| July 2, 2024 -- As of this writing, it’s Juneteenth Day. On this day the Union troops made it to Galveston, Texas to report that General Robert E. Lee surrendered Confederate troops at Appomattox, Virginia. The Civil War was over, and all slaves were free, as to the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, or the 13th Amendment.
Last month we talked about slow mail service. In the past few days Marcia and I went to Maine for a family gathering, and a chance to look at property upstate. While on our way we see the amount of road repairs in the four states that we went through, many paving projects, bridge repairs, road widening, and drainage work. We visited Houlton, Maine on Father’s Day, Freeport on the way home. LL Bean is doing major repairs to roofs and siding, yet still many people abound. The economy looks like it’s doing better. Gas prices were averaging $3.35/gallon. A lobster dinner was $38.00 at our favorite, Harraseeket Lobster Company, speed limits 55-75 mph. No moose sightings, but deer, coyote. With the dollar being strong, markets are steady. Maybe it’s time for the Federal Reserve to test inflation with a 1/4% cut to the interest rate. Let’s free some money to show inflation is under control.
The Supreme Court overruled an Executive Order by former President Trump, to ban bump stocks from semi-automatic rifles. This was ordered after the Jason Aldean Concert where 57 concert-go-ers were killed and 167 wounded. A bump stock is an add-on to the stock which takes the recoil of the rifle and activates the trigger into a rhythm like a gun. Justice Thomas wrote that it is difficult to master the technique to mimic the machine gun, so he favored the overturning of the Executive Order. Shame on the Supreme Court, they have no care for the safety of the American citizen. A bump stock can help a rifle to shoot 30 rounds in less than 2 seconds. Handguns are being outfitted with a $5.00 device that allows a handgun to fire 40 rounds in 1.6 seconds. These dangerous things are already out there. Where is the common sense? My father told us kids, “if you want to shoot a gun, join the Military, they will train you right.” This proves that the Supreme Court needs term limits.
Everyone is talking about the polls. Biden is down, Trump is up. Haven’t we learned our lessons from the past? “Figures can’t lie, but liars can figure.” How many times have you hung up on a survey caller, a political pollster, a party survey? Numbers are always fluid, they are different by the questions asked, so every poll may have different questions to meet the goal they are striving for. Nothing is black and white anymore; we are in the gray. Same with news and information, fake news and internet views are as fake as fake can be. Do your own research. The 2024 elections are in November. This will be the most important election of our lives. Get out the vote and check your voting status. There will be people looking to ban you from voting.
The land we looked up in Maine was more work than I could take. If it was available ten years ago, maybe. Big E is less than 100 days away!
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