America’s stores are closing. Why isn’t that raising a jobs alarm?

America’s stores are closing. Why isn’t that raising a jobs alarm?

"Yet it’s the decline of industries like coal and manufacturing that get the big attention, especially from politicians. That’s surprising, since the closings mean that retail, which employs about 10 percent of all working Americans, is shedding jobs at a rate that dwarfs either of those. The retail sector shed 6,100 positions in June this year alone, according to the Labor Department. Since 2001, employment at department stores like Sears and JCPenney has declined 46 percent. An estimated 89,000 employees in β€œgeneral merchandise” stores were laid off between October 2016 and April 2017 – more than the entire workforce of the US coal industry."

August 5, 2017 10 AM Update

Good morning! Happy Saturday. Finally the weekend! Next Saturday is the Last Sunset After 8 PM for the Year. Mostly cloudy and 72 degrees in Delmar, NY. There is a south breeze at 7 mph. The dew point is 67 degrees. The skies will clear around noontime.

I have a lot of choices what to do today. I could stay home or maybe go to that multi year High School reunion at the drive in theater in Greenville which is less than a half hour away. I am probably not going to do the later because it seems like mostly people who I don’t know from earlier classes will be attending. I’m not really plugged into the Greenville scene anymore. It’s been decade and a half since I’ve spent much time in my old hometown. 

Instead, I’m thinking about going out to Schoharie County for the night. I just have to load up my truck, get gas, and something for dinner. That said, I am a bit hesitant to leave until I know we will have blue skies. I don’t really trust the forecast. I might run to the store now and if it doesn’t clear, just cook dinner out back. Still, I think it might be a nice weekend to get away, especially as summer is rapidly fading away. 

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 3pm, then a slight chance of showers. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high of 78 degrees at 4pm. Four degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 67 at 10am. South wind 7 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. It was humid. The high last year was 86 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1955.

The sun will set at 8:09 pm with dusk around 8:41 pm, which is one minute and 16 seconds earlier than yesterday. At sunset, look for partly clear conditions and 71 degrees. The dew point will be 56 degrees. There will be a west-northwest breeze at 11 mph. Today will have 14 hours and 17 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 19 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low of 59 degrees at 4am. Three degrees below normal. Maximum dew point of 59 at 6pm. West wind 9 to 11 mph. In 2016, we had mostly clear skies with more clouds in the early hours of the next day. It was sticky. It got down to 69 degrees. The record low of 45 occurred back in 1994.

As previously noted, next Saturday is the Last Sunset After 8 PM when the sun will be setting at 8:00 pm with dusk at 8:31 pm. On that day in 2016, we had thunderstorm, thunderstorm rain, rain, drizzle, mostly cloudy skies and temperatures between 93 and 73 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 81 degrees. We hit a record high of 99 back in 1944.

Thoughts on My Gadsen Flag

Yes, I hang a Gadsen flag in my campsite. And yet I'm a liberal. But I also think government should stay out of people's private businesses.