I wrote another novel.  It's about the pain of being dispossessed, and the fulfillment of reclaiming some of the past--and a lot of other things.  Here's an idea of what to expect:

In her first job after college at the Washington, D.C. office of a Swiss bank, Sylvie hopes for stimulating and challenging work, the excitement and lifestyle opportunities of the nation’s capitol, and, last but not least, romantic adventure.  Orphaned in the Vietnam War and adopted by a couple in Kansas, Sylvie knew little about her Vietnamese birth parents and grew up feeling isolated and disconnected.  She seeks a fuller and richer life in Washington.  What she didn’t expect was a lecherous pig of a boss who gives her a mysterious assignment that takes her into a vortex of deception, fraud and murder.  Sylvie is new to Washington, and has no friends, mentors or allies to turn to.  However, when she is repeatedly threatened and harassed, Sylvie fights back with help from Frank, a burned out Vietnam vet, and stumbles upon hints of a very dark secret at the bank.  She pursues the clues, follows the money, and improbably discovers a profound connection to her birth parents, learning how dearly they loved her.

 

Please give it a read.

 

Available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Unclaimed-Money-Leo-Wang-ebook/dp/B0B86TXDTW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1YJ7YL9QNZVFM&keywords=unclaimed+money%2C+leo+wang&qid=1659505493&s=books&sprefix=unclaimed+money%2C+leo+wang%2Cstripbooks%2C50&sr=1-1.

 

Available on Apple Books.  You can find it in the Apple Books app (app pages have no www url so a link cannot be provided here).

 

Available on Kobo:  https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/unclaimed-money.

 

Available on Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1158485.

Why Cryptocurrencies Won't Replace Fiat Currencies

Despite all the hype, mouth foaming, price rises and fascination with cryptocurrencies, there's a simple reason why they will never replace fiat currencies.  In times of economic stress, whether it's from asset bubbles bursting, pandemics, or whatever else, governments are expected to intervene and provide aid for the distressed, stimulus to the economy and central bank accommodation to the banking sector.  These interventions are done largely by printing fiat currencies.  By design, cryptocurrencies can't be printed by governments.  Thus, they are useless for government policy when times are hard.  

It's no longer optional for governments to step in and provide support when the economy nosedives.  We're way past the days when Herbert Hoover could credibly wax eloquent about sturdy American self-reliance and turn a cold shoulder toward pleas for federal assistance.  Government intervention is embedded as deeply in the economy as the banking system and the transportation system.  Fiat currencies are the primary weapon of government intervention.  Take away fiat currencies, and we're back to the days when gold and silver were the currencies of choice, economic downturns worked their cruel consequences, and Oliver Twist would have been nonfiction except for its happy ending.

Cryptocurrencies really aren't all that different from gold and silver.  It's no accident that the U.S.went off the gold standard in the 1930s and the Federal Reserve hasn't issued silver certificates (redeemable for silver at any federal reserve bank) in some 60 years. Tying government currencies to commodities like gold and silver prevented the kinds of interventions that can aid massive numbers of people. Fiat currencies, for all their flaws, have played a crucial role in government policies that have prevented a great deal of suffering and loss.  In hard times, if you're in need, don't hope for the holders of cryptocurrencies to give you a helping hand.  But you can expect the government to step in and provide cash, food assistance, health insurance coverage, housing subsidies, educational subsidies, unemployment comp, and more, because it can print the money it needs if all else fails.  Carefully managed, the money printing that is used for economic support and stimulus has not proven particularly inflationary.  While central banks must remain alert to the risks of inflation, experience has taught us that prudent money printing can be of great benefit.  

So invest in crypto, if you like.  It's a free country.  But don't think it's a substitute for the dollar.  When times are tough, the cavalry will ride to the rescue with their saddlebags full of greenbacks.

Putin's Victory in America

 The Donald Trump-instigated right-wing storming today of the U.S. Capitol while Congress was counting the electoral votes for Joe Biden's and Kamala Harris' victory in last November's election is the pinnacle of Vladimir Putin's attack on America.  Since 2016 and perhaps before, Putin has sought to undermine democracy in America, since American democracy, the fount of freedom in the modern world, is a titanic embarrassment to dictators and demagogues such as Putin.  Putin has some strange influence over Trump, and Trump throughout his Presidency has sought to emulate Putin and other autocrats.  Putin's intelligence services have massively hacked the U.S. government and American businesses, with nary a whisper of protest from Trump.  For all we know, Putin has access to the inner workings of all significant parts of the U.S. government, apparently with Trump's acquiescence.  

The American people, however, weren't prepared to knuckle under to demagoguery.  Last November, they stood by their democratic principles and freely elected Joe Biden President and Kamala Harris Vice President, thus delivering to Putin a massive defeat in his war against American democracy.  But Trump and his goon-followers, in the most unAmerican way, have disgracefully refused to participate in a peaceful transfer of authority.   They assaulted one of the most fundamental symbols of our nation, the U.S. Capitol, and besmirched it with their unAmerican, undemocratic, violent malice.  Trump's goons won for Putin.

But their victory was short-lived.  Even as I write, Congress, which had to temporarily stop counting electoral votes because of the mob violence, has resumed its work and will count the votes electing Biden and Harris.  Putin's victory will prove Pyrrhic.  Democracy has survived and won.

Christmas 2020

 President Trump doesn't want to sign the painstakingly negotiated pandemic relief bill.  (See https://slate.com/business/2020/12/trump-relief-bill-veto-checks-congress.html.) As of Christmas Eve, no relief is coming.  If you're in need, you're out of luck.  But try to hang on a little longer.  No one--not even a monster, demon, hobgoblin or ghoul--has ever succeeded in stealing Christmas.  It won't happen now.

‘Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring,

Except a big louse.

 

Orange topped with a sneer,

Fish fillet on his tooth,

He scowled around and asked,

What can I do to be uncouth?

 

Take away their benefits,

Let them be evicted.

Instead, I’ll pardon,

My allies who’ve been convicted.

 

No stimulus payments

‘Cause the pandemic is fake.

If people are hungry,

Let them eat cake.

 

He built a Wall around the tree,

Hiding the presents and then walking,

To the fireplace to put

Lumps of coal in the stockings.

 

“Tell me I’m re-elected,”

He screamed with a harsh snort.

“Or I’ll impose martial law,

Because I’m a bad sport.”

 

But Christmas came anyway,

Bringing joy and good cheer.

Because the ogre lost the vote,

Better days will soon be here.

 

The Pandemic Isn't Caused By A Virus

 The novel coronavirus isn't the cause of the pandemic.  It causes the disease called COVID-19.  But the pandemic is caused by politics.  Science-denying President Trump has been and continues to be a leading cause of the pandemic, claiming that the disease is a hoax and making inaction his top priority in addressing the illness.  Vast numbers of his followers, eschewing masks on political grounds and assembling in close quarters, provide the virus with superhighways to all corners of the nation.  Governors, usually Republican, in many states refuse to mandate mask wearing, thus placing their constituents at risk from the most ignorant and partisan among them.  

Vaccines are likely to be available very soon.  But now we learn that anti-vaxxers are teaming up with zealots of QAnon to thwart effective use of medical science in the post-Trump era.  (See https://www.huffpost.com/entry/qanon-anti-vax-coronavirus_n_5fbeb0c0c5b61d04bfa6921a).  If you expect vaccines to end the pandemic, think again.  There's no cure or vaccine for ignorance or recklessness, and ignorance and recklessness abound, driving the pandemic. 

There is hope.  History tells us that in the long run, vaccines have prevailed over lunacy.  But getting to the long run could take a while.  Expect to wear masks in public indefinitely, stock up on paper towels and toilet paper, and make your home as comfy as possible since you'll be spending a lot of time there.  Try to protect yourself against other medical problems.  As multitudes of COVID-19 patients tie up hospital beds and other medical resources, there will be less for heart disease, cancer, and other patients.  Lots of people in addition to COVID-19 patients could die because of determined idiocy.  Try to enlighten the naysayers.  Some anti-vaxxers, like many Black Americans, may understandably mistrust the White-dominated scientific world, which has in so many ways engaged in harmful racism.  Sadly, the virus will do much of the educating.  As some of the unvaccinated die lonely, intubated deaths, appreciation for vaccines will grow and the benefits of science will once again be achieved.

National Guard Called Up To Provide Mortuary Assistance

 In case you were wondering how bad the COVID-19 pandemic is, consider this:  the Texas National Guard has sent troops to El Paso to help the morgues in the city deal with all the people who have died recently.  (See https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/21/us/el-paso-national-guard-morgue-coronavirus-trnd/index.html.)  The National Guard is replacing nine inmates from the county jail who had volunteered to help move bodies.  (See https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/16/us/el-paso-inmate-covid-bodies-trnd/index.html.)  Back in Washington, President Trump skipped the G20 Summit meeting on the pandemic and played golf instead. (See https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/21/politics/trump-g20-saturday-sessions/index.html.)  It's no wonder America had close to 200,000 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. (See https://www.huffpost.com/entry/covid-19-updates-possible-thanksgiving-case-spike_n_5fb56468c5b66cd4ad413505.) There is hope.  Joe Biden will be sworn in as the new President on January 20, 2021.  Until then, a chill wind will blow.  Hold onto your hats, wear masks, maintain social distances, and stay home as much as possible, because right now, you're pretty much on your own.

Dancing in the Street

 The Associated Press and CNN project that Joe Biden has been elected President and Kamala Harris has been elected Vice President.  People are dancing in the streets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuCBXTfoVq8

We've Been Through Long Elections Before and Can Do It Again

 As the November 3, 2020 Presidential election approaches, anxiety has grown over the possibility of lengthy processes for the counting of votes and determination of a winner.  The unprecedented amount of mail-in voting may complicate the counting process in many states, although efforts are underway to reduce potential logjams.  These are logistical problems that likely can be resolved with a little extra time.  There's no legal requirement that all votes be counted on Election Day, nor is there a legal requirement that only votes cast on Election Day be counted.  America has been through long elections before and can get through this one.

Elections used to take weeks.  Before 1848, Presidential elections were conducted over a 34-day period with each state specifying a particular date of its choice for voting.  Citizens had to wait quite a while for final results.  The telegraph came into use starting in 1844, and Congress became concerned that the rapid transmission of results from early voting states could affect the results in states with later election dates.  So the first Tuesday of November was established by federal law as the date for Presidential elections beginning in 1848.  Even then, there wasn't and still isn't any requirement for all votes to be counted on Election Day, or that only votes counted on Election Day matter.    

The modern era hasn't been exempt from lengthy election processes.  The 2000 contest between Al Gore and George W.  Bush wasn't resolved until Dec. 12, 2000, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush.  Even though the five-week period of uncertainty from that election exacerbated social and political divisions that had been vociferously aired during the campaign, America didn't fall apart.  

We'll have to be patient with the tabulation of votes this year.  But Americans in the past have been patient--sometimes very patient--while the democratic process played out.  It's at moments like this that true Americans tightly embrace democratic principles.  There are news stories reporting that Trump may not respect the outcome of the election if he loses.  Some of his far right followers are reportedly preparing for violence on his behalf.  We should stick faithfully to our democratic principles.  Nothing really bad has happened when we did so in the past.  Nothing really bad will happen now if we stay true to democracy. 

Could Russia Have Used Donald Trump's Business Problems to Recruit Him?

Recent news stories report that President Donald Trump didn't pay any income taxes in 10 of the 15 years starting with 2000. He reportedly paid only $750 in income taxes in each of 2016 and 2017. (See, e.g., https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/28/politics/donald-trump-taxes-election-2020-joe-biden-debate/index.html.) He supposedly took massive write-offs on his tax returns for business expenses and losses to avoid taxes on hundreds of millions of dollars of income.  These reports, if accurate, raise crucially important questions about whether Trump is the successful businessman he claims to be.  More chillingly, these reports raise questions about whether his business problems gave Russia leverage to recruit him as an agent.

When recruiting spies, intelligence services look for weaknesses.  One potentially useful weakness is financial need or financial stress.  A man with business problems is a possible target.  Could Russia have used Trump's business problems to recruit him as an agent?  Trump may be financially connected to Russia or Russians through Deutsche Bank, which has been a major lender to Trump and his companies. See https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/business/deutsche-bank-trump.html.  While no firm connection between Trump and Russia or Russians through Deutsche Bank has been established, Deutsche Bank has confirmed it has some of Trump's tax returns. See https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/trump-tax-returns-deutsche-bank-relationship-drawing-intense-scrutiny-2019-8-1028482268?op=1#.   So Deutsche Bank may well have known about Trump's massive tax write-offs.  Whether or not Russia knew about Trump's write-offs, it may have known that he needed funding.  U.S. intelligence has said that Russia sought to help Trump get elected in 2016 and is working to get him re-elected this year. What greater intelligence coup could there be than to have one's agent elected the national leader of an adversarial nation? 

So we have to ask whether Trump's business problems gave Russia an opening to recruit him.  The FBI may have been looking into this question, but the fate of its investigation seems to be clouded. See https://www.salon.com/2020/02/18/doj-appears-to-have-abandoned-possible-deutsche-bank-case-involving-russian-money-laundering-scandal_partner/.  Trump has been highly critical of the FBI and his Department of Justice is investigating the FBI's handling of the 2016 Russian interference in the Presidential election and also its investigation into the Clinton Foundation. See https://www.foxnews.com/politics/durham-assumed-parts-of-john-hubers-clinton-foundation-review-source. Is Trump trying to cow the FBI into avoiding a thorough investigation of his links with Russia and Russians?  

America deserves a complete investigation of Trump and his links to Russia and Russians.  That seems unlikely today, with Trump seemingly attempting to strip professionalism from the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI.  In the meantime, Americans can express their views of all this in the upcoming election.  Will America be truly secure with such a potentially vulnerable man in the White House?  

How to Vote Safely During a Pandemic

The 2020 elections may rank as the most important elections since 1932, when Americans faced a fundamental choice over the direction of the country.  America's choices today also are fundamental and have been etched into acutely sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The varying responses to the disease from different politicians and government officials, with their contrasting implications for health, life and death, vividly illustrate the importance of voting this year. But going to the polls on Election Day could involve a major health risk.  So how can one vote safely?

There are a number of alternatives to going to the polls.  They vary from state to state, so you may not have all the options listed below.  The only way to know for sure what your state allows is to check with the state's election officials.  The rules in some states are even now being changed--by government officials and by judicial decisions, as courtroom battles over voting have already begun--and may continue to change up until the moment you cast your ballot.  So the information here can't be guaranteed to be fully accurate and up to date.  But here's an overview of choices you may have, depending on your home state.

Voting by mail is perhaps the safest way, from a health standpoint, to cast a ballot.  You can just fill out the ballot at home and mail it.  Sometimes, you can drop it off in a designated drop box at municipal location, or have an agent mail or return the ballot.  Voting by mail falls into three categories. 

     Absentee ballots  requiring a specific, legally permitted reason for not being able to go to the polls, such as a physical disability, being out of town on Election Day, service in the military, and so on. 

     Early voting by mail without need for an excuse, which is now available in about 30 states.

     Mail-voting only elections, which are conducted in five states (Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington). 

The first two options--absentee ballots and early voting by mail--require you to apply for a mail ballot.  Typically, you can do this by submitting a mailed or online request.  A few states allow telephone requests.  States with the third option--mail voting only--mail ballots as a matter of course to all registered voters.

There have been controversies over the delivery of mailed ballots (see https://www.salon.com/2020/08/08/friday-night-massacre-at-us-postal-service-postmaster-general-boots-top-brass-ahead-of-election_partner/).  Sometimes, questions have also been raised about agents permitted to collect and return ballots.  It's best to mail or submit a ballot yourself.  Make sure you trust any agent you use to submit your ballot. But don't let these delivery issues deter you from voting by mail if you feel it's your best choice.  Responsible Americans are working very hard to ensure the validity of voting by mail, and we should not now shrink from exercising our franchise as citizens in whatever way we think is best.

Early voting involves going to a designated place (usually a local government office, but sometimes other locations as well) before Election Day and voting in person.  The time period for early voting can begin as early as 45 days before the election, or as little as a few days, depending on the state.  While early voting requires you to go to a public office, it may involve less congestion and waiting than going to a polling station on Election Day.  So your health risks may be lower.  And it is one way to ensure that your ballot gets into the hands of election officials.

Online voting, where you vote from a cell phone or other computing device, is in its infancy.  Early experiments have raised security concerns and there is very limited online voting in America.  If you have this option (and very few of you will), think carefully about the possibility that a hacker may vote for you, and if you don't like that idea, consider your other choices.  But, whatever your choice, remember to vote.