Saturday 29 February 2020

What Happens When Coronavirus Finally Hits 'Druggies'?

This is one of those questions that the health guys and journalists have skipped. 

Last week, I start to ponder upon this.  Around the US now....if you go and count up the meth folks, the heroin folks, and Bath Salts people....I would take a guess that the numbers are up around three million minimum.  Around Portland, Seattle, SF, and LA.....you might be talking about a quarter-million easily.

My humble guess is that by the end of May....Coronavirus will finally start to hit the homeless crowd and druggie scene on the west coast. 

The health officials will be stupid enough to quickly move these unhealthy into their hospital situation, and trigger a massive outbreak with medical folks affected.

Within six weeks, the dead numbers will go past 1,000 (weakened immune systems will be the talk of the experts on CNN), and a major crisis will be discussed by the governors of the three states....demanding that Trump 'save' them.

The problem will be....at this point, it's too late.  Locals will be chasing the homeless crowds out of their neighborhoods....attacks by homeless folks on locals will occur, and total chaos will exist in these four urbanized areas of the west coast. 

By the end of 2020, I would suggest that more than 100,000 deaths are reported on the west coast....with the vast majority being homeless people. 

Friday 28 February 2020

How I Think Coronavirus Started Up

This is simply my view of the whole thing, and my scenario:

1.  Some Chinese general had the opinion maybe a year or two ago of some bio-weapon with a virus situation.  Without consulting the political folks, he directed some research to this. 

2.  The bio-lab guys (in Wuhan) went and spent some time looking at this bat-virus.  Along the way, they found that some amino acids added....made this into an extremely deadly virus.  They tested this on some monkeys.

3.  A support staff guy who handles the monkeys....was regularly told to dispose (terminate) some monkeys.  There was a policy on doing this in a quick and sanitary way.    Wung, this guy.....found that occasionally....he could slip a monkey out of the lab and sell it at the nearby market. 

4.  Wung, was told to get rid of a monkey or two who had the Coronavirus.  He removed them from the lab, and transported to the market back in October. 

5.  The guys at the market butchered up the monkey and made some type of dish.  Five to ten workers from the market ate the meat.

6. Around five to ten days later....three of the guys got pneumonia-like problems.  By the 12th day, the rest of the group (seven) had issues. 

7.  From this first ten, five survived, and the rest passed on.  Some guy in the hospital unit thought this was strange and took various samples of the remaining five guys.  Five days later....nurses and doctors attending to the ten.....were mostly all infected and sick.  The sample guy is feeling sick now.

8.  Family members of the first ten, and the doctors/nurses.....are now showing symptoms (late November). 

9.  The chief of public safety for Wuhan is now alerted.  He's asking questions, which get directed to the military leadership of the country.  They eventually (within hours) figure out that the virus is their 'toy'.  The remaining members from this particular group are not sick at this point, but the leadership can't allow them to tell the story.  So those folks are executed quietly one night.

10.  Now in this critical stage when they needed the formula to figure out a vaccine....the lab guys are dead, and no one can bring this thing back to a manageable situation. 

Thursday 27 February 2020

The Ten Things About This Political Season That Don't Make Sense

Just pondering:

1. If you watched any of the Democratic debates....it always seems like they (the candidates) were all running to be the President of Denmark, Sweden, or Scandinavia in general.

2.  Moderator-wise for the debates, it would seem like you'd be better off finding three barbers from Tusla, or four junkies from Little Rock....than these journalists selected.

3.   As much that was hyped-up about Cuba and Venezuela during the debates.....I suspect that none of these candidates would have much success in Cuba or Venezuela....if running there.  In both cases, you'd have to go and promise off toilet-paper as an incentive to vote for the candidate.

4.  It's a total mystery on why some people seem so visibly upset about blacks or Latinos being Republicans.

5.  With the 2016-version of Trump-derangement-syndrome.....one has to wonder if the 2020-version of Trump-derangement-syndrome is better or worse.

6.  If socialism is the answer (as seen in so many of the debate episodes)....what's the question?

7.  Bloomberg has said that if you have a weapon in the home....you are more prone to being dead.  To be kinda honest, your odds of death....with or without the gun in the home....is 100-percent.  It'll come sooner, or later....preferably after the November election.

8.  There are forty-plus versions of Joe Biden.  Some versions even suggest that he played shortstop for the Pirates in 1966.  One version suggested that he golfed with Fidel Castro.  And one version has said that he's the guy that invented Ms Pac-Man.

9.  That Acosta-guy for CNN....is single-handedly helping Trump win the election.

10.  If you use FBI-math, there's approximately 166,000 Russian agents in the US....working to destabilize the November election.  Thank God that the FBI is hard at work.....looking for them.  We already had 455,000 non-Russians working to destabilize the November election.....we didn't need any extra help.

Wednesday 26 February 2020

Farmer Jones, the Coronavirus, and the Logistical 'Path'

In the midst of this Coronavirus....one day, Farmer Jones will have a fan belt break on a particular farm implement that was made in 1972.  He figures fine....he'll walk into the farm store in town and buy a new belt.

There, he talks to Randy (the sales dude), and these belts that he'd typically have....have run out.  The company which marketed them and shipped them?  A Chinese company in Wuhan.  Randy says it's been that way since 2004. 

You ask....well....what's the delay here?  Randy says that a fair number of the Chinese guys at this belt factory are either sick, dead, or have run off because of the disease threat.

You kinda hint to Randy....this ain't going to be something that you can do without.

A day or two passes, and a second item on the farm has broke down.  The replacement part?  You go to the Illinois 'BIG' Farm web-site, and figure you can order it.  They say it's a problem....out of stock, and the replacement items are not being produced in Wuhan as the schedule would work.

A week later, some funny disease starts up with your cattle, and the Vet says you need X....to vaccinate them.  He'd like to help you but he only has one bottle of the stuff left, and you need six of them.  So you ask....where is this produced, and he says China.  Yep, there's a bottleneck now.

So Randy calls up and has said he knows this Peruvian guy who makes generic belts to fit this farm requirement.  The problem is....you need to talk to him on the size and shape. 

The wife knows this Honduran family at church, and you call them up....asking if 'Juan' (their 12-year-old son can chat for you).  They come over, and you call Peru.  Juan spends 20 minutes on the phone describing the size and shape of the belt.....with an acceptable price-tag, and the belt will be flown in by Friday.  Toward the end of this call....the Peruvian says they do 'other' things.   So Juan goes into detail about the second piece of equipment broke, and that guy can build that item as well.

Then Juan mentions the medication issue with the cattle.  The Peruvian asks what type, and that his cousin....who happens to be in the drug cartel business....can remedy a reproduction of this vaccine. 

As the days pass, Juan and the Peruvian guy forge a new relationship.  Juan (12 years old) now starts to conduct daily business out of Peru.  $10 per consultation.  A year later, Juan is making $10,000 per week....with his Peruvian-connection business. 

The drug dealers start to realize that they can reproduce virtually any drug....even cancer drugs, with a little bit of effort, and suddenly the worldwide crisis is over.....compliments of a Peruvian entrepreneur and a 12-year-old kid. 

This is how difficult and how simple this whole crisis may go in the end. 

If President Hillary Clinton Were in the Middle of This

Some news groups are getting hyped up to find some blame game to dump on Trump for the Coronavirus.  I sat and pondered upon this, and then wrote my ten thoughts if President Clinton were standing there instead:

1.  President Clinton would appoint 25 medical experts to some task force, to prepare a daily four-hour news media 'talk', with one-third of the presentation talking about dire situations, and the rest trying to reassure everyone that things are fine even if 50 people a day were dying.

2.  An enormous amount of useless data would be presented daily....affected rates of gays versus non-gays, affected rates of blacks versus whites, affected rates of rural farmers versus urban folks, and affected rates of lesbians versus gay guys.  Even the CNN journalists would say that this is a bit too much.

3.  Only twelve US airports would be allowed to handle international flights coming in.  A special medical contract would be signed by the government to provide continual shifts of doctors at the airports to survey passengers coming in.  Around the second week of this.....someone would observe that the 900 doctors brought in.....are mostly from North Korea, Cuba, Peru, and Angola...speaking almost no English.  The contract....given to a mostly unknown American Indian tribe....cannot be explained in public.

4.  A fireside chat with President Hillary would occur each week, with her promising to move 'mountains' to save humanity.

5.  Two Nobel Peace Prize folks would be desperately trying to find a way to nominate President Clinton for the award.....with just three lines of text on the nomination sheet.

6.  At least five medical companies would be attempting some form of 'donation' to the campaign fund of President Clinton.....to get the 2.5-billion dollar vaccine contract.

7.  Some major Coronavirus forum will be hustled up by President Clinton, in some Hawaiian resort hotel complex, with 2,000 political and medical figures from across the globe, for a week of talks.  As they disperse, it's discovered that 8 carriers of the virus were attending, and at least 300 attendees are now infected.

8.  In the midst of a San Francisco mass Coroniavirus episode, a decision is made at the White House to relocate 2,000 homeless people to several other states.  A month later, it'll be discovered that the bulk of the 2,000 had the virus, and as they moved to other states.....they contaminated tens of thousands in other locations.  No one from White House can remember who gave the order for this though.

9.  A debate will start up about the need for a Coronavirus 'Czar' acting out of the White House, but the center of the debate is that it has to be a woman, or a black.

10.  About four months into the US 'action'....President Clinton will declare the virus battle 'won', making a whirlwind tour around the US promoting the 'win', then return, and nine days later....have the Coronavirus herself.

Ten Things I Expect Out of This Virus-Chatter

1.  All airlines are going to report massive losses for 2020, into the billions, with stock prices prices probably dropping by 30 to 40 percent.

2.  Rumors out of China say that 10 to 20 million small-market owners (guys with small production situations, cafes, coffee shops, etc) will be bankrupt by early summer.  My guess is that China will 'print' more money and hand out 'gift-amounts'....maybe enough to survive for all of 2020.

3.  Wal-Mart will have to stand up by early April and admit that delivery-freighters from China in LA or SF ports.....are limited, and stocks for the warehouses are being reduced.  By early May, shelves at Wal-Mart operations will start to be noted as empty.  Same story for toy shelves, and some talk will start up by July that Christmas gift expectations are going to be lowered in a drastic way. 

4.  Wuhan (I think) by early May, will be having an exit-situation going on, with 10,000 locals a week leaving.  Local industry won't be able to recover.

5.  Places like Haiti, Thailand, and Egypt will be hard hit by the virus, and limited medical capabilities.  Doctors will be assaulted and killed over family anger of a relative dead.

6.  Cruise-ship operations will go into a nose-dive by early April.  At least forty of these ships will be parked around US east coast....waiting for some end to the crisis period.

7.  Several movie-production situations will be shut down for four to six months, with some movies planned for spring 2021 release....being pushed back six months. 

8.  Someone will wake up and announce that in reality.....more people die from alcohol-related disease and incidents.....than from the Coronavirus.  It's just that the virus harshly affects the over-65 crowd, with a high-death rate. 

9.  At least a hundred US prisons will announce by July that they have an infection situation, and are unable to provide adequate security for the inmates.

10.  Various judges and political figures around the US....over the age of 65.....will be noted as having 'passed-on' from the virus, and funerals will draw large crowds....where the virus has a chance to spread out among the attendees. 

Biden's Lost Memory

From last night's debate.....there is some type of statement by Joe Biden, that since 2007....roughly 150-million Americans were killed by guns.

If true, then the voting polls should be half of what they are today. 

Joe being faulty on memory?  Yeah, but luckily, we have choices. 

Tuesday 25 February 2020

Odd Subject Over Wuhan

So you go and look at factual pollution numbers.

On the index, using Atlanta as a comparison....on the PM-10 situation....Atlanta has only a '19' rating (meaning marginal pollution situation).....while Wuhan has a '124' rating, for air pollution (meaning harsh situation in the extremes).

On the pollution index ranking.....whatever Atlanta has.....it's twice that bad for Wuhan.

Protests over this?  Both in 2018 and 2019.....various groups in Wuhan tried to make a protest movement about the local situation.

My humble belief?  Maybe it's not discussed much by news journalists, but in terms of lung damage (if you've lived in Wuhan for the past twenty years).....you've probably accumulated a fair amount of dust and soot into your system, and it's affecting your lung capacity.  So a fairly decent flu starts up, and your immune system isn't four-star to start with, and your odds of dying rapidly go up if you smoke, or have a secondary condition existing already.

Ten Observations Over 2016's Path to 2020's Election

1.  Let's be honest, about forty-percent of the Democratic voting crowd, have never recovered from 2016, and their whole focus is to knock Trump out before November's election. 

2.  Lets also be honest, Bernie Sanders would have won the 2016 primary, if he'd had a level playing field, and a neutral news media. 

3.  Lets be also honest, and admit that the strategists knew that Mike Bloomberg had several 'flaws', and could not be put in front of the public back in the summer of 2019.  As things go now, Bloomberg has hit the point where he could spend $50-million a week, and only gain 10,000 voters per week.

4.  Honestly, that impeachment idea didn't really bring in the support that was anticipated, and the news media expended a couple of silver bullets, so there's not much left to fire with....at this point.

5.  Did all that impeachment chatter really give Trump around a hundred campaign videos?  Yeah, compliments of Shifty and the team.

6.  Some of us will miss AOC, if she is beaten in her district in November.  She was pure entertainment to watch.

7.  Blacks finally asking stupid questions of the Democratic Party?  If Trump takes 40-percent of the black vote....then the whole agenda plan for the past thirty years for the Democratic Party....can be thrown out.

8.  Can a small-town gay mayor run an effective campaign for the Presidency?  Simple answer.....no.

9.  The Russians must have at least 300,000 people working day and night....to corrupt up the American voting system.  Or.....they have no one assigned to the job, and it's just all stupid luck.

10.  All of the people who threatened to leave America if Trump won in 2016.....are still oddly here, registered to vote, and say meekly that they will vote for Bernie. 

Sunday 23 February 2020

Joe and His Adventure

Joe Biden now says that back in the 1970s.....he went over as a US Senator to South Africa, and was arrested out on the streets of the country as he was traveling with the UN ambassador.....to visit Nelson Mandela in a South African prison.

First, it would have happened after 3 January 1973.....when he became a Senator.

Second, no one else (even the UN ambassador) can remember Joe being arrested.

Third, if he had been arrested, it'd been a big event back with the Washington Post, and touted as a page-two type story.  Well.....it simply never got published.

What I think happened?  I think like most congressional boondoggles....he flew into South Africa, and went straight to a four-star hotel, where he laid out by the pool and consumed a vast amount of booze.  After five days of this, he came out of the booze period and asked his aide what happened, and the aide told him that he got detained at some point (failing to mention it was at the pool bar and mostly over some figure of speech used to insult the female bartender). 

The problem here.....Joe did a yearly boondoggle like this, and probably has thirty different stories to tell....mostly all aligned with heavy boozing at fancy hotels.  He probably also dined with Fidel Castro, played golf with Tony Noriega, and sipped whisky with the King of Spain. 

Saturday 22 February 2020

The Sage Guy

Generations ago, when Greeks held 90-percent of the wisdom on the face of the Earth (so they'd often brag)....you had these guys walking around who were Sage thinkers.  They were different from philosophers. 

Plato tried to explain the difference the two guys (sagists and philosophers).  The sage people had what the philosophers were already seeking.....but then he kinda left this on the table.....never explaining what exactly the sage folks had in the first place.

In simple terms....sage folks weren't that interested or thrilled with knowledge, facts, or wisdom.  In some ways, they figured that this kinda cluttered up the details part of a mess. 

Plato went on to write up a piece on sages.....saying in Theaetetus, that sage folks were 'righteous, holy and wise'.  The suggestion was....they were set to make good and sensible decisions.  You were supposed to listen to them. 

In this time period (going back 2,000 years) sages were typically the folks that you turned to in the village or city....to describe a serious problem going on, and then generally ask for advice.  It really didn't mean that they were book-smart, successful businessmen, clever at math or science, or extremely moralistic.  It's just that they could look at a problem.....ask a few questions, and then offer a middle-of-the road opinion about how to proceed. 

Yes, they were a bit stoic in nature, susceptible to intense reasoning 'pains', and prone to offer up a blunt opinion about folks with the problems. 

If you stand view things in modern society, we have an awful lot of fake sages.  They'd like for you to believe their wit, and problem-solving abilities.  Pretenders at all of the general sage abilities?  Probably so, and they don't mind a bit of gossip about themselves, or their future.

Virtually every single night on some network, some sage guy is appearing and offering up his advice on such-and-such problem. 

Your problem?  In all of Greece, a thousand years ago....there might have been forty-odd sage guys.  Today, just in the US?  There might be 40,000 sage guys, and 99-percent of them are fakers. 

So beware. 

Friday 21 February 2020

The 'Summer Camp'?

At some point in the Vegas debate, Bernie's three houses come up, and then Bernie admits something that people didn't know.....he has a 'summer camp'. 

I sat and paused over that term, and how he said it.  It wasn't exactly clear what that means.

In Alabama, a 'summer camp' could mean a hut on the Cahaba River, with a tarp over the roof....a Wal-Mart purchased grill on the deck area....a refrigerator with PBR beer, and a rough situation for the toilet. 

In Idaho, a 'summer camp' would mean some cabin, with no electricity or running water.  It'd be visited by a minimum of two bears a day, and you'd have PBR beer mostly unchilled. 

In Detroit, a 'summer camp' would be an abandoned house on the east-side, with Marvin coming by every other day with some fresh weed to smoke.  You'd have access to Tiger's games, and some shady ladies would entice you with bawdy jokes during the evening hours.

So what is Bernie's 'summer camp'?

I imagine its a place where Bernie dresses down.....wearing mostly shorts and tank-top shirt, with flip-flops on.  I would imagine that he's got forty Dean Martin CDs collected and plays them throughout the day. 

For breakfast, he'll settle for coffee and a sausage biscuit.  For lunch, he chow down on a tuna sandwich and sip through three gin-sours.  And for dinner, it'll be some ribs on the bar-b-q, with a dozen Stroh's American Lager beers. 

In a enlightened mood, he'll talk about the 1960s, past fantasies of being President, and episodes of Bay Watch (particularly season 3, episode 8....where the European princess had arrived and is in serious danger until Mitch comes to rescue her).

So we are left to wonder about this 'summer camp' thing.  Maybe it's just a hut resting under some bridge in Meredith, NH....where Bernie converses with retired hobos. 

The Difference Between Trump and Bloomberg

There are five differences between the two:

1.  Trump bluffs....twenty-four hours a day....seven days a week.  With Bloomberg, it's a guarded and measured bluff (he's an electrical engineer by trade/university, and he has to sample the bluff, running various tests to ensure it works).

2.  Bloomberg is 'wooden' in front of a crowd.  Trump is animated, and acts more as a circus ringmaster.  Trump wants you to be thrilled and entertained.....thus leaving the 'tent' in a hyped-up state. 

3.  Bloomberg was originally a Democrat....converted to a Republican....converted to a Independent....converted to a Democrat, and generally acts his way through debates as some 75-percent Democrat/25-percent Republican.  Trump?  Basically a Republican since age 12.

4.  Bloomberg, oddly, believes that more regulation resolves problems.  Trump, oddly, believes that less regulation resolves problems. 

5.  Trump believes in fake news.  Bloomberg believes in controlled news (he's ordered various control applications on his owned publications in recent months). 

Thursday 20 February 2020

Newsom's Threat

I sat and watched a clip this morning of the California 'State of the Union' speech by Governor Gavin Newsom.

His key idea from this?  He wants to fix homelessness in California by find some method (left blank for the most part) to ease the government into a bigger role of forcing (he actually used that word) people into psychiatric treatment.  If you had mental illness and living off the street....they'd mandate an exam for you and forced treatment. 

All of this....circling around the idea that those who are suggested to be unable to care for themselves....would be put into a permanent facility.

Odds of this happening?  I'll make three observations:

1.  The governor will likely only fund this agenda item with twenty-odd million, and stage some type of situation with only 200 folks getting mental facility assignments by some judge.  It'll prove it works but realistically requires over two-billion dollars a year to accomplish. 

2.  If you did make this a legit program?  I would suggest almost 25,000 people throughout the state would be deemed 'helpless' and forced into actual psychiatric treatment.

3.  If this did go to the realistic step of cops picking up people....within ten days....dozens of people per hour....would be leaving the state for other 'safe' locations (Portland, Vegas, Seattle, etc).


Nevada Debate

I would make five observations after watching the debate for the Democrats:

1.  With six 'players'.....this moderator team did a marginal job of keeping this on track and 'organized'. 

2.  'Mini-Mike' Bloomberg just never did take off.  Part of this blame, I'd assign to Senator Warren.  She did a five-star job on the guy.  On the positive side....he did introduce himself and state a few priorities....beyond that, this debate was a massive negative event for him.

3.  The non-disclosure chatter against Bloomberg?  It'll beg for more questions, and it's really too messy for some guy to enter the race and expect this to just disappear.

4.  Joe Biden?  Nothing much to say.  He's finished.

5.  Here at the critical time-point of the entire campaign....someone should have stood out.  No one accomplished that except in the marginal sense of Bernie Sanders pounding the podium. Bernie versus Trump?  Capitalism versus socialism?  You are giving Trump an unbelievable odds to win.

So my final thoughts....there is one single debate left at this point (15 March).  Let's be honest, they should have whittled this down to strictly two people.....Sanders and Bloomberg.  The drama factor at this point (on a scale of one to ten)....maybe a '5'.  If Bloomberg does win, you can discount any of these five folks on the stage from being his VP choice. 

Wednesday 19 February 2020

The Mini-Mike Bloomberg School for Coding and Farming

To help out all of us lower intelligent folks who wish to be farmers, I believe Mini-Mike could accomplish the training situation in two weeks:

1-hour hay-hauling safety course
3-hour cattle info course
6-minute orientation on cattle-chute safety (including one practice run with the bull)
14-minute orientation on electrical knowledge for farming
2-hour orientation on fence maintenance
12-hour orientation on how to deal with stupid bankers and politicians
8-minute orientation on changing mower blades
2-hour weather basic knowledge course
2-minute course on identifying male and female cattle
8-minute course on vaccinating cattle
16-hour course on dealing with incompetent county agricultural agents.
30-minute course on barn repair and painting fence posts

The Mini-Mike school would make you an official farmer, with a certificate...with broad chances of operating your very own 2-acre farm on the outskirts of some suburban community. 

Monday 17 February 2020

Bloomberg's Funny Way of Being Stupid

Back in 2016, Mini-Mike Bloomberg was at a forum and uttered the immortal lines:

“I could teach anybody in this room to be a farmer.  It’s a process.  You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on to, add water, up comes the corn.”

But he wasn't finished.....because then he added that information technology had arrived, and things were "fundamentally different, because it’s built around replacing people with technology and the skill sets you need to learn are how to think and analyze and that is a whole degree level different, you need to have different skill set, you have to have a lot more gray matter.”

I sat and watched the video of this event here in the AM.....maybe four times.  It kinda bothered me.

Back in the early 1970s, living on the farm as a kid, it was obvious to me that technology was creeping in, and in an average year.....there were probably 100 different technology items that were being funneled into the farm 'world' and the old guys who'd quit school in the ninth-grade in the 1940s.....were screwed.  They would be lucky to last out another twenty years, but the idea of low-knowledge idiots becoming farmers were rapidly disappearing.

By the 1990s, if you looked around a typical rural country....there were a thousand different technology items being introduced. 

Today?  I'd take a guess that it's near 10,000 technology items in a rural county, and farmers are sitting at the feed-store, or in some regional farming 'fair'....absorbing introduction material to things approaching in the next year or two.

I look at Bloomberg and kinda suspect that he hasn't hung out with regular people (carpenters, plumbers, farmers, bus drivers, or longshoremen) in the past fifty years. 

You know who he reminds me of though?  Hillary Clinton.  She was the same way....she hadn't hung out with regular people either....not since the 1980s.  She also talked about knowing things about technology.

So here's the whole angle to technology and farming.  Around 300 years ago, in a single year....you might have had one single technology advancement introduced to you as a farmer. 

Somewhere around the 1880s...the technology advancement went up two or three notches, and you could show up at a state farm exposition (say in Iowa or Ohio), to find forty advancements. 

By the 1940s, between articles in farm magazines and farm expositions....you were up to around 300 advancements. 

At the present rate?  Just within five years, I think a number of farmers will have drones which routinely check on cattle or fence conditions, allowing the farmer to sit at the barn 'office'.   Extended weather forecasts will allow farmers to plan out their work for the next ten days, and prevent wasteful periods. 

What bothers me here, is that it's actually the moron political figures with zero talent or capability....running for some office, who fake you out with a resume that seems mostly blank or bogus.  Maybe it's the farmer who could teach the politician a thing or two.

Sunday 16 February 2020

Ask Yourself: Why Would a Black Guy Vote for Bloomberg-Clinton

It's a stupid question but with 40-percent of black guys talking of voting for Trump....Bloomberg would need to pick up half of those guys and bring them back. 

Would having Hillary on the ticket work? 

This is why I don't think the Clinton for VP chatter is legit. 

Saturday 15 February 2020

Avoid Talking Fake-Texan

"Now if I were from Texas, I might say Donald Trump is scared as a cat at the dog pound. But since I'm from New York, I put it this way. We're scaring the living hell out of him, and we're just starting right now."

-- Mike Bloomberg, at a Texas rally

I paused over the quote from yesterday.  The thing that bothers me about this, is that this is not how a typical Texan would talk or compare things.  It sounds like some Yankee-guy who has flown in....got an hour of advice on how to compare things in Texas, and then goes out to chat with Texas folks.

Friday 14 February 2020

2020 Election

At some point in 2019, the Democratic Party had 28 total folks.....up for the Presidency.

Today?  It's basically Mayor Pete, Bernie, and Bloomberg.  That's it. 

Yes, after two state primaries, it's been whittled down to three individuals.

Warren?  She probably never had a chance.

Biden?  The age factor should have been discussed in 2018.

The bulk of the rest?  Nobodies that people don't remember.

Thursday 13 February 2020

What About the 40-Percent?

A poll was done and it came out that sixty-percent of Americans think they are better off now, than a year ago.  So, the question arises.....what about the other 40-percent.

I sat and pondered over this.  What about the other 40-percent or 120-million?

Well....first, if you live in L A, SF, Seattle, or Portland....you'd naturally have conflicting issues with homeless folks, crime, and druggies.....so you would admit things were not better off now.

Second, if you live in NY City, and you were anticipating that Amazon would be advertising all those jobs.....you were screwed royally and things aren't better.

Third, if you work for CNN or MSNBC....it's pretty good odds that you haven't seen a pay-raise, or a promotion, and probably won't see anything marvelous for the next five years.

Fourth, if you were Hillary Clinton.....you still bare a grudge and certainly nothing has improved since 2016.

Fifth, if you were part of the insider crew who were supposed to take the President down by now.....well....you failed....miserably, and 2020 doesn't look that good for you.

Sixth, if you were some stupid teenage idiot back in 2002, and borrowed in the range of $80,000 for your stupid college degree, yeah....you are probably still in debt, and still looking at another three years before it's all paid off.

Seventh, if you lowered yourself into a debt pit over five credit cards and achieved almost $60,000 in debt.....yeah, you are still in serious debt and nothing much has improved over the past decade, and probably won't improve much in the next decade.

Eighth, if you sunk $40,000 into a pontoon boat four years ago, and find it's not used more than four Saturdays per year, and the value has dropped to around $20,000....yep, your life hasn't improved much either.

Ninth, if your wife threw $7,000 in a boob-job last year, and ran off with the Maytag repair guy last week, the odds are that your life hasn't improved much.

Tenth and final.....you do roughly $10,000 worth of meth per year and have been doing that much for six years, it's a pretty sure bet that your life hasn't improved much, and it's a pretty sure bet you will be dead within the next decade.

Nancy's Chat

It's not front-page news and barely gets onto page four.....but on Tuesday of this week....House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a meeting with a top Obama economics adviser.

The topic of discussion?  Pelosi wants details on how to explain to Democrats (and likely Republicans as well)....on why the economy REALLY ISN'T as strong as Trump says, and then how to message or brand this to voters.

So you sit there and ponder upon this.

It would be like going up to some farmer who has personally counted 200 head of cattle on his farm yesterday, and then you trying convince him today that there are only 120 head of cattle.  Then the farmer might respond that the only way that he's lost 80 head...is that someone cut a hole in the fence, and the cattle escaped off into the night.

I suspect that the economist will sit there and marvel Pelosi with various facts and numbers....that in various California regions....the economy has swiveled up and done poorly.  Then he'll mention NY City's loss of Amazon.  But none of this will really provoke a message that you'd want to give Democratic voters.

So my advice to Nancy:  Go forth and suggest the economy is marginal, and then offer up tax breaks for the regular-working-class people.  Offer tax breaks to companies who hire new positioned people.  Bring in deregulation.  Stomp down on foreign countries that 'dump' products on US markets. 

Yes, out-Trump Trump.  That's the ticket.

The odds of this reality occurring?  Zero.  But it'd interesting to hear the guy explain to Nancy that there's stuff going on that hasn't been seen since the 1950s. 

Nancy could do advertisements.....some loser kid sitting in a basement....a 4-year degree in his pocket in French literature, and nowhere to market the degree.  Some loser on a San Francisco street....living in a tent....talking about his paranoid schizophrenia and inability to work  Some loser in a Detroit suburb talking over his customer base dissolving, and business in serious trouble....but avoiding the discussion that he mostly sells crack or marijuana. 

No one says much what occurred after the meeting, but I would guess that Nancy opened up a bottle of gin, and had several cocktails by 2 PM.  It's going to be a long, long campaign for 2020. 

Wednesday 12 February 2020

Mayor Pete's Statement

About two days ago.....Mayor Pete (Pete Buttigieg) made a statement that parents can’t explain Trump to their kids.  He meant this in a way that suggested nine-year-old kids were curious over the election, Trump, and that there just wasn't a way to explain Trump.

I sat and pondered upon this.

Most nine-year-old kids that I've known.....would have come up with significant questions...but having next to nothing to do with politics:

1.  Did Iron-Man really die at the end of Endgame?

2.  Why is cousin Wanda such a slut?

3.  Why can't you make a zero-calorie hamburger?

4.  Why don't the kids on SouthPark ever age?

I just don't see kids coming up to Dad or Uncle Barney....asking about Trump.  They might ask why Mom is so torn-up or frustrated with President Trump, and Dad accidentally says that she's a socialist, and then the kid asks Dad to explain socialism.  That would be a serious mistake.

But what would happen if 'Johnny Junior' suddenly got peppy and pro-Trump....around Mom who was anti-Trump?  Would Mom be able to handle this or would she got nuts with Johnny Junior?  Would Johnny Junior have to move out or resettle with other relatives?

I'm just shaking my head because this is some type of alien landscape that makes no sense....that you'd be so fired up over politics, and unable to handle any other scenario.  You have to wonder.....come 2024, what happens if another Trump-like character appears?  Could these people handle another eight more years of this business?

It all used to be simple, with nine-year-old kids asking if Higgins was really Robin Masters, on Magnum P I or if the Power Rangers really did all die in a plane crash over Arkansas like their cousin Marvin suggested. 

Tuesday 11 February 2020

Impeachment 2.0?

I read in the last hour that President Trump said that the Coronavirus will go away as spring arrives, because it can't multiply in warm weather.  Apparently folks are very peeved about the comment.

Can we fix up another fake impeachment charge on this...Coronavirus chatter?

Although I'm worried.....as we bring in witnesses for the House folks.....they might infect everyone, and trigger an outbreak among House members. 

Discussion Over Views

“These people are so driven mad, they actually think they are morally superior to those that have a different point of view."

- Nigel Farage

Farage came over the US and was at George Mason University to give a talk to a group of students.  At some point, a hyped-up college kid went into heckling-mood, and was eventually shown the door out.  Farage actually tried to calm the fellow down, and asked him to let him continue his discussion, and ask pointed questions at the end.  The kid couldn't handle that, and left.

In some ways, I think a whole segment of society has paid some kind of money down on a college education, and believe that they are morally superior at the conclusion of one single semester. 

They isolate themselves, and fear indoctrination from other students or outside influences will ruin the fine moral beliefs that they have.  One can look at this and summarize that their positions must be awful weak....if they can't sit still for sixty minutes and hear an opposing viewpoint.

I've made up a phrase to cover this thought process.....the 'Teletubbie' effect.  Basically, as long as your little sphere is enlightened by Tinky, Dipsy, Po and Laa-Laa....things are fine.  Once you bring a fifth character into the room....your sphere is cracked or challenged. 

In some ways, you even know that the four characters are marginal, and without strong bonds or marginally intellectually sustainable.  Then you go and do something real stupid....you attend such a meeting where the 5th character is there and chatting....without any reference to your typical bedrock (Tinky, Dipsy, Po and Laa-Laa). 

Your heart will be racing, and your mind feels like it's on fire....your inner strength is being harmed, and you lash out at the 5th character.  It's their fault.....they should have stayed within the lines of 'Teletubbie' crew. 

This all presents a challenge because so many people have lost sight of reality and are living in this 'bubble'. 

Monday 10 February 2020

Four Things About the Campaign at This Point

1.  Maybe it's just me, but I got this feeling that almost all of the inner circle of Joe Biden.....is 70-plus years old, drink Dr. Pepper, and watch Gunsmoke.

2.  This 'Pete-kid' doesn't seem to have done much in life.  So it makes me wonder....if he wins, and does eight years....he'll be 48 years old at the conclusion.  What exactly do you do for the remainder of your life?

3.  I heard the Pope say that the 'rich' must end world poverty.  So once you soaked all of them, and took 90-percent of their wealth.....then flipped it to dirt-poor people, and five years later....admit that the rate is poverty is still pretty much the same....what 'magic' do you do then?  Try to exorcise the poverty demons with some chant?

4.  Could the ultimate Russian 'game' be to reach the convention, have no clear winner, and then convince them to hire up Hillary once again? 

Friday 7 February 2020

Gingerberg

This afternoon, I sat and watched some 30 second Bloomberg for President ad....which had Trump up for the SoTU speech, and some Gingerbread man on his shoulder.

I ran this 'cartoon' four times......then frankly sat there.

I did feel kinda hungry.....like I'd like to have a Gingerbread man to eat, but I didn't get the jest of this.

Was this to convince me to be hungry or be anti-Trump?

Really?  A gingerbread man?

If this idiot paid $250,000 for some graphic design team to make up this Gingerbread man cartoon.....there's some problem with adult leadership on the Bloomberg team, and for 'Ginger'-berg himself. 

Thursday 6 February 2020

Writing Mayor Pete Buttigieg's Resume

It's basically a nine-line resume:

- Graduate from Harvard College and Oxford University. 

- Three years as a management consultant for McKinsey and Company.

- Eight years as a Reserve Naval Intelligence Officer.

- Campaign 'help' for three democratic campaigns (John Kerry is one of them).

- Ran for Mayor of South Bend (population 102,000) in 2011, winning, and installed in January of 2012 as mayor.

- Requested lay-off of South Bends black police chief, which was fought.  This matter has aggravated the black population in town a good bit. 

- Stressed public art during his eight years as mayor.

- Pushed for improvements in downtown projects, to attract people and business to a declining area of town.

- Promoted idea of new bus station in town.

Frankly speaking.....it's not the resume that you'd look for executive experience for the job of President.  It's the type of resume that you'd use to run as District House member, or Governor. 

That's the chief problem with Mayor Pete.  Maybe if you'd given him ten more years.....time to work as a Governor or as a Senator.....he'd have the thirty-line resume for the job.  In this case, if he does out-pace Bernie and win the nomination....I see a quarter of all Democrats shaking their head because he's just qualified for the job.  Let's admit it....proposing and pushing for a bus station....doesn't amount to much. 

Tuesday 4 February 2020

The Russians and Iowa

Based on reports this morning, I would strongly suggest (if I were a hyped-up Democrat)....that the Russians have staged a surprise collusion situation in Iowa.  This probably involved alcohol, drugs, hot Russian women, and sneaky tactics that typically only occur in the Ukraine.

Who won?  It's a basic unknown.  Why?  Well.....no one can really explain this....so it has to be Russians.

As for what happens?  I think that the Iowa delegates will get their bus ticket to the Convention....with none of them pledged to anyone. 

I'll go ahead and predict that the Caucus is finished, and will never be done again in Iowa, with a major revision coming.....maybe Iowa put into Super-Tuesday, and some state like Ohio moved up to first day status. 

Sunday 2 February 2020

Mass Media, Mass Stupidity

Malaysia has had to sent out the police to a couple of social media users.....for hyping up the possibility that the Coronavirus turns you into a 'Zombie'.  Yes, roughly ten people so far.....passed along the rumor, and folks took this serious.

I could see 10-year old kids hearing this and passing it along, but not adults. 

Saturday 1 February 2020

Punk Idiots

In the past week, at St John's College....a couple of students wrote to ask for a meeting with the leadership of the college.

Their aim?  There's a protest going on within the campus....about fossil fuels. The group pushing the agenda....wants the college to dump all of its investment money (figure in the range of $10-million) that is endowment funds.

The professor who was saddled up with this meeting....sat and paused over the request.

Then he kinda responded that doing something like this on a quick notice....wasn't that smart.  But he was willing to help the students out. 

He offered to cut all gas heating in the university....immediately.  He asked the two college kids heading this meeting if this would help.

The kids responded that they didn't think he was taking them serious. 

I kinda think that he was serious. 

This bizarre attitude of university student over the past decade has amazed me.  It's like they live in some hidden valley, without a view of the world itself. 

If I were the college Chancellor....I'd go ahead and shift the thermostat for each building down to 60 degrees (including the dorms), and ask if there's anything else that the kids need done.