The Shining City Upon a Hill

[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

They dont even need sex ed in school. Most of them have already seen hours worth of porn. Half the tv shows arre like soft core porn compared to tv of years ago.

Of course, young people need good quality sex education in school. TV shows and soft porn are uncontrolled sources of information/disinformation that almost always results in unrealistic expectations.

YouTube can be very helpful.

... whatever is happening, women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy should always have the right to choose. Mistakes happen despite what old men and the religious right think and there is a very large cost to that mistake that those same two groups will never bear.

[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

Car prices are surging. Elizabeth Warren blames corporate greed


New car prices are skyrocketing at the fastest pace on record. And Senator Elizabeth Warren says a lack of competition in the semiconductor industry is at least partially to blame.

The world is in the midst of an epic computer chip shortage, one largely driven by Covid outbreaks and skyrocketing demand.

The chip shortage has forced Ford (F), General Motors and other auto companies to slash their production. Car dealerships don't have enough new vehicles to meet demand, setting off a wave of new and used car sticker shock.

Warren argues that the chip shortage, along with its aftermath, is a prime example of how real people can get hurt when a few companies become too dominant in their fields. The Massachusetts Democrat points out that just five firms control 54% of global semiconductor manufacturing, giving the biggest players "immense market power."

"This market concentration has reduced competition, allowing giant corporations to deliver massive returns for shareholders," Warren wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. "But it has harmed consumers by enabling these dominant companies to increase prices and underinvest in key capabilities, which has the effect of also reducing product innovation and product quality.

The Semiconductor Industry Association responded in a statement to CNN by saying the trade group agrees with Warren that America needs to encourage greater domestic chip making, but it pushed back on the senator's other points.

"Some of the Senator's other assertions are simply wide of the mark," said John Neuffer, CEO of the trade group. "The semiconductor industry is one of the world's most fiercely competitive, innovative, and economically impactful sectors, revolutionizing entire segments of the economy and dramatically improving our way of life."

'Consumers are harmed

The pressure from Warren is the latest example of progressives arguing corporate greed is amplifying historic levels of inflation.

Last week, Warren blasted Hertz for binging on share buybacks instead of investing in new supply that could ease skyrocketing car rental rates.

Similarly, White House economists published a blog post last week that said "dominant" meat processors "use their market power to extract bigger and bigger profit margins for themselves," contributing to the recent spike in meat prices.

To make her point on computer chips, Warren singled out Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a supplier to Apple, Nvidia and other tech companies, as one of the companies that has grown too powerful. She also said ASML, a Dutch company that trades on the Nasdaq, is the only company making machines required for cutting-edge chips, and it can't keep up with demand.

"So while dominant semiconductor companies like TSMC and ASML post massive profits and reward shareholders," Warren wrote, "consumers are harmed by shortages and higher prices."

The Semiconductor Industry Association noted the industry has innovated rapidly over the years, and that evolution required significant investment.

"Today's semiconductors are magical, containing tens of billions of transistors on a chip the size of a quarter," the trade group said in the statement."Unmatched by any other industry, the semiconductor industry has delivered breathtaking value to consumers. Fifty years ago, transistors were a billion times more expensive than they are today."

Price spikes

Covid, not corporate concentration, is viewed by many as the near-term driver of the computer chip shortage. Consolidation took place over many years. There was no chip shortage prior to Covid.

The price spikes on cars are the most glaring example of how the computer chip shortage, and supply chain problems in general, have affected everyday people. New car prices spiked by a record 11.1% in November from a year earlier.

But it's not just about cars. Computer chips are critical components for TVs, exercise machines and appliances -- pretty much anything with an on-off switch. And that has contributed to the biggest jump in consumer prices in nearly 40 years.

"These semiconductor manufacturers are putting stock price, profits, and growth ahead of the needs of American consumers and workers," Warren wrote. "As the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, this behavior can lead to terrible consequences and shortages for our country.

Billions in funding could be on the way to chip makers

That's why Warren is calling on the Commerce Department to use its power in doling out tens of billions of dollars in funding from legislation currently being debated by Congress, and to push back against industry consolidation.

To address the chip shortage and bolster domestic supply chains, Congress last year passed the CHIPS Act, which encourages domestic semiconductor production and research. Just 12% of the world's computer chips were made in the United States in 2020, down from 37% in 1990.

The Senate has passed legislation that would fund the CHIPS for America Act. Raimondo, the Commerce secretary, has implored the House to do the same.

If that funding gets through Congress, it would open the door to a vast amount of grant funding from the federal government aimed at revitalizing the US semiconductor industry, including $19 billion in fiscal year 2022 alone.

Under the CHIPS Act, the Commerce Department would be in charge of distributing the funds to projects that the Commerce secretary deems are "in the interest of the United States."
"It is clearly in the national interest of the United States to use this funding to push back against industry consolidation," Warren wrote to Raimondo. "I encourage you to seize this opportunity through proper utilization and appropriation of these funds, ensuring that American consumers and workers see the full benefits of domestic investment."

Buyback scrutiny, antitrust action

Warren's letter included a series of questions to Raimondo over how the Commerce Department plans to choose projects that receive financial assistance, and how the funds will reduce the impact of layoffs and price hikes.

The Massachusetts Democrat also asked how Raimondo will make sure the funds "are not used to pad corporate profits, increase executive compensation and reward shareholders through stock buybacks."

A spokesperson for agency said the Commerce Department had "received the letter and we plan to respond to Sen. Warren directly. Secretary Raimondo agrees with Senator Warren about the urgent need to diversify the semiconductor supply chain."

Concerns about corporate concentration in the chip industry prompted regulators to move to quash what would be the biggest semiconductor acquisition in history. Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission launched a lawsuit aimed at blocking Nvidia's $40 billion takeover of UK chip design firm Arm.

Warren hailed that FTC lawsuit and suggested more action should be just a starting point.

"Although the Trump administration did virtually nothing to stop this harmful consolidation, under President Biden the federal government is beginning to step up to challenge industry consolidation that could harm supply-chain resiliency," Warren wrote.

... with the Build Back Better plan now on hold, the funds that would have greatly increased America's chip independence from Asian sources is now on hold.

No thanks to all of the 50 Republican Senators and 1 Senator Manchin. This is overwhelmingly Republican "Cancel Culture" on America's chip industry for both defence and commerce industries.

[Copier Addict]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

... with the Build Back Better plan now on hold, the funds that would have greatly increased America's chip independence from Asian sources is now on hold.

No thanks to all of the 50 Republican Senators and 1 Senator Manchin. This is overwhelmingly Republican "Cancel Culture" on America's chip industry for both defence and commerce industries.

The ReDumblicans would rather be the party of NO than to have the countries infrastructure improved. What a bunch of morons.

[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

Coal miners want Joe Manchin to reverse opposition to Build Back Better


Senator Joe Manchin is facing calls from a powerful group close to his heart to reconsider his opposition to the Build Back Better Act: Coal miners.

A day after the West Virginia Democrat appeared to kill Build Back Better, America's largest coal mining union put out a statement lauding the legislation's provisions and pushing Manchin to take a do-over.

"We are disappointed that the bill will not pass," Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, said in the statement on Monday. "We urge Senator Manchin to revisit his opposition to this legislation and work with his colleagues to pass something that will help keep coal miners working, and have a meaningful impact on our members, their families and their communities."

The 131-year-old UMWA called out several items that it believes are crucial to its members and communities, including extending the fee paid by coal companies to fund benefits received by victims of black lung.

"But now that fee will be cut in half, further shifting the burden of paying these benefits away from the coal companies and on to taxpayers," Roberts said.

Another benefit in Build Back Better cited by the UMWA: tax incentives to encourage manufacturers to build facilities in coalfields, employing thousands of coal miners who are out of work.

"Now the potential for those jobs is significantly threatened," Roberts said.

Roberts also cited a provision in the legislation that would penalize employers that deny workers their rights to form a union on the job.

The union said it has a "long and friendly relationship" with Manchin.

"We remain grateful for his hard work to preserve the pensions and health care of our retirees across the nation, including thousands in West Virginia," Roberts said. "He has been at our side as we have worked to preserve coal miners' jobs in a changing energy marketplace and we appreciate that very much."

Sam Runyon, Manchin's communications director, said Tuesday that Manchin "has always been a strong advocate for the UMWA and led legislation to address the black lung excise tax expiration."

"He will of course continue to work to shore up the black lung excise tax in the New Year to address the needs of our brave miners," Runyon said.

The coal miners union is also strongly pressuring Manchin to act on voting rights.

"I also want to reiterate our support for the passage of voting rights legislation as soon as possible, and strongly encourage Senator Manchin and every other Senator to be prepared to do whatever it takes to accomplish that," Roberts, the union president, said in the statement.

"Anti-democracy legislators and their allies are working every day to roll back the right to vote in America. Failure by the Senate to stand up to that is unacceptable and a dereliction of their duty to the Constitution."

[bsm2]

[Hansen88]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

Of course, young people need good quality sex education in school. TV shows and soft porn are uncontrolled sources of information/disinformation that almost always results in unrealistic expectations.

YouTube can be very helpful.

... whatever is happening, women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy should always have the right to choose. Mistakes happen despite what old men and the religious right think and there is a very large cost to that mistake that those same two groups will never bear.

This was supposed to be tongue in cheek- Trying to say how screwed up it is now a days. When I was a kid it was great if we saw a playboy. Now they can just go online and see the worst of everything. From sex to violence to you name it. Like cable tv. You have to pay extra to get the porn channels. I think the internet should be like that. Have a adult version and a kid safe internet.

[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

This was supposed to be tongue in cheek- Trying to say how screwed up it is now a days. When I was a kid it was great if we saw a playboy. Now they can just go online and see the worst of everything. From sex to violence to you name it. Like cable tv. You have to pay extra to get the porn channels. I think the internet should be like that. Have a adult version and a kid safe internet.

... child filters are widely available and often free. The parents have to make the extra effort to configure and enforce them.

Of course, teenagers tend to be very rebellious and hard to control. Their social media skills often far exceed that of their parents.

Like the MAGA movement, while it might be nice to yearn for the good ole days, they are never coming back.

[bsm2]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

More than 4.6 million people gained health coverage in the United States in 2021 through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement on Wednesday.

Biden, who reopened the nation's online insurance marketplace created by the 2010 law when he took office in January, added that "an all-time high" of more than 12.6 million Americans signed up in the six weeks following Nov. 1.

[Hansen88]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

... child filters are widely available and often free. The parents have to make the extra effort to configure and enforce them.

Of course, teenagers tend to be very rebellious and hard to control. Their social media skills often far exceed that of their parents.

Like the MAGA movement, while it might be nice to yearn for the good ole days, they are never coming back.

I dont have any kids and nowadays I am glad I dont have any. I do feel that it is the parents responsibility to raise their kids right and that seems like the biggest problem. From something simple when I was growing up,look for cars before you cross the street. Now they dont even look because they have the right a way. They dont teach common sense anymore. And when these kids grow up and have kids they will be worse than them.

[bsm2]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

Oh No all the Doom and Gloom someone keep talking about


6 million New Jobs
4.2 unemployment

Supply Chain fixed
205 million people Vaxxed

Road Bridges getting Fixed
4.5 million more people signed up for Health-care

Jobs Jobs Jobs

Sounds Pretty Dam Great

Merry Christmas to All

[SalesServiceGuy]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

Why the shortest day of the year is actually the longest


The winter solstice is finally upon us, but what exactly does that mean? Also known as the December solstice, it marks the beginning of what is referred to as astrological winter—that is, winter based on the position of the Earth in relation to the sun, rather than temperatures or months of the year.

At the precise moment of the winter solstice, the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is tilted furthest away from the sun, resulting in the year’s shortest day, or, more accurately, the day with the shortest period of daylight. Typically, this event occurs in the northern hemisphere between December 20 and December 23. This year, the winter solstice falls on December 21 at 10:59.

But even though there’s less perceivable daylight in the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice actually marks the longest day of the year in terms of the Earth’s rotation on its axis, according to NASA. Specifically, the “solar day”—measured on a sundial between noon on December 21 and noon on December 22—will last for 24 hours and 29.8 seconds, officially making it the longest of the year, in addition to the day with the least amount of daylight.

Every day thereafter, however, the Northern Hemisphere will see a few additional seconds of daylight, with some days between January and May lengthening for up to a few minutes each, according to WGN meteorologist Tom Skilling.

Interestingly, the winter solstice also doesn’t necessarily mark the coldest day of the year, despite the Northern Hemisphere being the furthest from the sun. Lots of factors—including snow cover, weather patterns, etc.—determine the coldest day, the Old Farmer’s Almanac explains. The Earth could also see residual heat from the sun’s previous rays, delaying colder temperatures. The year’s coldest days in the Northern Hemisphere can actually occur several weeks later, according to WSYR meteorologist Dave Longley.

However, one thing is certain: The winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere can only mean more daylight ahead, and our eventual arrival at the summer solstice. We’ll have to wait a bit for sunnier skies, though. The summer solstice—which marks the longest day of 2022—is expected on June 21.

... yay! summer is already closer by two days with the benefit of getting people outdoors for better social distancing.

[slimslob]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

[bsm2]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

Man your screwed up

[slimslob]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

Escape from Democratic governance | Washington Examiner

[Copier Addict]

Re: The Shining City Upon a Hill

Man your screwed up

He has just let politics infect every aspect of his life. He has trouble separating things.
Plus he is still pissed at how accurate Baldwin's depictions of donny boy were.