Checking Out
“Today” had a piece this morning about the self-checkout kiosks at retail outlets. See the featured photo. Some folks want to eliminate them or reduce them. There is also a theft problem with self-checkout kiosks. When checking out, I prefer the self-checkout kiosks. Kroger, Lowe’s, and Target have some that I always use. I don’t want to go back to the days when I had to wait in line at the grocery store.
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The jig is up, hopefully. The past year, in discussions with folks, I have cautioned that the recent shift of Latino voters to support Donald Trump was not permanent. I guess the recent serape and sombrero strategy rolled out by MAGA might not be working. See this from AP News:
President Donald Trump’s favorability has fallen among Hispanic adults since the beginning of the year, a new AP-NORC poll shows, a potential warning sign from a key constituency that helped secure his victory in the 2024 election.
The October survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 25% of Hispanic adults have a “somewhat” or “very” favorable view of Trump, down from 44% in an AP-NORC poll conducted just before the Republican took office for the second time. The percentage of Hispanic adults who say the country is going in the wrong direction has also increased slightly over the past few months, from 63% in March to 73% now.
The shift could spell trouble for Republicans looking to cement support with this group in future elections. Many Hispanic voters were motivated by economic concerns in last year’s election, and the new poll shows that despite Trump’s promises of economic revitalization, Hispanic adults continue to feel higher financial stress than Americans overall. Hispanic voters made up 10% of the electorate in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of interviews with registered voters, and the number of eligible Hispanic voters has been growing rapidly in recent decades.
Alejandro Ochoa, 30, is a warehouse worker in Adelanto, California. He identifies as a Republican and voted for Trump last year, but he’s now unhappy with the president. He criticized some of Trump’s budget cuts, adding that the cost of groceries is too high and buying a home is still unattainable for him.
“He was kind of relying on essentially the nostalgia of, ‘Hey, remember, before COVID? Things weren’t as expensive,’” Ochoa said. “But now it’s like, OK, you’re in office. I’m still getting done dirty at the grocery store. I’m still spending an insane amount of money. I’m trying to cut corners where I can, but that bill is still insanely expensive.”
Hispanic voters shifted toward Trump in the last election, though a majority still backed Democrat Kamala Harris: 43% of Hispanic voters nationally voted for Trump, according to AP VoteCast, up from 35% in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
But the poll now finds that Hispanic adults are slightly less likely to approve of Trump’s handling of the economy and immigration — two issues that were major strengths for him in last year’s presidential campaign — and their views of his overall presidential performance have slipped a little as well.
In March, 41% of Hispanic adults approved of the way Trump was handling his job as president, but now that has fallen to 27%.
Here is the entire AP News read: Hispanic adults view Trump more negatively, poll finds | AP News.
About the 2024 election, I have said on occasion that is what folks voted for. Some Latino 2024 voters are now having second thoughts. Good. No se puede I guess.
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KPRC Channel 2 News investigative reporter Amy Davis has been doing stories lately pretty much letting us know that the Houston Housing Authority did some corrupt sweetheart deals a few years ago. That was one dirty local government agency.
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From the Astros:
Louisville Slugger has announced that Jeremy Peña has been named a finalist for the 2025 American League Silver Slugger Award at Shortstop.
The 28-year-old is a first-time finalist for the Silver Slugger Award following a season in which he led American League shortstops with a 6.4 WAR and earned his first career All-Star selection. In 125 games this season, he batted .304 with 68 runs scored, 30 doubles, two triples, 17 home runs, 62 RBI, 20 stolen bases and an .840 OPS (.363 OBP/.477 SLG).
Peña would join Dickie Thon as the only other player in Astros history to win a Silver Slugger Award at shortstop.
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Game 1 of the World Series is this evening. Don’t kid yourself. It is not a tariff thing, and it is not Canada versus the USA. It is the Blue Jays versus the whiney Dodgers. The Dodgers are still moaning about the 2017 arse whipping we put on them. I know who I am rooting for.