Crane's Corner
News, Views, Tales and Trivia from an award winning career journalist. Crane’s Corner, the hugely popular feature on NewsRadio KFBK is now a podcast. The Crane’s Corner Podcast will feature Ed’s take on news and comment happening around Northern California, as well as, the national stories that just can’t be passed up. Entertaining, informative, and balanced, something that’s as rare in today’s media landscape as a 20 game Kings winning streak. The familiar short form Crane’s Corner News and Comment will be available three times weekly on Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s. Crane’s Corner full...
S1 E10 · Wed, February 16, 2022
Episode 10: Jim Barnes On Why He is the Choice for Sacramento County Sheriff.
Sacramento County is going to be looking for a new Sheriff in 2022 as current Sheriff Scott Jones seeks a Congressional seat. After 12 years as Sheriff and 33 years with the force, he's looking for something different. His endorsed replacement is Jim Barnes, a 22 year veteran with the Sacramento County Sheriffs department. Join our conversation as I talk with Jim about his motivation for the job, his interests and what he thinks he brings to the table. Why is he a great choice? With crime on the rise, challenges with the state legislature and legal entitlements now favoring the criminals, what really needs to be done? Hear Jim explain his perspective and his expectations should he be chosen by the people as the next Sheriff of Sacramento County. In full disclosure, this interview was done before any other candidates arose and since that time, a current Assemblymember has also decided to run for the role as well. Jim Cooper will also be on the ballot as of this point in time. For more information and to see all the Crane's Corner interviews and stories, visit www.edcranescorner.com
S1 E9 · Mon, September 20, 2021
Episode 9: Talking Sacramento Real Estate with Terry Knight.
Listen in as today's discussion is with long time Real Estate Agent, Terry Knight. We'll be talking about the market in general, some of the historical challenges real estate has faced and a look forward about what to expect in the near future. Will our children or our grandchildren ever be able to get to the point where they can own a home as we know it today? What could it possibly look like? Is there a home buying challenge in our near future be it interest rates, inflation or even a dip in the overall economy? We cover a lot of ground with an outlook that's probably a realistic view of where things are headed.
Bonus · Fri, September 17, 2021
Crane's Corner: 9-15-21 A Big Win For Democracy
What was the big takeaway from Tuesday’s resounding defeat of the Recall Governor Newsom petition? That Gavin Newsom is a terrific Governor? That the recall never had a chance? Those visits from the President and Vice President made all the difference. No. The big takeaway is that Democracy prevailed. Democrat voters outnumber republican voters by about 2-1 in California, the recall efforts were primarily but not exclusively republican, so the outcome, a landslide vote to keep Democrat Newsom in office was pretty much along registered voter lines, and by all accounts a very fair election. That's good for all of us. But if Gavin Newsom takes this as a resounding referendum in support of the job he’s doing, Newsom is a fool. A lot of democrats have problems with Newsom. He’s arrogant, personifying the rules are for thee not for me to knock on many politicians. His administration has yet to seriously address the state's biggest problems, forestry and fires, homelessness and the brazen billion dollar robbery of the EDD by convicted state prisoners and their accomplices on the outside. Not to mention a moratorium on the death penalty and the early relese of hardened criminals, both of which defy the views of the people who either elected Newsom or didn’t but have to put up with him. The vote it seems was less about love of Gavin Newsom and more about the fear of Larry Elder, who stepped into the race a few weeks back and energized both sides, The conservative radio talk show host became an instant favorite of the recall Newsom contingent, but his hard right views on everything from race and abortion to covid vaccines and the minimum wage galvanized the state’s majority party. Elder, who got 46 percent of Newsom’s would be challenger, now calls himself a former radio host and suggests he’ll seek a re-match against Newsom when he’s up for re-election next year, But if that scenario plays out, it almost guarantees 4 more years of Newsom. California’s way too blue for any of Elder’s positions, but state republicans don’t seem interested in backing any other republican now on the scene. Disgruntled state republicans seem to have two choices. Find a more moderate choice that most republicans and democrats fed up with Newsom can get behind..or as a growing number of Californians have already done...Move out of state.
Bonus · Fri, September 17, 2021
Crane's Corner: 9-16-21 California Screamin
I suppose every state has its problems. Michigan lives and dies by the auto industry, which is now at a crossroads. Production is being hampered by shortages of computer chips while prices are putting new vehicles out of the hands of many would-be buyers. New York’s governor jumped before he could be pushed out of office and crime in New York and other big cities like Chicago remains out of control. Covid’s comeback is hitting the deep south hard. Maybe it’s because we live here and are too close to it’s problems, but California seems to be the unhappiest state in the Union. It’s been a record fire season, which sadly has become an annual event. Criminals are being released early and reoffending, in some cases committing vicious assaults and murder, crimes worse than the felonies that put them behind bars in the first place. It was a fair vote, but California now retains Governor Newsom, a politician who has done pretty much what he wants, regardless of public sentiment, while failing to adequately address the state's biggest problems. From Amador to Anaheim, drought and future water supplies are a concern and while California is among the states with the highest percentage of vaccinations, Co Vid is making a serious comeback, with even those inoculated subject to infection. Inflation, though it seems to be moderating across the country, has hit California especially hard. The highest gas prices in the country are getting ridiculous, $5 dollars a gallon in the big cities, close to it in other parts of the state. Inflation is noticeable during every trip to a grocery store or restaurant. The employment situation is truly bizarre. The statewide unemployment rate is close to 8 percent, among the highest in the country, yet it seems every sector of our economy is looking for workers. Generous jobless benefits and co vid induced rent moratoriums effectively invite would-be workers to stay home, with an entitlement mentality setting in. SMUD reports many customers, while enjoying free rent, are failing to pay their electric and gas bills. Intense summer heat and daily smog and smoke from seasonal fires are keeping many from enjoying California’s natural beauty and vast recreation opportunities. Living here has ceased to be fun, and the daily cost of living and fears about the future make things worse. The Golden State in many respects has been tarnished. The idea that California can bounce back any time soon ….File that one under Fools Gold.
Bonus · Fri, September 17, 2021
Crane's Corner: 9-14-21 Shirking From Home
It started before the Pandemic. I began working from home in January 2020, doing the morning news on a local radio station, and later other broadcast related work including writing and recording this Crane’s Corner Podcast. I continue working from home, not because of Covid 19, but because the equipment I need is right here---so why pay the expense of an office, not to mention the travel time. It’s tough to goof off when the radio broadcast schedule demands content of a certain length at a certain time. But when a deadline is flexible, battling the urge to take a long lunch, watch some tv, surf the web do some work around the house is a daily challenge. But I can relate to some of the horror stories I hear from my friends in management jobs around Sacramento. What began as a necessity---keeping people at home to prevent the spread of Co Vid 19--has in some cases turned into a major headache. As businesses allow working from home on occasion--workers are taking the perk of flexibility and turning into a license to goof off--staying home--but not working from home...or as some managers tell me...not even staying home or working from home….taking the day off without using a paid vacation or sick day--to due something else. Unless the office mandates a check in zoom call---it can be hard to track a worker down. Many people--especially younger workers have abandoned that hard wired home phone and can only be reached by mobile phone...which as the name suggests...goes wherever its owner takes it. So that worker you think is at home in Roseville, could be partying in Lake Tahoe or chilling at the beach in Santa Cruz. Some workers aren’t even pretending to be working. One friend told me that a newly hired subordinate called in one morning to say she’d be working from home because her pet wasn’t eating much and the pet store carrying a more suitable brand didn’t open till 10 am. Why come in one hour late when you can blow off the whole day. Some workers are actually more productive, knowing they can get up early, work like the devil from 6 am till noon...then have the rest of the day to themselves. That of course takes discipline, and a workload that doesn’t include communicating with people in different time zones or even local workers only available during regular business hours. It will be interesting to say how this all shakes out, if Co Vid eventually dies out. Will companies think twice about paying all that overhead if people are just as productive at home, and continue to allow the work from home option? Or, as I suspect, companies will allow it but become much more vigilant in policing home workers, lest they become home shirkers--maybe through face timing calls or home based zoom calls. It’s not just the worker bees you have to worry about. A few weeks back I invited a friend, a manager with a lot of responsibilities , to play a round of golf early one Friday morning. I figured he was either taking the day o
Bonus · Wed, September 15, 2021
Crane's Corner: 9-8-21 Amazon Goes Old School
Jeff Bezos can prove he’s a lot smarter than most of us with the mere opening of a bank statement. But the man who gave us Amazon and rewrote the book on retail sales, delivery and marketing in the 21st Century must really be bored. If he’s not riding a rocket ship to just this side of outer space, with plans for galactic expansion, he’s going back to the future, taking a walk on the wild side. Jeff Bezos and Amazon are investing in brick and mortar retail stores. You remember those costly ruins of 20th century retailing before Bill Gates and Steve Jobs figured out a better way? The business as usual plan that put some of America’s retail reliables, Lord and Taylor, Montgomery Ward, Sears, J Crew--just to name a few. Stores that were on the ropes in 2019 but knocked out in the Pandemic of 2020. It’s been the Bataan Death March with an on going clearance sale. A sad trend that turned a day trip to the Mall into Night At The Museum. Why Bezos? Why Amazon? Why now? Well, there is much to be said about getting anything you want, at a more than fair price, delivered in time for whatever and when ever it’s needed---especially if you live out on the country or are stuck in some kind of viral shutdown. But, ya gotta admit there is something about the look the feel the tradition of shopping. Of seeing goods on display, The tool you didn’t know you need till it turned up in the Kenmore section of Sears. Or the Sport Coat you covet and just have to try on. Or that perfume she wore? Can’t remember the name, but if i get a whiff at the counter I’ll know. Thats whats missing from our digital shopping carts and computer screens. The experience. You can surf prices while brushing your teeth or feeding your goats like the Amazon TV spots point out, but sometimes money really isn’t the object. Come on it’s the experience, right. It was until life and Co Vid and hand held devices made us lazy. Bezos clearly wants to bring that experience back..where possible. But he’ll be smart about it. The Amazon store will be a quarter the size of a typical 100 thousand square foot Macy’s, featuring name brands but plenty of Amazon’s Private label goods..and count on clothes. Amazon sells more clothing than Wal Mart or anyone else. And it might just be a way for Amazon to get the laundry done. The online giant’s business model is to buy from legions of Mom and Pop vendors..many of them the Wall Street Journal reports stealing the swag from bigger retailers and selling at a 100 percent profit to Amazon, Retailers like CVS and Target are taking notice. They’re among the ubiquitous retailers socked with 45 billion dollars in losses, flying off the shelves and out the door in places like San Francisco, where brazen shoplifters know cops can’t be bothered, when boosting anything under 900 bucks is a mere misdemeanor. A trend so bad Walgreens, and other retailers are closing their crime scenes by the bay. Jeff Bezos may be taking some risk h
Bonus · Wed, September 15, 2021
Crane's Corner: 9-7-21 Murder in Land Park
It was a vicious crime spree. A senseless crime spree. Awful as it was, the murder of a quiet animal loving Land Park woman may wind up being more than just a crime statistic in a state governed by people who tire of keeping them, blaming everyone and everything but the criminal for his assault on Mary Kate Tibbits and human decency. Police say the woman was sexually assaulted and murdered by a homeless drug addict with a significant criminal record. 51 year old Troy Davis had a serious meth habit and a long and violent criminal record, Most recently arrested for car theft in June, the 51 year old somehow appeared before a judge who somehow arrived at the idea that letting an unemployed violent homeless criminal back on the streets of Sacramento was the right thing to do. Perhaps the judges hands were tied. Maybe the release was related to co vid or maybe Davis just didn’t have to post bail because he didn’t have cash, and as a poor person in the criminal justice system, keeping him in the County jail would have compounded a problem liberals seem hell bent to solve. So Troy Davis arrested for stealing a car in June faced a judge and was released with a promise to return to court later in the month, He didn’t show up for his hearing, But last Thursday he was seen on a doorbell video pleasuring himself at the home of a neighbor of Mary Kate Tibbitts. Friday night, police say Davis, who might have been cranked up, broke into the woman’s home and turned violent. Killing two dogs, sexually assaulting and murdering the Tibbits then setting her home on fire. The Sac PD found and arrested Davis over the weekend. The horror of his alleged crimes and the idiocy of the policies that allowed that behavior to continue unchecked has even the most liberal leaders wringing their hands. Maybe that's it. Maybe this state is going so far left, on so many levels, that it’s going to slowly start moving back to the center if not the right. Awful that Mary Kate Tibbits had to be the victim of a terrible injustice for California to get a wake up call. Crime needs to be punished and the criminals need not be released until people paid to handle them are allowed to do their jobs, and only when they say it’s time, Oh and Mayor Steinberg and other suddenly concerned leaders. Davis is a homeless drug addict. Not all homeless are drug addicts. Not all homeless drug users are violent. But that's a solid operational theory until proven otherwise. Just warehousing them in former hotels or mini homes with a toilet and a shower won’t cut it. Many of them need mental help and support along with shelter. We all have rights---the best part about America. But it’s time to balance with compassion and good sense the rights of the law abiding with those who’ve forfeited their rights to drugs and crime and too many others who have lost their homes and their way before they lose their lives or take someone else.
Bonus · Thu, September 02, 2021
Crane's Corner: 9-2-21 Secretary of Hypocrisy
Nancy Pelosi loves ice cream. Too bad she doesn’t feel the same way about babies. Pelosi is a hypocrite, She’s a practicing Catholic who supports Abortion, long a no no in that faith. She went absolutely nuts when a small band of Trump supporters made a misguided, unlawful storming of the U-S Capitol, in which 5 people died. How does that stack up against the 600 thousand innocent babies, who are legally killed through abortion? You want to defend a woman's right to choose. I’d rather defend an innocent childs right to live, Since 1973, abortion on demand has been the law of the land. Abortion supporters long ago fled to the dictionary to make their cause palatable to the masses. It’s not baby killing. It’s all about a woman’s Reproductive Rights. Don’t tell me the fetus isn’t really a human. Many a C section has delivered a fine healthy baby, still in that 24 week abortion window. Well the Secretary of Hypocrisy who has been silent about Joe Biden’s fumbling of everything from the border to the virus to the Afghanistan mess, she’s sent a loud message to those right wing deplorables in Texas. They had the audacity to pass a law that bans abortion if a the fetus to be dispatched---has a deterctable heart beat. That by one estimate could prevent 4000 abortions, saving 4 thousand lives every month. Nearly 50 thousand a year, half a million a decade. You can do all the legislative Kabuki theatre you want Nancy, you are not going to win this one. Look at it this way---Texas is fast becoming a blue state...so think of all the potential voters you’ve been killing off. Oh and last time I looked, 49 other states have some abortion law on the books. Besides, a woman in Houston could ride a bus to Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kansas or Alabama before she could make it to El Paso. Enjoy your Ice Cream Nancy, but remember, hypocrisy is a Rocky Road.
Bonus · Thu, September 02, 2021
Crane's Corner: 9-1-21 The Great Covid Con
There’s an old saying that is usually brought into the conversation, when a political argument begins to escalate: “You are entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts” The saying comes to mind in this year 2 of Covid as the virus, commanding a growing legion of variants is back with a vengeance, How? Didn’t we get a vaccine? Ah, yeah. Problem is not everyone who could benefit from it is getting the vaccine. That's not only a problem for them--it’s a problem for us--who may have been vaccinated, but not immune to the variant strain when we come across un vaccinated hosts to the bulked up Co Vid 19. Lots of people who swore off the shots are having second thoughts, because they’re suffering from nasty bouts with CO VID, so bad they need to be hospitalized.97 percent of those being admitted to the hospital never got the shot, In some cases, they leave the hospital in a hearse. Selfishly, they’re taking up resources that would otherwise go to patients suffering from cancer, heart problems or were the victims of accidents or crime. Every day it seems we get another report of a well known person whose now in the ICU--or dead--because he or she did not get the shot, Most of them right wing talk show hosts, who ranted for months against the vaccine urging their listeners to join them in keeping their sleeves rolled down. I am an absolute proponent of freedom--and if you really don’t want the vaccine--it’s your choice. But it’s a selfish one. An ignorant one. Life in 2021 is a daily selection of betting propositions. You could die crossing the street. But you probably won’t. You could trip on a buckling sidewalk and suffer a fatal injury, But it’s unlikely. Flying in an aluminum tube at 500 miles per hour doesn’t always end well, but flying on a commercial jet is safer than driving your Honda to the supermarket. At least that's what the numbers tell us. Now, that CO VID shot, Let’s shoot down some myths. The FDA hasn’t thoroughly researched it’s safety. After testing tens of thousands of volunteers, the FDA gave it experimental approval and now in the case of Pfizer’s version. Full approval. Side effects. Some people do get them. But if they occur, you’ll get them weeks or months after the vaccine. Not years. Young healthy people won’t get Co Vid. Then explained byr America’s world class athletes, the best in baseball football and basketball are coming down with Co Vid in spite of draconian precautions taken by their respective teams and leagues. Disease we’ve eradicated through vaccination..smallpox and polio among them had side effects too. My religion prohibits the vaccine. The Lord will protect me and cure me if infected, Let’s hope so. But was God looking the other way when antibiotics, chemotherapy, anesthesia, life support and other surgical advances came on the scene, Co Vid’s a myth invented by the government to control us. Well things got out of con
Bonus · Mon, August 30, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-31-21 Pandemic Profit Plundering
America’s collective work ethic is being put to the test--and so far, we’re grading around a D and an F isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Thanks to our government--federal and state government, America has replaced the word “enterprise” with “entitlement”. Once upon a time, a walk through a suburban business district might offer an occasional “help wanted” sign. Now, it’s a rare business that isn’t looking for help and putting the need on display. Nugget is hiring, So is Costco. CVS wants to give you a job. DoorDash needs delivery drivers, Uber needs ride share contractors. Amazon claims it has jobs for those who have got used to working at home. The giant retailer says in some cases, they’ll allow it. The wanted signs, the “we're hiring” banners seem to be everywhere. But the online recruiters, your INDEED.COM’s and Glassdoors and Zip Recruiters are brimming with digital opportunities. They’re looking for doctors and CEO’s, drivers and technicians. Recently American Airlines during a day of summer thunderstorms had to cancel hundreds of flights. Weather was just partly to blame. The carrier which cut cockpit crews when CO CID infected the travel industry, learned the hard way it didn’t have sufficient pilots to fly it’s schedule when delays cut into the maximum number of hours the FAA allows pilots to guard against the kind of fatigue that could lead to an in flight mistake. The Airline had to cancel hundreds of flights and residual delays impacted the airline’s schedule for a few days after the weather improved. American’s bean counters are still trying to figure out the economic balance between bringing all those furloughed pilots back or be faced with the task of grounding them again as the Co Vid variants are infecting more people, in some cases even if they’ve been previously vaccinated. Restaurants which went into a Co Vid recession early are trying to come out of it, but labor shortages are forcing many to cut back business hours, or as a last resort, raise their prices to stay open. Last week, seeking a mid afternoon meal, I stopped by a restaurant I’d heard good things about. The goods did not include the sign that left me hungry. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays until further notice. Resume.com has been trying to figure the trend out. 22 percent of workers were previously laid off and either found another job or tapped into generous Pandemic relief payments, which made their unemployment payment higher than anything they could make waiting tables or cooking retail cuisine. 31 percent say a fear of contracting the virus is keeping them home, and to resume.com’s dismay another 22 percent are taking early retirement, either too intimidated to polish up their resume or convinced that able bodied workers in their early 50’s aren’t very marketable in this tech driven world. Others say child care expenses and 4 dollar a gallon gas are keeping them home. There are exceptions to the rule, but labor experts say Millenials, hav
Bonus · Thu, August 26, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-26-21 A Cup A Day
I’ve been a daily coffee drinker since my college days and if I miss a cup, I get cranky. That's partly the caffeine, but it’s also the ritual of getting the day started with a warm beverage that officially separates you from a night's sleep and directs your brain to move forward. Coffee by itself...not the half soy milk double shot caramel latte with extra whip cream is not only good for clearing the cobwebs, it’s a powerful beverage that has a number of health benefits. According to WEB MD, “Studies have shown that it may reduce cavities, boost athletic performance, improve moods, and stop headaches — not to mention reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, liver cancer, gallstones, cirrhosis of the liver, and Parkinson’s diseases,” According to another web source, the business minded daily report LADDERS, the way you take your morning Joe says a lot about your personality. One study of 2000 coffee drinkers found most who took their coffee on ice were introverts who enjoy traveling. Those of us who take it hot are more outgoing and have a good sense of humor. Which takes its leave when I walk into Starbucks and wait 10 minutes for a simple cup of black coffee because the Latte Ladies and the espresso shot jockeys are keeping Basel the Barista way too busy to just fetch a cup of coffee. Starbucks made two marketing decisions which, if it were up to me, would put the ubiquitous chain out of business. They stopped carrying French Roast, my blend of choice and they stopped carrying artificial sweetener, which is my preferred post roast ingredient, Why 86 French Roast but leave Pikes Place, which tastes like the bastard child of Folgers and used Mobil 1. Coffee prices like everything else are heading higher, but coffee is not the place to economize. The best bang for the buck and the palate is delivered by a local outfit, Rogers Coffee Company. 2 and a half pounds of whole bean French Roast for about 15 bucks. Used to be a Costco only item, but it’s now offered at the better grocery stores. If I leave California..or should I say when I’ll ask Mr, Rogers to ship it to my new neighborhood, I’m a bit of a coffee snob I suppose. I don’t like a brew that came out of a can and that's served in styrofoam cups, but if I’m not brewing my own, or spending for a premium cup that's what I usually wind up with. Drinking that stuff is a last resort, and enough of it can probably cause some of the maladies a good cup of coffee now prevents. Decaf? The beverage equivalent of kissing your sister. As for flavored coffees and lattes, I don’t need an umbrella drink first thing in the morning. Oh, I’m not the only person who takes coffee seriously. Back in the 17th Century, the guy then running the Ottoman Empire would put coffee drinkers to death, believing it was a drug that made people have big ideas, like overthrowing the Emperor. Today, coffee is a 2 billion dollar a year commodity, second only to crude oil
Bonus · Wed, August 25, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-25-21 Favorites Run Out of the Money
It was in the spring of 2020 as Covid 19 began hitting America and the world with a vengeance. It soon became clear that the virus--with no vaccine available, was spreading fast, potentially deadly to the elderly, the sick and those with underlying conditions. It also became clear that this was a very unique situation. For one thing, no one could or would agree on the source of human infection for a virus that would soon morph into a pandemic. China, and those it bought off at The World Health Organization ran with the story of bats being sold at a wet market and dismissed with disdain any possibility that Co Vid began it’s world tour be leaking from a government lab in Wuhan China, Also unique, an inability of the Trump administration to offer reassurances or real leadership; partly because President Trump dismissed Co Vid 19 as your basic asian flu, derisively calling it the “China virus” and partly because the national media hated Donald Trump, under reporting his positives and over reporting, with snickering commentary anything that didn’t fit the media agenda, which usually had a calendar item called attack Trump. Quick to make a pandemic political, two loud voices--one on each coast. As democrats Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom were de facto media darlings, with strong party bloodlines. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the son of the great political orator Mario Cuomo, who was once married to a Kennedy, and in California that liberal stalwart Gavin Newsom, nephew of America’s ten most powerful Democrat Nancy Pelosi Speaker of The House, Scared and starved for leadership==from any party...constituents on each coast and lots of folks in the middle mistook the pathological need for ego gratification for real leadership. Hypnotized by these two elected charlatans, my former radio colleague who predicted on air on morning that the 2024 Presidential election was all but oliver--either Cuomo or Newsom would top the ticket, the runner up would be the slotted VP---resulting in a runaway win for the Democrats. Day after day, night after night, there was Cuomo sitting at an expensive desk in Albany clad in either a polo shirt or a nylon golf jacket, both embroidered with the state seal and the name Governor Andrew Cuomo. Like some tinhorn dictator Cuomo would read out daily stats, number of infections, hospitalizations and the all important new rules for coping with a pandemic, like destroying the economy or mixing freshly released covid infected patients into nursing homes contributing directly to the deaths of at least 15 thousand residents. Then there were the draconian shutdowns of bars, restaurants and many businesses state wide, triggering bankruptcy’s vast unemployment and costly migration of New York City residents. Amazingly Cuomo has been more or less acquitted of this political genocide, instead forced to resign because several women in and out of his administration either didn’t get or refused to agree to a
Bonus · Mon, August 23, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-24-21 Prevent Offense
Over the years there have been political hacks, immoral scalliwags and outright thieves leading the 50 states, and outside of waiting till they term out or sadly, political assasination, the way Kentucky Governor Bill Goebel left office, the only way to end their in office tyranny is to recall them, Not every state has that procedure on the books, and voters in the 20 that do have found breaking up is hard to do. It’s only happened twice. North Dakota voters sent Lynn Frazier packing in 1921 and California showed Gray Davis the door in 2003. Well shaky as the national recall effort may be, the latest polls show it’s even money that Gavin Newsom’s first agenda item on September 15th is to call Allied Van Lines. A simple majority..anything north of 50 percent of those voting Yes on the question of removing him from office and Gavin goes. Love him or hate him, Newsom has been a political lightning rod, He will tell anyone who will listen, among them Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Newsom’s Auntie the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, that the recall effort is nothing but a plot by quote “dangerous” Trump partisans who demonize California's people and values. Well those so called partisans have convinced at least 2 million of the demonized to sign on to the Get Gavin Out movement. Win or lose the state is spending 276 million dollars on the recall effort. It’s a scandalous amount of money. Or is it? California cons pummeled the EDD out of a billion dollars in benefits under Gavins watch. Without even a text to legislators the Governor ordered massive supplies of masks and other PPE, wiring nearly a billion dollars to a company that made large contributions to his first campaign. He cut 150 million dollars for fire protection while allowing early parole to many of the inmates who would otherwise be on the fire lines this summer. Losing Newsom falls under the heading of addition by subtraction. The recall is a two part ballot deal. Part 1 should the Governor stay or go. If the yays have it, Gavins is gone and we move on to question 2. If the Nays prevail, Newsom’s our alleged leader at least through 2022. Should the recall prevail, it gets interesting. Voters will be charged with voting for 1 of 46 candidates. Some have political experience, most don’t. One of the most experienced, ex Congressman Doug Ose left the race after suffering a heart attack. The gubernatorial wannabe’s include a several ex politicians one woman who used to be a man, a bunch of people few voters have ever heard of who declined to supply their views on any issue and in some cases failed to provide a photo or party affiliation, and a longtime radio talk show host with no political experience. That would be Larry Elder, a black conservative who is making California’s political and media regulars anywhere from scared to outraged. Elder’s using what I’ll call the prevent offense. He’s sitting on his lead, knowing as little as ten percent of the vote will
Bonus · Mon, August 23, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-19-21 America Problem
America has a serious problem. The Problem resides in Delaware but will be spending the next 3 years and a few months in Washington DC, where even though he is a serious problem he somehow managed to get elected President. Every president is a problem to somebody, because administrations policies usually help some group or groups and adversely affect others. So far the problems policies have confused most of the nation, on the subject of CO Vid 19, they’ve angered the energy industry and it’s workers, as the problem began an offensive away from fossil fuels, just months after President Trump declared America energy independent. The problem quickly ended the Keystone Pipeline project, and was amazed months later that gas prices have been skyrocketing on his watch. What did the problem do--reassess what we need to bring back our energy independence. Nope. He declared America will stop making and selling fossil fuel powered vehicles by 2030, but in the meantime the problem urged OPEC to boost production to bring the price down. That's not likely to happen, as OPEC should never be confused with the United Way, The Make A Wish Foundation or any other good charity. The problem’s immigration policy, is just this side of chartering Southwest planes to bring anyone who wants in--to get in for free.T he problem should know that the lack of a fair but firm immigration policy is a problem for his constituents in the southwest, where the Problem’s letting anyone into the county, regardless of their status. Some may be refugees, some may be criminals, some may just be looking to make better money in the estados unidos, then they’ve been making in Mexico or Honduras or wherever they used to call home, I know, we’re a nation of immigrants, but when Emma Lazarus wrote about the huddled masses yearning to breathe free in 1883, she didn’t factor in the cost welfare benefits, driver license id cards and the illicit narcotics trade’s infiltration of the U-S..another word a wave of new criminal guest workers. The problem also hasn’t got any points for his economic prowess, inflation is here, co vid shutdowns may turn it south again, and what has the problem done? Manage to come with the democrats 3 trillion dollar Santa list which does provide some money for American Highways, but ear marks the rest for things like preschool and abortion mills in foreign countries and other really non necessary programs. Until last week, as President, the problem had made some dumb mistakes as I’ve alluded too. But he didn’t become a problem until he decided to end America’s 20 year military presence in Afghanistan in about 20 minutes, To say the plan was not well thought out is an understatement, Opening a line of SnowMobile Dealerships in Miami would be better thought out. Chicago Food Banks and Churches passing out AR 15’s to young people over the holidays would be better thought out, The problem, apparently working on his legacy like th
Bonus · Mon, August 16, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-18-21 Covid 2.0
His name was Don La Fontaine, a professional announcer who made millions cornering the Movie Trailer market some years back. Had he lived, he’d probably be scaring us with this promo: “Just when you thought it was safe to unmask..to raise a glass on a flight to Cleveland...comes the return of CO VID. It’s no match for bleach, or Trump and probably not Newsom---but now it’s back..and coming soon to a hospital near you..Should you get a booster shot from Pfizer--or throw down 2 or 3 from Jose Cuervo??’ After shutting down much of the world in 2020---despite a vaccine delivered at warp speed----CO VID 19 and it’s viral kinfolk is making a big comeback..shutdowns are back...Dr. Fauci’s Co Vid wisdom is about as reliable as his pitching arm. Joe Biden’s doing his best Wizard of Oz impersonation and Kamala Harris is wishing she was in Kansas or California..anywhere but Texas or DC. Now to be fair I know about as much about globe trotting viruses as fat bar flies who lost a wad on the Raiders on Sunday grasp the nuances of an NFL Defense on Monday morning. To those who took the shot---yes I did..if Bill Gates did manage to sneak in a tracking chip in that needle I didn’t even feel, well I’ll forgive him for the Windows phone and the Vista Operating system. The conspiracy theories espoused by people who prefer a Reynolds Wrap baseball hat to reality would be hilarious if the virus wasn’t so damaging. Yes, it's killing people who would rather roll the dice with a nasty pathogen made in China rather than a fairly effective deterrent made in a lab or labs along the East Coast or the U-K. Don’t look now but the masks are back in a growing number of cities and counties. Things are looking so desperate for Gavin of Newsom, he’s picking his own pocket--ordering the always reliably corrupt and shameful teachers union---to get with the program..bringing a mask along with the revisionist history they dole out to your kids. I’m more angry with Joe Biden’s billion dollar infrastructure heist than somebody ordering me to wear a mask. It’s no big deal really---and as far as I know neither Batman, Zorro, The Lone Ranger or well known NHL Goalies caught Co Vid--let alone died of it.
Bonus · Mon, August 16, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-17-21 The Shirt Tells The Story
Anyone who was there and I was, cannot forget the horrors of 9-11. It was at once, among the most beautiful, crisp fall days one could behold, nice enough to numb New York briefly to the horror that would come.Gotham..at the height of a weekday rush hour is loud; a cacophony of assorted noise--traffic honking horns, a police whistle, pedestrian chatter, the sales pitch of street entrepreneur moving on any given day their allotment of newspapers, umbrellas, counterfeit scarves, watches, and bags and other assorted swag. There is the rumble of the subways and the always changing ethnic soundtrack of the city, salsa on this block, rap around the corner, showtunes down Broadway. Yet on this crisp morning, the noise you expected to hear was shattered by siren, not one or two, but many signaling a disaster in decibels, the alarming noise--seemingly screaming from all directions, would persist as the grimmest of days for New York, America and much of the world unfolded. On that busy morning, 45 hundred jetliners were flying various routes above the US bringing business people together...transporting others to or from a vacation destination---4 of those planes...packed with innocent travelers and suicidal terrorists were unwitting missiles or bombs crashing into the iconic World Trade Center Towers, the pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field. Before morning gave way to noon...some three thousand lives were lost, and the world as we knew...would never quite be the same. The dead, or pieces of them have long been laid to rest, a new larger skyscraper, The Freedom Tower finally filled in the gaping hole in Lower Manhattan, Thousands of family and friends of victims have moved on. Yet at a time when many who were just babies when the planes attacked, yell about defunding the police this is no time for those of who know better to keep quiet. 340 NY City firemen, two paramedics and a department chaplain died on 9-11. 71 uniformed police officers, first responders all died doing their job, trying to save others against all odds. Many of those who didn’t die that day but who worked for weeks on the toxic debris pile, would later pay a terrible price. Cancer and other respiratory ailments are known to have killed scores of police and firefighters, exposure to the poisonous debris is suspected of sickening hundreds of others. I knew some of them, last night a 20 year old tee shirt brought back memories of one. A man named Terry Farrell. One of the finest and the bravest. Terry, not just content to serve as a U-S Marine served as both a police officer and a firefighter in New York City. I met Terry one Sunday morning in the late 90’s in church. His son TJ and my son Timmy were grade school pals. Terry was built like a college linebacker. His smile could light up a room and his handshake made you wonder if he’s broken a few small bones. Yours, After 20 years on the job, the decorated NY Police Officer retired and joined the NY City Fire Department, telli
Bonus · Thu, August 05, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-5-21 Elder... Statesman for California
It’s only one poll, but it’s a shocker. A survey of 11 hundred Californians, conducted by Surveys USA and The San Diego Union Tribune shows voters are not only poised to recall Governor Gavin Newsom, but by a wide margin. 49 percent want the Governor to Go, 40 percent want him to stay. That 11 percent of undecided voters could push Newsom out. In this 276 million dollar process, a bit less than 6 weeks away, voters are asked two questions. Should Newsom be recalled, and if that carries, who should take his place. Leading the pack of 46 candidates, a late entrant, and a surprising one; Larry Elder, an African American conservative radio talk show host and recurring guest on Fox News. Elder, an ivy league educated native of South Central L-A, says the fact he has no political experience is his strong suit, pointing to another political novice who did well by California, Ronald Reagan, who governed the state before rescuing America from Jimmy Carter and Iranian terrorists in 1980. Elder has no fantasy of converting the mostly democrat current California government to his conservative agenda, but he believes his ability to veto progressive legislation can help turn California in the direction of common sense. His first priority is also high on the democrat agenda; easing the homeless crisis, Elder has been telling newspaper editorial boards on his first day in office he would declare a homeless emergency and suspend environmental rules to unleash developers to build housing for the displaced wherever it’s needed. He wants more charter schools and hopes to weed out lousy teachers through competition. Among the vaccinated, Elder opposes mask and vaccination mandates saying if people don’t want to take the shot, it’s their right, while noting that if too many Californians don’t get on board, the state will be in the pandemic forever. Elder says the minimum wage should be zero---explaining that business people not only have the right to pay workers what they can afford to, they're smart enough to know labor costs are competitive, and will adjust as a function of the economy. He opposes abortion on demand, but says the question should be left to the states. Surprisingly he believes LBJ’s Great Society, designed to help black Americans out of poverty caused an explosion in welfare and the erosion of the traditional two parent family in the black community, which he sees as a national problem to this day. If, as polls suggest Newsom’s sent packing and Elder’s the top vote getter will he be Reagan revisited or a non political disappointment like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Time will tell, but in the most expensive state to do business, a state with a failing education system and a draconian government that turns out hundreds of regressive and repressive laws each year, the view here is….let’s give Elder a chance.
Bonus · Wed, August 04, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-3-21 Do The Right Thing, Delta Could Mean Death.
Here we go again. 17 months after Co Vid 19 came roaring out of China--reportedly leaked from a lab whose research was partially being funded by the U-S, new cases are rising. Mandatory wearing of masks is coming back in Sacramento and a number of other California counties. The so-called infectious disease experts, who seem to change their view as often as most people change their underwear now warn CO VID 19 could be a constant unless the hordes of unvaccinated get the shots. In California, 53 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. A bit more than the national average, which is around 50 percent. That number has stubbornly held steady 7 months after the vaccine’s roll out, and a few months after the tiered distribution, based on age and susceptibility to Co Vid have run their course. To those of us who have been vaccinated, this is frustrating to say the least. As a connoisseur of Common Sense, I’m having a hard time understanding the reasons behind this vexing national problem. Despite 600 thousand reported Co Vid deaths, some Americans aren’t getting the shot because they don’t see the Co Vid threat as real. Others--and I have spoken to some refuse to get the shot because of politics; most, hard core Republicans think the Co Vid crisis was made up by democrats as a Health Crisis coup hatched to remove Donald Trump from office, Others say they’ll be damned if they’re going to get a shot on orders of the government. There’s a minority--but it seems to be growing that either fear the vaccine..developed in record time may have long term side effects, like infertility, Or---and I love this one---the vaccine isn’t really a vaccine at all--but a vehicle to deliver small tracking devices, so Bill Gates and others can track our every move. Bringing up the rear, poor folks who can’t afford transportation to a drug store, grocery store or clinic that provides free shots; and legion of 20 somethings who can’t be bothered getting the shot because they’re pretty much bullet proof--and even if they did get the virus, it wouldn’t be much worse than a mild case of the flu. They’ve had hangovers that were worse. It’s hard to argue with a lot of this nonsense. But let’s give it a try. If the democrats and the chinese worked a deal to use a vaccine to oust Donald Trump, it’s tough to believe the conspirators would be so cold blooded to allow the collateral damage. More than half a million deaths in the U-S and 4 million world wide. If the virus doesn’t exist, how come it’s been reported in every country in the globe, no conspiracy has global legs. The Co Vid shot came so fast, there must be something wrong with it? Technology has moved at light speed in a couple of decades. Computers fly commercial jets, in the palm of our hand we have devices that do everything but our laundry--let alone phone calls. Medical science has led to the transplant of organs and machines that literally keep the dead alive until organs or transplanted
Bonus · Wed, August 04, 2021
Crane's Corner: 8-4-21 Murphy's in the Cockpit - Cancelled Flights
I can’t say I rigidly obey every law on the books. Some are dumb. Others, just too tempting to break. Who among us on an empty freeway have defied the 55 mile per hour speed limit and edged up to 60 miles per hour or better? But the one law I don’t mess with is the one that seems to foil me anyway. Murphy’s law. Which basically states, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Usually at the worst possible time. The other night, actually the early hours of the next day, Murphy hit me big time, and I was not alone. Come think of it, even though I had nothing to do with what unfolded, I probably played right into Murph’s hands. Last week I got some devastating news that a close family member, my cousin Mike, had died unexpectedly. There was no indecision, I was going to Mike’s hometown for the funeral. But there were a few challenges. Mike’s arrangements called for a viewing Tuesday night and a funeral and burial Wednesday morning. As I live in California and Mike died in Pennsylvania, there were some obvious travel logistics. My schedule, which called for an important commitment to be in Anaheim Thursday night, was another consideration. I thought I had it figured out. A Monday night red eye would get me into Philadelphia, a 90 minute drive from Mike’s hometown, around 9 AM, more than enough time to get there, take a nap and be right on time for the Tuesday night wake. Wednesday after the funeral there would be ample time to get back to the airport, return the rental car and make a 5 PM flight back, which would have me back on the ground at Sac International around 10:30 local time. The plan did have a few variables out of my control--and as it happened they sent the whole trip out of control. Monday night, I arrived at the airport just after 8 PM---plenty of time for a 10:08 departure. I had heard something about bad weather delaying some flights, but that was hours ago in Texas and Florida. The weather in California was clear and hot..nothing to delay a jet. Uh Oh there on the board was the beginning of the end. The flight was delayed until 11. Which meant I would have a dicey connection in Charlotte, more like 45 minutes instead of the planned 2 hours. Well we didn’t board until 11:30 which only made things tricker. I could see gate agents, coming and going, flight attendants whispering, even ramp agents conferring with the cockpit crew. Then came something I’ve never seen in all my years of travel. The Captain said, much as he tried he could not summon two fresh pilots, a problem because he and the First Officer were running out of legal flight time, having been delayed by weather all day. And because they had about two hours of time and the flight to Carolina was 4 hours and change--this flight was cancelled. Now what. What had begun perfectly last night...believe it or not I was all alone walking through security--was turning into a jet age nightmare. We were told to simultaneously claim our lu
S1 E8 · Wed, August 04, 2021
Episode 8: Gone in the blink of an eye. The final story on TWA Flight 800.
Yes, it really was 25 years ago that flight 800 was literally blown out of the sky. 230 people would perish that fateful day off Long Island and it was a horrific scene for many days. It would take an additional 4 years to get any sort of conclusive closure, if you believe the final outcome of one of the most laborious tasks of reconstruction of any aviation disaster. The story is told here with the journalist that spent all four years covering the story to it's end, Pat Milton. She also authored the book, "In the Blink of an Eye" which tells her story of covering the crash over the four years it took to come to a final verdict. For more on Crane's Corner, visit www.edcranescorner.com
Bonus · Thu, July 29, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-28-21 The Lives of the Rich and Interviewed
The death of Jackie Mason, maybe the last of a generation of the so called Borscht Belt comics, brought to mind one funny story and triggered a celebrity headcount. Working on air since 1980, running into or interviewing celebrities is depending on one's point of view, one of the perks of the job or an occupational hazard, Sometimes the rich and famous were in the news, sometimes they were the news, but most of the time, they were pitching a book, hawking a product or otherwise looking to expand their place in the celebrity pecking order. In some cases I worked with them, or found myself sitting right next to them on an airplane. First, the Jackie Mason story. It was probably 15 years ago. We were taking in a Broadway show and went to pre pre-theatre dinner at Rene Pujol, one of the great NY restaurants, now closed. Mason and his entourage were at an adjoining table. I always try to give them their privacy, especially in a restaurant. My friend Bob did everything but throw a dinner roll at Mason, as if to say--”I know you. You’re famous”. Mason picked up on it and invited us to come over. As my friend babbled some of Mason’s well known lines, Mason said “Hold on here. What do you guys do?” As Bob was too starstruck to reply I told Mason I was a Correspondent for CBS News, a few seconds later Bob disclosed he was a Mortgage broker for a major bank. “Oh,” Mason shot back, ``one of you’s a liar and the other’s a thief. We all laughed, then left Mason for his dinner. Word of his passing at 93 got me thinking about that list of the well known. Bill Murray sat next to us in a restaurant and had us laughing through 3 courses. At a bar in Montauk NY Billy Joel asked us if we’d seen Paul Simon. 20 minutes after he left, Simon came in looking for the Piano Man. Alec Baldwin was a regular at the church we used to attend on Eastern Long Island. When he had his tax problems I got to interview Willie Nelson on his tour bus Honeysuckle Rose, which could have been called Willie’s Weed Ride. The smell was that thick. I sat next to actor EG Marshall, former Vice President Lloyd Bentsen and Baseball great Ralph Kiner. Before I had a chance to chat, all 3 were asleep before take off, although I think Bentsen was faking it. Lots of politicians were part of the job, I traveled with Bob Dole and Pat Buchanan and another White House wanna be named Jerry Brown. Ran into Jack Kemp at LaGuardia Airport, he was a mad man, running along with Bob Dole in a campaign Kemp knew was doomed to failure. Football’s Tiki Barber was a colleague at WCBS TV one off season, and there were interviews with Boomer Esiasson, and Mike Ditka, who was hawking Scott TP as the brand to use at Halftime of one Super Bowl. Keith Hernandez, Rusty Staub and Bud Harrelson came my way, a treat as a Mets fan. Sportscasters Vin Scully, Harry Kalas and Tim Mc Carver are on my good guys list. I got yelled at by two guys who made it part of their day to da
Bonus · Thu, July 29, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-27-21 The Golden Fleece
From Gavin Newsom to Joe Biden, even back to Donald Trump, pandemic related stimulus, payroll protection and unemployment payouts have been so hefty most of us have forgotten how much the state and federal governments fleece us when pathogens from the Far East aren’t trying to kill us or our economy. I started to think about this a few weeks back, when the state of California invited me to pay $410 dollars for the privilege of legally driving a Subaru Outback for another 12 months. I’m getting fleeced on two counts. First, the fee is absurd and second, it’s my wife’s car and I only get to drive it when she needs gas, a car wash or if we’re traveling on roads she doesn’t care for and only on weekends. Now NY is no bargain, but when I last registered a car there it cost $32.50. 13 years later it’s up to $52, but that beats $410. Of course having registered the car I’ll need to put gasoline in from time to time. A gallon is now more or less 4 bucks per gallon. Of that, we were paying 80 cents in state and federal taxes and another 38 cents for assorted fees, a whopping 1.18 per gallon. Highest in the country. I don’t smoke but if I did I would try to buy my cigarettes out of state. In California, a pack is taxed at $2.87 per pack. Bad as that is, 20 states charge more. In Evanston Illinois, just north of Chicago the tax rate is $7.16 per pack, which might explain why convenience stores keep getting robbed. Got a job with a W2 paycheck? Here’s where it gets really ugly. For most of us, the federal tax bite is between 20 and 27 percent. Let’s call it 25 percent on average. Add the state tax bite of around 8 percent and the social security withholding of 6 point 2 percent. Add it up, you’re being taxed roughly 40 percent of your wages, which puts your buying and savings power at just 60 percent of what you earn. And when you do spend what's left, you’ll pay sales tax of between 7 and 9 percent. More for gas and tobacco. Your actual after tax earnings are down to about 50 percent. Depending on the skill of your CPA or your personal level of larceny, you may get some of it back. And of course when you invest any of your taxes to the max earnings, any money you make on stocks or bonds or bitcoin is also taxed. The Great California taxpayer revolt happened 42 years ago. Might be time for another one.
Bonus · Fri, July 23, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-22-21 Ad Nausea
It’s a funny society we live in. Say the wrong word, express the wrong thought, deviate from the politically correct program and you could lose a friend or a job or a career. These cultural censors seem to be everywhere. But on television these days, it seems anything goes. Now if a program offends me--and it takes a lot to offend me, I’ll change the channel. I don’t have that option with commercials, because you never know what's coming. One Sunday morning, the TV was tuned to the Food Network, normally a pretty safe channel to watch while sitting down to breakfast. But what comes on a commercial featuring a bunch of women sitting on a commode, discussing what they do on a commode and how the process is helped along by some probiotic. Now, I suppose the company that makes the product does need to get the word out. But does it have to be so disgustingly obvious, and on a food show at breakfast time on a Sunday Morning. That’s just one of the culprits which I’ll file under T-M-I TV. There’s the commercial about the literal flow chart---mapping out for all of us...the appropriate tampon to use depending on what time of the month mother nature does what she does to women of a certain age. Isn’t this something they could figure out by privately reading the labels on the various boxes in the personal products aisle of Target or wherever women buy these products. Then there’s the annoying Charmin Bears scratching their bare behinds while advising us to enjoy the go. There’s a special razor for women with stubborn coarse hair in their most private areas and while you’re sitting down to dinner, they’re treating you to a close up of just how well it works. Last night, we were treated to some blonde guy in his boxer briefs suggestively riding a fake horse followed by a bunch of Plus Size ladies in bras and panties. Revenge of the non centerfolds. If commercials aren’t disgusting us they’re just inane, Like Granny shopping for a man online with her grandson.and that handsome dude..Granny swears he’s a 9--almost gets washed away by spilled soda pop..before a paper towel comes to the rescue. Or Eugene Levy knocking on his daughter’s door at 4AM...to tell her how to shop for a car..but settling for french toast… If they’re not turning our stomach, they’re insulting our intelligence. I’m not a prude or a censor but enough is enough. Subtle sales and good taste will prevail. That's the way it’s always been. Until now.
Bonus · Thu, July 22, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-21-21 Newsom's a Nuisance
Unlike some people I know, and a growing number of Californians I have not been hell bent on recalling Gavin Newsom as Governor. He’s a show boat, he’s hopelessly liberal and yes during the pandemic he overstepped his authority with a 15 month state of emergency, which gave him the juice to make some really questionable decisions. Like closing schools, churches and small businesses to in theory halt the pandemic, while allowing grocery stores, big box stores, liquor stores and select businesses with lots of foot traffic to stay open, in theory spreading Co Vid. I wasn’t hell bent on recalling the Governor because the state is mega blue and the odds were that another left leaning idiot would take over, so why waste the energy? But no democrats have dared jump on the recall carousel and the odds of a recall measure passing, once extremely unlikely, are now unlikely but not impossible. As each day goes by Newsom is throwing money at some group of some program that is blatantly a suck up effort to buy the support of certain Californians, and that is irritating, What he did the other day was somewhere between stupid and dangerous. In announcing he would spend 12 billion more dollars on the seemingly endless pot of tax dollars on the seemingly unsolvable homeless problem in California, Newsom at news conference started babbling about the California dream, saying it’s not over, and that California is such a warm, caring place he invited homeless people from all over the country to come to California to be taken care of, This wasn’t one of these tiresome political sports wagers, where the Governor bets some Crabs and wine against 10 pounds of barbecue that the 49ers will beat the Kansas City Chiefs in The Big game. This is the Governors mouth and ego writing checks he can’t cash. It’s insane. For starters, California has arguably had the worst homeless problem of any state for years. An estimated 151 thousand on the streets of Sacramento, LA, San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose. But you’ll find some in Roseville and Rancho and Stockton. And the numbers keep growing. So it’s ludicrous that California with 20 percent of the nation's homeless can adequately house and feed the other 80 percent, some 416 thousand. For starters, the cost of housing is among the biggest factors in why people become homeless, and California has the highest costs in the country and Newsom’s done little to change that except to extend a pandemic related rent moratorium that will only leave more people homeless when it expires. Inflation has hit California as hard as anywhere else in the country, squeezing the budgets of low and so called middle class wage earners, who have to choose between making the rent or buying groceries and living paycheck to paycheck and one big expense away from disaster. Charity begins at home, and if we can fix our massive homeless problem that would be huge, but until we do the idea of exacerbating the problem
S1 E6 · Thu, July 22, 2021
Episode 7: House of Oliver's Matt Oliver shares pandemic experience...and more.
First it was the "Rebel Restaurant in Roseville" that wouldn't stay closed, risked fines and license challenges but stood by their beliefs that, done properly, dining in was safer than shopping at Costco or Home Depot. Today, now that things have opened up a bit, Matt Oliver, owner of House of Oliver's has doubled down on post pandemic food and entertainment experiences and opened his second location in Lincoln to a most unique community. Called Oliver's Brewhouse and Grill, it's an impressive facility to begin with but not without its' own pandemic stories, including a most unfortunate tragedy earlier in the year. Enjoy our discussion as Matt shares stories of support from both the community and the his own team, as well as the welcoming environment he's found in Lincoln. I think you'll agree, you'll want to make a trip out to a special place in a special town when you're done with this episode. For more information on Matt's restaurants, visit www.https://www.oliversbrewhouseandgrill.com or www.houseofoliver.com
Bonus · Wed, July 21, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-20-21 Back to Basics
California is beautiful. Scoot down Highway 1, drive around Tahoe, even a trek through the farmlands of the central valley, seeing the black soil in contrast to the fresh green produce popping up to the surface can be spectacular. Then there are the lush vineyards of Napa, Sonoma, Amador and El Dorado. Our state is blessed by Mother Nature. But hold on a minute. Despite that embarrassment of agricultural riches many people are going hungry or getting food but the wrong kind. The term being used now is food insecurity. Farm to Fork is a nice slogan, but for thousands in the Sacramento Region alone--that connection isn’t being completed. The local hunger problem was bad in 2019. Since the Pandemic hit in 2020---is worsened. The Sacramento Food Bank, which distributes healthy food packages to 8 locations around the region, says it was feeding 150 thousand people a month before Co Vid came calling. Now the number has doubled to 300 thousand. According to The Sacramento Bee, food insecurity has not just been a problem for the homeless or the chronically jobless. People who have jobs--in some cases two income households, earn too much to qualify for California Fresh, the state's nutritional assistance program, but not enough when rent, fuel, transportation and other expenses are factored in. As we’ve talked about in this space and seen first hand, it’s only going to get worse with grocery and gasoline prices soaring and even used car prices prohibitive. A sudden medical or car repair bill only gets worse. Harried families who can’t get a good meal on the table each night often opt for fast food dinners, which offer too many of the wrong kind of calories and these days don’t offer a lot of bang for the buck as they once did. Fortunately many school children in poorer neighborhoods are entitled to a free lunch, usually their most nutritious meal of the day. But schools were shuttered for months during the pandemic making their nutrition needs from day to day less than 100 percent satisfied. It’s shocking that this is happening in the nation's breadbasket, but it’s happening all over the country. The non profit FEEDING AMERICA says 42 million Americans--and estimated 13 million of them under 18 will be hungry or undernourished on any given night in any given part of our country. It’s not a new problem, it’s a worsening problem and fixing it should be a priority. What can you do? Give to the Sacramento Food Bank or other similar charity. Donate what you can from your own pantry. If your home garden offers more than you and your family can consume. Share it. Bring it to your house of worship, a food bank or even to a neighbor who may be housebound or on tough times. Some stores offer a chance to donate directly to food centered charities or give you the option of rounding your purchase up to the next dollar, with the spare change going to help the hungry. Oh---if you’ve done it before--do it again….Cancelled by CO VID last year,
Bonus · Thu, July 15, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-15-21 The News Buffet
Grab a plate and dig in my friends. The Crane’s Corner Virtual News Buffet is open. Remember, news knows no hours and doesn’t wear a mask. Help yourself to whatever news intrigues you, and feel free to share it with your friends. It appears the race is on. By 2024, will Donald Trump be living again in a big White House in DC or at another large federal facility. Like CLUB FED Lewisburg, Lompoc or Leavenworth With his hair newly dyed in what I’ll call an Apricots in Autumn shade, he spoke for well over an hour to Texas conservatives at the BIG C Pac festival of all things right, bragging about what he did as President, what he’ll do if he runs and wins in ‘24, and like OJ Simpson vowing to find the real killers, The Donald he insists was robbed by a cabal of crooked democrats, rigged voting machines, and the general national election fix crafted by the democrats with the convenient pandemic chaos as the fuel that fanned that wildfire. No one’s proven any of it, and Trump is loath to admit that he lost the election because while millions on the right love him, some in the right, most in the center and all on the left rank him on the popularity charts somewhere between Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon. The view here is that Trump did some good things. He all but castrated the fat guy with the bad hair cut in North Korea, bitch slapped Iran and stopped playing Daddy Warbucks to Nato and European Allies who knew Uncle Sam had their back against despots in other parts of the world. Trump’s enemy list should be topped by the name Donald Trump, whose ego compelled him to brag or insult daily in 160 characters until Twitter gave him a time out, right before the election.To his credit Trump got a covid vaccine to the world in less than a year, and was making progress on immigration issues, which have exploded since he left. But Trump’s political enemies are legion, and they’re hell bent on tearing down his business empire, His top finance guy has been nailed and the word is, he’ll sing to save his own skin and I doubt that a control freak like Trump knew pretty much what went on, legal or not. Would tax fraud or ethical violations be enough to send him to jail, Probably not, but the slightest felony conviction--even if it’s punished with a fine and probation makes it impossible to run in 24. And that may be good. Trump’s ego, his paranoia and his inability to talk about anything but his accomplishments, real or perceived, has worn a nation down. Others on the right, like Governor's De Santis, Abbot and Noem are dependable conservative but don’t carry the ego or personality baggage. Then again, in politics, you never know, People who screw up badly or have no direct experience are rewarded for things that would have them fired or sued in the real world. California’s Employment Development Department makes the DMV look like a Luxury Vacation destination run with the dependable efficiency of a high priced Swiss Watch. During the pandemic
Bonus · Wed, July 14, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-14-21 Bribery on the Bayou
It was a hot, sticky September afternoon in New Orleans. I had time on my hands and dust on my shoes, so I decided to treat myself to a shoe shine. Working feverishly on my cordovan loafers, a chatty young guy who popped a question as he polished. “You got a five on ya?” Thinking he was short on change I nodded sure. “Ok, well got a five, against your Abe Lincoln, cause I bet I know where you got your shoes?” Ha, no way this polished gambler knew about The Bass Shoe outlet in Vermont, where I had bought them. “Ok, buddy you’re on” “You got your shoes, “ he cackled, “on your feet!” So long Mr. Lincoln. It was fun, good natured and the fellow turned my size 10’s into walking mirrors. It was typical of the pre Katrina vibe in New Orleans, and most of Louisiana, but it was ending that week as the popular 4 term Governor and Official State Rascal, Edwin Edwards announced he would not serve a fifth term as Governor. Even the pickpockets, petty thieves and hookers were despondent. A Convention of cheap, wary News Executives in town--and edwin edwards on his way out.Outside of Lousiana Republicans and a few prosecutors everybody loved Edwin Edwards, who helped a coalition of white, black and cajun working people, while he helped himself to as much of other people’s money and other people's wives and girlfriends over several decades. Every night was Fat Tuesday for the state's only Cajun born Governor, who had little formal education but a PHD in politicking and street smarts. Edwards, who never left home without a smile, a wicked sense of humor and a lust for--just about anything, died this week at 93. One of the few democrats who ever thought people could do just fine with severely limited government, he led the passage of a new state constitution that gave local cities and parishes, as the county type government is known, the independence to regulate themselves without getting the legislature involved. People loved it, but it came at a price. Edwards allowed all comers in the oil business to pollute the Bayou’s and Gulf Coast, an environmental clown show that would bring much pain to Cajun Country and several adjacent states with the BP Oil Spill of 2010. It all caught up with Edwards, who was convicted of taking bribes from anyone with a checkbook; hospitals, casinos, riverboat operators and others who needed his influence. Much of the dough reportedly fed a wicked gambling habit. Many politicians would be shamed behind bars. Edwards flourished, operating as the prisons chief librarian, helping fellow cons get their GED’s and a path to straight life. Upon his release he married his prison pen pal, fifty years younger, who bore him a son as he turned 87. Edwin Edwards legacy. Four terms as Governor. 4terms in Congress. 8 Years in Prison. 3 wives. 12 Grandchildren. 19 Great Grandchildren and too many one liners to count. Once he stopped short of calling him stupid, but noting it took him an hour and a half to watch 60
Bonus · Mon, July 12, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-8-21 Post Pandemic Stress Syndrome
Yogi Berra was talking baseball when he uttered his famous “It ain’t over till it’s over” line, but he might as well have been talking about the pandemic. Less than half the U-S adult population has been vaccinated against Co Vid 19, the rate stands adjust under 48 percent, but for most of us, it seems like Co Vid’s in the rear view mirror. Or is it? Virulent new strains are allowing a Co Vid comeback, and in conservative states like Utah in the west and Mississippi in the south are seeing a sharp increase in Co Vid infections. Infectious disease experts say for now, the variants showing up in the U-S aren’t penetrating the protection shield offered by the vaccines, but then again, the experts haven’t dealt with anything quite like Co Vid 19--so what’s their expertise based on. Pfizer, seems to be hedging its bets, asking the FDA for approval of a Co Vid vaccine booster shot, for use as early as next month. Uh Oh. To quote Yogi---it’s deja vu all over again. This news may send folks driven nearly insane by the lockdowns, isolation and fear of getting sick...right over the edge, while drawing a smug I told ya so smirk from those are convinced the vaccine will make them grow a 5th limb, make their grandchildren sterile or wake up some morning with a terrifying urge to vote for a democrat. In California, the vaccine message has been so effective, officials have given the green light to get all the ferrets at zoos in San Francisco and L-A vaccinated, so now real weasels can join the human variety in giving the flight attendants an earful about having to wear a mask when flying Southwest. 15 months after fear of something worse than Co Vid---Co Vid lawsuits compelled corporate America to trade the cube farm for a home office, now home spoiled workers are being called back to the office--and many are close to soiling themselves at the very thought. One survey found 40 percent of companies aren’t just inviting employees back to the office--they’re demanding they come back or face termination. Others like banking giant Citigroup are trying the carrot instead of the stick, allowing hybrid arrangements that give employees a few days at home each week until they gradually re-adapt to office business as usual. The Washington Post reports a kind of reverse institutional syndrome has taken shape for some workers, like paroled inmates who can’t adjust to freedom and rob a bank to go back to three hots and a cot, life at home has made going back to an office down right scary. They find their space has been downsized, managers are scrutinizing return performance and animosity develops between the vaccinated and those who refused the shot. Some workers have simply quit then go back to the daily commute and 9-5 drudgery Others, spoiled by the fun of taking a zoom meeting in their flannel lounge pants and furry slippers are redefining business casual and not for the better. Post Pandemic Stress Syndrome. You might say it’s going
Bonus · Wed, July 07, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-7-21 Gas, Groceries and Gamesmanship
During the year of sheltering, hoarding and putting a lot of things off, I worked entirely from home--unlike my wife---a medical professional who had to be in the office or in some cases on-call at a patients home. I wasn’t Mrs. Doubtfire, but the domestic stuff---grocery shopping, strategic TP and Paper Towel offensives, some cooking and light cleaning fell to the guy who stayed home. For the most part we did fine--and over the past year, I’ve developed a pretty good idea of what things cost then--what they cost now..and how the folks who keep us supplied are gaming us. I don’t mean that to be critical---business people do what they have to do to stay in business. But so many of us were away from restaurants for weeks or months at a time, we might not have noticed how prices were raised. Even at your favorite casual joint, a couple of burgers, a round of drinks and a tip will set you back 50 or 60 bucks. Of course you could stay home---but grocery beef prices are insane, chicken’s getting up there and pork, the other white meat is starting to be priced like it’s extra fine...not basic swine. Bacon---the other day it was 8 bucks a pound. In California we’re blessed with abundant produce and the prices are fair but higher prices for basic commodities, flour, sugar and the like are already higher---You may not see it yet, but you will. Some of the bigger grocery chains saw the wholesale inflation coming. They've loaded up the warehouses, but when those stocks are depleted, we’ll be slammed by bread, cookie and bakery prices. Remember those 5 thousand Amazon boxes that brought you this and the other thing last year/ Well, there’s now a cardboard shortage---you can find it..but it’s more expensive. Which means---the boxes will still roll out of Amazon vans..and technically the shipping will still be free---Jeff Bezos and his Amazon army will just raise the price of what goes into the boxes. Now, you want to go frugal---skip dining out---cut down on beef bacon and stick to the fruits and veggies---and keep your fingers off the Amazon Ap---fine---but they’ll get ya at the gas pump. A gallon’s north of four bucks in California--that's a whopping 40 percent more than it was last July. We will feel the pain every time we fill up---but higher fuel is being paid by the trucks that bring us everything--and we’ll get the trickle down sucker punch. Finally--if all this makes you want to getaway...The airlines were paying less than a buck a gallon for jet fuel last summer--today--it’s 1.75. Last time prices for jet fuel went up so fast--2008 when the airlines evened things out by charging for everything on board but a Flight Attendant's smile. It’s a procession to recession. No longer do we worry about outliving our money. I’ll be happy if I have any left by Labor Day.
Bonus · Wed, July 07, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-6-21 No Holiday At The Morgue
The Sounds of a long Independence Day weekend. The crisp snap of an American Flag buffeted by a breeze. The crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd at Major and Minor League ballparks. The screech and boom of launching fireworks. Belches of relief in Coney Island, where San Jose’s Joey Chestnut inhaled 76 Nathan's Franks in 10 minutes. The mournful unzipping of 233 body bags, used to transport by one account the number of people killed by guns between Friday night and Monday night on what by design is a festive weekend. More than 500 others were shot and wounded. In Chicago, two police officers were among one hundred gunshot victims in the windy city, 14 of them would die. Near Atlanta a country club golf pro was shot and killed as he went to investigate why someone was driving a pickup on the course. The gunmen fled the vehicle where police found two other people shot and killed in the bed of the truck. There were multiple gunshot deaths in Dallas and Vegas and New York, where Governor Cuomo says gun violence is the epidemic replacing the pandemic. Bad as it sounds….and it does...Independence Weekend 2020 had 26 percent fewer shootings, than the same weekend last year. From a statistical measure, that's progress. By any other measure, it’s still a major problem. Bloody weekends like the one just past and or mass workplace shootings will raise the hue and cry for gun control. But gun control as currently written, enacted and enforced won’t solve the problem. The laws make it harder for a law abiding citizen to buy a weapon legally, make it more expensive to legally bear arms, and to some extent prevents mentally ill people and convicted felons from legally getting their hands on a pistol, a long gun or even so called “assault” weapons. That might give left leaning lawmakers a nice warm feeling, but it leaves our friends in law enforcement shaking their heads. They know felons don’t try to buy guns legally. Background checks block the process. As for nuts with guns, some acquire them before they’re known to be mentally impaired, others like the Sandy Hook school shooter, grabbed the gun from his mother’s collection. Gun theft is the real gun problem. Somewhere between 380 and 500 thousand guns are stolen each year from the homes, and vehicles of otherwise law abiding gun owners. Many of which are used in criminal activity. Paperwork, waiting periods and most other weapon related red tape aggravate legal gun buyers, but are ignored by criminals, just like they ignore a myriad of other laws. And because there is now law compelling gun owners to report a theft, many don’t, compounding the problem. Seems we do need tougher gun laws. On the people who steal guns, sell them and use them illegally. And maybe legal gun owners need to think twice about leaving them unlocked or visible in a garage or vehicle. We have the right to bear arms, with that right comes the implicit use of good judgement in use and storage of t
S1 E6 · Tue, July 06, 2021
Episode 6: Sacramento District Attorney, Anne Marie Shubert
“I tell people the truth, which is, the district attorney is a nonpartisan job,” she said. “And, you know, people like to politicize the position, and I felt very strongly that I was going to be authentic to myself.” Today's podcast represents the future of California as Ed interviews Sacramento District Attorney, Anne Marie Shubert, about not only her run for California State Attorney General but her points of differentiation. As a county prosecutor, she formed Cold Case Prosecution and became a nationally recognized expert on forensic DNA. She also founded the Community and Government Relations Division, which combines community relations and legislative advocacy solutions to enhance public safety. Why does she believe she can make a difference and what has she done to demonstrate her competence versus others that may be vying for the role. Straight forward and direct, her comments are a refreshing look at the way a neutral, non-partisan candidate addresses the situation. Direct responses are something one would expect from the person responsible for convicting he Golden State Killer and putting him behind bars. Could we be listening to the conversation of the next Attorney General for the state of California? You decide after the conversation.
Bonus · Fri, July 02, 2021
Crane's Corner: 7-1-21 Everybody Loves Benjamin
These past few months have been tough on Dead Presidents. Activists whose understanding of American history is roughly that of a French Poodle, have been tearing down statues of George Washington, US Grant and even the Great Emancipator, Abe Lincoln. In New York, Teddy Roosevelt’s perch outside the Museum of Natural History in New York is now history. TR’s been hauled off to storage, lest some nitwits give the Rough Rider a spray painting or knock him off his bronze stallion. Forgotten, if it was ever learned by these thugs, is that George Washington got the freedom ball rolling, Lincoln ended slavery, a brave endeavor that arguably cost him his life, with the help of Ulysses S Grant, the Union General who delivered victory in this nations bloodiest war, Then there was Roosevelt, an environmentalist and consumer protection advocate who battled corporate greed and worked to save the planet before anyone knew it needed saving. Even as they treat American History, The Constitution and The Founding Fathers, much like a baby treats a diaper, one old white dude seems to have gotten a pass. Maybe that's because Benjamin Franklin is in serious demand. There are a lot of Benjamin’s flying around these days. Since the Pandemic hit the U-S 16 months ago, state and local governments have sending truckloads of Benjamins around, Actually, they’re writing checks or moving gobs of money around electronically, but with his countenance on the 100 dollar bill, the largest commonly accepted paper currency, the old kite flier is the accepted symbol of big money. With his job on the line Gavin Newsom is hoping Benjamins in quantity will buy the votes of Californians when a bank balance topped off with fresh Benjamins brings on a case of political amnesia. Joe Biden’s using the inverted benny strategy, that's when you spend so many Benjamins, on liberal gimmicks, the nation goes into debt, inflation grows as personal supply of Benjamins gets eroded at the gas station, the grocery store and everywhere else. There are about 16 billion dollars worth of Benjamins in circulation, and 10 million Benjamins are in a billion. Criminals moved a lot of them around, with that EDD scam sending 10 billion dollars in fraudulent unemployment claims, much of which we’re told got funneled to gangs, black market gun dealers and of course jewelry stores and luxury car dealers. The irony here is that if asked Ben Franklin probably would have liked his face on the penny since he preached frugality and negotiated favorable financial deals for the fledgling new nation, Someday soon, a Benjamin may not be worth more than the paper it’s printed on, but for now, nobody’s messing with Ben Franklin, in fact most people just can’t get enough of him.
Bonus · Wed, June 30, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-30-21 Bummer of a Summer
One or two shots and a card to prove we were jabbed against Co Vid, relaxation of the mask mandate and the re-opening of our favorite restaurants, ball parks, theme parks and other venues we didn’t think twice about until 2020, have emboldened us. We’re ready to make up for lost time, spend a little of that money we saved or Uncle Sam sent us and have some fun. Half way into 2021, there is good news, bad news and keep your eye out for further development news. If you invest in stocks or have them in your retirement plan, you are sitting pretty. While the bank--any bank pays a fraction of one percent to use your money, the stock market is way into the green. The Dow--The S & P and The Nasdaq are up between 12 and 14 percent, fueled by a comeback in corporate earnings. But here’s the problem, Analysts fear a trifecta of inflation, supply chain problems and Joe Biden’s plan to raise corporate taxes will eat away at those earnings. Wall Street fortune tellers fear the economy’s comeback may be slowing, but even a bear market will outpace inflation and offer enough to keep your serious investment money out of the bank. Now the bad news. If you haven’t researched that vacation, prepare to be stunned at the prices. Business Class fares are about half of what they were last year, because no one is doing significant business travel. Economy fares are better, but when the industry was hit by CO VID last year, the airlines parked planes in the desert and pilots on furlough. Until both shake off the dust and rust, there will be fewer seats, crowded planes and for now a mask mandate that really isn’t needed. Rental Cars? No matter who you rent from...The Hertz on you. The car companies sold off a lot of inventory last year, new car supplies are delayed by chip and other supply issues, so if you can get a car you’ll pay through the nose. In May of 2020, Hawaii logged 60 thousand visitors. In May of this year, more than 900 thousand flew into Paradise, and found 40 percent fewer available rentals pushing the price up on some vehicles to $400 per day. Enterprising owners of clean late model rides are offering them for 200 per day. Hotel rooms are in the stratosphere too, and some are using the CO VID crutch, limiting room cleaning and breakfast service because--not everyone has had the shot. Now what to watch for news. It seems the whole country is under a rolling heat wave, we face a real danger of both fires and power outages in California, the collapse of a Miami High Rise is prompting concern that scores of hi rise buildings are beyond their safe living date, and the likely parade of hurricanes that regularly terrorize the U-S coastlines could pound them into pancakes ahead of schedule.
Bonus · Wed, June 30, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-29-21 Shepherd of the Fairway.
How many people do we meet in a lifetime? Hundreds? Thousands? I suppose the answer depends on where you live, what you do and how receptive you are to your fellow humans. Let’s agree over a lifetime, it’s a significant number. Now, of all those people you’ve met--outside of your family, how many really touched you? Connected with you. My list isn’t terribly long, and as of this morning it’s one name shorter, but the loss is profound. My good friend, Mike Vander Dussen died the other morning. Mike and I met on a golf course, paired up as two single players one Friday morning at Rancho Murieta. Meeting Mike, a big strapping guy blaring Dire Straits out of a speaker on his custom golf cart, a cigar clenched in his mouth and a premixed canned Margarita in his left hand, he extended his right hand, flashed a beautiful smile and introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Pastor Mike” Pastor? It was true. Mike’s flock was in South Sacramento and Elk Grove, at the Impact Community Church. Perfectly named for this man of the cloth, who had a very big impact on everyone he met. Including me. Mike was my friend. My Golf Coach. My human encyclopedia of Rock and Roll. He was my fairway therapist. My conscience. He was wise and faithful, dispensing advice if you asked, never judgemental. He could keep a secret. He knew the Bible by heart, and could find the right verse for every situation. He was patient, I never heard him say a word in anger, On one of our first days on the course, the difference in our golf skills was readily apparent. Mike was playing even par, I was--well getting a lot of golf for the money, Finally, overcome by frustration I went through a litany of cursing, at one point yelling out the name of Mike’s boss, also known as the son of God. Mike approached me as asked, “why is it that you aren’t screaming out the name of your wife or your sons? Why are you taking the Lord’s name in vain? All he’s ever done is sacrifice for you. He loves you. Besides he’s performed a lot of miracles, but that was before he saw you play golf” He had made his point, with gravity and humor. I made it a point to never take God’s name in vain, at least on the golf course. For years Mike and I played a couple of times a month, and I soon learned that I enjoyed our conversations, our 4 hours of sharing and maybe another hour at the 19th hole, better than the game itself. He put up with a lot having me as a partner. Once on Rancho North’s 17th hole, I sliced one right off the tee, cracking the windshield of his Baby Blue Golf Cart. I apologized profusely, pulled out my wallet and watched as Mike convulsed in laughter. He wouldn’t take a dime, all he said was “Bet you can’t do that again”. A few years ago, having heard Crane’s Corner and seasoned in the writing of a weekly sermon or lesson as he called it, he proposed we write a book together. He sent me some sermons, I started going through earlier commentaries and I even wr
Bonus · Thu, June 24, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-23-21 Salad Days
For those of you who might be listening outside of The People’s Republic of California, this Podcast is a reimagined radio feature which ran from 2008-2020 on 3 different radio stations.Mostly it was my take on current events, some times a tribute to someone who had passed on or on occasion satire which some humor impaired listeners took for my real opinion. A podcast which when you get down to it is radio for people who never worked in broadcasting. But unlike radio, where I had a 2 minute limit to make sense of whatever I was writing that day, with a podcast, you can take off the seat belt, stretch your legs and speak at a respectable pace, I can take 5 minutes to make my point, take an interview 30 to 35 minutes and not worry about e mails from the Program Director that if the 2 minute warning is good enough for the NFL, it’s all the time I need. It never was. I always had to voice it like it was my final exam from the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course, So not only can I take my time, I’m expanding the menu. News of the day, something I found funny or worth discussing always takes prominence, but once in a while, like today we change the format and talk about things I’m passionate about, Food. Wine. good books or my constant fear that some afternoon I’ll be hauled off the links and charged with impersonating a golfer. Today, we’re sharing a couple of salad recipes that won’t put the Julia Child cookbook out of print, but are easy to make, maybe better than previous versions you’ve tried and handy to have in California where it’s often north of 100 degrees. Will dispense with the climate change the precursor to the Prius, moved people around and opening multiple windows passed for air conditioning, The saving grace is that we have little humidity and it cools down to decent sleeping weather after sunset. Unless half the state is on fire, which is a seasonal reality as the drought continues. Back on long island where I grew up, every town had at least one, in some of them, several old world delicatessen’ originally operated by German Americans...some still are, others have been sold with the old world recipes to Americans of various ethnic groups, the shops are known for their generous meat sandwiches--which islanders call heros, they don’t do well in water, so the name sub doesn’t fit.and in some places, they’re called hoagies. The only hoagie I ever heard of was Hoagie Carmichael--and I guess if you called Ben Hogan hoagie he might answer--but since he’s dead he’s a hero to golfers who’ve seen his swing. Delicious salads, American and German potato salad, macaroni salad and cole slaw, the big three. My slaw is based on the old world recipe with a twist. I add some sour cream for body, chopped onion for added flavor, sugar and cider vinegar for a little zing.. Pretty basic but better than anything you’ll find this side of the Adelphi deli in Garden City NY.. Simplicity unto itself. Start with a bag of pre-pac
Bonus · Wed, June 23, 2021
Cranes Corner: 6-22-21 No Vaccine for the Fandemic.
I’m not a kid and I live 2817 miles from Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, But any late afternoon or early evening between April and October, you are most likely to find me sitting in from of the television, watching a bunch of spoiled millionaires, or soon to be millionaires, trying not to break a nail, pull a hammy or get hit with one of those Coppertone juiced baseballs hurled 100 miles an hour by a tobacco spitting student of physics. Thanks to satellite technology and The Firestick I get my daily fix of what is described as Major League Baseball, but actually resembles a traveling self-help group for a talented but tradition challenged roster of some 1000 whiners. Now to be fair, it’s not entirely their fault. Mom and Dad or some other adult in their life coddled them until releasing them to their current caretakers, the coaches, managers, owners and Commissioner of the Game. My friend Steve Sax, a West Sacramento kid who played for the games elite franchises...the Dodgers and Yankees says the games have been reduced to Romper Room with bases. Rarely does any player go a whole week without a day or two off, to work on his sunflower seed spitting, bubble blowing, I Phone gaze at his investments or check out the potential ,homewreckers down the third base line, who might be laughing at his jokes before falling into their 4th post game margarita. Pitchers rarely make it past the 6th inning, lest they have an ouchie tomorrow morning. Close plays are reviewed by old umps with worsening eye site who even with 16 cameras and slow motion usually miss what the average fan saw with their own eyes in real time, Double headers, once played most Sundays by guys in hot flannel suits, are only scheduled to make up a rainout, and they’re mere 7 inning contests---day night affairs to allow for the players to have a nappy, and the owners a fresh set of suckers--er fans...to buy up the 16 different uniform color combination gear in their 45 dollar box seats as they cheer on their team with a watery ten dollar brewski. After juicing the ball to allow for more home runs, paying no mind as the players juiced themselves to hit them, baseball changed the rules. Now, with everyone but the ball girls topping 100 on the radar gun, baseball is suddenly shocked by the pitcher's chicanery. More surprised than Bob Baffert with a positive drug test Really? Pitchers and hitters have been playing a cat and mouse game since the 19the century. Ask Steve Sax to name a couple of pitchers who shall we say enhanced the spin, curve or drop rate of a baseball and he’ll tell you it would be easier to name the few who didn’t. Why has it been going on since Ed Crane, the man they called Cannonball pitched in the late 80’s and 90’s. 18 80’s and 90’s. It wasn’t the substance that Crane put on the baseballs that ruined his career, it was the alcoholic post game refreshments. As for another Ed Crane who loved the game. He was done in by his Mother’s well-intentio
Bonus · Thu, June 17, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-17-21 Six Flags Over Gavin
I recently made the observation--which here in California is probably not the majority view--that Governor Gavin Newsom got it right--that his handling of the Pandemic, which led to some long and frustrating shutdowns worked out better, in terms of numbers than many other states, including big ones like Texas and Florida that re opened earlier. California has fewer Corona virus deaths per capita, and while lots of jobs were lost, they came mostly from the travel and hospitality industries, which combined have a relatively small impact on the state's GDP. In fact 15 months after CO VID came calling, California has a 75 billion dollar budget surplus. Well leave it to Gavin Newsom to make one rethink his management style--and his priorities. Here we are in mid June, in the midst of a long triple digit heat wave. The Governor should be trying to figure out how the lights will be kept on for millions of residents, and how to handle what always seems to be triggered in a California heat wave, wildfires which consume acreage and all too often, homes and human lives. He should also be working harder on the state budget, which isn’t quite ready, even though the courageous state legislature gave it’s preliminary blessing without which, under state law they would forfeit their paychecks. So what has Newsom been doing? Giving away big money to people already vaccinated. The idea is big payouts will incentivize more people to get the shot. No, Governor it won’t. You have to be in it to win it as they say and the money will have been doled out to those already in the pool--people whose names were harvested from a documented list of the already vaccinated. So far 10 lucky Californians have been picked as the winners of a 1.5 million dollar prize. 30 other immunized Golden Staters got 50 grand for getting the shot. They get money for having gotten the shot, not for thinking about getting one. To motivate the unvaccinated, the amusement park chain, Six Flags is donating $4.5 million in free tickets, quite a thank you to the guy who put them out of business for a year. Newsom has said he’s had fun acting like a TV game show host, and feels like Oprah as he gives away money. Big money to people who got the shot, less cash or other compensation to those who finally get around to it. It sounds like it should be the other way around. Or just a highly publicized plan to get voters on your side as California edges closer to a vote to get Newsom to stop spending millions, by taking away his job. The recall effort will probably fall short, but if you’re Gavin Newsom with all that cash to throw around, why take a chance?
Bonus · Wed, June 16, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-16-21 Fasten Your Seat Belts
For six years now the cost of money---borrowing it anyway has been incredibly cheap, and that was by design. But now the so-called cheap money strategy is over, as the Federal Reserve ended it’s 2 day monetary policy meeting by dropping hints that inflation is the wild card and if prices keep climbing interest rates will begin heading north as well. Right now, banks pay less than a quarter point to borrow money. That’s about as cheap as it gets. So interest rates for consumer borrowing, everything from auto loans to mortgages and home equity loans are near historic lows. But because the climate for borrowing money is so inexpensive, the rates for savings are paltry, so investors looking for value do their shopping and buying on Wall Street.T he Dow, Nasdaq and S and P keep churning out record averages because so much money is coming in. But watch out. The Dow tumbled a few hundred points on the Fed’s message of interest. Wall Street hates surprises and it was surprising that the Fed would even think of raising rates. But if there is one thing that can screw up a good economy it’s inflation. Prices are rising now for a couple of reasons. With the Pandemic shutting large sectors of the economy, many industries stalled. To jump start production again, they’re facing new costs, paying more for workers, working them longer hours and paying more for raw materials and transportation, with gas and diesel now costing a third more in some parts of the country than it did before Co Vid came calling. There’s also that supply and demand and greed scenario. Finally released from pandemic prison, folks are out and about, traveling more, and because they can, airlines, rental car companies and hotels are all charging more--because they know if you won’t pay it the person will. For now, we’re all putting up with it; most of us didn’t do much last year, so we’ve got more dough and even when we did spend, the money seemed to get replenished by The Cares Act or the ensuing stimulus payments. Consumer prices are up 5 percent year over year. Wholesale prices increased by nearly 7 percent. The Fed’s betting the Economy will grow by about 7 percent--with inflation for 2021 coming in at around 3 and half percent. If that reading of the tea leaves is on point..rates won’t go higher next year but could in 2023. If inflation is higher, rates will rise sooner. It won’t be crazy, like the 20 percent interest rates of 1980, but even a slight rise, could mean a few hundred bucks more for the mortgage--enough to keep some buyers from pulling the trigger. It could also lead to tighter credit. Watch the markets. If there's uncertainty, there’s selling. If interest rates go higher, investors hedging bets will move money into bonds again. We’re moving out of CoVid and free to spend again, in theory clearing the way for an economic take off. But it could be a bumpy ride, and a long one.
Bonus · Wed, June 16, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-15-21 Did Gavin Get it Right?
When CoVid 19 hit California in March of 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom wasted little time in making the people he governs crazy. Using the state's Emergency Powers, the ones reserved for say a Tsunami that slammed into Los Angeles or ISIS thugs taking over Disneyland or even the next giant quake, the slick looking, confident liberal leader became the Lord and Master of 40 million constituents. Suddenly we were ordered to stay home, avoid non-family members, wash our hands till they were raw, and wear face coverings in public. He told us we couldn’t go to the beach, or church, Disneyland closed as did most bars and restaurants, wineries, breweries, barber shops and nail salons. For what seemed like forever. Ignoring most anyone but his team of advisors and medical experts, Newsom held the line on shutdowns, guided by color coated charts that allowed counties to embarrass each other, or cross the county line for a haircut, a cold beer or a mani-pedi. The infections and deaths came in vast waves. Some of the protocols made sense, a lot of them made us scratch our heads. With no day to day business, many successful businesses failed. We got shaggy, we got depressed. Some drank and partied to the detriment of their health. Finding basics like toilet tissue and hand sanitizers became a challenge. But in California, we grumbled but knew it was very much the same in other parts of the country, until it wasn’t. The jobless rate soared, crime followed. The George Floyd murder and the rise of BLM made life more unsettling. Covid’s China origin...whether it came from a bat or a sloppy scientist, fueled a disturbing rage against Asian Americans. President Trump’s handling of the crisis probably cost him his job, Gavin Newsom’s CoVid management style fueled an expensive recall process, though he’ll probably survive it. Now take off your mask and reflect for a moment on the Governor and The President. Depending on your political leanings, you probably harbor strong feelings against one or the other. As California and the country reopen and we all catch our breath to figure out what the hell happened over the past 450 day -the view here is that Gavin grudgingly got it right, but couldn’t have done it without Trump. The President half a nation despised did what he promised. He got a vaccine in months, not years...now, I can’t say for sure what the vaccine might do to any of us down the road, but it pretty much neutralized covid and it’s collateral damage. And guess what. Newsom's dictator act got it done. Look at the numbers. Yes, 62 thousand Californians died of CoVid under his watch---but with 40 million people in the Golden State...the per capita death rate...of 160 per 100 thousand was lower than 27 states--including the ones that opened up early like Florida---Georgia and Texas. California’s economy survived the pandemic in much better shape than all but a few states. Sure we still have high unemployment, but most of the jobs lost--in
S1 E5 · Mon, June 14, 2021
Episode 5: Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, soon to be state Senator?
Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby shares her views on the current state of the city and her run for the Senate seat being vacated by Senator Richard Pan. Our discussion meanders thru her significance on Sacramento's City Council (and that she is!) as well as her views on a variety of topics including homelessness. If you thought she was a pegged left liberal, think again. This may be one person who not only gets things done but may be able to bring a little partisanship, common sense and action to many of our pressing issues. As a small businesswoman herself, she also brings a sense of savvy when it comes to the needs of business owners and their relationships in the communities they serve. If I was a betting man, I would say I just interviewed one of our soon to be State Senators. Join us for this most interesting and helpful insight into one of Sacramento's most influential local leaders.
Bonus · Thu, June 10, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-10-21 Hackers are No Slackers
Sometimes, I’ll just shake my head, other times I just burst out laughing at the very idea of de funding the police. Some cops are as bad as the people they arrest. Most in my opinion are hard working and fair. Deserving of our respect and admiration. If you’re a CPA, a utility worker, a car salesman, a teacher or an insurance broker, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll come home from work in one piece. Work in law enforcement and there are no guarantees. Yes, there have been some highly publicized cases of cops using excessive force, sometimes with deadly results, but read most of the cases and you’ll find the story began with illegal behavior, usually by a repeat offender who ignored a police warning, thought they were smarter than the cops or didn’t quite understand that when cops draw their weapons, they are prepared to use them, and they’re not taught to wound, they’re taught to immobilize the offender or in layman's terms, odds are they’ll stop what they’re doing on account of their dead. You want to talk about reforms, more accountability, specialized training, I’m all ears. But defunding--cutting back..punishing law enforcement. No way. We need more cops---and not just the ones patrolling our neighborhoods and highways; we need on line cops, patrolling the information superhighway and can stay ahead of the hackers, who hit the little fish and the whales with impunity. Not a day goes by that I don’t see some scams directed at me. There’s a FEDEX delivery, a gift card from my bank, a special settlement from the IRS or because of my impressive resume, a job waiting for me in a warehouse at a bustling third world sea port. The come-ons look real but they’re as real as a Rolex watch priced at 15 bucks on the street. It’s like a minefiel if I click on it, it will steal my identity or turn my IPhone into a can of Mountain Dew. Passwords? I have over a hundred of em because everyone asks for one. 8 letters or more, with some numbers and some special signs. Then there's the always annoying picture game, to verify it’s really you. How many crosswalks? The other day my Ipad reminded me that I have old passwords and that one particular password was as hard to crack as Password 1-2-3. Funny, that particular pass word had the name of an ex-girlfriend, the nickname of a 1969 Met, the number of my high school football jersey, and a symbol. Go ahead Siri, try to guess it. When your password is compromised, it’s either the result of a data breach that sends thousands of names and passwords to the Dark Web which is to cyber-cons what Ohio State is to 300 pound lineman who run a 4 second 40 yard das, or it’s human behavior. The online offer looked real the caller could have been from a well known charity or in desperation you let a caller flatter you through an application for a great job not thinking twice about giving out your social or drivers license number. But America’s prisons are suddenly like M-I-T or
Bonus · Wed, June 09, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-9-21 The BIG COVID CON.
Finally, in a matter of days or weeks, wherever you live in these 50 states, you can wash those face masks, pack 'em away for the next killer virus, burn them or donate them to the forthcoming Anthony Fauci “Do As I Say Not As I Do” Museum. Suddenly it seems the scourge of 2020 and part of 2021 will soon be just another dark chapter in history. Why, because people are getting vaccinated! Sort of. Outside of Gibraltar, where 100 percent of the population has been immunized, few countries have an immunization rate of better than 60 percent and those numbers include people who’ve gotten 1 shot and those who’ve gotten 2. So the numbers are a little suspect, because those who’ve only gotten one jab, may not get the second, which makes them COVID possible in a couple of months or even weeks. Just the other day, ex FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gotlieb offered the opinion that those fully vaccinated will need a booster shot in the fall. All of which tells me a couple of things. We are nowhere near being fully vaccinated, but after 16 months of being bullied by politicians who ordered businesses, schools, churches, ball parks, barber shops, restaurants, bars and even Disneyland closed. Suddenly, Happy Days are here again. Really? I’m guessing most kids under 12 and maybe 30 to 40 percent of the US adult population has not been vaccinated. Thats over 100 million people. 100 million people who won’t be protected by masks or 6 foot separation or any of the other life or death protocols that made us all nuts for the last year and change. How can we leave so many unprotected? Because they don’t need protection. They never really did. COVID 19 was a nasty virus that killed millions. But for the most part it killed people with underlying serious health issues. Heart Disease. Respiratory Disease. Cancer. Diabetes. Unfortunately, most who died didn’t have a chance and those with the comorbidities got the vaccine first, and perhaps just in time. Pardon my cynicism but the great Pandemic of 2020 was part health crisis but mostly it has been a shameful power grab, by mostly liberal politicians who got a chance to shove money at people who will keep voting for them, and now think they will be viewed as the great emancipator by restoring freedoms they shouldn’t have taken away in the first place. We’ve been over-sanitized, traumatized and conned into losing businesses and relationships, recreation and fellowship over a pandemic that was academic. If you weren’t terribly old or terribly sick, you’d certainly survive it and might not get it. Most intelligent Americans have figured this out, but our so-called leaders are still on the power trip. Noticeably California Governor Gavin Newsom. He’s lifting the mask mandate but refusing to relinquish the so-called State of Emergency which lets him control California and 140 million residents like a crackpot dictator in a Banana Republic. Forget the recall circus that he’s li
Bonus · Tue, June 08, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-8-21 The Cardinal Wins
I’ve been a baseball fan since my little league days, and at the big league level, the game has changed and not for the better. Though they are better nourished and probably in better shape than the players I followed back when LBJ pitched for the Washington Senators, well at least on opening day, today's players are comparative wimps. The New York Mets, my team, lead the national league east in games won and players injured. 13 of the 25 players have gone on the injured list. Back in the day, anything short of an amputation, might keep you out of action for a couple of days. These guys need weeks to heal up. They earn for the most part millions, and that's part of the problem. Owners coddle the rich jocks to protect their investment, so, even the best pitchers rarely pitch deep into the game and very rarely toss a complete game. Each year the 30 teams play almost 5000 combined games. Since 2007 there haven’t been 100 complete games tossed in a single season. Back in the 60’s and 70’s the best pitchers usually went the distance, or close to it. Guys like Bob Gibson who died last year at age 84. Gibson pitched from 1959 till 1975. It was an era when fans and baseball people followed statistics but were not immersed in analytics as they are today. Calculators only covered the basics, computers were the size of refrigerators and only understood by nasa nerds not sportswriters or GM’s. But pore over Gibson's career numbers and count how many times you say wow. He was at once a product of his environment and of the times both of which might have ruined a lesser man. He grew up in a gritty housing project in Omaha. He was bitten on the ear by a rat. Undernourished to the point that he suffered rickets and even as a major leaguer, the prime of his career was the decade of the 60’s and prejudice and racism were a constant. Maybe that’s what made Gibby so angry,an emotion, which along with a 96 mile an hour fastball made Gibson so intimidating and so good. The stories are legion. Traded from the white sox, Tommy Agee a new Met, faced Gibson in a spring game. Gibson drilled him yelling “welcome to the national league”. The pitch sent Agee to the hospital then into an 0 for 34 slump to start the season and his worst career year. Gibson’s best friend was ex Philly and former National League President Bill White. In a 1964 game, White’s pal warned him not to crowd the plate, White ignored him, and was greeted with a fast ball on his elbow, and a friendly “ I warned you, you sob.”.Those guys had company. The Cardinal head hunter hit 100 other batters. Tim McCarver, Gibby’s long time catcher tells of a mound visit, a short one, ended with Gibson shouting.”What the blank are you out here for...the only thing you know about pitching is you can’t hit”. Ok, times have changed but it’s a rare night when your Kershaw’s, Scherzers and De Groms pitch past the seventh. Gibson threw 255 complete games and was the origin
Bonus · Thu, June 03, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-3-21 Guys and Dolls
I suppose the cost would be prohibitive, but I’ve come to the conclusion that the United States would be better served by ringing in the borders, not with any kind of fencing but a large padded wall...the kind they have in hospital psych wards and Mental Institutions, because as a nation we are going nuts. Yes, the Pandemic was a game changer. Thanks to politicians and Dr. Flip Flop--er Fauci, we shut down the economy and the schools, made everyone put on a mask and pretty much wrote off 2020, and as I write this in June of 2021, no one seems to be really sure it was all necessary--because to everyone’s amazement, a Covid 19 kill shot arrived within months--not years..and pretty much cancelled the argument that shut downs worked or were a waste of time, money and sanity. America managed to run Donald Trump out of office..though he’s looking for ballots like OJ’s looking for his wife’s real killer. California prison inmates, dumb enough to get nailed for their crimes, were smart enough to scam the E-D-D out of at least 10 billion and maybe three times that, with the PPP, Pandemic prisoner profiteering. And suddenly all the protocols and sacrifice and rules go away, per His Majesty King Gavin the Nuisance..as of June 15th. Back to normal? What is that? The other day on CNBC, the question was posed, “Should we have sex with robots”? OK, some of you may think you already are, but seriously, there is now a line of robots, built in New Jersey, designed expressly to mimic many varieties of sexual behavior. These dolls, with artificial intelligence not only mimic most common sex acts, they talk and blink and some say provide decent conversation. My first thought is this sexy robot trend is not going to be good for the champagne, oyster or floral industries, not to mention the people who make pain relievers. Robots can’t derail the Love Express by copping to a headache and I suppose if your metallic lover smokes after sex, it’s best to check the wiring. They cost thousands but are really hooking some people, pardon the pun, but they’re said to be so life like, they may put human sex workers out of work. Houston nixed plans for a robot brothel, saying it could bust up families and finances. But they’re popping up in Europe. Experts say this idea of getting lucky on demand suggests something we already knew. People don’t talk any more, they just text or share whatever inane thoughts they may have on social media. Then there’s the British guy who owns a doll named April, and tells the Sun, it’s a full time job. They get physical four times a week, go out to dinner twice a week, then there’s hours devoted to keeping April dressed with hair and make up as well. And that guy is still married. Nothing like a plastic pet to take care of. Mental Health experts are divided as to whether sex robots are a good thing, but it appears they are here to stay. Some guys are even ordering bots that look like the ex wife or girlfriend. Di
Bonus · Wed, June 02, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-2-21 We Were Warned
Ever ask yourself this question. In a country of 330 million people, why do we settle for such mediocrity in the people we elect to lead us? Joe Biden, is not now nor ever will be anything special. Oh yes, he’ll go down in history like the 40 some men who preceded him as Leader of The Free World, but he’s no Reagan, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt or Harry Truman. Maybe he slides in between Millard Fillmore and Warren Harding. Biden’s skill, if you want to call it that, is his ability to hang around. He got noticed in the early 70’s as a good looking guy with a lot of bad luck. His wife and young daughter were killed in a car accident. Biden didn’t do much in the senate, and became known as Senator Credit Card for his cozy relationship with the plastic honchos, who made his home state their home state, due to Delaware's favorable banking laws. Teddy Kennedy got in the way of his presidential aspirations in the early 80’s, Bill Clinton kept him off the ticket in the 90’s and in 1988, he killed any chance for the White House by lying---about almost everything. Now the media has been skewered for playing nice to Joe but that wasn’t the case in ‘88.. He plagiarized speeches..listen to Biden and British pol Neil Kinnock… AUDIO: BIDEN-KINNOCK He apologized. Then got caught cribbing from Kinnock again: That should have been enough. But Joe Biden--channeling his inner Joe Isuzu...boasted about his academic record: AUDIO-BIDEN AND REPORTERS The media caught him. He didn’t have 3 degrees just one---Law School,,close to the bottom of the class---76th in a class of 85 but then the media and the rest of the country forgot that Joe Biden was no George Washington.. If you can’t trust him with a political speech or his academic record, why are we trusting him with our tax dollars and the nuclear codes… The answer---voters are lazy, and in 2020 even those well informed would rather go four years without an iPhone and a Prius then vote for Donald Trump. So far, Biden’s screwed up the southern border, relinquished our first time energy independence and is printing money to pacify poor voters who’ll return the favor with democrat votes.. Covid’s on the run, but inflation’s on deck...the deficit is at record levels and China and Russia are laughing. The truth hurts Joe. But how would you know..
Tue, June 01, 2021
Crane's Corner: 6-1-21 Triple D
The year was 1987. I was on a 9 day 10 city road trip covering the first visit to the U-S by the wonderful Pope John Paul for CBS News. All sorts of interesting things happened on that trip. I was blessed by the Pope many times as he celebrated mass in Miami, New Orleans, San Francisco and 7 other cities. On a pre-dawn assignment to meet The Pope in Monterey, I met the then Mayor of Carmel Ca, Clint Eastwood, who smiled when I suggested his next film could be Dirty Harry meets The Pope, a Miami thunderstorm drenched our equipment and caused me to miss the charter flight to New Orleans. I watched a Jesuit priest hired as a Papal Sermon Consultant do his best to shatter the TWA record for the number of inflight Bloody Mary's consumed in 2 hours. But the most interesting thing about that assignment was seeing my first cellular phone. It was about the size of a loaf of bread, had battery life measured in minutes, and was the latest equipment for TV producers to reach the NY News desk right from the airplane. Amazing. Now, of course, cell phones are not bulky and rare. They are tiny and ubiquitous, and we’re told they are addictive to the point of being dangerous. It may never prove as deadly as tobacco or as physically addictive as crack cocaine, but make no mistake about it, play with your iphone, android or tablet long enough and you will most certainly incur a nasty social disease, one that even an i-condom might not prevent. I’m talking about digital device disease. Somewhere in the 80’s tired of lugging quarters and sneaking into telephone booths some overseas researchers came up with a couple of good ideas. The basic idea was a cellular telephone that allowed one to have a brief conversation, untethered by wires or the need to keep dropping coins into a box or reciting a long credit card number. Soon some other researchers, these folks up in canada, did the cell phone one better. They made it smaller allowing it to fit in the palm of your hand. And they added a few must have features like a calendar and text messaging and before long, all masters of the business universe needed these palm pilots. Which gave way to the blackberry, the iphone and the android. The prices became more affordable. The amazing technology more common and soon everyone, even the homeless are wired. And not just for a chance to make or receive a call. Our phones have become our addictive little boxes. We don’t snort or guzzle or smoke them but they are just as addicting. Go anywhere; an airport, a meeting room, a restaurant and look around the room. The joy of good conversation and the exhilaration that comes from a fine exchange of ideas are hard to find as almost all of us have become addicts looking for the next information fix from google, news nugget from twitter, selfie from someone who claims to be somewhere cool or important and are convinced you care. These devices are driving us to distraction and away from human
Bonus · Thu, May 27, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-27-21 Lonestar Law
Anyone on the north side of 40, please raise your hand. Thank you. Now for those of you on the glide path to middle age, here’s a question. Have your views on important matters changed as you got older? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. For most, age brings maturity and life experiences and critical thinking, all of which change our viewpoint. Those of us blessed with children, learn how precious they are, and even while respecting another individuals rights, many of us find the idea of abortion, killing the most vulnerable of our human race, horrible. Now I’m not going to debate just when life begins, but if that little person has a heart beat, that little person is alive, and any procedure which stops that heart beat is and has been since 1973, government sanctioned murder. Since the Black Lives Matter movement took root in recent years, it’s leaders operating on a very restricted viewpoint, have angrily chastised any one, especially white people who respond “all lives matter”. Sorry to mess with your marketing slogan, but you should be ashamed for trying to cancel or denigrate those with opposing views, but the truth is to most right minded people--all lives do matter. Except in places like Texas. Full disclosure. I love that state, it’s been my second home for about 40 years, ever since the Crane family moved to Houston about the time I started my career in Houston. Texans are proud and fun loving and don’t view bidness opportunities as a chance for the government to rip you off while your spirit and dreams are snuffed by red tape and nonsensical laws. In fact that view is so prevailing, the Texas State Legislature only goes into session once every two years, making it impossible to compete with their tree killing do-gooders in Sacramento, who regularly turn out more than 700 rules or laws or prohibitions that limit our freedom, pick our pockets and prompt us to start calling realtors in Idaho, Tennessee and a number of non communist run foreign outposts. That's not to say the good old boys and girls who get together in Austin every other year get it right. Last week Governor Greg Abbott signed two pieces of paper that couldn’t have been more different, and if you hold that all lives matter, more counterintuitive. One bill pretty much puts the Texas abortion bidness out of bidness, banning any abortion after a baby's heart beat is detected. That's generally at about six weeks, and experts tells us so early in a pregnancy a number of women don’t even know they’re pregnant, Figure it will keep Austin’s attorneys and Judges busy for a while, but until and if it’s struck down, it will save the lives of a lot of little Lonestar Lives, But the very same day, Governor Abbott signed the death warrant which allowed the state to lethally inject Quinten Jones, who was ordered to die for killing his 83 year old Aunt some 20 years ago, Now there was a time, when I was younger that I supported Capital Punish
Bonus · Wed, May 26, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-26-21 Pink or Blue Does it Matter to You?
Perusing the messages from Facebook one weekend, I stumbled on something that mesmerized me. It was a long letter of explanation from a former colleague of mine I’ll call Dan. We’ll omit what the transgender crowd calls dead naming.. to protect his privacy--although that certainly doesn’t seem to be a real concern. Dan was a good reporter. Not flashy, but good. He was bald, kind of short actually for a TV type--pretty nondescript. Dave always seemed hungrier than most--willing to do some extra duty on radio or overnight on network TV. Along the way he got his law degree, which helped him as a journalist and is helping him now. Dan stopped reporting a couple of years ago when he was let go by CBS in New York, probably on account of he was a good journalist who could tell a story live or on tape but brought down more dough than the Barbi and Ken's rolling in from Lost Nation Iowa or Frankfort Indiana. And sorry it’s a shallow business--no middle aged woman seeing Dan on the tube would mistake their living room for a male strip joint and feel the need to whip a few singles out of their handbag and hurl them at the TV, He wrote that after the initial period of anger and self examination, he began to really practice law, and because of his time on the tube, he had some name recognition, which served as built in advertising and marketing for the new attorney. That wasn’t the only change. Dan told his Facebook friends about having his name legally changed. I wondered why. His last name had good recognition, it wasn’t hard to spell and was pleasant enough. Dan’s last name is one of those 5 letter WASP specials, As the letter went on, it was clear that this former journalist had as they say buried the lead. It wasn’t his last name that changed, it was his first. Dan is now Kristen, with a brown wig and extensive makeup replacing the shining dome and the light touch of powder tv guys use to cut the glare of the lights. Oh yeah serious heels.Also gone, the pleasant baritone that media guys use to tell you that flooded highway is serious. Kristen’s new pipes..a cross between Hillary Clinton and Tiny Tim. Kristen informed us that she’s proud of her transgender status and apparently is going all the way. Now it takes a lot to shock me, so shock is the wrong word, surprise is a better one. Surprised because as Dan, I saw no visible signs there was a woman in my colleague just dying to come out. He never was Dick Butkus, but there was nothing effeminate about Dan. He was just kind of average. Next trip to NY I sat down with the lady who used to be a gentleman. He’d wanted to be a girl since he was 8, played college hockey and thought he would get fired after getting into a habit of going to bars catering to crossdressers, Only when he saw the boss of TV station WNBC wearing a nice dress and sensible shoes, he knew was in the clear. And since you are dying to know, he is attracted to women just like he always was, separated from hi
Bonus · Wed, May 26, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-25-21 Required Reading
It sits in my office, but can fit in my shirt pocket. These days, I read it more than a new bride checks a cookbook or a new car buyer checks the owner's manual. What is it? It’s not that I don’t know what's in that little 3 by 5 booklet, it’s that I’m incredulous that so many people either don’t know or simply ignore that booklet, that small copy of The U-S Constitution. Whether you read 33 small booklet pages or a few large ones….or see the original parchment online, you will be amazed by the simple yet comprehensive nature of our legal backbone. Let’s start with the first amendment which is pretty basic. We are free to speak our mind and practice our religion. First paragraph of the first amendment. Not really open to debate. And yet, these days, free speech comes at a price. In this cancel culture, having the wrong opinion can get you fired. And when you are fired for not one but two things that are protected by our constitution, things that generations of Americans died for, it is just inexplicable. But it happened to Joe Kennedy. Several years ago, Joe Kennedy, an ex-marine who risked his life to protect the constitution and the freedoms it guarantees was fired from his job as the Football Coach at Bremerton High in Bremerton Washington. Now a 3-7 record after a 2-8 previous debacle might have cost another coach his job, but that was not the deciding factor here. Joe Kennedy. was fired for exercising his constitutional right to pray, and did so with his players and opposing players after every game. Not every player participated but those who did welcomed the chance, one of them called the post-game gatherings on the 50 yard line “magical.” In a classic example of political correctness run amok here’s what the district wrote in first suspending Coach Joe Kennedy...and later firing him. The post-game midfield prayer quote: “poses as a genuine risk that the District will be liable for violating the federal and state constitutional rights of students or others.” Say what? Allowing a citizen to exercise his constitutionally protected right while allowing others to freely join him could violate the constitutional rights of others.? Mmm..no. That's as wrong as wrong can be. And if school officials believe that horse dropping of a paragraph, imagine what kind of history and civics they’re teaching the kids. Fast forward to 2021, after lower courts sided with the school district, attorneys for Joe Kennedy appealed, and a federal judge ruled in favor of the school district. It was Joe Kennedy’s last chance to get his job back. The Constitution is always open to interpretation, but the Bill of Rights is plain and simple. The view here is that the school and the courts violated Joe Kennedy’s rights in an asinine quest to protect the rights of young atheists, who probably don’t know the difference between the First Amendment and a First Down. By the way, my little copy of the constitu
S1 E4 · Mon, May 24, 2021
Episode 4: The Battle of Fallujah produced some amazing outcomes.
Doctor Donnelly Wilkes was just about to complete his medical studies and head off to a ship somewhere in the ocean and serve out his military duties...or so he thought. And then, the twin towers came down and the world and his world in particular, changed. From the expectation of a somewhat comfortable existence in the ocean aboard a Naval floating city to active duty and medical facilities just hundreds of yards from the fighting. His thoughtful journaling has produced a fascinating book: Code Red Fallujah: A doctor's memoir at war. The graphic stories and horrific reality of war is told from the eyes of the medic in the midst of it all. The personal toll it takes on all parties and the solution he found through his faith are just a couple of the areas he explores. This is a very compelling conversation shared like only the professional and the man who experienced could tell with riveting detail.
Bonus · Thu, May 20, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-20-21 Trump Troubles
Put a fork in Donald Trump. He’s done. The beginning of the end, a press release from the Office of The New York State Attorney General noting that the civil investigation into The Trump Organization, that's about a month old will be evolving into a criminal probe. The press release did not give further details but suggested a parallel investigation with the Manhattan DA into the Trump Organization’s banking activities. According to one source, Trump over valued the price of assets to obtain bank loans. In the grand scheme of financial chicanery it may sound mild, but don’t underestimate the people who hate Donald Trump, high on the list is his former attorney Michael Cohen, the man Trump used to fix various problems. It was Cohen who made the so-called hush money payment to Porn Star Stormy Daniels and his fingerprints are on many Trump financial deals. He’s jailed for lying to congress. He didn’t get a term ending pardon from Donald Trump. He will turn on Trump, bet on it. All he’ll need is a grant of immunity from further prosecution. Expect that to happen. Prosecutors have no problem throwing back the little fish, if what those fish have to say can land the whale-and Trump is Moby Dick. Trump is adapting his public Alfred E Neuman persona. What, me worry? He’ll tell anyone that will listen that it’s all fake news. As he has for years, he’ll also repeat that his tax returns are under audit, and he can’t reveal sensitive data. There are millions who will fall for this canard. Voters who remember how The Donald handled the economy, handled the North Koreans and The Iranians and how he was moving along with that big wall to keep the so called undocumented throngs of would be refugees out. Hard line Trump supporters have no problem ignoring Trump’s indiscretions and ego mania, when compared to the left wing agenda that's being played out by the trillions in the Biden administration. For now, he’s still the Man in Waiting, the frontrunner to unseat Joe Biden or perhaps Kamala Harris is 2024. But there are these mounting legal concerns. That investigation in NY, another in Atlanta, where prosecutors contend he tried to intimidate and threaten officials to get the November results overturned. Then there’s the promise of a full throttle congressional investigation into the attack by Trump supporters on the US Capitol and what he may have had to do with it. There are allegations that he drained supporters after November allegedly to fight voter fraud, when the money went to a general Trump slush fund, that down the road may find it’s way into the bank accounts of attorneys trying to fight charges against Trump’s businesses. The GOP’s surgical strike on Wyoming Representative Lynn Cheney earlier this month is evidence that for now Trump loyalists are still in control of the Republican Party, but for how long? The task ahead and it’s an arduous one, is to beat back the left wing surge in Washington, retake the White Ho
Bonus · Wed, May 19, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-19-21 Special Du Jour-Survival
With the possible exception of hotels, has any American industry suffered more from the Pandemic than the restaurant business? In an industry that loses 50 thousand restaurants a year in good times, the predictions for the survival of restaurants and the industry as a whole were dire. Some experts said one third of all eateries would fail. One well known chef-owner put the number of closures in the fine dining segment as high as 75%. Well, as most Americans get the Covid 19 shot, and cities and towns are open, we’re learning the cuisine carnage is bad and may get worse; but not quite as bad as first predicted. To date, since the Pandemic arrived in early 2020, 90 thousand restaurants have permanently closed. That's 14 percent of all restaurants, about twice as bad as a typical year, but nowhere near what had been foretold-that we’d have to bring a bag lunch to our jobs most days, wait weeks for a reservation and try and sip soup and chew our filet while wearing a mask. So what really happened? The vaccine process, dubbed Operation Warp Speed by Team Trump, was just that, the vaccine got here in less than a year and within 15 months of Covid 19’s arrival, a majority of Americans had taken the jab. Texas and Florida completely re opened, most other states loosened restrictions to include limited capacity dining or maskless al fresco dining. Take Out, which accounts for a small percentage of trade at most sit down restaurants boomed and literally saved the day. Restaurants that might turn their tables 4 times a night, could churn out as much Take Out business as the kitchen could manage--while expenses like linens, dishwashing and front of the house staff disappeared. Right now, as we head into summer, the food and beverage industry glass is half full. More people dine out in summer, there’s pent up demand after months of sheltering and vaccinations and mask rule relaxations are making people emboldened to go out again. But those pandemic jobless payments, for the moment, are no match for the low wage plus tips formula that have been the industry standard for decades. Here in California, the restaurant at one public golf course has brought in a food truck, unable to staff the restaurant with cooks and wait staff. Eateries that do manage to staff the business, are dealing with rampant inflation for everything from food costs to the paper packaging needed to box up their takeout fare. Now they’re faced with the tough decision; pass along the cost to customers, or hope they can make up the difference in volume or alcohol sales. It seems the most experienced restaurant connections did better than the young and quickly successful owners, but some well capitalized chains went belly up, especially those linked to shopping centers, like the Cheesecake Factory. Others like Applebee’s and Logan’s Roadhouse closed a number of stores. The Pandemic as it’s been said changed everything. The restaurant industry has been criti
Bonus · Wed, May 19, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-18-21 The Big Short
History tells us we can spend our way out of a depression. It happened in the 20th Century as Hirohito and later Hitler forced us into war, and the nation was compelled to produce. America needed everything, Guns, Tanks, Ships, Jeeps, planes, bombs and bullets. Not to mention gasoline and diesel fuel, thousands of uniforms. America rolled up it’s collective sleeves, went to work or went to war and made the sacrifices to get the job done. Now it appears we can vaccinate our way out of a pandemic, and we’re trying to spend our way back to prosperity, but it's tricky. Right now, it seems everything's in short supply. From lumber to labor, many a commodity or product or service is in short supply and that’s driving prices higher. Early in the pandemic, you’ll recall some of the symptoms of COVID 19 and the need to constantly sanitize led to shortages of bathroom tissue, paper towels and hand sanitizer. Enterprising brewers and distillers shifted their production line to make hand sanitizer. Eventually the paper mills caught up with demand, and we all got what we needed. Fast forward to May of 2021. Because of vaccines the pandemic is winding down, and in some sectors the economy is revving up, but in others, the wheels continue to spin. Economists have long held when demand is greater than supply prices go up and vice versa. But they’ve never had to factor in how drought, computer hackers, and government cash payments that basically invite workers to stay home can impact that supply and demand curve. Despite climate change, bad forestry policies and ensuing wildfires, the world still has plenty of trees. But the timber in warehouses being cut and produced is no match for the demand for houses, cardboard and paper packaging. That send lumber prices skyrocketing. Think of just how many boxes were delivered to you via AMAZON, UPS OR FEDEX during the pandemic. Then multiply that number by a few hundred million. Then consider how much fuel those delivery trucks need. Then add in all that diesel the over the road trucks that bring the finished goods to the warehouse consume. That alone is enough to boost prices, but look what happened when Russian based hackers tapped into a giant US Pipeline. In a matter of days gas stations along the eastern seaboard either ran out of gas all together or decided to triple the price of already high prices. Lumber prices are adding tens of thousands of dollars to the price of a new home. Aluminum is also in short supply, and barrage companies like California based Monster reports soft drink cans are in short supply. Drought around areas of the globe is impacting prices for coffee and other commodities. Semiconductors are in such short supply that the production of cars and trucks..which now rely heavily on on board computers is slowing new vehicle production, while demand for transportation is pushing up the price of used vehicles. And while the current and former admi
Bonus · Thu, May 13, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-13-21 Woke Me When its Over
My wonderful Mother Grace Crane stepped out of here 6 years ago. I think of Gracie, as we all called her, often. Sometimes with a tear in my eye, but usually with a smile. My Mom was warm and generous, elegant and kind, and she had a gentle wisdom that in my experience is the secret weapon of Irish women. She would tell us that everything is ok in moderation while warning us that nothing in excess is ever good. She tried to find the best in everyone, even those who had no damn good in them, let alone the best. She could have written the Golden Rule, because she treated everyone like they were the only person in her universe and deserving of her love and respect. Unless you crossed her. Then she treated you like a baby treats a diaper. She had zero tolerance for unkind behavior and zero patience for stupid behavior. Over the Mothers Day weekend we got this joke from the land of the woke. The Ministry of Cancel Culture issued an edict that the special women who brought us into the world and gave us the tools to survive it, should now be referred to as “birthing people”. Why suddenly do we need a gender neutral, let alone stupid term for Mother? Now I was barely able to get out of High School Biology with a B- and a dissected baby pig, but I’m pretty convinced that even fans of the trans will agree that the maternity ward is a no mans land. Even those who have exhausted the realm of gender realignment need not squint at the sonogram to learn what they’re carrying. Nothing! Even surrogates are, sorry, mothers! Had I greeted Gracie with the term birthing person, I could be greeted with the term injured person as the wooden spoon or high heeled pumps, her weapons of choice, would find their mark. Never bring a knife to a high heeled pump fight. Gracie loved history and she would have been appalled at the WOKE FOLKS ignorance of the times our forefathers lived in, and the vandalizing and destruction to statues…Abe Lincoln? Hello. Of course, if she had been alive, a number of Antifa goons would have stopped occupying Portland for high heel and wooden spoon lacerations. Go woke, go broke. All these woke induced spending bills from President Biden, he may be woke but he ain’t awake..are sending Uncle Sam into paper poverty. And stop this nonsense about white privilege and institutional racism. I had no say in being born white. Good people don’t need to Read The Book Of Woke. They treat people the right way. Bad people don’t listen to anybody, so the woke folk might as well grab a toke, they’ll be ignored. BUT BY A VAST MARGIN, THERE ARE MORE GOOD PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY THAN BAD. We don’t go through life based on what a bunch of half assed Marxists want us to do. We roll based on our own experience and what we learned from it. Real life experiences that put real life in perspective. Clearly some were better than others, but each experience affirms this every day takeaway. You will have good days and b
Bonus · Wed, May 12, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-12-21 Nanny State
You probably heard it in kindergarten, maybe even earlier, the acronym myob. Mind your own business. It’s a lesson most of us have learned to some degree and think about, if you ever did meddle in some one elses business...it didn’t usually end well did it? There are hundreds of californians who didn’t learn the lesson or are ignoring it. Those people are called liberals and legislative staffers who work for liberals or Governor Gavin Newsome, who tows the liberal line to the point of absurdity. These folks seem to think they know whats best for us even if it isn’t. They have turned California into a such a nanny state they should replace the bear on the state flag with a picture of Mrs. Doubtfire. The word majority means absolutely nothing. It’s bad enough they bully us with laws and edicts we don’t need, building special bathrooms or cutting gym fitness testing to accomodate the teeny tiny population of transgender kids. They tell us what kind of bags we can put our groceries in, what kind of straw we can sip our drinks from. They make it hard to exercise the right to bear arms. Side with criminals over cops and interfer in the right to work as we choose.. With AB 5 Gavin and the nannies aren’t just meddling in our business, they’re trying to put independent folks out of business with rules that make the term independent contractor an oxymoron. The nanny morons limiting how we work, how long we can work and in some cases putting us out of work because employers can’t afford the extra costs of hiring a full time staff employee, or pay a living wage disguised as a minimum wage. It’s irrational and probably unconstitutional although to the California nannys, a document drafted by a bunch of old white fools a couple of centuries back means nothing. Bad as it is for us, the nanny’s are exporting their wacky views across state lines, banning California workers from traveling to 10 states that don’t coddle gay and transgender folks the way they do. Why doesn’t Governor Doubtfire ban travel to states that don’t have ridiculous fuel prices or ban the homeless from defecating on the streets or refuse to saddle businesses with so much green law they operate in the red or have timber management policies that actually prevents wild fires. About the only freedom we really enjoy in California’s nanny world is the freedom to leave and a lot of Californians are voting with their feet.
Bonus · Tue, May 11, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-11-21 Warning Signs
Driving through the town of Fair Oaks in northern California the other day, two signs caught my eye. They were advertisements, not related to each other except in the sense that they could be viewed as warning signs for some rough economic times ahead. One sign a help wanted ad posted in the window of an In and Out Burger joint advertised jobs, with a starting wage of $16-18 dollars per hour. Keep in mind that the minimum federal wage is $7.25 cents. It hasn’t been raised in ten years, and you can make the argument that maybe it should. In California, a company with more than 25 employees like In and Out , has to meet the minimum wage of $13 per hour. But for a burger chain that offers its customers some of the lowest prices in the fast food sector, that fact that it’s willing to go $3-5 dollars more than the minimum, tells me two things. One, help—good, bad or indifferent is hard to come by --and 2...it can’t sustain those high wages without raising prices. It also tells me that stimulus payments and pandemic related unemployment benefits are adequate enough to keep some people--perhaps the pool of lesser skilled or part time workers from looking for work. Banking $450 a week…$1800 a month for doing nothing, it’s hard to justify frying potatoes and flipping burgers for say even $15 bucks an hour, since most fast food jobs are part time, and probably won’t generate enough hours to meet what the federal and state government are paying workers for doing nothing but filling out a claim form from time to time. Here’s what’s likely going to happen. Because they have to pay more for help, service industry companies like restaurants or department stores will have to raise prices, which depending on the business, could lose customers, or see a reduction in the number of times customers go out for a meal or buy a new blouse or a pair of jeans. Once the wage war is set, you can raise it, but it’s rare that it’s lowered. So what happens at year's end, when the number of pandemic allowed jobless weeks run out. Will the jobs still be available? Probably not. The other warning sign was one of many advertising office spaces for lease. But one in particular caught my eye. One that offered office space at under $1.00 per square foot. That tells me landlords are becoming desperate. Empty offices or stores, primarily in strip malls become a magnet for squatters, graffiti, in some cases arson. They become an eyesore, a blight that knocks down the curb appeal or stores or other businesses that are trying to operate--and will lose customers if they feel the location is dicey or visually unappealing. The pandemic, because of safety concerns created a climate where millions were told to work from home or opted to, and business owners in many cases, realized they could conduct business in the zoom economy without all those pesky costs like rent, office furniture, overhead and security. So what becomes of the people who own zill
S1 E3 · Tue, May 11, 2021
Episode 3: There's Magic in Every Wish.
Our non-profits around the country have been hit particularly hard during this pandemic especially if the purpose of your organization is to grant wishes that are, more often than not, travel in some way. I'm joined today by Jennifer Stolo. President and CEO of the Make-A-Wish chapter serving Northeastern & Central California and Northern Nevada. And while her story of survival for the organization is interesting, it's even more compelling to hear the second challenge she was faced with over the past year. Jennifer was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer. If the stories of wishes granted for children in need don't move you, than Jennifer's story of her personal battle with a disease will. An incredible woman and leader of an organization I have been proud to be a part of for more than 20 years, her stories, both professionally and personally, speak loudly to the tenacity, resilience and attitude to pull thru and thrive. For more information about Ed Crane and his services and podcast guests, visit www.edcranemedia.com. To learn more about Make-A-Wish and how you might be able to help visit www.wish.org/canv
Bonus · Wed, May 05, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-6-21 Destiny's Child
My wife and I were watching the NFL Draft the other night, with very different perspectives. I love football and was glued to the broadcast, fully immersed in who my team, the NY Giants would select. Barbara would have preferred some Hall Mark Channel Chick flick, but being a good sport, watched with a little less enthusiasm. After 35 years together, she’s firmly in the ‘if you can’t beat em join em’ camp. While I was making calculations as to which of the college stars would be available by the time the Giants were on the clock with pick number 11, Barb was starting to feel sorry for one player I knew the Giants wouldn’t pick, Alabama Quarterback Mac Jones, He reportedly would go to the 49ers at pick 3. He didn’t. He didn’t go 4th or 5th or 6th and as each pick was made---the cameras would focus on a stoic Mac Jones and Barbara began to feel sorry for him. OK I did too. After all he led his team The Alabama Crimson Tide to an undefeated 13 win season and the National Championship. Almost every game was a blowout. So why, pick after pick was Mac The Undefeated being ignored? Turns out he really wasn’t. The two quarterbacks picked ahead of him were running QB’s and meshed better with the teams that took them, the 49 ers and the Chicago Bears. Jones on the other hand is a classic drop back quarterback and extremely accurate. When he fell to the New Englad Patriots, the light went on. He was perfect for the Bill Bellichek offense that Tom Brady ran so well for nearly 20 years. How impressed was New England? The last time the Pats took a quarterback in the first round, Mac Jones hadn’t been born, the year was 1993. Suddenly we didn’t feel sorry for Mac Jones. In fact I envied him. He was going to a storied NFL Franchise, with a Hall of Fame Coach. Reportedly his contract will exceed 15 million dollars, All of which is pretty amazing. This to me, is even more amazing. Did you know exactly what you wanted to be when you were 7 years old. Did it work out? When Mac Jones was 7, a 2nd grader in Jacksonville Florida, his teacher asked each of the students what they wanted to be when they grew up.Figure there were a few wannabe firemen, nurses, doctors cowboys and garbagemen. Mac Jones drew the teacher a picture and wrote what he planned to be. An NFL quarterback. Add confidence, determination, and fortune telling to that undefeated football resume. No need to feel sorry for Mac Jones. Feel sorry for defense that will, have to play against him.
Bonus · Wed, May 05, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-5-21 Cheese Please
These are crazy times. The Global Pandemic seems to be finally winding down here, but in India, people are dying hundreds by the minute. Things are still a mess at our southern border, even as Joe BIden quadruples the refugee quota to enter the U-S, There’s some compelling evidence that UFO’s are out of Roswell and fling recon---around US Navy Ships. And among those seeking to replace our governor is one of the greatest olympic athletes of our time, whose grown out the hair and traded gym shorts for a sensible dress. Among other changes. Not being reported until now --The great California cheese crisis. It’s not a political statement, but here in the quickly tarnishing Golden State, the cheese long known as “American” is hard to come by. OK---you can find it at most self respecting grocery stores and warehouse clubs, and I suppose American is the cheese of choice at Mcdonalds...and In and Out, but just try to find it in most sit down establishments. Choose any ten---and I’ll bet you won’t find that tasty yellow slice in 9 of them. What would be a routine order on the East Coast----BLT with a slice,---Grilled Cheese---Ham and Cheese omelette--- Philly Cheese steak ..made without question...and without cheddar or jack… American Cheese. Period. Unless you request otherwise. In California….good luck. Thank you for offering ...but do I look like I want Grilled Havarti or a Monetery Jack Omelette? Even at some joint where they pompously offer artisanal cheese---like you have to be Rembrant to put milk curds through their paces….any chef whose any gouda will tell you the secret to good macaroni and cheese---is of course in the American cheese family, …..that slab designed to survive nuclear war...brand name Velveeta. High melting point...and a certain chemical creaminess. I have debated the issue with servers, managers and even some chefs..with little satisfaction. I’ve given up The Beach Hut Deli where I swear the gals get a commission for every sandwich served with cream cheese. Maybe Californians just don’t like American Cheese. Maybe the health conscious balk at the label’s...where in some cases so there’s so little real cheese it’s labeled a processed cheese food. Call it what you will. I like the stuff--and so do many transplanted compatriots. I suppose there are worse things than a ham and cheddar sandwich or a Swiss Cheese omelette---but until they start serving Kraft Singles with Craft Beer----I’m demanding an investigation..maybe it’s a job for The House Un American Activities committee, or maybe we should call in California’s smartest dairy farmer...The guy they call---The Cheese Whiz. Crane’s Corner….News and Comment
Bonus · Wed, May 05, 2021
Crane's Corner: 5-4-21 The Con Goes On.
The year was 1998 and Guramrit Hanspal became a homeowner. Taking possession of a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home in East Meadow, N.Y, a nice suburban town about 20 miles east of New York City. Back then interest rates weren’t as favorable as they are today so the best deal Hanspal could get was a 30 year adjustable rate mortgage at 7.3 percent. After making the first payment of sixteen hundred two dollars and thirty seven cents, Guramwrit Hanspal apparently decided that mortgage payments were for suckers, because he hasn’t made another one in 23 years and despite all the remedies at a banks disposal, ruining one's credit, foreclosure and eviction, the 2 story yellow house that Guramwrit Hanspal bought in ‘98 is still occupied by Guramwrit Hanspal, and from time to time, some friends and tenants who rent from him. As it happens, the first bank that agreed to give Guramwrit Hanspal a mortgage was Washington Mutual or WA MU, which by 2008 went belly up, one of the infamous lenders that gave us the mortgage money meltdown and a long recession. But if all of WA MU’s borrowers were like Guramwrit Hanspal, WA MU would have gone out of business years earlier. Now, I know what you're thinking. If this deadbeat didn’t pay his mortgage why didn’t the bank foreclose? Oh it did. Sort of. One year after that first payment was followed by 12 missed payments, WAMU’s lawyers went to work and the property at 2468 Kenmore Street went into foreclosure. In most cases, it means moving out in shame with a badly dinged credit rating, a choice of living with relatives or a very modest apartment. For Guramwrit Hanspal it simply meant a trip to court, which was actually in walking distance of the home he no longer owned, but still lived in. It was the beginning of a legal cat and mouse game that would see Hanspal file bankruptcy seven times and file lawsuits against three lenders, WA MU, CHASE which inherited the paper and Diamond Ridge Partners, an investment group that buys homes at a discount and quickly sells at a profit--that is until they ran into Guramwrit Hanspal, who found a legal loophole that says the homeowner and blood relatives can be evicted but any non owner legally living there, can’t be. So to recap, Guramwrit Hanspal rents rooms in the house to non family members who can’t be evicted, and through the kindness of their heart--they allow their landlord, old Guramrit to live there too. Now, the bank lawyers are starting to feel like the rich guys who get played by the Three Stooges. And for now, they’re not only being legally whipped, they’re being legally whipped by a non lawyer. How did this game go on for more than 20 years? Well Guramwrit brought a couple of pals in on the con. First he transferred the title to the home to one Rajender Pal, who then filed bankruptcy, protecting him for eviction for a couple years. He transferred the title to another buddy Boss Chowla, who in turn filed bankruptcy and sold the title t
Bonus · Thu, April 29, 2021
Crane's Corner: 4-29-21 Media-Ocrity
Joe Biden is a little confused. Apparently he mistakes the U-S Treasury for the overdraft feature that comes with his and Jill’s joint checking account. The government is operating with a 3 trillion dollar budget, but in one hundred days, Joe’s agreed to spend almost 2 trillion dollars for Covid relief, nearly 3 trillion for infrastructure repair, and last night another 1 point 8 trillion dollars, for the American Family plan, which sounds like a step up from Basic Cable, but is really a way to indoctrinate little Americans into socialism via all expenses paid pre school, where they’ll learn that every white male in history except FDR and the Kennedy boys were evil and as long as you vote democrat you’ll never have to work a day in your life. As a card carrying member of the media for 40 years, I’m rather ashamed of my profession. Biden’s spending spree--the numbers and where the dough is going, is being unchallenged by the media. They accept at face value that President Robin Hood is giving to the poor by taking from the rich, through higher taxes on the richest Americans and corporations. Ignoring what history has taught us, that the rich will put their money into tax shelters and offshore accounts and corporations will re incorporate somewhere else and or cut jobs---all of which backfires on Biden twice. The initial spending isn’t covered by taxes and the government will have to spend more to replace lost wages with jobless benefits, welfare, food stamps and more. Now if Donald Trump had tried to play Santa Claus early in his term, the media would be tripping over one another to point out such foolishness. Funny how everything Joe does is good for the country and everything Trump did was just this side of a felony. Now I’ll stipulate that Trump has an ego just a little smaller than the Grand Canyon and that he has the morals of an alley cat. But the guy got some stuff done. Like delivering a Covid killer in...well warp speed. He pretty much shut down the noise coming from the guy with the bad hair cut in North Korea. He took out Iran’s most prominent nuclear scientist, putting the mullah’s two favorite projects, building a nuclear bomb and killing Americans, on back order. He made America energy independent, rattling the sheiks and trimming their disposable income, cash they could use to hire suicide jet jockeys to blow up American skyscrapers. Oh and before Covid he had everybody’s 401 k appreciating and unemployment under 4 percent. The media-ocrity never was much for history. Slamming Trump for his handling of Covid, they didn’t bother to check how Woodrow Wilson handled the Spanish flu epidemic. He didn’t. He ignored it, too busy getting Americans killed in World War I, Wilson did nothing as 600 thousand Americans perished from Spanish Flu. Twice the pandemic death toll from Covid under Trump, but ignore it….Woody was a Democrat. If Trump announced a cure for cancer--the media’s headline would s
Bonus · Tue, April 27, 2021
Crane's Corner: 4-28-21 Tehran John
Crane’s Corner, News and Comment, Sponsored in part by American River Flooring and Painting. He married into the Heinz Condiment business, now John Kerry is in a pickle. The former Secretary of State, now a member of the Biden Cabinet, the President’s Climate Change Envoy, is taking heat after a leaked recording from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in which he tells an Iranian economist he learned more from John Kerry than he did from Iran’s own government channels. Specifically that Kerry informed him that Israel had attacked Iranian interests in Syria at least 200 times. Considering that Israel is one of our nations staunchest allies and Iran is the worlds largest sponsor of terrorism, Kerry’s disclosure, if true seems to be on the cusp of treason. Zarif didn’t say on the tape when Kerry made the comments--but if it took him by surprise, it had to have been before 2018, when Israel finally acknowledged the attacks. Kerry has denied it, but his friendly relationship with Iran’s top diplomat is well known. The two commiserate after Kerry’s term as Secretary of State under Barack Obama. A term in which Kerry negotiated one of the great diplomatic weasel deals of all time. The US sending Iran a cargo plane full of cash, 1.7 billion dollars in foreign currency, the same day 4 US Prisoners were released by Iran. No, the U-S doesn’t negotiate with terrorists, in John Kerry’s world, we just pay them off. The money may have come in handy, with Iran reportedly still working clandestinely on joining the World Nuclear Weapon Club. This is the same John Kerry, Mr. Climate, who flew a gas guzzling private jet to Iceland two years ago to accept an award for his work in protecting Mother Earth. Captain Climate explaining that quote “people like me” can’t fly commercial. But when they do, there’s always somebody trying to get a picture, like the passenger who snapped one of Kerry aboard an American Airlines flight last month, reading a book, while ignoring the on board mask mandate. No, he was not eating or drinking. Republicans have been piling on the criticism, Former U-N Ambassador Nikki Haley calls Kerry’s behavior disgusting, Senator Dan Sullivan says should resign. Others note his chats with his diplomatic BFF Zarif, between official jobs, is a violation of the Logan Act. There’s more to come, but like a well grilled frank awaiting the Heinz mustard, put a fork in John Kerry, he’s done.
Bonus · Tue, April 27, 2021
Crane's Corner: 4-27-21 Recipe For Disaster
The Internet can take you to some interesting places. Some places you search for and some you find by accident. Places can connect you to your past, take you on a tour of the future or, in this case, spoil a treasured memory. Since I was a little boy, I have always been fascinated by commercial aviation. It came from Dad. I think this was a result of his travelling the world for business and sharing some of his experiences with me. There was also the location of our home. It was twelve miles from JFK International airport in New York. Unless the weather was bad, most nights Dad and I would watch the planes making their final approach, to the giant airport, right over our back yard. The planes were high enough, that the noise did not rattle the dishes in Mom’s china closet, but low enough that I could see their tail insignia. There was always a game trying to determine what kind of plane and which airline was the operator. Some were easy. Americans were all silver. Pan Am had the big globe on the tail. TWA was spelled out in large letters. There were some tricky ones. The prop jets flown by Mohawk and Allegheny and the foreign carriers including BOAC, Qantas, Lufthansa and Air France were more challenging. I did get to know them all and almost always guessed right. I also knew the difference between the 707, DC9, and the long DCA. Later I learned to distinguish the bigger babies 747 and the DC10. I had flown prop jets on National Airlines, Electra 224, when I flew to Orlando (pre-Disney) to spend a week with my Aunt Patsy. She was a great lady. Bless her soul. My first jet ride was a long and wonderful trip. More than 50 years later I can remember the thrill of boarding Pan Am’s Clipper, Glory of the Skies. Yes, I still remember the name. I was a long night flight to Germany, where I was met by another Aunt and Uncle. They were stationed there with the Air Force. We spent a wonderful trek through Europe for two weeks. I had not thought about that trip for years. These days it is hard to love Commercial Aviation unless you travel in first class. Even that is not quite the same, but what is? In the middle of January, I started thinking about the chili that I always cook up for the Super Bowl. I have the recipe pretty much in my head. The recipe is one that my Dad passed to me. He had read it and clipped it from an Eastern Airlines magazine. Dad has passed on and whatever he did with the recipe, it was not in the will. We had yet to find it in all the treasures and recipes that he left behind. I thought maybe we could locate it on the internet. I searched on Google ‘Eastern Airlines inflight magazine’. That was unsuccessful so I tried, ‘Easter Airline Magazine Recipes’, ‘Eastern Airlines Chili’, and ‘Inflight Chili’. In one of the searches, I came across Pan Am Memorabilia. A few clicks later I found an entry about the Boeing 707-320 delivered to Pan AM on June 30, 1967, two years before it delivered
S1 E2 · Mon, April 26, 2021
Episode 2: The Story that Proves OJ was not Alone
Sometimes things just fall in your lap and they're compelling enough that you have to take a look. This is one of those "things". A gentleman by the name of Chris Todd, an investigative journalist, has done some interesting research on strange topics. But one of the most popular of his projects was the notion that OJ Simpson didn't act alone on that fatefull day in June, 1994. Could that even be possible given all the media attention the case was given. Well, that's for you to decide after you hear what he has to say and how he's working hard to get his production released to share it with the world. Possible bizarre, but also possibly true, Chris covers a lot of ground in his description including connections to the mob, drug and substance abuse and addiction. High profile attorneys Johnny Cochran, Alan Dershowitz, Robert Shapiro, Robert Kardashian and others filled our screens night after night. Were Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman really slated for death in the strange but true outcome? And, in OJ's own words, "If I did it." did he do it alone? Chris tells a story that will leave you scratching your head...
Bonus · Thu, April 22, 2021
Cranes's Corner: 4-22 Thirteen Seconds in Columbus.
The national collective sigh of relief, the sense that good had triumphed over evil, and the news that inner cities across America would not burn tonight, was over before it could begin. It was just a short time before the jury verdict, a trifecta of guilt for the killing of George Floyd, in the Derek Chauvin case was delivered, that another Black person was killed by police in another city. The two incidents were radically different, but both were tragic. George Floyd was unarmed. He was no choir boy but he did not deserve the death penalty for his alleged crime of passing a bogus $20 bill to buy a pack of smokes. He was in trouble physically, with a heart condition that was worsening because he ingested a cocktail of drugs that experts described as lethal. He died gasping for breath and calling for his Mother as Derek Chauvin, a cop at the time, used his knee as a weapon. He placed it on George’s neck for more than 9 seconds, while 3 other cops inexplicably watched and allowed it to happen. It was a far different story in Columbus. The story is told in about 13 seconds of video from a police officer’s body cam. It is chaotic and sad and a bit shocking to watch. Police were called to a Columbus neighborhood as a chaotic scene was unfolding. Several teens were involved in an altercation. One is thrown to the ground by a young woman, later identified as Ma’Khia Bryant. In her hands she held a knife pointed in the direction of another young woman. Police yelled “get on the ground” and then shots were fired. Lethal shots were fired that prevent a young woman from being stabbed while ending the life of her would be assailant. As I tell this story it has been just 24 hours. It is not enough time for a full investigation. It is not enough time to determine right or wrong. Not enough to determine if it was justified police work or criminal behavior. It just enough time to see that it is a tragedy and a horrible chain of events. What we need to do is to calmly ask a lot of questions. What compelled this sixteen year old girl to grab a knife and to try to use it? This happened in a Foster home, under the control of Franklin county protective services. In this case little was offered in the way of protective services. We know from listening to the interim police chief and from other tragedies, that police use force to stop deadly force. They are trained not to aim at the arms or legs or the hands. The odds of bullets missing those targets are high. The odds of bullets missing a small target and hitting an innocent person are a consideration. Could the girl have been tased instead of shot? Would a firm strike of a police night stick, inflicting injury but not death, have accomplished the mission? Why did we not hear police yell drop the knife, or drop the knife or I will shoot, or I have a gun in my hand? Was there anything that might have registered with Ma’Khia Bryant, who had adrenalin coursing through her veins, an
Bonus · Wed, April 21, 2021
Crane's Corner: 4-21-21 Justice and Shame
Justice and Shame By Ed Crane Nearly a year after the death of George Floyd, there is justice. Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop, who inexplicable kept his left on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes, has been found guilty on all counts for second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Unlike George Floyd, who committed the crime of passing a bogus bill at a food and liquor mart, and faced Derek Chauvin as judge, jury and executioner. Chauvin got a fair trial. While the precise cause of George Floyd’s death was the subject of some debate, he had a pre-existing heart condition and was under what one expert considered a lethal cocktails of street drugs, Chauvin’s knee on the next was the thumb on the scale. It was the unnecessary and cruel incident that certainly hastened Floyd’s death if not a direct cause of it. Why, especially on a holiday evening, was a man who committed an offense that probably required nothing more than a ticket to appear in court, treated like an armed serial killer, finally captured by the law? Why were there multiple officers needed? Why wasn’t Floyd, on obvious distress, not rushed to a hospital? Why did three other officers who must have known better leave Chauvin to his deadly choice of tactics? Those officers will have their day in court, and unlike Chauvin, who chose not to speak for his own defense, will get a change to explain themselves. As an American I am proud that the justice system worked, but there is still something troubling about this case. How it was hijacked before the justice system could act, but those who would detour around peaceful demonstrations to burn and loot and injure people and t he livelihoods of people who were innocent. People who nothing to do with George Floyd or Derek Chauvin and the demonstrations continued for weeks. How so called “leaders” of the black community like Representative Maxine Waters, could fly to a city she does not represent, and by her words, all but promise there would be hell to pay if the verdict went the other way. The same Maxine Waters who wanted impeachment for a President she blamed for inciting a riot last January. The hypocrisy was unmistakable and indefensible, but that’s exactly what Nancy Pelosi and the other left-wing leaders are doing. It’s only a crime if the other guy does it. The Chauvin verdict is a win for American justice. The behavior of Maxine Waters and her ilk is simply a disgrace.
Bonus · Mon, April 19, 2021
Crane's Corner: She earned her R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
One of the few things you can count on in this life is that sooner or later it will end. We all learn this lesson early and usually with a lot of tears. Grandma leaves us. Or our pet. Maybe a good friend gets sick or hurt in an accident. We grieve and we move on, because death turns us all into Scarlett O’Hara. We’ll think about that tomorrow, or if we’re lucky, never again. Then you reach a certain age, and like it or not, death starts elbowing into your thought pattern. Your forget that Aunts, Uncles, your parents friends, sadly your parents too, are older. Do the math and it’s logical, but when those folks have been in your life for so long, it’s hard to let go. Reach that certain age, oh maybe north of 50, and even your inner Scarlett O’Hara can’t put the Grim Reaper into the Tomorrow File. It hit me the other day when I heard that Aretha Franklin had stepped out of here. Aretha?! Last Sunday morning, I opened the Tasting Room at a winery where I pull occasional duty and started blasting Aretha Franklin’s Greatest Hits. I paid her some R-E-S-P-E-C-T and caught the next train to Nostalgia. I forgot how many hits she really had and how those songs had become a soundtrack that blended into my life. Some reminded me of a certain time, a certain person or a certain movie and it struck me that while I may not have been the biggest fan of Lady Soul, her music was so evocative of our times. In that next hour before the thirsty came calling for Zin and Syrah it occured to me that my weird music taste profile was about 75 percent DOA. Frank and Sammy and Dean. Waylon Jennings and Patsy Cline. Buried Beach Boys and Beatles and fewer Allman Brothers. RIP Pavarotti and Basie and Orbison. The list goes on. They may not be on the fast track to sainthood. Some were truly flawed. But everyone of them left us a legacy. Music that will be played till our own lights go out. What about the rest of us? If we don’t hit the charts, will we leave a mark? I think we can. By calling time out and making some halftime adjustments. Do we treat people the right way? If we’re really comfortable can we write more checks to make others less needy? Do we get the old Irish saying that “the shroud has no pockets”? Red Smith, the great sportswriter who lived into his 80’s, was asked by a younger colleague what he had learned on life’s journey. “Death is no big deal, the least of us will manage that. It’s living that’s the trick.” If we touch one life or many before the clock runs out, we can check the success box. No one will blast our hits through the speakers, but we can treasure something neither money nor fame can buy. Self R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Bonus · Mon, April 19, 2021
Crane's Corner: Kobe Bryant gone.
They are few and far between – but they are the moments…we will never forget. You can count them on one hand and depending on your age – you can remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the awful news… JFK assassinated…Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy…also shot dead. The Challenger explosion. The day the Twin Towers fell and for sports fans, the moments when tragedy ended the lives of world class athletes. Plan crashes that killed Roberto Clemente in 1971, Thurman Munson in 1979 and yesterday Kobe Bryant. It’s too early to know for sure what went wrong, but it appeared the pilot of that doomed Sikorsky helicopter…flying too low…in dense fog…had no way to see the Calabasas elevation ahead…slamming into the terrain at nearly 200 miles per hour. There is so much irony…in the deaths of all 9 aboard. Kobe Bryant loves to fly, and a rented chopper was his preferred way of beating the traffic in congested L.A….He was also a family man…a generous man who gave 6 fellow coaches and teen players a ride back from a girl’s travel team basketball tournament. It was the “Mamba” tournament…the name derived from Kobe’s nickname…Black Mamba. Bryant dies just hours after another Laker, Lebron James, would pass him as the NBA’s 3rd leading scorer. How good was Kobe Bryant? So good the Lakers plucked him from a suburban Philadelphia High School, becoming the youngest man to play in the NBA. So good…he was an All Star 17 out of the 20 NBA seasons. So good…he led the Lakers to 5 NBA titles. Off the court, there were other numbers. 1 for the Oscar he collected for producing a basketball documentary. 200 for the number od wishing Kobe Bryant granted to children in the Make a Wish program. Millions…the number of NBA fans who adored him…and perhaps booed him…while secretly wishing he were on their team. And 41…the incredibly young age at which this talented athlete, mentor, role model and American icon…stepped out this life. Much too soon.
S1 E1 · Sat, April 17, 2021
Episode1: Steve Sax on Major League Baseball.
It's baseball season and what an appropriate time to talk to one of the sports stars. Steve Sax, former LA Dodger and New York Yankee shares stories of players, umpires, General Managers like Tommy Lasorda and Tony LaRussa and a whole lot more. Like the Baseball Hall of Fame and even a look into the future. To learn more about Ed Crane, visit www.edcranemedia.com
Bonus · Thu, April 15, 2021
Crane's Corner: Doughnut Diplomacy
It was a cold, raw kind of Sunday morning...just 4 days after the horrific shooting spree in San Bernadino, an apparently long planned terror strike allegedly carried out by a U-S born muslim and his bride of a few months--a native of Pakistan...I found myself in a working class area of Lodi...after taking a quick detour from Highway 99 in search of sustenance...a hot cup of coffee and maybe a little something to go with it. A quick right onto Cherokee Lane led me to just the spot--a little place called J and D Doughnuts...It was a busy place on this Sunday morning---and judging by the empty or near empty racks..that once were filled with fresh treats...apparently had been for hours…. What I took from this quick stop for a not terribly healthy breakfast..wasn’t so much about the crullers and bear claws and cake or glazed doughnuts...and there wasn’t anything special about the black coffee served in a white styrofoam cup...no it wasn’t the food or drink I’ll remember about J and D Doughnuts..it was the demographics of the customers buying the doughnuts….and selling them…. From a distant war..to a hot button political issue...to a new and growing threat..many an American might have simply made a u turn out of the doughnut shop--thinking it filled with real or perceived enemies….Behind the counter---3 Vietnamese women...ranging in age from early 20’s to perhaps 60...briskly serving a group of hispanic men...mexican perhaps...dressed for a day of work...or maybe hours of looking for work...were they legal...illegal..did it really matter? they drank their coffee and munched on their doughnuts..conversing in spanish...but registering pleasure in that universal….way...through smiles and laughter--- Ahead of me online….a man dressed in traditional Islamic clothing...patiently explaining to two small kids, the virtues of various deep fried dough...to them before placing their order….Now...a doughnut shop in a working class Lodi neighborhood...isn’t a lecture hall for political science or philosophy..it’s not the U-N General Assembly...but it struck me that..what the world needs is a little doughnut diplomacy...maybe people need to check their hate and ignorance and order up a dozen hot fresh doughnuts and a pot of coffee---and talk things out….we’re all different--and we come in many varieties...just like the offerings of a good doughnut shop… It’s hard to hate when your mouth is happy and your stomachs full..Peace through pastry...it works in Lodi---why not the world….
loading...