Now What?

I am writing this Blog at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time on November 9, 2016, twenty four hours ago the Democratic Party was on the verge of winning a majority in the Senate, continuing the policies of Barack Obama in the White House and the Republican Party was in shambles. Tonight the Democratic Party is in shambles, the Republican Party controls all three branches of the Federal Government. And Donald Trump is the forty-fifth President of the Unites States. What a year, the Chicago Cubs win the World Series and a real estate developer, reality television star, becomes President of the United States.

                                 Democratic Votes                Republican Votes

             2008               69,498,516                             59,948,323

             2012               65,915,795                             60,933,504

             2016*             59,938,290                             59,704,886

*Still counting votes in New Hampshire, Michigan and California.

President Elect Trump, who collected fewer votes than John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012, has won the Electoral College. How did he win?

President Elect Trump won primarily due to Democrats not voting for Hillary Clinton as they did for Barack Obama, and white, Populist Americans who felt abandoned by the Democrats and the economy voted for Donald Trump. Brexit has surfaced in America from Green Bay to Pittsburgh, many in the middle class lost their jobs to China, Mexico and Indonesia, they borrowed heavily in going back to college to learn new skills and then the only jobs now available to them are at WalMart and McDonalds.

Many Democrats did not trust Hillary Clinton, plain and simple. Many citizen voters are tired of poor leadership in all institutions, including Government and Corporations. Americans have had enough of seeing their good paying jobs leaving the country and the “me, myself, and I” leadership of corporate America. I see it every day in for-profit and non-profit corporations: employees see their pay basically remaining the same year after year, their departments and programs cut or dissolved, at the same time they see the managers gaining huge increases in pay and benefits, while setting agendas that only serve their own private agendas.

Americans want accountability in their leadership. Despite all his faults and biases, Donald Trump proved a better alternative than Hillary Clinton to many voters in key electoral states.

Now what? We deal with it, work together, leaders need to recognize the need for change, while respecting all people and their rights as citizens. Corporations need to understand that though the bottom-line is important the needs and respect of their employees, customers, and investors should be the driver of their strategies.

Above all else, let us give President Elect Trump time to do his job and handle the immense duties of the Presidency.

TOP THREE – reasons to move to Canada now:

            1). Rudy Giuliani to become U.S. Attorney General in the Trump Administration

            2). Yes, the Trump Administration

            3). Molson Export Ale

TOP THREE PART DEUX – reasons to stay in the United States

            1). I can avoid hearing hourly about how good are the Toronto Maple Leafs

            2). In-N-Out Burger

            3). Our football has four downs, not three.

THE CANADIAN DONALD - CBC hockey commentator Don Cherry is no stranger to political controversies, from bashing Canada staying out of the Iraq war to ripping “left-wing pinkos” at Rob Ford’s inauguration to saying the All Lives Matter anthem hijacking would please “left-wing weirdos” to praising John Tortorella’s anti-Kaepernick stance. Now, he’s reacting to the idea of Americans unhappy with Donald Trump’s election coming to Canada, and he’s not a big fan:

“The left wing kook entertainers and the left wing weirdos in the media in the US have said if Trump wins the presidency they will move to Canada. Please, we have enough of these type here now.”

This isn’t at all a surprising stance from Cherry, well-known for his support of right-wing causes and politicians, but it’s interesting that he’s again voicing these kinds of sentiments. It will be particularly interesting to see if he says anything about Trump on Coach’s Corner Saturday night, or if he’ll just keep stating his opinions on Twitter.

COMING ATTRACTIONS -- Would Obama consider pardoning Clinton? Trump has promised to put her in jail, but Obama could forestall that possibility with the stroke of a pen. President-elect Donald Trump's campaign was energized by calls to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server containing classified information, but one man now has a unique power to frustrate the Trump partisans' cries of 'Lock her up!': President Barack Obama. Experts agree that Obama has the authority to foreclose that possibility by pardoning Clinton for any federal offenses she may have committed or could ever be prosecuted for.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Art Garfunkel (75) Huntington, N.Y.; Bonnie Raitt (67) Austin, TX.; Maria Shriver (61) Malibu, CA.

COLLEGE CHRONICLES - The problem with higher education is …

How would you complete that sentence? The editors of The Chronicle Review wanted to find out, so they asked nearly 50 faculty members, presidents, other administrators, and higher-education thinkers. Among the answers: access, vocationalism, funding, defeatism, tradition, and, more optimistically, solvable.

They also sent a survey to 1,000 Chronicle subscribers to solicit their views on the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the academic enterprise. Among our findings: 76 percent of respondents believe academe’s standing has diminished over the past 50 years; 74 percent do not think public higher education should be free; and 36 percent believe tenure should be abolished. But we noticed an interesting split on the question of tenure: 62 percent of college presidents want to see tenure abolished.

HR - Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and Republican presidential contender, was named an executive professor at Texas A&M University's Bush School of Government and Public Service.

Dear Rink Rats:

My husband believes that you do not need to turn off your engine when you pump gas. Once, when I turned off the engine and got out to pump, he reached over, depressed the brake pedal with his hand and started it back up again. Which one of us is right?

Signed,

Ms. Car Talk

Dear Ms. Car Talk:

There is a surprising amount of debate regarding the actual danger of idling at a modern gas pump, so I will leave that for others to argue over. But I can say without question that your husband is a bully and a creep. His commitment to ignoring signs, wasting gas and making others nervous to prove he is not one of the “sheepie” is his business when he is alone. But if you are driving, you are the boss.

Signed,

Rink Rats

SUPERMOON - Showstopper supermoon! The moon is a familiar sight, but the days leading up to Monday, Nov. 14, promise a spectacular supermoon show. When a full moon makes its closest pass to Earth in its orbit it appears up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter, making it a supermoon. This month's is especially 'super' for two reasons: it is the only supermoon this year to be completely full, and it is the closest moon to Earth since 1948. The moon won't be this super again until 2034!

CONGRATS SENIORS – A shout out to University of La Verne graduating football seniors playing in their final game this Saturday versus the Whittier College Nixons:

Dallas Parent (#2), Zak Tomlinson (#5), Josh Hardy (#9), and Shawn Kagan (#82).

This season has not been what these seniors desired, as far as overall wins and losses, but I wanted to thank them for their careers at La Verne and what they have accomplished for the student/athlete at La Verne. These men have represented the University with class and honor.

The football program is dramatically better today than before Dallas, Zak, Josh, and Shawn all started at La Verne. Not only in records and accomplishments but in what the program represents to incoming freshmen and all students.

NFL GAME OF THE WEEK – Sunday 11/13, 5:30 PM PT, NBC: Again, another week of poor NFL match-ups, but this should be a good one. Seattle Seahawks (5-2-1) at New England Patriots (7-1). Pats win 24 – 14.   Season to date (8-1)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 11/12, 4:30 PM PT, Fox; #20 University of Southern California Trojans (6-3) at #4 University of Washington Huskies (9-0). To determine Pac 12 power, Huskies in a wild one; 45 – 40.  Season to date (9-1)

SMALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 11/12, 12:00 PM ET, HGTV: Ithaca College Bombers (5-4) at Cortland State Red Dragons (4-5). The annual final game rivalry between these two Central New York schools. This year we recognize the memory of a famous Ithaca College alumnus, Donald J. Culligan (Class of ’48, ’51). He loved these games on South Hill. Bombers win 28 – 24.    Season to date (6-4)

COLLEGE HOCKEY PICK OF THE WEEK – Saturday 11/12, 7:00 PM CT, FCS: #2 University of Denver Pioneers (6-2-0) at #6 University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (5-3-1), a big night in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Hawks win 4 – 3.  Season to date (1-4)

THE SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

 (NFL, Nov. 13) Minnesota Vikings (5-3) at Washington Redskins (4-3-1), Washington continues the Vikings slide, 20 – 17.

(NCAA FBS, Nov. 12) #3 University of Michigan Wolverines (9-0) at University of Iowa Hawkeyes (5-4). I smell an upset in the Big Ten, Iowa wins 20 – 17.

(NHL, Nov. 12) St. Louis Blues (7-4-3) at Columbus Blue Jackets (6-3-2), Jackets playing good hockey these days, they win our Saturday game of the week in the NHL, 5 – 4.

Season to date (94 - 85)

MARKET WEEK - Pfizer (PFE) is considering a possible sale or spin-off of its consumer health division, according to Reuters. The unit could be worth as much as $14 billion.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) is delaying the filing of its quarterly report as the drugmaker investigates allegations of improper sales practices by a former employee.

Perrigo (PRGO) plans to review options for the rights to royalties from multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri. Activist investor and stakeholder Starboard Value has been pushing for moves to boost the stock.

AstraZeneca (AZN) reported falling revenue, but rising earnings, as it counters competition for its cholesterol drug Crestor with cost cutting, growth in new products, and asset sales.

Next week: Fall movies to watch and college athletics.

Until Next Time, Adios.

Claremont, CA

November 10, 2016

#VII-23-325

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – The New Yorker, “iCloud”