My Thoughts on the DC Statehood Business

 I have four observations over the idea:

1.  Go ask the DC folks on the original boundary....which included Arlington and Alexandria.  Ask them how and why that got separated and passed back to Virginia, then ask...why couldn't the non-federal part of DC get passed back to Maryland?

It'll be just a blank look on their face.

2.  All of this would make perfect sense if you were going to statehood Miami, Austin, Chicago, Philly, Vegas and Nashville as states as well....but that's not going to happen.

3.  If this occurs.....would the 4-billion in federal funding halt or continue on?

4.  What about Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, and Northern Marianna Islands?  The same logic should get them on track as well.  

Are We Smarter Than the News Media Thinks We Are?

 Around a month ago, I watched a presentation via YouTube and the discussion turned to the general public, and the question was....are news journalists assuming we are fairly stupid, and we 'need' news networks (meaning MSNBC, Fox, CNN, ABC, etc)?

This has been on my mind since the discussion.

Maybe up until twenty years ago....you rarely found that many people who had a full grasp of the economy, general politics, crime, legal affairs, or science.

I would suggest that we are on a new trend 'line' where people know a good bit more than your typical news 'anchor' with the big-boy networks, and exceptionally more than 'Newsman Bob' from Channel 31's dynamic news team.  We also probably know more than the local Sheriff, the city mayor, or the governor of the state.  

We probably also have a decent ability to recognize propaganda, hype, or disinformation.  

What happens when we recognize this unequal knowledge level?  Well....I would suggest that we turn the TV off, and marginalize our news cycle.  In simple terms, we put some people out of business.  

Lower Expectations Story

 The New York Times wrote up a piece that suggested 'we' needed to hold VP Harris to a lower standard, in order for her to succeed.

I had to read the piece twice to really grasp the whole landscape to the idea.  

Basically, they are suggesting that she's just not that talented or capable....that we should have known that, and that 'we' all want people to succeed in life.  Well....as long as they are democrats....we want them to succeed (Republicans ought to fail miserably, and admit it).

If you'd asked me in 2018....out of the 100 Senators to rank capability to handle more work, or multi-tasking....I probably would have ranked Kamala Harris in the bottom 25 of the Senate.  

So just in general....should you lower expectations for kids and adults to succeed?  I've had various individuals around me (some were leaders) to suggest this and push this idea.  My general belief....if you mentor and quietly offer advice....people improve and you don't need to lower expectations.  

Another observation I'll make.....if you chose to lower expectations for people....wouldn't you do the same thing for newspapers (like the NY Times) and accept their lower performance as part of a trend for 'success'? Might you do the same thing for CNN, or even the FBI....accepting crappy performance as a norm?