A NOTE TO REMAINING READERS OF MY BLOG

November 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of Reunite Gondwanaland.

I have noted that the readership of my blog peaked in 2017.  There was a period in 2017 where my posts got between 30 and 40 page views and some even a lot more (five got over 400 plus one got over 600!).  In 2019, none of my last seven posts items have received as many as 20 page views including one with fewer than 10.

I consider "Can We Afford To Let Trump Continue" (October 18, 2019) to be a serious post; however, it has only received 17 page views.   Since this item was published, Trump, November 18th, has already changed a long-held policy regarding the settlements by Israel in the West Bank.  In comparison, a post titled America's 100 Wealthiest Zip Codes" (March 11, 2019) has received110 page views.  Though I certainly enjoy it when one of my items receives over 100 page views, I have no idea why some do and some don't.

It isn't all tepid news, however, as seven posts in 2019 have received at least 100 page views.  In addition, an old post from 2013, "On How Much Is Spent On Entertainment," seems to have come alive for some reason.  Originally it got about 70 page views that is good for me, but, as of today (November 21, 2019), it stands at 711 page views.  I have to wonder if someone is padding this piece, but maybe some large class has discovered it.

I do not understand why the interest has dropped, perhaps because most of my quoted material comes from CNBC and the WSJ?  Maybe people feel they can just look at those references, though I try to give some of my own analysis too.

I am 88 years old and my main purpose in writing this blog is an attempt to keep my mind as sharp as possible.  I am very pleased that some others look at my writings also.  And who knows, every once in a while, one may catch fire.

I just want to let you know that I will continue to write this blog as long as I am able to and hope I can give readers a bit of understanding that they may not have otherwise realized.

TAKING ONE FOR THE PREZ

Just as he promised, Roger Stone has taken a bullet for the President and is found guilty on seven counts.  Sentencing awaits February 6.  If you count up the jail time for each count, it is said to total 20 (or is it 50) years, but no one thinks he will get that much.  The way past sentencing has gone, my guess is that he will get 3-1/2 yrs, but I hope for seven years (one for each count).

Prosecutors portrayed Stone, 67, as a serial liar who tried to bully witnesses into not cooperating with authorities. They charged Stone, a confidant of President Donald Trump, with making false statements, obstruction and witness tampering in a case that was an offshoot of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Stone is the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted of charges brought as part of Mueller's probe.*

It is possible for a white-collar crime to be given no jail time or a matter of weeks.  This is a worry because the judge let Stone go on his own recognizance, which is unusual.  I don't know why the sentencing takes so long except maybe to let things cool down first.

* https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/roger-stone-found-guilty-all-seven-counts-n1082326

ON TRACK FOR A RECESSION - NOVEMBER 2019?

There are continuing signs of a coming recession or of a major "slowdown" of the global economy.  The latest is American farmers are taking on record debt.*  This is on top of consumers taking on record debt.**  Needless to say that the American Federal government is also taking on record deficits stimulated by the latest tax increase using borrowed money.***
Over the next 10 years, annual federal deficits — when Congress spends more than it takes in through tax revenues — are expected to average $1.2 trillion, which would be 4.4 percent of gross domestic product. That's far higher than the 2.9 percent of GDP that has been the average for the past 50 years.

"Other than the period immediately after World War II, the only other time the average deficit has been so large over so many years was after the 2007–2009 recession," the CBO said last month.***

There are people worried about this.  Over 50percent of large investors expect a major market correction in 2020.****
Increasing numbers of people aged 18-to-34 are taking money out of their 401(k) accounts, which financial advisors warn against.****
Two-thirds of Americans don't feel better off.****

At the same time, business investment in plant and equipment is dropping.
(https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/business-investment-drops-3percent-in-third-quarter-amid-trade-war-uncertainty.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/us-gdp-q3-2019-first-reading.html)

* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2019/10/recession-coming.html
** https://www.wsj.com/articles/farmers-in-crisis-turn-to-high-interest-loans-as-banks-pull-back-11573381801
**** https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/12/more-than-half-of-the-richest-investors-see-a-big-market-drop-in-2020.html
https://grow.acorns.com/how-to-avoid-dipping-into-your-401k
https://grow.acorns.com/how-to-feel-better-off-according-to-experts

REPUBLICAN SENATORS OWE BILL CLINTON AN APOLOGY

The way Republican Senators are defending President Donald Trump, makes Bill Clinton's impeachment look like a fraud.  They say a sitting president cannot be indicted for crimes committed while serving as President and that trying to get a foreign government to make up stories about a political rival does not rise to an impeachable level.  Republicans say that the Trump impeachment is an attempt to overturn an election.  With Bill Clinton, it apparently was all right with Republicans to overturn an election.

But that was then, this is now.  During the Obama Administration, Republicans were very much in favor of the secrecy of Whistleblowers over the Fast and Furious scandal.  Now, of course, they want to "out" the Trump Whistleblower, even though everything he has said is now verified.  You get the feeling that Republicans would like to see the Whistleblower killed.

THE BERLIN WALL AND ME (Biographical)

We are celebrating the Fall of the Berlin Wall, I guess 30 yrs ago today (November 9th).  I had my own little experience with the "Berlin Wall" in 1969  though where I was, it wasn't a wall but a tall wire fence guarded by observation towers (perhaps 30 ft tall) occupied by soldiers with some sort of machine guns.

A small group of us were examining an exposure of the thin copper-bearing formation of the Kupferschiefer (Copper Slate) in rural West Germany.  It was a bit unnerving knowing that there were armed men in the towers observing us and wondering what we were doing (digging a tunnel?), but perhaps many people came to this location to study the geology.

At any rate after some time, I took some samples and we left without incident except maybe frayed nerves.

* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/search?q=Berlin+Wall
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kupferschiefer

MY FAVORITES FOR PRESIDENT - NOV. UPDATE

Nancy Pelosi    79 in March (b March 26, 1940)
Bernie Sanders 78 in September (b September 8, 1941)
Joe Biden         77 in November (b November 20, 1942)
Mitch Mcconnell 77 last February (b. February 20, 1942)
Michael Bloomberg 77 last February (b. February 14, 1942)
Donald Trump 73 in June (b June 14, 1946)
Eliz. Warren    70 in June (b June 22, 1949)

I had dropped Beto O'Rourke from my list (a first choice) because in his "reboot" of his campaign he said he would have mandatory government purchase of all AR-15 type weapons from the public.  Also, he would remove the tax-free status of all churches that refused to comply with the law.  While I agree with both these stands, either one would lead to his defeat in an election.  He has also recently formally dropped out of the race.

Amy Klobuchar has shone some faint signs of coming alive so I am happy to continue with her, now in first place.

I'll stick with Steve Bullock, now my second choice.

It looks as if Joe Biden is losing some of his steam.  I feel he is too old.  I'll put Michael Bloomberg in my 3rd place.  I do think he is too old, but he seems put together.  My worry is that he will detract from Biden and Klobuchar.

So my choices are:
(1) Amy Klobuchar (age 59)
(2) Steve Bullock (age 53)
(3) Michael Bloomberg (77)?

NOT WHAT YOU KNOW BUT WHO YOU KNOW

When I was growing up, I frequently heard the phrase "It's not what you know but who you know."  Of course, this is said by people who feel they were left out of something because they did not have the proper "qualifications."

The above statement particularly applies to graduates of Ivy League schools that in my experience "Ivy League graduates have to prove they cannot do the job whereas the rest of us have to prove we can do the job."  This is why certain wealthy parents are willing to make illegal bribes to get their children into certain colleges, i.e. graduating from these colleges will probably" get you through the door" in applications.

Though my Ph.D. was not from any of the Ivy League colleges, I did get a job because an old professor at my undergraduate college remembered me and hired me into a job that I was qualified to do, but not what I expected to do.  In hindsight, I have no complaints.

I also feel that graduates of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale are more equal among Ivy League equals.

The point of all this is what people don't realize is that the Ukraine electric company did not want Hunter Biden for his expertise in electricity but in the hopes that he could open some doors for the electric company.  If he did that, he was well worth the money, said to be $50,000/mo.**

To review: The eight members are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University. Ivy League has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and social elitism.* (Underlining added)

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League
**https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/15/trump-lawyer-giuliani-was-paid-500000-to-consult-on-indicted-associates-firm.htmll