Saturday, June 23, 2018

Brothers Reunited

Julius Heinrich Otto "Henry" Pieper and Ludwig Julius Wilhelm "Louie" Pieper, two 19-year-olds from Esmond, South Dakota, will rest in peace side-by-side by day's end on Tuesday at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France, 74 years after their deaths on June 19, 1944.

The story of how the twins died and were being reunited reflects the daily courage of troops on a mission to save the world from a Nazi conquest, and the tenacity of today's living to ensure that no soldier goes unaccounted for.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/06/19/twin-brothers-reunited-74-years-after-wwii-death-at-normandy.html

97 comments:

Lawyerliz said...

Little kids aren't dead yet.

Rob Dawg said...

Lot's of kids have died because their parents took them on dangerous journeys after refusing to stand and fight.

Lawyerliz said...

Sen those guns to Honduras!

Lawyerliz said...

The actor who plays Father Brown played Mr Weasley in Harry Potter.

Lawyerliz said...

How's the kitchen? Nearly done? Contractor I had hopes for hasn't called.

Lawyerliz said...

Good morning everybody.
We really need some boards in the back replaced. They are leaking a little. Sun doesnt get to that side of the house to burn off the mold.

Cinco-X said...

Nothing Liz... Rainy day here, and quite cool. Expecting a heat wave at the end of the week

LBD said...

Good Morning!

Cool again today with T-storms.

Doesn't make sense to take all immigrants for political purposes as it only takes the pressure of the controllers/disruptors of a country. Cuba policy for years made no sense except to support Castro.

dilbert dogbert said...

Liz, You asked about josap and the MS13 crisis actor children at the border. She doesn't cotton to the idea of separating children from parents.
Was warm at the lake, 80's. The cabin is ready for the summer season. If you get out this way come for a visit.

Lawyerliz said...

True, but Miami is better for it. Cubans are great.

Lawyerliz said...

I love that, but doubt I'll get out there

Lawyerliz said...

UU speaker talked about astrology. Aaurrrghhh.

Rob Dawg said...

The appliances get hooked up Wednesday!

Lawyerliz said...

Yayy!

LBD said...

Good Morning

Gentle rain for the day again. 3/4" over night.

Cooking with Gas?

Lawyerliz said...

Morning. I don't have gas.

Lawyerliz said...

I do have another turtle hole, under a fragile bush.

LBD said...

Turtles about to drown here 1 1/2" rain in the last 24hrs.

America becomes more divided everyday. EU unraveling, what to do?

Lawyerliz said...

Wait. Something interesting will happen.

LBD said...

Good Morning!

Rain over now, hot and humid for a few days. Triple digits Thursday!

Harley moving out of the US. LOL! They already have, India a few years ago and already closed the KC plant. Looks more like they are conveniently using T for an excuse. The Boomers are dying and the young arn't buying the life style.

New Chevy Blazed is to be made in Mexico. How about a tariff on Mexico till they stop the migration problem.

Lawyerliz said...

Son had a Harley for a while. Badly made, here. He hated it after a while.

Lawyerliz said...

Lots of jobs in Mexico, means less immigration here.

LBD said...

Harleys are not about performance and quality. They are antique odd V that sounds off beat and shake themselves to death. It's a life style of rebellion and wearing costumes.

Lots of jobs for Mexicans but not the rest of Central/South Americans. Then there is the pollution dumped in the sea with lax if any environmental laws, per an ICE agent on the tube.

How many Cubans immigrate to the US compared to the rest of the Americas?

Lawyerliz said...

And there has been less immigration over the last couple of years.

Lawyerliz said...

All of them. They are the best most successful generation of immigrants ever, including you and my ancestors, and the Germans and the Jews. Up to American average in HALF A GENERATION. Nobody talks mean about Cubans like you guys do about Mexicans. There will be a point when property can be bought by Americans, when Cuban- Americans will buy must of Cuba. Some of them still have deeds

Firemane said...

Well, the US has been a prime immigrant destination since the 1800s. The global view of the US for more than a century was that America was "the land of opportunity". The whole point was that we WOULD take anyone who simply wanted that - an opportunity to build a life.

The transcontinental railroad was built with immigrant labor. Large portions of NYC were built with immigrant labor. We've had various historical surges of immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Scandinavia, China, Japan, Viet Nam, etc., etc., etc. The defining impetus from most of those surges was that those countries were in the midst of economic or political upheaval.

And the common response to each of those surges was a backlash of anti-immigrant sentiment from "real Americans" (many who were maybe 2 or 3 generations from having been immigrants themselves). And in each and every case, the immigrants eventually were "melted" into the pot.

From 1900 - 1915, the US added 15 million immigrants (1 million a year), which is almost exactly how many we have added in the past 15 years, though our overall population base is about 4 times the size.


LBD said...

Many BIG differences in past immigration. 1. We did not have a welfare system. 2. We needed laborers not so much today. 3. Ellis island and other practices filtered who came in to the country unlike today's illegal system. 4. Immigrants where not the drug mules of today. 5. NAFTA promised building Mexico's economy and would stop the flow and in the long run all we did is GIVE our industries to Mexico. 6. Tech and robotics will require even less workers SOON! 7. we have had mass deportations like after the WWII ship builders in San Diego. I am for reasonable immigration and that has been the growing problem for 40-50 years. I am a Charter member of the immigration thing possibly the Mayflower era. Countries belong to the winner of wars. Should we all go back to our father lands? I bet they wouldn't take us or allow dual citizenship. So what is the value of being an American anymore?

Lawyerliz said...

Yep.

Lawyerliz said...

Some of my ancestors went back 6 generations. I'M 3rd generation German. Know nothing about my father except some made him 4th generation. At least. I suspect both the very rich and the very poor ones were at least 10th. So what?

Lawyerliz said...

Westerners dont like Mexicans. I think its because we basically stole the land from them and not so long ago. Also, they have more Indian ancestry, and didn't die off so obligingly as the eastern tribes. In my younth, indians were still mostly to be despised.

Lawyerliz said...

The hub also had very rich and very poor ancestors. Both sets of poor ones were Appalachians or close. I think far Western Maryland counts. Again, so what?

LBD said...

So back to my everyone has a right to go back to were they came from and claim the land as theirs. Then the "native Indians" go back over the Bering straights to Asia? Depending what you believe we all go back to Africa? The Spaniards stole the South West not the Mexicans. We conquered Mexico and gave most of it back. It was easy as there was no real Mexican population to defends it. Texas fight for independence from Mexico population count and immigration policy tells a lot. As I understand it Mexico is still controlled by the Castilian Spanish and not the Aztec. My point is not who they are but how we have destroyed the country and possibly the world order with illegal immigration. I don't dislike Mexican, I dislike law breakers and idiot politicians, 50 years now.

Lawyerliz said...

Indians cant do anything? Castillians built the pyramid of the sun?

Firemane said...

1. We did not have a welfare system.

This is often the #1 talking point. Thing is, it's an utterly false narrative. The vast majority of welfare is NOT available to illegal immigrants. Moreover, we have the WORST welfare system of the top 30 developed countries in the world. And, as I noted, as a population rate, we're talking 1/4 what it was back during Ellis Island days - and NOBODY was heading to the US in 1910 because of Welfare.

2. We needed laborers not so much today. Tell that to the farmers in Eastern NC. Despite double digit unemployment in many farm counties, they are FORCED to hire migrant workers (some legal, some not), to get their crops in. I know, because I grew up working in the tobacco fields - and believe me, the farmers I worked for would LOOOOVE to be able to find low wage American workers - and they simply do not exist. My response to the notion of "the lazy immigrant" is that it is the LAZY AMERICANS that are the problem.

3. Ellis island and other practices filtered who came in to the country unlike today's illegal system.

Agreed. And we processed a million a year with no computers, on-line translators, or high tech gear. So, you'd think with all the various technological gains we've had, it wouldn't be so hard to do. After all, we process 75 million tourists a year from other countries.

4. Immigrants were not the drug mules of today.

I think you're confusing tourists with immigrants. As noted above, we process 75 million tourists per year.

5. NAFTA promised building Mexico's economy and would stop the flow and in the long run all we did is GIVE our industries to Mexico.

We're currently sitting at 3.8% U3. And the #1 complaint from businesses this instant is difficulty in finding qualified workers. Exactly what industries did we give away that crippled us so badly?

6. Tech and robotics will require even less workers SOON!

Yeah, Japan is two decades ahead of us in that regard. Exactly what has their economy been like the past two decades again? Because, guess what? Robots don't buy movie tickets or get hair cuts.

Lawyerliz said...

Errrr, dead???

In which industries did they take advantage and how? Confused with China?

LBD said...

If you look at cars and trucks your lucky to find 60% of the parts are American made. Every car manufacture that sells in the US has built factories in Mexico since NAFTA. Then there are appliances like washers and dryers. Electronics, textiles, The list goes on. Yes we have a lazy uneducated part of society than need jobs assembling light bulbs. They don't show up as employable.

Japans economy has problems beyond robotics.

Illegals get welfare benefits. It's an easy scam with phooney ID and seriously willing social workers. Then there is medical and education.

Farmers not need more laborers but need to step in to the existing world of robotics. You name it and there is probably a machine to do it.


Drug mules are an easy target take the kids and then when you successfully deliver they will send them.

I guess being around them at ground level you get a better prospective. IMO.

LBD said...

I have to chuckle a little. AMC the biggest movie theater biz in the US belongs to a China businessman. A lot of Detroit parts vendors have been bought by The Chinese as well. Big mess ahead.

TJandTheBear said...

Low unemployment is a total fiction given the shift away from a full-time economy. The oft-quoted "lack of qualified workers" line always leaves out the unspoken "... at what I am willing to pay them." Those jobs advertised don't exist at a true market-clearing rate.

Same goes for farm labor. If this were a truly free-market economy then wages would rise enough to entice workers of any stripe, but that ain't happenin'.

Migrant labor, whether on tobacco farms or server farms, only serves to undercut market forces. Automation will end that struggle regardlesss.

LBD said...

Good Morning!

Heat wave picks up today mid 90's. Maybe the solar will catch up heating the pool, Rain water is very cold.

Firemane said...

TJ,

Interesting side point.

"... at what I'm willing to pay ..." vs.
"... at what I'm willing to take ..."

I read a story about an Alabama farmer with crops rotting in the field, basically doubling his wage from minimum to $15/hour after ICE wiped out his work force. He got two takers, (city folk), who both quit after 1/2 day.

It's apocryphal, but rural areas don't have wide populations. Even a 'high' unemployment rate can be a small # of actual people.

Individual farmers don't set the price for their crops. The Alabama farmer had $100k of tomatoes needing picking. You break that down to man hours and there is a point where a rate above "X" he's losing more money by harvesting and selling than by letting them rot.

IMO, much of the existing animus viewed as Left vs. Right is actually more Urban vs. Rural, because the economic realities of the two are quite different, but the population and money are concentrated urban.

LBD said...

Farmers started this whole mess so I really find it hard to care. They had a nice working program, the Brasero Program to allow seasonal stoop labor for harvest and stopped it in 1964. Illegals grew and shifted to other more dependable non seasonal jobs bringing their families. That is where a lot went wrong. Haven't see or heard of bringing it back either. Strange as it would serve them well. IMO.

Found this on YouTube, reminds me of when I picked cantaloupes in 100f Colinga at the illegal age of 14.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrt9k-GJEMA

Lawyerliz said...

You could pay me 100$ an hour and I would want to do that. If city type want to do it only 4 hours a day, well, see if you hire 2ce as many.

Lawyerliz said...

Wouldnot, unless my family was starving.

Lawyerliz said...

And guys, rejoice. I sold my condo in less than a day!
Haha, I shouldda asked more.

Firemane said...

Bracero was no panacea. It had its problems (and plusses).

But, when I was a kid, the majority of farm workers were kids, because they were the only large supply of summertime labor. But, that was before 'year round' school was implemented.

Today, the H1A visa program does what Bracero did, but is far more restrictive. The problem here is that you end up with a mix of LEGAL immigrant workers, plus illegal immigrant workers - and in the current reality, the immigration crackdown makes little effort to distinguish between the two.

The Alabama story I mentioned noted that as a result of the crackdown on the illegal immigrants in that particular county, the LEGAL immigrants fled the area as well, looking for other migrant worker jobs in areas where immigration enforcement zealots weren't out in force.

The reality is multiple layers of complexity with change "X" having unintended consequences. Kids start getting jobs in fast food restaurants and theme parks and other less strenuous summertime activities, lowering # of available cheap labor for farmers.

H1A quotas aren't raised to compensate, so farmers end up using a mix of legal and illegal labor, where most of the illegals would RATHER be legal. Then, because of the rise in illegal seasonal workers, the nationalists start viewing every farm worker as illegal and you get this BS rhetoric about them "stealing" jobs - when in fact, immigrants are the only ones willing and able to do the work.

Farm work is (mostly) 3 months out of the year. How you gonna pay bills the other 9 months? Unless the farmers quadruple their wages, NOBODY in America is going that route. The kids who want work, flock to the beaches and theme parks and fast food and movie theatres.

Meanwhile, you've got thousands of urban poor who cannot get work, but live way too far away to be an option.

The migrants can actually take the jobs BECAUSE the wages are 4 times what they can make at home.

So, the choice is raise farm wages to $30/hour (or more), or continue to lean on the H1A visa program as heavily as possible - and fill in the rest with illegals. But, America isn't going to pay $5 for a can of peas, and unless they do, the farmer's cannot afford to pay $30/hr wages.



LBD said...

I am sure any government program is faulty. They are written by inexperienced business people and my favorite group of reptiles, lobbyist. Then those who implement it? How ever in concept it was the right way to go and over the years refining it should have been done and not open the flood gates to today's problems. Never met a rich farm but many very wealthy ones. Like any business those who understand it make good money, others don't and should be flush out. Those in question here with labor issues should like any business diversify or move away from labor intensive crops. I have lived through a sever labor shortage and the government could have care less. There is to much government support in farming. IMO.

Poor can't get to the fields? How did the Okies deal with the dust bowl. People are lazy when given the chance, you know those not counted in the work force. Grapes of Wrath was one of the best American movies ever and should be watched at the start of every HS year. Bracero Farm laborers lived in the bushes and saved their money. Kali was building migrant housing to deal with the problem when I left.

Kids generally have been pushed out of part time jobs and replaced with imported adult workers. Started big in Kali in the 70's and it is growing stronger here in flyover.

Welcome to America 2.0 Did you mow your lawn today?

TJandTheBear said...

Yep, farming itself is so far beyond free markets it's laughable, given all the subsidies, tariffs and trade protections. No way to determine true supply & demand with all the politicians in the middle, therefore no way for imbalances to resolve themselves via market cost/price adjustments.

Lawyerliz said...

Our American lawn guy mowed it and we pay decently.

Lawyerliz said...

Too much to eat is better than too little.

Lawyerliz said...

Mormons think you should keep one or 2 years of food stored for your family. It's one thing I do agree with them. You prolly need a bunch of ammo in that case!

dilbert dogbert said...

Bee'uns there was talk about peas upthread I thought I would share a memory with you'uns.
Back in the last century, I was sailing the boat up in Washington state. Skagit county. They raise a lot of peas up there. Not sure just what I was doing but traveling at night and wondering what those lights in the fields were. They were pea harvesting machines!!! Seems the farmers pick the time to harvest depending on the sugar level in the peas. If that happens at night that is when they harvest.
Same down here in the Sack O Tomatoes area. Machine harvesting.

dilbert dogbert said...

Damn! I gotta share with you all's my favorite road in Washington: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pull+And+Be+Damned+Rd,+La+Conner,+WA+98257/@48.3840211,-122.5407159,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x5485645a3b0e2a0b:0xe284248ec0159b43!8m2!3d48.3840211!4d-122.5319612?hl=en

Lawyerliz said...

Good morning. Dreamed bbn i was was at the beach with a bunch of people trying to get stoned. Didn't work for me.

LBD said...

Good Morning!

Hot again today but no triple digit.

Lawn guy is Thursday, Oh that's today and he is an American.

Not surprised to find a few tomato picking machines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG1P65LMjCQ

Firemane said...

Well, the nudge down for Q1 GDP to 2.0 (from previous 2.2 estimate) is about the first less than stellar economic news in a month or two.

Atlanta's GDP Now latest is 4.5 for Q2.

I've been spending some time researching historical population trends, retirement trends and life expectancy, etc., to try and get a feel for what's on the horizon for the labor pool.

My conclusion: It ain't pretty for the next decade.

From 1948-1951, we had ~ 3.6M births. In 1952 (66 years ago), a spike in births followed that climbed steadily to 4.3 (1957), where it stayed through 1962. That's 10 years of "hitting retirement age" INCREASE for the next 5 years, followed by a 5 year peak.

For the past 3 years the number most oft quoted for retirement is 10k per day (roughly 3.6M a year). Luckily births doesn't include immigrants, so it's not a complete wash. But, immigration rates were much lower in the 50s.

The job crash in 2008/2009 had a significant pull-forward effect on retirement, so it muddied any trendlines that might have otherwise been noticeable. But, that is now behind us.

Ahead: Steadily increasing rates of retirees per year for the next decade. When we shift back and look at births from 20 years ago we were just reaching 4M a year, which nudged up to a peak of about 4.3M for a single year. So, the good news is we will "almost" replacing the coming surge in retirees with a new workers spike.

The bad news is that any increase in labor force will come SOLELY from immigrants (legal or not). Basically, we're pretty much where Japan was in the '90s demographically - and the Japanese GDP today is pretty much exactly where it was back then. Even as they turn to robotics to make up for the stagnant (and now dropping), labor force, robots cannot and will not replace consumers.

My expectation for the next couple of decades?

1) If labor force is not growing, GDP goes stagnant.
2) Demographics will render Unemployment Rate meaningless, as we will have a stagnant economy AND full employment.
3) INCREASING Immigrants is only real route to continued economic growth.
4) Without an increase in domestic consumers, we will become more reliant on exports to maintain economic growth, (assuming robotics and AI can continue expanding production ... which is a little iffy in an economy that is more than 80% service based).

So, if I'm drawing blue prints for sustained economic success, the two things I would least want to do: Reduce immigration and piss off trade partners. Personally, I'm very happy to be in an industry where I'm really likely to have continued value for another decade, and also happy I didn't have any kids.



LBD said...

The future will bring tech and robotics to replace people, making the labor force less dependent. The need for imported labor is not necessarily a given nor how much. There will be a change in taxation to production along with current taxation of labor to fulfill the financial requirements like SS and Medicare. Importing more poverty is temporary gain for the rich. No wonder the red and blues never fix any of it but shove policies like catch and release with false promise of fixing it.

Next!

Lawyerliz said...

Did we hve a 1 day shutdown, which I missed? Welll, any way its funded for 3 or 4 more months.

Lawyerliz said...

The last sentence is very sad. Darwin favors the stupid? Which you are not.

Lawyerliz said...

Catch and release sounds like fish.

LBD said...

Well we have prefect the educated illiterate. I have an elderly friend (84) overseeing and training a fresh rubber stamped masters of Engineering. He screwed up a design even I saw part of the problem immediately when he laid out what happened. He spent 2 hours with a book and lead him through how to spec the parts needed for the correct HP. The young mans reaction was he had just learned more in 2 hours then he learned in all of his years in college. I am also told the boss says it will take 5 years to bring him up to speed. This is what we get? My friend says he is willing and learns quick, a good man in need of a lot of help. How long till the newbie hangs around once he thinks he has figured it out? Anyway my friend though his job was done when they hired him but they renewed his contract. My friend has no degree either, growing up when effort meant something besides a fancy paper. IMO

Lawyerliz said...

Sad
I learned a lot in law school, but a lot more after I graduated. To be expected. Maybe the teachers knew nothing.

Unknown said...

Takes at least a year for an engineer out of school till their head stops spinning. There is a reason we have professional license that takes 4 years of real world experience.

Firemane said...

Yes, there are problems in higher education. But, they are understandable and predictable.

Back in the '50s, we had the top 10% of HS grads being taught by the top 1% of college grads. The quality was going to be extremely high. With the limited number of slots for teachers, and limited number of institutions, and allowing only the elite into schools, the outcomes were excellent.

Today, nearly half of HS grads attend some college, and more than a third get degrees. So, we've had a massive boom in higher education outlets (some legit for-profit places, and some money-sucking scams). There was zero chance that the overall quality of education wasn't going to trend downward AND the quality of the students entering has likewise dropped.

So, we have worse teachers teaching worse students.

But, even back in Colonial days, it was understood that learning a trade required an apprenticeship. It takes time to learn a job, and it takes time and effort to get good at ANYTHING -- even flipping burgers. Ideally, college should provide enough foundation that the job-specific knowledge can be absorbed faster -- but only a fool would EXPECT someone just out of school to be immediately proficient at any specific job.

LBD said...

My University Prof friend complains about the lack of student engagement. Mostly late, miss classes, cut corners with Goog or Wkipedia, then want time to make up work. I had the same problem with employees before I retired, luckily before everyone had a cell phone and played games.

Unknown said...

I think this is especially true in engineering and medical fields. Our knowledge base keeps growing, but our time spent in school is the same. It makes sense to me that school is where you get a good base of knowledge, then you graduate, start working, and start to specialize.

Lawyerliz said...

I have seen accounting firms sent thrir youngest and least confident new hires to face ceos and the like, so they won't have the moxy to write up bad practices and the firm won't get fired. Part of the Great Recession

Lawyerliz said...

Where is Dawg? His new disposal grind him up?

Cinco-X said...

I don't think that your quality as a teacher is predicated on where you you finished in your HS class. Some of the brightest minds make the worst teachers.

Lawyerliz said...

The milky way is full of grease like molecules.

WHERE IS DAWWWWGG??!???

LBD said...

Good Morning!

I always thought it was candy.

I guess education still goes back to those who want to learn and those who float through life.

Lawyerliz said...

Sue the dino has been displaced upstairs by a Titanic--something--saurus at the Field museum.

Lawyerliz said...

People learn in different ways. My knowledge is mostly useless. I've net smart people who didn't want to use their brains some work very hard and are too tired.

But---- where is dawg???

Lawyerliz said...

My well informed granddad went only through 3rd grade.

LBD said...

Dawg is probably teaching the proper way to install the garbage disposal. :)

LBD said...

Mexico has a minimum wage of $4.00----- A DAY! Car factories pay about $3.50 an hour, Cheaper then China. No wonder cars and trucks are being made their. No way can we stop it and the need to import more poverty is insane. The only jobs here will be baby sitting robotics. Crazy days ahead.

Lawyerliz said...

Used the Tens machibe for my leg, helped.

Lawyerliz said...

Machine.

Lawyerliz said...

Make them raise ut!

LBD said...

GM warns T on Tariffs. Lets charge Mexico a head tax for illegal (any country) boarder crossings, Say $5,00.00 each.

Lawyerliz said...

How you gonna get the MONEY?

Lawyerliz said...

Where is Dawg?

LBD said...

Collect from remittance going to Mexico. Take it out of what ever financial help we give them.

Lawyerliz said...

How can you do that? Open all envelops?
Look at all wires?

Lawyerliz said...

Wire transfers.

LBD said...

Good Morning!

Pretty sure they can get something done, above my pay grade.

Lawyerliz said...

Son got in a car accident, he's alright except more pain where he had an shoulder operation. No baby yet.

LBD said...

Ouch, not a great time for that glad he is OK, especially now.

Rob Dawg said...

In San Digeo. Embassy suites overlooking the bay. Back tomorrow with finished kitchen elements. Getting close now.

Lawyerliz said...

Because you are rich

Rob Dawg said...

Aww come on. Can’t everyone have a hotel room that looks down on the deck of The Midway?

TJandTheBear said...

That comment requires a pic.

Rob Dawg said...

Just got back walking Seaport Villageover to PetCo Park and then the Gaslight District. About 7 miles. Pic tomorrow when it get light.

LBD said...

Good Morning,

Heading back to the 90's after a day of a cold front, wind and a trace of rain.

San Diego, Beautiful before people. Love to see what it looks like today and if there is any charm left that is not commercialized. Pics,plz.

Lawyerliz said...

Good afternoon. Cat is purring on me.

Lawyerliz said...

Have any of those houses gone down further in price?

Rob Dawg said...

At the Hollywood Bowl picking up season tickets for the summer series. Back to the Gold Coast in an hour. Whew. So much city.

Rob Dawg said...

New post. Kitchen first. San Diego second. San Diego real estate third.