BloggeRhythms

Beginning with the thought that Thanksgiving’s a time to be thankful for fulfillment of one’s hopes and dreams, leads to the reflection that those words are most often attributed to our outgoing POTUS. 

And what’s most ironic about that is, although it was an unfulfilled pledge by Obama, it now appears that most of the nation’s consumers expect that Trump will accomplish what Obama could not.      

Yesterday, Luke Kawa and Julie Verhage headed their column @bloomberg.com: “Soaring Consumer Confidence: Are Americans Happy It's Trump, or Just Happy It's Over?”

The text says: “On the surface, the message from the University of Michigan's final reading of consumer sentiment for November is that President-elect Donald Trump will fix what ails the nation — fast. 

“The consumer expectations index of the survey rose by 8.4 points from October to 85.2 — a one-month gain last exceeded in the December 2011 — a testament to households' optimistic view on the outlook for the U.S. economy and their own pocketbooks. 

“And 'optimistic' might be an understatement. According to the latest report, in some cases, Americans are the most hopeful they have been in more than a decade. For the first time since 2006, 37 percent of households said they expect their personal finances to improve in 2017. Also hitting decade highs: real income expectations, as wage growth continues to gain strength in a broadening swath of the economy.”

An even more indicative proof of citizens appreciation of the “change” that’s taken place in governance and their “hope” for the future came next, as the authors wrote: “However, perhaps the most surprising element of the report is the extent to which it belies what was an incredible polarizing election that saw people vote uniformly on tickets so much so that there were no purple states, in some respects.

“You might imagine that after the election, there'd be one camp thinking that America was about to be made great again, and another who thought the country was about to go to the dogs. 

“But the notion that tribal political dynamics are overwhelmingly influencing households' expectations — a message delivered very clearly in Gallup's survey —  is not something that's borne out by these data. 

“46 percent of respondents surveyed agreed the U.S. will have "continuous good times" over the next year, up a whopping 11 percentage points from October, while the share who expected "bad times" ahead fell by 7 percentage points to 37 percent.”

So, here we are only two and a half short weeks since the change of hands at the nation’s top, and a notable trend in thankfulness has already begun.   

And then, on a more personal note, in yesterday’s entry major disappointment was reflected in this writer’s disgust with what was thought to be a quick abandonment of campaign 
promises by our new president-elect. Further categorizing him as another “untrustworthy, self-serving, bait and switch politico he swore he was not.”

The animosity stemmed from reading Evan Halper‘s reporting in the @latimes.com that: “[Trump] said he has an open mind to keeping in place the international climate agreement President Obama took a lead in negotiating, which Trump has been vowing for months to withdraw from.”

However, now today, according to Marc Morano @climatedepot.com: “The media spin on President Elect Donald J. Trump’s sit down with the New York Times on November 22, can only be described as dishonest. Trump appears to soften stance on climate change & Donald Trump backflips on climate change  & Trump on climate change in major U-turn.

“The ‘fake news’ that Trump had somehow moderated or changed his “global warming” views was not supported by the full transcript of the meeting. 

“Heartland Institute President Joe Bast had this to say about the full transcript of Trump’s meeting: “This is reassuring. The Left wants to drive wedges between Trump and his base by spinning anything he says as “retreating from campaign promises.” But expressing nuance and avoiding confrontation with determined foes who buy ink by the barrel is not retreating.” The Heartland Institute released their skeptical 2015 climate report featuring 4,000 peer-reviewed articles debunking the UN IPCC claims. 

“Trump’s climate science view that there is “some connectivity” between humans and climate is squarely a skeptical climate view. Trump explained, “There is some, something. It depends on how much.” 

“Trump’s views are shared by prominent skeptical scientists. University of London professor emeritus Philip Stott has said: “The fundamental point has always been this. Climate change is governed by hundreds of factors, or variables, and the very idea that we can manage climate change predictably by understanding and manipulating at the margins one politically selected factor (CO2) is as misguided as it gets.” “It’s scientific nonsense,” Stott added. Stott is featured in new skeptical climate change documentary Climate Hustle. 

“Scientists at the UN climate summit in Marrakech commended Trump’s climate views. See: Skeptical scientists crash UN climate summit, praise Trump for ‘bringing science back again’ 

Trump also told resident NYT warmist Tom Friedman: ‘A lot of smart people disagree with you’ on climate change. (Note: Friedman has some wacky views: Flashback 2009: NYT’s Tom Friedman lauds China’s eco-policies: ‘One party can just impose politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move a society forward’) 

“Once again, Trump was 100% accurate as very prominent scientists are bailing out of the so-called climate “consensus.” 

“JAMES BENNET, editorial page editor: When you say an open mind, you mean you’re just not sure whether human activity causes climate change? Do you think human activity is or isn’t connected? 

“TRUMP: I think right now … well, I think there is some connectivity. There is some, something. It depends on how much. It also depends on how much it’s going to cost our companies. You have to understand, our companies are noncompetitive right now.”
And then, the clarification closed with a very encouraging premise regarding Trump’s actual stance on the issue. 

“The Trump Taboo’ at UN climate summit: He is ‘omnipresent…even though nobody is saying his name’ – ‘There is a taboo word at this year’s 22nd UN climate change summit: Trump. The president-elect is omnipresent in Marrakesh. You can feel him lurking behind talks on low-carbon economies and in the cracks between climate-induced loss and damage. He’s never directly addressed, but he’s always in the room. You can tell from the anxiety in people’s voices and their disapproving headshakes, heavy with concern for what the future for action on climate change holds.” 

So, it seems my initial reaction was an inappropriate “knee-jerk” for which I readily apologize. Mr. Morano’s clarification certainly makes me feel far better, whereas he’s always been well-informed and quite accurate in the past. 

Thus, adding this to what’s already greatly appreciated on this day, I now have something else to be thankful for. 

That's it for today folks. 

Adios