Scroll down to read this post.

 

Readers!

 

The time has come for my annual short pre-Thanksgiving/Christmas fund drive for Behind The Black. I must do this every year in order to make sure I have earned enough money to pay my bills.

 

For this two-week campaign, I am offering a special deal to encourage donations. Donations of $200 will get a free autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, while donations of $250 will get a free autographed copy of the new hardback edition. If you desire a copy, make sure you provide me your address with your donation.

 

As I noted in July, the support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.

 

In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.

 

Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


JC Penny faces bankruptcy due to Wuhan panic

The beatings will continue until morale improves: J.C. Penny is now facing bankruptcy because it will unable to meet a due date on a loan because of store closures forced on it by state governors, panicking over the Wuhan flu.

Like many traditional retailers, J.C. Penney’s business has been under pressure in recent years amid declining store traffic and a shift toward digital outlets. The company’s struggles were compounded in recent weeks after the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of 850 J.C. Penney stores.

With turnaround plans temporarily shelved due to the pandemic, J.C. Penney executives are considering filing for bankruptcy, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. While the retailer has enough cash on hand to weather the store closures, bankruptcy protections would allow J.C. Penney to restructure its upcoming debt payments. The company owes nearly $4 billion in long-term debt.

The article did not say how many employees are presently out of work because of the shut down of JC Penny stores.

I think I will start posting these stories, as I see them. There are a lot, and they illustrate that the shut downs are hurting far more people than the Wuhan flu.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

6 comments

  • James Stephens

    Mr. Zimmerman:

    Here I was deep in the bosom of Texas not so red as some might imagine but always pragmatic and humane. Here too have little tin plated dictators taken hold, with the best of intentions I’m sure.

  • James Stephens: Nice to hear from you again. I hope all is well.

    I should repost your Linux series that your wrote for BtB sometime. I myself have used it now twice to get some old laptops up and running.

  • In fact, I can post it here now. If you want to try out Linux, all you really need is a spare laptop or desktop, one or two years old, that you aren’t using any more, and to then follow the instructions provided here on Behind the Black by reader James Stephens for Getting and Installing Linux, first posted in 2016 and still totally up-to-date:

  • sippin_bourbon

    I am not sure JC Penny is a good indicator of the market.
    They have been in debt for some time, and I think the shutdown is only going to their hand sooner rather than later.

    They have been carrying a lot of debt for years, now. They, like Sears, did not transition well from catalog to internet sales, instead hoping people will walk into stores rather than shop from home. They expanded physical stores, when they should have been building an a bigger and more robust online presence.

    In ten years, their stocks have gone from a little less that $40 a share down to 2 bits.

    Anecdotally, my friends wife has been a long time employee there. They are a a difficult company to work for, because money is tight. They all feel (at her store) like it is a matter of time until they go they way of K-Mart and Sears.

    Who knows. Maybe if they re-structure now, rather than wait too long, they can keep their head above water.

    Sears emerged from bankruptcy, but have less than 200 Stores. Kmart less than 100.

    Trying times creates adversity. The weaker companies will fold up and vanish. The surviving companies will come out better positioned to grow.

    It is why in the “great recession” I thought that bailing out GM and Chrysler was a bad idea. It was a house of cards that should have collapsed.

  • Wodun

    “I am not sure JC Penny is a good indicator of the market.”

    Yeah, they have been struggling for a long time and likely wouldn’t have survived if things were normal.

  • Edward

    sippin_bourbon wrote: “It is why in the “great recession” I thought that bailing out GM and Chrysler was a bad idea. It was a house of cards that should have collapsed.

    This is what happened to both companies despite the bailout. Obama took control of both companies, using the bailout as an excuse to replace the leadership with his own people, and both went into the bankruptcy that the bailout was intended to prevent. Then Obama nationalized both companies by bypassing the regular bankruptcy procedures.

    Somehow, the government went from believing that the bailout would work, to managing both companies into bankruptcy, to taking over ownership of both companies.

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *