Biden is Old

Biden is old, but so is the other guy

Biden has a stutter the other guy doesn't yet he has issues speaking
Biden has the best interest of all Americans, the other guy does not
Biden does not promote hate, the other guy does
Biden supports woman's right to privacy, the other guy does not
Biden tried to fix the border, the other guy said let chaos reign

All the evidence of High Crimes and Misdemeanors brought against Biden have (so far) been fraudulent or non-existent.

Is Hunter guilty? No idea, and I don't care! He is not employed by the government nor is he listed as an advisor to the President. If there is any evidence that the President was involved in any of Hunter's allegedly illegal business dealings or drug usage, then bring it and I will gladly jump on the impeach Biden bandwagon. Until then, kindly STFU because otherwise it is all gaslighting

All the evidence brought against the other guy, have resulted in 2 impeachments, 91 indictments, from Politico "In Washington, D.C., he faces four felony counts for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In Georgia, he faces 13 felony counts for his election interference in that state. In New York, he faces 34 felony counts in connection with hush money payments to a porn star. And in Florida, he faces 40 felony counts for hoarding classified documents after he left office and impeding the government’s efforts to retrieve them." He has been found guilty of sexual assault, defamation of the victim in the sexual assault case and fraud, for which he has been fined in excess of $500M. This should seem to be enough to disqualify a candidate or at least enough to scare away supporters but not in 2024.

In the past, this would have been a humongous red flag that should have been a non-starter, but people have been fed propaganda around political persecution, which is the biggest load of bullshit ever so he remains the presumed candidate. These same people would happily destroy Biden (see impeachment attempt above), in court if they could, while blindly and hypocritically supporting the other guy who has been convicted of far more egregious crimes. If Mitt Romney can find fault with sexual assault, why cant the rest of the Republican party?

Lets not even talk about Ivanka and Jared getting $2 Billion from the Saudi government while they were employed by the government or why Kushner could not initially get security clearance from our government

There is a reason why a panel of experts specializing in the American presidency, from both sides of the political spectrum ranked the other guy dead last.**

This election with these two candidates should be a no brainer. The other guy was supposed to go away but he didn't. His supporters are frothing at the mouth, and that is concerning to say the least. His party refuses to stand up to him and acquiesces at every single one of his demands. How is a down ticket Republican going to fair this year, when the RNC, now stacked with his daughter in law in charge, has already said they will spend all their money to get the other guy elected. Good for him, bad for other members of the party. It wont matter if they have pledged allegiance to the other guy, all he wants is your money to pay for his campaign and his crimes (see court fines above). It does beg the question of why do people continue to support a guy who lied about being a billionaire, who lied about not taking a salary while president, who lied about donating his salary while president (HINT: STOP GIVING HIM YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY)

The other guy has already told us he is going to be a dictator from DAY 1. That he will put his supporters in high positions, he will fire all opponents from the various ranks of government jobs. He has already tried to invalidate the results of one election, why do we think he will allow any other elections to occur?

You won't see me flying a Biden flag but I am sure as hell going to support the person that has my best interest in mind and has the best interest of the American people, not just the members of his political party.

Biden is not perfect, nor is any other candidate, but he is the best bet for the future of American Democracy. He is the best bet for me, an American Jew to be able to continue to practice my religion as I see fit. If the other guy decides to ban and deport Muslims, what is going to stop him from doing the same to my people? If the other guy decides to deport brown people from south of the border without due process, what is going to stop him from doing that to my people?

A few more random thoughts to conclude my rant:

Do the Democrats have an excellent proven candidate waiting in the wings ready to replace Biden that is a sure fire win? If they did, they would have already thrown him to the curb. Removing Biden will only cause infighting within the Democratic Party as a bunch of people scramble to fill the void. This will drive media ratings, click rates and eyeballs and dollar signs.

Do the Democrats really want to replace Biden? No, look at the write in campaign in NH and the win in SC. I bet you if you were to ask a democrat, they will say similar thing but they will also support him because they know the other guy will turn our country into a fascist dictatorship, while simultaneously killing democracy, and how so many people support this position, is absolutely unbelievable to me, but here we are.

Is the media trying to drive ratings and stir up controversary? YES

Now make a plan to vote on November 5. Not one citizen should stay home this year, there is too much at stake that can impact us for the rest of my lifetime.

Think about it, and have a great Presidents Day

* https://www.politico.com/interactives/2023/trump-criminal-investigations-cases-tracker-list/

** https://thehill.com/homenews/4476288-presidential-experts-rank-biden-14th-among-presidents-in-survey-trump-comes-in-last/

Comments and Letter to BoE - February 1, 2024

Here are my comments from Feb 1 BOE Public Forum on the Budget and an email I sent in support of the budget.

Comments to the Stamford Board of Education:

 Hello, I am Jeff Herz a proud parent of 3, 2 of whom have graduated from Stamford High School and one of which is currently a junior this year at Stamford High. I have come out tonight to support the proposed budget for the 2024-2025 school year

I have been involved and active in the schools and in the district since 2006 and every year I watch as this board or other city boards pick apart the education budget and quite frankly it seems ridiculous that not once has a superintendent proposed budget passed unscathed. This year we must pass the budget through all 3 boards as is or risk significant long-term damage to our city, our schools and most importantly to our children.

To jeopardize parent facilitators, music programs, high school electives and AP courses, school security, support staff would be an absolute travesty that would significantly negatively impact our students and all of our schools. If we don’t preserve these programs now, what will keep demand for our city high?

We have a growing city, as indicated by year over year growth of our schools where all of our neighboring towns and cities are seeing decline enrollment. People want to move here and if we want to keep a high demand then we must continue to invest in the schools, and supporting this budget is the best to do that. I know this is a large percentage increase, but no larger than many other towns in CT who are facing the same sloped cliff as we are here in Stamford. Some of our neighboring towns have already approved budgets with a larger percentage than what is being proposed.

Lets support our kids, our teachers, our support staff and everyone who tries every day to make this district and city great by approving this budget with no changes.

Letter to Friends asking for support and additional details

The SPS Superintendent and CFO have submitted an operating budget of $333,737756 or a 6.43% increase over the previous year. Had they maintained all current programs, services and staff the budget would have been $344,488,841 or 9.95% increase.

Here is a link to the budget presentation some of which I have highlighted below :

•         There is an impending fiscal cliff caused by the expiration of $55M ESSR Funding (Covid related) which currently funds 100+ positions:

o   The fiscal cliff was also steepened by the city boards, holding the schools to a 0.88% increase in 2020-2021, when they were concerned Covid would negatively impact city revenue and spending needed to be reined in significantly.

o   The proposed 6.43% increase brings the 10-year running average back into line with an average of 3% annual increases.

o   This same fiscal cliff is being experienced by most school districts in CT and is not unique to Stamford.

•         The 6.43% budget increase is within the same range as other districts in CT, some of which have already been approved by local municipalities:

o   Norwalk BOE has approved a 8.2% increase;

o   New Canaan BOE has approved a 6.54% increase

o   Danbury is proposing a 17.5%

o   Bridgeport is proposing a 22% increase

•         Stamford ranks 13 out of 22 Fairfield Country School districts in per pupil spending in 2022-23

•         Compared to state average, SPS spends 10% more instruction and student support and 50% less on Central Office (administration)

•         SPS continues to grow, but at a slower .28% annually. Most neighboring towns and the entire state is facing declining enrollment

•         The kindergarten age requirement being implemented this fall, where students must be 5 before Sept 1 are eligible for enrollment. This will reduce the number of incoming kindergarteners and number of teachers needed for this coming year.

•         Costs for transportation, special education and insurance are all rising

•         In the past the Board of Finance and Board of Representatives have cut an additional $10M from the proposed budget. If that happens again the following draconian steps will be necessary*

o   Limited Elective Course Offerings (High School)

o   Limited Special Program Offerings (AP Classes, IB Program, Early College Studies, AgSci, etc.)

o   Eliminate positions (Dean of students, Department Heads, Athletic Directors)

o   Reduce security staff (K-12)

o   Reduce office support staff at schools and central office

o   Reduce school based (Assistant Principals) and central office administrators

o   Elimination of Instrumental Music (elementary)

o   Reduce Parent Facilitators (K-12)

o   Plus additional cuts

(*) - These proposals are mutually exclusive and have no impact on the discussions with the high school teachers regarding the number of courses they teach