The world has now seen Donald Trump’s interview with Jonathan Swan of Axios. It was another shake your head moment in the life of our president.
But now, Don has a new catch phrase, “It is what it is.”
This fits him perfectly. It works great with the way he conducts his presidency and his life.
Do you need some examples? There’s plenty:

There are more than 4.8 million America cases of Covid-19.
“It is what it is.”

Almost 160,000 Americans have died from Covid-19.
“It is what it is.”

The unemployment rate is more than 11% with more than thirty million Americans unemployed.
“It is what it is.”

The unemployment supplement has expired and millions of Americans have lost the safety net that was keeping their finances afloat.
“It is what it is.”

The Trump family is not permitted to run a charity because they skimmed cash from a children’s cancer charity.
“It is what it is.”

Trump ran a fraud university and was forced to make a twenty-five million dollar settlement to his students.
“It is what it is.”

Putin and Russia puts out a bounty on American servicemen in Afghanistan.
“It is what it is.”

Ghislaine Maxwell: “I wish her well.”
“It is what it is.”

“I’m automatically attracted to beautiful women — I just start kissing them, it’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy.”
“It is what it is.”

There are many more of these, but here’s the most important one. In recent polls, Joe Biden leads Donald Trump nationally by double digits. He’s also leading by large margins in most of the battleground states. If this holds up, on November 3, Joe Biden will be President-elect of the United States.
American citizens will say to Donald Trump:
“It is what it is.”

Related Post: How far will Donald Trump go to get reelected?

Type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced everything. It cancelled the spring sports season for kids of all ages, from Little League and soccer to high school and college baseball, softball, tennis, etc.

Sadly, the disease hasn’t gone away (wear a f***ing mask, people). And now we’re facing the consequences of that reality: fall sports are being significantly impacted as well.

While Major League Baseball tries to navigate their 60-game season, college football will be vastly different this year. The NFL has opted to not play any preseason games and players are opting out of the 2020 season daily. It appears the bubble approach employed by the NHL and NBA is working, but there’s a lot of hockey and basketball left to be played.

On July 29, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors announced enormous changes to the sports calendar for high school in the state this coming school year. Football will not be a “spring” sport, meaning their season will be February 15 to May 1. How exactly kids are going to play football outdoors in mid-February in Chicago and the burbs is a bit laughable, but we’ll see how it plays out.

I feel for the kids playing football whose season just got moved back. The early period signing day for national letters of intent to play NCAA Division I football is December 18, 2020. The final signing date for Division I football is supposed to be April 1, 2021 – which appears to be right smack in the middle of the coming football season in Illinois. There will be no All-America games for Illinois student-athletes this year. And they’ll need to play their best to get colleges to sign up. Some players, including now-former Nazareth quarterback and Michigan recruit J.J. McCarthy, have already left the state to play their final high school season in the fall.

Here’s reality: high school football shouldn’t happen in Illinois in the fall. We can’t risk the health of the kids playing the game or the health of the coaches, refs and other folks associated with putting on a high school football game. It simply isn’t safe yet. You only need to look at what happened when Lake Zurich High School opened their summer sports camps in mid-July to see the reality. 36 students tested positive and they had to shut camps down almost immediately.

However, if football isn’t safe (read: you cannot avoid physical contact in football) there are other sports that have been deemed OK by health organizations, local and state governments and even the IHSA. On July 29, Governor Prizker identified sports including tennis, baseball and golf as “low-risk” sports that could begin/continue playing games.

In fact, many travel baseball programs have played during the pandemic. There have been tournaments all over Illinois since the beginning of July, and lots of teams have been leaving the state to play since late-May. My 9-year-old son Bobby has been playing since mid-June when the state opened doors for practicing.

But high school baseball didn’t happen in the spring. Class of 2020 seniors lost their senior season in every spring sport, including baseball. They had to; the disease was running wild and schools were reacting in real-time.

Now, the IHSA is telling the Class of ’21 that their senior season will run from May 3 to June 26. Baseball has been pushed back because football needs to be played.

Let me be clear: football and basketball drive the bus for sports at pretty much every level. I get that; the IHSA cares about football and basketball more than any other sport.

Their decision on the seasons was necessary for football, but their minimal effort to accomodate baseball screws rising senior baseball players. And it could have been easily avoided.

First, consider how many kids play football and baseball in high school. Usually those athletes have the entire winter off between sports; yes, many play basketball but there has generally been more time between the gridiron and the diamond than one weekend. Now, quarterbacks who pitch will have to dust off their curveball three days after throwing a touchdown. That isn’t an easy proposition.

There are also college recruiting considerations. Without a junior season, many kids are still trying to get college eyes on them. The travel season for high school age players started late with everyone else in the state and has been trying to catch up, but the Class of ’21 is at an enormous disadvantage when trying to get to the next level. Now, their senior season will begin after kids in many other states have almost completed their seasons.

It’s an awful, impossible situation. But there was an easy remedy sitting right in front of the IHSA’s Board of Directors.

Play baseball in the fall.

If the state deems baseball socially distanced enough to play games in August and September, the weather is certainly good enough that kids could have been on the diamond playing. Indeed, most travel seasons are still going today; the kids should be in shape and ready to go when the school open their doors.

The IHSA could have played a two-month baseball season from mid-August thru the end of September. Then the state playoffs could have taken place after a few warm-up games in the “spring” after football ended, giving kids an opportunity to play a more complete season and get their talents noticed at the next level.

This also would have given the kids something to play in the fall. As it stands now, there are only four “fall” sports in Illinois: boys/girls golf, boys/girls cross country, girls tennis and girls swimming. Boys have two sports options in the fall.

I have ot think this could still be changed if the IHSA wanted to do it. And ther students would undoubtedly be happy to play ball in a few weeks.

The alternative is sad, and it’s likely to become a reality for high school baseball in Illinois.

If kids want to get noticed, the travel season won’t likely wait for the high school season to begin/end at the end of June. Some kids may opt out of the 2021 high school baseball season, preferring to play a longer travel season beginning as early as February.

I spoke with a talented rising senior whose brother is on my son’s travel team at a game recently. I asked him about what he’s going to do; he’s absolutely on the track to play college baseball and could have legitimate draft aspirations down the road. His answers were interesting.

I asked him if he was going to skip his senior baseball season to play travel. He said he’s going to have to think about it because it’s important to play high school ball. However, he did indicate the longer season and ability to play in regional and national showcases would complicate his decision.

He followed-up by saying if he was a junior he would almost certainly opted out and played the longer travel season. Junior seasons are critical for kids who want to play at the next level; this year’s senior class wasn’t afforded the opportunity to make that choice because of COVID-19. Now, this year’s seniors will have to make a choice and many juniors will as well.

If the IHSA had made the 2020-21 baseball season a split endeavor with the regular season in the fall and the postseason in the spring, it would have eased the decision making of upperclassmen all over the state. And it would have given them the opportunity to be playing in an off-season, potentially opening more doors for recruiting to be more robust in Illinois.

As it stands now, high school baseball got screwed – both by COVID-19 and, now, by the IHSA. It’s sad, but it could be fixed.

One’s first inclination seeing this is to laugh. Second is to feel embarrassed for this man who is being so irresponsibly used by the political left. The third is to be afraid, very afraid. This is the man who is supposed to lead us? Knock on the door off any retirement home and you’ll probably find someone who better knows where he is.

I’m 78-years-old and I know that I couldn’t handle the challenges of a campaign, even if I was ensconced in my basement and the only questions I got were softballs from friendly reporters. Democrats, please stop this before it is too late. We know how dangerous Trump can be, but do we know what Biden will do? Damn scary.

To subscribe to the Barbershop, type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.

A couple weeks back I introduced you all to a young girl with big dreams. 

If you didn’t read that blog post, *SPOILER* that young girl was me.

These last few months really truly challenged all of those young girl’s dreams she had for her future and hurt her heart while she thought she was watching them disappear. With ending school so abruptly, moving home and not having luck securing a full-time job the voice inside my head was nothing but negative.

BUT, here I am to tell you that life did its thing again and surprised me.

I truly don’t know why I am shocked because forever I have heard the saying that “life has a plan of its own,” but in my heart, I always thought that strong-willed little girl’s plan was the end all be all, no matter what life had planned.

And here I am to tell you that boy, was I WRONG.

I have learned a lot of lessons in my life, but over the last few months, I have really been able to reflect and learn throughout the hardships and difficulties that I have faced.

One of these lessons being that what you might think is best for you, really might not be what is best.

What exactly do I mean?

I was so stuck and focused on moving somewhere after graduation that wasn’t home because I thought it was the best move for the next part of my life, when in reality that was not the case at all. Would I have loved a new city, new people and a brand new chapter to write? Absolutely. But here I am, in a familiar place with a support system and people who love and care about me, a new job combined with living at home that allows me to be financially stable, while still allowing me to write that next BRAND NEW chapter of my life. So yes, life came in and showed me what was best for me at this time, even if at first I didn’t see it.

I would be absolutely lying if I said that I wasn’t still trying to figure out all areas of my life, but learning this lesson has truly allowed me to breathe and realize that eventually, everything will fall into place.

And my hope for all of you? I know that I am by no means the only one who has been challenged throughout these last few months. It hurts my heart knowing the difficulties and hardships that some of you have faced. But seeing life help me out and lend me a hand when I needed it gives me hope that it too will help you.

Just take it one day at a time.

Everything will work out!

By Zondra Hughes

We’re all strong, independent women but this apocalypse has caught us off guard! Here are a few tips to help singles survive the COVID-19 fallout.

1. Get HEALTH INSURANCE.

Don’t ride out this pandemic without health insurance. If you’ve lost your job, visit the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace for options.

2. Locate alternative HOUSING before you get evicted.

If you’re behind on rent, talk to your landlord about your options. (Don’t burn the bridge with your landlord! If you must move, you will need a reference). Swallow your pride. If you’re this/close to eviction, tell somebody so that you can get connected with emergency housing and/or find resources for shelter. Waves of evictions are on the horizon, so you are definitely not alone. Call friends and/or family members and offer to pool your resources to create a safe housing situation for all.

3. Create a job if you can’t find one.

You have a skill; monetize it and promote it as passionately as you promote your favorite celebrities. Here, Massy Arias explains. [embedded content] 4. Don’t ghost your creditors.

If you’re having cash flow issues, contact your creditors immediately to discuss payment plans (to keep your utilities on) and/or any disaster-relief programs that may assist you.

5. Build a support system.

Strategically add people into your life that can actually help you in your time of need. Start local, connect with your neighbors and family members to create a go-to list of trusted experts to call in an emergency (tow-truck driver, handyman, dentist, babysitter, car repairman, etc.). Connect with these people, let them know who sent you and that you exist. Here’s a twist, offer to help them if they need you as well.

6. Track your money.

STOP any automatic withdrawals that are robbing you blind. Don’t continue to pay for subscription services that you do not use regularly.

7. Check your MENTAL HEALTH.

It’s okay to NOT be okay during these crazy times, but don’t drown in depression; help is only a text away. IF you’re going through a crisis, talk to a trusted friend/family member or, text HOME to 741741 to reach a crisis counselor.

8. Learn life hacks at YouTube University.

For example, if you need a new weave but don’t have the money to buy new hair bundles, let YouTube creators teach you how to rejuvenate the weave you have. Conversely, if you have a skill to share, make a quick video and post it to help others.

9. Don’t give up.

This pandemic is devastating and there are no guarantees that help is on the way. However, if we dig deep into our networks, work together and pool our resources, we can overcome the hardships that COVID-19 throws our way.
Stay safe.

Follow Zondra on Twitter @ZondraHughes.

It’s hard to imagine modern business without HR, but what HR does isn’t always clear-cut. Depending on the size and type of your company, your HR department could handle anything from payroll to hiring. Whatever the specifics of what they do, they’re an essential part of your business.

You may be noticing some shortcomings in your HR, or maybe you’re establishing one for the first time. No matter what your situation is, you can probably stand to improve this department. It’s a tricky thing to get right, so here are some tips to help you.

1. Implement Technology

Just like any other department in your company, HR could benefit from embracing new tech. You probably already use software tools to handle payroll, but what about HR’s other responsibilities? HR involves a lot of paperwork, which, without technology, can take a lot of time.

Your HR professionals have a lot on their hands, and going digital can help mitigate that. You can find tools to streamline all manner of processes, from managing employee records to filing legal documents. Talk to your HR department to see where you can best help them with new software.

2. Establish Clear Company Goals and Policies

Your HR department can help improve your company best when they understand what the company’s all about. If employees don’t have a clear sense of direction or purpose, they can lose enthusiasm. According to one poll, only 60% of employees can confidently say that they know what their boss expects of them.

If you establish specific and actionable goals and policies, HR can help you improve your workplace atmosphere. With more precise expectations, they can make better hires, conduct better onboarding and provide better help to current employees. In a crowded market like Chicago, being specific will also help you stand out.

3. Consolidate Everything

As mentioned earlier, your HR department likely has a lot on their hands. You can alleviate some of the stress of dealing with all of that by consolidating their processes. Look for software solutions that they can use for most, if not all, their work.

If everything your HR department needs to access is in different programs and places, it can slow them down. On the flip side, if you consolidate everything, they can work much faster.

4. Consult Experts for Legal Help

One of the many tasks HR departments often handle is complying with legal issues regarding employment. You can’t expect your employees to all be law experts, but you can work with HR to establish company policies to enforce the law. Given how tricky legal matters can be, it’s best to turn to professionals for this.

Attorneys can help you develop policies and guide your HR department in complying with local laws. Turning to law experts will ensure that you can navigate both federal regulations and things unique to Chicago. When it comes to the law, it’s better to be safe than sorry, so consulting attorneys is a smart idea.

5. Set Up a Performance Review System

Your HR department may not be involved in performance reviews, but they should be. Regular feedback can reduce employee turnover by 14.9%, and who better to offer feedback than the department with access to employee files? That’s not to say you should let HR conduct all performance reviews, but turn to them for help.

When it comes time to provide employee feedback, ask HR about each worker. Your HR professionals’ expertise will enable them to offer more useful reviews than you could create by yourself. If you’re not using HR in feedback, you’re underutilizing that department.

Get the Most Out of Your HR Department

Your HR department is one of the most critical parts of your company. If you don’t optimize it, you could be hindering your business’s chances of success. On the other side, an excellent HR department will help you become a similarly excellent company.

Chicago can be a competitive place to start a business. Creating and maintaining a well-functioning HR department can help you stay ahead.