My Don Problem

 I just have to admit it...the minute that a Don Lemon podcast/interview comes up....part of me wants to give him 2 minutes to say something stupid, and part of me wants to mute it ASAP.

It usually takes Don somewhere between 2 and 4 minutes....to say something remarkable, and STUPID.   It's the stuff you'd say after half-a-case of PBR, or having smoked a joint (or two).

Part of me wants to believe that Don came out of high school this way......with college mostly developing the stupid-side....as a 'skill' or talent...which CNN needed badly.

Once CNN let him go....it was difficult for them to show or reach this level of remarkable simplemindedness or gullible nature.

As for me  conditioning myself to take in more  minutes of Don?  Well...it's not easy....as I age...I have less patience for stupid people.

Tanning Beds: Not That I Really Care

I came to this odd story this AM....where a guy had bought into a tanning bed operation, and in the change-over....came to realize that there were age restrictions in the state.

So I asked Grok/AI to study this....forty-four states (with DC) have a age 18 restriction on indoor tanning beds (also known as sunbeds or solariums).

Chief reason?  To protect minors from increased skin cancer risks. 

The six states without restrictions? Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Montana, and New Mexico.

So after pondering this....I came to this remarkable reality....oddly, no state has a restriction on 10-year or 12-year old kid....being out-of-doors 16 hours a day in the summer.

You could aim to get 1,000 times the amount of sunlight that you should limit yourself.

Yeah, I Do Have Ten Criticisms Of Gov Gavin Newsom

1.  The Worsening Homelessness Crisis: Yeah, there's been over $24 billion on homelessness programs since 2018 in  California....with mostly ineffective  accomplishments, and oddly.....a total lack of accountability. 

2.  Yeah....crime rates are mostly up over the past ten years.  Crime in California reportedly increased by 13% in 2022 (per FBI data), with detractors pointing to "soft-on-crime" measures like early prisoner releases and decriminalization laws (e.g., jaywalking, loitering for prostitution) as contributing factors. 

3.  Yeah.....it's a state with growing cost of living, and increasing  taxes. California has the nation's highest cost-of-living burden, including record-high gas prices, energy costs, and taxes, which critics say have driven out residents and businesses under Newsom's policies. 

4.  Yeah, there hypocrisy in COVID-19 rules (the French Laundry Scandal): Newsom faced backlash for attending a maskless indoor dinner at the upscale French Laundry restaurant in 2020 while urging Californians to follow strict pandemic restrictions, seen as a "rules for thee but not for me" moment. 

5.  That high-speed rail?  The project, initially criticized by Newsom in 2019, has received billions more in funding despite massive delays, cost overruns (now estimated at $100+ billion), and little progress, labeled a "money pit." 

6.  The unemployment benefits fraud? During the pandemic, California's Employment Development Department lost an estimated $20-30 billion to fraud, including payments to prisoners and out-of-state claimants, due to poor oversight. 

7.  Then there's the failing public education system. California ranks near the bottom nationally in K-12 performance, with prolonged school closures during COVID and vetoes of reforms like mandatory ethnic studies cited as exacerbating issues. 

8.  There's the wildfire prevention shortfalls. Governor Newsom overstated wildfire fuel treatment acres by 690% (actual: 11,399 vs. claimed 90,000), contributing to ongoing devastating fires amid criticism of inadequate forest management. 

9.  Then there was the early release of prisoners. Policies allowing earlier parole for thousands of felons, including violent offenders, have been blamed for rising crime and public safety risks. 

10.  Finally, there is infrastructure and economic mismanagement: Broader failures in areas like water shortages, housing affordability, and a $68 billion budget deficit (as of 2025 audits) have led to accusations of fiscal irresponsibility and poor governance.

All in all....the most unqualified guy to run for President for the Democratic Party in the past sixty-odd years. There's literally nothing to brag about over the past ten years of effort....yet, he is the top candidate for the primary (at this point).  In general....anything he advocates....you should do the exact opposite.

Five Humble Thoughts

 1.  This appearance yesterday of Gov Newsom (Cal-D).....at DEVOS yesterday.....was supposed to be some moment to show his 'world-status'.  

Well...he did get interviewed by US media but the rest of his 'gain' plan mostly failed.  Curiously, a poll came out yesterday to say he is the number one candidate for 2028's presidential election.

If I had to pick from the past 40 years....the least prepared and lacking candidate for either party....Newsom is that guy.....but he has a great barber, and he does appear like 'Ken' (from Barbie-fame).

2.  Just odd....someone did a poll and suggested we end daylight-savings time....so you had 4 choices: no-change, no-opinion, stick with just regular time, stick with just savings time.

I would assume...99-percent would have said to stick with stick  with regular time.  Well....I was wrong on polling.

Roughly 15-percent said keep going with the time-change....10-percent had no real opinion, and then it was pretty well divided (50-50)with going to  regular time, or going with savings time.

My prediction....nothing changes....we just keep going.

3.  Just an  odd point  I noticed yesterday...from SF news....they say between the city, charities, and foundations....almost one-billion dollars is spent  on homelessness.  There's no sign that anyone benefited.

4.  This Clinton (Bill and Hillary) contempt situation?

By saying 'no'....they won't attend a House mandated Q-and-A....they will be dragged into court.  Based on what I've seen....this court situation might take  less than one day.  Unless some deal occurs....I'm guessing the contempt  lands them for 4 to 6 months in some fed-jail.

The deal?  Well...Hillary might offer to answer one question...what  was the problem in Libya with the dead ambassador.  Then she'd lay out....the Obama team gave out some US weapons  which ended up in Afghanistan and used against the US Army.

One brief story....no more than 60 minutes on a stand, and she gets Bill and herself out of trouble.

5. Finally, just odd numbers....so far for deporting  folks.....Trump has only achieved 35-percent of what Obama  did....and only 8-percent of what Bill Clinton did. 

People (from left/right) seem hyped-up...mostly over a marginal performance (so far).

Trump's Movement On Psychiatric Care

 President Trump has consistently advocated for expanding access to long-term psychiatric care facilities, often using outdated terminology like "insane asylums" or "mental institutions," as a strategy to address issues such as homelessness, serious mental illness, public safety, and crime. This approach has been a recurring theme in his rhetoric since at least 2019, when he linked it to preventing mass shootings by removing "mentally deranged" individuals from the streets.

So there's likely to be two big thing going on....first....to encourage states to broaden laws allowing courts to order individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) into inpatient or outpatient treatment if they pose a risk to themselves or others.

Second....implicitly support the construction or reopening of psychiatric facilities to provide "long-term institutional settings for humane treatment." In this case....a state will come up with a program....maybe to build three facilities...getting the fed funding to cover 80-percent of the cost to build (not  run).

So, I'll offer five humble thoughts:

1.  Red states will proceed on this....blue states will do nothing.  About three years into this....blue state leadership will be sued to such a level...that resisting won't be a option.

2.  At least 10-percent of the folks arrested/detained by the police for real crime....will meet a judge who questions  their defective nature, and get forced into a evaluation....so the mental holding unit will become a mental-prison.  I'm not saying this is a improvement....just a change.

3.  Drug addicts/crazies....will find this to be a one-way trip, and probably never exit.  

4.  A fair number of people in red states who show physical violence  tendencies....are going to be long-term residents of such places.

5.  Finally, people who readily ID themselves as anger-management players....are probably going to get a 90-day stay to chill out.  A lot of us know co-workers, relatives or neighbor in this group, and would probably agree....90 days in some state-park forest compound...fills a public need.

The ID Chatter

 I sat this AM...watching a  interview with a 'View' moderator. 

The guy running the show asks about requiring an ID to vote.

The View-gal sums  it up....blacks in general and  women would have a disadvantage...because they don't have IDs.

I've heard the blacks-don't-have-IDs chatter over and over....with zero evidence or studies to ever back it up.

The suggestion that some women don't have IDs?  I've never heard this suggestion before.

In the 1960s/1970s growing up in a rural area....you'd note that maybe 40-percent of the women over age 50....didn't drive, and I'd assume they didn't have an ID.  You'd also note that girls/ladies between 16 and 20....it was a 99.9-percent deal....yeah, they had a license/ID.

This still correct today?  No....there seems to be a fair number of younger women (say under the age of 25) who survive in some fashion  (probably in urbanized areas) without a car or license (or ID).  A couple of studies suggest this....but whether these are fair assessments....I can't say.

How these people set up bank accounts, or get prescription drugs?  Unknown. How they fly without an ID?  Also unknown.

I'm not necessarily buying into this discussion.  

Can anyone survive in Europe without an ID?  No.  That's the one thing I've noticed over 40-odd years.....once you make it mandatory, everyone plays in a legit way.

This leading to a Trump-mandate?  By early 2027....I think a requirement will be set, and voting can only occur if you present a  legit ID.  The amusing thing....a fair number of Democrats will proclaim this the end of the world....that these 'poor' people can't get an ID.

The Thing About Tariffs

 Last night, I read through a fair amount of social media commentary....how the tariff crap is going badly for US consumers....with consumers  paying 95-plus percent of the cost involved.

I sat for about 10 seconds....then started laughing.  It was a massive bogus story....fake news.

X-product made in France.....gets to the US, and has a 20-percent tariff attached.  The single US consumer interested in that French product...buys it (I  have no argument about this)...paying the tariff.

The problem is....what products made in  France....does the typical working class American buy?

You line up a thousand Texans....asking them  to list French products they buy, and fewer than 50 will raise their hand....mostly saying wine or cheese.  They are the ones paying  the extra cost.  The other 950? They have no relationship to the product, tariff, or cost.

The same is true of a Swiss-made pen that sells for $1,400 (with the tariff inserted). Only the consumers hyped-up on Swiss quality....will pay that much.

The same is true for a German who buys American-made products with a tariff inserted....a typical German won't be a US-product-consumer. 

Is this really so hard for a normal person to view and grasp? Or is it mostly BS-propaganda?