Just The Facts Ma'am

With all due regard and respect for Dragnet's Joe Friday, Thursday evening's debate was rife with inaccuracies.  I'm not talking about the typical election year hyperbole; I'm talking about intentional mistruths and outright lies.

A couple of the whoppers that stand out include:

We have a thousand millionaires in America, I mean billionaires.  And what's happening?  They're in a situation where they in fact pay 8.2 percent taxes.

- Biden

Pants on fire!  Biden is referencing a 2021 White House study concluding that the 400 wealthiest taxpayers paid an effective tax rate of 8 percent. 

Because the estimate included unrealized capital gains in the calculation the resulting effective tax rate is fallacious.  Smoke and mirrors wrong. A deception.  That is not the way the tax code works in real life.

People are taxed on capital gains only when the asset (stock, real estate, business, whatever) is sold.

According to the IRS, the top 1 percent of taxpayers (defined as income of $548,000 and up) paid taxes averaging 26%.

 

He's destroying Medicare because all of these people are coming in.  They're putting them on Medicare.  They're putting them on Social Security.  They're going to destroy Social Security.  This man is going to single-handedly destroy Social Security.

- Trump

Some of you readers may recall my own experience with applying for Medicare the summer of 2020.

My application for coverage was declined.

Yup.  Because I happen to have been born in another country; Germany in-fact.  No matter that I have been paying into the system forever and hold a valid US passport. The Social Security Administration had me classified as a non-citizen.  I was undocumented and therefore ineligible.  I can only speculate; but this was likely a bureaucratic record-keeping holdover traced to my registration for the draft in the very early 1970s.  The local draft board was somehow convinced that because I held both a US Army birth certificate and a German birth certificate my dual citizenship would entice me to flee the country and thereby circumvent any attempt at conscription and free trip to Vietnam. The fix was I had to renounce any claim to German citizenship.  After I raised my right hand and swore an oath to absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen, I was issued a Certificate of Naturalization.  As a sole citizen of the US of A my draft-dodging moment was over.  

The people over at the Social Security Administration eventually cleared-up any confusion over my citizenship status and I am covered by both Medicare and Social Security.  Happy ending to a stressful three months.

Donald Trump is a liar.  And this lie is a howler.  Sure, I know his followers believe this BS but the truth of the matter is that undocumented individuals are ineligible for both Social Security and Medicare.  

That a dazed and confused Joe Biden didn't nail Trump to the wall over this has me stumped.

The entire Thursday event over at CNN was an unparalleled shit show.

Noteable Quoteable

One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.

 -Carl Sagan

Friday Music

Originally released on his 2000 album of the same name this was originally intended to be an exclusively German release.  Look it up on a streaming service.  It's a fun listen as the album includes many of John Prine's early songs.

John is gone - lost to COVID.  Sigh.

Just last summer I saw Marty Stuart perform with his Fabulous Superlatives at the Door Community Auditorium in Fish Creek.

Souvenirs.....

Ruby

Because you cannot get enough cute dog photos there are these.....

 

Great Expectations

Later today, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will meet face-to-face in a presidential debate. 

There is a lot here that's going to be different, starting with the fact that this is happening in June, months before the election and months ahead of when presidential candidates normally meet for debates. The debate is also being put on by CNN, not the Commission on Presidential Debates that has stuck to down-the-middle traditional formats for decades.

When viewers tune-in this evening there is going to be endless speculation about the health and cognition of Presidents Biden and Trump.  Supporters of either (or neither) are going to hang on every nuanced shred of evidence supporting something that the candidates aren't sharing with us.

Whatever points or arguments that the candidates make may be beside the point as viewers parse each and every word or syllable to support their biases concerning the physical and cognitive fitness of a couple of octogenarians.

These guys are old.

Nonetheless, this debate is important to setting the stage for the run-up to the election in November.  I'll be watching with a glass of Merlot and a big bowl of popcorn.  If I had my druthers I'd ask these guys to explain to me how old is too old; and how unhealthy is too unhealthy.  Along with a big dose of policy proscriptions on top.

This blogger can't wait to see who shows-up for the show.  I have great expectations of both candidates.

The Taco Revolution

Last month I published a post about the history of Taco Bell.

Taco Bell was not named for the Mission-style bell logo or atop their early adobe buildings but after founder Glen Bell who had the brilliant idea to sell tacos out of a walk-up window in 1962.  He wanted the experience to feel authentic to Mexican culture even if the food itself was not.  Taco Bell not only played a huge role in the fast-food revolution; more importantly it helped to introduce the idea of Mexican food to US diners.

Get a load of this tidbit found surfing the interweb the other day...

 

Chorus Frogs

I found this in a desktop file having failed to share it with my readers.  Maybe on Face Book?  But not here.  It's filed now with the other videos and is worth a listen

The resident frog chorale kicking it into high gear. 

Spring romance is in the air and the local critters have got lov’n on their mind. 

Turn-up the volume...........

 

 

Wildflower Walk

From our walk this morning there is this - one of the first species to make an appearance in very large quantities.

Acres and acres of this blooming beauty - smooth penstemon - Penstemon digitalis. 

This flower materializes quite suddenly (seemingly out of nowhere) during late spring or early summer for about a month and then it’s gone.  A showy member of the snapdragon family and native to the prairie it is commonly called beardtongue or foxglove.

Native Americans and folk-healers have made use of this plant for medicinal purposes for both people and animals. 

Long-tongued bees, including honeybees, bumblebees, miner bees, butterflies, Sphinx moths, and hummingbirds favor this plant.  The name beardtongue is a consequence of the hairy reproductive parts found within the flower.

The Great Hornswoggle

I recently returned from a perfectly enjoyable family vacation in the United Kingdom 
And I brought these curious polling statistics back with me to share:

• 55% of Americans believe the economy is in recession; when factually Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is growing and our economic reality is the envy of the rest of the world.

• 49% believe that unemployment is at record levels; when factually it is at a 50-year record low.

• 49% think the stock market is down; when factually it is (as of the publication date of this post) at record highs.

This is real world stuff.  And if this polling is believable who knew that this thinking is so pervasive and Americans so persuadable to believe otherwise. 

When an individual is susceptible and acquiescent to embrace fallacious disinformation; 19th century American showman PT Barnum had a useful descriptor for the phenomena.  Follow this link at The Guardian to learn more.

Gathering Of The Clan

Another weekend of family eating, drinking and frivolity is in the record books.  Three generations of our immediate tribe gathering outside of a holiday, wedding, funeral or other family event.   And the monsoons paused just long enough to smoke chicken and ribs on Friday and make a batch of brick oven pizzas Saturday.  Today dawned sunny and bright.

It can stop with the rain now.

Anyway, now that the dog hair has been swept, bedding laundered, garbage bagged; some evidence worth sharing....

 

 

Unholy Alliance

In case you missed it, Warren Strobel and Mike Gordon over at the Wall Street Journal, authored a splendid piece of journalism highlighting how Vladimir Putin rebuilt Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine with the assistance of our adversaries - Iran, North Korea and China.

Russia's military cooperation with Iran, North Korea and China has expanded into the sharing of sensitive technologies that could threaten the US and its allies long after the war in Ukraine ends...

The speed and depth of the expanding security ties involving US adversaries has at times surprised US intelligence analysts.  Russia and the other nations have set aside historic frictions to collectively counter what they regard as a US-dominated global system, they said...

Russia's war in Ukraine is...propped up by China, North Korea and Iran, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday.  They want to see the US fail.  They want to see NATO fail.  If they succeed in Ukraine, it will make us more vulnerable and the world more dangerous.

This expansion among the world's most authoritarian and brutal regimes echoes observations made by Anne Applebaum and Bill Kristol. 

So communist China, nationalist Russia, theocratic Iran, Bolivarian socialist Venezuela, whatever North Korea is - these aren't countries that share an ideology....But they do share a common interest.  And the common interest is undermining us.  And by us, I mean America, Europe, the liberal world, the democratic world... 

Their own oppositions, whether it's the Hong Kong democracy movement, or whether it's the Navalny movement in Russia, or whether it's the women's movement in Iran, are inspired by and use democratic language.  And they use the language of freedom and liberty and rights and rule of Law.  And the dictatorships need to undermine that language in order to keep in power domestically...

And they have an interest in shaping the debate inside the liberal democracies in ways that benefit them.  And increasingly, they've concluded that what benefits them is the rise of illiberal, disruptive and radical parties, because when that happens, the Western world or the democratic world loses its sense of community and solidarity.  It loses its ability to make group decisions.  If we're divided by radical politics in different  countries, then we're not very good at standing up to them.  And they very much see this as a war, as a competition, as a conflict, even if we don't. 

And so now, they are betting that Trump will be the person who destroys the United States, whether he makes it ungovernable, whether he assaults the institutions, so that they no longer function, whether he creates so much division and chaos that the US can't have a foreign policy anymore.  That's what they want, and that's what they're hoping he will do.  And again, I don't want to the conspiratorial about how much power they have.  They don't run US elections, but they will try to influence the outcome however they can, because they think he will weaken the country ultimately.  And, by the way, from what we know, the Chinese are only just beginning to experiment in this world.  From what we know, the Chinese agree.  So, he's the candidate of the authoritarian world, not because he'll make America stronger, but ultimately because they think he'll make America weaker.

May you live in interesting times - has long been claimed to be a Chinese curse.  Who knows for sure?  What we know for sure is the world is a dangerous place and Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are seriously bad actors.  An unholy alliance.

*Content courtesy of The Bulwark

The Powder Room

Sometimes when faced with a challenging project; there are challenges.

Be sure to follow this blog for more home repair advice.....

 

 

Before and After

 

As the days have grown longer the hormonal levels of whitetail deer began to change.   

Fawns are born, antler growth commences for the boy deer and for all of the whitetails the gray winter coat with its thick guard hairs is shed and the ruddy red heat-reflecting summer coat is revealed.   

The process is complete and you cannot miss the deer highlighted in the lush greenery of the local farm fields.          

These daylight-influenced hormone levels occur twice a year to trigger the spring molt and after only three months, is supplemented by the regrowth of the extra layer of longer, stiffer, hollow hair over the softer hair closer to the skin.          

One month between these before and after images. 

Friday Music

Composed and sung by Bob Dylan Knockin' on Heaven's Door is included in the soundtrack for the 1973 movie:  Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.  Released as a single – it rose to Number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.  It brings back a number of fond memories from my last year in high school. 

 

On our recent travels we scored tickets for a Van Morrison concert at London's Royal Albert Hall.

 

This particular song has been covered by a number of other musicians including Guns N’ Roses. This is a particularly nice cover by Eric Clapton From the Royal Albert Hall.  

 

Nice venue.  Great tune.....

 

Happy Solstice

We returned from almost three weeks of family vacation in the UK last week.

While there, a visit to Stonehenge was in order.

No Druids were involved as this is both a Neolithic religious and astronomical site.

Happy Solstice, people!

 

 

June Night Sky

Beginning tonight and tomorrow the June moon will appear full.  

 

The June moon - typically the last full moon of spring or the first of summer - is traditionally called the Strawberry Moon.  With origins traced to the Algonquin people this was a sign to commence gathering wild strawberries. 

 

 

 

The photo on the left was taken June of 2020 with the moon-rise over the ancient pump house.

Following European settlement alternate names included the Meade moon and the Honey moon were introduced.  

Because the Roman goddess of marriage is Juno – namesake of this frequent month of marriages - we have the honeymoon.

 

Seeing Spots

Fetched the memory cards from the trail camera trap line the other day and I'm happy to report a healthy collection of whitetails; and an impressive class of 2024 recruits...

Summer Solstice

Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice here in the northern hemisphere - 3:51 PM to be precise.  Which means that on Thursday we receive more sunlight than any other day of the year.  Naturally, you would conclude that this date would have the earliest sunrise and latest sunset, no?  

Don't jump to conclusions.  Even though the solstice has the greatest amount of daylight - the earliest sunrise occurs before the solstice and the latest sunset falls afterward.  The occurrence of those events is dependent upon how far you are from the equator – a function of the tilt of the Earth on its axis.  

Here is an interesting factoid – I went to the US Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department and looked-up the Sunrise and Sunset times for The Platz before, during and after the solstice.

June 17 Sunrise 4:03 Am Sunset 8:38 PM

June 18 Sunrise 5:03 AM Sunset 8:38 PM

June 19 Sunrise 5:03 AM Sunset 8:38 PM

June 20 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:39 PM

June 21 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:39 PM

June 22 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:39 PM

June 23 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:40 PM

June 24 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:40 PM

June 25 Sunrise 5:05 AM Sunset 8:40 PM

 

Notice that the three dates preceding the solstice have almost the same amount of daylight.  The implication is that the solstice lasts more than half a week. 

 

What's the explanation?  Does it have something to do with our location being almost equidistant from the North Pole and Equator?  Or is it a consequence of rounding the precise times?  I think it is the latter rather than the former.

 

Nonetheless, any difference is the amount of daylight will not be discernible to this old guy’s eyes.

 

 

Wildflower Walk

Meet - Penstemon digitalis - commonly known as Smooth Penstemon. 

A member of the snapdragon family this showy native to the prairie is also called foxglove or beardtongue.  Native Americans and folk-healers have made use of this plant for medicinal purposes for both people and animals.    

 

 

On our pollinator habitat this is the first species to materialize in large quantities.  And there is an abundance of this blooming beauty. Acres upon acres of the stuff.  This flower appears during late spring or early summer for about a month and then it’s gone.  

 

Long-tongued bees, including honeybees, bumblebees, miner bees, butterflies, Sphinx moths, and hummingbirds favor this plant.  The name Beardtongue is a consequence of the hairy reproductive parts found within the flower.

 

Keeping It Cool In The Igloo

 Obviously someone who visits a lot of yard sales has too much time on their hands...

A Six-Pack of Republicans

This is from an article published in August of last year; so it's dated.  Feel free to ignore any reference to the trials and tribulations of the Ron DeSantis campaign for the GOP nomination for president.  

Nonetheless, on the heels of almost nine years of fealty and obeisance to Donald Trump, only a few would argue that the party is still defined by Ronald Reagan’s famous three-legged stool of the religious right, fiscal conservatives and neoconservative hawks.

But if the Republican Party is no longer in Reagan’s image, it’s not necessarily a populist-conservative MAGA monolith, either.

Last July's New York Times/Siena College poll found that only 37 percent of Republicans count as part of Mr. Trump’s loyal base.

And while majorities of Republicans side with Mr. Trump on almost every issue, those majorities are often quite slim: Around 40 percent of Republican-leaning voters support aid to Ukraine, support comprehensive immigration reform or say abortion should be mostly or always legal.

But if the Republican Party isn’t quite a MAGA monolith, what is it?  To better understand the party today, the Times split Republican and Republican-leaning voters into groups, based on the results of the Times/Siena Poll.  The groups were defined by how Republican-leaning voters felt on the issues — not how they felt about Mr. Trump.

The results depict a Republican coalition that consists of six groups:

The Moderate Establishment (14%). Highly educated, affluent, socially moderate or even liberal and often outright Never Trump.

The Traditional Conservatives (26%). Old-fashioned economic and social conservatives who oppose abortion and prefer corporate tax cuts to new tariffs. They don’t love Mr. Trump, but they do support him.

The Right Wing (26%). They watch Fox News and Newsmax. They’re “very conservative.” They’re disproportionately evangelical. They believe America is on the brink of catastrophe. And they love Mr. Trump more than any other group.

The Blue Collar Populists (12%). They’re mostly Northern, socially moderate, economic populists who hold deeply conservative views on race and immigration. Not only do they back Mr. Trump, but he himself probably counted as one a decade ago.

The Libertarian Conservatives (14%). These disproportionately Western and Midwestern conservatives value small government. They’re relatively socially moderate and isolationist, and they’re on the lower end of Trump support compared with other groups.

The Newcomers (8%). They don’t look like Republicans. They’re young, diverse and moderate. But these disaffected voters like Democrats and the “woke” left even less.

Mr. Trump’s dominance of the Republican Party is founded on an alliance between the Right Wing and Blue Collar Populists, two groups that combine to represent nearly 40 percent of Republicans — and about two-thirds of Mr. Trump’s MAGA base of seemingly unshakable support. 

The bottom line is that (in case anyone cares any more) the growing numbers of center-right voters, Reagan Republicans and independents still retain some clout in a general election.  The Big Fat Middle.  I'll be watching to see if the same polling is published in a couple of months.

Complete article here.  It's an academic read if you're not blocked by a pay wall.  Stay-tuned.....

Noteable Quoteable

Elder statesmen are little regarded by their opposition party until they get over eighty years of age - and thus harmless.

- Herbert Hoover, in a 1961 letter to Richard Nixon

Spring Blooms

When you live half-way between the equator and the North Pole your growing season is short.  Add to this a family vacation that takes you out of county for almost three weeks and whatever you have growing has to fend for itself.

Hence, the garden is a mess.  The sweet potato planting has failed.  The critters ate all the pea vines.  Weeds are thriving.  Only the leeks have thrived.  I'll till the mess under and start over.  There is time.

The flower gardens are overgrown with grasses; nevertheless, Jill's iris have burst thru the mayhem with all their glory.

Thank God; I thought they'd be done by the time we returned.

Peonies are doing nicely too.

Check these out....

 

Friday Music

Back from a family vacation to the UK so there is this.

Drums and pipes and tribalism.

Clanadonia performing Hamsterheid.....

High Alert

Recently I scored a weekend alone with my dog.

Translation: a long walk every day followed by exciting chores like cleaning the septic tank filters, scrubbing bird feeders, spraying herbicide on invasive plants and hauling stuff to the town dump.  We even completed the annual cleaning of the machine shed.

Meanwhile, the dog became noticeably 'clingy' without Jill being around.

DEFCON 3 to 4, depending.

Cottontails in the yard were a medium threat.

Then there was this.....

 

Spring Cleaning

It's an onerous annual springtime task.

But the shed is tidy.

Reward is a frosty adult beverage on the porch....

More Newtonian Physics

Newton's First Law of Motion - also known as the Law of Inertia - states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same directions unless acted-upon by an unbalanced force.

More from our Red Rocket....

 

Circumstances Matter

Are you better off today than you were four  years ago?  I suppose that it depends-upon your circumstances.

If you are retired and a member of the ownership class (real estate, stocks and bonds) you're likely doing better than OK.  Historically this isn't always the case, yet for now the current economic cycle favors these sectors. 

If you are a working couple with kids and a mortgage; perhaps not so much.  Higher interest rates and inflation might be making it harder to make ends meet.

Nevertheless, there is no getting around the fact that the US economy is much stronger than that of similar countries in the post-COVID world.  How come? 

A recent report from The Fed offers some insights.

Labor productivity in the US is greater than that of peer nations.  US industrial policy in response to military support for Ukraine plays a role.  Monetary policy has insulated the public from large swings in borrowing costs.  And while small business bankruptcies soared to historic levels in the last year of the Trump presidency; the recovery has been far more successful here than abroad.  In the US, strong fiscal policy, lower pass-through from monetary policy, and a more flexible labor market may have all contributed to supporting a new wave of firm creation over the past three years, the Fed economists write.

The outlook remains robust with inflation-adjusted GDP growth forecast at 2.4%  for 2024.  Inflation will persist but slowly recede. Rate cuts may be fewer and smaller.

Learn more about the outlook here.

The Big Wager

In the world of wagering you can place a bet on virtually anything.  It doesn't have to be on the outcome of a ball game or a horse race.  People place bets on all sorts of subject matter; both common and arcane.

Starting a small business is a bet.  Investing in stocks may sound like a bet or walk like a bet; nevertheless, it requires an ownership interest.  

In the financial markets, spread betting is a form or derivative trading on various types of securities.  Traders (gamblers) speculate on how the price of a financial asset will move and make a profit or loss based-upon the outcome.  Unlike investing in stocks, they do not own or take a position in the underlying asset. 

Not all bookmakers take bets on anything and often you cannot find the bet you want to make available.  Nevertheless, you can wager on the possible outcome of anything from an emerging COVID variant, the Academy Awards, gasoline prices, flight delays and natural disasters.  Naturally distrustful of polling data, for a long time I have followed the Vegas line on election outcomes.  More information builds a basis for rational predictions.  Not that I am any better at it.

Speaking of which, PredictIt specializes in elections.  A contract for President Biden winning in November recently cost 51 cents versus 47 cents for former President Trump.  Both contracts pay $1 if you're correct. 

Alas, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been grabbing the bull by the balls with prediction market operators over both the merits and legality of wagering on domestic elections.  

In 2023 the CFTC rejected a bid by derivatives start-up Kalshi as a consequence of perceptions of violations of election law.   The CFTC has taken both Kalshi and PredictIt to court.

Much of this is an academic pursuit.  Common sense suggests to me that derivatives contracts are used all day long to help (and protect) businesses and individuals from the consequences of unexpected and disastrous outcomes.  If I had significant exposure to electric vehicle stocks I might hold a contract protecting me from a Trump election win in November.  Elections have consequences after-all.  And depending upon where you stand both good and bad.  But I digress.

The bottom line is the Vegas line on election outcomes,  I happen to think the odds-makers play an important role with the use of an additional tool to measure where voters might stand on a particular candidate. 

Does a financial services regulator have a role in elections?  Is this the purview of Congress and lawmaking?  I dunno.

Stay-tuned....

Trail Camera Trapline

From the trail camera there is a strutting gobbler, a pheasant, sandhill crane and a cuddly fox squirrel...

D-Day Advance

80h anniversary - then and now....

Newtonian Physics

Newton's First Law of Motion - also known as the Law of Inertia - states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same directions unless acted-upon by an unbalanced force.

 

Friday Music

Written by Chris Isaak this song was released on his third album, Heart Shaped World, in 1989.

It became a sleeper  hit after being featured in the 1990 Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern movie Wild at Heart.

By January of 1991 the song was a Top-10 hit, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100.

Wicked Game...

Quote Of The Day

We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent . . .

But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it. 

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for.

-President Ronald Reagan - D-Day 40th Anniversary

June Night Sky

New Moon this evening.

Without the interference of moonlight even distant objects may be visible to the naked eye.

Breakout your binoculars or a telescope if you have them.

Fingers-crossed for clear night skies and good viewing conditions.

D-Day

80th Anniversary. 

 

Sgt. Joseph Gorenc, assistant S3 of HQ/3, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division, climbing aboard C-47 Dakota 8Y-S “Stoy Hora” of the 440th Troop Carrier Group at RAF Exeter, Southwest England, for the D-Day airborne assault on Normandy - June 5, 1944.

 

Joseph F. Gorenc Jr. was born on April 24, 1923 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. 

 

Two days after D-Day, Sgt. Gorenc was taken prisoner near St. Côme-du-Mont and reported as MIA. He later escaped from a prison train, joined the French Resistance blowing up bridges and other sabotage, then made it back to the UK in time to rejoin the 101st Airborne for 'Operation Market Garden'.

 

Gorenc returned home after the war, married, had two daughters, and was involved in a new startup manufacturing firm. 

 

In October 1957, Gorenc was severely injured in an industrial accident when an oil tank exploded. He passed away from his injuries two weeks later at the age of 34 on October 30, 1957. 

 

Gorenc is buried at Greendale Cemetery, Kohler, Wisconsin.