Here are my observations and opinions of my selected news of the day.

I’M BAAAAACK from my week-long “Congressional recess” on the Columbia & Snake Rivers and although my ability to do proper research was limited due to spotty wi-fi, I thought I would give you my observations and opinions on what I heard and saw.

BEFORE I BEGIN, I would highly recommend the American Cruise Line of the rivers if you want a glimpse of what the Lewis & Clark party and others faced while crossing the rugged Northwest terrain.  After years of foreign travel, my wife and I have vowed to see the America we haven’t seen during our previous U.S. travels.

I SEE THOSE EMBARRASSING DEMOCRAT presidential candidates are still at it with a handful of them providing sound bites for the media.  Oh my, how pitiful.

THANKFULLY, I didn’t see any of the seven-hour Democrat climate change marathon hosted by CNN even though the Democrat National Committee voted against an entire debate on climate change.  The sound bites were hilarious.

Buttigieg is still telling us that the challenge of climate change is worse than what we faced with Germany and Japan in World War II … yes, Harris would ban soda straws … she would change the way Americans eat and to reduce the intake of red meat while pushing veganism … Biden, calling a 24-year old woman “kiddo” to her chagrin, promised her he was going to kill fossil fuels by 2050 (when he would be 108)  … Yang proposed a potential government confiscation of motor vehicles that run on gasoline … Sanders told an audience member to keep a child quiet while saying he wants to curb population growth, supporting abortions … a Warren administration would not include new nuclear plants, even though they are the most efficient energy source available with our current technology … O’Rourke said his home of El Paso will be uninhabitable unless something dramatic isn’t done to curb climate change … Booker, unbelievably, said that climate change disproportionately affects people of color in low-income communities.  All of the candidates, with the exception of Klobuchar, would end fracking.  Unlike Harris, who seemingly wants to ban everything, Klobuchar wants to study it while calling climate change a “monstrous crisis.” Lastly, I understand there was an awkward “moment” for Castro, who paused 12 seconds while conjuring his response to how he would tackle climate change.

SPEAKING OF FRACKING  – While Democrats continue to deny the benefits that fracking has provided the American economy, sparking a revolutionary boom in the energy industry, dramatically lowering gas prices, and providing critical jobs and tax revenue in numerous U.S. communities, studies by the Brookings Institute and the University of Chicago have cited public benefits, according to Tristan Justice, writing in The Federalist.

IF ONLY THE DEMOCRATS would address the “real” crisis on our southern border with the same zeal in which they are approaching the improbable future crisis of climate change.

CLIMATE CHANGE, according to commentator Joe Pollak, “is primarily experienced as a mass hysteria phenomenon,” a collective illusion of a massive threat.

“Just listen to audience members (in the CNN marathon) asking questions based on the risible premise that we’re on the brink of extinction,” wrote David Harsanyi in The Federalist. “It’s really one of the tragedies of our age that so many young people have been brainwashed into believing they live on the cusp of dystopia when, in fact, they’re in the middle of a golden age – an era with less war, sickness, poverty, and suffering than any in history.”

THE FEMALE BIDEN – While Apology Joe Biden is making all the news with his misspeaking, Kamala Harris continually operates under the media radar. There was her claim that she sued Exxon Mobil.  She didn’t.  She also claimed that she did not hear a supporter calling President Trump “mentally retarded,” even though she responded with “well said.”  Finally, she has a stock answer every time she is asked how she would handle a particular situation – she would read her briefing book … surround herself with experts … and listen to the people.  As if President Trump doesn’t do that.

DEMOCRAT PETE BUTTIGIEG, who has said that Christians who don’t support the $15 minimum wage are hypocrites, has a new religious rant that is even more absurd, writes Paul Mirengoff in PowerLine.  “He purports to find support in scripture for killing babies up until just before they draw their firsts breath.”

THE INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULB LIVES! – When Congress, in all its wisdom, created lighting efficiency standards in 2007, and decided that incandescent light bulbs needed to be phased out, I balked.  Before they were removed from the shelves of Home Depot and other stores, I stocked up on incandescent bulbs. The new bulbs being offered contained Mercury and required special handling, especially when disposing one that had burned out.

We were told we would save thousands of dollars and reduce carbon emissions by switching from incandescent bulbs.  What a hoax!

While I have since purchased LEDs for special needs, I continue to use 40, 60, and 100-watt bulbs, as well as three-way bulbs, all incandescents, in my lamps.

THE BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT RATE fell to the lowest level ever recorded in August, dropping from 6 to 5.5 percent.  The unemployment rate for Hispanics was at 4.2 percent in August, tying the record low set earlier this year.

DESPITE RECORD SETTING IMPROVEMENTS in the economy, data shows the news coverage of President Trump has been 92 percent negative. “The most egregious and dangerous forms of this bias thrived this summer at media outlets like the Washington Post, which routinely masquerade opinion as news,” notes the Washington Examiner.

It’s part of the effort by the leftist media to paint President Trump as a failed presidency with the goal of preventing his reelection in 2020.  Fortunately, American voters aren’t buying it.

MARK SANFORD wants to challenge President Trump in 2020.  Talk about hubris. Donald Trump may have had his affairs with women, but they were prior to his declaration to run for the presidency.

Sanford, on the other hand, disappeared while serving as governor of South Carolina in 2009. He traveled to Argentina where he had an extramarital affair.  He was censured by the SC General Assembly and was forced to resign as head of the Republican Governor’s Association.

               May God continue to bless the United States of America.