10 political things to be happy about

1. Paul Ryan is likely to be Speaker of the House. He’s articulate, smart as a hoot owl, policy wonkish, and well-known.  For 20 years, Congressional Republicans have lived fearful of news media condemnation of “shutting government down”.  Ryan sounds like he would favor recovering the power of the purse and will be good enough spokesman that he can counter Obama.  Does he agree perfectly with me? No, but Reagan said if somebody agrees with you 80%, support ‘em.
2. 72% think Hillary owes us a better explanation of her shenanigans with emails and Benghazi.  Whenever an issue has over 2/3 of American people, that means it is even affecting the 1/3 who will support somebody no matter what. Hill’s still in trouble with the trust.
3. Obamacare’s in deep trouble.  Costs have risen so much that the lower middle income can’t afford a policy that the all-knowing god of government has demanded they get.  So the 20 million people (CBO estimate) who were supposed to have bought policies by now are only 8.5 million.  And that is only the folks who would have to buy their own private policies. Employer mandate hasn’t even kicked in yet.  That will really tick people off when their employer can’t afford their health insurance and dumps them onto the Obamacare website. Now we need to repeal the provision that the feds will bail out insurance companies.  Maybe the Dems will want to defend their bail out of Insurance Giants.
4. Maybe Trump is gradually fading.  (though I still don't understand R-primary polls that include Dems and Indies)  I listened for his conservatism and can honestly say that he fails the Reagan 80% rule.  How about a conservative?!! Practically everybody else in the field is okay by me though I have a favorite.  But some big mouth, so in love with himself that he thinks the sun rises and sets on his words, was a lib just a  couple years ago, and has little of substance to say on many issues?  That sounds like Obama!
5. Cruz is well positioned to inherit the outsider banner if Carson seems too meek.  Beck tells about how Cruz came to him in private saying the media thinks he is “robotic” and asked the energetic Beck how to cure this.  They got into a discussion about some policy and Beck says he told me, “No you’re wrong for these reasons.” Then proceeded to list 6 reasons like a wikipedia page.  Beck told him he was amazed at his retention. “Yeah, they say I have an audiographic memory. When a subject comes up, I guess I have a file in my head.” “Have you ever had an IQ test?” “Yeah, it’s 180 but I don’t like talking about this.”  Beck told him not to change a thing and use his brain as an advantage. 
6. Rubio is up and Bush is down. At last a young, positive, good looking guy who tells about politics often in inspiring story form like Reagan did.  He is Hillary’s worst nightmare—will make her look old with tired ideas. She;s the person Donald should have said, "just look at that face!"
7. USA is poised to become the next Persian Gulf of oil and gas.  Production at 10 M barrels per day has surpassed Saudis.  Despite OPEC’s induced glut that has reduced prices by more than half, our frackers are surviving and US production continues to increase.  18 new LNG plants are on line to be built.  If we can supply Europe with liquid natural gas, it would cut off Russia’s stranglehold and get NATO and the EU back to thinking along our lines. Meanwhile, as an oil sufficient country, we’d be immune to blackmail by the middle eastern loonies.
8. Everybody, and I mean every economist is now saying that the Stimulus and QEs did absolutely nothing. Yet we doubled the national debt.  The guy who started Van Kampen mutual funds explains it best:  Imagine you are Italian and you have an uncle who drives around in a Cadillac with some mysterious overweight in the trunk and weapons under the seats.  All the relatives are worried sick that he is hooked up with the Mafia.  One day he comes speeding into your driveway and rushes up with two suitcases. “I have to hide these in your basement, but I will be back for them later.There is a million dollars in this suitcase.” Question: would you touch the money when he leaves?  Of course not, and that is what happened to the banks.  Gov’t poured big stimulus bucks into banks but banks were scared to lend because if they incurred bad debts, the feds were also telling them they were increasing regulation and wouldn’t hesitate to close the bank down. Now maybe all this idiocy will stop when we get a new Prez.
9. El Nino is here. Warmer winters on average and more moisture.  That means a likely end to the drought of the Midwest and better crops.  Only the people in the concrete jungles hate El Nino because they don’t like a rainy day. All you global warming guys pay attention.  Raising the temperature and stirring the oceans to make more precipitation is a good thing.  More food, less famine.
10. Still not satisfied?  Well, October 27, 1787 was the day that Madison began running articles in the New York papers about the proposed Constitution that later became known as "The Federalist Papers".