Friday, March 29, 2019

Binge Watching Hulu In The University Classroom

                                                                     

Last week the IT Department of Purdue University had to block Hulu and Netflix from the campus internet.  Seems some "pop IT quizzes" found that 84 percent of Purdue students were binge watching Hulu and Netflix during class time.   Seems the only ones not surfing the net were the 4 percent of Asian foreign students....and the ten percent that were sound asleep.

Surprisingly Purdue had this very same problem last year at this time.  The Purdue IT folks thought they had solved the problem, only to find the channel surfers had found a way around the ban and were, this year, back to their old tricks.

And here we all were worried about those snowflakes being indoctrinated.  Looks like the only indoctrination was coming from the streaming services. Apparently not all of the 84 percent were tuned in to Hulu and Netflix.  Some were shopping on Amazon or the Apple Store.   

Looks like we now know why those campus street interviews are so silly.  You know...the ones where students are asked about the three branches of federal government, or the name of the guy filling the VP chair, or who was the first President, or which sides fought the Civil War.

Makes you wonder why those rich folks had to spend so much money getting their kids into college.  The kids could have just stayed home and achieved the same academic results.

Sad.


Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Lost in America: Some Surprising Numbers

Lost in America: Some Surprising Numbers:                                                                       I came across a USA Today poll on Friday morning that left me a ...

Some Surprising Numbers

                                                                     

I came across a USA Today poll on Friday morning that left me a bit stunned.  Seems that the Democratic party is far more socialist oriented than even I expected.  For example, if we can believe the poll numbers, fully 87 percent of Democrats believe we need to raise taxes.   I guess the top three percent of earners paying 85 percent of all taxes aren't enough for the Dems.  I was also surprised, given the nightmare that Obamacare has proven to be, that 81 percent of Democrats polled support Medicare For All, with its $30 trillion dollar costs.  Hell, even free university education is supported by 74 percent of Democrats.  If that is nightmarish, consider that college tuition has risen by something like ten times the rate of inflation of everything else in our economy.  Can you imagine the federal government shelling out $10 trillion a year to fund the snowflake generation, then adding another ten percent each year to cover escalating tuition rates?

There was a hint of sanity in last week's poll.  Democrats largely said they would be willing to compromise their socialist principles if a "middle of the roader" socialist was needed to defeat Trump.  Dems say ousting Trump triumphs over everything else.  However, Dems did say any candidate who fails to champion The Green New Deal would be a non starter.  Apparently Dems haven't been reading the cost of TGND nor the negative impact it would have on the American economy.

Those polled said they are excited about Crazy Joe Biden entering the race.  They say they school Joe on Post Graduate Level Socialism since he left office as VP.  Some 30 percent were less inclined to accept Joe as candidate.  They say he's too old school.

I could not help but reflect on the liberal darlings of the 60's; John Kennedy and his brother Bobby.  Both would be considered ultra right wing in today's political environment.

Another interesting, and scary note for Democrats, was the poll's numbers on those who believe the Democrats are not left wing enough for them.  Fully 11 percent of those polled prefer a third party with a platform that will champion a total transformation of the U.S. to a pure Socialist state.

I have no idea who the Democrats will choose to oppose Trump next year.  But in light of these poll numbers it would seem essential that any left of center candidate who might win the nomination would almost be forced to choose a VP candidate further Left than old fat Mao.

Monday, March 25, 2019

Lost in America: Weekend War Gaming

Lost in America: Weekend War Gaming:                                                                       Pelosi...to Schumer: "You heard?" Schumer: "Yeah&...

Weekend War Gaming

                                                                     

Pelosi...to Schumer: "You heard?"

Schumer: "Yeah" Mueller forwarded the report...no indictments, Trump not involved....(sighs)

Pelosi: "We're gonna have to think of something else".

Schumer: "Yeah, but what? We were gonna attack his tax returns but my contact inside the IRS said the guy paid something like a billion in taxes".

Pelosi: "Maybe Ivanka or Don Junior?"

Schumer: "They've been quiet as church mice lately. I'm not seeing anything promising there."

Pelosi: "What about his buddying up to North Korea?"

Schumer: "Don't think it will work. Folks seem to be happy that Fat Elvis is not firing off missiles for the last two years".

Pelosi: "Can we score any hits off the McCain attack?"

Schumer: "That may be dead too. Some columnist just posted the nasty stuff I said about McCain before he caved and killed Obamacare. Hell...our buddy, economist Paul Krugman just got outed for calling McCain a heartless heel just hours before he turned his thumb down. People are starting to see the hypocrisy of it. Let's face it, Nance, most folks know we never liked McCain. We only praised him because Trump didn't like him either. Hell, Arizona liked McCain even less than Trump!"

Pelosi: "How about we attack Trump with the Green New Deal?"

Schumer: Won't work. The EPA just ran the greenhouse numbers and found out if we banned both cars and cows we wouldn't put a dent in the greenhouse gas numbers. Seems our biggest problem is we've got too many people on the planet breathing these days".

Pelosi: "Well, hell, Chuck! There's got to be something we can attack him on! Did he make any McDonald's runs over the weekend?"

Schumer: "You may have something there. Let's subpoena his press secretary and make her testify under oath about last week's menu."

Pelosi: "Meantime, there's always that wall thing."

Schumer: "Speaking of walls, I was sorry to hear some maniac posted your address and issued an invite to your mansion a few weeks ago. Did you get many "undocumented visitors?"

Pelosi: "Yeah, had some trying to climb my back fence...asking for asylum, a free meal, and a place to sleep."

Schumer: "What did you do?"

Pelosi: "I called ICE and had their asses deported."

Schumer: "Sweet!"

Friday, March 22, 2019

Lost in America: Same-O, Same-O?

Lost in America: Same-O, Same-O?:                                                                       I was half amused today by an article sent to me from Linkdin, t...

Same-O, Same-O?

                                                                     

I was half amused today by an article sent to me from Linkdin, that little professional site where one can post his resume and score job opportunities.  Today the article dealt with reducing work place stress by eating the same exact lunch each day.  Seems that today's generations experience having to make too many choices as it is, especially at work.

So Linkdin advises that you tote that same old tuna, or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and cut down on all the stress of having to make a lunch choice.  Brilliant!  Pardon me but I can remember three years in Vietnam where my lunch choice came out of a C-ration box that contained food prepared by the lowest government bidder.  So I got to choose preformed Turkey patties, ham and lima beans, crackers made to withstand ten years of storage, and loaf cakes that were perfect disks to throw at two feet long rats.  Take it from me.  I would have loved to have a choice for lunch.  Stress was dodging punji sticks and AK-47 rounds whizzing past the nose.

I guess I'm just one of those insensitive old farts that can't empathize with today's stressed out generations.  

I am wondering though how the snowflakes handle having to make a choice between jelly flavors first thing in the morning.

                                                       


Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Lost in America: Out of Sight, Out of Mind....Until Your Taxes Come...

Lost in America: Out of Sight, Out of Mind....Until Your Taxes Come...:                                                                           Last fall California passed legislation authorizing a $2 bil...

Out of Sight, Out of Mind....Until Your Taxes Come Due

                                                                         

Last fall California passed legislation authorizing a $2 billion dollar bond loan to build housing for that state's homeless, most of them illegal immigrants.  Alas, that is proving not enough.  Even as California dusts off the welcome mat for more Mexicans, Hondurans and Guatamalans the newly elected Governor, Gavin Newsom. has issued dictates to California cities, forcing them to build more Section 8 housing, or face having all state funding withdrawn from those municipalities.

Our Socialist Sacramento solons seem not to have learned from their two decades of socialist governing.  Like bees to honey, California's generous social safety net programs are drawing more and more folks to the golden state.  It is now possible for illegals to get a driver's license, and with simply a postal mailbox, sign up for state benefits.  Unfortunately, millions are doing just that; chalking up $2 or $3 or $4 thousand dollars in benefits, while living in a tent on the street, or even sleeping on the sidewalks on discarded mattresses.  And the sidewalk dwellers either send that government money home to their families, or spend it on drugs and alcohol, then flood the homeless shelters and soup kitchen for shelter and sustenance.

Los Angeles, the biggest magnet for illegal aliens, is the homeless capitol of America.  And, in addition to state funds channelled to Los Angeles, that city's municipal budget for 2018-2019 included $430 million dollars to get the homeless off the streets...that entire $430 million borrowed money that will have to be paid back eventually by taxpayers.  Los Angeles has been borrowing for years, trying to get the homeless off the sidewalks.....all to no avail.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California now owns 30 percent of America's homeless population.  And with those numbers the state leads all other states in outbreaks of diseases that were once eradicated from the American populace.  The latest health issue involves outbreaks of typhus, but even the once rare diseases are making a comeback; to include leprosy.

The biggest champions of illegal immigration are Silicon Valley billionaires and Hollywood elites, all ensconced in their gated communities.  And Sacramento Democrats who run the show, working hard trying to make a Socialist state work.  Out of sight, out of mind are the millions of human dregs, thriving on the lotus blossoms of alcohol and drugs, or the forged paper crowds, and all those looking for an easy ride through life.

Sad.  Damned Sad.


Monday, March 18, 2019

Lost in America: "If You Can't Say Something Nice........"

Lost in America: "If You Can't Say Something Nice........":                                                                         "If You Can't Say Something Nice......." My m...

"If You Can't Say Something Nice........"

                                                                       

"If You Can't Say Something Nice......."
My mama used to say if you can't say something nice then you shouldn't say anything at all. I've never really bought into that old saw but, for the last three days my fingers have been frozen at the typewriter keys.....stilled by a depression brought on by the world's most recent ills.
Mass killings in Christchurch, Indecisive Brits and their "Brexit", cowardly Republicans.....and the corrupt rich, buying their children an advantage over the peasantry. Just too much to tackle when your heart is breaking over the societal collapse.
There is always a time in one's life when they are faced with moral choices. From my own experience it comes when you are tempted to lie, or to steal, to be unfaithful, to be disloyal, to take the easy way out. And if you choose wrong you make it so much easier to choose wrong when the next choices are presented to you.
I've always tried make the right choices. Some of my reluctance to stray from the path comes from fear of retribution....from my Creator, or from fear that those I love will think less of me. I haven't always made the right choices....but I try. And I believe it is those tries that rescue us from a total devastation of the soul.
So, in these last few days, in an incapacitated state, I have found no voice to express my sorrow at the corrupt and corrupted all about me. I simply have no answers for the redemption of folks who consistently ignore their moral consciences for the temporary expediency of getting ahead at any cost....the biggest being the stains on the soul.
But that staining is a viral thing. It touches us all in some form....either through fear of being outed for our own sins, or in revulsion that folks can be so utterly sick. Whether it's the CEO of Wells Fargo getting a $2 million dollar annual bonus as head of his scandalous bank, or movie stars and company executives, rich beyond imagination, trying to buy an advantage for their own children. And some of them, both parent and child, gloated about gaming the system, even as God had blessed them with great wealth and the means to live a productive and healthy life.
At this very moment I am sitting here at my desk, looking out at a little dog as he lounges lazily under a spring sun, and I admire him so much more than I do these sick, silk-clad souls whose images flood the front page of the morning paper. The little fella is just a dog. Present him with a T-bone steak, or a single bite of hamburg and he's equally grateful. He lusts only for what I'm willing to offer....and loves me freely even when I can offer him nothing at all.
Oh, but these humans have me metaphorically cowering in the fetal position, ashamed of my species. The depths that we humans can explore are so soul-sickening they strike us dumb with grief.
I'm sorry, Mama. Ain't got much good to say today....so I'll shut up now and wait for a White Hat to come riding over the horizon. God knows we need one about now.
Sigh.

Friday, March 15, 2019

"Confessions Of A....................."

                                                                       

I can't tell you how many times, during the eight year life of this blog, I've been solicited to write material for other web sites.  The internet is a hungry beast, constantly foraging for something new and interesting to fill the void of blog and news site alike.

Alas, so much of what we see on the internet is either some biased form of the news, or celebrity gossip, or just pure silliness.  

Still there are sometimes intriguing little tidbits that get my attention.  Of late I've been taking pleasure in reading those "Confessions of A ....................", fill in the blank....stewardess, hotel maid, window washer, public restroom attendant, etc.  Those articles provide a bit of insight into the folks who present one face for the public, another, quite different in private.

I can only imagine what hotel maids find when they go in the next morning to clean up the refuse of folks given free rein of a motel or hotel room for the night.  Having stumbled into a few homes in my time I am always a bit stunned by the less than acceptable sanitary standards that I might have.  Or I might feel claustrophobic when entering a home where folks think any available space not filled with furniture is a disgrace.  More than once I've pretended to drink from a coffee cup that had traces of lipstick on the rim, or forego a cookie that's being served on a platter with remnants of last week's meatloaf stuck just below the rim.

Has to be worse for room maids.  They have to sweep up french fries from the rug, used sanitary gloves to pluck used condoms or sanitary napkins from a waste basket, empty kleenex from a cold sufferer, carefully avoid semen deposits as they change the sheets, pluck pubic hairs from the shower drain, and a thousand other distasteful tasks.

I have read confessions of a window washer and flight attendants.  After reading about those misadventures I kind of wonder how folks who are so frequently mixing with the public manage to have a favorable view of their fellow man.  Cops have it the worst.  Day in and day out they see the worst of human behavior.  And in dealing with that behavior become the subjects of scorn if a perp is not treated with the utmost of respect.  I couldn't do it......nor could I teach history in a high school class.  I'm absolutely sure I would kill one of those kids before the term was over.

I guess I could probably write "Confessions Of A Career Military Grunt".  Except few of mine would make the cut for Reader's Digest's "Humor In Uniform".  Most of the humor in the military was pretty raw.  But I've also seen heroism, and cowardice, and heartache, and boredom, as well as some of the most bizarre behavior a grunt is capable of.


Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Lost in America: Why Student Loan Stupidity IS Your Business

Lost in America: Why Student Loan Stupidity IS Your Business:                                                                       An 18 year old kid shows up on his college campus.  He's a l...

Why Student Loan Stupidity IS Your Business

                                                                     

An 18 year old kid shows up on his college campus.  He's a little dazed, like a deer in the headlights.  At the student finance office he signs his name for $50,000 in student loans.  The check arrives and he pays his inflated tuition, buys his books, then heads out to Pot Common and rents an apartment.  Shelter assured, he goes out and buys a car, hits the beer bars on Friday nights and, through the week, orders pizza and hot wings in.

By the time the kid graduates he's run up $100,000 dollars of student debt.  If his degree is in Ethnic Studies And Associated White Guilt he'll find it hard to get a job.  If he has a marketable degree he'll spend the next ten years paying off his student loan. 

Why should we care?  Because the current $1.8 trillion in student loan debt puts a damper on the larger economy.  The "unlucky stiffs" are likely candidates for food stamps and Section 8 housing and a welfare check.  The "lucky ones" are drowning in so much student loan debt they can't participate in the economy.  Their debt is such that they can't buy a new car, nor purchase a home.   Economists say that the $1.8 trillion in student loan debt probably lowers the Gross National Product by a full one percent.  It is an anchor around the neck of our economy and a siphon straw that strains the social safety net.    

As silly as our society can be,  perhaps giving a financially ignorant 18 year old such power to ruin his life is the silliest.  And, in addition to ruining his own life, that free flow of student loan money has contributed to soaring tuition costs....no damper installed to keep tuition rates reasonable....making it almost impossible for the student trying to work his way through college without incurring massive debt.

Government bureaucrats are always the last to do anything about the problem.  Thankfully though, 12 states now require high school seniors be given a financial management class in their last year of high school.  Arizona is only now joining  those who are at least trying to enlighten those kids who have never even owned a credit card before college.  Our Senate Bill 1184 is working its way through the sausage-making and hopefully will require tutorship on the dangers of running up student loan debt.  Perhaps they can teach these kids that those student loan checks are not monopoly money and the banker is gonna be on their ass about ten minutes after they are handed their diploma.

Monday, March 11, 2019

Why I'm Registering Democrat...And Why You Should Too

                                                                         

Why I'm voting Democrat in next year's primaries, and why you should too.

I am already gearing up to change my party registration here in Arizona.......from Independent to Democrat. Because Arizona does not have open primaries, and because Independents must choose one of the two major parties to vote in the primaries, I'm going with the Democrats.

Here's my reasoning. No one of any consequence is going to run against Trump, so my vote is wasted if I cast a primary ballot for him. And if I want a Republican in the White House in 2021 I've got to participate in choosing the most wild-eyed, socialist on the Democratic primary ballot. Though I wish it was that dimwit Alexandria Ocasio-Ortiz, I'll probably have to settle for Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, or Corey Booker. Those Democratic front runners all support the economic crippling Green New Deal, Medicare For All, Free Government paid college tuition, forgiving $2 trillion dollars in student loan debt, and a huge amnesty program for our 30 million plus illegal central and south americans.

The more radical the candidate, the better chance the Republicans have of holding the Presidency and winning back control of the House. Then, when the general election comes around there is no way America's conservative and independent voters will buy into an additional $30 trillion dollars in national debt...........the costs the Democratic platform adds to our already $22 trillion in national debt.

Whether my friends in California will vote Democrat in the primaries with their "top 2" options is up to them. But they would be wise to go for the most radical Democrat as well. Whether your primary is open or closed, you'd all do well to vote in the craziest guy or gal on the Democratic block. 

Then, as soon as the primaries are over, you revert to your own party affiliation and sit back and watch the November, 2020 fun.

This tactic is not as bizarre as you might think. Many Democrats employed this strategy in previous primary elections. Time to turn the tables on them and give one of those wild-eyed socialists your vote, people!

Friday, March 8, 2019

Lost in America: Killing The Golden Goose

Lost in America: Killing The Golden Goose:                                                                 Spring Training is now well underway here in Arizona.  One can always ...

Killing The Golden Goose

                                                               

Spring Training is now well underway here in Arizona.  One can always tell.  The streets within five miles of one of the 13 baseball stadiums are clogged with baseball snowbirds, as are the bars and restaurants that cater to them.  Were it not for the non baseball and baseball snowbirds Arizona's economy would not be as robust as it is.  Still, it seems that the ones making the most money are the baseball clubs.  Every one of these major league teams have cajoled a community to build them a grand spring training facility.  Our cities fold and do it because they believe those baseball snow birds make the cash registers ring.....at retail stores and restaurants and sports bars.  However an ominous note is creeping into spring baseball, and it's called baseball corporate greed.  

Just today I heard that the average spring training ticket now costs $41.25 cents.  Depending on the club, and where your seat is, that number can be lower or higher.  And it doesn't take into account the money spent on stadium concessions...profits also going to the various clubs.  To put that $41.25 number into perspective, I can buy a ticket to my Major League Arizona Diamondbacks games during the regular season for $25 dollars.  And they throw in a free hot dog, coke and a bag of peanuts up there in the nose bleed seats.  

So I can see a time in the future when the baseball snowbirds just quit coming.  And why should they?  They are being gouged on hotel room rates and a temporary doubling of apartment rentals during that two month period of "small baseball".

If those snowbirds were smart they would hustle out here right after the World Series.  That's when Arizona hosts Arizona Fall Baseball.  Those Fall League teams are flush with baseball's most promising prospects.....a league that was formed to groom their best for next year's major league season.  Oh, yeah, the ticket prices to the Fall League are far more affordable.

Two million spring training fans show up every year.  But I can see a time when the greedy baseball executives kill the golden goose.  And that will not make these spring training cities happy.  Nor the bars and restaurants.  

When I moved to Arizona fifteen years ago the average spring training ticket was less than $15 bucks.  And at many stadiums you could cop a squat on the grass and watch the game for three or four bucks.  Times change.  Greed breeds greed.

Sad.  Damned Sad.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Lost in America: Old King Coal "CAN" Be A Merry Old Soul

Lost in America: Old King Coal "CAN" Be A Merry Old Soul:                                                                   I've always been fascinated by new technologies.  One reason per...

Old King Coal "CAN" Be A Merry Old Soul

                                                                 

I've always been fascinated by new technologies.  One reason perhaps is because America always seems to save her ass at the very last moment by some innovative technology that restores us to world economic dominance.  If you're over 50 you might remember the 80's when everyone thought the Japanese, with their Sony VCRs and Toyotas, would soon take over world leadership.  They almost succeeded.  But then came along America's computer revolution and the 90's found our hardware and software in wide demand around the world.   Then, as we turned to a new century, it was China that is supposed to clean our technological clock.

Except just the other day I was reading about novel new American medical discoveries.  Then, this past week, I began to read about carbon capture technology.  And, yes, America is leading the way on what almost surely will save the planet.

I say that because the technology is already here.  And is now being deployed in a very small way.  Seems that American eggheads have found a way to suck CO2 out of the air, scrub the carbon from it, then inject it back into whence it came to begin with.....either in earth's substrata or far below the ocean floor.   The first, most practical application involve putting these scrubbers and sub strata injectors on faculties already producing the most carbon.  For example, a coal-fired energy plant can, with the employment of these scrubbers, make coal as clean as wind or solar...and at a much reduced energy cost.  CO2 scrubbers can be installed at large manufacturing facilities, like auto and steel factories, resulting in zero carbon emissions.
                                                                 
Eventually these CO2 wizards plan to put scrubbers airborne.  They have devised a way to change the temperature of CO2 atmospheric clouds, converting them to a solid, then sucking them through airborne scrubbers, to be deposited again far below the earth's surface.

Scientists employing this technology say that reducing our energy consumption will do nothing to solve our CO2 problem, so they are tackling it head on.  

Pipe dream?  Well you may be interested to know that last year Congress passed a bi-partisan bill that authorizes the federal government to pay $35 dollars per ton of CO2 to any company willing to build these scrubbers and send that CO2 to below ground oil or gas caverns.  And they will pay $50 dollars per ton if they inject the CO2 back into the sub strata.  The feds are providing the seed money for what is expected to eventually be a private enterprise effort.  Thus, it is very likely that you're going to see Exxon and Shell Oil sinking CO2 tubes in parallel with their oil-drilling operations.   You might ask if there's been any corporate enthusiasm for the project.  Well, the IRS has already produced an IRS credit called Q45 and companies are lining up for a very generous investment tax credit!

God Bless American know how.  If the damned Chinese don't steal the technology we Americans might just be on the cusp of creating a cleaner world....and getting rich in the process.  Oh, and by the way, Old King Coal might prove to be a valuable and "green" cheap energy source once again.

You're welcome.


Monday, March 4, 2019

Oh, Those Generous Democrats!

                                                                         

Okay, people! Time to give a nod to the Democratic controlled House of Representatives! They just introduced a Medicare For All bill this morning (Wednesday, 27 February) that grants free Medicare For All...no premiums to pay and the package includes free medical care, vision, dental and abortions.

The bill was co-sponsored by 100 Democrats who claim healthcare is a right....and should be free.

Though the Office of Management and Budget has not costed out the program, independent auditors say the bill will cost taxpayers $3.3 trillion dollars per year.

Of course the hang up here is that, for all of 2018 the government took in only $3.1 trillion in revenue. So if we were to fund Medicare for All there will be zero money left for defense, social security, education, welfare, food stamps, Section 8 housing, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development and a hundred other programs and departments funded by the federal government.

The Democrats say "no sweat". We can tax the rich. Except the OMB already ran the numbers on that. If we taxed every billionaire in the nation at 100 percent of his income it would cover only six months of current spending.......and certainly wouldn't cover an added $3.3 trillion to pay for Medicare For All.

"No Matter", say the Democrats, "the federal government has a credit card that makes the American Express Black Card look like peasant fodder." "Put it on our bill and add another $33 trillion to the current $22 trillion of national debt".

Sigh.

Friday, March 1, 2019

Lost in America: Ah, The Vagaries Of A Biased Press

Lost in America: Ah, The Vagaries Of A Biased Press:                                                                       Well, if you read yesterday's morning headlines you proba...

Ah, The Vagaries Of A Biased Press

                                                                     

Well, if you read yesterday's morning headlines you probably saw at least a dozen news agencies trumping the headline "U.S.-North Korea Talks Collapse". 
Rather interesting. How is it that not coming to further agreements comes to be regarded as "collapse". Neither Trump nor his Secretary of State expected any more than a continuation of last year's meeting...each leader probing for signs of weakness...each leader assessing future possibilities. 
So was it a mistake for Trump to meet with Kim? Well, let's look at it through the prism of recent history. For more than 30 years now Kim, or his father, played American Presidents like a drum. As North Koreans starved one or another of the Kims would sweet talk Clinton, or Bush, then later Obama, to secure a few shipments of wheat and medical aid. As soon as the booty arrived the Kims would go back on a rampage.
In particular Obama, who always professed that he's the smartest guy in the room, failed massively in trying to get Fat Elvis to stop firing missiles into the Sea of Japan like a kid on the 4th of July. 
But Trump, after only one year in office, got Kim to ground his missile program...and maybe massacre a few less of his own people. The Trump Administration also managed to spark the first concrete talks between North Korea and it's democratic sister to the south. Clinton couldn't do it. Nor could Bush. Nor Barack Hussein, with all his smarts and Ivy League bred diplomats.
Then Trump comes along and, despite his inarticulate stumbles, gets Kim to play nice for over a year now.
But don't take my word for it. Just yesterday I was listening to an NPR host interview a foreign studies scholar from Stanford University's School of International Studies. Despite the NPR host's efforts to get the Stanford professor to diss Trump, he was praised instead. Seems that the diplomatic community has a color code they use to assess the status of relationships between the U.S. and other countries. They use the color green to say relations are good or greatly improving, orange to signify caution, red to indicate we're in the shits. The good professor said that, for the last ten years North Korea's color chart has been solid red. That is, until last year when certain aspects of our relations with Kim turned green. The professor said that getting Fat Elvis to refrain from firing missiles was huge. The professor also said Fat Elvis has stopped exporting nuclear technology to the world's bad guys.

                                                                              
To put all this in perspective, keep in mind that Trump is receiving diplomatic praise from folks who hail from a hot bed of liberalism!
So was the liberal mainstream media truthful when they hawked "Talks Collapse" in a 1 inch banner atop their mastheads? Of course not. They must smear this President in order to breathe.
Sad. Damned Sad.