Spring forward

Spring forward, fall back is a refrain reminding Americans in the continental US to move their clocks an hour ahead, then turning them back again an hour 6 months from now. My son was almost late for work when he forgot about "daylight saving." 

Now since the rationale for that change is no longer valid, why can't we stick with the same time all year? Actually, keeping standard time all year round is considered best for human health. Accidents do happen as the result of the change. But Congress would need to act and members cannot seem to agree on anything now. 

The U.S. has been observing daylight saving time since 1918, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Standard Time Act into law under the premise that additional daylight hours could cut energy costs during World War I. Then, almost 50 years later, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 mandated states following daylight saving to use the same start and end dates. The law means that states cannot use daylight saving year-round unless Congress first votes to change the federal law.

However, states can decide to excuse themselves from clock-switching, which would be a good idea for every and all states. 

Which US states and territories don’t change their clocks?

 Residents of Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, the Residents of Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, Guam, and America Samoa don't change their clocks.

Blank spaces on the blog are beyond my control. As mentioned, we bloggers are subject to the whims of the inscrutable blog gods. Please excuse other quirks. I cannot fix them. I cannot even erase them. (I cannot explain the weather forecast below and why it is appearing here now.)

***Here's the weather forecast for Choluteca, Honduras, which I visited again in June 2024. When living in southern Honduras during Peace Corps, I often wore a wet washcloth on my head.

Mon

101°

76°

Tue

100°

75°

Wed

102°

74°

Thu

101°

75°

Fri

99°

76°

Sat

98°

74°

Sun

100°

75

 

Canda is cracking down now on the grandparent scam, arresting 25 p

 

A few years ago, I received a call from someone sounding like a young man, saying, "Grandma, I'm in trouble now and need bail money." Since he might have been my grandson living in Texas, I decided to ask his name. "Why Grandma," he objected, "you already know my name." I said, "Yes, but please just tell me your name." So then he hung up. 

A friend has just called me to say that he has found that the demise of small-town newspapers that used to report local crime statistics often helped local law enforcement go after those cases, but now since such cases don't get reported any more, crime has gone up in small towns and rural areas. Is there a likely connection? My friend thinks so. 

Musk and Trump have deliberately tanked our US economy, which had been humming along just fine. They have carelessly or mistakenly created a recession. They should forget all about downsizing the federal workforce and enacting tariffs, efforts that are already pushing the economy into further decline. The government is not their plaything. Can't they see that laying off federal workers has a ripple effect, preventing them from making purchases that keep the economy going? Businesses are starting to close. Tesla dealerships are being vandalized. Teslas are not being sold any more. It's a circular loop. What's the point of providing a tax cut if incomes shrink so much that any cut would generate insufficient revenue to keep the government, including Trump and Musk, afloat?  

Wash. Post, Dow slides as stock market volatility continues

Wash. Post, Anger at Elon Musk turns violent with molotov cocktails and gunfire at Tesla lots

ople.  NPR, Canadians' 'grandparent scam' cost Americans $21 million

PARKERSBURG, West Virginia, March 7 (Reuters) - Jennifer Piggott proudly hung a red-and-blue Trump campaign flag outside her one-story home during the November election race. Now, after she was abruptly fired from her civil service job, her days of supporting the president are over. She says despite voting for him faithfully she no longer supports the president after he cost her her job.

A recession being deliberately created by the President and his main donor can still be turned around if Trump simply tells Mr.  Musk, "Thank you very much for your support of my election, but running a country is not like making a car, so I'll take charge from now on. I'm still thinking about tariffs, but let's fix the economy first." Give Musk a medal, honor him in a ceremony, but don't take his advice. Stop the firings, welcome immigrants, and ditch the tariffs and let's see if we can get back again on track. But it will take some time for Americans and others all around the world to start trusting the US government again. There is no more talk of a 3rd term.

Reversing immigration curbs is an absolutely vital first step. For the US, restricting immigration and deporting migrants, as Trump and Musk have been doing, is a counterproductive strategy. Maintaining a steady and optimal population requires an average of at least 2.1 births per woman--maybe even 2.2 because not all babies will live into their productive and reproductive years. The US birthrate now is only 1.67, not enough for replacement. Immigration has helped the US to fill in the gap but the Trump/Musk team has halted nearly all immigration.  

So US policy now needs to be immediately reversed. No more firings, no more budget cutting, and instead of keeping immigrants out, let's start welcoming them with open arms. That would be beneficial for us all.  Also, stop revoking Palestinian visas granted to people already living here. How can that be justified? And like some European countries, let's provide free child care and offer bonuses to folks who produce offspring. Just put me in charge of the US government! Let's take this message to more of the American people. For now, I'll simply have to do it with this blog.  

Birthrates are also falling worldwide. If the trend continues, it will lead to a shrinking human population and eventual human extinction. Then animals, lacking any curbs on their own reproduction, will take over the earth. 

Wash. Post, Former Social Security official describes hostile takeover by Musk team 

Former Social Security official describes hostile takeover by Musk team. DOGE officials also put millions of taxpayers’ private data at risk and refused to say why they needed access to it, the official says

(AP)Readers, as usual, need to 

***Above is the weather forecast for Choluteca, Honduras, which I visited again in June 2024. 

Blank spaces and other flukes on the blog are beyond my control. As mentioned, we bloggers are subject to the whims of the inscrutable blog gods. 

Above are the week's temperatures again in Choluteca, Honduras, where I lived for a time in the Peace Corps. These temps also appear earlier. Let's post this blog, as I cannot fix it.