A young woman was about to finish her first year of university. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be Democrat Party minded, and she was very much in favour of higher taxes to support her education and for more government programs – in other words, the redistribution of wealth. (Much like a Carbon Tax?)

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch blue-ribbon Conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had attended and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harboured a selfish
desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs.

The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors must be the truth, and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing at university.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 90% average, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn’t really have many university friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, “How is your friend Audrey doing?”

She replied, “Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 50% average. She is so popular on campus; university for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties, and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.”

Her wise father asked his daughter, “Why don't you go to the Dean’s office and ask him to deduct 20% off your average and give it to your friend who only has 50%. That way you will both have a 70% average, it would be fair and you would both be equal.”

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, “That's a crazy idea; how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!”

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, “Welcome to the Conservative side of the fence.

CHINA-US NEWS
Beijing Wants to Sway US Policy Using Climate Change, Experts Warn
BY CATHY HE
February 19, 2021 Updated: February 19, 2021

The Biden administration should not allow the Chinese regime to use climate change as a bargaining chip to extract concessions in other areas, according to China experts.
The warning comes as the United States formally rejoined the Paris agreement on Feb. 19. President Joe Biden has described climate change as an “existential threat” and vowed to do more to reduce carbon emissions. But analysts are concerned that this may lead the United States to become cozier with the Chinese regime.
While Biden officials have broadly indicated they would continue the Trump administration’s tough-on-China posture, they have also pointed to “cooperative” aspects of the U.S.-China relationship.
On the campaign trail, Biden said he’d work with the regime in areas of common interest, such as climate change and preventing nuclear proliferation.
Experts fear that U.S. cooperation on climate change could lead the administration to give ground in other key domains such as human rights, trade, and national security.
The Chinese regime has already indicated that the United States would have to accept its own terms before the two sides could work together.
“China is ready to cooperate with the United States and the international community on climate change,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Jan. 28.
“That said, I’d like to stress that China-U.S. cooperation in specific areas … is closely linked with bilateral relations as a whole,” Zhao continued, adding the regime has repeatedly emphasized that “no one should imagine they could ask China to understand and support them in bilateral and global affairs when they blatantly interfere in China’s domestic affairs and undermine China’s interests.”
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has labeled a range of topics such as its repression of minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, the crackdown in Hong Kong, and intimidation of Taiwan as part of its core interests, and not open for discussion.
Zhao’s comments were made after Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry pledged that important issues including the CCP’s theft of intellectual property (IP) and military aggression in the South China Sea “will never be traded for anything that has to do with climate.”
But Kerry added that “climate is a critical standalone issue,” noting that China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases at about 30 percent. “So it’s urgent that we find a way to compartmentalize, to move forward,” he said.
Gordon Chang, author of “The Coming Collapse of China,” recently told The Epoch Times that it would not be possible for the United States to cooperate with the regime given the conditions it imposes.
“China’s position is that you either have good relationships with us on everything, or on nothing,” Chang said.
“If we’re given that choice, it should be nothing. Because China is trying to constrict those areas where we can have a constructive discussion.”
In any event, the United States does not need to offer anything to get the regime to take action on climate, Chang noted.
“The Chinese are on the same planet that we are,” he said. “So they’ve got the same interest in preventing climate change to the extent that it’s occurring, so we don’t need to give them anything for it.”
Any negotiations with the regime on climate change would also be a waste of time, according to Clyde Prestowitz, author of “The World Turned Upside Down: America, China, and The Struggle for Global Leadership.”
Prestowitz, who was a trade negotiator for the Reagan administration, said “China is not going to negotiate any deal that would be acceptable to us.”
“You cannot rely on China to keep its word,” he added.
Former Trump security official Matthew Pottinger has similarly warned about getting stuck in “negotiation traps” set by Beijing. He said successive U.S. administrations squandered years in formal talks with China that did not yield concrete results, which allowed the regime to continue harmful actions against the United States such as IP theft.
To cut emissions, Chang suggested the United States stop buying from China and start re-shoring manufacturing back to the United States, given that the shipping industry is a heavy polluter.
“That way will do a lot for the climate, in addition to having, of course, some other very critical knock-on benefits for us,” he said

A Texan Rancher and a little Aussie farmer met on a Bus Tour and the Texan asked the Aussie to tell him about his farm…” a 50 acre bit of paradise” the Aussie farmer said.

The Texan said …”on my Ranch it takes me nearly all day to drive to my front gate”.

The Little Aussie Farmer scratched his head and said…. “ Yeah Mate I had a car like that myself once

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and
spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me,
can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I
don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering
approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41
degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be a scientist," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is,
technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your
information, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been
much help so far."

The woman below responded, "You must be Joe Biden."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are -- or where you are
going. You have risen to where you are now due to a large quantity of hot
air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep and you
expect those beneath you to solve your problems.
The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met but now, somehow, it's all my fault !