that we are past the worst which was rising cases and rising deaths.  But that doesn’t fit the media agenda, so we just continue to hear about negative news that supports that agenda, which I think is to push for more government control of our lives.

I agree that social distancing and wearing masks are helpful, but mandates are not. In some cases where the spikes have hit, you see people masked and social distancing, plus you learn the community is tough on people who don’t. Yet, they are hit as bad or worse than those who don’t mandate.

The overall news when it includes a rapidly declining Death Rate is good news. And the soon to arrive vaccine is better news. I would anticipate that they might use the vaccine in highly impacted areas first. We already know they will be used with first responders, but they should also be used in the hardest hit areas.

Iran

Trying to take advantage of our election woes, Iran is planning to increase oil production within the next 3 months. They are anticipating a Bide/Harris win and the restoration of the Obama era nuclear accords.

And indeed, former Vice President Biden, who currently leads President Trump in assumed electoral votes, has indicated he wants to bring Iran back into the disastrous accord he brokered under President Obama. In connection with this, it is also believed that the Biden/Harris Presidency will ban fracking, which would increase Iran’s value as a supplier of oil products. It would also increase unemployment at home and make us more reliant on Mideast oil.

SpaceX

SpaceX has entered a new phase in their space program. With a newer and bigger Dragon capsule supply ship, they will supply the International Space Station (ISS) with Christmas presents, tracts, and treats. SpaceX expects to always have at least one Dragon capsule at the ISS supplying the station with necessary goods.

While NASA was energized under the Trump Administration it is unknown what plans the Biden/Harris team has if they get elected. Assuming the fraud cases are eventually successful upon reaching the Supreme Court, and the trajectory is going as expected, then the space program will remain in safe hands.

Distance Learning

Distance Learning is not new. It has been around awhile, particularly on the college level. But Home Schoolers often make use of it rather successfully. So, when Covid-19 hit it wasn’t a surprise when the public schools decided to use DL. But it has been a surprise that they have had troubles with it.

In this mornings paper there was an Associated Press story detailing the problems they are having with Distance Learning. After reading the article I find myself asking some questions. Now, remember that while I am not a teacher, I have been around Christian private schools, I know people who Home School, and my wife had Distance Learning in college. And I have taken online courses before.

So, it is not that hard to learn. It does take self-discipline and a computer connection. It also takes teachers who know how to supervise students over the internet. So, why these problems?

Skipping Assignments – That suggests lack of control by the teachers. Some seem concerned about marking a student down and giving them a zero. The poor child might feel bad. But skipping assignments should never be an option. And in this day of Zoom, etc., you can interact with the student one-on-one.

Camera off – Also lack of control. Kids today know how to turn the camera on. Classroom (even though on the internet) discipline should be exercised. The student must be seen as well as the teacher. If they don’t turn their camera on, they get a lower grade.

Skipping School for the day – Come on! Did you allow that in the physical classroom?

Unfortunately, our public-school education system has not been well for years. We are a third-class country in education. The usual suggestions for improvement are smaller class sizes, easier grading, etc. I suggest that the students would do better if the teachers insisted that they learn. Back when I was a child, the teacher ran the classroom.

The ‘experts’ don’t really know why all this is happening and probably don’t agree with my suggested solutions (above), but their methods certainly haven’t worked.

Pearl Harbor Day

Today is the 79th anniversary of Pearl Harbor where over 2,400 military and civilian lives were lost and some 1,200 wounded. It was a cowardly sneak attack that brought America into a world war. The Japanese expected it to keep America on the sidelines; instead, it led to the demise of their empire!

America responded with power and determination. And this is how America has always responded when under attack. Today America is under attack from within. It is not just the attempted steal of an election, it is the wholesale attack on our education, free enterprise, and our representative democracy. To honor those who have fought and died for our country we owe it to them to stand up for what is right. If you are a Christian, I ask you to pray that God will intervene and not let the liberals destroy our country. But more than that, we need a return to God nationally, corporately, and personally.

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R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Confusing COVID-19 Data

The Riddle Report 12 04 2020

Covid-19 Cases Up!

Covid-19 Hospitalizations Up!

Covid-19 Deaths Up!

Covid-19 Death Rate Down!

How can that be?

Perhaps this strikes me more than you since I’ve worked with numbers most of my life. But logic tells me that if Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths are up then so should the Death Rate.

What is the Death Rate?

The Death Rate is simple division. You take the Total Numbers of Deaths-to-Date and divide that number by the Total Number of Cases-to-Date. For Example, today’s published deaths for this year-to-date are 275,550 while the published cases for this year-to-date are 14,086,016. When you divide the Cases into the Deaths you get 0.01956 or 1.96% which is lower than last March’s high of 2.04%.

Now, even if you compensate for the lag time, generally considered 2 weeks although it could be longer, you still get a plunging death rate.

The Numbers Don’t Add UP

It makes one suspicious when such discrepancies occur. If all three (cases, hospitalizations, and deaths) are up then it stands to reason that the death rate would also be up. Anyone can figure out the death rate, but we are dependent upon CDC and others (including the news media) to keep us informed.

So, What is Happening?

It looks to me like someone is not being honest. Like I said, the numbers aren’t adding up. We know for a fact that the cases are up in certain areas of the country. We also know that hospitalizations are up in certain areas of the country. And it is possible that deaths are up in certain parts of the country.

What I suspect is that these ‘certain areas’ are not all the same. For example, cases are up in Findlay Ohio? Are hospitalizations and deaths? For Hancock County (where Findlay is located) the deaths are 46 year-to-date and cases are 2845 year-to-date for a death rate 1.62%. However, the week-to-week increase was more around 15% for deaths. And that may explain the differences.

The News Media Reports Week to Week

When you do that you make things seem far worse than they are. The only true gauge, in my opinion, is month to month or, better, year-to-date. Year-to-date takes into account lag time between cases and related deaths. It doesn’t focus on spikes but on overall trends.

Isn’t This A Second Wave?

That is what they tell us. But getting back to Hancock, Ohio the chart (not shown here) shows very little in the way of cases and deaths until just recently. And the report I looked at today shows a sudden drop off to 0 cases for the last two days. To me this means it is still the First Wave which hadn’t really hit the area earlier. But it sounds more alarming when you call it a second wave instead of a spike.

Again, a longer time span is more instructive than a short one. And a large area is also more instructive. This is great for us trying to understand the trends, but for individuals and families with Covid-19 they are in the now and trends don’t mean much.

So, Why the Difference?

In my opinion, it is because it serves the news media’s agenda to publish the more alarming data. And it justifies the liberal politicians’ pursuit of total lockdowns and mask mandates.

Are We Going to have Mask Mandates?

It looks like it in some communities. I, personally, am not opposed to wearing masks and social distancing. Of the two, I believe social distancing is more effective. Both together may be even more effective. But extreme measures are not warranted and so far, if you look at the states with stringent rules, it doesn’t work.

I believe that President Trump hit the nail on the head when he said, repeatedly, ‘you cannot have the cure worse than the disease’.

Common Sense is in Short Supply.

Common sense tells you that taking precautions such as wearing a mask and social distancing may help friends, neighbors, and relatives. These should not be mandated. Period. I am glad that the Supreme Court stepped in and by all appearances gave a unanimous decision striking down California’s war on churches. The state was willing to throw the rights of the people and the rights of churches under the bus, but the court said, ‘No’.

Liberal politicians are using ‘panic’ to further their political agendas. And that is wrong. Don’t believe me. The Democratic controlled House of Representatives waited until after the election to compromise on the Relief Bill. They could have done so before the election, but they waited until it appeared that Biden won.

Did Biden Win?

That’s another subject but the evidence that the news media says doesn’t exist is so overwhelming that there is serious doubt about a Biden win. Now that the lawsuits are moving into the federal court system and away from the state courts (primarily controlled by Democrats) the issues and the evidence are being taken seriously.

Will We Ever Know the Truth About Covid-19 and the Election?

Those are two different issues. It is possible there are connections, but I am treating them as separate. The truth about Covid-19 will take time. There is ample evidence the virus while deadly is not nearly as deadly as the media reports. How deadly is a matter of looking back over time. But yes, I think we will eventually know the truth.

As for the Election, the answer to that will come much faster. You have courts and state legislatures (who are the only ones with the final say according to the U.S. Constitution) that are already investigating. And don’t forget we have a Senate runoff election coming up in Georgia. That is already stirring up legal scrutiny.

But they must decide these things soon to determine who leads our country for the next four years. My own opinion is that President Trump will emerge as having won the election. But only God knows the truth right now.

R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.

Transition

The Riddle Report 11 24 2020

The GSA has caved and declared Biden/Harris the “apparent winner.” A rather questionable statement, but I will let it stand though the 2020 Election recounts have yet to be adjudicated.

What bothers me is that we will be releasing to them sensitive information even though the process is still ongoing. There won’t be an official winner until at least December 12-14. It is possible the battle could go longer and delay everything. We still don’t have a President-Elect except be media.

So, now we have what is called Transition. President Trump has said they will cooperate. I hope this doesn’t include top secret information. When (and if) Biden/Harris is declared the winner, then you can go all out and share vital information. But until a government agency declares the winner, I think it is dangerous to share vital information.

This is going to be interesting. Biden/Harris will be transitioning for an office they may never occupy while lawsuits make their way up the judicial chain of courts until it reaches the Supreme Court. It still looks like things are going as expected, which means we have to continue to listen to the bias and politics of fear coming from the Press and politicians.

At least Biden, half of the Biden/Harris team, is trying to look Presidential. If he eventually wins election, we still won’t know how long he will occupy the White House. It could be a week, a month, a couple of quarters, a year, or even a full term. I guess that will be up to Pelosi and Harris.

Perhaps we Americans need to transition as well. We don’t have access to the evidence of fraud, nor do we have the ability to discern what is going to happen. If the situation goes to the Supreme Court it looks like a fair hearing will take place; and if so, then it is likely President Trump will get re-elected.

But what if Biden/Harris actually win? What do we do?

We will need to tighten our belts. I cannot fathom industries that originally left the country because of Obama policies and then came back under Trump will stay here under Biden/Harris. And if I am right that they will pack up and leave our fledgling economic success will come to a close, and we will sink to third world status.

So, for us, transitioning will include tightening our belts and preparing for hard times. It may mean small businesses closing permanently. It almost certainly would mean a return to the pre-Trump era of economic malaise. We will undoubtedly once again hear Biden claim he has restored jobs (only low paying jobs according to history). He might even quote Obama and tell us the high paying jobs will never come back.

That could be the trigger for the 25th Amendment and Vice President Harris would move into the Oval Office! She would be able to claim that Biden didn’t do enough and that he is senile. Then she would take America further to the Left.

On a more positive note, the evidence that the Trump Team is gathering appears to be massive. The media calls it baseless because that is what they want Americans to believe. But now the cases will start working their way up the court system. Evidence will be entered, thoroughly examined, and, probably, exposed to the light of day.

Remember, that when they were going after Trump to impeach him the Press continuously assailed him. But when it finally got to the national level and was examined in the House of Representatives the Impeachment began falling apart before the House ever sent the Impeachment to the Senate. Although the Press tried to ignore the facts, the real facts began coming out and the American people saw it for what it was – a political attack without any basis in facts!

This time the drama will take place in Federal Courts and probably in the Supreme Court. And once it gets there the evidence will be looked at seriously. And the Biden/Harris Transition will most likely come to a close. But I have to admit that this whole process is discouraging.

The constant attack by the media is designed to wear us out. We have to stay calm and stay faithful. Those of us who are called Christians must pray seeking God’s mercy for our nation. It is possible He will allow what we deserve, a President Biden/Harris. But He might also give us one more chance to get things right.

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R Frederick Riddle is the Editor of TR Writing Services providing help to struggling and/or new authors to write and publish their books. He is also an author of Historical, Speculative, and Mystery fiction, plus co-founder and Vice President of T&R Independent Books. To reply to any blog you can comment on a blog and/or send an email to marketing@tr-indbkstore.com. His Facebook page is at RFrederickRiddlesWorld.